Allison began to move around the room in almost a dancing manner. “With the gods all but gone, the Titans defeated, and a maturing army of demigods who see me as their mother, I am poised to ascend to the position of ruler of my Earth with the only obstacle remaining in my path being Chimera.”
She looked off into the distance again. “Excuse me for a moment while I have the beast use his Atomic Wave on the controls array for your transport bay.” The nymph’s eyes began to glow again and once more the facility shook. In the distance, the Arena Lords could hear Atomic Rex roar in victory over his imaginary opponent. As the roar echoed throughout the arena, several Arena Lords came together and whispered among themselves.
Allison’s eyes began to dim as she turned her attention back to the Arena Lords. “Now that the entire facility is locked down, back to my story.” She stopped for a minute, leaned in close to one of the Arena Lords and grinned. “I have to say, for males you are such good listeners. Usually, men don’t care to hear what I have to say but you are hanging on every word.”
The nymph shrugged. “Anyway, even with my army of demi-gods I knew I would need a new supply of kaiju to battle Chimera. I have a scientist who was able to create one new monster for me, but I still need so many more to fully carry out my plan. I couldn’t find any more monsters in my universe but thankfully Kronos had left all of those rifts to other dimensions open. It took some searching, but eventually I found your dimension. A dimension where you, the Arena Lords, had the resources to capture monsters for your games. Monsters that could instead be used as part of my army. The question then was how to gain control of the wonderful monster hunters and genetic engineers you had at your disposal.”
Allison shook her head and giggled. “All I had to do then was convince you to give your monsters to me. Convincing men to do something is easy. All you have to do is find out what they desire then either offer it to them or take it away from them and they will do whatever you want to get it back.”
Allison shrugged. She smiled as she ran her hands down the sides of her shapely body. “Most men are driven by sexual desires and as you can see enticing men with that promise is easy for me.” She shook her head at the Arena Lords. “But, thankfully, you hideous creatures are driven by the desire for money and sport. So, instead of seduction I used infiltration. I simply hid myself among you in my invisible state and studied you. Then I waited for a moment of weakness.”
Allison placed her holographic hand on the chin of the nearest Arena Lord as she spoke in a condescending tone. “When you were running out of monsters to battle Gurral, you were bored and worried that you would lose the crowd. This was my opportunity to first give you what you wanted and then to take everything you had away from you.”
She withdrew her hand and stepped back. “You were so focused on your petty concerns you simply let me take the form of one of you and act as if I was new to the arena. You needed a super monster; one that could challenge your arena champion and satiate your desire to observe battle.” Her eyes began to glow again as she continued, “I offered you Atomic Rex as an opponent for Gurral. Once I posed an idea to reinvigorate your games you jumped at it without a second thought. You didn’t even think to observe Atomic Rex to see if you could find some way to control or contain him.”
One of the console Arena Lords looked up. “We’ve located her at a maintenance console, but there is a more pressing concern tearing its way directly towards this room.”
Allison, unfazed, shook her finger at the Arena Lords. “Do you even realize that if Gurral wanted to he could crush you? You see him as your champion and your captive but in reality, it's the other way around. Gurral could crush you all if he wanted to, but you provide him with the dust he desires so he is placated and operates under the conditions you have agreed to with him.”
Allison’s playful tone changed to a dark and ominous demeanor. “I can step through a portal and escape the guards you send after me any time I’d like, and there will be no bargaining with Atomic Rex. I manipulated you and Gurral into bringing him here. As I said, Atomic Rex cannot be bargained with or controlled, but he can be aimed in the right direction, if you stay on my good side.”
The ground shook again as Atomic Rex continued his rampage through the facility, getting ever closer. “Once the beast was here, I needed the Dream Weaver to weaken Atomic Rex’s mind for me. Then with the monster in a suggestive state I was able to use my magical abilities to make him see what I wanted, where I wanted. Then it was simply a matter of using him to destroy the two places that would put this facility into a veritable lockdown.”
