Woooow. Guys, 200 reviews! What a milestone! I wont ramble this time, but I would like to announce watashi-desu as my new beta. Thank you and sorry for posting this before sending it to you. (Gomen nasai!). I did however try out text to speech as an editing method, to at least help with all the stupid errors I miss. (Gomen nasai everyone else) I cringe too.
Watashi-desu is doing the ambitious task of editing the story from the beginning, so if you decide to re-read (or re-read again you know who you are haha) it should be a little less painful.
Yours truly, the queen of making and missing simple mistakes,
DA
What Makes a Father
…
The water parted, displaced by the massive island of grey scale. Slowly, it rose until forming a fortress like body. The earth shook under Amara's feet, pebbles threatened to fall on her head.
Heat radiated off his body, raising the temperature of the otherwise cool chamber. His dorsal plates were void of the vibrant blue color they often displayed. His posture, normally prideful and tall, slouched; one arm hanging at his side, a dark red welt on his chest beside it. Not far was another blacken patch of scale where Jonah's gun had shot him before.
An amber eye stared at her, the other, absent behind coagulated blood. His mouth twitched as if he were deciding whether or not to bare his teeth. Whether or not to be angry.
Seeing him again…just seeing that he was alive was a relief. He was here, healing, slowly but surely. He was in a place that no one knew about, and hopefully, no one ever would.
There was a feeling in the forefront of her mind, faint and barely detectable over the constant headache dulled by pills.
She took a step closer to the edge.
It was broken though, wasn't it? It snapped in half like a cable under too much tension. Yet, here was this familiar feeling. A pull like a fish caught on a lure.
If Godzilla felt it, he didn't react. Instead he looked into her eyes, swaying ever so slightly to an unknown wind.
A mixture of emotions entered her mind, too many to tell apart. It bubbled in her stomach making it tingle unpleasantly. Hers, or his?
The question was a welcoming thought, though. It meant there was still something there, no matter how small. She wasn't alone anymore.
"I'm sorry. For everything I've done to you." The words were not enough. Was anything enough to make up for the suffering she caused him? "I took a risk despite your feelings about it. It was a last ditch effort to get everyone to leave you alone. To show them you're not a monster. That you're smarter than they think.
You knew it would go wrong, but you went anyway just to…"
Appease her? Make her happy? He only went because she asked, begged, convinced him to.
She swallowed. Godzilla still looked at her. Into her.
Her eyes burned no matter how many times she blinked. She asked him before, if he wanted the connection. At the time she thought that he avoided the question, instead talking about change or plants or something. But no, it was an answer.
Why? Why hadn't she figured it out before? He spoke of adapting, the concept of embracing change and thriving in it. He was referring to their connection. He accepted it, while she denied it.
Something washed through her, taming some of the anxiety inside.
"All this time, I thought breaking the connection was best for us. I wanted to go back to my trivial life and let you go back to yours. I never considered what you thought, just assumed you wanted the same."
A groan rattled Godzilla's throat as he began to lean closer. The vertigo caused her to stumble. He released a breath through his nostrils, the wind creating clouds of dust on either side of her.
He was so close now, as close as he was before. She could almost reach him. She almost did, before. That was when everything went to hell.
Godzilla's eye softened, reassurance filled her.
But what if the pain came back again? It hurt enough to send Godzilla reeling, and the pain still lingered under her temple.
They would anticipate it this time.
The thought was quiet, almost fuzzy. But there was no doubt it was his.
She reached out.
This was more than her. Maybe it was destiny, maybe luck. Either way, she wasn't meant to have a mundane life. Whether or not she was chosen from a higher power or had some sort of biological mutation, here she was.
As he came closer, the air grew warmer. Dust swirled around her, dancing in spirals that glowed in the pillars of sunlight.
Could anyone else see him the way she could? Could anyone else understand him? Could anyone else stand where she stood?
This wasn't a nuisance , or an inconvenience. It was a gift. An opportunity to change the world, even if it wouldn't be easy. It wasn't supposed to be.
She took a step forward. It was almost like she was being pulled. Not just her mind, but her whole body.
Her palm met scale.
Dark spots blotted out the cavern. Teeth disappeared from view.
She was looking down at a mass of land. People stood on it far below, tiny and insignificant. No, the thought wasn't hers. She was looking through Godzilla's eyes, thinking his thoughts.
Beside him was another, larger creature, his father. He came to see the humans often. They came to see him as well. Two of them came closer than the rest. One walked slowly with a hunched back. The other was taller, upright and healthy. Their skin was affected by the sun, tanned darker than others of their kind further north.
