Dreams of the Young

The gentle breeze from the ocean tickled Filia's scales as she sprawled out upon the soft, warm sand next to her mother, who delicately licked her body clean of the mud and grime that she had accumulated from swimming in the lagoon deep inside the island. The young saurian child closed her eyes and almost purred as her mother lapped at her cheeks and neck. While Godzilla was out hunting, or swimming in the ocean, it was Shezilla's duty to clean Filia.

"Filia…you are SO dirty this time around. If you want to feel real dirty I'll go put you in a human waste cave." Shezilla complained as she contemplated an occasion when she was stuck in a human sewer while being attacked by stingers (helicopters).

Filia remained quiet and did not reply to her mother. Deep down, a terrible gut feeling allowed her to actually feel how angered her mother was. She didn't want to make mom mad, but it was the only way for her to make the bad feelings go away.

"Mommy, please don't be mad…" Filia timidly sighed as she opened her large eyes and gazed up at her mother.

"I wouldn't be angry darling only if you'd STOP making a mess of yourself!" Shezilla grunted as she scanned the ocean horizon, looking for her mate.

"But it makes the bad thoughts go away mommy!"

Shezilla turned back and stared down at her child, "What do you mean?"

Tears welled in Filia's eyes as she sensed her mother's perplexed and angry thoughts projecting toward her. The level of impatience Shezilla gave off at the time was unlike any other time. It made Filia want to burst out in an agonizing cry, but she could not muster the energy to do so. Seeing mommy or daddy angry really frustrated and saddened the young saurian child since she could not do anything to help them.

"I don't know…it hurts my head to think about it…" Filia whispered as she rose up and played around with her short stubby tail.

Shezilla sighed and patted the youngling on the head and sent her off back to her nest. Reluctantly, the sleek feminine version of Godzilla turned her soft eyes toward the sea again, hoping to see her mate's spines or head rising out of the water. But as usual, there was no such thing. Knowing Godzilla, he was probably getting himself into some sort of trouble, and getting irritated with the humans involved--inadvertently causing the humans to go after them. Angrily she growled and slammed her tail into the soft warm sand of the beach, flinging tons of the substance into the air.

After several minutes of waiting, Shezilla could feel the ground beneath her vibrating ever so slightly. The feminine beast raised her snout toward the clouds and sniffed as she carefully scanned the distant horizon for her mate--knowing that the vibrations could have been caused by him, however they seemed far too faint to be Godzilla. Shezilla's heart sank as she could hear the rapid buzzing noise of stingers approaching quickly. The tiny black silhouettes signifying their presence could be seen.

"Filia! Go hide!" roared Shezilla as she took a defensive posture, preparing to protect her child from the dangerous human vehicles. Shezilla tossed her tail around as she waded slowly into the shallow water, leaving trails of foam and waves in her wake.

Seconds after the stingers came into range, they began to release extreme arsenals of machine gun fire upon the massive beast. Shezilla let out a guttural roar and toughened out the stinging sensation of the bullets. Water exploded into the air as the bullets pierced the liquid's surface and skewered the beach near and around the saurian creature. Not wanting to irritate the stingers too badly, Shezilla released several small streams of her atomic blast from her jaws, narrowly missing the metallic demons. Quickly, the helicopters broke away, allowing Shezilla to breath with some ease, knowing that her daughter was finally safe. Their buzzing vibration eventually diminished upon the horizon in which they had originally come.

Shezilla folded clenched her fists as she gazed out over the ocean's surface, noticing sections of the water becoming turbulent and foamy--signifying that Godzilla was rising once again from his daily trek for food and leisure. Shezilla's charcoal skin glinted the sun's light with its glistening texture as she hissed angrily.

Filia crawled up from the bottom of the nest, just in time to find her father reaching the shore, being confronted by her mother. Filia knew that her mother was furious with her daddy--if there was anything that terrified her, it was her parents battling. The anger choked her and she could not understand why the pain was so great. It was almost as bad as hearing her mother's story regarding how her grandfather, Kiryuu, had once lost his control and nearly killed her. Suddenly, the loud ferocious roar of the youngling's mother frightened her out of her thought…and she uneasily hid below the edge of the nest and observed.

