//------------------------------// // Chapter 24: Chain of Memories // Story: The Bridge: A Godzilla-MLP Crossover // by Tarbtano //------------------------------// ================================== Planet Xilian, 370 Years Before Present ================================== Grand King Ghidorah sneered as stray gravitons levitated up waves of dust and debris all around him, the golden dragon lifting himself off the ground and lunging at the mockery. Monster X put his arms up and crouched back on his toes, entering a guard stance to intercept the oncoming avalanche of kaiju; dodging the attempted stomp and counterattacking. While a sidestepping hook to Ghidorah’s sternum didn’t do much to faze the drake, the continuous momentum feeding into a leg sweep was enough to trip King Ghidorah up. The jumping uppercut to the chin caused Ghidorah to bite down on his own tongue. Spitting out some of his own blood, King Ghidorah cackled and forced himself back onto the ground and into Monster X, stampeding forward and crashing into the smaller kaiju despite its attempt to block; using his left and right head to bite down and grab onto his foe. Trampling over and through several smaller buildings, the golden hydra bellowed before smashing Monster X into a large skyscraper. Black skin and white armor became eclipsed by a shower of falling glass, stone, and metal and was buried in the debris. King Ghidorah backed up and energy started to crackle inside his maw. Before he could fire at the mountain of rubble, energy javelins and plasma mortars exploded against his golden hide. Turning around to catch a railgun shot to the throat, King Ghidorah quickly spied dozens of military landcruisers and aircrafts ducking in and out of cover to take a few more pot shots at him. The assault did next to nothing, the xilians may have been fighting for their lives and planet, but their efforts were more akin to biting gnats than an actual assault. Reigniting his maws, King Ghidorah took aim as a barrage of missiles to the foreheads blotted out his vision momentarily. There was a shifting in the rubble behind him. Just before Ghidorah could alternately turn and fire through the smoke, he heard something not of the physical world. An urgent, feminine voice called out almost as if speaking into the mind. -“094! Now!”- Momentarily distracted, King Ghidorah misfired his graviton beams skyward when his attacker burst out of the rubble. Not one millisecond after springing to his feet Monster X dodged the stray beam and launched himself at King Ghidorah, ramming his knee into King Ghidorah’s right head. King Ghidorah felt a liquid warmth clog up his nostrils. His other two heads reacted quickly, grabbing Monster X’s arm as he was about to throw a right hook. Snagging him by the wrist and forearm, King Ghidorah yanked his enemy up and slammed him into the ground. Grand King Ghidorah snorted to clear his nose of blood, a scowl etched across all three of his faces from the insult. Monster X, face down and dazed was still getting to his feet when Ghidorah’s foot hovered over him. Before several million kilograms worth of mass could stomp on Monster X’s helmet, the smaller kaiju rolled away and dodged the crushing blow and the graviton beams that followed; the dodged onslaught burrowing its way into the pavement. This caught King Ghidorah’s attention. Monster X threw his hips, snapping around to get his feet beneath him. A flash of light across his eyes ushered a return fire of his own graviton streams, thinner and smoother than Ghidorah’s crackling wrath. His foe glided back on a curtain of manipulated graviton, shielding himself in a shell of his own wings. As Monster X’s barrages impacted the wing membrane, Ghidorah paid the energy based smacks little heed as he focused. -That presence shielding his mind earlier, the voice, and him dodging an attack he couldn’t have seen coming… Someone’s helping him- There was a brief lull in Monster X’s assault, indicating he was about to change strategy. King Ghidorah calmed his mind and centered his psyche. -Perhaps, I just need to try a little harder…- King Ghidorah unfolded his wings and sprung from his shield just as Monster X attempted to rush him from the side. Shrugging off a barrage of energy flares the Xilian aircraft was raining down on his back, King Ghidorah unleashed his focus in a mental and physical shriek. Air rattled and clouds split all around. Psychic energy flew forward in a tidal wave. Just like before, he could feel a presence working against it, but sure enough mass quantity overpowered quality and Ghidorah broke through. Monster X paused and flinched up as King Ghidorah ran headfirst into memory. It was fuzzy, a clear indication of age. Dim lights both from the sky and fringes of the street indicated it was one of the race’s cities on a calm night. The point of view was relatively short and low to the ground. It looked to the left at what Ghidorah recognized as a Xilian male, approximately a meter and a half tall with jaw length white hair and gray skin that black veins showed through. It looked to the right at another Xilian, a female slightly taller than the male; very short black hair atop dark gray skin that hide all but the large veins on the throat and below the eyes. On the fringes of vision a smaller set of hands could be seen holding onto the adults'. Before he could see more, a surge of psychic energy ripped into King Ghidorah’s attack and he was forced back into the real world amongst a flash of light. Monster X shook and staggered, holding his head and snapping it around to clear the spiraling vertigo in his vision. He didn't have time to dodge when King Ghidorah came flying at him, smacking the smaller kaiju off the ground. One hand grasped and tried to pry off the tails constricting around his midsection, while the other kept backhanding and trying to swat away King Ghidorah's snapping heads. Shrieking light built up and began to pour out of King Ghidorah's central maw. Reacting on reflex, Monster X grabbed the head by the throat and pointed it away, diverting the oncoming stream of gravitons towards the sky after it managed to nick and blow off part of his helmet. Swirls of gold sparked across the Xilian kaiju's eyes before several volleys of his own graviton torrents impacted and exploded against King Ghidorah's neck and shoulders, smoke and scales flying everywhere. The crushing squeeze Ghidorah's tails gave Monster X's stomach and torso ushered the sound of fracturing armor and ribs, the pain canceling out the latter's eye beams. Cackling maniacally, King Ghidorah beat his wings and flew upwards and forwards in a large loop. Just before he could collide with the ground, the dragon pitched back up and unbound his tails, sending Monster X rocketing and smashing into the cityscape. The titanic impact flattened several blocks and sent out a wave that toppled even more buildings. Battered, bruised, bloodied and at the bottom of a crater; Monster X stubbornly clawed at the ground to try and struggle back to his feet. He just managed to get his head off the ground when Grand King Ghidorah came crashing down on top of him foot first. Foot holstered talons backed by dozens upon dozens of tons slashed into Monster X's head. X's bony helmet saved his skull from getting caved in, but at the cost of the front half being near entirely ripped off with three long gouges being cut along Monster X's face. Monster X crumbled over on his back as King Ghidorah kept crashing down, stomping on his chest. The King of Terror rose back up and dropped himself