//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 – Hooves First into Hell // Story: A King to a God // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Black Skull Island T.I.T.A.N. Airship Tigerhawk Three Minutes Fifteen Seconds to Drop All it would take was one minute. One minute to drop, to fall, to land and break out. Everything after that was unknown. What they could control—what they thought they could—was the drop in that single minute. But anything could happen in that minute. That was the truth. That was the reality Bon Bon had to convince herself of. Nothing was written. Whatever could happen could very well just happen. Having served her country and her species for eleven years now had proven to Bon Bon that she had to expect anything. When it came to the potential enemy they faced, it was an unpredictable world of chaos. They, as what they liked to believe to be the most dominant species on the planet, also wanted to believe they could control such chaos, to will it into order. That was what some wanted to believe the mission was all about. Bon Bon almost believed that same ideal a long time ago, but she knew better. She had enough experience to know they were not the most dominant species. There were others, other kings and other gods who ruled their world long before they claimed such a crown. Bon Bon was not ignorant; she knew of these gods. She knew of their power. She didn’t fight in a false belief, thinking that she and her people could control such chaos. She fought only to better their chances in surviving the Titans’ world. It was that mindset that cleared her of any other potential hubris. That was what made her a special agent, one of the best of the best. That was why she was called for such a mission, to help lead the flaming torch of hope for all of T.I.T.A.N. into dangerous, uncharted realms. That was what led her to Black Skull Island. She and her wife Lyra. She turned to eye her, and Bon Bon sincerely asked, “You all right?” Together, the two of them sat in the launch bay of the Tigerhawk, one of their strongest and most well-fortified flying fortresses. It was rather dark and dreary within the interior, towering steel walls coated in red warning lights. The cold metal of the bench they sat on didn’t help the cold trying to creep into their lungs, into their hearts. But they remained strong, letting the warmth of one another keep them relatively at ease. The Tigerhawk airship bumped and rattled nearly every second, the deep, thundering booms echoing just outside the walls of the launch bay. They were both wearing black jumpsuits, militaristic gauntlets attached to their forelegs. Only the best and most advanced weaponry courtesy of T.I.T.A.N., or the Tactical Investigative Titan Assimilation Nexus. So many others mirrored their attire, from special agents to elite soldiers of the organization almost crowding the launch bay. Ponies from all three races were present and mixed about, alongside griffons, Hippogriffs, younger dragons, and even a changeling or two. It was a global organization for a reason. The best of the best were called from every nation to lead the mission. Though the aquamarine unicorn would have never considered herself a part of that demographic. She was nowhere near the best, and was willing to admit that. Although, Lyra wasn’t much of a rookie when it came to T.I.T.A.N. She had been training and serving the organization for a little over a year now, but this was still technically her first major outing. Her first mission. T.I.T.A.N.’s first military campaign since the Battle of the Three Kings. So when she quivered lightly against the bench they sat on, flinching to almost every sound outside the airship, Bon Bon didn’t blame her. A little showing of nerves was nothing to be ashamed of. Bon Bon almost anticipated it from her, despite the glowing excitement Lyra had shown back in Ponyville. Just the prospects of traveling to unknown lands was enough for Lyra to let her excitable attitude get the better of her common sense. And now, reality was starting to set in. Even the special agent wasn’t numb to the nerves herself, feeling them washing over her shivering hooves. But she did well to hide them, though she couldn’t say the same for Lyra. “Huh?” Lyra mumbled mindlessly, staring wide-eyed dead ahead and to no particular soul. It was only until she finally turned to meet Bon Bon’s eyes did she snap out of it. “O-oh, yeah, yeah! Yeah, no sweat, just… just a little bit of the jitters, you know? Not every day you fall straight from a perfectly good airship, but here we are.” “What, I thought you loved jumping?” Lyra playfully punched Bon Bon’s shoulder, no mistaking the smirk she saw on her lips as well. “Shut up…” she chuckled. Bon Bon’s smirk fell, and she pursed her lips, building a withering smile to hopefully help Lyra. “Quite a big leap from training sessions back home, huh?” Lyra nodded rapidly, taking in several deep and controlled breaths. She pressed a hoof to her abdomen, weakly grinning. “I feel like my stomach is already down there just… waiting for the rest of me to meet it,” Lyra said with humor, with a forced chuckle. The anxious gulp was quick to follow. Though she tried her best to excel in her confidence, it just simply wasn’t possible. Not entirely. Not yet. Bon Bon pulled out her necklace, to where her wedding ring hung snuggly from the silver chain. She made sure Lyra’s eyes were lifted her way when she said it. When she promised, “I’m not going anywhere.” For a moment, no sound and no chaos in the outside world could have deterred the two from one another. It was only their eyes that mattered, the look they both shared and relished within. Lyra did the same, pulling out the same ring concealed under her jumpsuit. The rings of promise dangled in front of them, and Lyra couldn’t help but flick her gaze to each. Eventually always turning her eyes back to her. “Don’t leave my side. Not a second, you hear?” Lyra asked, with lingering fear and hopeful ambition. Finding enough hope to see that smile she loved grace Bon Bon’s lips. Followed by one heck of a fierce nod. “Count it,” Bon Bon told her. That seemed to calm Lyra’s nerves considerably. It was no minimal comfort. It was a bond the two had formed and promised to uphold. It would never waiver, never shatter. Not even when the launch bay doors opened and the Crystal Prince announced his presence loud to all within the bay. The moment Shining Armor stomped into the launch bay was the same moment Lyra and Bon Bon stuffed their wedding rings back into the safety of their jumpsuits. Every creature, everyone at once turned accordingly to their leader. To one of the two heads helming the T.I.T.A.N. operation to Black Skull Island. He wore their same fatigues, dark armor and gauntlets gripping his body while a sword was tucked tightly in its sheath around his flank. With his eyes set on the elite soldiers, newcomers and volunteers alike, Shining nodded with a powerful bellow, “All right, everyone pile in to the dropships! We’re one minute to drop!” One minute to drop. And then one more minute to fall, Bon Bon thought. A tiny gasp left her lips, followed by several heavy breaths exhaled from her nostrils. It was a clustering madhouse that followed Shining’s order. Creatures moved back and forth rapidly, gathering their remaining gear, saying their final goodbyes to one another, or uttering one last prayer. For protection. For each other. The steel doors on the walls of the launch bay slid open, and the teams piled into the dropships awaiting them on the other side. The lighting was not any better in the dropships than in the launch bay. Darkness dangled above, several