Aside from the smell of ozone given off by the thunder cloud, Atomic Rex was also able to detect the odor of something large and organic within the strange weather formation. Atomic Rex continued to stare at the mysterious cloud as it drifted away from the city and toward him. The battle-hardened Atomic Rex was fully aware that if something was making its way straight toward him, it was a clear sign the thing was going to attack. The kaiju stretched out his powerful arms and swiped his claws at the air. The monster then reared back his head and drew in a deep breath. An instant later, Atomic Rex’s head shot forward and he roared at the strange cloud that was challenging him.
In response to the roar, a high-pitched shriek emanated from the cloud. Atomic Rex watched as a thick brown beak poked out of the clouds. The beak was followed by a feathered head with harrowing yellow eyes and dark black irises in the center of them. Two long, yellow, fur-covered legs that ended in menacing claws emerged from the base of the clouds. The legs were connected to a fur-covered and a powerfully built torso. As the torso of the creature came out of the cloud, Atomic Rex saw two long brown wings attached to the back of the creature. The monster gracefully floated to the ground, revealing that it had the head and wings of a giant eagle with the body and tail of a kaiju-sized lion. The Griffin stood roughly one hundred and fifty feet tall at the shoulder, making him about two-thirds the size of Atomic Rex.
The Griffin reared up on its hind legs and roared at Atomic Rex. The Griffin then began flapping its wings behind it, causing wind gusts of one hundred and fifty miles per hour to send grains of sand flying into Atomic Rex. Despite being propelled at the speed of a hurricane, the torrent of sand bounced harmlessly off Atomic Rex’s body, but the sand did manage to find its way into the beast’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
The saurian monster closed his eyes and mouth. Atomic Rex’s eyes became watery and his mouth dried up as his body tried to deal with the sand that had entered it. The monster put his claws in front of his face, blocking it from some of the swirling sands. Then he slowly pushed through the swirling sandstorm toward the monster that had not only challenged him but was also a potential meal.
Seeing that Atomic Rex was making his way through the sandstorm, the Griffin dropped to all fours, crouched down, and then leapt at the mutated dinosaur. Atomic Rex was shaking his head, trying to clear his orifices of the sand that was lodged in them when the Griffin slammed into his torso. The blow knocked the nuclear theropod back several steps. Before Atomic Rex was able to open his eyes, the Griffin charged and drove his shoulder into Atomic Rex’s right thigh, knocking the kaiju to the ground. With his opponent downed, the Griffin leapt toward Atomic Rex, hoping to pin the saurian creature to the ground and tear his throat out.
The Griffin was in mid-leap when Atomic Rex swung his tail, striking the Griffin in the ribs and knocking off his trajectory. The blow caused the Griffin to crash into the sand to the left of Atomic Rex. Atomic Rex quickly stood up and used his claws to clear the sand from his eyes. The kaiju then opened his eyes just in time to see the Griffin leaping toward him again. Atomic Rex braced himself and opened his arms wide. He then caught the Griffin in his powerful arms. Atomic Rex roared, lifted the Griffin over his head, and then he slammed the mythological creature into the desert sand. The Griffin landed hard on his side and was in the middle of rolling over when Atomic Rex kicked him in the ribs. The Griffin screeched in pain as one of the long claws on the nuclear theropod’s toes penetrated his skin and scraped across his ribcage. Atomic Rex was reaching down to sink his teeth into the Griffin’s neck when the mythical monster swung out with his foreclaw and slashed Atomic Rex across his lower jaw. Atomic Rex pulled his head back, giving the Griffin the opportunity to regain his feet. With his ribs cracked and his side bleeding, the Griffin was badly injured, but the majestic creature had no intentions of retreating from this battle.
The Griffin lunged forward and clamped his beak down over Atomic Rex’s left arm. The winged monster then pulled Atomic Rex toward him, causing the saurian monster to lose his balance. With Atomic Rex’s weight pitched toward him, the Griffin reached out with his left foreclaw and scratched Atomic Rex across his hip and thigh several times.