Atomic Rex roared again, and a crash sounded extremely nearby. “There is no escaping the arena. Atomic Rex will destroy everyone and everything until this entire mechanical planet is in ruin.”
One of the Arena Lords moved closer to Allison. “How does that benefit you? You said you wanted to create an army from the monsters we can acquire. We can’t do that if we are dead or if our resources are destroyed.”
Allison grinned, “Good job you’re finally learning. There’s still a way we can all get what we want from this situation.” She gestured to the arena below them and the crowds of spectators who were looking about nervously. “The crowd is beginning to doubt your control of the situation. In fact, I dare say they are beginning to fear for their very lives.” She looked up for a moment in deep thought and then turned her attention back to the Arena Lords. “I can’t control Atomic Rex but I can continue to influence what he sees for a while longer. Few creatures in the multiverse stand a chance against him in battle and the only one we have available to us is Gurral.”
The Arena Lord closest to Allison nodded. “Yes, Gurral. If we can bring him here to battle Atomic Rex, then he could stop the monster and give the crowd the final showdown between the two that they desire.”
Allison shook her head in disbelief. “Even with Atomic Rex threatening the lives of you and your patrons you still hold greater concern over money and sport than anything else.” She grinned. “You truly are vile creatures, aren't you?”
The Arena Lord ignored Allison’s critique and refocused on the task at hand. “There are a few questions we need answers to, though. First, what must we do for you to prevent that terror from breaking through the last wall between him and us?”
A loud slam and a dent in the wall verified the kaiju’s location. Allison grinned and bounced as she leaned forward slightly, looking up at the tall Arena Lords. “Oh, I’ll send him back the way he came now that I’ve got your attention. Just remember that he can come back this way much faster next time.”
The querying Arena Lord nodded, and a second Arena Lord chimed in as the sounds of destruction began to grow quieter. “How do we contact Gurral and get him to activate the dimensional portal you gave him?”
Allison sighed. “In addition to opening portals, the device also works as a beacon. It allows me to know where to shift one of the residual portals left open by Kronos to. Without it I can only move portals to a general area. That’s why, when Gurral was first sent to Atomic Rex’s Earth, the best I could do was to get him in the same part of the world as Atomic Rex as opposed to his exact location.” She grinned. “It was fortunate he found that Marsh-Thing creature and dumped him into a portal. Gurral was simply picking a world at random but when I saw what the creature could do, I altered Gurral’s random destination into a rift that led to a specific Earth I’d picked out. While the floronic creature is too unpredictable for my needs it may serve to deal with a few Titans on that Earth should they ever be awakened by the descendants their children left behind on that planet.”
She turned her attention back to the Arena Lords. “While Atomic Rex is still under the influence of the Dream Weaver, I’ll use my powers to direct him back to the arena floor. In the meantime, one of you is going to have to go retrieve Gurral and convince him to come back here to battle Atomic Rex.”
The Arena Lords conversed among themselves for a moment before
one of them finally stepped forward and volunteered to travel to Atomic Rex’s world. As he walked up to Allison, he asked, “The dimensional portal device acts as a beacon. Does the taser weapon you gave Gurral also serve a dual function?”
Allison nodded. “I created the taser from the remains of Zeus’ throne after it was destroyed by Chimera. It now functionally works as Zeus’ Thunderbolt. The fact that even it was unable to stop Atomic Rex speaks to how strong the monster is.”
The nymph then closed her eyes and focused on the portal device. “Okay, I can sense the device I gave Gurral. I will send you to it.” She waved. “Hurry back now while there’s still a here to hurry back to.” She then waved her hand causing a portal to open for the Arena Lord to walk through. After the portal closed the nymph’s eyes began to glow again as she once more used Atomic Rex’s highly suggestive state to influence his movements.
One of the Arena Lords walked up to the mystical creature. “Why put us through all of this? If you needed a monster to battle this Chimera creature, why not just come to us and work out a deal to send Gurral to battle Chimera on his home planet? We could have come to an arrangement that would have seen the crowd thrilled at such an encounter.”