harnesses available for everypony and every creature to tighten themselves down. Armor, swords, and even the experimental firearms were locked in place against the hardened shells of the dropships’ walls, each creature doing what was necessary to ensure they were strapped in for the drop. Thirty seconds. Bon Bon counted every last one. Her eyes darted quickly to Shining Armor, the stallion ensuring everyone was safely inside the dropships. She listened to every word he roared. Lowering his hoof from his communications device in his ear, Shining declared, “Got word from our pilots! We’re zeroing in over the landing site! Keep your radios blazing and keep your dropships steady! Pilots, you know what to do on my word! When we land, we’re going to regroup immediately! Target is a few klicks from the site… but a Skullcrawler nest was confirmed near the target! Can’t risk a bombardment without damaging or destroying the target, and too dangerous to land straight in that mess, so we’ll need heavy armor support to clear it! We drop outside, fight our way through, wait for reinforcements to drop in after us!” He hopped in his own pod, in his own dropship with his own elite squad already strapped in and waiting for their captain. Gazing out the open door, his eyes lingered with the others gazing right on back at him. He stared straight ahead and met Bon Bon’s eyes. Saw Lyra just the same. A brief moment of chilling worry washed through Shining’s heart, that he just as quickly exhaled out. “Remember your training… Follow my lead, and you’ll make it through this!” “Yes, sir!” they all unanimously called back. Special Agent Bon Bon nodded to him. Lyra nodded, too. Shining Armor nodded as well. “Good luck… all of you!” The doors closed, and darkness enveloped their world. The beeping sounds of what seemed like a final countdown ringed in their ears, and Lyra trembled. Bon Bon’s hoof slowly snaked around hers. “You ready for this?” Bon Bon asked to the darkness. She felt her hoof tighten against Bon Bon’s. The red lights burst to life inside, unveiling Lyra’s confidence brimming on her expression. On her smirk. In her bright, narrowed eyes. “Ready.” The alarms sounded when the countdown had ended, and the hatches were open. The locks were released. The dropships fell. One final gasp was sounded from each mare before they felt their worlds plummet at increasing speeds. Every single second, they only fell faster. The others with them, an entire squadron of equine T.I.T.A.N. soldiers, bumped and bounced in their harnesses, hooves gripping their chairs and straps as tight as ever. Lyra and Bon Bon’s hooves grasped each other’s ever so tighter. The wind howled—or perhaps something else did—just outside the hull of their dropship. They were thrashed about in their freefall, but otherwise maintained structural integrity. T.I.T.A.N. technology was the best of the best. It was tried and tested to keep them safe from most natural intervention. While in the midst of their descent, Bon Bon whispering the countdown to herself, she popped open one eye when a burly stallion further on the other end of the dropship started to shout. “Sure seems a lot faster than basic training, doesn’t it?!” he called out. Bon Bon shut her eye, responding with a shake of her head, “Keep your breath, soldier! Don’t wanna lose it up at this altitude!” She could feel Lyra’s hoof tighten against hers, a sharp inhale filling the unicorn’s lungs. Possibly as a precaution to Bon Bon’s warning. “Just trying to soothe our spirits, Special Agent!” the stallion retorted with a smile, bouncing up and down in his seat. He didn’t have much else to say. None of them did when a fresh, natural light began to pour into the near-darkness of the dropship interior. The steel plating outside slid open, a hardened glass window shrouding a portion of the dropship’s windshield. It gave the inhabitants inside the vehicles a clear enough look of what the outside world appeared to be, of what they were falling into. And what they were could hardly be fathomed. What they saw in that crimson glow was like staring into the face of Tartarus itself. One by one, each of the dropships came into view around them. They descended as a singular unit, noses down, short wings extended, breaking through the dark clouds and into even darker tides of warfare hardly every witnessed by the mortal eye. What very little seconds they had, they witnessed as much as they could. The clouds parted to give way to a burning, apocalyptic battleground many hundred feet below them. Fires the size of entire forests coated the land, filled the horizon and painted the world in a horrific canvas of black, red, and orange. Rain pelted their windshield with untamed ferocity. Airships came and went with rapidly increasing speeds, with golden Solar Bolt aircraft zooming around the war in the skies as the monsters warred on the earth. There they were. In all their terror and glory. Moving shadows of creatures battling for dominance in the fires. Titanic forces of nature slashing, tearing, beating, and roaring at one another in a war for the ages. They were too numerous to count, and with their dropships falling faster and faster, it seemed all but impossible to keep track of it all. In the madness, what they could see was a numberless horde of flying demons attacking their forces in the sky. That was what the Solar Bolts battled against, an enemy that attacked their airships and dropships in a swarm unlike any other. A swarm that came from the earth, from below, to attack their world and their way of life up above. An appropriately named Hell Swarm, they attacked with hellish fury. T.I.T.A.N. responded in kind, the Solar Bolts flying back and forth across the dropships’ windshields and pelting the flying monsters with rounds of piercing-hot ammunition. In torn bodies coated in blood, the Hellspawn fell. To join the hundreds of bodies of numerous other creatures big and small painting the growing battlefield below. It was that battlefield where the noses of their dropships were directed. That’s where they fell. Closer by the second. The flaming hellscape of Black Skull Island. Their radios were suddenly alive, one of the nearby dropship pilots shouting, “Uh, be advised, we got a pack of Skullcrawlers moving into our designated landing zone! Captain Shining Armor, what say you?!” Shining’s voice filled their ears from the comms units they all shared, and his unmistaken roar said, “We need that landing site free of any Titan interference! Any nearby airships, we need an immediate bombardment!” A heavy, almost emotionless voice responded simply with: “Copy. Clearing the earth.” And in a stunning display of ponykind’s own power, the T.I.T.A.N. airships all around and above them armed the cannons hanging from their underbellies and opened fire. Bon Bon and Lyra and pretty much everypony inside the dropship lost their collective breaths. Eyes wide, reflecting the raining fires, they could see it all from where they were. The streaking lights of an aerial bombardment descended faster than they could onto the awaiting earth. From it came an earth-shattering eruption, very well shattering the earth and coating it in fresh flames in the process. A pure, effective firebombing that undoubtedly cleared out any hostile presence. They kept up the bombardment, pelting the Hell Swarm, the raging Titans, until it was finished. With their objective achieved, the airships hovered in minimal silence, Shining Armor giving them all an astounding thanks. A red light washed over their eyes, meshed with flashing bolts of bright white lightning in the dark storm. In that crimson embrace that only covered them