Good-bye Godzilla

Foundation Base in Yokohama

Already the procedures to move the Utah Foundation Mechagodzilla project back to Salt Lake City, Utah were already underway. Gordon Knight did not want to waste any time; he wanted his project to be ready to receive orders from the USAF as soon as they arrived. Though, most of what the project needed was already at the base in Utah, the base where they first built Mechagodzilla and tasted it, with out the AI. He remembered those days, when they were having all sorts of system problems. They could not control it through remote, and a semi-AI was not strong enough to calculate probability. Though, some times he would not admit it, but Gordon thanked the day when Kiryuu became the official AI for Mechagodzilla. Kiryuu had softened a little, since his first initial activation nearly seven years ago. Now, Kiryuu was Mechagodzilla. Gordon thought fondly of the history that he had with Kiryuu, though he would not before now. Nearly three months ago, aliens with their own Mechagodzilla attacked the Earth. Kiryuu was Earth's only hope now, which made Gordon even more proud of what he had created. Since that time, he had soften up to Kiryuu, whom he treated like his late son, Bert Knight. He saw a lot of Bert in Kiryuu, and it pained him. That was why he treated Kiryuu so harshly. Now, to make up for the loss of his son, for the times he never had with Bert, he made a vow never to take advantage of Kiryuu again. He appreciated Kiryuu, and even loved him like a son. Gordon smiled, thinking fondly of the achievements he that had transpired over the past 10 years.

Gordon walked into the control room, finding it oddly empty today. Usually Will Penter or Katsura would be in here, monitoring the progress of their relocation or just casually chatting with Kiryuu. He found it strange that no one was in the room. Gordon Knight glanced out the enormous bay window leading out to the hangar bay. Kiryuu Mechagodzilla was there, his optics were dark. The metallic face of the enormous bio-syntech beast softly shimmered in the dim light of the bay.

"Sleeping silently?" Gordon asked, smiling. "Funny. No one here, except me. I wonder if I should wake him."

Gordon sighed, glancing around aimlessly at the control room. So many memories were made in this place. He pulled up a chair and sat down, allowing the memories fill his mind.

"One rocky ride," he sighed. "But it was worth it, you giant heap of metal."

"Mr. Knight, could you come out onto the catwalk?" asked a voice on the PA.

"Oh, what the hell do they want now?" Gordon snorted as he walked out onto the catwalk in the bay. He glanced around, seeing that there was no one there. Gordon snorted in frustration. "What the hell is this, a trick?"

Then, Kiryuu's golden optics flashed on, and his head came alive, glancing down at Gordon. Gordon became startled just as Katsura and Will leapt out from their hiding places.

"Happy Birthday, Gordon!" all three of them cried. Gordon's eyes widened when he heard Kiryuu's thunderous voice cry out with the others.

"Jesus Christ!" he cried, grabbing his chest. "Do you have to scare an old man like that?"

"Sorry, Gordon," said Katsura. "But we had to surprise you."

"It's your birthday, Gordon," Will smiled. "Well, it's belated, by two weeks because of the move. But…" He handed Gordon a brightly colored, wrapped box. "Happy Birthday."

"I was so busy with the damned move that I've forgot my Birthday," Gordon sighed. "Thank you, all of you."

Katsura handed him her gift, wrapped in green paper with various Japanese characters saying 'Happy Birthday'. The box was wrapped with gold ribbon.

"Happy Birthday, Gordon," she smiled and gave him a slight hug.

"Thank you, dear," Gordon smiled. "What a surprise, though!"

Gordon turned towards Kiryuu, his smile growing.

"And I suppose that you had something to do with this as well, huh?" he asked the monstrous bio-mecha.

"Happy Return of the Day, Gordon," Kiryuu nodded. "Forgive me, but I have no gift to give you."

"It doesn't matter," Gordon sighed. "You're presence here is what counts."

"Thank you," Kiryuu tilted his head slightly in respect.

"Sorry, we couldn't get a cake," Will said.

"Doesn't matter, I don't like cake anyways," smiled Gordon, patting the computer programmer on the back. "I'll open these later."

He went into the control room and placed the presents behind the console. Katsura and Will followed him, smiling as they walked in.

"I'm 69 years old," Gordon sighed. "I'm getting up in years."

"You should be proud that you have lived such an eventful life," Katsura said. "I mean, the medical strives and victories, creating the worlds fully functional muscle system…helping children be able to walk again with the bio-syntech prosthesis. You've achieved much!"

"And creating the world's first AI that can emote," smiled Will.

"And has a problem with obeying orders," snorted Gordon. "I suppose there's a first for everything, huh, you over grown metallic coat rack."

