Halloween Horror Special: Godzilla vs. Gabara - Conquering Fear · 11:16pm Oct 31st, 2016
Written by SMJames and Tarbtano
Proofread by Lance-Omikron and Corona Blaze
Disclaimer: This is a horror themed story. It contains graphic violence and deaths expected of an R rated movie
Conquering Fear
Miki Saegusa opens her eyes. The first thing she sees is her hands bound to the arms of a chair. Then she feels similar restraints around her legs, chest, and head. She could barely move, her vision was restricted to a small arc in front of her. Focusing on maintaining her calm, she reached out with her telepathy to try and see what was going on, only to find it blocked off. A small shock runs through her, causing her to seize up and clench as the electricity runs its course.
Blinding lights flick on, robbing Miki of sight. There are sounds from another place, muffled as if by distance. Another shock and they become clearer. Familiar voices entrenched in conversation. Her vision clears and refocuses, but it is not her own.
Pentecost looks down at a trembling Mako, a deep frown etched in his features. Miki feels his anger and disappointment, understands that it is directed at her sister. She tries to speak, to act, but a shock prevents her. His voice speaks, her voice treading the same path unwillingly.
“You have brought shame upon us with your actions Mako. Shame upon the Global Defense Force.” He frown turns angry. “Shame upon me.”
Mako, her strong and determined sister, folds in on herself. Miki wants to reach out to her. Wrap her in a hug and say everything is fine. But the bounds prevent her.
“I-I am sorry sensei. I… I do not know what went wrong. The Drift was working, was stable, but then…”
“Then you failed,” Pentecost finishes. “You failed utterly in your task as a Jaeger pilot. And in the process a hundred people died.”
Miki wants to scream. She knows that did not happen, that Mako would never allow such a horrible accident to pass. But she cannot say a word.
Mako hunches in her chair, tears streaming down her cheeks and her words cluttering. “I-I know sensei. The blame is mine… It’s my fault. I… It was my mistake.”
“No Mako.”
The words are what Miki wants to say, but with a completely different tone. She knows what is coming next. She knows what he is going to say. She attempts again to break her seals, throwing her entire will against the chair.
It does not work.
“You… were the mistake Mako,” Pentecost says. His voice is devoid of emotion, empty of any empathy or regret. “It was a mistake to believe you could succeed in becoming a pilot. You are clearly not worthy of the position.”
He walks away, Miki roaring and writhing for him to turn around, to go back and help, but he does not listen.
“You aren’t worthy to be my daughter.”
Everything breaks. The chair, the restraints, everything vanishes into splinters of agony and despair. There is nothing but Mako, quietly sobbing alone in her seat, and Miki desperately trying to reach her.
It works. Miki feels Mako from within, her formerly bright thoughts clouding with grief and guilt. All she sees is a memory, one that is so very familiar.
She is in the Jaeger, hooked up to the control seat, the mind of Raleigh Becket melding into her. She feels Gypsy Danger moving with cumbersome slowness, certain the issue lies with her. A jolt, sudden and powerful as a lightning bolt, throws her off balance, then steadies her into a statue. She feels a presence, one that she knows and trusts, take control away from her. Gypsy’s plasma cannon unfolds, charging and pointing down at the floor. Raleigh is yelling, ordering her to stop, and she wants to. But she cannot.
The gun fires.
The sight shifts again, to the room where Miki opened her eyes. The same eyes that are staring back at her in the mirror, gazing with evil intent.
Miki was the one who did it-
NO!
Shockwaves rip through everything, distorting all sense of place and reality. It steadies then reforms, Miki standing tall and strong, her fists clenched with vengeful fury.
The void becomes a massive room, solid walls shuttering around every edge to prevent escape. Blue-white stars flare into sight, hurtling around the space strobing their light, searching.
One corner refuses to be lit, spikes and waves of shadow pushing away the light whenever it comes near.
What are you? Miki demanded, forcing all her will against the darkness. The stars surround the distant corner and blaze even brighter, compacting and compressing the emptiness further into its shelter.
A disturbing chuckling echoed from with the void, malice and terror stabbing back at Miki and pushing away her assault.
I? I am many things. I am surprised you were able to resist me. Impressed at your self-control. Disappointed that I am unable to break you. But most of all, I am annoyed. All the others proved difficult to demolish but succumbed in the end. But not you. I should like to know how.
Miki feels each word like a hammer blow to her head. It is difficult to concentrate. Her stars begin to fade, burning to wisps as tendrils of dark approach to smother them.
Then she focuses on her vision of Mako, and the pain is forced aside.
The stars renew their attack, becoming nearly unseeable in their sheer pulsing brightness. A cry of pain and shock can be heard from the void, but only for a moment before it is overwhelmed and dissipates.
Be gone demon.
Miki falls silent and focuses outward.
Miki opened her eyes. She was in her room, dull light seeping in from under the door. Slowly she rose, taking measured breaths and doing several mental calming techniques. The image of Mako sitting alone was etched into her vision, but she didn’t allow herself to focus on it. It was clear that something had to be done about this unknown demon, but she couldn’t hope to do it alone, not when it had nearly beaten her within her own mind. She needed help.
Miki grabbed her phone from her bedstand and pressed one of the dedicated call lines. It rang twice in her ear before it was answered. “Pentecost’s office, who is calling?”
“This is Miki Saegusa. Please inform the Marshall that I need a meeting with him, and that every telepath in the Shatterdome needs to be there as well. If possible, get as many telepaths as you can reach to attend as well via vid-conference.” Miki could hear scratches of a pen taking notes.
“Understood ma’am. May I ask what the purpose of the meeting is to be?”
Miki sighed, finally processing just what she was about to say. “We need to banish a demon.”
“And you’re sure about this?” Ozaki asked, arms folded over his uniform.
Everyone else in the room was staring at Miki with varying degrees of shock, horror, or alarm. Pentecost in particular seemed morose, and Miki was sure it had to do with the unwitting part he played in her dream.
“Yes. The thing was definitely a monster with mental abilities. It was far too powerful to be anything else.”
“Any chance this is that Krueger character trying to make a comeback?” Xavier asked. His hair was mussed from having just woken up, but his eyes were bright and attentive.
Miki shook her head.
“Even if that monster is still alive somehow, I’m certain this wasn’t him. This was far too… subtle. It had an entirely different feel. More hopeless than terrifying.”