further across their faces and now bodies, the same overly optimistic T.I.T.A.N. soldier from earlier had the audacity to start smiling. Then, he grinned. Then, he started chuckling, laughing even. “Dropping right into the fires, everypony!” he cheered, laughing aloud. “You all know that old cadence, right?! Used to sing it all the time in basic training when we plunged into the oceans!” “What’s he going on about now?!” another soldier asked, but he got his answer. They all did. “We cheat Death from his rightful victory!” His words came out as a bellowing chant, hardly a song as he had mentioned. Immediately, the words were familiar to Bon Bon, were familiar to nearly everypony. And he seemingly waited, holding that grin as he turned to each one of them. The dropship bumped and rattled. The monsters roared and raged. The storm screeched. “No one can defeat us!” The responding chant was heard, but it didn’t come from him. They all looked over, especially the stallion, and saw the unicorn mare slowly starting to grin in her harness. He grinned right on back at her, moments before opening his mouth to sing. “We are glad to plunge…” Another voice followed him. “… hooves first into hell…” Followed by another, one that shocked them all. Especially Lyra, turning to the mare on her left to hear and see her sing, “… in the knowledge that we will rise!” “Hooves first into hell! We will rise!” they all responded in kind, chanting, almost finally harmoniously singing in a sense. Bon Bon got into it, bringing back old memories of her early years in T.I.T.A.N. She couldn’t help it. The comradery was there, refueled her heart with the strength it needed. The smiles were infectious, a wicked grin almost growing across Bon Bon’s lips as she shut her eyes in a strange sense of peace. Maybe finding peace in the chaos. Lyra watched them in a glazed sense of awe filling her eyes. Just as suddenly as it was given, that peace was ripped away when the dropship next to them exploded in a flurry of charred steel and vicious flames. Bon Bon’s eyes popped open when she heard the blast. She stared at the windshield above her, and only caught a glimpse of it outside of the fire. Only saw a mere blur of black that tore through the dropship on their right and just as quickly disappeared into the storm. Following it was an echoing screech that could have very well made her ears bleed had the windshield not protected them. Following the screech, however, would not be yielded by a simple, reinforced glass shield. Following the screech was its following. And the Hell Swarm attacked their ship. They attacked all of the dropships, attempting to wipe them out in one singular wave. The bat-like creatures clawed and bit and slammed themselves against the ships. They went for the wings, for the engines, and succeeded in taking down two more dropships and everyone inside. Bon Bon and Lyra watched as they fell around them, all in flames and shredded apart. A bolt of lightning tore the storm in two, and within the clouds Bon Bon could see it. The damaged wings spread to their limit. The twin horns atop its head. Its long, spiked tail rallying behind it. Alongside its legion. Her eyes grew even wider. Her breath trembled. Finding no voice, she then watched as the blur in the storm suddenly turned back their way. “Pilots, flares out! Flares out!” Shining Armor’s voice ordered. Bon Bon was thankful she wasn’t piloting the dropship, because she would not have obeyed. She would not have listened. All she could do was stare into the pale, dead eyes breaking out of the storm and nearing their windshield. Blinding lights broke out around them, forcing the Hell Swarm to break away and flee as the flares erupted from each remaining dropship. It was so intense that even the inhabitants of each ship flinched away from the light. Something responded. Something broke away into the depths of the black storm. Something screamed. “All right, dropships, slow your descent! Repulsive thrusters now!” Bon Bon opened her eyes and realized that whatever had come out of the storm was gone. She blinked and blinked again to see the ground rapidly approaching. A sudden jolt filled them, and Bon Bon and Lyra felt their stomachs churn at the sensation. For their dropship, like all the others, engaged in the landing sequence. Parachutes shot out from their hulls, expanding greatly as each ship’s nose was raised, and their engines expelled a great fire. An explosive force of energy that ignited in order to slow them down was seen bursting forth from their thrusters. The earth was nearing by the second, and everypony could see the mountains rising around them, the burning palm trees becoming taller. “Activate landing gear!” Wheels and skis fell from the opening bellies of each dropship, and they slowly made their final descent. Their black hulls camouflaged well with the scorched earth, shrouded in the rising smoke of the burning corpses of fallen Skullcrawlers and other fearsome creatures. Then, finally, they touched down, and the solid floor of the blackened grass was their greeter. One minute. Somewhere, in the dark recesses of her mind that wasn’t locked in a constant fight for survival, Bon Bon was still counting. And she counted one minute. She released a deep breath billowing within her, just as her harnesses were released and she nearly collapsed on the steel floor of the dropship. Lyra was there with her, her hoof intertwined with her own, never leaving her side. Sensing that comfort and turning to meet it, Bon Bon tightened her posture at the look of constant fear trying to flush over Lyra’s confidence. She needed to be strong. For her. For each other. The doors opened and the forces of T.I.T.A.N. piled out into uncharted and unknown terrain. As they did so, they made sure to grab their gear and weaponry. Swords and firearms were taken hanging from the dropship interiors. And Bon Bon, in a moment of uncertainty, eventually grabbed the rifle her eyes were lingering on for a second too long. Stepping onto the charred grass, Bon Bon flung the rifle over her shoulder, tightening the strap so the firearm didn’t fall away from her. Lyra did the same, grabbing a similar rifle and slinging it over shoulder, the weapon resting on her back. She took a sword as well, tightening the sheath around her waist via magic. Together, they led their squad in a galloping charge across the earth toward the lead dropship. But even then, they couldn’t help but stare. In a way, nopony could help themselves. The meshed horrors of the dark and the light earth and skies was unapparelled to anything they had seen thus far. Rising embers from the burning earth blazed the horizon, ascending into the black clouds that swirled and battled above. Rain pelted the island to calm the fires, but even then they were uncontrolled. Uncontained. Deep in the distance, they could see and hear the Titans engaged in a ferocious type of war. One that Bon Bon, Lyra, and Shining Armor especially knew all too well. This was no mere exodus to Black Skull Island. It could not have been some random seismic activity. It was something much deeper, much more sinister, and even far grander than that. All thoughts could be saved for later. All that mattered was instinct, was focus, as they reached the lead dropship and Shining Armor stepped in front of the crowd. “This is it! Can’t stop now! Everyone, group up and stay close; don’t veer off and don’t fight any fights you can’t win! We’re going to finish this together, understand?!” “Yes, sir!” they all responded. From equine, dragon, griffon, Hippogriff, and changeling. All the same T.I.T.A.N. All the brave that volunteered. Shining’s horn shimmered and