"Where have you been!?" cried Shezilla as she swung around and battered Godzilla's face with her tail. Godzilla ducked beneath the waves after being clobbered in the face several times.

"Answer me!!"

Godzilla picked his head up out of the water slowly, nervously staring at his mate, knowing that she was really ticked. His eyes were wide and open as if he was showing utter fear.

"I…found food….and it…made the humans mad….they started attacking me…" Godzilla timidly stumbled over his words as he ducked before Shezilla's angry fiery gaze.

"You allowed the stingers to track you here! What if Filia was hurt by them!? Do you not care about your daughter!?" Shezilla cried as her spines flashed brightly as her anger brewed.

Tears welled in Godzilla's eyes as he stared into the eyes of his mate. The idea of his lover thinking that he did not care about them tore his heart to shards. Images from his memory of loving family times he had spent with his daughter and lover raced through his mind, but at this moment he felt as though they did not mean anything. He also felt as though Shezilla hated him. While listening to Shezilla screaming and roaring, Godzilla turned his soft teary eyes toward Filia, who continued to peer at her parents from the edge of the nest nervously.

As soon as her father's eyes met hers, Filia could feel an overwhelming feeling of sadness and heartbreak. She felt as though her heart had melted just like her father's had almost not long before. The young dinosaurian pup could not figure out why she was experiencing such inward pain. Her father's pain, and mother's fury stabbed her every facet of being and she felt as though death would take her in its icy claws. Filia dared not tell her parents about these feelings, at least to the extent in which she was feeling them during the moment. She tried explaining it to both her mother and father at one time, but they did not really understand what she was hinting. Due to the fact of her being a young child, and the fact that emotions seemed to be things they weren't engrossed in deeply like she was. The only thing the innocent creature could do was snuggle under the brush, and attempt to sleep the terrible sensations away--however the current predicament between her parents caught her attention.

"Why are you being…so…mean?" Godzilla moaned almost like a child.

"I'm not being mean, I'm telling you the truth! How can you be so reckless!?" roared the feminine kaiju as she stomped, creating torrents of water crashing upon the beach.

Godzilla remained silent and just stared off into Filia's direction once again.

"Get off from this island…NOW!" cried Shezilla.

Filia felt tears gathering in her eyes as she turned away, not able to bear the sight of seeing her parents bickering. She crawled out of the nest and grasped her way deeper into the island, hoping to avoid both Shezilla and Godzilla until she regained her composure. Filia retreated into the darkest depths of the jungles, allowing the canopies of the trees to hide her glistening skin from the blazing tropical sun. The terrible agony pumping through her heart and mind lingered unceasingly as the day passed, she could not figure out with her young, yet intelligent mind why she was feeling this way. Deep down she wondered if she had become ill, or if she was just frustrated at was going on with her parents.

Tears ran down her scaly cheeks as she gazed up in the swaying trees, trying to blot the feelings out of her mind, however she attempted vainly. The more Filia tried to hold in the emotions, they just became more potent and caused her more pain. The young saurian daughter had to cover her mouth in order to prevent a wailing scream from escaping her jaws and alerting her parents of her predicament. At the rate her parents were going, Filia did not want to cause anymore harm. She recalled that in the past, whenever she became distressed and angry, that it hurt her parents as well. Filia did not know how to explain it, she just felt that her mom and dad acted the way she did when she was feeling a certain thing.

Finally, after agonizing for several more minutes, Filia swooped her tail around and brushed a large pile of brush and leaves around her, hiding her in a small nest that seemed considerably inferior compared to her mother's dexterity. Without any ease Filia found herself sleeping into the depths of sleep, being her only way to get away from the rigid world around her. Even though she managed to get away from the world, sometimes Filia dreamed of the very fear and emotion that plagued her during consciousness. The endless knot of frustration, anger, sadness, pain, joy, and multiple other sensations could never be untied by her delicate young mind. To Filia, it was like a sea that did not have a sandy bed, or a forest path that was a maze through the jungle and easy to get lost in. As the young saurian child found herself being enveloped by the overlapping knots caused by these emotions, the hand of a human thrust its way into the knots and pulled her free--releasing her into a black void. To Filia this black void perplexed her, it was as if she was standing in complete nothingness, with some sort of invisible ground holding her weight.

