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>Twelfth street was a sight to behold.
>A small crowd had gathered outside of the Liquid Bar and Lounge.
>In the center, a man stood in shock, snapping picture after unbelieving picture of his car.
>Or what was supposed to have been his car.
>There had been an awful noise outside and when one of the waitresses asked who the owner of the old roadster was, he nearly choked.
>He felt sick just looking at the perfectly cut gap between the front and rear axle.
>The antique was cleaved neatly in two like someone had just sliced through with a blade folded over a thousand times.
>The insurance company was probably already thinking of ways to squirm out of this one.
>Changing to video recorder for video evidence, he turned upwards as a shadow overtook his phone's view.
>It was a dark blue balloon without a tether.
>No, a floating ball?
>He jumped at the loud snap of electricity suddenly arcing overhead.
>A waitress ran out from the restaurant while the manager growled something about not needing a fifth smoke break.
>Voice cracking, she pointed upwards.
>''That's what I saw!''
>The deep blue orb seethed, reflections of the street and the gaping crowd mixing across its contours.
>A large ripple ran across it, marking the opening of the floodgates.
>The stench of salt flooded their senses as a column of seawater continuously dumped itself onto the middle of the street below.
>Onlookers scattered about, trying to escape the inundation that quickly overwhelmed the sewer drains.
>All except one.
>As soon as he felt the growing tide soak his shoes he spun around, cameraphone still rolling.
>He was lucky enough to be the first to catch something else emerging through the sphere.
>A grey obelisk slipped out from the abyss, shining damp as the water rushed endlessly around it.
>Most of the crowd immediately turned and scattered.
>The stumpy something emerged sideways, flexing and testing the air.
>Apparently it was unsatisfied with its surroundings and thrashed about, spraying buckets of water haphazardly across store windows wherever it happened to punch through the torrent around it.
>Brazen, it redoubled its efforts drenching a few panicking bystanders, signs, and worse still, his precious, beautiful automobile.
>Regular rain was usually not a problem.
>Seawater, was an entirely different story.
>''Shirley!''
>Desperately, he hoped that the water damage wouldn't be too bad on the interior but he knew better at this point.
>More patrons pressed themselves up against the glass doors in awe, drawn by the sheets of rain periodically slapping against the building, several of them already waterlogged from when they had fled inside.
>A couple too far back to witness the monster worm, tried to flag down a waitress as she, too, approached the front.
>''Some storm, huh?''
>The few who still lingered outside behind parked cars and shop facades were treated to an experience in the splash zone, a new set of outcries for every wave that doused their shelters.
>The monster swiftly retreated back into its three-dimensional hole, leaving one last gout of water to empty out before it dissipated entirely.
>The survivors of the incident slowly looked each other over.
>Silence reigned over the street before a man wearing a bowler hat slowly peeked out of from behind a mailbox.
>''What the fuck was that?'' he astutely asked.
>For a moment, no one could answer.
>A minor crackle of electricity dancing along a hanging stoplight wire was the only reply.
>With a loud pop, the entire scenario unfolded a second time.
>The ones who didn't immediately flee stood transfixed as they noticed another shadow encroaching over the road.
>A new rift hung over the street, expanding outwards as it hovered slightly above and to the right of where the first one had.
>The cameraman glanced between it and the image on his phone screen.
>It was growing with every passing second.
>He did what any soon-to-be star cameraman did.
>A finger touched the edge of the screen and the image zoomed out to capture the entire view.
>A few people started to run further into the back of the bar as a dull rumble started to emanate from the orb
>The camera caught a deluge of water pouring out like a waterfall.
>A knee-high wave crashed against the window, much of it leaking through the doors of the establishment as parked cars and people were washed from their positions outside.
>The cameraman wrapped an arm around a sidewalk tree, determined to catch what happened next.
>The portal crackled as the grey intruder returned, bringing the rest of its body with it.
>A massive, gray form emerged from the shimmering blue sphere.
>In the blink of an eye, the street was filled with a massive beast.
>The aquatic equine landed with a painful thump, punctuated with rattling trash cans and sidewalk trees.
>The photographer fell backwards from the impact with a yowl.
>As he hit the ground, his desperately clutching fingers bumped the replay button.
>He blinked away his fright, staring at a grey mass falling in a slow, frame by frame motion on the screen.
>At the far end of the leviathan, a glittering, whale-shaped tail smashed down over a stoplight at the end of the street first, the rest of the body catching up.
>The object fell like a particularly unaerodynamic anvil into the clearing formed by the torrent of seawater.
>Almost clearing.
>Beneath it, was his car, caught dead center beneath a wide, glowing mark of an alien nature.
>The image was soon replaced by the rest of the body falling across the road until the monstrous, very surprised and frankly terrified, face filled the camera.
>The man miserably spat some water from his mouth.
>As close as he had been, his clothing was utterly soaked in cold, oceanic water.
>Shakily moving the smartphone out of the way, he tried to steel himself for what was to come.