he ripped his sword free from his sheath, lifting the blade high over his head. “On me!” he shouted, and took off. And they all followed. Into the foggy mists, into the suffocating smoke, into the fire and into the war. A charging stampede was their rallying cry, hooves and claws and wings tearing through the grass and air as they all moved as a single unit. As a living, breathing, battling body that fought for survival into the oncoming tide of madness. Though they were not consumed by it. They tore through its heart, through its soul, and ensured nothing stopped or distracted them from their target. As they ran and flew as one, they avoided as much as they could. They did not fight any fights that were not theirs, did not engage in any battles they knew they couldn’t win. Per Shining’s order, of course, but also for the sake of common sense. Black Skull Island held a myriad of dangerous fauna, as well as flora, and sometimes the hardest part was distinguishing which was which. Almost as hard as surviving. Though the world—and even Equestria to a degree—held a wide assortment of mythical creatures and fantastical, natural beings, Black Skull Island was another beast altogether. None of it seemed real. Hardly any of the creatures they witnessed resembled anything of the world they knew. They seemed otherworldly, reigning from a different era. A different world, even. Then there were the beasts they did know, the ones that T.I.T.A.N. had kept records of and followed their paths of destruction. It had been relatively quiet since the Battle of the Three Kings. But now something had stirred them into a frenzy. Something had awoken their natural, primal instincts of war, conflict, and death. The Titans were engaged. Some they knew, and others they didn’t. Others that had recently awoken and came into T.IT.A.N.’s radar in the prior months. Regardless, they were all locked in heated and deadly combat. Battling for dominance, the Titans raged on the outskirts of their path. Many heads were turned to the jungles and the mountains and the valleys outside of their charge. If only to catch a glimpse of the sheer magnitude of their reach, of their power. Flying high, the multicolored wings and feathers belonging only to Quetzalcoatl were a stunning change to the crimson-coated environment. Those wings were locked with another’s, and soon the two Titans crashed into the jungles and ripped up mounds of earth and trees. When they rose, Quetzalcoatl opened his beak and unleashed a petrifying shriek. Shinomura rose to meet him, its blue scales reflecting the fires. Its wings, as black as night, extending in a show of intimidation. Quetzalcoatl was hardly intimidated. He glared it down with his yellow eyes narrowing, and Shinomura roared in defiance. They leaped for one another, clashed in mid-air, and took to the skies once more in their ferocious battle in the smoke and clouds. “Keep going! Don’t stop now!” Shining’s voice echoed in the chaotic fog. They didn’t stop. They couldn’t, no matter how much they wanted to linger and spectate the insurmountable beasts tearing each other apart. For across the mountain range on their right, Amhuluk was leaping from one peak to the next, his claws digging fiercely across the rocky surfaces of each mountain. He was tackled, driven to the valley below and that much closer to the T.I.T.A.N. troop. Rolling and pushing his attacker off, Amhuluk was not prepared for the sudden swipe that Bunyip dealt to him. His tusks were driven, and tore through Amhuluk’s shoulder blade that made the writhing Titan cry out in agony. Ripping a chunk of twisted vines and broken earth from the beast’s body, Bunyip fell back as Amhuluk’s claw extended far beyond the natural limit, slicing a clean cut across his face, and sending the Titan down onto the valley. Amhuluk screamed and dove for the kill, meeting only the end of Bunyip’s tail whipping him across the tendrils and launching the Titan clear across the valley. There were others. More Titans and kaiju clashing in the distance and shrouded by the smoke and fires of their desolation. Fires spread by Titans that breathed such fury. Fires falling from the skies by the airships clearing a path for their soldiers. But their war was not just condensed to their superspecies. Many more were locked in the battle, a battle in the very place they called home. Local beasts, creatures—maybe even some that could be identified as Titans to some degree—attacked one another in waves upon waves of unending death. Sirenjaws leaped from rivers and lakes to slaughter the Magma Turtles that dared to challenge them in their territory. They waded around, appearing like islands in the vast waters, to witness the turtles moving into their lakes to escape the fires. Normally docile, without any natural predators, the Magma Turtles were driven to defense when chaos erupted all throughout the ecosystem. Something stirred the Sirenjaws into madness, attacking anything that came near. And the Magma Turtles, in a frenzy, unwillingly fell in their territory. The battle raged across the lakes and rivers, some Sirenjaws unable to break the hardened, rocky shells of the beasts as the Magma Turtles swarmed them one by one. While others, having successfully killed a turtle, experienced only agony when their volcanic blood set the Sirenjaws aflame. The lakes and rivers were outside of their path, and T.I.T.A.N. did not interfere. It was only until the towering limbs of the Mother Longlegs nearly impaled a pony or two did they finally hesitate, react, and fight back. A pack of Mother Longlegs were breaking through the tree line, stampeding across the grassy valley where T.I.T.A.N. was currently trapped. There were dozens of them, scaling up to twenty or more feet. But they weren’t alone. A rival pack of Sker Buffaloes stormed out of the trees all the same, meshed within the towering legs of the spiders. And they were all being attacked by the same thing. Leafwings, Psychovultures, the flying creatures swarmed the much larger beasts in countless numbers. The Mother Longlegs were practically blinded by the avian reptiles, stomping and rushing forth in an unhinged frenzy as they tried desperately to fight back, to flee. The Sker Buffalo pack faced the same threat, swinging their forked horns viciously to and fro to fight off the Psychovultures. They unintentionally knocked out the legs of the spiders in the process, bringing down multiple Mother Longlegs and crushing them beneath their hooves. In the stampede, Shining Armor, Bon Bon, Lyra, and the bravest T.I.T.A.N. had to offer stood and scrambled. Avoiding the piercing legs of the spiders that came crashing down all around them. Some griffons within their ranks whipped out their newest technological achievement, decades in the making and only perfected through T.I.T.A.N.’s support. Several of the griffons took arms and aimed their bolt-action rifles to the sky, firing away at the avian terrors and the Longlegs. The blasts from the rifles signaled for the rest of the squad to take action. And Shining Armor did, levitating his sword and slicing through the legs that crashed in his path. Slicing at any flying beast that dared to swoop down and attack his soldiers. “Push through!” Shining ordered, cutting and severing multiple legs as he did so. Reacting properly, and knowing she didn’t have a sword like Shining Armor, Bon Bon gazed down to the gauntlet attached to her left foreleg. Her breath faltered, but after a moment of clarity, she hardened her glare and whipped out her hoof. Instantly, a silver blade extended from the gauntlet, locking in place and glistening in the fires around it. By pure instinct, Bon Bon