on his foe again, laughing in gleeful mania. "Pitiful! Miscreant! You dared to even try and challenge me?!" Ghidorah's mass came crushing down again. Monster X started screaming when his armor started to snap and his ribs began to shatter. Another stomp, another shriek, and that pesky psychic presence Ghidorah had been sensing started to weaken. He rose back up to crash down again, pinning Monster X's fractured body beneath his feet. "Mortals are a waste. I am a god you insolent wretch! I have lived over a hundred thousand millennium. I decide when a world has ripened and as a god I shall not be opposed when I come to collect!" King Ghidorah rose back up and focused his mental energy; mentally launching himself forword and breaking into X's psyche before he could his body. The perspective of the memory was larger this time, roughly two meters considering scale to the walls and doorways the point of view was walking through. Everything in the rooms passed by were smooth and sterile, a laboratory or important facility by any estimate. Other presences were nearby, flanking the point of view on the corners of their vision. A series of lights on a panel lit up and a metal casing rolled itself back to reveal a small vial of familiar golden liquid. A hand reached out and took the vial to the protests of some behind it. Mentally, King Ghidorah sneered when he saw his blood being handled by a minuscule mortal; but kept watching with some curiosity. The perspective turned to its right, revealing the room was half filled with Xilians. Judging from the mix of laboratory cloaks on some and body armor on others, he'd guess it was technicians and military present; all with varying shades of black, white, and mostly gray across their forms. All except for the one holding his blood. A fairly tall Xilian female in unique garb looked upon the canister of Ghidran blood, black hair and light gray skin contrasting with the curiously dark violet hues across both her irises and veins surrounding the eye. One of the technicians stepped forward and spoke, but the annoying presence from earlier was interfering with the viewing. Scowling, King Ghidorah did his best to force it away and listen. He was going to level and burn this planet one way or another, least he could do is have some entertainment as to what these fools tried. The technician spoke in a solemn voice, rechecking some data on his device. "No time f-- full cloning, gene grafting onto someo-- with M base -- -he only chance..." The female he was addressing reached into a holster and loaded the vial's contents into the syringe, mixing it with the black fluid already inside. She paid her surroundings little attention, stoically filling up the syringe and clearing it of air. "It's our species' only chance. I'll -- it. Prepare --- ray treatment sequence now." King Ghidorah snorted, recognizing that voice. Back in the memory, if her audience was alarmed before, their eyes were visibly widening now. Even the point of view was beginning to shake some. Several of the military clad members, likely high ranks considering some of the ornamentation, shot up in protest. "Cont--ller 011 no!" "This is irresponsible!" "We'll fi-- something else!" Several of them stepped forward but quickly backpedalled when said 011's eyes started glowing through a rock splitting glare. Her tone was as punctuated as it was imposing. "There. Is. No. Time for arg--ent! Prepare... the sequence. NOW!" After a moment of hesitation, the group cast a salute. A reinforced doorway slid open with a mechanical hiss, leading to a dark hall. It was then the nagging presence Ghidorah had been feeling finally forced him back and out of Monster X's mind. Back in the real world, the golden titan dropped down and trampled Monster X yet again; the splitting crack of a fracturing sternum and surge of blood the black and white hybrid coughed up silencing his screams. His hands, which had been desperately trying to push Ghidorah's foot away went slack and limply flopped onto the pavement. Dead silence fell across the city as the military forces stopped in their tracks. Tracking the psychic signature to a nearby location, King Ghidorah swung his head around and looked in the direction of a wet cry. Standing atop one of the last remaining buildings in the sector was a single figure, that same violet eyed female xilian from the memory. Controller 011 didn't look up at the looming Ghidorah, not averting eyes that had laid upon the limp Monster X with frozen, terrified and crying expression tattooed to her face. The xilian wasn't in good shape, have covered in bruises with three long slices across her face clotted her tears with blood. In truth, the monarch of the Xilian empire looked as banged up as their kaiju did to a curious degree; their wounds were virtually identical. Ghidorah was intrigued. Grinning across his fangs, King Ghidorah redirected his mental assault towards her, meeting little resistance. Controller 011 grabbed at her head and crumbled to her knees as King Ghidorah tore through memory after memory. They were back in the spot of the last recollection, abet now from 011's perspective as the scientists and officers filed out of the room, leaving her to look blankly at the dark void ahead. A form walked up into the corner of vision. 011 didn't avert her attention away from the blackness, gazing at the distant lights in the mammoth chamber before her. This time the conversation was crystal clear. "Don't try and stop me...", the woman, Controller 011 muttered. "You do know others could volunteer, they'd do it willingly for you.", the Xilian man grunted. "Only at a 13% success rate. The augmentations of a Controller boost it to 22%." "Not good numbers either way." "Numbers are what we are made of 094." The perspective glanced over and the other half of the conversation, 094 came into view as they put their hand on 011's shoulder. The Xilian male was slightly taller than 011, near pitch black skin contrasting with ivory pale hair and his uniform. "Going to futilely attempt to talk me out of it?" "We both are aware I know you better than that." "The world's ending and you just now start acting smart enough for research caste." "Says the controller who's more stubborn than a rowdy recruit to soldier caste." 011 shrugged with a slight chuckle, before reaching up and placing her hand atop 094's. She squeezed it, intertwining their fingers. They stayed like that for a bit before she lifted his hand away and started towards the doorway. Just before she could step through however, 094's controlled, quiet voice slipped past her ear. "Forgive me. I'm not letting you kill yourself." There was a blur on the corner of 011's vision before she was limply placed on the ground, something hitting her on the back of the neck. Between faltering vision, the last thing she saw was 094 taking the serum and running into the chamber, closing the door behind him. A series of stings digging into his foot ushered King Ghidorah back into reality. His opponent didn't seem dead quite yet. He looked down to see a still mobile and stubbornly refusing to cease Monster X trying in vain to free himself from under Ghidorah's foot, grabbing back on and pushing up. On cue, the rest of the city began to act out. Aircraft and hover tanks converged on Ghidorah, peppering him with everything from warheads to railguns to plasma fire as a refocused Controller 011 desperately threw her mental blocks at the dragon. Planet Xilian wasn't going to give up. Grand King Ghidorah looked at the struggling kaiju before guiding a few of