An Enigma Within a Conundrum

Over and over again, he watched the scene, trying to make sense of it all. Still, nothing made sense. How did he do it? How did he create that blast? Kiryuu played the tape over again, resting his holographic head down on the desk. He backed it up, rewound it, played it in slow motion—but still, there was no answer. It was in his stomach. He never thought he had a stomach. Fully trying to understand Godzilla, there were many theories on the great monster. Kiryuu still had the information he stole from Okinawa nearly two years ago. So, he began to rely on that. What created the plasma breath? How was Godzilla able to possess it? The H-bomb changed him. Kiryuu knew that, he remembered being changed. Over 50 years ago, he had that breath weapon, but even then he still questioned how he was able to do it. He did not possess it before. Neither did his son. Now, they both did—and it was all because of that H-bomb. But then, the original died and now since he is a bio-mechanical robot, he should not even possess the ability to have that breath weapon. But he still fired it off at Titanosaurus. Kiryuu rewound the tape again, watching once more as the exposed spines on his back began to glow. He saw the blast irrupt out of his mouth—it was white with only a touch of blue. Godzilla's breath was mostly blue. Kiryuu sighed again, wiping his eyes. He was tired of staring at the screen, but he had to know. Where did it come from? That plasma breath bothered everyone in the control room. Gordon left to get drunk because of it, then came back cursing at everyone. Katsura became even more frightened than ever, Will tried to deny it—saying it had to be some sort of malfunction in the system. Even Kiryuu wanted to believe that—but it was just not possible. He knew he was the original Godzilla. He had come to accept that in the end of all things. But, still, that breath—it was impossible for him to have created that breath. What made Godzilla produce that breath? Was it a byproduct of the radiation? Was it some sort of regurgitation? Kiryuu filed through the lines of information he had stolen from the base. Not even they had the information he needed. Kiryuu slammed his head against the desk in exasperation. He was tired. Nothing made sense anymore to him. Kiryuu was just as disturbed about the breath as everyone else in the base. It haunted him, and it brought him to tears because of it. He could not produce it again. They already tried to test it one night out in the desert. He tried—so very hard—he tried to fire it. It just would not work anymore. His spines were exposed just so that he could see if he could do it. But he could not. Perhaps it was all for the best though that he never could produce it again.

Within a few weeks of returning to the main base in Utah, Kiryuu asked to visit Godzilla again. Perhaps this would be the answer he was looking for. Maybe Godzilla could show it to him. Gordon allowed it. The Shirisagi took Kiryuu to the super-tanker where he was to be shipped across the Pacific Ocean. They wanted to keep it under the public eye that Kiryuu frequently visited Godzilla. Despite the fact that people knew about what lay underneath the metal, not many were completely worried about it. Sure, there were a few—that is a very few—who thought it was wrong to use the skeleton of the original. These were the same people who thought that stem cell research was wrong. The first Godzilla was dead, so what if the Utah Foundation used his bones? But they brought the original Godzilla back to life by accident. It did not matter to anyone in the Utah Foundation—the original Godzilla was now on their side. Kiryuu thanked that. He felt that his death came too prematurely anyways. He had unfinished business to do and the Utah Foundation made it possible for him to finish what he started. He had no more qualms about what they had done. They just gave him an edge. But still—he was the first Godzilla—but in this new state, he should not have fired that breath.

While on Ogasawara Island, Kiryuu made notes as his son demonstrated the firing of the breath. Kiryuu wanted his maser cannons removed so that he could try and see if he could fire a plasma breath as well. He watched, studied how Godzilla did it. He explained to his son that death had taken away that memory of how to fire such a weapon. After Godzilla had shown him how to do it, Kiryuu tried on his own. Still, no breath came. Kiryuu was left with no answer. Godzilla could sense his father distraught and tried his best to comfort him.

"It's not possible," Kiryuu told Godzilla. "I don't know why I was able to fire it then and not now. It's just not possible. And…the ones who brought me back are afraid."