charged into the forest of limbs and sliced her way through. Many others, those who wielded the same gauntlets and those who wielded swords, charged with her. They cut and sawed and fought, Shining and Bon Bon clearing an optimal path for their soldiers to take so not a single one of them were impaled. However, the limbs, once severed, spewed a deadly poison and caught whoever wasn’t fast enough to avoid the flailing liquid. The vile venom blinded one of their soldiers, his screams echoing across the field as he clutched his face and fell to the ground. Their attempts to save him were squandered when a rushing buffalo crushed the lone pony. No longer hearing his screams, and with no other option, they pushed on. Before long, they exited the packs of Mother Longlegs and Sker Buffaloes, but entered another trial, another face of Hell. Psychovultures swarmed them once out of the stampede, the T.I.T.A.N. squad utilizing all of their training, natural instincts, and advanced weaponry to fight them off and escape. Unfortunately, they escaped with one more taken from them. A pack of the vultures attacked a lingering stallion and dragged him across the grass, eventually carrying him to the sky and ripping him apart. The Leafwings and the Psychovultures fought for the fresh kill, and if anything, gave T.I.T.A.N. enough of a distraction to escape. Lyra nearly gagged at the sight, Bon Bon forcing herself away. Shining tightened his jaws and galloped even faster. This would not be in vain, he raged in his thoughts. Their sacrifices would not be for nothing. None of their sacrifices would be in vain. Not the dropships that didn’t make it in the descent. Not the brave lives they lost evading the battles engulfing Black Skull Island. Not the squad of T.I.T.A.N. soldiers to their far right fighting off a Mire Squid, grabbing and flinging multiple ponies into the air, dragging even more into the depths of the lake. They would make it out of this. They would finish the mission. Shining Armor sweared. Only his thoughts, his promises were stalled when their continued luck seemed to finally run dry. And it came from the flailing beast fiercely thrown and crashing through the trees, through the field, and landing several yards in front of them. Blocking their path. Hindering their mission. Shining stopped, digging his hooves in the scorched grass as he cautiously began to backpedal. His face, his eyes locked with the creature, and he grimaced as he shook his head. Skullcrawler. Bringing his soldiers to a halt, Shining quickly yelled, “Take cover! Firing positions! Get this Crawler outta here; hurry!” Taking cover behind rocks, behind felled palm trees and dead creatures, the T.I.T.A.N. squad positioned themselves, observing the target more clearly now. It was slow to rise, limbs trembling as soft cries could be heard escaping its badly bleeding jaws. Skin was torn across its body as blood seeped freely, a few of its bones awkwardly bent out of place, especially from its rib cage. The Skullcrawler appeared wounded, separated from its pack as the familiar cries of the beasts could be heard in the distance. Shining Armor gazed quickly to the source of the cries, seeing only smoke and fire in the distance, before turning back to the target. He raised his hoof. And Bon Bon, with Lyra by her side behind the palm tree, took a moment within that fast second in time to observe the weapon in her hooves. In her hooves she held the next generation of warfare, or she would have hoped a means only for defense, only for survival. A technological achievement made possible by the industrial ferocity of the Griffon Kingdom and the combined knowledge and resources of T.I.T.A.N. Having taken inspiration from the turrets the Solar Bolts were equipped with, the bolt-action rifles were smaller, made for infantry, and utilized to a greater extent to reach a vast group of users. She had very little training with the weapon. The rifles were designed differently for each species. For the griffons, for those with claws, fingers, the rifles were equipped with small and simple triggers. Handling each firearm was easier for those with the appropriate appendages. For equines, however, they were not disadvantaged. They were not hindered. The rifle Bon Bon wielded was designed specifically for ponies. The rifle’s stock was where she could slip in her right foreleg, her hoof pressing up against a larger, heavier trigger inside. The hoofguard, where she gripped the rifle with her left hoof, was easier to hold and handle, formed specifically for hooves. Flicking the safety off with a press of her hoof on the side of the rifle, Bon Bon aimed down the sights and captured the Skullcrawler at the end of her barrel. Lyra, on her side, simply levitated her rifle free from her back and gripped it via magic. No need to handle it. She aimed down her sights and confirmed her target. And a second later, Shining Armor sliced his hoof down with a roar, and Bon Bon pressed the trigger. Bullets and blasts of magic tore through the smoke-filled air. Unicorns who were able, like Shining, unleashed streams of magical bolts upon the Skullcrawler, while others fired away with their rifles. They all impacted the beast differently. The magic singed and visibly knocked the Skullcrawler back, while the bullets tore through the skin, meat, and bone. Each attack was different, but they yielded the same result: The Skullcrawler shrieked. And then it charged. “Look out!” Shining bellowed, though he was drowned out as the beast rammed its head into the nearest boulder protecting a dragon and two mares. They dove out of the way, the dragon catching his fellow T.I.T.A.N. soldier but unable to save the other. Her screams were quickly silenced as the Skullcrawler opened its jaws, caught her with its lengthy, leathery tongue, and yanked her down its gullet. It gave off a fierce, pain-filled roar to the blackened skies, to the troop below as more bullets penetrated its hide. It tore across the grass with its forelimbs, its burnt tail slashing and swinging at any nearby T.I.T.A.N. soldiers. Intent on keeping the creature away from his troop, Shining charged it head-on, slicing his sword across its skull and down its forelimb. The Skullcrawler cried. Shining skidded to a halt, his horn alight, sword hovering over his head as he bent low. The Skullcrawler raged his way. Seemingly ignoring every ripping pain that tore across its body if to see the equine fall within its jaws. Shining Armor did not wither, did not fall as the beast intended. He attacked with masterful swordsmanship, his sword flying rapidly above his head and striking the Skullcrawler in its weakest pressure points. Acting by his will, for his will, to keep the beast’s attention long enough for his squad to fire away. Or, if need be, to escape without him. But with every bullet Lyra and Bon Bon fired, with every round the special agent loaded in with a cocking of the bolt handle, they dealt very little damage to the Skullcrawler. Their rifles, though effective against smaller creatures, did little to nothing to stop it. Then Bon Bon fired another round and saw an explosive blast tear the Skullcrawler’s shoulder apart. Its cries were elevated, and the Skullcrawler collapsed. Shining Armor darted his head to the source of the shot. Bon Bon did the same. What they saw break through the clouds of smoke and darkness… It very well could have gotten a smile or two in the midst of it all. Instead, silent expressions of shock and awe filled the T.I.T.A.N. force once the clouds had broken, once the smoke had washed away, and the airships flew in with tanks hanging from their underbellies. Reinforcements. A second shot was