his heads over to 011, ignoring the explosions and assault weapons pinging off his body. Memory superimposed 094 over Monster X, the near identical color scheme being uncanny. He paid attention to Monster X, 094, and 011's reactions to each other. Ghidorah had ravaged enough worlds to know what emotions to recognize. He saw the two attempting to fight him off splitting mystery's veil with memory of what might have been their last conversation. The truth dawned on him. He'd figured it out, and couldn't stop himself from bursting out laughing. An entire empire and the strongest thing they could throw against him was a married couple of a psychic witch and a cheap knock off who probably didn't even know how his powers worked yet? Pathetic. Before he could choose between which he'd do first, crush in Monster X's chest or evaporate Controller 011; a movement to his right caught his eye. Glancing over with his right head, King Ghidorah spied a particularly large hover tank moving across a desolated street. It's energy cannon revved up to life and took aim. To the sound of clapping thunder the tank loosed a bus sized mortar shell of plasma, the shell arcing upwards in the air before sailing back down and towards the dragon's central head. Ghidorah smirked, snapping his head out of the way and subtly sending a cushion of gravitons to divert the blast's direction. It sailed slightly to the right and straight into the midsection of building the Controller was standing on before detonating. The skyscraper and its sole occupant were eclipsed in smoke and exploding debris in seconds. King Ghidorah snickered as he noticed Monster X's line of sight, ensuring he'd seen it. On cue, the other kaiju screamed and started convulsing as burns and more cuts appeared on his body despite lacking a cause. Not wanting to pay this particular curiosity any heed, having lost patience with this planet, King Ghidorah put his weight into his foot to smother the Xilian's last defense. Only when he stomped down against what had been Monster X's weakening defense, he was stopped. Grand King Ghidorah looked down. Monster X, despite looking like he'd been dragged through a planet and a half with all his injuries, was glaring back at him while forcing away his foot. Light ignited across his eyes and smooth graviton streams fired out and impacted King Ghidorah's torso. Sneering as he withstood the blow, Ghidorah attempted to overpowered Monster X's defense, putting more force into his heel. They struggled for several moments, X's streams only growing in might. For a second, X cut off the blast. But before King Ghidorah could ponder if he'd finally expended himself, the lights from the former's eyes grew between the Xilian kaiju's fangs. A screaming roar ushered out a blast wave of golden gravitons, this time from Monster X's mouth at least twice as strong as the eye beams. A miniature explosion engulfed King Ghidorah's shrieking form and he was sent flying back, tumbling into a small mountain of debris. Ghidorah was quick to rip himself free of the debris, refocusing on his foe. The glare was not mutual, for the black and white kaiju was sitting on his knees facing away from the dragon. It seemed to be holding something in its hands, to what however the King of Terror could not see. Not like he particularly cared, quickly spamming waves of graviton beams at his enemy. X made no attempt to dodge, too focused on whatever he was holding up to notice by the time the beams struck and tore into his back. Armor was splintered and blasted apart on impact, hundreds of tons worth of bony mass and blood raining down on the desolate streets below. Planet Xilian's champion made no attempt to move, only wincing from pain deeper in his chest. After several long moments of punishment, something started to change. A dim aura built up around Monster X, cloaking his entire body in due time. The layer of energy grew by the second and soon took effect, one by one Ghidorah's graviton beams started failing to make contact and were being absorbed by the shield. Monster X, choking on his own spit and blood, cleared his lungs in a sudden rush of utterance, a primal scream mixed with an earth shaking roar. On cue, the shield intensified, a shockwave of energy blowing back into King Ghidorah and sending air and debris flying in all directions. Monster X put something down and slowly turned around. King Ghidorah paused when he saw, for lack of better terms, the creature. Blood and drool dribbled from recurved fangs and curled lips, tear and blood stained eyes that once gleamed with intelligence were replaced with the glowing fires of a rabid beast that took a step forward. In numerous places his armor had been entirely blown off, but instead of the jet black skin previously visible on his limbs, dull golden scales started erupting from the epidermis. In many spots it looked almost like the muscle and skeleton were convulsing beneath the skin, the extra mass cracking his armor. He continued to slowly walk towards King Ghidorah, unfazed by the extent of his injuries or the graviton streams the latter was firing at him. He got within a few hundred meters away before he started sprinting. Eyes wide with bewilderment, King Ghidorah beat his wings and kicked off, ascending rapidly into the sky. Unfettered, Monster X continued his charge, dropping down on all fours at ever increasing speed before pouncing up. As soon as his feet kicked off the ground, bloody black and gold wings ripped their way out of his back. Ignoring pain that would cripple others, Monster X shrieked as he caught up to and grabbed the flabbergasted Ghidorah. Momentarily screeching from a barrage of wing lightning to the face, the smaller kaiju refused to let go once he got a hold of his foe, constricting his fingers around King Ghidorah's left neck and repeatedly bashing his fist and elbow into its snout. The first few hits barely registered, but when the milliseconds passed by and Ghidorah saw X cock back his arm for another swing; he witnessed the flesh below the skin tear itself apart before rebuilding mid-swing with significantly more bulk. The resounding crack that followed that hit was King Ghidorah's head crest being shattered and several dozen teeth being knocked out from the skull fracture. For the first time in hundreds of thousands of years, Grand King Ghidorah shrieked in agony. Repulsively unloading his energy payload point blank in a massive explosion, King Ghidorah managed to force Monster X to let go of the neck his fingers now had in a chokehold. Curling his tails around the stunned kaiju's throat, the hydra tore the transgressor off him and flicked him down into the ground below. Monster X hit the ground hard enough to create a mushroom cloud, creating more destruction around him. The barrage of lightning and gravitons chasing him further eclipsed X within destruction. Panting to calm his pulse from the expenditure, King Ghidorah landed thousands of meters away and cut off his assault. Nearly a minute passed before any wishes for success or mass pondering as to what just happened could be killed by a single sound heard around the planet, rattling it to its core. Shrieking out from the veil of dust, smoke, and fires; a ghidorah's roar spat hatred at the King of Terror. Waves of energy blew back the debris, tidal waves of moving air forcing the flaming wreckage aside; revealing a badly wounded, winged Monster X staggering to his hands and feet. Burns, blood, and bruises coated his entire body, though he bid it no attention. All focus was shooting a single