Her gaze moved down as she fell silent, closing her eyes against the memories.
“Has anyone else here in the Dome been affected?” Serizawa asked.
The telepaths at the table all gave negative answers, but one of the vid-callers cleared his throat.
“You have something Professor Hibiya?” Pentecost asked, speaking for the first time since he’d arrived.
“Actually sir, we’ve been having some… incidents here at the Institute that, upon hearing this information, may be related. Some of the students have been reporting excessively strong nightmares over the last few weeks. They report extremely vivid dreams during which they were forced to experience some variation of their worst fears with no easy way of escaping. The victims have been very tired and unfocused afterwards. We’ve been trying to figure out what the source was and help them, but every attempt at probing for the problem was blocked. If the problem truly is a demon…”
“When was the last attack?” Miki pressed.
“Yesterday. Two children sharing a room. They are… we’re doing our best to help them but they are inconsolable right now.”
Ozaki’s eyes narrowed in thought as he asked, “Isn’t it night where you are right now?”
Hibiya paused then let out a gasp. “You don’t think-”
“Trace any incoming signals that are approaching the campus and get everyone you can into a telepathy safe room!” Miki ordered. “We need to find out where the demon is projecting from so we can deal with it.”
“And hopefully stop it before it can cause any more harm,” Xavier added. “It’s a miracle nobody has been permanently damaged by this point.”
Damien opens his eyes. He is on his home street, watching his family moving about the yard. They are laughing and talking, enjoying themselves as they would at any weekend party. He wants to join them, but he hears a dull roar in the distance, a constant thunderclap just on the edge of his notice. He looks around his neighborhood, trying to figure out where the sound is coming from. The street starts to shake and he feels the ground trembling.
At the far end of the road he sees the beach they visit every day, the one that he grew up with. The water is receding, falling back much further than he has ever seen it go. He recognizes the telltale signs of disaster and yells at his family, telling them to move, to flee. They ignore him, act like his voice is nonexistent. None of them look up at the empty beach, hear the coming deluge.
He desperately tries to drag at them and pull them towards the garage, but they resist him, even while pretending he isn’t there. The sound grows louder and he dares a look over his shoulder. The wave is there, a growing bulge on the horizon. It is a wall, endless, dark emerald green. The sky cracks with lightning, but he sees only the water, feels his familiar fear creeping up his back.
Panic overwhelms his reason and he runs to the house, foregoing the door to climb up the wall. He reaches the roof and watches as the tsunami hits the beach, shattering the small dock that stretches out over the water. He yells again to his family, begging them to notice, but they remain oblivious. The water moves closer. He wants to close his eyes, shut them against what he knows will happen, but he cannot look away.
The wave reaches his yard. He watches everyone he loves be swept away, helpless to stop it. The house shakes beneath him, even as he rattles and convulses with grief. The water rises, covering the neighborhood with a green shifting shroud, wiping out everything he knows. The roof collapses below him, dumping him into the water. He bumps against the debris of his destroyed room, struggling to stay at the surface. The sky is shrouded with clouds, great streaks of electricity flying back and forth. The water pushes even higher, lifting him out of his home.
Damien feels the water pressing into him, wrapping around him like a fist. The wave deforms, a mountain of liquid standing above him. Deep red orbs appear at the top of the rising tide, glaring down at him with intense malice.
You know, I’m rather annoyed at the moment, a deep voice echoes in his head. It sounds like a mountain slide mixing with thunder, the power of nature at its most malevolent. I was denied a rather significant meal by one of your fellows, one that would have fed me such power as I have not had for centuries. And who do I have to replace such a great loss? Only you, a pathetic worthless wretch who’s scared of a little water.
The aquatic hand tightens further, crushing Damien’s lungs and limbs. The water rises until it is just below his chin.
So in order to make up for your sheer lack of any real value, I’m just going to have to take even more time than I usually do.... A crooked lightning smile creases through the watery face. Serves a double purpose, I suppose. Gives me a chance to enjoy myself even more.
Shattering laughter rends the air as the water finally moves above his chin. Damien tries to tilt his head to lift out of the water’s reach, but he cannot move. His nose provides a brief salvation, but that too is covered by the water. He struggles against the fist, wriggling like a fish caught in a net. The creature only laughs harder as Damien sputters and gasps for air. Just as he feels the last of his air leave him, the water recedes and he gathers vast gulps to revive himself.
How sad. You barely lasted twenty seconds. Oh well, maybe you’ll get better at it with practice…
The water rises again, and Damien knows that he is utterly trapped. There is no escape from the monster’s hold. Tears slip down his cheeks to join the water drowning him and he slackens, submitting to his fate. But as the electric laughter tears through his ears, he feels a new feeling welling within him. Rage.
Soundlessly roaring, Damien forces himself against his bonds with all his might, directing everything towards the watery face above him. The beast recoils, nearly dropping him from its grasp as Damien’s mind breaks through its barriers and enters the shadows within.
Damien sees a misty forest, the sun blanked out of the sky by withered and aged trees. Before him is a ruined temple, the stone overgrown with vines. In the center of the platform before the temple entrance was a simple tombstone, cracked and stained with the effects of time. He can barely make out the lettering written on its face but manages to read it. ‘Gabara, the Oni King.’
The world is rent asunder with a scream of absolute anger and Damien is flung out of the forest.
Damien opens his eyes to see the creature’s face staring down at him in hatred, the smile having disappeared and be replaced by a scowl.
You… you dare to try to enter my mind! Foul scum such as thee would DARE to betray the sanctity of my thoughts?!
A second fist wraps around Damien, the water crushing him to the point he could hear his bones crack.
No being looks into the mind of Gabara the Ancient… and lives.
The red eyes burn fiercer than a wildfire as the face dives down on Damien, forcing a torrent of water into his throat. His lungs rip themselves to shreds under the deluge, and Damien feels his thoughts fading. Red began to cloud the waters.
Damien closes his eyes… and screams.
Yellow irises surrounded by a buffer of red sclera snapped open, the wide pupils within quickly contracting to slits at the darkness born of the deep water surrounding them. Movement begot clouds underwater, layers of silt and sediments thrown up into the churning waters as the living mountain stood up on the seafloor. He wordlessly pivoted his head upwards and eastward, looking to the distant surface while beams of sunlight crisscrossed the higher layers of water and all manner of sea life from bait fish to sharks scattered. A deep growl rumbled its way through the sea.
