Utah Foundation of Bio-Organic Research Base Alpha
"How's he doing?" Gordon asked Will as the computer monitored Kiryuu's long-range connection.
"So far, so good, Gordon," Will replied. "We just boost the T3 line feeding through the base and Kiryuu's got a solid connection with the in-house network at the Fort Lauderdale research lab. He even downloaded a small part of his program into it just in case the connection is lost."
"The program that pertains to running those projectors right?" Gordon asked. He glanced up at Kiryuu. The great mecha had his helm off, the cords on his head attached to the walls and ceiling of the bay area. Mechagodzilla's eyes were closed. His body was in a standing position, leaning back on a docking arm for support. His arms and claws were limp at his side. Not even his tail twitched behind him. It was obvious that Kiryuu was not in his body, he was somewhere else.
"Yeah, that's the program," said Will. "And the program for his voice, the program that allows him to see through the cameras everywhere in the lab."
"If he wants to contact us, what then?" Gordon began. "Will he just pop back into his body?"
"No," Will replied. "Because well, he's not in his body right now, at least not mentally. He'll email us if he needs something. I don't want to risk the connection stability having him leaping from the lab to his body, and back to the lab. I told him not to do that."
"Will, you are a genius," Gordon chuckled. "You know that? Creating these projectors and all…"
"I'm glad you agreed to beta test them," Will said. "And Kiryuu optioning to be the guinea pig for the experiment. He really likes these projectors. I think it's because it allows him to interact more with us than he used to. Something he always wanted to do, you know. Be able to sit in on meetings, actually having conversations and looking at us without us having to strain to look at him, or seeing him on some monitor. He really likes this. Gives him more freedom around the base. I just can't believe with the adjustments I made he can pick up objects like a clipboard, or type on the computer."
"Strange as hell watching that computer-head playing solitaire on my computer, and using a mouse," Gordon sighed. "But, yes, it is better. Now, I can scold him without having to look so far up. I mean, how the hell can I scold something that's 196 feet tall. Really."
"No," chuckled Will. "Now you're scolding something that's 7 feet tall."
"Well, the difference is that I have to use a cherry picker on the catwalk to scold him, now I can just use a chair," Gordon chuckled. He glanced back at the still form of Mechagodzilla. "Can he hear us?"
"No," Will said. Gordon walked outside and glanced up at the enormous mecha.
"You're grounded, you know that?!" he shouted at Kiryuu. "And I'm taking away your Internet too when you get back, you lame-brained excuse for spare parts. Don't you ever mess with my computer at my office again! The camera caught you, Kiryuu. You were filing my desktop items again. Stop doing that! I had it all set up and you had to go and screw them up again!"
Will laughed aloud when he heard Gordon's rant. Ever since Kiryuu's avatar could manipulate keyboards he had a habit of making everyone's computer in every office 'more efficient' by his standards. It was more efficient, Will had to admit, but everyone like their own personal set up instead. Usually, if he tried to tap into some computer in the base through the LAN connection, he would set off the alarms. But now, he could just appear in his holographic avatar form and manipulate it without setting off any alarms in the security grid. It showed how bored he had gotten lately since there had been no monster reports.
"And don't mess up the timer on the coffee pot either, Kiryuu!" Gordon cried. "I like my scalding. And just because usually orange pots mean decaf and black pots mean caffeine, doesn't give you the right to make it that way. We had a system already set up. Stop screwing with it!"
"He can't hear you," Will called.
"I know," Gordon glanced back. "That's why I'm yelling at him. For the first time, I can get some words in without him interrupting me with some lame assed, high and mighty excuse about being more efficient." He glanced back at Kiryuu again. "And stop rearranging the items on my desk, especially the papers that are in the inbox and outbox! I don't care about what is efficient, I had it set up the way I liked it!"
Will shook his head and turned back to the computer screen before him. He saw an instant message window pop up.
MechaG: Will, this is Kiryuu. How is everything at the base?
"Kiryuu," Will chuckled. "Hey, Gordon! Kiryuu's instant messaging us!"
"What?" Gordon asked as he ran back into the control room. Will began to type.
Lovelyarts: Just fine, Kiryuu. Gordon's complaining about your LITTLE REARRANGEMENT in his office. But other than that, things are fine.
MechaG: Oh, good. Tell Gordon that I am sorry, I thought I was helping.
Lovelyarts: I shall. So, what's up in Florida? You getting a tan?
