#no he's not he's a bunch of pixels and i want him to do unspeakable things to me

[thecleverdame]

Control and Release - 13

Series Masterlist

TEDTalk!Sam x Reader

Summary: With the rest of the staff caught in a snowstorm, you find yourself acting as a personal assistant to the notorious Sam Winchester.

Warnings: Dom/Sub, humiliation, embarrassment, sexual objectification,  mutual masturbation, spanking, cum play, fingering, anal play, orgasm control, dub-con, nipple clamps, breath play (more warnings as the story continues)  

Words: 4.3k

Beta: @ilikaicalie

Parts 14, 15 & 16 are currently available on Patreon for a monthly pledge of $2.50. This includes early access to all my stories and Patreon exclusive content.  >> CLICK HERE <<

-

Dean. The look in his eyes will forever be seared into your brain.

“We should call the police,” you panic, starting toward the bedroom for your cell phone.

“Y/N, stop.” Sam catches you by the arm. “No police.”

“But Sam!” You look around wildly, half expecting Dean to pop back around the corner. “What if he comes back? We have to tell someone-”

“No,” he barks, sitting you on a stool at the counter.

He disappears for a moment, returning with one of his sweatshirts and hands it to you, silent as you pull it over your head.

“I need you to make a promise to me, here and now, that you will never tell anyone Dean was here.” His face is gravely serious, standing in front of you like a father scolding a child.

“But-”

“No caveats. This is non-negotiable. You will never tell another living soul about this. Understood?”

“I-” you sputter, trying to make sense of this. Why would he ever want to protect a person that’s done such heinous things? In the end it’s the submissive part of you that answers on autopilot. “I understand.”

“Jesus Christ!” Sam explodes with anger, his fist connecting with the door of the refrigerator. He punches it three times in rapid succession, clutching bloody knuckles looking in horror between him and the dents in the stainless steel. “I can’t fucking believe he showed up.”

“You hurt yourself.” You start to get up but he takes a step back, lip curling as he glares at you.

“Stay where you are.” He’s vibrating with anger, this is a side of him you haven’t witnessed before. He’s normally controlled to a fault, but there’s no containing this outburst.  

You draw in a breath, sitting back on the stool, watching him seethe. He yanks open a drawer and wraps a hand towel around his knuckles.

“If you ever see Dean again, if he tries to contact you, you come directly to me. Tell me immediately.”

“What does he want with me?” There’s fear rising in your chest. You’ve read about the things that he’s done, sick, twisted acts, some of which are utterly unspeakable. “You’re scaring me.”

Your voice cracks and it seems to jog him out his blistering fury and his face goes even, that self control slipping back into place.

“There’s no reason to be scared. He won’t hurt you, but if Dean came here after all this time it means he’s serious. He’ll come back. If I were him, I’d use you to get to me. The Winchesters are persistent above all else.”

“How can you say he won’t hurt me?” You’re still in shock, searching his face for some kind of understanding. “After all the things he’s done...”

“I’m going to have to ask you to take a giant leap of faith and just trust me when I say that there are things about Dean, about my family and my past, that aren’t what they appear to be. Dean is a son of a bitch but he hasn’t done half the things they say he has.”

“How do you know? How can you be sure?”

“I just do. I know my brother, he’s changed but not that much.”

You gulp, trying to wrap your head around all this information. There’s a wet sensation on your knee and you look down to find a drop of blood, dripping from the soaked cloth around his fist.

“You should go to the hospital, you might have broken something.”

“I’ll survive.” He winces, taking off the rag to inspect his bloody knuckles.

“I’ll do what you asked, but I don’t understand,” you insist. “I need you to explain to me how it’s possible he’s on the FBI’s most wanted list and you’re saying he’s basically harmless.”

“I’m not saying Dean’s harmless, he’s far from it. He’s lethal, it’s the way my dad raised us. But he’s more of a...vigilante than a killer. He and my dad are into some dark stuff, occult bullshit. I separated myself from that world a long time ago. It’s just a bunch of wack-a-doo superstition. ”

“You’re sure he won’t hurt me?” you press, coming down from the adrenaline of the situation.

“If I thought you were in harm’s way I’d call the police now and have him arrested. If I thought he’d hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, I’d turn him in.” He looks at you, mouth tight. Whatever he’s thinking about he doesn’t let on as he stares to you. He grunts, eyes fluttering closed as he flexes his wrist. “I am going to need to see a doctor.”

“Do you want me to drive you?”

“No. That’s why I have a driver.” He shakes his head. “You may stay here or go home, whatever makes you feel safer while I’m gone.”

