Omg where did the time go? You would think I'd have more time to write thanks to current evens, but my classes switched to online and now I'm trying to teach myself chemistry and writing an essay on a novel. Should all be over soon, then I can focus on this again.

As always, thank you for all your support!

Earthquake

Still soaking wet, Amara and Whyley sat down at the wooden table amongst shattered glass. Metallic air blew against the open drapes of the balcony, erasing the dusty scent of the hotel room despite the brown haze that enveloped it.

Both were silent. Whyley's eyes stared down at the floor, unblinking, a deep frown still etched into his sallow complexion. Though he kept his thoughts silent, it was obvious what he was thinking about.

She screwed up.

No, those words didn't even begin to sum up what she had done. She could screw up a question on test. She could screw up an interview. But those were trivial things. Miniscule, like an ant to a lion, like her tiny form compared to Godzilla.

But, for whatever reason, size was irrelevant when it came to them. Godzilla was a titan, perhaps even a god. Not in the biblical sense, but as a guardian born of the earth itself. Not all knowing, but immortal, always learning, always wondering. Conscious of all the other creatures that inhabited the planet.

To think such a being was bound to her through a shared conscious. She was nothing more than weakness. It was perfectly logical to break the connection for that reason alone.

But if it was the right thing to do, why did it feel so wrong?

"Is the radiation in Boston, San Francisco and all the other places harmless as well?"

After everything that just happened, Whyley was most concerned about radiation?

"I'm not sure. Godzilla's radiation could be unique to him, who knows about the other titans."

"He absorbs radiation too, right? There's no solid evidence, but they say the radiation levels are much lower than expected after the battles."

"Yeah, he absorbs the bad radiation, converts it, and releases his own."

"You know this for sure?"

"He told me himself."

Whyley looked down at the black screen of his phone on the table. "So if he'd been in Janjira…" His voice trailed off.

Janjira. That was a word not spoken much anymore. It was the first major disaster caused by titans in the modern day. Hundreds died when the nuclear power plant collapsed, and thousands more in the following weeks.

Unlike Godzilla, the MUTO's took years to absorb radiation. If he had been there, would he have been able to absorb the radiation before it could affect the people living nearby?

"I'm not sure," she said.

Whyley closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. His eyes opened slowly, they held a far off look as he gazed at the adjacent wall.

Did he know someone there?

"I don't know what to do now." Whyley frowned. "Is Godzilla even going to live?"

"Of-of course he will, why would you say that?"

"Look at all the blood. He's still an animal, even he can bleed out."

Amara shook her head. "He's not just an animal. He's a titan—Godzilla."

"He couldn't use his atomic breath. Doesn't that seem serious to you?"

"He'll heal!" He always heals.

"I know for a fact that there was oxygen destroyer technology in the missile. The military isn't stupid." He swallowed. "Just me."

A part of Amara wanted to stand up and point at him, a proclamation of "I told you so" on her lips, but instead she just sat there in silence.

This was the guy that sold her out to Jonah and had her kidnapped and almost killed. This was the guy who handcuffed her with a zip tie and locked her in a room while Godzilla leveled the city to get to her. He was the bad guy, a spy in the military reporting back to Jonah.

But as he sat before her, looking like a forlorn teenager, he didn't look like the bad guy. He looked like a pawn that became self aware and realized his place in the game. Manipulated and used, blinded like a member of a cult.

But that didn't excuse him. Forgiveness was earned, not granted. And she would grant him the chance to earn it.

"Here's your phone." The clatter of it being placed on the table accompanied Whyley's voice. "I turned it off, so hopefully it's not dead."

Amara picked it up and held the power button until the screen lit up and a fuzzy picture of Godzilla's head looking over the cliff greeted her. A picture of a picture. Not a second later, the screen filled with notifications, covering the titan's photograph. They were all from Mi Sun; an assortment of calls, texts, and voicemails, the most resent was sent only minutes ago. Thank god she was okay.

