Godzilla: War Stories

by Locutus6

A gritty, mature, and serious take on Godzilla with horror elements. Written in the form of an ongoing television series. The military wages a desperate war to defend humanity against monsters who begin to appear around the globe. (FYI: If you liked 'Godzilla: Minus one', the plot to this story is actually pretty similar.) Latest Chapter: (The Demonstration).

41. Chapter 41: Green and Brown

Chapter 41: Green and Brown.

The battle for Dr. Who's Artic base continued on as a one-sided slaughter. For the most part, Who's forces had already begun abandoning their positions on the surface and were retreating within the bowels of their base, hoping to make a more meaningful stand down below. From there, they could at least negate the Archimedes force's overwhelming aerial superiority, as well as try to hold just a few key chokepoints to avoid being flanked. A few stragglers gave up the fight altogether and were trying to escape using the base's few remaining snow crawlers. They were picked off easily enough by Archimedes fighters.

The remnants of Dr. Who's security forces inside the base rallied themselves around the main access corridors and brought in whatever cover they could carry to fortify their positions. This mostly consisted of tables and chairs from nearby offices. They were being led by Who's security chief. He organized his men the best he could. Once the men settled in, all they could do was sit there and wait for the inevitable assault they all knew was coming. Tension was high. The passageway was deathly silent. Eventually, a noise came from the other side of the blast door. The security forces raised their weapons in anticipation. They could hear someone tapping on the metal doorframe. Sweat was pouring off the man closest to it. He wanted to open fire, but his bullets wouldn't penetrate the reinforced gate.

An agonizingly slow minute rolled by while the guards waited for the enemy to make a move. Archimedes' soldiers had to be just on the other side of the door. What were they waiting for? The answer soon became apparent when the metal door was breached by a powerful explosion. Metal shrapnel showered the entire hallway, striking down several defenders instantly. The first man in line was cut to pieces. His more fortunate comrades avoided the worst of it by hiding behind cover, though they were still pretty shell-shocked by the concussive force of the blast.

The ears of the Security Chief were bleeding as he looked over to where the door had once been. Only fragments of the frame remained. Smoke was heavy in the air. There was now nothing between them and the attacking marines. The Chief tried to shout orders to the other guards to fall back, but he realized that he couldn't hear himself talking. His ears were ringing, and he could see that none of his men were responding to him.

From the other side of the corridor, the Chief could see shadows starting to move through the smoke towards the entryway. The marines were coming. Seeing that retreat was no longer a viable option, the Chief fired his weapon, hoping that his men would at least be able to hear it and understand that they should follow suit. A firefight erupted as the marines returned fire. One of the guards near the front of the corridor dropped as he was immediately hit. The rest of the men took turns firing and taking cover.

For a moment, it seemed as though Dr. Who's men would be able to hold back the assault. The marines weren't able to advance beyond the demolished blast door. The Chief and his boys were able to lay down enough suppressing-fire to keep them at bay. Then the material superiority of the Marines reared its ugly head. It began with a single grenade which took out two men hiding behind a barrier. Then a soldier armed with a flamethrower stepped into the doorway and sent a deadly stream of napalm arcing across the front half of the passageway. Three more security men were caught up in the flames. They didn't die right away either. Instead, the poor men suffered as they slowly burned alive. Upon seeing that, what was left of the defense fell apart. Most of the guards instantly broke cover and retreated. They were cut down mercilessly by marines who were now flooding into the hallway behind them.

All across the complex, other defensive strong points were falling in a similar manner simultaneously. Sensing the end, the Chief of Security threw up his hands and surrendered to the marines. They'd been thoroughly beaten. There was no point in fighting to the death.

…

Above the base, Marcus was circling the battlefield with his squadron of F-4 Phantoms, scanning for targets. Just off the coast, Dr. Who's aircraft carrier and the huge cargo ship were still sitting at anchor. Neither of the vessels had been a threat during the battle, but now that Marcus and his fighters had no other enemies to focus on, and since they still had plenty of ammunition to spend, the ships were juicy targets of opportunity.

"Command, permission to engage enemy shipping." Marcus requested over his radio.

"Negative on the cargo ship." Admiral Malek personally radioed back. "That vessel might still be of some use to us. We're rerouting a detachment of marines to land on her. I want that ship taken intact." He warned. "However, you boys can amuse yourselves with that piece of crap they call a carrier."

"Affirmative sir." Marcus replied. "Vectoring over now." The whole squadron banked out towards the coastline. "You heard the man, arm your anti-ship missiles gentlemen. We're going in."

It didn't take the fighters long to close in on their target. Dr. Who's carrier had no means in which to defend itself. Its helicopters had all been shot down earlier in the battle and it possessed no AA-guns. Marcus could see sailors already preparing lifeboats as the approached. They knew what was coming.

"Try to aim for the waterline." Marcus instructed his flyers. He wanted to avoid unnecessary casualties. Anyone who made it off the carrier would have nowhere else to go anyways. Archimedes' destroyers would pluck any survivors out of the water after the battle.

Six missiles were launched in total. Each of them slammed into the side of the carrier, causing massive damage and flooding. It was immediately plain to see that the vessel was doomed. The carrier would sink for certain. It was just a matter of time.

"Okay boys, that's good enough." Marcus radioed, circling back around to confirm the results. "She's done." He could see the sailors on the top deck, still alive and well.

"We got another one boss." Marcus' wingman reported to him. "Seven o'clock low." Marcus looked to see a smaller craft making a run for it. It was some type of ice-breaking ship.

'Where did you come from…?' Marcus thought. "Take out the engines." He instructed.

"I'm on it." One of the Phantoms fell out of formation and put a missile right into the poop-deck, heavily damaging the ship, but not destroying it. With its propulsion gone, the vessel sputtered to a stop, dead in the water. From the corner of his vision, Marcus could see the second assault force of marine helicopters moving on the large transport vessel. They didn't appear to need any help securing the ship.

"Hey Marcus, this is Marine-One back at the base." Lieutenant Gregor radioed. "I got something for you. We've sighted a huge helicopter launching from a hidden hanger. It just popped up out of an opening in the middle of an icefield. It looks kind of like a Chinook, only it's a lot bigger. I don't think it's friendly. That might be the good doctor trying to escape. You'd better get over here to check it out."

"Roger Marine-One." Marcus replied. "We're on our way."

By the time the fighters arrived, the suspect helicopter had already taken off and was a good distance away from the base. Curiously, it was headed further into the arctic landscape. Perhaps they meant to avoid the radars of the Archimedes fleet and then circle around the long way, because there was nothing but frozen tundra for thousands of miles in the direction they were going. When Marcus' fighter got close enough, he could see that the enemy helicopter was a specially modified bird designed for particularly long trips. It had six extra fuel tanks built into it. Marcus had no intention of letting the chopper get to wherever it was going. If Dr. Who was indeed aboard, they couldn't afford to let him get away.

"Unidentified helicopter." Marcus radioed over to them. "Turn your craft around, return to base, and prepare to be boarded." He paused, waiting for a reply, but the helicopter just kept going. Marcus moved up, positioning his fighter to the port side of the helicopter, so the pilot inside could see that he was being pursued by jet aircraft. "I repeat, turn your craft around and prepare to be boarded. This is your final warning." Marcus gestured down with his hand, indicating that he wanted them to land. They gave no response and just kept going. Through a sliding door on the side of the helicopter, one of Dr. Who's men opened fire on Marcus' jet with a heavy machine gun. "Sons of bitches are shooting at me!" Marcus plunged his fighter out of the line of fire. "Okay, that is it! Permission to engage admiral?" Marcus assumed Malek had been monitoring the developing situation.

"Granted." Malek replied over the radio, confirming that he had.

Before Marcus could even give specific orders, one of his flyers got in behind the chopper and opened up with their cannons. Rounds ripped through the helicopter's aft engine casing and stalled it out. With only one working rotor left, the helicopter spun out of control, plummeting towards the ground. Nothing was going to stop them from crashing. The only thing anyone could do was watch and wait for it to happen. They'd have to send a squad of marines to sift through the wreckage and determine if Dr. Who had indeed been on board or not, if he could actually be identified. However, as it turned out, that wasn't going to be possible. As soon as the helicopter hit the ground, it erupted into a furious fireball and an enormous explosion followed.

