Hopefully this makes up for the massive wait of the last few chapters! I realized recently just how much I love writing this story! We're finally getting close to the finale now, approximately one year since I started writing it (Crazy right?) Some of you have been here the whole way and have supported me from the beginning. I will never stop thanking you for your feedback and engagement!
And if your new, I hope you stick around till the end as well!
On a side note, might be longer waits again after this chapter. I'm starting spring/summer online classes on Monday, so we'll see how it goes! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
I would like to thank watashi-desu for editing this chapter and for becoming my new Beta!
The Ocean Guardian
…
After several stops at small airports, the trio finally landed on Yonaguni Island. Matt, formally known as D, tuned out to be a pretty decent guy. Like Whyley, he wasn't shy about his recent dissatisfaction with how Jonah had been running their group. In fact, he complained for a good two hours of the trip, at first with Whyley then Mi Sun joined in as well. Amara threw in the odd comment, but looking out the window at the water took much less energy.
Matt didn't stick around for long. After disembarking, he gave Whyley the manliest hug it looked like he could muster and gave Mi Sun a curt handshake. When it was Amara's turn, he gave her a bear hug.
"Keep on fighting, girlie," he said. "After all this is over, I'm challenging you to a rematch."
When they exited the front doors of the airport, three people waved when they noticed Whyley. The younger one who looked mid twenties called out, "Geiru kun, okaerinasai!"
"Tadaima," Whyley replied, returning the boy's nod with a smile of is own.
When they met, the boy raised his hand like it was an old joke. Whyley went along with the high five, a grin on his face.
Whyley turned back to Amara and Mi Sun. "This is Tao." He gestured to the boy he stood beside.
Tao bowed. His black hair fell over his tanned face. "It is nice to meet you," he said with a strong accent.
Amara and Mi Sun bowed back, returning his greeting. Mi Sun looked graceful compared to Amara's bow. Did she look as awkward as she felt?
Whyley then introduced Tao's mother, Misaki, and father, Takahiro. Like Tao, his parents had tan skin from years of being out in the sunshine. While Tao's hair was shiny black, their hair was salted with grey. Their clothes were loose and hung off their frames.
Misaki gave the trio paper fans, a thoughtful gift given the heat of the morning. Amara wore jean shorts with a t-shirt tucked in, both borrowed from Mi Sun's wardrobe. Mi Sun had snickered when she handed the shirt to her while they packed. It was blue with a picture of a dolphin, but the worst part was what was written across it. "I did it on porpoise," Amara had said aloud. How terrible.
They followed the family out towards the barren parking lot. Their vehicle was a tiny white truck, no bigger than Amara's rust bucket Honda. Mi Sun cooed at how adorable it was.
Tao's parents climbed into the cab. Amara piled into the back with everyone else. The four of them barely fit into the box. Amara sat shoulder to shoulder with Mi Sun while Whyley and Tao sat on the other side.
They drove through the country. Large green fields on one side, the endless ocean on the other. Tao pointed out anything interesting, including a herd of tiny horses. Whyley translated for him, telling them about the small horses being unique to the island and treasured among the people.
The island was absolutely beautiful. The breeze was the perfect temperature as it swept through Amara's hair. It smelt fresh and clean, salty like the sea at home. What would it be like to live here? It was so unlike any place she'd imagined living, yet it was so appealing. Learning Japanese would be a challenge though.
Was Godzilla truly here, in this place? Somewhere out in the blue ocean that separated this tiny island from the rest of the world?
And somehow, these people knew of him.
"Misaki works at the local museum. She wants us to go there first. Tao says she has something she would like to show you," Whyley said after Tao spoke to them in Japanese.
Mi Sun spoke up over the wind. "So how do you know Godzilla is here based on the fish?"
Whyley translated for Tao and replied with his answer. "Godzilla is an ancient legend here. They've known him long before the events of 2014." Tao spoke again and Whyley continued. "His mom can explain better than he can once we get to the museum."
