Mountains of the Phoenix
400 million years ago, the continents of North America and Africa collided with each other in conjunction with the other continents to form the super continent Pangaea. When Africa and North America were fused together, a mountain range was pushed up higher than the Himalayas. This mountain range later became known as the Appalachian Mountains. Many times did these mountains become lowered beneath the sea and rose again only to submerge once more. At the latter half of the Mesozoic, these ancient mountains were flattened out into nothing more than a plain from all the times they were submerged under the ocean. Then, just before the dawning of Man, an uplift from the faults surrounding the area pushed the flattened mountain peeks up and reformed them again. Rivers cut through the ancient bedrock redefining the cragged angles of the mountains. And like a phoenix, these mountains rose again, but not as high as they once were at the time of their formation. West of the Appalachian Range was the Tennessee Basin, and beyond that was the Mississippi River.
He remembered what the river once looked like long ago. It was a fjord then, sea water flowing all the way up to the Ohio River. And Tennessee was submerged under the ocean. Below the Mississippi was a fault line, not a fault line that separated two major tectonic plates, but a fault line nevertheless. This fault line had been the cause of many human speculation, and fears. It was perfect for him to land on.
Memphis, Tennessee, the land of the blues and the home of Elvis Presley, was a town full of life. It was named for Memphis, Egypt, the city along the river. To mark its Egyptian heritage, there near the great museum, stood three gleaming glass pyramids. Smaller glass pyramids dotted the landscape around the three large ones, representing the Pyramids of Giza. And the Mighty, Muddy Mississippi River, flowed straight south towards the Gulf of Mexico. Barges and riverboats of various variety sorts dotted the riverbank. And above, the sky was a color of an odd sort. The sky looked like a mixture of green and yellow, but this was not caused by any pollution from the bustling city.
The water trembled as the sky itself began to darken. There was a rumble growing out, echoing through the ground the city stood upon and it sent a tremor through the deep bedrock. The city itself froze as the tremor escalated and the bridges connecting Arkansas to Tennessee began to wobble. An ear splitting screech sounded and a bright flash exploded above West Memphis. The citizens looked up just as a fiery red ball fell from the sky as flaming debris rained down upon their city. Rocks and molten heat pitted the streets and fell upon the cars. The ball collided with the ground beyond the west bank and a shockwave rolled across the countryside. Glass shattered and concrete buckled as the citizens of Memphis ducked behind benches and vehicles, and bushes, trying to protect themselves from the explosion. The heat was fierce and the sound's thundering roar blocked out even simple thought.
A call echoed out from the crater of the impact as the shockwave rolled through the ground itself. The ground cracked and splintered and the buildings toppled from the force of the quake. And the New Madrid fault responded from the tickle of the impact of the meteor. A symphony of tremors quaked the ground and rolled east, guided by an unseen force. They dove deep into the bedrock, their fingers spreading out to the faults deep inside Tennessee clay and limestone.
The city of Memphis, from the shockwave of the meteor, had flattened out into near obscurity. Smoke and fire billowed out from the city and the cries of sirens from emergency vehicles raced to save whoever was left under the rubble. And the sky had changed, turning a crimson red from the fires of the molten rock of the hot meteor.
Rise, Mountains of the Phoenix, a voice called out to the east. Mountains once had fallen through wind, water, and time, finish your rebirth in this world. Mountains that have seen life be born and die, and born again, rise from your slumber. Rumble and shake, expand and quake. May the tallest peek breathe its fiery wrath just like in days of old. Monuments of fire formed by the colliding landmasses come alive again in the East. There shall be smoke and fire in the East!
