Atomic Rex: Challenge of Gurral
Author: Matthew Dennion
Date: 2021-02-28 08:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fiction; Action & Adventure
Description: On the planet known as Arena World, giant monsters are used by the Arena Lords as gladiators to fight to death for the wagering and enjoyment of their crowd. In recent years, the muscled monster known as Gurral the Smasher had risen to the ranks of arena champion. So dominant are Gurral's victories that the crowd is losing interest in his battles. With crowd interest waning, the Arena Lords are desperate to find a monster who can offer their champion a challenge, lest they lose the crowd and with it their position of power. An enigmatic Newcomer approaches his fellow Arena Lords with the knowl
Publisher: SEVERED Press

Atomic Rex

Challenge of Gurral

By: Matthew Dennion

www.severedpress.com

Copyright 2021 by Matthew Dennion

Author’s Note - A very special thanks to Richard Mullenhour for the use of Gurral the Smasher in this story and for his help in writing and editing the book. Please check out his awesome FREE Gurral webcomic at http://gurralcomic.com/

Prologue

Japan

A harsh wind blew across the southern side of Mount Fuji. The sun hung low over the sky in the distance as it slowly crept behind the mighty mountain. A few birds and small mammals were standing on the slopes of the mountain gnawing on the grass that had grown there. There was a time when the animals would have needed to be on alert as they looked out for predators and humans, but that was no longer the case. On the day that mankind tested one of their nuclear bombs on an island filled with dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, they created the kaiju and giant monsters that spread out across the world. While monsters like Atomic Rex and Tortiraus would conquer the western hemisphere, other kaiju would set out to destroy the eastern part of the world.

Since the kaiju had arrived in Japan and quickly exterminated mankind, the small animals that lived at the base of Mount Fuji had nothing to fear from humans or predators.

When the kaiju first started occupying the mountain, the smaller animals were always in danger. The first monster to climb out of the ocean and lay claim to the natural landmark was a creature the humans called Marbo. It was a colossal, bipedal, gray skinned beast. The monster had a long thin body shaped like a cigar with two thin spindly arms. The creature’s face had the visage of a distorted toad with its eyes bulging out the sides of its face. The loathsome monster’s body was accentuated by a series of long pikes jutting out of its back. The beast was massive. It towered over the buildings the humans had created. Their largest structures barely reached the monster’s knees. With its sheer size alone, the beast was able to dominate the area around the mountain. Marbo wandered through the cities surrounding the mountain. The kaiju crushed everything in its path all while giving off radiation that mutated the life in the city streets and near the mountains.

Vermin, including rats and insects, absorbed the creature’s radiation and grew into giant mutants. The mutated pests soon found a ready food supply in the humans that lived in their cities. Rats as large as elephants and beetles the size of trucks hunted the city streets searching for people to devour. All the while, the giant vermin themselves served as food for the colossal Marbo.

When the human population found themselves at the bottom of the food chain, they were quickly forced to abandon the city and the factory where they were hoping to build giant robots to battle the kaiju as the Americans had. With the city too dangerous to live in, the people made their way into the forest which surrounded the great mountain.

It didn’t take long when the humans entered the woods for the starving primates to turn their attention to the small animals and birds that lived at the base of the mountain. The tiny creatures were forced to hide deep within the ground whenever possible to avoid the humans hunting them into extinction.

The threat from the humans did not last for an overly long period of time. Once the mutated rats and insects discovered that their prey had fled the city, they tracked the humans to the forest around the mountain.

Giant rats soon ran rampant through the woods, devouring what was left of the humans. As the rats moved into the forest, so did Marbo. The titanic kaiju hunted down the rats and ate them even as they were hunting the humans. The bastardized food chain would continue in this method for several years with Marbo’s radiation mutating birds of prey and other smaller predators such as foxes. These creatures too would grow into giant mutants that would feed on the remaining humans and in turn be fed on by Marbo.

Some of the smaller birds and mammals would also be affected by Marbo’s radiation and they would also grow into mutants but those that did were quickly eaten by their humongous predatory counterparts. Once all of the humans around the mountain had been eaten, the mutant predators started turning on each other. The giant rats were the first creatures to turn to cannibalism but the foxes and giant birds of prey were not far behind. As the mutated mammals warred with each other, Marbo feasted on the massive insects which moved back and forth between the city and the forest.

The food shortage caused the populations of the large monsters to plummet as they battled each other to the death. As the hyper predatory state continued, the smaller creatures who remained unmutated were too small to be noticed by the larger creatures, and their populations grew. Within five years of his arrival, Marbo had eaten nearly all of the large mutants his radiation had created. This same scene repeated itself all over the Japanese Islands. A kaiju would come ashore, destroy the city around them, mutate local wildlife creating a group of hypercarnivores, and then a population drop would occur.

When the kaiju started to run out of food in their own territory, they started hunting each other. Dozens of blood-soaked kaiju battles took place across what was once the nation of Japan as monsters fought and then fed off one another.

As the monsters battled, the smaller wildlife on the island began to move into the areas left by the giants as they trekked across the country in search of food. Numerous monsters had come into Marbo’s territory in search of the potential food provided by the mountain. Within the past two years, the titanic brute had slain three other kaiju who had attempted to usurp his territory and what little food remained there. Since then however, the number of incursions into his territory had slowed down considerably. Even the dimwitted Marbo was able to come to the realization that he was going to run out of food with the majority of kaiju on the Japanese Islands dead. He and only one other kaiju remained, meaning there was nothing left to hunt and eat in order to sustain himself.

Today as hundreds of squirrels scurried beneath the shadow of Marbo and thousands of small birds flew from tree to tree, the tiny animals kept looking nervously at the creature above them. At the same time, they also kept their attention on the vibrations coming from the ground. The squirrels could feel tremors moving through the soil beneath them and since Marbo was standing still and looking in a northern direction, they knew that the last of the other kaiju in Japan was coming to challenge the monster who made his home on Mount Fuji.

Typically, Marbo would walk out to meet an advancing kaiju long before it reached the mountain, but these were not typical times. There were not enough animals left above ground for the monster’s radiation to create new mutants and replenish its food source. The kaiju that was venturing into Marbo’s territory was not only a rival but also a food source. It had been days since Marbo had last eaten anything that could sustain him. The monster was both weak and hungry. The lethargic creature was also aware that the approaching monster saw him as food as well. The invader would come right to Marbo. There was no need for the gray skinned behemoth to expel any of his remaining energy if his prey was coming to him. When Marbo saw a shape forming in the distance he knew it was the approaching kaiju. The King of Mount Fuji roared at his adversary, egging on the creature. As the gray goliath fixed his gaze on the approaching monster, his mouth began to water at the thought of devouring it.

The Lord of Mount Fuji focused his eyes to determine the nature of the approaching enemy. The abomination that he saw gave even the horrific Marbo a moment’s pause.

Like Marbo himself, the kaiju he was looking at was a True Kaiju. The True Kaiju were the monsters created on the prehistoric island itself. They were known for leaving the island, coming to the mainlands and destroying cities and towns as they claimed their territory. In addition to overtly attacking cities, they also created other monsters. As the True Kaiju walked around the mainland, they were spreading radiation that turned other animals and insects into kaiju. Often the True Kaiju were far more powerful and aggressive than the lesser mutants they created. The amalgamated beast approaching Marbo had been dubbed Hagan by the people of Japan before they went extinct.

Hagan was a grotesque fusion of numerous prehistoric animals that had been grazing and hunting in the middle of the island on the day the bomb was dropped. The creature’s head was that of wooly rhinoceros. It had the long thick face of a rhino covered in shaggy brown hair, with a thick face plate hidden beneath its wooly covering. A long brown horn jutted out from the end of the monster’s snout. Hagan’s mouth was filled with rows of sharp teeth fused into its form from a Tarbosaurus that had been hunting the grazing animals feasting on the grass in the middle of the island.

Two huge horns jutted from the sides of the creature’s head, fused there from a part of a yak-like creature that had also been grazing on the island. Hagan’s body resembled that of the ancient ground sloth. It was thick, shaggy and powerful with a body structure that allowed him to walk on two legs or all four. The creature's arms also came from the ground sloth that had been fused into his body. Hagan had strong arms that extended out from his body and ended in sharp claws. Like his head, the rest of Hagan’s body was covered in the thick armor of a rhinoceros beneath its wooly exterior.

Two fins jutted out of its back from what had once been two Spinosaurus hunting in the river that ran through the middle of the island. After being fused into the creature’s back, the Spinosaurus fins became razor sharp. When Hagan had first made landfall, his spines were able to cut through concrete buildings as if they were made of paper.

Ideas about the misshapen beast were all centered around the concept that the different animals and dinosaurs it consisted of had been in the same area at the time the bomb was dropped on the island. Some humans had hypothesized that the Tarbosaurus was hunting and when it attacked it drove the ground sloth, yak, and wooly rhino toward the river where the Spinosauruses were hunting. Other ideas had the Tarbosaurus feasting on the remains of all the creatures at the water’s edge with the Spinosaurus eating in the river. Whatever the case, the nightmarish monster was now far more than the sum of its previous parts.

As Marbo beheld Hagan, he realized that the invader was barely half his size. Thinking that he had an easy victory and meal in front of him, Marbo unleashed a challenge in the form of a roar that shook the very mountain itself. The oddly shaped reptilian beast then charged toward the oncoming Hagan.

When Hagan saw Marbo charging him, the smaller monster also roared and charged his larger prey. The two monsters met in the shadow of Mount Fuji and the battle to decide who would be the last living kaiju on the island of Japan ensued.

The larger Marbo struck first, by using his considerable reach advantage to strike Hagan twice across the face, first with his left claw and then with his right. Using this double strike attack, Marbo had shattered buildings, decapitated large mutants, and knocked other True Kaiju to the ground. The King of Mount Fuji was baffled when his attack did little more than shift Hagan’s head from side to side.

As Marbo was pulling back his claws for another blow, Hagan charged forward and drove his rhino horn into Marbo’s waist. Radioactive blood spurted from the wound in Marbo’s midsection. The crimson liquid spread across Hagan’s face, and as it slid down towards the kaiju’s mouth, Hagan’s long sloth tongue extended out and licked up the blood from his wounded rival.

As Hagan tasted Marbo’s blood, his animalistic mind became obsessed with the desire to feed. Hagan roared and pushed his horn further into Marbo, causing more blood to spray across his face.

The thrust caused Marbo to back up several more steps. The taller kaiju nearly lost his balance and fell onto his back, which he knew would assure his death. In a desperate effort to save his life, Marbo placed his hands on the horned beast’s shoulder and pushed the creature backwards, forcing Hagan’s horn out of his body. Marbo held Hagan back with his left clawed hand as he brought his right claw repeatedly crashing into Hagan’s shoulder. The first few blows were able to force Hagan’s knees to buckle. With every blow however, Marbo’s strikes grew weaker and weaker as the blood pouring out of the wound in his abdomen sapped his strength.

Realizing that his options were to end the battle quickly or die, the half-starved and wounded monster attacked with all of the energy he had left. Marbo wrapped his claws around the yak like horns on the sides of Hagan’s head. He then pushed the creature’s head down while bringing up his knee to strike the shaggy demon’s jaw. The blow forced Hagan’s jaw shut as more blood shot out from Marbo’s body, completely covering Hagan’s snout. The blow stunned Hagan and allowed Marbo the opportunity to end the battle he had been looking for.

Marbo pulled his right claw back and struck the smaller Hagan across the face with it, and while the blow was still unable to fell the heavily armored Hagan, it did knock the beast off balance. With his opponent staggered and his neck exposed, the massive Marbo went in for the kill. The gray goliath reached down with his head and bit into the back of Hagan’s neck. Despite his incredible bite force, Marbo was unable to penetrate Hagan’s thick armor deep enough to severely injure the creature. Knowing that he only had one option left to win the battle, Marbo twisted his head to the side in an attempt to snap Hagan’s neck. When he was unable to move Hagan’s neck, the King of Mount Fuji realized how much stronger his opponent was than him. He also knew that he was going to die.

After the failed attempt at having his neck broken, Hagan lunged forward and used his claws to rip open Marbo’s gut while simultaneously using his razor-like fins to cut deep into the grotesque creature’s throat.

Marbo’s intestines spilled out onto the ground as blood poured out from his newly slit throat. In a vain attempt to save his life, the former King of Mount Fuji turned to flee from Hagan. He had only managed to take a few steps when Hagan’s horn came crashing into his spine, cutting it in half and paralyzing the dying creature from the waist down.

Marbo fell face first to the ground as his life quickly slipped away from blood loss. The monster lived just long enough to turn his head and see Hagan take a large bite out of his spine before he expired.

Hagan feasted on the corpse of the slain kaiju for several hours. By the time the kaiju was done eating, the pathetic Marbo was little more than a pile of bones and blood. With his wooly face dripping with blood, tissue, and bone marrow, Hagan turned and looked in the direction of the Pacific Ocean. The beast knew that there was no food left on the island of Japan that could sustain him. The killing and eating of Marbo was not an act to usurp the monster’s territory. Eating his defeated enemy was the means to an end. The energy provided by ingesting the radioactive monster would give Hagan the strength to cross the ocean and find new hunting grounds. The horned beast roared and then began making his way toward the sea.

As Hagan walked away from Mount Fuji the squirrels that had watched the battle of the titans from hidden crevices underground and in the trees walked out into the sunlight. With the humans, predators, mutants, and kaiju now all gone, these meek creatures were now the rulers of what was once Japan

Chapter 1

Arena World

Gurral was restless as he paced back and forth in the dark metallic hall waiting for the arena doors to open. The fifty-meter-tall creature had a thick and extremely muscular humanoid body. The monster’s skin was tan in color with numerous bony spikes protruding from his arms and knuckles. The same bone-material covered the kaiju’s back in a nigh invulnerable carapace that ended on its short tail. The most remarkable feature of the monstrous gladiator was its head. The beast’s mouth was wide with two mandible-like protrusions sprouting up and out from his lower jaw. His face and head had been completely overtaken by his thick skull with two curved horns extending from either side of his head. The warrior’s dark red eyes were sunken into the skull that enveloped his face. The kaiju’s eye color and placement gave the intelligent beast a menacing visage. On many occasions, Gurral had found that his harrowing visage gave his opponents a moment's pause when they first saw him. That momentary pause was all Gurral needed to gain the advantage over those he was facing.

The impatient warrior slammed his fist into the sides of the hall in which he waited, causing an echo to ring through his skull. He was in pain both physically and psychologically. It had been a long time since he was last able to indulge himself in the Impervium dust that his body craved. Gurral began to shake as he thought back to a time before he needed the dust on a regular basis. He had originally been tasked to mine Impervium, the same substance that he was now addicted to. As he tore into the rock which encased the precious super-hard element, miniscule particles of the Impervium wafted into his eyes, nose, and face. The tiny shards of the substance made their way into Gurral’s bloodstream and eventually into his brain. With each strike of his pickaxe, more of the dust made its way into his system. For any other miner, this would have meant a small irritation of the eyes and a headache. For Gurral however, his genetic make-up allowed him to absorb the mineral, infusing it into his every cell, especially the bones.  As the dust strengthened its hold over the monster, the Impervium drove him to dig for even more of it. Rather than tiring him, the act of slamming his axe into rock which encased the Impervium only forced him to dig deeper because he knew that every blow would send more of the addictive substance flying into his face and quench his need for it.

Gurral’s reliance on the dust caused him to dig at top speed for endless hours, pushing his body well beyond the point of exhaustion. The non-stop digging combined with the Impervium infusing into his body dramatically increased Gurral’s muscle mass and enhanced his stamina. As much as the intense exercise and absorption of the dust transformed Gurral’s muscles, it was nothing compared to what the constant exposure to Impervium did to his bones. His skeleton absorbed the substance until it was fully saturated, then it grew spikes that jutted from his forearms and knuckles. His skin peeled back from the top half of his head leaving the skull exposed, and his back grew heavy plating from the base of his skull down his back and the majority of his tail.

With his back and skull now covered in a nigh impenetrable carapace, unbreakable spikes on his extremities, a grotesquely muscled body, and the ability to push himself to the limit for hours on end, Gurral caught the attention of the Arena Lords.

The Arena Lords ran the planet Gurral had been born and bred to serve. They oversaw gladiator style battles between giant monsters, both for their own amusement and for profit. The battles that took place, both in the fighting rings of the arena and in remote sites, kept the Arena Lords happy, wealthy, and powerful. They drafted Gurral into the arena battles with the promise of the Impervium dust he desired for each victory he was able to secure.

Gurral agreed to the Arena Lords’ conditions. The monster reasoned that pounding on flesh would be easier than pounding on rock. As long as he was able to get his dust, Gurral didn’t care what he smashed.

Gurral destroyed all manner of creatures in the arena on his mission to feed his addiction. The massive brawler’s strength and Impervium-enhanced bones made him a veritable juggernaut. He crushed giant apes, spiders, and even dragons. His string of impressive victories had led to him gaining the moniker Gurral the Smasher.

He didn’t know what manner of beast was waiting on the other side of the door, but whatever it was, Gurral already hated it. Whatever he was going to fight was currently standing between him and his long denied Impervium dust. Gurral was in pain and he was going to take out that pain on the creature he was facing.

Gurral’s body shook again as he clenched his fists and waited for the shiver to pass. He stared at the door to the arena. The gladiator bellowed, “Just open the door and let’s get this thing started already!”

A loud buzz echoed through the hallway as the door slid open. Gurral felt the ground shake as the crowd roared at his appearance. The arena champion smiled at their applause. As much as he was addicted to Impervium dust, he was almost as addicted to the cheers of the arena crowd. Gurral walked out onto the ring floor, threw his hands out wide, and roared. The act caused the already frenzied crowd to scream even louder in approval of their favorite combatant.

The gladiator then looked across the arena at the doors his opponent would be coming through. As the giant stared at the door, the crowd fell silent.

The massive steel doors slowly slid open and a fearsome howl emanated from the dark hall beyond the doors. The howl echoed through the now quiet arena, and as the last vestige of the battle cry died out, a second deeper howl followed it.

Gurral’s piercing red eyes looked into the darkness to see a giant fur-covered, wolf-like head lurch out from inside its waiting hall. As the wolf head stretched out into the light, a second wolf-like set of eyes peered out from the darkness. The two-headed canine creature snarled at Gurral as it began to step through the door.

As the multi-headed beast stepped part way out into the ring, lights shone down allowing part of its body to come into view. Gurral was surprised to see the creature’s front legs covered in scales. From the creature’s heads, the gladiator had assumed the monster would be completely covered in fur. As the second half of the beast’s body made its way out of the cave, Gurral understood why the creature’s forelimbs had their reptilian attributes. From behind the two wolf heads snarling at him, Gurral saw several other shapes darting back and forth. The beast snarled one more time and then fully leapt into the ring to reveal six long serpentine necks attached to its body, all ending in snakelike mouths with long curved fangs.

The alien’s body had the overall shape of a wolf with the exception that it was covered in scales. The serpentine heads sprouting from the creature’s back were all facing Gurral as they rolled over each other and hissed. Gurral made a quick mental note of the long claws extending from the monster’s paws. He then shifted his gaze to his opponent’s faces to see the two fur-covered wolf-heads with their eyes fixed on him as saliva dripped from their nearly starving mouths.

Gurral shook his head as he thought to himself, I don’t know which screwed up planet they found you on, but you are one ugly son-of-a-bitch. The Smasher shrugged as he continued his inner monologue. Well, I gotta call you something. You look like a mix of a bunch of things so I’m just gonna call you Mutt.

Gurral roared once more, causing the crowd to cheer in approval as he charged toward the mysterious beast he had labeled as Mutt. As the intelligent monster was sprinting toward the slobbering beast, Mutt sprang into the air. The chimeric creature came crashing down on top of Gurral, forcing him to the ground.

As soon as his back hit the ground, Gurral reached up with each of his hands and grabbed the two wolf-like heads. The Smasher was squeezing Mutt’s throats in an attempt to strangle the hideous demon. The gargantuan gladiator had nearly crushed the feral monster’s windpipes when the serpentine heads on Mutt’s back all reached down and sank their fangs into Gurral’s arms, legs, and torso.

The snake bites themselves did not cause much damage to Gurral’s bulky frame, but after only a few seconds of the fangs being embedded in his flesh, the Smasher felt a searing pain course through his body. As the arena champion’s vision began to blur, he realized the pain was coming from the venom the snake heads were pumping into his system.

He felt his arms growing weaker and he looked up through blurring vision to see the two wolf mouths moving closer to his face. Gurral realized that if he was to survive, he would need to free himself from under Mutt’s body and break free from the jaws of its snakes.

Gurral tried to focus as best he could, knowing full well that even the slightest mistake on his part would mean the end of his life. The snake venom coursing through his veins was incredibly painful but it was nothing compared to the pain of being deprived of Impervium dust.

The Smasher pushed past the pain wracking his body. He then released the grip his right hand had on one of the wolf-like heads and in a flash threw a blow with his spiked fist that connected with both canine heads. As Gurral’s clenched fist slammed into one wolf face and then the other, the spikes protruding from his knuckles tore off long strips of flesh from Mutt’s lower jaws. The brutal blow forced the wolf heads to pull back. In the instant that Mutt’s wolf heads were rearing back, Gurral reached up and grabbed two of the snake-like heads at their base where they were attached to Mutt’s body.

With one powerful yank, Gurral tore the two serpentine appendages off his opponent's back. The two wolf heads yelped in pain while the remaining snake heads released their hold on Gurral’s body and began thrashing about wildly.

With his foe stunned, Gurral was able to push Mutt off himself. He tried to stand but found that the venom which had been injected into him made his legs too unsteady to sustain his massive weight. The champion of the arena took two steps before he fell to the ground face first. Gurral saw Mutt coming toward him and the Smasher immediately rolled to present his armored back to his attacker.

Enraged by the pain he was in, Mutt leapt at Gurral and attacked his back with both wolf heads and all of his remaining snake heads. Mutt gnawed and snapped at the burly gladiator’s back but neither his canine teeth nor his snake fangs could penetrate the Smasher’s nigh invulnerable Impervium carapace.

The protection of his carapace gave Gurral a brief respite from direct attack but his body was still in intense pain, both from the poisonous substance running through it and the lack of the substance it craved.

The arena champion clenched his right hand into a fist then quickly spun around and struck Mutt’s left wolf head with a crushing blow to its jaw. A mix of saliva, blood, and teeth flew out of the left wolf head as the beast’s shattered lower jaw swung loosely from its mouth.

Gurral was standing up to deliver another blow when Mutt’s right wolf head bit into the gladiator’s thigh. Blood spurted out of Gurral’s leg as the pain from the bite caused the armored colossus to rear back. As Gurral turned his head back toward Mutt, he saw the four-remaining snake-like appendages streaking toward him. Before he could react, the Smasher had two snake heads biting into each of his arms while the left wolf head was still trying to close its shattered lower jaw around his thigh.

As the snake heads dug their fangs into his arms, the gladiator once more felt the serpents’ painful venom coursing through his veins. In addition to the pain, the poison caused him to feel light-headed and nauseous. Gurral could feel his legs beginning to shake beneath him again and he knew that if he fell to the ground once more, he would be finished. The Smasher fixed his burning red eyes on his opponent and roared in anger. He pulled his right leg from the broken jaw of the left wolf head and placed it on Mutt’s collar bone. He then grabbed two snake heads in each hand, wrapped them around his arms twice, and pulled back on them as hard as he could while pushing away with his foot.

The serpentine heads pulled taut as Gurral stretched them to their limits. There was a sickening pop as Gurral gave one final yank that tore the reptilian protrusions off his opponent’s body. A fountain of blood sprayed into the air as the intact wolf head released its grip on Gurral’s legs and backed away from him.

Seeing that he had severely injured his opponent, Gurral pressed his advantage. The gladiator sprang forward and began raining down blows onto the wolf-creature. With each punch, the spikes on Gurral’s knuckles tore out chunks of flesh and scales from his foe. Large pieces of his opponent’s tissue clung to Gurral’s fists as he continued to pound Mutt to death.

When Gurral had first pinned the creature to the ground, it snarled as the Smasher was striking it. After the first three blows, the snarl changed to a whimper. By the time Gurral’s seventh blow had landed, Mutt was silent. Gurral punched his opponent another twenty times after it had died as both a punishment to the monster and as a warning to any future combatants. The arena was his, and as long as the arena was his, so was the Impervium dust, and that was not something he was going to let go of.

When Gurral was finally finished making an example of the wolf-snake, he stood up, covered in both his opponent's blood and his own. He looked around the arena to see those in the crowd staring at him in utter silence.

Gurral smiled and thought to himself, “I might as well give them what they want.” The Smasher then lifted his gore covered fists into the air and roared. The crowd screamed in approval as Gurral turned and headed back down the hall he had come out of. He would eat, be given the Impervium dust he desired, then rest and heal in preparation for his next fight

Chapter 2

Arena World

Two days after Gurral’s latest victory on a planet in between worlds, three bluish-gray skinned creatures with multiple arms sat in anti-gravity chairs. These beings were known simply as the Arena Lords. While they floated through the air, the enigmatic Arena Lords watched as numerous kaiju gladiators battled to the death for their amusement. The images surrounding them showed a massive winged serpent engaged with a huge porcupine, a giant centipede fighting with a saurian creature with a malformed arm, and numerous other gigantic horrors all tearing each other to shreds.

One Arena Lord looked at the other of his kind floating nearest to him. “Watching these past matches, passes the time but it does little to excite me.” He rolled his pointed head, “There is none of the thrill of the uncertainty of a live battle nor the added enticement of wagers between us as to who the winner will be.”

The second Arena Lord nodded, “Indeed, and the reason for this boredom is the dominance of one particular gladiator.” The second Arena Lord pressed a button on his chair, causing the images surrounding him to show Gurral’s battle with Mutt. “That latest beast was our best chance at having a credible challenge to Gurral, and even it was crushed by our champion. He is practically unbeatable. If he continues to rack up victories in the fashion that he has, the crowd as well as us will soon become bored with him.” The alien sighed, “Alas our best talent scouts continue to scour the galaxy in vain as they search for a creature which can offer Gurral a challenge. There doesn’t seem to be a beast within the entire universe that can challenge our champion. I fear we may soon have to retire Gurral lest he lose his appeal.”

A third unknown Arena Lord caused his chair to drift out of the shadows and to the middle of the room. As he stared at the others in the room, a sly smile came across his face. “Indeed, perhaps there is nothing in the universe that can challenge Gurral, which means we may have to look outside of it.”

The first Arena Lord directed his chair over to the Newcomer. “What are you talking about? Even if other realities exist, we have no way of accessing them.”

The Newcomer shrugged, “We may not have the ability to access them, but someone in the multiverse does.” He waved his hand to change the images being shown on the walls. Dozens of monsters and robots all unknown to the Arena Lords were suddenly battling to the death all around them.

They saw a blue robot clashing with some manner of saurian creature with large fins on the sides of its head.

Another image showed a massive kaiju that had the head and tail of a sperm whale, the body of a gorilla, and a lion’s mane fighting a colossal Viking holding a massive hammer with lightning shooting out of it.

Other images showed a dragon, a horned bear, and some manner of dinosaur-man fighting a huge black robot. Two giant cybernetic birds engaged in combat with a gargantuan sasquatch. An armored and horned reptilian beast was fighting an oddly shaped rock creature. A giant lion made of fire was battling a dark and formless shape, and a strange creature with bulbous orange sacks all over it was fighting a golden dragon with a crescent horn on top of its head.

One image showed what looked like a person in a dinosaur suit using a leg drop on a two headed turkey vulture which, at a quick glance, seemed as if it had wires attached to its neck.

The Newcomer smiled, “As I told you, there are several extremely powerful beings creating temporal rifts, pulling creatures from across the multiverse, and using them as weapons of war. While this certainly is not a war we should engage in, we can take advantage of the rifts that seem to be opening.”

The first Arena Lord questioned the Newcomer, “How do you know so much about these rifts?”

The Newcomer shrugged, “Unlike others, I do not spend the entirety of my time watching battles, but rather pay attention to the universe around us. Suffice to say this discovery was made with a significant amount of time and effort on my part. I shall fill you in on the details behind the methods I used at a later time. For now, I feel our focus should be on finding a monster who can battle Gurral before we lose the crowd’s interest.”

The first Arena Lord nodded and pointed to the sperm-whale- gorilla-lion kaiju, “That monster would be a fine opponent to battle Gurral! His bulk nearly matches that of the Smasher and he is much quicker than he looks. The two of them would put on a fight that would be talked about for ages!”

The Newcomer shook his head and pointed to a small creature standing near the monster’s feet. “That creature is known as Chimera. He is a protector of his world and more importantly he is directed by the small and intelligent creature next to him. To get Chimera to fight, we would need to bring the human here as well. I can only imagine he would not take well to the manner in which we run the arena. We are more likely to have Chimera become the leader of a revolt against us than have him become a challenge for Gurral.”

The second Arena Lord gestured toward the two cybernetic birds battling the colossal sasquatch. “What of these flying creatures? See the speeds at which they attack and how coordinated their assaults are? Gurral can match any creature’s strength but speed and intelligence are something he has not yet faced.”

Once more the Newcomer dismissed the idea. “Those creatures are known as ROC 2 and ROC 4. They are controlled by military personnel via a remote connection. Were we to take the ROCS, they would simply stand inert without their controllers.”

The first Arena Lord pointed to the monster with the bulbous orange sacks.

Before he could ask about the kaiju, the Newcomer held up his hand. “No, before you ask anything else let me show you the monster, I suggest we target.” The Newcomer waved his hand again to change the image to show a theropod-like monster with long powerful arms and an alligator-like carapace on his back.

The Newcomer smiled. “This is Atomic Rex. He is the answer to our problem of a monster to challenge Gurral.” He waved his hand to show Atomic Rex crushing two giant mechs on a beach. “When the monster was born, he quickly conquered a large section of a continent and claimed it for his own.” The images changed to show Atomic Rex destroying other monsters, including an ogre-like creature, a two finned quadruped dinosaur, and an acid spewing turtle. In the background of each battle, another mech could be seen hovering in the air. The Newcomer continued his story, “After battling more creatures on his home world, it seems that various forces outside of Atomic Rex’s dimension took notice of him.” The images changed again to show Atomic Rex fighting Chimera, a flaming bird, and what looked like some manner of giant warrior.

The Newcomer pointed to the giant warrior, “This being is known as Kronos. He refers to himself as a titan, sort of like a god in his own dimension. He created the temporal rifts we are viewing the other creatures through and then he brought Atomic Rex to his world to battle against Chimera and other gods for domination of a planet known as Earth.” The Newcomer drifted closer to the image as he continued to speak, “The titan Kronos has the power to move creatures from one dimension to another at will and yet despite his power, Atomic Rex was able to slay him.” The image changed to show a blue dome of energy cascading off the nuclear theropod and decimating Kronos.

The first Arena Lord gazed at the Newcomer. “Titans and gods. Are you telling me these beings are using some kind of magic?”

The Newcomer shook his head, “Not magic, merely a form of science that is slightly different from our own. As I told you, once we use these rifts to secure the monsters we need, I shall explain the entire process to you.”

One of the other Arena Lords spoke up, “What is that blast the creature unleashed?”

The Newcomer changed the image again to show Atomic Rex unleashing his Atomic Wave against opponent after opponent. “The blast is an attack of pure radiation that expands outward from the beast’s body. The blue dome is known as the Atomic Wave by the inhabitants of the monster’s home world. The attack strikes its opponent with tremendous force and intense heat.”

The first Arena Lord floated over toward the Newcomer. “You have shown us that Atomic Rex has great power and fighting prowess but what separates him from the other monsters you’ve shown us as an ideal opponent for Gurral?”

The Newcomer shook his head, “As I stated, the other creatures you saw before are either influenced or controlled by higher intelligences or see themselves as heroic creatures. Fighting in the arena would not be something they would accept.” He shifted the images back to Atomic Rex, “This creature on the other hand, only cares about food and territory. He is also extremely aggressive, attacking nearly anything that crosses his path. If Gurral were to approach him, Atomic Rex would most assuredly attack.”

The first Arena Lord responded with a concerned look on his face, “You want to send Gurral to Atomic Rex’s dimension? We have only just now learned of the existence of other dimensions and you want to access some defeated god’s leftover portals to send Gurral there to fight this kaiju? What if we lose Gurral in the process? We will have nothing!”

The Newcomer shrugged. “We were just speaking of the need to retire Gurral due to the fact that he is nearly unstoppable and thus runs the risk of becoming boring to our fans. Think of the intrigue of sending him to a new universe. Aside from Atomic Rex, this version of Earth is filled with other giant monsters. Think of Gurral taking on creature after creature as he makes his way toward his showdown with Atomic Rex. Then if Gurral can capture Atomic Rex and bring him back here, we will have an entirely new monster to battle in the arena.”

The Newcomer brought up an image of a series of calculations. “All we need to do is take Gurral to one of the dimensional rifts leading to Atomic Rex’s home world, arm him with a device to subdue the monster, and let him enter it. My analysis of these rifts show that they will stay open for several weeks. Furthermore, I dare say that we could create our own rift if we needed to, should Gurral become stranded on Earth.”

The first two Arena Lords were still considering the Newcomer’s proposition when he decided to press the issue by playing on their greed and vanity, “You’re not scared of such an endeavor are you? We are the mighty Arena Lords who pride ourselves on sport and wagers.  Our race would not back down from such an opportunity as this to protect a mere gladiator, would they?”

A look of anger flashed across the faces of the two lords who had been insulted. The first shook his head in anger, “Of course not! We were simply considering how we would convince Gurral to undergo such a perilous quest.”

The Newcomer smiled. “Leave that to me.”

Chapter 3

Earth: Northwest California

The sun broke through the window and struck the sleeping man on his face. Chris Myers yawned as the smell of the wildflowers in bloom in the nearby meadow wafted into his nose. He rubbed his eyes and then rolled over to see his wife Kate sleeping next to him. Her eyes were closed and Chris was sure she was still asleep. He looked down at his wife in awe. With her athletic build and now salt and pepper colored hair, she looked as beautiful as ever.

It had been almost thirty years since he and Kate had helped form the last human settlement on Earth. Back then the settlement was merely an abandoned town in the woods that had been overlooked by the kaiju without functional power or plumbing. In those early days, Kate’s natural leadership caused the people in the settlement to elect her their leader. As the leader of the settlement, she organized the people and their skill sets. Under Kate’s leadership, the people of the settlement had restored a hydro-electric plant to provide them with limited power. Once the power was partially back on, she led the effort to restore enough of the plumbing system for the sewers, toilets, sinks for drinking water, and even a few public showers to operate.

All the while, Chris and Kate continued to use the mech known as Steel Samurai 2.0 to fight off any of the giant mutant animals and bugs that threatened the settlement. Chris' role as the pilot of Steel Samurai 2.0 caused some of the people in the settlement to see him as a leader as well, but he knew the truth. He was a soldier, a fighter, a grunt. It was Kate who was the true leader.

He smiled as he continued to stare at his wife and whispered, “I can’t believe it’s been over thirty years since I first met you. You saved me that day. You gave me a reason for living.” He took a close look at her face. “How did I end up with you? Even at almost fifty years old you're still as beautiful as when we first met.”

Kate opened her eyes and smiled at her husband. “Let’s not get started on this who saved who thing. It was you who saved me from Ogre. Well, I guess Steel Samurai did most of the work but you helped a little.” She moved in closer to him and placed her hand on his salt and pepper colored unshaven face. “Even so, I still love it when you tell me how beautiful I am, but you can leave out the part about me being almost fifty.”

Chris laughed, “Hey, before we cleared out North America from giant monsters, thirty was considered old. The fact that we’ve made it to fifty is pretty good.”

Kate tickled Chris. “You’re fifty! I’m almost fifty.”

Chris laughed, “Well either way we have a daughter that’s getting married in a few days,” Chris sighed. “I can’t believe my little girl is getting married to a lunk head like Sean McDuffy.”

Kate gave her husband a sarcastic look. “First of all, Emily is twenty-two years old. She’s hardly a little girl. Heck, she’s practically the second in command around here and the people like her more than me. She’s pretty much the de facto next leader of this place when I step down. As for Sean, while he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to common sense, he is a hard-working farmer, which in the world we live in is one of the most important jobs someone can have. He is also very kind to Emily and he loves her very much. Plus, he’s pretty damn handsome and rugged looking.”
She smiled at her husband. “You can’t blame her for falling for a ruggedly handsome man who, while not what we used to call book smart, is adept at surviving in a world ruled by monsters. Her mother fell for the same type of guy some thirty years ago.”

Chris smiled and nodded his head. “Yeah you’re right. Sean is a good guy and he treats Emily well, even though, like her mother, she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.” He then shook his head as he looked in his wife’s eyes. “The one thing you’re wrong about though is that even if Emily is no longer a little girl, she’ll always be my little girl.”

Kate smiled back at him. “She’ll always be our little girl.”

Chris sighed, “Yeah, I just wish we could give her the wedding she deserves. You know, like the ones they had before the kaiju. Like the one we should have had. Instead of us standing in a crumbling hotel to stay out of the rain as a guy pronounced us man and wife before two other people.” He shrugged, “You deserved better than that and so does she.”

Kate smiled as she fought back quickly forming tears. “That’s why I love you and that’s the same type of thing Sean would say to Emily which is why she loves him.” She grabbed her husband’s hands. “First of all, compared to the warehouse that Ogre kept me trapped in for years, that crumbling hotel was a mansion to me. Even if we were getting married in a cave it would have been the happiest day of my life because I was marrying you.” She squeezed Chris' hands tighter. “Emily will be getting married at Sean’s farm in the middle of spring. It will be beautiful. She is beloved in the settlement so everyone there will be overjoyed by the wedding, meaning you will get to walk her down the aisle surrounded by all of her friends and family.” The tears building in her eyes began to increase as her smile grew. “Then as the leader of the settlement, I’ll get to preside over our daughter’s wedding. In this world, the world before the kaiju, or any other world in the universe, can you imagine a better day for us or Emily?”

Chris shook his head. “You’re right, I really can’t.” He started to climb out of bed. “The only thing that could ruin it would be a giant mutant attack or something worse.”

Kate nodded as she wiped her eyes dry. “Which is why we’ve been doubling our patrols with Steel Samurai 2.0. We’re doing our best to make sure there are no large mutants close enough to the settlement to pose a threat to us. As for the other threat, our son has recently been able to use an old computer and what’s left of the internet to access the Google satellite to track Atomic Rex. Kyle told me that as of yesterday, Atomic Rex is in the South American rainforest, far away from us and with plenty of food to occupy him.”

Chris stood up. “I know Kyle’s doing a great job keeping an eye on that demon. Even so, I still worry about Atomic Rex. I mean, what about that anomaly or whatever it was that Kyle called it? That blue light that appeared next to Atomic Rex. It was like he vanished in it for two weeks and then when the light re-appeared, that kaiju just walks right out of it.”

He turned back toward Kate. “The weird part is whatever that light did to Atomic Rex, it seems like his body no longer needs to constantly feed on nuclear energy. It’s not like he hasn’t been using the Atomic Wave. Kyle has several pictures of him using it. I mean, where is he getting the energy from? Is he just making it himself?” Chris was starting to shake as he thought about the nuclear theropod.

Kate leapt out of bed and put her hands around her husband’s neck. “Chris, calm down. I know how many times you’ve fought Atomic Rex. I know how many friends he’s taken from you, but you have to let it go. That monster is down in South America, countless miles away from us and still far away from the settlement in Peru. I don’t know what happened to his need to feed off nuclear energy but as long as it’s gone, that’s a good thing. It means he’s less likely to come looking for it because all he needs is food. The ambient radiation he is giving off creates all kinds of mutants for him to eat. He’s basically supplying his own food chain down there. He has no reason to leave South America. He’s got the entire continent to himself. With there being no other True Kaiju around either, he has no reason to come up here and defend his territory.”

Kate shrugged. “Maybe that blue light was God finally giving us a break, maybe it was some kind of freak accident, maybe it was Gandalf the Gray, who cares as long as Atomic Rex is not bothering us.”
She kissed her husband, then pulled away. “I know how much of your life that monster has ruined but he won’t ruin anymore of it if you don’t let him.”

Chris kissed his wife back. “I know. I know. I’m not freaking Captain Ahab; I can’t let my fear of Atomic Rex ruin my life.”

Kate tilted her head. “Fear? I’ve only ever heard you use the word hatred when talking about him.”

Chris sighed. “You know I don’t like to talk about things like this much with me being a tough guy and as you said not the sharpest tool in the shed.” He took a deep breath. “Back when we first lured Atomic Rex to South America, I realized that if it wasn’t for him destroying the world and me leading him on a wild goose chase across the county to kill off the other True Kaiju, I never would have met you and we never would have had Emily and Kyle. It sounds weird but if Atomic Rex hadn’t destroyed the rest of the world, I wouldn’t have my world.”

