Chapter 4 up. Hey, this has now officially lasted longer than the last rewrite! (Grins)

Godzilla is © Toho


LINKED

It had taken over an hour, but Miki had finally convinced Miyuki and Takuya that she felt fine, and had retired to her quarters.

All of a sudden, she felt tired- very tired. More likely than not, this was because of the particularly stressful situation she'd found herself in.

Suddenly overcome by exhaustion, she fell onto her bed, not even bothering to remove her clothes as she shut her eyes. Her limbs suddenly felt like dead weights, and she felt so tired it was as though the room was spinning.

Then, there was the strangest sensation; like blinking with her eyes already closed. The darkness of her closed eyes was wiped away, replaced by the clean white walls of the holding area and the remaining segments of smashed eggshell.

Suddenly, it was like the thoughts were gone from her mind, replaced with a flood of pure emotion, all curiosity and excitement. To let go of complex thought like this, to simply feel and be, was almost euphoric.

The world was big outside the shell. This room was big, and strange, and she felt the wonder at what might be outside that, where the nice thing with the kind voice and the friendly smell had gone.

The 'nice thing' was her, Miki realised. It was waiting for her, hoping she would come back. Maybe she would bring food?

Miki stirred, the vision suddenly vanishing to be replaced by the same room as she sat up slowly.

Her dreams had never been like that before; never that vivid, that clear or certain.

It was with a jolt of fear that she suddenly realised she could still feel it, in the back of her head. But there was no curiosity now, no excitement.

It was like the sound, the one Takuya had recorded, but somehow not a sound. More like an echo, or a call. Something that, even as she tried to concentrate, she could only be vaguely aware of.

And then, she heard the voice; childlike and timid.

Miki

Her eyes widened, her pulse racing. It was calling her, she realised. How was he calling her? Nobody could do that.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Osaki stood alone, taking a sip of coffee and pouring over thoughts of the last few hours in his head.

After Miki had left the holding area, the hatchling had suddenly become restless, scratching at the door at regular intervals, even seeming to try and dig up the floor. It had been sniffing at the air, pacing the room, definitely trying to get out.

And whenever anyone approached the door… well, it was about to happen again.

The door opened, with the two scientists behind it. The infant turned round, its head turned to the side, and saw the two scientists approach.

Shaking its head, it slammed its tail on the ground and gave a sudden, high-pitched roar, running away to the other side of the room.

At a nod from Osaki, the scientists backed out, the third group to try and approach the baby today. The only person whom the baby had let approach had been Miki…

And he was damned if he was going to put her in that situation again.

"She's fine," Miyuki reassured him. "You said to trust her, and it paid off. You should be proud of her."

"And what if she'd been wrong?" Osaki replied, "She could've been torn to pieces by that thing. Yeah, I trust her but…" He sighed, "How could I have risked her life on that?"

"She knows what she's doing," Takuya offered up, "You always say so yourself."

"She's fifteen," Osaki answered, "She's a 15-year-old girl, and she could've been killed."

The door suddenly opened behind them, Miki stepping into the room.

"You OK, kiddo?" Kazama asked.

"Fine," Miki answered, "How about…"

"I think the little guy misses you," Miyuki answered, "He won't let anyone else near him."

"I think I know why." Miki answered, looking through the window. Immediately, the hatchling turned and ran forward excitedly, stopping in front of the glass, his tail wagging madly. She finished: "I think he thinks I'm his mom. Like a baby bird."

"It's imprinted on you?" Takuya asked, "Actually… actually, that makes sense."

"You're both crazy," Osaki sighed.

"Just… let me go in there," Miki suggested. "He won't hurt me."

"And you know this how?" Miyuki asked.

"He didn't hurt me before," Miki replied, "And besides, since I'm a mother now…" She held up a sandwich wrapped in kitchen foil, "…I've got certain responsibilities."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two guards pushed the door open as Miki stepped through, the baby immediately turning and running up to her, lowering its upper body as it had done.

"I can't believe I let you all talk me into this," Osaki groaned.

Miki thought to herself. Looking down at the expectant eyes of the hatchling, she suddenly felt a rush of alien feeling within her mind. As soon as it subsided, she realised: The baby had recognised her, and now it was waiting to see if she recognised it.

She reached one hand forward, giving the baby a gentle pat on the snout, eliciting a happy chirp. No pain this time, she noted.