Normally, his father would not have him follow. The humans were not a creature that deserved his attention. They spread like a virus, multiplying across the lands in his lifetime alone. His father was fascinated by them. But these particular ones he favored. He defended them, leading to twin wounds on his torso. Perhaps his father wanted to show why they were so important to him.
The landscape shifted from the rocky shore to a place much smaller and familiar. A Livingroom. No longer were the people tiny. They were tall, over twice her height. Her mother and father.
They were fighting. They always fought. When she ate breakfast, when she laid in bed at night; always. Her mother wanted to get a full time job. She argued that Amara was in school and nearly ten, old enough to take care of herself for a few hours while they were still at work. Her mother never liked their dumpy old house, and she was never one to like being cooped up all day.
Her father, however, did not like the idea of her mother making money. He never said it, but her mother did; he liked the control. If she made money, he would lose it. He hit her.
Even from under the ocean, a call disturbed him. It was unnatural, unlike the sounds of the others like them. His father changed course and he followed. Whatever it was, it was wrong.
The creature had three heads and wings powerful enough to push them back. His father was still weak from his wounds that refused to heal. They fought the alien creature until their bodies slacked and their energy was depleted. It flew away, leaving them to suffer.
Amara faced the camera, a cool gold medallion in her warm hand. Her instructor put an arm around her shoulders while her mother took pictures. It was her first gold metal. It was only a regional competition, but the judges praised her for exceptional performance, allowing her into nationals if she chose.
Her father said no. He never came to watch her, he didn't know how hard she worked to win, her mother replied. He wanted her to be a normal little girl that took dance, not some tomboyish rebel. Her mother told him Amara could be whatever she wanted. She then turned to Amara and said she could go. Her father hit her when she stood up. And again, and again.
They led the hydra south were the ice never melted and life grew sparse. The beast could not resist their call to battle. It was eager to finish them off and take their place. His father had a plan this time. While he wrestled with it, Godzilla came from under the ice, clamping its foot in his jaws and dragging it down. His father dove in after, and together they held it down until its movements slowed and it stopped fighting back.
His father swam slowly after that, riding the currents back to those humans again. Was that all he cared about? What about him?
That was enough. Her father couldn't do that. Her instructor said only to use violence when necessary, to protect herself and her loved ones. This man, who was meant to protect his family, used violence to control them. She told him to stop when he was on top of her mother, still hitting her. When he didn't, she grabbed his arm. He pushed her away and she stumbled and fell. He got off her mother and came towards her, his hand in a fist. Her mother yelled.
They returned to the island. He remained in the water while his father limbered onto the land. His energy was sapped dry, the wounds on his sides were swollen. The humans were there already, as if they anticipated his arrival. His father fell, sending the humans toppling with him as they fled his falling body. Though Godzilla didn't move, his father's eyes stayed on him. This was the end.
It all happened so fast. Her father came at her with a snarl on his face. She kicked before he could strike. He let out a cry that sounded more like a roar, his hands in between his legs where she hit him. Something in his eyes was wrong. They were not the eyes of a father; they were the eyes of a monster. When he reached out again, she grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulder. He flailed in attempt to get back up as fast as he could, but his foot slipped off the top of the staircase and he fell.
His father's eyes turned away from him and towards the hunching human he seemed so fond of. Two other humans helped him walk. His father claimed to have a connection with this creature, but why? What good did it do?
The human reached his father's head, and sat up against his jaw. He looked content as the creature patted him before his hand fell. Their eyes closed as their lives left them.
The creatures had called his father, Dagon.
They never named him. He left before they could.
Her mother grabbed her wrist and they ran down the stairs and over her father's body. He groaned. Her mother threw the door open, hitting his head with it and slammed it behind them. They got in the car and drove away.
"We don't need him," her mother's voice was shaky. "We don't need anyone." She wiped her eyes. "You're so strong, Amara. Just focus on your own success. No one else matters."
Amara's legs gave way and she fell to the ground. Godzilla took a step back, his dorsal plates hit the wall behind him, causing chunks of rock to fall into the water.
Pain surged through her shoulder and her eye stung. She brought her hand up to cover it as if it would help the pain. As much as everything hurt, happiness filled her. Their connection was back. There was something different about it, though. It didn't feel like a thread, it was more like a magnetic pull.
"Did you see all that too?"
Our fathers were very different.
"Neither were perfect, that's for sure." The image of her father coming after her was still fresh. "At least I know why you knew about the connection now. Your dad had one with that old man."
Godzilla inclined his head ever so slightly. I understand it now, his need to be with the human.
"Is that why you were so angry towards me at first?"
I was used to being alone, I wanted to be alone. But once given a chance, it is difficult to resist. The current had changed and I stopped fighting against it.