In the east, the tremor was felt through the fault lines around the Smoky Mountain National Park. The mountains shook violently as if awakened with rejuvenated life. The ground cracked and shifted as the mountains began to rise. Pigeon Forge felt the quake and life itself ceased for a breath as the spectators looked on with bewilderment. The highway connecting Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg broke away as the mountains incasing the small tourist attraction town rose around it. A massive chasm formed as the Smoky Mountains continued to rise higher and higher into the sky. This was a sight to behold, and it was impossible to even predict. Mountains rising up when only mere rocky hills stood was more out of a wild biblical story than reality. And a little beyond these mountains, another set belonging to the Appalachian chain rose up. The counties of Loudon and Anderson quaked as the Cumberlands rose, reforming to shapes they once held before the coal mining began. And the Cumberland Plateau shifted, also rising higher, its flat, mesa shape becoming more defined. Though, the tremors were aimed at the Appalachian Mountains, shockwaves from the tremors could be felt as far as Nevada.
"Holy hell!" cried Will. "Holy, holy, holy hell! What the fuck is happening?"
"Chinga!" Maria breathed when she held onto one of the support beams as the inside of the base shook violently. Kiryuu glanced up, bracing himself up against the body arms. Dust fell from the ceiling as the slight tremor quieted down.
"What the hell was that?" Will asked, glancing around the bay. "Earthquake?"
"This quake did not feel like it originated locally," Kiryuu informed.
As soon as Kiryuu had returned to the base, Gordon began to speak to him about creating the Oxygen Destroyer. Again, Kiryuu restated that he felt he did not have the power to destroy King Ghidorah. Then, the quake happened. It was a slight tremor. The facility shook enough to knock off coffee cups from the table. Will grabbed his cup just before it was about to fall to the ground. Io gripped Katsura's shirt, not sure what was about to happen. Just as suddenly the quake had come, it left and everyone finally calmed down.
"Okay," began Gordon began. "Where did that come from?"
Kiryuu closed his eyes and tapped into the USGS satellite grids. Apparently, they were not knocked out by the disturbance. He zoomed in on where the epicenter had come from and his eyes widened. There was a look of absolute flummox and dark horror written upon his face. From what he saw from the satellite images of the area on the east bank of the Mississippi River, there was supposed to be a city there. But what he found was a black spot and smoke rising up into the atmosphere.
"The—earthquake came from—Memphis, Tennessee," Kiryuu breathed.
"Huh?" Will asked.
"Tennessee—and earthquake…" Gordon shook his head. "Tennessee doesn't have earthquakes."
"Actually, Tennessee does have earthquakes," Kiryuu said. "Tennessee is a state divided by many fault lines. That's how the Smoky Mountains were formed. And there is a major fault line—one every geologists keeps an eye on because it affects such a large area, larger than the area the San Andreas fault affects. This fault line runs partially underneath the Mississippi River and on into Arkansas. The New Madrid fault. Tennessee is no stranger to seismic activity. One recorded quake occurred in the mid 1800s from the New Madrid fault changed the course of the mighty Mississippi and flooded an area right above the boarder of Tennessee and Kentucky. This area is now known as Reelfoot Lake."
"There's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on," Will murmured under his breath.
"Indeed," Kiryuu commented, picking up his statement. "Actually, one could be worried about what the New Madrid fault might do. The San Andreas does not have the potential of setting off Yellowstone like the New Madrid does."
"So, those Southerners have a sleeping dragon under the Mississippi River," Gordon sighed. "And…"
"And King Ghidorah just awoke it," Kiryuu growled. "I think you all need to see this."
Kiryuu passed the news reel to the others, putting up a Japanese subtitle for Io to read as the reporter began to talk. Behind the reporter were the Blue Ridge Mountains. Apparently, even the reporter was lost for words as to what just happened. He pointed back behind him where the Smoky Mountain National Park was, following along highway 144. He could go no further up the road like everyone else because of the enormous chasm blocking their way up to Gatlinburg.