fired, the shell blasting from the end of the nearest tank’s barrel and striking the Skullcrawler for another devastating blast. The creature screamed and writhed, rolling across the grass and creating a vast distance between itself and the airships. Even then, that distance mattered not to T.I.T.A.N. The smaller airships flew low, eventually releasing their locks from the squadron of seven tanks and dropping the vehicles onto the surface of the island. Just as quickly as they fell, they rose and took to the skies, disappearing in the clouds. The giant, lumbering vehicles landed with labored crashes, their tracks spinning viciously across the dirt and grass and instantly keeping each tank in line with the speed the airships had gained. In little to no time, they were driving furiously across the field. Their barrels erupted and a wave of fury struck the Skullcrawler relentlessly. Blasts corroded its skin, its body, until the Skullcrawler could not run anymore. It did not have the strength to. The fire consumed the creature until not even Shining Armor could see the skull anymore. The tanks drove past him in a sweeping breeze of steel and power. When it fell, it gave off a final, dying shriek and collapsed in a thunderous heap on the grass. All seven tanks slowed down near the fallen Skullcrawler, and even in the darkness of the storm circling Black Skull Island, the fires still illuminated the T.I.T.A.N. insignias on each of their hulls. After what they had seen the war machines do to the Skullcrawler, the familiar logo was just another breath of relief for Shining and his team. As the plan dictated, heavy armor support had arrived. They slowly gathered together, moving as one to the squadron of steel. The hatch from one of the tanks popped open, and Bon Bon almost grinned to see a familiar face through the smoke. There was no mistaking the black and gray mane, the famous hat, and the smile that was almost as famous joining the adventuress. And Daring Do said with that smile, “Base is just up ahead, Captain! You need to finish this! We’ll keep things clear on the outskirts!” Shining joined her smile, nodding appreciatively. “Thanks for the assist, Agent Do!” “What, you didn’t wanna hitch a ride in the dropship with the rest of us?” Lyra asked, with humor, knowing they all probably needed a little pick-me-up after everything. Daring followed Lyra’s smirk with her own, shrugging. “What can I say? Wouldn’t have been as cool!” She wished him, and all of them, well with a final salute, pulling the hatch down and sliding inside the confines of the metal monster. As the steam shot out from the tanks, they began to roll forward, leaving Shining to tend to his troops. He turned to them, shouting over the roaring engines of the tanks, “All right, we’re nearing the old outpost! Keep your guard up… place still may not be abandoned!” Those final, haunting words lingered longer than they should have. For others, they did not quite seem to understand the implications to Shining’s warning. Veterans, like Bon Bon, like a small hoofful of others, had read the prior reports, had heard the stories within the organization. They knew this particular mission to Black Skull Island wasn’t the first instance of T.I.T.A.N.’s interests with the island. This wasn’t the first expedition. There were more. Other journeys and other crews who had remained on the island longer, who had managed to establish a base, an outpost, like the one they were nearing. But they went missing. They disappeared. A reason to their disappearance was hypothesized, but somehow T.I.T.A.N. always really knew what happened. Barely anything was left behind except a hardly-standing base with years of T.I.T.A.N. research just waiting for their arrival. The island was an unknown enigma to T.I.T.A.N. They couldn’t have that. They needed to know what they were dealing with, what type of monsters were still out there and not yet discovered, and they needed direct communications back to the mainland. That was the mission. That was what every sacrifice was for. Sacrifices that would never be in vain. Yet even as the rest of her squad moved, Bon Bon lingered. She hesitated. Her unwillingness to move left her eyes to wander back to the dead Skullcrawler. Its charred carcass lay to her right, smoke dwindling from its torn body. Smoke that was undying, that continued to rage with the flames continuing to grow past the Skullcrawler, to where Bon Bon’s eyes then rose. There was a reason why the prior expeditions never lasted. It was them, the beasts of Black Skull Island. In the flaming mists, deep in the embrace of the jungles, she saw what looked to be a shadow. A shadow of a great Titan battling swarms of Skullcrawlers. They leaped at the Titan, tried to constrain him, overwhelm him, but they never could. Mere fodder could never overwhelm a Titan like him. An alpha. A king. She was finally broken away from the flames in her eyes when Lyra yanked at her hoof, prodding her to follow. She did. They followed Shining Armor into the last lines of defense, noticing how vacant and dead the Skullcrawler nest appeared to be. Perhaps they were preoccupied dealing with the Titan. They didn’t care. All that mattered was that the nest was empty, and they were clear to pass. Clearing through the jungle and slashing at the vines hanging in their path, the fires were growing around them. Fires tried to consume the jungle, but they made it out in time, nothing but embers trailing them as the squad entered into the flat field of dead grass. Just beyond the field, there remained the mission. The target. An ancient facility overrun by time. The foundations were still there, but the T.I.T.A.N. outpost was barely standing. It looked as if it had survived a bombardment, though “survive” was giving it credit that probably wasn’t due. It was dark, not a light flickering within the numerous windows across the building’s face. Watchtowers were either leaning or fallen over, barbed wire fences broken down as if something had completely crushed them. The gates were crushed inward, toward the facility. Something charged at it. And they still weren’t gone. In the shadows, hiding within the confines of the outpost, dozens upon dozens of fiendish, red and yellow eyes appeared. And slowly, so very slowly, the claws broke out of the dark and the jagged teeth were soon to inevitably follow. Sharpened manes shrouded the elongated heads of each creature, until not one, not two, not three, but a pack of Death Jackals emerged into the firelight. Dozens of them. Leaping out of the windows, clawing their way down the concrete steps and into the grass. Standing tall upon the fallen foundations of the ancient outpost. All of them slowly gathering, slowly circling, nonetheless stalking their prey. The lone T.I.T.A.N. force stood their ground, Shining taking the lead and defending his remaining troops with his sword levitating threateningly over his head. The head of his squad, the alpha of his pack of warriors, meeting the rival alpha. The lead Death Jackal hissed, lips curling to showcase rows of dagger-like teeth. Shining Armor didn’t even flinch. He couldn’t afford it. The two alphas glared to one another, the Death Jackal seemingly studying the equine in the short standoff. Its claws dug into the grass as it moved, claws dangling close to its chest. Then, it stopped. A small growl pulsated in the back of its throat. Nopony heard him, but Shining Armor growled all the same. And he was ready when the Jackal finally struck, and he sliced a clean cut to the far right. The alpha Death Jackal collapsed roughly, its head rolling across the dirt. And Shining bellowed, “Engage!” It was enough