He was now tearing up as he looked at his wife. “You and the kids,” he smiled, “you and our adult children are my entire world and, in a way, I have Atomic Rex to thank for that. While I can appreciate that, I still fear him coming here and hurting you, Emily, and Kyle or destroying the settlement we have all worked so hard to build. That thought scares the hell out of me.”

Kate hugged her husband. “And that, Captain Myers, is again why I love you. You always think of others before yourself. Atomic Rex is content in South America and as long as we don’t bother him, there is no reason to think he will come up here. Even if he did make his way up here, we would have plenty of warning to clear out or devise a plan to lure him away.”

She looked out the window at their small settlement and the forest that surrounded it.  “We haven’t seen any mutants within one hundred miles of the settlement in the past several days. As the leader of the settlement, I’m going to say that we can push back our patrol with Steel Samurai 2.0 a little bit.” She grabbed Chris and pulled him down on top of her as she fell back into their bed. “That is if you still find your almost fifty-year old wife attractive?”

Chris smiled again as he looked down at her. “Just as attractive as the day I met you. Actually, you’re even more attractive now without all the gross leg and armpit hair you grew from not shaving for a couple of years.”

Kate laughed as she rolled her husband over and pressed herself down on top of him. “That’s it, Captain Myers. You are going to get it now.” She then leaned in and kissed Chris passionately as she began to take off his clothes.

Chapter 4

South American Rainforest

Lightning streaked across the sky, as thunder crashed, and rain poured down in thick sheets, pelting the tree canopy. The kaiju known as Atomic Rex had been resting on the banks of the Amazon River, enjoying the storm. The nuclear theropod felt equally at home on both land and in the ocean. The monster felt as if the rainy season of the Amazon jungle provided the best of both worlds, as he could walk around on land while still feeling the cooling rain running down his scales.

Atomic Rex lay on the bank of the river and watched the awesome display the lightning was giving off for nearly a half an hour before he finally saw what he was looking for. A bolt of lightning lit up the sky to reveal the silhouette of a cyclopean bird with a crest surrounding its face, flying through the night sky, carrying a massive snake in its talons.

The saurian kaiju roared when he saw the mutated harpy eagle flying above him. Since he had absorbed the power of the phoenix when he was transported to another Earth, he no longer craved nuclear energy. The power of the phoenix that now ran through the monster’s cells served as a perpetual source of radioactive energy. This phenomenon satiated what was once an unyielding hunger for Atomic Rex.

While his body no longer needed nuclear energy, it did require food and the radioactive leviathan was hungry. The monster began moving through the rainforest in search of his prey. The tallest tree in the expansive jungle barely reached the kaiju’s knees as he moved through the forest. As he walked through the jungle, his body gave off ambient radiation that would cause other fauna to mutate and grow to gigantic proportions. The creature’s pursuit of food today would inadvertently provide food for the future.

The nuclear theropod kept his eyes fixed on the sky as the lightning flashed once more to show the giant eagle flying farther east and easily outpacing its hunter. Atomic Rex had no concern of the eagle being faster than he was. He had hunted other harpy eagles that his radiation had mutated into giants. From past experience, he knew full well that he would be unable to catch his prey in a flat-out chase. However, Atomic Rex was far from an unthinking brute. When he hunted the giant birds, he studied their behavior. He had learned that when the harpy eagles were hunting to feed themselves, they would eat their prey wherever they caught it. Atomic Rex had tried to attack one of the eagles when it was eating only to find that when he charged the colossal bird it flew off into the sky.

One time when Atomic Rex was hunting, he saw one of the giant birds grab one of the forty-meter-long snakes in its talons and take to the sky. Intrigued by this exhibition of new behavior, Atomic Rex followed the bird as it flew back. While the bird was much faster than he was, tracking the avian mutation through the sky was not an issue for the keen-eyed kaiju.

When Atomic Rex finally caught up to the harpy eagle, he found the bird in a giant nest built on the ground. Inside the nest, were three harpy eagle chicks, each standing over ten meters tall. When the nuclear theropod charged the nest, the mother eagle had no choice but to try and defend her family. After a vicious battle, Atomic Rex was able to feed on the mother eagle, the chicks, and the remains of the snake. He knew full well that if he could follow this giant harpy eagle back to her nest and defeat her, he would enjoy a similar feast.

The chase went on for dozens of kilometers through the thick jungle and raging storm. Atomic Rex kept a steady walking pace as he followed his prey. He knew full well that he had to conserve his energy to sprint at the bird when it finally landed. Another hour of chasing the bird passed before it finally circled around for a landing.

The massive raptor was roughly eight kilometers ahead of Atomic Rex when it descended into the jungle’s tree canopy. As soon as Atomic Rex saw the harpy eagle starting to land, the monster quickly broke into a full out sprint. Due to his massive size, hunting using stealth tactics was not an option that was available to the saurian beast. Atomic Rex’s heart was racing and saliva was dripping out of his mouth at the thought of a much-needed meal as he ran through the trees like a living building.

The moment that Atomic Rex started running, the mother harpy eagle’s head popped up above the canopy. The raptor screeched at the oncoming predator and then spread its wings. The mutant sprang into the air. Then with her wings spread to their full one-hundred-meter span, the mother harpy eagle began flapping. The wind from the storm was already at the eagle’s back and when she started flapping her wings, the gusts generated by the tropical storm soon surpassed the force of the most powerful hurricane Mother Nature had ever developed.

A wall of wind moving at nearly three hundred kilometers per hour slammed into the nuclear theropod, bringing the monster’s sprint to a slow but steady walk forward. Millions of drops of rain per second propelled at an incredible speed struck Atomic Rex’s body. Each drop of water felt as if it were a bullet fired from a high-powered machine gun. While the pelting rain caused Atomic Rex some pain, it was not enough to deter him, rather the attack only served to anger him.

Atomic Rex opened his mouth to unleash his anger in an earth-shattering roar but as the beast opened his jaws, his mouth was filled with a deluge of not only water but flying trees that had been uprooted by the harpy eagle’s flapping wings. A maelstrom of wind, rain, trees, soil, and rock hit the nuclear theropod with enough force to shatter a brick wall with every impact. Atomic Rex tensed his muscles and dug his clawed feet into the ground in an attempt to steady himself as he felt the eagle’s attack slowly forcing him backward.

When he had finally managed to stand in one spot, Atomic Rex closed his eyes. The nuclear theropod then reached deep into himself to access the unlimited power of the phoenix that resided in his very cells. Atomic Rex’s body began to take on a light blue hue as he lifted his right leg slightly off the ground.

As the reptilian horror lifted his foot into the air, the light blue glow emanating from his body continued to grow in intensity. The monster was being pushed back farther by the gale force winds assaulting him when he brought his foot crashing back to the ground. As the theropod’s foot struck the ground, a dome of superheated blue energy known as the Atomic Wave cascaded off his body in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree radius. The blast cut through the super hurricane destroying all vegetation in its path.

The mutated harpy eagle’s eyes went wide when she saw the Atomic Wave coming toward her. The bird of prey only had the briefest instant to look down at her nest and the chicks within it before the Atomic Wave slammed into her and knocked her backwards.

When the blast struck the mighty eagle, it sent her crashing into the ground and tumbling through the trees all while searing her feathers and burning her flesh. The avian beast crashed through nearly a half a kilometer of forest, before she finally rolled to a stop. The eagle lifted her head off the ground as the still pounding rain helped to sooth the burns that now covered her wings and torso. As she stood, she heard several low chirping sounds coming from her nest. She turned her head to see her three chicks rolling around in what was left of their nest. The harpy eagle leaped toward her nest to see her chicks in agony as the Atomic Wave had burned off their down-like feathers and badly charred the soft skin below them.

The giant bird was reaching down with her beak to tend to her offspring when the ground started to shake around her. The mother bird had just enough time to take to the air before Atomic Rex’s open jaws appeared above her nest.

The radioactive leviathan was reaching down to devour the injured chicks when the harpy eagle attacked the saurian’s face in a blur of beak, feathers, and claws. The avian creature sliced into Atomic Rex’s head, sending spurts of the reptile’s radioactive blood cascading over the treetops below them. Each time that Atomic Rex reached up to grab the attacking eagle, the bird would back out of the monster’s reach and then attack again when he dropped his arms. Between the bird’s speed and the pounding rain and wind, Atomic Rex was unable to land a blow on his attacker.

As the frenzied mother continued her attack, Atomic Rex was forced to step back from the dying chicks in the nest. Enraged at the thought of losing his meal, the nuclear theropod quickly changed his approach. The monster bent his legs slightly and then quickly darted forward causing the eagle to lift its body higher into the sky to avoid his attack.

With the bird now floating above his back and his front end bent down, Atomic Rex used his tail to strike the harpy eagle in the chest causing it to come crashing down into the muddy terrain below. The winged giant was trying to pull itself out of the mud when Atomic Rex’s foot came crashing down on her chest, crushing her ribcage. The dying bird tried to look toward her nest to see her chicks one more time but before she could turn her head around to see it, Atomic Rex’s jaws closed around her neck and decapitated her.

Atomic Rex let the blood draining out of his prey’s mouth saturate his tongue so that he could savor the liquid before swallowing it. The saurian creature then used his teeth to crack the bird’s skull open so that he could taste its brain before swallowing what remained of the monster’s head.

After swallowing the harpy eagle’s head, Atomic Rex tore into the dead creature’s body, devouring bones, blood, and organs. The kaiju fed on the giant bird until there was nothing left but a pile of feathers and pool of blood that was quickly being swept away by the storm.

When he finished eating the mother bird, Atomic Rex heard the pain-filled chirps of the chicks in the nest behind him. The nuclear theropod lifted his head into the sky and roared out his victory over their mother before walking over to devour the dying infants.

Once he had finished his meal, Atomic Rex knew that he needed to rest to digest his food. Resting would also allow the accelerated cell regeneration ability granted to him by his nuclear powers to heal the damage inflicted on him by the mother harpy eagle during their battle. The monster turned and started heading back toward the banks of the Amazon. The highly territorial kaiju decided that he would once more rest on the river bank and then head back to the Pacific Ocean, where he would survey his aquatic domain. The kaiju was aware that a new super predator had been hunting in his domain and he sought to end this creature's forays into his waters.

Chapter 5

Arena World

Gurral’s mouth was watering and his body was shaking as he grabbed the pinch of Impervium dust he’d been given for his most recent victory and sprinkled it over the giant boar that had been prepared for his meal. The Smasher’s mouth filled with saliva as he held the leg of pork in his hand and stared at the Impervium dust he had sprinkled on it. His body was still sore from the battle with Mutt. His wounds were healing and his body was fighting off the poison from the serpent heads. Gurral was confident that his body would be fully healed in a day or two but for now he needed to eat, rest, and then let the dust soothe him as his body recovered.

The gladiator smiled as he smelled the leg before eating, inhaling some of the Impervium dust in the process. He said through his grin, “I’ve been looking forward to this all day.” The monster brought the meat up to his jaws and tore a huge chunk of it off the bone. As the blood from the boar landed on his tongue, the Impervium dust was absorbed into his gums. As the dust entered his system Gurral felt both the pain of withdrawal and the soreness from his injuries begin to slip away.

The arena champion took another bite of the leg, this time tearing off a piece of the bone itself to taste the marrow within it. Gurral threw his head back in ecstasy as more of the dust he craved washed over his senses. The Smasher ravenously tore into the rest of the large carcass in a fog of joy, only realizing he was finished when he looked down and saw that he was reaching hungrily towards a pile of broken bones. It wasn’t enough. It never was, but it would hold him until the next time.

With his meal finished abruptly as ever, he rolled back, laid down on the floor, and let the dust take his mind away. The gladiator stared at the walls of his med-bay enclosure. The walls were bare with nothing but the green lighting system that was used throughout the arena. Gurral didn’t concern himself over the lack of decor. As the Impervium dust made its way into the Smasher’s mind it would provide all of the mental stimulation that he needed. Gurral watched as the lights around him took different forms and shapes as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

The colossal combatant woke up several hours later to find one of the Arena Lords in the enclosure with him. He shook his head to make sure the Arena Lord was really there and not just a hallucination brought on by the dust. The giant then stood up and took a few steps toward the bluish-gray alien.

The Arena Lord made his way around the gladiator, examining the monster’s body. Gurral gave the Arena Lord a confused look. They usually communicated with him through hologram, so this personal visit was something of interest. “Is there something you want from me? Because I’m pretty sure I’ve got at least another day before I’m needed back in the arena, right?”

The Arena Lord shook his head. “There is something I want from you.” The Newcomer looked over to the empty platter that hours before had been laden with enough pork to feed every Arena Lord for the day. “I also know there is something you need from me.”

The Arena Lord continued to walk around Gurral and examine him. The arena champion sighed, “Can we get to the point or are you going to keep looking me over?”

The Arena Lord slowed down his pace. “I am checking to see how well your injuries have healed.” He nodded his head. “I must say, your healing capabilities are even more impressive than I had thought they were.”

Gurral rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Yeah I heal quickly, especially with the med-bots stitching the worst of it. Now back to my question. Is it time for me to fight again already?” Gurral sighed, “Sometimes I lose track of time in here.”

The Arena Lord tilted his head, giving Gurral a sly look. “Indeed, I’m sure it’s the monotony of your surroundings that causes this.” The Newcomer finished circling Gurral and was standing in front of him. “To answer your question, it has barely been a day since your last fight.”

Gurral took a deep breath and sat down on the floor. “All right then, I’m just going to go back to sleep. Wake me up tomorrow for my next fight.”

The Newcomer shook his head. “That’s what I’ve come here to talk to you about. There is no fight scheduled for you tomorrow. In fact, there is no fight scheduled for you at all right now.”

Gurral shrugged as he laid back down, causing echoing rumbles. “That's fine, I’ve earned a vacation.”

The Arena Lord took a step closer to Gurral. “A vacation? Are you sure that you can really enjoy yourself sitting in here ...without your Impervium dust?”

Gurral shot up to a standing position and he glared down at the Arena Lord as he growled. “What do you mean, without my dust?” Gurral slammed his fist onto the ground next to the Arena Lord, leaving a deep dent. “I get my dust every two days! That’s the deal!”

The Arena Lord didn’t move when Gurral’s fist came crashing down next to him. He simply shook his head as he stared into the Smasher’s burning red eyes. “I believe you’re mistaken. The deal is, you get the Impervium dust after every fight you win.” A deep, guttural growl formed deep within Gurral’s chest. The Arena Lord continued, “You’ve been winning a lot lately... Do you know what that means?”

Gurral nodded and leaned forward, “Yeah, it means I get my dust!”

The unfazed Arena Lord turned and began walking away from the gladiator. “When you are slaying opponents at that pace it also means you are reducing the number of possible combatants to face you. In addition to that, when you destroy gladiators as convincingly as you have, it also makes it difficult for us Arena Lords to find creatures for you to battle that the paying and wagering public think will actually present a challenge to you.” The Arena Lord had nearly reached the door when he looked over his shoulder and back at the gladiator. “Our best estimate is that it will take at least a week to bring an opponent to the arena for you to fight.”

He looked at the few grains of the Impervium dust that had fallen to the floor. “I hope you can make do with what dust you have in here until then.”

Gurral’s body was shaking and his voice was seething with anger. “I can’t go that long without dust! Wait, you guys have sent me to other planets to fight opponents in the past. Can’t you do that again?”

The Newcomer shrugged. “You seem to be missing the point. We can send you to another world but first we need to find something that can present you with a challenge. As far as we can tell, there is nothing in the solar systems near us that would last more than a minute against you in a battle.”

Gurral stormed over to where the Arena Lord was standing. “You and your friends had better find something for me to fight so that I can get my dust because if you don’t, you’ll see a fight you weren’t planning for.”

The Arena Lord looked at the massively muscled body of Gurral towering above him, shaking with both anger and fear of withdrawal. He smiled as he looked up into the red eyes of the Smasher. “Even if we do, what happens when you beat that opponent, and it takes us even longer to find you another creature battle? How will you handle the time in between dust sessions then?”

Gurral took a step back as the expression in his eyes changed from a look of anger to a look of concern.

Seeing that he had manipulated the conversation to the point that he wanted, the Arena Lord pressed his advantage. “You are a victim of your own success. You have won so many battles and accrued so much dust that you have made it difficult for us to adhere to the terms of your own deal.”

After a brief moment of concern, anger flared back in Gurral’s eyes. “Then like I said, we had better work out a new deal, or else you and your friends are going to have a major problem.”

The Newcomer nodded. “None of us want that.” He walked back over to Gurral. “What if I could offer you a new deal that would give you unlimited access to dust and allow you to retire from the arena as champion? A deal that would allow you to spend the rest of your days eating and indulging yourself with Impervium dust?”

The anger faded from Gurral’s voice as he looked at the Arena Lord. “I’d say that sounds great. Then I’d ask what’s the catch because a deal that good doesn’t happen.”

The gray skinned alien nodded. “Indeed, there is a catch. You have said you would be interested in going to another planet but what about going to another universe?”

Gurral tilted his head in a mix of confusion and intrigue. “Another universe? How does that work?”

The Arena Lord shrugged. “We’re not really sure how it works but we do know that it works. Rifts have been appearing in space that lead to other universes. Universes filled with monsters that you can battle. There is even one universe that has a monster that can take your place as the main attraction in the arena allowing you to retire and live out the remainder of your life with no concern other than dust, food, and rest.” The Arena Lord brought up images on the wall that showed numerous kaiju and giant mutated animals and bugs.

Gurral shook his head. “You want me to become a hunter? You want me to trap these monsters and bring them back here?” The Smasher held up his fist to show sharp bony spikes extending from them. “These fists are made for killing, not catching.”

The Newcomer smiled. “Indeed they are, and you shall use them for killing. The planet we would like to send you to is populated by numerous monsters and there is only one creature we would like you to subdue and bring back here. We can drop you off at a location that will be some distance away from our primary target. As you make your way to your objective, you can fight and potentially kill every beast you come across. We can have some of our remote cameras follow you and transmit your battles back to us and our patrons. As for the primary target, there is no hunter in existence that is capable of capturing him. Only you possess the strength and resilience to subdue this creature. I can supply you with a device that will give off a burst of electricity which should render the beast unconscious, so that you can bring him back here. I can also provide you with a device that will allow you to communicate with the more intelligent creatures on the planet.”

The Arena Lord smiled. “If you are able to complete this task, you will retire in a blaze of glory! You’ll run through a gauntlet of monsters as you make your way toward the most powerful creature this planet has to offer! When you subdue him, you will have proven yourself a true champion who has earned the reward of retirement and all the dust you can imagine!”

Gurral began to calm down. “All right, this sounds like a deal I can live with. Now what’s this monster I need to catch?”

The Newcomer changed the image on the wall to reveal a green scaled theropod dinosaur with long powerful primate-like arms and a protective carapace on his back. The Arena Lord gestured toward the image. “This is Atomic Rex.”

Gurral shrugged. “He doesn’t look so tough.”

The Newcomer laughed. “Looks can be deceiving. Atomic Rex is as large as you, and has slain dozens of monsters, destroyed gigantic robots, and even toppled gods. He will be the greatest challenge you have ever faced.”

Gurral shrugged, “We’ll see about that. When do I leave?”

The Arena Lord shook his head. “As soon as you are healed enough and ready to go.”

Gurral cracked his neck. “Let me grab a bag’s worth of traveling dust and I’ll be ready to go universe hopping.”

The Newcomer smiled one last time. “Very well, allow me to procure the weapon I promised you and acquire the cameras to record your journey.”

Gurral nodded in reply.

A short time later, Gurral had a massive taser-like weapon that still looked small compared to his sheer bulk and the universal communicator attached to a strap that wrapped around his torso. He and the Newcomer were standing in front of a purple rift in time and space.

The Arena Lord pointed at the rift. “Here is the doorway on your first step to acquiring all you desire.” He then had a large warehouse mech hand Gurral another device to attach to the strap that held the taser to his chest. “This device will allow you to access the energy that is creating these portals and open one of your own. I have already programmed the device to bring you back to the arena when you activate it. Subdue Atomic Rex, access the portal, and then bring him to the arena. At that point, our bargain shall be complete and you will have everything you desire.”

The enormous bruiser leaned in toward the Newcomer. “How am I supposed to find this big beastie anyway? Should I just wander around the planet until we bump into each other?”

The Newcomer shook his head. “You can draw the monster to you. As you value your Impervium dust, so does Atomic Rex value his territory and the food within it. Atomic Rex currently considers the two land masses on the western part of his planet’s hemisphere to be his domain. I can place you in the middle of his territory between these two land masses. Once there, you shall encounter other larger monsters.” The Newcomer shrugged. “All of the creatures on this planet are highly aggressive, they should attack you on sight. Fight the creatures, slay them, devour them if you wish. The spectacle will provide entertainment for the other Arena Lords and the crowd. More importantly however, it will draw Atomic Rex to you. The kaiju on this planet, as its inhabitants call them, seem to have some innate ability to sense when another powerful creature has entered their territory. By engaging in a few battles, you will catch Atomic Rex’s attention and he will come to you.”

Gurral smiled. “That overgrown lizard will be fighting in the arena before you know it.” The Smasher then walked through the rift.

As Gurral disappeared into the rift, the Newcomer whispered, “Fighting in the arena and fighting for me.”

Chapter 6

The Settlement, Northern California

Kate finished tying her hair behind her head in a ponytail and then she walked out of her room to see her son, Kyle, sitting at his computer. Kate smiled as there was a time in her life that she never thought she would see a computer again let alone someone using it. She walked over to her son and leaned down close to him to see his screen. “What are we looking at?”

The thin dark haired eighteen-year-old shrugged. “Well, I’m not really sure. As you know, me and some of the other guys have managed to tap back into what’s left of the internet and access some of the old satellites, but it’s not like we have consistent power or go to school to learn this stuff. We’re basically going by what the people of your generation have been able to teach us and what we’ve been able to figure out. There’s also the fact that none of the systems have been updated for almost twenty years.”

He shrugged. “Anyway, I was looking at the images from Google’s satellite and I found some interesting things. First, it’s not something we really have to be super concerned about, but remember a year or so ago when the satellites first showed us there were kaiju on the rest of the planet?”

Kate’s body shuddered at the thought of what her son would say next. She took a deep breath. “Yes, I remember. What about it?”

“It’s just that each time the satellite goes over Japan, I see less and less and kaiju. This past time I didn’t see any at all.”

Kate shrugged. “Couldn’t that mean that they are just out of range of the satellites or underground, or in the ocean? We know several kaiju will swim miles off shore before returning to their hunting grounds on land.”

Kyle nodded. “I guess, I just think it’s something we should keep an eye on. I know taking care of mutants in our own backyard is top priority but we definitely want to keep ourselves aware of what the kaiju on the rest of the planet are doing. It’s been a few years since we saw that Gfantis monster leaving Japan and you and dad lured him away from the settlement. You two may want to extend your sweeps in Steel Samurai 2.0 a little farther out into the Pacific than you were before, just in case anything decided to leave Japan and head here.”

Kyle frowned. “There’s a typhoon off the coast of Hawaii right now that would make it dangerous to head that far. Maybe once the storm passes, you and dad can make a sweep over the ocean.” Kyle then brought up a picture of a giant ram wandering through the woods. “As far as around here goes, I hate to admit it,” Kyle lowered his voice, “and I’m sure dad is loath to admit it.” He brought his voice back to his normal speaking volume. “But it seems like Emily providing Ramrod with a steady supply of food twenty-five kilometers out from settlement has helped him to consider this to be his territory.” Kyle shrugged. “He’s not the bravest monster but he does seem to be keeping any other large mutants from coming this way from the south.”

Kate smiled. “You and your sister are amazing. She is finding ways to live in conjunction with a monster and you are tracking them.” She shook her head. “My generation was so reactional to the kaiju whereas your generation is taking steps to change how we view the giants that now inhabit our world. It’s good to know that you and your sister are always thinking ahead. You two will do really well as key members of the settlement going forward.” She walked closer to Kyle. “I agree with you, your father and I will take the mech farther out over the ocean just to be on the safe side. Now, what’s the other thing you wanted to bring to my attention?”

Kyle brought up a screenshot onto his computer. “There’s this purple blip that came up with one of the sweeps as well. It could be another one of those weird light anomalies that we saw Atomic Rex disappear into a few weeks ago and then come back from, or it could be any number of things, like a distortion on the camera, a glitch in the internet feed, or something else.”

Kate nodded. “Where did this distortion occur?”

Kyle brought up a map of North America. “It happened near the border of what used to be the southern point of the
Lacandon Jungle in Mexico as far as I can tell.”

Kate moved closer to her son. “Did you see anything come out of the distortion?”

Kyle shook his head. “Not in the direction that the satellite was going, but it will be a few months before the satellite circles back around to that specific spot on the planet. It’s possible that if this was a temporal distortion and something came out of it, that it just walked in the opposite direction of the satellite. If that’s the case, we won’t see it until the images are updated again.”

Kate sighed. “What’s your gut telling you? Is this something your father and I should investigate in Steel Samurai 2.0?”

Kyle shrugged. “You’ve got five days until Emily finally gets married. At top speed, you and dad could make it out there in about three hours, and from that spot back in about five hours due to wind. The thing would be if you encounter something or if you have to track something down.”

Kate took a deep breath. “Your father and I have to do our usual spiral sweep first. That will take us at least twenty-four hours.”

Kyle groaned. “I think you guys could cut that time down some. For one, Ramrod is keeping most threats away from the south so I don’t think you have to really sweep too far in that direction. Second, I know why it usually takes you twenty-four hours, and might I add as a person who shares a house with you two, that I prefer if you use Steel Samurai 2.0’s quarters for those activities.” He shuddered. “I mean, I can hear you guys you know and can I say, gross. You’re fifty years old!”

Kate playfully slapped her son in the back of his head. “I’m almost fifty, your father is fifty.”

Kyle rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, well whatever, the more you and dad can keep that stuff inside the mech, the better for my mental health. Anyway, I think you probably have enough time to do your sweep and check the anomaly, even if you stop for other things. I’ll see if I can’t find any other satellites that I can access to give me a better view of the area. If I can get the same area and don’t see the distortion, we’ll know it was a technical glitch and not an anomaly.”

Kate smiled and kissed Kyle on the cheek. “That’s my boy, now when your father is dressed tell him I went to Emily’s to review the needs of the settlement and discuss what’s left to be done for her wedding. Also tell him that I’ll meet him in Steel Samurai 2.0 in two hours.”

Kyle wiped his mom’s kiss away. “Mom, again gross! I know where your mouth was this morning.”

She smiled at her son and walked out the door. As soon as Kate exited her house, she saw the fifty-meter tall mech known as Steel Samurai 2.0 standing like a silent guardian over the settlement. Every time she saw the mech, it filled her with a sense of hope and pride.

The sense of hope the mech caused her to feel went back to when she first saw the giant robot. Kate and several other women had been held captive by the mutant known as Ogre for several years. By kaiju standards, the monster was small, being only about 4 meters tall. Despite his relatively diminutive size, Ogre was one of the strongest and most durable monsters on the planet. The monster was easily able to defeat creatures four times his size.

He treated women as if they were pets. The brute had kidnapped Kate shortly after the monsters started attacking the civilized world. Before she was captured, she had seen that the US government had activated a series of mechs to fight the kaiju. When Ogre had first taken her, she hoped that the army would send a mech to come save her but for years that never happened. She and the other women had thought about escape but it was quickly revealed that was not an option. Ogre would track down and kill any woman who tried to escape. To make matters worse, he would leave the body of the slain girl in the same warehouse as his captives as a reminder of what would happen to those who dared to try and leave him.

Kate did her best to placate the monster but despite her efforts, one by one the other women trapped with her would either try to escape or they would anger Ogre. Either slight to the monster was a death sentence.

The crew that had started as Kate and several other women had dwindled down to her and one other. It was at that point that Chris arrived, piloting Steel Samurai. He had no idea Kate and the other women were there. He was simply trying to lure Ogre into another monster’s territory so they would fight to the death. When he saw Kate and her friend, he tried to save them. Sadly, Kate was the only one to make it aboard the robot. Once inside Steel Samurai, she and Chris led Ogre into a battle with Atomic Rex in which the grotesque Ogre finally met his end.

The feeling of pride connected to Steel Samurai 2.0 came after she and Chris were married. After proving to be a great help to Chris when he had first saved her, he repaired the mech and retrofitted the cockpit of the mech so that they could both pilot it. With these upgrades in place, the mech was redubbed as Steel Samurai 2.0.

Since this had occurred, Kate had co-piloted the mech on countless missions, including a mission which found the only other surviving colony in the world in Peru. After helping to save the Peruvians from a giant Yeti which had come up from the South Pole, Kate had established a trade agreement with the colony which had benefited both settlements. It was these acts she had accomplished while piloting Steel Samurai 2.0 that filled her with pride.

As she approached the farm that her daughter Emily lived on with her fiancé, she smiled because Steel Samurai 2.0 was standing only a few hundred meters away from it. Ever since Emily had moved out, Chris had taken to leaving the mech next to Sean McDuffy’s farm. Chris insisted that leaving the mech there was a good idea because it was on the edge of the settlement and close to the crops that produced nearly thirty percent of the food for the people living there.

Kate on the other hand, knew that he left the mech there because he felt it provided extra protection for his daughter. Chris felt if any kaiju showed up, the mech might scare them away or at least Emily would be able to run to the safest place in the world until he got there to pilot the mech and face the threat.

Kate came up to the door and knocked loudly to make sure that her daughter and her fiancé had heard her in case they were otherwise engaged.

The door swung open to reveal the burly Sean standing there. The well-built, blonde haired and blue-eyed farmer had a huge smile on his face as he welcomed Kate into his house. “Mrs. Myers, welcome, please come on in. Can I get you a glass of water or something?”

Kate smiled. “Sean, in less than a week you are going to be my son-in-law. I keep telling you that you don’t have to call me Mrs. Myers. Please call me Kate or even mom if you like. It’s fine with me either way.”

Sean smiled. “I mean, you’ve been the leader of the settlement since I was born. Calling you Mrs. Myers just seems natural. Calling you Kate would seem impolite and I wouldn’t go calling you mom until me and Emily are officially married.”

Kate smiled. “All right, where is Emily?”

Sean pointed to the back of the house. “She’s back there looking over all kinds of things related to sewage and power and such. Honestly, it’s a little beyond me to help her sort through it.” He smiled. “I do all I can to help her when it comes to looking at crop production and food storage and such. I may not be good at all that other stuff but when it comes to farming for the settlement, I do all I can to help her out.”

Kate patted the young man on the shoulder. “Even before you were dating Emily, you and your family had always worked hard to feed the rest of us. You are the backbone of the settlement. Without the countless hours of hard work you do on the farm, the settlement would starve. Don’t count yourself short, Sean. You mean as much to this settlement as anyone here and more importantly, you mean more to my daughter than anyone else in the world.”

Sean’s face lit up at Kate’s statement. “Well thank you, Ma’am and please know that Emily means more to me than anything else.”

Kate smiled. “I know that and so does she.”

Sean nodded. “All right then, I have an entire day’s worth of fertilizing ahead of me and then dropping off Ramrod’s food, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave all the other stuff to you and Emily.” Sean then walked out the front door.

Kate made her way to the back of the room to see Emily sitting at a table and looking over old schematics for the town that their settlement was built on the remains of. Kate shook her head in disbelief as the sight of her daughter. The small freckled girl with tangled hair had grown into a beautiful young woman with curly brown hair, a thin build, and stunning green eyes.

Emily looked up from the table she was sitting at as her mom entered the back room. The sunlight from behind her was silhouetting her and she looked both beautiful and intelligent. Kate smiled as she looked at her first born.

As Kate entered the room, Emily gestured for her mother to come over to the table she was sitting at. “Mom, we have got to figure out a way to generate more power for the settlement. Our population is slowly growing and if we can figure out a way to generate more power, we can really start to improve things. I mean, imagine if we can get more than a couple of computers running at the same time and get more lighting at the school. Kyle has already shown me several videos on that YouTube thing that can teach the kids all kinds of stuff about plumbing and construction.”

Kate smiled. She was so proud of the woman her daughter had become. Kate never saw herself as a leader. She had just more or less stepped up to the position because no one else would. Emily was charismatic, smart, and a natural born leader with a deep passion for helping others. Even if she wasn’t her mother, Kate would have recognized that Emily was the most skilled person to take over for her.

She also knew that Emily would be a far better leader than she ever was. Emily had really stepped to the forefront of the community several years ago when Kate and Chris were trying to divert Atomic Rex into new hunting grounds in South America. While Steel Samurai 2.0 was gone, the giant big horned sheep known as Ramrod had become agitated and was heading for the settlement. Emily quickly organized a group of her friends, including her now fiancé, and devised a plan to divert the giant mutant away from their homes.

After that, Emily had taken to studying Ramrod and found that if the beast was given a regular food drop, he would stay away from the settlement and begin to think of the food drop area as his territory. At first, Kate and Chris hated the idea of having a kaiju only a few kilometers away from the settlement but after watching the monster for almost a year, Emily was convinced that the mutant would come to grips with where his food was coming from and not attack the people who supplied him with it. Additionally, Emily suggested that Ramrod might deter things like giant bugs or rodents from entering his territory and so far, he had. Ramrod was no idiot however. He would flee if a True Kaiju like Atomic Rex suddenly showed up but when it came to dealing with more mundane threats, the giant sheep did the job. This helped to greatly reduce the need for Steel Samurai 2.0 to engage every mutant that showed up near the settlement. This fact helped to greatly extend the mech’s dwindling arsenal and allowed her parents to rest more.

Kate still had a hard time thinking about how she was kept prisoner by a kaiju for years and had to placate him just so Ogre wouldn’t kill her. Now her daughter was placating a monster to use it to protect the entire settlement from other threats. Due to her success with being able to utilize Ramrod in a positive way, Emily was dubbed the kaiju whisperer by the people in town. Despite her initial reluctance, the people in the settlement began to come to her as if she was the unofficial second in command. After a while, Emily had settled into the role bestowed upon her by the people.

Kate knew that every parent’s wish is that their children will surpass them and be better people than they are. Emily was surpassing Kate in every way possible and she couldn’t have been prouder of her daughter for doing so. She smiled with pride as she thought about Emily’s accomplishments and sat down next to her. “Did your brother also speak to you about the idea of using cattle and horses to generate additional power?”

Emily sighed. “You mean his gross idea for scooping up their crap, tossing it into a giant mixer, and then burning the methane gas that comes off it?”

Kate shrugged. “It’s gross but it seems like it might have some merit.”

Emily nodded. “From talking to the electricians we have, it seems like it might work. We just need some kind of vat to catch the methane in and then cables to attach the tank to the power grid. The electricians have given me a description of what we need. I was hoping on your next patrol you and dad could check what’s left of the towns you pass over to see if they have what we need.” She handed her mother a paper. “If they do, let me know. We can send some of the electricians out with you and dad, then you can use Steel Samurai 2.0 to bring the stuff back.”

Emily tilted her head so she could look outside the window and see the mech looming over her house. “Speaking of my eternal guardian, have you talked to dad about moving the robot?”

Kate shrugged. “He wants to keep it there so you have somewhere to run to if a kaiju attacks.”

Emily shook her head. “No, he likes to keep it there to intimidate Sean. Nothing says welcome to the family like a giant robot watching over him all the time he’s with me. Plus, we are at the southernmost spot in the settlement. Ramrod will either attack a lesser mutant or run past us if a more powerful monster is coming.”

Kate smiled. “I promise I’ll keep working on your dad, and he does really like Sean. Ramrod is another story with him. He still worries that the giant sheep will attack you one day. So, he likes having the mech where it is, so that you have a safe place to run to.” She laughed. “And I’m sure in your dad’s mind, a little bit to scare Sean.”

Kate then reached in and grabbed her daughter’s hands. “Now enough about the settlement, monsters, and robots. How are you doing? Are you ready for your wedding?”

Emily smiled. “Yeah, mom. All good to go. Pretty much everyone in the settlement will be there and they all want to help out. We have people who want to cook, people who want to set up games, people with guitars and other instruments who want to play music. It will be great fun for everyone and a really happy day for me and Sean.”

Kate smiled at her daughter. While she had tried to comfort Chris’ worries about Emily not having a traditional wedding, she too felt for her daughter in that respect. Like all mothers, she wanted her daughter to live as happy a life as possible and she wanted her wedding to be picture perfect. It wasn’t until this minute that she realized in Emily’s eyes her wedding would be picture perfect and maybe even a more enjoyable experience than most brides had before the kaiju.

Kate realized that Emily had never been to a wedding as a young girl, she had never seen one on TV or a movie, she had no concept of how big and extravagant they could be. While all of the benefits of the weddings were unknown to Emily, so were the stresses of making sure everything looked just right, making sure everyone was in the right place at the right time, dealing with family drama about who could sit next to who, who was allergic to what food, what her cake would look like. Emily had been born and grew up in a world where survival and the people you loved were all that mattered. In Emily’s mind, she was going to marry the man she loved with all of her friends and family there. That was all she knew and that was all that mattered to her.
Kate was also aware that, as popular as Emily was as a leader in the settlement and Sean was for being a farmer, that their wedding meant a lot to the people in their community. Pretty much everyone in the settlement loved Emily and Sean and their wedding was a chance to celebrate. In a world where trying not to get eaten by monsters or starve to death were real daily concerns, things like holidays and vacations had simply slipped away.

People had neither the reason nor really the time to celebrate. Sean and Emily’s wedding would give them that reason. While not the first couple to be married in the settlement or even the first children born after the kaiju to be married, they were the first couple who represented the first generation of leaders in the community to be married. Children who had been born, grown up in this world, rose to pivotal positions, and were on the precipice of becoming leaders who the people around them could look to up to and aspire to be like.

Emily and Sean’s wedding was proof that humanity could still exist in this world. They also represented a brighter future for everyone. Kate, Chris and other community leaders had done their best to find a way for people to live and be happy in this new world but they would always be connected to the world they had come from, the world before the kaiju.

Emily, Sean, and Kyle’s generation knew nothing but this world. The world of the kaiju was their world. They would do a much better job of leading people forward in it than Chris and Kate ever could.

Even if they could not verbalize these thoughts directly, the people in the settlement all saw Emily’s wedding as a symbolic and massive step forward into this new world for all humanity. For the first time in a long time, the people had a reason to celebrate and they had reached the point where they had the time and resources to do so.

Kate was filled with pride as she looked at the young woman who was the baby she had held in her arms. She tried to tell Emily how proud she was of her but her eyes filled up with tears before she could talk.

Emily saw her mom crying and her face was filled with concern. She reached over and wrapped her arms around her mother. “Mom, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Kate hugged her daughter back. “Nothing, I’m just so happy, and I’m just so proud of you.”

Emily hugged her mother harder. “You’re crying because you’re happy? I don’t understand.”

Kate sobbed into her daughter’s shoulder. “I know baby, people your age have never been able to experience being so happy that they cried. It’s something that was a luxury when your dad and I were young.”
Emily nodded as she kept hugging her mother. “Okay, and you're also crying because you're proud of me. Proud of me for what? I’m just getting married.”

Kate nodded. “All mothers are proud of their daughters when they get married. The reason I’m so filled with pride that I’m crying is because you are giving people a reason to cry again out of happiness, and I can’t tell you how proud that makes me. Because I can’t tell you in words, I have to show you and the only way my brain can think to do that is to cry.”

Emily squeezed her mother. “I love you, mom.”

Kate squeezed her daughter back. “I love you too, baby. More than you will ever know. Also, even if I can’t put into words how proud I am of you, know that no mother has ever been prouder of a daughter than I am of you.”

After several more minutes, the two women finally let go of their embrace. Kate wiped her eyes. “I have to meet your father for our regular sweep of the area with Steel Samurai 2.0. Kyle thinks we should extend our regular sweeps farther out to sea and he also found a distortion he needs us to check out.”

Emily’s eyes went wide. “An anomaly! Like the one the Atomic Rex disappeared into and then popped back out of later?”

Kate nodded and placed her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Yes, but don’t worry about Atomic Rex. Our last satellite image of him still showed him in South America, far away from us and with plenty of food around. The anomaly was definitely not Atomic Rex and in fact Kyle thinks it was likely a glitch in the system. I don’t think it’s anything for you to worry about.”

She looked down at all the plans for the settlement Emily had out in front of her. “I’d ask if you can take care of things in the settlement for me while I’m gone but I can see you’re already on top of everything.” She bent over and kissed her daughter on the head. “I love you, Emily.”

She smiled. “I love you too, mom. Tell dad I love him as well and tell him to park his mech somewhere that’s not looming over my house.”

Both women laughed as Kate walked out of the house and headed in the direction of Steel Samurai 2.0.

Kate had just walked out of the house when Emily called out to her. “Hold on, Mom! If dad is heading out to Steel Samurai 2.0, he will probably pass Sean on his way to feed Ramrod. I want to make sure he didn’t give my fiancé too hard a time about feeding that damn monster as dad would say.”