"Will they kill you?" Godzilla asked.

"No," Kiryuu said. "We've become a family now as well. They care about me too much. These humans who have brought me back—it's just a small group. It's not the whole species. They are worried about me just as you are. They are afraid that because of what happened in the Land of Flowers that other humans—ones that do not understand me might try to take me away. And harm me. And harm you as well. They're protecting both of us."

"These humans that brought you back to life are protecting me?" Godzilla asked, a bit confused.

"Yes," Kiryuu replied. "They are. That's why I must remain with them. You have to understand that. I can't protect you unless I am with them. In a way, I'm glad I can't fire that breath now. They are afraid because of it. They're different than the others, trust me."

Godzilla hefted a sigh and nodded. He had no other choice but to trust his father now. Kiryuu placed his claws on Godzilla's cheeks and leaned over—pressing his snout against his son's forehead. Kiryuu gazed into his son's dark red eyes, seeing the worry and the love in them. They sparkled, even more than ever now.

"I've forgiven them, son," Kiryuu said. "For doing this to me. I want you to forgive them too. Because of this—we can be together."

"You call being so far apart together?" Godzilla asked.

"Would you rather have me at the bottom of the ocean—dead?" Kiryuu asked. "And you never see me again—or this?"

"This…" Godzilla sighed. "I want to see you. I understand. Father, what killed you anyways? You said that the humans have given you vast knowledge since you became this—cyborg-thing. Have they given you the answer as to how you died?"

"Unfortunately," Kiryuu began with a heavy sigh. "The humans that I work with don't even know that answer. This human—a scientist that created this weapon died when I died. He killed himself to seal away this secret of his weapon. I think he didn't want anyone else using it."

"Why?" Godzilla asked.

"He was afraid that some bad humans might use it for evil," he replied. "He didn't want it to be used for evil. So—because of that, no one knows what this weapon was."

"They have many secrets," Godzilla sighed.

"Humans are fickle creatures," Kiryuu chuckled.

***

Humans were fickle creatures. Kiryuu knew this very well. Katsura was very fickle, so was Gordon, and Will, even Maria was fickle a bit. But when she became fickle—usually meant Kiryuu's eyes were about to be targeted. Kiryuu chuckled when he thought about that time she smacked him in the eye. No human had ever done that. But he loved her because of it. He loved joking around her with the 'wrong' statements. It made her flush a bit, but she knew it was all in good fun. Kiryuu loved her. She was different, and she kept his mind off of worries like how he was able to produce that breath. Kiryuu leaned back in the chair, sighing again. Godzilla asked him a peculiar question. It was a question that often ran through Kiryuu's processors. Just how did he die? What weapon could produce those bubbles that burned like acid? Kiryuu just did not want to recall the death. That was one of the scenes he did not want to relive again. Still, he wanted to know. Kiryuu's holographic form disappeared from the room and his consciousness returned to his body. The bay was empty. He checked to see if anyone was in the control room. There were people in the control room, but not Will, or Katsura, or Gordon, or even Maria for that matter. He would not expect Maria to be there just yet, she was still moving into her new condo in Provo. The base was closer to Provo than to Salt Lake City, though that was where the Utah Foundation headquarters was located. She still did not like to move to Utah, preferring to remain in Florida. Kiryuu could tell she missed the ocean. He did too. Being in Ft. Lauderdale—and Miami Beach for that matter was invigorating to him. He loved the ocean. But the ocean also brought back horrible memories—his death. Titanosaurus brought those memories out and Kiryuu hated him for it. Kiryuu was glad he killed Kraken.