Her finger scrolled up and down the assortment of notifications, when the phone began to vibrate. Mi Sun was calling. Her thumb hovered over the accept icon, but did not move.

"You going to answer that?"

What would she tell Mi Sun? That she broke the connection with Godzilla? That he was hurt and she was to blame?

Mi Sun would be outraged. She'd spent so much time guiding her in the right direction, and the second they were separated, Amara made everything worse. Everything Mi Sun helped her build up, she destroyed in an instant.

But it was the right thing to do, no matter what Mi Sun thought. A titan shouldn't be brought to its knees because of a single human, least of all her.

A larger hand took the phone out of hers. Whyley put the phone up to his ear.

Mi Sun's muted voice rung through the silent room. "Amara? Where are you? Are you alright?"

"Yes, she's fine," Whyley answered in her stead.

"Who is this? Wait…is this Whyley? Put Amara on the phone right now."

Amara's eyes met Whyley's questioning ones. Talking to Mi Sun when she was all ready angry would not end well.

"She's still pretty shaken up, I'm not sure she's ready to talk yet."

Though Mi Sun's voice was loud, she spoke too quickly to understand through the phone's speaker pressed to Whyley's ear.

"Yes, I can bring her to you ma'am. I just need to know your location."

Mi Sun's voice quieted.

"I understand." Silence as he listened like a child being disciplined. "I realized we're on the same side." He closed his mouth. "Yes, I was wrong. Jonah was using me like everyone else. I was stupid not to see it."

His downturned eyes only emphasized defeated tenor of his voice. Was it an act? It seemed too good to be true.

But then again, he was never shy about being on Godzilla's side. Maybe he could prove himself to her and Mi Sun by giving them inside information. Become their spy, a double agent.

Maybe that was a little optimistic. There had to be established trust to know who's side he was truly on.

Whyley placed the phone back on the table. She had missed the end of the conversation.

"Your friend is at a hospital in Santa Clarita."

"Where's that?"

"North. Along the highway."

"And you're going to take me there?"

Whyley nodded, his eyes still on the phone. "Yeah. We'll use the bike. There's still lots of gas and it should be able to maneuver around an cars and debris along the way."

"And then what?"

Whyley finally made eye contact. "You guys find Godzilla and I'll make sure whatever you do doesn't cause another disaster."

Amara looked away from Whyley, her eyes landing on broken glass covered in dust. Distant sirens filled the silence.

Whyley shuffled from the corner of her eye, putting his hands on his lap. "I know, I'm not one to talk." He paused. "But I know what to do now."

"What about Jonah—and the military for that matter? You can't just disappear."

"Jonah—" The word was venom off his tongue. "—could care less. He's in Russia right now…for some reason. And the UNTDA is going to be focused on civilian evacuation for the next few days, or until Godzilla shows up again."

UNTDA; the United Nations Titan Defence Alliance, or something like that. Whyley was incredibly lucky to be a part of the team that's sole purpose to monitor titans. If a titan attacked, or even acted strangely, they were the first on scene. Thus her constant encounters with him.

"Won't they be looking for you though?"

"I'll go MIA for a while. When everything calms down, I'll just say my radio broke."

"Won't they tell your family?"

Surprise flickered across Whyley's face but schooled his expression an instant after. "I've got some time before that happens."

Did his family know what he was up to? How close he came to death on multiple occasions? Surely, they did; unlike her own mother who slept soundly, blissfully unaware of her daughter's involvement.

And her father? He was probably fine with it either way. He only cared about one person. Himself.

Whyley stood. "Are you ready?"

Amara nodded. As she rose, she cracked her neck. "Yeah."

The sun was red and just over the horizon when Amara swung her leg across the bike to get off. Her knees ached from an hour of being bent and her ears rung from the drone of the engine.

Whyley dismounted after her. If he was stiff from riding, he didn't show it. His blond hair was dishevelled and his face was red from the wind.

In front of them was a small hospital, and in between were far more cars than allotted parking spaces.