Chapter 7

Lacandon Jungle, Mexico

Gurral had to shield his eyes the moment that he stepped out of the portal. He had been accustomed to the dimly lit cool interior of the arena and his quarters. Now he suddenly found himself in the middle of a sweltering jungle with a sun shining brightly down on him. As he shielded his eyes and began to sweat, the Smasher caught a glimpse of the cameras that were hovering around him. He knew they were sending the feed of what he was doing back to the Arena Lords and the fans.

The giant gladiator ignored the cameras, muttered under his breath about too much heat and a bad deal, and then got to work. Gurral surveyed the endless greenery around him, and thought to himself, “That arena shrimp said that I’d run into lots of nasty monsters once I got here.”  Gurral could see for miles around him in every direction, but no matter how much time he spent soaking in the intense heat and scanning the horizon, he saw nothing but the seemingly endless tree canopy. “It’s nasty, sure, but no monsters no matter which way I look.” Not being known for his patience, the colossal combatant threw his fists into the air. “Come on out! Let’s go! I ain’t got all day!”

Several birds took to the sky as Gurral bellowed out his challenge, but aside from leaves waving from a slight breeze, nothing responded. The Smasher sighed and began thundering through the jungle, intentionally causing as much noise and damage as possible to draw out something worth fighting. Leaving a trail would also make it easier for his target to find him when it realized he was around, and the sooner that happened and he could get out of this heat, the better.

Sweat poured off the gargantuan gladiator’s body as he continued to trudge through the intense tropical heat and thick, viny jungle. While walking, his thoughts remained fixed on the promises of the Arena Lord who had recently spoken to him. He had the chance to enjoy a life of relaxation with no more fighting, plenty of food, and a supply of the dust every day. He just had to go out there, drop a beating on this replacement champion and anyone else that got in the way, then hit ol’ Rexy with the zapper, and it’d be naps and gravy from here on out for Gurral. The arena champion sighed a little as he spoke to himself. “The arena ain’t the worst.  Good food, and lots of exercise, but let me choose and I’m taking retirement with free dust for life.”

As Gurral continued to make his way through the forest hunting for Atomic Rex or anything else worth a scrap, the gladiator was unaware that something was hunting him.

The hover-cams that were following the Smasher noticed the disturbance well before he did, and the spectators throughout the universe watching on pay-per-fight leaned forward in anticipation. As Gurral made his way through the jungle, a wave of movement in the leaves of the trees he walked through seemed to follow him. The farther Gurral went through the jungle, the more the wave expanded its reach. It was no longer just the leaves at the tops of the trees that seemed to have a ripple of movement; soon the very trees themselves seemed to be animated by some unseen force as they leaned in Gurral’s direction after he passed by them.

The Arena Lords’ cameras flew down to get a closer look at the wave of motion in the plant life that seemed to be following Gurral. As the cameras swooped in for a closer look, their lenses zoomed in on the plant life, and their advanced imaging was able to inspect it down to a microscopic level. The hover-cams continued to increase their focus on the foliage, and soon they zeroed in on countless microbes moving along the trees, ferns, grasses, and flowers that made up the jungle floor.

Years ago, the True Kaiju known as Tortiraus had settled into the Florida Everglades, and the shelled monstrosity’s radiation had seeped into the flora that inhabited the swamp. The radiation given off by the acid spewing giant snapping turtle caused the microbes in the Everglades to form a collective consciousness. The microbes found that together they could take over other forms of plant life and bend it to their will, causing it to take any form they chose.

The microbes had inherited two traits from their unknowing father. The first was a variation of Tortiraus’ acid spewing ability. While the microbes were unable to spew acid like their progenitor, every cell of the collective colony was constantly coated in that same highly caustic acid. This in effect gave any construct the microbes created a deadly acidic touch that could dissolve through almost any organic tissue. The second trait the microbes had inherited from Tortiraus was an insatiable need to consume flesh.

When the microbes had first started taking shape and attacking towns near the Everglades, absorbing everything from wildlife and cattle to pets and humans into its mass, the floronic nightmare was given the name Marsh-Thing. As the rest of the kaiju took over North America, Marsh-Thing made its way north in order to avoid conflict with its father. The collective creature had made its way into the wetlands of Egg Harbor, New Jersey, where it encountered and battled Atomic Rex.

Marsh-Thing had nearly slain Atomic Rex when the True Kaiju unleashed his Atomic Wave, scattering the microbes that comprised Marsh-Thing in every direction. The microbes slowly made their way back out into the Atlantic Ocean where they reformed into a floating island of acidic algae that consumed any creature that mistakenly swam into it.

For years, Marsh-Thing drifted up and down the coast of North America ingesting fish, sea birds, giant mutants, and even other kaiju until it was strong enough to make landfall in Mexico. The creature then moved along plant life until it made its way to the Lacandon Jungle where it slowly took over every inch of the flora there. With the entire jungle under its thrall, Marsh-Thing was not only an apex predator; it was a god.

Gurral felt a slight burning sensation around his feet and he looked down to see the trees around his knees wrapping their branches and even their emerging roots around his legs. A second later that slight burning sensation changed into a painful searing attack as Marsh-Thing’s acidic touch soaked the Smasher’s feet, shins, and knees. Gurral roared in anguish as layers of skin were dissolved from his legs.

Gurral tried to bear the pain and trudge out of this patch of aggressive plant-life when he saw the trees in front of him condensing into an ever-growing clump that soon rivaled the Smasher himself in size. Marsh-Thing continued to pull plant life into itself as it formed into a thick pillar-like shape. The pillar undulated as long vines formed a series of tentacles and claw like extensions that protruded from its bulk. The newly formed tentacles and claws shot out from the pillars and attached themselves to Gurral. Dozens of green tentacles wrapped themselves around Gurral’s body while the claws clamped down on the Smasher’s neck and wrists.

With the exception of the areas of the Smasher’s body that were encased in Impervium, wherever Marsh-Thing touched, skin melted away. Gurral’s body was wracked with burning pain as his eyes widened, the red in them grew brighter, and he growled his promise of payback. “You are gonna wish you hadn’t done that!”
Gurral then lifted his right leg into the air with such force that he tore out the plant life Marsh-Thing was controlling by the roots. He then swung his free leg through the roots and tree trunks wrapped around his left leg, smashing them as if they were twigs. Gurral yanked his captured hands down with immense force, ripping apart the claws that held them. He then reached up and used the spiked protrusion on his knuckles to cut through the claw wrapped around his throat. As the final claw fell from his now scarred neck, Gurral used the spikes jutting from his wrists to cut through the vines wrapped around his torso.

As the vines fell to the ground, Gurral looked down at the painful welts and burned-away patches of skin now covering his body. The monster shifted his attention toward the pillar of living foliage and he could see from the movement of the trees around it that Marsh-Thing was pulling more plant life into itself in order to renew its attack.

Gurral shook his head as he yelled, “You got your shot. Now it’s my turn!” The Smasher charged forward with a speed that belied his massive size and weight. With one punch, he shattered the top half of the pillar of plants that Marsh-Thing had constructed, and a swing of his other fist destroyed the lower half. With the pillar reduced to splinters, Gurral turned his attention to the still moving plant life beneath his feet. The gladiator bellowed as he stomped into the trees beneath him until they were nothing but sap and sawdust.

Gurral saw two of the hover-cams fly in front of him and wait expectantly. Knowing that the spectators back on Arena World had watched his confrontation, the veteran gladiator threw his hands into the air and roared in victory as if he had just won a battle in the Arena. He didn’t feel that he had won a great victory. It was just a plant, but when you were trained from early on in your gladiating career to always boost the excitement in the room, you did your best to play to the crowd.

As he was posing for the cameras, dozens more tentacles and claws created from the jungle itself sprang up from the trees around the Smasher and wrapped themselves around his torso. The exposed areas of the arena champion’s skin were once more burning in the grip of Marsh-Thing’s acidic touch.

Gurral grunted in surprised pain as Marsh-Thing pulled him to the ground, and he thought, “So much for it being just a plant.” The moment that Gurral hit the jungle floor, a wave of moving trees enveloped him. The only saving grace for the Smasher was that the majority of the trees were wrapping themselves around the impenetrable carapace that covered his back. That did little to soothe the enveloped gargantuan as the areas of his skin and nerves that weren’t armored were flooding his mind with agony as they dissolved and sloughed off. Gurral knew that if he didn’t break free from Marsh-Thing within a few minutes, the only thing left of him would be his Impervium-infused bones.

Taking a deep breath, Gurral grunted with effort and rolled to his side despite the thick tangles that strained to keep him in place. Gurral’s roll tore out roots and crushed trees with each rotation of his body. The armored giant continued rolling for several acres until he had destroyed enough plant life to loosen Marsh-Thing’s hold on him to the point where he could stand. Gurral regained his footing and quickly ripped off the remaining vines that were still searing his flesh. As he tore away the final writhing strands of animated trees and plant life from his body, Gurral looked down to see the jungle once again moving and coalescing around his feet.

The Smasher shook his head and shouted, “You think I’m gonna let you do that again?” Gurral then lifted his clenched fists into the air and brought them crashing down onto the forest floor. The impact of Gurral’s blow sent a shockwave moving through the jungle that uprooted trees for dozens of meters around the Smasher. Gurral saw more movement in the trees to his right. He turned, lifted his meaty mitts over his head one more time, and slammed them into the ground, sending earth, stone, and shattered trees radiating out from his strike and destroying another dozen meter’s worth of jungle.

Gurral was rising from the crouch of that last attack to an upright position when he once more saw movement in the trees further to his right. The gladiator roared and went on a rampage! The burly behemoth spun to his right and then slammed his hands into the ground again, sending out a shockwave that destroyed countless trees. He then took two more steps to a fresh patch of greenery and delivered another ground-breaking downward strike. Again and again his fists rose to come crashing down upon the earth in an ever-spreading ecosystem obliterating onslaught. Gurral continued his assault until he completely decimated all of the plant life around him for several hundred meters in a full three-hundred-sixty degrees.

A nearly exhausted Gurral was panting as the humidity of the jungle continued to sap the strength from his injured body and heat haze shimmered off his skull. In front of him, at the edge of the field of destruction he had wrought, more plant life intertwined and formed a pillar with more claws and tentacles sprouting out from it. Gurral lifted his green-stained mitts, clenching them into fists, and steeled himself in preparation for renewed aggression, but after several seconds of waiting with nothing happening, Gurral squinted at his leafy foe, dropped his hands to his sides, and stared at Marsh-Thing as the green monster continued to undulate at the line of decimated trees.

Gurral scratched his scalp and talked out his thoughts. “You don’t look afraid, but you’re not stepping up to fight me because… you can’t!” Gurral put his hands on his hips as he spoke, taking a much needed breather. “I smashed you lots of times and you just took over more plants and came at me again. Now there aren’t any plants right here, and you’re stuck!” Gurral looked outside his circle of destruction to see nothing but endless trees in every direction. He grinned as he looked back at the pillar of interwoven foliage that was Marsh-Thing. “You think you're just gonna wait me out, right? I mean, I can keep smashing your leafy butt, but you’ll just squish back together with whatever plants are around.” He gestured to the ocean of trees in all directions. “This whole damn place is yours to take over, isn’t it? If I kept fighting, eventually there’d be nothing left of me.” Gurral shook his head. “There’s no way I’m getting out of this armpit of a forest until you’re gone. I’m sure of it.”

Gurral sighed. “But how do I get rid of you if I can’t smash you?” The Smasher dropped his head and looked down at the device the new Arena Lord had given to him to transport both himself and Atomic Rex back to Arena World with. Gurral shrugged. “If smashing doesn’t work, then maybe fancy new tech things will.” He looked at the preprogrammed coordinates shown on the piece of tech. “These numbers take me back to the Arena… If I remember them then maybe...” The Smasher took one last long look at the array of five numbers, then entered a new random set of numbers into the device. Gurral pointed the device at the area just behind the pillar of animated trees and pushed the button to activate it as he shrugged. “I hope this works.”

A shimmering light-blue portal opened up behind Marsh-Thing and as it did, Gurral grinned and walked forward several steps through the devastated clearing he had created, stopping a few hundred meters short of Marsh-Thing. He chuckled as he bent down and dug his hands deep into the ground. “I don’t know where you’re going, but you’re about to be someone else’s problem.” Gurral then heaved upwards with all his might, sending an avalanche of soil, rocks, and dead roots hurtling toward Marsh-Thing, knocking the floronic nightmare into the portal.

Gurral watched through the portal as the pillar of plants that was Marsh-Thing came crashing down into what looked like some kind of field with giant long-toothed cats and oversized Elk. The Smasher quickly pressed the button to close the portal, hopefully trapping Marsh-Thing on some other world forever. He then carefully punched back in the numbers he’d remembered, and was pretty sure he put them back in the same as before.

When the portal had fully closed, Gurral took a deep breath, then made a tentative step into the jungle. He waited for a moment to see if any of the shrubbery would form up and assault him, indicating that Marsh-Thing had left some small part of itself behind. After several seconds of nothing happening, Gurral breathed a sigh of relief and then closed his eyes for a moment to let his bloodlust ease off. He looked down at the badly burned skin all over his body and said, “Well, Leafy, you sure did a number on me. I need a break to heal up.” He was in dire need of several things to hurry that healing along. The first two things were food and water. The Smasher could smell water ahead of him so he figured there was a river or a lake nearby that he could use to get a drink. He was also looking forward to splashing some cool water on his head to lower his temperature. The fight hadn’t helped with his overheating one bit, and now he was even more thirsty than before. He knew that he was getting dehydrated and if he didn't down some water very soon, he would pass out.

Gurral grimaced at that thought and then chuckled. “I beat a whole friggin’ acid jungle, but might lose a fight with the weather.” He started walking toward the water source. As he was walking, he continued to talk aloud. “Where there’s water, there’ll be some kinda food. A quick drink, a little chow topped with dust, a quick nap, and I’ll be good as new.”

The live-feed went to intermission, and the hover-cams deployed solar collectors to recharge. Back at the Arena, the Newcomer sat among the Arena Lords in their central viewing room. Some of the so-called masters of the galaxy were congratulating themselves on a profitable battle and many more to come. Some were having side-conversations about who to pit against their debuting competitor to test its mettle. All were more animated than they’d been in a long while. Sitting quietly, a small, subtle smile crept across the Newcomer’s face.

Gurral walked for a few miles before he came across the river he’d smelled before, and as he’d hoped, it had giant mutated fish living in it. The Smasher took a long drink of water, and then hung his hand down into the river. It was still raw and sore from the acid burns, and the scent drew in one of the huge, toothy fish which made the poor decision of trying for a quick bite. The gigantic gladiator hauled the giant fish out of the river as it flailed about trying to escape, then ate it raw with a pinch of dust. An hour later, the normally quiet jungle was blanketed by the sound of the arena champion’s snores as his skin slowly recovered from the horrible burns he had received from his battle.

On a parallel Earth that was far younger than the Earth it had come from, the microbes that were Marsh-Thing spread out over a field that prehistoric elk were grazing on. {Author’s note, to find out what happened to Marsh-Thing, check out my novel of the same name.}

Chapter 8

Pacific Ocean near the Hawaiian Islands

The typhoon raged across the middle of the Pacific Ocean as the kaiju known as Hagan made his way across it. Waves cresting nearly twenty meters high crashed down on the monster as he continued to press forward in search of new hunting grounds. Hagan was roughly a hundred kilometers off the coast of Hawaii when he started to feel hungry once again. The act of crossing the ocean and fighting through the storm had used up most of the energy he had gained from devouring Marbo.

As he neared the Hawaiin Islands, the chimeric beast could sense the presence of another monster occupying its waters. Like all kaiju, he knew that that creature would likely attack him for entering its territory. He also knew that if he could defeat the creature, it would quench his voracious appetite until he reached North America where he hoped to find abundant food.

Hagan felt something move swiftly beneath him as he was close to making landfall on the island of Honolulu. Hagan was a few hundred meters away from land when he felt something slam into his armored side. While Hagan was able to swim vast distances, his heavily armored body did not lend itself well to the ocean. The creature was unable to breathe underwater and his weight made it a constant struggle to stay near the surface while swimming. Unlike most kaiju which were equally adept in the water and on land, Hagan’s robust body put him at a significant disadvantage in the water.

Hagan was roughly fifty meters from land when he felt the creature below him ram its body into his legs. The blow caused Hagan to spin around so that he was no longer facing land but rather the vast and rough ocean he had just crossed. The overly aggressive Hagan opened his mouth to roar and challenge the beast that was attacking him, but the act proved to be a fatal mistake as the raging storm sent a wave crashing into his mouth and filled his lungs with water. Hagan was trying to vomit up the deluge of sea water that had entered his body when a set of powerful jaws closed on his right leg. The bite force of the creature was so extreme that it cut through the armor on Hagan’s leg as if it were cardboard. Hagan’s mouth was open as he was trying to vomit out the seawater he had swallowed when the creature attacking him pulled him beneath the waves.

The tri-horned kaiju was pulled through a cloud of his blood as he was dragged toward the ocean floor. As Hagan sank through the dark and blood-filled waters, he was farther disoriented as the creature whose jaws were clamped onto his leg began to roll, causing Hagan to tumble in a downward spiral. Within a few seconds of being attacked, Hagan was injured, bleeding, had a lung full of water, was submerged, and now had no idea which way the surface was even if he was able to free himself from the beast that was trying to slay him.

With his life quickly slipping away from him, Hagan acted on pure instinct. The horned monster thrust his clawed hand in the direction of the jaws that he felt biting into his leg. Hagan’s first blow bounced off a hard surface. The only effect the blow had was to cause the attacking predator to shake its head and sink its teeth deeper into Hagan’s leg.

Hagan’s lungs felt as if they were about to burst when he felt his body slam into the ocean floor. Knowing that he needed to free himself or die, Hagan’s instincts once again prompted him to slash at the mouth attacking him. This time when Hagan’s claw struck his attacker it plunged into something soft that popped when he hit it. This time the blow caused the attacking creature to release his hold on the Japanese monster.

As soon as Hagan felt his leg free of the attacker's grip, he started to swim in the opposite direction of the sea floor. When the furry monster cleared the cloud of his own blood, he saw blue flashes of lightning dancing across the surface of the ocean above him. With each stroke, Hagan’s exhausted and oxygen starved body felt as if it were going to expire. The monster knew that death was closing in on him but Hagan had not defeated all of the kaiju in Japan to die on the ocean floor. The defiant beast fought through the pain, and with stroke after agonizing stroke, pushed his way toward the surface and air.

When Hagan’s head breached the surface, the first thing he did was to vomit up the remaining water in his lungs. He then took several deep breaths of life sustaining air, as lightning erupted through the clouds and illuminated the sky. The bright blue and white flash showed Hagan a quick glance of what looked like crocodilian eyes peering out of the surface of the water several hundred meters away from him. One of the eyes was round and yellow and glared at Hagan with a seething hunger and hatred. The other eye was little more than a socket with blood and a yellow fluid leaking out of it. Hagan stared at the punctured eye and realized that eye was the part of the creature’s body that his claw had popped when he was trying to free himself.

The crocodilian horror slipped beneath the waters. Like Hagan, the monster was one of the last True Kaiju left in the world. The creature had once been a Sarcosuchus on the island where Atomic Rex had hailed from when he was just a dinosaur. The ancient reptile had hunted in the large river that ran across the island. Over the course of his first life, the reptile had dragged countless dinosaurs and other animals to their doom. When the nuclear bomb was dropped on the island, the radioactive fallout changed the Sarcosuchus into the kaiju that would be dubbed Kolong, as a homage to the Lolong, the largest living crocodile in the world at the time.

Like all the kaiju, Kolong grew to more than twice his previous size, topping out at nearly seventy meters long. Additionally, he also gained the ability to spew a mist of pure chlorine from his jaws. When the kaiju started leaving the island, Kolong made his way to the Hawaiian Islands and had been the dominant kaiju there and in the waters around them ever since. The half blind monster bellowed at his prey and then slipped back beneath the dark waves.

Hagan saw Kolong moving through the water toward him like a living torpedo. The mammalian creature knew that if his attacker dragged him underwater again, he would not survive. Hagan turned and began swimming as quickly as he could toward the shore. The Japanese demon knew that he was not going to be able to reach land before Kolong caught up to him. He did however realize that if he could reach the point where he could stand with his head above water, he would have a chance at defeating the colossal crocodile.

Hagan forced his exhausted body past its limits as he made his way toward land. Even swimming at his maximum velocity, Hagan could sense Kolong closing in behind him. Hagan’s feet had just touched ground when he felt a rush of water behind him. As the swell hit his back, Hagan dove into the water and forced his body as low to the ocean floor as he could. As Hagan was diving down, Kolong swam into Hagan’s deadly double row of fins.

Kolong did his best to shift his body around the blades that were now in front of him, however since he was moving at top speed, the underside of his body was sliced open by his prey’s defenses. Hagan’s bladed back cut two long slits into Kolong’s relatively soft underbelly as the monster swam over him. Crimson gushed out of Kolong’s body as he turned and tried to make his way back out into the ocean and away from the deadly Hagan.

Kolong had managed to turn his body away from his former prey when Hagan reached out and grabbed his tail. Kolong thrashed violently in an attempt to escape the Japanese kaiju’s grip but the action caused the slits in his body to tear farther and limited how hard he could fight to free himself. Kolong was forced to give up his attempt at flight and instead turn his attention to fighting Hagan to the death.

Hagan was pulling Kolong closer to him when the reptilian beast turned his head and spewed a mouthful of chlorine gas into Hagan’s face. The poisonous gas burned Hagan’s nose, mouth, and eyes but its effects were severely diluted by the hurricane force winds and rain. Hagan pushed past the quickly fading pain in his mucus membranes and threw his body on top of Kolong.

The crushing weight of Hagan’s body that had thus far been a hindrance in his trans-Pacific journey was now his most dangerous weapon. The incredible weight of Hagan’s body pushed Kolong to the ocean floor. Despite his incredible strength, Kolong was unable to free himself from under Hagan’s girth. With his opponent pinned beneath him, and the ocean quickly washing away the effects of Kolong’s chlorine attack, Hagan moved in for the kill. First, he drove his claw into Kolong’s one remaining eye, completely blinding the creature. He then began repeatedly driving his fists into the top of Kolong’s head until the reptile was no longer struggling to free himself.

With his opponent stunned, Hagan rolled the aquatic monster onto his back. Blood seeped out from the long slits on the dying kaiju’s belly and it drifted up through the water to Hagan’s nostrils. The smell of blood caused the hungry beast to salivate. Hagan pulled his head back then he drove his nasal horn through Kolong’s chest and into his heart. The crocodilian monster’s body spasmed for a brief second and then it went stiff as the creature died.

Hagan pulled his head free from Kolong's corpse then he lifted his head out of the water. The juggernaut roared out his victory as lightning crashed down into the water around him, lighting his body up in an eerie silhouette. Hagan then reached down, grabbed Kolong's body, and dragged it to shore. The victorious Hagan then sat on the beach as the storm raged around him and devoured his grisly meal.

By the time Hagan had finished eating, the typhoon had passed. The exhausted monster laid down in the sand next to what was left of Kolong. Hagan took one look at the storm as it made its way toward North America. The kaiju decided that after resting he would follow the storm to the continent and claim his new territory.

Chapter 9

Pacific Ocean off the Northern Coast of Peru

Atomic Rex glided through the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean. The dreaded kaiju moved through the ocean with two thoughts on his mind. The lesser of the two thoughts was hunting. The nuclear theropod was still well fed by the meal he had made of the giant eagle and her hatchlings but being an apex predator, he was always on the lookout for food.

The second and more pressing thought was to find any threats to his territory. Atomic Rex and all other kaiju had an instinct that alerted them if another kaiju had entered their territory. This unique skill seemed to be unlimited by physical distance. Atomic Rex considered his territory to be the entirety of the western hemisphere. Currently, the saurian creature could sense several possible threats to his rule as the alpha kaiju within his territory. Two of the threats were north of his current location. One threat was on land and the other was approaching from across the sea.

The third and currently more pressing threat was in his general area. One of Atomic Rex’s main food sources from the ocean were the whale populations that migrated up and down the coast. Due to the radiation released from Atomic Rex and other monsters, some of the whales would grow to nearly ridiculous sizes. When he reached the shoreline, Atomic Rex found several of these animals washed up dead on the beach with chunks of meat taken out them. From the smell of the rotting whales, the reptilian beast was certain that they had been attacked by another giant monster or as their odor indicated perhaps even multiple monsters. The moment that Atomic Rex slipped into the ocean he could sense that these creatures were in the part of the ocean that belonged to him.

The reptilian beast decided to first destroy this invader into his southern waters and then to move north along the coast to challenge and slay the other threats he sensed. The fifty-meter-tall beast moved through the water in an undulating motion, as with each stroke of his powerful tail, he could tell that he was closing in on the creature that was hunting in his domain. From the vibrations he was picking up ahead of him, Atomic Rex could sense that a large animal was being attacked. The radioactive dinosaur knew that if he could catch up to the creature being attacked, he would encounter the predator that dared to enter his territory. Atomic Rex growled and then doubled his speed toward the injured prey.

Roughly two kilometers ahead of the radioactive leviathan, a mutated hammerhead shark was fleeing for its life. The creature had been deadly enough before it had absorbed ambient radiation causing it to grow to four times its normal size and to sprout two additional heads. Since its transformation, the creature was one of the deadliest predators in these waters. There were only two things it feared. The first was Atomic Rex, and the second was what was currently pursuing it.

As the three-headed giant was fleeing for its life, the head on the left side of its body looked back to see how close the pursuing predator was. The left head shook with terror when it saw several black and white shapes with horns pointing out of their heads and long powerful arms at their sides.

The creatures chasing the three-headed hammerhead had been dubbed the Pod by the humans in South America. The Pod had been a group of six orcas that like many other animals were mutated by the radiation of the kaiju. The radiation caused the already dangerous predators to enlarge to a size of about fifteen meters long, grow long gorilla-like arms and hands, and to form a narwhal-like horn on their head. With the addition of arms and hands with opposable thumbs as well as a deadly horn, the orcas who mutated into the Pod became one of the most dangerous predators in the ocean. Originally, the Pod had stayed close to Antarctica but as they exhausted the food source down there, they started to move north. The Pod knew that they were encroaching on the territory of Atomic Rex but the brazen family of mutated orcas felt as if not even the dreaded kaiju could oppose them when they fought as one.

While the Pod was not even half the size of their three-headed prey, they were far more intelligent and they were organized. As the faster Pod closed in on the shark, they implemented their attack plan. Two of the quicker females broke for the creature’s tail and when they reached it, they impaled it with their horns. The two horns crossed each other in the middle of the shark’s tail. The effect was that the horns impeded the shark’s movement while the females’ weight acted like twin anchors pulling the shark down. With the shark immobilized, two of the smaller males made their way to the front of the hammerhead. The Pod knew that sharks were able to bend their flexible bodies almost in half. In order to distract the shark from attacking those coming behind her, the two males jabbed at the shark’s three heads with their horns and then backed away out of the reach of the deadly jaws of the giant fish.

As the smaller males distracted the shark and the females slowed its progress, the larger males moved in for the kill. They attacked with a ferocity exhibited by few other creatures on the planet. Two males swam to the creature's sides, bit into its hide just behind its fins, and then used their arms to grab onto the shark’s fins. They then tore off the fins with their arms while simultaneously ripping out a chunk of flesh from the shark’s sides. A cloud of blood surrounded the panicked and wounded three-headed mutant as the Pod made their final moves for the kill. The two males on the shark’s sides reached in with their hands and pulled out any organs they could get a hold of while the alpha male, at nearly twenty-five meters long, swam below the shark and drove its horn into the creature’s heart. Within seconds of being caught by the Pod, the deadly three-headed hammerhead was floating dead in the water.

Typically, the Pod would immediately begin devouring the shark but this was not a typical attack. The whales knew that they were in Atomic Rex’s waters and that the monster was chasing them. The Pod had been striking in the nuclear theropod’s waters and then leaving but with each passing attack they grew more and more brazen. The Pod had decided the time had come to challenge the saurian kaiju for dominance over these waters. The orcas planned to use the dead shark to draw Atomic Rex to them. The next step in their plan was to set up a trap for Atomic Rex by using the cloud of blood coming off their kill to hide themselves from the monster’s senses. As Atomic Rex drew ever closer, the Pod circled the waters in their prey’s blood as they waited to slay the most powerful monster on the planet.

The smell of fresh blood in the water sent a wave of adrenaline coursing through Atomic Rex. It seemed that the mysterious beast who was hunting in his waters had made another kill and taken more food from him. The nuclear theropod rose to the surface of the water, let loose a roar challenging any creature that dared to enter his territory to confront him, and then dove back beneath the waves.

Atomic Rex swam for another twenty minutes before he came upon the carcass of the dead mutant hammerhead. When he saw the deceased shark, the monster was immediately puzzled by the fact that the creature showed no signs of being eaten. Atomic Rex could see forms moving in the large cloud of blood around the corpse but it was clear that whatever the forms were, they were not eating their kill. Atomic Rex flashed his teeth in the direction of the cloud of blood when he realized the creatures who had killed the shark were waiting in the crimson-obscured water to attack him.

The radioactive dinosaur was far more intelligent than his opponents gave him credit for. Atomic Rex saw the ambush these invaders had set and he knew how to dispel it. The cunning kaiju swam a little closer to the cloud of blood then he came to a dead stop in the water. Atomic Rex shifted his body into an upright position then he pulled his arms and legs close to his body. As he pulled his extremities close to him, Atomic Rex’s body began to take on a light blue glow. His body glowed like this for three seconds, then he extended out his arms and legs and in doing so sent his dreaded Atomic Wave cascading through the water. A ball of pure blue nuclear energy shot out from Atomic Rex. The blast struck the carcass of the dead shark, the cloud of blood, and the Pod members hiding within it. The blast sent the members of the Pod and the body of the mutant shark tumbling through the water while completely dispersing the concealing cloud of blood.

The six members of the Pod who had planned to catch Atomic Rex off guard and attack him were now floating stunned in the water as the fearsome creature swam toward them. One of the smaller males of the Pod barely had enough time to open its eyes and see Atomic Rex’s jaws coming toward him before the nuclear monster closed his jaws around him. Atomic Rex’s teeth sank into the male’s spine, shattering it from above, while his lower jaws pierced the mutated orca’s lungs causing them to fill with blood. The paralyzed beast was drowning in his own blood as Atomic Rex shook him back and forth causing the saurian’s teeth to drive themselves deeper in the mutant. The Pod member was able to send out one pathetic whimper for help before Atomic Rex’s teeth tore his heart to shreds and ended his life.

As Atomic Rex was slaying the one member of the Pod he had captured, the other members were recovering from the Atomic Wave. The alpha male was the first to regain his bearings. The alpha saw his family swimming around erratically as they watched their family member being slain by Atomic Rex. Knowing that they needed to work as a group if they were to dethrone the current ruler of these waters, the alpha sent out attack commands to his family.

As soon as the other members of the Pod heard the alpha’s commands, they quickly organized their efforts and attacked Atomic Rex. As they had with the hammerhead shark, the two females swam behind Atomic Rex and drove their horns into his tail, weighing him down. Aside from impaling the tail with their horns, the females also grabbed onto it with their arms and pulled down to further impede Atomic Rex’s mobility. Two of the remaining males then swam toward Atomic Rex’s face. They stabbed the reptilian beast in the snout with their horns causing him to release the body of their brother.

Knowing that Atomic Rex’s arms presented a different challenge than the mutant shark, the alpha swam behind the dragon-like kaiju to pierce his heart through the back as opposed to his chest. The male aimed his horn at Atomic Rex’s back and shot toward him, intent on ending the monster’s life and claiming the kaiju’s waters for his family.

Atomic Rex’s tail was bleeding badly from the female’s attack and the two smaller males were forcing him to use his claws to prevent them from blinding him. The intelligent monster immediately realized that he couldn’t see the alpha. Knowing that an attack was most likely coming from behind, Atomic Rex shifted the top of his body forward and down. The motion caused the alpha to swim over his back as he was ducking, then sent the two females embedded in his tail crashing into the smaller males who had been striking at his face.

With the alpha shooting past him and the smaller males knocked off balance by the females, Atomic Rex turned his attention to the Pod members attached to his tail. First, he brought his body back to an upright position then he dug his long claws into the females attacking his tail. Blood gushed from the females and his own wounds as Atomic Rex gripped tightly and pulled their horns out from his body. The water in front of Atomic Rex was turning red as he held the two females impaled on his claws in front of his face. The two females were struggling to free themselves from his grip as he let them see the anger in his eyes before he began smashing their bodies into one another. Atomic Rex repeatedly forced the females to stab each other in the face with their own horns, shattering their skulls and crushing their brains in the process.

The two females had just expired when the nuclear theropod felt a searing pain in his shoulder blades as the two smaller males drove their horns into the exposed area between the armored carapace on Atomic Rex’s back and his arms. Once the mutant orcas had their horns buried in Atomic Rex’s body, they grabbed onto his shoulders with their arms. The saurian kaiju was unable to move his arms as he saw the alpha male charging toward his chest with its horn pointed at his heart.

With his arms immobilized, Atomic Rex quickly adapted a new tactic to defend himself. Just before the alpha reached him, Atomic Rex spun around in the water and used his tail to slam into the alpha’s side, sending the largest of his attackers tumbling through the ocean once more. The two males were still using their horns to gore Atomic Rex’s shoulders when they felt the scales on his back heating up and saw the kaiju’s body taking on a light blue glow. The smaller males were trying to pull their horns out of the monster when the Atomic Wave burst out from their prey and blew them to pieces. Atomic Rex shook his body free from the charred remains of the smaller males and then he set his enraged gaze on the alpha.

When he saw Atomic Rex’s eyes fixed upon him, the alpha was filled with terror. His entire family had been wiped out in a matter of minutes and now he was facing the creature he had gravely underestimated when he desired to take his territory from him. The alpha turned and fled.

Had it been any other member of the Pod that was the last surviving member of his family and was fleeing, Atomic Rex would have been satisfied, but this was the alpha. Atomic Rex knew that if the creature survived, he may one day try to invade his territory again and that was not something the nuclear theropod could tolerate. Atomic Rex knew that he was not fast enough to catch the alpha, but in its panicked state, the mutant had fled in the direction of land as opposed to the open ocean. The reptilian monster snarled and then he began to chase the failed usurper of his domain.

Several times throughout the chase, the alpha tried to veer to his left or right in order to make his way back out to the ocean but every time he did, Atomic Rex would change course and block his path, forcing the alpha to swim closer to shore. Atomic Rex was not fast enough to catch the alpha but had more than enough speed to prevent the mutant from getting past him.

For over an hour, Atomic Rex and the alpha replayed the scenario of the mutant orca trying to change course and head back out to the ocean only for Atomic Rex to block his path and force the mammal closer to shore. The chase continued this way until the alpha ran out of water and was forced to beach himself off the shores of Panama.

The alpha was on the shore of the beach rolling from side to side and squealing in fear as Atomic Rex rose out of the water behind him. The True Kaiju walked up to the stranded mutant and placed his foot down on its back. Atomic Rex then leaned his head down and roared as he looked into the terrified eyes of the creature that had dared to challenge him. As his roar echoed across the beach and ocean as warning to any other beast that sought to challenge his dominance, Atomic Rex closed his jaws on the head of the flailing mutant killer whale. With one pull, Atomic Rex tore off the alpha's head and pulled the creature’s spine out of his body. The kaiju tossed the defeated monster’s horned head onto the beach and then he began devouring its corpse.

After finishing his meal, Atomic Rex looked to the north. While this minor threat to his domain had been dealt with, he could still sense two powerful threats nearby. There was the kaiju coming from across the Pacific and the beast that had suddenly appeared on land. Worn out from his battle with the Pod, Atomic Rex laid down in the sand to rest. The monster would digest his meal, let his nuclear power heal the wounds inflicted by the Pod, and then continue north to face and destroy the other two invaders.

Chapter 10

The Settlement, Northwest California

The sun was shining brightly in the sky and a cool breeze was coming in from off the ocean as Chris was walking out toward Steel Samurai 2.0. He was in the mech’s shadow, when he saw Sean coming toward him on a horse drawn cart full of fruits and vegetables. As Chris approached the young man he knew was having sex with his little girl, he did his best to smile at him as he thought to himself, “Emily is a woman, not a little girl, and Sean is a good man.”

Sean waved at Chris. “Good morning, Captain Myers.”

Chris waved back. “Good morning, Sean. Where are you off to today?”

Sean shrugged and gave a sheepish smile as he knew that his soon to be father-in-law wouldn’t like his answer. “Just taking this food out to Ramrod. Emily said to make sure he’s happy and stays where he’s at, scaring away a lot of the lesser monsters.”

Chris sighed and walked up to the young farmer. “Sean, I think you’re a good man and I know Emily loves you and I can see that you love her.” He shook his head. “I have to say though that I am giving you my daughter, and aside from loving her and treating her right, the only other thing I ask is that you protect her. Do you really think keeping a monster close to the settlement, close to your farm, is a good way to protect the woman we both love?”

Sean was quiet for a moment as he collected his thoughts. After several seconds he shrugged. “Captain Myers, I know I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to things like running a town or figuring out how to fight off monsters but there are a lot of things I do know. I know I love Emily and that I trust her. I also know that she’s a very smart woman and that she has studied Ramrod ever since we first started dating.” He shook his head, “Honestly, I don’t like the idea of having that monster around anymore than you do, but I’m smart enough and I trust Emily enough to believe her when she says keeping Ramrod happy where he is, is the best way to keep him from causing trouble for us and to keep other monsters away.”

The young farmer slid off his cart, looked the hardened Air Force pilot in the eye, and spoke as genuinely as he could. “I also know that if Ramrod or any other monster came near us, I would give my life before I let anything happen to Emily. I also know that my fiancé's father is a real-life hero. He literally saved the world and I know if there was any threat to his daughter, his family, or the settlement, he would do everything he could to protect them.”

Sean shrugged. “You may not know this, Captain Myers, but you're a hero to me and everyone else who grew up in this settlement. You and Mrs. Myers saved what was left of the human race and helped us set up here. You’re a legend to us, sir. I mean, heck, you’ll be a hero for generations to come. As much as I believe in Emily, I also believe in you. As long as you’re around I have complete faith that everyone including me and Emily will be safe.”

Chris was at first taken aback by the statement. He had never considered how history would remember him or how the generation who grew up in the settlement would view him. Chris had always thought of his quest to draw the kaiju into each other's territory as a continuation of his failed mission to stop them in the first place. He never thought of himself as a hero or someone who would be looked up to.

Chris pushed these thoughts aside and tried to focus back on the question of Sean being able to protect his daughter. “I appreciate those thoughts, I really do, but what about when I’m gone. I won’t be around forever, how will you protect Emily and my future grandkids when I’m not around?”

Sean looked over at the towering form of Steel Samurai 2.0. “Well, I don’t see me ever being able to pilot a giant robot like you do. I know you guys tried to build another mech for Emily and Kyle when you guys were first starting to scout Japan but we ran out of old mech parts to use. Without any new mechs coming, we need something to keep monsters away. Also, I figure all the special weapons Steel Samurai 2.0 has like bullets and missiles will be running out soon anyway. Knowing that, I figure the best way to protect Emily and everyone else I love is to do what Emily suggested and make friends with a monster and hope he protects us from other monsters.” He shrugged. “I know it’s not much, sir. Like I said, I know I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. That’s the best I can offer and while it may not be much of a plan, I promise you I’ll carry it out to the best of my ability to protect the woman I love and my home.”

Chris smiled at his future son-in-law. “I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed either, but I’m a hard worker who will do anything to protect the people I love. I’ve also found it to be a good idea to defer to a woman who is smarter than me when it comes to big decisions. To trust her judgement and do my best to help her out.” He shrugged. “How can I blame anyone else for doing the same thing?”

Chris held out his hand and when Sean took it, he shook it. “Don’t sell yourself short on being smart either. Emily has been trying to convince me for years that it’s a good idea to keep Ramrod around but she never explained it to me in a way that makes sense the way you have.” He shook his head. “I’m still not sure if I think it’s safe to keep Ramrod nearby but you have at least given me reason to reconsider what I was thinking.” He looked Sean in the eye. “Sean, I will be proud to have you as part of my family and as my daughter’s husband.”

Sean’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, sir. That means a lot coming from you.”

Chris smiled. “All right, now get going out there and feed that overgrown sheep before he gets hungry and starts heading this way.”

Sean nodded. “Yes, sir.” He then climbed back onto his cart and started heading out to feed the monster that was serving as a deterrent to other more violent threats.

Chris started heading toward Steel Samurai 2.0 and as he walked, he thought about what Sean had said in regards to himself and the mech. The majority of Steel Samurai 2.0’s long range weapons were long gone. He had enough high caliber bullets for maybe one more kaiju attack and he only had two missiles left. With the current lack of technology, there was no way to create new ammunition. He and Kate had managed to take back most of the giant arrows that the mech used when firing his crossbow and they still had his sword, but weapons might have been the least of their worries.