Something was wrong, something was very wrong. He could have sworn he heard someone cry out.
He was a thousand feet underwater but he definitely heard someone scream a deathly cry; a last plea for aid or life before the latter was taken from them. And it wasn't just this puzzling fact that disturbed the resting titan, but a presence he'd felt just before awakening that chased the cry into his mindscape.
It was only for the briefest of moments, but he recognized it instantly for what it was. A presence he hadn't felt in ten years and yet it was so familiar to him he couldn't have forgotten it if he tried. Not a persona he knew in life, but a terror that had plagued his nightmares since infancy. He'd have them frequently both during his years in the institute and his first year on Birth Island.
Dreams of a monster wreathed in shadow and crowned with a single horn that called down lightning. The ogre terrified him, only stopping when the nightmares of the waking world eclipsed the world of sleep and he was forced to grow strong and take the throne. It had been an assumption that the ills of the resting realms during his youth were merely manifestations of fear brought up by the mind of an easily frightened youngster.
But sensing that presence again in such a context was a clear as day indication that something more sinister was afoot. The death cry of a victim and his extra perception saying something very bad was going to happen in Japan sealed it. Imaginary demon or not, there was a disaster he was sensing and he had just enough time to get there to try and avert it. There would be no waiting for assistance, because this couldn't wait.
Multi-ton feet kicked off the seafloor and a spiny tail thrashed the dark waters into a wake. Even as he remained several dozen yards under the surface, Godzilla Junior's hurried pace eastward at over one hundred and forty knots was causing a sizable wake. He let his senses drift and his extra sensory perception do the guidance, homing in on the place his mind was tugging him too. Central Japan.
Miki looked at the body with a sense of… numbness she guessed. It was hard to know exactly what to feel after hearing the details of the boy’s demise. His lungs were torn to shreds internally, despite having no visible marks of violence on the surface. He seemed to have died peacefully in his sleep, but she knew better. Every telepath in a thousand miles did.
There was no missing the scream, nor a chance of forgetting it. Miki knew that scream would haunt her for the rest of her life, because it wasn’t just a sound. It was the impression of another human dying pressed into her mind like a branding. She could still hear it even now, despite the multitude of noises going on in the room around her.
“What are we going to do?” someone asked, fear evident in his voice.
Another responded, hardly any braver. “We have to find what’s doing it and stop it, that’s what!”
“And just how in the hell are we going to do that huh? Just look! How are we supposed to fight something like this?”
Miki’s eyes opened. “Together,” she answered.
The others stared at her as she pushed off the wall, walking forward to the bed. Her hand found its way to the deceased boy’s face, gently swirling over his hair. “This beast, Gabara, is immensely strong, but look at what one person was able to do to him when pushed. I forced him out of my mind, and Damien, despite only training with his powers for a few years, was able to resist him long enough to warn us. We need to use that warning. If all of us work together and force him to split his attention, I know we can beat him.”
They all looked amongst each other in silence for a while, but eventually all their eyes were drawn to the still form of Damien’s body. The air in the room chilled, but not with terror anymore. This was anger and determination, Miki could feel it radiating from them all. And from herself.
“Where are we going?” they asked, faces steeled.
Miki already knew the answer from painstaking research on the flight here. “Aokigahara. The Sea of Trees.”
Miki’s attempt to use Aokigahara’s more pleasant alias faltered on some sets of ears who knew better. One of the youngest telepaths grimly muttered under her breath another title their destination was known by. “The Suicide Forest.”
The reaction to the name was muted but clear. Wit and will eventually overpowered fear. They weren’t going to be deterred now. One girl snorted and said with a sly grin, “Well what do you know, we get to do some wilderness conservation alongside our monster slaying.”
They all laughed, though it had a sad air to it. It was hard to smile with one of their own fallen in the room, but they did so anyway. Damien would have wanted them to.
Akiri Ando was a headstrong, tough as nails young woman. True, her grayed skin and slightly larger than average eyes showed she wasn’t a conventional woman, but she took the fact her father came from a spaceship in stride and a chin held high. There was very little that ever could slow her down. When her class visited the young Godzillasaur in 1993, she had to be held back from climbing over the enclosure bars to meet him up close. Had she been any more rambunctious, she’d have been born a super soldier that’d make Ozaki proud.
But even as she ingested the highest safe amount of ambien pills as she could, it did little to steady her nerve. Yet here as she lay on an admittedly very comfortable camp mattress, scarfing down several pills and almost a full quart of warmed milk; she couldn’t deny how scared she was. In all honesty it was Miki’s calm instruction, the presence of all her old classmates, and the will to avenge Damien that kept her firm. One way or another this ogre was going to die tonight, she’d live to see it.
“Why does she need to take those particular sleeping pills again? Why not tranquilizer? Wouldn’t that knock her down quicker?”
Before Akiri could shoot the schoolmate an incredulous look, Ms. Miki thankfully quelled any anger that might have kept her awake as the older telepath put a reassuring arm around the younger one.
“Ambien contains zolpidem sulfate, which induces very vivid dreams. Dreams mean brain function and lots of psychic impulses on a seemingly isolated mind. Which is exactly what Gabara will be looking for when targeting us.”
Akiri chewed her lip as Miki set her head down on the pillow, letting her long, chalky gray hair she got from her Mysterian side splay out. Miki saw the worried expression on her protégé’s face and cupped a hand on Akiri’s cheek.
“I can be the one to go under. If you wish to back ou-”
She was cut off by Akiri’s beaming expression and the younger hybrid putting a finger on Miki’s nose in a silly ‘boop’ manner.
“Hey, I already swallowed the stuff and don’t feel like being reunited with it. You need to be out here to keep all these bozos working right so everyone can pile in. After I get the first swing at this bugger of course!”
Akiri chirped with a smirk.
Some of the class of 1993 chuckled. Even on the precipice of something so dangerous, it was typical Akiri. Miki tempted a smile and Akiri removed her hand, taking a moment to look around her. The Suicide Forest was both peaceful and morbid, eerily quiet and cloaked in leafy green at this time of year. And here she was; about to trap a literal monster of nightmares, who’d chosen to come after them especially, and she was the bait. Many other souls would have buckled, but as Akiri saw the smiling, nodding, stoic and caring faces of Miki, her almost big sister of mentor, and her old class, her old friends and family by choice, her face and soul became filled with resolve.