Kiryuu watched as the maintenance crew worked inside the control room. He knew their names as well, but he was not very close with them. An occasional 'hello' or 'how are you doing' was enough to let them know he acknowledged them in the control room. Then, he saw Mike and Tochi inside the room. For now, he did not feel like talking to them. Kiryuu sighed as he closed his eyes, turning inward to his CPU. That question Godzilla asked him. How did the original die? How did Kiryuu die when he was the original Godzilla? Kiryuu did not want to bring up those memories, but to find the answer, he had no choice. Kiryuu called up the memories through the syntech and through the bones. He took in a sigh as he remembered Tokyo in 1954…

He rested on a rock at the bottom of Tokyo Bay. The night before he strode through the city of Tokyo, Japan. He had the urge to do so, he did not know why. There were these tiny creatures and they had these strange things—firing pain at him. So, he shot back—using his fires to destroy their homes. They were afraid of him, and they had good reason to. Some how, he knew that they were responsible for the pain he felt every time he fired that breath weapon—the pain he felt when the sky exploded that day two years before. It burned him, and it burned his son. Then, he made him become this thing—it mutated him—changed him—made him more violent. He just wanted them to pay for what they did. And so, he burned them. Now, he was resting. It wore him out when he attacked their town—using that strange new gift he now possessed. All he wanted to do was take a nap. They screamed something when he raided their town. Gojira…Gojira…that was what they called him.

Gojira sighed as he awoke from his nap. His pointed ears picked up the sound of something nearing him from the surface. He glanced up, seeing a ship above, blocking out the sun's rays. Gojira growled as he watched two of those strange creatures wearing strange clothes float down a black colored vine into the water. He let loose another growl, telling these tiny creatures to stay away from him. Gojira noticed something that one of the creatures' hands. It was a tube of some sort—glass. Gojira's keen eyes zoomed in on what it was. There was a silvery looking sphere inside the tube. He watched as the two humans settled down on the seabed below. One of the humans came up, leaving the one carrying the tube down on the seabed. Gojira leaned over, watching silently as the creature lifted the tube up, throwing it down near the dinosaur's toes. Then, bubbles appeared out from the tube filling the water in a curtain of bubbles. Gojira felt the bubbles caress him. They were bubbles, nothing wrong with bubbles. Bubbles do not hurt. Then, he felt a new pain as the bubbles flowed about his body. They stung. Gojira glanced about, wanting to swim away from this pain, but he could not. He was trapped. The bubbles were seeping away the breathable water around him. He could not breathe! Then, he glanced at his claws, seeing his scales disappear around—exposing muscle, then bone. The bubbles were eating him! Gojira cried out in pain and gurgled. It was too painful. He was being eaten by these strange bubbles. He glanced down, trying to see if the creature was still there. The creature was gone. All that was left was a skeleton of the creature. As it wanted to kill Gojira, it had killed itself in the process. As the bubbles ate at him, everything went black. He could feel the painful claws of death reach out and take him. There was nothing he could do. It was better this way, he thought. His mate had died many years before. He had not gotten over her death. He knew he never would. Gojira welcomed the pain of death. His son would be alright now. His son would take up the fight he left off…

"Water…can't breathe water…" Kiryuu began. "Can't breathe…water…bubbles…pain…"

He twitched as he watched the scene play out before him. He could feel the bubbles around him, eating him alive. Kiryuu growled, opening his eyes. He let out a powerful roar and it echoed through the bay area. Mike and Tochi came running out onto the catwalk, their eyes in complete shock.

"Kiryuu!" cried Mike. "Jesus Christ! What's wrong?"

Kiryuu gasped virtually, his golden, cat-like eyes wide. They looked strangely bloodshot. He looked at Mike and Tochi, tears streaming down his face.

"Kiryuu?" Tochi asked. "Okay, I'm gonna call Katsura, and Gordon, and Will…get the whole gang in here. Just hang in there, buddy."

Kiryuu was too weary from the memories to protest. He sighed again, leaning his head back against the body arms around him. Mike just glanced up, staring at the great bio-mecha.

"Kiryuu?" he asked. "You okay?"

"Nightmare…" Kiryuu replied. He closed his eyes, breathing heavily. What could it be? What was that weapon? That weapon…it took away something in the water, or it poisoned it. What was it?