MechaG: Holograms don't tan, Will. I am preparing to go for a boat ride, though. Dr. Vasquez and I are going to study the affects of the syntech in the ocean. This should give us the information we need in order to make those suits Gordon would like to create. She has been working well with me.
Lovelyarts: So, I've heard. I also heard from Tochi that you've got some sort of little crush on her too. What's going on, Kiryuu?
MechaG: What ever do you mean, Will?
Lovelyarts: Come on, Kiryuu. You're in love again, aren't you? Don't you think Katsura will get a bit jealous of your crush?
MechaG: You know Katsura and I are just friends now, Will. Maria—I mean Dr. Vasquez is a respectable scientist.
Lovelyarts: Oh! You called her by her first name. I knew it. There's nothing wrong with falling for another woman. These things happen. You've been around her long enough to do it. I heard that when you two met, sparks literally flew. Anyways. Keep us posted on how the experiment goes. Okay?
MechaG: I will, Will. Thank you.
The terminal went dead after that. Will glanced back at Gordon and smiled.
"They are ready for a field test, Gordon," he said.
"Oh good," Gordon smiled. "What's this about Kiryuu falling for another woman? I didn't think it was possible."
"It proves that he affection he had for Katsura had nothing to do with the link as well, Gordon," Will said. "Which means his emotions are genuine."
"It does mean that, doesn't it?" Gordon smiled. "That boy's grown these passed 12 years, hasn't he?"
"I'm proud of him," Will smiled back. "Aren't you?"
"We've created the 8th Wonder of the World," Gordon laughed. "I wonder if I can market from that."
Will chuckled as Gordon sat back and thought on some campaign he could market with Kiryuu being the 8th Wonder of the World. Then, Will glanced back up at Kiryuu's still body.
"You know, the army wants to try some new missiles on Kiryuu's launchers," he said. "They want to try out the missiles with the Depleted Uranium warheads on them. And replace Kiryuu's forearm plasma cannons with some 50 mm rounds of Depleted Uranium chain guns on them."
"Chain guns?" Gordon asked. "We're using plasma energy and they want to go back to ballistic artillery?"
"It uses less of Kiryuu's power, you know," said Will. "Leaves more power to fuel the AZC."
"The way Kiryuu's power cache is set up, he should've had about two shots with the AZC," began Gordon. "I've looked over the rounds he fired when he went insane that year in Tokyo. Remember? He shot the AZC about 5 times! Where the hell did he get that kind of power?"
"I've looked over it too," said Will. "When he cracked—if you'd call it that—there was some sort of surge of power—a flux inside his system and it allowed him to fire that cannon more times than what he is capable of firing. But yeah, generally he is only allowed two shots with it. Using the chain guns will allow him to get about 3 shots in this time."
"I'd like to know if we can recreate that power flux he received during his fit of insanity," said Gordon. "He could get those 5 shots in again."
"We could experiment on Mechagodzilla while Kiryuu's out, you know," Will said. "I've got a small remote program inside Mechagodzilla now just in case something like Biollante happens again."
"And Kiryuu won't know we're experimenting?" Gordon asked.
"Shouldn't," Will said.
"Get to it," Gordon commanded. "I want to know how it happened, why it happened, and if he can be done again."
"I can look at the logs inside Mechagodzilla," began Will. "The only thing I can think of is to go into one of those logs from way back then and see when it happened and how it happened."
"Get on that," said Gordon. "I want a full report, printed, okay? I don't want this info stored on one of our servers. Kiryuu might get a hold of them and find out what we are trying to do."
"Going behind his back again?" Will asked. "He trusts us now and we trust him. It's like we're going back to the old ways again."
"I know," he sighed. "It's for his protection. We'll tell him eventually when we're ready. But for now, let's just keep him in the dark about this until then."
Will sighed and nodded. The last thing he wanted to do was lie to Kiryuu again. It did seem like they were returning to the old ways, hiding information from Kiryuu. They did it before. They never told the great mecha that inside of him was the skeleton of the original Godzilla. Kiryuu took that rather hard after he returned from his fight with Biollante. Now, this came about. They wanted to induce the power Kiryuu had when he went insane and attacked Tokyo. Will became worried that if they tried to induce that power Kiryuu might go insane again. That was the last thing he wanted to happen to Kiryuu. Kiryuu was his friend. He looked up at Mechagodzilla and pondered the consequences of trying to induce that strange power again.
