Monsters On Attack! - Final Chapter

***Robert Porter <sleestak2@juno.com>***

Radioactive energy literally leaked from Godzilla, causing his body to light up with rays of energy. He looked around himself, trying to locate anything that remained of Minya, such that he could breath life back into the tiny creature. But there was nothing left to find. Orga II had completely obliterated the body.

With a deafening roar, a massive wave of radioactive energy pulsed out from Godzilla's body and slammed into the Millennian abomination created from the death of King Ghidorah and King Zigan. Orga II was slammed by the pulse and thrown onto its back.

Two of the three heads whipped up to watch Godzilla as it tried to roll on its side to stand. It realized it must have absorbed the wrong monster as it needed stronger arms! Unable to watch Godzilla, the heads pushed at the ground to get back to an upright position.

Just as it stood, Godzilla slammed into it. One of its long, scaly necks got caught in Godzilla's jaws and massive fists slammed repeatedly into its gut.

But Orga II knew that the way to defeat Godzilla was to use his own weapons on himself. The two free heads whipped around Godzilla and bit into his flank. The DNA and radioactive energy of Godzilla filled him as it absorbed. Slowly, Orga II's own body began to sparkle with its own radioactive energy.

Eventually, one of the Orga II heads let go and whipped back around to look its nemesis in the face. Godzilla found a bastardized version of his own face looking back at him. Enraged, he let go of the Orgo II neck he held in his jaw and roared his frustration.

Orga II sent out a blast of radioactive breath into Godzilla's face. The force of the energy knocked them both back and away from one another.

Using his newly developed Godzilla-like arms, Orga II was the first to stand.

With bits of his own flesh sizzling from a blast of his own type of energy, Godzilla slowly stood. First this creature killed Minya. Now it was trying to take over Godzilla's identity! With everything he had, he geared up to fire off his strongest possible radioactive blast. The energy welled up in his gut before pouring out in a stream of red fire and slamming into Orga II.

But there was an unfortunate side effect. As had happened earlier that day on the ocean floor, Godzilla felt his head about to explode off it's neck with the radioactive energy. He knew that if he didn't stop and refuse to use his radioactive breath, he would die and fit of radioactive meltdown.

Godzilla stopped. He could no longer use his radioactive breath.

Orga II, on the other hand, could. Three heads poured all their energy into blasting Godzilla.

* * *

From the sidelines and silently watching all these battles was the Millennian-mind-controlled Irys. He was disappointed that the other monsters weren't in on the fighting and destroying each other, but he figured that since Godzilla may very well be the toughest opponent present, it's just as well that the Millennians concentrate on destroying their greatest threat first.

But it wasn't long before Irys was noticed. As Godzilla and Orga II battled, Angurion snuck up and attacked Irys from behind.

With claws extended, Angurion slammed into the wiry creature. He used the horn on his snout to butt into Irys, breaking a hole in the tough body, causing life liquid to leak out. Irys' tentacles reached around and tore at Angurion, wrapping themselves around the neck and legs of its nemesis and slowly pulling him away, mindless of how the spiny shell was tearing at its soft flesh.

Finally, the swift and angry Angurion was thrown away from Irys. But no sooner was it free than Gorosaurus jumped into the fray, using its massive jaws to bite at an Irys tentacle and put the creature off balance.

Angurion stood as fast as he could and saw the Irys/Gorosaurus struggle. Gorosaurus was giving a valiant effort to topple Irys, but was quickly losing as Irys used multiple tentacles to push at the enemy and brace its own weight. Angurion ran forward and slammed into Irys. With the struggle to stand caused by Gorosaurus, the attack by Angurion caused Irys to topple onto its side.

But with the mass of tentacles to help, Irys just as quickly righted himself. How were they do defeat a creature that had such dexterity with all those tentacles?

That's when Manda showed up. With a serpentine expertise, Manda out danced the various tentacles and got through to Irys' body interior and sunk her teeth into Irys' soft parts.

Angurion and Gorosaurus jumped into the battle as well.

* * *

Feeling he was safely away from the battleground, King Kong gently placed Miki and Yoshi on the ground of a mountainside. When he determined that they were safe and unharmed, he turned and lumbered back to the battlefield.

Both Miki and Yoshi stood and looked out. "We're in a great position to see everything, eh?" Yoshi offered, excited at seeing the battle.

"Mmm," Miki agreed. She was feeling waves of anguish from Godzilla at the loss of Minya. The pain that he was feeling was incredible. Then she felt a tickle in her mind. Something... It was worry! Was Godzilla worried about losing to Orga II? But...

She turned to look at young Yoshi. He was watching the battle, but biting his lip with anguish and worry. The worry she was feeling was from him. "What is it?" she asked gently.

"The Delta capsule, the one I used to call up Ultraman Delta... I left it out in the middle of the monsters. I'm afraid they'll destroy it. And I can't get to it. It might be our only hope to stop the Millennian invasion."

Miki realized the problem. "Maybe I can get King Kong to bring us the capsule."

* * *

As King Kong entered into the fray again, he looked about for targets to battle. Godzilla was engaged with Orga II. Angurion, Gorosaurus and Manda were fighting Irys. Gamera was injured and unmoving. Rodan and Battra were nowhere to be seen. And Meganurons were swarming around all of them. That left the damaged Millennian ship that had helped shield Orga II earlier. It lay to the side of the field, warbling as it struggled to upright itself, unable to fly anymore than a few hundred feet off the ground.

King Kong launched himself at the Millennian ship, determined to take it down before it could warp into another monster like the others. He landed on top of the ship, causing it to crash into the earth. Pounding mercilessly on its surface, he was making no noticeable marks on it. Slowly, and with great effort, the ship rose, leaving King Kong to balance on top of it as he continued to try to beat it down.

Although the Millennian ship's ability to fly had been hampered, apparently its massive pulse weapon was not. With a powerful discharge of energy, it let loose into King Kong's chest, pushing him all the way into the other side of the valley to crash hard into the earth.

King Kong was slow to shake the effects of the blast, but by the time he stood, the Millennian ship was moving higher into the sky and out of his reach. Apparently it got back some of the energy it needed.

* * *

"The helicopter should have Ms. Saegusa and young Yoshinori Iko picked up within an hour as soon as we locate them," the soldier reported. Accepting this, General Shinichi Tanaka and Secretary of Defense Fuji Okata stood in a makeshift control room and watched on the viewscreens as the battle unfolded before them.

"Should we send in Garuda?" Okata asked.

Tanaka shot him an irritated look. "How? The Garuda's in pieces right now being redesigned."

"I know. But can't we get it back together and send it in there?"

"There's no time. By the time we got it operational again, the battle would be long over. Besides, who's going to fly it?"

Okata grimaced. "You're right. But I had to ask."

"Mr. Secretary," Tanaka said solemnly, "I think all we can do now is wait and hope for a miracle."

Suddenly their attention was drawn back to the viewscreens as one of the helicopter mounted cameras spotted the ground erupting. In a cloud of dust and debris, Baragon pushed forth into the heart of the battle.