"Lord Jesus!" One of Marcus' airmen cried over the radio as the explosion lit up under them. The squadron circled back and saw a mushroom cloud rising up.

"Holy crap, was that a nuke?!" One of the other pilots exclaimed.

"What was that thing carrying?!" Another added.

"That explosion wasn't big enough to be a nuke." Marcus reasoned. "But they had to have been carrying some type of bomb on board, and a big one. That was a heck of a blast."

Below, the small mushroom cloud was starting to settle over the frozen landscape. The mystery helicopter had crashed into a large frozen lake and the explosion had cracked the ancient ice wide open. The immense amount of fuel the helicopter had been carrying spread and was burning violently, melting the ice around it, and seeping downwards into the crevasse. Marcus and his squadron made another pass over it, surveying the devastation. As they did, they witnessed the fractures in the ice expanding. The fissures grew more and more, and steam began to pour up out of them.

"What's going on down there sir?" Marcus' wingman asked. "Is that happening because of the crash?"

Below, the entire frozen lake seemed to be shifting around. Something strange was definitely happening. What it was, Marcus couldn't say. Suddenly, the whole lake rose up sixty feet. The burning wreckage of the helicopter slid and fell to the side as the moving glacier lifted and turned horizontally towards the sky. At that moment, it was clear that a monster was moving underneath the ice. The lake was sitting on its wide back. Whatever it was, it was still completely covered by shards of ice. The monster stepped up and out of the huge crevice it had occupied and walked through the black mushroom cloud, dispelling the smoke as it passed.

"It's a kaiju." Marcus announced over the radio.

The living glacier kept moving, losing more and more sections of ice as it went. Slowly but surely, the monster started to take form. Arms broke free from the main frozen mass, which sent chunks of permafrost crashing to the ground like glass. Each movement exposed more of the monster until it was finally revealed to the world. The kaiju had greyish-green skin, a stubby tail, and two tusks sticking out of each side of its mouth. Its most notable feature however had to be the huge shell which made up the majority of its body mass. To Marcus, it looked like an angry alligator snapping turtle standing up on its hind legs.

"Should we engage sir?" Marcus' wingman asked urgently. "It's heading towards the base. Our ground forces are in danger!"

"Just hold on for a moment." Marcus replied, thinking. Something deep inside told him that attacking this monster would be a mistake. Below, the monster had stopped moving. The last bits of ice fell away from its body. The monster's arms and legs began to retract within its body. 'Does it sense that we mean to attack?' Marcus pondered to himself. Before he could give it any more thought, something quite peculiar happened. As the turtle's head and limbs vanished beneath the shell, they were replaced by jets of blue fire and the creature's shell began to whirl around rapidly in circles like a spinning top.

"What the fuck is happening down there?" Marcus' wingman asked exasperated.

Before anyone could say any more about it, the spinning shell lifted off the ground and shot into the sky like a flying saucer. Then it flew away like a bat out of hell.

"That is the most bizarre thing I have ever seen…" Marcus noted.

"Yeah… I've never seen anything like that before." His wingman agreed. "Was that a flying turtle saucer?"

"How are we going to explain that when we get back?" One of the other pilots chimed in.

"Don't worry about it." Marcus answered. "I'm pretty sure I picked it up on my gun-camera and the fleet will most likely pick it up on their radar too."

…

Aside from small pockets of resistance by individuals, the fighting inside of the polar base was largely over. Brock and Mia had been watching the action unfold over the monitors in the security office and were helping to direct the marine forces. It was the two of them who had alerted the first marine assault squad to the ambush that had been waiting for them just inside the main corridor. Brock could see a squad of marines moving towards their location, so he got up to go meet them. He'd notified them where they were hiding. He was happy to see they were about to be extracted. As Brock opened the door, one of the marines instinctively brought up his weapon and put two rounds into the nearby wall.

"God damn it you assholes!" Brock thundered angrily. "Check your fire!"

"Oh shit, I think that's Sargent Brock!" He heard one of the marines say outside.

Brock peaked his head around the corner and glared furiously in their direction. The rest of the squad stepped away from the man who'd taken the shot, leaving him standing there alone, highlighting him as the culprit. They left him to face Brock's wrath alone. The soldier looked around and saw that he'd been thrown under the bus by his buddies. Brock stomped up to the soldier and grabbed him by the shirt cuff.

"When you know there are friendlies in play, you need to be more careful!" Brock said through gritted teeth, trying to contain his anger. But he was absolutely fuming.

"Yes sir!" The marine replied. "Understood sir!"

"Give me that weapon!" Brock seized the rifle for himself and let the man go. "You can come out now." He called back to Mia, who was still safely hiding in the security office. "Is your sweep done?" He turned his attention to the corporal who was leading the squad.

"We're supposed to clear out the south corridor." The corporal replied.

"There's no one and nothing of value down there." Brock informed him. "We've seen it from the monitors." He pointed back to the security office. "You can take your boys down there if you want, but we're heading back to the surface." He gestured over to Mia. "I want two of your men, just to ensure no one else gets confused as to who's side we're on."

"Yes sir." The corporal agreed.

Before Brock and Mia could leave though, a second squad of marines came into the area. Unlike the first squad, these men seemed to be looking specifically for Brock.

"Sir, we are here to escort your prisoner to Admiral Malek." The officer said. Something about that statement triggered Brock. Malek's treatment of previous Red Bamboo captives was bubbling back up to the surface.

"She's not a prisoner!" Brock growled, stepping up towards the soldier aggressively, getting his full attention. "This woman has joined us of her own volition. I won't let you take her." He squared up to the man, ready to physically back up his statement if necessary. The soldier was visibly intimidated.

"It's orders sir…" The marine asserted nervously. He understood Brock's point of view, but he was unwilling to violate his directives. There was a brief standoff between Brock and the other marines. It looked as though things were going to descend into violence, but before they could, Mia's hand reached out and touched Brock's shoulder. He turned to look at her, and she gave him a reassuring smile. Though Brock fought it, the look was enough to make him back down. Mia willingly went along with the soldiers.

"Your ass is still mine when we get back to the boat Floyd!" Brock couldn't help but say it. His pent-up aggression was still simmering just below the surface. Floyd looked back at Brock with unease.

…

Unwilling to let the matter go, Brock barged his way into Admiral Malek's office as soon as he'd returned to the USS Independence. He wouldn't let Mia go missing like so many of Malek's previous prisoners. Brock pushed his way past anyone who tried to stop him and stomped right up to the Admiral, who was sitting behind his desk confidently with a cigar. He didn't look too surprised to see him. Before Brock could even get a word out, Admiral Malek just gestured towards the corner of the room where Mia was sitting comfortably with a drink. Both of them looked quite relaxed. The atmosphere of the room felt as though the two of them were already old friends just catching up.

"We've been expecting you Sargent." Admiral Malek noted. "Go ahead and have a seat." He offered. Brock noticed all of the materials Mia had stolen sitting on Malek's desk. It was apparent that she had already done a thorough job of shmoozing him. "I'm aware that you are already familiar with Mrs. Mia, so I won't introduce you. I know why you are here, and there's no need to worry. We've just been talking about Mia's bright future in the Archimedes Organization."

"Is that so…?" Brock said skeptically.

"Yes, I feel that she has a great deal to offer us." Admiral Malek went on. Brock looked to Mia for confirmation. She looked satisfied. Brock was a little surprised. Had she managed to legitimately win over the Admiral so quickly? It seemed so. Perhaps it was because she was a woman and she used her charms on him, or perhaps the materials she provided had simply earned her enough brownie points, but Malek already seemed ready to accept her proposal to join the Archimedes Organization. "To put your mind at ease, I'm going to assign you to her personal security detail." Malek went on. "After all, she's become one of our most valuable assets, worth putting one of my best men on the assignment."

"And I'd be happy to have him." Mia agreed.

"Let's talk over some more of the details." Malek suggested.

…

Several minutes later, Brock left Malek's office feeling cautiously optimistic. He didn't really trust the Admiral to keep his word, but he trusted Mia's skills of persuasion to keep herself out of danger. And if Malek did betray his word, Brock would be there to ensure he paid for it. As Brock continued to walk down the hall, he saw Marcus running towards him, still wearing his flight suit, and carrying his helmet.

