Chapter I: Observations

The Mariana Trench

July 31, 2002

Unknown

How long had he stayed under the surface? He did not know, for how do you measure time without the light of the Sun?

The only disturbances were the dreams that he experienced, some from his confusing and dark past, others from his imagination.

But in the darkness of the deepest ocean, he could be free to sleep forever, until the end of his life…or the end of the world…

Monster Island 2

July 31, 2002

Sometime During the Night

"I don't understand these charts Greg." Areit Yatanara said as she reviewed the files under the warmth of an intense lamp, the only source of light in the Observation Post. "According to this line here, Anguirus is experiencing a dream."

"That's normal." Gregory Benoit said over Areit's shoulder. "Anguirus was in REM sleep when this reading was taken." The scientist finished with a sip of his hot coffee.

"No," Areit pointed out the line of the graph again. "This blue line here is showing that Anguirus is having two dreams at once. It's hard to see because the two lines are parallel and following almost the exact same path, but it's there."

"But that extra line ends about half way through the REM sleep, so the kaiju must've stopped having double dreams right then." Gregory said.

"I guess so. I'll get James to do some more research tomorrow night." Areit placed the papers back into their folder and filed them into the cabinet below her desk.

How she got landed a job as a kaijuologist was anyone's guess, the average person would automatically assume she was an actress or a model. Areit Yatanara had been offered many different jobs, some of them good others rather disturbing. But she had decided to work as a kaijuologist because she found it interesting and exciting to learn about these new creatures.

Outside the dark window, a crack of lightning illuminated the island below them. The landmass was a volcanic crater, and like the rest of the islands in the chain, it was still erupting. The perimeter of the island was lined with steep walls of rock which the two native kaiju couldn't climb up. The bay area, the only way for the two kaiju to escape, was blocked by an electric shield emitting from two tall towers each built on opposite sides of the water. So Anguirus and Godzilla were trapped on their island, away from any human civilization.

The interior of the island was a lush forest with hundreds of types of tropical foliage. This quenched the hunger of Anguirus, but Godzilla needed a special cuisine to keep him from going on a rampage. Nuclear Waste was shipped from various places in the world and was dumped on the island for the saurian to feast on.

Rising out of the forest were five towering plateaus, each topped with a man-made observation deck. Areit, Gregory, James and about a dozen other kaijuologists lived in these towers where they studied Godzilla and Anguirus.

On the north side of the island, was the crater of the volcano. It was more of a pool then the typical volcanic crater but was still just as dangerous. The pool was constantly giving off spurts of lava or fiery bubbles. The shores of the lava lake were formed of many jagged black igneous rocks; the monsters seemed to stay away from the pool and for good reason.

Usually the lava gave enough glowing red light for the scientists to see around the island after sundown, but tonight a giant thunderstorm had moved in above the island chain and was pouring down torrents of rainwater.

Without a cave to sleep in, Godzilla and Anguirus were left outside where they were getting drenched with rain. Anguirus had rolled up into a ball and huddled against the plateau below Areit and Greg while Godzilla slept on his side with his emerald eyes blinking away salty water.

In their protected titanium observation tower though, the scientists slept peacefully. The soundproof windows hid away the thunderous claps after each bolt of lightning so the men and women could rest. But Areit and Gregory weren't getting much rest. They had to finish up last night's research on Anguirus which was showing surprising results.

Not only did the kaiju have two dreams simultaneously, it had become very reckless. They had been up for hours trying to figure out what had caused the monster's behavior until Areit discovered the REM sleep chart. It wouldn't have been a big deal if it wasn't for the fact that Anguirus was experiencing the anxious spasms at exactly the same time of the double dreaming.

"Well, we found out the thing's problem so can we hit the beds now?" Gregory asked, taking another sip from his coffee.

"You can go to your room Greg," Areit waved her hand as if to shoo the man away while she pulled out some more papers.

Gregory shrugged, turned and walked down the hallway. Areit adjusted the lamp toward the keyboard of her computer.

The young women typed out her findings for the night and then shut down the machine after saving the documents. She put away the rest of her papers and turned off the light. The lab went pitch dark and as they were programmed to do, the halogen lights in the hall snapped on to lead her back to her room.