“Let this Gabara bastard try to come at me.”
Akiri laid her head back and closed her eyes while interweaving her fingers atop her stomach. A sweet smile form on the hybrid’s mouth as she felt the effects of Miki joining hands with the others in a circle around her, able to sense their psychic energies and presence surrounding her like a legion of hands upon her shoulders. The world’s details began to go lax as the medicine and warm milk took their toll. But just as they did, Akiri felt someone else. It was much more distant, like a whisper in a crowded room or a glimpse in a crowd. Slight as it was though, she recognized it and her smile widened. Akiri only whispered-
“I’m not the only one he’s gotta worry about.”
-before she let sleep take her in the presence of her friends and trusted comrades, great and small.
Akiri opens her eyes. But there is nothing to see.
She looks around her for light, for a shape, but there is nothing. She reaches out with her hand and gasps as it contacts a solid surface. She presses against it, but the unseeable wall is unyielding. She moves to stand but bumps her head on the way up. A inkling of worry starts to fill her.
She quickly checks all around her, finding herself in a box barely five feet to a side. The area is featureless, darker than the blackest night. She cannot even see her fingers moving in front of her face.
Oh how I love the simple ones, a voice reaches out from the darkness.
Akiri shrinks back, searching for the source of the sound, but the words come from nowhere and everywhere at once.
“Simple?” she says. She intends to sound boastful, but the air saps the energy from her words so they are small and feeble. Cheater.
Oh yes. Most people have fears that are complex. Losing a loved one, the prospect of being unable to work to success, being forgotten by time. But you… oh, you have one of the most primal fears of all.
“Of what, the dark? Oh yeah, that’s so utterly terrifying.” To her glee Akiri’s sarcasm shows through this time.
A menacing chuckle strikes her, seemingly coming from all angles. No no. The dark itself is hardly scary. It’s what’s hiding in the shadows that should terrify you…
Akiri grins. “I’m not scared of a overly large toad like you.”
Utter silence retorted her mocking. You are going to regret that.
She is about to laugh at how petulant he sounds when she feels the wall behind her pushing inward. The ceiling is lowering, her arms shifting tighter around her as the room shrinks.
Try to be brave when you cannot move enough to even breathe.
She pushes back against the box, straining to hold the invisible surfaces back. “So does this make you a mime or a clown?” she said, forcing a smile despite her exertion. “Not that it matters. Both aren’t exactly scary.”
An unearthly howl tore through the void. The walls push in faster, and she gasps as sharp points stab into her.
Pride and arrogance will not save you whelp!
Red clouds appear in Akiri’s sight, hellish pupils narrowing hatefully in her direction.
She manages one final grin as she responds, “Speak for yourself, chump.”
Light bursts through the darkness, shattering the box and disturbing the red clouds, revealing them to be an ugly lizard-like beast. A group of people fly through the light towards her, all bearing looks of concern and worry.
Miki is at the head of the pack, reaching down to her and pulling her to her feet. “Akiri! Are you alright?”
She feels small rivers of blood streaming down her arms but the pain is already fading. “Yeah, just some scratches. Took you all long enough to get here.”
Miki’s smiling visage nods at her then redirects her attention towards the form lying huddled against the light. “Let’s not waste any more time then.”
The group turns as one against Gabara, the creature standing up while shading its eyes from the white light behind them.
“You’ve got nowhere to run to now, monster,” Miki states. “It’s time for you to leave this world.”
The creature then does something none of them expect. He smiles.
Oh I quite agree. I’ve had enough of being a wisp of mental vapor. It’s time for me to leave… And enter your world instead!
Lightning sparks all across the beast’s form before launching at the light beyond the psychics. An explosion knocks everything out of control and the void fades.
Akiri closes her eyes... And opened them back in the waking world.
==============================
The telepaths snapped awake at the roll of thunder. A rainless storm rapidly choked out the sky above, crackling wrath within it almost seeming to be roaring at the group below in howls of rage. Miki grabbed several telepaths near her and forced them to get down into cover. Javelins of lightning ripped forth from the sky and struck the mountainside below them. An explosion of stone punched a hole into a hollow chamber within the bedrock.
An unnatural mist gushed out of the chamber like a steaming tea kettle, soon clouding the forest in a dense fog that glowed in hues every time the lightning bolts struck it. Above the chamber’s arching top, at the crown of the ancient tomb the scowling expression clad across the carved stone oni family began to crack. It split in two, top to bottom. There was silence.
Several seconds passed before an eruption of earth and trees blew forth from the top of the hill built atop the tomb. A nightmarish form seemingly made of the mists twisted and clawed it’s way into the nightly air. Lightning rained from the sky, coiling around the mist to finalize its shape. The haze sloughed free from the body, exposing green, wart covered skin capped by a mane of blood red fur atop the head. Stabbing forth from the mane was a single, slightly recurved, ivory pale horn that sparked with light after being struck several times by a barrage of thunderbolts. It had a swarthy, ape-like form. Arms longer than the counterpart legs hung their hands below the knees with every finger twisted and sharpened at the end to form a point. Broad scutes that armored the chest expanded outwards in a breath that shot curtains of unworldly fog free from the nostrils. All-white, almost empty eyes snapped open and the greatest, last, and most vile king of the oni, Gabara, laughed a manic cackle into the storm.
The titan of fear and archon of nightmares was free at last.
Gabara slithered his laughter into a hiss and turned to point his hundred meter gaze to the group of telepaths several hundred meters away. A uneven, almost misshapen, fanged maw curled into a grin and he strode forward to footsteps of thunder. He only got a few steps forward however when another resounding boom rippled through the ground out of sync with Gabara’s treading. Another crash echoed out behind the telepaths, much louder than the last. Then another, and another. Something was stomping, no, charging from the other direction. Miki looked up in time to see a mountain loom out over the ridge above them in the direction opposite Gabara, the form blotting out the flash of lightning across the storm clouds.
