Ghios and Company

A few minutes before Nick was kept behind by a teacher who was more than he seemed:

Sandra’s class had let everyone out ten minutes early to go to the rally. She knew a few other students were already on their way out of the school instead, but she wanted to support her friends. Trinity Gee and Judy Shen were in the same class, and they had decided to go to the rally as a group.

Trinity’s locker was the closest, so the other two girls walked with her there as she dropped off her books. “You think they’ll honor Dan today? That was an impressive feat last Sunday,” Trinity said as she set the books down.

Judy shook her head. “I hope not. He’s a bit full of himself over that already!” The other two laughed. Judy’s locker was next, and they continued chatting as they went. As Judy broke off to put her stuff away and pick up the team pennant Dan had given her a while back, Trinity quietly asked Sandra: “So, what is it like being Nick’s girlfriend? He’s an odd guy but very attractive, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

“Not at all - I agree on both counts. We’ve been friends forever, so I’m used to his quirks, and… well, I have had a bit of a crush on him for almost a year now, if I’m being honest,” Sandra replied.

“And what about Dan? He seems nice but I can’t figure out the thing between him and Judy…”

Sandra laughed. “One day Judy decided they were a couple. Never asked him. Occasionally he flirts with other girls just to tick her off - and to see if he has stronger feelings for them or her - but he always comes back to her. Honestly, if they stay together out of school, I would not be surprised if they get married, but both take lovers as well. They just seem that type, if you know what I mean?”

Seeing as how Judy was about to rejoin them, Trinity just smiled and nodded. “Well, guess we need to hit Sandra’s locker and then go to the rally?” she said cheerfully.

As they got to Sandra’s locker, they saw Peter and Karen waiting there for them. “Figured we’d wait and walk you guys over,” Peter offered. “I had a study hall today, and Karen’s Teacher is out sick, so we were free most of the period anyway.”

“Cool. I think Nick will meet us there, so we should head out I guess, as soon as I stash my books,” Sandra said, and went over to her locker.

“We pass Nick’s last class on the way so maybe can pick him up there,” Pete suggested.

She stashed her books quickly and the group navigated the halls. They were near Teacher Salvatore’s room when several students emerged.

“Wonder what the teacher wants with Nick?” one student asked.

“Wish he’d ask me to stay late,” a female student said, dreamily.

“I dunno, he usually gives extra work when he pulls people aside,” another said.

They all exchanged looks, and approached the door as the last few students came out. They saw Nick was still at his seat, and the teacher was at his desk.

“Wonder what that is all about?” Sandra wondered aloud.

“Excuse me, I need to use the restroom,” Trinity suddenly announced. “I’ll catch up with you guys outside, okay?”

Sandra absently said ‘Sure thing Trinity. Wonder how long he’ll be?”

“Doubt he’ll miss the rally, but he won’t be there when it starts,” Pete said, “Let’s get moving.”

“You're probably right,” Sandra said, casting a last glance at Nick who was still waiting at his desk as she spoke.

They made it outside fairly quickly, as that was where most of the students were headed. Finding a set of seats together was a bit more of a challenge; they had finally succeeded, when Peter said: “That is strange - look, there’s an old woman on the field.”

“Probably just the assistant principal,” Judy said before she looked. “Oh, no I don’t know her!”

Sandra was surprised to suddenly hear Sensei's voice in her head: “I just realized I could do this,” it said.

Guide replied: “Hi Dad!”

Sandra mentally said: “Nick? Sensei? Something is up out here. Where are you?”

Nick said: “Teacher Gee is grilling me about Protector.”

“In the athletic field - there’s an old woman just standing there…” Sandra replied to Nick and their 'advisors'.

Sandra stood and said to her other human companions: I’ll go look for Nick or Trinity and bring them here guys, OK?”

“Yeah, sure,” was Judy’s reply, while Pete said, “Good idea.”

They were too distracted trying to figure out what was happening on the field to see that she went up to the top of the bleachers instead of down to the entrance where their other friends would likely be.

Sandra heard a wordless alarm sound in her head, followed by Nick asking: “Sensei?”

Then Sandra sent: “Nick, there seems to be something going on… Holy crap, Velocivores!”

“There are Blastcrows en route too,” Nick sent back. “And you may have to face them alone, at least for the moment. Oh, do you have eyes on Trinity Gee?”

“She was with us but had to use the bathroom…have not seen her since,” came the reply.

“Blast - she, her brother and their mom are Ghios - the thing we mistakenly called King Ghidorah. This is bad…”

“Oh God,” came the reply. “I’ll do what I can against the Velocivores. Good luck, Nick!”