"Brock, you need to stay calm!" Marcus shouted to him. Apparently, someone had told him what was happening between him and the Admiral.

"It's alright." Brock growled at him. "It's already been settled."

"Oh… okay." Marcus answered surprised, perhaps feeling a little foolish over all of the fuss. "You must really like this lady to go through all of the trouble." He said, catching his breath. "You know, it's funny though, thinking back on our first conversation at the Zao Ming conference, you really didn't seem to have a lot of confidence in Chinese people at all. In fact, I recall you very specifically warning me about trusting them. Now you're willing to put your own ass on the line to save one?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Brock rumbled defensively.

"Hey, don't be offended." Marcus countered. "I'm just trying to say, I think you've grown a bit as a person, that's all. You could use a little more trust and compassion in your life." He smirked. "I suppose it doesn't hurt that the person you've chosen to put your trust in is a pretty girl though, right?" Brock gave Marcus a sharp look. "Or so I've been told…." He added sheepishly. "Considering she just handed us the whole world on a platter, I'd say she's earned a little credit. By the way, did I tell you about the flying freaking turtle I just discovered?"

"No." Brock replied. "But I have a lot to catch you up on too. I found out who is behind all of the mysterious attacks we've encountered. You're not going to believe it…"

"Tell you what, let me buy you lunch, and we can catch each other up on everything." Marcus offered.

…

Following the capture of the artic base, the Archimedes Organization set about seizing any and all assets they could get their hands on. Chief among them was recovering Mechani-Kong's dismembered chassis. Even if badly damaged, the material was invaluable. The components were taken and loaded onto the specialized cargo ship that had been captured during the battle. From there, they could be taken to a more secure Archimedes research and development base.

Admiral Malek published a false report, indicating that Kong had thrown Mechani-Kong into the Artic Ocean, and thus, the mech had sunk to the bottom and was lost. Further, he reported finding the body of what they assumed was a Red Bamboo agent. She had no identification on her, and so she was buried at sea. That was Malek's method of covering up Mia's defection. If the Chinese didn't outright believe the story, it would at least sew doubt into their minds. It wasn't like they were going to send an expedition all the way to the Artic to check. Malek put the report out on an open channel for them to hear. Regrettably, they couldn't physically confirm the death of Dr. Who since his body was burnt beyond recognition. However, they did figure he was aboard the crashed helicopter. The Archimedes fleet had lost track of the new monster who had emerged from the ice. But its last heading put it on a southeastern course.

The last thing, which was left out of all of the reports, was another prisoner had been taken out of Dr. Who's cells. He claimed to be the man who actually designed the Mechani-Kong robot. He alleged that Dr. Who had held him captive and taken credit for his work. Whether this was true or not was unclear, but Admiral Malek intended to put him to the test. One thing was certain though, the captured engineer was very eccentric. It was hard to get a sense of who he was and where he was from. He spoke English, but through an accent that was difficult to place. Ling spoke with him and even he couldn't figure him out. The man was simply an oddity. He claimed to be German, and he spoke fluent German, but when Reinhart spoke with him, he didn't get the sense of a fellow countryman.

Malek put the strange engineer to work making repairs on the Mechani-Kong robot. Reinhart objected, asserting that he should be the one allowed to study it. He felt that it was unwise to allow a man they knew so little about to be trusted with such an important task. Admiral Malek insisted that he just wanted to see if they guy actually knew what he was doing or not. If he could repair the robot, that would prove it. Reinhart didn't like it, but he had no choice but to accept Malek's plan. To help appease Reinhart, Admiral Malek assigned him to assist the engineer, but also to keep a close eye on him.

…

Two months later, the Archimedes fleet was sailing towards Japan. Godzilla had been sighted lurking in the Pacific, just outside of Japanese waters. It seemed as though he was heading back to what he deemed his rightful domain. According to reports, Godzilla had left Japan to fight another monster dubbed Soran who had been devastating cities in Malaysia. The new monster was slain in the ensuing fight. Godzilla's behavior since battling Mothra had been notably different. In spite of killing Soran, he seemed somewhat less aggressive. Godzilla had not attacked any shipping, despite having several opportunities to do so. Nor had he ravaged any more cities. It was puzzling to both scientists and military strategists. None the less, Godzilla was on his way to Japan again, and there was no telling what he might do once he got there. Archimedes couldn't afford to wait and see.

All over the world, governments and regular folk were still feeling the fallout of "The Pulse" incident. Monsters had appeared on every continent and clashes between them were commonplace. The twin Mothra larva appeared several times to pacify some of the hottest spots. They sent many lesser monsters running. Interestingly enough, even Battra surfaced to stop one rampage. He killed a kaiju with twelve limbs that was posthumously named Muto. Slowly, things were starting to settle down again. Many monsters either went back into hiding, found places that were free and clear of mankind, or were outright killed.

And yet, the turmoil wasn't quite over. There was at least one more all-out war to be fought before the peace could truly be restored, if only for a little while.

…

On a dark and stormy night, just off the coast of Yokosuka, a lone freighter sailed through choppy seas. The ship was cruising through dangerous coral patches to avoid detection by the local authorities. They were smuggling contraband goods. The captain of the vessel, Kazuo, was alone at the wheel on the bridge. He was watching the lightning flash to pass the time. There was something about storms that always made him feel more alive. Perhaps they tapped into his primeval connection to nature and survival instincts. Still, something about this night made the skipper feel uneasy. Nothing he could put his finger on, but something didn't feel quite right.

His feeling of unease was not unfounded. For behind the captain, the back door of the bridge creeped open, seemingly on its own. Kazuo didn't notice the creaking of the hinges; the lightning and thunder were still distracting him. Through the cracked door, a slimy tentacle wriggled inside the room. Slowly, the tentacle snaked its way unseen towards Kazuo, who was still steering the ship, and blissfully unaware of it. The tentacle left a trail of sludge in its wake, sliding across the wooden floor. Just as the tentacle reached the raised platform where Kazuo was standing, he detected a noise and turned to see if one of the other crew members had entered the bridge. To his surprise, Kazuo saw no one, but he looked down and spotted the tentacle.

Kazuo's mouth swung open wide in shock and horror. He instinctively stepped back, retreating out of reach. The tentacle lunged around blindly; sensing that prey was nearby. It suddenly lurched forward, swinging just over Kazuo's head, nearly knocking his cap off. Kazuo felt a sudden urge of fight or flight surge through his system. He took up a hatchet and instinctively started to chop away at the tentacle to defend himself. After several swings, Kazuo managed to sever the tip of the tentacle, which caused the rest of it to pull away back out the door. Kazuo ran to the door to close and then lock it, but there was already another tentacle there ready to replace the first. It was pushing against the door to force its way in.

Outside the bridge's front windows, Kazuo could see the face of an enormous octopus rising to the surface. It looked hungry and angry. Its eyes burned red with fury. Kazuo managed to get the backdoor closed, but he had to keep the weight of his entire body braced against it to prevent the tentacles from barreling through the frame. Meanwhile, more tentacles were breaking into the bridge through the windows. Kazuo was starting to panic. He recognized that he was in a dire situation. He called out for help from the rest of the crew, but nobody seemed to hear him, nor did they seem to realize that they were under attack. They must have been below decks playing cards.

One of the infiltrating tentacles found its way to Kazuo's leg and wrapped itself around his ankle. Once it secured a hold, it pulled Kazuo away from the door, allowing more tentacles inside. Kazuo was pulled off his feet and towards the windows. By that point, the giant octopus had wrapped the whole ship up in its arms and was now pulling itself onto it. A second tentacle reached out for Kazuo and wrapped around his torso. It had a good solid hold on him. Kazuo was quickly pulled even closer to the windows. He braced his body against the wooden frame to prevent himself from being dragged outside.

Kazuo looked back, again hoping for the aid of one of his crewmates, but there was no one to be found. Kazuo yelled out desperately, his arms were starting to tire as he struggled to stay within the confines of the bridge. Just outside, the giant octopus was staring right at him, eagerly awaiting the imminent meal. Kazuo was lifted clear off the ground. His fate seemed inevitable. He simply did not have the strength to resist for much longer.

