Disclaimer: I don't own Godzilla, the Hanna Barbera version or otherwise.
Yeah, sorry, this has been long in coming.
Chapter 3: Reef Samples and Small Monsters
"What're we doing today, Aunt Quinn?" Pete asked as he walked into his aunt's somewhat makeshift lab. The brunette smiled at her nephew's enthusiasm before speaking.
"Well, I was considering taking today to head closer to the island and study the coral reef to add to my environmental survey."
"Can I come?" The blonde inquired, the hopeful expression giving him the edge over his aunt. Besides, it wasn't as though there were anything to fear, given that she knew Pete had already taken diving lessons.
"Sure thing, Pete. Just be ready in an hour."
"You got it, Aunt Quinn!" The teenager hollered as he darted back out of the room to prepare. For all of her professional bravado, Pete's youthful curiosity never failed to cheer up Doctor Quinn Darien.
Meanwhile, on the island, the little green kaiju was just about finished with sleeping off his forced nap. Shifting lazily on the warm sand next to the lagoon, he sat up, rubbing the gunk out of his eyes before looking around. This couldn't be right. He had fallen asleep last night in a clearing a few hours walk from here. How had-?
Suddenly, the child's memory came back. Those strange creatures, the net, the cage, the funny thing that made him feel all woozy. And, at the end of everything, the familiar roar and fuzzy dark green face right before he went back to sleep.
And then he was here.
Looking about, he couldn't find a reason for his suddenly being back at the lagoon. There wasn't another living thing in sight.
Granted, you probably couldn't count a small pile of weakly flopping fish as living. At least not for very long, and especially not when there was a hungry, oceangoing kaiju in the general area. Realizing precisely how famished he was, the mini-monster all but pounced on the mound of fish, quickly devouring about half before slowing up a bit. It could have simply been paranoia talking, but he felt as though he was being watched. Quietly turning back towards the entrance of the lagoon, noticing absently that the water was bubbling before remembering exactly what usually happened after this phenomenon. Still, it was too late to run, and he watched with a strange sense of awe as the intimidating figure of Godzilla rose above the frothing water. And realized with a jolt of trepidation that the giant's eyes were looking right at him.
His feet moved automatically, taking back a few steps before trying to make up for pretty much everything the other creature had on him, which turned into an odd display of swiping claws, growling, and puffs of smoke. True, to something about his own size or smaller, the sight would be intimidating, but to a creature that could easily pick the child up in one hand and have room for about four more, it was laughable that the mini-monster would bother.
He was gutsy, Godzilla would give him that. Childish, but gutsy.
The youngster was utterly bewildered when the larger kaiju used one finger to lightly tap his mouth closed, and the other hand quietly shoved the rest of the fish in his direction.
Before he could even question the offer, the other had gone back out through the opening of the lagoon and into the sea. Still, it had been enough to make the association.
Parent.
Grinning lightly to himself, the child scarfed down a few more fish, deciding to save the rest for later.
Meanwhile, on the ship, the four aboard were preparing to take the vessel in a little closer to the reefs around the island. Doctor Darien and Brock were also prepping the scientific equipment. Pete was the only one that didn't really have anything to do, aside from loading up the hovercraft with the scuba gear. It wasn't as though it required a lot of thought, and the teenager found his mind wandering. His eyes caught something moving in the sky, just on the edge of his vision. Something small [though far larger than a bird] and green, which swooped in and out of the clouds.
Curiously, Pete turned his head, trying to track the animal's movement through the clouds. Which suddenly became much easier when the creature abruptly plunged out of the sky and landed right in the middle of the coral reef he and the rest of the crew were going to study.
"Aunt Quinn!" The teenager hollered, though he realized in retrospect that it was a lost cause. The loud screech the thing made when it crashed had done more than enough.
"Quinn, what is that?" Captain Majors asked, eyes studying the green, winged creature as it tried to wriggle its way out of the reef, only to yelp as the material scratched against his hide.
"I'm…not sure." The scientist admitted, staring at the object of their curiosity with wide eyes. Her nephew, Pete, immediately jumped into action.
"C'mon, we gotta do something!"
"Like what? We can't get the boat out there without smashing into the rocks." First Mate Brock protested as the boy made his way over to their dingy.
"No, but maybe the hovercraft can get close enough." Quinn suggested, casting a speculative eye to her latest brainchild. The otherwise unremarkable vehicle, instead of using an ordinary motor, or a propulsion system of any kind, a mounted fan at the bottom was made powerful enough to lift the lightly-crafted frame. Given that it didn't sit in the water like most boats, it was the best choice.