Perhaps people transferred from evacuated hospitals in Los Angeles, or people injured during the evacuation.

They passed people loitering outside the front doors. People in wheelchairs, people smoking in the non-smoking zones, people talking on their cellphones. Inside was equally crowded. Nearly every chair was filled with all walks of life, from nursing mothers to snoozing grandparents.

Amara led the way to the counter. The woman there told them Mi Sun's room number and gestured them in the right direction. Whyley took the lead after Amara took a wrong turn. They arrived at room 3305 not long after.

Mi Sun was sitting up on the hospital bed scribbling away on her worn notebook. Other than a few scrapes and a bandage on her temple, she appeared to be okay.

The second Amara entered the room, Mi Sun straightened and her face lit up.

Amara practically sprung towards Mi Sun, embracing her. For some reason, actually seeing her stirred up a range of feelings. Her eyes teared up as a laugh escaped her throat. Mi Sun had a similar reaction, as she was wiping her eyes when they let go.

"You're okay, right?" Mi Sun's eyes shone.

Mi Sun was asking her that? She was the one in the hospital. "I'm fine. You're the one I'm concerned about."

"It's just a head wound and a tiny concussion. Nothing to be worried about. They're probably releasing me tomorrow." Mi Sun looked towards the doorway of her small room. Her eyes sharpened. "You."

Amara followed her gaze towards Whyley who was standing at the door, his arms crossed looking a little timid. "Dr. Park," he replied.

Mi Sun kept her narrowed gaze at him for almost a minute, as if she were peering into his very soul. She let out a little breath. "Thank you."

Whyley gave a curt nod.

Mi Sun's eye's shifted back to Amara. "So, care to explain what happened?"

Amara diverted her eyes and swallowed. Mi Sun must have all ready had an idea of the events if the aged television in her room playing the news was any indication.

The lump in her throat grew. Couldn't Whyley tell her? He witnessed everything she did.

"Amara." Mi Sun's voice was soft. "You can tell me."

Mi Sun waited despite Amara's silence.

It hurt to swallow. She opened her mouth only to close it again. Where did she start? "I—I screwed up."

"Just start from the beginning."

The beginning? Where was the beginning? This morning on the island? The hotel room? When Godzilla rose from the ocean and leveled everything in his path?

No, it was before that. Back home when he came to close to Vancouver Island. He had followed her from California after going on some stupid internship with a marine biologist. Why did she ever apply to that in the first place? She didn't even like the water.

If she'd never agreed to go diving. No. If she never went at all. Would the link have formed at all? Would all of this have happened?

She would be at home bored, or even working today. Godzilla would still be off the radar…still be okay.

But he wasn't okay. He was hurt. Disconnected from her, betrayed by her.

"Amara, it's okay. Just breathe."

Nothing was okay. Her head pounded like a bat against the empty hull of a boat. Emptied by the absence of his presence. What if he wasn't just hurt. What if her actions…

What if he was dead?

"I—" Amara's voice cracked and wavered between breaths of shallow air. "Betrayed him."

Mi Sun's hand rubbed her back. Not daring to look at the woman, Amara's eyes slid to the small television. The headline echoed her conscience.

King of the Monsters, dead?

She covered her face with her hands. It was too hard to look at what she had done.

Soft footsteps approached from the doorway and stopped when they reached the other side of the bed near Mi Sun.

Though Mi Sun said nothing, Whyley's voice quietly told her what Amara could not.

After some time, his voice faded off, leaving the nearly indistinguishable mumble of the newscaster the only noise chattering into the small room.

It stayed like that for a long time. The three of them in silence, mourning what was and what could be.

The change in tone of the newscaster's voice pulled Amara's gaze from the closed bathroom door towards the television. A shuffle indicated Mi Sun and Whyley had picked up on it as well. The volume indicator flashed across the side of the screen and the female's voice became clearly auditable.

"A 2.5 magnitude earthquake has struck just off the cost of Russia in the Sea of Okhotsk." A map of Russia was displayed on the screen. Red circles like ripples were located in the ocean south of eastern Russia and north of Japan.

