Disclaimer: Same as the first. Besides, if I owned this, there would have been a pilot episode present in the lineup.

Chapter 2: Caught

It was still wet and musty in the shelter when the child woke up that morning. Wrinkling his nose against the overpowering smell, he crawled to the front, peeking out as he entered the early morning mist that blanketed the ground outside. It seemed perfectly safe. Maybe he would try to go get food today. His stomach hadn't let him forget that he would need something soon, all night long.

Walking carefully out into the clearing, he gave the woods a wary glare before squaring his shoulders and marching boldly onward.

It might have just been instinct, but his travels brought him out to the lagoon that opened out into the sea. Stepping warily into the shallows, the small kaiju sniffed around for anything that might be considered edible. While he was working his way across the somewhat rocky shore, the water out in the center of the lagoon began to bubble, as though something large was coming up to the surface. Giving a low groan of fright, the winged creature slipped behind a stone, still peering out to watch as the towering figure of Godzilla began to come up with a rush of water.

The larger kaiju turned a careful eye to the shores, before turning out to the opening of the lagoon. There was something there that had caught his attention. Staring into the depths, he waited for a few tense minutes before his hand shot into the water, drawing out a large and very angry serpentine fish that had been making the entrance its home. Biting into the scaled skin, Godzilla growled as the creature's movement ceased. From his sanctuary behind the rocks, the smaller green watched the other eat, holding his own complaining stomach as though that would calm the noise.

Meanwhile on the ship, the tests on the various plants continued, and the scientist conducting them was noticing some very strange substances mixed in with the ocean water, and, by default, some of the algae.

"How're your samples coming, Quinn?" The query had come from a tall, bearded man standing at the doorway.

"Not as I had expected, Carl. There's something a bit odd about this water."

"Odd, how?"

"Some type of odd chemical mixture, like what you would see from a reptile's saliva. It's too diluted from the water to tell anything too specific, but they don't seem like they're from any normal reptile." Quinn explained, staring at the DNA information she had managed to glean from her tainted sample. "It carries traces of some kind of genetic mutation. Either way, it's not from any known species."

"I'm sure it's just a new kind of sea creature, Quinn. Nothing to be worried over."

"But there were stories about something living on this island. I heard them!" Pete, Quinn's nephew, piped up from behind the captain.

"They're just stories, Pete. Trust me, the island's about the same as any other you'd find in the area." Carl gently rebutted, a small grin on his face at the idea.

By the time Godzilla was finished with his meal, there wasn't much left on the beach. Just a pile of bones with a few straggly bits of meat here and there. The leftovers, however, were enough of an attraction for the hungry child that had waited impatiently all through the binge. Darting out from behind his rock, the small green kaiju bolted for the meat when Godzilla's back was turned. Biting a sizable [for him] remainder, he tore it clean off the bone in a hungry frenzy, chewing happily before realizing that the mild racket had drawn the attention of the much larger Godzilla.

Expecting nothing short of violent death, the smaller monster shook for a moment, putting up his hands in a defensive manner, before bolting for the woods, the eyes of the larger kaiju boring into his back.

Godzilla knew he was perfectly capable of getting rid of the little annoyance anytime he felt like it. One quick blast of fire, or perhaps a slow and steady burn from his laser eyes, and the little runt would have been history.

Still, for all of his uselessness, the little monster had intrigued the resident King of the Kaiju. It wasn't everyday something less than a third his size tried to stand up to him.

There was also the fact that this child had done it not just once, but twice.

It was something to think on.

Later that night, another ship pulled up on the other side of the island. Throwing down the anchor, the people aboard quickly sent out a small boat to the land beyond, arriving on the shore just as light started to show on the horizon.

As for the island's inhabitants, they were mostly unaware of the new arrivals. The small kaiju, who had retreated deep into the jungle after his encounter with Godzilla, slept soundly on a full stomach. The shaded clearing he had found was a lot better than the site of the rock slide, more or less for a better quality of smell. It was also mostly dry from the midafternoon heat, which made it a prime sleeping spot.

Godzilla, meanwhile, had settled down into his den just beyond the lagoon, a steady stream of bubbles the only hint of his presence. Even while asleep, not a creature, of the sea or otherwise, dared to come near. To the reigning monster, all was right with the world.