Kiryu's Cockpit

August 1, 2002

11:00 AM

"Go to the left Lean! Go left!" Kane Locke screamed to his co-pilot opposite him. Lean Blaze gritted his teeth as he fought with his controls to steer Kiryu out of harm's way.

But Blaze had been too slow and the four crew members watched in horror as their cockpit's front screen displayed Godzilla's orange fireball smash into them.

"Kiryu's lost its balance!" King Joe, the Damage Control Personnel, yelled over the blaring klaxons. But no one needed to hear that, they could easily feel it. The entire cockpit rumbled and quickly began to tilt to one side.

Just as they were at a 90 degree angle, the entire room ceased, nearly ripping each crew member out of their seats. The lights flickered and then went out, leaving them in pitch darkness.

Kane Locke started emergency procedures to try to turn his monitor back on. If he could, then he might find a way to bring Kiryu back to its feet to resume the fight.

Then the ground beneath them shook, and a sound like a gigantic drum vibrated through the ship. They all knew what was going on.

"Godzilla's headed our way!" Benedict Ciavo, the Weapon Controls Man, said in the pitch darkness.

"I located the problem; I'm dealing with it right now!" King Joe said triumphantly. After a few more taps at his keyboard the lights and monitors inside the bridge came alive.

"Good work Joe, now take us up Blaze." Kane said urgently.

The front monitor, fed from a camera in Kiryu's eye, showed the outside world; a barren wasteland that was once a city. But now because of the catastrophic kaiju attack by Godzilla, it was a flat ocean of rubble, debris, and twisted metal. They could see two grey gargantuan feet slowly stomping toward them through the waste.

Lean Blaze hit a few buttons and the bridge began to rumble. The outside world shifted as Kiryu's jetpacks lifted the mech back to its titanium feet. Lean de-activated the rockets and the cockpit steadied out.

"It's all yours Kane." He said.

Now that Kiryu was back up and face to face with Godzilla, it was time to resume the battle. Kane grinned demonically as he pushed his control sticks forward to charge at the radioactive reptile.

Godzilla roared as Kiryu quickly approached him, but just before the two kaiju met, Godzilla ducked. Kane and the rest of the crew watched in disbelief as Godzilla spun around, his tail outstretched toward their robot's shins.

The whip-like tail caught Kiryu's legs and, just as before, the mech tumbled to the ground. The cockpit tipped forward, Kane tried desperately to regain the mech's footing, but all he managed to do was turn Kiryu so it collapsed onto its spine.

Fountains of sparks erupted from the mechanical equipment around them once they met their impact. Joe furiously typed at his keyboard, activating fire controls around the ship.

Upon their fall this time, the power had luckily stayed on. But that left them all staring helplessly up into the hazel eyes of Godzilla, whose purple spines were beginning to glow bright red.

"Don't just stare!" Kane spat at Lean "Do something before we're destroyed!"

"On it sir!" Blaze tried to activate the jet packs but the grim truth quickly fell on him.

King Joe confirmed his thoughts from behind them, "The jet engines were damaged when we hit the ground! We're stuck!"

Godzilla's maw snapped open, and sizzling in the back of his throat was a cauldron of fire. Kane Locke immediately started the escape hatch procedures, but it was already too late.

The ray of radioactive fire shot from the kaiju's throat and struck Kiryu's chest plates. They didn't hold up against the blast which also violently rocked the bridge. Godzilla directed his heat ray up to Kiryu's skull where the cameras were instantly fried.

The power went out throughout the bridge. The sparks ceased and the cockpit was lifted back up to its original position.

"Damn it!" Kane slammed his fists against his arm rests.

"Don't get pissed at us this time!" Joe said, taking off his safety straps, "It was your fault Locke!"

"I almost had that stupid beast!" Kane yelled in the pitch darkness. Just after his words all the electronic equipment came back on and they could see again. All except the front monitor which remained black since the training session was finished.

"Almost isn't good enough Locke!" Their Commander's voice bellowed through the speaker from the ceiling. "Godzilla destroyed most of Tokyo because of your evasive actions Lean Blaze!" Commander David Masters spat. "Damage Control obviously didn't go well did it Joe?"

"Maybe you should try to fight two dozen fires at a time!" Joe protested.

"Tell it to the kaiju you're battling next time!" Masters hissed.

"As for you Benedict Ciavo, you had plenty of wide openings that you could have taken advantage of. We gave Kiryu weapon technology for a reason!"

