by Peter B. Hull

Mike Travers squinted as the icy terrain reflected the sunlight. Gazing across the frozen Antarctic tundra, he was grateful for his sunglasses. The snowmobile continued to bear him across the land with the penguins his only witnesses.

He pulled up to the thermometer station. Once he had checked it and his records, he could see that the warming trend had continued over several years. More evidence of global warming. It simply confirmed what he had felt to be true all along. The air was warm for Antarctica, even for the summer. He collected another soil sample and was on his way.

A few minutes later, he came to what appeared to be an unusual formation- one like the geologist had never seen before. At least a hundred dark green rounded domes jutted up from the snow, which only partially covered them. They looked like a field of boulders, varying in size between three and eight feet. He parked the Ski-doo and got off to examine them.

Removing his right glove, he ran his hand over the surface of one of the domes. The strange, fleshy texture did not feel like any rock he had ever encountered. He decided to see if he could collect a sample. He pulled out his pickaxe and swung at one of the domes. The pick bounced off with a thunk.

"Damn!" he swore aloud. "That didn't even leave a mark."

He swung again, and again. On his fourth attempt, a loud, cracking noise informed him he had broken his handle. However, it had also succeeded in penetrating the surface, sticking into the object.

That's funny, he thought. It still didn't break a piece off. Just stuck in like it really was made of flesh. But that's ridiculous- isn't it?

As if in answer to his silent question, a dark red liquid started drizzling out around the pick's imbedded point. When he removed it, the drizzle became a gush- for about three seconds. Then it stopped, and the hole closed up right before his eyes. He blinked in astonishment, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. No doubt about it- the wound was completely healed. The only sign it had ever been there was the blood, both in the area surrounding where it had been, and on his blade.

He gazed once more over the field of strange domes.

This is unbelievable! Are these things all alive? That's just nuts!

Of course, he knew biology was Maria's forte, not his. Putting some of the blood into a sample container, he hopped on the snowmobile and headed back toward field camp.

Travers could see Maria Darrow's brow knit in concentration as she studied the sample under her microscope. When she looked up, he could read puzzlement in her features. They had been in a relationship long enough for him to tell what she was feeling.

"This DNA is so… so weird," she said. "Not like anything I've ever seen before. It's not exactly reptilian or avian, but it has similarities to both, as well as something else, something completely alien. Still, we know there are some creatures in the world that don't seem to fit in normal biological classification. We've all heard about Godzilla in Japan, and Rodan too."

Travers arched his brow at her. "So you think I actually discovered Godzilla- or his long-lost twin brother- under the ice?"

"Of course not, you smart-aleck. I'm saying you may have found a new monster- or one that hasn't been seen in a while. When we get back to McMurdo station, I'll compare this to what I can find in the computer database."

Travers felt the heat of the coffee mug in his lap and the vibrations throughout his frame as the fleet of sno-kat trucks cut through the snow. Omar Kamaal drove well enough, but some jostling was inevitable on this rough terrain.

Seated between them, Maria ignored the bouncing as she pondered the photos she had received over the internet- photos of a giant reptilian creature or, sometimes, a pair of them, one visibly larger than the other. The green-colored, bipedal monsters were somewhat reminiscent of Godzilla, but with a number of differences.

Among the latter were the ears. These great, fan-like appendages reminded her of some dragon representations she had seen. These creatures also lacked the jagged triangular plates that were Godzilla's trademark. Instead, their backs were blanketed with smaller bumps that almost reminded him of those lizards erroneously called horned toads. Of course, "smaller" is a relative term. While looking quite small on the backs of the creatures, the bumps would be at least the size of an adult human. Travers had no doubt these were what he had seen protruding from the ground.

The pictures showed the monsters in a variety of situations. Some showed the smaller one in a cage, while others showed the larger one tearing up some buildings, including the Big Ben.

"So are both these creatures called Gorgo?" Travers asked as he looked over her shoulder. "I vaguely remember reading or hearing about them."

"Sometimes they call the parent Ogra, which was the original name of the sea spirit in the Gaelic legend. Some salvage hunters captured the baby in 1961, when it showed up on Nara Island. The people who lived there were calling it Ogra. The guys who caught it made a deal with a London circus to exhibit it and the circus owner- a guy named Dorkin- changed the name to Gorgo.

"Anyway, you can imagine their surprise when Mama Beast showed up looking for Junior. She trashed the city of London. Instead of making the big bucks they expected, they ended up bankrupt after they got the bill."

"Yeah, I can imagine. I do remember reading about that. How do we know it's these creatures under the ice? Where did anyone get DNA samples?"

"When you have creatures crashing through buildings and getting shot at by major artillery, There're bound to be both blood and skin samples scattered around. We're all shedding skin all the time anyway. Not to mention the samples they took when the baby was in captivity."

"So what became of these creatures after that?"

"They were seen in quite a few places around the world. But they haven't been seen at all since 1965."

He pointed to another photo. "What the hell is that?" The picture showed Gorgo grappling with a hairy, brown, one-eyed creature about the same size as he. Another picture showed Ogra picking up two of the creatures, one in each hand.

"Those aliens landed in Australia in 1963. If it hadn't been for Gorgo, we might not've been having this conversation. We'd most likely be either extinct or slaves."

"I think I remember hearing about that, too. These things may actually have been the lesser evil." Travers thought for a second. "Didn't Godzilla do something similar in Tokyo a year or two back?"

"That's right. They found a space ship that had been resting on the ocean bottom for millions of years. An alien monster came out and tried to make itself into a clone of Godzilla while swallowing him whole. He blew it up from within with his nuclear fire breath."

"Did these Gorgo creatures ever exhibit any abilities of that type?"

"There was one occasion when a U.S. Air Force pilot reported seeing one of them on an island where a nuclear test had just been conducted. He said the creature was glowing red and fire was coming out of its mouth. The report was never confirmed."

He shook his head. "Feels like I'm living in a comic book or a B movie. Anyway, I wonder how they ended up here."

Kamaal spoke for the first time since they had begun discussing the creatures. "That is an interesting question," he said in his thick Arabic accent. "Why would they come here?"

"Maybe they just wanted to get away from it all." Travers did not have to look at the twinkle in Maria's eye to know she was joking. Then she continued in a more serious tone. "Maybe they got tired of people throwing guns and bombs in their faces everywhere they went. They probably decided to go someplace where humans weren't."

"Well, Hon, you do have to admit those things are pretty damn destructive," Travers said. You can't blame people for wanting to defend themselves. Look at the way the big one trashed London."

"They were holding her baby captive. What do you expect? And look at the alien invaders we were just talking about. Like you said yourself less than a minute ago, they were definitely a lesser evil."

"Point taken," he said. Then, changing the subject, he said, "Wonder if they're still alive."

"I think there's a pretty good chance. They have proven extremely durable in the past."

"Looks like we have arrived," Kamaal cut in.

Something looks different about the lumps now, thought Travers. They seem to be protruding farther than they were a week ago. Naw, must be my imagination.

They clambered out of the truck and began pulling the ultrasound equipment out of the back.

Looking over his shoulder at the lights of McMurdo station, Kamaal could see no one following him. He must be far enough out. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a cellular phone. Making sure he had the scrambler on, he punched a speed-dial button and waited for an answer- which came after the first ring.

"Hello," the voice spoke in Saradian.

"Desert snow has fallen."

