Mechagodzilla: Shiryu

-25-

Akane, Chen, Ling, Rick, and Sam went straight to the elevator, and held on to the handle bars as the place shook.

Once in the mid level floor, the doors opened, revealing many personnel running across the railing bridges while the alarms continued to blare. In front of them, at the center of the place, Shiryu was trembling uncontrollably. No, it was trying to break free from the steel restraints that were attached to its shoulders, back, arms, and waist. It had its jaws opened as it gave out mechanical growls and howls of fury, some steam literally coming out from its mouth while its eyes glowed red, as the head swayed from side to side. The more it struggled, the more it caused the platforms and bridges to rattle and shake as they were dangerously close to falling down. "Have you cut off the main power source connections!?" Simon was seen shouting to someone, ordering instructions as he and other engineers were risking their safety while standing close to Shiryu. They were working nonstop on the computers to control the situation while the mechagodzilla was struggling to breaking free. "No good! I already did, but the machine is generating power on its own!" Another engineer shouted as they held on and worked at the same time. Simon let out an inaudible curse as he kept on working without stopping. "Carl! Enter code SD997 to shut down the system completely! Do it now!" Simon shouted, holding some fingers on his earpiece to contact the person currently inside of Shiryu's cockpit. The one inside said something in response to it, when all of a sudden they were cut off and immediately began to yell. Shiryu gave a loud roar that shook the entire hangar, some sort of compartment on its back burst open and jettisoned something out filled with steam. Akane realized with a start that it was the one inside, the man being flung into the air before, thankfully, landing hard on a platform.

No one got the time to be relieved that nobody was hurt or severely injured as Shiryu continued to growl and struggle. The alarms continued to blare, and the more Shiryu shook, the more the. platforms trembled as they threatened to break and fall. Even the strongest restrains were starting to be pulled out from the concrete walls, causing some debris to fall down towards the others at the floor level. ["All personnel! Please evacuate the hangar immediately!"] the announcer spoke on the loudspeaker, the people obeying and rushing towards the elevators. However, as Akane and the others were making their way, and then backing away as they heard the announcement, they saw that Simon was staying behind while typing in the computer to help shut Shiryu down. Panic started to course through Akane's mind and body while the ones that were with him started to rush away, and with good reason as the platform was close to falling down. ["All personnel be advised! Titanus Mo.... is currently head.... to the base! Please go to .... shelter areas until furt.... notice!"] came another announcement now interrupted with some static.

Some started to argue about this other announcement that had nothing to do with the current situation, but Akane didn't mind it as her instincts suddenly told her to go get Simon clear away from the area. "Akane! No! Don't do it!" Rick shouted in alarm as he and the others tried to grab her away, but Akane didn't listen. "Simon! Get away from there! The platform is about to collapse! Hurry!" Akane shouted as she grabbed hold of a railing when the bridge lurched upwards. "Just a second!" Simon yelled as he typed in the last bits of code before disconnecting the laptop and taking it with him. He was about to make a mad dash towards them when the mechagodzilla gave another angry snarl and shook the place, causing the middle sections of the bridges to break apart and fall down. Everyone backed away in order to keep themselves safe from falling from such height. Simon halted to a stop as he almost fell from the bridge.

Everything continued to shake and start to fall apart as Shiryu was close to breaking free. "Come on! Jump!" Rick shouted to Simon that was on the other side. The gap that separated them from the engineer was large, but with enough luck one could jump across in order to make it safely. Simon held on to the railing with a hand for a moment as he backed up, calculating how much distance he would to use, before making a mad dash and leaping. Akane, Rick, and the twins reached to catch Simon as he leapt through the air to the other side of the broken bridge...when his body slammed against the edge as he grunted. His laptop slid far away from them as he groaned due to the impact, and then he struggled more as he began to slip down. Seeing that Simon wasn't going to make it, Akane moved quickly and grabbed his arm with both hands before it was too late, her foot latching onto the vertical rail bars on the side to anchor herself. "Gotcha! Hold on!" Akane shouted as she grunted while holding Simon with all her strength. Chen and Ling grabbed Akane's legs to try and pull them back to safety, but another shaking caused the bridge to bend down diagonally into a dangerous angle. "We are not going to make it! I can't do anything other than to pull all of you down!" Simon said as he held on to Akane's arms, now seeing and feeling that he was about to slip. "Don't say that! We aren't going to let you go!" Akane shouted as she saw what was happening behind. The twins were still grabbing on to Akane as best they could. Rick was trying to reach for them, while Sam was hanging on to the other railing for dear life.