“Would you prefer if I left? I mean after everything-”

“I would prefer that life moves on despite my brother. I expect you to be here tonight. I have plans for you, and you don’t want to disappoint me do you?”

His eyes narrow, looking at your bare legs and you almost forget how to breathe.

“Never,” you confirm. “Never.”

-

As the days pass the looming threat of all things Dean fades. For the first couple of days you were sure he was going to appear around every corner, but life goes on and the most wantedWinchester is nowhere to be found. But he’s always in the back of your mind, the way he looked at you, the coldness in his eyes. In Sam’s own words his brother is lethal, a description that’s less than comforting.

But the fact is you trust Sam. You trust him with sex and you trust that when he tells you that you’re safe, you are in fact, just that.

Three Weeks Later

Sam has been in Japan for almost two weeks but it feels more like two years. You’d fallen into a comfortable routine and it’s strange to go more than a week without being in the same room with him.

Your phone vibrates at eleven o’clock sharp, signaling Sam’s incoming video call. You swipe to answer, glancing up to ensure the living room curtains are shut. The last thing you need is one of your neighbors watching you masturbate on command.

“Hi,” you smile as his pixelated face appears on the screen.

“Hello,” he replies, distracted by whatever he’s looking at. His face becomes clear as the connection strengthens. This is his lunch break which inevitably means time will be limited. His eyes snap between something he’s reading and your image on the screen. “Set your phone up so I can see your entire body.”

“Okay,” you respond, getting up to prop your phone on a stack of books in the middle of the coffee table. This is not the first night you’ve been in this position and you’ve perfected the setup. You take a seat on the couch, making sure you’re in the frame as he glances up.

“Take your clothes off. Everything.” He forgoes whatever else has his interest, focusing solely on you, watching stoically as you strip down, shimmying out of your panties then letting your bra fall to the floor.

There’s a faint knock coming from his end and he instantly looks annoyed, looking up as he calls to whoever it is. “Come in.”

“I don’t want to bother you during lunch Mr. Winchester,” Lexi’s voice is immediately recognizable in the background. You lean closer to the phone, listening carefully. “I just wanted to pop in and make sure you have everything you need.”

You know that tone, playfully and airy. It’s the same one she uses at the bar when she’s trying to hook up with some junior associate. She’s flirting with Sam Winchester. You assumed that no one would have the balls to approach him but you’ve clearly underestimated her.

“I do,” Sam stares at her with his trademark uncomfortable, unwavering stare you’ve been on the receiving end of from time to time. “Have everything I need.”

There’s silence. She’s obviously still there because he hasn’t turned his attention back you.

“You can go.” He watches off the screen and you wait until you hear the faint click of a door and he turns back to his phone.

“What is she doing-” you start but Sam is already moving on.

“She isn’t your concern.” He chastises you immediately, bringing on all the familiar feelings of subjugation that never fail to turn you on despite your own shame. “Open your legs and touch yourself. Make sure I can see your cunt.”

You lean back on the couch spreading your legs wide. One finger slides into your mouth, parting your lips just enough to flick your tongue against it. Then you run your fingertips lightly down your body, over your breasts.

Sam shifts, clearing his throat as he settles in to watch you. You wonder if he’s touching himself, stroking his own cock or is he just directing and watching? One never knows with him.

“Are you wet?” he asks firmly.

You continue to move your hand down across your belly, over your mound and slipping one finger between your folds, breath catching in your throat.

“Yes,” you nod, feeling your own slick.

“Did you masturbate this morning like I told you to?” he inquires like a teacher ready to reprimand a petulant child.

“Yes,” you confirm with a whimper, slowly dipping a finger between warm flesh.

“Good. We’re going to try something different. Get the oil out of the box and oil yourself up.”

Sam presented you with a box of special toys before he left on his business trip and the two of you have been working your way through all the contents.

You find the bottle of massage oil and pour it into your hands, rubbing it over your arms and neck, then running your hands down the sides of your breasts. You lift one leg onto the coffee table giving the camera a better view of your pussy and you work on one leg. Then repeat the process, stroking and caressing your inner thighs. When you are done you sit back, presenting your now glistening body for his inspection.  

“Very nice,” his eyes fall from your tits to your pussy, tongue darting out. “Grab your breasts.”

You slide both hands over your breasts, feeling your nipples harden with a soft moan of anticipation.