"Agent 947. Have they found any valuable mineral deposits yet?"

"Better than that. You recall how hard we have tried to get hold of some Godzilla cells?" Without waiting for a reply, he continued, "Do you remember the monsters known as Gorgo and Ogra?"

After a pause the voice at the other end replied. "I have heard of them- but they haven't been seen or heard of in decades."

"They have now. They are here, frozen in the ice." Kamaal quickly briefed his boss on Travers' discovery. "Ultra sound analysis showed they are both there and the hearts are beating about once every two minutes."

"What are they planning to do with them?"

"They are waiting to hear from the U.S. The feeling is they are going to try to contain them where they are at, taking special precautions to keep them frozen. It was agreed it would be too risky to transport them to America."

"You have done well, 947. I'll make sure our leaders get this information. I have no doubt it will be beneficial to the Saradian Republic. Contact us again tomorrow."

The white structure almost blended in with its surroundings, but the high-tech look did provide some contrast to the surrounding wild countryside. It was about 500 feet long and 20 feet tall, and very well insulated. It had to be, since it was essentially a giant freezer. Thermostatic controls would shut the freezer off and open the doors when external temperatures dropped below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. At all other times, the only way the doors could be opened was by entering the right code in the control panel.

Taking a drag off his cigarette, Len Barnes looked out into the Antarctic night. His heavy green jacket provided protection from the evening chill but wasn't very effective against monotony.

Guarding some buried frozen lizards. What a boring detail! Where the hell are they gonna go? Nothing interesting's gonna happen tonight.

He had, of course, heard the admonition to be careful what one wished for. He just wasn't thinking about it right then. When the snowmobile pulled up, he was grateful for the break in the routine. He stepped out of the guard shack, rifle at the ready.

"Halt, who goes there."

"Just me." Barnes recognized the accented voice of Omar Kamaal. He lowered his gun. "What can I do for you?"

"The biologist back at the base, Ms. Darrow, wanted some samples to study."

Barnes wrinkled his ebony brow in confusion. "Why didn't Ms. Darrow come down here herself?"

"She was very busy, Corporal Barnes."

"Well, I'll have to call base to check it out with her."

"Don't bother. Here is my authorization."

Barnes suddenly realized he was staring down the barrel of a 9mm pistol. "Drop your gun," Kamaal said.

As Barnes obeyed, a snow-truck pulled up, and five people who looked of Arabic origin, jumped out. The truck had no markings, and was clearly not U.S. military.

Damn! I should have kept a closer eye on him. I can't believe he's a spy.

About two minutes later, his captors surrounding him with guns to his head, he was punching in a nine-digit entry code. After that, he hit the star key three times. Unbeknownst to them, this triggered an alarm back at base.

The Saradians directed him to a corner and five of them kept an eye on him while Kamaal concentrated on cutting a small sample of skin from one of the fleshy mounds. Even with a diamond-tipped blade, it took a few minutes. After he was done, they talked among themselves in Arabic for a moment while glancing at Barnes. After the talk was done, they pointed their guns at him.

"Sorry, Corporal," Kamaal said. "We've got to make sure you don't call for help."

"Couldn't you just tie me up?"

"Do you have any rope?"

"There's duct tape in the shack."

The Saradians appeared to ponder for a few seconds, and talked some more Arabic. The one who appeared to be the commander spoke sharply to Kamaal, who seemed to disagree. Then Kamaal looked at Barnes with what the latter felt was regret. Barnes never heard what he was about to say.

"This is Captain Dennis Young of the U.S. Navy. We have you surrounded. Throw down your weapons and come out with your hands up."

The booming voice startled Barnes as much as his captors. They reacted quickly, grabbing their guns and their hostage. Barnes was highly aware of the gun barrel pressed into his right temple as they marched him toward the door. He faced straight ahead as he walked. He did not see one of the other Saradians pull a bundle that looked like several sticks of dynamite tied together from his pack and set the timer.

They stepped out of the structure. "Let us move out or this man dies," the Saradian called out.

Gritting his teeth in frustration at being used to further the enemy's cause, Barnes decided to try something.

They'll kill me anyway, once they don't need a hostage. May as well die fighting.

As he took his next step, he pretended to stumble. In the same motion, he smacked the gun with the palm of his right hand, causing it to fly upward. He then brought his elbow back into his opponent's solar plexus. Breaking the Saradian's grip, he turned and delivered a right hook to his jaw. As the Saradian went down, Barnes heard the click of a hammer being cocked a foot or so away from his head.

"Die, American pig!" Barnes saw another Saradian with a gun pointed at his head. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

BANG! The most remarkable thing, Barnes thought, was that he was still aware.

That was painless. I didn't feel a thing. I guess there really is a life after death.

He opened his eyes, expecting to look down at his own dead body. Instead, he saw that of the agent who had been aiming at him lying in the snow, a pool of blood forming around his head. Looking around, he saw at least a dozen U.S. soldiers approaching. He breathed a sigh of relief. It's over.

Then the building blew up, the force of the explosion bowling over Americans and Saradians alike.

Barnes lay still for a moment, collecting his senses. Then he slowly raised his head, looking up at the flames towering over him.

Bastards must have set a bomb. Then with bitter irony, he thought, Great job I did of guarding it, eh?

The soldiers stood up, keeping their guns trained on the five remaining Saradians as they surveyed the damage. The latter had smug looks on their faces as though they did not care about being apprehended. Four of them, all except Kamaal, pulled their hands from their jacket pockets and raised them, slowly walking toward the soldiers. No one saw the grenade pins on their fingers until it was too late. The suicide blasts killed several troopers.

Kamaal knew it was important that he escape with the Gorgo cells. His comrades had sacrificed their lives to make this possible. In the chaos resulting from their suicide attack, he made for his snowmobile.

"Freeze, you bastard," Barnes snarled. Kamaal could see he had a gun pointed at him. No doubt one of the dead troopers' rifles. "Turnabout is fair play." Barnes knew Kamaal couldn't have any more tricks up his sleeve. The bomb, and the pocket grenades, had been the limit.

That was when the ground around them started cracking and buckling.

At first, Barnes thought an earthquake had struck. The huge chunks of rock and ice that flew out, many of which were bigger than a truck, reminded him of films he had seen of the great Alaskan quakes.

Then, he saw the huge reptilian head rise up from the center of the turbulence. He stood rooted to the spot, staring at the giant beast. As it curled its lips back in a snarl, he could see the individual teeth were almost as large as he was. He had forgotten all about Kamaal, and didn't notice as the latter fired up the snowmobile and sped away.

Warmth. The tingling feeling suffused his entire body as awareness returned to his mind. There were the dim sounds of explosions, which he associated with the small pesky creatures that were always tormenting him and his mother. They had even captured him once, when he was somewhat smaller than he now was, and kept him in a little enclosure until Mother had arrived to free him. The desire to be free of them was what had driven them to this desolate place. Now, it seemed even migrating to this icebox to hibernate had not been enough. The pests had even followed them here! Beside him, he could sense his mother stirring also. Angrily, he flexed his muscles and broke free of the icy bed.

Looking at the leviathan raising itself from the ice, Barnes thought it was the most amazing creature he had ever seen. It was bipedal, like a T-rex or some similar dinosaur, supporting its weight on two powerful legs that would have dwarfed the supporting pillars of an ancient Greek temple. It was larger than a T-rex would have been, with its arms much bigger proportionally, having about the same body/arm size ratio as a human would. One digit on each of its four-clawed hands opposed the others, like a human thumb.