Despite the fact that sooner or later Simon was going to slip and let go, Akane shook the thought away and used all her might to try and pull her engineer friend from falling down to his death. She was fueled now by her will to not let another person die in such circumstances without her trying her best and with overwhelming fear trying to get the best out of her. The attempt to pull Simon up was cut short when Shiryu suddenly broke free from its restraints and made the place shake intensely. Which caused the platforms and bridges to shake violently, subsequently making the twins' hands slip from Akane. Both of them shouted as Akane and Simon fell from where they were, down towards the ground. Akane and Simon let out a shout of terror...which was immediately cut when something large and solid broke their fall all of a sudden, saving them from suffering a gruesome death. Making sure that this wasn't an illusion and truly reality, Akane looked around and saw Simon still grabbing her arms tightly. Both of them were laid flat over a metal surface, surrounded by five clawed mechanical fingers. When they looked up, both saw that Shiryu was staring down at them, having stopped its thrashing completely.

The mechagodzilla had saved them from falling down.

The two of them, Akane and Simon, as well as the others noticing how calm things have become, stared up at the large mechanical titan, which was staring at them with red glowing eyes. It continued to hold both of them with the flatness of its palm, having calmed down and not moving. The alarms that were blaring all around them began to muffle, and Akane started to feel something on her mind again. Strange as it seemed, she began to sense something coming from in front of her...from Shiryu. The more the sensation was felt, the more Akane began to feel a similar emotion be emitted from the mechagodzilla. That emotion...was pain, fear, and loneliness, more than what Akane could support. It was so much for herself to bear this much emotional pain. So this was what the twins were talking about, she realized; Akane herself, and Shiryu, were the ones who were feeling these sort of negative emotions. Not minding if she herself sounded and acted weird, Akane began to stand up and tilt her head up at the mechagodzilla, staring right back at its face. "Shiryu...is that really you? Do you...can you...understand me?" Akane spoke up to Shiryu as she fought off her nerves, while the others on the bridge watched. The mechagodzilla stared down at Akane and Simon for a long moment...before the they gave a deep mechanized grunt in response. "I didn't expect for you to become sentient. None of us have. But.....I can hear you now. I can understand what you are feeling. The truth is...now I see that you and I are alike. You are angry...and scared. I am too because of what we went through. And that Gigan monster is the one to blame." Akane said, Shiryu responding with a growl and twitching it's metal claws. "Still...I can sense that you are afraid, like me. You and I are the same, struggling to get past that fear and become strong. We want to get better. Just...stop being angry...and let me help you...if you allow it." Akane said, her heart beating inside her chest as she thinned out her nervousness. From the corner of her eye, Akane could see Rick and Sam having gotten to safety, as well as the twins who were now standing upright and both having their hands clasped together, while they watched what was happening.

Now another soothing wave of calmness flowed through Akane's body, and she continued to speak to the mechagodzilla. "We will be the ones to defeat Gigan...together. So that they won't ever threaten us or anyone again. So...let's be friends. You and me. What do you say?" Akane asked, extending a hand to Shiryu. The mechagodzilla's eyes stared down at her as they soon flickered from red to a more calmer blue...before it moved its other mechanical hand towards the palm that held Akane and Simon. Before Shiryu's claws could touch Akane's hand, a loud clanging was heard above them. Something large was pounding on the roof of the hangar that led up to the surface. Shiryu looked up and gave another growl, it's eyes returning to aggressive red, while it moved its other hand over Akane and Simon to protect them. Despite the loud clanging and the roof doors being pried open to let light in...the same soothing sensation was felt yet again. And, if it was Akane's imagination, they could see some golden particles begin to enter the hangar from above. The sound of something large giving a majestic insect chittering noise was heard, before the doors were suddenly torn down. Shiryu shielded them as the massive doors fell down to the ground and a golden light shone down upon them, blinding them. Akane and her friends squinted to try and see through the bright light as something large swooped down upon them...before it's majestic wings descended and filled the area. When the blinding light dimmed down, Akane could now see the shadows of both Chen and Ling standing in front of the bright majestic creature.

And such majestic creature...was Mothra.