“Not that like,” he snaps, shaking his head and your eyes shoot up, hands falling to your sides. If there’s one thing you truly hate, it’s his disappointment. It’s not often that he corrects you so severely but being relegated to only video chat has been testing his patience. “Listen to me. From now on your hands are my hands. When I tell you to touch yourself, I want you to picture my hands doing the touching, do you understand?”

“Yes,” you nod, sitting still, legs spread.

“Put more oil in your hands,” he instructs, leaning closer to his screen.

You comply, picking up the oil and spreading it over your palms.

“Now,” his head tilts, jaw tightening. “Pinch your nipples hard. Your hands are my hands and tonight I’m going to be rough. You know the way I touch you. Do it.”

You squeeze your nipples, twisting them harder than you intend to. A cry escapes your lips as you feel yourself sliding into that place where you turn yourself over to him. Your hands continue to pinch harder and harder, biting down on your nipple the way he would until you cry out again.

“Harder” he encourages.

You pull, feeling the stretch and gripping as hard as you can, gasping in pain that shoots from your tits to your pussy and becomes instant arousal, your clit aching between your thighs.

“Good girl. Spread your legs wider, keep pulling on your nipples with one hand. With the other, shove your fingers into your cunt.”

Hooking one leg over the arm of the couch you lean back, offering him an unobstructed view. Giving your breast a sharp tug you slide a hand between your thighs, two fingers sliding into your slick, deep and fast just like when he fingers you. It feels almost as if he is the one touching you as you fuck yourself rough and quick. The familiar wet sound of your pussy taking your fingers fills the room as you close your eyes and lay your head back, the world shrinking away while you imagine Sam touching you, tugging and pulling, fucking you hard and deep. A series of short, sharp cries leave your mouth as the hot flush of an orgasm begins to build.

“Can I cum?” you ask, already knowing the answer.

“Absolutely not,” he quips.

Mustering every last ounce of self-control you pull your hand away, whimpering when your fingers leave your body. You’re quivering, shaking with need. It’s been nine days since he let you cum and you’re practically vibrating with need. To be fair he gave you a warning. No orgasm’s until he returns from Japan, you’re not allowed to cum without his fingers or his cock in you, no exceptions.  

“We’re going to try again. Spread your pussy open and pour the oil over your cunt.”

Your fingers slide back between your legs, spreading your lips open. You pick up the oil and pour it slowly in a thin stream over your folds. The sensation of the cool oil dripping over your exposed clit and between your legs makes you shiver.

“This time fuck yourself with three fingers.”

Running your fingers over your sex, the other hand finds your breast again, clamping down painfully hard on one nipple as you slide three fingers inside your cunt. You gasp, rocking your hips against your hand, driving deeper just like he does.

“Spread your pussy open and angle your hips toward the camera. Let me see you.”

You inch forward, pushing your fingers deeper still and scissoring them open, forcing yourself open for his viewing pleasure. There’s an incredible feeling of vulnerability, exposed and humiliated as you hold yourself open for him to watch you.

“Your pussy is begging for it, but I think you’re missing something else. Get the vibrator out of the bag and then lube it up. Make sure you cover the whole thing.”

“You want me to…” you trail off, sitting up to stare at him. He’s close to his phone, his face is the only thing visible.

“You know exactly what I want you to do.”

He’s been fixated on one specific torment this entire trip.

Your hands are nearly shaking as you reach for the box, withdrawing a rather powerful vibrator roughly twice the width of his thumb. You lube up the wand squeezing a thick ribbon of jelly along the hard plastic, all the while feeling the oil already slick between your thighs.

“You know what to do.” He cocks an eyebrow as if he’s expecting you to protest.

Feeling the heat in your cheeks you spread your legs again, pressing the blunt end of the vibrator against the tight ring of muscle between your butt cheeks. There is nothing that brings more shame or more arousal than this.

“Good girl. All at once. You’re going to tell me how much you want it up your ass when you push it in.”

You shudder in complete embarrassment. He knows exactly what this does to you. It’s degrading and exhilarating all at the same time. You’re ashamed to admit that you enjoy it.  “But-”

“Do it. Say it loud. Push it in. Right now,” he grits out.

You take a deep breath, then in one smooth motion slide the vibrator into your ass as far you can. “I want it so bad, so deep like this...oh fuck.”

Before you have a chance to adjust he continues. “Turn it on.”

“I can’t,” you whimper, squirming as you hold your legs open.

“Why?” He tilts his head, eyes narrowing at your refusal.

“I’ll cum,” you admit.

“Turn it on. And don’t you dare cum without permission. If I have to tell you again you’re not going like what happens when I see you in person.”