Then something miraculous happened. One by one, the tentacles started to slip away from Kazuo's body, letting him go. The giant octopus fell away from the ship, retreating. Kazuo fell to the wooden floor with a thud as the last tentacle released him. The storm raged on outside as Kazuo got back to his feet. He rose up slowly, almost afraid to look back out again. What he saw when he did peer outside was unbelievable. The giant octopus was locked in close combat with a colossal green giant. It almost looked like a man, but then the lightening flashed, and Kazuo could see that his savior was far from human. Its face was all twisted and grotesque.

The new monster struggled with the octopus, wrestling and crying out angrily. The octopus had entangled the green giant, wrapping itself around his arms and neck, threatening to strangle him. The green giant wasn't just going to lay down for it though. He ripped the tentacles away from his throat with his hands and began to unravel the octopus's hold over him. Once he'd done that, the giant bit down onto one of the tentacles to get the octopus's attention. The octopus flung its limbs around wildly, slapping them violently against the green monster's face, leaving several slimy whiplashes. The pain fueled the green monster's rage. He grasped the octopus in his claws and threw him across the water and back into the sea. The green ogre watched and waited to see if it would come back to the surface for a second round, but the giant cephalopod had already taken enough of a beating for one night.

Triumphant, the green giant turned and raised his hands in celebration. Kazuo on board the freighter wasn't sure how to feel about it. One menace was gone, but was the thing that had replaced it any better? His question was soon answered. The green ogre started making its way towards the ship. As it turned out, he had not saved them for any sort of noble intentions. He simply wanted to victimize them himself.

Kazuo turned the wheel hard, attempting to steer the freighter away from the oncoming threat, but it was of absolutely no use. The monster was far faster than they were. It soon came to grips with the ship and began to rock it back and forth. Kazuo fell down and away from the wheel. At that moment, he realized the ship was doomed. Kazuo hit the emergency alarm to warn the rest of the crew of what they must have already known by that point, and then he crawled towards the door to abandon ship.

The monster meanwhile had made its way to the front of the freighter and began to use his body weight to push the vessel underneath the water. Kazuo was swept away into the ocean and began to swim towards the shore. He looked back and saw that the monster was dipping the ship down over and over again, each time, the bowels of the freighter filled up with more seawater. Behind him, Kazuo could see that the other four members of the crew had astonishingly made it off the ship as well. He couldn't wait for them to catch up though. Kazuo assumed that the monster wasn't just after the ship's contraband cargo. It seemed as though his main goal was to eat the crew.

Kazuo swam as hard as he could. The rain provided him and the other sailors some cover to escape, but it was just a matter of time before the monster would notice them in the water. Behind the sailors, their freighter finally succumbed to its flooding and sank beneath the waves. Without that distraction, the green giant looked around and spotted the swimming men. He began to come after them with a roar. Kazuo looked back and saw the terrible sight, which motivated him to fight even harder to get away.

One by one, the other members of Kazuo's crew fell under the claws of the monster. They never had a chance. Kazuo could hear their terrible screams of anguish as they were consumed. It took the monster a minute to finish with the four men. He seemed to savor each one of them, which gave Kazuo extra time to reach the beach. Kazuo immediately took cover and got out of sight. He peaked out to see if the monster was still coming for him, but by that time, the green giant was turning and heading back out into the ocean, seemingly satisfied. It finally appeared that Kazuo's ordeal was over. He collapsed, exhausted, and then wept.

…

Four days later, Marcus and Brock were reading over the report of the incident in the ready room of the USS Independence, which was still bound for Japan.

"You think it was Godzilla?" Brock asked.

"No, the M.O. of this is very different." Marcus replied. "And there's an eyewitness. The Japanese authorities aren't too sure if they believe his story yet. But if it is true, this new monster is something completely different. Something we haven't seen before. Something… humanoid." Marcus added disturbed. "The survivor of the attack was taken to Yokosuka Hospital. He's stable now, and under observation. They say he's been ranting about a hairy green giant ever since he woke up."

"What are the Japanese doing about it?" Brock inquired.

"Well, for starters, they called in our Maser units." Marcus replied. "Their own are still under construction. They won't be completed for weeks yet. They've also brought in an American cryptozoologist by the name of Dr. Paul Stuwart. He's based out of Kyoto, so I guess he was handy."

"Why him?" Brock asked. "We have plenty of monster experts of our own, and so do the Japanese."

"This guy is kind of special." Marcus answered. "They think this incident may be related to a specimen he was studying a couple of years ago. I'm not sure how much help he's being though. Apparently, he's being oddly dismissive of the attack, and even defensive about the possibility of his specimen being involved, despite some strong evidence that points towards it. He even suggested that the sailor made up the whole thing."

"What evidence is that?" Brock asked.

"Well, the Japanese sent divers down to examine the wreck of the ship, and they discovered some pretty chilling details." Marcus began to explain. "The ship itself had no notable damage to the hull. There is no clear reason for it sitting at the bottom of the sea, unless it had been pushed under exactly as the sailor had suggested. Worse, there was, and I quote: 'Chewed up clothing found on the railings of the wreck.' And even more sets of clothing were found floating between the boat and the shore, just as the sailor's story indicated. That clothing was torn up too, suggesting that the other crew members had indeed been eaten."

"And the scientist is still trying to insist the captain is lying?" Brock asked irritated.

"I know, right?" Marcus agreed. "He insists that the other crew members are simply in hiding. Feels like the doctor is in a bit of denial, eh? And it gets worse, there has been a second attack on a smaller fishing boat. Again, the whole vessel was pulled under just off the coast of a small fishing village. Two more men are missing, assumed dead. Afterwards, the villagers tried to pull the wreck in by hand through the net lines, and they were dragged clear across the beach by something out in the water pulling back. A crowd of nearly one hundred people saw the head and shoulders of a massive monster pop out of the water, and still, Dr. Stuwart is being obstinate."

"He's starting to feel like a criminal defense lawyer." Brock mused.

"Fortunately, Dr. Stuwart's partner, Dr. Majida, is being a little more scientific about the matter." Marcus went on. "He's not letting personal feelings interfere with the pursuit of the truth. Tractors were brought onto the beach and pulled the lost fishing boat in. Dr. Majida took tissue samples from the craft and had them examined by a specialist. He discovered that the sample taken from the boat matched samples they'd taken from the specimen they had in captivity five years earlier."

"So, it is the same monster from before?" Brock assumed.

"Well… maybe." Marcus replied. "Dr. Stuwart and his assistant, Dr. Akemi Togawa, think there is a possibility of two monsters of the same species being involved here. Now, that could just be another front on their part to avoid facing a terrible truth about the monster they helped raise, or there may in fact be two separate Kaiju. Stuwart has taken a trip to the Japanese Alps to follow up on a lead. There was a sighting of something big up that way, and also some supposed footprints. If that does indeed turn out to be the case, then things are going to get a whole lot more interesting…"

"I have a bit of news of my own that you may not have heard about yet." Brock changed topics. Marcus lifted an eyebrow curiously, inviting him to go on. "It's about that new monster who appeared after you shot down Dr. Who's helicopter. It turns out that the doctor knew about it ahead of time. He was perhaps even studying it. He'd given it a name, Gamera. Somehow, he knew it was out there in the ice."

"And how do you know that?" Marcus inquired.

"That information was amongst one of the many files Mia brought in with her as a bargaining chip." Brock replied with an uncharacteristically smug smile. "He mentioned the beast's name several times. I don't think it was a coincidence that Dr. Who's helicopter was flying out there at that very spot carrying a massive bomb. In fact, I believe that was entirely the point. I think Dr. Who was on that chopper, and I imagine his plan was to release Gamera from his icy prison as a distraction for our forces. The monster was meant to keep us busy long enough for him to escape."

"Well, if that was the case, then it didn't work out too well for him." Marcus noted grimly.

…

The next morning, a flight traffic control officer named Kenjo was just getting to his station within the tower of Haneda Airport. It was early on an overcast day, but the air traffic below was already quite busy. The terminal was crammed with people. Japan was on the cusp of a summer holiday, and it seemed as though everyone wanted to travel.

"We're jam-packed today boss." Sachi, Kenjo's assistant, greeted him with a list of all the flights.

"Yeah, we're definitely going to earn our paychecks today." Kenjo sighed, looking over the list. "Did you…?"