The head reminded Barnes somewhat of a dinosaur, but the ears reminded him of dragons he had seen pictured in mythology books. He had heard of creatures such as Godzilla- creatures known as kaiju- but had never beheld one this close. It was undoubtedly larger than any animal he'd ever seen.

Then another gigantic head thrust upward from the ice. The second creature was over twice the size of the first one.

Barnes' gun dropped to the snow as his fingers went limp. Blacking out, he followed it a moment later.

Mama and Junior Gorgo sniffed the air as they shook off the thin layer of ice that clung to their dark green skin. The adult took her first step in nearly four decades, reducing the Saradian van to scrap metal as her foot landed on it. The cub followed her, and they began heading northward.

Abdul Marrouf entered the submarine, the hatch closing behind him.

"The Omar Kamaal ID is now defunct, but it served its purpose." He fished a vial out of his pocket and held it up for all to view. "We have some cells from Gorgo."

"What of the others?" Commander Pahlevi asked as he took the vial.

"They have all gone to Allah, but they took out some Americans in the process."

"Well done, Agent 947. I think Dr. Demonicus will be pleased."

The craft submerged beneath the chilled waters, leaving the abandoned snowmobile as the only visible sign of human presence. As such, it was guaranteed to attract Gorgo's attention when he and his mother arrived on the scene.

Picking up the small object, the giant cub turned the snowmobile over in his hand as he sniffed at it. The handlebars and windshield crumbled in his grasp. He recognized the familiar scent of the small pests. Mama Gorgo gave the object a quick sniff, then voiced a quick growl of impatience. Dropping the machine, Gorgo followed her into the water. The two beasts swam northward.

Byron Donaldson can't really be blamed for thinking it was a mountain. After all, the huge mass did dwarf some of the surrounding hills. Had the American tourist looked more closely, he might have discerned the slow in-and-out motion of the leviathan breathing. He might also have wondered about the strange pattern of the cracks that divided the mountainside into near-equal sections and the absence of vegetation. But the beauty of the small Japanese island distracted him. So he thought nothing of throwing his grappling hook up the side of the "mountain." He hooked on something and began climbing.

That was when, for the first time in months, the giant stirred. As his mountain started to move, Donaldson let go of the rope, dropping to the ground. He looked up, gasping as the monster slowly clambered to its feet, then he scrambled beneath a nearby bush to hide. Luckily for the man, the gigantic saurian was not aware of his presence. It absently scratched its side, dislodging the hook it was scarcely aware of. Then, raising his monstrous right foot, Godzilla took his first step in months.

Donaldson felt the Earth tremble (almost as much as he was) when the colossal foot returned to Earth about 50 feet from where it had been. Godzilla repeated the process with his left foot, continuing to stride toward the sea. Although the vibrations lessened with every footfall, it took several steps before Donaldson noticed the difference.

Godzilla's nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. At some level, he could sense that a new power had awakened in the world, one rivaling his own. Tilting his head back, the leviathan gave vent to a mighty roar. It was a sound of challenge and exultation. Donaldson clapped his hands over his ears, curling his body into a fetal position. The tremendous bellow sounded like a combination of a foghorn and an old-fashioned train whistle, magnified a thousand times.

Then, Godzilla waded into the water and began swimming.

Chandra screamed at the spider, which suddenly appeared on her shoulder, its wriggling black legs sharply contrasting with her pink dress. She jumped, swatting the hideous bug as she did so. As it flew from her, she saw the gossamer-thin line connecting it to Larry's hand. She could now see it was just rubber, and the laughter in the fifteen-year-old face.

"Damn it, Larry, grow up!" Why had her pain-in-the-butt baby brother had to come along? This trip would have been a perfect high school graduation present otherwise.

Larry's facial expression changed suddenly to a look of wide-eyed fear. "What the hell is that?"

His fear seemed so real, she almost turned before she caught herself, a vision of Larry pointing at her laughing, saying "Made you look, sis" stopping her. "Give it a rest. I'm not falling for any more tricks."

"I swear, sis, this ain't a trick!"

"That's what the boy who cried wolf said."

"He turned out to be right in the end, didn't he?"

She shook her head. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame.."

The rest of her sentence was drowned in the huge rumble from behind. It almost sounded like thunder, except that it felt… closer. Turning, Chandra stared into a face from a nightmare. The huge saurian jaws looked like they could swallow a bus. A person could easily crawl inside one of the flaring nostrils. Each of the fangs that lined the mouth in double rows was bigger than her father. With a scream, she fainted to the deck.

Godzilla's growl had been one of irritation or annoyance rather than outright anger. He didn't really care one way or the other about the ship. It was just an obstruction, something to be moved out of his way. He reached for the vessel, closing his great claw about the deck and crumbling the handrail. The hull cracked in several places as the leviathan pushed the ship away like a toy in a kid's bathtub.

Water splashed over the deck, washing several passengers, including Chandra, over the side. Waking, she began treading water. It was fortunate she was a good swimmer. The passengers looked around for Godzilla, but he had already forgotten about the ship and was swimming away.

He looks like an American version of Fu Manchu, thought Ralph Burke as he looked at Demonicus in the chamber's pale fluorescent light. The scientist's drooping moustache did create that effect. To his right stood Abdul Marrouf, his dark complexion and the few days' growth of beard marking his chin serving to increase the effect.

But whatever Burke thought of Demonicus and his Saradian buddies, they paid well. They had better, considering the fact he had barely made it off Isla Sorna with the raptor egg Demonicus wanted. Pablo and Hector had not been so lucky. He could still hear Pablo's screams as the adult raptors tore him apart. Guns blazing, Burke and Hector had fought their way clear.

Not five minutes later, that huge T-Rex had suddenly loomed out of the forest, snapping Hector up like a chicken nugget or strip of bacon. Of course, his screams were much shorter-lived than Pablo's had been. Burke ran, and the Tyrannosaur had not bothered to give chase. It was the largest animal he had ever encountered that was also carnivorous.

Then Demonicus switched on a light, and Burke's mind suddenly snapped back to the present as Marrouf gasped.

The chamber they had entered was walled with a very strong Plexiglas on three sides, separating them from three other liquid-filled chambers. One of those chambers, the one to their left, was now lit up- revealing the horror floating within.

"Behold," Demonicus announced in his most theatrical voice. "I give you- Raptoragon!" His hand made a tearing gesture as he emphasized the second syllable TORE.

Even the T-Rex would be dwarfed by this creature, which looked to be about 90 meters tall if it were standing instead of being curled in this fetal position. Various tubes, hoses and pipes protruded from its body, connecting it to the ceiling. Except for its gigantic size, the silvery-metallic sheen which covered its body, and tube on top of its head, the monster was a virtual duplicate of the raptors which had taken down Pablo. A human could walk under the arch of the great curved hind claws without ducking. Burke knew firsthand how vicious normal Raptors were. The thought of a Godzilla-sized one sent chills down his spine.

"Quite the challenge for Godzilla, don't you think?" Demonicus asked

"I don't know. Does it breathe fire?"