"Uh…the seismic activity have ceased for now," the reporter began. "They say that the area is very unstable. I'm here in Sevierville, Tennessee where once the Smoky Mountains looked nothing more than barely recognizable cardboard cutouts against a hazy blue sky, now have become jaggedly, rocky monuments of cold stone, extending high into the atmosphere, and now are clear as day to be seen. They look like they're as tall as the Rockies, but sharper around the edges. Um…I've spoken to the geologists in the area and they're faces look as blank as anyone's face after something as baffling as this has happened. I couldn't even get a straight answer out of them. They don't know why. They think possibly the earthquake that originated from Memphis caused this, but then they say it's scientifically impossible. It's scientifically impossible, but it happened. Apparently the whole Appalachian chain has risen. We're—getting reports from new stations around Ashville, North Carolina, that Mt. Mitchell hasn't quit rumbling. And there's report of smoke coming from the mountain. Maybe a forest fire, but no one can say for sure. Clingman's Dome, despite its new elevation, seems fine. The Newfoundland Gap hopefully is in tact. And we hope the tourists who come here every year are safe. There are reports of rescue operations going on now to locate anyone inside the park."
"Smoke?" Will asked. "Coming from Mt Mitchell?"
"I take it you've been to Mt Mitchell?" Gordon asked.
"I used to live in Virginia," Will replied. "And I did drive down to Ashville a few times for skiing around Mt Mitchell. It's the tallest mountain in the whole Appalachian chain."
"Kiryuu," began Katsura. "Pull up Mt Mitchell."
Kiryuu accessed the USGC grid again and managed to pull up a photo of Mt. Mitchell. There, coming from its peek, was smoke.
"I'm getting heat readings coming from inside the mountain," Kiryuu said. "And…harmonic tremor…"
"Harmonic tremor?" Gordon asked.
"It means…" Kiryuu broke off, taking a slight pause. This time, not even he could even compute the possibility of a situation like this happening. "A volcano."
"Oh…no," Will shook his head. "No, that's not possible. Okay, yeah, earthquakes happening around the Blue Ridge Mountains, that I'll believe. But Mt. Mitchell becoming a volcano? No, that's not possible. I'm no geologist, but even I know that there isn't any record of the Appalachian Mountains ever being volcanic. Kiryuu, be reasonable."
"The data doesn't lie," Kiryuu said. "There's a volcano brewing under that mountain. And I'm getting three other hot spots rising up farther north as well."
"No," Will shook his head. "No, that's not possible."
"Will," Kiryuu began. "Mountains that were once 6 thousand feet above sea level—rising nearly 20 thousand feet above sea level within a matter of hours is also impossible. Mountains just don't rise like that. There are volcanic rock layers stored inside those mountains from activity hundreds of millions of years ago. At one time, during their birth, the Appalachian Mountains had some volcanic activity. Volcanoes once active, are now nothing more than folds within the crevasses dating all the way back to Precambrian time. This data has only been recently unearthed by geologists in the area. But there are signs of volcanic rock deposits in the Smoky Mountains."
"That was hundreds of millions of years," Gordon agreed. "But now…"
"Now, there's a volcano that might blow its top," Kiryuu sighed. "A hotspot under the mountain where once there was none. Which is—impossible. It's just scientifically, logically, and inherently impossible. Why? Why the Smoky Mountains, why Tennessee? Why is King Ghidorah doing this?"
"Because they are the Mountains of the Phoenix," two tiny voices replied.
Gordon, Will, Katsura, Io, and Maria turned around at the sound of the tiny voices. Though the voices were speaking in English, even Io could understand them. Apparently, to her, they were speaking in Japanese. They looked over at the source of the tiny voice and found two girls, twins, standing on a table. They were no larger than a foot tall and dressed in flowery kimonos. The two, tiny ladies bowed respectively. Maria's eyes just widened even more than ever.
"Gordon…" she began. "I—I think I need to go home now."
"Why?" Gordon asked.
"I think I've been drinking and now, I'm hallucinating," she said, her voice becoming a wavered whisper.
"What do you see?" Gordon asked, grinning at her.
"Two ladies dressed in kimonos no bigger than," she swallowed.
"Maria," Kiryuu rumbled reassuringly, his silvery tendril wrapping around her waist. "You're not seeing hallucinating. I see them too. They are the Cosmos."