Atomic Rex roared in pain as the Griffin’s claws raked across his leg like giant blades. The nuclear theropod pulled his left arm toward his body, forcing the Griffin’s head closer to him. The kaiju then used his right forearm to strike the winged monster in the neck. The blow caused the Griffin’s vice-like beak to loosen enough so that Atomic Rex was able to free his arm from its grasp. Atomic Rex’s head shot forward as he once more attempted to sink his teeth into the Griffin’s neck. To Atomic Rex’s surprise, the Griffin was able to shift his head to the side and avoid the bite. The mythical monster then threw his head sideways, smashing it into the side of Atomic Rex’s face.
The blow caught Atomic Rex off guard and it afforded the Griffin enough time to leap into the air and start flapping his wings. Blood dripped from the Griffin’s injured side as he hovered above the creature that his master had ordered him to slay. The Griffin screeched and then he dove at the head of Atomic Rex.
The Griffin moved like a blur, raking his claws across the side of Atomic Rex’s face while also driving his thick beak into the top of the monster’s head. Atomic Rex swiped his claws at the Griffin’s face, but in the air, the creature was more than quick enough to avoid the worst of the kaiju’s claws. The Griffin opened up several deep gashes on Atomic Rex’s head that caused the kaiju’s own blood to stream down his face and into his mouth.
While Atomic Rex’s temperament often urged him to move forward when fighting an enemy, the monster’s intelligence often won him the day. In the frenzy of the Griffin’s attack, Atomic Rex saw the winged monster’s tail hanging low beneath the creature as he fluttered in the air. Atomic Rex dropped the front half of his body low to the ground, causing the Griffin’s claws to flail harmlessly in the air above him. Atomic Rex then lunged forward and closed his jaws on the Griffin’s exposed tail. With the Griffin’s tail caught in his mouth, Atomic Rex pulled down, causing the Griffin to slam back first into the ground at his feet. Atomic Rex saw the Griffin’s hind legs pawing at the air in front of him. The nuclear theropod’s arms shot out and he buried his claws into the Griffin’s right thigh. The kaiju then clamped his jaws around the Griffin’s right foot at the ankle. With a quick twist of his head, Atomic Rex snapped the Griffin’s ankle in two.
The Griffin was still screeching in pain as Atomic Rex twisted his head the other way and completely tore off the Griffin’s foot. Blood spurted out of the stump where the Griffin’s leg had once been. The Griffin rolled over onto his stomach and began flapping his wings in an attempt to escape into the air. The Griffin’s body was just starting to lift off the ground when Atomic Rex leapt onto his back. Atomic Rex’s weight drove the Griffin’s damaged ribs back into the ground with thousands of tons on top of them.
The Griffin continued to flap his wings in vain until Atomic Rex bit down into the base of his left wing. With one powerful pull, Atomic Rex tore the wing out of the Griffin’s back. A crimson geyser shot into the air out the Griffin’s back where the wing had been torn off. The Griffin let loose one final screech as Atomic Rex clamped his jaws down onto the beast’s head and neck. With one last quick twist, Atomic Rex broke the Griffin’s neck, ending the monster’s life.
With his defeated opponent dead at his feet, Atomic Rex lifted his head into the air and roared in victory. The hungry monster then reached down and tore a huge chunk of flesh out of the Griffin’s back. The kaiju swallowed the mouthful of blood and muscle. Atomic Rex then continued to feed on the fallen Griffin until all that remained of the once majestic beast was nothing but bones and blood.
After he had finished devouring the defeated Griffin, Atomic Rex turned his head to the north and the sea. The monster took a step toward the water when he felt something in his head urging him to turn around and destroy the city of Sahab. The influence in Atomic Rex’s
head wanted him to decimate the city and kill the millions of people who lived there. Atomic Rex roared at the influence. He had already fed and neither the people nor the city was a threat to him. The monster also had little interest in showing his dominance over the creatures in the city as the hot and barren desert were not lands that he saw as worth claiming for his own.
Atomic Rex then thought once more of the ocean and he turned his body so that he was facing a northern direction. The nuclear theropod took a step in that direction when the power that was influencing his mind suddenly changed from an annoying suggestion to a searing pain. Atomic Rex roared and shook his head as he tried to fight off the psychic attack.
