Gigan was getting closer, despite all the firepower the EDF was throwing at him. “Doctor, you better have something clever up your sleeves as usual!” gulped William. “I’m not too sure I’d call this clever, but desperate,” replied the Doctor. “You’re not planning on taking us back to the Xilien ship, are you?” asked Martha. “No way, she’s planning on going alone,” guessed Mickey. “…Mickey, I would rather you DIDN’T guess my plans, even if you are correct,” muttered the Doctor. “You can’t be serious!” protested William. “The Xiliens will kill you like they did Professor Yoshimura!” “That ship is their only means of controlling Gigan,” replied the Doctor. “With their systems sabotaged, Gigan will be more vulnerable to Godzilla and his allies. …And no, I’m not putting you back in that situation.” “But you’ll-!” “William! …Just…please. …Let me do this alone. You witnessed enough death today and I can’t promise I can keep you alive if I let you come with me. And that goes for all of you. I’ll fight this alone.” “You will not!” argued Sato. “I’d think that what Davros and his Daleks did to Earth,” remarked Mickey, “proved you work better with someone by your side.” “And if you’re seriously gonna tell us that being the last of the Time Lords makes you permanently alone, then shame on you!” snapped Martha. “Doctor, I faced down ghosts, Sontarans, Doctor Doom, Loki, a Krynoid, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn,” said William. “I even preserved Grandpa Zeddemore’s history in the process. I’m coming with you to protect my present, even if I have to sneak onto the TARDIS.” “That goes for me!” said Sato. “And me!” agreed Mickey. “And me!” finished Martha. The Doctor was about to argue, then Gigan roared! He was almost on top of the base! He prepared to fire his eye beam…when a stream of blue fire hit his backside! It wasn’t enough to kill him, but it caught his attention. Everyone looked out to see Godzilla, ready to fight! Godzilla gave off a challenge roar and Gigan roared back, accepting his challenge! “…Come on!” the Doctor called to her companions, old and new! She led them back into the base as Gigan slashed at Godzilla with his scythes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So, what’s the plan?!” asked Sato as everyone ran through the base. “We sneak onto the Xilien ship,” replied the Doctor, “take down any guards, sever their control over Gigan by any means necessary, Gigan becomes confused and is overwhelmed by three monsters attacking him, then we cause the ship to self-destruct and return to the TARDIS and escape.” “By the skin of our teeth, by the sound of that plan,” remarked William. “Any finesse needed?” “I’ll provide the finesse,” answered the Doctor. “Failing that, just break the machines.” “Sounds like a plan!” said Mickey. They arrived at the TARDIS and the Doctor herded her friends in. “Oh, you’ve redecorated,” observed Martha as she and Mickey took in their surroundings. “…I don’t like it.” “Oh, come on,” argued Mickey, “you gotta admit it’s a lot cleaner than that coral reef theme she had going.” “It really IS bigger on the inside!” breathed Sato. “Oh dear,” remarked the Doctor as she checked various readings. “The Xilien ship is tunneling its way out of the mountain! This is gonna be tricky!” “It’s taking off?!” yelped William. “Maybe to get better radio control over Gigan?” guessed Mickey. “I mean, they were underground and that can jam up radios.” “Better and direct,” replied the Doctor as she set the TARDIS in motion. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gigan, now aware of Godzilla, flew through the air, dodging Godzilla’s fire. Godzilla was getting frustrated now. Every time he fights the cyborg chicken, Gigan comes back stronger! Gigan took advantage of Godzilla’s frustration and fired harpoon cables hidden in his forearms. They buried themselves into Godzilla’s back and extended backward-facing spikes once inside his flesh, making them as difficult and painful to remove as a cactus spine or porcupine quill! Godzilla was bleeding bad! His Regeneration Factor could heal the damage, but not with the harpoons still stuck in his back! Gigan then pulled Godzilla towards him by wrapping the cables around his scythes. Gigan then activated the buzzsaw in his chest! Godzilla was now inches away from the whirling blades…when a green sap splattered all over Gigan, burning what exposed flesh there was and melting the cables! Godzilla took advantage of that and pulled all the harpoons out of his back, his Regeneration Factor finally healing the wounds. He turned to see a giant plant monster with a glowing orange core and a crocodile mouth with sharp teeth and vines with open, toothy mouths! Godzilla recognized the monster as Biollante! He was about to fire when Mothra squeaked overhead. Gigan saw this and took off after Mothra, firing his laser eye. Biollante then spewed her acidic sap at Gigan. Godzilla then realized that Biollante was fighting against only Gigan. He begrudgingly accepted Biollante’s help and fired his atomic fire breath at the cyborg. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The input from three opponents was too much for Gigan and his Xilien masters! The Handler’s fingers were furiously dancing across the console, trying to take control of the situation. “Come on! Get SOMEONE in the head!” he complained. “This situation is unacceptable!” snarled the Controller as she banged her fist on the armrest of her chair. “We must destroy those beasts and-!” She was interrupted by a noise. “What machine is that?!” “Controller, LOOK!” called the Commander as he pointed out the TARDIS materializing right there on the bridge. “The Time Lord!” hissed the Controller. “DESTROY THAT THING!” As the Xiliens raised their weapons, the TARDIS doors opened and a cylinder was thrown out. The cylinder exploded, filling the room with a white light and causing a ringing in the Xiliens’ ears. The Doctor and her companions then left the TARDIS. “That’s the one!” called the Doctor as she pointed out a control console. The Xiliens were slowly regaining their sight! “Doctor!” warned Mickey. “I’ve got to figure out the release command for Gigan!” urged the Doctor. “TIME LORD!” shouted the Xilien Controller. She swung wildly, but William and Martha restrained her. “RELEASE ME, YOU APES!” “I’ve heard enough monkey ‘jokes’ from the white folk back home!” retorted William. “I don’t need them from knock-off grays!” The Doctor continued her work, unaware of the Commander regaining his sight and bringing his gun to bear on her! “DOCTOR!” called Martha as she leapt on the Commander. “GET OFF!” he shouted. He fired wildly. The Doctor got out of the way and a shot destroyed the console! “YOU FOOL, COMMANDER!” shouted the Controller. “I can’t regain control!” called the Handler as he tried to make the console work. “Hunter Zero is under his own power!” The Xiliens were so focused on Gigan, they didn’t notice the humans and Time Lord slip away in the TARDIS! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gigan was LIVID! Forced to serve ants?! Not this time! Now he’s free and he’ll indulge in torturing them! He took off after the Xilien ship as it tried to leave Earth. Godzilla and Biollante prepared to fire, but Mothra shrieked something. She continued giving her squeaks as if to dissuade her allies. Biollante looked at Mothra in confusion, then powered down. Godzilla, however, was another story. He wasn’t going to take any chances. His dorsal spines went from blue to red! He then fired his strongest fire, the Red Spiral Heat Ray, right at the retreating Gigan and Xilien ship! The attack struck them, blowing a fatal hole in Gigan’s chest and destroying the Xilien ship! The dead monster and craft then plummeted to the ocean, causing a huge wave and then sinking to the bottom. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the EDF base, Takahashi and his men saw the remaining monsters acknowledging their work and Godzilla grunting his acceptance of Biollante’s permanent presence on Monster Island. “…He did good as usual,” said a soldier. “They all did,” corrected Takahashi. “It’s clear the Doctor and her friends succeeded or Gigan wouldn’t have taken off after the Xiliens.” “…But that means…” realized another soldier. Takahashi frowned, practically finishing the soldier’s thought telepathically. “…Get me UNIT Europe and UNIT Japan,” he ordered. “I need to inform them both about their sacrifices.” The soldier was about to hurry off and obey when… “…Isn’t that the…?” he asked. The TARDIS then faded into existence! Once it fully materialized, the Doctor and her team stumbled out. “Skin of our teeth, that’s what it was!” coughed the Doctor. “Par for the course, then?” joked Mickey. “Doctor!” greeted Takahashi. “I thought you all died on the Xilien ship!” “We almost did, Takahashi-san,” replied Sato. “But, as you can see,” finished the Doctor, “we’re all in one piece!” “…Well, I WAS gonna tell UNIT Europe and Unit Japan,” said Takahashi, “that you all made a heroic sacrifice, but I think we can tell them something a lot more pleasant!” “I quite agree!” replied the Doctor. “You guys go on ahead,” said William. “I need to rest a bit.” “All right. See you later!” called the Doctor as she, Martha, Sato, and Mickey followed Takahashi. Once they left, William looked at the small door with the phone instructions on it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After making their reports, the Doctor led her companions back to the TARDIS. “Want a lift back home?” she asked Martha and Mickey. “For old time’s sake?” “Kate’s already sent a plane for us,” said Martha. “Besides, I think I’ve had enough nostalgia for today.” “Same here, Doctor,” agreed Mickey. “But it was fun to see you and the TARDIS again.” “I need to stay here,” said Sato. “Professor Yoshimura’s work needs to continue and I’m the best one to carry on his legacy of science.” “Now THAT is how you honor a scientist,” praised the Doctor. “Welp, must dash! See you all sooner or later! The latter being the more plausible!” “Bye, Doctor!” called her friends as she headed off. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Doctor returned to the TARDIS to see William using the phone in the door. Her hearts sank when she heard him wrap up the conversation. “Yeah. …Yeah, be home soon. …Love you too. …Bye-bye.” He hung up and saw the Doctor. “Oh! Doctor! I…I didn’t see you there.” “Wh…Who was that on the other end?” asked the Doctor. “My folks,” replied William. “The Avengers told them what happened in New York and told them I was travelling with you.” “…I see,” sighed the Doctor. “…I would show you more. The Moons of Tasacta, the Fourteenth Galaxy of Contemplation. …You’re such a good friend, like Mickey and Martha. …You…you…y-you just wanted to let your folks know you’re okay,” she finally realized. “Wait, did you think I was gonna leave you now?!” laughed William. “Look, I don’t exactly have a passport, for one thing! And another, it’s still fun, travelling with you! Besides, I still want to see another planet! On purpose, this time!” “Right then!” said the Doctor, sighing in relief. “How about a human colony far into your future?” She and William entered the TARDIS just as Martha arrived. The TARDIS dematerialized and Martha waved. “Good luck, Doctor,” she said once the TARDIS fully faded from existence.