"When we are done," Gordon said. "We'll tell him. But for now, let's just let him worry about the project in Florida. Kiryuu is enjoying himself, doing a project for the first time all by himself. His first chance at true freedom."
"I know," Will sighed.
"You're questioning the motives of trying to experiment on Mechagodzilla without Kiryuu's permission?" Gordon asked. "Damnit! Mechagodzilla is my creation. Again, whether it is right or not, it needs to be done."
"Just remember, Gordon," began the computer programmer. "Mechagodzilla is also a living being. He's proved that to us more than once since his activation."
"I know," sighed Gordon. "But we need to do this anyways. Start searching the logs, Will."
"Right, sir," Will sighed as he began to pull up the logs from the Tokyo attack in 2002. This was going to take a while.
Godzilla awoke from his nap and stretched. He glanced down at an imprint on the ground and placed his claw on it. It was a footprint. Only a few weeks ago his father—the one who calls himself Kiryuu—came to visit him. He was angry at Kiryuu for lying to him. The metal being that became Kiryuu was in fact his father, there was no doubt about it. He demanded to know where his father had been for the past 40 years. Kiryuu replied that he died. Kiryuu had all the memories of his father, and in many ways, acted like his father. He was Godzilla's father in several ways, but in other ways he was not. It still was confusing. Kiryuu had accepted himself as Godzilla's father, but after Godzilla saw the bony spines sticking out of Kiryuu's back, the truth was known. His father was dead and those human creatures have brought him back from the dead. Kiryuu had explained that it took many years for the humans to gain the knowledge and the power to bring him back to life like that. The original was nothing more than a skeleton when they found him. Kiryuu tried his best to make Godzilla understand what had happened to him. There were terms Godzilla did not understand, terms like 'machine', 'cyborg', and 'artificial intelligence'. Kiryuu explained that the brain was destroyed—the brain was an important organ to a living being. They had to create another one. It only confused Godzilla more, and angered him. But he did not strike against Kiryuu. This was not his fault. Kiryuu was his father and those creatures raped his father. Why could they not just leave his father's remains alone?
Godzilla remembered what Kiryuu had told him about his death. They used strange bubbles on him that made him hurt and ate his flesh away until nothing was left except the skeleton. Now, they drug that skeleton back up and created a metal body for it. It still did not make much sense to him why the humans wanted to hurt both of them so. His father became attached to the humans since his reappearance as a 'machine'. He needed the humans to sustain his life now. Kiryuu warned that as long as Godzilla did not attack the humans they would never go after him. They would leave him alone. He settled down on the rock again, glancing down at the footprint in the ground. He just wanted his father back—to stay with him forever. That was not even possible because of what his father had become. He knew his father was alive, he could tell. His father had strange eyes when he was alive—golden with slits for pupils. Kiryuu had the same eyes. That was enough to convince him. Godzilla sighed and rumbled, staring longingly at the print in the ground. He missed his father when he was away. He felt a small tear trickle down his cheek when he stared down at the foot. His father was away now, helping the humans—helping to protect them even if they had caused so much pain for him and his son. It made no sense to him why his father would willingly help them. Godzilla cursed them for what they had done to his father. His father loved it, though, which frightened him even more. He said that he had gained much knowledge since being a part of their lives. The humans had turned his father into a monster he could no longer understand or comprehend. It was always about the knowledge with Kiryuu. His father was not the same anymore since the humans changed him. There was no simplicity to him anymore. He became sinister in nature and it sent shivers up Godzilla's spine. Being a part of Godzilla's life was no longer on his father's top priority list. Now, it was all about the humans and what they needed from him. This was not right.
Godzilla leaned away, his eyes looking from the footprint. He sensed something calling him from the east. The voice was faint but he could hear it well. Godzilla sniffed the air. The air had a strange scent, smelled like metal—rusty metal. He got up off of the ground, sniffing the air again. His head turned towards the east, but his vision was blocked. Standing before him was his father Kiryuu. Once more, Godzilla was confused. Mechagodzilla stood before him, his helm removed from his head. His fleshy syntech dreads wiggled around his head like serpents. The sun glinted off of the silvery locks. Kiryuu held out his metallic claw.