A question formed in her mind. One that was painful to say, or even think. Would they die together, just like his father and the old man?
Yes. Our hearts beat as one now, I know you feel it.
Feel it as in the shared pain? Could one even feel the pain of death and survive? Was death painful?
There were so many ways they could die, and she was by far the most likely. She could die from almost anything at anytime. Life was fickle for a human. Anything from a rock falling on her head at this very moment, to being hit by a car.
What if someone found out and killed her to kill him? Before it was hard to believe that her death would result in his, but now…
At least she didn't tell anyone. She trusted Mi Sun with her life. But then there was Whyley. He didn't need to know anymore than he already did.
There was a surge of anger that flooded her chest. Him.
Now was not the time to be angry. "Could you calm down, please?"
She took a deep breath, held it, and released it through her nose along with the pent up feeling. Strangely, Godzilla did the same. The air of his breath whipped her hair back.
She brushed the strands of hair that clung to her eyelashes. "Whyley helped me find you. He's on our side. Your side. He just got pulled into something different than he thought."
Not an excuse.
"No, but an understanding. He will help us."
With what? He has no power.
"For whatever's happening right now." She raised her good arm in emphasis.
My senses have been dulled. No emotion punctuated his response. Humans have shown they only defend themselves, the recognize no other as friend or foe.
"You've decided?" He'd mentioned before that he still hadn't decided. "But what about me? I'm a human."
Would you defend others of my kind when you are only connected to me?
"Of course I would!"
Godzilla recoiled his head. Pain shot through her shoulder. Your vision has widened beyond yourself, then. Despite your mother's words.
"I'm connected to a titan that has saved the planet twice. I have to."
Human's could have killed Ghidorah in my stead. I am the only threat that remains. The only thing the controls others that they cannot control themselves. I am their enemy, and so they have become mine.
"I told you before, that I'm not the only one on your side. There's Mi Sun and Whyley, and Monarch—
What are two fish in a school of millions?
"But there's more now! I keep finding more and more on your side. The people here worship you. They know you are here, and they refuse to tell anyone and instead fight to keep everyone away."
Godzilla's eye raised from her to focus on whatever was behind her. Still?
She turned around, following his gaze. At first there was nothing, just the walls that extended upwards. There were distinct patterns on the rock. Maybe it was limestone?
She walked closer to the walls. The patterns were carvings. Pictograms of the cave she was in, people standing were she stood in front of Godzilla.
They played music. Sounds I had never heard before. They called me Gojira.
All the carvings were more or less of the same scene. Some were lower to the ground and the shapes were more vague, and others were huge and intricate. Like every person carved their own version.
She closed her eyes, running her hand across the stone surface. These people still exist. People that will protect you and stand on your side.
One hundred fish to a million.
She turned back, looking Godzilla in the eye. "But fish come in all different sizes and each one has a different niche to fill. It would only take one whale shark to scatter a million tiny fish."
And who is the shark?
She pictured Mothra looking at her through the glass. Then recalled the conversation about her cocooning right away, about her feeling something was wrong even before Godzilla did.
Mothra has hatched and cocooned already?
"So you really didn't know. You couldn't hear her?"
Her call is quiet until she reaches her final form. She is in danger if she thinks she can fight so soon.
"What do you mean?"
She can only absorb energy from the earth before she hatches. Her strength wanes when she does not wait long enough.
She was willing to hatch right away because she knew something was wrong and wanted to worn them. Or maybe just warn the twins. She was connected to them and had been connected to humans before, if the cave paintings were accurate.
It will be the end of her if she fights. She compromises her ability to lay an egg by acting so rashly. Foolish creature.
Amara walked back to Godzilla, rubbing her shoulder as she did. "They say she's going to hatch any day now. Whatever is happening, I think it's going to happen soon."
It is unnatural, distorted. It will kill her. I must lend her my energy if she is to survive.
"Can she heal you? That's what she did in Boston, right?"
She is capable of many things.
"So you'll go to her at least?"
He inclined his head again. Yes.
He straightened his back, stretching the damaged muscle.
She flinched. "Ow, could you not do that?"
Forgive me. Mothra will heal us.
"Wait, before we go. I want to do something." She walked over to the nearest wall and picked up a stone. With her good hand, she scraped the stone against the soft wall to etch in her own drawing.
It wasn't perfect, but that was okay. She drew Godzilla first, leaning over the cliff. Then she drew herself as a stickman with hair, so it was obvious she was a girl. She then drew her arm reaching out and touching Godzilla's nose. It was per—
Satisfactory at best.
She whipped around. "You think you're funny, don't you?"
Come. The word was accompanied by a strong pull much like a magnet. Intentional or not, she obeyed.
Godzilla opened his mouth, revealing jagged teeth and a tongue.
