The Guitarist 

Back at the train station, Ronnie and Curtis stood frightfully in front of the strange man with the guitar.

“What the hell are you?” Ronnie asked.

“Generally, we are called Kaiju, a superior species that will run this planet correctly after we deal with the rest of the human swine in this area,” replied Soundhound.

“You must be pulling some type of magic trick because ain’t no way this stuff’s for real,” Ronnie shot back.

“I assure you, good sir, what you’re about to witness is no illusion. It is the rise of my species and, sadly, the destruction of yours,” Soundhound said confidently.

The sinister guitarist strummed his guitar and a mystical portal opened a few feet in front of Curtis and Ronnie.

“Dear God,” Curtis muttered as he stared at the fascinating spectacle.

“Almost,” Soundhound replied with a smile, “but I appreciate the compliment.”

Out of the black hole marched two, seven-foot-tall Kaiju with humanoid bodies, goat-like faces, and giant sharp claws. That strange symbol that the two workers came across was engraved on each of their left arms.

“Oh, please don’t let my associates intimidate you, fine gentlemen. We’re not here to kill you just yet,” he reassured.

Curtis and Ronnie were terrified by the menacing creatures.

“What do you want from us?” Curtis shakily asked.

“Well, one of you fine gentlemen will be coming with me. As for the other, I just want you to send a message.”

At the Yoshida’s residence, Eliza led the two teenagers downstairs to the TV room.

“What’s the big deal, Liz?” Taylor complained.

“Yeah, why did you want both of us to rush down here?” Bonnie followed up.

“You’ll see,” Eliza said.

She pointed the remote control at the television and turned it on to the news of an attack in the heart of the town by goat humanoid creatures that were terrorizing the boardwalk. The police were all out trying their best to combat the strange Kaiju, but they barely made a difference.

The two teenagers widened their eyes in complete shock of seeing the Kaiju terrorize the innocent people of Pierview.

“More Kaiju?” Taylor asked in disbelief.

“Holy crap, those things are just as scary as the one that you faced the other day,” said Bonnie.

“Hold up, where’s John?” Taylor asked Eliza.

“He’s still out there with the other cops trying to hold those things back. They’re doing their best to evacuate all the citizens, but I don’t know how much longer they can hold out,” Eliza answered with her attention focused on the screen.

As they all watched the tremendous amount of carnage inflicted by the Kaiju, they spotted a man tied to a metal pillar in the middle of the battlefield. A strange symbol was scorched into the metal above his head.

“That’s Ronnie!” Bonnie exclaimed. “He works with my dad. Why did they take him?”

“We’re not sure,” Eliza said.

“Wait a minute,” Taylor said. “There’s only like twelve cops out there. What happened to the rest of the officers?”

“More and more have been disappearing. Unfortunately, that’s all we have right now,” Eliza explained.

“Well, that’s not good,” Bonnie said.

She pointed to the strange texts engraved on Ronnie’s pillar and said, “Looks like some type of scribbles.”

Taylor looked closer at the markings engraved above Ronnie’s head.

“Taylor, what does that say?” Eliza asked.

“Come forth, champion of the blue,” Taylor translated.

“Champion of the blue?” Bonnie asked. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that whoever is behind this wants me,” Taylor said with a frown.

The room filled with the thick fog of fear and uncertainty.

“It must be one of the other champions,” Eliza answered.

“What do you mean by champions?” Bonnie asked.

“Remember when I told you that I was a spawn of Zerpla?” Taylor asked. “Champion is another name for a spawn.”

“Okay, but what does this other champion want with Taylor?” Bonnie continued to question.

“Champions want to collect all the artifacts so that they can gain all of Zerpla’s powers. All this trouble is coming from a champion who is looking for Taylor’s trident,” Eliza explained.

“Okay. If we find Barracuda, can’t Taylor just give it to him and convince him to leave?” she tried.

“Even if we knew where Barracuda was, turning it over wouldn’t be the safest option for Taylor,” Eliza said quietly.

“Why not?” Bonnie quickly asked.

“The only way for another champion to steal the trident from me is to kill me. Or vice versa,” Taylor answered sullenly.

“Okay well, that’s not a good option,” Bonnie said.

“Neither is letting them find Taylor, “Eliza added.

“Liz, you and I both know that I have to go out there. I mean, just look at what’s happening. Those cops are in over their heads,” he replied.

“Are you crazy, Taylor? Listen, I get that you can use your powers and all. But you’re not up to full strength without that trident. Even if you did have it, there’s no way in hell I’m going to let my baby brother put himself at risk,” Eliza pushed.

“You’re going to let the rest of the town be destroyed because you want to keep me safe?” he asked her.

“I promised Mom that I’d keep you away from danger. I’m not going to break that promise. I know it looks crazy out there, but we’ll just have to trust that John and the rest of the cops can handle it,” Eliza said strongly.

“You said it yourself, Liz. More cops are disappearing and they can’t handle this on their own. Whichever champion is out there is after me, and it looks like they’ll destroy the city to find me.”

They stared at each other and shared a brief period of silence. Neither one could reason with the other as the fate of the town rested in the balance.

“Fine, if you won’t help me, I’ll fight those things on my own,” Taylor spat and walked out of the house. The tension between brother and sister began to wane.

“Wait!” Eliza screamed after him. “Fine! You win, doofus. But if you’re going to do this, you’re going to need that trident.”

“Wait, you know where it is?” Taylor spun around and asked.

“Not exactly, but I know how you can find it. You two, follow me. There’s something else I have to show you.”