"Come here, my son…" Godzilla heard his cybernetic father call. "Come…"
Godzilla could not understand why his father had come to visit, though he was happy to see him. Godzilla slowly approached Kiryuu, his claw outstretched. Something did not feel right to him and something was not right about his father. Kiryuu held a crooked smile upon his face, an expression he rarely possessed. Kiryuu's strange, cat-like pupils were contracted into tight slits, barely distinguishable from his amber irises. Kiryuu's jaw locked into place, his sharp, jagged teeth making a slight grinding sounds. It seemed wrong, though Godzilla could not keep his eyes from Kiryuu. He approached Kiryuu, hoping to touch him. Then, Kiryuu's form disappeared. Godzilla blinked, his arm lowered down to his side. Then, Kiryuu reappeared, a bit farther away this time.
"Come…" Godzilla heard his voice call out again. Godzilla shook his head and snorted. He could feel Kiryuu drawing him near. Something made him follow, something that controlled his will, his body. He could see the strange, alien, crooked grin on Kiryuu's face, his ivory teeth shining through the dark, silvery syntech flesh of his lips. Kiryuu's strange eyes had a hint of madness in them, another expression that Godzilla remembered his father not having. Still, he was compelled to do as his father said. Kiryuu disappeared, only to reappear again out in the ocean. Godzilla paused, his ruddy brown eyes wide with amazement. Mechagodzilla stood on the water as if it were as solid as land.
"Come with me," Kiryuu said. "Show you everything, I shall."
Everything? Thought Godzilla. Like why you do everything those humans tell you? How you abandoned me for them?
"Everything will be explained…" Kiryuu said. "Come. Much to learn…there is…"
Strange…father is speaking strangely, Godzilla thought. Strange…syntax error in his words. Godzilla caught himself, his eyes wide. Syntax error? I'm starting to sound like him now!
"Follow me, son," Kiryuu beckoned once more.
Godzilla sighed, giving in and stepped onto the water. He glanced down, noticing that he too was walking on water, like his father. He walked towards Mechagodzilla, reaching out again for him. Kiryuu's metallic claw closed in around Godzilla's own claw. Godzilla could not keep his eyes off of his father's strange expression.
"Enjoy this—you shall," Kiryuu chuckled, taking Godzilla's other hand. Godzilla glanced about him, seeing the water bubble and churn around them both. The water exploded forth, forming into a long, cyclonic wall around them. Godzilla felt the water come crashing down upon him, actually choking him. He glanced where Kiryuu was, but his father had disappeared. Water rushed into him, filling his lungs with its salty taste and causing his eyes to see stars. He was drowning. That never happened before. He clawed at the water, trying desperately to swim to the surface. But, he was sinking too fast. Then, everything went black.
Will awoke from his daze, hearing the alarms blare loudly through the hanger bay.
"Hello!" he called, kicking away the paper stacks around the control panel. He tapped a few keys on the keyboard, pulling up a satellite image on one of the large monitors. His eyes were wide as he saw the blip labeled 'Godzilla' making its way across the screen. He glanced at where the blip was, seeing the map. Godzilla was in the Panama Canal
"Da hell?" he asked in disbelief. "Panama? How the hell did he get there? Few minutes ago, he was on Ogasawara!"
"What the friggin' hell is that noise?!" barked a gruff voice from behind him. Will glanced back, seeing Gordon Knight come in with a frustrated look on his face. "Will…"
"Godzilla," he said. "He's moving. He's in Panama."
"What the fucking hell is he doing there?" Gordon asked, sitting down on the chair next to Will. "Those damned monkeys back again with a new doppelganger 'Mecha-Crapzilla'?"
"No, it's not the Simians," said Will. "It's Godzilla. Satellite shows it's him, temperature and all. He just—appeared suddenly in Panama."
"Well, what is he doing there?" Gordon asked.
"Beats me," Will shrugged. "Kiryuu could find out you know."
"Get that overgrown copy machine's brain back here, now!" Gordon growled. "I want him fully operational and ready to launch. His 'son' needs a spanking."
"Or a time-out," Will smiled.
"Would you shut-up and get on it," Gordon snapped. "This is not funny."
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, sensing Gordon's fowl mood.
"Nothing a little Scotch would help," Gordon sighed. "Now get on it!"