Was this Godzilla's home, or one of his homes? That would explain how the people knew of him. Perhaps he would have gone back to the place that was destroyed when Dr. Serizawa revived him if it still existed. But the people here knew him well enough to make him legend—to know he's here based on the fish.
The fields were broken apart by houses and streets as they entered a small town. The buildings were old and square, bordered by trees and wood fences. It only took a few more minutes to reach the museum, which did not look how Amara envisioned it in her mind.
Past a small sign was a rectangular wooden building with a red roof. A blue plaque near the entrance was the only thing to distinguish what it was.
They disembarked the miniature truck, Tao's parents leading the way in. It was still early, so they had to unlock the doors to enter. They walked through a couple of rooms, one of which had a display of an underwater rock formation that looked like they could have been ancient ruins.
Misaki reached another door and unlocked it. She gestured them all in to the small office with a bow. Inside was a wooden desk and chair complete with a box computer. The walls of the room were lined with book cases filled with books and cluttered stacks of papers and files. The office looked well loved.
Much like in the truck, everyone was shoulder to shoulder as Misaki took a file folder from the top shelf. She stepped off the small ladder and placed it on the table, saying something.
It took Whyley a second to translate. "She says that she's only shown this to two other people, Dr. Serizawa and…my mom."
From his voice, it was obvious this was news to him. But why Whyley's mom?
Misaki fixed her long skirt and sat in the office chair. Everyone gathered around as she opened the folder. As she spoke, Whyley translated, his voice was shaky as he comprehended what he heard as he said the words.
"Years ago, when Julia—my mom, fist came to the island, she was on a tour when she came to the museum and met me—Misaki." His brows were set in deep concentration. "Julia was looking at one of the old folklore books on display and somehow recognized the creature depicted on the page. She asked me if the creature was real and I said it was just a myth unique to this area. She was quiet for a while then said, 'he is real.'"
Though Misaki continued talking, Whyley stopped. His eyes were glassy.
Misaki paused and asked him a question. He took a breath and nodded at her.
"She's going to tell me first, then I'll tell you guys, okay?"
That seemed fair enough. He was clearly affected by what Misaki was telling him and he needed time to process before having to think to translate it.
Despite not being able to understand the woman, Amara listened to her. She spoke slowly and deliberately to Whyley who hung off her every word. It took her a few minutes to finish telling the story to Whyley. He stood quietly, his eyes on the Japanese writing in the file, but his eyes were unfocused, far away.
Everyone in the room was silent while waiting for Whyley to gather his thoughts. Tao, who stood beside him, put a hand on his shoulder and asked him something in Japanese. Whyley gave a small nod and finally began to talk.
"Before my mom died, she wasn't all there. She was in the hospital when Godzilla first appeared in Hawaii. I was with her when it was on the news. She asked me if what we were witnessing was a movie. I told her no, it was the news. That's when she looked at me and said, 'he is real.'
"Even when things were at their worst, she kept asking to see clips of him on the T.V. No matter how blurry or obscure. She talked a lot about knowing all along, but none of it made sense. Before that I'd never heard her say a word about him before, but she had tears in her eyes like she was letting out a life long secret."
The way Whyley was speaking, it was clear he wasn't repeating what Misaki had said. He was recalling memories that were finally starting to make sense to him.
"Apparently, my mom told Misaki that when she was a little girl, she was on a cruise ship and one night she couldn't sleep so she was up on the deck looking down into the water. She saw a blue glow long and narrow, almost as large as the ship, pass under it. She thought it was jellyfish or some other phenomenon until she came here and saw that picture."
Misaki opened one of the books on her desk and slid it towards them. Sure enough, a painting of a creature filled the page, Godzilla. The picture was painted in black brush stokes except for his dorsal plates, which were filled in with a watery blue color.
The painting wasn't perfect, but his shape was distinguishable enough. His mountainous body was facing away, and his head was to the side looking down at tiny boats in the shallow water with him.
While everyone examined the image, Misaki said something. Whyley swallowed before repeating her words. "This is the ancient ocean guardian, Gojira."