Kane Locke unbuckled his straps and rose from his seat. "I'd like to see you come into this cockpit and make all the decisions while the whole room is getting rocked about and sparks are flying in your face!"

"Kane Locke," Masters said sympathetically, though everyone knew very well it was a mask of emotion, "I thought you told me you were ready for this task. Nobody ever forced you into this position."

"I wish you could say the same about me." King Joe muttered.

"You'll be taking another training session tomorrow at noon. Get some rest boys."

No one thanked David Masters, but quickly left the simulator and headed for their room.

Kiryu's sister ship, Mechagodzilla, had almost the exact opposite of a situation, despite the lack of a co-pilot. Vincent Crador, a mercenary with a taste for revenge on any kaiju, was the pilot of Mechagodzilla and was skilled enough to take on the controls of both land and air.

Though the Kiryu party had been hitting an all time low this month, the M.G crew was doing a considerably good job. The simulators had been mastered by the crew so they spent most of their time relaxing in the lounge of the vast underground G-Force base.

The base was located under the forests around Mt. Fuji and housed the crews of both Kiryu and Mechagodzilla. The two mechas were stored in separate chambers where workers were constantly doing check-ups on the thousands of external and internal systems.

"All we need down here are some chicks." Paul "Goji", the Weapon Control Man of M.G, stated.

"We're training in one of the most dangerous projects the world has to offer, and all you can think about are women?" Vincent Crador asked.

Paul just shrugged his shoulders and took another sip of his coke. Kaiser Elexus, the Weapon Control Personnel, glanced at the T.V sitting on the other side of the lounge. The basketball game being transmitted from the U.S. of A was the play-offs.

"Score is now 98 to 95." Kaiser told the group.

"It's gonna be a close match." Vincent said.

"How many minutes left?" Paul Goji asked.

"Just two." Kaiser replied.

"Hello boys," a voice said behind them. The three turned to see Commander Masters walking their way, "Ready for your report Vincent?"

"More then ready sir," Vincent saluted, "I'll meet you in the Briefing Room right after this match."

"Just hurry up and don't forget to put your uniform on the right way." Masters spat.

"I won't sir." Vincent said compassionately, but as soon as Masters turned his back he flipped the Commander the bird.

"That wasn't really necessary." Kaiser whispered.

"Yeah, it kind of was." Vincent replied.

Saudi Arabia

August 1, 2002

Sunrise 6:50 AM

Kiryu and Mechagodzilla had drained many countries of their funding. Kaiju-sized machines needed a lot of money in order to build them, let alone run them. A few of the countries who kept pouring in tax payer money were not pleased at all with the progress from the crews. Kane Locke and the other men running Kiryu had been criticized of being too reckless and taking many risks that would ultimately destroy the huge fighting machine in a real battle.

Mechagodzilla's crew was accused of being lazy, or too pompous. They almost seemed to not care about the project anymore and viewed it as more of a game then a "protect the world" situation. Both machines were behind schedule too, which led to the next problem…

Only a few months ago, Battra had attacked hundreds of oil plantations along the Middle East, Kiryu and Mechagodzilla were suppose to protect against attacks like these. But they weren't ready to go into combat yet. The Middle East raids caused another problem, which was terrorism.

Various terrorist groups around Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran were trying to create anarchy in the wake of Battra's attack. Military forces from America, Britain, Japan, and Canada were immediately sent to deal with the problem.

The 51st Armored Division, led by the American General Alexander "Echo Kid" Smith, patrolled the delicate oil fields of Qatif, Saudi Arabia. Smith's forces were made of about fifty Type 90 Tanks, twenty Type 74 Tanks, and four M270 Multi-Rocket Launching System (MRLS.)

The huge oilfields of Qatif had been damaged during Battra's attacks. The usual 800,000 barrels being excavated was now down to 300,000. The machinery used to drill the oil out of its resting place had been heavily damaged by Battra. More chilling though was a terrorist group had already tried once to capture the oilfields.

During that attack just two weeks ago, a dozen road-side bombs detonated and delivered massive property damage as well as nearly destroying three of Smith's tanks. The group proceeded to rain mortars down upon the city and its defenses. Luckily, Smith and his armored division were able to drive the terrorists away.