"Yes, sir," Will sighed. He began to type up an email to Kiryuu, glancing at the still body in the hangar bay. "Come on, open your mail box, big guy…"
Kiryuu watched Tochi and Maria load up the rest of the divers gear into the boat. His holographic projector sat on a chair and his image leaned over the deck of the boat. This was the first time he ever rode in a boat. It was a new experience for him. The other divers and some of the assistants were already strapping things down for the trip. They were careful not to knock over the mini satellite dish that stood out from the back of the boat. The dish connected to one of the Foundation's satellites and Kiryuu needed in order to maintain his connection with the portable projector. As soon as they loaded the last bit of gear they got onto the boat.
"Well, we're all set," said Maria. "Ready for a boat ride, Kiryuu?"
"This will be interesting," Kiryuu said. "I've never been on a boat before."
"Well, let's just hope you don't get seasick," Tochi chuckled. "Be an embarrassing moment for you, big guy."
"Holograms do not get seasick, Tochi," Kiryuu sighed. "Neither do cyborgs."
"Whatever you say, Kiryuu," Tochi shrugged. "But this is your first boat ride, so how would you know if you've never been on a boat before?"
Kiryuu sighed, grumbling and shaking his head. Despite the fact that this was his first boat ride, he knew that it was impossible for him to suffer from seasickness like humans do. His perfect form was far superior to theirs, which was why he knew he would not get sick. Of course manners and Maria kept him for saying that out loud. He did not want to offend Maria. Her body may be inferior to his, but her mind made up for that inferiority. Kiryuu smiled as she passed him.
"I hope this first ride will be enjoyable," he whispered to her as she stood beside him. "You make a fine captain."
"Oh," Maria giggled. "I'm not the one driving the boat. That's Judas' job. We ready to cast off, Judas?"
"Ready when you are, maestra!" the dark skinned, broad shoulder man named Judas called back.
"Ah," Kiryuu cocked his head to one side.
"What?" Maria asked. "What is it?"
"He just called you 'teacher'," Kiryuu said. "Fascinating."
"Well, I do teach," she said. "He's one of my students who is also helping me with field work. I'm a professor at one of the small collages around here."
"I see," he turned his head to her, grinning. "I'm sure you're a wonderful teacher, Maria."
"Kiryuu…" Maria giggled again, her cheeks blushing.
"Here we go!" Tochi shouted as the boat began to move away from the dock. The tenants on the dock untied the boat as it began to move away. Kiryuu looked away, his eyes becoming unfocused for a moment. Information flooded his processors and he sensed he had an urgent message on one of his accounts.
"Oh-no," he whispered.
"What's wrong?" Maria asked.
"It seems I may not be able to join you today, Maria," Kiryuu said. "Gordon Knight has sent me an urgent email regarding Godzilla's movements. I have to disconnect from here and return to my body for dispatch."
"What?" Tochi asked. "Godzilla? Where is he?"
"Panama," Kiryuu replied.
"How the hell did he get all the way out there without Will knowing about it?" Tochi asked.
"Uncertain," Kiryuu shook his head. "But he's there. I must leave. I'm sorry."
"No," Maria said. "It's okay. This comes first. I'll give you the results of the test when you get back."
"Thank you," Kiryuu smiled politely. "I hope you are right about the syntech being an aqualung for divers, Maria. Tochi…"
"Right, disconnecting," Tochi said as he typed on the keyboard next to the projector.
"Hasta luego, mi amiga," Kiryuu said with a slight bow as his holographic image disappeared.
"Hasta luego, Kiryuu," Maria replied back.
Kiryuu's eyes fluttered open as he awoke inside his body. His pupils inside the optics of his helm adjusted to the light around him. His head turned to the tiny figures inside the control room. He could see Gordon's frustrated face.
"Glad you're awake," Gordon said.
"How did this happen?" Kiryuu asked.
"We don't know," said Will. "One minute Godzilla was on Ogasawara Island, and the next he's in Panama. Beats the hell out of me."
"It ain't the monkeys," Gordon said. "According to Will."
"I gave them a fair beating the last time," Kiryuu said. "They would think twice before attacking again."
"Especially with the new upgrades we gave you," Gordon chuckled. "Anyways. Go knock some sense into that boy of yours. Tell him to go home or else."
Kiryuu glanced around as the robotic arms began to attach his weapons to his back and forearms.
"I am to be fully armed?" he asked.
"Can't let you go there without anything but the AZC and your masers," said Gordon. "Just in case he wants to be a defiant little kid and not do what daddy tells him to do."
"I see," Kiryuu said. "Very well then. By the way, when is Katsura coming home?"