The vibrator is one of your favorite toys, but it’s a source of torment as well. He knows full well it makes it nearly impossible to not cum and he’s become fond of using it on you, refusing to allow you to orgasm while making you masturbate with it both anally and vaginally.

Reaching between your legs you turn the small knob at the base and it comes to life, sending shock waves of pleasure through your body.

“Oh, oh, oh,” you pant, eyes closing as you writhe and wiggle.

“Does it feel good?” He loves to make you admit how much you enjoy these depraved acts.

“Yes,” you moan, hands rubbing down the tops of your thighs, trying to hold on to what little control you have left. Your orgasm is building, it wouldn't take much and if he makes you touch yourself again there will be no holding back.

But instead, he does something equally cruel.

“I think that’s enough for now,” he explains flippantly as if he’s already moved on to something else. “Turn it off and clean yourself up. I’ll see you tomorrow, same time.”

The screen goes blank when he hangs up leaving you on the edge of pleasure and desperation.

-

Three days later you’re locked in a windowless conference room, waiting for Sam’s call. He’s an hour late, which is unheard of. It’s 11 am your time which means it’s midnight there.

Staring at the screen you watch the minutes tick by, trying to make a decision. What if he forgot? That’s unlikely. Sam doesn't forget anything. Maybe he fell asleep?

He’s flying home tomorrow, it’s possible he just lost track of time in preparation. Your thumb hovers over the call button, tapping it as Keith’s name appears on the screen.

After exactly three rings the line picks up, the screen fumbles for a second and Lexi’s face appears. She looks just as surprised to see you as you are her. Your mind races, it’s late and she has his phone.

Pepper doesn’t even touch his phone.

“Hey, umm,” you stumble trying to think of a cover. “Did I dial the wrong number?”

“No!” She smiles wide. “That’s so weird, your name came up as Hester something or other. His phone must be messed up.”

You nearly choke, realizing Sam’s reference to the Scarlet Letter and thankful that Lexi isn’t more well read.

“Yeah, that’s so weird. Why do you have his phone? It’s super late there isn’t it?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she chatters on. “I was...oh, you have a call,” she looks off-screen. “I answered it for you I hope you don’t-’

Sam’s face is immediately on camera, looking at you like he’s ready to murder someone. “I’ll see you when I’m back in the office.”

Two Days Later

“Hi,” Lexi drapes herself over cubicle wall of your desk. “I am so glad to be home.”

You haven’t spoken to Sam since that night when she answered his phone. While you understand he doesn’t always have time to give you his full attention you’re still uncomfortable with the circumstances and eager to see him again. Lexi is the last thing you need right now.

“Well,” you swallow your feelings, it’s not her fault after all. She doesn’t know she’s encroaching into your territory. “Welcome home. You didn’t like Tokyo?”

“Oh you know. Pepper is a bitch even when she thinks she’s being nice and the food was disgusting…” Her finger trails along the edge of your desk, biting her lip as she looks up at you, almost vibrating with whatever she wants to tell you. “But other things weren’t so bad.”

“Oh?” You turn back to your screen, unable to look at her.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy and you have to promise me that you’re not going to tell anyone.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t tell me then? If it’s supposed to be a secret.”

“You’re no fun….I have to tell someone,” she whines, pulling a chair over and inching right up into your personal space. “This is so wild, but Sam and I got sort of...close during the trip.”

Every inch of your body goes hot, instant adrenaline pumping in your veins.

“What exactly do you mean by close?” you inquire, folding your hands together in your lap.

“You know how it goes, one thing leads to another. Late nights in hotel rooms, he practically asked me to stay the night with him. I know everyone thinks he’s a hardass but under all that he’s just a man. He’s kind of handsome, don’t you think?”

“I haven’t given it much thought.” You clear your throat. “Sorry, I have to pee.”

Before Lexi has the chance to say another word you’re up and out of your seat, locking yourself in the nearest bathroom feeling a combination of anger and nausea.

You’re shocked by your own reaction. If you’re honest with yourself there have been certain feelings creeping in, it’s unavoidable when you spend as much time with someone as you have with Sam. You tell yourself you’d feel the same way if he was just a friend. He’s always been crystal clear about what you are to him, and you’ve used that division to keep a deeper attachment from forming, or so you thought. But the idea of Sam and Lexi of all people is bringing emotions to the surface you’re not at all ready to deal with.

You know she was in his room. She answered his phone, looking less than professional and he chose not to offer any explanation. Is it possible? Would he fuck her? Why not? You have no power to enforce your contract, it’s for his safety, not yours. Being reminded that you were forced to sign a piece of paper, to agree to his terms brings your anger and frustration to a head.