look shot right through King Ghidorah, all thought absent in his crazed eyes. X shook, a crown of additional horns erupting from his cracking helmet and skin, blood dripping down his snout. The glare in his eyes intensified to the point it glowed with hellfire and shown through the darkness. The already smoke and dust choked sky began to darken further as the twin suns began to set. As the last glimpses of light died on the horizon, so too died Monster X, Praetorian 094. Something else was in the driver's seat, and it was stepping out. The convulsions of flesh hit their zenith, 42,000 tons worth of additional muscle, bone, and tissue rapidly forming. A humanoid build twisted and churned, becoming ursine-like. Energy signatures skyrocketed, a glowing aura birthing blast waves that tore the air asunder and lit up the night. Claws grew larger, digging into a cracking chestplate to tear it off as what was once greaves and a helmet simply broke apart from the growing mass beneath them. Two additional heads mounted on serpentine necks erupted from his shoulders, as the core head formed from X's own. Wings grew and flapped amongst churning lightning, a demon of black and gold calling out a war cry that sounded of screaming, roars, and bloodthirsty laughter all at once. Grand King Ghidorah flared his wings to their fullest, but couldn't stop himself from taking a half step back as the energy waves hit him. His own glowing aura of energy built upon itself to rival this new ghidorah, this new enemy. Looks like this pathetic rock actually was keen on giving him a challenge... Spitting out some blood and casting a glare, his telepathy reached out to the laughing juggernaut. -"What the hell are you?..."- The behemoth paused his laughing, looking upon King Ghidorah with a predatory gaze and demented smiles strewn across his fanged maws. Link -"You call yourself 'King'? Then I am Kaizer... You are no god, but I am the Devil."- King Ghidorah grimaced, the glow across his body maximizing as gravitons poured from his maw and wings, compacting into a miniature sun that lit up the darkened sky and sent hurricane force winds in all directions. In a crackling roar, he launched his assault amongst a hail of wing lightning. Kaizer Ghidorah as he'd named himself returned the roar, kicking his paws off the ground and charging his foe. Beating his wings on each earthquake of a step, the stampeding kaiju focused his own energy into himself as he was about to hit the energy ball almost as big as he was. Digging his forepaw in at the last moment, he focused all his energy into his left arm and smacked the projection. Crackling energy poured out everywhere, windows being blasted apart for several blocks from just the impact shocks. While just touching King Ghidorah's wrath blew off several scales and seared his skin, Kaizer Ghidorah was laughing too much to show the pain. Injured but unhurt, his own raw power and brute strength shoving into the assaulting energy. Slowly but surely, he started pushing the growing sphere backwards. With one final rush and a dumbstruck expression from King Ghidorah, Kaizer returned it to its sender. Not in the sense he returned fire or heaved it back at him. More in the sense he regained his forward momentum, shoved himself upwards on a tsunami of gravitons, and punched the energy sphere into King Ghidorah with his swing. Unsated with the resulting explosion burning his arm and blasting off most of King Ghidorah's torso epidermis, Kaizer roared and rung his arm around to lariat King into the ground. The loud crunching sound following the impact was King Ghidorah's left wing being ripped out of its socket. Drunk off the berserk, Kaizer Ghidorah reared up on his hindlegs and jumped up before King Ghidorah could unbury himself from the sea of rubble he was caked in; and came down paws first. 100,000 tons of enraged kaiju crashed into King Ghidorah's already bruised and charred chest and stomach in a grim parody of what the King of Terror had done to Monster X. The first time the King of Terror could feel his chest begin to pack in. The third time the rampant abomination smashed into him, the deafening crack and torrents of pain told him most of his ribcage had just been shattered. He'd had worse. Didn't stop him from shrieking in pain all the same however. Ichors and desperate energy flew free of King Ghidorah's maws, striking Kaizer in the face as he rose back up against him. The ensuing explosion and blast radius leveled the nearby buildings with the blast waves alone, the full attack itself forcing Kaizer back as gargantuan malice forced King Ghidorah up. His body was being broken and pushed to its limit, but overwhelming pride and ever growing loathing caused him to charge at the stunned Kaizer, commanding his three jaws to bite down on the offender's necks to try and tear his throats out. He was the King of Terror, the ravager of a hundred thousand worlds. He would not be beaten by an abomination born out of this gray rock. Kaizer Ghidorah swung his arms inward and smashed them against either side of King Ghidorah's torso; grabbing hold of him and ripping himself free. Refined hatred and sheer malice burned in his eyes as golden energy churned in his grinning jaws. The kaiser roared in the king's face and fired. Unable to dodge or form a shield, all King Ghidorah could try to do was return fire. Dueling glows gave birth to dueling beams, the two having been too close together for a struggle. Instead a glowing sun formed at the apex, drawing in its fuel's power before detonating point blank. The explosion forced them apart and King Ghidorah rocketed towards the ground with his entire front half smoking. Redirecting air and gravity's flow beneath him, he had just enough control to slow his fall and look up in time to see a laughing Kaizer Ghidorah plow into him. ================ Five Minutes Later ================ Grand King Ghidorah wasn't losing a fight. A fight implies both sides are fairly even. He was being beaten to a bloody pulp. Supporting himself on a stream of gravitons and broken wings, King Ghidorah pitched himself up as an oncoming Kaizer Ghidorah came barreling at him. Swinging out with as much force as he could, stubbornly biting back the agony in either leg as he slammed his full weight and force into a forward double kick. The blow and resulting cracked ribs hardly even slowed the quadropedal demon down. Kaizer Ghidorah cackled into the night as he bulldozed through the attack, grabbing a hold of King Ghidorah's central head in his paw. Pounding his wings to propel himself along as he acquainted his foe's face with the earth below, Kaizer Ghidorah flew across the ruined landscape whilst grinding King Ghidorah's face and body across the ground deep enough to dig a trench. Energy crackling along his fangs, Kaizer Ghidorah let go off Grand King Ghidorah and fired. Torrents of graviton beams coiled around the half buried ghidorah, shocking and constricting him all the while. Pitching his heads up, Kaizer redirected the streams up and over before cutting them off, dragging the screeching King Ghidorah through several ruins before tossing him into the air. A dazed and still sparking King Ghidorah crashed to the ground in a heap. Kaizer Ghidorah strode forward towards him. The Berserk Abomination too was riddled with injuries, burns, cuts, broken bones; and was bleeding with every step. Only difference was the unyielding rage fueling him didn't allow any of it to register. He was being wounded, but he wasn't being hurt. He just clothslined and dragged King