for Bon Bon to readily attack, already whipping her rifle forward and sliding in tandem. She jammed her right foreleg into the stock, loaded in a fresh round, raised the firearm, and pushed the trigger. The bullet destroyed the following silence and tore cleanly through the nearest Death Jackal’s skull in a crimson burst exploding from the back of its head. It fell quickly, like a heap of rocks tumbling down a mound of rubble. The creatures screamed and charged. T.I.T.A.N. charged back. All in less than four seconds since Shining gave the order. No one could have properly determined how long it took to clear out the base. There was no orderly keeping of time when raw instinct took command. The elite and even the newest blood of T.I.T.A.N. showed their prowess, their training, all in perfect harmony with one another. Griffons fired away and struck their targets. Dragons swooped low and cast flames onto their foes. The changeling, the Hippogriff, they fought as one and transformed so as to best the Death Jackals with fearsome beasts they could not challenge. The equines utilized magic, blades, and firearms all in one. And it couldn’t have been more beautifully executed. Not a single one of them fell that time. Lyra and Bon Bon galloped and fought side by side, as the same beating heart fueling their strength and keeping their fight well alive. Heartstrings levitated her rifle at a pouncing Jackal, blowing a hole through its chest and sending the beast flying back to whence it came. She then extended the blade from her hoof gauntlet, sliding beneath the swinging claws of the next oncoming beast and driving her weapon into the creature’s hind leg. It howled, and Bon Bon spun toward its cry and raised her rifle right up to its chin. Another shot, and another round through a skull. Aiming to load in the next round, Bon Bon realized she was empty. Grimacing at her rifle, she quickly raised it to block the leaping Death Jackal crashing on top of her. Falling on her back, avoiding the snapping jaws rearing down at her, Bon Bon cried out and earned her wife’s immediate assistance. Lyra tackled the beast, sending her blade into the Jackal’s ribs and earning a shriek of pain. Free from its grip, Bon Bon then drove her left hoof into its neck, a firm press that extended her own blade, the end sprouting free from back of the Death Jackal’s throat. She bucked it off, Lyra hopping away and yanking Bon Bon back to her hooves. Trying to catch her breath, and wiping the Death Jackal blood off of her armor, Bon Bon turned to the unicorn and offered a strengthening smile. “Thanks… You’re fighting like a natural.” “More like surviving like one,” Lyra replied, her smirk slowly growing. Bon Bon couldn’t hold back her own. They shared a short chuckle. Some much-needed levity once they knew the death and madness was slowly coming to a forceful rest. They had earned it. Their efforts had earned the ceasing of such chaos. As their T.I.T.A.N. troop finished off the remaining creatures, they turned at attention to Shining Armor’s unmistakable voice calling out into the dark. He strode forth, hoof to his ear, as he announced loud and proud into his comms link for all to hear. “Tigerhawk, we’ve successfully cleared the outer grounds. Send in your reinforcements so we can perform a thorough, internal sweep throughout the base.” “Copy, Shining Armor. Great work down there. Take it easy; we’ll handle the rest. They’re heading your way now. Watch your heads.” They all heard it in the little radios in their ears. They all slowly came together in that blissful moment of well-deserved victory. Bon Bon grinned, slapping her hoof onto Lyra’s shoulder. “Don’t have to worry anymore. Hardest part’s over!” she told her with a triumphant grin. One that Lyra couldn’t help but share. In little to no time, reinforcements had arrived. The air began to rush past their hooves, blowing harder and harder against the grass and trees as the roaring engines of the oncoming airships descended upon them. Though smaller, that didn’t mean they packed less of a punch. Numbered in a squadron of three airships, the T.I.T.A.N. aircraft zeroed in on the small patch of earth Shining Armor waved them toward. He smiled through the rushing wind, continuing to wave even as he turned to make way for them. Only, they never landed. Not the way T.I.T.A.N. needed them to. A horrifying and familiar blur of blackness tore over their heads and severed itself cleanly across the first airship. Causing it to erupt into a blistering array of fire and shrapnel. Shining stumbled forward, shielding his head as he twisted back and gazed in horror at the sight of the flaming airship falling to the earth. Falling directly for him. “Take cover!” he screamed, and dove to tackle the nearest T.I.T.A.N. soldier out of harm’s way. Bon Bon did the same for her wife, ensuring Lyra was safe as they both rolled further off from the airship’s crash landing. A fireball emerged from its flaming carcass, enlightening all within the grounds of the outpost to see the blur in all its hellish glory. “Mayday, mayday! Unknown hostile just took out Raptor-1! Disengaging! Disenga—!” It struck the other airship in its feeble attempt to retreat, quickly turning fatal. For both of them. The hostile beast rammed its talons into the airship, flinging its burning remains into the other, ultimately killing them both before they ever even had the hope in their hearts to escape with their lives. For every last one of them were lost in the blaze, the fall to the earth that erupted twice as large. And in the light of the rising fireballs, the remaining T.I.T.A.N. force could finally see their attacker. It tore across the sky once more, landing roughly on the roof of the ancient outpost and turning back to face them. Lyra, Bon Bon, Shining Armor, and all the rest turned around, lifted their heads and eyes, and stood and laid in chilling silence. Its talons hung wickedly down the face of the building. The ends of its razor wings gripped the rooftop, each appendage torn with bone-like protrusions rising from each wing’s end. Its rough brown skin appeared almost black in the shadows, in the fires glowing off of its hide, fur on its chest and back. Twin horns sat atop its head, one of them broken, both of them Bon Bon had seen before. But what she recognized immediately were the eyes. The cold, dead, pale white eyes of the Eternal Enemy of the Sun. The Death Bat. The one who emerged and reigned in the dark storm, who was prophesied to plunge the island into blackness with his legion of Hell. Titanus Camazotz. It glared down at their wretched existence and screamed at them. Screamed with an alpha cry that tore apart the sound barrier and caused many within their ranks to crumble, covering their ears and screaming in response, in pain. In rising distress that clouded all other natural instincts and flooded them only with terror. Once the beast yielded, barring its fangs and growing evermore closer to his prey, what was left of T.I.T.A.N.’s strength rose to meet him. Shining Armor lifted his blade, the sword lightly trembling in his magical grasp. Others with him, like Bon Bon, ensuring Lyra was behind her. Ensuring she was her sword and shield if the moment called for her to… Before Camazotz could finish what he started, there was a response to his alpha roar. An answer to his. The roar was drenched in power, raw ferocity and unyielding strength that ripped apart the storm that Camazotz tried to claim and rule. It was enough for the Death Bat to turn his head in accordance to the source of the cry, and though Camazotz was blind, his echolocation provided plenty of sight. His Hell Swarm enhanced his senses