"Yeah, the tea is already warm, ready, and waiting." Sachi pointed over to a nearby tray.

"You're the best Sachi." Kenjo said with a smile.

"That's what they pay me for." Sachi noted.

Kenjo picked up a cup of tea and then went over to his station next to the window. Before he could sit down, he noticed something odd out in the bay nearby the outermost runway. It was an unusual churning in the water. It was very out of place.

"Hey Sachi, is the Navy running some sort of drills today?" Kenjo asked puzzled. "Maybe something with submarines?"

"Huh…?" Sachi replied.

"Perhaps some type of experiment?" Kenjo added. "Come over and take a look at this."

Before Sachi even got out of his chair, Kenjo witnessed something quite shocking. A big green head surfaced in the bay. The head was quickly joined by matching shoulders and then the body of a hairy, devilish fiend. For a moment, Kenjo was too stunned to say anything, but he had read all of the sensational news stories. He knew this had to be the Green Gargantua that had been attacking ships and eating people alive. The monster was walking out of the sea and making its way onto dry land. The Gargantua walked upright like a man, which somehow made it feel even more unsettling to watch.

The Green Gargantua cried out in a shrill tone, alerting the entire airport to his approach. Patrons sitting at an outdoor restaurant at the edge of the tarmac were the first to see him coming. The people there began to panic, stampeding away from the monster as quickly as they could. Tables were flipped over, and chairs sent flying in the melee. The crowd was falling all over themselves to get away. It didn't take long for the pandemonium to spread to the entire airport. Everywhere, frightened people were causing mayhem as the green giant approached.

At first, the Green Gargantua was confused by all of the sights and sounds around him. As the monster approached the main terminal, he passed by a large airliner that had just finished boarding. It was filled to the brim with passengers he'd loved to get his hands on, only he didn't recognize it as a potential food source. The passengers on the airplane, however, were more than aware of it. When they saw the Green Gargantua through the portside windows, all of them were pushing and screaming to get out of the only exit at the front of the plane. Many people were crushed trying to escape.

Fortunately, the Green Gargantua wasn't aware of the turmoil unfolding at his feet. He was too distracted by everything else going on around him. The sound of police sirens were filling the runway area as emergency responders were coming onto the scene. Flight crews in front of the monster were making a hasty retreat as he stepped towards them. More than anything, the creature was preoccupied with the sound of the jets. In particular, there was a flight right above him that was in the process of making a landing. The crew of the plane were blissfully unaware of what awaited them below. The Green Gargantua looked up, scanning the sky for the source of the noise. Over in the tower, Kenjo was frantically giving orders for the inbound flight to abort their landing.

"Attention! Attention! All aircraft are to pull away!" Kenjo shouted desperately. "Alert, alert, don't land!"

The pilot above heard his warning just in the nick of time and pulled up and away from the monster. With the plane gone, the green giant moved further into the airport. He finally noticed people moving around and realized that food was within his grasp. He grew excited and crashed his way through one of the airport's elevated walkways, which connected the outer terminal to the main service hub.

Through the PA system, Kenjo had one of the ladies in the control tower start broadcasting an urgent evacuation order. It was nearly meaningless by that point though. Anyone in the vicinity of the airport was already well aware of the danger. As they were transmitting, the monster's hideous face passed right by the tower. The whole operations staff held their breath, hoping to God that he didn't look over and see them. However, the windows of the tower were tinted by design to keep any sun-glare out, and the Green Gargantua couldn't see past it. Kenjo and his team were safe for the time being.

The same could not be said for an unfortunate woman who'd lingered in her nearby office just a little too long. The Green Gargantua spotted her and punched his way right through the wall of her building. He seized the woman and pulled her out towards a terrible fate. The monster's nasty teeth were gnashing in anticipation. Dust and debris fell onto other people within the building as the giant pulled his arm out. A hunk of dislodged cement crushed one unlucky soul. Before anyone could do anything, the woman was eaten alive. It was at least over quickly. The monster's jagged teeth made short work of her. She was gone within seconds and the green giant callously spit out what remained of her clothing for the world to see. The texture of the fabric apparently didn't agree with him.

Just as the Green Gargantua was finishing up with his victim, the sun began to creep out from behind the clouds. The moment the monster noticed it, he cried out angrily. He turned around and began to run full tilt back towards the water. He moved with a speed faster than any other monster had been seen capable of, at least on the ground. Once the green giant was close enough, he jumped towards the sea and splashed down, immediately disappearing below.

…

The next day, there was an emergency meeting at the newly built Japanese Defense Agency Headquarters in Tokyo. The city was still partially being rebuilt following Godzilla's original attack, but it was no longer the mess of ruins that it had once been. The nation as a whole was starting to heal along with its capitol's streets. This new monster, however, was threatening that peace and security.

The Japanese had given the Green Gargantua a proper name, Gaira. Their military were determined to put him down as soon as possible. To that end, Gaira had demonstrated at least one major weakness that they could potentially exploit, sunlight. Like Baragon before him, Gaira seemed to be averse to bright lights. Dr. Stuwart theorized this was likely due to the fact that he'd chosen to live within the depths of the ocean for so long. Such as it was, the Japanese Imperial Army were already hard at work rigging up spotlights to put onto various military vehicles. If they could blind Gaira, they would have a method to pin him down for their big guns to go to work.

The Archimedes' Masers had arrived and were being deployed. Additionally, the Japanese possessed several new anti-Kaiju weapons they'd been developing and were itching to field test them. First, they had built a crude type of laser turret. As basic as the units were, the lasers were still quite powerful. Second, the Japanese invented an electronic node which acted like a sea-mine. It was deployed in water and would discharge powerful jolts of electricity to any target that wandered too close to them. They were principally designed to protect Tokyo Bay from Godzilla, but given Gaira's affinity to water, they'd likely come in handy to counter him as well.

The Archimedes fleet could be useful for hunting Gaira in the ocean once they arrived, but at present, they were still on the trail of Godzilla, who was considered to be the larger threat. If not by sheer destructive power, then by simple body mass. Godzilla stood fifty meters tall, while Gaira was projected to stand roughly at forty-five meters. The big difference though, was Godzilla's frame. He was built considerably heavier. There was no way to measure him accurately, but estimates calculated that Godzilla could weigh in at twice the tonnage of Gaira. No matter how you cut it, he was the bigger menace.

…

It wasn't long before there was a fourth attack by Gaira. This time, the green giant targeted a night club that wasn't in Tokyo, but instead, along the outskirts of the city. Gaira had bypassed most of Tokyo's defenses by swimming up the Edo River and surfacing outside of the city limits. Marcus was reading the report out loud in the ready room of the Independence with Brock and a few other men. It described the incident in great detail.

"A lounge singer was eaten." Marcus noted grimly. "It says she was just finishing the first song in her set, a tune titled: "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat." Brock snickered after hearing that. Marcus looked up at him sharply, and Brock awkwardly pretended to be coughing. "That's not really funny Brock…" Marcus frowned at his friend, admonishing him.

Then what happened settled in, and despite himself, Marcus cracked a smile too, seeing the dark humor of it. He caught Brock trying to hold in another laugh. The big man's whole body was shaking from stifling it, and his face was turning beet red. Something about that made the whole thing even funnier. Marcus cleared his throat and bit his lip, trying not to laugh too. He looked away to regain his composure. The poor victim deserved better than to be openly mocked like that, and the other men wouldn't benefit from seeing them do it.

"Anyhow…" Marcus finally went on with the briefing. "Gaira was driven north into the countryside by the lights of Tokyo. They lit up the whole city to ensure the monster didn't come that way. The Japanese are mobilizing to pursue him."

…

At that very moment in Japan, Gaira was terrorizing the countryside. He'd ravaged several small villages in his wake before the Imperial Military could do anything about it. Finally, they set up a defense line to prevent Gaira from penetrating any further north. Local civilians build a series of bonfires as a makeshift fence to keep Gaira from advancing forward into anymore settlements. In the meantime, more columns of tanks and trucks flooded into the area from every direction.

To their credit, the Japanese were quick to get organized. They rushed in the special equipment they'd set aside just for Gaira. The electrodes and lasers were deployed ahead of him while the Maser units were coming in from roads on the flanks. Archimedes had built two additional Maser cannons since the last engagement with Anguirus, which brought their strength up to five total units. They commanded an impressive amount of firepower all on their own. If they could just be maneuvered into position, then the Japanese had an excellent chance of inflicting a lot of damage.