"She called," said Will. "She said she'd be in by tomorrow."
"Still got some feelings for her, huh?" Gordon smirked.
"I care about her," Kiryuu said. "She is—after all my mother in a way."
"I suppose she is," Gordon said. "In a way. Get going."
The platform underneath Kiryuu lifted him up out of the hangar. Kiryuu glanced up as he rose out onto the lot outside. He had enough fuel and power to make it to Panama on his own. Though, he saw the White Heron jets lift off as well. They were his escort now. Gordon wanted it to be that way, for Kiryuu's protection. Gordon trusted Kiryuu now, he just did not trust anyone else around Kiryuu. Americans especially. Kiryuu fired up his gravity generators and his boosters on his back, on the rocket array pack, and on the sides of his thighs. Mechagodzilla bounded into the air. The VTOL White Heron jets followed behind him.
Godzilla's dazed eyes glanced around. All he could remember was water, water that nearly choked him to death. Then, he was here. He did not know how he got here, or what brought him here. The will that controlled him pressed him to continue on his path to the east, to the strange smaller ocean he was unfamiliar with. He had never swam to that ocean before. He heard from bird migrations that it was smaller than the one he was accustomed to. But, something was drawing him there. At first he thought it was his father's voice and that vision he had. That was not his father. His father would never have such an evil smile on his face, or that strange look in his eyes. And yet, his father would never be partly metal as well, but he was. Godzilla was more than confused, he was also frustrated. Following the voice—whether it was his father's or not, to the ocean in the east would satisfy him enough. He did not know why it would, but it would. He stopped for a moment, sensing something. He turned around and his eyes were wide again. There was Mechagodzilla, fully helmed and armed.
"What do you think you are doing?" Kiryuu asked, crossing his arms. "Why are you here? What did I tell you about leaving that island?"
"You told me to leave," Godzilla replied. "You told me to follow you. And I did. Here I am."
"I said no such thing," Kiryuu growled back. "Return to your island, now."
"What would I know of anything?" Godzilla asked defiantly. "Everything you have told me gets twisted around. I—I don't even know you anymore. You're strings are being pulled by those tiny creatures who think they own everything." He reached out to touch the plating on Kiryuu's shoulder. "This…look at this! They've made you into a monster, father."
"I am better, faster, stronger, smarter, and more aware of everything than you are," Kiryuu growled back. "You don't know the power that I possess. You don't understand how it binds me, but someday you will. We have had this discussion before. And it ends now. Leave before I do something I will regret later."
Kiryuu took his helm off, shaking his locks free from their confinement.
"Would you, would you regret it?" Godzilla asked. "Did you regret shoving those sharp vines down my throat? You could have taken my head off, father. You wanted to kill me."
"We didn't know each other then," he said.
"And we still don't now!" Godzilla said. "Let me go, let me do this. For my sake."
Godzilla turned around, starting back on is path towards the east. Kiryuu growled, lifting up his forearm, aiming his twin cannon at his son.
"Step no further," Kiryuu warned. "Don't make me do this."
"Shoot me," he sighed. "It matters not. You're not yourself. You'll never be yourself."
"This land does not belong to you," Kiryuu said. "You have no right to enter it. I've told you what is yours."
"That's right, it belongs to those little creatures that tormented and killed you, and turned you into that hideous monster I see before me," Godzilla mocked. "How silly could I be? Those silly little creatures." He turned around letting loose a powerful roar. Godzilla lunged for Kiryuu, about to rake his claw across his father's face. Kiryuu caught the claw in a swift movement. He swung around, knocking Godzilla to his knees as he locked his son's claw onto his back. Godzilla fell down onto his stomach, his father on his back, pinning him down with his own claw to his back. He could feel pain in that arm as Kiryuu applied pressure to the wrist.
"If you do not say 'yes, sir' when I command you to return to your island," Kiryuu hissed in Godzilla's ear. Godzilla glanced up slightly just as two pairs of bladed, metallic, vine-like tentacles snaked around. They pointed their sharp tips directly at him. "I will break your arm, and then your leg, and then I will make it to where you can't regenerate them back. You will be forced to drag yourself home."
"I hate this new you," Godzilla grimaced.
"Do as I say!" Kiryuu growled. "You interrupted an important research experiment with your little trip to this place."
"The humans are more important than your own son?" Godzilla asked.