And the things he’s had you do while he’s been gone, you’ve acted like a whore performing for him, complying with every request with enthusiasm, only to have Lexi talk about how close they’ve gotten.

Wiping a tear from your eye, you pull out your phone.

Y/N: I need to talk to you.

You send off the message instantly filled with regret. You’re upset, you should wait until you’ve got your emotions under control. Taking a series of deep breaths you look at yourself in the mirror, staring at rosy cheeks and wild eyes.

You phone dings twice.

Keith Campbell: I’m busy today.

Keith Campbell: Is it important?

You stare down at the phone, mouth twisting as you debate your response.

Y/N: Yes.

There’s almost no delay before his answer pops up.

Keith Campbell: Come to my office now.

After smoothing back your hair you take a final breath and head toward the elevators. Pepper doesn’t even look up as you pass her desk. Instead, she mumbles something about Sam warning her you were headed up and waves you inside.

Sam’s at his desk, focused on his laptop. He glances up for split second, looking rather unhappy with your interruption. “Make it quick.”

“Don’t talk to me like that,” you snap, surprising yourself as much as him. His eyebrows shoot up, all attention focusing on you as he stands up slowly, clearly not in the mood for a challenge.

“Excuse me?” He walks around his desk, mouth twisting in displeasure.

“Did you fuck Lexi?” You just put it out there. On the way up to his office you went over and over it in your brain, you had a whole speech prepared about expectations and trust but now as you stand in front of him it just tumbles right out.

For a split second he looks genuinely perplexed, then his grave expression turns into amusement as he crosses his arms over his chest, examining you.

“Why are you asking?” His question is calm but leaves no room for debate.

“Because she was in your room, she answered your phone...and she just told me…” As you say the words you’re already realizing you don’t really believe it yourself. Sam and Lexi; it’s ridiculous. Closing your eyes you shake your head in embarrassment. “I’m overreacting, aren’t I? Lexi exaggerates everything.”

“Yes, she does.” Sam nods, his eyes falling down your body. It’s been fifteen days since you’ve been in the same room and there’s no doubt he feels the same arousal at your physical proximity. “That not to say that she didn’t try. Your friend put me in a series of incredibly inappropriate situations that I don’t wish to relive, especially with you. She won’t be working for me again.”

“Good.” You look at the floor, pressing your lips together. “To be clear, Lexi isn’t my friend.”

“I don’t care about semantics.” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as if this conversation is really taking a toll on him. “Now, if you don’t have any other burning questions, you need to leave because I need to focus. I have a week’s worth of reports to review and you are the ultimate distraction.”

“Oh, o-okay,” you sputter, both offended and flattered. “Sorry for bothering you, I was just, I...I’ve just got a lot of pent up frustration and then she said what she said and I…”

“Got jealous?” One eyebrow shoots up and you’d swear there’s a pull at the corner of his mouth. A ghost of a smirk.

“A little,” you confess.

“Go,” he waves a hand, walking back around his desk. “Come over tonight. I’ll send a car for you around nine and we’ll take care of your frustrations.”

“But it’s Thursday?” You hesitate, unprepared for the last minute surprise.

“I’m aware,” he stares you at again. “I’ll see you tonight.”

-

Parts 14, 15 & 16 are currently available on Patreon for a monthly pledge of $2.50. This includes early access to all my stories and Patreon exclusive content.  >> CLICK HERE <<

[greetingsfromthebottomofthewell]

NES GODZILLA CREEPYPASTA - CHAPTER 4: DEMENTIA

[directory]

unforgiving cold

[source] [triggers]

When I got back to the game, I was getting very upset and confused.

I thought about the way the monster looked at me. The game COULDN'T have heard what I said, that's impossible. It had to be a random occurrence. But why did it happen precisely at the moment I insulted the monster?

Nothing about this game made any sense. The new Godzilla monsters, the weird replacement monsters, out of place imagery like the green temples, quiz levels, and the red monster chases. It didn't seem to add up in any kind of meaningful way.

If it was a prank, it wasn't funny in any way I could understand, and they clearly put far too much effort into it.

If they were trying to make a genuine sequel with new Godzilla monsters, then why did they add..everything else?

Maybe it was some kind of art experiment? Some group project made by a bunch of really talented and crazy people, and they lost the cartridge somehow? Or maybe they intended for some random person to find it?

It was all just fruitless guessing. As far as I could tell, there was only one way to figure out what the deal with this game was: To play it through to the end. Maybe, just maybe, there would be something in the credits, an explanation by the creators as to why they made this. Or it could be something much more cryptic and strange, maybe even something horrifying.