* * *

Pulsing with radiation, Godzilla beat at Orga II with his fists. But the creature had absorbed the Godzilla qualities. Instead of the radioactivity eating at the flesh of the alien creature, it was feeding it with energy.

Frustrated and in pain, Godzilla backed away. The more energy he put out, the more energy he provided Orga II. It was a losing battle.

With a massive battle cry, Orga II launch into the air and slammed into Godzilla, knocking him into the ground.

It was a losing battle indeed...

* * *

There had been two Millennian ships shielding Orga II earlier in the battle. The first had been attacked by King Kong, but successfully escaped. The other Rodan had thought he'd destroyed, but it still survived.

Battra danced away from the energy pulses the ship was firing at him. With his dexterity and energy provided when he drained Ultraman Delta, he was easily able to avoid the hot plasma pulses. But Battra couldn't avoid it forever. One blast finally connected, knocking Battra into a falling tumble. The Millennian ship moved to attack and possibly absorb the spike encrusted moth.

From behind it, Rodan attacked. Beating his leathery wings hard against the wind, Rodan was able to knock the Millennian ship off course from Battra. As it warbled about and tried to regain its balance in the air, Rodan fired a beam of his own energy at the ship.

Meanwhile, Battra was able to recover. The power provided to it by Ultraman Delta allowed it much greater recovery powers. But would it be enough? Turning back to the skies, Battra moved back into the battle with the Millennian ship. With Rodan's help, they just might defeat it.

Rodan swooped by the spaceship and pecked at the silvery surface. He caused no apparent damage to the ship's surface, but it did cause it to warble with unbalance. If they could keep it unsteady enough, they just might be able to find a way to penetrate the hull. Avoiding another plasma pulse, Battra slammed his body into the ship while Rodan fired uranium energy from his mouth onto the ships surface.

A blast from Rodan managed to penetrate into the hole of the Millennian ship's weapon. With a concussive explosion, the ship rocketed across the sky as it's weapon was cataclysmically destroyed.

But that wasn't the only weapon it had at its disposal. It called out to the ship above the atmosphere that had created the black hole and was outputting the swarm of Meganurons. By reaching into the interdimensions of time and space, the Millennians pulled a massive amount of Meganurons into the earth's atmosphere and directed them to defend its fellow ship by attacking Battra and Rodan.

A cloud of blackness descended upon the two flying creatures. Rodan swooped away, keeping his mouth open to gorge upon the insects, but the extreme mass of them was too much. Their supersonic assault beat at Rodan, like a swarm of locusts on a car's windshield. The mass that filled his mouth threatened to choke him.

Both Battra and Rodan tried to get away from the mass of insects, but it followed them wherever they went. If they did succeed to escape the cloud for even a second, the damaged Millennian ship was there to meet them and ram them back into the swarm.

Battra knew that if there was any way to stop the Meganurons, they had to stop the flow of them out of the black hole. But how could they get to the ship when the masses of insect continued to increase and torture them?

Suddenly a wall of flame broke through the swarm and momentarily cleared the air for Battra and Rodan to see. With an incredible speed, the flying disc of Gamera, back and ready to fight, shot through the hole in the swarm of Meganurons he'd created with his flame. Now Gamera was in this air battle as well!

The hole in the swarm that Gamera had created quickly closed in upon itself and the Meganuron swarm once again assaulted them. The piercing wail of Battra pierced the air as he tried to communicate to Rodan and the newly arrived Gamera. It needed to let them know that instead of attacking the swarm, they needed to attack its source.

Rodan shot upwards through the swarm and slammed into Gamera. With a push of air from its wings, it cleared the mass of insects for a few moments... enough moments for Battra's cries of assistance to get through.

Understanding what they needed to do, Gamera, Rodan and Battra moved into the upper stratosphere to attack the Millennian created black hole. Unfortunately, at this height where the air was so much thinner, Rodan and Battra quickly lost their ability to stay aloft. They had to beat their wings frantically just to maintain height, thus allowing the jet propelled Gamera to advance higher than either of them could.

Complicating matters was the boiling, black cloud of Meganurons that blackened the already darkened skies. Rodan and Battra couldn't see the black hole so much as the swarm that continued to emerge from it.

Gamera, able to escape the atmosphere, turned on the black hole and the Millennian ship that controlled it. Drawing a massive fireball from deep in his chest, he fired it at the black hole.

The swarm emerging from the hole was obliterated and the flow of insects finally stopped... but not for long. The resulting explosion from the fireball was quickly sucked back into the black hole's gravity well and vanished. Within moments, the swarm continued even stronger, with another wave of the creatures attacking Gamera.

How does one defeat a black hole? Gamera spun in circles to ward off the swarm of Meganurons that attacked him while he considered the problem.

Meanwhile, the Millennian ship rose to the stratosphere to watch Rodan and Battra as they struggled against the thinner air. It found satisfaction in watching its plans unfold.

* * *

Nearer the ground, the Millennian ship that King Kong had earlier attacked settled down to watch the battle on the ground. Things were working out well. The greatest threat, Godzilla, was being neutralized. Ultraman Delta had been neutralized. Irys was still under mind control and dealing with many of the threats. And soon, this world would belong the Millennians.

* * *

Gamera figured it out. If a black hole is destroyed by collapsing in upon itself, then that's what Gamera had to do. He jetted away from the Meganurons that swarmed around him and toward the black hole. The insects sped off in a cloud towards the giant turtle, but Gamera put his plan into action. Once he felt the gravity well begin its tug on him, he arced into a spin around it. The Meganurons followed.

Tighter and tighter he spun. As the gravity well increased its grip on his body, the tighter he spun near it, with centrifugal forces preventing him from spinning inside its mass to shrink to the size of a pinprick and slip into the Meganurons' universe. The effect caused a vortex of insects and space debris to form, drawing in the mass it created.

Now Gamera needed to send off a fireball to explode in the vortexed mass. This should cause a rupture in the space/time continuum, in turn causing the black hole to collapse in upon itself. For the effort, Gamera drew in his energies to spit out the fireball...

Something was wrong! His body was not functioning properly! With the plethora of forces that tore at his body, he wasn't able to bring forth the fireball. And he was already in a deadly embrace with the black hole from which his only escape was the collapse of it. But if he couldn't cause the needed explosion, he was trapped!

With the vortex created by Gamera, the swarm of Meganurons surrounding Battra and Rodan decreased. Some of the insects were even being sucked into space by the vortex. Within moments, the atmosphere was clear enough for Battra and Rodan to see what Gamera had done.

Rodan realized Gamera's dilemma. And with the path cleared, Rodan now had a clear shot at the black hole. He opened his mouth and fired a beam of fire at it.

The energies dissipated within the vortex and vanished into the black hole along with the Meganurons and space debris. His beam was not strong enough. He needed more energy.

Battra sensed the problem. It had earlier drawn the energies from Ultraman Delta and had the needed power. Slowly, and with great care, Battra settled onto Rodan's back and combined its energies with Rodan's. Now, with their combined forces, Rodan sent out a blinding yellow beam of plasma at the black hole.