Ghidorah with an arm broken in several places, practically laughing all the way. Not that it mattered. As long as King Ghidorah felt even more agony than he did, the grin on the crazed behemoth's face that had been burned into his foe's consciousness at this point, never faded. And there was another reason Kaizer was in better shape, as he halted his advance and grabbed the thoroughly pulverized King Ghidorah by the base of his neck. Kaizer held up his enemy and stopped laughing, a piercing glare ripping across his eyes as he lunged forward. With a firm bite to the golden dragon's throats and wings, Kaizer gained a firm hold. King Ghidorah shook off his daze, thrashing and shrieking, reflexively firing out triple graviton streams into the sky as his wing lightning tore into Kaizer Ghidorah's back. But the dragon of black and gold refused to let go, tiny tendrils of blue and green energy began to be siphoned off of the struggling King and into the feeding Kaizer. Several of Kaizer Ghidorah's wounds began to close up even under King's assault as the energy vampirism did its work. Second by second, he drained away not only the sources of the hydra's more fantastical powers; but even the fields of power that motorized his cells; literally devouring his life force. King Ghidorah's thrashing and beams weakened as more and more of his power was stolen. After almost half a minute, the draining ceased and King Ghidorah fell limp. Kaizer Ghidorah tossed his practically comatose enemy to the ground, planting a paw on King's torso as he bent his necks down. He grasped the still King Ghidorah's left neck, one set of jaws on the base, the other two on the middle and upper end of the throat. He started pulling in toward different direction, only hoping the half dead king wasn't deceased enough yet to not feel the pain. ========= Zenith ========= Grand King Ghidorah sat upon his throne, having fallen silent and stoic. He closed his eyes for a time, motionless as a statue and lively as a corpse. Irys tilted her head slightly, before noticing something in the dim light. A master of manipulating all gravity, King Ghidorah started pulling up a ring of his scales going across his neck to reveal the skin underneath. It was only then the gyaos noticed a small, practically invisible detail. There was a line of imperfections on King Ghidorah's left neck, where the scale pattern was slightly irregular. When he pulled up his scales and scutes, she could see why. Swimming beneath the gold was a jagged, hideous scar that stretched all around King Ghidorah's neck and throat like a collar. The golden dragon's voice returned to the world, noticeably quieter than it had been before. "The humans got part of the hydra myth wrong, two don't grow back in one's place. Tis an odd experience to suddenly lose a third of one's senses and vision." Megalon might have machinery attached to his stomach and Gigan didn't even have one anymore, but both of them started to feel a tad sick. Irys found herself sinking more towards the floor as the implications hit her one after another. Gigan had been right about what he'd told her, possibly more than even he knew at the time. That, thing, their friend had turned into, and was changing into again... It wasn't their friend. She was getting some ugly dejavu from her old flock. Casting her breath, Irys looked up to the frozen Ghidorah, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "H-ow did you escape?..." King Ghidorah slowly opened his eyes in the frigid Zenith air. A tiny smile eased its way onto the corners of his mouth. "There lies the interesting part..." ============== Planet Xilian ============== Kaizer spat his blood token aside, golden ichors pouring out into the streets and swelling around his feet. Grand King Ghidorah, after nearly passing out from the neural shock, shifted. Several breaths passed before he managed to slowly open his eyes in the dust choked xilian air, half wondering how he was still alive. His vision came and went every few seconds, hearing phasing in and out every time the blackout came. Down the street, numerous xilian military vehicles moved forward. Through his fuzzy sight, King Ghidorah could just barely make out one soldier in a unique long coat crawling out of a hatch, the being soon standing atop a large, tank-like hovercraft. By some device, he managed to speak loud enough to be heard. "Praetorian Guard 0-094, this is your commanding officer Field Marshal 973. Monster 0 a.k.a K-King Ghidorah neutralized. The mission... is ... com-plete-" There was something hesitant in the xilian's voice, pinpricks of what sounded like remorse clogged by fear was causing the otherwise authoritative command to stammer. Shifting his gaze upwards and waiting for the blackness to pass, King Ghidorah got a good idea as to why. Kaizer Ghidorah, golden blood still dripping from his maws, had taken his full attention away from the other kaiju and was instead looking blankly at the marshal. Kaizer's eyes narrowed and his lips began to curl back as he became transfixed on the plasma mortar the marshal had been piloting. "W-we're searching for Controller 011 as we speak. Return to base 13 and we'll-!!!" A roaring leviathan cut him off, Kaizer silencing the whole of the city. Equal in strength to the physical bellow was the telepathic shout King Ghidorah didn't even need to focus to pick up. ============================================================================================ “Turns out, he and I were alike in more ways than just him being a knock off. With an unstable mind, power tends to make the uninitiated behave… erratically.” ============================================================================================ -"Killed... her.. you ALL killed her! IT'S YOUR FAULT"- Golden lights erupted from Kaizer Ghidorah's maw and half a second later, Field Marshal 973, half of his column, and several hundred feet of street and earth below them ceased to exist past the following torrent of energy. Screaming through his attack as the military fruitlessly opened fire, Kaizer Ghidorah stomped off of King Ghidorah and down the street, chasing and smashing every hover-tank and shooting every aircraft out of the sky. It was at that point King Ghidorah blacked out, both from blood loss and Kaizer kicking him in the face as he ran over him. It was likely half an hour later when he came to again. King Ghidorah resumed to a realm unlike the one he left. The capital, the crown jewel of the Xilian Empire had been virtually leveled. Burning husks of buildings lit across the cityscape, burning funeral pyres to the dead and dying. Hellish cackles rang out from across the desolated hollows, heralding Kaizer Ghidorah’s continuous rampage as he chased the remaining military across the capital like a cat upon mice. The once vast defense column had been reduced to a mere half dozen vehicles that weren’t fighting as much as they were fleeing for their lives from a monster willing to rip its way through several blocks worth of skyscrapers just to get at them. Kaizer Ghidorah laughed a maniac's laugh as he flew down main street after an aircraft, his wings gutting several buildings as he passed. King Ghidorah staggered to his feet, every twitch caused an avalanche of pain to shoot through a body with more bones broken than intact. As much as he hated himself for the thought and emotion, the King of Terror was terrified and had to get away; his pride being about as intact as his left head. Spotting the demon moving away from him, King Ghidorah built up as much energy as he could