IJA helicopter air-recon located Gaira and reported his position to the forward field Headquarters. The bonfires used to repulse Gaira away from residents were expanded. New ones were built to corral him into a specific area where the Japanese would be lying in wait. The only trouble was, Gaira was advancing quicker than they had anticipated. The military engineers needed more time to get their newly developed lasers positioned and plugged into a power source. Those weapons simply couldn't operate independently.

The first line of troops Gaira happened upon were meant to use their flood lights to slow him down, but the nervous grunts panicked and opened fire on the monster without orders. Their forces only consisted of tanks and jeeps equipped with anti-tank guns. The Masers had not yet arrived at the front to get into position to support them. The half-hazard attack started well enough, several direct hits were landed, and Gaira definitely felt the shots. The air was quickly filled with the smell of burning hair and flesh as some of the Green Gargantua's fur caught fire. Gaira absolutely did not like being shot at. It was clear from the outset that he was not built as tough as other monsters the military had faced off against up until that point. Gaira was visibly damaged by tank rounds. Though the wounds were mostly superficial, they were still having an effect.

Gaira angerly charged the defensive line, utilizing his speed to rapidly close the gap. Many of the Japanese soldiers recognized the danger and abandoned their positions on mass. As soon as Gaira reached the row of tanks and trucks, he methodically started to pick them up and throw them. In a particularly vicious fashion, Gaira seemed to be intentionally aiming the vehicles at civilian housing to inflict maximum damage. Within moments, the first skirmish of the battle was over. Gaira had wiped out the first defensive line along with several homes.

The fight was far from over though. Ahead of Gaira, a deadly trap was still being set. The laser turrets were in position hidden amongst the trees and the special electrodes meant for Tokyo Bay were being deployed into a large lake there. Japanese command anticipated Gaira would go for the water once the attack began. They needed more time to finish their preparations though. Gaira had sped up his march since the fight. They'd riled him up and he was looking for more army units to smash. Gaira took out some of his frustrations demolishing a bridge. He barreled his body through it.

Japanese command sent three helicopters to slow Gaira down. They needed to buy just a little more time to patch their electrodes into the power grid and allow the Masers to get into position. Mountain roads were not an ideal place for the heavy machines to be maneuvering, but they had nearly arrived. After a short game of cat and mouse, Gaira downed two out of the three choppers sent to distract him. The first two pilots made the critical mistake of buzzing down too low. Gaira simply jumped up and grabbed them. The third pilot was more cautious. He made sure to keep his craft too high for Gaira to pounce on. Instead, the airman backed his helicopter up slowly, and gradually brought Gaira into the target area where the ambush was hopefully ready and waiting.

Gaira was so pissed off at that point, focusing all his energy on swatting at the helicopter above him, that he didn't even notice the mass of forces arrayed just two hundred yards in front of him. That was all about to change though. The Masers had finally arrived and were deploying their cannons. The units swung their barrels out wide and carefully corrected their aim. At the same time, the lasers were plugged in and ready in the woods. The electrodes in the lake had been connected and powered up too. Tanks on the flanks were ready to move forward to keep Gaira inside the trap. Finally, the trucks with built-in spotlights were given the go-ahead to begin the operation. They switched their lights on and pointed the beams directly at Gaira's face.

Gaira was caught totally unprepared. He shrieked out in anger and surprise, bringing his hand to his face to shield himself from the glare of the spotlights. He stopped in his tracks, making himself the perfect target. The laser turrets began to fire. The first ray caught Gaira in the shin, throwing him off balance. Then the Masers opened up. One of their beams hit Gaira directly in the face. Gaira fell backwards, as if he had been clotheslined. Once on the ground, he began to crawl on his hands and knees, desperately trying to take cover. The Masers, however, kept up the attack, following Gaira wherever he went. It was clear to everyone present that the weapons were quite effective against the Green Gargantua. Where Anguirus had been able to shrug off several shots, Gaira couldn't stand up to them whatsoever. His only option was to evade.

Gaira tried to escape into a thicket of trees, but even that did him very little good. The vegetation was ripped to pieces around him. Any cover he might have enjoyed was quickly cut down. The Maser crews were putting in a magnificent performance. Again and again, they raked Gaira's body up and down with bolts of electricity. Gaira continued to retreat to the side, hoping to find some sort of relief, but it wasn't to be. He simply couldn't get out of the Maser's range and nothing he was hiding behind could stand up to their firepower. More and more trees were blown to bits as Gaira kept scrambling. He was falling all over himself. The Gargantua had no defense against such weapons. All of the time, the Masers managed to keep a good bead on Gaira. He wasn't given an inch of breathing room to even think about counterattacking. Gaira's back arched in pain with every shot. He fell over from the powerful barrage, practically helpless.

Eventually, Gaira found himself at the edge of the lake. As predicted, he instinctively retreated towards the water, but it was a big mistake. The electrodes were waiting for him within. The moment Gaira jumped into the water, the electrodes set themselves off. They shocked the ever-living hell out of Gaira, sending strong jolts of electricity shooting up his legs to the rest of his body. He shuddered violently from the voltage.

Now that Gaira had come back out into the open, the soldiers could see just how much of a beating he'd taken from the Masers. Gaira had open wounds all over his body. The assault had certainly taken its toll. Moreover, every moment Gaira stood in the water, soaking up more electricity, the weaker he was becoming. His strength was fading fast. The military was literally beating the life out of him. The Masers did not just let the electrodes take over though. They kept up their own attacks, hammering away at Gaira. Gaira was seizing up from being shocked and he could not move his legs to escape the water. All he could do was howl in pain. Gaira's legs suddenly gave out and he slipped down towards the water. He reached out with his right hand to brace himself and avoid completely falling in, but his arm gave the electricity a third avenue to travel up into the rest of his body, giving him an even bigger jolt. Gaira sprang back up to his feet.

More Maser bolts poured into Gaira, adding to the already extensive damage. He took a nasty shot to the face, which took a lot of the remaining fight out of him. Gaira had grown so weak that he was not even able to react to the pain anymore. He slumped forward into the water, exposing his whole body to the powerful electrical discharges. Gaira flipped over violently, fully emerging himself in the lake. Once on his back, he shook with powerful convulsions. Gaira whipped around in the water, struggling less and less with every passing second. The end was drawing near.

The nearby soldiers could see that victory was close at hand. Gaira was on the verge of death. This had been the most successful conventional attack on a Kaiju ever pulled off. Gaira simply lacked the toughness and durability of his predecessors, and the trap had been very well laid for him. The only thing left to do was finish him off. However, just as it seemed like the fight was over, a roar could be heard from the backline of the Japanese defenses. A second monster had arrived on the scene. It looked very much like Gaira, only its skin and fur were a tannish-brown mesh of color. Soon it became clear that it was another Gargantua. The new monster marched directly towards Gaira and inadvertently severed the power lines connected to the lasers and electrodes, denying energy to each of them. The Maser units held their fire, waiting on a fresh set of orders from the top.

Meanwhile, the Brown Gargantua came to Gaira's rescue, pulling his head up and out of the water and getting an arm under him to support his weight. The Brown Gargantua looked back to the attacking forces and waved his arm up over his head in what looked like a plea to cease their attack. The gesture was oddly very human looking. Seeing that the military had already stopped of their own accord, the Brown Gargantua turned his attention back to Gaira, who was passed out in his arms. He pulled Gaira up to his feet, though the Green Gargantua was still largely unaware of what was going on around him.

Now that both of the monsters were upright, it was clear that the newly arrived Gargantua was much bigger than Gaira. He was at least a head taller. The Brown Gargantua pulled Gaira out of the lake and moved him away from the defensive line. It was clear that he meant to retreat without a fight. Once the two monsters had entered the safety of the forest, the Brown Gargantua turned one final time and roared back to the soldiers. It was unclear if the gesture was meant as a thank you, or simply a form of intimidation. His own little way of discouraging the soldiers from following them.

Japanese Command elected to allow the Gargantuas to disengage. The troops were in no shape to continue the fight with so much of their defense in shambles. Even if they did have a mind to attack, the Masers wouldn't be able to follow the monsters through the rough terrain of the wilderness anyways.