Everything exploded. The black hole and the satellite that supported it were obliterated. Gamera shot into space at incredible velocities as he was let go of the forces that held him in the deadly embrace. The watching Millennian ship that Rodan and Battra had earlier damaged was tossed away like a paper mache toy. And both Rodan and Battra were blasted across the sky.

Gamera was wounded. The forces that tore at his body had stressed it beyond its means. Entering the earth's atmosphere after his tumble through space, he dropped like several thousand tons of bricks.

The damaged Millennian ship, on the other hand, had recovered quite well-- not perfect, but well. Rodan and Battra recovered as well and saw the Millennian ship was still active.

Rodan and Battra's job wasn't over yet. At least the black hole and the Meganuron swarm was destroyed.

* * *

As the Millennian prison shook violently, Fairy struggled to stay aloft and keep the Cosmos, Laura and Moll, on her back. "Laura!" Moll cried out as she clung to her sister for support.

The walls of their prison cracked, dropping dust and chunks of alien debris down on the trio. Fairy squealed in distress as she was battered by the falling material. Laura and Moll screamed.

Shafts of sunlight pierced their prison. Laura looked about and marveled as she spotted bits of blue sky shining through the prison walls. To her left, she saw a large chuck of the wall drop away. "Fairy!" she cried while tugging on the creatures soft neck. "Out there! Escape!"

Within moments, Fairy turned and darted out of their prison. The first thing they found was that they were very high into the earth's atmosphere-- so much so that they could only see the contours of the land below, and no details of human habitation. Looking back at their alien prison, they saw the alien sphere crack into thousands of pieces before exploding in a deadly blast.

Moll screamed. "Sister! If we'd been in there--"

"--we'd be dead, now," Laura finished.

They both reflected on that as they watched the alien prison shatter, bits of it's shell slowly tumbling earthward in a fiery shower. Looking around themselves, they saw that they were otherwise alone in the sky. "What do you suppose happened?" Moll asked quietly.

"I suppose our captors have been destroyed. They could no longer keep us contained in their prison."

"Yes, but who destroyed them? And where are they?"

"Could it be Mothra?" Again, they looked around, expecting to find their insectoid savior. Fairy squeaked her own response to the question. The girls listened intently, interpreting the trills and warbles of the fairy mothra's speech.

"So," Laura concluded, "Mothra is still trapped in the alien prison."

"We must save her!"

Reassuringly, Laura reached out to clasp her sister's hand. "We will," she gently responded.

Together the Cosmos began singing their song to call to Mothra as Fairy carried them back toward the earth.

* * *

Gamera crashed into the earth near the monster battle, his armored body creating a massive hole in the ground. With the stresses his body had encountered near the black hole and now the monumental crash into the earth, he was exhausted, in pain, and near death. He no longer had the ability to move of his own volition, much less join in the monster battle that raged less than a mile away.

* * *

Exhausted from her efforts, Miki collapsed.

Startled by her movement, young Yoshi stopped watching the monster battle and ran to her side. "Miki!" he cried out. He grabbed at her shoulders and shook, while continuing to call out her name. Momentarily, Miki regained her control and sat up. Relieved, Yoshi asked, "what happened? Did you get through to King Kong's mind?"

"No," Miki responded, a touch of sadness in her voice. "I can sense him, but I can't get him to hear me."

"But what about the Delta capsule? It'll be destroyed! You must get Kong to understand! He has to hear you!"

"I know. I know, Yoshi. I need to get through to his mind."

"Maybe I can help."

Miki looked at Yoshi in surprise. "You have psychic abilities?" She hadn't sensed it in him before. But Yoshi looked down at his feet, suddenly bashful. She reached out to touch his mind and sensed... shame and regret. "Yoshi, you don't have psychic abilities, do you?"

"I just want to help is all," Yoshi answered, looking ashamed.

"Oh, Yoshi," she sympathized. "Not having psychic abilities is nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, you helped by discovering what the Delta capsule was. And you discovered how to use it. You were a great help."

Yoshi brightened at her compliments. "You think so?"

"I know so." She reached out to put her arm around his shoulder in comfort. "Now you can help me try to contact King Kong's mind by making sure I don't fall down again, hmmm?"

Enthusiastic, Yoshi sat beside her on the ground and put his arm around her waist as a physical support. "Okay!"

* * *

On Planet X, Fumiko found herself continually drawn to the view of her human son, Yoshinori, as he sat with Miki Saegusa on the hillside. Just moments before the woman had collapsed and her son had run to her in concern. It was just like Yoshi, Fumiko thought, to want to help those in distress. His compassion was his most admirable trait.

Still, she hated being separated from him. She missed him greatly and it tore at her heart to think that she might never be able to see him again. Worse, while he was removed from the monster's battle area, there was still a great risk of him inadvertently being injured or killed if the battle should move in his direction. She bit her lip with worry as she watched him put his arm around Miki's waist in support.

"Controller?" she blurted out.

The Controller for Planet X turned to her, irritation in his voice.

"Hmm?"

"Can we contact my son from here?"

The Controller looked at her in frustration. "That is not possible."

"Oh, why not!?"

"All our resources are concentrating on irradiating the Millennian threat. We do not have time to expend energy on your human son-- a son I should remind you that you were not supposed to have."

This angered Fumiko. "I did my duty! I sacrificed my own life for the mission. Can I help it if the human's compassion became a part of me? I lived with them for so many years. And I had a child by a human. He's very important to me." Fumiko stepped forward and slammed her fist into the console in front of the Controller. "I will not have Yoshinori threatened!"

The Controller sighed. Fumiko had obviously been infected with the disgusting human emotional outbursts. In order to silence her, he agreed. "Very well. We have a probe in orbit that you can use to mentally contact your human child." The Controller turned and walked to the far side of the room to retrieve a large, metallic helmet with three antennae jutting out of it. "This," he handed her the helmet, "will amplify your thought waves. You may mentally contact your son with it."

Fumiko took the helmet. "Thank you, Controller."

Agitated, but glad to have silenced her, the Controller turned away and back to his task of monitoring the monster battle on earth.

Timidly, Fumiko slipped the helmet over her head.

* * *

With the portal from the black hole destroyed, the Meganurons saw their number as now limited. They coalesced into a seething ball of insectoid life and used a hive mentality to communicate with each other.

Although just what they communicated was beyond the ability for anyone in this universe to understand, their actions spoke their intentions. Slowly the mass compacted together, each insect finding its place in the chaos so that its body interlocked with its neighbor.

After a moment, a new shape formed. Giant wings crystallized from the mass, along with a bulbous head, a hard exo-skeleton body, and a powerful stinger tail. Megaguirus was born!

Freshly born and of a single minded purpose, Megaguirus drifted down to the battlefield and the monster melee. Irys was battling Angurion, Manda and Gorosaurus. Godzilla was being defeated by Orga II. And...

Roughened claws and a powerful jaw seized Megaguirus' tail and pulled it downward. Looking down, Megaguirus saw the monster Baragon had leapt up and seized its tail. Foolishly, it realized that it had drifted too close to the ground and failed to account for the ground burrowing creature.

Buzzing its wings frantically, Megaguirus fought to escape. It pulled mightily, but Baragon had anchored himself on the ground, preventing an aerial escape.