The lady went on to talk about Japan and Russia on high alert and Tsunami watch.

"Oh no," Mi Sun whispered from behind.

"Why is this such a big deal?" Amara twisted to face her. It was a tiny earthquake.

Mi Sun's lips were set in a line, her expression nearly identical to Whyley's, who was sitting upright in a chair.

"Because it's not on a fault line."

So, it wasn't an earthquake then. "A titan?"

Mi Sun barely inclined her head. Her eyes didn't leave the screen. "Responding to Godzilla's condition."

But then that meant the titans knew. Their leader was hurt, or worse. Would there be a repeat of the mass awakening already?

Her temples burned and her ears rung. Louder and louder, like a screech loud enough to blowout her eardrums. And then, it stopped.

The woman's voice retuned, now announcing that the military is ready to employ the same measures on any titan that they had just demonstrated on Godzilla.

"So, spy boy, you've been quiet. Anything you would care to weigh in on?"

No answer.

Shifting around again, Amara faced them. Whyley's hands were balled, one fist on each thigh. He looked past both of them, his jaw set. He knew something. Something he didn't want to say.

Amara swallowed the ball in her throat. "You're on the right side now, Whyley." Her voice was gentle. "Just tell us."

Whyley's gaze fell to his lap and finally he spoke. "Jonah has a base in Russia. It's not far from there."

Mi Sun sprung upright. "What is he doing there? Is he planning on awakening the titans again? How can you let him do this?"

Whyley was pale now. "No, he said he abandoned that plan. He doesn't tell me anything I don't need to know because of my position—the position I had," he quickly corrected. "But he's spent most of his time there since the awakening."

Mi Sun barely gave him time to finish. "And what do you know about this base in particular? Bigger, better, more personnel?"

"It's where he keeps the head."

"The head?"

"The severed head of Monster Zero. He bought it off of some fishermen and had it shipped there. He has a team of scientists researching it."

Mi Sun gaped. "What are they trying to learn?"

"I have no idea. I doubt anyone other then them and Jonah know. They have their own little secret group."

Mi Sun took a breath. "Ghidorah had multiple abilities from his lightning based attack to his regenerative properties. For all we know, an entire new Ghidorah could grow from the head alone."

Was she serious? But then again, even if it seemed impossible, Ghidorah was not a creature of this world. It created hurricanes from nothing, what was growing back a new body?

All three of them jumped at a knock at the door. The doctor walked in pleasant as ever, despite the obvious tension in the room. He briefly looked at Mi Sun's chart, shone a light in her eyes, and told her she was free to leave as soon as tonight if she could arrange a ride. He left the room with a brief goodbye.

Once again, they sat in silence.

Mi Sun was the first to speak. "So, what vehicle did you bring? We can go back to my place if it's accessible."

"Unfortunately," Amara started, "We brought a stolen motorbike."

Mi Sun shot a sharp glare to Whyley, identifying him as the thief. "Well then, I guess you guys will have to go pick up my Hilux and bring it here." She leaned over the side of her bed to her bag, pulling the keys out of one of the side pockets. She placed them in Amara's hand. "Don't you dare let him drive."

It was nice to see the fire behind Mi Sun's eyes. "I won't."

"Oh, your bag is here too," she added, leaning over again and picking it up from its hiding place behind hers.

Whyley got up and took the backpack from Mi Sun as he did. He sung it over his shoulder and headed for the door.

Amara got up too. The room spun for a moment. "We'll be right back."

Mi Sun smiled. "I'll see you in a few hours. Then we can sort this out."

"You're not mad at me?"

"It was a mistake, Amara. You're not a superhero. Plus, I doubt he's dead. He's the king of the monsters."

"We're going to find him, right?"

Mi Sun's smile returned. "Of course we will."

Amara nodded and turned to follow Whyley who was just outside the door. Mi Sun sounded so confident. Without the connection, there was no way of knowing if Godzilla had survived, and no way of finding him.