…

Just off the coast of the island of Kuna-Jima, Harold and Bernice Goldstein were out fishing on their private boat. Harold had just retired and wanted to start things off right with a nice relaxing fishing trip. Unfortunately, his wife insisted on coming with him. She detested fishing, but she assured Harold that she'd enjoy the boat ride, the sun, and the natural beauty of the ocean. It only took an hour for her to start complaining. And once she got started, there was no stopping her.

Harold tried to focus on his fishing, but more and more, he was tempted to throw Bernice overboard. She had started drinking to pass the time, and she'd never been a pleasant drunk. It just made her louder and more belligerent. As if it were a Godsend, Harold suddenly got a strong bite on his line. He seized his pole and started the fight. For a minute straight, Harold reeled and pulled. Bernice was still talking non-stop in his ear, but he did his best to tone her out. Harold didn't want anything to spoil his big moment. All of his buddies back home had big fish stories of their own, and he wanted to at least achieve parity with them, if not outright surpass them. Harold could tell whatever he'd hooked was very big.

Harold briefly glanced over to ensure his camera was where he left it. If he didn't get a decent picture of his catch, none of his friends would believe him. Suddenly, Bernice was quiet for a moment. Harold thought he'd finally have a moment's peace to enjoy the struggle between man and fish. But the silence didn't last very long.

"Harold, what is that?" Bernice asked in a strange voice. Harold just ignored her, still very engrossed in what he was doing. "Harold, you need to take a look at this!" She added, somewhat more urgently. He still ignored her, starting to get a little irritated. "Harold…" She continued, not letting up.

"I'll look in a minute!" Harold finally snapped at her. "I'm a little busy here."

"DAMNIT HAROLD! THIS CAN'T WAIT!" She started to shout. "You need to look right now!" Harold could almost see his fish through the water. He was so close. Bernice finally resorted to grabbing him by the shoulder and shaking him violently. She was starting to outright panic.

"FINE, WHAT THE HELL IS IT WOMAN?!" Harold turned to see that a massive object was moving towards their boat through the water. It looked like a mountain of jagged spikes. "SHIT…!" Harold got a sinking feeling, realizing that they were in serious trouble. It was Godzilla. Harold let his pole slip through his fingers. The fish on the other side of the line pulled it clear overboard.

Harold scrambled to get to the wheel and start up the boat, but the engine refused to turn over. Godzilla was already bearing down on them, adding to the tension and adrenaline pounding through Harold's veins. Bernice was screaming, losing her mind as the massive monster got closer and closer. Harold tried the engine again and was more successful with his second attempt. The boat came to life with a putter, but by that time, there was no point in even trying to maneuver. They were not going to be able to get away in time. Both Harold and Bernice were terrified. Whatever happened next was out of their hands and they knew it.

Godzilla passed right by Harold and Bernice's tiny boat and the massive amount of water he displaced in his wake sent them riding at the top of a wave headed for the island. Harold tried to steer, but he had no meaningful control. They were along for the ride, no matter where it took them. The wave rolled up and over the beach until it ran out of steam. The small boat safely came to a rest in the sand, only listing slightly to port. Harold and Bernice were shocked to still be alive.

Out in the ocean, Godzilla moved on, having never even noticed the couple or their boat. Harold took the opportunity to pick up his camera and shoot a quick photo. He may have lost his catch, but at least he'd have a whale of a tale to tell his buddies when he got home. All around the boat, fish had been beached along with Harold and Bernice. To Harold's very pleasant surprise, his fishing pole was resting in the sand along with the Marlin that he'd been fighting. The hook was still in its mouth. Harold decided that even though he hadn't reeled it in himself, he'd still consider it his catch.

Before Harold or Bernice could do anything else, they were buzzed by an Archimedes helicopter passing right over their boat. The pilot of the chopper paused briefly, taking a look down to assess the situation. Once he'd determined they were in no immediate distress, he moved on, continuing to follow Godzilla.

…

Back in Japan, two days had passed since the military's battle with Gaira. Dr. Majida had made a remarkable discovery in the interim. The cells of the two Gargantuas matched perfectly. Not only were they two members of the same species, but also blood relatives, perhaps brothers. Since the battle, neither of the Gargantuas had been sighted, despite numerous helicopter patrols. It had been noted during the attack at the airport that Gaira was particularly interested in the sounds aircraft made. Perhaps he'd learned to avoid them. Such as it was, a new approach was required.

Akira and his air group were brought into the fold. Their company was being trained as Japan's specialized anti-Kaiju unit, earmarked specifically for dealing with monsters. Each of the pilots had seen combat with at least one or more Kaiju over the course of their careers, none of them more so than Akira though. Thus, he was the obvious choice for command. Akira suggested something new and innovative for locating their quarry. He advised using high-altitude spy planes to comb the search area, utilizing their belly cameras to spot the monsters from afar. If they kept the jets flying sub-supersonic, there would be no sonic booms to give away their approach and they would be too far up to be spotted by the naked eye. The brass like the idea and approved it promptly. With a plan in place, it was quickly put in motion.

The next day, Akira found himself escorting one of the spy aircraft in his fighter. Both of their aircraft were flying so slowly, it felt like they were loitering in the sky like leaves on the wind. After three hours, Akira was starting to regret suggesting this strategy. The mission was an intensely boring slog. Dr. Stuwart encouraged them to concentrate their efforts on areas containing large bodies of water and they were doing just that. Gaira seemed to be adapted to life in water, and he had demonstrated a certain level of dependence on regular contact with it.

"I think I have something, sir." The spy plane's pilot radioed over to Akira, waking him out of his near stupor.

"What do you got?" Akira replied back.

"Down below, sir." He answered. "Probable contact."

"Very well, I'll go have a closer look." Akira put his plane into a lazy dive. Little by little, the landscape below grew in detail. Before long, Akira could make out two moving objects, one brown and one green. As he got closer, Akira realized it was the Gargantuas. They were still together. Not only that, but they were fighting. Akira saw the brown one club the green one hard with the trunk of a tree. After that, an all-out brawl erupted between the two of them. The Gargantuas tossed each other around for a while, but in the end, it was a fight the brown one seemed to win. Gaira was sent running, and Sanda, as the Brown Gargantua was now being called, quickly gave chase. "Base, this is Akira. I've spotted the targets. It looks like the two brothers have had a bit of a falling out. They're on the move, heading south."

…

Over the next couple of hours, several things became apparent. First, the military realized that Gaira was heading directly towards Tokyo again. Second, Sanda was in hot pursuit of him. Gaira was smaller and faster, so he'd managed to put a little distance between himself and his brother, but he'd never quite managed to shake him. Third, the military discovered that Gaira had no interest in fighting them whatsoever. He ran right through several of their defense lines, not even bothering to slow down when they shot at him. His sole concern seemed to be escaping. The final thing, Gaira had apparently gotten over his fear of bright lights. All of Tokyo was lit up like Las Vegas as he approached, but it didn't dissuade him from entering the city.

The military was scrambling to get their forces inside the city to defend the population. Unfortunately, they had been caught flatfooted. It was too late to evacuate anyone. They never expected Gaira to be bold enough to enter the boundaries of Tokyo. That was an oversight which could cost the residents dearly. Tanks, trucks, troops, and Masers flooded into the city streets to intercept Gaira before he could cause too much havoc.

Once inside Tokyo, Gaira slowed down. His urge to escape was trumped by his urge to eat. There were numerous opportunities around him that were hard to ignore. Gaira stalked the streets, his eyes darting around looking for targets. All too soon, he found vulnerable people to victimize. The streets were jammed with cars stuck in gridlock. Those who were too slow to abandon their vehicles fell under Gaira's grasp. He picked up a convertible full of screaming passengers and emptied it out. He discarded the car the moment it was out of meaty goodies.

Just down the street, two Masers and an escorting platoon of tanks were closing in on Gaira. He spotted them and well-remembered the thrashing they'd given him earlier. Gaira immediately took flight again, making his way to the harbor area. Freedom was within sight. As soon as Gaira was back in the ocean, he'd be safe from the military's retaliation. Once he'd lost them, he could come back and hit any Japanese coastal town he liked with impunity. The Japanese shoreline would be his to control, and his to ravage. There was only one major problem though. The Japanese coast had already been claimed by another monster. A bigger and meaner one, and he just so happened to be rising up out of Tokyo Bay at that very moment.