Megaguirus turned it body and faced Baragon. Now its multi-segmented claws reached around its own tail and raked at Baragon's face, drawing streaks of blood. Startled by the dexterity of the insect creature, Baragon let go.

Taking the opportunity, Megaguirus drove its stinger into Baragon's neck and began drawing out his life energies.

Stunned and angered, he pushed and clawed at the stinger in his neck, but each second the resistance was getting more difficult. He knew that in moments, he would be too weak to resist. He madly thrashed about, causing Megaguirus to twist and tumble in the air as it fought to keep its stinger entrenched in Baragon's neck.

Then Baragon seized his moment. He had twisted Megaguirus into a position such that the tail was turned to the side and he was now behind the insect. With a leap of remaining energy, he climbed up the tail and onto the back of Megaguirus. He grabbed on to two pairs of the four wings and held on tight.

In this awkward position and with its wings in Baragon's grip, Megaguirus could no longer stay aloft. It fell to the ground, its stinger now pulling out of Baragon's neck and falling uselessly to the side. Baragon tumbled away, pulling one of the wings off of Megaguirus.

Struggling to upright itself and fly with its three remaining wings, Megaguirus faced Baragon. But with so much life energy sucked from him, Baragon could do little to fight back. Still, he stuffed the severed wing into his mouth and chewed noisily, to show his defiance.

Enraged, Megaguirus launched itself at Baragon, the stinger seeking the soft flesh again. But before it reached its target, a massive, furry paw reached out and grabbed at the base of the tail. Megaguirus turned to see that King Kong had now entered the battle.

Megaguirus turned its stinger toward Kong.

* * *

Irys finally toppled and crashed into the ground, nearly crushing both Manda and Gorosaurus beneath itself. Angurion quickly rolled the enemy over and began body slamming himself into it, driving his spiny plates into its softer parts and occasionally breaking the harder crustacean shell.

Manda was able to disentangle herself from Irys' multiple tentacles and slither away. Gorosaurus, on the other hand, was having difficulties escaping the mass of tentacles that thrashed about it. Manda reached over and bit the nearest tentacle twisting it out and away so that Gorosaurus could escape.

Squealing in pain, Irys struggled to escape Angurion's torture. But Manda and Gorosaurus both grabbed at the flailing tentacles and held Irys to the ground as best they could while Angurion continued the attack.

Gorosaurus and Manda's smaller mass couldn't hold Irys indefinitely. Eventually, he was able to manipulate his tentacles away from Angurion's battering and slip them around to help lift himself to an upright position again, causing both Gorosaurus and Manda to be flung through the air to land hard. Angurion was also so caught by surprise that he was pushed backwards, falling over onto his side.

Just as quickly, Angurion was back on his feet, angry and ready for the death kill. He charged at Irys, biting and clawing at any tentacle that reached out for him. The two clashed and tore at each other's flesh.

Both Manda and Gorosaurus joined in the fray, attempting to topple Irys as they'd done before. But this time Irys stunned them all by shooting out its tentacles, grabbing at Gorosaurus, and impaling his soft gut with two different tentacles. Tearing the tentacles from Gorosaurus' gut, the entrails came spilling out onto the ground, putting a stench into the air. Irys had gored Gorosaurus!

Both Angurion and Manda were shocked by Gorosaurus' sudden and unexpected death. Angered and what had happened to his fellow Earth Defender, Angurion grabbed at Irys, lifted its mass off the ground, and slammed it with all his might into the earth.

Surprised by the ferocity, Irys flailed about uselessly as it tried to regain it's bearings. But Angurion's angry pounding of its body kept it in a disoriented daze. Manda was able to slip in and bite into the eye of Irys, causing more flailing and confusing as the life fluid leaked out.

Angurion began tearing off tentacles as he pounded the beast on the ground. One by one, the monster lost its power. Manda slithered away, trying to say out of the way of the enraged Angurion before she got hurt by 'friendly fire.'

Within moments, the last of the life energy slipped from Irys as its body parts lay scattered around the ground. Angurion cried out in fury and triumph.

The foe defeated, Manda curled in on herself and released the powers that allowed her to transform. A thin, gurgling sound emanated from her, causing Angurion to stop and watch. Within a few minutes, her body glowed a bright yellow, with heat pouring out in waves.

This was new. Angurion had never seen this behavior in Manda before. Her eyes now glowed a solid white as the yellow light faded. Slowly she uncurled her body, but as she did so, her skin began to slough off. She was shedding her skin! The new skin was a pearly black, speckled with bits of red and purple. Most surprising was that she unfurled two large red wings.

Flapping her new wings experimentally, Manda slowly began to rise. Rising higher and higher, she shot away and an amazing speed and vanished beyond the horizon.

Losing sight of her and assuming she was leaving the fight for good, Angurion looked around the battlefield for the next foe. He was surprised to see Godzilla laying on the ground, being blasted repeatedly by radioactive fire from Orga II. Godzilla was in trouble!

Jumping into the fray, Angurion leapt over the barely moving form of Godzilla, grabbed onto one of the distorted, Ghidorah-like heads, and twisted it backwards at an awkward angle.

Fired up at his victory over the Millennian controlled Irys, Angurion was ready to kick some alien butt!

* * *

Miki gasped.

"What is it?" Yoshi asked. "Did you contact King Kong?"

Miki's face crunched up in confusion. "No? I felt someone else... calling me?" Yoshi gave her a look of astonishment that begged the question: Who? "I'm not sure. It's familiar, but so... alien. And it's not..." She looked around herself in confusion, as if she thought she should be able to see who was trying to touch her mind. "Oh!" she cried when recognition hit her.

"What is it!?" Yoshi cried, feeling it was somehow urgent.

Miki smiled. "Yoshi! It's your mother!"

Yoshi was astonished. He had thought his mother dead, killed by King Ghidorah. A wave of joy and relief washed over him, but just as quickly confusion as well. "What happened? Where is she?"

"She's okay. She's... on Planet X!" Yoshi gasped at the news. "She says we must leave. We're in danger."

"But..." Yoshi stood and looked around themselves. There was nothing but rocks and brush around them. "...there's nowhere to go. I don't know where we are and where will we go?" And secretly he didn't want to leave and miss the monster battle. They had such a great view!

Miki sympathized. They really had nowhere to go.

* * *

The Kong-battered Millennian ship hovered nearby and watched the battle. Things were not going well. The black hole had been destroyed by Gamera, Rodan and Battra. Irys had beam destroyed by Angurion and Manda. At least Gamera and Gorosaurus had been neutralized. Now the sister Millennian ship in the sky was finishing off Rodan and Battra. The Millennians had control of Megaguirus' mind and were taking care of King Kong and Baragon. And best of all, Godzilla was near total defeat by Orga II.

All was not a total loss. Victory was still very real.

* * *

High in the atmosphere, Rodan and Battra continued their battle against the Millennian ship. Each of them danced around each other, bashing and banging about, but neither side gaining a particularly strong advantage.

The Millennian ship once again swooped down and crashed into Rodan, sending him reeling across the sky.