Allison shook her head. “You still can’t see past your own immediate desires, can you? First, as I explained, I need your resources at my disposal to capture and create new monsters as I see fit. Second, as I already said, you are not in control of Gurral so much as he is in control of you. To send Gurral to Chimera’s Earth would be to ask him to risk the lives of millions of humans. Helpless, but sentient creatures that would be crushed under Gurral’s feet as he battled Chimera. Do you think that’s something Gurral would do? Even if you held his Impervium dust over his head, what’s to stop him from simply crushing you and taking control of the mines for himself? A thinking creature like Gurral can only be of so much use to me. Even when using the dust to manipulate him I could never fully control him.” She shook her head. “The Titans made the mistake with Atomic Rex of trying to control a monster that was beyond them. I will not make that same mistake.”
The Arena Lord simply stood and silently considered what the nymph was saying. Allison tilted her head and gave the Arena Lord a sly look. “By operating this way, I force you into the position of providing me with the army I need and I take at least one if not two creatures off the board who can challenge me as my plan progresses.”
The Arena Lord nodded. “Truly, you are the most manipulative creature I have ever encountered. While we are not on good terms, we agree to provide you the monsters you desire, if you provide us our champion to quell this threat.”
The nymph beamed with pride. “Thank you. Now let me focus on bringing Atomic Rex back to the arena.” The Arena Lords walked away and began to discuss quietly amongst themselves as Allison thought to herself, “I have given them just enough of my plan to placate them without them realizing its true extent.” She put an image of a massive turtle in Atomic Rex’s mind that called out a challenge to him in the direction of the arena.
At the sight of his long dead enemy, Atomic Rex roared and charged the illusion. With her plan falling into place, Allison focused on getting Atomic Rex to where he could fight Gurral.
Chapter 21
Beach of Southern Mexico
It had been almost three hours since Gurral’s impromptu emergency surgery. The Smasher was still sleeping as a result of the Impervium dust he had taken, with Steel Samurai 2.0 standing guard over him. Gurral had woken a few times to drink some water and he even managed to eat some fish Chris and Kate had captured while filling the water tanks.
With Gurral fully tended to, Chris and Kate took the opportunity to contact Emily and Kyle back at the settlement. Chris had informed his children about finding Gurral, the battle with Atomic Rex, and the sentient monster’s victory in forcing the mutated dinosaur off the planet.
Chris was beaming with pride as he talked with his children. “Kids, geez I still say kids and you're both adults. Sorry, dad thing. Anyway, the disposing of Atomic Rex would not have been possible without you two.” He took a deep breath. “Kyle, without you figuring out how to use the satellites to track Atomic Rex and finding the rifts, we never would have found Gurral.”
He smiled as he continued to talk. “Emily, without you showing me that monsters can be used to help us, to really help us, not just draw them into fights with each other, I never would even have thought about working with Gurral. Because of your foresight, work, and compassion in the field of dealing with kaiju, Atomic Rex is now completely off the planet. Not only that but I really think that Gurral can be a part of our community. If we can convince him to stay here, he can guard the opposite part of the settlement from the one Ramrod guards. Heck, he can even actively hunt giant mutants to eat. For the first time in your entire lives, you can know what it means to feel safe. That’s all because of you, Emily.”
Chris was so full of pride that he began to tear up. “For three decades, Atomic Rex has been the force that has dominated my life in one way or another. Your mother and I have battled him more times than I can count and each and every time we have been lucky to escape with our lives and our mech still intact. The advances that you two have made have, as of today, finally ridded the planet of the monster that I couldn’t beat.”
Chris looked at Kate and grabbed her hand. “Every parent hopes that their children will surpass them. Every parent hopes that as their children grow they learn from their mother and father’s mistakes and shortcomings and overcome them. You two have not only overcome my shortcomings, you’ve laid the groundwork for the greatest threat this world has ever known to be removed from it. All those years ago, I set out to save the world and today you two have finished that mission for me.”