Where am I? she asked nervously, hearing her voice echo through the opaqueness.

Filia could feel a cool breeze washing against her body. It was as though she was still in her nest, yet she was not. The terrible bindings that were once tangling her were gone now, she felt calm and was not afraid, but how? That's all she could wonder.

Suddenly, a silhouette stepped out of the black void and revealed itself in the form of a human male. In Filia's mind, she always knew that she was quite a bit larger than most humans, however in this strange place--both her and this human were the same size.

You are upon the psychic plane, Filia. the human said telepathically as he swept his long dark brown hair away from his eyes and smiled.

Um…what's…that? Filia said childishly.

The young male smiled and completely understood that she was too young to understand such things, so he decided to explain it from a child's perspective.

This is where you find your dreams… his whisper echoed as he took Filia by the hand.

The young reptile quivered nervously as the warm touch of the human's flesh came into contact with hers. During her life, Filia had never felt the touch of a human--and she expected it to be painful, but it wasn't. Normally she feared ever touching anything that was related to humans--Filia heard so many bad things about humans from her parents that it eventually drove her into a fear of them that she had never conquered.

How do you know my name? Who are you!? Filia became nervous and she could feel the knots of emotions again overtaking her.

Filia…the male placed his hand on Filia's shoulder and held her close, don't be afraid, you have nothing to fear from me. This is a dream remember, your dreams cannot hurt you. You know those knots? You create them my friend. The more you are not afraid, the more they'll stay away.

Oh…okay. Filia stammered as the human led her by the arm through the black void. What is your name? she then proceeded to ask.

With a mysterious smile, the human turned to her.

My name is Donny.

Filia could not think of anything else to ask, the entire situation seemed to dumbfound her with amazement. Never had she had a dream this vivid. And never had she dreamt of a human before either.

So Filia, do you want to know what those knots are that are always hurting you? Donny asked.

Yeah…

Those knots are what we humans call 'emotions'. Emotions are the things we feel everyday, things like happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, joy, and many more. Donny explained as both him and Filia stepped out of the dark void and mysteriously emerged into a different world--a large human city.

Filia almost felt her heart leap from her body as she saw hundreds of humans walking around her--unaware of her presence yet still coming into close proximity with the young kaiju. Her arms and legs trembled out of fear as she clung to Donny with all her might, not wanting to come into contact with any other person.

I can feel the knots trying to take me again! Filia cried as she covered her eyes and crouched down in the middle of the psychically imaginary street. The emotions created by all the humans attacked her like a flock of ravenous vultures wanting to dine.

Donny placed his hand on Filia's shoulder and smiled. In seconds, the whole scene transformed once again before her eyes. Now both Donny and Filia were on the beach of the island, overlooking the vast ocean and the veil of stars glistening above them.

They are gone again…Filia whispered.

Yes, Donny replied as the beauty of the scene captured his interest, those emotions are the things causing those knots.

Filia remained silent, and did not know how to reply to this mysterious human. So many things were running amok in her mind, it was almost overwhelming yet some mysterious power allowed her to remain controlled and level headed.

Donny began to chuckle to himself a bit as his hazel glistening eyes turned and stared directly into Filia's. Out of all of the things her parents said about humans, she never realized just how beautiful their eyes were. Despite how young her mind was, the young saurian could tell what was beautiful and what had meaning to her.

You and I are so much alike my friend. I too used to suffer from the 'knots' when I was younger--but I learned how to control them. Donny explained confidently as he stared intently at Filia, letting her know through his eyes that he really meant what he was saying, and that he was not deceiving her in any way.

I am what most call, an 'empath'. A person or being who can feel not only the emotions of their own, but of others as well. Filia, you and I both possess the ability to feel the emotions of others. he smiled, trying to assure the young child that the ability was not a bad thing, but a special gift that should be cherished and used for good instead.

I don't want this thing inside me…it hurts…every time I'm around mommy or daddy it hurts…Filia stammered as tears collected in her eyes, remembering what it was like to feel her parents' anger and frustration.

Donny wrapped his arm around Filia's scaly flesh and lead her into yet another psychic manifestation. This time, both him and Filia were on the same beach--however her parents were present. Both Godzilla and Shezilla were laying on their sides in the shallow ocean waters, staring deeply into each others' eyes.