Sandra jumped over the upper back edge of the stands, tapped her neck in midair, and Guardian shot straight up over the stands and dropped to the ground near where there was a commotion on the field. A group of three creatures about four meters tall and three meters long were eating the body of someone who appeared to have been Assistant Coach Valdean, and two others were rushing towards where the other team entrance would be as she landed in their path.

The creatures were reptilian bipeds with long, slender tails, extremely long, sharp-looking claws, and massive, tooth-filled jaws. Though the Velocivores had no ranged attacks, they were frustratingly fast, making them tough to fight and harder to escape. Their bodies were primarily reddish in color, with a pale, bluish under belly and they had two pairs of eyes, one on the side of their heads and one on the front.

Sandra did not hear the chatter as she flew in, but her arrival prompted a lot of speculation:

“Is that Protector?”

“Can Protector get that small?”

“It's not Protector - the color is different, and I think there are fewer fins on the head.”

“Can’t tell from here at the speed they’re moving but I think that’s a female!”

Sandra knew she was outnumbered by a force of creatures individually each probably weaker than her, but faster and more ruthless. She called up the self defense lessons her mother had forced her to take a few years ago, and, as she landed in front of one of the creatures, she grabbed one of its legs as it came up and spun it around. The Velocivore spun in place, and then staggered off to the side, intercepting its companion. Several claws pierced thick, leathery hides as they both tumbled to the ground, and only one got up. It roared anger and defiance, the three that had been feasting looked up from their meal and replied with more cough-like roars, then began moving quickly towards where Sandra was standing - only she launched herself in the air as they did so.

Then she saw that the one that would have been closest to her stopped and stretched out its tail. Another ran along its tail, up its body, and launched itself into the air, its arms extended kind of like wings, its jaw wide open. It was almost fast enough to reach her before she could react - almost, but not quite. Her eye beams shot right down its throat, and the creature exploded less than a meter from reaching her location!

“This thing is self-cleaning, right?” She asked Guide, a little disgusted at the bits of the monster all over the place; fortunately, she had also moved up, so the next creature passed a little below her. She dove at it and helped it accelerate towards the ground, then released it and pulled up fast - only to feel a claw swipe at her in passing!

“What, are these things part frog?”

“Velocivores are a predatory reptilian species of minor kaiju. They are noted for their ability to literally eat nearly any form of matter, their ability to move at tremendous speeds, and a knack for performing odd acrobatic stunts. They are usually encountered in pairs and are rarely seen in groups larger than five,” Guide informed her.

“Well, there should just be a pair left at this point,” she replied.

She suddenly heard a roar from the stands around her and glanced up - though her fight had netted some applause, Protector flying overhead had brought most of the students to their feet - most cheering, but some wondering where he was going when the fight was down in the field.

She returned her attention to the Velocivores, only to realize she had lost sight of one while the other seemed to be running in random patterns. Suddenly a beam of some sort hit her and sent her spinning towards the stadium wall - where the other Velocivore was running laps, actually on the wall, in defiance of gravity.

She barely managed to regain control as the creature snapped at her, scoring her armor with its massive teeth.

“Armor integrity is down five percent. If it had slowed down and bit full force, it would have ruptured the suit and possibly taken your arm off,” Guide announced.

“Did that blast come from the old woman?” Sandra asked.

“From her staff,” was the reply.

“Then maybe we should separate them?” Sandra asked.

“Not sure if that is possible but it should be worth trying,” Guide stated.

***

While his partner and girlfriend was facing off against monsters on the gridiron, Nick and Salvatore had their tense moment broken slightly as the door opened and Trinity Gee stepped in. “Brother, maybe this is not quite right,” she announced.

Salvator literally hissed at her and said: “We are under orders. Can you bring him in alone?”

A nervous giggle was her reply, and then: “You really stepped in it, brother - he just activated the Prototype!”

Both of them turned to see Nicholas standing there in the Protector’s armor.

Salvatore laughed. “If you’re trying to talk to us, child, until we merge, only the Elder has the Communication ability, so you’re wasting your breath.”

Nick’s wordless, single-finger reply was sufficiently eloquent. Trinity suppressed a laugh at the simple, crude gesture, while Salvatore’s face flushed red in anger, and he grabbed a chair and swung it at Nick.