When Misaki continued, Whyley once again followed along. "Our people have worshipped him as long as we can remember, this painting is the only one of its kind until 1942. It was that year that the marlin disappeared from the waters around the island, something that had never happed before."
Amara leaned close to Mi Sun, whispering in her ear, "Marlin—as in the big fish, right?"
"Yes," Mi Sun quickly whispered back.
"Our fishermen sailed out far and wide in search for any fish with no luck, until one man happened to find a school of marlin. He followed them north towards the Sashishima Islands. He was sailing along the islands when movement near a cliff caught his eye. At fist he thought it was a trick of his eye, but then he realized the cliff wasn't a cliff at all, it was a creature. He said it looked directly at him, straight though his eyes and into his soul. He knew then the creature was Gojira."
Misaki opened the folder and spread out pages of hand written Japanese "He wrote down his entire account here, including this." She pulled out the last page and put it on top of the rest. It was another painting.
This one was much more accurate despite being blurred with watercolor like brush strokes. His silhouette was dead on, even the shape of his dorsal fins.
To think, someone saw Godzilla out of the water all those years ago.
"Was he scared?" The words slipped from Amara's mouth. "When he saw him?"
Whyley relayed her question and repeated Misaki's response. "He never mentions being scared. He knew Gojira was benevolent and had no reason to harm him."
How could he have not been terrified? This was Godzilla, a titan the size of a skyscraper, not some rare eagle. It didn't matter if he were just standing there minding his own business, he was—well—he was Godzilla!
Or was it Gojira?
Dr. Serizawa had been here before, this must have been how he was named. Even as she looked down at the paintings, he stared back at her. The fisherman was right, Godzilla did see straight though her body and into her soul.
Mi Sun looked up to Misaki. "Is this the first time the fish have disappeared since this event?"
"Yes, and this time we were able to track the fish. They have all gone to the Sashishima Islands," Whyley translated.
Amara shifted her weight to relieve the pressure off her foot. "Does anyone live there?"
Whyley answered her directly. "They're uninhabited. In fact, I believe no one is allowed to go near them because they are being fought over by Japan, China, and Taiwan."
"We fight to keep Gojira safe!" Tao exclaimed with a grin.
Misaki and Takahiro nodded in agreement.
Takahiro crossed his arms. "I will escort to island."
Amara turned to the elder man. Didn't Whyley just say that the islands were off limits? But then again, when had that stopped her before?
"When are we going?"
"Ima da!" Tao said, waving a hand for them to follow him out of the room.
Amara looked at Whyley. "Huh?"
Whyley chuckled as he turned to follow Tao out. "Right now."
Amara dragged her feet following the strange group of people she'd found herself with. Never in a million years would she have imagined being here on this tiny island in the south pacific with a marine biologist, a spy, and a Japanese family.
Yet here she was. For Godzilla.
She was going to find him if he liked it or not. She wanted—no needed to see him. Make sure he was all right. Tell him she was sorry. All he did was come to protect her, no matter the cost. He knew something was wrong but didn't know what. He was just as confused as she had been, and as weird as it sounded, just as frantic. Even if it was her own emotions projecting onto him.
That was why the connection was bad. Was it her panic that caused him to act like that? Did him feeling something off make her panic? Their emotions affected each other like two players playing tennis, except neither of them knew how to play.
Back in the truck, Tao chatted to Whyley. About what was anyone's guess. It was about a twenty minute drive back past the airport to another small settlement and a harbor. The docks were crammed with fishing boats swaying with the rippling water. But that wasn't what stood out. No, it was the group of people standing on the shore cheering and singing.
It looked like the whole town, if not the whole island, was here based off the sheer amount of people.
Whyley looked between Amara's and Mi Sun's faces and grinned "Tao says words spread quickly across the island."
What words, about them? Did that mean they all knew why they came here? "They're here for Godzilla?"
"I told Tao we could help. Guess he passed along the message," Whyley said and put his arm around Tao's shoulders.
Tao smiled and held up his hand in a peace sign.