Maybe it was time to do what the Millennian ship what they'd done to the black hole earlier: combine their strength for a blast of Rodan's fire breath.

Battra moved to settle on Rodan's back and latch on, but again the Millennian ship flew at them. They had to quickly fly apart to maintain their height and keep the ship from damaging them. Finding the time and balance to combine their energies was proving to be most difficult with the Millennian ship on constant attack. They had to hold it off long enough to be able to work together.

The two flying monsters combined their strengths in another fashion. They coordinated their attack on the silvery ship enough to peck, knock and blast it away. The ship fought back, but the combined assault was enough to knock it momentarily off kilter.

Both Rodan and Battra took advantage of the momentary distraction to once again try the combination maneuver they'd used on the black hole. Facing the bobbing Millennian craft, Battra settled slowly onto Rodan's back and latch on with its claws. They both realized they'd have the time they needed!

Rodan worked up a blast of plasma from his chest. When he was ready, Battra plunged his stinger into Rodan and pumped him full of energy. The combined strengths once again blasted out a fiery beam.

Both Earth Defenders where shocked when the Millennian craft took the blast at full strength, but instead of disintegrating, it plowed through the blast straight at the combined pair. Within seconds, the ship crashed into the duo with Battra taking most of the blow. They crashed apart.

Moments later, Battra was mortally wounded and tumbling uselessly toward earth. Rodan was shaken, but uninjured. The Millennian ship had taken the blast with full force and survived, but not without a price. The normally silvery surface was now roughened and gray. It's surface was rippled, as if the material had started to warp and boil away, then re-solidified.

Again, the ship moved at full speed toward Rodan and in a split second Rodan realized he would not be able to veer away in time to avoid a catastrophic collision.

There was a crash, but it was not with Rodan. The newly winged Manda flew in and slammed into the Millennian ship with its serpentine body, knocking it askew of its collision course with Rodan.

The Millennian ship turned and confronted the new aggressor. It launched itself at full speed toward Manda, but the serpent was easily able to slide out of the path, leaving the ship to pass by harmlessly. Quickly it turned around and shot forward to try and crash again. But Manda again was able to easily slide out of the way and even slammed her tail into the ship, sending is off course again. It looked like ramming into Manda was going to be a near impossible task!

Rodan beat his wings frantically and rose even higher into the air to watch Manda and the Millennian ship dance across the sky. It gave Rodan a chance to build up the plasma fire in his belly.

Once again, Manda knocked the Millennian ship across the sky with her tail. At this moment of disorientation for the Millennian ship, Rodan let loose the fire and blasted at the already battered and disoriented ship.

The explosion of the Millennian ship was so massive that the concussive waves of disturbed air knocked both Rodan and Manda across the sky in an out of control tumble.

But at least another Millennian enemy was destroyed.

* * *

Megaguirus was slammed into the earth repeatedly by King Kong, who had it by the base of the tail. He finally let go and began beating on his chest in victory while letting out a horrible scream of defiance.

Seizing the moment, Megaguirus buzzed its remaining three wings frantically to get away before the gorilla could inflict even more damage. Kong was surprised that Megaguirus still had energy, but before he could react, Baragon erupted from the ground and leapt onto Megaguirus' back.

Beating about the head and compound eyes, Baragon assaulted Megaguirus' most sensitive parts. Unable to withstand the assault, Megaguirus, beat it's injured tail on the ground like a whip, bucking Baragon away. It was enough to free itself and haphazardly fly out of reach of both King Kong and Baragon.

King Kong charged. He grabbed at the wiry legs of Megaguirus and pulled it forward in a massive hug. He beat the giant insect and began tugging mercilessly at one of the wings, trying to pull it out of its socket.

Suddenly Kong went limp. He fell heavily to the ground, writhing in agony as Megaguirus' stinger had pierced his side and was slowly drawing energy out of him.

Seeing that Megaguirus was both vulnerable and occupied, Baragon launched himself into the air and again onto Megaguirus' back. Again, he beat at the compound eyes. He also bit into the insect's torso, breaking the exoskeleton and drawing fluid out.

Somewhere deep inside Megaguirus, Baragon must have touched something primitive for suddenly it withdrew its stinger from Kong and pulled away. Again, it bucked its tail against the ground and shook off Baragon. Frantically, it pulled away and flew just outside of the reach of both of its assailants.

King Kong slowly stood, nursing the gouge in his side. Both he and Baragon stood looking up at the torn and tattered Megaguirus, who was leaking bodily fluids in great splashes on the ground. Megaguirus slowly swiveled in the air, taking in what was going on around it. It saw the battle that raged between Orga II, Godzilla and Angurion. Gamera was unconscious on the far side of the valley. Irys and Gorosaurus' bodies were broken and scattered on the ground before it. Battra lay with a broken wing and useless on a hillside. And... there on the sidelines and watching everything was the Millennian ship.

Megaguirus' alien brain burned. It had been called from its own universe into this one... against its will. It realized that somehow the Millennians had tapped into its primal brain and had controlled it for their own purposes. It didn't even belong in this universe! Much less should it die for the Millennians!

It's mind whirling, it played over what it knew of the Millennians. They were here to conquer earth. It was a water rich world and it was what the Millennians wanted. However, their plans had been thwarted by the involvement of the Xians from Planet X and the monsters they'd sent. They had also not expected the resistance of nearly all the Earth Defenders. Regardless of how wrong the battle had gone, the Millennians were set to destroy the strongest of the Earth Defenders: Godzilla.

Megaguirus turned to look at Godzilla's dying body and knew that its best revenge against the Millennians for forcing it to do its will would be to defeat Orga II and save Godzilla.

On the ground, Baragon and King Kong realized the transformation that had gone on inside of Megaguirus' head. They knew that no longer was Megaguirus their enemy. The real enemy was the Millennians. And they had to save Godzilla.

At the same time, same time, Rodan and Manda flew down to the ground level and took in the scene. They too realized the danger that Godzilla was in and knew that he was their best chance for victory.

All at once, Rodan, Manda, Megaguirus, Baragon, King Kong, and Angurion confronted Orga II.

It was an all out melee as the monsters piled in to fight. Angurion continued to pound and tear at the head it had earlier attacked, twisting it in awkward angles. Baragon dug into the ground near its feet and pushed the Millennian monstrosity off balance while tearing at its ankles. Manda flew in and chewed on one of its leathery wings. Megaguirus pierced its side with its stinger and drew out its energies. King Kong had the foresight to drag Godzilla's limp body to safety before going in to pound mercilessly at the soft gut of Orga II. Rodan picked another head and pecked at the Ghidorah/Godzilla/alien morphed eyes and blasted it in the face with plasma uranium beams.

Still, Orga II resisted. It had drawn the incredible recovery life force from Godzilla to resist the attack. One head whipped around to bite at King Kong's arm while one of the new arms beat at Kong's back. It's massive wings flapped and drew it away from the attacking Baragon. It blasted back at Rodan and Angurion with radioactive fire stolen from Godzilla. Orga II put up an incredible fight-- one which they doubted they could defeat.