across shattered wings to get himself off the ground. His ascent up was more of an upwards limp than a powered flight, but was thankfully silent. Or at least it was silent until he was a few hundred meters up and a drop of blood hit the ground. Canceling out the graviton torrent he’d been spewing out to eviscerate the aircraft, Kaizer Ghidorah’s nose flared and he whirled around on his footing. Upon seeing the golden form fleeing across the sky, Kaizer’s blood red eyes widened. Wayward energy built up around the hybrid, gravitons crushing the mountains of rubble to dust before blowing it back. He just realized he’d failed. A mistake that he wouldn’t permit to last. Black wings shot out and flapped as Kaizer kicked off the ground. Flying up at full speed, the oncoming freight train of raw power and hatred tore free a primal scream as he rapidly gained on King Ghidorah. Unable to sacrifice any of his power for an attack, or risk losing all of his lift, King Ghidorah was unable to do anything else other than try to move faster than the monstrosity that was flying up at least three times quicker than he was. Kaizer Ghidorah, beating his wings and running on the air, let drool flow free from his gnashing fangs, fanaticizing about seeing just how many brains he’d need to disconnect to be finished. Breaking through the fringes of the middle atmosphere, King Ghidorah did his best to brace himself as Kaizer flew up to him. And then Kaizer Ghidorah stopped. Frozen at an altitude, he was an inch away from reaching his prey. The hybrid levitated on a curtain of gravitons before rapidly thrashing in a mix of pain and frustration. Roars turned to screams as the former overpowered the latter. Kaizer Ghidorah grabbing as his central head frantically. Dumbstruck, King Ghidorah slowly levitated up as Kaizer began to sink. Even from the distance he knew what was happening. He’d done it to mortals before to kill boredom. A psychic attack, someone was launching a massive mental shock to the abomination's psyche. Running drool turned to blood and a large cut opened up on Kaizer’s torso. The mental shock became too great even for the leviathan, causing Kaizer Ghidorah to lose his altitude and fall to the ground as King Ghidorah stole what may be his only chance and left the atmosphere. He would never again return to this solar system. ======= Zenith ======= "And that whelps, concludes our tale. Now, get out. I find your presence annoying." Ghidorah spoke with a sneer. One by one, the trio looked to one another and limped back to their feet. Staying close together for safety, they silently started out of the chamber and back towards their hollow, regretfully wiser. The taunting voice of the dragon followed them out. "Oh, and now that you are aware, I bid you this question." Irys, Gigan, and Megalon froze up; tensing up outside the gateway to Grand King Ghidorah's realm to make ready. Even when away from him, the hydra's aura of atavistic fear was still strong and urging them to leave. "Now that you know, what will you tell your ally once he returns?... Will you tell him what he had forgotten? What he did? Why the race he loyally served is terrified of him? Who he used to be and what he was tied too? Or will ignorance and his strive to find out be a more, merciful torment?" King Ghidorah muttered in a low voice. Toothy smiles stretched across his triple maws as his tails lashed behind him. The trio cast glances to one another out of the corners of their eyes before they continued on, King Ghidorah's mocking cackle trailing their heels as they limped home. They walked in silence for nearly an hour before returning to their chamber, Irys weakly flapping her wings to roost on a low portion of the ceiling as Megalon dug himself a shallow burrow. Gigan stood motionless just barely in the doorway, his visor's glow dimming. Irys sighed, wrapping her wings around herself to try and grant some measure of comfort. "... Can we even tell X when he gets back? If he remembers, he just might turn into Kaizer again like he did before." Megalon's usually perky voice was noticeably sullen when it echoed out of the hole in the floor. "And his bargain with Boss Ball was to give him his memories back... So, it'll all happen eventually... We could, tell him to not too? Maybe?" "But that would give away that we know something. If we don't tell him, how would he react to us withholding the one thing he wants?" Sparking silenced both of them, Gigan still standing motionless in the dim illuminated doorway. He pitched his head up back to level before raising his arm up. With a twist of his wrist and snap of his nearly dislocated shoulder, the cyborg cleanly sliced through a broad portion of the wall in a spat of frustration. Ignoring his own outburst, Gigan moved inside and sat against the wall. The other two kaiju in attendance didn't react, not needing words for the explanation. Monster X was a ticking time bomb. One day, be it by some freak recollection or betrayal from a friend, he'd find out what happened. When that day came, their friend was going to die... and barring a miracle, there was nothing they could do to stop it. Grand King Ghidorah might have called off a fight he'd have lost, but the harbinger of misery still won in the end. ============================ Forest, Equestrian Human Realm ============================ Adagio Dazzle slung her last bag off her shoulder and into the van. The eldest siren gave their luggage a once over, running through her mental checklist to ensure they had everything. When Aria barged back into the house with a banged up shoulder and a half hysterical mind, they had the accord to bring her to the hospital. The situation was disturbing enough before she was told of the 'monsters' in the woods, having believed up until now this world had none. None of it was an ideal situation. Some whacko in a mask knew what they were, was immune to their control, and was after them. Until now she wasn't fully convinced something was amiss, however elaborate her cousin and her sister's story was. She didn't need much convincing after a second incident and a typically calm Aria nearly having a breakdown from post traumatic fright once the dust cleared. They weren't strong enough. There was magic in this town, that was for sure. But they didn't know for sure who or what was the source. Until they did and got their hands on it, they were vulnerable. And with an attack so close to home, no point in staying. -Silver lining? We charmed the salesman for the insurance. Let's hope we can keep this one...- Her phone started bleeping, the alarm clock she'd set going off. Drawing it out to peek at the time and turn the annoyance off, Adagio closed the side door and made for the driver's seat. -Noon, time to pick Aria up.