If Kiryuu had smiled, Gordon could not tell, for the mecah's mouth was concealed behind the metallic face plate. Kiryuu knew that any name calling Gordon gave him was only playful. He could see a slight curl of a smile on Gordon's face when he called him a 'coat rack'. Kiryuu learned the difference between Gordon's playful name calling and his blatant insulting. It all had to do with the tone of Gordon's voice.

"I follow orders now, Gordon," Kiryuu said.

"I know," Gordon smiled. "What would I ever do with out you, Kiryuu? Or any of you. You're all like this poor corporate executive's family he never had!"

"It's hard to believe that though you're the CEO of Utah Foundation," began Will. "That you would want to be with us and with Kiryuu, here in the middle of things."

"Someone has to make sure my orders go through to you guys," he shrugged. "Besides, unlike most corporate bigwigs, I like to be with my employees. Promotes better workmanship when the boss is there to help along the way. I'm not looking over you all's shoulder to much, am I? Be honest."

"If we're not, do we get a pay cut?" Will asked. Gordon laughed.

"Some times it feels that you are looking over our shoulders," said Katsura. "But now, it just wouldn't be the same here if you left."

"I have no intentions to leave," Gordon smiled. "Don't worry."

Will sat down at the console smiling at everyone. They were his friends, Gordon, Katsura, and Kiryuu. He considered Kiryuu as equal as anyone else in the room, for he was Will's friend as well. He stared for a moment at the silvery, metallic face. Then, his thoughts were disturbed when he heard the blaring sound of the sirens go off inside the bay area.

"Oh-no," sighed Gordon.

"G-sighting," Kiryuu announced.

"And on my belated Birthday party no doubt," sighed Gordon.

"Gordon, Katsura, Will," Kiryuu called their attention with his voice. "Godzilla is heading towards this base. Strange and yet interesting."

"Why is Godzilla heading here?" asked Katsura. "We've concealed our plasma generator. Not even he can sniff it out!"

"Then perhaps he is here for another reason," Kiryuu began. "Something else has drawn him to our home."

"The only other reason I can think of for him coming here is you, Kiryuu," Gordon sighed.

"Kiryuu?" Katsura asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Gordon asked. "Godzilla needs some 'father-son' time with Kiryuu. Perhaps he senses that we are leaving and he wants to say 'good-bye' to his father."

Kiryuu fell silent, an audible sigh sounded through the speakers. Gordon nodded, he knew that was the reason.

"Then, I suppose I should go to him," sighed Kiryuu. "Have the robots take my forearm cannons off my arms. I want to appear as least threatening as I possibly can."

"What if he attacks you?" asked Katsura.

"I have my masers inside my mouth and the bio-syntech blades," Kiryuu replied. "Besides, he hasn't attacked me in a long time now. I doubt he will now. Let me go to him, perhaps I can lead him away from the base."

"Sounds like a plan," Gordon said. "Go to him, have your chat, just get that lizard away from my base. We still have moving to do!"

"Compliance, Gordon," Kiryuu agreed.

Kiryuu appeared outside the base, seeing the monster known as Godzilla slowly lumber towards him. He heard the sound of Godzilla's roar, calling out to him as if the monster was greeting him. Kiryuu answered the call, bellowing his metallic, alien roar. It shocked him, each time he roared to Godzilla, he started to sound more and more like Godzilla. Kiryuu sighed, figuring it was more feedback from the cells. He already accepted himself as Godzilla. With that acceptation came release of his own mind. He no longer was afraid of the feedback from the cells. They no longer bothered with his mind, and with his dreams. They were always there, but they did not affect him anymore. So, he roared in response. He was finally learning to communicate with Godzilla, which was a plus on his part. Godzilla approached Kiryuu, cocking his head to one side as he inspected the enormous bio mecha. Kiryuu turned his hand out, his palms facing Godzilla, representing that he was unarmed and not a threat. Godzilla repeated the motion, curious as to why Kiryuu made such a gesture.

Like a monkey, Kiryuu processed amusingly. Monkey see, monkey do. You silly creature, I'm trying to tell you that I mean you no harm.

Kiryuu was mindful of his motions, trying not to come near the monster or make any sudden gestures towards him. Any of those sort might offend the monster. The enormous, mutated dinosaur came closer to Kiryuu, sniffing at his shoulders. Kiryuu closed his eyes inside the optics, taking in a virtual breath as Godzilla walked around him. The reptile placed his claws on Kiryuu's metallic back spines, pushing on them once more. Kiryuu slowly stepped away, turning slightly as Godzilla came around. Kiryuu could see the lengthy tail of the monster sway slightly. Like a cat, Godzilla showed some of his moods through the motions of his tail.

I suppose the motions means he's cautiously curious, Kiryuu thought.