Chris sighed as he saw the wear and tear on the hull of the over thirty-year old mech. They had managed to make some repairs to him using the remains of other mechs but there was really nothing else to salvage to repair the robot. There was also no way to mine, refine, and produce more parts for the aging war machine. Chris knew that both he and Steel Samurai 2.0 were nearing the end of their fighting days. As Sean had said, they had also run out of spare parts to build new mechs with. The people in the settlement and the people who would come after them would need some new way to protect themselves. Chris sighed as he thought to himself that maybe learning to use certain monsters to their benefit was their only hope.

Chris was brought out of his melancholy thoughts when he heard Emily calling for him. He turned to see his daughter walking toward him with her mother. Chris smiled from ear to ear as Emily walked up to him and hugged him.

Emily kissed her dad on the cheek and then gave him a skeptical look. “Dad, did you see Sean on his way out?”

Chris nodded, “Yes I did.”

Her voice took a deeper but playful tone. “Did you give him a hard time about going to feed Ramrod?”

Chris shook his head. “Actually, he explained to me why you think it’s a good idea to keep Ramrod around. He made some points that will force me to reconsider my position.”

Emily sighed. “Dad, for years I’ve been telling you that if we properly reinforce Ramrod that he will become accustomed to having us around and it will lead to a mutually beneficial relationship for both us and him. I have also explained on numerous occasions that we can take what we learn from our relationship with Ramrod and apply it to other situations to create similar relationships with other monsters. You've always told me that was a bunch of crap and that the damned monster would kill us one day. What could Sean have possibly said to you that caused you to reconsider?”

Chris shrugged. “He just said that you thought if we kept Ramrod happy by feeding him, he wouldn’t attack and that he would scare away other monsters.” He looked up at Steel Samurai 2.0. “He also said that Ramrod was the first step toward finding something that can replace this old girl when she’s finally had her last battle.”

Emily threw her hands out in front of her. “That’s exactly what I’ve been telling you for years!”

Chris shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Kate quickly interjected into the conversation. “It’s Okay. Both Sean and your father speak the same lunk-head language.” She smiled at her husband who gave her a sarcastic smile in return. Kate turned back toward Emily. “The important thing is Sean was able to help him see what you are trying to do with Ramrod.”

Emily grabbed her dad’s hands. “So, you agree with what I am trying to do with Ramrod?”

Chris shook his head. “Let’s at least say that I agree we need to start thinking of new ways to protect ourselves from kaiju.” He paused for a second. “I can also agree that you are marrying a very good young man.”

Emily kissed her father. “I’ll take that as a win for now. We’ll talk more about how to address the monster situation later.” Emily then walked away as Chris and Kate entered Steel Samurai and started to make their way to the cockpit in its head.

As the doors closed on the elevator, Kate turned to her husband. “I’m glad you’re finally starting to come around to Sean.”

Chris shrugged. “I always thought Sean was a good guy but today he proved he’s smarter than I thought and he confirmed how much he loves Emily. I’m actually really happy Emily is going to marry him. It’s the other thing that’s weighing on my mind now.”

Kate gave her husband a quizzical look. “Yeah, I was a little surprised you’ve softened your position on the Ramrod thing as well.” She shrugged. “Heck, even I’m not really keen on the idea of a giant monster hanging out so close to the settlement.”

Chris sighed. “Well, again I’m not either but Sean built upon what you said earlier today and it really hit home with me.”

Kate’s eyes went wide. “What I said about Ramrod?”

Chris shook his head. “No, what you said about Emily and Kyle’s generation and how they grew up in a world different from the one we did. A world without the expectation that weddings should be big extravagant events. They never knew a world where the kaiju were an invading force. They have only known the kaiju as potential threats like earthquakes or hurricanes. They see them as things that are just a part of the world they have to live with. I also realized that you, me,” Chris banged his hand on the interior of Steel Samurai 2.0, “heck even this old girl won’t be around forever. Sean helped me to realize that us patrolling in our mech, killing any mutants that get too close, and hoping to use it to deter kaiju is not a solution that can last forever. Emily, Sean, Kyle, all the kids that are no longer kids who grew up in the settlement are going to have to find new ways to live with the kaiju and still be safe.” He shrugged. “I don’t know if convincing Ramrod that it’s a good idea to look at the area around the settlement as his own is the best idea but it is something different. If the next generation wants to survive and the generation after that, they are going to have to find something different.”

As the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to reveal the twin chairs of Steel Samurai 2.0’s cockpit, Kate leaned over and kissed her husband on his weathered cheek. “Emily’s not the only girl who married a guy that is smarter than most people give him credit for.”

Chris smiled at his wife. “Thanks. Now, what does Kyle think we need to check out today?”

They two of them walked to their chairs as Kate ran down their options. “There’s nothing definitive to go on but Kyle thinks we should sweep the Pacific Ocean a little farther out than usual. He says he hasn’t seen any kaiju in Japan for a while. He’s worried they could be heading here.” She checked the mech’s radar. “Looks like the typhoon that was hitting Hawaii has taken a turn northeast. We should be able to fly below it or at least take the mech underwater if the storm is too dangerous to fly through. Option two, is Kyle saw a blue anomaly in Mexico like the one Atomic Rex disappeared into. He wants us to make sure nothing came out of it.”

Chris nodded. “So, a private sea voyage and then a trip to Mexico.” He smiled, “Another one of those things that sounded way better before monsters wrecked the world.”

Kate grinned at her husband “We can still find a way to make the best of it.” Chris smiled back at her and then they grabbed the controls and sent Steel Samurai 2.0 rocketing into the sky.

Chapter 11

Pacific Ocean

Steel Samurai 2.0 was flying low over the Pacific Ocean as the water still raged from the typhoon that had recently passed over it. Chris was keeping his eyes fixed on the waves below him. It was difficult to see through all of the silt and seaweed kicked up by the recent typhoon. As Chris was doing his best to navigate by sight, Kate was watching the mech's radar and sonar feeds.

Chris took a quick look over at his wife. It still amazed him that a person with no pilot training at all had so quickly managed to master operating a mech. This was in conjunction with her having no experience as even a Girl Scout leader and finding herself the de facto leader of what was left of the human population. Chris shook his head as he wondered at how it took the end of the world for him to find the most beautiful and resourceful woman on Earth. As if finding Kate wasn’t enough, the fact that she loved him still astounded him. Not in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would be with a woman like Kate.

Kate noticed Chris looking at her and she grinned. “What is it? You’re giving me that look again.”

Chris shrugged. “It’s the same old thing it always is. I’m wondering how someone like me ever ended up with a woman as amazing as you.”

Kate smiled. “Like I’ve told you before, living out the real-life fairytale of saving me from a monster helped a lot. You know, that and pretty much saving what was left of the world.” She laughed. “And you know chicks dig cars, so when you showed up in mech it totally won me over.”

They both laughed before Kate looked back at her monitor. “Now don’t start talking about how great I am until we make sure there are no monsters heading our way.”

Chris kept his eyes fixed on his wife as his voice took on a more serious tone. “That’s why I always tell you how much you mean to me, just in case it’s the last time I get the chance to.”

Kate took a deep breath. “One of the many reasons I love you is because somehow against all odds you find a way to succeed against the kaiju and protect me, our kids, and everyone else from these monsters.” She smiled. “I know what you’re fishing for and we don’t have time for one of our little breaks. Once we confirm that there are no stray monsters just off the coast, and we check out that anomaly, then we can find some place to park the mech for an hour or so. Besides, I thought we took care of that this morning?”

Chris shook his head. “When it comes to you, I don’t think I can ever have enough being taken care of.”

Kate winked at him and then focused her attention back on the radar.

They had flown for roughly two hours in the direction of Hawaii when Kate got a hit on the sonar.

She waited for the hit to show up again before she brought it to Chris’ attention. “We’ve got something on sonar. Something big, much too big to be a typical whale. It’s also moving really fast for something its size.”

Chris took a deep breath. “What’s its current heading?”

Kate waited for a third sonar hit and then she made a projection as to where the creature would make landfall. “If it continues on its current course, it will land in Southern California in a few hours. It could come ashore anywhere from fifty to seventy-five kilometers south of the settlement.”

Chris sighed. “That’s way too close for comfort.” He looked over at his wife. “So, I guess we attack the creature and lead it toward South America for Atomic Rex to deal with?”

Kate thought about the question for a minute before responding. “We still have that anomaly in Mexico to check out as well. What if we lure this monster toward where Kyle noticed the anomaly? If something did come through the anomaly, we can find out what it was and draw it into a battle with the kaiju we’re tracking. After the monsters battle each other, we can draw the winner toward Atomic Rex.”

Chris nodded. “What if nothing came out of the anomaly?”

Kate shrugged. “Then we’ve taken a small detour to make sure all is safe while still luring this monster toward Atomic Rex’s last known position.”

Chris smiled. “All right, sounds like we have a plan. How deep is the monster below water?”

Kate checked the sonar readings again. “Several hundred meters. It’s way too deep for us to attack it from the air and have it follow us.”

Chris began adjusting the controls on the mech and hit a few of the buttons on the control panel. “I’m closing all of the external ports so we can take Steel Samurai 2.0 underwater.” As the mech was descending below the waves, he looked toward his wife. “Kate, just a reminder, we’re out of torpedoes. If we are going to engage whatever this monster is underwater, we are going to have to do it in close quarters combat.”

She smiled at her husband. “After all these years of being married, you still find ways to take me on the most romantic dates. I mean, what girl wouldn’t want to join her husband in piloting a giant mech underwater to fight a monster that threatens one of the few remaining pockets of humanity left on the planet?”

Chris smiled back at her. “Well, if it’s any consolation to you, there’s no other woman I’d rather have in the cockpit than you.”

Kate scowled. “There sure as hell better not be any other woman in your cockpit, if you want to live long enough to see your daughter get married.” They both laughed as Steel Samurai 2.0 pushed through the rough waters of the Pacific and towards the approaching kaiju.

The mech pushed forward for another hour toward the monster before they were able to make visual confirmation on the beast. At first, all they could make out was a large shape moving toward them through the veil of silt and seaweed left by the storm. After staring at the undulating mass for a few seconds, the kaiju came into full view. The creature was massive with horns coming off its nose and the sides of its head. When the kaiju body shifted forward, the Myers were able to see the twin blades on its back.

As soon as they saw the monster, Chris gave a command to the mech’s computer system. “Run the image of the kaiju ahead of us through our database and identify.”

The computer quickly responded. “The monster is known as Hagan. It is one of the original True Kaiju that attacked Japan when the monster invasion began. Reports on Hagan suggest that it is heavily armored and that the twin sails on its back act as giant razors. The monster has not been reported to have displayed any long-range attack capabilities.”

Chris groaned. “Heavily armored with horns and razor sails on its back.” He looked over at Kate. “We won’t last long going toe to toe with that thing. Especially not underwater where we can’t duck and dodge blows. We’re going to have to attack on the move. You arm and operate the sword. I’ll take us past the monster just beyond our arm’s reach. When we go past it, you strike it in the head as close to the eyes or mouth as you can. After we go past Hagan, I’ll swing the mech around for another attack. This time hit it on the back of the head. Hopefully, that will piss Hagan off enough that he starts to follow us and turns away from the settlement.”

Kate nodded as she grabbed the controls in front of her. “Got it.” She then hit a switch on the controls, and as she did so, Steel Samurai 2.0’s right thigh slid open to reveal a colossal sword. Under Kate’s command, the mech grabbed the sword and pulled it out of its leg compartment. Once the mech had the sword fully in hand, the compartment on its leg closed. The mech then moved the sword in front of its face allowing Kate to see both the sword and her target directly in front of her.

She gritted her teeth as she kept her eyes fixed on Hagan. “Ready.”

Chris nodded. “All right, going in.” Chris pushed his controls forward. The act sent Steel Samurai 2.0 dashing through the water toward the tank of a monster.

Hagan saw the mech charging toward him. The kaiju flashed his fangs in response to the mechanical monster’s challenge and charged at the oncoming robot.

The mech and the monster were headed directly for each other, when Chris changed the course of Steel Samurai 2.0’s forward progress by a matter of a few degrees. When the mech and Hagan were within reach of each other, they attacked. Hagan’s right claw slashed through the water and just missed slicing the mech open while, under Kate’s guidance, Steel Samurai 2.0’s blade struck the monster between the eyes. Steel Samurai’s vaunted sword bounced off Hagan’s thick skull, causing little to no damage.

After Kate had landed the blow and the robot shot past Hagan, Chris adjusted the controls so that the mech did a wide turn in the water. When the robot had fully circled around, Chris and Kate saw that Hagan had turned around and was now heading toward them.

Kate tightened her grip on the sword controls. “Well, I think it’s safe to assume we got his attention.”

Chris nodded. “Let’s make sure we keep it until we can pass him off to another monster to fight.”

Kate nodded in reply as the mighty mech darted back toward Hagan.

The giant robot was approaching Hagan from his left side and the monster noticed that once more the robot was coming at him in such a way that it could strike him but he couldn’t strike back. With this realization, Hagan changed his battle tactics. He stopped moving forward and stayed where he was in the water. When Steel Samurai 2.0 had almost reached him, the kaiju bent his upper body forward and threw his weight to the side. This action caused Hagan’s razor-sharp sails to move directly into Steel Samurai’s 2.0’s path.

The moment that Chris saw the monster change his method of attack, he screamed. “Dammit, the sails!” He then pulled right hard on his controls hoping to keep the mech from running directly into Hagan’s sails and being cut in half.

As Chris was altering the mech’s trajectory, Kate repositioned the sword into a defensive pose. The coordinated actions of the husband and wife caused Hagan’s back blades to skim across Steel Samurai 2.0’s sword. The act of the two weapons scraping against each other sent a beautiful array of sparks cascading off the mech’s sword, but prevented what could have been catastrophic damage to the last mech on Earth.

As the mech moved past the monster, Chris checked its rearview cameras. “Good news. We’ve avoided being ripped open like a can of tuna and we seem to have pissed off Hagan enough to make him follow us.”

Kate released the controls in her hand and nodded. “Okay. Now, head south and slowly take us toward the surface. If we can get into the air and use the crossbow to keep Hagan’s attention, it would be a lot safer for us. That last exchange was a little too close for comfort.”

Chris nodded in agreement and then altered the mech’s course to comply with his wife’s directions.

Hagan saw the metal creature that had attacked him moving away from him and heading toward the territory the kaiju was planning to claim as his own. The armored demon growled in anger at the thought of the metallic beast that had struck him entering his new territory. Whatever this strange creature was, it was heading toward land. Hagan was determined to chase the creature to the shore where he could better operate and then lay waste to this potential threat.

For roughly half an hour, Chris kept Steel Samurai 2.0 ahead of Hagan in the water while still slowly progressing toward the surface. When the mech broke the surface and floated up and into the clear blue skies above him, Chris had the robot hover and turn around for a brief minute to see if Hagan was still chasing him or not. As Chis was turning the mech around, Kate had the mech place its sword back into its leg and then arm itself with the giant crossbow that was magnetically attached to its back. Kate then had the mech aim the weapon at the frothing water below them. When Kate saw a swell of water cascading below her, she knew it signaled the spot from which Hagan would rise from the depths.

When the tri-horned demon’s head broke the surface, it looked up at Steel Samurai 2.0 and roared. Hagan then swam in the direction of the robot and attempted to jump out of the water to reach it.

Chris flew the mech a little higher to avoid the monster’s reach, causing Hagan to fall back into the ocean empty handed. A few seconds after splashing down, Hagan resurfaced and once more started swimming toward Steel Samurai 2.0.

Seeing the monster coming toward the mech, Chris began to fly the robot toward southern Mexico. After a few seconds of Hagan continuing to follow them, he turned toward Kate. “I think we can relax with the crossbow for a little bit. It looks like Hagan is going to follow us without additional incentive.”

Kate nodded and kept her eyes on the radar screen. “That’s good, since we only have a half dozen arrows left and I didn’t think we were going to be able to recover one if we fired at him in the ocean.”

Chris noticed how intensely his wife was looking at the radar. “I don’t think you have to watch the radar so closely. Hagan is clearly following us and he’s not giving up anytime soon.”

Kate shook her head. “It’s not Hagan I’m looking at. There’s another hit on land; something big that’s moving toward the beach.”

Chapter 12

Lacandon Jungle, Mexico

Gurral was lying on his side, enjoying his dust induced nap next to the river when he suddenly felt something slam into the back of his neck. The arena champion heard the distinctive scraping sound of teeth trying to pierce his Impervium-encased neck-plating. Before he had time to react, he saw two long black arms ending in hairy claws reach over him from behind and dig into the leathery hide of his stomach. The gladiator roared in shock and pain as long bleeding wounds were torn into the freshly-healed skin.

The claws had torn all the way up to his side when the Smasher rolled over onto his back, pinning whatever sneaky fur-face was attacking him. The crushing pressure of Gurral’s body weight caused the unseen predator to release its grip and afforded Gurral the chance to stand.

Once Gurral was standing, he turned around to see a long, slender, hairy, four-legged creature with sharp teeth and claws standing in front of him. The beast’s shoulders came up to roughly half Gurral’s height, and as it met the Smasher’s glare, it made a hissing sound.

Prior to being exposed to radiation given off by Atomic Rex and other kaiju, the monster that was in front of Gurral had been a tayra. It was a member of the weasel family that hunted small mammals, insects, and birds in the jungle. Since being exposed to radiation and growing to the size of a building, the creature’s high metabolism forced it to hunt for more substantial prey. Seeing the huge form of Gurral sleeping alongside the river bed and smelling blood, the mutant tayra thought it had stumbled across an easy meal.

Gurral looked down at the snarling predator and snorted in amusement. This thing had literally bitten off more than it could chew. “You’ve got guts, Fur-Face, but a skinny pipe-cleaner like you’s got no chance.” He then turned to the cameras that were hovering around him. “But the crowd’s been waiting for a show, so if you wanna take a shot, then go for it!”

Back on Arena World, the crowd cheered and the Arena Lords wrung their hands together at the thought of more money coming their way. One exceptionally thin Arena Lord saw the Newcomer looking at images through one of the portals to the other worlds. The portal through which the Newcomer was peering showed what looked like teenage human children running around performing feats of immense strength. The Newcomer then waved his hand and changed the view to show the hybrid beast he had referred to as Chimera moving through a forest with what looked like a family of humans. The Arena Lord noticed that as the Newcomer looked at Chimera, a sneer of disgust crept across his face.

The emaciated gray figure called out to the Newcomer. “Our champion is about to engage another of the monsters on that planet you sent him to! Come and enjoy the sport of it all. We can decide on other competitors from all the worlds you’ve found later. The children looked a bit fragile for what we’re after anyways, and you said that this “Chimera” wasn’t a good pick, correct?”

The Newcomer turned away from his distraction and shook his head. “Of course, but one must always monitor the discarded in hopes that they’ve improved. Was it not the same with Gurral?” The Newcomer then drifted over to the projected images, joining the other Arena Lords in watching Gurral as he was charged by the ferret-like giant tayra dubbed ‘Fur-Face.’

The mutated mammal leaped at Gurral’s throat with teeth bared, but Gurral lifted an arm to block, and the fuzzy fighter had to settle for sinking its fangs and claws into the Smasher’s forearm. Gurral grimaced in pain as it shook its head back and forth, creating a saw-like effect that bore deeper into the meat of the brawler’s arm.

Beginning to take the fight seriously, the Smasher reached down with his free hand, grabbed the mutant by the back of the head, and tugged. “Get off, you skinny freak!”

Gurral pulled back hard, trying to force the tayra to release its grip, but the act only caused the hairy harasser to bite down deeper while hissing. Gurral’s blood red eyes flared. “I was gonna milk this a bit, but now you’re getting smashed!” The arena champion then crouched low and using the forearm that Fur-Face was biting, he drove the back of his weaselly opponent’s head into the ground, ignoring the deep rents left by the ever-deepening bite.  Seeing that it was being pinned, the tayra released its grip and squirmed from under the ever-increasing pressure Gurral was applying.

Fur-Face crouched, darted forward as if it were going for another neck-bite, but when Gurral blocked, it instead quickly dashed through Gurral’s legs and sank its teeth into his Achilles tendon. Gurral let loose a roar of rage and pain, and his vision reddened. With speed driven by pain and frustration, he reached down while sitting back, instantly pinning the beast’s body under his bulk and gripping the tayra by the neck.

The furred attacker released the back of Gurral’s ankle, instinctively trying to free itself by ravaging what it could reach of Gurral’s wrist, drawing a heavy flow of blood. Gurral thought to himself, “This little match is starting to cost more than I wanted it to.” The Smasher bellowed, “Okay, Fur-Face, time to feel the hurt.”  His grip on the back of the scrawny beast’s neck began to tighten more and more, increasing the pressure until it threatened to crack the tayra’s spine. Under this extreme pressure, the furry aggressor began to flail its entire body about in an attempt to escape. Gurral then slammed his spiked forearm down into the pinned foe, piercing deep into its body and cracking a few ribs.

The extreme pain caused by the forearm strike drove Fur-Face to even more frantic twisting and thrashing.  Despite the grip on its neck and Gurral pinning it with a full mount, the mutated tayra struggled free. Unfortunately for Fur-Face, pulling free required it to rip itself out from under the forearm spikes, and after a few leaps back away, it collapsed to the ground, bleeding out.

Gurral shook his head while walking up to the downed beast. “You put up one heck of a fight, I gotta admit!” As Gurral was paying a compliment to his defeated foe, the weaselly mutant rolled and spun to face away from him while arching its back and lifting its tail. Gurral leaned forward with a look of surprise. “What in the hell are you…” Gurral’s mouth was wide open in the middle of speaking when Fur-Face activated the scent gland in its anus. A spray of toxic particles shot into the air, burning Gurral’s eyes, nose and mouth. The Smasher staggered back as he rubbed his eyes and did his best to spit out the particles that had landed in his mouth.

Gurral’s already red eyes took on an even darker hue as they burned from the chemical attack. He fixed his threatening glare in the direction of the injured tayra. “Of all the dirty tricks…” Gurral growled as his fists clenched tightly shut.

Gurral pushed through the toxic cloud given off by the tarya, no longer considering the harm it might cause him. The crippled beast was snarling and snapping his jaws as the Smasher approached, intent on destruction. Gurral delivered an earth-shattering kick to the beast’s side that sent it flying through the jungle, shattering trees until it rolled to a limp stop.  The towering arena gladiator roared while launching himself upwards into the sky with a powerful jump, crossing the distance between himself and the target of his fury. With a sound like a bomb going off, he landed in a two-handed smash upon the torso of Fur-Face, leaving a crater in the ground and sending bits of his foe’s blood flying in all directions.

Gurral lifted the barely moving monster in front of him and bellowed, “You’re done!” The immense berserker growled loudly from deep in his core, then in a display of his indescribable strength, he pulled his front and hind legs in opposite directions and tore Fur-Face in half. Gurral afterward stood staring blankly into the distance, seething in anger, covered in blood, intestines and fur.

Back on Arena World, the crowd and the Arena Lords cheered at the show of visceral power and anger displayed by their champion! One of the Arena Lords turned to the Newcomer. “This has been amazing so far! The battle with the plant creature and now this four-legged foul-smelling beast! The fight between Gurral and Atomic Rex should be the perfect finisher to this special broadcast, and I can’t wait for our boy to bring that powerful competitor here!”

The Newcomer looked to the Arena Lord with a sly smile. “Nor can I.”

Back on Earth, the Smasher stood with eyes closed, fists clenched, breathing hard. He slowly lengthened his breaths and began to release all the rage that had built up within him.   Once back in complete control, he did his best to assess the situation. He looked down at the bisected form of Fur-Face at his feet. “I’ve been ripped up fighting all kinds of uglies, but that’s my first time getting butt-sprayed. I need to get this taste out of my mouth before dinner.”

Gurral splashed some water from the river onto his face and body, cleaning and cooling himself. As steam rose from his scalp, he reached down and tossed one half of Fur-Face into the center of the river. He watched as the tayra’s blood seeped out and flowed downstream. Gurral nodded and thought to himself, “That’ll let ol’ Rexy know there’s a new king in town.” He then picked up the other half of Fur-Face and thought, “I’ll take this half to the ocean and toss it in there in case Rexy is off swimming.”

With the upper half of his last opponent’s body in his hand, Gurral began walking toward the Pacific Ocean. While the rinse from the river had gotten most of the blood and intestines off, the musk smell was as strong as ever, and the sweltering hot sun beating down on him seemed to intensify it. The massive brawler stopped several times to drink on the way. He needed to stay hydrated and if he was lucky it would eventually rinse the foul taste from his mouth.

After walking for hours, Gurral once again felt hunger swelling in his stomach. He glanced toward the half of the dead mutant tayra he was carrying. “There’s no way I’m eating your stinky ass.” The Smasher shrugged and thought, “I’ll eat when I get to the ocean. The river fish were big, so I’ve gotta guess the fish in the ocean are gonna be huge.” Gurral smiled as he looked down at the small sack attached to his harness. “Plus, saltwater fish are the best kind of fish to eat with dust.”

After leaving the jungle, the arena champion walked for another hour before he finally reached the beach. As he approached the shore, he could smell the fresh salt air and feel the cool breeze coming off the water. The monster took a moment to enjoy the pleasant smell and feel the wind blow over him before walking onto the beach.

A few more steps, and Gurral finally reached the ocean, and the first thing he did was throw what was left of Fur-Face’s body into the water. The corpse only had to float for a few minutes before it attracted several large sharks that began to feast on the remains.

Gurral looked at the still seeping wounds in his arm and stomach, and he grinned. “Catching dinner is going to be easier than I thought.” He then waded out into the water until it was up to his neck. He closed his eyes as he could almost feel the musk from Fur-Face washing off of him. After taking a deep breath, he ducked his head under the water and saw trails of his blood along with some splattered remains of the mammalian monster that had been stuck to his body being swept out to sea by the tide. As the makeshift chum floated away from his body, several of the sharks that had been feeding on the corpse of the dead tayra swam over to investigate.

Gurral remained still until two of the larger sharks were within arms’ reach. Then with a speed that belied his massive size, Gurral’s arms shot out and he grabbed a shark in each mitt. The two predators tried to break free of his grip but one squeeze from the Smasher’s powerful hands ceased their struggles forever.

He plodded back to shore and looked at the two dead sharks in his hands. “These are gonna taste really good with some dust.” He then turned around to sit down and look at the ocean while he ate. Gurral was about to open his dust bag when he saw something large and gray flying over the water toward him. He stood up and took a few steps towards the shore to get a better look at whatever it was that was soaring closer.

Gurral used his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and was able to make out the form of a giant robot coming toward him in the air and something big following behind the robot under the water.

He took a bite out of one of the sharks. After he swallowed the mouthful of fish, he shrugged and looked toward one of the cameras hovering around him. “Then again, maybe the dust will have to wait. It looks like I have another fight coming up.”

Back on Arena World, the crowd cheered as the Arena Lords clasped their hands in anticipation of another new challenge for their champion. As everyone else was swelling with excitement, the Newcomer remained calm and reached out for the controls to the cameras that were hovering around Gurral. The Newcomer’s brow furrowed as he said to himself, “Let’s get a closer look at the vaunted Steel Samurai 2.0.” At the Newcomer’s command, the cameras that had been following Gurral took off over the ocean toward the legendary mech.

Chapter 13

The Settlement

Emily had finished meeting with the plumbers and electricians to discuss the maintenance and updates needed for the settlement. The meetings went well, and everyone knew what tasks they had to complete. The thing that surprised Emily the most was how interested in her wedding people were. Everyone, men and women, kept saying that they could not wait for the wedding and the opportunity to celebrate. Emily was glad that people were excited but she had difficulty empathizing with them. Of course, she was happy to marry Sean but it was just a quick ceremony and then a dinner that her mom had really set up. She pushed the thought about people’s excitement for her wedding aside and went home to see Sean himself.

Emily took care of numerous things she needed to do around the house but, after several hours when Sean had still not come home, she began to worry. Emily knew that Sean had gone out to feed Ramrod, but she was not overly concerned that the giant mutant ram had hurt her fiancé. For almost a year now, both she and Sean, and even on occasion Kyle, had made a food drop for the monster and the kaiju had made no move to hurt them.

There was of course always the chance that something else had attacked her fiancé. Emily knew her parents had been doing regular sweeps in Steel Samurai 2.0 but it was possible that some mutant or kaiju had slipped past them.

The young woman threw her hands into the air. “I can’t just sit around here worrying about him.” She then walked out of her house, mounted one of the numerous horses on the farm, and headed out to the site where they dropped food for Ramrod.

After riding for roughly an hour, Emily saw Sean’s cart atop a ridge overlooking the field where they made the food drop for the giant ram. Emily was relieved when she rode up to Sean’s cart to find him sitting at the font of it.

Emily leaned over to Sean. “What are you still doing out here? Why didn’t you come home?”

Sean pointed to the field. “Take a look.”

Emily turned her gaze to the middle of the field to see the gargantuan form of Ramrod circling the food that Sean had left for him. She shook her head. “Usually, he eats the supplies as soon as we drop them off. Why is he circling them now?”

Sean shrugged. “That’s what I was wondering. I figured you’d want to know that he was doing this and I figured the best way to do that was to stick around and see what happened.”

Emily grabbed Sean’s hand and squeezed it. “You did good, babe. Is there anything unusual about the food or did you notice anything different in the area?”

The rugged farmer shook his head. “The food is pretty much the same as it always is and there’s nothing different as far as I can tell.”

Emily continued to watch Ramrod. When the giant mammal stopped circling his food, he looked toward the forest that surrounded the field. The colossal mammal then snorted loudly and began digging his hoof into the ground.

The young woman tapped her lover on the shoulder and pointed to the spot where Ramrod was looking. “I’ve seen this behavior from Ramrod when I was studying him before. There’s something out there he doesn’t like and he’s challenging it.”

Sean put his hand over his eyes and stared at the area of the forest. “Really, I don’t see anything that would spook the big guy.” No sooner had Sean finished his thought, then the ground at the edge of the forest exploded upward to reveal a giant rat. The hideous creature was roughly one third the size of Ramrod. Despite the difference in height between the two monsters, the loathsome rodent hissed a challenge at the mutant sheep.

Ramrod responded to the rat by furiously digging his hoof into the dirt, shaking his head, and bleating at the invading creature. The giant rat then moved forward, and as he did, two more rats crawled out of the hole. With the other two rats by his side, the lead rat made a move toward Ramrod’s food supply.

As soon as the lead rat went toward the food, so did Ramrod. The horned mammal charged forward with his head low to the ground. A moment before he made contact with the rat, the giant rodent dodged to the side, causing Ramrod’s horns to crash into the ground, sending a mountain of dirt flying through the air.

With Ramrod’s head down, the three rats jumped onto the big horned sheep’s back and began tearing into it. The rats’ long incisor teeth penetrated deep into Ramrod’s hide, causing blood to gush out the wounds created by them and into the attacking monsters’ mouths.

Emily gasped in horror. Ever since the day she had devised a plan to keep Ramrod from rampaging through the settlement, she had felt an attachment to the monster. Then when she devised the plan to feed the monster in hopes that he would keep away other kaiju, she grew even more attached to the beast. Now she was not only watching the creature she had become attached to being mauled by rats, she was also watching her plan of using Ramrod as a deterrent to other monsters being destroyed as well.

Emily’s heart lifted when she saw Ramrod rear up onto his back legs and shake the vicious rodents off his back. As soon as one of the rats hit the ground, Ramrod spun around and faced the vile creature. The giant ram took one step backwards and then he sprang forward, driving his curved horns into the rat’s side. The blow sent the rodent flying through the air and crashing into the trees that lined the field.

It only took one glance at the rat’s mangled body to see that it had been killed. As the giant ram was killing their pack member, the other two rats attacked Ramrod’s legs. One rat sank its teeth into Ramrod’s left hind leg while the other ravaged his right front leg.

Ramrod bucked and kicked the rat attacking his left leg. The kick sent the horrid creature tumbling across the field and in the direction of the cliff Emily and Sean were watching the battle from. With the rat attacking his back legs dispatched, Ramrod reared up and brought his front legs crashing down onto the rat in front of him, crushing the creature to death with his massive weight.

On the cliff overlooking the field, Sean and Emily cheered for their adopted kaiju as it slew the second invader. Sean was still cheering when Emily looked down to see that the rat Ramrod had kicked in their direction was looking up the cliff at them. The disgusting creature hissed and then started scaling the cliff.

Emily grabbed Sean’s shoulder. “We need to go! Now!”

The less observant Sean had yet to comprehend what was happening. “Why?”

Emily screamed. “The last rat is coming up the cliff for us! Leave the cart, we’re getting on my horse!” Emily leapt onto her horse and the burly Sean quickly climbed on behind her. With her future husband’s arms wrapped around her waist, Emily screamed, “Yah!” and kicked the horse in the ribs. The farm animal took off running and the young woman immediately steered in an eastern direction.

As the horse took off, the last rat came over the side of the cliff. The horse that was still attached to the cart tried to turn and run. Sadly, for the farm animal, the cart it was attached to caused the horse to move far too slowly. The giant rat tore the horse off the cart with a single bite and swallowed it whole. The gargantuan vermin then began running after the fleeing couple.

Ramrod was standing next to his food supply, and when he saw the final rat take off in the direction of Emily and Sean, the mighty ram started running toward the cliff.

Emily and Sean were riding through the woods as quickly as they could without slamming into a tree. Sean’s heart skipped a beat when he heard the sound of trees being knocked down behind him. He turned around to see the last rat moving through the forest and gaining on them. He sighed and put his mouth next to Emily’s ear. “Listen, Emily. We’re too heavy for the horse to outrun that monster with both of us on him.” He took a deep breath. “I love you, baby. The time I’ve had with you has made me the happiest man alive.”

Before Emily could respond, Sean let go of her and threw himself to the ground. The young farmer tumbled over several times before he came to a stop and saw the giant rat knocking down trees as it made its way toward him. Sean stood up and was prepared to meet his fate when Emily pulled the horse to a stop beside him. She jumped off the animal and then slapped it on the back causing it to run away.

She then wrapped her arms around Sean. “You can’t do that to me! I love you too much to have you give up yourself for me! I couldn’t live with the pain if you were to die! If we’re going to die, we’re going to do it together!”

Sean hugged Emily as tight as he could. “My only regret is that I didn’t get to marry you. Being your husband would have been the greatest accomplishment of my life.”

Emily kissed Sean as the rat continued to bear down on them. The colossal rodent was only a few steps from them when something suddenly blocked out the sun. Emily and Sean looked up to see Ramrod coming down from one of his majestic leaps. The horned monster landed in front of Emily and Sean and then with one butt from his horns, he crushed nearly every bone in the giant rat’s body. With the rat dead, Ramrod turned around and looked at Emily and Sean for a brief moment. The colossal ram then turned and headed back to the food they had left for him.

Sean and Emily stood in silent disbelief for a moment before Sean screamed with joy. “He saved us! I can’t believe that overgrown sheep saved us!”

Emily nodded. “He saved us because he knows that it’s us who’ve been feeding him. He protected us because we’ve been building a relationship with him.” She turned to Sean. “This proves it! This proves that we can build a relationship with Ramrod and he will protect us in return. This proves that there’s hope that we can find a way to coexist with the kaiju and maybe even have a mutually beneficial relationship with them!” She smiled. “I can’t wait to tell mom and dad about this!”

Sean nodded. “While that could take a while, we got a lot of ground to cover, no horses and the sun’s going down.”

Emily nodded. ‘We’re going to be walking home in the dark no matter what.” She wrapped her arms around Sean. “I can’t let my bold hero who was going to give his life to save mine go unrewarded for his bravery.” She then began pulling Sean to the ground.

Chapter 14

Pacific Ocean off the coast of Nicaragua

Atomic Rex moved through the water with a single thought on his mind: to find and destroy the kaiju that had entered his territory. The nuclear theropod could sense not only that he was close to the other two monsters but that they were close to each other as well. In addition to this, the kaiju on land had made a kill and tossed it into the ocean. Atomic Rex interpreted this act as a direct challenge to him and the other approaching monster. A monster hunting on his territory was intrusion enough but leaving a kill in the water was a sign of dominance.

This thought angered the kaiju. The saurian horror desired to destroy each of these challengers to his throne himself. If one of the other beasts he sensed destroyed the other, it would only strengthen the winning monster’s resolve that it would be the dominant kaiju in the area.

As the rage built in Atomic Rex, he swam to the surface of the water. When his head breached the surface, the monsters unleashed a roar that he knew the two challengers to his supremacy would detect. Even if one of the invaders destroyed the other, the winner would know that Atomic Rex was coming and that he would not tolerate another kaiju living in his territory.

Beach of Southern Mexico

Steel Samurai 2.0 was flying toward the shore where its pilots could see the imposing form of Gurral sitting on the beach. Chris and Kate were silent as they both stared at the massive creature. Chris looked over at his wife and he could see that for the first time in decades she was shaking.

Chris reached over and grabbed Kate’s hand. “I don’t know what that thing is but it’s not him. Do you hear me, Kate? Whatever that thing is, it’s not Ogre. It’s way bigger than Ogre, it’s a different color, and Ogre never had those spikes and horns that monster has.”

Kate took a deep breath and nodded. “I know. It’s just the visual similarities between that monster and Ogre caught me off guard.” She leaned forward in her chair. “The thing that terrified me the most was how human he looked compared to most of the kaiju we see.” She closed her eyes as her body shook. “It was Ogre’s humanoid appearance that let you know how intelligent he really was.” She pointed to Gurral. “Aside from its relatively humanoid shape, look at how that monster is just sitting there. It’s like he’s waiting for us. When most kaiju see our mech, let alone another monster following us, they would swim out and attack. They would eliminate the threat to their territory. That thing is just waiting there for us to come to him. Whatever he is, he is far more intelligent than most of the monsters we deal with.”

Chris nodded in response to his wife, then his eyes went wide as he saw the Arena Lords’ cameras flying toward him. “Kate, we’ve got incoming!”

Kate looked out her window. “They’re mechanical. What in the hell are they? We haven’t seen anything nonorganic in the air since before the kaiju first attacked.”

Chris nodded. “I’m arming the remaining long-range weapons.” He was silent for a second. “They don’t seem to be taking an attack formation. They seem to be approaching us to gather intel almost like they are trying to scan us or something.”

He looked over at Kate. “You’re more level headed than me. Do we shoot them out of the sky or wait and see what they do?”

Kate grimaced. “I hate to let them get in so close but we don't know what these things are, we have a kaiju following us, and what looks like a giant form of Ogre with spikes all over him ahead of us. If you don’t think those flying machines are in attack formation, I say we wait and see what they do before wasting our limited ammo on them. In the meantime, let’s take Hagan right up to that big brute sitting on the beach. That might take care of at least one of our problems. After one of the monsters falls, we can figure out what these machines are and where they came from.”

When the cameras reached Steel Samurai 2.0, they began to circle the mech, sending images of the robot back to the crowd on Arena World. Kate looked at Gurral sitting on the beach, watching them. “By the way that creature is watching these things circle us, I almost wonder if he’s not connected to them, or maybe even controlling them somehow.”

Steel Samurai 2.0 was quickly closing in on Gurral as Chris shook his head. “You think that monster has some kind of intelligence other than just a motivation to kill and destroy?”

The mech had nearly reached Gurral as Kate looked into the Smasher’s eyes. “I’ve looked into the eyes of a monster with more than instinctual motivations before. I see that same intelligence in this creature.” She looked over at her husband. “Chris, we can’t let that thing leave this beach alive. If it’s anything like Ogre and if it found the settlement…” Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “If he found Emily.”

Chris flew Steel Samurai 2.0 over Gurral’s head and he looked down on the monster with anger in his eyes. “I don’t need any additional motivation to take out a kaiju but if you even think that behemoth has the slightest chance of doing to Emily what Ogre did to you, then I swear this monster dies today.”

Chris looked back to the ocean to see Hagan climbing out of the surf and onto the beach. The tri-horned monster shook the water off its body as it stared at Gurral. Hagan wanted this landmass as his territory. He could sense that this land had an abundance of food. He had traveled across the ocean to claim this area as his own and he knew in order to do that he would have to slay any monster that could challenge his dominance. The armored beast could sense that the creature standing before him was a direct threat to his claim over this territory. Hagan’s heart pounded with anger as adrenaline raced through his body. The Japanese monster opened his mouth and roared a challenge at Gurral.

Gurral stood with his hands clenched into fists as the Arena Lord’s cameras began circling the two monsters.

Steel Samurai 2.0 was hovering above the gladiator as Chris pointed at the flying devices. “Look! They’re circling the kaiju. It’s almost like they are cameras recording or transmitting what they see to someone.”

Kate’s mind was racing as she considered the implications of what this meant. “So, either something else with technology at least as advanced as we possessed pre-kaiju has found us or there is another group of humans somewhere nearby with the ability to produce technology like that?”

Chris shrugged. “I guess so.” He gestured toward Gurral. “I mean, unless the monster made the technology.”