She felt the tip of the silvery vine rub against the arch of her back, trying to calm the fretting woman down. He could sense, even without a link to her mind, that Maria was about to have an emotional break down from seeing two fairies standing before her.
"It's going to be okay, Maria," Kiryuu rumbled again, his deep purr began to sooth her. That voice of his could ease any agitation she held. She felt the tension begin to melt away and her muscles relaxed under the combination of his reassuring rub and the deep, powerful, inviting timbre of his seductive voice.
Oh, that voice of his could melt away the largest glacier, Maria grinned. All he has to do is speak.
"Hello, again," the Cosmos chimed in unison.
"Hello, ladies," Gordon began. "I'm shocked to see you both here. I guess the disturbance in the east has even been brought to Mothra's attention."
"Yes," they replied. "It has. The damage King Ghidorah is doing to this planet is not just happening in the Southeast, it is happening everywhere. But King Ghidorah's attention is aimed towards those mountains."
They raised their arms up gracefully as they pointed directly at the image of the Smoky Mountains on the monitors.
"So, it's not Knoxville that King Ghidorah is interested in," began Kiryuu. "It's the Blue Ridge Mountains?"
"The whole chain is his focus point," they replied. "But the Southeast holds the tallest of the chain. The Blue Ridge Mountain, and the Smoky Mountain National Park are his target."
"Why?" Katsura asked.
"They are the Mountains of the Phoenix," the fairies replied.
"What does that mean?" Will asked. "They're just mountains."
"They contain a geological timeline of the planet's past dating all the way back to even before life had even been kindled," the Cosmos replied. "They remember everything, even King Ghidorah for he has stood upon them before."
"King Ghidorah has been to the Appalachian Mountains?" Kiryuu asked. His head shook. "Even so, there are older rocks than what those mountains hold. Why are they so important?"
"They are the Mountains…"
"I know!" Kiryuu bellowed, his own frustrations came to light. His soft, soothing voice soon became harsh and stern, their tones vibrating through the walls of the bay area. "Let's ask this question. Why are they called the 'Mountains of the Phoenix'?"
"Mountains that rose high into the air, have fallen," the fairies replied. "Never to rise again. Mountains formed by force and heat and molten rock, have crumbled from wind, and weather, and time, never to rise again. These mountains have fallen like all others, but have risen again, their peeks exposing the ages that have gone before. They have become a spire of energies that have passed through the sands of time and King Ghidorah will use them to tap into the heart of the planet and suck this planet dry of life. It has happened before."
"130 million years ago," Kiryuu said.
"No," they replied. "King Ghidorah has visited this planet many times after Mothra placed you and your son into slumber. He did so 65 million years ago. King Ghidorah found that life will always return to this planet. Then, he found a solution of tapping into the very heart of the planet by going through the ages that have passed on. These mountains have been through many metamorphosis and have stored history within their slopes. They are a conduit for King Ghidorah."
"Why did he raise them so high?" Will asked.
"Unfortunately, many of King Ghidorah's reasoning can only be said by him and no other," they replied. "Why he rose the mountains to an altitude they once held many millions of years ago, only he can tell. One possible reason is to expose even more of the layers of history they held deep inside."
"And what about Mt. Mitchell?" Kiryuu asked. "Is it a volcano now?"
"Yes," they replied. "The stress from King Ghidorah's raising of the mountains pulled magma from the center of the Earth and trapped it into one of the cave systems inside the mountain. Now, the magma has nowhere else to go but out. This is happening to other peeks as well."
"There are four hotspots," Kiryuu said. "Three others north of Mt. Mitchell. One is in Virginia, another in Maine, and the third is in near New York."
"Kiryuu," began Gordon. "Has King Ghidorah shown himself?"
"The meteor that crashed into Memphis," began Kiryuu. "Has an enormous magnetic signature. I can concur this signature was the same as the signature of the meteor that crashed just outside of London two years ago. This meteor contains King Ghidorah. But for now, he has not risen."