Kiryuu heard a barking sound from Godzilla. The monster was talking to him. Kiryuu could already discern some vocal differences in Godzilla's sounds, barks, grunts, growls, roars, and strangely enough a few chirps and screeches as well. Kiryuu never realized that Godzilla could chirp, until he heard it for himself. Godzilla's chirps were not like those of a chick, or a bird chirp, more like a short, soft, and slightly high pitched screech. But the sound itself was surprisingly soft. He heard those sounds again, the soft chirping mixed in with a few growls. Kiryuu tried to mimic the sounds with his own voice, trying as hard as he could to communicate with his 'son'. Godzilla cocked his head to one side, listening on the confusing sounds. Kiryuu sighed, he could communicate, but not very well. Mechagodzilla slumped down to the ground. He could not even speak properly. Godzilla knelt down and chirped again. The monster recalled a gesture some of the smaller creatures known as humans did to console their own. Godzilla lifted his claw and patted Kiryuu on the back. Kiryuu glanced up, staring at Godzilla in surprise at the gesture. Mechagodzilla was getting somewhere, knowing that Godzilla was understanding gestures. Kiryuu held out his claw to Godzilla, noticing that the monster was mimicking his motions. Mechagodzilla slowly took Godzilla's claw into his and shook it gently. He felt his lips curl up into a smile inside his metallic mask as he shook the monster's claw. Kiryuu let go of it, seeing Godzilla lean in. Godzilla reached up to feel the detailing of Kiryuu's metallic masked face and his snout. Kiryuu scooted back and held up his index finger, motioning to Godzilla to wait a moment. Mechagodzilla reached around his head, unsnapping the helm and jaw plate from his face. Kiryuu removed the helm, revealing his true face to Godzilla. He pulled the synaptic cords free, letting them hang loosely over his shoulders. Kiryuu smiled at Godzilla, his bio-mechanical golden eyes sparkled in the sun. Kiryuu got up off the grass and he saw Godzilla do the same. Godzilla saw the metallic mask on the ground and leaned over to pick it up. Kiryuu stared at him curiously as the giant monster inspected it. Godzilla placed the metallic head gear on his own face, finding it rather an odd item to wear. He glanced at his 'father' through the golden optics, the world itself seem to now have a golden cast to it. The mask fell from his face as he let go of it, falling to his feet. Godzilla knelt down and picked it back up, handing it back to Mechagodzilla.

At least you know it's a mask, Kiryuu smiled. He took the helm from Godzilla and set it back down on the ground.

Godzilla took hold of Kiryuu's metallic claw, pulling on him. He wanted his 'father' to follow him. Kiryuu knelt down and picked up his helm, replacing it back onto his head. Though, he could take the helm off for a little while, but leaving his delicate synaptic cords exposed for too long was not a good idea. Godzilla grabbed his claw again and pulled Kiryuu along with him.

You're taking me somewhere? Kiryuu asked. What do you want to show me?

Kiryuu followed his 'son' down to the beach and Godzilla pulled him into the water. Kiryuu roared, taking his hand from Godzilla's grasp. Mechagodzilla shook his head, telling his son 'no'.

"Kiryuu, what the hell are you doing?!" Kiryuu heard Gordon's voice call to him.

"Apparently Godzilla wishes to take me somewhere," Kiryuu replied.

"Where?" Katsura asked.

"Absolutely not!" Gordon roared. "Now get your metal ass back here, now!"

Kiryuu turned back to Godzilla, shaking his head again. Though his face was concealed by the metallic helm, Godzilla could see that Kiryuu felt bad for not accepting his invitation. Kiryuu turned away from Godzilla, walking back inland. Godzilla roared and Kiryuu could clearly hear his sorrow. Godzilla did not want his father to leave him again, after he was just reunited with him. A memory flashed into Kiryuu's processors for a moment, and a scene came to his mind. Kiryuu saw himself standing in a field and he looked down upon himself. He was not covered in metallic armor, more rather he was covered in gray scales. He had flesh again. Kiryuu glanced down, seeing a small reptile glancing back up at him. He knew those eyes. They were the eyes of his son. He saw that his son was pulling on his tail, trying to get him to go somewhere. Kiryuu shook his head and his son's eyes became downcast. Kiryuu could not go with his son, he had to go somewhere else. Then, Kiryuu knelt down to his son and nuzzled him gently with his snout. Kiryuu's mind snapped back to the present and he was staring at Godzilla again. Godzilla was indeed his son. Mechagodzilla leaned over and place a gleaming claw on Godzilla's shoulder and then made a few gestures. He tried to explain to Godzilla as best as he could that he was leaving for a new land. He tried to tell the monster that another monster was hurting the smaller creatures on that land and he will go to help them. Kiryuu tried to say to Godzilla that though the creatures did kill him, they also brought him back from the dead. He swore to protect them and he must go to do that. Kiryuu signaled to Godzilla that if he did not return to Japan, the small creatures will not attack him. Godzilla actually showed some signs of understanding, nodding his head and rumbling.