Next, Orga II pulsed radioactive blasts from its body. This send Manda tumbling away through the air like a toy. Megaguirus' stinger overloaded with energy and exploded, leaving the insect tailless and leaking life fluids. Nearly all the monsters were pushed away except for Angurion who tenaciously hung on, both because he'd encountered Godzilla's radioactive pulse before and because he was mad as hell and refused to give up.

Each of the monsters came back as soon as they recovered, but Orga II continued to blast with his radioactive breath and sending out radioactive pulses, even to the point of driving Angurion away. The dance continued like this, with both sides pushing back and forth, but Orga II was clearly the stronger of the bunch, having drained Godzilla's genetics and energy. It was a battle they couldn't hope to win.

* * *

"Oh, I wish I could get that Delta capsule to get back in there and help!" Yoshi cried.

Miki bit her lip in frustration. "But I can't get through to King Kong to recover it," she said. As much as she'd like to help, she was unable to get through to the mind of the giant gorilla. Perhaps he was too focused on his current battles. Or maybe his brain had been damaged. Or maybe the Millennians were somehow blocking her. She simply had no explanation. And the sight of the dying Godzilla was tearing at her heart.

"What about one of the other monsters? Can you communicate with them?" Yoshi offered.

Miki looked at the melee of monster flesh and tried to determine who would be best to help them. Rodan, perhaps, who might be able to pick up the tiny Delta capsule in his beak and bring it to them. But she had never touched the mind of Rodan. Baragon maybe? "Who, Yoshi?" she asked rhetorically.

"What about Gamera?"

"Gamera?" Miki looked off at the prone form of the turtle, half sunk into the crushed earth, his energy levels depleted. "Is he alive?"

"Of course! Gamera is the friend of all children. I'm a child and I know how he thinks."

"Maybe..." Miki reached her mind out to Gamera. She felt... He was there, but the mind was dulled, as if it were slipping in and out of consciousness, barely aware of what was happening around him. "I don't think Gamera will be able to help us. He's too far gone."

"No!" Yoshi cried, horrified at the thought of Gamera dying. "He can help us. You just have to know how to get through to him."

"What do you--"

"Gamera! Gamera! We need you! Get the Delta capsule and bring it over here! Gamera!"

"Yoshi! He can't hear you. He's too far away."

"You don't know Gamera. Children are special to him. He can hear."

Unbelieving, Miki again reached out to touch Gamera's mind while Yoshi continued to cry out. She didn't think it would do any--

There was consciousness! She probed the thoughts that emanated from the turtle and tried to wade through the strange thoughts and emotions she encountered. "Yoshi! Keep shouting! He hears you!"

Yoshi sighed. "I know." Sometimes adults were so silly! He had tried to explain but she just wouldn't believe him. He had been right before about the Delta capsule, but she still wanted to treat him like he didn't know anything. He shouted out again for Gamera's assistance to bring him the Delta capsule.

Probing further, Miki discerned Gamera's intense urge to awaken and help the small voice that was calling to him. He couldn't resist a child she realized. It was in his genetic makeup to always help the youth. He struggled to bring forth what little energies he had remaining to respond to Yoshinori Iko's plea for help.

Gamera's eyes popped open and slowly he began to rock his body back and forth. The movement allowed blood to rush through his injured body. While it hurt the bruises, it also invigorated him, increasing his energy levels.

"Go, Gamera!" Yoshi shouted enthusiastically. "Get the Delta capsule! We need it to save the earth!"

Shooting his foot forward and planting is firmly on the rim of the earth's depression, Gamera brought himself to an upright position. The blood rushed from his brain, giving him a momentary light-headed feeling before normalcy returned. He hurt. He hurt badly. But he could not resist the calls of the child on the hillside.

Sensing Gamera's strength returning, Miki tried hard to get through to Gamera's brain. If he was going to save them, he had to find the Delta capsule and bring it to them. She looked out into the valley. She certainly couldn't see the tiny Delta capsule so far away, but she knew the general location where Kong hand picked them up. She imagined the shape and size of the capsule and concentrated on the location. These thoughts she directed at Gamera.

Gamera rose of on all fours and cried out. He looked at the battle with Orga II that was happening just off to the side. He knew he should help in the fight, but he was also hearing the cries from young Yoshi and was getting the mental images from Miki.

Crawling slowly forward, he scanned the ground for the Delta capsule. A tiny glint of light reflected back and him and the mental images he was receiving confirmed it was what Yoshi sought. Now the question was: how was he to pick up such a tiny item and carry it to Yoshi and Miki?

He tried picking at it with a massive toenail, but did little more than just push it around the earth. Finally, he gave up trying to pick it up all by itself and instead balled up a large fistful of earth. Inside the handful of dirt was the capsule. He turned to Yoshi and Miki--

Something else touched his mind. Something... He tried to shake it. It was instructing him to do something with the capsule other than what Yoshi wanted him to do. Was it the Millennians, trying to get him to destroy the last hope of saving earth?

Miki sensed the invading mind and screamed in terror. If they couldn't get Gamera to help them, they were all doomed!

* * *

Fumiko looked at the screen, observing the struggle that Gamera, Yoshi and Miki were having. She reached out with her mind to Miki. *Do not worry, Miki Seagusa,* she called out. *It is me, Fumiko, Yoshi's mother. I have used the Planet X thought amplifier to touch Gamera's mind. You see, I do not want Yoshi to get hurt. He is everything to me and I cannot stand the thought of losing him. Therefore, I have directed Gamera to not take the Delta capsule to you. Instead--*

* * *

Miki cried out in understanding. Of course! If this were to work, it might save them all!

"Bring it here, Gamera!" Yoshi shouted his encouragement. "C'mon!" He stopped when Miki put her arm around his shoulder.

"Gamera won't bring the Delta capsule, Yoshi."

Shocked and dejected, Yoshi pouted. "Why not?"

"I've been in mental communication with your mother. She loves you very much and doesn't want to see you get hurt. So she thought of something better."

Yoshi could think of nothing better than using the Delta capsule and putting Ultraman Delta back into this fight. "What's that?" he asked.

"Gamera's going to use the capsule himself."

* * *

Standing on his back two legs, Gamera held his fistful of dirt aloft, and roared at the heavens. Lightning cracked across the sky, causing a blinding flash of light. A corona of energy streaked around Gamera, bathing him in a glitter of color. Beams of light pelted his body, enveloping it into nothingness. In seconds, the light was gone and in Gamera's place stood-- UltraGamera!

UltraGamera, pulsing with energy, stepped toward the battle scene with Orga II. His face appeared robotic with the two bulbous eyes and the metallic crest over his skull, but the mouth was wide with the two sharp canines of Gamera jutting upward. The body was an odd mixture of tough turtle shell and robotic armor.

Suddenly UltraGamera jumped forth and issued a fighting stance with arms crossed for battle.

Orga II pulsed radioactive energy out at UltraGamera, but he took it full in the chest and absorbed the energy. Balling up the energies he had been given, UltraGamera spit them back out of his mouth, along with his own unique brand of energy, and blasted at Orga II. The Millennian monstrosity did not expect such ferocity and fell back in a cloud of dirt and debris.