"He likes to wait for his prey to come up close and inspect him," the fairies said. "Then, he will emerge. But for now, just watching the chaos he is causing in the east is enough entertainment for him for now. When he gets bored of that, he will emerge."
"He's waiting for Mt. Mitchell to erupt," Will sighed.
"Gordon," Kiryuu began. "About the Oxygen Destroyer…"
"Kiryuu…" Gordon sighed. "I don't like that weapon. I don't like you having that weapon."
"I'm not quite finished with it," Kiryuu said. "Gordon, this is why I built it. How do you expect me to defeat a creature like King Ghidorah? He can raise mountains, turn an area that hasn't been volcanically active in 200 million years, and make it active again. How can I defeat a monster like that?"
"How do you know that the Oxygen Destroyer can defeat him?" Gordon asked.
"It defeated me," Kiryuu replied. "When nothing else could, it did. Serizawa's weapon is still the most destructive component ever created. I have to use it."
"Kiryuu…"
"Gordon, King Ghidorah has created a volcano from a mountain that has never seen volcanic activity," Kiryuu called. "He's defying science! Please, I must finish the Oxygen Destroyer."
"Am I gonna have to have this thing installed inside of you?" he asked. "Because if I have to and it malfunctions, everything, even you AI will be damaged. Your body will be completely destroyed. I don't want to loose you."
"I've done the same thing Serizawa did when he created the Oxygen Destroyer," said Kiryuu. "I created a bomb-like casing for it. Only difference is that mine will activate remotely. And I've created two. I will detonate them when I get to King Ghidorah."
"Which means you have to find a way to stick it on him," Gordon growled. "Which will put you in danger."
"I'm always in danger of a fatal accident while fighting these monsters, Gordon," Kiryuu began.
"Gordon's right," said Maria. "Kiryuu, don't do it."
"Maria," Kiryuu sighed, his head hanging low.
"Kiryuu, I don't want you to get hurt," Maria said.
"Mi amiga," he rumbled. "I know what I'm doing. The syntech will aid me. Gordon, I must complete this."
"Gordon," began Katsura. "Kiryuu is right. This thing is bigger than he is. We built the AI to calculate any possibility in defeating a monster. If all of Kiryuu's calculations have come up with the solution that building an Oxygen Destroyer is the only way to defeat King Ghidorah and save humanity, we must let him finish it."
Gordon sighed again, running a frustrated hand through his hair and down his face. He glanced up at Kiryuu, his expression portraying his feelings on Kiryuu's experiment. Serizawa died so that his weapon would never be used again. And now, the very thing he destroyed with that weapon is now creating that weapon to kill another monster.
"Gordon," began Kiryuu. "I swear that this weapon would only be used once. It won't be used again."
"What about your knowledge in building one?" Gordon asked.
"It is encrypted," Kiryuu replied.
"I won't feel any better about it until you erase everything on Serizawa's weapon after you complete the thing!" Gordon barked. "Do you understand me? This isn't a safe weapon to use. And I agree with Serizawa, I don't think anyone should have the ability to use it."
"Very well, Gordon," Kiryuu replied with sincerity in his voice. "I will erase the files when I am done."
"Good," Gordon said. Oh, he's lying through his teeth.
Jo glanced over her shoulder, watching as the world passed below like a blur. She gripped tightly to Manda's blue-green mane as the great Sea Dragon spiraled down towards the earth below.
"Hang on," Manda called. His eyes narrowed as he dove down towards the tall, angling peeks below. He knew these mountains, but he knew that they were not originally this size. Manda glanced down as his body turned towards one of the peaks that caught his eyes. His serpentine form whipped in the wind like a ribbon, coiling and uncoiling through the air currents. The peak itself looked like it was smoking. His nostrils took in the scent of the air around him. Manda's nose wrinkled up as he smelled the stench in the air. He heard Jo in the back coughing.
"Aw, God!" she cried. "What is that smell?"