When they got out of the truck, the crowd cheered again and broke out into a song. As they passed through, the townspeople bowed at the waist. Kids hollered and zigzagged through the legs of their elders.
Mi Sun was making little unsure gestures that vaguely resembled waving. Whyley along with Tao's family were nodding and bowing back to the people. Amara did her best at a bowing as she passed. It was probably laughable, but Mi Sun looked equally awkward, so at least she wasn't alone.
Tao's dad was first to board the fishing boat, followed by Tao and Whyley. Mi Sun climbed on with ease, looking perfectly at home on the fishing boat twice the size of hers. She then turned and held out a hand for Amara to grab onto. She took it, stepping up into the vessel.
Tao untied the rope that attached the boat to the docks and used a rod to push off. The people lined up along the platform, their singing turning more into a chant. A low drum began a slow beat as the chanting grew louder, carrying across the water.
Sore Sore Sore ha!
Go-ji-ra!
Ha-ha-ha
Go-ji-ra!
Ha-ha-ha
Gojira da!
…
Thankfully, Mi Sun packed sun screen. It was almost noon and they were only half way there. Amara sat on a folding chair on the deck holding a water bottle. It was already uncomfortably hot outside, the only saving grace being the cool ocean wind.
Whyley was up talking to Takahiro and Tao. He was wearing a t-shirt and shorts that Tao had on board. For once, he looked like a regular person.
Mi Sun was against the railing probably on the lookout for any marine life. Amara stood and walked over to her, stretching her neck as she did.
"There really are no fish here." Mi Sun's eyes turned up to the sky where sea birds flew. "I haven't seen a single one yet."
"Godzilla must be giving off more radiation than usual. I think the missile punctured an area that affects it."
Mi Sun abruptly looked at her. "Oh?"
Amara faced the water, avoiding Mi Sun's eyes. "He was angry after they shot him. He tried to use his atomic breath on the planes, but only fire came out. I could see the blue radiation pouring from his wound."
"Perhaps an organ was punctured…hopefully not permanently." She let out a breath. "I wondered why he was releasing way more radiation than usual. It also means that the sea life is drawn from even further away."
"It's kind of backwards that when Godzilla is hurt, it benefits the environment."
Mi Sun looked back out to the water. "I think it's just an exaggerated form of the circle of life."
It made sense. Everything about the titans were exaggerated. Creatures—animals so large that they could change the world around them. It was why it was so hard to be attached to one. Every time Godzilla came on land, he destroyed everything around him, intentional or not. Maybe that was why he lived in the water, it was there his presence benefitted the life around him.
Amara leaned further onto the railing, folding her arms on it. "This isn't how I expected we would find Godzilla."
"And we have a local fisherman to thank for it." Mi Sun gestured to Tao who was walking towards them.
The boy was leaner than Whyley, and shorter too, but not by much. His black hair was windswept across his forehead just about his dark eyes. He had an easy smile on his sun kissed face. In all honestly…he was actually kind of cute. Not that now was the time to be thinking about boys of all things.
"Amara ne? And Mi Sun?" he asked when he reached them.
Amara nodded along side Mi Sun.
"You are Biologists ne? Thank you for coming to help Gojira." Despite his accent, he actually wasn't bad at English.
"Well, Mi Sun's a biologist, I'm just a student."
"And I am a fisherman." He pointed to himself with a grin. "But you meet with Gorija before, ne?"
Amara looked to Mi Sun. Was it a good idea to tell him? They barely knew each other. Mi Sun gave a little shrug, leaving the decision to her.
"Yes. A few times now."
"Sou ka, Sou ka," he mumbled looking down with a thoughtful expression. Perhaps he was trying to find the words. "You are the one on the news now?"
What? How did he know? Her face never showed up once in that footage! "H—how?"
"Your hair and," he fumbled for the world before saying something in Japanese instead.
"He means he recognises your form or silhouette."
Amara nearly jumped at Whyley's sudden voice behind her. When had he come over? She stood up straighter, keeping one hand on the railing for balance. "Does anyone else know?"