Kate forced herself to take a closer look at Gurral and she was shocked when she noticed the strap around the creature holding what appeared to be more technological devices on it. She pointed to the devices attached to Gurral. “Chris, look, he has something strapped around him. Do you have any ideas what those things are?”
Chris was staring at the various electronics attached to Gurral when the goliath called out to Hagan, “Come on, Horn-Head! I need to find ol’ Rexy and you’re the next piece of bait I’m going to use to draw him out.”

Gurral then charged at Hagan as both Chris and Kate sat in stunned silence at having heard the monster speak.

Hagan was standing in ankle deep water as Gurral ran up to him and struck him in the face with a blow that would have turned the side of a mountain into rubble. To Gurral’s surprise, his Impervium spiked fist did little more than to cause the Hagan to take a half step back.

Gurral was about to follow up with another blow when Hagan suddenly sprang forward and drove all three of his horns into Gurral’s chest. The blow sent the Smasher crashing down into the surf with three bloody wounds on his chest. Gurral was trying to sit up when Hagan leapt on top of him. Gurral grunted in pain as Hagan’s crushing weight pushed him down into the soft sand beneath the water.

The arena champion’s eyes went wide when he saw Hagan’s open jaws coming toward his throat. Hagan moved so quickly that the Smasher barely had enough time to throw his left arm up to stop the hairy monster from delivering a mortal wound. Gurral grunted in pain as Hagan bit deep into his arm. Gurral growled and then glared into Hagan’s eyes. “Ok Horn-Head, you’re tougher than I thought, but you’re still going down.”

Gurral then began using his right fist to deliver blow after blow into Hagan’s lower ribs. While the gladiator could feel the indestructible spikes on his hand piercing Hagan’s armor, he knew they were not getting deep enough into the monster to do any real damage.

Gurral chuckled and said, “That’s some sturdy hide, but it won’t protect you forever.” Gurral ignored the intense pain from the damage being done to his arm and continued to strike Hagan’s ribs with stronger and stronger punches. With each strike to his ribs, Gurral could feel Hagan’s death grip on his arm loosening, and with the fifth consecutive blow, he sent the monster tumbling off him and into the surf.

The Smasher had to roll onto his side to pull his back out of the wet sand it had sunk into. Once he was free of the sand, he moved to a crouching position. Gurral then turned to see that Hagan had already regained his feet and was approaching for another attack. The arena champion shifted his stance, and before Hagan could ram him again, Gurral hurled himself forward head first at Hagan’s waist with all the intense power his legs could produce. The Smasher flew across the short distance between himself and his opponent and slammed into the Japanese kaiju. The impact from the arena champion colliding with the hairy monstrosity was so intense that it created a shockwave that rattled the hovering cameras recording the fight. Gurral had expected the attack to send Hagan tumbling down but his ultimate ram attack only caused the sturdy horned beast to slide backwards several paces. The powerful creature simply refused to fall.

Gurral stepped in to wrestle Hagan to the ground when the tri-horned horror brought his claws crashing down into the Smasher’s head. Hagan’s mighty blow bounced off Gurral’s Impervium-encased skull with little effect on the gladiator.

Gurral shifted his head up and at the same time launched an uppercut with his right fist into Hagan’s jaw that snapped it shut. He bellowed at the hairy beast as he delivered a left hook to Hagan’s ribs. “If you wanna slug this out...”

Gurral followed up the body blow with a right hook to Hagan’s face that staggered the beast. “Then trust me…”

The Smasher continued to speak as he struck Hagan with another vicious blow to the face. “... You’re gonna lose.”

Gurral was stepping forward to strike Hagan again when the armored kaiju swiped his claw across the arena champion’s face, rocking his head back. The blow stopped Gurral in mid punch and left his body exposed. Hagan took advantage of the opening and once more drove his horns into Gurral’s chest, this time driving them all the way to his ribcage. While the blow knocked the Smasher backwards and left impressive new wounds, Gurral was more braced this time, and was able to maintain his footing and prevent himself from falling over.

Once he had regained his balance, Gurral looked at Hagan with a growing anger in his eyes. “Let’s finish this!” The two monsters then charged each other, colliding with a resounding crash. They then locked their arms around each other, pushing each other back and forth in the surf as they each tried to out-muscle their opponent.

Chris and Kate were watching the battle below them in silence when Chris finally glanced over at his wife. “I’m not crazy, right? The tan monster with the spikes all over him he is talking, right?”

Kate nodded. “Yes, he’s talking in English too.”

Chris looked back at the sight of Hagan and Gurral matching brawn with brawn, neither gaining an edge. “What does that mean? Was he a man that was turned into a monster like Yokozuna but unlike that tub of lard he was able to keep his intelligence?”

Kate shrugged. “I can’t say for sure.” She pointed to the cameras still flying circles around the grappling forms of Gurral and Hagan. “All that we do know is we have found the most intelligent kaiju we have ever come across and he is accompanied by some form of technology.” She looked at Chris. “This monster could change everything. If there are numerous kaiju with human level intelligence walking around the planet, we, and by we, I mean what’s left of the human race, could be in big trouble.”

Chris shrugged. “So, do we want Hagan to win this fight then? Or if the spiked monster wins, do we use the sword to run him through as soon as he kills Hagan and end him? But then we wouldn’t know anything else about him like how he can talk and where that tech came from.”

Kate was still staring at the battle below her as Gurral momentarily broke free of Hagan’s hold, punched the monster in the face, only to have the hairy creature push through the blow and force the Smasher back into a grappling contest. Kate leaned forward. “I don’t know. I mean, if he was a man and he became a kaiju, why is he different from Yokozuna? We know that Yokozuna was a human but when the radiation changed him into a monster, he lost most of his ability to reason. If this creature was a human and still has the ability to reason, can we just kill him before we know he’s a threat to us?”

Chris nodded, “He’s a freaking monster and hell yes we can initiate what’s known as a preemptive strike if we think it will save the lives of our people.”

The thought of protecting her loved ones from this monster was weighing heavily on her mind when a communication came in over the HAM radio. “Mom, Dad, it’s Emily, you won’t believe what happened!”

Below Steel Samurai 2.0, Hagan and Gurral continued to struggle. Gurral tried again to throw the armored creature to the ground but the Japanese kaiju’s strength was equal to Gurral’s own, and it had good fighting instincts. Gurral pulled backward a step in order to free himself from Hagan’s grip and continue pummeling his massive opponent. Taking advantage of this, Hagan lowered his stance and drove his horned head towards Gurral’s torso. Gurral quickly responded with a wild roundhouse right to the side of Hagan’s head, halting the charge. He followed it up with several more punishing blows to the head and neck, but failed once more to knock down the sturdy contender.

Gurral took several steps back and he glared at Hagan. “You’re just as strong, and just as tough as me.” Gurral shook his head. “But you’re gonna lose, and you know why?”

Hagan roared in response to Gurral. He then lowered his head and charged the Smasher.

Just before Hagan reached him, Gurral sidestepped the monster, pulled the taser the Newcomer had given to him from the strap on his chest, and drove it into the kaiju’s side. The hair that covered Hagan’s body all stood on end as streaks of electricity danced around his frame and his legs gave out from under him, causing the beast to fall face first into the water. Before Hagan recovered from the shock he had taken, Gurral tossed his taser to the beach, sat on the monster’s neck, and wrapped his powerful hands around the horns on the sides of the kaiju’s head.

Gurral leaned in close to Hagan and growled, “I’m smarter than you.” Gurral then twisted Hagan’s head to the side. Hagan roared in defiance and tried to shift his head back to its normal position but the beast’s neck muscles were no match for Gurral’s hands and arms. Hagan’s head was forced to twist further and further, and then with one last brutal tug, Gurral heard a harsh snap. Hagan’s head was suddenly turned all the way around looking at Gurral with vacant eyes and a slack jaw.

The Smasher was breathing heavily as he looked at the dead beast. “I’m sick of all these opening bouts, but with this big freak as bait, I’m lined up for the main event.” The Smasher then walked ashore toward the hovering form of Steel Samurai.

Chris and Kate had finished listening to Emily’s story about how Ramrod had saved them when Gurral finished off Hagan and started walking back to shore.

Emily’s story was running through Kate’s mind as she quickly replied to her daughter, “That’s great! We have an incoming kaiju, we’ll re-establish contact after we address the threat.” She then turned off the radio and stared at Gurral.

Chris kept his eyes fixed on the spiked creature as he addressed his wife. “So, do we take this thing out now?”

Prior to talking to Emily, Kate was ready to slay the beast she saw before her. The monster reminded her so much of Ogre that she feared what it could do to her and her family, especially with the level of intelligence the creature seemed to possess. The thought of Emily being held as a captive like she had been was a thought Kate couldn’t bear. Regardless of what this monster meant, Kate had been about to kill it, then her daughter reached out to her. Emily told her and Chris about how all the work she had put into forming a relationship with Ramrod had paid off. How a monster with the intelligence of a farm animal had saved her, Sean, and likely the entire settlement from a giant rat attack while she and Chris were out with Steel Samurai 2.0.

Were it not for Emily’s work with Ramrod, Kate’s children and the entire settlement would have been wiped out. Kate took a deep breath and looked over at Chris. “We have to come to terms with the fact that this won’t always be our world. Emily, Kyle, Sean and the generation following us are coming into their own. Today Emily relayed proof to us that there are certain kaiju that people can live in conjunction with and that can help to protect us from greater threats.” She pointed to Gurral, “Maybe this monster can be a link to helping protect us, not only now but in the generations to come.”

Chris’ face grew red with anger. “He’s a monster! A smart monster that could kill us all! Ramrod is a different story! For one, he’s a dumb animal that Emily was able to feed, and because of that he protected the hand that feeds him! That’s all! We don’t know if the attack had come from another direction or had Emily not been right there that he would have come running in to save the day!”

He pointed toward Gurral. “Our entire settlement was nearly taken out by giant rats today! Stupid giant rats! Did you see that monster use a weapon! Aside from being able to talk, he can use advanced weapons, not just rocks and trees! If we don’t kill him now when we might catch him by surprise, he’ll represent an ongoing threat to us and everyone we love.”

Kate began to cry as she screamed back at her husband. “Like how everyone we love was almost killed today? Like how they would have been killed if not for Emily’s work with Ramrod because we weren’t there with our mech to save them?” She gestured to the interior of Steel Samurai 2.0. “Like how when this mech is damaged beyond repair and we can’t fight off giant mutants and kaiju anymore?”

She shook her head. “Chris, me, you and Steel Samurai, we’re just a band-aid when it comes to protecting what’s left of our species. Neither the two of us nor this mech will last forever. Hell, every fight we go into could be our mech’s last battle. Then what happens to Emily, Kyle and everyone else? We need to find a new method to protect ourselves, Chris. We need to adapt as a species if we are going to survive.”

Chris was silent as what Kate said was sinking in. Seeing that she was getting to him, she reached over and grabbed his hand. “You said that this monster reminded you of Yokozuna. Do you remember what you once told me about why you hated that giant so much? You said that only if his mind was able to handle the strain of being turned into a monster, that if it had maintained his human intelligence, that maybe he could have helped you in defending humanity from the monsters.”

Kate looked back at Gurral. “What if that monster is what you wanted Yokozuna to be? What if he’s a monster with human intelligence that can help protect us? What if he’s the first in a group of kaiju that we can live with? What if he’s not what people from our generation see when we look at kaiju? What if he’s not an engine of pure destruction and death? What if he’s what Emily, Sean and Kyle see when they look at some of the kaiju? What if he’s hope for the future? A way for them to survive?”

She pleaded with her husband. “Chris, stay in the air. Keep us at a safe distance, but try to reach out to that creature. I know it’s hard for you.” Her body shook again. “With my past with Ogre it’s hard for me too, but for our children, for our future grandchildren, we have to be open to finding new ways to protect them. You saved this generation of humanity from extinction when you first drew the kaiju into each other’s territory. If you want to save those that come after us from going extinct, this could be our best chance.”

Chris sighed. “Okay, you’ve convinced me.” He reached for the exterior speakers. “You do the talking though. Obviously, you’re way better at that type of thing than I am.”

Kate nodded as Chris turned on the exterior speakers with Gurral standing directly below the hovering mech.

Chapter 15

Mexican Coast fifty Kilometers South of Gurral and Steel Samurai 2.0

Atomic Rex growled as he exited the ocean and headed toward shore. He was sure that the two other alpha monsters he could sense within his territory had battled and that one of them had fallen. As he drew closer to the creature who was left standing, the nuclear theropod could sense more about the invading monster. Atomic Rex was certain that the monster was not of this world. The nuclear theropod had encountered creatures that he could tell were not of his world before. He knew that creatures from other worlds held certain powers that the organisms of his Earth did not possess.

The saurian beast recalled when he was somehow placed on another world. He battled several strange creatures on that planet, including the Phoenix. Even Atomic Rex’s primitive mind understood that it was absorbing the power of the Phoenix that had cured him of dependency on absorbing radiation. Taking the power of the Phoenix had given Atomic Rex a seemingly inexhaustible supply of power. He was now able to utilize his deadly Atomic Wave attack as often as he wanted without having to fear expelling too much of the radiation that he depended on to sustain him. Defeating and devouring the Phoenix had dramatically increased Atomic Rex’s power and his ability to defend and dominate his territory.

The kaiju realized that if this invading monster was from another world, that it too could possess power he had never seen before, power that he could potentially absorb into himself. Aside from his desire to drive this creature from his territory, Atomic Rex now had additional motivation to slay the beast who was killing prey in his domain.

Atomic Rex knew that he was close to the invader. He also knew that he had used a good deal of energy swimming up from South America and battling that pod. While the nuclear energy required to power the monster’s cells was now energized by the perpetual power of the Phoenix, Atomic Rex still needed to eat. It was this drive that caused Atomic Rex to come ashore just south of the location of the invader. The nuclear theropod knew that if it was to attack the invader on an empty stomach and without rest, that he would be fighting the creature at a disadvantage.

The kaiju had every intention of slaying the invader and taking whatever power the monster possessed.

To maximize his chances of success, the kaiju knew that he needed food and then rest. He also knew he could find both of those things in this stretch of land. The kaiju was standing in the harbor of what had at one point been a small town in Mexico. When the monster moved ashore, the sun was at its apex as it hung in the sky over him and silhouetted his body in its blinding glow.

As Atomic Rex made his way through his territory, he had learned that there were certain spots where he could find abundant food. This town was one of those places. The kaiju stepped ashore, lifted his head into the sky, and unleashed a challenge in the form of a roar that shook the ground for several meters around the monster and could be heard for dozens of kilometers above the seemingly abandoned town.

The monster’s roar echoed across the abandoned buildings, and as it reached the outskirts of the town, a reply came back in the form of a deep and vicious barking. Atomic Rex growled as he stepped farther onto the land. The reason that the kaiju favored this particular town is because it was one of the few places where prey came to him instead of him needing to hunt it down.

The saurian monster sniffed the air and then quickly shifted his head to the left to see a thirty meter high and forty meter long pit bull that came to a stop a few hundred meters short of him. Drool flew from the horrific beast’s jaws and blood leaked from various cuts and tears along its body as the beast barked and snarled. In several places, the dog’s skin had been peeled away from the dramatic changes made to its body to reveal the thick muscle hiding beneath it.

Prior to the dawn of the kaiju, the town Atomic Rex was standing in was steeped in illegal dog fighting. Dozens of dogs killed each other on a daily basis for the entertainment and financial gain of the humans who lived there. When the kaiju first moved through the small town, the radiation given off by the monsters infected the dogs as well as their food supply.

Within a few weeks of being exposed to radiation, the dogs in the town began to grow into giant mutants. When they attained kaiju sized proportions, the dogs that had once been forced to fight to the death by their masters, turned on the people who trained them. The entire human population of the town had been eaten by the dogs they had once treated so cruelly. Since the death of the humans, the remaining mutant dogs had become feral.

The giant dogs still fought each other but unlike before, they didn’t fight for the pleasure of humans, rather they fought for dominance. They fought for territory, food, and breeding rights.  At any given point, one dog would emerge as the alpha male. This creature would rule over the town and attack any other creature that had wandered into it.

On three previous occasions, the radioactive leviathan had come to shore in this town only to have the current alpha dog run out and attack him. On all three occasions, Atomic Rex defeated the creature and feasted on its remains. After he returned to the ocean, the remaining dogs would come out of hiding and establish who would be the new alpha in the area.

The current alpha stood before Atomic Rex and the deformed beast was warning the reptilian horror to return to the sea and leave his territory. In reply to the pit bull’s threats, Atomic Rex responded with a roar which indicated to the dog that this was his domain and that he would slay any who challenged his supremacy. With the challenge given and accepted, the two monsters charged each other.

When the mutant pit bull was only a few steps away from Atomic Rex, the canine leapt at the kaiju and wrapped his front paws around the reptile. In return, Atomic Rex latched his claws onto the mammal’s back. The two creatures were a blur of violence as they clawed and bit one another. A mix of irritated blood and saliva showered the small houses below them as Atomic Rex and the mutant dog tore into each other.

Despite its thick claws and powerful jaws, the alpha dog was barely able to pierce the thick carapace on Atomic Rex’s back and shoulders. Conversely, Atomic Rex’s claws were able to tear deep gashes into the pit bull’s already damaged hide. The nuclear theropod dug his claws into his prey’s skin and then he used them to slice through the mutant’s body until he was able to latch onto the dog’s ribcage. With the canine firmly in his grip, Atomic Rex used the most powerful jaws on the planet to bite into the mutant’s shoulder and tear out a mouthful of delicious flesh.

The pit bull ignored the mortal wound and continued to try and find a spot on the reptilian beast that he could attack. The dog moved his mouth from Atomic Rex’s shoulder and went for the saurian monster’s jugular. In order to protect his neck, the radioactive leviathan released his grip on the mutant’s ribs and tossed his opponent to the ground.

The giant pit bull crashed into several nearby small houses, crushing them under his weight. In a display of incredible tenacity and agility, the mutant immediately sprung up after hitting the ground and threw itself back at Atomic Rex.

Having fought and slain several alpha mutant pit bulls prior to this one, Atomic Rex was fully aware of what the dog would do after he threw it to the ground. As soon as Atomic Rex started the motion of tossing the giant canine to the ground, he continued forward with his momentum and spun his body around. As the mutant was in mid-leap back toward him, Atomic Rex completed his turn and sent his thick tail crashing into the dog, once more knocking it down.

This time when it hit the ground the mammalian horror rolled over several times to put some distance between himself and Atomic Rex before regaining his feet. As the dog stood up, blood gushed out the wound on its shoulder. The crimson liquid streamed down the mutant’s leg and paw, creating a small pond of blood at his feet. Severed strands of muscle tissue and pieces of bone hung loosely from the bloody gashes on the dog’s side as the alpha canine eyed his enemy.

The dog barked at Atomic Rex as the kaiju moved toward him. The pit bull’s eyes were fixed on the small wounds he had created on Atomic Rex with his attack. The beast was looking for a weak spot that he could exploit on the leviathan. The dog took a step back in confusion when he saw the wounds on Atomic Rex healing almost instantly as a result of the nuclear energy in the kaiju’s body hyper accelerating his healing abilities.

Seeing that the dog was injured, Atomic Rex stalked closer to his prey. Before he reached the canine, the injured pit bull lunged forward and sank his teeth into Atomic Rex’s right shin. The beast then immediately pulled back on the kaiju’s leg. The move caused the saurian creature to tumble onto his back.

Atomic Rex crashed into the ground back first and then he looked up to see the canine leaping toward him. Just before the dog landed on the nuclear theropod, Atomic Rex lashed out with his right foot and used his claws to slash open the dog’s stomach. The mutant yelped in pain as the claws on Atomic Rex’s foot latched onto his intestines and ripped them out of his body.

The mutant dog was still alive as it came crashing down into the street next to Atomic Rex. The gargantuan canine had just enough time to shift its eyes up and see the open jaws of Atomic Rex coming toward it. The Leviathan sank his teeth into the pit bull’s skull and then he tore it off. The kaiju tossed the creature’s decapitated head aside and then he feasted on its remains.

Once his hunger was satisfied, Atomic Rex returned to the beach to rest while his body healed itself from his battle with the alpha dog. With his stomach full and his body healed and rested, Atomic Rex would be ready the following day to defend his territory from this new kaiju.

As Atomic Rex closed his eyes, he could hear the remaining mutant pit bulls fighting over who would succeed the creature he had just defeated as the ruler of the small town and as his future meal.

Chapter 16

Beach of Southern Mexico

Kate sat in silence for roughly a minute but it seemed more like an eternity to her, as she stared down at the burly kaiju standing on the beach below her. Her heart was racing as she kept telling herself that this creature was not Ogre.

She took a deep breath as her mind swirled with thoughts about how what she was about to say could impact the lives of everyone she cared about. She wondered if this creature was the living nightmare she feared it could be, was it the dream scenario Emily envisioned, or was this monster one of the thousands of possibilities between those two extremes? Kate was still thinking of what to say when the monster took a step closer to the hovering Steel Samurai 2.0.

Gurral was getting tired of looking at the floating mech and waiting for it to do something. He sighed and moved toward the mech. “I don’t know what you’re after, but if you’re not gonna fight me, and you’re not gonna lead me to ol’ Rexy, then I’m gonna have a snack and a rest.”

Kate and Chris both looked at each other as their eyes went wide. Chris momentarily switched off the external speakers. “Rexy? Is that thing actively looking for Atomic Rex? Does he want to challenge Atomic Rex for this territory?”

Kate shook her head. “I don’t know. What I do know is that to find out I need to get over my own concerns and start acting like a leader instead of sitting here like a confused coward.”

Kate turned back on the external speakers. “Hello, my name is Kate Myers and this mech is known as Steel Samurai 2.0. I am inside the mech with my husband, Chris. We have no desire to fight you. We only want to talk to you. We just want to know the answers to questions like who you are and what you are doing here.”

The Smasher shrugged. “Name’s Gurral. I fight for the Arena Lords. I’m here to catch Atomic Rex, and bring him back to fight on Arena World.”

Kate was once more taken aback by Gurral’s statements. She turned off the external speakers and looked over at Chris. “He’s from Arena World? So, he’s some kind of alien or something and he wants to use Atomic Rex to fight in some kind of gladiator style arena?”

She shook her head. “That’s not something I was expecting. I mean that opens up literally more than a world of new questions.”

Chris sat in silence for a minute as what Gurral said ran through his mind. For a moment he was tense, then his body seemed to relax as a wave of tension seemed to roll off his body. He smiled as he looked at Kate. “He’s here to take Atomic Rex off the planet.” He shook his head as his smile grew even larger. “Gurral is exactly what Emily’s been hoping for! He’s a monster that can help protect us from the kaiju! He can take Atomic Rex off to a place where he’s no longer a threat to us!”

Chris shrugged. “Hell, maybe we can set up some kind of arrangement where he can pick up other monsters near the settlement and take them off world too!” Chris shook his head. “Kate, that alien monster could be it! He could be the long term answer we’ve talked about! If he is what he says he is, then we no longer have to worry about using Steel Samurai 2.0 to protect the settlement. We can just live out our lives and enjoy ourselves, enjoy each other, enjoy our children and future grandchildren!”

Kate’s heart sank as she listened to her husband. She knew what removing Atomic Rex from their lives would mean to him. While Atomic Rex had never physically held Chris captive like Ogre had done to her, the nuclear theropod still held Chris’ mind in his clutches. As long as Atomic Rex was still alive, Chris would never feel that he and everyone he loved was safe. The monster had taken so much from Chris that he always feared one day it would come and take more.

Chris’ fear was only compounded by the fact that, even when Steel Samurai and Chris himself were in their prime, they had never been able to defeat Atomic Rex. Kate knew that Chris’ greatest fear was that one day Atomic Rex would show up at the settlement. That he would be unable to stop the monster from killing everyone he loved and leaving the human race in ruins.

She also knew that Chris unfairly blamed himself for not being able to save his fellow pilots and complete his mission to stop Atomic Rex when the monster first entered North America. In many ways, Atomic Rex was Chris’ own personal demon.

Kate was also aware that over the years, Chris had come to terms with the fact that, were it not for Atomic Rex, the two of them never would have met, that they never would have had their children. In destroying the old world and ruining Chris' life, the monster had also paved the path for Chris to find the greatest joys in his new life.

This cognitive dissonance befuddled her husband. He wanted Atomic Rex gone but he did not necessarily want the monster dead. Gurral’s stated plan of action would solve all of Chris’ Atomic Rex issues in one fell swoop.

Before Kate had a chance to respond to her husband, he continued his excited thoughts. “Think of it, Kate! That monster could be the key to a world where we no longer have to live with the threat of Atomic Rex attacking always looming over us! I mean, what does Atomic Rex do here anyway but fight other monsters, kill them, and eat them. He’ll be able to do exactly what he likes to do without being a threat to us or the kids!”

It almost broke Kate’s heart to tamp down her husband’s enthusiasm. She knew what ridding himself of Atomic Rex would mean to him and honestly to her and what remained of the human race. However, in her years of leadership of the settlement, Kate had learned to be careful when an offer seemed too good to be true.

She leaned over toward her soulmate. “Chris, on the surface the idea of just shipping off Atomic Rex seems like a dream come true, but take a moment and think about what this talking monster, and remember the word monster, is saying. He seems to be claiming to be an alien from another world who is capturing Atomic Rex to fight like a gladiator on some Arena World. Now, I’m with you, this Gurral could still be the new path forward we are looking for but we need to slow down in dealing with him. We still need more answers. Answers to questions like, are aliens who use monsters to fight to the death for entertainment the type of creatures we want to deal with?”

Kate could see the anger building in Chris at the merest suggestion of not immediately agreeing to what Gurral wanted to do. Chris threw his hands up in anger. “Kate, getting monsters to fight each other is exactly what I did when we used Atomic Rex to take out the other monsters in North America! It’s exactly what you just praised Emily for doing with Ramrod! It’s exactly what we would be doing here! We would be having monsters kill each other instead of killing us! How can you even be considering this to be a question?”

Kate grabbed her husband’s hand to try and calm him down. “Chris, there is a difference between you acting to help save the lives of other people by drawing monsters into each other’s territory to kill each other off and using monsters to fight for entertainment. Not that I’m advocating for kaiju conservation or anything but again we have to ask ourselves what kind of creature are we dealing with in Gurral? Are kaiju the only thing he wants for his arena or are humans things he would want fighting in there as well? Because if he does, we need a plan to battle something like him right now.”

On the beach below Steel Samurai 2.0, Gurral’s typically thin patience had almost been worn out. He shouted up at the mech, “Look, are you going to say anything else or can I start eating and finally have some dust?”

Kate turned the external speakers back on. “Our apologies. The idea of you being from another planet caught us off guard.” Kate took a deep breath. “To be clear on what you’ve said so far, you are from another planet, and you are here to collect Atomic Rex to fight in an arena for you?”

Gurral nodded and replied with marked frustration in his voice, “Yeah, that’s the job.” He looked at the dead sharks he had planned to eat prior to Hagan’s arrival. “I’m going to eat now, you can keep asking me questions but you had better make them quick. Once I get some dust in my system, I tend to drift off a bit.”

As Gurral was walking over toward the dead sharks, Chris called out to him, “Did you say that you eat dust? Like you live off sand and dirt floating in the air?”

Gurral shook his head. “Have you tried eating dirt and sand?” He pointed to the dead sharks. “I eat meat like what’s on those sharks.” Gurral pointed to the bag attached to the strap on his hip. “The dust I’m talkin’ about is Impervium dust, and I put it on meat because it makes me feel good.”

Chris floated Steel Samurai 2.0 over toward the dead fish.

Kate put her hands into the air in confusion. “What are you doing?”

Chris smiled. “I may not be the diplomat you are but one thing I am is a warrior.” He gestured toward Gurral. “From the look in that monster’s eyes, so is he.” Chris shrugged. “If we want answers, we need to convince that thing we’re friends and the best way to get on a warrior’s good side is to offer him a hot meal.”

Chris then had the robot point its finger at the dead fish. “Do you want those sharks cooked? We can use the rockets on the mech’s feet to hover over the sharks and roast them for you.”

Gurral smiled and nodded. “Yeah, some cooked food would taste pretty good right about now.”

Chris once again turned off the exterior speakers as he talked to his wife. “Okay, I’ve made a gesture of good faith and bought us some time before he takes that dust or whatever and ‘drifts off’ like he said. Now’s your chance to get some answers from him.”

He looked his wife directly in her eyes and spoke with as much conviction as Kate had ever heard him use in all their time together. “Kate, no matter what Gurral really wants, even if there is a chance that he wants every human left here to fight in his arena, before we do anything, we let him get Atomic Rex off the planet, agreed?”

Kate took a deep breath as Chris turned up the thrusters on Steel Samurai 2.0’s foot boosters to cook the sharks. “Chris, you know the saying about the devil you know and the devil you don’t know, right?”

Chris nodded. “I do. I also know that Atomic Rex is a devil we can’t beat. I don’t know if we could take Gurral or not if we had to. What I do know is that we can talk to Gurral, and maybe we can reason or barter with him.” He shrugged, “Hell, we can even try begging if we want to, but we can’t do any of those things with Atomic Rex. When it comes to him, all we can do is hope he stays away or that we can escape our next encounter.”

Kate kissed her husband. “I know you don’t think you’re as smart as me, but sometimes you say the most profound and well thought out things I’ve ever heard.”

She turned back on the speakers. “So, Gurral, we can help you find Atomic Rex. He’s a danger to us and we do our best to keep track of him. If we help you find Atomic Rex, how do you plan to catch him and take him back to your home planet?”

Gurral pointed to the taser strapped to his chest. “I got a thing here to shock ol’ Rexy and knock him out.” He then shifted his finger to the portal device. “Then this thing opens a portal back to my home dimension. I figure I toss Rexy in, and then he’s the Arena Lords’ new champion.”

Kate’s eyes went wide when she heard the term Arena Lords. She took a deep breath to calm herself and then she continued. “So, you work as a trapper for these Arena Lords and they sent you here to get Atomic Rex and other monsters to fight in their arena?”

Gurral nodded. “Yeah, I work for them but I’m no hunter, at least not usually. I’m a gladiator.” He smiled. “Not just any gladiator. I’m the Arena champion. Most days I fight monsters and get paid in food and the dust, but this one Arena Lord says if I bring them Atomic Rex, I can quit. They’ll keep giving me food and dust, and I can just lay back and watch other things fight.” He looked at the sharks roasting beneath the giant mech. “Are those sharks about done?”

Kate made an upward gesture with her hand. Chris nodded and had the mech rise several meters in the air so it would still roast the sharks but slow down the process a bit.

Kate talked back into the speakers. “They’re almost done. You said your home dimension. Does that mean you’re not just from another planet but an entirely different dimension?”

Gurral shrugged. “That’s what the Arena Lord told me.” He took the dimensional portal generator off his strap and activated it. A bright blue vortex suddenly appeared and through it, Chris and Kate could see what was clearly an alien world.

Kate whispered, “The portal Kyle saw on the radar both when Gurral appeared and Atomic Rex disappeared and reappeared a while ago.”

Gurral turned off the portal generator, causing the vortex to dissipate. He then gestured to the sharks. “I think those things are ready, I don’t like my meat burnt to a crisp.”

Chris flew the mech higher into the sky as Gurral opened his bag of dust and sprinkled a pinch full of it over the cooked meat.

As Gurral was preparing his food, Kate continued to question him. “That portal you showed us. It’s how you got here, right?”

Gurral nodded as he sat down on the beach, picked up the first shark, and brought it to his mouth.

“We know you’re here for Atomic Rex. Did you use one of those portals to capture him before?”

Gurral shook his head. “Nope. I never heard of Rexy before a few days ago when that Arena Lord showed up and offered me retirement.”

Kate returned to one of her previous questions that had gone unanswered. “So far, you’ve only said these Arena Lords want Atomic Rex. Do they want any other monsters or anything else?”

Gurral slurped down a large piece of shark and then shook his head. “Nope, Rexy is the only monster they told me to get.” He gestured to the small hover-bots still floating around him. “I can take out other monsters on the way though. These things are sending the feed of everything I do back to Arena World. The Arena Lord said that if I fought other monsters when I got here, it’d be good for the crowds and it’d get Rexy to notice me and come calling.”

Chris watched Gurral closely as the monster ate. He could see the Smasher’s eyes starting to flutter and he watched the beast’s movements slow down. With all his years in the military, Chris had seen plenty of people rely on various narcotics to take their minds off all the horrors they had seen. He knew the effects of a drug when he saw it.

Chris leaned over to Kate. “Whatever that Impervium dust is, I’m pretty sure he’s getting high off it. He wasn’t lying about drifting off. Keep asking him questions, if he’s not being honest with us already, he might be more honest before he’s too far gone to talk to us.”

Kate nodded. “Gurral, if you capture Atomic Rex, will you or the Arena Lords ever come back to this planet?”

Gurral shrugged. “I won’t be back if I can help it. I doubt the Arena Lords would either. This whole dimension hopping thing isn’t their usual style.”

As Gurral talked, Chris stared at the monster and contemplated the similarities between the two of them. Both he and Gurral had spent their lives fighting monsters. Chris knew what a life like that could do to someone. Before he met Kate and fell in love, Chris was in a deep depression. Had he not met Kate, he could have easily seen himself descending into a drug addiction to escape the horrors of his life.

That wasn’t the only comparison Chris could make between himself and Gurral. Chris’ original mission when he first piloted Steel Samurai was to stop Atomic Rex. Gurral’s current mission was to capture Atomic Rex. Either way, both Chris and Gurral had been given the nearly impossible tasks of stopping a force of nature.

Chris turned to Kate. “Believe it or not, I think I can relate to this guy.” He shrugged. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think we can make friends with Gurral. I think I can get him to trust us.” He shook his head. “What would Emily say if she could see her dad now?”

Kate smiled. “She would say how proud of you she is. Just like I am.”

Chris gestured toward the clearly drowsy Gurral. “I’m going to land us close to him and move in a little closer. There’s one thing all warriors can form a bond over.”

Kate shrugged. “What’s that?”

Chris grinned. “War stories.” He landed the mech a few meters away from Gurral. He then had the mech gesture toward Hagan’s corpse. “That was pretty impressive how you took out that monster. You say you’re a champion gladiator where you’re from?”

A proud smile formed on Gurral’s face. “Yup. I’ve taken out all kinds of things that would make ole horn-head here run away with his tail between his legs.”

Chris nodded inside of the mech. “I’ve taken out quite a few beasts in my day too. You care to exchange a few stories?”

Gurral smiled and nodded. As Gurral finished his meal, he told Chris about battles with creatures he referred to with names like Bananas, Legs, and Death-Breath. Chris enthralled the Smasher with his tales of using Steel Samurai to battle the likes of the Colony, Yokozuna, and how he fought Ogre and met Kate.

As the soldier and the gladiator exchanged stories, they both listened and laughed to each other’s battles. Kate was amazed at how relaxed Gurral became between the dust and the bond he seemed to be forming with Chris. As Chris and Gurral talked, Kate was able to throw in the occasional question that allowed her to find out the answers to questions like how Gurral was able to speak and understand English. She also learned as much as she could about Arena World and the Arena Lords.

While Gurral’s description of the Arena Lords and their methods led her to the determination that they were horrible creatures, she was becoming more reassured that they only wanted Atomic Rex. Kate’s only concern was that the one Arena Lord, the one who sent Gurral to Earth, seemed to act incongruently with the way Gurral described the rest of the Arena Lords. She also confirmed Chris’ inclination about the Impervium dust acting as an additive drug for Gurral.

As much as Kate was interested in Gurral’s background and motives, she was almost as interested in the way he and Chris were talking to each other. Kate had known Chris for more than half her life, and other than herself and their kids, she had never really seen Chris relate to anyone else. She knew that when Chris’ friends died fighting Atomic Rex it hit him hard but she could never really empathize with him over the loss. She never knew his fellow pilots and she didn’t understand what bonded Chris to them.

As Chris talked and on occasion laughed with Gurral, something occurred to Kate about her husband that she had never considered before. Chris was a warrior, a soldier, a fighter, and he was the only one of his kind left on Earth. Kate had gone on numerous missions with Chris and she fought every day for survival when she was with Ogre, but she had a life outside of the military before that.

There had been a time in her life when she was just a girl with friends, a job, and a life. After Chris had rescued her from Ogre, she was able to fall back on those skills and form other friendships.

Chris had joined the Air Force right out of high school. The only people he knew how to be friends with were other soldiers, other warriors. Like many men and women who left what used to be the military, Chris was having difficulty adjusting to the world outside of the armed forces, but for Chris there were no support groups or other veterans he could express himself to.

Kate knew that she understood Chris because of all the trauma she had been through, but for Chris there was no one else. She knew that this pain and sense of loneliness is what drove her husband to hate Atomic Rex and all the kaiju. In Chris’ eyes, the kaiju had left him nearly alone in the world.

Despite this pain, Chris still had a need for friends, for people he could relate to. Kate was almost shocked to see that Chris’ need for this type of interaction was so great that he would take it from anywhere, even from a monster.

After she had gotten all of the information she wanted from Gurral, she sat back and let Chris and the strange behemoth talk. The two kept going over their past battles until Gurral finally drifted off to sleep.

With Gurral asleep, Chris turned to Kate with a big smile on his face. “I can’t believe it, Kate. It’s like Gurral is a gift from God. I mean, he can get rid of Atomic Rex for us!”

Kate smiled at her husband. “I know, baby. I know. I already sent a message to Kyle to see if he can find Atomic Rex and give us a heads up as to his location. Whoever this Arena Lord is that sent Gurral here seems to have a pretty good understanding of Atomic Rex. With another apex kaiju in his territory, Atomic Rex is sure to come and challenge him, especially with Gurral killing other monsters. He’s basically calling Atomic Rex out. When he finds Gurral, he’s going to be pissed.”

She looked out over the ocean. “I think you’re right about that dust being like a drug for Gurral. You and I need some sleep. Can you take Steel Samurai 2.0 into the ocean and park him there? If Gurral is like human drug users, he may wake up in a violent mood and we don’t want to be asleep when that happens.”

Chris nodded. “Good idea. Set the radar alarm so we get notice if Atomic Rex or any other monster gets too close.”

Chris smiled as he piloted the giant robot over the ocean. “Did you hear Gurral when he was talking about that Bananas monster? I mean, did that remind you of our encounter with Yetiaju or what?”

Kate simply nodded in reply and let Chris ramble on. He talked about Gurral for nearly an hour before Kate convinced him that they needed to go to bed and get some rest. As she turned off the light, Kate smiled and silently thanked Gurral for giving her husband someone he could relate to.

Chapter 17

The Settlement, California

Kyle woke to the sound of rain pouring outside his window. He sighed as he knew the rain would limit the power he could get to his computer. The few solar panels that were still operational would have diminished capacity with the overcast clouds. The young man briefly stuck his hand out the window to feel that at least the wind was blowing fairly hard. He shrugged. “Well at least the wind has picked up. Hopefully, the windmills up north can compensate for the lack of sunlight today.”

He hit the power to his computer. The teenager was happy to see that it had turned on. Once the computer was running, he managed to connect to the internet. He shifted his head to the side which elicited a loud crack. He then shifted his head in the opposite direction to the same effect. He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to shake off the weariness that was plaguing him as he grumbled to himself. “Stupid Emily coming over last night to talk to mom and dad about Rarmod and those dumb rats. You’d think she herself had just saved the world the way she was talking about that dumb sheep.”

He shrugged. “She just had to contact mom and dad and tell them what happened. After of course she seemingly told everyone in the settlement, on her way over here. I mean, did a dozen other people have to follow her around and then hang around outside the house just to hear her tell the story again and to talk about her wedding? It took forever for me to get them to go home so I could finally get some sleep.”

Kyle sighed and then began accessing whatever satellites he could tap into that were positioned around his parents’ last known position. He was moving through various images of oceans, beaches, and jungles when there was a knock on his door. He looked to the door and groaned. “What kind of an idiot would be walking around in a downpour like this?”

The wiry teenager answered the door to see his older sister standing in the rain with a cart attached to a horse behind her.

Emily smiled at her little brother. “Hey, Kyle. I was hoping you would be able to come with me on my way out to feed Ramrod today.” She gestured to the rain. “With it raining this hard, Sean is busy trying to set up whatever he can to catch it and hold onto it in case we run into another drought.”

Emily politely pushed past her brother to make her way into the house and out of the rain. She took off her dripping wet coat. “I don’t usually mind doing the run myself but with the rain coming down so heavily, I worried about the cart getting stuck in the mud and me not being able to free it by myself.”

Kyle groaned. “Can’t you just have the great Ramrod himself pull it out for you? Or better yet have some of the legions of fans go with you to help you out.” He sneered. “You know you’re not the only one with important things going on around here. Mom and dad found a monster that had come out of the portal I found. He can actually speak English and apparently, he wants to take Atomic Rex off world. They think that stupid lizard may be drawn toward this guy and they asked me to see if I could use the satellites we have managed to access in order to find him before his nuclear ass shows up unannounced. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll work on helping mom and dad rid the world of its biggest threat, while you feed your pet goat and take care of any more pest problems.”