"No, but that tube on his head is a laser beam. Also, his skin is a flame-resistant alloy. Then, you have his tremendous speed and those huge curved claws. Like any creature that size, his skeleton is extremely hard, harder than diamond. It has to be, to support that much weight. The claw is just as hard, capable of tearing Godzilla open. But the best news is, he will not be alone."

Once more, Demonicus flicked a switch, and the second chamber lit up in front of them, revealing another giant monster. Marrouf was first to recognize it as being similar to Gorgo. It was actually a cross between Gorgo and a robot. Its left eye resembled a giant camera lens. A similar, but much larger structure was housed in its chest. The creature's entire left side was mechanical, including the arm and leg. Like Raptoragon, It had tubes in its nose and mouth.

"You made this one possible, Abdul. Meet BioMecha Gorgo, or Borgo for short. The panel in his chest houses a plasma ray weapon powerful enough to damage even Godzilla," Demonicus cackled. "It was designed from the wreckage of that alien vessel in Tokyo. His artificial eye can fire a laser beam, and the left fingers can fire missiles.

"Borgo and Raptoragon ought to be able to take care of Godzilla between the two of them. But, just in case.."

Once more, he pressed a button and the third chamber was illuminated. "Reptilicus completes my terrible trio."

Reptilicus looked like a giant snake with wings and two feet, with legs so short as to be almost nonexistent. The monster's huge, light green scales ran down its body in an overlapping pattern. On top of its head was another metallic tube construct similar to Raptoragon's.

Burke had helped make this one possible too. A few months ago, he had burglarized a guarded facility in Copenhagen, cutting a slice from the frozen reptilian foot contained therein. That had been a cakewalk compared to the Jurassic Park trip, but still risky.

He knew something of this monster's history. Decades ago, a Danish oil company had discovered a section of reptilian tail while drilling in the frozen muck. Upon thawing, it had regenerated into a full creature, which had escaped to wreak havoc on Copenhagen and the surrounding countryside. During a military confrontation with the creature, one of its feet was blown off. Reptilicus was later immobilized with a tranquilizer shot into its mouth, and the foot was found and frozen before it could grow into a new creature.

"These three beasts are easily capable of destroying Godzilla once and for all," said Demonicus darkly. "Batragon, Lepirax, Ghillaron and Centipore will be avenged. And then… The entire world will pay us protection money to keep the kaiju who killed Godzilla from attacking their countries. We're going to be rich!"

Len Barnes opened his eyes and looked, around, his gaze taking in the hospital bay. "Welcome back to the land of the living," said the soothing voice of Nurse Duncan.

"How long have I been here?"

"About four hours now. You're lucky they found you. You could have died of exposure out there."

"Or from getting stepped on. Those creatures were gigantic! What happened to them anyway? They weren't just a bad dream I had, were they?"

"No, they are quite real, all right. They headed to the ocean and swam northward. Fortunately, they missed the base. By the way, someone is here to see you- if you feel up to it." He nodded and she made a gesture. A second later, Mike Travers and Maria Darrow entered the room accompanied by a man he did not know.

"Glad to see you're ok." Travers said.

"Thanks. I guess you heard about Omar Kamaal."

They both nodded. "It's so hard to believe," Maria said. "He seemed like such a nice guy."

"Spies usually do," Barnes said. "The best ones anyway."

"We have a guest who knows something about these creatures." Travers said. "Len Barnes, meet Dr. Sean McCartin, a kaijuolojist."

"Pleased to meet you, sir," McCartin said in an Irish brogue as they shook hands. He looked to be in his early 50s or so, his brown hair gray around the edges.

"So, what is your connection to these monsters?"

"I was a wee lad when they caught Gorgo and put him in the zoo, but I was there. I lived on Nara Island. I traveled with them to London. I remember it as well as if it happened yesterday. Ogra tore that city apart. She smashed skyscrapers like they were cardboard boxes."

"I read Captain Joe Ryan's account of how you actually stowed away on the Triton and tried to set Gorgo free before they even got him to London," Maria said.

"Aye, lassie, that I did," McCartin smiled. "But they caught me. They'd have been better off if they hadn't." He shook his head sadly. "Poor Joe and Sam! Thought they were going to be rich and ended up sued into bankruptcy, along with that circus owner, Dorkin. They lost the Triton and he lost his circus."

"So what brings you to Antarctica?" Barnes asked.

"Your commanding officer, General Standish, contacted me. Once he told me Gorgo and Ogra had been found, I had to come down. It's my job, and these creatures were the kaiju who inspired my interest. I just wish I could have gotten here sooner."

"Sorry you missed them," Barnes said dryly. "I'd have been glad to give you my spot. I don't ever want to get that close to those things again!"

"I understand. Anyway, General Standish would like to speak to all of us together when you feel up to it."

"What about?"

"He wants us to head to Japan and brief them on what we know about these monsters."

"Why me? I can understand wanting you because of your expertise, but I don't know anything about them."

"Ye've seen 'em, laddie. That's enough."

"Have you ever heard of Dr. Demonicus?" asked General Standish, looking around at the faces in the room. These included Len Barnes, Mike Travers, Maria Darrow, Sean McCartin, and a pretty oriental woman Barnes did not know. She was wearing a military uniform.

The others nodded, while Barnes wrinkled his brow for a moment. "The name seems familiar," he said. "Wasn't he sinking oil tankers and stealing the cargo, or something like that?"

"That's right. He was once a brilliant biologist, Damien Nicholas, whose specialty was studying the effects of radiation on living cells. Then he had some kind of accident in his lab, which exposed him to radiation and unhinged his mind. He then turned his talents toward creating monsters. He is still brilliant, just crazy.

"He actually had an operation going in the Aleutian Islands near Alaska. A meteor with some unusual radioactive properties had crashed on one of the islands. He and his crew had actually enslaved some Eskimos and were forcing them to dig it up. He was using it to power several of his creations, and using them, particularly a flying one he called Batragon, to attack the oil tankers.

"One day, Batragon encountered Godzilla. They fought, then Batragon fled back to the island base. Godzilla followed, and ended up destroying all of Demonicus' monsters. This attracted the attention of the military, and Demonicus was arrested. He was locked up for awhile, but managed to escape. So, Corporal Barnes, are you wondering what all this has to do with you?"

Barnes nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Based on intelligence reports, we think Demonicus has been given refuge by the Saradians, and is working with them. Your friend Kamaal is actually a Saradian operative named Abdul Marrouf. We are pretty sure Demonicus was connected with this incident. The fact they took skin samples indicates he is trying to clone Gorgo.

"In addition to the fact that Gorgo and Ogra are loose again after 40 years, we have recent reports that Godzilla is on the move again in Japan. Satellite observations indicate that is the direction the Gorgos seem to be heading. So, I want you to go up there with Dr. McCartin, Dr. Travers and Dr. Darrow. Your group will be our liaison with the Japanese."

He gestured toward the oriental woman. "This is Colonel Mariko Tsujimori of the JSDF. She will be your commander for this mission. Treat her orders as you would mine. Any questions?" After everyone shook their heads, he continued.

"Your departure time will be at 0700 tomorrow. Your main mission will simply be one of observation, and to share everything you know about these creatures. Dismissed."

Playing solitaire was always a good way to relieve the monotony, thought Ochira Hirata as he dealt himself a hand. It was relaxing sitting on the deck of his boat. The sunshine warmed him, and the old fisherman found himself starting to nod off.