Instead of answering her, Whyley turned to Tao and began talking in Japanese.
"Tao says he saw it yesterday." He didn't clarify any further, instead he gave Amara a disapproving look, Mi Sun doing the same beside him. Tao at least had the decency to look sheepish at what he had inadvertently caused.
"Hey, you don't just get to start teaming up on me all of a sudden!" Even if she was the one at fault for not telling them. Karma was a relentless bitch. "You can't see my face at all in the footage they have. I have no idea how Tao recognized me at all."
Tao's lips curved into a cute smile as he made a short comment that caused Whyley suddenly look shy. He did not repeat Tao's words.
Maybe it was worth learning Japanese.
…
It took at least another hour before the islands came into view. Some streched high above the water and some were just above sea level. There must have been five or six scattered around, almost like a hidden oasis in a desert of water.
The sun was high above with few clouds to blot out its rays. They sailed around the islands weaving in and out of the shallow waters between them. The surface of the water was like a glass window looking down to the sand and stones dotted with plant life only Mi Sun could name. Yet there were still no fish.
Tao and Whyley were on one side of the boat while Amara and Mi Sun were on the other. Everyone was on the look out for anything, from a fish to Godzilla himself.
They sailed past a large cliff face, the only formation of its kind on the islands.
"I wonder if this was where the fisherman saw Godzilla," Mi Sun said, her eyes towards the top of the cliff.
Amara was about to answer when Tao and Whyley hollered from the other side of the boat that looked out to the open ocean.
Amara ran over to them, Mi Sun right behind. The water was dark blue where the shallow seabed dropped off into an underwater chasm. At first it appeared dark, but flashes of silver broke the dark curtain. Fish. Thousands of them filled the black abyss with life.
Whyley was the first to speak. "Godzilla must be down there. Somewhere."
All eyes turned to Amara.
Oh, so just because she had the mental connection to Godzilla, she had to go down there? Last time she was in the water—well, nothing bad actually happened, but it was terrifying, and something she never wanted to do again. "That looks…really deep."
"You've done it before, Amara. You can do it again." Mi Sun gave her an encouraging smile, but not encouraging enough.
Fish had gathered here from miles around. Who knew what was waiting below the surface? Sharks, giant fish, even eels. What if Godzilla wasn't down there? What if it was a different titan all together, monstrous and disgusting, swallowing her whole or drowning her.
"Wait," Whyley said, "you're scared of water?"
Amara swallowed. It was a rational fear to have.
He grabbed her arm. Oh no he didn't—
"Don't even think about it." His tone was hard as he pulled her away from the group towards the middle of the boat. She stopped resisting, he sounded serious.
He stood looking down at her and leaving little room for personal space. "We've all made mistakes, I have, you have. But this is something you have to do. Not me, not Dr. Park. You. And I know it's not fair that you're the one that has to clean up everyone's mess, but that's the way it is. It's your duty." He raised his voice, speaking to her like a soldier. "You've done harder things than this, been through more dangerous situations, now is not the time to be whimping out. Now gear up!"
His words both hurtful and encouraging. Hurtful because of his blatant honesty, encouraging because he was right.
This was nothing compared to everything else she'd gone through since standing face to face with Godzilla. She did make mistakes and everyone paid for it, some more dearly than others.
Being responsible for anyone other than herself and her mother was a foreign concept up until now. Her decisions meant nothing to anyone.
But now every slight mishap had consequences on a global level. They led to Godzilla being attacked time and time again. They led to cities being destroyed and people being killed. Whyley was right, this was not the time to whimp out.
"All right," Amara said.
Whyley ruffled her hair. "That's the spirit."
Mi Sun and Tao had similar expressions, something akin to frightened was the best way to describe them. Whyley must have surprised them just as much her when he suddenly raised his voice.
Takahiro dropped the anchor, bringing the boat to a standstill where the water dropped off. Mi Sun helped Amara into a diving suit on board, curtesy of one of Yonaguni's local diving shops. She left her shorts and t-shirt on underneath. Tao brought a scuba tank over and Mi Sun secured it around Amara's shoulders. It was time to dive.