As Kyle turned and walked away from his sister, Emily stood there dripping wet and saddened. Emily wasn’t upset at her brother’s outburst, rather she was concerned that her brother was feeling so hurt and insecure. Like her mother, Emily always considered others’ feelings before her own. Also like her mother, she was a born leader and diplomat. She knew when to be stern and forceful and when someone just needed to vent their frustrations.

Just before Kyle sat down at his computer, Emily grabbed his hand. “Kyle, I’m sorry if I made you feel somehow underappreciated lately. I have always valued your skills and what you can do.” She looked at the computer. “You’ve taken the time to figure that thing out and reached satellites that I can barely understand.”

She gestured for her brother to sit down and then pulled over a chair to sit next to him. She looked him in the eyes and continued. “I don’t mean to be over exuberant about Ramrod. It’s just that I know that mom and dad only see the kaiju as things that bring death and destruction. They see them as a force that has to be dealt with and kept at bay. Dad’s a bit more vocal with his thoughts on Ramrod and other monsters but I can see in mom’s eyes that she thinks he’s nothing but a danger as well.”

She took a deep breath. “I know, and I’m pretty sure you do too, that the kaiju aren’t going away. As we go forward, we’re going to have to live with them. That’s why I’ve worked so hard with Ramrod over the past few years. I just want to show them that it’s possible to find ways to live with the kaiju. I want them to see that if we can’t live with the monsters then we are going to end up destroyed by them like they fear.” She shook her head. “When I had that brief success yesterday with Ramrod, I couldn’t wait to tell them. I wanted them to know that there was some merit to my ideas.”

Emily leaned over and hugged her brother. “I didn’t mean to brag and make you feel inferior or anything. I was just trying to make sure mom and dad knew I did something worthwhile and that there was hope for our generation.”

She leaned back and shook her head. “I’m also sorry about all those people. It’s just the whole town seems to be excited about me and Sean getting married. I love Sean and I’m thrilled to be his wife but I don’t understand why it means so much to everyone else. I’m glad they're happy but it’s just a ceremony. It's not like we found a new power source or something to help make our lives better.”

Kyle looked down at the floor. “Emily, there’s nothing for you to apologize for. I’m just being an ass.” He shrugged. “I don't know how you don’t see it, but everyone here, everyone in the settlement, loves you. You’re like one of the princesses in those, what did mom used to call them? Disney fairytales she used to tell us about when we were kids. I mean, you walk around helping the town out with all their problems, you’re getting married to the guy who provides food for everyone, you help mom with running the town.”

Kyle laughed. “Heck, after working with Ramrod to the point where he saved you, you’re literally Beauty to his Beast.” Kyle looked down at the floor. “Sometimes it’s tough being your brother. I feel like I can’t live up to everything you’ve done. I mean, the people here love you. Mom and dad are so freaking proud of you they practically explode whenever they talk about you. That’s why everyone is so excited for your wedding. All those people, mom and dad included, grew up with fairy tales where a dragon ruined a town and things got better when a young princess was married and ushered in a new era. Don’t you get it? To them you are a living breathing hero from the stories they were told as kids. To them you are hope for the future.”

He shrugged. “Who am I? The guy who knows how to use a piece of technology from a world that no longer exists? The little brother of the princess who everyone adores?”

Emily grabbed her brother’s hand again. “You’re the guy who was smart enough to understand what all of those people see in me. You’re the guy who, if people really do look at me the way you just described, I’m going to need to help me be aware of and live up to their expectations. You’re the guy who has figured out how to track monsters when no one else could. You’re the guy who mom and dad always glow about when they are talking to me.” She smiled. “Most importantly, you’re my brother and my hero. You’re also the guy who after you show me how to access those satellites so we can help out mom and dad is going to go out in the pouring rain to help me feed my giant pet goat.”

Kyle smiled. “Of course, I am.”

Emily nodded. “Good. Now that you’ve agreed to helping me, I want you to know that despite all that I just said, you are also still a massive dork.” The two of them laughed.

Kyle laughed. “And you’re a total ditz.” They both laughed again and shared a quick hug. Kyle then turned to his computer and began walking Emily through how to access the images from the various satellites he had managed to access.

Kyle and Emily searched through numerous images of jungles, mountains, and the water between South America and Mexico. After searching for nearly an hour, Kyle’s eyes went wide and his mouth dropped.

Emily gave her brother a concerned look. “What is it?”

Kyle pointed to a stretch of ocean with what looked like a red blue dot on it. “That dot, it's a thermal picture. It’s showing a really hot anomaly moving through the water.” He shook his head, “I’ve seen this before; the only thing that shows up that hot in the ocean is Atomic Rex and he’s less than two kilometers from Steel Samurai’s 2.0 current position. He’s also heading their way!”

Emily ran to the HAM Radio, “Mom, Dad, come in! Atomic Rex is less than two kilometers from you and he’s heading directly for you!”

Chapter 18

Beach of Southern Mexico

Gurral was awoken by the bright sun shining on his face. The arena champion groaned. “Ugh, I miss my dark room back home.” The burly creature stood up and stretched his arms as he glanced in the direction of the sun. He raised his hands up as he questioned the star. “How does anyone manage to get any sleep with you shining so damn much all the time?”

The Smasher stood up and looked around the beach to see that, aside from the Arena Lord’s drones hovering around him, he was alone. He sighed. “Huh, I wonder where the little guy in the robot went. He was all right.” The behemoth looked down at the ground. “Not too many others back home I can swap fight stories with.”

Gurral shrugged. “Well, he said he wanted to help me find ol’ Rexy. Maybe he’ll be back soon, help me find that toothy lizard, and then I can start my retirement.”

Off the coast from where Gurral had just woken up, Chris and Kate were sleeping in the small living quarters of Steel Samurai 2.0. The living quarters consisted of a bed and a washroom with a sink, shower, and toilet. Chris had been up late the previous night talking to Kate about Gurral and how he really thought the alien creature could finally free them of Atomic Rex. After two hours’ worth of the conversation, Kate convinced her husband that they needed some sleep in order to help the intelligent kaiju with his mission.

As a result of being awake for so long, Chris and Kate had slept much later than they typically would have. The husband and wife were awoken by two loud noises, one following right after the other. The first noise to shatter the peaceful morning was the radar giving off a proximity alarm that something large was approaching.

Chris and Kate both sprung out of bed at the sound of the alarm and were running to the cockpit of their mech. They had almost reached the cockpit when Emily’s voice came booming over the HAM radio, screaming at them that Atomic Rex was closing in quickly on their position.

As Chris strapped himself into his pilot’s seat, he looked through Steel Samurai's eyes to see a bright glowing object moving through the water toward them. As Atomic Rex swam closer to the robot, Chris just stared at the oncoming kaiju.

Emily was still screaming over the radio at her parents as Kate strapped herself into her pilot’s chair. Once she was secured in her chair, she grabbed the HAM Radio. “Emily, we copy you. We are taking evasive actions. We will reestablish contact when we are no longer engaged with Atomic Rex.”

When the radioactive leviathan had gotten close enough to see the saurian monster’s eyes, Chris spoke to his nemesis. “All right, you bastard. We’ve been through this dance before.” He shook his head. “I know I can’t beat you, but this time I have back up. Together, we’re going to send you somewhere that you can’t hurt any more humans.”

Kate looked through her disheveled bed hair over at her husband. “Babe, we’ve got to move, now! If he gets much closer, we’ll be in the blast radius of his Atomic Wave!”

Chris reached out and tapped the wall next to him. “This old girl can take a few more blasts from that demon. Plus, we need him to follow us to Gurral. Once he gets close enough to see who we are, that won’t be a problem. That bastard never forgets a fight and while we haven’t been able to beat him, the fact that we’ve survived numerous bouts with him really pisses him off.”

Kate rolled her eyes as she looked over at her husband. “How can you possibly know that it pisses him off that we’ve escaped fights with him in the past?”

Chris gritted his teeth. “Because it pisses me off, and I’ve fought that living fossil enough times to know that he’s as stubborn as I am. He won’t be satisfied until we’re a pile of scrap metal at his feet.”

Atomic Rex was fuming with anger as he swam in the direction of the shore and of the monster that had dared to invade his territory. As he was closing on the beach, the saurian kaiju saw a shape resting in the water ahead of him. The nuclear theropod could make out the form of some manner of creature but he was perplexed by the fact that the thing he saw gave off no scent, nor did it register from any of his other senses excluding sight.

As he drew closer to the object in the water and was able to clearly make out the strange shape ahead of him, the monster's anger swelled to an uncontrollable rage. The thing in front of him was the seemingly lifeless metal creature that had attacked him on countless occasions and then flew away! The mechanical monster was a constant source of pain and annoyance to the kaiju.

Atomic Rex growled as he aimed his body at Steel Samurai 2.0. The saurian creature’s heart was racing at the thought of destroying the robot that had irritated him for so long and then destroying the other monster that he could sense on the shore ahead.

Kate’s eyes went wide when she saw Atomic Rex increase his speed and swim directly for Steel Samurai 2.0. She turned and screamed at her husband, “Chris, he definitely sees us! We need to get moving now!”

Chris grabbed the controls to the mech and pulled them hard to the side. A moment later, Steel Samurai 2.0 was moving through the water away from Atomic Rex and toward the shoreline.

Kate kept her eyes fixed on the radar as Atomic Rex continued to close in on them. She yelled to Chris, “He’s gaining on us quickly! We need to get out of the water and into the air now!”

Chris shook his head. “I had to fill the storage tanks with water to keep us on the ocean floor. I’m dumping it as fast as I can but it's going to take another forty-five seconds before we’re light enough to fly.”

Kate looked first at the radar and then through the eyes of the mech. “That’s going to be cutting it close to keeping us out of his blast radius and for us to not bottom out in the shallows without changing to a walking stance.”

Chris nodded. “Don’t worry. I got this.” He then pushed forward a little harder on the mech’s controls as the sand below them continued to get closer and closer to the mech.

Atomic Rex could see the robot fleeing for the shore ahead of him. The monster had encountered the mech enough times to know that if it reached land, the metal giant would take to the sky and avoid a direct battle. In addition to the robot trying to escape, the nuclear theropod could sense the invading kaiju moving toward the water as well. The saurian kaiju decided to strike at both his foes with a single attack to prevent one from escaping and to make the other aware of his strength.

Atomic Rex reached deep into his cells and started to gather the nuclear energy trapped within them. As he moved through the water like a living rocket, his body took on a light blue glow.

Steel Samurai was in a horizontal position as it continued to move through the quickly shallowing water. When Kate heard the mech’s chest scrape against sand, she grabbed Chris’ shoulder. “You have to switch us to a standing position or else the sand will tear us apart before Atomic Rex even reaches us!”

Chris shook his head. “If we switch positions now, we’ll slow down to the point where Atomic Rex will slam into us and smash us to pieces!” He started to slowly pull back on the mech’s controls. “Just a few more seconds.”

Gurral was moving toward the ocean when he saw a swell of water heading quickly toward the beach. The Smasher placed his hand over his eyes to shield it from the sun and better see the oncoming swell when Steel Samurai 2.0 suddenly exploded from the water and flew over his head. Gurral watched as the mech passed over him, and the Arena Lord’s drones quickly followed it.

The Smasher smiled as the robot flew past him and yelled, “I was wondering where you…” Gurral’s thought was stopped mid-sentence when a flash of blue light coming out of the water caught his eye. Before the arena champion could react, he was knocked onto his back by the blue dome of energy known as the Atomic Wave.

Anywhere on the front of Gurral’s body that was not covered in Impervium laced bone was singed as the Atomic Wave washed over him. After the blast had passed, Gurral sat up and looked over back at the ocean to see the horrifying form of Atomic Rex rising out of it. He stared into the reptilian beast’s eyes as the kaiju lifted its head into the sky and unleashed an earth-shaking roar while glaring at Gurral.

Gurral’s skin had a strange tingling sensation running over it from the blast as he nodded and stood. “Okay, Rexy. First hit’s yours, but the last one’s gonna be mine.”

As Gurral ran toward Atomic Rex, the Arena Lords’ drones flew into the air and began to surround the two monsters while Steel Samurai 2.0 circled around and took up a position in the air behind Gurral.

Back on Arena World, the crowd and Arena Lords who were watching the images cheered with excitement and anticipation. The Arena Lords were particularly pleased with the betting being done on both fighters.

One of the Arena Lords approached the Newcomer. “You were correct about sending Gurral after Atomic Rex! After our patrons saw that blast and were able to behold the monster, they went crazy! Bets both for and against Gurral are being cast like we have never seen before! Truly, your plan is to be commended!”

The Newcomer simply nodded. “The game is still early. Let’s see how the rest of my plan plays out and then we can discuss how much I should be commended.”

The Arena Lord’s face took on a confused look. “Yes. Yes of course.” He then turned and directed his attention back to the battle.

As the Arena Lord turned away, the Newcomer kept his eyes fixed on the images of the battle, while the thoughts of future battles with far greater consequences flashed through his manipulative mind.

Gurral sprinted forward with a speed that belied his size. The Smasher landed a straight right punch to Atomic Rex’s jaw that rocked the reptilian horror’s face. Gurral then caught Atomic Rex with an uppercut that knocked the saurian monster onto his back.

Gurral stood over his foe and bellowed, “Come on, Rexy! You’re supposed to be tough. Show me what you’ve got!”

Gurral took a step closer to his downed foe with his fist ready to strike the monster once more when Atomic Rex suddenly sprang up and latched his jaws around the Smasher’s left bicep.

Gurral roared in pain as Atomic Rex’s teeth sank deep into his arm while the mutant theropod pulled him around half a turn. With his foe caught in his grip, Atomic Rex then used his left claw to deliver several strikes to Gurral’s face. This would normally have torn flesh from bone, but Gurral’s skull held no flesh to tear. Even so, the impacts from the blows themselves were still rattling the gladiator’s brain and blurring his vision.

Atomic Rex knew he would have the advantage in the ocean, and so began to drive Gurral backwards toward the crashing waves. Gurral absorbed another blow to the face when he felt himself stepping backwards into the deeper water of the sea.

He scowled in anger and then struck the radioactive leviathan with a left uppercut to the ribs, driving the spikes on his knuckles through the kaiju’s scales and into the bones beneath it, causing the apex predator to wince in pain. The Smasher delivered several more strikes to the same area to the point that Atomic Rex’s side was covered in blood and torn to pieces.

Gurral’s relentless pounding of the nuclear theropod’s ribs finally caused Atomic Rex to release his jaws from the Smasher’s bicep. With his blood-soaked right arm free, Gurral once again struck Atomic Rex to the face and then in a display of his incalculable strength, Gurral scooped up Atomic Rex, hefting the kaiju across his shoulder with its head and arms over his back.

With the saurian horror laying across his shoulder, Gurral sprinted towards the shore with a grin. “Let’s get this fight back on dry land.” The arena champion reached the shoreline, then power slammed Atomic Rex into the sand, first driving the monster into the beach and then plowing his shoulder into the reptilian creature with his immense weight.

The impact of the two-part slam rocked Atomic Rex’s entire body and sent a spurt of blood shooting out of the injured area on his ribs.

Gurral pressed his knees into Atomic Rex's chest as he lifted his fists into the air. The Smasher’s right fist struck Atomic Rex in the jaw. The impact of the blow knocked the reptile’s head into the sand while at the same time Gurral’s spikes sliced open a new wound across the kaiju’s jaw. Gurral quickly followed with a blow with his left fist to similar effect.

The arena champion looked down at Atomic Rex’s bloody face and growled. “I thought you were tougher than this, Rexy. This isn’t even…” Gurral stopped talking when he saw a light blue glow coming off the saurian’s body. The Smasher recalled seeing the same blue glow just before he was struck by the blast that came out of the ocean. Gurral barely had enough time to shield his eyes with his arm before an Atomic Wave burst out of the nuclear theropod’s body and sent the Smasher flying backwards.

Gurral’s body slammed into the beach and skidded through the sand, causing a mountain of displaced beach to form behind him that eventually stopped his motion. Once more the exposed areas of the Smasher’s skin were burnt and smoking. Gurral’s whole body was tingling as he sat up and saw Atomic Rex regaining his feet.

Gurral’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw the wounds on Atomic Rex’s side and jaws healing over and closing shut as the monster stood up. Gurral ran his hand across his jaws to wipe off some of the saliva that the Atomic Wave had knocked out of him. “Damn. I heal pretty quick, but that’s just nuts.” The Smasher both nodded and smiled as he started to regain his feet. “Looks like you’re the real deal.”

Gurral had nearly reached an upright position when Atomic Rex ran toward him and then leapt forward. Atomic Rex brought his body crashing into Gurral, the impact causing the spiked brawler to fall onto his back with the radioactive leviathan on top of him.

Atomic Rex’s clawed toes dug deep into Gurral’s chest, and the Smasher winced in pain for a moment, then his eyes went wide as he saw Atomic Rex’s jaws coming toward his face. The teeth on the nuclear theropod’s upper jaw clamped down on the top of the Smasher’s head, scraping against it to no effect, but its lower jaw ripped into the bottom of Gurral’s jaw, snapping it shut and sending new levels of pain through the arena champion’s nervous system.

Blood from Gurral’s lower jaw flowed into Atomic Rex’s mouth as the alien gladiator’s arms spasmed in pain. The taste of the crimson liquid pushed Atomic Rex to attempt a killing strike. The kaiju bit down as hard as he could on Gurral’s skull and then he began shaking his head from side to side in an effort to break Gurral’s neck.

Chris and Kate were watching the battle intently as Steel Samurai 2.0 floated in the sky. Kate shook her head when she saw Atomic Rex trying to tear Gurral’s head off. She grabbed Chris’ arm. “We’ve got to help Gurral or Atomic Rex is going to kill him!”

Chris shook his head. “We can’t help him yet. Gurral has to get out of that demon’s jaws himself right now. Given Atomic Rex’s bite strength and weight, anything we try to get that bastard to release his grip would likely shift his weight to the point that it would break Gurral’s neck.”

Kate shifted her view to the strap across Gurral’s body. Her eyes went wide as she turned on the external speakers. “The taser weapon! You need to use the taser weapon to shock Atomic Rex off you.”

Kate saw Gurral pull his right hand close to his body. For a moment, she thought that Gurral was going to heed her advice. To her surprise, rather than reaching for the taser, Gurral balled his meaty hand into a fist. The Smasher then drove the spikes on his right knuckles into Atomic Rex’s stomach in a powerful strike. Gurral then pushed his spikes deeper into the kaiju’s stomach while at the same time dragging his fist up Atomic Rex’s stomach. Blood gushed out from the Earth monster’s stomach and onto the arena champion as Gurral sliced open Atomic Rex from his lower gut to his ribs. The severe injury forced Atomic Rex to release his grip on Gurral’s head and back away from the Smasher.

Blood spurted out of the wounds on Gurral’s lower jaw as he opened his mouth and drew in a breath of life-giving air. The Smasher shifted his head from side to side, snapping the vertebrate in his neck back into place.

The enraged giant rose to his feet, growling as he charged at Atomic Rex. “You bite my face, I break yours!” When Gurral reached Atomic Rex, he grabbed his head with both hands and then pulled down hard while driving his knee upward into the kaiju’s jaw. The blow staggered Atomic Rex, causing him to rear back, catching himself with his tail before falling backwards.

With his opponent wide open in front of him, Gurral crouched low, and windmilled his arms forward, slamming his palms into the sand and then exerting all of his powerful limbs at once to hurl himself forward head-first at an impressive speed directly into the ribcage of Atomic Rex with a crash, knocking the wind from the terrible lizard.

Gurral saw a chance, and lifted both of his fists into the air before bringing them crashing down into the alligator-like carapace on Atomic Rex’s back. The force of the blow pushed Atomic Rex down into a crouch. Gurral then wrapped his arms around Atomic Rex’s neck from above, and as the red in his eyes brightened, he roared and heaved upward mightily, lifting Atomic Rex up and over his back before slamming the mutant dinosaur backwards into the ground.

Gurral rolled quickly to a crouch in front of Atomic Rex before the saurian had a chance to recover, then he shook his head in disgust when he saw that the deep gashes he had just cut into Atomic Rex’s stomach had already mostly healed.

The Smasher roared. “I’m gonna end this!” The armored behemoth moved in with his fists raised when Atomic Rex’s right leg slashed across Gurral’s body and ripped open three horrible gashes in his stomach.

Gurral sucked air in pain, and his hands dropped to his fresh wounds. Atomic Rex rose from the beach to grab Gurral by the shoulders. The saurian kaiju roared as he stepped forward and then threw Gurral sideways to the ground.

As Gurral hit the sand, his years of experience as a gladiator kicked in and he rolled with the throw to put some distance between himself and Atomic Rex, avoiding the pinning stomp that came crashing down where he had landed. The Smasher shifted his body to a crouching position at a distance he thought was out of Atomic Rex’s reach. Gurral was beginning to stand when he saw Atomic Rex spin around. The arena champion saw a brief flash of green to his right before the reptilian monster’s thick tail whipped him across the face and knocked him back to the ground in a shower of sand.

Gurral looked up to see the green-scaled monster sprinting toward him with his jaws wide open. Rather than trying to stand, Gurral dove forward at the Atomic Rex’s leg. The Smasher slid under the gaping jaws and wrapped his powerful arms around the nuclear theropod’s legs. Gurral then grunted as he stood up and used Atomic Rex’s own momentum to flip the kaiju over his back.

When Atomic Rex crashed into the sand, he rolled over several times to lessen the blow and distance himself from Gurral, mirroring the move the Smasher had done mere seconds prior.

Gurral nodded as blood dripped down his face and leaked out of the wounds on his stomach. “You picked that move up from me. You’re not as dumb as you look, are you?” The gladiator then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter how smart you are, I’m gonna smash you!”

The Smasher lunged forward and struck Atomic Rex across the face. The saurian kaiju replied in kind by slashing Gurral across the chest with his claw. The two monsters traded several more thundering blows as they both refused to fall.

Inside of Steel Samurai, Kate questioned her husband. “Chris, when are we going to engage in this battle and help Gurral?”

Chris kept his eyes fixed on the clash of the titans occurring below him. “Gurral needs to win this fight on his own. He needs to prove he can take Atomic Rex.”

Kate leaned over, placed her hands on her husband’s cheeks, and turned his face toward her. He looked at her with a confused look on his face as she scolded him. “No! He doesn’t, Chris! And neither do you! Proving that Atomic Rex can be defeated by Gurral, by you, or by anyone doesn’t matter! What matters is protecting the ones we love from that damned monster! We need to worry about getting Atomic Rex off world, not about beating him!”

She looked down at Atomic Rex and Gurral to see the two monsters with their arms locked around each other as they each tried to toss their opponent to the ground. She pointed at the struggle as she continued to scream. “Look, even Gurral is lost in this battle! He was supposed to capture Atomic Rex, not kill him. Does he look like capturing Atomic Rex is his priority right now or is he also determined to kill him?”

Chris nodded. “Gurral’s caught up in the battle. He’s lost the focus of his mission.”

Kate grabbed Chris’ hand. “So, have you. Let’s go give him a hand and remind him why he’s here.”

Chris grabbed the controls in front of him. “Thank you, Kate, for reminding me what’s important.” He then had Steel Samurai 2.0 fly directly toward the warring creatures.

As Steel Samurai 2.0 landed, the two monsters released their grips on each other and once again started trading blows. The mech took a step toward the two kaiju and removed its sword from its leg. Chris waited for an opening in the fight and when he saw it, the pilot used the mech’s sword like a club to strike Atomic Rex in the chest and push him away from Gurral.

Atomic Rex stumbled back several steps, and before he could regain his balance, Steel Samurai 2.0 slammed his shoulder into the kaiju’s chest, knocking him to the ground.

The blood-covered Gurral bellowed in frustration at what was transpiring before him. “Get the hell out of here! This is my fight! I can take him!”

Kate grabbed the microphone to the external speakers and yelled, “You said you were sent here to catch Atomic Rex and bring him back to your world! Not to kill him! Don’t you have some kind of deal with the Arena Lord you talked about? Isn’t Atomic Rex supposed to take your spot or something? Will the Arena Lords honor your deal if you kill Atomic Rex instead of bringing him back?”

Gurral’s face softened and he looked down at the taser on his chest. He grabbed it and said, “You’re right! Keep his attention for a minute while I get into a place where I can use this thing on him!”

Gurral had just finished his direction when Atomic Rex sprang back to his feet. The saurian monster’s eyes were filled with rage as he roared at the mech that had once more kept him from what he wanted. The monster lunged at the giant robot only to have the mech strike him across the face with its sword.

Atomic Rex’s head was shifting to the right where he saw Gurral standing next to him. The Smasher grinned. “Nap time, Rexy.” He then jammed his taser into Atomic Rex’s hip and sent millions of volts of electricity coursing through the monster. The radioactive leviathan roared as electricity danced around his body and assaulted his nerves.

When the shock reached his brain, the nuclear theropod could feel himself blacking out. From the corner of his eyes, Atomic Rex could see a wave of darkness creeping into his field of vision. The reptilian horror clenched his teeth and fought back the darkness creeping into his eyes. The nuclear theropod had never known defeat and he did not intend to be introduced to it now. Atomic Rex pushed through the electricity coursing through his body and reached out to the nuclear power stored within his cells.

Atomic Rex then lifted his leg into the air and roared. As he brought his leg crashing back to the ground, the Atomic Wave cascaded out from him, forcing out the electricity that was plaguing his body. The wave expanded to the point that it struck Gurral and then Steel Samurai 2.0, sending both the monster and mech tumbling backwards.

Atomic Rex glared at the two foes on the ground before him and roared at them in defiance of their attempt to defeat him. He then swung his head in the direction of the smoking form of Steel Samurai 2.0.

Kate and Chris were staring through the mech’s eyes at the sky when they felt the ground shake beneath the mech. Kate screamed. “Chris, we have to get back on our feet!”

Chris grabbed the controls. “I’m trying!” The pilot had managed to get the mech back up to one knee as Atomic Rex loomed only a step away from them.

When she saw the look in Atomic Rex’s eyes, Kate grabbed her husband’s hand. “Chris, I love you and I want you to know that you have given me a life I never thought I could have. You’ve made me happier than I would ever have thought I could be.”

Chris was about to share his last thoughts to his wife when Gurral slammed his shoulder into Atomic Rex and knocked the kaiju over. He looked down at the monster and roared, “Leave my friend alone!”

Chris smiled as he got Steel Samurai 2.0 back to its feet. The mech stood side by side with the arena champion as they looked down at Atomic Rex regaining his feet.

Gurral took a quick look at the taser in his hand. “Well, that didn’t work.” He shrugged. “Guess I’ll have to smash this freak and forget my retirement.”

Kate called out from the external speakers, “Try the taser one more time! We can divert electricity from the robot into the sword! Maybe together we can hit him with enough juice to knock him out!”

Before Gurral could reply, Atomic Rex was charging toward them.

Kate's hands moved in a blur as she diverted what power she could to Steel Samurai’s 2.0 sword. When Atomic Rex was within reach, Gurral stuck his taser into Atomic Rex’s ribs while Steel Samurai 2.0 drove its sword into Atomic Rex’s shoulder. Atomic Rex roared in pain as more than twice the amount of electricity he had fought off before coursed through his body. The nuclear theropod let out a defiant roar while his legs twitched, and then his body went limp as he fell to the ground unconscious.

Gurral was looking down at the unconscious Atomic Rex when he heard Kate screaming at him. “Open the portal and toss him in before he wakes up!”

Gurral nodded, grabbed the portal generator off his chest, and used it to open a portal to Arena World. With blood still leaking out of the wounds on his jaw, chest, and stomach, Gurral picked up the unconscious Atomic Rex and tossed him into a portal that led to the arena floor.

Gurral looked over at Steel Samurai and gave an unsteady nod.

Chris grabbed the external speakers from Kate and called out to his new friend, “Well, I guess you’ll be heading back home now?”

Gurral shrugged. “In a minute...I just gotta…” The Smasher then passed out and fell onto his back in a pool of his own blood with the portal still open before him and Atomic Rex beginning to stir on the other side.

Chapter 19

Beach of Southern Mexico

Chris and Kate were looking at the bizarre sight before them. The couple could see the unconscious form of Gurral lying in the sand and next to him a rift in the space time continuum leading to another world. Through the swirling vortex they could see Atomic Rex in the middle of a colossal arena with all manner of strange alien creatures filling the stands around him. The saurian beast was stirring as his incredible healing abilities started to counteract the effects of the electrical attack he had suffered.

Chris pointed to the portal device strapped to Gurral’s chest. “Kate, we need to figure out how to use the device to close that rift before Atomic Rex wakes up, or those aliens decide to come check out what’s been going on here.” He sighed. “We also have to help Gurral. He looks like he’s hurt pretty bad.”

Kate shook her head. “How do you propose we do either one of those things? The device he used to open the rift is some form of alien technology that we have no idea how to use. What if we were to…I don’t know…Create an artificial black hole that destroyed our entire solar system while we were trying to figure out how to close the rift? Then how can we possibly help Gurral? Again, he’s an alien with physiology we have no idea about.”

Chris was silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. Once he had formulated a plan of action, he began to unhook himself from his pilot’s seat as he explained his course of action to his wife. “We may not know a lot about Gurral’s body, but during my field training for the Air Force they taught us about injuries and field wounds. Gurral said last night that he heals pretty fast but the wounds on his arm, chest, stomach and jaw are all still bleeding. I’ll bet if we don’t stop that bleeding, he’ll bleed to death.”

Kate nodded. “Okay, how do you propose that we do that? We don’t exactly have kaiju sized bandages lying around.”

Chris nodded. “The quickest way to stop someone from bleeding out in the field is to cauterize the wound. We still have the blowtorch in the maintenance bay. If I can use it to cauterize some of the wounds maybe we can keep enough blood in him to keep him alive. There’s also a good chance the pain will wake him up long enough for him to use the device to close the rift.”

Kate cast her eyes to Gurral. “You’re talking about cauterizing numerous wounds, won’t that be unbelievably painful for Gurral?”

“I’m sure it will be, but we don’t have many other options.”

Kate pointed to the strap on the Smasher’s chest. “That dust, what did he call it, Impervium or something? It acts like a drug for Gurral, right? I mean, last night after he put it on his food, it pretty much knocked him out, right?”

Chris smiled. “Yeah, it did! Here’s what we do. Have the mech drop me on his chest with the blowtorch. You use the mech to hold Gurral down while I start cauterizing the first wound, that way he doesn’t accidentally kill me or hurt himself more while I’m working on him. Hopefully, he wakes up and we can convince him to close the rift and then let him take his dust to knock him out so we can finish cauterizing the wounds!”

Kate reached out and grabbed the controls in front of her. “Okay, grab the blowtorch and go to the external port in Steel Samurai 2.0’s right hand. Wait until I have Gurral’s arms firmly pinned to the ground, then start closing the first wound.” She looked back into the portal to see that Atomic Rex’s eyes were partially open and that his tail was moving from side to side. “Chris, if this is going to work, we need to move fast.”

Chris nodded in reply and then ran out of the cockpit. As he was grabbing the tools for his impromptu surgery, he started talking to himself. “Trying to save a kaiju’s life is just one more thing I never thought I would see myself doing.” He shrugged. “I can’t wait to hear Emily’s reaction to this when I get back. I’m sure I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Kate’s voice suddenly came out from the internal speakers. “She’ll be proud of you, just like I am proud of you for doing the right thing.”

Chris sighed. “So, used to being in the cockpit I forgot about the internal feed. Thanks for listening in to me talking to myself, honey.”

Kate laughed. “Anytime, Doctor Kaiju. Now get to the arm before Atomic Rex fully wakes up and while we still have time to save your patient.”

Chris threw the blowtorch over his back, slapped the welding helmet on his head, and then sprinted for Steel Samurai 2.0’s arm. Less than three minutes later, Chris found himself walking across Gurral’s massive chest. It was obvious that the three largest wounds on Gurral’s stomach were the ones in need of immediate attention. As he walked up to the wounds, the pilot could see that while the wounds were already starting to heal, they wouldn’t close fast enough to stop Gurral from bleeding to death.

When Chris reached the first wound, he looked up Gurral’s body to see Kate using the mech’s hands to grab Gurral’s wrists and push them down into the sand.

After Steel Samurai 2.0 had a firm grip on the Smasher, Kate yelled into the internal speakers, “You’re good to go!”

Chris flipped down the welding helmet to protect his eyes, turned on the blowtorch, and placed it over one of the deep gashes Atomic Rex had caused in Gurral’s stomach.

The instant the blowtorch hit his flesh, Gurral’s eyes snapped open, almost glowing red, and he bellowed in a mindless rage fueled by pain. The arena champion’s muscles tensed, and as he roared, he began forcing his arms up off of the beach.

Despite Steel Samurai’s weight and all the force the nuclear powered mech could muster pushing down on Gurral’s wrists, and despite the fact that the Smasher’s arms were fully spread out, his incalculable strength was easily lifting his arms out of the sand and off the ground.

Fully aware that in his frenzied state Gurral would kill Chris, leaving a portal to an unknown dimension open for both Atomic Rex and anything else to access Earth, Kate screamed into the speakers, “Gurral, Chris is trying to save your life by cauterizing your wounds!”

Gurral didn’t respond in the slightest, but continued to roar and push. Kate then realized that he was not actually awake. The pain was driving him to defend himself even while unconscious through pure instinct. She knew that reasoning with him wouldn’t work, and she didn’t have any other options. In desperation, she had Steel Samurai 2.0 release one of the behemoth’s wrists and punch Gurral across the face as fast and as hard as possible. Gurral’s roaring stopped for a short moment, then continued as he yelled, “Ow! What the hell?” and looked around frantically to gather his situation.

In the portal behind Gurral, Kate could see Atomic Rex rising to his feet. She tried to sound as calming as possible, while also conveying how dire the situation was. “Listen to me! Chris is patching your wounds, but Atomic Rex just got up. You need to close the portal now!”

As Kate finished her sentence, Atomic Rex finished standing on the other side of the portal. The monster fixed his eyes on Steel Samurai 2.0 and Gurral as he unleashed an earth-shaking roar!

The radioactive leviathan was moving toward the portal as Gurral ripped his other wrist free and used both his hands to grab the control device and close the portal just in time to prevent Atomic Rex from crossing the rift.

From atop Gurral’s stomach, Chris breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the swirling vortex closing and trapping Atomic Rex on the alien world. The pilot sneered. “I’m finally rid of you, you bastard. I hope you rot on the alien planet.”

After closing the interdimensional gateway, Gurral winced in pain, then grabbed the sack of dust he was carrying. He looked down at Chris who was still standing on his stomach. “You’re still helping me even though Rexy’s gone?”

Chris shrugged. “There’s no way I’m going to let a friend bleed out on my watch. Especially, one who just kicked Atomic Rex off the planet for us.” He gestured to the sack of dust. “Take that stuff already so I can get back to work on you before you lose too much blood.”

Gurral took a double pinch of dust from his dwindling reserves. “You don’t gotta tell me that. I usually like it with food, but in this case, I think straight up is fine.” The Smasher sprinkled the Impervium dust into his mouth. With no food and double his normal dose, Gurral could feel the effects of the Impervium dust almost instantaneously. As he was drifting to sleep, he looked down at Chris. “I don’t have many friends.  Most wanna use me or kill me.”

Gurral had nearly fallen asleep when he heard Chris reply, “I never had a friend who was a monster before.”

Once Gurral had passed out from the dust, Chris returned to the job of cauterizing the Smasher’s wounds. An hour later and after exhausting the fuel for the blowtorch, Chris had finally managed to close all of Gurral’s wounds. When she saw that he was done with Gurral, Kate reached out with Steel Samurai 2.0’s hand, allowing her husband to climb back into the mech.

When he reached the cockpit, he smiled and hugged his wife. “It’s over. It’s finally over. Atomic Rex is gone from our lives and our world forever.” He looked back at Gurral. “We have him to thank for it. Can you believe it? After all these years, it wasn’t luring another monster into a fight with Atomic Rex that finished him. It was working with a monster.” He shrugged. “A really smart, talking alien monster, but still a monster.”

Kate smiled. “A monster whose life you may have saved in return.” She looked down at Gurral. “It seems like Emily is right. The best way for people to survive is to find monsters that we can set up mutually beneficial relationships with.”

Chris still had his eyes fixed on Gurral. “Maybe, but Ramrod is still a wild monster. He’s just a beast that Emily managed to aim in the right direction. Gurral is so much more than that. He’s intelligent, just imagine if we could convince him to stay here? There’s plenty of giant mutants for him to eat, and just think about the protection he could offer.” Chris sighed. “I know he said he wants to retire, but believe me I know a warrior when I see one. He may be ready to retire from fighting in his arena but he’ll always be a fighter. Maybe we can give him something more meaningful to fight for.”

Kate could see hope in her husband’s eyes. Hope for a future where Gurral would fight side by side with Steel Samurai 2.0 in protecting the settlement. Hope for a future where he had a friend who was a soldier that he could relate to and share war stories with.

Kate however knew the truth. She thought that Gurral genuinely liked Chris, but she knew there was something that Gurral wanted and needed more than friendship. Before the world had ended, Kate had friends who were drug addicts. To them there was nothing that mattered in this world or any other that was more essential to them then their next fix. Gurral was clearly addicted to the dust he was using and no promise of food, friendship, or a retirement would override that addiction. Chris couldn’t see that about his new found friend at that moment. He had seen addicts in his time in the military but he had never really interacted with them in their personal lives. He didn’t know how the drugs they were addicted to ruled their lives.

She thought about telling Chris this but when she saw the look in his eyes, she didn’t have the heart to shatter his dream. Kate never thought she’d see the day where Chris was ready to live side by side with a kaiju, let alone consider one a friend. Her husband had grown so much over the past couple of days.

Kate knew when Gurral awoke that he would make his way back to his own world in order to access more dust. She figured it was best to let Gurral himself tell Chris he was leaving then it was for her to inform him.

She smiled at her husband. “We’ll see when he wakes up. In the meantime, he’s lost a large amount of blood. Let’s fill the internal tanks with fresh water so we can give him a drink when he wakes up, otherwise he might dehydrate.”

Chris smiled and grabbed the controls of the mech. “Right. There’s a river not far from here.” He then pulled on the controls causing Steel Samurai 2.0 to take off into the sky as Gurral rested on the beach.

Chapter 20

Arena World

The crowd in the arena sat in stunned silence as Atomic Rex rose from the arena floor and made his way toward the rift that he had come through mere moments ago. They had been cheering raucously as they watched through the internal feed while Atomic Rex battled their champion, Gurral, on the alien planet. The clash between the two monsters was one of the greatest they had seen in recent memory. To add to their frenzy, the involvement of the giant robot on Gurral’s behalf had caused mass arguments as to whether Gurral or Atomic Rex had won the first encounter.

Those who had bet on Gurral insisted that the arena champion had successfully defended his title. The patrons who had bet on Atomic Rex insisted that they should be given the winnings as the mech had intervened and tipped the battle in favor of the Smasher. The Gurral supporters would counter with the suggestion that the spiked gladiator would have won the match regardless of the mech’s interference. This argument was rejected by the Atomic Rex fans who asserted that Gurral had collapsed as soon as the portal closed.

The Arena Lords were still trying to decide how to placate all parties involved when Atomic Rex started to rise to his feet. A hush fell over the crowd as the nuclear theropod made his way to the portal and toward Gurral. As the crowd grew eager to see the epic battle continue, the Arena Lords breathed a collective sigh of relief at the thought a true victor would be determined between the two monsters.

When the portal closed, the crowd quieted down as Atomic Rex spun around the arena and roared in frustration at the thought of both Gurral and Steel Samurai 2.0 escaping his wrath. The roar had momentarily quieted the crowd as they awaited some manner of ruling from the Arena Lords as to how the wagers on the battle would be settled.

From their viewing station, the Arena Lords discussed various methods to determine how to quiet the crowd. The idea of calling the battle a draw was briefly discussed but almost immediately dismissed as the gamblers would insist on a definite winner with the hope that they could still go home with a winning purse.

Another option included some manner of scoring system to determine a victor but there was serious doubt as to whether those who bet on whichever monster ended up as the loser would accept the results.

Atomic Rex roared again from the arena floor while the Arena Lords continued to discuss the unprecedented situation. While all of this was transpiring, the Newcomer was silently looking over a three-dimensional schematic of the Arena Lords’ facility. The Newcomer was carefully studying the layout of the power core for the Teleporter, the transport bay, and the cells that held the other gladiators.

When he came to the cells containing the monsters, the Newcomer called out to the other Arena Lords, “I have a clear solution to the problem. We already have several creatures under our control that would serve our purposes.” The Newcomer brought up the display of a grotesque creature. The misshapen beast had an enormous squid-like head that was missing the signature fins of the cephalopod. The beast had a narrow torso below the head covered in a thick carapace. Its six insect-like legs radiated out from the bottom of its torso. The creature stood as tall as Atomic Rex and despite its appearance the monster did not demonstrate the aggressive nature that most of the arena combatants did.

