Chapter 7. 'Nuff said.
Godzilla is © Toho.
RESCUE MISSION
The G-Force ship moved slowly across the water, Miki stood on the stern and scanning the water with her eyes, looking, listening and sensing intensely for any sign of Godzilla.
"Anything?" Takuya asked from beside her, earning a slow shake of the girl's head.
"He didn't respond at all," Miki repeated fearfully, "That's never happened before."
"It's probably just this phase," Takuya reassured her. "Although… if it's not… and there's the question of how much worse it could get… and I'm not helping am I?"
"Not really." Miki replied dryly, looking around for the hundredth time.
Akane suddenly leaned out of the bridge and shouted down to them both.
"We've got something!"
In a heartbeat, Miki and Takuya were on the bridge, looking down at the blip on the radar screen.
Miki was almost relieved to feel the twinge in the back of her mind, the familiar feeling of Godzilla's mind pressing into hers.
"It's him," she confirmed.
Not so far away, the water churned, Godzilla's head and upper back arching up and back down as he cut through the water.
"He's calm," Miki nodded as Godzilla turned towards the ship.
"No offence, kid," Miyuki answered, "But maybe we should go for a test first."
Nodding, Miki stepped outside as Godzilla, surfaced from the shoulders up, turned his snout down to regard her with the now-familiar emotions of curiosity and affection.
"Godzilla," She shouted, pointing towards the water, "Go!"
As Miki held her breath, her stomach gnawing at itself with anxiety, Godzilla obediently turned, the telepath letting out a strong sigh of relief.
"Something good, at last," Akane admitted.
Suddenly, Godzilla turned his head, sniffing at the air. Miki squinted her eyes, shut, stepping back and placing both hands on her head as a wave of emotion shot into her mind like a bullet. Just like before, it was pure instinct: a single, burning compulsion.
Snarling into the air, Godzilla turned and dived into the water.
"Where's he going?" Miyuki asked on behalf of the entire group.
"No idea," Miki shook her head, "But he's sensed something in his territory."
"And we all know what that means," Akane warned.
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Near Lake Obake
A few people came and went about their daily routine on the front of the small seaside town, moving from one shop to another or climbing on and off busses, a few fishing rods dangled off the piers. Tourists bustled around souvenir stores, children licking at ice cream cones.
Then, the first few people spotted the mass of surf and rushing water that seemed to be moving towards the shore.
The water erupted, a huge reptilian head bursting out above a lean body framed with jagged spikes, all in one mountainous mass of scales and muscle that, in a second, was clear of the water, those before it scattering as a massive, three-clawed foot bigger than a bus slammed onto the ground, cracking the pavement beneath.
With a single bound, Godzilla cleared the buildings before him, cars swerving and screeching to a halt as the massive saurian stampeded over them.
And, back in the harbour, the small, white body of G-Force's vessel approached.
"Not good," Takuya piped up.
"Anyone here know how to fly the chopper?" Miyuki checked; She and Takuya were scientists, not soldiers, Miki was only fifteen, and Osaki and Kazama were off dealing with whatever was at Obake, which left…
"Get in," Akane instructed as she made for the small aircraft housed near the back of the ship.
Godzilla lunged downward, swiping at the earth before him with his claws. A cloud of dust rose around him as the end of his tail, the only part still visible in the shroud of debris, descended, and by the time the dust cleared, in its place was a gaping hole in the ground.
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Lake Obake
G-Force's chopper descended onto the hastily-assembled heliport, its occupants taking in the sight of the shattered building.
As the group disembarked, Takuya quickly dashed off, gagging from the flight, as the others approached Colonel Gordon.
"What happened here?" Miyuki asked urgently.
Miki, however, turned her eyes to one side, narrowing them as she saw the other familiar person there.
"Marutomo," She scowled.
"Ms. Saegusa," Marutomo replied pompously, "An unexpected pleasure."
"Well let me guess whose fault this is," Miki said accusingly. "Doesn't look all that different from the last time you got what was coming to you."
"Where's Osaki?" Miyuki checked, looking around.
Guiltily, Gordon pointed towards the water.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Takuya asked nervously, recovering from his bout of airsickness.
"They took a minisub down to investigate," Gordon explained. "They're trapped on the lakebed, and their air supply's limited."
"Can't you get to them?" Miyuki insisted, "We can't just leave them there!"
"We can't get down there without having to get past this Manda thing," Gordon explained.
"Manda?" Akane repeated, her curiosity piqued.
"That's what we're calling the thing that did this," Gordon explained, "Picture the Loch Ness Monster in a bad mood."
"How many submersibles do you have left?" Akane checked.
"Two."
"Then two of us can go down in each one," Miki suggested.
"They're most likely dead," Marutomo cut in, "It's a useless effort."
"Shut it," Miki, Akane, Takuya, Miyuki and Gordon all snapped at once.
"We're going," Miki finished harshly.
"No way," Miyuki stated harshly, "You're staying here. There's no way Osaki would let us put you in that kind of…"
"Save it," Miki interrupted, "That doesn't work for Osaki, and it's not gonna work for you."
"Moot point, ladies," Gordon reminded them, "How exactly do you plan to get past our antisocial sea serpent?"
"He's right," Takuya thought out loud, "We need a distraction…"
Suddenly, the water by the shoreline exploded, Manda rearing up and hissing into the air.
On the other side of the group of humans, the ground split apart and, in a great cloud of dust, Godzilla rose from the earth, shaking chunks of rock from his body like a dog.
Manda hissed, Godzilla gave a bellowing roar, and each monster tensed, ready to strike.
"Well," Miki nodded towards her scaly familiar, "I always found Godzilla pretty distracting."
Akane quickly glanced from one of the monsters to the other.
"OK," She shrugged, "Let's go."
Next Chapter, ladies and gents, it's the showdown you've all been waiting for… Godzilla Vs. Manda!
All reviews welcome!