THUMP! He sat up with a startled cry as the boat shook. Incredibly, the ocean and shoreline seemed to fall away. It took him a moment to realize his boat was actually being elevated. A few seconds later, the boat slowly tilted to the side and fell toward the ocean, now 300 feet below. As it dropped, he could see the monstrous head go by, followed by the green, scaly body. His last word was a scream: "Gojiraaa."

Godzilla ignored the tiny wooden object as he looked out over the city of Tokaimura. Another nest of the tiny pesky mites which were always stinging him. His nostrils flared, sniffing the air. The panic of the tiny mites was almost palpable, something he could smell. More important to him, he could sense that which his appetite craved. He knew it was close. He tipped his head back and roared, the sound carrying across the city like the bellow of a foghorn.

Then the leviathan stepped ashore, crushing several people who were not able to get out of the way in time. Many more were crushed in the stampede to escape the monster. He swung his tail to the right, smacking it against a high-rise office building. It collapsed into a pile of rubble, trapping over 100 people in a tomb of concrete and steel. Swinging his tail the other way, he did the same to an apartment building.

Godzilla continued toward his goal, ignoring the tiny, insignificant mites, even when the metal shells they traveled in crashed into his feet. Within five minutes, he was there. The nuclear power plant beckoned to the monster. He entered, continuing to ignore the fleeing humans. Reaching the core, he dug in his claws. The spines on his back glowed as he stood there, experiencing the pleasant sensation of the radiation suffusing his entire being, energizing him.

Within two minutes, he had drained all the radioactivity out of the core. He turned south, toward Tokyo, and began striding across the landscape. A moment later, he heard a familiar sound. Looking up, he saw a trio of jet fighters approaching. They opened fire on the behemoth, their missiles exploding against his chest. For a few seconds, he was completely invisible in the smoke.

Behind the fighters was a small robotic probe, no larger than a baseball. It contained a camera, which let Barnes and the others observe the battle from the base in Tokyo. Barnes held his breath, hoping for a moment that the battle was over. Then the smoke dissipated and so did his hopes. Godzilla still stood, his teeth bared in an angry snarl. The spines on his back began to glow an eerie bluish white, which was reflected by a similar glow in his mouth.

Less than two seconds later, the glow burst forth from his mouth in the form of a ray, which hit the nearest jet. The fighter exploded in burst of fire and shrapnel. Godzilla moved his head, taking the other two planes out with the same burst.

Barnes shook his head. "Those poor bastards, they never stood a chance. They died valiantly."

Tsujimori shook her head. "Actually, the planes are unmanned. The pilots were controlling them through virtual linkup. This innovation was recently introduced to cut casualties among G-Fighters."

"Definitely a wise idea."

About 100 miles off the Japanese coast, a submarine floated nearly 200 feet beneath the ocean's surface. Any observer would have been amazed, not by the appearance of the sub itself, but by the three huge Plexiglas containers tied behind it. These giant boxes, five times the size of the submarine towing them, each had several giant balloons attached to help them keep afloat.

Aboard the lead sub, the Batragon, Ralph Burke had been monitoring radio frequencies. He now turned to Demonicus. "Godzilla has surfaced at Tokaimura. The reports say he attacked the nuclear plant there."

"What's he doing now?"

"Moving south, sir. Looks like he's heading for Tokyo."

"It's time we did the same."

Less than a minute later, the sub was moving toward Tokyo, its monstrous cargo in tow.

Gorgo opened his eyes. Adjusting to the dim light at the murky depths of Tokyo bay, he could see his mother still sleeping. It had been a long, exhausting swim from Antarctica to Japan. But Gorgo now felt rested. Both his hunger and youthful curiosity impelled him upward, toward the surface.

He could see several of the humans' ships moving on the water. He recalled when he had been taken captive and carried aboard such a vessel. Of course, he was nearly twice as big now as he had been then. He would not let them capture him again.

Gorgo's head broke the surface of the water. As he looked around, several people on the shoreline screamed and pointed.

"Gojira!" Amiko Funakia yelled, pointing the sea beast out to her husband, Inishiro.

"I don't think so," he responded after studying the sea-beast for a moment. "I have seen Godzilla in the past. This creature is smaller, and has larger ears."

"Well, it looks big enough to me. Let's get out of here!"

Gorgo flared his nostrils, sampling the various scents of the city. One in particular caught his attention. He swam toward its source, a fishing trawler that had just docked a minute earlier. Gorgo's great claws raked the side of the boat, tearing it open. The day's catch spilled out and the young monster grabbed handfuls of fish, eagerly gobbling down tons of them.

His meal was interrupted by a burst of gunfire. A contingent of the JSDF had arrived. Bullets and tank shells exploded against the reptilian cub's hide. Roaring in anger, Gorgo retaliated, lashing out with his great right arm. A section of the dock collapsed, dumping several of the troopers into the bay.

He then clambered on to the shore to confront his attackers. He charged, soldiers scattering to avoid his counterattack. Some were trampled beneath his feet. He grabbed a tank, ripping the gun from its turret. Then another tank, equipped with flame-throwers, attacked, spewing fire out of its nozzle. Gorgo screamed as the flames licked at his chest.

"I can see they took my advice," McCartin said. "Torches and flame throwers drove him back before."

"Are the tanks automated?" Barnes asked.

"Unfortunately, no. We haven't had the budget to change everything at once."

The saurian picked up the first tank he had smashed, and threw it at the flame shooter. Both tanks exploded, frying their crews. Then a bolt of blue lightning hit him in the stomach. It was a different feeling than the flame, but no less painful. However, Gorgo had felt the sting of alien rays before. These three maser tanks were a cakewalk by comparison.

Moving amazingly fast for his size, Gorgo reached the nearest of the tanks before it could pull away. Picking it up, he turned it around, pointing its ray at the second tank before the operator could take his finger off the trigger. The explosion had to be one of the most bizarre examples ever of death by friendly fire.

The third tank continued firing at the kaiju cub, who held the first one in front of him, directly in the ray's path. It exploded in his hands and caused him to stagger slightly, but he maintained his balance. Gorgo roared in triumph as the remaining tank retreated, then he followed.

Even before she opened her eyes, Ogra knew her offspring had gone. She rose from the ocean floor, tracing the route Gorgo had taken 45 minutes earlier. Surfacing, she could see the trail of destruction her son had carved through the city. It would not be hard to follow.

The Funakias had cautiously returned to the spot, thinking the danger past. Now they both stared incredulously as Ogra emerged from the bay, taking her first giant steps into Tokyo.

"Is that one big enough to be Godzilla?" Amiko asked.

"Hai," Inishiro responded. Then, without another word, they both retreated once more.

In the distance, Ogra could hear the sounds of her son's voice, roaring amid the blasts of human weapons. She strode in that direction, following Gorgo's path. Suddenly, the sound of a new voice reached her ears, a roar much louder than her offspring's. She doubled her pace, widening Gorgo's path and knocking over buildings in her haste.

Godzilla's roar was a warning and a challenge to the troops who were based at Tokyo's northern perimeter. His challenge was answered by blue lightning, as the maser tanks stitched a pattern up and down the front of the leviathan's torso. He responded in his characteristic fashion, his own blue lightning dancing up and down his spines, preceding the atomic blast from his mouth. Two of the tanks were instantly reduced to pools of liquid metal. The troops continued firing on him as they retreated, but could do little to halt his advance.