One of the Arena Lord’s eyes went wide as he looked at the image of the nightmarish beast. He took a step back and his body shook as he spoke. “A Dream Weaver? These creatures use a combination of psychic attacks and the release of a vapor which calms their victims into falling asleep. The Dream Weaver then implants their victims with their offspring which eat their way out of the host. The Dream Weavers are deadly and they look terrifying but they are ill suited for our purposes. The crowd prefers battles that are exciting. They would not be pleased if a Dream Weaver was to enter the arena. The last thing they want is to see Atomic Rex put to sleep.”

The Arena Lord gazed at the Newcomer with a confused look on his face. “Surely you are aware that we only use these creatures as a reward for the gladiators who obtain a victory? The vapor they emit helps to calm the winning creatures and allows them to rest prior to their next battle.”

The Newcomer replied in a voice that was barely above a whisper. “They can be used for so much more than that.”

The Arena Lord took a step closer to the Newcomer. “What did you say?”

The Newcomer smiled as he turned toward the Arena Lord. “We shall release the Dream Weaver into the arena and let it use its soothing powers on Atomic Rex. The vapors and psychic attack will cause the reptile to fall asleep. We will then stop the Dream Weaver from implanting its seed in Atomic Rex, thus allowing the Earth monster to slumber but still live. As Atomic Rex rests, Gurral will heal. Once Gurral is healed and Atomic Rex has awoken, we bring Gurral back to the arena and let them fight in front of the crowd! They will then battle to the death and in the end, there will be no doubt as to who the winner is!”

The Arena Lord’s eyes lit up at the Newcomer’s suggestion. “Yes, of course the winner between Gurral and Atomic Rex should be decided in the arena, not on some distant planet. The crowd deserves to see such a confrontation in person!”

The Arena Lord had no sooner finished his thought then Atomic Rex roared at the arena walls and then slammed his body into them. The force from the nuclear theropod striking the wall shook the entire facility.

The Newcomer pointed to the image of the Dream Weaver. “Release the creature. Let him sooth Atomic Rex before he destroys the entire arena.”

The Arena Lord nodded and then called out to the others of his kind. “Release one of the Dream Weavers! I shall explain the situation to the crowd.” One of the other Arena Lords nodded, walked over to a nearby control panel, and then pulled a lever which opened the doorway between the Dream Weaver’s cell and the arena.

As the squid-headed beast shambled out onto the arena floor the crowd began to boo.

The Arena Lord who had been speaking to the Newcomer grabbed a nearby microphone and yelled into it. “Patrons of the arena. Please be patient with us as the clash between Gurral and Atomic Rex was of proportions we have never seen before! The Dream Weaver shall simply cause Atomic Rex to fall asleep so that both he and Gurral can heal. Once both gladiators have fully recovered, the battle between the Smasher and the Earth monster shall resume, right here in the arena, before your very eyes! This time the battle will continue without any interference until we have a clear winner!”

The crowd’s boos changed to a raucous cheer at the Arena Lord’s announcement.

The Newcomer took a step closer to the arena. His body tensed up as he looked at the misshapen Dream Weaver shambling toward Atomic Rex. The Newcomer clenched his fist as he continued to repeat, “Unleash the vapor. Unleash the vapor.”

When Atomic Rex heard the doors to the Dream Weaver’s cell open, the saurian kaiju turned in the direction of the psychedelic creature. When he saw the writhing tentacles of the Dream Weaver’s face undulating toward him, Atomic Rex roared! The reptilian beast was still enraged from his battle with Gurral and Steel Samurai 2.0 and he was looking for a target to vent that frustration on.

The radioactive leviathan took a step toward the space born horror and as he did so the Dream Weaver expelled a cloud of thick brown mist from its body. Atomic Rex charged into the brown mist and with every step he took the nuclear theropod’s pace slowed down. The reptilian beast took a few more steps into the soothing vapor before coming to a complete stop. The saurian kaiju lolled from side to side as his healing abilities worked to stave off the effects of the Dream Weaver’s placating attack.

The Newcomer and several of the Arena Lords watched as the Dream Weaver’s tentacles began to writhe in the opposite direction of what they were previously. The Arena Lord who had made the announcement regarding the Dream Weaver to the crowd smiled as he looked down at the two monsters. “The Dream Weaver is now utilizing its psychic powers. In addition to the vapor, it will send pleasing and restful thoughts into Atomic Rex’s mind. Atomic Rex will see hallucinations of things which bring him joy and peace. The images will continue to calm the monster. The beast will soon be asleep.” The Arena Lord turned toward the Newcomer. “Your plan is…”

The Arena Lord stopped speaking as he saw the Newcomer’s eyes giving off a bright yellow glow.

The Newcomer smiled. “Is playing out exactly as I wanted it to.” The Newcomer shifted his gaze to Atomic Rex. “Now let’s change those soothing hallucinations to something a little more engaging for our guest, shall we.”

The Newcomer clenched his fist and as he did so, his eyes began to glow even brighter. The Arena Lord who was standing next to the Newcomer shook his head. “You are no Arena Lord. What are you?”

The Newcomer replied with a feminine sounding laugh. “I’m the person who is going to use Atomic Rex to acquire the means to defeat the one force that has continually stopped me from gaining control over a world which should long ago have been mine. Before we get to any more in-depth explanations, let’s unleash some havoc!” The Newcomer threw his hands out in front of himself; as he did so, Atomic Rex’s sleepy eyes suddenly grew wide with anger.

The saurian kaiju roared in defiance at the Dream Weaver with a battle cry that was a mixture of anger and hatred. Atomic Rex no longer saw the Dream Weaver standing before him, rather he saw the gorilla, sperm whale, lion hybrid known as Chimera challenging him. Chimera was a monster from one of the alternate universes he had traveled to. He was also one of the few creatures that had managed to battle Atomic Rex to a virtual standstill. Atomic Rex hated the mammalian monster and when he saw its visage, the nuclear theropod charged at his hated foe.

When Atomic Rex reached the Dream Weaver, he closed his jaws on the creature’s head, and dug his claws into its narrow torso. With its life in danger, the Dream Weaver reflexively expelled the remaining vapor in its body. The reflexive maneuver caused the arena to fill with its soothing vapor. The excess vapor quickly filled the fighting area, only being stopped from affecting the entire audience and security team by the anti-matter field that separated the kaiju battles and the crowd.

With the Dream Weaver trapped within his clutches, Atomic Rex pulled upward with his jaws while pushing down with his claws. There was an unsettling suction-like sound as Atomic Rex tore the Dream Weaver’s pulpy squid-like head from its body. The nuclear theropod shook the Dream Weaver’s head from side to side, spraying the arena with its inky blood.

Atomic Rex tossed what he saw as Chimera’s head to the floor and then unleashed a victory roar with such ferocity that it shook the walls of the arena. The reptilian horror spun around in the thick vapor that was still surrounding him. As the beast completed his turn he stopped and focused on a wall on the far side of the arena. The monster roared at the wall and then charged it. When he reached the wall, Atomic Rex slammed into the barrier and began tearing through it.

In the observation room above the arena, the Arena Lords were still staring at the Newcomer as her eyes continued to glow with a power they had never seen before. One of the Arena Lords looked down at Atomic Rex as he continued to plow through the arena wall, and his eyes narrowed. “What is going on? Why is he destroying the wall? The Dream Weaver vapor should be soothing him.”

He then looked to the Newcomer and his glowing eyes. “You are to blame for this!” The Arena Lord moved closer to the Newcomer. “This is our arena and you are clearly not one of us!” He palmed a button on a nearby console and said, “Security program alpha,” while gazing at the Newcomer, knowing that the cameras throughout the Arena would pinpoint where he was looking and take action against the correct target. The arena lord stepped forward towards the Newcomer and said, “I demand to know who you are, what you are doing, and the reasons behind these actions,” and several turrets lowered from the ceiling and zeroed in on the designated target.

The Newcomer replied once more with a laugh that this time not only sounded feminine but also somewhat seductive. The Newcomer smiled as Atomic Rex finished tearing his way through the arena wall and entered into a hallway in the Arena Lords’ complex. Automatic inhibition measures were enacted through the Arena’s AI, dropping metal gates into place, and unleashing intense laser-fire upon the enraged reptilian. Through the kaiju’s eyes, the Newcomer could see all of this. The Newcomer recalled the facility schematics he had been studying earlier, and focused on the path to the location of the teleporter power core. Once he had the path mapped out in his mind, the Newcomer reached into Atomic Rex’s mind and found the image of another one of his past foes.

The image of a giant white Yeti formed in the nuclear theropod’s brain. The Newcomer had the image roar at Atomic Rex, then turn and run through the gates as if through a mirage and continue in the direction of the teleporter power core. Atomic Rex returned a roar of his own and while ignoring the burns from the lasers, charged the gate, ripping it to shreds and continuing after his illusionary opponent.

With Atomic Rex now rampaging in the correct direction, the Newcomer began to turn in the direction of the Arena Lords, and as he turned, her body began to shrink. The Arena Lords’ eyes widened as the Newcomer’s body condensed upon itself, and began to take the form of a human female with long blonde hair. Her formerly gray and spindly body morphed into the curvy form of a voluptuous female with a finely toned body. As the transformation continued, garments that barely covered the woman’s breasts and vagina appeared on her body.

The stunningly attractive woman’s glowing yellow eyes began to soften to reveal dark blue eyes that had fierce intent behind them. The woman laughed as she looked at the bewildered Arena Lords. As she took a step closer, turrets released a barrage of laser fire upon her, but the beams passed through without effect, leaving scorch marks in the floor. A moment later a claxon began to sound, and the lights in the ceiling began to flash red and yellow.

At this alarm, the Arena Lords’ eyes grew wide with fear. They looked to one another and whispered, “The power core.” Several Arena Lords immediately broke off to contact security while the accusing Arena Lord said, “A hologram. How entertaining.” Turning to another, he commanded, “She’ll be here in the arena somewhere. Locate her, and detain her using any means necessary.”

The projection of a woman strode forward a few more steps, then stopped just short of the Arena Lords. She grinned and shook her head as she addressed the alien creatures. “You so-called Arena Lords have other creatures fight to the death for your amusement and financial gain. Your greed and desire to fulfill your petty needs are so like the gods I once served.” She took a step back, stretched her arms out, and curtseyed. “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am the nymph known as Allison.”

She moved her body back to an erect position as she continued to speak. “Like Atomic Rex, I come from a planet known as Earth but from a different dimension than the reptilian beast. My Earth and many others were once ruled by malicious beings known as Titans. These Titans were overthrown by their children who would eventually call themselves gods.”

Allison shook her head as she continued her tale. “Rather than act as benevolent deities, the creatures who called themselves gods saw me and everything else as nothing more than means for them to experience pleasure. When humans threatened one of the Earths these gods coveted, they gathered the various monsters under their thrall and went to war with mankind. The gods thought they would crush the humans and use their females as a breeding population to create a new race of demigods to inherit that Earth, but the humans had advanced. With their science they created a monster of their own, known as Chimera.”

Allison smiled. “The hybrid creature crushed the gods and their monsters, and with the gods defeated, I gathered the infant demigods they had left behind.” She shrugged. “Taking advantage of that same weakened state, the Titans plotted to reclaim Chimera’s Earth as their own. They saw how powerful Chimera was and they knew they would need a creature who could challenge the humans’ champion. They scoured the multiverse until they found the Earth of Atomic Rex.”

She laughed again. “Those titanic fools thought they could control Atomic Rex.” Allison stopped talking for a moment and looked off into the distance. She smiled. “Atomic Rex has reached the teleporter power core.” She grinned as her eyes began to glow again. “One burst of his Atomic Wave should be sufficient to destroy it, don’t you think?”

Another Arena Lord looked up from a console to say, “She’s Right. It’s broken through all of our defensive measures.”

Allison grinned and continued, “Let’s have the Yeti I am projecting into his mind charge him. That should trigger him nicely.”

Her eyes grew even brighter for a moment and then the entire facility shook as the Atomic Wave tore through the teleporter power core. Allison frowned as she looked back at the gathered Arena Lords. “Well, it looks like no one will be teleporting in or out of this place.”

She smiled and licked her lips as she continued to unveil her plan. “If I recall the schematics for this place correctly, the transport bay isn’t far from the power core, is it? If we can have Atomic Rex send out another Atomic Wave there, it will stop anyone from getting off this high-tech orb, don’t you think? Hmmm...Who shall I have Atomic Rex see this time?”

She put her hand up to her chin as she pretended to be deep in thought. “I know! We’ll use Gurral himself! Ol’ Rexy as Gurral would call him hates to leave a foe unslain. He still wants to destroy your champion, so let’s go with that.” Allison’s eyes glowed even brighter as she projected an image of Gurral standing in the direction of the transport bay into Atomic Rex’s mind.”

One of the Arena Lords shook his head. “Why are you doing this?”

Allison put her hands palms up in front of her in an apologetic gesture as the light coming from her eyes died down. “I’m sorry, let me finish catching you up to speed on my plan. Where was I? Oh yes, the Titans created a dimensional rift to bring Atomic Rex to Chimera’s Earth. The fools quickly found they were unable to control Atomic Rex but they were able to lure him into a battle with Chimera. The two monsters were engaged in an epic struggle but the humans and the few gods left were able to separate the monsters and direct each of them at different Titans.”

She shrugged. “In the end, Kronos the lord of the Titans was destroyed by Atomic Rex, the very monster he thought to use for his own selfish ends. Then with what was left of the gods weakened to the point of exhaustion, I, the being they had used for their own selfish needs, slew one of their remaining leaders.”

Allison began to move around the room in almost a dancing manner. “With the gods all but gone, the Titans defeated, and a maturing army of demigods who see me as their mother, I am poised to ascend to the position of ruler of my Earth with the only obstacle remaining in my path being Chimera.”

She looked off into the distance again. “Excuse me for a moment while I have the beast use his Atomic Wave on the controls array for your transport bay.” The nymph’s eyes began to glow again and once more the facility shook. In the distance, the Arena Lords could hear Atomic Rex roar in victory over his imaginary opponent. As the roar echoed throughout the arena, several Arena Lords came together and whispered among themselves.

Allison’s eyes began to dim as she turned her attention back to the Arena Lords. “Now that the entire facility is locked down, back to my story.” She stopped for a minute, leaned in close to one of the Arena Lords and grinned. “I have to say, for males you are such good listeners. Usually, men don’t care to hear what I have to say but you are hanging on every word.”

The nymph shrugged. “Anyway, even with my army of demi-gods I knew I would need a new supply of kaiju to battle Chimera. I have a scientist who was able to create one new monster for me, but I still need so many more to fully carry out my plan. I couldn’t find any more monsters in my universe but thankfully Kronos had left all of those rifts to other dimensions open. It took some searching, but eventually I found your dimension. A dimension where you, the Arena Lords, had the resources to capture monsters for your games. Monsters that could instead be used as part of my army. The question then was how to gain control of the wonderful monster hunters and genetic engineers you had at your disposal.”

Allison shook her head and giggled. “All I had to do then was convince you to give your monsters to me. Convincing men to do something is easy. All you have to do is find out what they desire then either offer it to them or take it away from them and they will do whatever you want to get it back.”

Allison shrugged. She smiled as she ran her hands down the sides of her shapely body. “Most men are driven by sexual desires and as you can see enticing men with that promise is easy for me.” She shook her head at the Arena Lords. “But, thankfully, you hideous creatures are driven by the desire for money and sport. So, instead of seduction I used infiltration. I simply hid myself among you in my invisible state and studied you. Then I waited for a moment of weakness.”

Allison placed her holographic hand on the chin of the nearest Arena Lord as she spoke in a condescending tone. “When you were running out of monsters to battle Gurral, you were bored and worried that you would lose the crowd. This was my opportunity to first give you what you wanted and then to take everything you had away from you.”

She withdrew her hand and stepped back. “You were so focused on your petty concerns you simply let me take the form of one of you and act as if I was new to the arena. You needed a super monster; one that could challenge your arena champion and satiate your desire to observe battle.” Her eyes began to glow again as she continued, “I offered you Atomic Rex as an opponent for Gurral. Once I posed an idea to reinvigorate your games you jumped at it without a second thought. You didn’t even think to observe Atomic Rex to see if you could find some way to control or contain him.”

One of the console Arena Lords looked up. “We’ve located her at a maintenance console, but there is a more pressing concern tearing its way directly towards this room.”

Allison, unfazed, shook her finger at the Arena Lords. “Do you even realize that if Gurral wanted to he could crush you? You see him as your champion and your captive but in reality, it's the other way around. Gurral could crush you all if he wanted to, but you provide him with the dust he desires so he is placated and operates under the conditions you have agreed to with him.”

Allison’s playful tone changed to a dark and ominous demeanor. “I can step through a portal and escape the guards you send after me any time I’d like, and there will be no bargaining with Atomic Rex. I manipulated you and Gurral into bringing him here. As I said, Atomic Rex cannot be bargained with or controlled, but he can be aimed in the right direction, if you stay on my good side.”

The ground shook again as Atomic Rex continued his rampage through the facility, getting ever closer. “Once the beast was here, I needed the Dream Weaver to weaken Atomic Rex’s mind for me. Then with the monster in a suggestive state I was able to use my magical abilities to make him see what I wanted, where I wanted. Then it was simply a matter of using him to destroy the two places that would put this facility into a veritable lockdown.”

Atomic Rex roared again, and a crash sounded extremely nearby. “There is no escaping the arena. Atomic Rex will destroy everyone and everything until this entire mechanical planet is in ruin.”

One of the Arena Lords moved closer to Allison. “How does that benefit you? You said you wanted to create an army from the monsters we can acquire. We can’t do that if we are dead or if our resources are destroyed.”

Allison grinned, “Good job you’re finally learning. There’s still a way we can all get what we want from this situation.” She gestured to the arena below them and the crowds of spectators who were looking about nervously. “The crowd is beginning to doubt your control of the situation. In fact, I dare say they are beginning to fear for their very lives.” She looked up for a moment in deep thought and then turned her attention back to the Arena Lords. “I can’t control Atomic Rex but I can continue to influence what he sees for a while longer. Few creatures in the multiverse stand a chance against him in battle and the only one we have available to us is Gurral.”

The Arena Lord closest to Allison nodded. “Yes, Gurral. If we can bring him here to battle Atomic Rex, then he could stop the monster and give the crowd the final showdown between the two that they desire.”

Allison shook her head in disbelief. “Even with Atomic Rex threatening the lives of you and your patrons you still hold greater concern over money and sport than anything else.” She grinned. “You truly are vile creatures, aren't you?”

The Arena Lord ignored Allison’s critique and refocused on the task at hand. “There are a few questions we need answers to, though. First, what must we do for you to prevent that terror from breaking through the last wall between him and us?”

A loud slam and a dent in the wall verified the kaiju’s location. Allison grinned and bounced as she leaned forward slightly, looking up at the tall Arena Lords. “Oh, I’ll send him back the way he came now that I’ve got your attention. Just remember that he can come back this way much faster next time.”

The querying Arena Lord nodded, and a second Arena Lord chimed in as the sounds of destruction began to grow quieter. “How do we contact Gurral and get him to activate the dimensional portal you gave him?”

Allison sighed. “In addition to opening portals, the device also works as a beacon. It allows me to know where to shift one of the residual portals left open by Kronos to. Without it I can only move portals to a general area. That’s why, when Gurral was first sent to Atomic Rex’s Earth, the best I could do was to get him in the same part of the world as Atomic Rex as opposed to his exact location.” She grinned. “It was fortunate he found that Marsh-Thing creature and dumped him into a portal. Gurral was simply picking a world at random but when I saw what the creature could do, I altered Gurral’s random destination into a rift that led to a specific Earth I’d picked out. While the floronic creature is too unpredictable for my needs it may serve to deal with a few Titans on that Earth should they ever be awakened by the descendants their children left behind on that planet.”

She turned her attention back to the Arena Lords. “While Atomic Rex is still under the influence of the Dream Weaver, I’ll use my powers to direct him back to the arena floor. In the meantime, one of you is going to have to go retrieve Gurral and convince him to come back here to battle Atomic Rex.”

The Arena Lords conversed among themselves for a moment before one of them finally stepped forward and volunteered to travel to Atomic Rex’s world. As he walked up to Allison, he asked, “The dimensional portal device acts as a beacon. Does the taser weapon you gave Gurral also serve a dual function?”

Allison nodded. “I created the taser from the remains of Zeus’ throne after it was destroyed by Chimera. It now functionally works as Zeus’ Thunderbolt. The fact that even it was unable to stop Atomic Rex speaks to how strong the monster is.”

The nymph then closed her eyes and focused on the portal device. “Okay, I can sense the device I gave Gurral. I will send you to it.” She waved. “Hurry back now while there’s still a here to hurry back to.” She then waved her hand causing a portal to open for the Arena Lord to walk through. After the portal closed the nymph’s eyes began to glow again as she once more used Atomic Rex’s highly suggestive state to influence his movements.

One of the Arena Lords walked up to the mystical creature. “Why put us through all of this? If you needed a monster to battle this Chimera creature, why not just come to us and work out a deal to send Gurral to battle Chimera on his home planet? We could have come to an arrangement that would have seen the crowd thrilled at such an encounter.”

Allison shook her head. “You still can’t see past your own immediate desires, can you? First, as I explained, I need your resources at my disposal to capture and create new monsters as I see fit. Second, as I already said, you are not in control of Gurral so much as he is in control of you. To send Gurral to Chimera’s Earth would be to ask him to risk the lives of millions of humans. Helpless, but sentient creatures that would be crushed under Gurral’s feet as he battled Chimera. Do you think that’s something Gurral would do? Even if you held his Impervium dust over his head, what’s to stop him from simply crushing you and taking control of the mines for himself? A thinking creature like Gurral can only be of so much use to me. Even when using the dust to manipulate him I could never fully control him.” She shook her head. “The Titans made the mistake with Atomic Rex of trying to control a monster that was beyond them. I will not make that same mistake.”

The Arena Lord simply stood and silently considered what the nymph was saying. Allison tilted her head and gave the Arena Lord a sly look. “By operating this way, I force you into the position of providing me with the army I need and I take at least one if not two creatures off the board who can challenge me as my plan progresses.”

The Arena Lord nodded. “Truly, you are the most manipulative creature I have ever encountered. While we are not on good terms, we agree to provide you the monsters you desire, if you provide us our champion to quell this threat.”

The nymph beamed with pride. “Thank you. Now let me focus on bringing Atomic Rex back to the arena.” The Arena Lords walked away and began to discuss quietly amongst themselves as Allison thought to herself, “I have given them just enough of my plan to placate them without them realizing its true extent.”
She put an image of a massive turtle in Atomic Rex’s mind that called out a challenge to him in the direction of the arena.

At the sight of his long dead enemy, Atomic Rex roared and charged the illusion. With her plan falling into place, Allison focused on getting Atomic Rex to where he could fight Gurral.

Chapter 21

Beach of Southern Mexico

It had been almost three hours since Gurral’s impromptu emergency surgery. The Smasher was still sleeping as a result of the Impervium dust he had taken, with Steel Samurai 2.0 standing guard over him. Gurral had woken a few times to drink some water and he even managed to eat some fish Chris and Kate had captured while filling the water tanks.

With Gurral fully tended to, Chris and Kate took the opportunity to contact Emily and Kyle back at the settlement. Chris had informed his children about finding Gurral, the battle with Atomic Rex, and the sentient monster’s victory in forcing the mutated dinosaur off the planet.

Chris was beaming with pride as he talked with his children. “Kids, geez I still say kids and you're both adults. Sorry, dad thing. Anyway, the disposing of Atomic Rex would not have been possible without you two.” He took a deep breath. “Kyle, without you figuring out how to use the satellites to track Atomic Rex and finding the rifts, we never would have found Gurral.”

He smiled as he continued to talk. “Emily, without you showing me that monsters can be used to help us, to really help us, not just draw them into fights with each other, I never would even have thought about working with Gurral. Because of your foresight, work, and compassion in the field of dealing with kaiju, Atomic Rex is now completely off the planet. Not only that but I really think that Gurral can be a part of our community. If we can convince him to stay here, he can guard the opposite part of the settlement from the one Ramrod guards. Heck, he can even actively hunt giant mutants to eat. For the first time in your entire lives, you can know what it means to feel safe. That’s all because of you, Emily.”

Chris was so full of pride that he began to tear up. “For three decades, Atomic Rex has been the force that has dominated my life in one way or another. Your mother and I have battled him more times than I can count and each and every time we have been lucky to escape with our lives and our mech still intact. The advances that you two have made have, as of today, finally ridded the planet of the monster that I couldn’t beat.”

Chris looked at Kate and grabbed her hand. “Every parent hopes that their children will surpass them. Every parent hopes that as their children grow they learn from their mother and father’s mistakes and shortcomings and overcome them. You two have not only overcome my shortcomings, you’ve laid the groundwork for the greatest threat this world has ever known to be removed from it. All those years ago, I set out to save the world and today you two have finished that mission for me.”

Chris sighed. “No father has ever been prouder of his kids than I am of the two of you right this moment.”

Kyle and Emily replied with a simultaneous, “Thanks, dad.”

Kate was about to give additional praise to her kids when a portal opened and a tall, strange looking bluish-gray skinned creature stepped out of it. As the figure walked away from the portal, it closed behind him.

“Kids, we just had another portal open up and something came out of it. From the look of it, this may be one of the Arena Lords Gurral told us about. We’ll get back to you after we see what’s going on here.”

Chris and Kate kept a cautious eye on the Arena Lord as he walked around the resting form of the Smasher. At first, the being had to shield his eyes from the bright sun. The alien was used to the dimly lit confines of the arena. The bright sunlight was not something that his eyes were accustomed to.

After he had gotten a little more used to the shining sun, he walked over to the resting form of Gurral. The Arena Lord nodded as he saw how well the Smasher had healed up from his last battle.

The alien called out to his champion. “Gurral, you have rested long enough, we need you back in the arena.”

Gurral blinked his eyes a couple of times and then rolled over to see the Arena Lord standing next to him. He sat up and looked down at the alien. “You’re here already?” He shrugged. “I guess ol’ Rexy is ready to take over as arena champion. Good, I can finally get started on my retirement.”

The Arena Lord tried to remain as stoic as possible when informing Gurral of the current situation on Arena World. “Things are not quite so simple as that. The Newcomer who told you of this world and of Atomic Rex has revealed herself to be some sort of mystical creature from another dimension. I believe she referred to herself as a nymph.”

The Arena Lord waved his arms. “Exactly what she is, is inconsequential. It’s what she’s doing that matters. Currently, she is using Atomic Rex to rampage through the facility. The monster is destroying the entire complex. She has agreed to bring Atomic Rex back to the arena. It is there in your arena that you can challenge Atomic Rex, in front of the crowd, and settle once and for all the debate over who is the most powerful kaiju in the multiverse.”

Gurral shook his head. “I don’t think so. My part of the bargain is done. I got Rexy to Arena World. He’s your problem now. You guys take him down. I’ve got my quarters, food, and dust to look forward to.”

The Arena Lord was about to respond, when Chris called out from inside Steel Samurai 2.0. “Gurral, you don’t have to go back to Arena World and live in a cave by yourself. Think about what we can offer you here. You can stay with us at the settlement.”

The Arena Lord could see that Gurral was considering Chris’ offer and he quickly countered, “Gurral, you are a warrior! You cannot simply walk away from a challenge! Think of what defeating Atomic Rex would mean to you! Then ask yourself, even in retirement won’t you want the occasional battle? Won’t you crave combat every once in a while?”

The Smasher sighed. “Gotta admit I’m going to miss the occasional fight. I kinda feel like fighting is in my blood now.”

Chris took a deep breath. “Look, I know it won’t be easy for you to give up fighting. As a warrior myself I know how difficult it can be to walk away from the battlefield. You wouldn’t have to give up being a warrior if you stayed here. The only difference is, here you’d actually be fighting for something worthwhile. On Arena World, you’d be fighting for the enjoyment of the crowd. Here you’d be fighting to protect friends. You’d be fighting for food. You’d be fighting for people that would mean something to you. People who would see you as a protector to be thankful for, not as a gladiator to cheer on for simply killing things. I understand that fighting is in your blood, but fighting alone can’t sustain you. You need more than that, you need friends, family, and a cause to fight for. If you stay here you can have all of those things.”

Chris took a deep breath. “Look, we don’t have the resources to keep repairing Steel Samurai 2.0 or to make any new mechs. It’s hard for me to say this but I won’t be able to protect my family much longer, but you can. You can help protect us and we can offer you friendship, we can offer you people to talk to. We can both benefit each other!”

As the Gurral nodded in response to Chris’ words the Arena Lord started to become nervous. “You’d let Arena World be destroyed? You would let your home world be torn asunder? You would let us Arena Lords as well as the crowd be slain by Atomic Rex and the woman manipulating him?”

This time it was Kate who grabbed the external speaker. “Would he let the people who kept him as a slave and fed an addiction to force him to fight to the death for their amusement die? From what Gurral has told us, you are cruel and ruthless creatures. I was worried that sending Atomic Rex to you was a fate too cruel for even him, but if he is proving to be more than you can handle, I would suggest that you and your crowd are reaping what you have sown.”

Gurral nodded. “You know she has a point. You raised me to be a slave and work in the mines. You only moved me to the arena when I became strong. Why in the hell should I help you?”

The Arena Lord began to consider Allison's words about how he and those of his kind were really Gurral’s prisoners. He went to the one thing that he was still able to hold over the monster. “The offer of a home with friends that you can fight to protect may sound alluring but you are forgetting something, aren’t you?”

The Arena Lord pointed to the nearly empty sack of dust strapped to Gurral’s chest. “Your dust. How will you function without your dust? It's been what, only a couple of hours since you last ingested it? You feel fine now but how will you feel in a few more hours? How will you feel when that small bag you have runs out?”

Gurral looked down at the bag. The mighty Smasher was silent as he stared at the tiny bag of particles that had become the driving force in his life. He placed his fingers on the bag and began to twirl it around. As he was doing so, he saw the dimensional device also strapped to his chest. Gurral grabbed the device and smiled. “If ol’ Rexy destroys you and the rest of the Arena Lords, I can just use this device to hop back and forth. I can go and grab dust as often as I want.”

The Smasher looked over Steel Samurai 2.0. “I gotta say having a friend is something new for me. I kinda like what Chris is saying. Fighting for a cause, fighting for a friend I can talk to is something I never had before.” Gurral gestured to the newly added scars to his body. “Look, those little guys patched me up after my fight with Rexy. Not because they needed me to be ready to fight again tomorrow. They did it for no other reason than to help me out.” He shrugged. “So yeah, maybe I’ll stay here and help them out. Maybe that way I can really enjoy my retirement with people who I like instead of by myself in some cave.”

The Arena Lord began to shake as he realized he was losing the argument. He recalled Allison’s words about how when you needed someone to do what you said you either had to offer them something they wanted or take away something they coveted. The Arena Lord quickly recalled what the Newcomer had told him of Atomic Rex and what he learned of the monster from the drones that had recently filmed him. Taking this knowledge and considering that what he said next would either save everything he had, or cost him all that he acquired over his life and possibly even his life itself, the Arena Lord made one last ploy to lure Gurral back to Arena World.

The Arena Lord took a step closer to Gurral and he stared him in the eyes with as much conviction as he could muster. “Atomic Rex is brutally dedicated to defending his territory. What do you think he will consider his new territory on Arena World after he has slain everyone else there? Do you think he will simply allow you to teleport in and take your Impervium? Even if you were successful the first time, Atomic Rex would know you were there and he would wait for you to come back.”

The Arena Lord could see that his words were beginning to weigh on Gurral’s mind. He fought back a smile as he continued to press his advantage. “Atomic Rex was able to sense you from halfway across this planet and because you were in his territory, he came to destroy you. Once he knows that you want access to the Impervium, to what he will consider his territory, do you really think that he will simply let you come and go?”

He took a step closer to Gurral, going close enough to the giant monster that he could reach out and touch the beast. “Is that what you want? To have to battle Atomic Rex for access to the dust, each and every time you go there? Atomic Rex is the most powerful foe you have ever faced; is retirement going to be based around fighting that beast every time you want your dust? Or would battling Atomic Rex now before he considers the arena his territory, in a ring where you would have the advantage, be a much more logical approach?”

Gurral’s eyes flared with anger. “If that overgrown lizard thinks he is going to take the dust from me, he’s dead wrong!” Gurral stood and gestured to the Arena Lord. “Come on, open the portal; let’s go!”

Chris called out to his friend. “Gurral, you don’t have to go with him. You don’t need the dust! The dust is what he uses to control you, but you don’t need him and you don’t need the dust.”

Gurral’s face was still filled with anger as he turned and looked in the direction of the mech his friend was sitting in. The Smasher shook his head. “No one’s going to take my dust away from me!”

Chris tried to sound as calming and caring as he could. “I’m not saying I want to take the dust away from you. I’m saying I want to help you take yourself away from the dust. Away from the hold it has on you. Away from the Arena Lords and the battles they make you fight for no other reason than the entertainment of others!”

Chris could see Gurral’s face starting to soften. Kate reached over and grabbed her husband’s hand and when she did so it gave him the strength to carry on with his plea. “You’re the strongest living being I have ever seen! I’ve seen literally dozens of monsters capable of destroying mountains if they wanted to fall before Atomic Rex, but you were able to hold your own against him. With Kate and me helping you, you were able to force him off the planet.”

Chris grabbed the controls of Steel Samurai. He then had the mech walk toward Gurral with its hand extended. “Together we were able to beat Atomic Rex. Together we did the impossible. If we were able to do that together, we can also break the dust’s hold over you. This is what friends do, Gurral. They help each other. You freed us by removing the greatest threat to our existence from our planet. You have given us a better life. Now, give us the chance to do the same for you. Give us the chance to help you overcome your addiction. Give us the chance to free you and offer you a better life. That is what friends do for each other. They help each other. Let us be your friends.”

Gurral looked at the mech’s extended hand. The Smasher had never had anyone speak to him as Chris just did. He never had anyone talk to him as an equal and not as something they could use for their own benefit. The Smasher started to lift his hand when his fingers began to shake. Gurral looked down at his hand to see that it was shaking all the way down to his elbow.

The arena champion knew that the shaking was the result of him considering giving up the dust. The shaking was his body rejecting his thoughts that he could live without the fix the dust provided him. Gurral dropped his hand as any sign of hope in his face was replaced by shame. Shame at the thought that his addiction to the dust outweighed his desire for friendship. For the first time in his life, Gurral the Smasher, the mightiest creature in existence, realized how weak he truly was.

He shook his head as he looked at the mech containing his newfound friends. “I can’t. I need the dust. It’s all I know. It’s the only thing that has ever made me feel good. I can’t give it up. I need to go and fight for it.”

Gurral’s eyes brightened a little. “Come with me! Together we can kill Atomic Rex, then I can have access to my dust and still live back here!”

Inside of Steel Samurai 2.0, Kate could see the disappointment on Chris’ face. She knew that eventually Gurral would be drawn back to the dust he was addicted to. She squeezed her husband’s hand to show him that she loved him.

She then turned off the exterior speaker. “Let him go, Chris. I’ve seen addicts before. No matter what you offer him, nothing will convince him to break away from his addiction until he decides to do it himself. And he can’t be the protector we are looking for as long as he’s hooked on that stuff. What will happen when a mutant is approaching and he’s too high to fight it off?”

She moved closer to her husband. “We can’t help him either. If he was trying to save his family or something, that would be one thing, but he’s trying to fight Atomic Rex to get access to a drug and to save people who have monsters kill each other for sport. It’s not something worth risking our lives for. It’s not something risking more damage to Steel Samurai 2.0. It’s not something worth dying for and missing Emily’s wedding for. It’s not worth missing our future grandchildren for.”

She turned Chris’ head so that he was looking in her eyes again. “Chris, tell me you are not still addicted to killing Atomic Rex. Tell me that having that monster off the planet is enough for you. Tell me you can choose your family over your desire to kill that monster.”

Chris kissed his wife. “Of course, I can. The love I have for you and the kids is greater than any other feeling or desire I have.” He sighed. “And you’re right, as much as I want to help Gurral, he’s fighting for the wrong reasons. A real friend would never ask me to fight for something I didn’t believe was worthwhile.”

Chris nodded and turned on the exterior speakers. “Gurral, I can’t risk my life and my family’s safety to save the Impervium mines of the Arena Lords. My daughter is getting married in three days. I won’t risk missing that for this or any other world. I won’t try to make you do anything you don’t want to do, but know this, friends don’t give up on each other. We have a settlement several thousand kilometers north from here. If you just follow the coast, you’ll eventually find us. If you are able to kill Atomic Rex, if you decide you want to leave behind the dust, you can find us there.”

Chris then piloted Steel Samurai 2.0 into the sky. The mech flew a quick circle over Gurral and the Arena Lord before it rocketed in a northern direction.

The Arena Lord looked up at Gurral. “You’ve made the right decision.”

Gurral shook his head, and said, “Shut up.” He then grabbed the device to open the portal to the Arena.

The Arena Lord looked at the strap across Gurral’s chest and fixed his eyes on the taser weapon that Allison had referred to as part of Zeus’ Thunderbolt. The Arena Lord nodded. “Very well. Your opponent, the crowd, and your dust all await.”

Gurral nodded and activated the portal device using the coordinates Allison had programmed into it. The rift opened up to show Atomic Rex standing in the middle of a half decimated arena. When Atomic Rex saw the portal form with Gurral on the other side of it, the nuclear theropod leaned forward and roared at the true form of the illusion Allison had been taunting him with.

As the monster’s roar ended, Gurral slammed his right fist into his left palm. “It’s smashing time!” He then charged into the portal with the Arena Lord at his feet.

Chapter 22

Arena World

Gurral entered the arena that he had ruled for so long to hear a raucous applause from the crowd. The applause was different from the cheers he had heard before. Typically, the applause he received was due to the crowd rooting for him either out of an affection for him or because they bet on him to win. When the crowd cheered for him in that situation, their cheers were filled with excitement.

The applause Gurral got today carried with it a sense of hope and relief. They had seen what Atomic Rex had done to the wall of the ring, had witnessed his awesome power, and this caused them to experience a sensation none had ever felt on Arena World before. All of them were scared, and many were utterly terrified, knowing how close they were to being devoured by the primeval predator in the ring below. The only thing that kept them from pure panic was the knowledge that their champion was coming to take this monster down.

As Gurral flexed his shoulders and looked around, the Arena Lord who had come through the portal with him sprinted away and into a massive hole to Gurral’s right that had clearly been caused by the reptilian horror standing at the opposite side of the ring. He saw the destruction the radioactive leviathan had wrought through that hole deep into the heart of the facility. He could also see the scared but hopeful faces in the crowd, and understood their expectation of him. In this battle, it was not only the gladiators’ lives that were in danger, it was everyone in the facility. The crowd began to cheer more loudly, and chant his name, sending a surge of adrenaline through his body.

With the knowledge that these people were depending on him to save their very lives, Gurral finally understood what Chris had said about fighting for a cause. On any other given day there were people in the crowd who would be rooting against Gurral because they had bet against him. With the odds of him winning each battle he was in, there was a substantial profit to be made if he lost. This resulted in a somewhat split crowd, all in fact rooting for their money.

Now the groundswell from the crowd was one hundred percent behind Gurral, with not a single seated or quiet body in the entirety of the stands. The Smasher had never really fought for anyone else’s life other than his own. Even though he knew the members of the crowd were despicable beings who on any other day would pay to see him die, today they were cheering for him to save their lives, and that feeling, the feeling that he could save lives by winning this fight, gave Gurral an inner strength he had never known was available to him.

Gurral quickly looked to the top of the arena where the Arena Lords typically watched the battles from. He could see several Arena Lords and a blond-haired human-looking woman staring down at them. He guessed that the blonde was the nymph who had manipulated him and the Arena Lords into this situation in the first place. He made a mental note to have a word with her once he finished with Atomic Rex.

The arena champion was drawn away from the adulation of the crowd and his inner thoughts, when Atomic Rex roared again and charged him. Gurral clenched his fists and muttered, “This is my home turf. Time to show you why I’m the champ here.”

When the two monsters had almost reached one another, Gurral shifted his mass to the side so that he did not collide directly with Atomic Rex. As Atomic Rex hurtled past, Gurral wrapped his burly arm around the nuclear theropod’s neck and trapped the monster in a headlock. The Smasher then began repeatedly driving his spiked fist into the saurian creature’s jaw. With each blow, Gurral rocked his adversary and tore chunks of scales out.

Gurral growled at the earth born kaiju as he delivered blow after blow. “It’s over, Rexy. Nobody beats me in my arena. Nobody!”

In response to Gurral’s taunts, Atomic Rex stopped trying to break free from the hold he was trapped in. Gurral looked down to see a light blue glow starting to emanate from the saurian beast’s body.