He was incredibly strong, and the plastic-and-metal chair shattered against the armored form, sending Nick skidding across the floor to smash into the wall. Nicholas actually felt the impact. He also realized that fighting these two right now, would be a waste of his limited energy supplies. He had to get out now - so he launched himself at the narrow window near the ceiling. That impact hurt as much as slamming into the wall after Salvatore broke that chair against him, but he was outside. As his body exited the building, he shifted to Gargantua form and shot off towards the approaching Blastcrows. Briefly, he glimpsed Sandra, as Guardian and still at human size, performing 8what looked like an elaborate and deadly dance with the Velocivores.

Then he shot towards the approaching group of seven Blastcrows, aiming directly at one of them but spiraling in, because he now could after upgrading his maneuverability. Two of their blasts came close to hitting him but he managed to avoid any serious damage and flew through the cluster, crashing into one of the giant, evil birds in the process. The Blastcrow he hit was knocked unconscious and plummeted to the ground, crashing into a large building and becoming impaled on the rubble, never to rise again. All but one of the other six in the formation wheeled around to pursue him.

“If we’re still in range, Sandra, one Blastcrow is heading your way, the rest seem to be following me.”

“Where are you going?” He heard her ask.

“Back where it started,” he replied. “It seems we missed something there.”

“Should I join you when I finish here?” she asked.

Nick took a breath before answering: “Your call. May need your help, but it might not be enough and could be a suicide mission.”

Her reply was: “Understood, will see you soon, if I can.”

Sensei said: “Are you sure about this, Nicholas?”

“No but we have no choice. Look for a power junction, please - I’ll need to be at full when Ghios arrives.”

“Understood.”

Nick saw the region of factories coming into view and slowed down, letting the Blastcrows catch up, then spun around and flew back towards them, barely avoiding two lightning blasts in the process.

Then he was in the middle of their ranks and unleashed his Electric Field. One of the aerial kaiju was close enough to be completely fried. Three more were stunned and plummeted to the ground, two of them suffering fatal wounds from the rugged terrain below, while the other looked likely to recover. Nick spun in place while activating his Turbolasers and shredding the closest Blastcrow. The talons of the other one struck him from behind and sent him spiraling through the air. He regained control slowly as the thing powered up its blast.

“Any way that we can use that lightning to power up?” He asked Sensei.

The reply surprised him: “Maybe, but it will hurt…willing to risk?”

“Definitely!”

He “stood” straight in the air as the blast hit him dead center. The pain, as predicted, was intense - it felt as if his entire body was on fire - but then he heard: “Power reserves up from thirty to sixty percent. Armor integrity down seven percent. Suggest not repeating - returns not quite worth effort.”

Nick smiled. “Agreed. Looks like the one on the ground is getting back up. Get ready for round two.’

***

Back at the athletic field, Sandra was flying a zig zag pattern, dodging the monsters while trying to get close to the old woman. She wished she had better control of her flight as she came close to slamming into the ground and did briefly impact one of the Velocivores, knocking it on its back and losing her own balance in the process. The thing swiped at her with a claw and scored her armor before she regained control.

“Armor integrity down to ninety percent,” Guide informed her.

She stood and realized she was close to her target, who seemed focused on something else.

Then she heard: “If we are still in range, one Blastcrow is heading your way, the rest seem to be following me.”

A little surprised to hear Nick this far away, she replied: “Where are you heading?”

The reply was: “Back where it all started. It seems we missed something there.”

“Should I join you when I finish up here?” She asked.

“Your call,” Nicholas replied. “I may need your help, but it might not be enough and may be a suicide mission.”

She smiled a bitter smile and replied: “Understood. Will see you soon, if I can.”

Then she made a quick lunge for the old woman’s staff. As soon as she touched it, an energy pulse shot out that sent her flying and knocked the old woman over.

“The good news is I was able to shunt some of that into power reserves and we are at eighty-five percent. The bad news is that is also now our armor integrity.”

“What was that?” She asked.

“Get in the air now!” Was the only reply. Sandra leapt up and just avoided being crushed between the two Velocivores - who managed to both spin and avoid a collision, though one did knock the other off balance with its tail, causing it to tumble on the ground, snarl angrily at its pack mate, and then glance around to try and find Guardian.

The one with the clumsy tail ran towards the side of the arena and again began running along the wall.

“I would deal with you, child, but you are just the opening act,” the old woman said as she rose to her feet. “We must go deal with the main event.”

As she said this, a Blastcrow swept down, and she seemed to blur into a sheet of radiant energy which shot up into the air and resumed her form on the back of the monster. She aimed her staff at the school building and two more beams of energy emerged while the Blastcrow banked in the air and began to head back the direction it had come from. Two more figures appeared on its back, but the only detail Sandra could make out from either was the long, pale hair of the smaller one, and then they were out of sight as she had to dodge a leaping Velocivore. She glared at it as its arc took it back to the ground and her eye-beams cut off one of its arms. It howled in pain and rage, ran about ten meters, and then collapsed to the ground.