- "Sonata, come on!" The siren in question was leaning against their small porch, looking blankly out into the woods before hopping up and following Adagio over to the passenger door. Attentive, Adagio didn't need to ask to figure out what was on her sister's mind. A wayward glance at the dense wood would make one half expect something to walk out from behind a snowcapped tree. Sometimes the most peaceful settings could look the most threatening. =================================== White frosted glaze atop the frozen river shattered on a spiked fist's impact, its own breaking off more of the solid surface to open a hole to haul itself out of the river. Enjin stoically climbed out of the freezing water and trudged onto shore. Birds flew out of the trees in panicked chirps and beasts of the ground took off into their burrows or through the shrubs to break for cover, all fleeing based off overpowering instinct to keep away from this newcomer. Not noting any of it, the Aspect of Land started its controlled, brisk pace through the forest. Even from miles away and beneath the frozen river it was able to home in on its target, and now it was closer than ever. Helped that the nearest kaiser energy signature curiously wasn't moving. Moving through the old growth, it didn't take long for the dead forest to give way to snowcapped civilization when Enjin started reaching the urban realm. The signal he trailed was strong now, it was very close. Crossing into the fringes of town, Enjin trod towards a large complex of buildings with a red plus sign mounted upon its emblem. He homed in on one of the smaller buildings on the fringes of the compound. Approaching the rear of the complex towards an access door, Enjin silently moved up towards the lone worker operating a maintenance panel. Poor fool didn't see what was coming until he was grabbed and tossed at parked ambulance with enough force to dent it. Ignoring the loud cracking sound, Enjin moved over towards the door and forced it open. =================================== A black gloved hand sluggishly braced itself against a tree trunk, pushing off to roll its owner onto his back. The damp snow helped Monster X to force himself back into full consciousness faster. He sat himself up before a stinging ache on his stomach and chest caused him to flinch. X looked down as his vision cleared, immediately noticing two things. Firstly the lack of claws, inability to feel his tails, and the fact he was wearing clothes again told him he was somehow back in this form. Secondly, his white shirt was dotted with blood stains and a few holes. Checking himself over, scabs and bruises beneath his shirt confirmed he'd been stabbed more than a couple times with the wounds only recently having closed up. Groaning, Monster X managed to stagger to his feet and start walking. While he didn't have a regeneration ability, he'd figured out long ago he tended to heal a bit quicker than normal beings. Inspecting a former puncture wound on his stomach and assuming some portion of his normal traits carried over, he'd estimate it been about seven hours since the incident. Now was just the matter of how he got here again and how he'd been injured. Swallowing back the soreness, he looked around whilst wandering; hoping he'd find something to jog his memory. The last clear memory he had was walking back to his team's chamber. Everything else was a swirling blur. From the little he could see, it was less memories and more a brief series of still images that came with each step. The all too familiar visage of King Ghidorah and being in the master's throne room were the only vivid images. Mulling over those two, Monster X retraced the faded footprints he saw in the snow up to a hollowed tree. As if pulled by a tiny string, he reached out and touched the aged bark where it seemed to have been torn open. His reward was another flash of memory. It was dark and someone he recognized was inside the trunk. Through the haze he could make out a terrified.. what was that purple witch's name again? Aria? Yes, Aria backed up inside the hollow looking out at him, or at least his direction. As he stepped away from the tree, he got another image blotting out his memory. Some, thing, he'd never seen before. He could only recall one blurry shot of it, the subject in question resembling a man entirely clad in dark hues with a white and red mask of some sort; apparently while throwing a punch. -It seemed to be attacking, was that what stabbed me?- He looked around his surroundings and managed to start walking further through the still forest. Scattered about were recently snapped branches, trampled shrubs, and clear disturbances in the snow. There definitely had been a confrontation here. Leaning back on a tree trunk to calm his pulse, Monster X did his best to comb over the big blank space he had on his recent memory. -Alright... I was in the master's chamber at some point, and I'm in the human realm again. Maybe I was deployed? Another expedition perhaps? Maybe he's aware of the sirens and sent me here to make due on my shortcoming?- Monster X shrugged, concluding that was the most likely and moving on; now focusing on his opponent and the throbbing headache he felt coming on. -What was that thing?- From just the brief still he could remember, everything just seemed off about his attacker. The way it looked, its posture, its lack of skin. It didn't look human. Judging from how torn up parts of the forest seemed, it had to have been one potent brawl he'd gotten himself into. And it seemed to happen in the same area as and right after he'd apparently encountered Aria again. Speaking of the area, a dark vibe seemed to be trickling up his feet just from standing there. Crouching down, X put his hand to what appeared to be a large foot print and instantly felt the numbing bite of faint, residual energy. He grumbled, rising back up. -I've only felt energy like that in two places on this world. The sirens, or another kaiju. If it was here and so was at least one siren, hmmmm...- X looked out into the forest, both putting together the puzzle in his mind as well as making sure the nearby sea of tree trunks wasn't hiding an enemy. The xilian kaiju's eyes narrowed despite the later being untrue. -I have a challenge, or at least an obstacle. Blow to the head during the fight might explain the memory issues.- The headache started to act up again, but X stubbornly tried to keep his mind focused on his new foe. -Perhaps it's why I was sent here? Maybe it is competition and the master wanted it dead? Maybe it's an ally of the sirens? It will have to wait until I find them again...- The throbbing pain in his head spiked momentarily, forcing X to grunt and reach for his head to rub his temple. Only when he reached up, he could feel it; and mentally kicked himself for not noticing yet. His skin, he could feel his skin. No helmet, no mask, no scarf, just his skin. Monster X's pulse spiked slightly as he began looking around for his articles, his face. Ignoring the cold, he stayed as calm as he could and paced through the forest to try and find what was lost. The wind suddenly shifted, a gentle gale forcing Monster X to shield his naked eyes and turn his head to the right. By Tanaka's luck, the motion caused him to notice a length of black sticking out of the pale frost beside a snowbank. Stepping back through old footprints, Monster X trudged over and pulled his scarf and mask out of the snow. He sighed in mild relief and started to fit them back on. He'd just gotten the scarf around his neck when a shimmering in his eye forced a squint. A half step away from and hidden behind the embankment was a small pond, the sun casting a gleam from its reflective top. Of all the things in the world that could give a kaiju pause, few would suspect this would be one. Bluntly put, as soon as his vision adjusted Monster X was frozen. He was so close to the pond, that if he looked down he'd probably see his own reflection. It would be a human's visage granted, but it would be without any of his covers. No gear he came through a portal with or a fused bone helmet the gear spurred from. It would be him with no face. The idea both wrenched at his craving curiosity and tugged at the fearful unknown. On some level he both wanted to know and was repulsed about knowing, pulse alternating between racing and chilled. Monster X leaned over and looked down, before quickly reeling himself back and putting his stuff on just after the corner of his vision grazed the pond's surface. It took a lot of mental strife to force all the past thoughts out of his mind. Taking in a deep gale of winter air, Monster X chilled his mind and nerves; focusing his vision ahead enough that it could cut through steel. -You have a job to do X, no detours. Time to get your bearings.