This is just a short something inspired by Marc Cerasini's Godzilla 2000 novel. This scene, however, does not occur in the book. I may actually expand this to a whole fic sometime in the future, but I just like the idea of this scene. So, enjoy. Personally, I think this is some of my best stuff.

Godzilla is © Toho

WHAT PRICE, VICTORY?

Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota, USA

Mt. Rushmore was one of the most famous, iconic, monuments in the United States of America. Almost 80 year-old, 60-foot-tall sculptures of the nation's greatest leaders, embodying the first 150 years of American history. On any day, it was an area virtually crammed with tourists from across both the country and the entire world.

But today, the tourist stands were empty, and a mile-wide area cordoned off by armed patrols. The area had been strictly designated an emergency no-fly zone to any aircraft, for the same reason that the US Army was actively considering bombing one of their national treasures.

Perched on top of the mountain, hunched over a tangled mass of debris gathered from miles around, sat the immense pterosaur, its reddish-brown body hunched over so that its dirty-yellow beak almost touched the top of the mountain. Massive, leathery wings, 120 metres from one tip to the other, were folded around the creature that, since roosting on top of the monument, had viciously attacked anything, by ground or air, that dared to approach. And within the last 24 hours, the Pentagon had learned exactly why.

Shielded by the protective mass of its parent, a single 20-foot-long egg was nestled amongst the debris, occasionally rocking gently back and forth. Rodan, now known as the "monster of the skies", was about to become a parent, and had chosen to build its nest.

Needless to say, the US Army was not exactly keen to have another creature on the loose- especially under the present circumstances.

General Jack Taggart set his jaw grimly as he observed the creature through a pair of night-vision binoculars.

"General," His lieutenant addressed him with a brisk salute, "A-Division is in place, and the bombing run is ready to commence."

"Sir!" Another soldier ran up to him, his voice shaking with urgency, "We've located Varan!"

"Where?" Taggart demanded urgently.

"Less than 2 miles away, sir, in flight. Heading North, straight for sir."

"Shit," Taggart snarled under his breath.

Almost two days ago, the monster Varan had appeared in Texas, and promptly began to rip apart everything in its path as it made its way up through America. G-Force had officially declared that it was the second greatest of the threats currently facing the nation; the third had surfaced off the coast of California, made its way across the country, decimating G-Force's multi-billion-dollar Garuda battleship, and made short work out of the four Kamacuras that had overwhelmed the US Air Force.

America was at war with animals, Taggart thought disgustedly, and it was losing.

"Move A, C and E divisions into a defence line and hold that thing back," Taggart ordered sharply. "B and D divisions are to commence Operation: Birdcage." That was the official name for the operation: Ground troops would fire on Rodan, drawing it away from the nest to allow the approaching B-2 Stealth Bombers to drop their entire payloads onto the nest.

And now this other wretched thing had shown up as well.

"Yes sir," The soldier nodded, swiftly returning to his post.

"General," A soft, female voice addressed the decorated soldier. The young woman speaking to him cast another concerned glance, filled with some strange empathy, at the monster nestled atop "Please you have to reconsider this…"

"I've heard your opinion, Ms. Saegusa," Taggart snapped at one of Japan's leading authorities on giant monsters- and, though he struggled to wrap his head around the idea, leading telepaths- "My decision is final. This situation needs a proper military response."

"What about Rodan's reaction?" Miki insisted.

"I'll send some flowers to the funeral," Taggart replied cuttingly.

"What do you think it will do if we kill its young?" Miki insisted, "Any damage Rodan has caused so far has just been collateral; it will definitely become hostile if we do this."

"Look, Ms. Saegusa," Taggart did his level best to keep a savage snarl out of his tone, "I don't know how you do things in Japan, but in the United Sates of America, we don't let monsters destroy our cities! This time, the professionals do things right." He picked up the small radio receiver from the impromptu communications system before him, "B and D divisions, open fire. Air units, commence bombing run."

The response was immediate and breathtaking. The M109 Howitzer shells blasted against Rodan's hide as the avian howled in surprise and anger. As the pterosaur spun round, its wings unfolded into both a menacing display of the beast's size, but also as a protective shield for the egg beneath it. MRLS missile launchers, first employed as long ago as the first Gulf War, now joined the bombardment against a different foe, bursting into billowing clouds of flame and smoke against Rodan's hide, rocking the prehistoric monster. Rodan was a fast, powerful beast, but its true strength lay in its speed; against an all-out assault, it could only last so long.

Leaping forth, Rodan gave a single flap of its enormous wings, propelling it through the air to the assembled ground forces beneath.

"Anti-aircraft missiles, fire!" Taggart commanded.

On his word, three Patriot Anti-Aircraft missiles shot into the air, one bursting into flames against Rodan's stomach, chest and head. The monster howled furiously, circling its attackers and shooting toward them…

As Rodan reached the troops, it flapped its wings for another burst of speed- and at that moment, it broke the sound barrier. The sheer force of the sonic boom and the shockwave of the immense creature's passing sent the Military units flying in all directions, vehicles and ammunition bursting into rolling explosions.