She only glimpsed rows of maple-leaf shaped, jagged spines for a bare second before a new blinding flash of light, one of blue and white, tore through the air and slammed into Gabara. The oni sneered and was sent stumbling back from the concussive force as the intense heat from the plasma left his chest smoking. The living megalith crouched down on the mountain ridge before enacting a tremendous leap. For a time the night sky above the telepaths was completely covered in the shadows of the titan sailing overhead until it passed over them and hit the ground with a fantastic impact, almost more of an explosion than a landing.
The psychic impulse it gave off clued the telepaths in instantly as to who it was even if it was obscured in shadows. They all recognized the mind was raised in the Kyoto Institute a decade ago. Rising up out of the dust cloud he kicked up, Godzilla Junior deafened the rolling thunder with his roar, testing his claws, baring sets of double-rowed fangs and thrashing his tail.
Gabara, mashing his knuckles into the ground ferociously, snarled at the newcomer. For a moment he didn’t recognize the giant beast, but as he reached out beyond his form to probe the mind of the kaiju the oni realized it was no simple animal he was staring down. This was a sapient consciousness, one filled with resolve and rage. Gabara saw Godzilla’s mental landscape and the distinctiveness of his eyes, and he knew who this was. Had it not been such dire a circumstance, Gabara would have found irony in the mini-Godzilla, the ‘Minilla’ he had tormented back in the days his power was so weak, returning to face him in person.
Thunder crackled, the King of the Monsters and a true monster charged each other to beget a titanic struggle.
Gabara twisted and ripped apart the energies of those fearful souls who died in his forest, forming an approximation of lightning across his arms and upper torso. He slashed at Junior across the chest, digging his gnarled fingers into the dinosaur’s flesh before grabbing onto him. The weaponized fear shocked and crackled across both Godzilla’s physical and mental form.
The kaiju sparked and shook, his mind becoming hazed with dread as his body began to smoke. However the pain only increased the kaiju’s resolve and Godzilla fought through the onslaught. Junior snarled and pushed forward, headbutting Gabara in the snout before turning and slamming his tail into the malefic oni’s side to topple him. He raised a foot and stomped on Gabara’s stomach several times, grinding his heel and claws into the body before raising up again.
This was when Gabara countered, grasping Godzilla’s foot and wrenching it over to yank the kaiju off his feet and bring him down. Rolling aside and then lunging forward, Gabara clawed his way on top of Godzilla and ensnared his head in his talons. Bashing Godzilla’s face into the bedrock below, Gabara enacted his magic to an even greater degree than before. Tangled soul lightning coiled around the ogre’s whole form and rushed into Godzilla’s face. Dread, despair, and terror clouded the thrashing Godzilla’s mind as Gabara bellowed manic laughter even as his prey grabbed him by the throat and chokeslammed him into the nearby hillside to pry him off. Junior muttered a pained groan as he staggered to his feet.
Reality and nightmares clashed for dominance over the kaiju’s sight, Godzilla staggering as the dark, foggy forest of the dead became intermixed with the ruins of a charred and decayed corpse of a city he knew all too well. The place of his hatching, the land of his old memories good and old, and the domain of his mother. Kyoto.
The nightmare made it clear who had destroyed the city of his birth. A brilliant, all consuming heat engulfed Junior’s form and he screamed in pain, pawing frantically at his form to try and make the glowing patches of orange and red that signaled damnation go away. The indications of a meltdown that wasn’t actually there.
For the first time in years, Godzilla Junior was terrified, and Gabara was ready to reap the benefits as he took his time approaching the confused and shrieking kaiju. With the haze of the terrors clouding his senses, Junior couldn’t see or hear him coming even after he took a heavy backhand and fall into a rock quarry.
However, something began to happen even as Godzilla writhed from the agony of the mind and body. The electrical arcs shooting across his body started to subside. Gabara took a pause and pivoted one of his pupil-less eyes to look back at his original target. The telepaths, Miki and all her proteges, were standing in a line holding hands. Their eyes were blackened, inky hued veins from their alien heritage visible along their cheeks and necks like some facsimile of tears. Waves of psychic energy were being thrown from them on the backs of the song they were solemnly singing, going past Gabara and into Godzilla Junior.
Through the storm of his worst nightmare, Junior began to hear the lyrics. The nightmare seemed to freeze in place as the song and the presence it carried overpowered it. It was the same song the telepaths sung to him as children at the institute all those years ago. It reminded him of their presence, and of what he was looking at.
Through the stilled visions, Godzilla Junior glared. The image of his perspective in a meltdown and destroying his childhood cracked like glass, before finally shattering completely.
He’d been tricked, and the one who did it was about to be reminded of whose successor he was.
Godzilla Junior sprung from the ground and was upon Gabara before the oni could even react. Gabara cackled, grabbing and shocking Godzilla while trying to overpower him. But it was to no avail. Godzilla grabbed the oni by the arm and threw him over his shoulder, sending Gabara shrieking and crashing to the ground. Stomping over to the rubble Junior was only given a momentary stumble when Gabara threw himself upwards and onto the dinosaur.
Grabbing Junior by both sides of his head, Gabara bellowed and tried to drown the Monster King in fear and terror once again. But even as he was shocked so heavily to the point of smoking, sheer willpower and the assistance of the telepaths kept Junior’s mind focused. Godzilla grabbed Gabara by the wrists and wrenched his hands off him. Gabara struggled but the difference in strength was becoming clear. The oni ramped up his shocks to the maximum, roaring in Junior’s face with an ear splitting shriek.
The shriek carried on through the point when Godzilla’s grip on Gabara’s wrists began to tighten more and more. It became a pained scream when the nuclear pulse Godzilla sent out through his hands preceded the sound of bones splitting and popping, signalling Junior had just utterly pulverized Gabara’s wrists.
Gabara’s hands went limp and his screams turned up more than a few octaves. Like an insane man in the final spasms of fight-or-flight, he let loose with everything, every bit of fear, magic, and electricity he had to try left to pry the dinosaur off. That only stopped when Junior demonstrated he was a predatory dinosaur, lurching forward and chomping down on Gabara’s throat. His fangs dug in deep and the neck was crushed, Gabara’s cries turning into a rasping wheeze.
With the oni’s shocking magic running across his body, Godzilla Junior’s own power manifested. Back spines flickered to life before glowing into a burning heat that was evaporating the mist and setting spans of the forest behind him on fire due to the heat. The glow turned white and Gabara struggled with one last thrash, before Godzilla fired point blank into the bite wound.