Still, the group on the boat worked long and hard through the night, finding the mostly decomposed remains of the kaiju that had died in the landslide. However, while unusual, this wasn't what they were searching for. Checking around the area, one man spotted a series of footprints, both large and small, that led off into the thicker part of the jungle on the other side of the island. Once the news of the discovery spread, the men were pressed to continue the search. They reached the lagoon just as light started to show through the trees, though the pursuit of the larger creature tapered off when they realized that it had gone into the ocean. The smaller was much easier to track.

The small kaiju's eyes opened blearily as the light shone through the tree leaves. Yawning, the winged arms stretched in an effort to wake up. Suddenly, a strange scent caught his attention. Confused, the mini-monster looked around in an effort to find the source. It was exceptionally strong, so whatever was making the smell had to be somewhere nearby.

It didn't quite occur to him that whatever new element there was might be dangerous, not until a rustle sounded from overhead, and a net dropped onto the stunned little kaiju. Letting out a squawk of fright, he began to flail, which tapered off when a group of bipedal creatures dropped out of the trees, binding the net tighter around his body. It wasn't until they started to drag him off, using some kind of loud metal monster, that the child-kaiju began to understand what was going on. They were taking him away somewhere, and he somehow already knew he wouldn't like where they were going.

Instinctively, the young monster started to howl, struggling feebly as the men winched him up onto the truck bed. Despite the fact that the one who would have usually answered the call was dead and gone, there was someone else who could.

From his lair in the ocean, Godzilla heard the summons, getting up out of the water and following the sound to the clearing, which was by now empty. Still, if the tyre tracks and the footprints weren't a big enough indicators that something was wrong, the smell that clung to the place was enough to anger the Kaiju King.

It was the smell of humans, and the young kaiju. They had taken him.

The strange creatures, while outwardly harmless, were capable of much more than they seemed, as the child quickly learned. After the metal beast carried him out to the shore on the other side of the island, one of them poked him with something that made his arms, legs, and tail heavy, and his brain fuzzy. Despite the fact that he knew it would be a bad idea, he couldn't help the fact that his eyelids refused to stay open no matter what he did. What the strange beings were saying, while it didn't make much sense before, suddenly changed, sounding shriller and afraid. Then something else sounded out of the cacophony. A stronger, more familiar noise that rang out right before the whole room suddenly jerked, and sent the small monster reeling.

Given that he was already exhausted, the rough treatment didn't entirely help his case, and the next time the vessel jerked, the child was sent into unconsciousness.

When Godzilla had happened upon the boat, he had quite simply forgotten that the kid had had anything to do with this. He couldn't really follow a scent over the water. The people on board scattered, shouting their fear to the high heavens as his laser eyes tore a hole in the hull, and the wake caused by his movement churned up the water, making the boat sink faster. When some of the covered boxes and cargo fell overboard in the commotion, he didn't really pay it too much attention. That is, he didn't until one of the blankets fell off in the water, and he saw the steel barred cage it had been hiding.

The familiar green creature contained within the sinking cage immediately caught his eye. Leaning over, Godzilla came back up holding the metal container in one hand, the other working to 'unscrew' the top. From a sprawled position on the steel floor, the child looked up, squinting as though he was having trouble seeing, and blew a halfhearted smoke ring before his eyes closed, head drooping. With surprising care, the giant monster that had all but rent the ship in two pried down one side of the cage, using the opening to slide the limp body down into his palm.

Examining the other carefully, he was relieved [?] to see that the kid was only sleeping; he had even gripped his thumb when the larger kaiju had poked him to see if he would respond. While the gesture had been unexpected, somewhat annoying even, at first, Godzilla let it go with a gusty sigh.

Now, what to do with this?

Given that he would probably wind up tripping over the other kaiju anyway, it would probably be prudent to bring him back to the lagoon. At least there, he could keep an eye on him, a useful thing considering that for the few days he had known him, the child seemed to be adept at getting into trouble. For the sake of his sanity, and the young kaiju's continued existence, keeping him nearby seemed like a good option. It wasn't as though he could ignore a call that insistent anyway.

Glancing at the quietly slumbering mini-monster in his hand, Godzilla grinned quietly to himself, the position he had found himself in suddenly amusing.

Him, Godzilla, King of the Kaiju, looking after a little kid. What was the world coming to?

I'm sure you all know the drill, folks. Reviews at the door, and Godzilla uses the flames for target practice.