Amara stood at the opening of the railing clutching onto both sides.
Mi Sun checked Amara's mask. "Keep an eye on your tank and don't exert yourself. We'll be right here."
"Ganbatte ne," Tao said with a smile.
Whyley gave a curt nod.
Amara closed her eyes from the darkness of the water below. Nothing was going to attack her. Just find Godzilla and make sure he was okay, that was it.
She let go of the railings and jumped off the boat.
The cold sensation of the water enveloped her body. Gravity released its hold and she was left suspended. She opened her eyes to shades of blue dotted with gleaming fish. It wasn't that bad, the water was shallow where she was, the sand not far from her flippers below.
She swam towards the drop off, slowly. Fish parted as she approached only to converge after she passed. It felt so familiar under the water, like she'd been diving all her life. A home away from home. Was it because of the dreams she had before? Swimming in lonely waters until she awoke in her own body?
Fear returned once the sand abruptly ended in black. Fish swam above it, not at all fazed by what could be below. Or maybe they did know, but didn't fear it.
She turned on the headlamp on her mask. It didn't shine far, even in the illuminated water. Not only did she have to look down, she had to go down.
Trying to focus on the variety of colorful fish, she swam downwards at a subtle angle. None of them were that big, or even scary. Just varied by bright colors and strange shapes.
That was until something caught the corner of her eye. It was big and dark blue, its shiny scales the only thing that set it apart for the water around it. It was quick, but slower than the fish darting around it. Something about it was familiar. There was a picture of one on a sign in the town. A marlin.
A little deeper, more came into view. They dwarfed the other fish, some of them were at least the size of the tiny truck. Her eyes followed one that swam below her body when something else caught her attention.
White spots in uniform lines forming the shape of a wedge. It was easily twice as long as the largest marlin and much larger than herself. She took a deep breath. Panic wasn't an option down here. It was just a fish, a really, really big fish.
The spots curved around and back towards her. Her headlamp picked up gray skin in the dark. About to beeline it to the surface, she stopped.
It was a whale shark. The huge fish swam close, as if to investigate her odd presence among the vast sea life. Satisfied, it slowly turned back with long fluid motions the same way as the marlin seemed to be headed. Perhaps they were going to Godzilla.
Ever so gently, she grabbed onto the dorsal fin of the massive shark and let it guide they way through the abyss. It knew better than her.
The side of the cliff appeared in the light of her headlamp, tall and sandy brown with the exception of a massive hole that the fish swam into. The whale shark entered without hesitation. She checked her oxygen. It was starting to get low, lower than what was recommended. Hopefully Godzilla wasn't far or she would have to turn around and swim straight up.
The tunnel widened and light shone into the water turning black into navy blue. Surely the surface was much higher than that.
She let go of the whale shark and swam upwards. Her head broke the surface of the water and she immediately took off the mask.
She was in a huge cavern. The water formed a lake around a massive overhanging cliff. The ceiling was stone, dotted with openings letting in sunlight blocked partly by tree tops. An island under an island.
Arriving at the shore she pulled her body out of the water. Not far from the edge of the water was what looked like a staircase carved into the side of the cliff leading up to the top. There was definitely something significant about this place.
She took off the tank and wet suit. The coarse sand grated against her bare feet as she walked to the stairs. People had been here before, but how long ago? If Tao or his mom knew, they probably would have mentioned it.
Her thighs burned as she climbed up the steps. She made it to the top and went to the edge of the cliff that overlooked the vast underwater lake. All of this was too perfect to not be right.
There was something off about the color of the water. It was bright compared to the amount of sunlight the holes in the ceiling let in. Almost as if it was glowing from below.
"I know you're here," she yelled down towards the water. "Godzilla!"
The water rippled and the cavern vibrated. Marlin jumped out of the water, splashing as the fell back in. Debris crumbled from the ceiling as a whale like groan filled the air. Monstrous dorsal plates broke the surface of the water.
Godzilla answered her call.
…