Before I got a good look at the Dementia board, I considered replaying Trance to see if the red monster would look at me again. But I decided against it. I wanted to keep moving forward. I was also somewhat worried that backtracking might cause the game to become even more strange.

The Dementia board music sounded a lot like the Saturn music, except it was slowed down, and played with a piano-sounding instrument. Like most of these new map themes, it had a dangerous suspenseful feel.

While listening to the music, I looked at the Dementia board. There were four boss monsters this time: SpaceGodzilla, Manda, Gigan, and Baragon. I was surprised that there were two new Toho monsters this time. But the best surprise was still to come.

I started the Quiz level. Here's another list of results in the same format as the last one:

Quiz 2

Can you Swim? Answer: Yes, Reaction: Happy

Do you like fish? Answer: Yes, Reaction: Sick

Can penguins fly? Answer: No, Reaction: Sad

Can it spin in all directions?(There was no clarification of what Face meant by "it" so I just guessed)Answer: No, Reaction: Surprised

Do you breathe oxygen? Answer: Yes, Reaction: Weird Face #8

Does it taste good when you bite a woman?(I don't know who came up with this question, but I really hope they're getting mental help)Answer: No, Reaction: Annoyed

Is it night where you are? Answer: Yes, Reaction: Weird Face #6

Do you like cats? Answer: Yes, Reaction: Confused

Is water wet? Answer: Yes, Reaction: Angry

Have you ever broken a bone? Answer: No, Reaction: Happy

Do you like your job? Answer: Yes, Reaction: Hurt

Would you like a new monster? Answer: Yes, Reaction: Weird Face #11

I wasn't entirely sure at the time what Face meant by "new monster", but I couldn't resist answering "Yes", just to see what would happen.

The result was mind blowing.

The game took me back to the board and I had a new playable monster in the form of Anguirus! Ever since I was kid, I always wanted to play as Anguirus, since he was my second favorite Godzilla monster (And plus I never liked Mothra all that much).

I moved my new Anguirus piece over to the level right next to it, eager to test out my new monster.

Before I get into the level description I'll talk about Anguirus a bit:

Using the up and down buttons you could choose whether Anguirus stood in a bipedal stance or crawled around on all fours. It wasn't a huge difference, but being able to stand was helpful in boss fights, and crawling sometimes helped dodge obstacles and attacks.

He could punch and kick like Godzilla, but no tail whip. Instead he had something far more interesting: The ability to curl up into a spiked ball of death and roll around. You could still take damage, but it was lessened. It was a good way of clearing out stage enemies, but unfortunately doing this also drained the power bar.

But the spiked ball wasn't his only special ability. When you pressed Start, he would fire a beam of energy from his mouth. It resembled Titanosaurus' sonar attack, and if this were a hack it may have been inspired by the Roar attack from Atari's Godzilla fighting games.

Also of note is that when playing as Anguirus, the "Level" meter gets glitched up. Judging by the life and power bar, I'd say he's on Level 10.

Now onto the level:

As you might have guessed from the level icon, these levels are green palette swaps of the ground and background tiles from the Blue Mountains. But what immediately caught my attention was the water, which has a transparency effect.

Was that even possible for an NES game? I know the Super Nintendo could do it, but I had never seen a transparency effect in a game on an NES.

The Green Mountains music was played with the same instrument as the Blue Mountains, but the melody was totally different. It was a very simple song with a lot of abrupt pauses, followed by a loud note every few seconds.

Anyway, I went through the usual strolling through the level. And again there were no monsters or anything, but pretty soon I had reached a cliff above the water.

There was nowhere to go but into the water, so down I went. The water transparency made things a bit harder to see, but it's tolerable. After going underwater I encountered two new enemies: a giant piranha and some kind of spiky bottom feeder thing. I liked the piranha because I could easily tell what it was.

It was a sane enemy design that would appear in a real game, and there were very few enemies like this.

They didn't take much hits to kill, but they were quite annoying, and could considerably trim down your life if they got close enough. They also tend to travel in packs.

As for the bottom feeders, they're easy to deal with. They swim along the bottom of the screen towards you, and are easily crushed with the roll attack or jumped over. In this screencap you can see me about to run one of them over, and there's a pack of piranha behind it.

After I beat that level, I moved Godzilla onto the blue castle icon. I started the level and I got a title screen, with the text "UNFORGIVING COLD".

The level itself looked like a castle dungeon made of blue bricks,with rows of identical white statue faces on the walls.These statue faces had a permanent look of horror on their faces.