even greater, their cries sounding off and warning their master of the rapidly approaching rival alpha. And if the Titan could sense it, then T.I.T.A.N. could sense it, too. They all slowly turned away from the outpost, faced the darkness of the jungles shrouding the outskirts of the facility. And from the towering hills in the distance, they witnessed the forests breaking down. They could barely see in the darkness a shadow tearing through the trees and thundering the earth with each tremendous crash in its raging stampede. An army of a thousand warriors all forged into one, charging as one, directly for them. Shining Armor finally returned to reality, snapping his neck back and ordering his team, “Get… get back! Hurry, retreat now! Go, go, go—!” Camazotz screamed above their heads, jumping off the building and flying toward the raging stampede. Bon Bon and Lyra were caught in that moment—in a way, they all were. But they were safe enough. Just safe enough to see the shadow finally reach the outpost, and Camazotz meeting it head-on and shrieking in shock. Because when he did, the Ultimate Guardian of Black Skull Island was there to meet him almost immediately. King Kong leaped into the light of the fires with a ferocious roar, with a thundering cry that tore Camazotz’s own out of his throat, and with his fist colliding across the bat’s face. Camazotz struck the earth with his head first, rolling viciously as Kong rolled as well, quickly rising up to face the invasive enemy of his island. The Titans landed in front of the outpost, scattering Shining’s team to every direction, all in some fleeting effort to escape the battle that came to them. They took cover behind scattered mounds of debris, hiding within the walls of the outpost itself, and all turned to focus on the beasts. They could do nothing. It was a fight they couldn’t win. They only hoped it was one that Kong could. Slamming his wings against the earth, Camazotz proceeded to shriek in a clear sign of intimidation, of some petty attempt at defiance. Kong merely snorted, showcasing his teeth as he then slammed his fists into the dirt, against his chest, and roared. They charged. Camazotz kicked off the ground, swinging his long, spiked tail forward and striking Kong across the head. The hit disoriented the ape, Kong falling to his right and crashing against the debris. Flying above him, the Eternal Bat called out into the dark, his screeches echoing across every corner of Black Skull Island. And just as Kong rose back to his feet, glaring up at the bat keeping his distance, out of the skies and out of the blackness came his legion. The Hell Swarm consumed Kong in a matter of seconds. They were numbered quite possibly in the hundreds, swarming every aspect of Kong’s body and biting, tearing, clawing all they could. As the King of Black Skull Island, Kong had faced his fair share of creatures. But the swarm, the sheer numbers, all of it was too much no matter how much he thrashed and killed. And Camazotz did not let up, flying low and driving his talons into Kong’s shoulder, his prehensile tail wrapping around his body as he lifted him high and threw him against the side of the outpost’s outer wall. Watching Camazotz kick off the ground, and then fall quickly back onto Kong’s chest made Bon Bon cringe. His roars of panic made her shudder. She knew very little of Titanus Kong. Only reports. Only stories. But the fact of the matter was that he came to them. He challenged the Titan that could have very well killed them in seconds. Though it may not have been his intention, Kong had bought them time to run, to hide, to survive. He had saved them. She couldn’t sit back and watch another sacrifice himself for them. She grabbed her rifle, reloaded it appropriately, galloped out into the open, and fired away. Not onto the Death Bat, but his swarm. And she earned many turned heads. From her own team, and from the Hellspawn. One way or another, they all came to her. More rifles were raised, more soldiers standing tall and brave alongside the special agent as they all fired onto the swarm trying to devour the king. Bullets rained, many missed, but some hit their moving targets. The swarm dropped out of the sky one by one, until they all eventually turned to the distant threat and attacked. All outside of Camazotz’s will, fighting the threat their master had identified earlier. Doing so earned a screech of protest from the Eternal Bat, Camazotz turning to his Hell Swarm and ordering them back to finish the rival alpha. But it was already too late. Kong leaped upward, grabbing Camazotz’s tail and slamming him back onto the earth. He spun him around, driving his head against several walls and watchtowers still standing. No longer. He flung Camazotz across the field, the bat crying as he crashed, as he rolled, as he dug through the grass and dirt and flames. Shaking, he tried to crawl away, tried to extend his wings to take flight, but Kong was not finished with him. Landing on the Titan’s back, he brutally pummeled him, wrapping the bat in a chokehold as Camazotz clawed at his face. Irritated, now infuriated by the beast’s actions, Kong crushed the Titan beneath him, tightened his palms around the creature’s neck, and roared as he twisted Camazotz’s head in a wet, sickening snap! He held the limp corpse of the invader by his remaining horn. He slammed his fist across his chest again and again as he bellowed into the dark. That roar was heard by all, the Hell Swarm turning, twisting, and scattering as Kong faced them and roared. Tossed the body of their fallen god so that none failed to pay witness. Standing tall, roaring so loud that the very ground trembled beneath everypony’s hooves, Kong beat his chest until the Hell Swarm finally retreated. Even then, he still roared. He still cried out. He still declared to all with his deafening alpha roar that he was not bested that night. The invaders of his home would find no refuge as long as Kong remained king. Peace would not accompany them in the terrors of the night. Victory would not be claimed by any other except for the King of Black Skull Island. T.I.T.A.N. witnessed that. Shining Armor especially, with the agents, the soldiers, the brave and the bold standing around him, all of their eyes latched with the mighty Kong turned from them. All of them standing under the weight of his cry and only Shining able to feel the full power of it. Having heard it once before, long ago. And it made him shudder. His roar washed all across the burning hellscape. To every valley, every hill, every jungle, every mountain, and every beach surrounding the island. To the oceans where Tiamat battled Na Kika on the outskirts of Black Skull Island, many T.I.T.A.N. naval ships burning or sinking around their clash. But even further than that. Passed the massive superstorm only growing bigger, and slowly consuming the land. Kong’s alpha roar was just strong enough to break the ferocity of the storm. Just strong enough to spread across the sea. To several hundred miles off the coast of Black Skull Island, where his defiance had earned the king’s attention. In the dark waves, in his domain, the king swam with subtle intent. His tail waved back and forth, propelling him slowly but surely onto the source of the rival. A potential threat to his rule. One that would not be tolerated, and would never stand for long. The sea split open, and the rising, jagged spines emerged. Each one of them glowing a violent, threatening blue. The head then burst free, the eyes just as violent. Just as fiercely bright. And then he opened his jaws and roared, and Godzilla sank back into the waves with war burning in his nuclear heart.