Godzilla suddenly appeared in the middle of Gaira's escape route. Gaira stopped on sight, his feet skidding along the cement as he slid to a halt. After that, Gaira just stood there staring in shock. The monster before him was probably twice his size. Godzilla wasn't actually a whole lot taller than Gaira, but he was built ever so much more solid. The sheer amount of mass Godzilla displaced with his heavier frame wasn't lost on Gaira either. The Green Gargantua wasn't sure what to do next. He wasn't certain of the new arrival's intentions. Gaira took up a defensive stance just to be safe. He was clearly intimidated by Godzilla. He shrieked out a warning to stay away, but it was a warning that was wholly ignored. Godzilla advanced out of Tokyo Bay and directly towards Gaira. Gaira impulsively rushed at Godzilla and attempted to push him over. Gaira, however, bounced off Godzilla like he'd hit a solid wall. The King of the Monsters hardly budged at all. His body mass, along with his tail, kept him well-anchored.

Gaira took a step back, alarmed that his attack had gone so poorly. He wasn't given any time to try anything else. Godzilla swiped at Gaira with his clawed hand and sent him tumbling away. Gaira recovered quickly, using his agility to spring right back to his feet. Gaira realized that a frontal assault had been a bad idea and so he shifted tactics. He wheeled around Godzilla's left side in an effort to get behind him. Godzilla countered by trying to sweep the legs out from under Gaira with his tail, but the Green Gargantua was nimble enough to jump over it as it flew under him.

Gaira landed, summersaulting forward, and rolling headfirst back onto his feet. The maneuver gave Gaira an edge in position. Godzilla was facing the completely wrong direction at that point. Gaira took advantage, running up and jumping onto Godzilla's back. He secured his position by wrapping one arm around Godzilla's neck while pounding the back of his head with his free fist. The boney spines protruding out of the back of Godzilla's head quickly made that strategy unappealing for Gaira to pursue any further. Instead, he lurched forward with his tusked mouth and bit into the side of Godzilla's neck. This tactic proved to be more fruitful as his teeth sank deep into Godzilla's flesh. Blood began to drip from the wound, which helped Gaira's confidence. He'd finally done some damage.

Godzilla wasn't just going to sit there and take it though. The King of the Monsters staggered forward, bent down, and then bucked Gaira clean off. Gaira was sent crashing head over heels into a building. The whole structure collapsed under his weight. Gaira was dazed, sitting upside down in the rubble. Godzilla didn't wait for him to recover. He came forward with an outstretched foot, planning to step onto Gaira's head. Gaira saw it coming and got his hands up just in time to keep his face from being stomped in. Undeterred, Godzilla simply switched targets and stamped onto Gaira's chest instead. The blow knocked the wind out of Gaira. The Green Gargantua feebly tried to deflect the follow up attacks, but he was in real trouble. Godzilla had the opportunity to finish him off right then and there.

As Godzilla prepared to bring his foot down again, this time with all of his body weight behind it, he was suddenly pulled backwards. His foot came down and missed Gaira's head by just two meters. Godzilla angrily turned and looked back to see that Sanda was standing behind him and had pulled on his tale, dragging him away from Gaira. When Sanda saw that Godzilla was looking at him, he flinched, understanding that he had brought all of the King of the Monster's attention to himself. Sanda was about to drop Godzilla's tail, but it was already too late. Godzilla whipped his tail as hard as he could and sent Sanda stumbling backwards into another building, leveling it.

Godzilla turned his attention back to Gaira, but the Green Gargantua had disappeared from his resting place. Gaira suddenly charged into Godzilla's side and latched onto his arm, biting down hard again. Godzilla roared and threw Gaira forward over his hip in a judo-like movement. Gaira landed hard on his back, once again in a vulnerable position. Godzilla's back spines lit up. He was preparing to unleash a devastating strike with his atomic breath. Godzilla was stopped short though. Sanda came up and struck him in the back of the head with a construction crane that he'd pulled out from the ground. The steel frame crumpled around Godzilla's face from the force of the swing.

Infuriated, Godzilla turned his attention to Sanda. His atomic attack was still building up. Sanda recognized the danger and hastily beat a retreat. He ducked behind a building for cover and kept running to put as much distance between himself and Godzilla as possible. Godzilla tried to follow Sanda with his breath, but it was just a split second behind him as it discharged. The beam cut right through the buildings Sanda was using as a shield. One by one, three buildings folded in half as they were caught up in the firestorm. Sanda, on the other hand, got away unscathed. Gaira meanwhile had snatched up a train car full of passengers and launched it at Godzilla. It sailed through the air and struck him in the jaw, stopping the assault with his atomic breath. A whole city block was already on fire by that point.

The military had been taking up positions at various intersections, and were watching the battle unfold. They were waiting to launch a coordinated attack, but with the fight escalating so quickly and property damage going up drastically, they couldn't justify waiting anymore. Tanks and Masers opened up on all three of the monsters, though Godzilla was the most obvious target. He was the biggest, slowest, and most stationary. Sanda and Gaira also got hit, but much less often. The two of them were moving around and actively trying to avoid being struck. Godzilla on the other hand just shrugged off most of the military's firepower. He felt the Maser's beams, but they weren't doing any visible damage to him. Despite the pain, Godzilla ignored the military and focused on the two Gargantuas, deeming them as the greater threat.

The harbor area was taking a pounding. Missed shots from the Masers and tanks were blowing away chunks of buildings around the monsters, raining down debris. The fight was going Godzilla's way. He was unyielding, just absorbing all of the punishment the Gargantuas were throwing at him while any damage they took was compounding as the battle dragged on.

Sanda and Gaira attacked Godzilla from both sides simultaneously, dividing his attention. Gaira came in first like a savage, slashing wildly at Godzilla's face with his claws. Sanda put more thought into his attack, hitting Godzilla in the back with a chunk of cement that he'd pulled away from one of the demolished buildings. Then Sanda grappled with Godzilla, giving Gaira a chance to score a more meaningful blow. Gaira wrapped his hands around Godzilla's neck, trying to choke the life out of him. For his efforts, Gaira was blasted at close range by Godzilla's atomic breath, which sent him flying backwards. He crashed through a building and was blown clear through to the other side. Gaira was badly burnt in the attack. His hide simply could not withstand the power of Godzilla's breath.

Curiously, Godzilla ignored Sanda, who was still holding onto him. Instead, he kept going after Gaira, who was trying to recover on the ground. Sanda was doing everything in his power to keep Godzilla away from Gaira, but it wasn't working. Again, he resorted to clutching onto Godzilla's tail to hold him back. Sanda dug his heels into the street and eventually managed to bring Godzilla to a standstill. Soon enough though, the King of the Monsters grew annoyed with Sanda's antics and lifted him clean off the ground with the strength of his tail. As soon as Sanda was as high as Godzilla could lift him, the King of the Monsters brought him back down to the earth hard. Both of Sanda's legs got crushed underneath Godzilla's tail when it landed, and he was forced to let go. Sanda was clearly hurt in the exchange, grasping at his left knee. Godzilla had a golden opportunity to go after the Brown Gargantua at that moment but chose not to. Instead, he continued to focus his attention on Gaira.

By that point, Gaira had already retreated though. Being true to his cowardly nature, the Green Gargantua chose to abandon his brother to Godzilla's wrath. Not caring at all what happened to Sanda, Gaira was solely focused on his own survival. Gaira assumed Sanda's demise would buy him a couple of minutes to escape, not realizing that Godzilla was already hot on his trail. Looking back, Gaira saw in horror that Godzilla was pursuing him. He jumped into the water and began to swim as fast as he could to get away. Godzilla crashed into the bay behind him, giving chase.

Lagging far behind, Sanda was hobbling after Godzilla and Gaira. He didn't have a chance of catching either of them though. Clearly, he had a banged-up leg. Sanda slipped into the water and paddled away from Tokyo. While the port-quarter of the city had sustained heavy damage, overall, Tokyo had managed to come out of the battle relatively intact considering three Kaiju had been battling in the streets.