"General Taggart!" The radio crackled to life, "Varan has passed the defence line! Repeated, Varan has…" The voice gave way to static- either from interference by Rodan's shockwaves, or the transmitter being no longer intact.

True to the soldier's word, the trees burst apart, and there it was. 100 metres tall, the tan-coloured reptile screeched into the air, flailing its tail behind it as it rose up on two muscular legs. A row of jagged curved spikes ran down its back as its iguana-like jaws parted in mid-roar to reveal rows of glistening, saliva-drenched teeth.

"Varan," One of the soldiers breathed in dreadful awe. "My God…"

"Where the hell are those bombers?" Taggart hissed.

Varan turned its snout up to Rodan, giving a low, savage snarl at the sight of the creature. Rodan turned its own beak down, howling at the creature below with a clear message: Leave or die.

Varan roared back, thrusting its arms out to the side. A thin membrane, stretched between its limbs on either side, flapped as Varan leapt into the air, catching the breeze that started to carry it swiftly up in Rodan's direction.

With another savage snarl, Rodan turned in the air, rocketing towards Varan. The reptilian beast snarled, swerving to meet Rodan's charge before the avian struck it in the side, the creature's beak cutting through its enemy's hip as it passed, swerving up to stab a clear hole through Varan's membrane. As Rodan finally finished passing, the membrane was left with a long, jagged tear as Varan, bellowing in pain and fury, fell to the ground in a massive rumbling of earth and a cloud of dust.

Varan rose, turning in the air as it parted its jaws. Rodan circled in the air behind it, rocketing towards its foe. Rocketing past Varan at Mach. 1, Rodan lashed out with the pointed edge of its right wind. If the shockwave didn't fell Varan, the airborne monster's wing cutting through membrane and flesh did. Varan struck the ground with a vicious snarl, pushing itself up even as Rodan passed again, its talons striking at Varan's head with enough force to send the creature falling once more.

"Varan's getting a run for its money down there," One of Taggart's lieutenants observed, "Wait…" he looked down to the radar screen, which, as well as the two shapes already known of, showed a massive third blip heading directly toward them from the Southwest. "Sir, we have a…"

"Godzilla!" Miki gasped, one hand on her forehead as she sensed the unthinkable strength of the creature's mind.

"Shit," Taggart snarled, "How many forces to we have remaining?"

One of the soldiers checked. "One M-1 Abrams tank, two surface-to-air missile launchers and one STINGER launcher from A-Division, sir, E-Division is still mobile." he reported.

"Great," Taggart rumbled. "Somebody contact G-Force, damn it! I don't care if it's a private with a peashooter, I need more manpower here!"

Miki turned towards the horizon, her eyes already trembling in a strange mix of fear and awe. When she was 12 years old, Miki Saegusa had seen the Japanese Self Defence Force mount a counterattack against Godzilla, armed with the most powerful and sophisticated weaponry on the planet. They lasted exactly 79 seconds. Just a day ago, the Kamacuras- the same massive insects that had torn through half of America, devouring anything edible and destroying anything that wasn't- had been obliterated before the monster's sheer power.

It was only recently that her own telepathic power had failed to stop Godzilla coming ashore, in the same moment that she had looked straight into his blazing eyes. She had heard once that he was born 65 million years ago, but she knew now that the mighty King of the Monsters was born in the burning heart of a nuclear blast. There was something in his eyes, something otherworldly, the burning rage of the sun and the cold malice of the moon. Godzilla had taken her parents from her, yet she felt no hatred toward him; he interacted with humans no more than she did with the ants at her feet.

And now, for whatever unknown reason, he was coming.

Rodan struck Varan with unfathomable force, knocking the creature back as it struggled to regain its footing. Flailing its claws savagely, Varan slashed at Rodan's wings and chest, before the flying monster's beak lashed out, stabbing into the lizard's left eye. Varan howled in pain as a shower of blood spurted over Rodan's beak- the pain serving only to add to the frenzy of bloodlust consuming the creature's primitive mind. In a heartbeat, its clawed hands were on Rodan's neck, pulling its head away even as they squeezed on the avian's windpipe…

Not so very far away, a third gargantuan shape pushed its way through the trees. A living mountain of scale and muscle turned, the muscular chest and well-developed arms suddenly tense. A feral head, like a reptilian cat, fixed on the point from which the tiny, pointed ears picked up the sounds of battle. Burning orange eyes narrowed as the monster's thick, powerful legs took a step forward, jagged dorsal fins shaped like maple leaves bristling with combat instinct as the long, sinuous tail waved behind it. With a lumbering grace, Godzilla made his way toward its talons into Varan's chest, Rodan finally pushed itself away as its darkening vision started to return to normal, rising swiftly up into the air as Varan bellowed after it.

"B-2's are in bombing range, sir," The soldier reported.

Taggart took one more look at the struggling behemoths.

"Don't…" Miki whispered hopefully, but her words were too late. Taggart cleared his throat, and gave the order:

"Commence bombing run."

Rodan shot into the air, arcing as gracefully as a kestrel in flight… then, like a streaking red-brown bullet, it shot down, the air shimmering behind it from the shockwave, before it shot straight down into Varan, the ground erupting before the impact in a shower of dust and debris.