Bombs rained down on the behemoth from above as several jets passed overhead. He turned his face skyward as his spines glowed once more. A second later, his nuclear beam cut an arc across the sky, blasting the planes. They disintegrated, cascading down on the street in a shower of burning slag. Vehicles exploded and buildings caught fire as the flaming flotsam hit them.

Making his way into the city, Godzilla continued his assault. Swinging his tail, he knocked over two skyscrapers in quick succession. The remaining maser tanks continued their attacks, their rays stinging the giant brute. Another blast of his ray took out the tanks and two more buildings to boot.

"Damn!" Barnes shook his head, viewing the scene of destruction on his monitor. "That motherf^@%er can sure tear shit up!" Then he quickly looked around. "Uh, sorry ladies." He would have been visibly blushing had his skin been lighter.

Everyone else in the room was smiling. "No problem," Maria said.

"Anyway, it's not like you're wrong," Travers added.

Meanwhile, something had attracted Godzilla's attention. He could hear the roaring of another creature that was in his general category and explosions not aimed at him. Curious, he made his way toward the sound.

Gorgo, too, was drawn by an instinctive curiosity, having heard the sounds of another battle beside his own. He smashed the last maser tank with a swipe of his tail, and headed in that direction. He rounded a corner… and discovered that he was not the largest living thing in the vicinity.

Inishiro and Amiko Funakia did not see the submarine in the bay, or the giant containers it had in tow- containers which were now opening, releasing their monstrous passengers. The couple had cautiously crept back to the area where they lived after Ogra had moved on.

"That must have been all the monsters," Inishiro was reassuring his wife. "How many more can there be?"

Amiko was about to reply when she suddenly stopped, grabbed her husband's arm, and pointed. Inishiro saw the answer- all three of them- to his question rising from the bay.

The first looked like the creatures they had seen earlier- at least on its right side. Its left half looked like a robot, constructed of a bluish-silver metal. It had a lens, encircled by a metal ring, where its left eye should have been. In the center of its chest was a circular metal panel. The beast was the same size as Ogra.

The second creature's bright silver skin was reminiscent of aluminum foil, combining a metallic sheen with the flexibility of skin. Unlike its companion, it had a smooth head, with no external ears or frills. It had a tube on its head which pointed forward like a gun- which, in fact, it was. As it stepped on shore, he noticed the great curved claws on its hind feet. I could drive my Toyota underneath that claw.

Third was the great winged serpent with dark green scales covering its body, overlapping in a shingle-like pattern. Rather than just slithering like a real snake, it walked on two short, stubby legs and wide ungainly feet. This mode of transport was surprisingly efficient for the creature, which had no trouble keeping pace with its companions. It, too, had a tubular-shaped ray gun atop its head.

The Funakias turned to flee once more, but this time their luck had run out. Raptoragon spotted them and grabbed them in his right foreclaw before they had made it ten feet. Picking the screaming humans up, he popped them into his mouth. The screaming stopped.

"I still have to work some bugs out of Raptoragon's programming," Demonicus said. "His natural appetite sometimes overrides my commands. But at least he isn't attacking his companions."

Demonicus' three monsters moved through the city, following the trail of the Gorgos.

Gorgo stopped, staring ahead at the midriff of the creature in front of him. He slowly craned his neck to let his gaze wander up, taking in the monstrous torso, the great arms and the snarling snout with the huge teeth, topped by evil-looking eyes framing the small flaring nostrils in the center.

This was one of the very few creatures Gorgo had seen that was his mother's size. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, the great saurian cub turned and started moving away from the huge leviathan at top speed.

Territorial instinct made Godzilla give chase. He wasn't particularly angry or motivated to hurry to catch Gorgo. Like a cat playing a mouse, he wanted to make it last.

Lightning dancing down his spines, Godzilla aimed an atomic blast over Gorgo's head. It hit a building in front of the smaller reptile, causing it to explode in flame and collapse. Gorgo found his path blocked by a pile of burning rubble.

Turning, the young monster channeled his fear into a loud roar of angry defiance. Even Godzilla recoiled for a second at the sheer volume of it. Of course, when Godzilla responded with a roar of his own, there was no contest as to who was louder.

The next roar posed a challenge. It sounded like Gorgo with Godzilla's volume. Godzilla looked up to see its author round a corner in front of the rubble pile. It looked exactly like the small creature he had been chasing- but it was as big as he was.

Ignoring the flames, Ogra charged through the rubble with the ferocity of a mother protecting her young. She crashed into Godzilla, her teeth sinking into his right shoulder. Giving vent to a tremendous bellow of pain, Godzilla returned the favor, clamping his jaws on Ogra's neck. The two giants stood locked in their monstrous stalemate for a moment, an unstoppable force against an immovable object.

Then Godzilla felt a sharp pain in his left leg. He knew without looking that the smaller beast was attacking him. He kicked out, knocking Gorgo down, but losing his balance in the process. His multi-ton mass crashed through the wall of a skyscraper as he tumbled, his opponent landing on top of him. The building collapsed, burying them both.

Gorgo picked himself off the ground and looked at the pile of rubble that had buried his mother and Godzilla. A low, sad rumble sounded in the young reptile's throat.

The debris began shifting around then was flung aside as Ogra rose from the rubble. She looked down at her offspring with a soft, reassuring growl. Any comfort Gorgo might have derived from it, however, quickly vanished when Godzilla's head burst from the pile. Standing, the leviathan snarled at his opponents, who returned the snarls.

Neither Gorgo nor Ogra understood the significance of the glow that began emanating from Godzilla's spines and in his throat. Less than two seconds later, a bluish-white, incandescent beam blasted forth from his mouth, striking Ogra in the chest. Staggering under the beam's energy, she howled in pain. The burning agony spread throughout her body, suffusing her entire being. She hadn't felt so much pain since the Chinese had inadvertently dropped a nuclear bomb on her and Gorgo.

As the radioactive firestorm continued its blistering assault, Ogra started glowing a dull reddish hue. When Godzilla finally stopped the beam he stared at her, surprised that she still stood. But that was not the biggest surprise she had for him.

The beam that blasted from Ogra's open maw was brighter than Godzilla's. It was the Kaiju King's turn to stagger, bellowing in pain as Gorgo's mother dealt him a taste of his own medicine.

"Damn," Sean said. "The pilot was right. They really can breathe fire when they get nuked."

"Looks like that report has now been substantiated," Travers said, looking at his fiancée. Maria nodded silently.

After a moment, her beam started to fizzle out as her glow faded and her color returned to normal. Godzilla stood a moment, glaring at Ogra and Gorgo as he recuperated. He then slowly moved toward them, contemplating his next move.

Turning his gaze toward Gorgo, Godzilla hit him with a short burst of nuclear fire. Just enough to hurt the smaller kaiju, but not enough for him to absorb it. Ogra roared angrily at this new attack on her offspring and charged. Godzilla suddenly turned, his tail swinging in a wide arc. It hit Ogra, bowling her over. Then Godzilla moved in to trample his opponent.

As he was about to plant a giant foot on her head, Gorgo attacked again. Sinking his teeth into Godzilla's thigh, the smaller beast pushed against him. His strength was surprising for so small a creature. Caught off balance, the Kaiju King crashed to the Earth. Kicking out with his other leg, he sent Gorgo sprawling.