The baby stepped forward, sniffing at the sandwich in her hand.

"Thought so," Miki found herself smiling, "You're hungry, aren't you?" She removed the foil from the sandwich as the baby's tail continued to wag. Experimentally, she held one half forwards in front of its mouth. The baby snapped its head forward, Miki gasping as it took the food and swallowed it instantaneously.

Miki shook her head to the guards outside, stepping forward towards the infant.

After a brief, happy 'squeak', the baby looked at Miki quizzically, as if knowing it had frightened her. It bowed its head town, its tail hanging limp behind it in apology.

"It's alright," Miki said softly, throwing the other half of the sandwich, which was gobbled up just as quickly as the first. In the back of her mind, she felt a sensation of happiness from the creature as it leaned forwards towards her. As its jaws parted, Miki felt a sudden fear well up as she saw its gleaming, sharp white teeth.

Still waving Osaki and the guards back with one hand, she allowed the baby to approach… before it dragged a thick, warm, wet tongue up the side of her cheek. Never in her entire life had she thought she would get puppy-licked my an eight-foot lizard.

Somehow, she couldn't keep herself from smiling as the baby chirped again, lying down on the floor and curling up so that the tip of its tail almost touched its snout.

"OK," Miki whispered to the others, gesturing into the room. Osaki, Miyuki, Kazama and Takuya tentatively stepped inside.

The hatchling's eye snapped open, and it immediately rose up, its tail sticking out behind it as it gave a sudden screeching roar.

"It's OK," Miki reassured it soothingly, "They're friends. They won't hurt you… hopefully," She added under her breath.

Soothed by Miki's words, the baby turned to look at the others, turning its head sideways.

"Uh… sit?" Takuya asked Miki as the baby stepped forward, sniffing at him briefly.

"He needs a name," Miki thought out loud.

A few seconds of silence followed, until Osaki said:

"Miki… are you on drugs?"

"Well we've gotta call him something," Miki replied.

"Like what? Spike?" Miyuki asked sarcastically.

"No," Miki answered flatly, "Maybe… well, I saw this movie once. It was this old monster thing from the '50s, and the thing in it looked kinda like him… but bigger. I think it was called 'gojira'."

"It was Godzilla," Takuya answered, "I have a subscription."

Everyone (including the hatchling) turned to look at Takuya.

"You have no idea what you're missing," He stated flatly.

"OK, then I'll calm him Godzilla," Miki smiled. Judging from the chirping noise and the sudden sensation in the back of Miki's head, it seemed the baby approved.

"You alright?" Miyuki asked.

"Yeah," Miki answered, "I think. It's just… I keep feeling kinda weird."

"Maybe I should check you again," Miyuki suggested. "C'mon."

Miki followed the others outside, before the felt something tug at the bottom of her leg. There was the newly christened Godzilla, pulling at the bottom of her jeans.

"Looks like he doesn't want you to leave," Osaki surmised.

"Either that or he thinks your jeans are too short," Kazama chimed in, "Which is absurd, because frankly, you look fabulous."

"It's OK, um… Godzilla," Miki reassured him, "I'll be back soon."

As she followed the others out of the room, she felt the sudden pang of sadness in the back of her mind, as behind her, Godzilla curled up on the floor and closed his eyes.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So you saw what it was seeing?" Miyuki checked.

"Yeah," Miki answered, "It's like… I can tell what kind of mood he's in."

"You know what he's thinking," Osaki summed it up.

"More like what he's feeling," Miki replied. "I can sort of feel it right now, ever since the first time I touched him."

"Maybe it's some sort of connection," Miyuki thought out loud, "We don't know a whole lot about the way Miki's abilities work, so when the hatchling imprinted on her, it could have formed some kind of link."

"What is he, anyway?" Kazama asked, "He looks like a dinosaur to me, except they're meant to be extinct."

"Well it's definitely reptilian," Miyuki answered, "Definitely some kind of a mutation…"

"Mutant lizard. Got it." Kazama replied, "So just one more question: If this thing's a baby, it's gonna get bigger. So… what do we do with him once he grows up?"


OK, that was a pretty long chapter, and I'll stop there for now, mainly because I'm tired. That kinda ran away with itself. Kazama's line about Godzilla when they were leaving is from an episode of Futurama, and I stuck it in because it's one of my favourite lines ever.

All Reviews Welcome.