There was also some flickering gray static, which didn't really obscure my vision, but it adds to the very unsettling mood of these levels. The music was a twelve second loop of a low pitched choir vocalizing, that sounded very familiar to me.

Whenever I played through one of these levels I got this sudden, horrible feeling of anxiety. I had the feeling that the farther I progressed through the level, the closer I was getting to something unspeakably evil.

There weren't any enemies, but these were the some of the longest levels in the game. I only played one level, but it took seven minutes to complete.

I didn't want to admit it to myself at the time, but I realized something playing the blue castle level: This game has the power to make the player feel certain things.

I don't mean in the sense that you get irritated playing a crappy game, or get unnerved by something scary in a game. What I mean is that certain events in this game can instantly make you start feeling something.

I know that sounds completely insane. I don't blame you for not believing me, I wouldn't believe any of this either if I didn't play the game myself. But there is something very, very wrong with this game, and I still don't know how to explain it.

So...then it was time to fight Baragon's replacement.

Although Baragon was originally the smallest monster in the game, his replacement was the largest. It was so tall in fact, that the "ground" was noticeably lowered, and Not-Baragon's head still barely avoided collision with the bar at the top of the screen. And he was just as frighteningly bizarre as he was huge.

You may be wondering how he attacks without arms. Well, he has the most powerful kick in the game. But his other fighting technique is much stranger.

First he blasts a cloudy breath of pixels down at you, which causes you to freeze, then he walks back to the right corner of the screen and...extends a huge gatling gun from his abdomen.

That might seem amusing to you, but it certainly wasn't to me when I was playing the game. This attack is almost as annoying as Gigan's saw, and Not-Baragon could have been unbeatable if he consistently used it. Thankfully he only did it twice while fighting him.

Once you unfreeze, you can run up and start damaging the gun, which does extra damage to him. This helped me to destroy him, and then it was time to play the third level type. I decided that I was going to use Anguirus to fight Manda and Gigan, and then fight SpaceGodzilla as Godzilla (it was only fitting).

Before getting into the battles, I'll describe the third level type: The Arctic.

The Arctic is exactly what you'd guess from the name, an icy tundra with a few watery segments.

The music reminded me a bit of "Northern Hemispheres" from Donkey Kong Country, in 8 bit form. A very dangerous sounding song, it made me think about being trapped in a tundra and freezing to death.

There were two new enemies in this stage. The first was a creature frozen in a block of ice. They block your way and you have to use the heat beam to thaw them out of the ice. They look a bit like a smaller version of Not-Gezora, only without the eye.

When freed, they do a strange crawling movement and push you backwards. It doesn't cause any damage but it's a bit annoying.

After dealing with the Iceman, I kept walking for a minute or two and came upon a water segment. I jumped in, and this time I managed to get a screencap showing how the water splashes when you jump in. Dunno how they programmed that, but it's pretty impressive. Another interesting thing is how the screen changes focus when you go underwater.

Here you can see the other new enemy, a little thing I call "Spike Walker". They walk towards you and explode randomly(or instantly if you attack them), sending spikes in every direction. The spikes don't do much damage but they did get me dangerously close to falling into a pit a few times.

Oh, speaking of the pits: Down into the water, the game has a platformer element: bottomless pits. There weren't any of these in the original game, since it was strictly an action game, but the pits were a neat addition.

After getting back on land, I encountered a very unexpected miniboss: Maguma, the Walrus Kaiju. I know this game had some obscure monsters to begin with, but wow. Not that I'm complaining, it's a pretty cool cameo for an unappreciated kaiju.

Maguma's fighting tactics were very simple, he had a freeze beam, and he could charge into you. Not very challenging but certainly more entertaining than the Matango miniboss in the original game.

One really interesting thing about Maguma is that he doesn't die when you defeat him, he turns tail and retreats. This was the first time I had ever seen an enemy monster change direction, let alone retreat. I tried to chase after him, but he dissapeared after I got in the water. Poor bastard.

And that does it for the Arctic. I'll talk about the Manda fight next.

I forgot to mention before, but the music that played during the new monster fights is re-used from themes actually in the games.

So far the themes have been:

Titanosaurus: Gezora's music Biollante: Hedorah's music Orga: Baragon/Moguera's music Manda: Varan's music Spacegodzilla: MechaGodzilla's music

As for the fight, Manda was a fairly crafty opponent. When it realized one tactic was ineffective, it would immediately change to a different one.

Manda used quite a few tricks, like spitting fire, biting, and the most irritating of all, constricting.