You have to stay here, son, Kiryuu said. But as long as you don't attack the humans, they won't attack you. They'll leave you alone. Just stay on your island. I'll return someday.

Kiryuu placed his claw on Godzilla's shoulder again, smiling through the helm. He leaned down and touched his snout to his son's forehead with his snout and then pulled away. Kiryuu turned away from Godzilla again and made his way back up to the base. Godzilla let loose a sigh and dove back into the ocean. He wanted to show his father their home again, but it looks like it would have to wait.

"You accept it?" Katsura asked Kiryuu, turning towards him with a smile. "You accept yourself as his father?"

"There is no denying it, Katsura," Kiryuu sighed. "He does see me as such, and the more I remember what I was like then, the more I see him as well…my son. I have a family."

"You've always had a family with us, Kiryuu," she said. "But, yes, Godzilla is also your family. I'm glad you and he can be friends. It's odd, we built you to destroy Godzilla, and you're making friends with him…caring for him. Makes me wonder if he knows about us."

Kiryuu glanced across the ocean waves. The sun was setting into the horizon, lighting the sky with flames. Though, this was only an illusion, he created this word, within his processors. Katsura was with him, but only ethereally, using her link to enter his virtual world. In this world, she was only a few heads shorter than he was. She was dressed in a flowing white dress that billowed out in the soft wind.

"He does not," Kiryuu said. "He doesn't know that you exist."

"Don't know what he would think though, if he knew that you and I…" she could not finish the statement.

Kiryuu took her in his arms, running his claws through her hair. He pressed his chin against her head. Katsura wrapped her arms around his waist and they just held each other.

"Do you accept your feelings, Katsura?" Kiryuu whispered.

"I do," she replied. "Do you?"

"More than ever," he purred.

"Godzilla understands you're leaving?"

"He does," he replied. "But he knows that I will see him again."

Kiryuu glanced down at Katsura, smiling pleasantly at her. She lifted her hand up and ran her fingers through his soft, synaptic-corded mane. One of the locks fell into his face and she pulled it back from his eyes.

"Katsura…" Kiryuu whispered.

"I love you, Kiryuu," she said. "I love you so much."

She leaned her head against his metallic chest and he held her tightly.

"Tell me about Utah, Katsura," he rumbled.

"It's a desert," she replied. "But it's beautiful. There's so much open space, we could set it up for you to walk around and just gather information. I'm sure that Gordon will let you walk around the outside of the base. I want you to, so you could get a feel for the landscape there."

"The United States government doesn't want us to know what the monster is until we get there," Kiryuu sighed. "I've behaved, Katsura. I haven't been hacking into their files. But my curiosity is killing me. I have to know!"

"We will all know soon enough, Kiryuu," she replied. Katsura leaned up and kissed him lightly on his lips. Katsura pulled away from his embrace. "We'll know everything soon. Don't worry."

"I won't," he said. "I won't as long as you won't. I trust you, Katsura. You and Will, and Gordon, I want all your trust. So, to earn it, I will not hack. But it's hard to break an old habit."

"We'll try, Kiryuu," Katsura said. "We'll try to break you from that habit. Don't worry, we all trust you."

Kiryuu pulled away from her, taking her hand into his claw. They began to walk down the beach together. Kiryuu raised his arm to her, and she took it, wrapping her arm around his. He was learning many mannerisms, now, and he became so gentleman-like. Kiryuu smiled as he looked at Katsura, leading her down the soft, sandy beach. Katsura gazed at the setting sun.

"It's so beautiful, Kiryuu," she began. "You did such a wonderful job in recreating this beach."

"I've been downloading pictures from vacation sites on Hawaii and Bermuda to recreate this for you, Katsura," Kiryuu said. "It took me hours to create this file simulation of a tropical paradise. I love tropical beaches like this. Someday, you have to take me to a real beach like this."

"You're fairly accurate with the simulation now," she laughed. "Even the sand is the right texture."

"I was going by the beach that is near our base," he said. "But I heard that the sand on tropical beaches is softer, so I toned down the texture map a bit, so it won't feel as rough."

"It's so real," Katsura smiled. "I wish that Will and Gordon could come here and enjoy the scene that you've created. They need to see this, and be able to touch it."

"I don't want to put implants in their heads," Kiryuu sighed. "I've already made a mistake by forcing you to have one. I'm sorry, Katsura. I should have…"

"No, it's alright," she sighed. "The damage is done. But things like this, you're able to share with me, makes up for it. I mean why pay ungodly expenses to fly to a beach when I have a beach right here inside you CPU?"

"Thank you, Katsura," he smiled.

Kiryuu glanced out towards the waves, taking in the scenery that he had created.

"Kiryuu," began Katsura. "I think you might like America."

"I know," he sighed. "But at least I said good-bye to my son—Godzilla."