But in case they came back, Smith called for backup from the 42nd Troop Division, led by Japanese Sargent Akira Tanaka who now patrolled the city streets. If that wasn't annoying enough for the citizens going along their daily routine, a barbed wire fence had been constructed around the entire perimeter of the city. The governor and citizens may not have been happy for the extra high defense going on, but they knew it was necessary.

"Alright, form up boys." Tanaka told his tan uniformed troops that morning. The tired men groaned as they sat up from their resting places against a brick building.

"I've got some orders from command," He whipped out a piece of paper with some scribbled notes written on it. "Jeffrey is to take the western side of the city, Cuzco you're defending the east, and as for you Cole take the main highway. Take your troops and get moving."

While Tanaka and his forces were getting all set up, Smith was just waking from his command post outside the city barricades. The General threw on his uniform and headed for his massive Type 82 Command Vehicle. There he found his top officers.

"How's it going today?" He asked as he climbed through the hatch and into the tech-filled truck.

"No terrorist activity as far as the eye can see." One of his officers said while pressing an earphone against his skull.

"How's Sargent Tanaka doing?" Smith asked.

"His party is getting all set up around the city; they should be ready in about ten minutes." The officer announced.

"The armored division is all set up I presume?"

"Yes, the perimeter of the city is completely surrounded."

General Smith sat back in his chair and cracked open a can of "Dai-Kaiju Energy Drink." He took a sip and started to wake up.

The men of the 51st Armored Division liked Smith as their General. He was kicked back most of the time, didn't expect too much from his troops, but was still a fierce fighter in battle.

Sargent Tanaka was almost the same kind of guy, except that he always pushed his men to their full power. They may not have liked it, but he knew how to handle his troops properly.

Tanaka strolled through the crowded streets of Qatif as morning citizens drove and walked to work. Following him were twelve men, part of his forty eight manned force. The rest had split up to go defend different parts of the city.

"The problem with terrorist groups like Tyrannis," one of his soldiers was saying to another, "is that they don't want to fight like us. They don't have uniforms on; they just wear cloths and have an AK-47 hidden under their coat."

"Plus they like to fight innocent citizens instead of real soldiers," Tanaka added. "The cowards lay their bombs down for the average person to drive over instead of a soldier and their tank."

"It's sickening," The soldier said in response.

Suddenly a distant clap erupted from the other side of the city. The soldiers turned, each clipping a round of ammo into their machine guns. Rolling from the main road was a pillar of smoke and the distinct glow of fire. Another bomb blew and this time citizens screamed.

"Radio Echo Kid!" Tanaka yelled as people around the troops started to run in the opposite direction. "Tell him that we just had two road-side bombs go off!"

Tanaka motioned for the twelve to follow him as he rushed for an ally between two buildings.

One of the officers in the Type 87 Command Vehicle picked up the radio as soon as the caller I.D turned out to be one of Tanaka's troops. He didn't need to ask any questions before he hung up and turned to General Smith.

"Two bombs just went off on Main Street!"

"Damn it! Tell all the tanks that we might be having a battle on our hands any second!" General Smith said before he stuck his head out the hatch to look toward the city. Two long pillars of black smoke were rising above Main Street. Just then three more bombs went off.

"Yeah, they're back." He said as he climbed back in. "Tomson, man machine gun one! Luke take machine gun two! Driver, get us to the main highway now!"

The tires kicked up a cloud of sand as it moved forward. Tanks along the fence were already getting ready to attack.

"Jerry, you're taking the left, and don't forget it!" Tanaka yelled as the squad entered the main plaza of the city. "Watch each other's backs and keep your guns up!"

A massive crater had been blasted into the pavement by a road-side bomb and now left an ugly smoldering scare on the beautiful city. Three cars had been ripped apart and now lay burning on the side of the street while a few others had been driven off course and slammed into the nearby buildings. A fire hydrant had been blown during the attack and was now spouting tons of water over the plaza like rain.

"Keep your eyes peeled men! Don't fire unless you're fired at first!" Tanaka warned.

It may have been a coincidence or it may have been a jinx, either way the sound of an AK-47 could be heard not too far away. Then the ground around them kicked up dust as bullets rained around them.

"AK, second floor!" One of the soldiers yelled. A man at the second floor window of a brick apartment building was desperately trying to reload his machine gun.