The few selected for the mission were Quinn, Brock, and, more through his own eagerness, Pete. The latter had been more or less told to keep to the sidelines unless he was needed, something he wasn't entirely happy about. Still, it had been either that or stay behind, and the teenager had grudgingly made his decision.
Although, by the way the winged creature was thrashing about to free itself, it seemed as though any progress would be limited.
"It's okay, pal, we're gonna help you get out of there." Pete said in a calming tone, reaching out towards the flailing reptile.
"Pete, I really don't think that's going to work. Still, I think I've seen something like that before." Brock stated, feeling his jaw hit the floor of the boat when the creature began to calm. Calm being the looser way of putting it, given that the thrashing died down somewhat. It was still looking at them like one would when confronted with something that might take their head off. The sight was still heartening to Pete, who grinned reassuringly at his aunt.
"You think we can get him out of there?"
"Possibly. If we can keep it from moving too much. Coral can be rough on the skin."
"Alright!" The teenager replied, turning back to the captive monster with a look of curiosity. "You know, he kind of reminds me of these stories a kid from my block told me. Something about a giant monster…God-something?"
"You hear the strangest things, Pete." Brock commented, an amused grin on his face, before turning back to the task at hand. The creature wasn't wedged into the coral reef too tightly, but to get it out would definitely be difficult without some cooperation.
"Easy." Pete said, holding out his hands in a compliant gesture as Brock and Quinn worked to somehow chip away at the jagged edges without greatly damaging the coral, or frightening the jumpy reptile caught in it.
The aftermentioned was currently starting to fidget again, which only increased tenfold when Brock came too close.
"Calm down, Godzooky!" Pete blurted out before he could stop himself, much to the mild amusement of the adults.
"'Godzooky', Pete?" Captain Majors asked, eyebrow raising. Brock stifled a snicker, once he had stepped away from the now-still monster.
But, surprisingly to all, the creature seemed to like the name, 'grinning' and tilting his head in ready consideration. Noticing the acceptance, Quinn shrugged lightly, going back to work.
"Godzooky it is. Now let's get him out of here."
The child's squawking brought Godzilla to the surface to see what was so urgent. Coming up, the Kaiju King was almost forced to duck when the inexperienced flyer soared over his head and crashed nearly headfirst into the beach. Skidding lightly on his front, the sand stopped his spectacular wipeout. It also drew Godzilla's eyes to some fresh-looking scratches that ran along the sides of the other's body. Those definitely hadn't been there that morning.
At the questioning growl, the smaller monster's head tilted in a moment of mild confusion before noticing the cuts, and immediately launched into a story to explain, embellished with growls, gestures, and a few vague and hurried parts that Godzilla had to puzzle out for himself. Most of it was rather easy to work through, he had been out flying, tried to head back, and managed to get himself stuck in between two of the growing-rocks that lay in patches around the island.
It wasn't until the smaller kaiju mentioned that humans had helped him out of his predicament that Godzilla had begun to pay closer attention to the story. Growling lightly, the mini-monster stopped chattering, looking up at the larger monster in curiosity.
Despite the fact that the humans might have helped, the island's giant resident was not at all happy with the idea that there were more trespassers nearby. Territorial, perhaps, but with good reason. Humans that had come onto his island before had the rather annoying tendency of leaving a rather massive trail of their…leavings. From the loud machines to odd burning-oozing-odd-smelling liquids that they used on different parts of the island, the smaller, more fragile life forms had somehow managed to muck up the island and the surrounding ocean more than any other creature. He had seen their vessel. The floating island humans called a boat had been near the island for some time now, the kaiju had only been partially sure of what to do about it. So far, they hadn't caused very much of a problem, not like the humans he had pretty much chased off the island.
And now the child was chittering away again, but this time, the subject matter was a bit ridiculous, even for Godzilla.
After all, what kind of a name was Godzooky?
Alright, I know this was originally the big make-or-break moment in the show, but I really couldn't see Godzilla becoming a kaiju bodyguard just because of that. And I'm pretty sure that the Big G could have gotten him out himself. I don't know, I just think there would need to be a bit more work to earn his trust. And, not to mention, it wasn't like the crew of the Calico would just pick up a monster without some form of persuasion. They kinda forget about him a few times in the series too.
Personally, I felt like there should be more work here. If you have other ideas, the ballpark's open. I'm just hanging around.