The burning lights filled Gabara’s body, showing through the thinner parts of his skin and shooting out the oni’s eyes and mouth. The beam of wrath burned through the terror’s back and shot into the forest behind it with a tremendous force. Junior kept blasting for a full minute before he finally ceased. Gabara’s charred husk of a body and his shell of a head fell to the forest floor in two directions different directions. It remained intact only a few moments before crumbling to dust along with the oni’s tomb. The glowing fog that accompanied Gabara’s return lifted up into the air and hovered above the forest below with a looming menace. But at the roar of Godzilla, it dissipated.
Gabara, the Greatest and Worst of the Oni, was destroyed.
============
1 Year Later
============
Ichiro opens his eyes. He smiles as he sees his friends on the running around on the playground. It is a beautiful day. Birds are singing. Blossoms flowering. A typical happy, childhood dream. The perfect time for fun.
He is about to go down the slide when he hears something behind him. A rasping, wracking cough, sounding like it’s coming from a dying animal. Curious, he goes down the slide and runs off the edge of the playground. Behind some bushes he finds a bizarre creature, a large green toad covered in burned warts and with two bleary red eyes.
“Woah, what kind of frog are you?” he marvels. “I should get Mom’s camera.”
You…
Ichiro blinks and looks at the frog harder. “D-did you just talk? That is so cool!”
Silence… Listen closely to me.
“I’m listening Mr. Frog-thing.”
The toad bristles and stamps its feet. I am no frog. I am Gabara! The mightiest oni in existence! And you will assist me now.
Ichiro tilts his head at the little frog in confusion. “How can I help you Mr. Roni? I’m just a kid.”
You are no mere child, you are a descendent of my lineage. Born of an ancestry that once ruled Japan with an iron fist. And now I have need of you and your body. You will provide me a vessel to house my consciousness so that I may regain my strength and strike down those who dared rise against me!
“You want to share my body?” he questions. “I don’t know. My body is mine, I’m not sure if I want to share it.”
You don’t have a choice, pest! If I do not gain access to your body I will perish, thus you WILL give me access!
Ichiro falters, his shoulders slumping. “You’ll die? I… I don’t want you to die. You seem lonely.”
He pauses, then pats the creature’s head. “Maybe you just need a friend…”
The toad grumbles loudly. Yes fine, whatever. I’ll be your ‘friend’, JUST LET ME IN NOW!
Ichiro feels a moment of hesitation but looks down at the creature with pity. “Alright. I’ll help you if you promise to be my friend.”
The toad’s mouth splits into a crooked grin. Finally.
Ichiro gasps as the toad bites his hand hard enough to draw blood, then cries as electrical static pours into his wound. The creature dissolves into mist which flows into his arm. Pain hits him like a train and he falls to the ground writhing.
“Why… why are you doing this?” Ichiro groans.
Because I need to, but also because I want to.
You shouldn’t want to hurt people! He blinks as he realizes his voice is gone, as is all feeling from his body. The playground is gone now, replaced by empty darkness.
The toad appears before him, large and hulking above him with a nasty smile.
Hurting people makes me feel good, so no, I should want to.
Ichiro looks back at the monster, angry and hurt. You… you’re just a bully. A bully who doesn’t know how to be nice!
The monster rolls its eyes. Oh I’m so wounded by your words. Guess what, child? I don’t care. I’m going to use your body to hurt people, and there is nothing you can do to stop me.
NO!
The beast recoils, then is thrown to the ground by a massive force. Wh-what is going on?!
The child, who has been cowering on the ground before him, now hovers above him, glowing with bright red light and shrouded with lightning.
YOU AREN’T GOING TO HURT ANYONE ELSE! I WON’T LET YOU!
Gabara feels his power, the rising energy being restored to him, fly away from his grasp. His confidence flees as his view grows dim. You… you can’t do this! You are only a child! I AM FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU!
THIS IS MY BODY! YOU MIGHT BE STRONG BUT I HATE BULLIES! AND IF YOU CAN’T BE TRUSTED WITH IT, THEN I’LL TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU!
Gabara roars and tries to strike back, but nothing happens. His limbs feel like lead, his muscles wracking with emptiness. He falls back into the void, unable to even scream.
Gabara the Ancient closes his eyes.
And Gabara the Modern opens his eyes.
I just read this on Fanfiction, and I was shocked when this Gabara actually became a good guy instead of a bully!
This was quite an entertaining special.
I got to say that this story was very entertaining. Gabara was shown to be a threatening opponent capable of being a match for Junior when using his illusions. His harassment of the telepathy came back to bite him in the ass when they protected Junior from Gabara's illusions. This kinda reminds me of the Sombra vs Cadence/Xenilla fight. The ending with Gabara trying to kill/possess his descendent Ichiro, only to be absorbed by him due to the young boy's hatred of bullies was quite the shocking ending. Usually, the ancient evil tends to win when it comes to possession, but Ichiro refused to be used for evil and took all the power of his predecessor to become an heroic Kaiju. Question, how does Gabara the Modern acts in the present world?
Awesome
4279554
The parallels are intentional. We thought it be a neat parallel to show not only have the brothers gone up against similar opponents, but both have the strength of will to fight through the fear with a bit of outside assistance.
And it was a neat subversion of the trope that the possession backfired. While this story is grim and has a very dark villain, there still is a "Good conquers evil" theme. Gabara the Modern a.k.a Gabara 2 does have some rough edges to him. He's mostly lost his identity as Ichi and has a rude, anti-social streak due to some of the old Gabara rubbing off on him; but he does still have a good heart deep down. This is also reflected in their look.
Gabara the Ancient: ape-like build, blank white eyes, forwardly curved horn, twisted bones to form talons on his hands, hunched over posture, blood red hair and sickly-greenish colored warty skin. Looks twisted, crazed, and evil.
Gabara the Modern: upright, human-like build, normal eyes, recurved horn, orange-red hair, claw-like nails, pebbly, more even blue skin. Looks more natural and more human-like so you can buy he's heroic deep down.
Now that's what I call a good special.
Wait, Krueger? Just how many series are mixed in this amalgamed universe of yours?
No critic, just curiosity.
Gabara: "I have the power to invade your dreams and make your worst fears a reality!"
Humans: "We have Godzilla."
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So, what does this mean for Ichiro's friends and family now that he's gone Kaiju?