Clambering to their feet at roughly the same time, the combatants stared at each other. They did not even notice the arrival of Dr. Demonicus' monsters.

"Hold back, my champions," Demonicus coded the instructions in via computer. "Wait until these monsters are done fighting, then you can move in and destroy the exhausted winner."

Borgo and Reptilicus held back as instructed. However, Raptoragon's innate ferocity proved stronger than his programming. Seeing an easy meal in the smaller Gorgo, he leaped toward his intended prey. He didn't anticipate the power of the maternal instinct. He was not even aware of Ogra until she slammed into him, knocking him down. Standing over him, Gorgo's angry mother snarled her fury.

Slashing upward in a wide arc with his leg, Raptoragon cut a big slash across Ogra's chest with his great hind claw. As she recoiled in pain, the laser atop his head sizzled to life, its beam hitting her neck. She fell, crawling on all fours.

"Damn it, Raptoragon!" Demonicus exclaimed. "Now I'm going to have to have the others attack Godzilla."

The next directions he sent were to Borgo, whose chest panel began glowing. About three seconds later, a golden pulse of plasma energy blasted forth into Godzilla's side. Once more, he toppled over. Borgo approached the fallen giant.

Godzilla lifted his head as his spines lit up and the glowing energy collected at the back of his throat. Then it burst out, cutting a wide arc to Borgo, knocking the reptilian cyborg backward about a hundred feet.

Raptoragon had expected to finish off Ogra easily with his claws now that she was down. But he had underestimated her. She grabbed his right foot as he was about to slash her again. Twisting, she made the giant raptor fall to the ground. She rolled away so the slash he made with his other foot missed.

Godzilla had risen and was facing Borgo when suddenly an unexpected attack came from the air. Reptilicus swooped down on him, spraying acidic saliva into his face. Momentarily blinded, Godzilla staggered, bellowing his rage to high heaven.

Reptilicus wrapped himself around Godzilla like a giant python and started squeezing, strangling the radioactive dragon. Godzilla tried to use his radioactive breath, but the pressure on his throat wouldn't let the energy pass. The Kaiju King was starting to black out.

Suddenly, a tremendous pulse of energy burst from Godzilla's body, as if he were a giant flashbulb. Both Reptilicus and Borgo were stunned by the blast. Godzilla blinked as his vision returned, then grabbed Reptilicus, preparing to twist the life out of him.

"Ah, yes," Sean exclaimed. "Godzilla's nuclear pulse effect I heard about."

Godzilla dropped Reptilicus as a sharp pain slashed down his back. Turning, he beheld the silver-colored giant raptor leaping away to avoid being lashed by his tail. With a growl, Godzilla cut loose with another blast of his nuclear breath. The beam hit Raptoragon, but his armor deflected it harmlessly.

Moving in quickly, Raptoragon slashed at Godzilla's belly with his claw. Godzilla staggered back as the searing pain traced a line down his front. Raptoragon moved forward to press the attack, but then it was suddenly his turn to be attacked from behind. He had underestimated the recuperative powers of Ogra. The angry mother monster had dealt him a blow with a mighty clawed hand, knocking him down.

Raptoragon slashed his terrible claw upward again, but she dodged, having learned from experience. She then bore down on him, pinning him to the ground. That might well have been the end of Raptoragon, had it not been for his teammate Borgo.

Ogra was not prepared for the plasma ray that hit her. She was knocked completely off of Raptoragon and rolled a couple of times before stopping. She looked up to see her cybernetic duplicate approaching. As she tried to rise, Borgo's chest beam blasted her again.

Raptoragon rose to his feet and moved in to join the attack on Ogra. Godzilla's ray blasted against his side, drawing his attention away from her. The giant raptor turned to face Godzilla once more. The laser beam atop his head crackled to life, blasting Godzilla in the side of his head. The two leviathans snarled at each other.

Reptilicus suddenly swooped down on Godzilla from behind, once again spraying acidic saliva. This time, Godzilla ducked, and most of the corrosive discharge hit Raptoragon in the chest. Steam started rising from the spot, and rivers of liquid metal started running down the raptor's stomach.

Charging up his nuclear beam once more, Godzilla blasted Reptilicus, whose wings burst into flame. The burning serpent plummeted to Earth like a meteorite. Even though the oil in his skin suppressed the fire, Reptilicus was now earthbound.

The distraction had enabled Raptoragon to move in and slash Godzilla's side with his claw. Godzilla fell, and Raptoragon leapt atop him, intending to tear him apart. Once more, Godzilla's spines lit up as his beam lanced out, hitting Raptoragon in the same spot where Reptilicus' discharge had. This time, the beam affected Raptoragon a great deal. The raptor flew backwards, howling with pain.

"Damn!" Demonicus cursed. "Reptilicus' acid obviously weakened Raptoragon's armor,"

Meanwhile, Borgo was standing over Ogra, who was still stunned. As he drew his leg back to kick her, he suddenly howled as a great pain lanced through the leg. Looking down, he saw Gorgo with his teeth sunk into the thigh. Borgo shook his leg, but the smaller beast hung on with a surprising tenacity. The monstrous cyborg then took a few swipes with his great claws, and this stunned Gorgo enough to knock him loose. Borgo then slammed him with his tail, sending the reptilian cub sailing through the air.

As Gorgo lie prone and unmoving, his larger cybernetic duplicate approached, preparing to trample him. A sudden bellow from Ogra, who was on her feet and charging, alerted Borgo to his new danger. He had no time to charge up his beam, so he pointed his left hand at her and fired four missiles from his fingers simultaneously. All four exploded against the angry mother's chest and stomach, but did not so much as slow her down. She crashed into the cyborg, bowling him over onto his back.

With a snarl, Godzilla had risen to his feet. Raptoragon was attempting to do the same, but a swipe of Godzilla's tail knocked him back down. The Kaiju King kept using his tail to smack the raptor, until the latter grabbed it and clamped his jaws on it. At the same time, Reptilicus had used the distraction to crawl up close to Godzilla and bite his neck.

Ogra continued her assault on Borgo, her strength fueled by the anger she had experienced at seeing her offspring hurt. All of Borgo's cybernetic power did not seem able to prevail against the enraged mother kaiju who had him pinned to the ground. In desperation, the reptilian cyborg fired his chest plasma beam once more.

The close proximity of the weapon strengthened its effect greatly. Gorgo's mother was thrown into the air as if she weighed ten pounds instead of 50,000 tons. She crashed to earth and groggily tried to rise, but Borgo's tail hit her in the head. She lay stunned and unmoving.

"I just thought of something," Barnes said. "I'm sure Demonicus is probably connected with these three new monsters. Maybe we should check the bay for some sign of him."

Tsujimori nodded. "A wise idea." Pulling out her cellphone, she punched a button, and spoke a few words in Japanese.

Godzilla had managed to pull his tail loose from Raptoragon and was struggling to remove Reptilicus from his neck. The giant raptor got up and approached Godzilla, who employed his serpentine opponent as a weapon, swinging him at Raptoragon like a giant whip. This maneuver momentarily stunned both his opponents, allowing him to shake Reptilicus loose.

Suddenly, Borgo blasted Godzilla again with the plasma beam, knocking him down. All three of Demonicus' monsters converged upon the fallen king. None of them paid any attention to Gorgo. The first inkling any of them had that he was not still stunned was when he attacked Borgo.