Knowing what was coming next, Gurral shifted his weight, and using his unparalleled strength, he hurled Atomic Rex away. He then turned his back to the monster, bent down, and wrapped his arms around his knees. Half a moment later, Gurral was sent rolling forward as the Atomic Wave slammed into his body. Gurral was still curled into a ball when he crashed into the arena wall, creating a massive dent.

With the Atomic Wave finished, Gurral rose from the floor with smoke rolling from his Impervium-encased back. A deafening cheer came from the crowd as they realized he had taken the Earth monster’s most powerful attack completely unharmed.

Gurral looked at Atomic Rex and nodded. “That’s right, Rexy. If I fight smart, you can’t burn me with your blast, and I don’t think you can take me without it.”

Atomic Rex’s eyes lit up with anger when he saw that Gurral was unaffected by his Atomic Wave. The saurian monster snarled and then ran toward his foe. When he had almost reached Gurral, the Smasher turned his body in hopes of again slipping the charge and securing a headlock. Gurral however, was not the only monster that was able to adapt in the midst of a battle. Anticipating Gurral’s move, when Atomic Rex had nearly reached Gurral, he ducked down and shifted his momentum so that his tail swung forward to strike Gurral in the ribs, knocking the arena champion off balance.

As Gurral stumbled backward trying to fully regain his balance Atomic Rex stepped forward and swiped his claw across Gurral’s chest. Atomic Rex’s claws not only ripped new gashes across the gladiator’s chest but also tore through the strap that went across it holding the portal device and the taser weapon created from Zeus’ thunderbolt.

Atomic Rex followed the first slash with another from his other clawed hand, but Gurral was able to raise his forearm in time to block the attack with his Impervium wrist-spikes. Gurral then moved a step closer to his opponent, wrapped his arms around the reptile’s waist, lifted Atomic Rex into the air, and then slammed him to the floor with a crash.

Atomic Rex’s entire body was shaken from the impact of Gurral’s slam. The nuclear theropod was still on the ground when Gurral’s foot kicked him in the side of the face and snapped his head backwards. Knowing that he would be kicked again if he didn’t act fast, Atomic Rex threw the front part of his body forward and clamped his jaws around Gurral’s left leg.

Gurral roared in pain as the saurian monster’s teeth pierced through his flesh and struck the bone beneath it. With Gurral’s leg still in his mouth, Atomic Rex stood up and in doing so caused the Smasher to fall onto his back.

Gurral’s blood was streaming out of Atomic Rex’s mouth and down his leg. The pain the arena champion was experiencing increased exponentially when Atomic Rex began to shake his head from side to side in an attempt to tear the leg off completely. The arena champion looked past his body and saw Atomic Rex’s right foot near his free leg. Gurral snarled and then drove his fist into Atomic Rex’s foot causing the Earth monster to fall face first to the ground.

When Atomic Rex’s lower jaw hit the arena floor, for a split second it drove his teeth deeper into Gurral’s leg, but when the reptile’s jaws bounced back up, it caused him to loosen his grip and allowed Gurral to extricate his leg from his opponent’s mouth.

Atomic Rex was beginning to rise when Gurral leapt up and then came crashing down to drive his Impervium-encased back into Atomic Rex’s spine. The force of the blow caused Atomic Rex to lift off the ground and expose his neck. The moment he saw the nuclear theropod’s head lift off the ground, Gurral once again reached over and wrapped his arms around Atomic Rex’s neck. He then rolled back so that he was pulling Atomic Rex’s neck to the point of breaking while keeping his Impervium-encased back on top of Atomic Rex.

Gurral pulled a little harder on the nuclear theropod’s neck as he whispered to his foe, “I got you now, Rexy. You’re stuck, and you can’t blast me off. Be a good monster and let me snap your neck.”

The Earth monster knew he had to break this hold or die, and in a show of his own amazing strength, Atomic Rex shifted his arms underneath him and then even with Gurral on his back, the nuclear theropod began to stand. Without the leverage of the ground, Gurral’s hold on the scaly neck didn’t have the same extreme force behind it, giving Atomic Rex the chance to counter.

When he was fully upright with Gurral still on his back, Atomic Rex threw himself backward, driving Gurral into the ground with the force of their combined weight.

The impact of the slam forced Gurral to release his grip and allowed Atomic Rex to roll away from the Smasher to the arena wall and regain his feet. Gurral was still on his back when he saw Atomic Rex starting to stand up. The arena champion heard the crowd still chanting his name. The Smasher nodded his head in recognition of their support and rose as well.

Gurral’s wounded leg continued to bleed and throb with pain as he looked over at Atomic Rex to see that the scales he had torn out of the monster’s jaw had nearly fully healed. He shook his head. “You never stop surprising me. You’re really tough.” He fixed his eyes on the wall Atomic Rex was standing near. “Now, let’s see how well you handle wall-fighting.”

Gurral ran and threw his shoulder into Atomic Rex, knocking the Earth monster hard against the wall. As Atomic Rex bounced off the metal barrier, Gurral slammed his left shoulder into the kaiju’s neck and pinned the saurian beast to the wall with his head forcefully tilted to an upward angle. Gurral then grabbed Atomic Rex’s right claw with his left hand while using his right hand to continually pummel the radioactive leviathan in the ribs and hip with reverberating punches. With Atomic Rex trapped against the wall in a clinch, all the Earth monster could do was scrape his left claws ineffectively against Gurral’s impenetrable back while Gurral continued to inflict damage to his torso and upper leg.

The Arena Lords and Allison’s projection were watching from the viewing area above the battleground. Allison turned to the Arena Lord nearest to her as Gurral continued to hold Atomic Rex in a clinch and tear apart his side. “It looks as if Gurral may be in a position to finish this fight.”

The Arena Lord closest to her nodded. “Indeed, and with the crowd almost exclusively betting on Gurral to win, they are pleased.”

Allison’s projection looked over to the rest of the Arena Lords as they kept their eyes fixed on another image, while using their bodies to block Allison’s view of it. The nymph giggled as she yelled over to them. “I know your guards are just outside of the room I’m in. Didn’t I tell you that I can just teleport to another location at will?”

The Arena Lords, who were staring at the image being projected from the room that contained Allison, watched as their guards rushed in only to have Allison open a portal and step into it. With the nymph now lost to them again, her projection turned and walked over to the gathered Arena Lords. “Now that you have proof of what I’ve already told you, do we have to wait for this battle to be over or can we start talking about how we are going to build my army?”

On the arena floor, Atomic Rex’s entire left side was torn open and covered in blood as Gurral continued to pound on him with his spiked fists and the crowd continued to chant the name of their champion. Gurral soaked in the chants as if they were pure energy and then pushed the nuclear theropod even harder against the arena wall, shouting, “Hurry up and die!” He unleashed an even more devastating punch that managed to break one of Atomic Rex’s ribs.

Atomic Rex grunted in pain and then responded by using his left hand to grab onto the horn on the right side of Gurral’s head. The Smasher didn’t think anything of the move until he felt his chest and stomach getting warm. He shifted his eyes down to see Atomic Rex’s body starting to exude a light blue glow. Gurral pulled his horn free from Atomic Rex’s grip, but not fast enough to save himself from the coming onslaught.

Gurral yelled “Crap!” as the Atomic Wave burst out of the saurian kaiju’s body, crashing into him at point blank range and throwing him back against the opposite wall of the fighting ring. His knees buckled as he looked down at his badly burned and bleeding body. A clawed foot slammed into his chest, pinning him to the arena wall as it started to glow again. Gurral brought his forearm down on the leg that was pinning him to the wall, ripping flesh down to the bone, but then the atomic blast crashed into him.

At that range, and with nowhere to be pushed, the wave of radiation pulsed through his body, hitting the Impervium plating on his back, which reflected the radiation from the blast back through his body once more. Gurral was amazingly tough, but such immense forces pushing outward were not something his body was built to withstand. Pieces of his skin were torn away, showing the burnt muscle beneath.

Gurral slumped to the ground, his flesh still sizzling. Atomic Rex dropped to one knee in front of him, unable to support its mass with the deep wound Gurral had inflicted. Gurral pushed himself up on shaking hands, and he saw the wound on the stubborn saurian’s leg healing. He also saw that the last blast had destroyed the protective field between the audience and the ring. Another blast would obliterate them all instantly. Just being near this beast for long would overdose them with radiation, killing them all slowly and painfully over the next few years. The crowd’s chants started to die down as they realized their dilemma.

Gurral was trying to find additional strength within himself when he heard a single voice call out from the crowd. “Save us, Gurral!”

The lone voice was quickly echoed by other members of the crowd. Within seconds the entire arena was repeating the phrase, and the gladiator was showered with calls of, “Save us, Gurral.”

The calls once more reminded him of Chris Myers, the new friend he had left behind. The friend who had told him that fighting for something worthwhile, that fighting for the lives of others, was worth more than fighting for people’s pleasure, worth more than dust or any other reward. The friend who Gurral had left behind for his Impervium dust.

The Smasher shook his head to clear the ringing. He knew he had to end this one way or another in the next few seconds, or thousands would die. He saw Atomic Rex’s leg in front of him beginning to glow blue again as it powered up to unleash a blast that would be the end of an entire audience.

Gurral clenched his hand into a fist and yelled, “This is for you, Chris!” as he punched Atomic Rex’s in his left knee with all of the strength he could muster from his kneeling position.

Gurral’s fist shattered Atomic Rex’s knee and caused the nuclear theropod to fall to the ground and onto his injured left side. Gurral raised both fists, even though the pain nearly blinded him, and then he brought them both crashing down upon Atomic Rex’s skull. The sound of bone cracking rang through the arena, and the blue glow faded as Atomic Rex lost consciousness. The crowd cheered more loudly than ever as the kaiju’s head bounced once before settling to the ground to lay still.

Gurral then collapsed forward onto the ground next to Atomic Rex. The arena champion groaned in pain as he rolled away from Atomic Rex and onto his back.

Both monsters were lying on the arena floor for several seconds, trying to recover from the beatings they had given one another. Gurral could hear the crowd yelling desperately for him to finish the fight. They began to chant “Finish him! Finish him!” and he knew that they had completely forgotten about their bets. They were encouraging him in a last-ditch effort to survive. They needed their champion to put an end to the threat the reptilian nightmare represented to them for good.

Gurral heard a strange cracking sound coming from Atomic Rex’s body and he looked over to see the kaiju's knee and rib forcing themselves back into place. Gurral’s eyes closed and his head lolled to the side as he tried to find the strength to force himself back to his feet.

When Gurral opened his eyes, he saw the dimensional portal device lying on the ground next to him. He grabbed the device as Atomic Rex opened his eyes, and began shaking his head. It took one look at the device for Gurral to see that it was damaged, with a busted readout and torn buttons. He couldn’t tell for sure if it was set to the same place, but for sure he knew he wouldn’t be able to change any settings on it. He could only hope that it still functioned at all.

Gurral had to consider that if he sent this nuclear horror away, it might very well be back to the world where his friend Chris was living. It might be back to where a whole world was just beginning to feel safe.

Atomic Rex was starting to stand on wobbly legs as Gurral reached out and grabbed the device. The Smasher looked at the crowd and then down at his wrecked body. He wanted to save the crowd, but he didn’t want to drop this demon back into the lap of one of his few real friends.

The Smasher’s mind raced through scenarios. He could still fight. He might even win, but if he fought Rexy to the finish, then the crowd would die no matter who won. If he sent Atomic Rex away, he had a crushing feeling that it would be directly back to where the scaled terror had come from; back to the world of his friend. He could just leave Atomic Rex here and head back to Earth and live the rest of his life with friends, but then he’d never have the dust again. His hand began to shiver uncontrollably at the thought, and it forced him to make a tough call, overcome his pride, and rise to his feet.

Gurral’s body ached as he glared at the oncoming kaiju. He closed his eyes and said, “Some other time, Rexy.” He then activated the portal device causing a rift to open up between himself and Atomic Rex. His worst fears were realized as he saw the same beach he’d battled Atomic Rex on previously.

When the nuclear theropod saw the portal open, he roared and stumbled back from it. The saurian creature knew what the portal was and he had no desire to let it rob him of his prey. As Atomic Rex was backing away, Gurral lumbered around the portal, and rushed the mighty kaiju.

Gurral punched Atomic Rex in the face, knocking the monster further off balance. He then grabbed Atomic Rex’s leg, and using the last of his energy, he lifted the scaled monstrosity and flung it through the portal. The nuclear theropod fell face first onto the beach he had previously battled Gurral on. Atomic Rex stood up and turned back to the portal, ready to charge back through and destroy the armored goliath. The monster was moving toward the portal when Gurral waved at him and then closed the portal.

The crowd roared with approval as Gurral closed the portal. The arena patrons were chanting Gurral’s name as he stood in the middle of the arena, weaving on his feet. The champion heard the chants but he found himself unwilling to enjoy them. His thoughts were focused on the fact that he had just sent Atomic Rex back to Chris’ Earth. The physical pain that Gurral felt was nothing compared to the disappointment he felt in himself.

A droplet of moisture ran down Gurral’s bony cheek, then he sighed. “I need some dust.” His shoulders hung heavily as he staggered towards a med-bay.

As he was trod away, he dropped the portal device to the floor. The Arena Lord who had been waiting in the freshly torn tunnel through the wall of the ring slowly walked out and picked up the device. He then casually walked over to where the device that had been part of Zeus’ thunderbolt had fallen and grabbed it as well.

He tucked both devices one beneath each arm and then whispered as he walked away, “Soon nymph, you shall see how manipulative we Arena Lords can be and you shall also learn what it means to cross us.” He then returned to the tunnel Atomic Rex had made and slipped into the shadows.

Chapter 23

Arena World

Gurral awoke to find himself in a huge medical cot. He had eaten well and was afforded a good amount of dust for his battles against Atomic Rex. The Smasher looked down at his chest and he could see that between his natural healing abilities and the med-bots’ ministering he was nearly fully healed. The giant gladiator stood up and stretched out his arms, and as he did so the door to his room opened.

The human woman with long blonde hair walked into the room and greeted him. “Gurral, the reports of your ability to heal were not exaggerated, I see.” She walked closer to the arena champion. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am…”

Gurral cut her off. “You’re that nymph the Arena Lords told me about. The one who had me bring Atomic Rex here to wreck the place so you could take control of the Arena Lords’ monsters.”

The nymph bowed. “That is true. I am now in control of what remains of the facility.”

Gurral grumbled. “Look, I don’t care who’s in charge of this place.” He bent down and glared at Allison. “I just want to make sure that you’re going to keep to our deal about my retirement. If you don’t, we’re going to have trouble.”

Allison smiled. “I fully intend to honor our bargain. In fact, I believe when they were in charge of this facility, the Arena Lords were much too stingy with the amount of dust you were given. As we speak, a large shipment of dust is coming along with more food for you.” She walked closer to the Gurral. “The Arena Lords saw you as a creature they could profit from. I see you as someone whose goals can be intertwined with mine in a partnership. You have fulfilled your part of our bargain and I fully intend to more than live up to mine.” The door opened and several workers brought in freshly cooked meat and a large sack of dust.

Gurral’s mouth watered at the sight of the dust and the pleasure it would bring him. He took a step closer to it when another thought entered his mind. The Smasher took a deep breath at the thought of what his addiction to the dust had recently cost him.

He stopped walking and looked down at Allison. “How long has it been since I fought Atomic Rex?”

“It was only yesterday that you gave the arena the greatest battle it has ever held.”

Gurral kept his eyes fixed on the nymph. “Good. You say that you’re more than ready to live up to our bargain?”

Allison’s face took a cautious look as she stared at Gurral’s face in an attempt to try to gauge what he was thinking. “Yes.”

“Then I need to add a few more stipulations to my payment for services rendered to you.”

Allison nodded and continued to try and advance her agenda with Gurral. “If it’s more dust that you want, I will be happy to provide as much as you desire. Just ask and it’s yours.”

Gurral nodded. “That’s good, I got a feeling I am going to need more dust when I get back.”

Allison knew exactly what he was speaking of, but acted otherwise. “Get back from where?”

Gurral sighed. “I...I need you to send me back to Atomic Rex’s Earth and I also need a sack as big as I can carry filled with mech parts from the loading bays.”

Allison raised her eyebrows. “You wish to stay on that Earth?”

Gurral shook his head. “No. It’s just that Atomic Rex is back there now.”

Allison nodded and replied with, “He definitely is.”

This steeled Gurral’s resolve. “I have some unfinished business to attend to back there.” He looked over at the sack of dust. “Send me there for a couple of hours then bring me back. After that, I'll be happy to enjoy my retirement, extra dust included.”

The nymph shrugged. “So, you want to make up for sending Atomic Rex back by giving Chris and Kate enough parts to build a few more mechs to fight off Atomic Rex? Oh, don’t act surprised, I keep myself informed everywhere I meddle. Another piece of information you may want to know is that right now Atomic Rex is heading south, away from the settlement, but if you show up, he’s bound to turn around and follow your trail. But if that’s what you wish...”  She turned and looked at the workers who had just brought in the food and dust. “Go and prepare the mech parts as he requested.”

Gurral moved past Allison but his eyes shifted over to the dust. “Wait. I wanna make it up to them real bad, but if they’re safer without me, then I’m not gonna go make things worse.” He sighed. “What if I don’t go back? What if we just leave the mech parts where Chris can find them? Will that draw ol’ Rexy back to the settlement?”

Allison smiled. “Captain Myers really made an impression on you, didn’t he?” She smiled. “He is quite a man; were he not so principled and devoted to his wife I may have even considered seducing him and adding him to my coalition.”  She shrugged. “Very well, if you insist on rewarding the good captain, I shall arrange for the mech parts to be delivered in Japan. The country is kaiju free and outside what Atomic Rex considers as his territory, so if a rift appears there, he will not feel compelled to investigate it. Captain Myers' son should be able to detect the rift and send his father to get the parts. There’s even an old mech building facility there they can utilize to construct new mechs with.” She grinned. “Will those accommodations meet your additional stipulations to your satisfaction?”

Gurral nodded in reply, swallowing back a lump of emotion at the thought of never being able to talk to the man he’d become friends with again.

Allison then turned and began walking toward the door. She took a few steps before stopping and looking back over her shoulder at Gurral. “If you change your mind and want to go live on Captain Myers’ Earth, I can always use your portal device to get you back there.”

Gurral’s eyes widened a bit, and he ran his hand over his bare chest. “I must have lost it after pushing Rexy through the portal.”

The nymph shrugged. “No matter. In time I can create another one. Until then, assure me I have your support, and I’ll make it available as soon as it’s complete. Plus, I’ll keep the Impervium dust coming your way. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. Bon appetit!”

Gurral settled down to eat as he always did, and began sprinkling the dust over his meal, making his mouth water intensely as his body began to demand satisfaction. Then his hand stopped, and his eyes flared to a brighter red in anger. “Dust made me who I am. It made me strong,” He snarled and slammed his other fist down on the floor, leaving a massive dent and spilling his steak, “but I’m getting sick of wearing a leash.” He picked up the slab of dust-sprinkled meat, imagined what it would have been like to live on Earth with people who really cared for him, and took a bite, sinking into the bliss of it.

Chapter 24

The Settlement, Northern California

The sun was shining brightly as Chris Myers woke up and rolled over in his bed to look at the love of his life. He was surprised to see Kate wide awake and smiling at him.

She gave him a quick kiss and stood up. “Today’s the day. The day you get to walk our daughter down the aisle.”

Chris smiled. “One of the happiest and saddest days in any father’s life.” He shrugged. “Overall though, the happiness far outweighs the sadness.” He stood up as well. “I still can’t believe Emily is getting married.”

Chris took a decent looking flannel shirt and a pair of jeans out of his closet. “I also still can’t believe these are the best clothes I have to give my daughter away in.” He sighed and frowned. “She deserves so much better. I should be able to give her more than this.”

Kate put her hands on her hips. “We’re not doing this again today. Emily is happy. Her generation has grown up in a world where things like tuxedos and dresses don’t matter. She’s also grown up in a world where her father loves her more than anything and is the greatest hero on the planet. Believe me, from her perspective and the perspective of all her friends, it’s a dream come true to have you walk her down the aisle in your best flannel.”

Chris smiled “You’re right.” He walked over, grabbed Kate, and kissed her passionately.

Kate pulled away from her husband and grinned. “No time for that right now. We have a wedding to get to.” She started to change into her best clothes as well as she looked over her shoulder at Chris. “Later tonight though, for sure.”

Chris had a goofy smile on his face as Kyle came running into the room. He stopped when he saw his mom half undressed and turned his head. “Geez. Mom, really?” He did his best to push the image of his naked mother out of his mind and moved on to the reason he came running into his parents’ bedroom. “I’ve got some really bad news and then some weird news.”

Chris sighed. “Start with the really bad news.”

Kyle nodded. “Okay, well in the past two days two different portals seem to have opened again. The first was in South America. The pictures I was able to find show Atomic Rex walking out of it. So, he’s back here and in South America.”

Kate shook her head. “He must have defeated Gurral and when the Arena Lords realized they couldn’t control him they sent him back here.” She looked at Chris. “I’m sorry about Gurral, Chris. I know you two formed a bond.” She walked over and hugged her husband. “At least if Atomic Rex is here, he’s down in South America.” Chris was silent as he hugged his wife.

Kyle waited for them to let go of each other and then he continued. “The second portal opened in Japan at the base of Mount Fuji. It’s hard to tell from the grainy pictures we have but it looks like there’s a giant sack there in the parking lot of the old mech factory.”

Kate looked at Chris. “A giant sack in front of a mech factory? Who put it there, Santa Claus?”

Kyle shrugged. “I have no idea, but it would be easy to find out. I mean Japan is pretty much monster free now.”

Chris smiled. “Maybe we can all benefit from this. I know Emily and Sean don’t really know what weddings were like before the kaiju came, and that’s fine as long as they are happy. Still, maybe we can give them something from the time before the kaiju. We can take them to a monster free Japan for their honeymoon in Steel Samurai 2.0.” He looked over at Kate. “You and I can check out that bag and give them some time alone away from all the pressures they have from monsters, farming, and running the settlement. We can give them the chance to really enjoy each other.”

Kate smiled. “I like that. Plus, Japan is a big place. I’m sure we could find an area where both Emily and Sean can have some alone time and then we can find another place for ourselves.”

Kyle let loose a loud groan. “Yes, please go away for a week. Having you two, Emily, and Sean out of here for a week would be a much needed vacation for me too.” He shrugged. “I keep telling you two how thin these walls are and you just don’t care, do you?”

Kate smiled. “Sorry, honey but you know that’s how you got here.”

Kyle shook his head. “I’ll say it again, gross. Anyway, the wedding is going to start so let’s get going.”

Chris and Kate finished getting dressed then they walked out of the house holding hands with Kyle following behind them. When they were halfway to Sean and Emily’s farm, Kate turned around to see Steel Samurai 2.0 looming in the distance on the far side of the settlement from the farm. She nudged Chris. “I’m glad you finally moved the robot off the farm.”

Chris shrugged. “Well, Ramrod proved his worth to me.” He ground his teeth. “And it’s their wedding night so, I figure having my giant robot looking over them isn’t the most appropriate thing.”

Kyle walked up to his parents. “Well dad, if you want grandchildren you know how they’re going to get here.”

Chris playfully elbowed his son in the ribs as Kate sighed. “I hate having my own words used against me.”

When they reached the farm, they could see Sean standing in front of a backdrop that had been decorated as best it could with the resources they had. The young man was beaming with joy as he stood at the end of an aisle with every member of the community standing on either side of it.

Kate kissed Chris and then smiled. “Well, I have to go preside over this ceremony and Kyle has the best man duties. So, good sir, we shall leave you to your fatherly duties.”

Chris smiled and walked to the barn where Emily was waiting. When he saw her in her simple dress, he was struck by how beautiful she looked. He smiled and did his best to fight back tears.

Emily smiled back at her father and began to tear up as well. “I finally know what mom meant when she said someone could be so happy, the only way they could show other people how happy they were is to cry.”

Chris hugged his daughter as hard as he could. “Emily, I know I say it all the time, but I love you more than you could ever know, and know that no father has ever been prouder of his daughter than I am of you. I know you and Sean are going to be happy together and that’s more than I could ever ask for in life. You’ve made my life so much brighter by simply being in it, you’ve brought me so much joy and now you are going to share that brightness and joy with Sean as well.”

Emily hugged her father as hard as she could. “No daughter has ever loved her father more or been prouder of him than I am of you. You’re my hero, dad. You’re my hero for all that you’ve done and your ability to grow and change. I hope I live up to the example you’ve set for me.”

Chris smiled. “You passed my example a long time ago, honey. It’s me who looks up to you now.” He laughed. “Now let’s get going. Sean will be patient enough to wait a few more minutes but your mother won’t”

Emily laughed. “That is so true.” She then took her father’s arm, and as the barn doors opened before them, Chis escorted Emily to the next phase of both their lives.

Epilogue

Arena World

Allison’s projection was in the negotiations room with several of the Arena Lords reviewing a plan on how they could hunt down and capture new monsters to join her army as she prepared to crush what was left of the resistance on her Earth.

After they had finished reviewing where they could find the most battle ready monsters, Allison commanded several of the guards. “Bring Gurral another sack of Impervium dust.”

The Arena Lord closest to the projection interjected. “That is far more dust than we usually provide him.”

Allison smiled. “As I said, Gurral is a potentially dangerous wild card to my plan and I have no intention of angering him. A sedated Gurral poses no threat and if he is willing to sedate himself then I am more than happy to provide him with the means to do so. Now let’s send out that first team of hunters to gather additional beasts for my forces.”

Two of the Arena Lords slipped away from the main group and walked into a nearby hallway. They stopped in a dark corner and one of them pulled out Gurral’s discarded transporter from beneath his arms. “With the help of our mechanics, we have managed to repair the device. Now with one fell swoop, we shall regain control of the arena from nymph, end her life, and give the crowd an opponent for Gurral who will provide a challenge to him greater than even Atomic Rex.”

The Arena Lord turned on the device causing a dimensional portal to open in front of him. The aliens scrolled through several different dimensions until they found the one they were looking for. With the desired dimension located, the Arena Lords stepped into the portal and found themselves in a thick forest full of trees.

The Arena Lords saw an opening ahead of them where they could see a full grown human male and female as well as two adolescent females standing in the middle of the camp. The Arena Lords started walking toward the family when one of the youngsters noticed them.

The little one screamed, “Daddy, monsters!”

As the rest of the family turned around, the trees behind them suddenly exploded into the sky as a huge monster with the head and skin of a sperm whale, the mane and teeth of a lion, and the torso of a gorilla rose up into the air. The monster then leaned down so that his head was between the humans and the Arena Lords.

As the two Arena Lords looked up at the monster, visions of the beast battling Gurral ran through their heads.

The man called out to the monster. “Chimera, hold!” The beast shifted his eyes toward the man then the kaiju took a half step backwards.

The man walked up to the Arena Lords. “My name is Luke Davis. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

The nearest Arena Lord nodded. “Indeed, we do. We are from a different dimension where our civilization has been co-opted by the nymph known as Allison. She is using our resources to gather monsters to attack this dimension and a beast known as Chimera.” He pointed to the hybrid beast towering over him. “Is that the beast the nymph fears so much?”

Luke nodded. “Yeah, that’s Chimera all right. So, Allison took over your world, she is using it to build an army, and you want us to help you fight her.”

The Arena Lord nodded. “Indeed, we thought that the enemy of our enemy might be our friend. We also thought you might prefer to engage her on our world, before she can come here and threaten the lives of your people.” The Arena Lord pulled out another device from under his arm. “We also come with a weapon that might be able to help in defeating the nymph.” He held out the device for Luke to see. “The nymph referred to this as Zeus’ Thunderbolt.”

The End

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Atomic Rex vs Gurral by Daniel Gray

Kaiju Rampage

Captain Daichi watched his crew hard at work on the deck of the Hiroaka. The day had just begun, but already the ship’s hold was filling up with fish from her nets. Daichi had never seen the kind of loads his men were hauling now before in his life. It was almost as if something out there in the water was driving the fish his way. He whispered a prayer of thanks and smiled. This was Daichi’s first run as captain. He had feared he would not live up to the expectations of his father and let the old man down. Even at the age of thirty-one, Daichi was somewhat afraid of the old man. Though his father was pushing eighty, he could still make his words cut deeper than the sharpest of swords.

The two of them had never seen eye to eye. Daichi had never wanted to be a part of his father’s fishing company, much less the captain of the old man’s best remaining boat. Daichi had dreamed of being a writer, going to America, and becoming a star. At first, he had some success. He had sold his first ever story to a paying magazine and almost immediately got an offer to write one for another. That sort of thing was rare in the writing world, and Daichi allowed himself to believe that he could make it. He spent the next few years doing his best. His work sold, he made money, but it was never quite enough or dependable enough to be all he did in terms of a job.

Daichi’s father had been there for him, if at a price. His father had given him just enough work to keep him afloat and chasing his dream for a time. After five years had passed, his father became more and more demanding of him, pushing more and more work onto him. His father’s health had begun to fail with age. The old man needed someone who could take over and continue to bring honor to the family name. Daichi was the only son. He had three sisters, but his father wanted him, not them. His father held with the old ways and wanted Daichi to surrender his failed dream to step up and do what he had been born to do.

When this fishing season had started, the old man had given Daichi a choice. Take over as captain of the Hiroaka or leave the family business behind for good. Daichi had known it was no idle threat. Either he stepped up or he was out. His self-published sales were down, and short stories weren’t paying what they used to, not that it had ever been enough. With his rent already close to being late and a stack of bills on his desk, Daichi was left with no choice. Now, here he was on the deck of the Hiroaka, doing the job he had sworn as a child he would never do.

The Hiroaka was an old ship, only weighing in at a displacement of around one hundred and fifty tons. Her entire crew, counting Daichi himself, was composed of two dozen sailors. She ran nearly one hundred feet from bow to stern. What she lacked in size and crew, though, she more than made up for in the tech aboard her. Her sonar and comm. gear was top of the line. That fact was one of the few things Daichi liked about her.

Natsuo approached him wearing a concerned expression that gave Daichi cause for worry.

“Good morning, Natsuo,” Daichi offered.

“Captain Daichi, sir,” Natsuo responded with a quick nod of his head. “I would be most grateful if you would accompany me inside.”

“Is my father calling again?” Daichi asked. His old man, though wheelchair bound, had followed him to sea in a sense, thanks to the very state of the art gear that Daichi liked that the Hiroaka had onboard. Even in the worst of storms, the ship’s communications worked flawlessly.

“No, Captain Daichi,” Natsuo told him. “There is something you must see.”

Daichi grunted his consent and moved to follow Natsuo to the heart of the small ship where her helm controls and sonar station were. Tomo, the ship’s comm. and sonar specialist, was there waiting for them. Tomo got up from his station as Daichi entered. He gave Daichi a quick bow of respect.

“What is it, Tomo?” Daichi asked. “Natsuo has been rather vague about why you needed me here.”

“With good cause, Captain,” Tomo said. “We did not want to cause a panic.”

Daichi’s eyebrows rose at the bizarre disclosure. “Panic? What are you talking about, Tomo?”

“Look for yourself, sir,” Tomo told him, gesturing at the sonar screen.

Daichi studied the screen. At first, he didn’t have a clue what Tomo was trying to show him, but then he saw it. The blip was so large Daichi had thought it was just part of the screen.

“What is that?” he asked.

“We don’t know, Captain,” Natsuo told him. “Whatever it is, though, it’s coming straight for us.”

“And fast, too,” Tomo added. “It’s moving at twenty knots.”

Daichi glanced back at the sonar screen, quickly doing the math in his head. “So we have about ten minutes until whatever that is reaches us?”

Tomo and Natsuo nodded in unison.

“Could it be a ship?” Daichi asked. “Have you tried hailing it?”

“I don’t think it’s a ship, sir,” Tomo said. “Something about the way it moves. . .”

“We have tried making contact with it, Captain,” Natsuo informed him. “On every channel available to us. There has been no reply.”

Daichi rubbed at his cheeks with the fingers and thumb of his right hand. “I am man enough to admit I don’t have an answer to this one. Both of you are more experienced with all this. What do you suggest we do?”

“Run, Captain,” Tomo said almost instantly. “We certainly can’t fight something that size and that fast if it’s hostile. The Hiroaka is a fishing boat. Yes, we have some small arms aboard in case of pirates but nothing that could give us a chance against something like that.”

“I have to agree, sir,” Natsuo nodded.

“The men are in the middle of pulling up the nets,” Daichi protested. “All the fish in them here will be lost if we run. And what we will tell the rest of the crew? Won’t running cause exactly the sort of panic you were hoping to avoid?”

Neither Natsuo nor Tomo had an answer.

“You said this thing is moving at twenty knots correct?” Daichi asked, still weighing his course of action.

“Yes, Captain,” Tomo replied.

“The Hiroaka’s max speed with her engines at full is only eighteen knots,” Daichi reminded them. “If we run and whatever that thing is decides to come after us, we won’t be able to outrun it.”

Natsuo and Tomo stared at him, waiting for his orders.

“The call is yours, sir,” Natsuo said. “Whatever you decide to do, though, Captain, I suggest we do it quickly.”

“Fine,” Daichi grunted. “Tell the crew what’s going on and pass out what weapons we do have aboard. There’s no point in keeping them in the dark at this point. They’ll know something is badly wrong as soon as we give the order to abandon the nets.”

Daichi paused, taking a breath before continuing. It hurt him to give up the fish, but he could see no other option. “Tell them to drop the nets. Tomo, get down to the engines and make sure we get all the speed out of them that we can. Natsuo, set a course away from whatever that thing, maximum speed.”

Tomo and Natsuo hurried to carry out his orders while Daichi moved to watch the chaos that began on the ship’s deck as soon as Natsuo started barking orders through the loudspeakers.

The crew outside looked absolutely terrified as they cut loose the nets they had been reeling up. He could see in their faces, even from where he was looking out the window of the small control room of the ship. The fear in those expressions only grew as Natsuo ordered the men to pass out the weapons from the ship’s weapon lockers.

Daichi’s attention became focused on the horizon beyond the Hiroaka’s forward deck. He picked up a nearby pair of binoculars and raised them to his eyes. Out there in the distance, he could see the something massive cutting through the waves towards the ship. Daichi felt sick as the full scale of its size sunk in. The thing was many, many times the size of the Hiroaka.

Natsuo was spinning the wheel around madly, turning the Hiroaka away from the approaching contact. Daichi could already see that even with the engines straining at full power, it wasn’t going to be enough.

Some of the sailors on the deck who had already been given small arms opened fire at the massive creature streaking towards the ship. Shotguns thundered and pistols cracked rapid succession. Daichi had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at how futile their shots seemed given the size of the thing coming at them.

In the last instant before the creature plowed into the Hiroaka, it rose partially up out of the waves. Its head was horned. A great horn protruded from each side of its skull, and a third larger one rose from the middle of its forehead. Its body was covered in thick scales that reminded Daichi of the scales of python, all yellow and black. It gave a roar that left everyone aboard the Hiroaka screaming in pain and clutching their ears before the creature dropped its head back into the water. The window in front of Daichi blew out. Shards of glass exploded, burying them in his flesh. Blood spurted in splashes of bright red from one piece ripped open the side of his neck. Daichi stumbled backwards to collapse onto the floor.

The monster struck the Hiroaka at a speed well over twenty knots. The hull of the fishing vessel folded inward with the squeals of rending metal. The impact was so great that the Hiroaka was lifted from the surface of the ocean and sent toppling over onto its side before it completely broke apart as the monster plowed through it, tearing it to pieces.

****

General Akio watched the floor indicator of the elevator slowly clicking upwards. He felt as if he were slicked with sweat despite the cool of the air conditioning that kept the building at a comfortable sixty-eight degrees, no matter how hot the summer day grew outside. The fingers of his right hand clutched the handle of the armored briefcase he carried. Akio was not looking forward to his meeting with Director Daisuke. Daisuke was one of the most powerful men in Tokyo. He owned this entire building, and the full wealth and power of the Rao Corporation was his to command. The job had fallen to Akio to be the one to deliver the news to him that monsters were real, and they were on their way to this very city. Akio could only pray that Diasuke wasn’t the sort who took out the anger wrought by the message upon the messenger. It was not as if Akio had no power of his own. He was a general. Still, there were other means that men such as Daisuke could extract their vengeance if they felt they needed to do so to keep their honor intact.

The elevator doors opened onto the top floor of the Rao building. Akio steeled himself and plunged through them into the vast waiting area beyond. At the far end of the room, a lone secretary sat at an antique and luxurious desk. Her long black hair was pulled tightly atop her head into a bun. She wore thick, though stylish, glasses. She looked up from her work to greet him with a smile as Akio marched towards her. The two of them were not alone. Two well-dressed and clearly armed security personnel stood not far behind her desk, guarding the entrance to Daisuke’s office.

“Good afternoon, General Akio,” the sectary purred. “Mr. Daisuke is expecting you. You may enter whenever you are ready.”

The two guards stopped him as he started for the door.

“I’m sorry, sir,” one of them said, but Akio knew the man wasn’t sorry. If anything, the gun for hire merc was having the time of his life getting to frisk a full-fledged general. Akio endured the weapons search with nothing more than a frown, though inwardly he imagined putting the two guards into their place. He was young for a general and had risen to his position by killing enemies of the state, not pushing papers with his butt in a chair. Akio seriously believed he could take them both at once.

“He’s clean,” the smaller of the two guards said.

The other nodded and gestured towards the office doors. “You may go on in now, sir.”

The doors opened on their own as General Akio walked to them and on through them into Daisuke’s office. The office was the epitome of the word grandiose. Large tanks of exotic fish lined its walls and scores of American comic books, framed and sealed in protective casings, hung above them. The lighting of the room was dim and twelve foot tall, twenty-four feet wide window behind Daisuke’s desk shaded to block the rays of the sun.

Director Daisuke sat behind his desk watching him closely as Akio strolled across the long distance towards his desk to ultimately take a seat in the empty chair in front of it.

“Greetings, General.” Daisuke grinned, flashing too-white teeth.

“Director,” Akio acknowledged him. “I wish I was here under better circumstances.”

“Exactly what are the circumstances that bring you here, General?” Daisuke asked.

“May I?” Akio asked, lifting his briefcase for Daisuke’s approval.

“But of course,” Daisuke assured him.

Akio sat the briefcase on Daisuke desk and keyed in the three series of codes needed to open it. With the completion of each sequence, there was the audible snap of a lock opening. When he was done, Akio spun the briefcase around so that Daisuke could see the visual screen that lined its top.

“What I am about to show you, Director Daisuke, is classified and—”

“I am aware of the protocols, General. Do get on with it,” Daisuke ordered him.

“These images were taken yesterday morning,” Akio said as he activated the screen inside the briefcase. It came to life showing a grizzly scene of bodies floating, being bounced about on the waves. The images were rough and shaky as if being shot from a handheld device, close up. The image zoomed out to show a large body of debris that appeared to have once been a ship then altered again to show everything from a viewpoint high above the wreckage to give it scale. From this angle, the rescue boats that were clearly shooting the original set of images could be seen.

“What am I looking at here, General Aiko?” Daisuke asked, “And more importantly, why?”

General Akio chose his words carefully. “Director Daisuke, the government has known of your Project Kaiju for some time. The fishing vessel in those images was completely destroyed with all hands aboard just off the coast yesterday morning. All signs point to something massive, moving at high speed, ramming into it.”

Daisuke leaned back in his chair with a smirk on his lips. “Are you accusing the Daisuke Corporation of being involved in the deaths of these sailors, General?”

“No, Director, at least not at this time,” Aiko answered honestly. “However, surely you can see why my superiors would want you questioned about this incident.”

“Project Kaiju was discontinued when my father passed on, General,” Daisuke said. “We here at the Daisuke Corporation no longer waste resources on the sort of genetic engineering that project involved.”

General Akio cleared his throat. “As you say, Director, but the Daisuke Corporation remains under contract as an advanced weapons designer for all branches of Japan’s military.”

“I understand your concern, General Akio, I do.” Daisuke frowned. “But this corporation, as I said, has taken a different path under my direction.”

“Director Daisuke, the attack on this fishing vessel is not an isolated incident. There have been two more inside of the last forty-eight hours and close to two dozen in the last week. Each such attack has been closer to our nation than the last. All of these attacks seem to be caused by something massive and intelligent that appears to be on direct course for our nation and this very city.”

Daisuke tilted his head, as if appraising him more intently. “And you believe this city may be in danger?”

“All evidence points to that, Director Daisuke.” Akio met the director’s eyes. “We were hoping that your corporation might have some knowledge about whatever is behind these attacks so we can be better prepared to stand against whatever it is once it reaches Tokyo.”

“There is an American carrier group just south of this island, General. May I suggest that your time would be better spent rallying them to our aid than here chasing shadows?”

“I will be approaching the Americans as soon as I am through here, Director. You can count on that,” Akio said firmly.

“See that you do,” Daisuke ordered, though he possessed no real power to do so. “Now if you will let yourself out, General, I have work which I need to attend to. Good day.”

“Good day, Director.” Akio kept himself polite as he rose from his seat and left Daisuke’s office.

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