>Just as the camera had shown, his car no longer existed.
>''Shirley!''
>It had been replaced with some kind of sea monster; more than likely not something covered in his insurance policy.
>While the man mourned the loss of his beloved car, the beast he was filming stirred to life.
>Glowing eyes flittered open, making him and the viewers in the bar collectively wince as the harsh lighting painted them an electric blue tinge.
>Coughing and sputtering in confusion, her whale's fluke unraveled, lengthy tail hairs going limp.
>The lengthy strands of hair spread out and draped across the street, slapping a parked car.
>Her antennae slowly unfurled as she blinked her eyes, looking through the shocked figures in front of her while slowly piecing everything together.
>If a nearby car's alarm would give her a moment of peace.
>Orchid's wide-eyed gaze drifted to the street sign at the corner not far in front of her, and then to the bar, reading the lounge's name before flicking from face to terrified face of the patrons slowly backing away from the doorway.
>She didn?t recognize the city at all.
>Another blink and her ears rotated as her attention snapped to the citizen directly before her.
>The man was fixated on a tire resting on the sidewalk.
>His anguished expression and the mild pinpricks of something underneath her made her suddenly all too self-conscious.
``Uh....''
>She was dimly aware of everyone flinching as she opened her mouth, adding to the electric-blue glow with its own backlight.
``...sorry. I'm sure the Defense Corps will pay for the damages.''
>The pained look dissolved into disbelief.
>''The what?''
>Now her expression became as confused as everyone else's.
``Pan-Pacific Defense Corps? I'm that one kaiju they have?''
>The stunned silence she got in replay did nothing to make her any more confident.
>Furrowing her brow with worry, she tried to wash the doubts from her mind.
>Carefully, Orchid started to stand up, only to find that the street was particularly narrow as is.
>Trying to twist around, she delicately brought a foreleg around, gritting her teeth as her rough hoof scraped at a storefront facade when she tried to reposition herself.
>A neon sign clattered to the sidewalk just before her hoof planted itself with a bang that left a web of cracks on the asphalt.
>She gave out a hiss of remorse as she scooted backwards a short distance, plowing over a decoratively placed tree.
>Pieces of metal shed off of her, a few clattered to the ground while other scraps were scraped against the concrete.
>The kaiju pony carefully pushed herself up onto all fours, rising higher and higher over the man and his tragic scene.
>The man fell to his knees and shook his fists angrily at no one in particular when the soaked, mangled remains of his prized vehicle were revealed to him, and everyone else.
>Every car enthusiast patron in the bar silently shared his pain.
>Orchid planted herself a fair distance away in case he suddenly bolted the wrong direction.
>Brushing off a set of waterlogged fuzzy dice from her flank, she tried to take stock of the situation.
>The damage was worse than she had ever seen.
>From her viewpoint over the top of a few low buildings she could see the true extent of the damages.
>Pieces of skyscrapers with bites taken out of them, vehicles in disarray, people staring at the new addition to the skyline and fleeing.
>She cautiously lifted a forehoof, casting the mourning human in shadow.
>The despondent car owner stirred, looking up to watch the colossus poised above him to take a step.
>As he finally found the strength (and sense) to run to safety, the kaiju pony slowly turned her head this way and that.
>Everywhere she looked there was just more damage and scared citizens, scattering whenever they noticed her.
>Her ears twitched, flicking as she listened to distant sirens.
>The air was tinged with panic, and not just from the ones around her.
>There was only one conclusion.
>Elsewhere across the city was the gravest threat she could imagine.
>A kaiju not engineered by humans.
>What else would take a bite out of a building?
>Resolved, she started towards the intersection, only to stop at a loud scrape.
>Checking behind her, a traffic light at the other end of the street was ensnared in her tail.
>The luminous ends of the hairs danced as they unwound themselves, dropping the fixture with a loud clang.
>Trying desperately to ignore the embarrassed flush growing across her face, she plodded onwards.
>She had to stop whatever was threatening the city, that much was certain.
>The kaiju pony made it to the intersection, nearly stepping on a compact car that swerved to avoid her as it sped down the cramped cross street.
>Keeping a mind out for further traffic, Orchid paused to examine the unfamiliar roadway in either direction.
>Focusing on pinpointing the sirens over the clatter of rain, she failed to realize she was being approached from behind.
>A splinter group of the military force sent to aid with relief efforts rumbled on down a nearby debris-strewn roadway.
>The armored column's radio was tense until one voice from the front entered the crossroads and saw what was waiting for them.
>''Holy shit!''
>The driver at the front panicked, stopping in their tracks.
>All sixty-eight tons of warmachine lurched, treads rattling over the concrete.
>The ones behind bumped into them, steel clanging against steel as the ones in the back of the group tried to compensate.
>After much confusion, tanks, armored personnel carriers, and a menagerie of trucks and humvees, came to a halt.
>''It's here! The thing's right here!''
>The commander and lieutenant looked to each other disconcertingly
>''The what?''