Nicely done. Gabara the first was indeed a true monster, the story is fitting for the holiday, and the conclusion, including the origins of the far more benign modern Gabara was quite satisfying. In the preview log entry, I questioned if the younger somehow empowered the greater; I now know the reverse is true.
While I do wonder how the first meeting between the new Gabara and Junior went, I fully agree with the point you ended this story; that first meeting should be a tale for another time. This tale ended exactly where it should, with the end of the first Gabara.
For those who have been following my comments on The Bridge: Phoenix Night, my favorite aspect of this tale should be obvious.
NO! DAMN! SHIPPING!
For your enjoyment.
img00.deviantart.net/2542/i/2015/126/7/9/gabara_variations_by_nobackstreetboys-d8sce2v.jpg
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Nice.
And way to make Gabara genuinely threatening and terrifying.
If I'm reading right, I take it that Gabara the Ancient's physical body was sealed beneath Aokigahara while his spirit was stuck in the dream world? That's what it looked like.
Also, since Freddy Krueger was mentioned as being real in this reality (though from the sound of it has been dealt with permanently), does that mean the Dream Demons that gave him his power are demons like Red?
4280098
Thanks! HS crew and I worked hard on ironing this whole thing out.
Pretty much. The dream walking ability was basically him astral projecting and roaming about to invade the minds of others.
And I'd assume so, but don't want to give anything incredibly concrete just yet.
4279620
Well most of the Universal Monsters are canon with some tweaks. The Frankenstein Monster for instance is an amalgam of the movie and book versions and is the originator of the Gargantua brothers, bypassing the Toho Frankenstein Monster. A majority of the slasher franchise killers are also present. Let me double check with the HS crew to be sure, but Krueger, Voorhees; and probably Myers are in; with more obscure ones like the Creeper also likely. Only one that might not be is ironically the most realistic, Scream's Ghostface killers. This is because Scream requires the other slasher movies to be fiction in-universe.
4280173
Since, as an example, Marvel Comics have the comics exist in the setting (as non-fictional accounts of the various characters' adventures,) there is no reason the various slasher movie events couldn't have inspired movies identical to the ones we have. At most, they would be "based on a true story" instead of pure fiction. So, no exclusion would be needed.
That said, based on the old Slasher Film Tropes, if I lived in that world, I would do my best to never have sex, as my life would most likely depend on it.
I kind of wonder about Ichi and his family. How do they feel about their son becoming the next Garbara?
Although this does take me back to the chapter where Anguirius fights those dragons. As he likened them to a "pack of garbara", bullies with a power boost. Was there multiple Garbara at one time?
4281695 I'm pretty sure Anguirus meant the dragons all reminded him of Gabara for being bullies, as that's what the second Gabara is.
4280449
Given this fandom, fortunately, (or sadly) I suspect it has a higher survival percentage than the general population.
4282215
... and thus the obsession with Shipping is explained.
4282301 40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3n70zoTec1r3856io1_500.png
4282427
You seem surprised.
While I could try to lead into a suggestion that having a convention in Nevada could help reduce shipping, I'd rather this discussion not go into NSFW territory.
4284051 Either less shipping, or a sharp rise in fics with distinct "The Hangover" flavors.
4284115
Good point. Maybe get some dating services to advertise at cons? Steady relationships seem to lead to less bad shipping, and quality shipping is not really an issue for me.
4284123 Yeah, an in-person approach might work a bit better. The "Brony Mate" thing that advertises on here sometimes has the unfortunate circumstance of using the very internet that keeps so many of its potential clients away from human contact. Some type of booth or operation at a con could probably do a lot of good.
I wouldn't imagine quality shipping is a problem for very many, we all like a good love story.
4284123
4284309
I'm honestly surprised you two keep these shipping related or spurred conversations going on this page and the spin-off story. Very fascinating to follow though admittedly I don't know when to chime in.
4284487 You've corresponded with me long enough Tarb, you know I'll just keep going as long as I've got something to say.
Maybe Jacen is too polite to just stop responding, or tell me to bugger off.
4284309
"Good" being the operative word. Far too many avoid actually building a relationship and instead use the "secretly in love" approach, often to increase drama when circumstances drive them apart. I've come across not a few stories that use that hook to drive Sunset to try to commit suicide. While such stories can have their own appeal, attempted suicides are not usually the thing good stories are built around.
Also, and I blame the gender ratio of the cast in part for this, far too many tales on this site favor having the majority of the characters be lesbians. I have nothing against homosexual relationships (not that I have any interest in being in one, I just don't swing that way.) However, the simple fact is that such relationships are the minority. Such stories should spend more time building up to even semi-romantic status, not have the two secretly in love with each other.
One of the best romantic stories on this site I've come across to date is spread across The Oversaturated World. At the beginning of the first story in the setting, Sunset mentions she is not physically attracted to, as she puts it, balding apes. As the sequels and side stories progress, she begins to develop an attraction to the Human Twilight based on mental and emotional connections. It's subtle. It's a side element in a large narrative. It's nowhere near the point of becoming a physical relationship. But it is there, and it does reflect a significant portion of Sunset's character development. I just wish more stories used this model to develop relationships.
4284487
I admit, this all started with me losing it when one comment too many became the perverbial straw that broke the camal's back, but I've found the discussion to be very therapeutic, and I'm grateful to 4284511 for helping me work through my issues with this all-invasive topic.
4284585
I like to think of myself as equal opportunity. To me a character's appearance, societal gender, or biological sex pretty much are a non-factor unless it plays a role into their character. Case-in-point are two female kaiju in Bridge, Destroyah and Irys. Destroyah being female in this canon wasn't a factor to her backstory or progression, it would have been the exact same if I kept the more common fanon of it being a "he" or not having any equivalent biological sex. It just merely made more sense to me fore biological reasons for it to be female or some equivalent to female. If I went back and changed every instance of the word "she/her" to "he/his" relating to Destroyah, nothing would change other than the reader label for her relation to the CMC being quasi-motherly to quasi-fatherly. Irys is an example of it playing a role in the character, but only in a fairly neutral way. Gyaos are all female and can reproduce asexually, Irys cannot because she's a mutant (albinism is just a visible sign she's mutated, it didn't cause the sterility itself). Thus when Irys is the last gyaos left, it makes sense why she forms bonds with others like Sunset Shimmer or the Hunters because she can't just make another flock.