The other one had been running along the wall and suddenly altered its angle of movement and crashed through the wall itself to land in the midst of a panicked group of teenagers.

Sandra pushed her flight as much as she could and managed to crash land between it and the group it was terrorizing.

It swiped a claw at her and Guide yelped: “Armor integrity down to sixty percent!”

Sandra struggled to her feet, trying to keep the monster’s attention on her, and then launched herself at it. She wrapped both arms around it and flew back through the hole it made in the wall, then, as soon as she was clear, shifted to Gargantua Mode as she gained elevation. As she cleared the school’s grounds, she veered towards the water and shifted her position so that she held the struggling monster in a single hand, and then, with as much strength as she could muster, hurled the creature away from New San Francisco.

She then paused to gather her bearings and set out towards the abandoned factory where Nick found Sensei.

As she started flying, she heard Guide say: “Joint efforts have earned you both a level… you can…”

She interrupted: “I think Nick won’t take the sensor arrays and we may need it so I will... also, used banked upgrades on armor and energy reserves if we can.”

“Done. Land, revert to human mode, and then return to Guardian form to activate upgrades.”

“Nick, I’ll be joining you soon,” she said, hoping he would hear her, “But can guarantee Ghios will get there before I do.”

The chilling reply was: “You are correct. They are here.”

***

Nick hovered in the air, bobbing clumsily up and down as he turned to watch the two now-cautious Blastcrows. He kept his attention on their horns and held his position. When one of them started powering up, he suddenly dove towards the other one and then veered to the left as quickly as he could moments before they would collide. He lost control and tumbled through the air but was pleased that his strategy worked as the blast hit the other Blastcrow directly in the strange bone structure that projected the energy bolt and made the creature glow for a moment and then explode.

“You find a good power source yet?”

“Two, in fact. Defeat this Blastcrow, and you and Guardian will have jointly earned a level.”

Nick merely nodded and fired Turbolasers at the flying kaiju. The monster dodged most of the barrage, with the blasts scoring its tail feathers.

Then it tried to dive at Nick; behind the armor, he smiled. He stood his ground, and it wheeled in the air to bring its rear claws to bear - exactly what he had hoped for - he swung a punch towards it, and as he connected with the softer flesh of its under belly, he again opened fire with the Turbolasers on that hand. The monster yelped in pain, backed away from him, and then plummeted to the ground.

Nick paused to take a breath, saw a dot moving close towards him, and headed for the nearest power supply.

“Level attained. Reserve power supply activated and one upgrade available.”

“Flight maneuvering, please,” Nick said.

“Done. Steel yourself, this will hurt but should be worth it this time,” Sensei said as Nick landed on a transformer.

Nick took a deep breath and then reached down and touched an exposed wire with a single finger. Once again, it felt as if his entire body were bursting into fire but then heard: “Disconnect! Power supply full!”

It took all of his strength to disconnect but he did - and just in time to see the Blastcrow come into attack range. There were three figures on its back.

One of them was an old woman - the one he knew as the mother of Trinity and Salvatore Gee. She looked right at him and laughed. “You are but a child,” he heard in his head. “You have no prayer.”

Just as he heard this, Sandra sent “Nick, I’ll be joining you soon, but I think Ghios will get there before I do.”

He replied: “You are correct. They are here.”

On the back of the Blastcrow, Trinity and Salvatore grabbed the staff their “mother” used to walk, and a dark aura surrounded them. It lifted up off of the Blastcrow and then shifted and flowed and grew in shape; finally, the darkness vanished, and a massive creature was left in its place.

Its body was roughly the size of Protector, but it had long legs ending in massive claws, gigantic, bat-like wings and three long necks, each ending in slightly different, but similar, reptilian heads. A long tail that split into two extended from its back.

The head to the right of the body sported only a pair of eyes and had long tufts hanging down from the sides of the upper jaw and a blunt about. The central head had long horns above each of its eyes - a smaller, spiraled one above the central eye, longer, straight ones angled slightly forward above the other two eyes, and a longer, narrow snout that looked crocodilian. The third head had tufted ears, one behind each of its two eyes, and a bird-like beak.

Three voices, in unison, broadcast: “You now face the full power of Ghios, the Devastator of Worlds. Cower in fear, mortal, before we destroy you utterly!”