Encouraged by success, the other monsters attacked. Angurion jumped onto Orga II's prone body and tore with all his might at one of the wings, causing the thin, tough membranes to finally tear. Baragon jumped up and bit into the closest available neck. Rodan fired point blank into one of the faces...

Meanwhile UltraGamera knew the best weapon to defeat Orga II and the Millennians. He turned to the prone body of Godzilla. The King of Monsters lay drained and unmoving by the edge of the battlefield where King Kong had dragged him. Moving up the body, UltraGamera placed his silvery hands on Godzilla's chest and pumped Ultra energy into him.

Slowly, Godzilla began to recover. His mouth began foaming at the near death and rage that he felt. With the new and growing energy, he fought to push away UltraGamera and get back into the fight, but UltraGamera used all his power to hold Godzilla still until he could pump sufficient energies into him.

Within moments, Godzilla bolted upright, causing UltraGamera to topple over in surprise.

The King of Monsters was back!

Orga II sent out four radioactive pulses in quick succession, causing all the attacking monsters to fall back in agony. Slowly he stood, torn and battered, but still strong. Turning to the reenergized Godzilla, Orga II used all three heads to send out a triple blast of radioactive flame.

Godzilla wallowed in the blast, taking it all in stride.

When Orga II finally finished the blast, it reared back, surprised that Godzilla was still standing. Then Godzilla charged, knocking Orga II back onto the ground again.

Suddenly Orga II called forth all its weapons. It considered all that it had absorbed recently-- King Ghidorah, King Zigan and Godzilla. What weapon had it not yet used...

Orga II's belly split open and a massive saw blade running vertically along its got was exposed. The blade spun furiously, slicing into Godzilla's thigh painfully. This only served to anger Godzilla further, causing him to jump upwards with one of Orga II's heads still firmly in its grasp.

Now the other monsters jumped into the fray. Baragon worked at the wing that Angurion had torn earlier, tearing it even further. Rodan bit into one of the necks, locating a windpipe and severing it. UltraGamera called forth a heat beam to burn and destroy the sawblade from the belly. Manda constricted around the clubbed tail and kept it under control by squeezing away its blood supply.

Fighting back, Orga II pulsed radioactive energy. But this time Godzilla was able to absorb it, protecting the other monsters as they attacked.

King Kong joined Baragon and complete tore off the wing of Orga II. He danced around in delight, pounding it into the ground. Even Megaguiron and Battra, both battered but still alive, crawled forth to help as best they could at destroying the alien monstrosity.

Angurion and Godzilla both took special delight in working together to tear off one of the heads, causing the headless neck to flop about uselessly for several moments.

After several minutes of torture, the group of monsters finally stopped and looked down at their handy work. One head of Orga II still moved around weakly, another flopped around uselessly, and another was gone altogether. The body was bloody, bruised, burned and leaking fluids. But still, with the amazing recuperative powers that it had inherited from Godzilla allowed it to crawl forth and stand. Slowly it stood and turned to looks silently at each of its adversaries. They all stood unmoving, waiting to see what would happen next.

There was a gurgling sound of flesh boiling. There was movement upon the neck with the severed head. Slowly, the nub boiled and gurgled with alien energies. In moments, a tiny, Godzilla like head with the spines of King Ghidorah and the mandibles of King Zigan began to form.

Earlier, Godzilla had had his radioactive breath stolen from him. Thanks to UltraGamera and all the others, he had it back now. It was his! And he didn't like having it stolen from him. The power of his breath came boiling up in his gut to form at the back of his throat.

Then Godzilla remembered what this creature had done to Minya...

A horrible torrent of radioactive flame shot forth from Godzilla's throat, obliterating Orga II into a zillion tiny pieces. Bits of alien flesh rained down all over the valley. Godzilla roared loud enough to cause the earth to shake.

When all the dust and debris settled, there was silence. Silence, except for a thin, warbling alien sound.

Godzilla, UltraGamera, Angurion, Manda, Rodan, Baragon, King Kong, Battra and Megaguirus turned on the Millennian ship that had been watching quietly from the sidelines. It was the last remaining Millennian presence on earth.

Slowly the Millennian ship tried to rise and escape. It got ready to fire off it's energy weapon...

Rodan and Manda flew up and attacked the ship, causing it to duck lower to the valley to escape their wrath. King Kong reached up to grab the ship and slam it into the ground. The energy weapon fired into the ground, causing a shockwave to travel through the earth, nearly knocking all the other monsters off their feet. Baragon tunneled through the loose earth to pound on the ship's surface. UltraGamera pounded a fist into the Millennian ship's exposed surface, cracking the shell.

With the shell cracked, power dropped considerably in the Millennian ship. A strange goo, specked with glitter, oozed out of it the shell and spilled out onto the ground. Accompanying it was an overpowering stench that caused the attacking monsters to back away in revulsion. In moments, the goo evaporated into nothingness and was gone, leaving the empty shell in its place.

The Millennian presence on earth was gone.

All the monsters present bellowed in triumph, but they all paused when a distinct, familiar trilling sound filled the air. They all turned to see the familiar shape of Mothra slowly gliding into the battleground.

Mothra looked around the area and took in what she saw. It was only moments before that she had succeeded in escaping her Millennian prison. She'd battered and fought against the silvery prison walls to escape. Laura and Moll were calling her to battle. In their time of need she'd finally broke the prison walls and escaped.

She'd flown at her best speed to come aid in the battle. But by now it was too late. She'd missed out. Fairy flew Laura and Moll to greet Mothra and explain the turn of events.

Godzilla and Angurion couldn't help but be amused at Mothra's tardiness. She'd been a goodie-two-shoes too often and they liked the idea that they were able to take care of the Millennian threat without her help.

Suddenly, without explanation, UltraGamera rocketed into the sky and vanished beyond the stratosphere, heading toward a place unknown out in space.

* * *

In the control room, General Tanaka and Secretary of Defense Okata had watched the entire event in awe. The room was in utter silence as one of the cameras tracked UltraGamera until he was gone beyond the camera's range.

This had been the most colossal monster battle any of them had ever seen. They had been useless to stop it, but thankfully things had worked out and there had been a lot loss of life and property than had been projected. Still, to have witnessed what they did.

Tanaka felt numb. Was it finally over? Could he finally breath a sigh of relief that the Millennian threat was gone?

"We won!" shouted Okata. The room erupted in cheers and everyone turned to congratulate each other. Everyone, that is, except for Tanaka. Okata tried to take his hand for a congratulatory shake, but Tanaka pulled it away. Confused, Okata asked, "What's wrong?"

Tanaka gave him a stern expression. "The Millennians have been destroyed." He turned to the viewscreens and the various monsters that stood about, including Godzilla. "But what about the others? Will they now destroy our cities?"

Okata laughed. "I don't think so! Look at them! They're tired and beat up. They just helped defeat the greatest threat earth has ever known. Do you suppose they're going to stick around to pick on us poor, tiny humans? No! They're going to go home to Monster Island and get some much needed rest."

Tanaka harrumphed.