>''Big fuckin monster!''
>''Is that the one the boys in blue mentioned?''
>''I thought the location for that one was across the city from here.''
>''It was...''
>''Looks like something straight out of a B movie.''
>The commander furrows his brow.
>''And it just became a double feature,'' he adds dryly.
>Various gestures of agreement stem from the company of troops.
>''So what do you think it is?''
>''Not from any movie I've ever seen.''
>''Well look at the eyes,'' someone pointed out.
>''The spice must flow~'' he said hauntingly.
>''Does it matter?''
>''We can rule King Kong out.''
>''Yeah.''
>''Totally.''
>''Agreed.''
>''Okay, what else?''
>''Wings?''
>''Nope.''
>''Mothra's out then. Scales?''
>''Kinda?''
>''Alright so maybe we're dealing with Godzilla.''
>''Permission to fire?''
>Radio silence, as well as actual silence, follows this question before the commanding officer speaks up.
>''Hell no, soldier! Never works in the movies, probably not gonna work now! Hold your fire!''
>''Should we look for a weak spot?''
>''Does this look like Call of Duty to you, soldier?''
>''...Maybe?''
>Soldiers who have actually played the game start bashing the rookie over the radio frequencies as the commander surveys the situation.
>He wasn't going any farther without a plan.
>He's the commanding officer of this company for a reason after all.
>''Charlie, take the trucks, swing around and encircle it. The tanks and I'll hold here in case it makes a move. Move out!''
>''Sir, yes sir!''
>The trucks start advancing towards a nearby street, but not before one last bit of radio chatter comes through.
>''...and that is why the AK-47 is better than the AR-15.''
>''Slavshit!''
>Now he just had to figure out how to deal with this.
>His lieutenant was quick to make a suggestion.
>''You know that other monster the police mentioned on the radio? What if we get this one to fight the other one like in that one movie!''
>The commander silently stared at his fellow officer.
>''Oh my God, Johnson you're a genius.''
>''Company, advance!''
>The armor resumed its mechanical march towards the monster to the tune of grinding gears and revving engines.
>Orchid is far too preoccupied to notice the company's approach despite all the racket.
>Or so they thought.
>Her two antennae opened up of their own accord, revealing two cores glowing with the same intense electric blue that her eyes emit constantly.
>The antennae started slowly moving towards the advancing military, like suddenly half of their vehicles had become magnetic.
>Or like they were weapons tracking newfound targets.
>That's what went through the commander's mind as he gave out the `hold' signal.
>As soon as the vehicles stopped moving, the antennae stopped too.
>The commander dared to have his company inch forward.
>The antennae resumed watching them like organic cameras but again resumed their old position shortly after they stopped.
>An otherwise-laughable game of red light green light played out between the tanks and the antennae for several minutes.
>Each side would start and stop movement in sync with each other, until the commander reached a desirable safe distance.
>One soldier popped out from a tank.
>''Shouldn't we get closer?''
>''You wanna be eaten, rookie?'' the commander snaps back.
>A rumbling sounds off before any of the troops can speak any more as they are bathed in more bright blue light than they thought was possible.
>A certain kaiju finally caught on to the military presence.
>The monster turned towards the mechanized force, staring down with obviously menacing intentions.
>A single, dastardly heavy-looking hoof raised into the air.
``Hi.''
>The radio crackled.
>''Orders?!''
>As much as his B movie knowledge was telling him not to, trying to communicate seemed to be the most logical option.
>He rose up from his seat, holding up a megaphone, hand shaking like it was trying to rebel and attack his own face.
>''H-hello!''
>The sea monster beamed.
``Finally, someone who can speak!''
>''We come in peace!''
>The giant beast blinked at them for a moment before shrugging it off in favor of a question she was becoming desperate to know the answer to.
``You know about the Defense Corps, right?''
>His second in command nudged him with an elbow.
>''Think it knows we're pointing cannons at it?''
>Without skipping a beat, the commander pushed his Lieutenant back into his seat.
>In that moment he was so glad the megaphone had such terrible sensitivity.
>Clearing his throat, he spoke again.
>''O-of course we do!''
``Oh, good. I was so worried I was somehow on another planet or maybe an alternate dimension or something!''
>The commander and entourage exchange uneasy looks.
>''Er, right, well we need you to follow us.''
``Is it a kaiju attack?''
>''Sure, why not.''
``I knew it!''
>''Just follow us, please.''
``Okay!''
>The radio crackled to life one last time.
>''Alright column, advance!''
>The blue beast followed, hoofsteps landing with distinct thuds as the hardened hooves dug into the concrete wherever they landed.
>Eventually they reached a point where the assembled forces would go no further.
''Down here?''
>''Yes, the monster is that direction.''
``Wish me luck!''
>''Break a leg!''
``Okay!''
>When she was out of sight and definitely out of earshot, the commander allowed himself a self-satisfied smile.
>''No, really. Break a leg.''