In the dark dimension between worlds, Cronus was focusing all of his power on directing Atomic Rex toward the city of Sahab. The mad titan needed the kaiju to slay as many creatures as he could on his way to North America so that he could absorb the life energy of those the monster killed. The titan had found it easy to influence Atomic Rex when the monster’s needs matched his own. Now that Atomic Rex had recharged the nuclear energy within his body and fed, the monster’s desire was to return to the land that he thought of as his home as quickly as possible.
Cronus could feel Atomic Rex breaking free of his influence. The titan had known of the kaiju’s fighting spirit and refusal to accept defeat, yet he did not consider that the monster’s limited mind had a will power that could match his own. Cronus grunted as he redoubled his efforts. As it became apparent that Cronus could not fully dominate the kaiju’s mind, he decided to change his approach. If Cronus was unable to force Atomic Rex to attack Sahab, he could at least influence the monster to continue to make his way to the Atlantic by going across Africa rather than swimming through the Mediterranean. The titan reasoned that simply by walking across Africa, the monster would inevitably take more lives by simple chance if nothing else. Every muscle in Cronus’ body tightened, as he focused on convincing Atomic Rex to return to his original westbound course.
As the titan’s influence seeped into his mind, Atomic Rex slowly turned west and away from the sea. The monster only glanced at Sahab and the military forces that had amassed outside of the city preparing to defend it against him as he continued to make his way back to North America.
Cronus fell to one knee when he felt Atomic Rex turn and head toward the Atlantic. He looked through his portal at the nuclear theropod as the monster made his way across the desert and he screamed, “Accursed beast! You could have greatly added to my power by destroying the city! Millions of lives were there, waiting to be added to my power! Now through your defiance, you have taxed my power reserves rather than adding to them! This affront is in addition to the fact that the Griffin’s appearance indicates the gods are marshaling their remaining forces to oppose us!”
Cronus took a deep breath in an attempt to regain his composure. “Still, you did weaken our enemies by slaying the Griffin.” The titan shook his head. “It is unfortunate that the energy I absorbed from the death of the beast was wasted on convincing you to continue to press through the continent.”
It was at that moment that Cronus made a stunning realization about the nature of Atomic Rex. Atomic Rex had also replenished his strength by not only consuming the Griffin but also by absorbing the energy at the nuclear power plant. Cronus could already sense that after completing these tasks, Atomic Rex was far more powerful than he was when Cronus first brought him to this Earth. Cronus shook his head as he looked through the portal at Atomic Rex. “Could it be that the monster’s power could potentially rival my own?”
Cronus pondered the thought for a moment, but then he dismissed it. The more pressing matter was the appearance of the Griffin. Cronus opened two more portals to reveal both Surtr and Tiamat. The ancient horrors were waiting on the outskirts of the human realm, preparing themselves for their attacks on the planet. Unlike Atomic Rex, Surtr and Tiamat knew when Cronus was looking at them through a portal. Both creatures looked back at Cronus. It was Tiamat who hissed, “What has happened?”
Cronus gritted his teeth in anger as he responded. “The Griffin has attacked Atomic Rex. He appeared out of a thunder cloud. The kaiju was able to slay the winged beast, but his presence and the way he appeared suggests that Zeus teleported him there. It seems that what’s left of the gods have decided to oppose us.”
Surtr grumbled, “Chimera decimated them. They are a shell of what they once were!”
Cronus shook his head. “Should they ally themselves with the humans, they could increase the threat posed by Chimera. In addition to whatever warriors and monsters they may have left, Zeus can also teleport Chimera anywhere on the planet instantaneously. We had thought that when Chimera was engaged with one of our monsters, the threat he posed would be neutralized by sheer distance if not by our creatures. Now that advantage may be lost to us.”
Tiamat’s head whipped around in anger. “You must gather the life energy that we require to carry out our tasks as soon as possible.”
The fire that comprised Surtr’s eyes grew intensity. “What of Atomic Rex? Have you been able to direct him toward population centers?”
Cronus was silent for a moment as he stared at Surtr. “Yes. He has just destroyed the city of Sahab.” The titan decided that the best way to keep his allies from discovering his lie was to wrap it around a bit of truth. “Controlling the monster is more difficult than I had thought. Allow me a short time to rest and restore my own powers. Within a day’s time, I shall be at full strength and the monster will arrive at the city of Adrar. After the beast destroys the city, we will have more than enough life energy for you to complete your tasks with. As soon as I have the life energy of the people of Adrar, I shall send it to you so that you may begin your attacks.”