Open yourself up to their emotions, Filia. You will not be hurt.

Filia reluctantly felt herself losing her shield against the knots, and cowered in fear expecting them to overtake her. However, after several seconds she began to realize that the knots were not attacking her. Filia began to smile, revealing her bright white baby saurian teeth behind her lips.

See…Donny smiled.

Filia's face brightened as she stared at her parents. They were nothing like they were earlier in the day. They were not arguing and threatening each other--instead, they were showing love for each other.

Feel their love for each other, Filia…whispered Donny as he placed his hands on Filia's shoulders and stared at the two adult kaiju intently as well.

Filia concentrated on her parents and observed their intimate moment. For the first few seconds she felt nothing, however as time went on, the young kaiju could feel the sensation of the warm sea water lapping around her body. Not only that, but she could also feel the warming stare of her parents. Such love and devotion sent Filia into a euphoric state, and she finally began to realize just how amazing it was to possess the ability to feel the emotions of others.

It's not so bad…now is it? Donny smiled, I can feel what they are feeling too, and I can surely tell you that your parents love each other very deeply--and they love you as well.

Just as Donny finished his sentence, the scene diminished into the black void that Filia first found herself standing in. Of all the things that had happened in her life up to the moment, Filia could not understand why this human chose to appear to her at the time. He had helped her realize so many things in such a short amount of time, but she could not figure out why a human would choose to help the spawn of the creatures humans supposedly detested.

Because I felt your cry for help through your dreams, and as an empath I feel that it is my duty to help those in need…Human or not…Donny whispered without Filia even saying anything.

Instead of replying and asking yet another question, Filia found herself astounded by this humans power and ability to interpret her thoughts and emotions. Despite her age, Filia felt that she had grown a lot in the few minutes that Donny had spent with her.

Thank you… she whispered.

Donny nodded and then smiled, displaying that he did care for her despite the fact that they had only known each other for a short time.

I must depart my friend. whispered Donny confidently as he turned and stared at the spawn of Godzilla., I hope I was able to help you. Make sure you never forget that you have the power to do great things with the ability you have. You even have the power to bring your parents back together.

Filia nodded and felt herself becoming confident again, like she was before she ever even began to feel the emotions of others. Was what Donny said really true? Could she help her parents find themselves again, and help them re-discover the love that they had for each other?

Yes you have the power to do all those amazing things, you just have to believe in yourself. Donny read Filia's emotions again.

Without any warning, Donny's form and the black void began to fluctuate and fade beyond Filia's sight. There was so much she wanted to know, however she knew that it was too late to ask Donny anything else.

If you ever need me, just look deep into your dreams. Donny's voice echoed as both him and the void diminished, revealing the shady canopy of the trees above Filia directly in her line of sight.

Slowly, the young female raised herself from her home-made nest and stared deep into the forest--making sure that she was in fact back where she was and not in some sort of psychic illusion. As she then began to turn around, Filia jumped out of fear as she noticed the faces of both her parents staring down at her intently.

"Mommy…daddy…why are you here? I thought you two were mad at each other?" Filia questioned with perplexity strung in her voice.

"You wouldn't wake up…so we were concerned and stayed here until you did. We came looking for you after daddy and I stopped fighting." Shezilla explained as she glanced at Godzilla and tried to smile--hoping to forget about the terrible argument that had occurred.

"I was dreaming…and I have a new friend! His name is Donny! And he's a human!" Filia cried out in excitement as she cuddled in between both of her parents.

Godzilla and Shezilla roared out in laughter, knowing that Filia was probably only joking with them about this 'human' friend. They really did not understand the concept of dreams like Filia did--after all, they had never been in an active role in one of their own dreams before.

Filia smiled as she watched her parents laugh happily with each other. Luckily, their concern for their daughter brought them back together. In Filia's mind, she knew that Donny had inadvertently helped her parents through their love, and it was Filia's job to keep that love intact into the future--no matter what obstacle came their way. This was but the first small step for Filia, upon the long path of realization that was laid out before her.

THE END!

The characters Filia, Shezilla and this version of Godzilla all belong to CYNDI!