* * *

"Although your methods were unorthodox, you have done your duty to Planet X and Earth. You have helped save us all from the threat posed by the prophecies."

Fumiko bowed her respect to the Planet X Controller. "Thank you."

"Now, you may continue your life among the Xians. We have preserved your domicile as you left it. You will be honored among our people. We will--"

"Controller!" she interrupted. The idea of returning to her life as an Xian repulsed her. Not that they were a bad people-- well, most of the time they weren't-- but she had spent too much time with the humans. She had taken a husband. And she had borne a child by the human. And Yoshinori Iko meant more to her than anything else in the universe. He was safe and alive, and she wanted more than anything to get back to him. Although in her genetics she was an Xian, she considered herself more human than Xian now. "Controller," she said less forcefully, "I would much rather return to Earth... if that's permissible."

The Controller smiled. "To your son. I thought that you would say that."

There was an awkward pause that stretched to the point of discomfort before Fumiko blurted out. "Yes. I'm no longer Fumiko. I think of myself as Yoshinori's mother, named Sisha Iko. I must return to him."

At that, many Planet X aliens entered the room and moved to stand behind the Controller. There must have been about 25 of them, all staring at Fumiko/Sisha. The Controller took something from one of his fellow aliens and presented it to Fumiko/Sisha. "Sisha Iko," the Controller intoned, for the first time acknowledging her human name, "for your service to Earth, Planet X, and the entire solar system we honor you. We present to you this medallion of honor." Fumiko/Sisha took the gift of the clustered star medallion. "You have done your duty. You may go to Earth and live as a human with our blessing."

Fumiko/Sisha clutched the medallion to her chest and silently cheered. Her face cracked a huge smile. "Thank you, Controller. Thanks to all of you and everyone on Planet X."

* * *

Still stranded on the mountainside, Yoshi and Miki sat watching the various monsters mill about. Tired of battle, Rodan had already flown away. Mothra, embarrassed over her tardiness, left almost right away. Besides, she had to attend to Infant Island, which the Millennians had ravaged. Megaguirus had died of its injuries.

The others stayed and looked about themselves, taking in what had happened. King Kong played with bits of Orga II remains, having particular fun with one of the severed heads. Manda, with her new powers of flight, was nursing Battra's broken wing and trying to figure the best way to help. Baragon and Angurion stood with Godzilla, who looked around the area in extreme frustration.

"What's wrong with Godzilla?" Yoshi asked.

Miki had already sensed his pain. She'd felt it from him before when Destroyah had been created and battled Godzilla. "He misses his son. Minya was killed by Orga II."

"Oh!" As much destruction as Godzilla brought to Japan, all of a sudden Yoshi felt sad for the terrible creature. He imaged how sad his mom would be if something had happened to himself. "Godzilla must be very sad."

"He is," said Miki, a tear of sadness rolling down her face.

Manda launched into the air, with Battra latched on to her tail. The duo flew off toward Monster Island together. Screaming in fury, King Kong bashed the Orga II head into the ground a few times before throwing it far off into the distance without a care for where it landed. He then, on all fours, ran off beyond the horizon.

"They're leaving," Yoshi said, stating the obvious.

"Yes," was all Miki could say. The anguish that Godzilla was feeling was nearly overwhelming.

Baragon clawed at the earth and vanished in a cloud of dust as he burrowed below the surface. Godzilla forlornly watched him go. The silence and bitterness in the air was thick.

Finally, Angurion pulled at Godzilla and communicated that he should put all this behind him. Staying here would change nothing. They should leave and start over. Together the two friends stomped off.

It took nearly fifteen minutes for the titans to lumber off beyond the horizon, but when they'd gone, the field was empty. An eerie silence hung in the air.

"Now what?" asked Yoshi timidly.

Miki hugged herself, suddenly feeling cold. "We wait. We wait for G-Force or Tanaka to come find us and lift us out of here."

"Do you think they know where we are?"

"They know," stated Miki flatly. She didn't have conclusive proof, but her psychic abilities told her that somebody knew where they were and would be out to take them home shortly.

* * *

Half an hour later a sonic boom cracked through the air of the valley. Miki sat up and looked about for the plane that had caused it.

"Look!" Yoshi shouted.

She followed his finger and saw the growing glint of light in the sky. A shimmering whine pierced the air and the light came toward the valley, showing the spinning disc of UltraGamera as he returned to earth.

"Where do you suppose he went?" Yoshi asked.

"I don't know."

UltraGamera arrived in the valley and gently glided to a landing. Within moments, his metallic legs extended and he stood upright. "Gamera!" Yoshi shouted. UltraGamera turned and looked right at the child.

"He hears you," Miki said.

"I know. Gamera hears all children. Even when he's--" Yoshi thrust his fist into the air, "--UltraGamera!"

Slowly and carefully, UltraGamera moved toward Yoshi and Miki. He lowered his body and extended his giant hand toward them, opening it to present them with something.

Yoshi's eyes lit up with delight. "Mom! You're alive!"

Sisha Iko, formerly Fumiko, stepped down from where she'd laid protected in UltraGamera's hand. "Yoshi!" she shouted. A few seconds later, they were in each other's arms, hugging fiercely. Miki stood by and watched, crying happy tears and the waves of joy emanated from the pair.

"Momma! I saw King Ghidorah take you away!"

"I know son. But I'm okay. And I'm back... to stay."

"I'm so glad." Yoshi hugged his mother's neck, never wanting to let her go again.

A rough, robotic squeal peeled through the air. They all turned to watch UltraGamera back away and stand. Within a momentary whirlpool of light, UltraGamera transformed back into Gamera.

As plain, old, ordinary Gamera, he cried out in his trumpeting voice, fired off his rear jets, and took off for the nearest ocean. "Goodbye, Gamera!" Yoshi shouted. They all waved their thanks enthusiastically. Within moments, Gamera was gone.

Yoshi gasped. "Oh? If UltraGamera is now Gamera again, what happened to the Delta capsule?"

Surprised, they all looked after Gamera. "I don't know," Sisha answered. "Maybe we'll never know."

* * *

Sisha pushed Yoshi away from his telescope and toward the bed in their new home. "Oh, no," she admonished. "No more comets for you. Look what happened last time you saw a comet."

"That wasn't *my* fault, mom." Yoshi obediently crawled under the covers.

"I know." She brushed an errant lock of hair from his forehead. "I'm just teasing. Tomorrow, maybe we can go get some of those toys you want, okay?"

"Yeah!" said Yoshi, his eyes lighting up the way only a child's could. "I want a Flying Manda doll, a Gamera model kit, a big ol' Orga II figure, a Godzilla figure, and King Zigan, and a Millennian spaceship with laser weapons, and Anguirion, and--"

"Okay!" shouted Sisha in mock exasperation. She loved her son and was glad to have him back. She'd protect him and stay by his side for as long as he needed. She'd gladly buy him all the toys in China if it meant he could stay happy and safe forever. Lovingly, she bent to kiss his cheek goodnight.

* * *

Moments later, Sisha Iko took the Delta capsule she'd secreted in her purse and placed it gently in the box. Closing the lid, she bent to hide the box in the back of her closet...

THE END