Chapter 1

"Get them! Get them, Mechagodzilla!"

Ken urged on at the monitor, his hands into tight fists.

"YEAH!" he watched as the mechanical beast unleashed its arsenal of weaponry onto his combatants.

The eye and chest beams, even the missiles.

As always, Ken would watch that full minute of adrenaline and pure ecstasy numerous times, accompanied by the overuse of explosions.

However, that would make any man happy.

"Hell yeah!"

In the frenzy, Ken knocked the empty mug off his desk.

"Shit,"

Miraculously, the mug landed without a crack.

Taking off his headphones, Ken reached down for the mug, his chair creaking from the movement.

He looked around.

Posters stuck to the white walls. All Godzilla. His bed's blanket was everywhere, like an unrelenting sea. Papers laid flat on the floor.

"Goddamn it," Ken sighed and stood, picking up the papers and dropping them onto the bed.

The door groaned as it slightly moved ajar.

He stood for a moment, eying the door, before looking back at his monitor, the ceiling light revealed all the chocolate and sweet wraps littered around like a garbage dump.

Ken sighed in frustration, smelling the rich caffeine that stained the mug. The heat took a toll on him as he sat back down in the chair, clearing the space by his mouse.

'Looks like they're asleep,' He concluded, leaning to see past his door.

After a few seconds, Ken sat, glaring at his monitor. With a click, the video disappeared, and with the next click, a search bar appeared. With a sigh of annoyance, Ken typed in the text bar.

"Oh fuck off,"

When he clicked for it to search, an ad appeared. Ken clicked the 'x' at the top right of the box. Another one appeared. Efficiently, Ken closed it.

'...'

As he clicked on the first link, one more popped up. Ken would've deleted it, but once a few times, they were entertaining.

(Are you a disappointment, whose parents don't believe in you anymore? A human who has lacked social affection for more than 3 years? Or someone who was called a 'genius' when they were five? Then this is something for you!)

Ken chuckled.

(For one click, you can transform into the one you idolise and envy in any form of media. Film? Yes! Written material? Yes! Real life?...YES! Interested? Start now!)

(Yes)

(No)

He nodded at what it said.

'Not falling for that,' Ken thought, clicking 'no', 'I'm searching for a job, not whatever that was,'

The mouse wheel rolled as he moved through the various websites, trying to find a suitable job. Going outside to the local mall or shop could've been a good choice, but not for Ken.

An ad appeared.

If not for stopping, his reflexes would've done the job.

That, however, was not the reason why Ken's mouth was agape.

(Are you sure you don't want this, Ken?)

(Yes)

(No)

A twitch of nervousness stung his heart as Ken reread that sentence a personal record of ten times.

How did this website know his name?

'Is this the government or some hacker-type shit?' Ken thought, staring blankly at the message, 'Oh well,'

He ran a hand through his hair. With an exhale, Ken clicked the ad off once again. This time was a test. To pass the time, he lazily moved a finger forward and back, the mouse wheel scrolling the website wildly.

It was back.

(You like Mechagodzilla, Ken?)

(Yes)

(No)

Looking at the new message, Ken rested his chin on his palm, reaching a hand for the group of Coke cans on one end of the desk. One looked half-full.

He took a sip from it and moved the mouse over the 'no' option.

"Fuck it,"

This, ninety-five hundred percent, had to be a scam. The other five were the hacker option. Ken decided to have some fun. With a click on the 'yes' option, he was taken to another box, this one larger.

On it, were the usual name, surname, and date of birth.

What was the point of that? If this website knew his name, then for sure it knew everything else.

'Taking this seriously is the best option,'

So, he clicked on the lines to fill it in. Nothing registered.

(No need to fill in, Ken.)

Another message popped up.

Ken shook his head and scrolled.

(Optional Info)

The first question left him perplexed.

(Besides Godzilla and Mechagodzilla, who is your favourite kaiju?)

It was optional, but for the fun of it, Ken answered.

'King Ghidorah.' He typed and moved to the next question.

(What design of Mechagodzilla is your favourite?)

This question set him off.

He took into account the actual ad. If he was correct, and this somehow was not a scam, this question will most likely affect his choice.

Maybe.

It was all assumptions in the end.

'Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla' Ken answered.

(What is a hot take of yours within the Godzilla fandom?)

Ken paused.

Now he was really sure this was a scam. Even if it knew his name, perhaps it took it from his profile? It could be anything.

However, now was the time for his hot take.

'Hmm,' He contemplated which one would be the best one, 'Maybe this one...'

The keyboard clicked with passion.

'The Showa era is overrated-'

Ken held the delete button.

Something else had to work.

'Godzilla 1998 has the best design-'

'Godzilla Junior is overrated-'

'Legendary > Heisei-'

'GMK is trash-'

'Godzilla Final Wars is not the strongest Godzilla-'

No matter, none of them were of Ken's choice. He did feel as if a red sight was trained on his head, though.

'I know,'

He typed. This time, for final.

'Without the music, Godzilla would not be as good as it is.'

'That's more like it,' Ken thought, satisfied with his answer, and rolled down once more.

More text appeared.

(Thank you for your input, Ken, we know exactly who you would want to be. Please, we would like you to make absolutely sure that you want this, for there are no refunds, nor second thoughts.)

(I am sure)

(I am not sure)

A chill ran down Ken's spine. He had to think about it. This typical scam of an ad turned into one of the biggest decisions he would ever make.

Nothing more often came to Ken's mind than his parents. His family. Ken looked at his bedroom door grimly.

He looked at his monitor again.

(We will make sure they won't worry.)

Ken paused when he saw this message.

'In my head,' He thought, placing a hand under his chin, 'becoming Mechagodzilla would be cool, but will eventually grow boring,'

Maybe he should be something else?

'Fuck it,' He moved the mouse, 'my life's boring anyway,'

Besides, Mechagodzilla would be cool to be.

However, Ken understood that there was a lot of grey in what he wanted to be. What if he was remote-controlled, and could only move through outside intervention? If he were to shut down, would that be game over? Would recharging become a problem?

A text on his monitor answered.

(We never leave our consumers unsatisfied. Don't bother with minuscule problems, only focus on your character. If it comes down to it, another version of the character will be added.)

By now, Ken was fully into it, excited for this opportunity.

Without a second wasted, he finally clicked the option.

(Thank you for your time, Ken)

Just like that, the questionnaire vanished, leaving him back at the website he was on.

He waited for a moment.

"Hmph," Ken shrugged.

Not one second later, he blinked.

Everything.

The smell of caffeine, his ceiling light, the monitor in front of his face, and the chocolate wrappers disappeared.

It was as if Ken was in sleep paralysis.

He could not move his body. When he tried, there was this weight holding down each part of his flesh and bone.

Despite his situation, Ken showed no signs of fear or panic.

A blue text appeared within this dark space.

[Uploading system...]

'System?'

[Upload complete]

Ken was intrigued.

[In the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthened...]

'Isn't that from Doom? I like this thing already,' Ken pondered, skipping most of the speech. 'Have I...been transformed?'

[Host's body activated...will resume motion in a moment]

It took a while for him to remember what a system of this calibre was.

[To see your choices, think 'Inventory']

'Inventory.'

There, he saw it. The ones that interested him.

[Tools to use at your disposal, Host:

Music Player

Back Unit

Railguns

Twin Maser Beam

Maser Blades

Triple Hyper Maser Cannon

Absolute Zero Cannon

More weapons will be added once acquainted with your new body]

'Besides the music player,' Ken thought, eyeing each one, 'I know what I am,'

[Movement activated...injecting senses...]

His dark vision was cut in half by a blade of light, and like water, the blinding light filled in, pushing the darkness out of the picture.

A flat grassland came into view.

Under his feet, Ken felt the smooth surface of the ground. He could smell the natural fauna and even feel a light breeze on his...

How did Ken feel that? How was he able to smell?

That's what he thought as the paralysis of his body left him.

He could finally move.

With a guttural groan, Ken's metal body took a step. Looking down, he could see the shiny exterior, even his foot against a small landscape. Ken raised both arms.

He inspected both.

Gauntlets, as expected.

Speaking of which, Ken didn't need to turn his head to see the shoulder-mounted cannons of the Back Unit, strapped and revealed in their glory.

It was the same for King Ghidorah.