At least it didn't stink. If anything, it smelled like ozone. Probably because he didn't eat food. "What? I'm not brushing your teeth if that's what you're getting at."
Get in. He widened his mouth ever so slightly.
She'd imagined this countless times from the moment she first saw him, but not in this situation. "You want me to get in your mouth? No thanks, I can just swim back up."
Drool dripped from his top teeth to his lower gums. You don't have enough oxygen left. Now come.
Great, back to having a massive lizard reading her thoughts. He probably had no idea what he was talking about. But even the bends sounded better than crawling in his mouth.
You rather kill us both then?
"All right, all right, I'll get in your mouth. But you better not drool on me, or else." As she spoke, another globule fell onto his tongue. He was going to accidentally swallow her or something, wasn't he?"
I will not.
She climbed up on his scaly lip and reached for a ridge on his gums to hold on to. Her shoulder didn't ache at the exertion. It was only when he moved that the pain affected her. Strange.
Inside Godzilla's mouth was warm and damp. Probably how most mouths were. Yet here she was. It the place she most feared. She sat on a protruding gum and held onto the small tooth that grew from it. Her feet rested on his tongue. On one side was the light, on the other was certain death.
He closed his mouth slowly. The inner tooth was far enough out of the way that when the last rays of light were cut off, his top teeth didn't clamp down on her. She closed her eyes to the darkness.
Her stomach churned with the feeling of weightlessness and she held onto the gritty tooth for dear life. This was going to be a horrible ride.
Look through my eyes as you do when you sleep.
I don't know how to do that.
Nor do I. Just focus, you will be able to do it.
She concentrated on the outside world and seeing it as he did. Instead her headache intensified out of nowhere. The invisible hook in her temple once again yanking at her brain.
Darkness, darkness, darkness. Pain all over, pulsing with each beat from within. Changing direction, following the invisible path.
Pressure dulled the pain. Darkness dulled the blinding light. Something in the way. Living, beating the same way. The sound must be stopped. Ripping, tearing. The darkness, inky. The beating ceased. Another one destroyed. All will be destroyed.
Amara forced her eyes open. What the hell? Those eyes weren't Godzilla's. They were something else's. Like the reoccurring nightmares. This was the first time it killed though. A whale it looked like.
Light filled her eyes as jagged teeth opened like a theatre curtain. Everything tilted downwards until her feet slipped from under her and she fell.
She let out a scream…only to fall into the water not even a second later. She swam to the surface and spit out a mouthful of water.
Mi Sun was holding her side laughing hysterically. Tao chuckled along with her, his hand on Whyley's shoulder who looked torn between laughing and crying.
Godzilla's head dipped back under the water, only for him to come up again from underneath her. She scrambled to stay on top as the water attempted to drag her off. Once he cleared the water, she stabilized herself. She was sitting on Godzilla's head.
"Wow Amara, you sure know how to make an entrance," Mi Sun said through giggles. Godzilla came next to the boat, bringing his head beside it. From the base of his skull to his nose, he was about the same size as the fishing vessel.
Takahiro sat down and fanned himself. Tao stood back in silent wonder. Whyley kept to the opposite railing, and Mi Sun came right up to Godzilla.
Amara crawled down his brow and onto his nose. She held onto Mi Sun's outstretched arm and jumped onto the boat.
Almost immediately, Godzilla rose out of the water to his full height. The boat rocked back and forth in the waves.
His body was chest deep in the ocean, towering over the boat floating in his shadow. His good eye was focused on one thing, or rather, person.
Him.
Oh no. That wasn't good. Amara stepped between Whyley's frozen form and the full brunt of Godzilla's amber glare.
This creature is not worth your protection.
"He's been punished enough. It's in the past now."
Show him then.
Huh? Show him what?
That he can no longer use you, use us. Show him your dominance, or I will.
She spun around to face Whyley. All eyes turned to her. "He says I have to put you in your place, or he will."
Whyley didn't hide the fear on his face. His gaze flickered from her to Godzilla and back. "W-what does that mean?"
"I—uh." She looked back at Godzilla. He looked back at her, waiting.
Whyley's body was rigid. He wasn't even breathing anymore. She had to do something. Yell at him maybe? But she didn't like yelling.
She lifted her eyes past Whyley to the blue waters beyond, then without another thought, pushed him off the boat.
Whyley came up cursing. It was enough to satisfy Godzilla for the time being.
…
This chapter brought to you by my two personalities writing half a chapter each. I hope you felt some feels, then snickered as I did. :)
Also, bonus points to anyone who may have figured out what Whyley's first name is. I pulled a sneaky on you the last couple of chapters. Don't tell if you do know though!