The kaiju cub had seen his mother lying unmoving on the ground and was quickly overtaken with a rage so strong he was not afraid to take on a creature three times his size. Now, he was clawing and biting at the flank of his larger cybernetic counterpart with an unprecedented ferocity. The unexpected attack caught Borgo off balance, and a beam blast from Godzilla completed the process. Borgo went down.

Another blast from Godzilla caught Raptoragon in his armor's weak spot once more. The raptor-kaiju screamed in pain as he fell. Reptilicus spit acid in Godzilla's face again, but Godzilla had seen the attack coming and closed his eyes in time. He took a blind swipe at Reptilicus with his right forepaw, while wiping his eyes with his left. The serpentine monster barely avoided the claws and retreated a short distance.

Gorgo tore into Borgo's chest and managed to inflict some damage on his larger opponent before Borgo threw him off. The cyborg stood up and saw that Gorgo's mother had also recovered. She approached, her lips curled back in a snarl of rage. Borgo charged up his ray for another blast- or rather, he tried. The weapon just sparked and sputtered uselessly.

"No!" yelled Demonicus. "The little bastard must have damaged Borgo's plasma ray!"

Borgo frantically shot his eye laser at Ogra, and his finger missiles at Gorgo. Both creatures roared in pain and anger, but did not slow down. Reaching their cybernetic duplicate, they attacked. Borgo was no match for the two of them combined. After beating him insensitive, Ogra picked him up, hoisting him high above her head.

Raptoragon had regained his feet and was charging Godzilla. Godzilla hit him with the nuclear ray again, but Raptoragon shielded his weak spot by turning his body. Just as he prepared to attack Godzilla, the body of his teammate Borgo slammed into him, thrown by Ogra. Both of them fell at Godzilla's feet, and the Kaiju King gave them another blast of his flame.

Reptilicus attacked Gorgo, clamping his jaws around the cub's neck. Ogra grabbed the creature threatening her young. Reptilicus quickly let go and turned his head, spraying acid into Ogra's face. She staggered, howling in pain and momentarily blinded. Reptilicus turned his attention back to the smaller Gorgo.

Suddenly, it was Reptilicus' turn to howl in pain as a great weight pinned down his tail. Turning, the great serpent beheld the awesome countenance of Godzilla, whose left foot was planted firmly on Reptilicus' tail. The telltale glow emanated from between the radioactive dragon's jaws and his spines. Before he could even think about spraying Godzilla's face, he was enveloped in a sheet of blue-white flame. The searing heat was the last thing Reptilicus felt before he expired.

After the flames died down, Gorgo sniffed at Reptilicus' charred remains. He glanced at Godzilla, but the larger leviathan was focusing his attention on the other two fallen beasts. Gorgo kicked at the dead serpent's remains.

Raptoragon suddenly leapt to his feet, fleeing the scene before the other three kaiju could react. The giant raptor headed straight back the way it had come, toward Tokyo Bay. The same bay where his creator now found his sub surrounded by a fleet of Japanese coast guard. A voice over Demonicus' radio said something in Japanese.

"Sir!" Burke's tone had an edge of panic.

"I know, I know." Demonicus looked at the virtual map of Tokyo on his screen. The ra symbol, which represented the giant raptor, was getting closer. "Raptoragon is on his way. Let's see if we can stall till he gets here."

Then he spoke into the transmitter. "No speak Nippon. English please."

"Surface, or we will fire on you," the heavily accented voice said.

"We are having trouble stabilizing our flotation tanks," Demonicus said. "It's going to be a while before we can surface."

"What are you doing in Tokyo Bay?"

"You can't surface?" Even with a foreign accent over the radio, the skepticism in the officer's voice was evident. "In that case, be prepared to be towed to the surface. We will have our lines attached to your subs shortly. By the way, what are those three huge boxes attached to your submarine?"

Demonicus saw that Raptoragon had reached the dock. "Don't worry about that," he said. "You have a much bigger problem on your hands."

Leaping into the water with a tremendous splash, Raptoragon attacked the coast guard vessels. They fired upon the monster to no avail. The uneven battle lasted about two minutes. When it was over, Demonicus ordered his creation into his pen. Then, the Batragon headed out to sea.

Godzilla, Ogra and Gorgo had thoroughly trampled Borgo and Reptilicus. Almost nothing was left of Demonicus' two monsters. Borgo's circuitry had fused together, melted by Godzilla's breath. His organic remnants were totally nonfunctional without their mechanized components.

Their enemies destroyed, the three kaiju stared at each other. Gorgo moved closer to the protective shadow of his mother.

"I wonder if they're gonna resume their fight now that the others are dead," said Barnes.

"I think we'll know in a second or two," Travers responded.

Godzilla growled, the sound low and deep in his throat. It was a marked contrast with the thundering bellows he had been uttering a few minutes earlier. Ogra responded with similar low rumbling sounds.

"It's almost like they're having a conversation," Maria said.

"I think that's exactly what's goin' on," McCartin said. "They are communicating with each other on some level."

Even though Godzilla had been fighting these two creatures half an hour earlier, he knew they had helped him battle three powerful opponents against whom he otherwise might not have prevailed. His aggression had been worked out in that battle. Also, he remembered the power the big one had displayed in the earlier battle as well as the courage the smaller one had displayed in attacking his opponent when he, himself had been down. He had gained a great respect for both creatures and had no desire to continue their fight now.

For her part, Ogra knew that, even though this creature had originally threatened her son, he had saved him later from the serpentine monster. She also knew that the world was full of the tiny creatures with their explosive stinging attacks. Companionship with their own kind was virtually nonexistent. While not being exactly like them, this creature was fairly close. Almost in unison, the three giants turned toward Tokyo Bay.

"Looks like the answer to your question is 'no', Len," Maria said.

Walking through Tokyo, the monsters were unchallenged. They followed the path Gorgo, Ogra and then Demonicus' creatures had taken when entering the city. Gorgo, still cautious, made sure he positioned himself so his mom was between him and Godzilla.

"Probably best to just leave them alone," McCartin told Tsujimori. "They appear to be leaving. Firing on them will only anger them and cause more destruction."

Ralph Burke looked nervously at his employer. "The other two cages have been jettisoned as you ordered, sir." Abdul Marrouf said nothing, concentrating on his instruments.

Demonicus only nodded silently, staring straight ahead and contemplating what had gone wrong. It was obvious he had to improve his control system over Raptoragon. That beast had been the wild card in his plan. Its premature attack on Gorgo had ended up ruining his plan, and had led to Godzilla and the Gorgos becoming allies. He would have to work on that.

But there was a bright side to the situation. This episode, overall, had turned out to be far less of a disaster than the last encounter with Godzilla. That time, all his creations had been destroyed and he himself had been taken into custody. This time, he was still free and one of his monsters was relatively intact. And he still had cells from the other two.

"I will have my revenge on that radioactive freak," he muttered. "And his new friends as well."

Burke and Marrouf nodded. They both knew better than to point out that Demonicus' creations were themselves "radioactive freaks." They focused on the control panels in front of them, guiding the Batragon as it cut through the ocean toward the Saradian base.

The monsters reached the bay in a few minutes. Godzilla and Ogra entered the water side by side, with Gorgo falling in behind them. Moving out into the bay, they were soon swimming. Watching them go, Sean McCartin repeated his words said many years before in London, watching two of these same creatures.

"They're going back now. Back to the sea."