"Sulfur," Manda replied. He landed near one of the vents that the smell and the smoke was coming out. As he landed, he felt the earth beneath him tremble and rumble. The trees around him looked bare and lifeless. There were no sounds of birds singing or any other animals. The only thing he could hear was the ominous hiss of the vent.
"What the hell happened?" Manda asked.
"This place stinks," Jo coughed again.
"Cover your nose, Jo," Manda ordered.
"Why the hell are we here, Tim?" she asked. "What is this place?"
"Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina," Manda replied as he glanced around, readjusting his dark, reflective sunglasses. He took them off and placed them up on his brow as he leaned down slightly to the vent. He knew he could not get any closer to it because of its toxic fumes. Though he would not be affected by them, his passenger was a different story. The Dragon did not want Jo to get sick.
"There's dead trees everywhere," Jo whispered. "Tim, this place gives me the heebie-jeebies. Where's the birds?"
Manda glanced down to the ground, his nose catching the scent of death beneath his feet. He lifted one brilliant blue foot up and saw what he smelled. There were the charred bodies of birds, deer, and squirrels. Their lifeless husks littered the ground everywhere. Birds that once flew freely in the sky, looked as if they fell. It was the sulfur.
"Manda," Jo breathed. "What happened to them?"
"The sulfur," Manda replied. "It's the fumes from that vent. They suffocated."
"We'll suffocate too if we stay here longer!" Jo cried. "Let's get the hell out of here."
"I'll fly upwind from the vent and scout around," he said as he leapt into the air.
"Tim," began Jo. "Look, I'm no specialist, but I've seen the Discovery Channel a few times. Um, doesn't a sulfur vent mean something like a volcano? Isn't that where it comes from, a volcano?"
"That tremor I felt came deep from within the mountain," said Manda as he landed on the other side of the vent. "A volcano? That's impossible."
He felt another tremor rock the ground. The ground itself cracked and Manda leapt up unto the air again. His eyes widened and his breath became still as the ground opened its jagged maw, revealing a fiery glow inside.
"A volcano!" Manda cried. "Jesus-tap-dancing-Christ! This whole mountain's gonna erupt!"
"Marx, get us the fuck outta here now!" Jo cried. She held on tightly as Manda inched his way into the sky again. She glanced back once more, seeing the vent where the sulfur came out spray a fountain of crimson and bright orange. Manda felt the heat on his back and he turned around towards the peak where once the lookout stood. Smoke and ash spewed out from the top from newly formed vents deep within the mountain.
"Tim, there's something I remembered I saw on the Discovery Channel," Jo began as she saw the black jet rise higher into the sky.
"What's that?" Manda asked.
"Whenever a mountain blows its top, it sends this really black cloud of dust and debris into the air," she began. "And it's like very hot and it falls to the ground and burns the flesh off of anything that gets in its way. Um…Mt Saint Helens blasted that once."
"Pyroclastic cloud," Manda said. "The expulsion of the volcano's top."
"Yeah," Jo said. "Um, this is not a safe place to be. Can we get out of here before that cloud reaches us." She paused again, seeing other blast happen at the top as a flow of black, heated wall of death came towards them. "Like—fucking right now!"
"It'll be a while before that happens," said Manda. He felt something fall on his snout and he glanced up. All around him it looked like it was snowing. But he knew better. The white flakes that were falling from the sky were not frozen water particles, but volcanic ash. "Cover your mouth and nostrils and close your eyes tightly."
"Ash," Jo breathed.
Manda glanced up as he saw the black cloud fill the clear blue sky. And beyond that, he saw lightning flash in the billowing black vapors. He heard the sound of thunder rumble and he turned his head down. There, at the peak of the mountain was a spout of crimson and orange. And the mountain roared out angrily.
"Get us out of here," Jo cried. "Now!"