For a moment, all was silent. Even General Taggart watched with baited breath as the dust began to clear.

In the centre of the cloud, Rodan, bleeding and battered, pulled back its head in a triumphant howl. At his feet, one eye gouged out, its membranes shredded and deep gashes in its chest, the still, unmoving body of Varan was strewn across the crumbled ground.

Then came the roaring sound of jet engines as the three B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers came into view. From the bases of the near-triangular craft, showers of projectiles fell, plunging through the air onto the top of was in the air in a heartbeat, even faster than it had ever moved during the battle. A second later, the nearest bomber, caught in the shockwave of the monster's assault, spiralled out of control through the air to explode into a burning star in the night sky.

But too late came the defence.

In a cloud of hellish fire, the great stone faces of collapsed, like eggshells cracking away before a shower of rock, dust and debris. Rodan gave a desperate howl, thundering to the ground, its dark eyes wide with abject horror as its next was consumed in flame.

When it was over, all that remained of the monument of Mt. Rushmore was a sunken, rubble-filled, smoking pit in the heart of the cliff face. The mountain was obliterated, and with it Rodan's nest.

Rodan pointed its beak up into the air, parting its jaws and giving a horrible, mournful cry that carried through the air. In his approach, even Godzilla stopped, recognising the sound of pain and loss as his burning eyes seemed to dim and his head bowed.

Miles away, over the Pacific Ocean, on dazzling multicoloured gossamer wings, Mothra gave a low, mournful cry as she circled over the waves.

For almost a minute, Rodan sat there, howling into the air in pain. Miki would never be sure, but for a moment, she could almost have sworn that she saw shining tears streaming from the pterosaur's eyes.

"Are you happy now?" Miki finally shouted, breaking the mournful silence and, to the surprise of every soldier presence, shoving Taggart back in a moment of unrestrained anger, "You just murdered a child!"

"I did what I had to do!" Taggart snapped back at her, swatting away Miki's hand as she tried to slap him. Before Miki could stop him, he gave the order: "E-Division and all remaining units, fire."

A hail of firepower struck Rodan from behind, artillery bursting into flames on the creature's back even as it continued its mournful cry into the air, rocked by the force of the continuing explosions. Watching in horror as Rodan bowed its head in total lamentation, Miki realised that the creature was not going to attack. It wasn't even going to retreat, or defend itself. And why would it? Its child, its hope for the future, was gone. It had nothing to protect now.

Suddenly, over the roaring of the firepower, the sound came. A thunderous, echoing roar that shook the heavens themselves and spoke of unthinkable fury and unstoppable power.

Godzilla stepped into the clearing, issuing another furious, earth-shaking roar.

"Godzilla," Taggart gasped.

"What's he going to do?" Miki breathed, looking up fearfully at the great leviathan.

Godzilla's burning eyes took in the sight of Rodan, so weakened and broken, hunched in mourning besides the remains of its nest, the body of the creature it had killed in vain to protect its young… and the tiny, cold metal things that attacked such a creature at its weakest.

Perhaps it was sheer animal instinct, or the sense of such a waste of an innocent life, or some sense of kinship with the flying creature, but whatever the cause, the sheer tide of rage that swept through the monster's mind was enough for Miki to realise: Godzilla would not stand for this.

Turning to the remaining ground forces, Godzilla pulled his head back before parting his jaws and releasing a stream of brilliant, burning blue-white force, sweeping the blast of atomic flame across the assembled units. Every vehicle and piece of Military machinery caught in the blast turned instantly from a machine of sophisticated slaughter to a burning, fused pile of scrap.

Not content with this, Godzilla swung his head up, the blast following up into the air to strike the two remaining B-2 bombers, causing them to explode into falling balls of fire as the searing blast of nuclear destruction ceased.

Satisfied, Godzilla turned to the hunched Rodan. The King of the Monsters stood a good thirty metres taller than Rodan, and with the avian as hunched over as it was, Godzilla had to squat down to give a low, sympathetic rumble to the animal as Rodan looked up, its still-weeping eyes conveying silent thanks.

Without a sound other than the rumbling of its footsteps, Godzilla turned away from and continued on his path.

Miki watched as Godzilla moved stoically towards the horizon. No one else probably ever would, but she understood the moment of kindness that had been so rarely seen in Godzilla. The goodness in him that she, and she alone, seemed to be capable of seeing, the fact that he was more than simply some brutish, destructive force. He had shown pity, mercy, even, dare she think it, compassion.

And now, at least, one of the monsters that threatened the world had been slain, even if at the cost of so many men, and the unborn, innocent life that had perished in the destruction of Rodan's nest.

It wasn't worth it.

Rodan still did not move, but its mournful howl stopped as the creature gazed with silent bereavement at what was left of its offspring. Even Taggart, despite himself, allowed one hand to go to his forehead in a silent salute, and quietly, almost inaudible, whispered:

"I'm sorry."

Wow, that was longer than I expected, but all the same I'm pretty pleased with it. Anyway, please R&R with your thoughts on how I portrayed the monsters, Miki, the fight and Godzilla's actions at the end.

All Reviews Welcome!