Surtr nodded. “Attain the life force that we need to destroy this Earth and be sure that energy is ready to be sent to us should a storm cloud carrying Chimera appear before us.”
Cronus nodded. “Do not fret, brother. You shall be fully prepared to face Chimera when the time comes.” He then closed the portal and looked back on Atomic Rex. “I must have you attack Adrar so that I have life energy to send to the others. If they suspect that I am unable to provide them with the energy I promised, they will likely turn on me and seek to take my life energy.”
Chapter 6
Chimera Base
Luke dashed out of Hangar Eighteen to see Chimera staring at the building. He could hear the monster growling, and he could see the hairs on Chimera’s mane standing up. Luke said to himself, “You don’t need to be a trainer to see he’s ready for a fight.” Luke lifted his megaphone to his lips and shouted, “Chimera, sit down!”
The monster looked at his trainer for a second before complying with the command. Luke breathed a sigh of relief as the ground shook when Chimera’s massive weight dropped down onto the soil. Chimera had reached the point in his training and in his relationship with Luke that he complied with Luke’s commands instantly. Luke was well aware that the only reason the monster would hesitate to follow a command was when he felt that his trainer’s life was in danger.
Luke was slowly approaching Chimera when the kaiju suddenly stood up, threw his arms out to his sides, and unleashed an anger-filled roar. Luke spun around to see Zeus walking through the hangar doors. Luke cursed under his breath as Chimera began walking toward the god whose throne room he had decimated. Luke screamed into his megaphone, “Chimera, stop!”
The kaiju stopped in his tracks. He then turned and looked at his master before returning his gaze to Zeus. Luke screamed at Zeus, “Now! Teleport us now! Before he decides to attack you!”
Luke watched as Zeus lifted his hand above his head. As the god did so, a dark storm cloud appeared over both Luke and Chimera. Lightning began to streak down from the cloud near the kaiju and his beloved trainer. Chimera roared as he remembered the battle with Zeus at the top of Mount Olympus. The beast recalled how painful the god’s lightning strikes were and he refused to let them do any h
arm to Luke. Despite Luke’s command to stop, Chimera started charging Zeus. The kaiju had only taken two steps before he was blinded by a bright flash of lightning.
Luke didn’t even have time to shield his eyes as the lightning came down around him. He felt like he was suddenly dropped out of a plane with no parachute as his hair stood on end from the electrical current all around him. Luke collapsed to the ground as he felt an abrupt stop to the falling sensation. He heard screaming all around him as he blinked his eyes to try and steady his vision. He started walking forward then he tripped and fell to the ground face first into something hard and jagged.
Luke felt blood pouring down his cheek and as he crawled forward, he felt a pelting rain being driven sideways into his face by a strong wind. He blinked his eyes several more times to see that he had stumbled through what was once the brick wall of a partially destroyed building. Luke looked through the pelting rain to see the huge form of Chimera rubbing his eyes, no doubt trying to restore his vision as well.
The screaming that Luke heard suddenly became louder and with his vision finally starting to clear up, Luke stood up and took a look around him. He saw nothing but devastation around him in what he guessed was Boston. He looked back at the ground as he tried to navigate his way through the debris of the remains of the destroyed building when his nostrils were overwhelmed by the smell of rotting fish.
Luke then noticed that the rain had stopped striking him in the face and he looked up expecting to see Chimera but instead he saw something much more horrifying than his pupil and friend.
Luke saw a gigantic crab-like creature standing over him with its claws out in front of it. The countless tentacles that protruded from various points around the monster’s body were all undulating back and forth. Luke quickly pulled his megaphone to his mouth, and he was about to yell for Chimera to attack when the Kraken darted past him and charged Chimera. Luke stepped through the crumbled wall of the destroyed building to see the Kraken strike the still disoriented Chimera across the jaw with his right claw. The still partially blind Chimera tumbled backward and fell onto his back. Chimera was trying to stand up when the Kraken crawled onto his chest and pinned the kaiju to the ground. Chimera had just started to roar when the Kraken’s claw reached down and closed around his throat.
Atomic Rex_The Conquest of Chimera Page 7