- Pacing off into the woods, Monster X tried to steer himself towards any sign of civilization. While his last apparent run in with either party was in this forest, likely not far from where he woke up, the sirens seemed the type to seek out population centers to use their magic. And, ally or enemy, this new player in town might follow them to such a place. He'd been walking for several minutes when the wind suddenly gusted in a random direction like before. Stumbling for a moment, Monster X opted to walk in the direction of the gales as oppose to perpendicular or against them. He seemed to be having good luck with the wind today, as it pushed him to a patch of woods with a road clearing dead ahead. Stepping up to the paved path, the faint yet exhilarating traces of magical aura lit up his energy tracking sense. Someone with a good amount of power had come this way, likely multiple times over the past few hours. Looking up and down the road and noting the lines lacking snow going up and down the lanes, Monster X looked either way down the path, only to see more forest around either bend. Someone, likely one or more of the sirens, have driven through her recently going either way. Now it was just the matter of trying to pick which way was used last. The winds shifted, chilled blasts moving down the road towards the south. Monster X shielded his eyes from the winter blast, but soon as it came it left. At the end of the gale, a tiny whisper moved across the winds. There was a subtle chiming tune to the feminine voice, despite the urgent tone -"They went that way, hurry!"- -Who said that?!- X snapped around and onto his toes to make ready, trying to spot who it was. But with the dying wind, there was nothing else there but the forest. After finding for sure he was alone, Monster X grumbled and started down the road. A memory he actually had intact recalled the voice from days earlier, when it stopped him from killing that guard. More questions pilled in that he didn't care to think about. He was really starting to get tired of folks talking to him in his head. Refocusing on the mission at hand, Monster X shrugged off the cold fatigue and jogged down the road, hoping he was going in the right direction. =================================== Aria Blaze sat up in her bed, feeling all weight begin to cease. Strands of her long hair, unrestrained due to lack of her ties, levitated up on their own as if afloat underwater. Feeling herself being pulled up slightly, Aria looked around and no longer saw her much maligned hospital room surrounding her. Sanitized white and blue was rapidly crumbling away to a dark void. As the urban faltered, stars began to ignite all around her. In a second's life, she was floating in a spacial realm. Floating out of her bed, a glow on the fringe of her vision caught her attention. Somehow her heart had dislodged itself from its necklace and levitated before her. Her eyes widened and she reached for it. But soon as her arm came into view, her hand did not. Instead, a magenta hued hoof with a fin-like fetlock tapped the edge of the gemstone. Reeling her limb back, Aria felt her breath depart when she looked down, no more did she see anything resembling a human body on her form. A brief look in her reflection cast in the gem confirmed it when a hippocampus looked back at her on the shining stone's face. An uncharacteristic smile crossed her face as she held up her tail, fanning its flipper as a gleeful giggle slipped out. The usual sourpuss didn't mind it, she was back after all. Before she could test to see if she could still do some controlled flight like this, a beam of light shot across the space below her. The panel of the illuminated solidified, forming a glassy walkway. The siren looked around in mild confusion, but her attention was stolen away by her heart. The gemstone grew in size and shape, becoming roughly the scale of a bathroom mirror. A breeze of warm wind blew across the starry veil, carrying an echo of a gentle voice. "You, your family, and the world around you are in grave danger..." Aria looked about to and fro, unable to pin down who was talking. The voice spoke again in a chime, this time from beside her as if it was circling the siren. "You have taken in part of a great power." The surface of the gem lit with a dim glow, displaying a familiar outline. One of a monster shaped like a man, red eyes glowing in unison to the stones embedded upon his bracers and choker. Red smoke swirled out of the figure as a tall shadow formed behind it. The shadow stretched across the gem, three serpents and a pair of broad wings fanning as the gem absorbed the smoke. "In doing so, you've made yourself a target." The image shifted, the monster turning into a demon with a red and white mask. Archaic armor stretched across a torso and arms that only vaguely resembled a human. Wisps of shadows seeped out from where skin was supposed to be. Even just looking at it seemed to make the temperature drop. Black cavities in place of eyes seemed to stare right through her. The monstrosity started to walk towards her, causing Aria to unconsciously back away. "The world in which you dwell is unprepared. There is only one chance. You must work together with-" The voice stopped. Stumbling over the chance to demand to know who was talking, Aria could only retort. "With? With who?!" She snapped, floating around to try and find who was addressing her. The calmness in the voice was gone when it spoke again. "Oh no... it's already there!" Aria's gemstone shrunk back to normal size and rapidly levitated back onto her chest. There was a bright glow on the walkway. "You need to wake up right now! Help will come in 5 minutes, just persist!" Aria looked over and caught a glimpse of a tall form with a pronged horn. "Wh- wake up?! Who are y-" In an instant the starry veil on her dream lifted and Aria snapped back into conscious, lurching up in her hospital bed. Heart pounding and breath racing, the siren's vision blurred from the sudden jolt; causing her to stop and rub her eyes. Her mind in a swirl, she could barely hear the sound of the orderly speaking. "Ah good you're up. X-rays checked out and your shoulder is fine, just a bit of muscle bruising. Your family just checked in at the front to pick you u-!" There was a gasping sound followed by a slick crack. Aria's pulse ceased and there was a heavy flop on the floor. Vision refocusing, she looked up and at her doorway. A pair of legs laying on the floor stuck out from behind a curtain, a large form standing over it. Not a human, but a walking shadow. An unmoving, white and black mask looked up from its latest kill and at its next one. The siren's gemstone pulsed and lit with a building, red glow. Enjin started to advance forward. -Kaiser energy, detected- ============= Reader Works! ============= Because talent demands display~ By Pyrus-Leonidas By uhZeeamigo By AtomicNukeStar1 By Saurian96 By FallenAngel5414 By Branded-Rose By Zeroviks By Gollum123 By Mayozilla By LionPatriot By AtomicnukeStar1 (If I missed any body, give me a memo! No offense but there's kinda a lot of you ^^; )