Tanaka raised his own gun and got a perfect aim through the cross-hairs of his scope. But just before he could fire, a second bomb went off, no more then fifty feet away from the group. The pavement cracked and almost seemed to tilt. Some of the troops fell from their footing, Tanaka being one of them. His gun went flying out from his palm upon his fall.

Up on the second story of the building he could see the terrorist taking aim. Without even thinking he pulled a frag grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and threw it through the open window. The man dropped his gun and turned to try and throw the grenade back out the window before it detonated.

Tanaka thought he had the man, that the terrorist was as good as dead. But the masked man appeared back at the window, explosive in hand. Luckily, before he could throw it, the grenade detonated and took off his entire arm in a smoldering mess.

Tanaka rushed for his gun and just as he picked it up the building the terrorist had been hiding in erupted. Flames jumped from the windows, whole sections were blown off as a suicidal bomb exploded. He ducked, covering his face as did his men behind him while pieces of glass, brick, and dust rained down on them.

Tanaka stood up and reminded his troops, "Keep your guns raised!" Just then hundreds of machine gun bullets sped down at them from the nearby buildings…

Mechas Headquarters, the Briefing Room

August 1, 2002

12:00 Noon

Vincent Crador and Kane Locke were both sitting in a small grey room on one side of a rusty table facing Commander Masters. Masters was sorting through two files of papers, a concerned look written on his face. Above them was a single weak bulb, hardly giving them any light, but just enough.

"These are your performance reports." The Commander told them. "Kane Locke-"

Locke groaned and folded his arms.

"This is important pilot." He passed a paper to Kane and sat back. Kane's eyes looked across the writing.

"Yeah, I know we aren't doing so well." Kane said plainly. "I can fix that, all I need is a couple weeks to train Lean, Benedict, and Joe."

"You'll need to make it quicker then that Locke, unless you want to lose half of our funding!" Masters said cruelly.

"What ever you want sir." Kane said sarcastically.

Masters eyed him but then passed a paper to Vincent who rolled his eyes while he read through the report. He tossed it back to Masters.

"Did you even tell the United Kingdom that my team hasn't lost a single simulation for two months?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah, but they were more interested in the fact that you and your crew spend three fourths of the time sitting in the lounge. They're paying millions of dollars for these projects and they are obviously very displeased that you are wasting it on relax time."

"What do they want us to do? Use their money to keep yawning at the training sessions?! The crew of Mechagodzilla is ready for battle, if any kaiju attacks the shores of America we're ready to defend, you can send us to the Western Counties right now!"

"Kane's group is not ready, why not help them?" Masters spat.

"I don't need any help." Kane sneered.

"I beg to differ," Masters said, "but if you can prove me wrong Locke I'll let you take full command of your crew again…but as for now Vincent will be guiding you along."

"What?!" Both Kane and Vincent yelled simultaneously.

"My order stands, no exceptions. We'll hold another meeting in two weeks." Masters put the papers into a file and paper clipped them down. "You are free to return to your crews."

Monster Island 2

August 6, 2002

Sunset

Godzilla lay, snoring on the wet trees of the island jungle. His two yellow eyes blinked off a few birds that had landed there just a minute ago. Behind him, Anguirus has pacing around the basin, scanning for a tasty looking tree.

The giant saurian shook off the rest of the birds resting on his scaly body before standing up. He looked back over to his only friend, Anguirus, who had been imprisoned on this island with him for who knew how long now? The mutated Ankylosaurus had been acting a bit strange lately.

In his sleep, Anguirus would shudder and sometimes roar at something Godzilla couldn't see. It was odd behavior that he had only witnessed now since he had been isolated with Anguirus. His brain may not have been able to see why Anguirus was acting weird, but the brains of the three kaijuologist at one of the Observation decks could.

Areit watched from her seat, overlooking the two kaiju as they lumbered around the small island. The readings she now had were clear, Anguirus was suffering from an unknown disease that only DaiKaiju had. The two monsters below her didn't know, but the birds that flew around their gigantic bodies were the carriers of it.

Those same birds would transmit the disease to other kaiju in the island chain. Dr. Yamane, a descendant of the first kaijuologist, had reported that three other kaiju were having the same odd occurrences on Monster Island 3 and 4: Baragon, Megalon, and Rodan.

So far, the sickness was only contagious to kaiju and the behavior it caused was only mild. But more research would have to be done in case it grew to the point where the kaiju might start attacking the facilities and vehicles.