Chris sighed. “No father has ever been prouder of his kids than I am of the two of you right this moment.”
Kyle and Emily replied with a simultaneous, “Thanks, dad.”
Kate was about to give additional praise to her kids when a portal opened and a tall, strange looking bluish-gray skinned creature stepped out of it. As the figure walked away from the portal, it closed behind him.
“Kids, we just had another portal open up and something came out of it. From the look of it, this may be one of the Arena Lords Gurral told us about. We’ll get back to you after we see what’s going on here.”
Chris and Kate kept a cautious eye on the Arena Lord as he walked around the resting form of the Smasher. At first, the being had to shield his eyes from the bright sun. The alien was used to the dimly lit confines of the arena. The bright sunlight was not something that his eyes were accustomed to.
After he had gotten a little more used to the shining sun, he walked over to the resting form of Gurral. The Arena Lord nodded as he saw how well the Smasher had healed up from his last battle.
The alien called out to his champion. “Gurral, you have rested long enough, we need you back in the arena.”
Gurral blinked his eyes a couple of times and then rolled over to see the Arena Lord standing next to him. He sat up and looked down at the alien. “You’re here already?” He shrugged. “I guess ol’ Rexy is ready to take over as arena champion. Good, I can finally get started on my retirement.”
The Arena Lord tried to remain as stoic as possible when informing Gurral of the current situation on Arena World. “Things are not quite so simple as that. The Newcomer who told you of this world and of Atomic Rex has revealed herself to be some sort of mystical creature from another dimension. I believe she referred to herself as a nymph.”
The Arena Lord waved his arms. “Exactly what she is, is inconsequential. It’s what she’s doing that matters. Currently, she is using Atomic Rex to rampage through the facility. The monster is destroying the entire complex. She has agreed to bring Atomic Rex back to the arena. It is there in your arena that you can challenge Atomic Rex, in front of the crowd, and settle once and for all the debate over who is the most powerful kaiju in the m
ultiverse.”
Gurral shook his head. “I don’t think so. My part of the bargain is done. I got Rexy to Arena World. He’s your problem now. You guys take him down. I’ve got my quarters, food, and dust to look forward to.”
The Arena Lord was about to respond, when Chris called out from inside Steel Samurai 2.0. “Gurral, you don’t have to go back to Arena World and live in a cave by yourself. Think about what we can offer you here. You can stay with us at the settlement.”
The Arena Lord could see that Gurral was considering Chris’ offer and he quickly countered, “Gurral, you are a warrior! You cannot simply walk away from a challenge! Think of what defeating Atomic Rex would mean to you! Then ask yourself, even in retirement won’t you want the occasional battle? Won’t you crave combat every once in a while?”
The Smasher sighed. “Gotta admit I’m going to miss the occasional fight. I kinda feel like fighting is in my blood now.”
Chris took a deep breath. “Look, I know it won’t be easy for you to give up fighting. As a warrior myself I know how difficult it can be to walk away from the battlefield. You wouldn’t have to give up being a warrior if you stayed here. The only difference is, here you’d actually be fighting for something worthwhile. On Arena World, you’d be fighting for the enjoyment of the crowd. Here you’d be fighting to protect friends. You’d be fighting for food. You’d be fighting for people that would mean something to you. People who would see you as a protector to be thankful for, not as a gladiator to cheer on for simply killing things. I understand that fighting is in your blood, but fighting alone can’t sustain you. You need more than that, you need friends, family, and a cause to fight for. If you stay here you can have all of those things.”
Chris took a deep breath. “Look, we don’t have the resources to keep repairing Steel Samurai 2.0 or to make any new mechs. It’s hard for me to say this but I won’t be able to protect my family much longer, but you can. You can help protect us and we can offer you friendship, we can offer you people to talk to. We can both benefit each other!”
Atomic Rex: Challenge of Gurral Page 18