Now he had to know. Perhaps knowing would also ease his pain on it. Knowledge had that affect on him. He seemed more at ease when he knew what was going on. Kiryuu sighed again, turning inward again. He ignored Mike, who was still staring up at him. Mike shrugged, going back into the control room. Kiryuu sighed. The Internet was what he needed right now. He knew that Gordon would protest if Kiryuu went about, searching for documents that were not meant for his viewing. Still, Kiryuu had the right to know. He began to feed himself through the Foundation's satellites. Kiryuu pulled up his regular sites, military sites and he used his usual anonymous names while viewing them. Most of the sites he found were focusing on the US cover-up on Monster Zero. He had enough information on Monster Zero. He knew Monster Zero. That was another memory he did not want to dive into at this moment. For now, it did not matter. Kiryuu fed his way through cyber-space, viewing the lines of code that came up around him. Perhaps while viewing these sites, finding the weapon that was used on him—he could find the answer he needed to know about that plasma breath. There was enough on it though—various sites that had pictures of Kiryuu firing off that breath. There were sites that compared the blast Kiryuu produced to the blast the original produced. And there were sites that stated what Kiryuu and the Foundation knew all along—that the original had returned. Though, there were still others who did not think this was all that important. Kiryuu growled as he filed through the sites. None of them had the answer. This answer—the answer of his death—was still shrouded in secrecy. Kiryuu sighed again. Much time had passed since he had started his search. Kiryuu opened his eyes, becoming weary of this. He was tired. He glanced down, seeing that Gordon and Katsura had come into the bay.

"He said it was a nightmare," said Mike.

"Nightmare my ass," Gordon growled. "Kiryuu! What the hell is going on now?"

Kiryuu rumbled, blinking away his weariness: "I'm sorry that I startled them. More nightmares of my death."

"Death?" Katsura asked.

"Bubbles…" Kiryuu sighed. "Bubbles that ate my flesh away. I'm still haunted by them. I don't know what weapon they used."

"It's best that you don't," Gordon said. "It's best that any of us don't."

"Do you know who the scientist was, Gordon?" Kiryuu asked.

"No," Gordon asked. "And no, I'm not lying to you, Kiryuu. I don't. Even I asked the Prime Minister that. You know how he is! The damned bastard didn't even give me a straight answer. He said it was an experimental chemical. They were going to use it on something else entirely. Makes me wonder though—back then, 10 years after we dropped two A-bombs on them…if that 'experimental chemical' was some sort of weapon the Japanese were cooking up to use on us in retaliation. I don't think that now, but I did think that back then. If anything else, they're the ones who are hiding it. You tried hacking into the military grids again, eh? Couldn't find anything?"

"I have the right to know, Gordon," said Kiryuu. "It was my death."

"You know," Gordon began. "I'm not gonna even stop you. Might teach that ass a thing or two. And that Katagiri bastard."

"Katagiri?" Katsura asked. "The Minister of Defense and the head of the Crisis Control Intelligence?"

"That fellow right there," Gordon growled. "He was the one who put my company up to building Mechagodzilla, you know. But I never liked the guy. Creeped the hell out of me. When you hacked into the Okinawa base two years ago, Kiryuu, it was their database you stole on all the information on Godzilla. Hack into the CCI again, that might give you some answers or, something. But, who knows. That weapon was made before computers had the computing power to store information. You may not find it."

"Which means that the information would be on hardcopy in some filing cabinet," began Kiryuu. "Like the information you had about my bones."

"Make it harder for anyone to get a hold of it," said Gordon. "Not unless you're willing to break into the CCI to do it. Just be careful when you hack. Don't lead it back to us like you did last time you broke into their database."

"Don't worry, I've got alibis now," Kiryuu chuckled. "I can always use them. Make it look as if someone else did it."

Katsura and Gordon sighed.

"Sometimes, I wonder if Will made him too sinister and calculating," Gordon sighed.

"I don't think Will's to blame," Katsura said.

"No," Gordon sighed. "He gets it from me. Because I'd do the same thing."