It doesn't mercilessly drain your life down like Gigan's cutter, but it was by far Manda's strongest attack.

One last thing to note (that I found pretty cool) was that the Atragon showed up during the fight to help me out. Manda crushed it with ease, but it was still cool.

After I slayed Manda, I played through an Arctic level for health power-ups and then it was on to Gigan's replacement. When the fight started, I was very confused, because there was nothing there. I thought this was going to be like the Titanosaurus "fight" in Pathos, but just about the time it would have been going back to the map, a piranha appeared onscreen.

But it wasn't there for long. As soon as it appeared, the speakers emitted an ear-splitting screech, and Not-Gigan flew in and ripped the poor fish into pieces.

Well, that's one way to get the player on their toes. That abrupt entrance scared the hell out of me and got my adrenaline rushing. Which in retrospect was a good thing, because Not-Gigan was one of the fastest, most unrelenting opponents in the game.

Not-Gigan was tough, but my new skills with Anguirus helped to even the score. This was still an incredibly intense fight! Not-Gigan's attacks consisted of a some kind of blood laser he spews from his mouth, and a downward slash. I was expecting some hellish variant of the buzzsaw attack, but thankfully there didn't seem to be one.

The Howl attack was invaluable in defeating him. I would have taken more screencaps of the fight, but I really had to concentrate.

After that, there was just one monster left to take down: SpaceGodzilla. As mentioned earlier, I used Godzilla for this fight.

Spacegodzilla's fighting technique was rather frustrating, but admittedly a very clever idea.

SpaceGodzilla would use his energy to create two flying crystals, which would reach the ground and become crystal spires.

These spires not only block you from reaching SpaceGodzilla, but it also allowed him to constantly recharge to full energy, and blast you with a deadly fully charged Corona Beam until you broke the spires.

SpaceGodzilla would eventually drain his own spires of energy until they shattered, but if you waited for that to happen you'd probably lose a lot of life. Heat beams actually seemed to re-energize the spires, so you had to use physical attacks.

When you finally got close enough to hit SpaceGodzilla, he was no pushover. When I punched him, he hit me back just as hard. SpaceGodzilla does everything in his power to knock you back to the left corner of the screen, so he can create more spires.

By the time this was over, I only had about five life bars left. But it didn't matter, because I didn't need to fight anymore. I needed to run.

Here we go again. I decided right then that I really wanted to see the end of this game. As terrifying as these levels could sometimes be, I had to beat them to get though.

I decided that no matter what happened, no matter what the game showed me, I was going to get to the end. And I also made sure not to say a damned word while playing a chase level from here on.

For this chase I tried out Anguirus, since his roll attack allowed me to move faster than Godzilla or Mothra. The chase started off like the first two, except there was a river of blood below the ground. I was beginning to get the hang of it, and the extra speed from the Roll helped me get an edge on the red monster. Especially since I didn't have to worry about a power limit, and could keep rolling endlessly.

Like the previous levels with water, the ground inevitably reached a stop. So I rolled off into the blood. To my surprise, the hell beast didn't follow after me, it just stopped at the edge of the ground and grimaced. "I guess it can't swim" I thought to myself.

So I went "underblood" and continued moving. There wasn't anything around, but I knew something was up. The chase wasn't going to end that easily, could it? Surely something else had to show up. And sure enough, I heard the bellowing roar, sounding slightly different...

...And the monster was following after me in a new aquatic body! I had no idea it was a shapeshifter. After it reappeared, the chase started to get into the difficulty I had expected. Being submerged slowed me down, putting me and the beast at about the same speed. The only thing that would keep me alive was fast thinking and reflexes.

I encountered some bottomless pits, in which mines floated up from. I assume that if you hit one, it would damage you and knock you back. Considering how fast the red monster swims, hitting the mines would be instant death, so I went through great effort to avoid them.

But that wasn't all I had to be wary of. Halfway through the chase the hell beast revealed yet another surprise: a tentacle formed of intestine and tipped with a clawed set of jaws burst from its mouth, trying to pull me in and devour me. I only barely avoided both the tentacle and the mines, but I could tell the beast was getting desperate, because the chase was nearly over.

And about a minute later, I had spotted a bit of ground that served as the exit. I leaped with all the might I could muster (without breaking my controller). The beast screamed with rage and jumped out of the blood river in one last attempt to drag me down, but I escaped its grasp. This time.

I fell back on my bed and took a deep breath, satisfied with yet another successful escape. Now I was headed to the fifth world: Entropy.

[previous] | [next]