My point to this is that I treat homosexual or bisexual individuals the same way. Unless it is relevant to the plot, I don't go out of my way to make a fuss over it. Treat it realistically, a perfectly normal relationship with a rare type of pairing. While yes, one could make the argument that Equestria has no/fewer social stigmas against that sort of thing given it's been gunning for equality for over 900 years whereas most modern civilizations IRL have only been doing so for about 70-150, so more none traditional oriented would be open about it. However that still wouldn't change the fact it be a minority. I try to express this with Blade Dancer after I was informed by her creator that she was indeed bisexual. Nothing to make a fuss over, just a case of "Oh, she's had boyfriends and girlfriends." in the same manner as one would say "Oh, they're favorite colors are blue and purple."
4284825
I assure you, having a small number of homosexual and/or bisexual characters is a nonissue for me. That said, I've come across stories where it seems the entire female population of Ponyville are sexually involved with each other. Those, I take issue with. I've found tales where individuals in loving committed relationships find no issue with cheating on their significant others for no real reason beyond the desire to have sex. These offend me. Stories that ignore the established preferences of a character just to pair up a couple that defy cannon irritate me.
What you have written is a delight to read. I look forward to reading more in the future.
4284585 I think the "secretly in love" device is an easy one for amateur writers to use, because it allows them to exposit all the inner dialog that they've concocted for their central character. So they get to unload all the unrequited pining of one character for another, do a bit of backstory exposition, and pick up in the present where they can get to the "good stuff".
It's a device that certainly can be used well, but I do see your point about it's overuse in this fandom. Most of the 'quickie' stories I've read feature that method, with lots of flowery narration about how much they've painfully lusted after their object of desire.
I've never come across the "Sunset driven to suicide" theme, but that's pretty strange to me that you would find such a frequency. It also seems to me, that Sunset specifically, get shipped as a lesbian the most out of the featured main characters. Both due to her premise as a being from another world, and because she's a strong character.
Yeah, I do think that given the 70-30, female-to-male ratio in Equestria, frequent shippers will mostly tend to make female pairs. This is where I generally have to step back from the micro of the show, and remember that this world isn't necessarily premised on ours, and some things may be different in a world of sentient talking animals, on a show aimed to little girls.
Plus, there's the not-unimportant factor of the higher proportion of homosexual/bisexual members of the MLP fandom, when compared to the general population.
There's also the fact of virtually all of the predominately featured characters are female, giving fuel to the fire of same-sex shipping. Like you, I am not particularly interested in homosexuals, just as long they keep their bedrooms out of my legislation. I would go so far as to say that there is plenty room for both kinds of approach, I think your primary gripe is with the frequency of the "mutual secret attraction" gimmick.
But I agree with your major point, that the sexes should be balanced better in the show, not just for some hippie-nonsense about (((equality))), but rather to give the young girls of the target audience, some healthy examples of masculine figures, instead of villains, maniacs, and wimps.
Your exampling of that story, reminds me of an experiment I watched about recently; where a women went about for a few months posing as a man. She went on several dates with straight women, and even after revealing the truth about herself, some of the women still wanted to pursue something because of the mental/emotional connection. So, I could see the (apparently) more fluid nature of female sexuality used as a means more effectively in stories.
Though, like I said, I think I've made a compelling case on a few occasions that the effects of the physiological changes from one species to another has more than just external consequences. But at base, it sounds like you were just reading a well-done story, particulars aside.
Reminds me of a short story I read on here, featuring Thunderlane trying to win the attention of Princess Twilight. It played on the fact that she was now partially Pegasus, so Thunderlane went about trying to woo her with a bird-like mating dance, to which she had an involuntary reaction to. *poomf * I thought it was hilarious.
4284825
Firstly, I know you weren’t addressing me, but… meh.
Kinda funny, but I consider myself pretty anti-equal opportunity. To me, not everything serves the best interest of the story, and even some of the neutral traits I think are meaningful.
As a slight reveal of my hand, I'm going to forego a rather verbose tangent on the concept of 'societial gender', and skip along. That and time constraints. always with the time constraints.
I can appreciate your allowing for blank space on certain features of a character. If that's how you want to construct your headcanon, then I certainly can't stop you. Your giving Destoroyah a clarified sex makes plenty of sense, given that asexual pre-cambrian creatures aren't really a thing in Equestria. Though, I would submit that it would change things for me as a reader, if you had made it a male. Even if you hadn't changed anything else but altering a few pronouns here and there, It would change things for me, because I know there's a qualitative difference between mothers and fathers.
You haven’t done anything quite so gendered with Irys, so there’s less to comment on there regarding this topic. Her story was about finding her new flock, and none of it really had anything to do with her being human female.
I certainly don’t think you’ve made too much a fuss about the Bridge ships, aside from exploiting them to greater effect for the ongoing interpersonal-dynamics, and plot (given Xen-BD, Jun-Lun).
I personally think “The Bridge” has all the shipping it can handle for the time being, and I think a new one could bog down the plot & pacing for the new arc we’re entering. Should you ever decide to entertain a homosexual ship, I wouldn’t be particularly happy about it, but I wouldn’t stop reading either. I’d judge it by the merits of its execution.
4285248
Again, I know you weren’t responding to me.
“The entire female population of Ponyville are sexually involved with each other”? that sounds kinda fun.
I’ve started in on a few stores that had interesting premises, but just had poor execution that I had to drop. I have one open in another tab right now as a matter of fact; interesting concept, failing execution.
I make a concerted effort not to take anything in a fanfic too serious, since this is all stuff that people just make up. If I don't like it, I just move on.
4285941
As I mentioned earlier, I've recently stumbled into the Anon-A-Miss group. Due to the nature of the comic story that inspired these tales, they tend to be very dark for Sunset; especially those where the resolution from the comics is either delayed or prevented.
If you are in the mood for angst, feel free to check the group out. Be warned though, there are a fair number of bad stories mixed in, so read at your own risk. Wherever You Find Love is one of the better stories, but is part of a much larger series of stories by a single author.
4285951 Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check these out.
4288485
Before you read Wherever You Find Love, be sure to first read The Sun Also Rises and Six Nights (and a Day) With Sunset. Looking for Work in All the Right Places also precedes Wherever You Find Love, but isn't as important to understand how they got to that point.