"If that's supposed to make me feel guilty about what I'm doing to you now, it isn't working," the bio-mecha growled back. "What kept me from killing you before was the fear of myself being shut down. Now, do as I say!"
"Yes, sir," Godzilla sighed, defeated. Kiryuu let him up. Godzilla sighed, heading back towards the west. He glanced back at his father for a moment. "I just thought I'd let you know I didn't come here on my own accord. Something brought me here. Something that used your face and voice to lure me here. If you would just listen to your own son…" He broke off for a moment, seeing the cold, sinister, calculating expression on Kiryuu's face. "What have they done to you?"
"Made me far superior than they will ever be," Kiryuu replied. "Now, go home."
"You're using me, and you're using them," Godzilla sighed. "That's not the father I remember."
"Things change," Kiryuu sighed. "Go."
Godzilla sighed as he lumbered to the west, ignoring the call of the strange voice from the east.
You're right, Godzilla thought. Things do change, because you certainly did.
Kiryuu took in a deep virtual breath, watching Godzilla walk away from him. His auditory sensors picked up the sound of blades thumping above him and a lock of his dreads fell into his eyes. Mechagodzilla glanced up, seeing a helicopter hover above him. The White Heron jets hovered just above him, keeping an eye on the helicopter. Just some body wanting to watch the fight, if there was going to be one. There was not. It was like every other 'fight', Godzilla leaving. Though, Kiryuu could not keep his eye off of that chopper. He retracted the blades back into his arm plating. Then, he heard a stomping sound coming from behind him. He did not turn around, but he moved, grabbing hold of a claw that nearly grabbed him. Kiryuu let loose a grunt, throwing his attacker over his shoulder, grabbing one claw, and then pushing up and over with his other on the attackers stomach. His syntech blades wrapped around his attacker's snout and he slammed his foot on its chest.
"That was very foolish and pathetic of you, son," Kiryuu growled. It was Godzilla lying on the ground. "Next time I won't go as soft on you. Get up."
He released Godzilla allowing the mutant reptile to rise again.
"How did you know…" Godzilla gasped.
"You're too loud," Kiryuu snorted. He sighed, glancing up at the chopper again. "Fine. I'll take it into account that something summoned you here. And I will research it with all of my available resources. But you must let me handle it."
"Why?"
"Because until you figure out how to move about the human world without them noticing," he began. "You're not going to get far. But I can. And I don't have to leave my—'lair'—in order to do so."
"Would you let me tell you about it?" Godzilla asked. "Please, father?"
"What?" Kiryuu sighed.
"I saw you on the water, standing on the water," he said. "As if you were standing on land. You called to me. Then, I came here. That's all I remember."
"Kiryuu!" called Will through the radio. "I've got Dr. Vasquez on the short-wave. She says she found a fishing trawler with a huge gash on the side. Looks like claw marks. Her sonar's picking up movement. Something huge. They've suspended the experiment."
"What?" Kiryuu asked.
"They're caught in a storm," Will said. "It came up suddenly. Weather station said it was going to be clear the whole day. It just came up out of nowhere."
"Maria and Tochi?" he asked.
"They're lost in it," Will replied.
"I'm going after them," Kiryuu sighed.
"You could get damaged in the storm," Will said. "Gordon is forbidding it."
"Someone has to go out there," he said.
"They're already sending out a search and rescue party," Will informed. "Coast Guard with ships and helicopters are going after them."
"I'm going to help them whether Gordon wants me to or not," Kiryuu grunted, clicking off the radio.
He turned back to Godzilla.
"I'll be monitoring your return to the island," Kiryuu said as he reattached the helm and jaw plate to his face. Then, Kiryuu revved up his generators and leapt into the air, flying towards the White Heron VTOL jets. Godzilla sighed as he watched his father link up with the three jets.
"What are your orders, sir?" one of the pilots inside the jet asked in Japanese.
"Take me to Florida," Kiryuu replied.
"Ryokai!" he nodded as the wires descended down from the jets, latching onto Kiryuu's neck and tail.
"Follow the GPS signal," said Kiryuu.
"Ryokai," the pilot said.
Kiryuu glanced down, watching Godzilla as he lumbered back towards the west. He sighed again, trying to figure out what his son meant by what he said. Kiryuu never told him to come here. He was trying to figure out what did though. Something, whatever it was, came in the form of Kiryuu and lured Godzilla to Panama.