"No arguments here," Manda agreed. He whipped his tail, spiraling up into the air again. The Dragon flew west towards the interior of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He glanced around, seeing that there had been some extreme changes in the mountains' elevation. Once, these mountains were no higher than five to six thousand feet, now, their peaks stretched up nearly twice that height. The Blue Ridge Mountains swiftly became the area known as the Smoky Mountains National Park. As the plume of Mt. Mitchell faded from their sight, the smell of sulfur could not leave his nostrils. That smell was everywhere he flew. Manda neared Gatlinburg, or where Gatlinburg used to reside and found just the same in the Smokies as with Mount Mitchell. The mountains were now tall, angling, treeless spires of gray and black rock. Snow now capped their peaks because of the high altitudes precipitation. But the highest of these mounts was spouting smoke much like its cousin in North Carolina.
"Not another one," Jo sighed. "Another volcano?"
"This is King Ghidorah's doing," Manda said. "One time—one time hundreds of millions of years ago, these mountains were volcanic. There evidence is there in the rock layers. But the volcanoes that once fumed long ago have disappeared into the folds. Though, before King Ghidorah mutated these mountains, a few peaks did held the famous conical shape that betrayed their violent birth."
"Why is he making new volcanoes when he could just easily use volcanoes that have irrupted recently?" Jo asked as she glanced down at the other smoking mountain.
"That's just it," Manda replied. "If an already known volcano were to erupt, then no one else would think much on it. They would be worried, but it would not cause as much chaos as making mountains become volcanoes when they were never ones before. This is something different. Creating volcanoes out of mountains that haven't seen volcanic activity since before the dinosaurs is raising eyebrows and stirring up deep, frighten thoughts among Americans."
"So, he's showing off?" Jo groaned. "Great, a monster that likes to show off."
"He's very dramatic," Manda said. "World destruction is like a stage to him."
"Pre-Madonna," Jo snorted, hearing Manda chuckle.
Manda glanced down at the peak of the smoking mountain below him.
"Clingman's Dome," he said. "It's not really erupting violently as Mount Mitchell was. But I do see the lava in its newly formed volcanic crater. Looks like the lava is building the cone, flattening out construction in the area. But it's fuming though. Looks like Kilauea the way it's just spewing lava over its sides and smoke up from its crater."
"It's covering the whole sky with a big, black cloud," said Jo.
Manda's fins tested the wind as he landed on the slopes of the volcano. Jo covered her nose and mouth again as the stench of sulfur fumes filled her nostrils. The mountain rumbled, but not as much as Mt. Mitchell. Mount Mitchell erupted out, blasting a cloud of ash and debris into the air, covering the land with a Pyroclastic surge. But Clingman's Dome was not. But it did fume out more smoke and ash from the top of its cone, blocking the sunlight. A broiling fume of despair covered the southeast of Tennessee, extending out beyond the now lava filled Pigeon River, and out towards Knoxville.
"This is King Ghidorah's will," Manda rumbled darkly. "The wind is blowing from the west, but the ash cloud is moving from the southeast. He wants the Tennessee Valley covered in a blanket of ash and soot from Clingman's Dome and the sky to black. He is setting his stage."
"Pre-Madonna," Jo snorted. She glanced up again at the sound of thunder. As the ash cloud moved, lightning streaked through its billowing underbelly, striking the ground as ash fell like gray snow. "Oh, yeah, this is melodrama. What are we going to do?"
"If King Ghidorah is defeated," began Manda. "Then it is possible that the spell he placed upon this land will be lifted. It might go back to normal and the volcanic activity will cease."
"What if it doesn't?" Jo asked.
"Then, Tennessee and North Carolina are gonna have the same fears as Seattle with Mount Saint Helens," Manda sighed. "Let's go. There's nothing more we can do here."
"Tim," began Jo. "Why is King Ghidorah coming here?"
"These are the Mountains of the Phoenix," Manda replied as he flew off towards the west. "These mountains have risen and fallen—only to rise again. These mountains are a conduit that King Ghidorah can use in order to suck the life out of this planet."
"And Kiryuu has to stop him before he does," Jo said.
"That's right," said Manda as he flew across land that was blanketed in a fine covering of ash. And behind him he could hear the sound of the mountains rumble.