Author's Notes and Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the 1978-79 Hanna-Barbera cartoon Godzilla: The Original Animated Series, Hanna-Barbera does, or should I say Warner Bros. does. This incarnation of Godzilla is owned by H-B and Toho. I only own my self-insert, Vicky and the OC Army men (not the names, of course). I also do not own the story that is based on the second episode of this series. Also, anything in bold when a kaiju character is speaking/thinking means that they are speaking/thinking in their native language.
Well, actually this is an epilogue of sorts that completely deviates from the original ending. If you don't like it, that's fine, but don't flame about it.
Recap: The Eartheater has been defeated and we've bid our goodbyes to Major Cassidy, Lieutenant Messick, Sergeant Takamoto, Private Butler, and Private Frank. Now the Calico crew can get back to finding that rogue MISD signal and everything getting on as usual, right? Well, right on one count, but on the other…
Wrong. Dead wrong.
There's still one more loose end to tie up that won't be able to quite remain tied for a long, long time.
WARNING: Two disturbing dreams to follow, as well as an implication of post-traumatic stress. Now, from what I've been able to read about it (a good portion which came from pins on Pinterest) something like that may not hit people right away, but Zooky is such a kind, sensitive kid who has had a tough time fitting in with others—which is why I'm also putting in a warning that there is an implication of bullying—that something so horrific just hits him fast and hard and sears itself into his brain.
I also want to tell you that later on there is a discussion on different religions and beliefs. If I've offended anyone, I am truly sorry, but this is me trying to see these things from the view of a character who's learned about these things from another character and is trying to reiterate it the best they can. I have to admit, my inspiration for this bit kind of came from "The Iron Giant" and "The Lion King".
Speaking of "The Iron Giant", when getting to Godzilla and Godzooky's conversation, I had this piece of music from the soundtrack of "The Iron Giant" playing in the back of my mind (it'd have to be an extended piece, really, because of how long the scene lasts): "Souls Don't Die" by Michael Kamen.
Another piece of music that I used in here is called "Inuyasha's Lullaby" which is from the anime series "Inuyasha", which I had never seen before until…was it last year? Anyway, I was inspired to find that song after reading a review for a piece of art done by an artist on DeviantArt called FallenAngel5414; the title is: "Hear My Voice" that features the spirit of Erika singing to a young Godzilla Jr. The review said: "I feel like she is singing the Inuyasha Lullaby". I got curious and looked about on YouTube, found it…and was blown away. I thought: "That's it. That's (this character's) song". There are two versions I have found and enjoyed and I will give you the links at the end.
For now, let's read on, shall we? Oh, and…watch that first step; it's a doozy.
CHAPTER 8
(Out in the Pacific, 23:00 hours)
Peace.
Quiet.
Calm.
Wait…
A nagging feeling.
Strange smell.
Air smelling strange, too.
Where…? Unfamiliar place.
Where am I?
Smells wet, dry, dirty, and…What is—?
Who's calling me?
What's that sound?
Getting airless.
And hot.
Smells intensifying.
Getting harder to breathe.
Chest hurts.
Dirt, smoke, metal, burning meat.
No, wait…
Can't breathe!
Need air!
Got to get out!
..
Ah, fresh air.
Nagging feeling still there, though.
Who's there?
Where are you?
Wait, that voice…that's my friend!
His tone, distressed.
That sound again!
A roar!
He's in trouble!
I'm coming!
..
Running.
That roar…I've heard it before…
Running.
Legs tiring.
Running.
Chest hurts again.
Running.
Can't stop.
Running.
Those smells again.
Running.
Dirt, smoke, metal…
Wait…
Not just metal…
Not just burning meat…
Not meat…
No.
My friend, my…friends.
No.
Have to get there.
Have to save them!
Running.
Chest…hurts…
Running.
Stomach…hurts…
Running.
Can't…breathe…
Running.
Gotta…keep…going…
Running.
Smells…getting…stronger…
Roar…getting…louder…
…Familiar…
Like a…
No.
It can't be…!
Not…!
..
Ow.
Fell.
Can't stand.
Can't breathe.
Hacking coughs.
Stomach rolling.
Heart pounding; can feel it against the inside of my chest.
Vision blurry.
My friend…
Where—There he is!
What's wrong?
Get up.
I'm here.
I'm—Ew! What did I touch?
Hand wet.
Red water…smells like metal.
…
…
Explosions.
Shouting.
Roaring.
Crashing metal.
Roaring flames.
Screams of agony.
Burning flesh.
Spilled blood.
Get out!
GET OUT!
RUN!
Can't look…!
..
Quiet.
Death.
Dead.
All dead.
My friend…my best friend…
Gone…
All of them…gone…
Ripped, burned, crushed….
Nothing but mangled corpses…
Heaps of bone and muscle and blood…
It can't be…
No….no….
..
Shaking.
Footsteps.
Shadow.
Look up.
Large feet with four, blocky toes.
Colored yellow, green, brown.
And red.
So…much…RED.
The blocky teeth on the maw, the maw itself, the head, the eyes…Red…
Blood…red…
My friend….crushed in its jaws….Red….
..
Roars and screams and explosions echo faintly.
All air gone from lungs.
Heart feels like it has stopped, but I still hear it.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Cannot close eyes.
Monster staring at me.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Cannot move.
Cannot scream.
Getting closer.
It's getting closer!
Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
Gone numb.
Gone cold.
Gone hot.
Hot-cold-hot-cold-hot-cold…
Thump-THUMP! Thump-THUMP!
Stomach hurting, rolling.
Chest feels like it's being torn open.
Monster opens its maw…
Blood dripping….
THUMP-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP!
My friend's corpse dangling…bleeding…eyes still open…
..
No. (Death).
Stop. (Blood).
Please. (Failure).
I beg you. (Death).
Stop. (Alone).
Go away. (Die alone).
Stop. (Die alone).
Please! (Failure).
Please! (Die, failure).
STOP! (Die alone).
STOP! (Die alone, failure).
STOP! (Die alone, failure).
NO! (Die alone, failure).
NO! (Die alone, failure).
NO! (Die alone, failure).
NO! (Die alone, failure).
NO! (Die alone, failure).
NO! (Die alone, failure).
NO!...
..
Die alone….FREAK.
..
"NO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—OH!"
SPLASH!
The Calico rocked side-to-side violently, the movement as well as the scream and following splash waking its sleeping passengers.
Vicky screamed in surprised alarm, almost falling out of her top bunk.
"What was that!?" Pete exclaimed, scrambling out of his bunk and room.
The ship's horn sounded off. Everyone off-duty raced to the top deck. Captain Majors stopped the engines and leaped over the railing, landing on the main deck.
"Carl, what happened?" Dr. Darien asked urgently.
"Godzooky had a nightmare and fell overboard!" Captain Majors responded, rather frightened by the youngling's horrific scream.
"I thought he slept in the hold!" Vicky noted, her voice shrill from adrenaline.
"He does!" Pete told her, also yelling because he was scared for his friend.
"Then what was he doing up here?!" Vicky asked back, her anxiety over what was happening making her cry.
"Vicky. Pete. I know you're worried; we all are, but please, don't yell at each other," Dr. Darien steadily told the twelve-year-olds, putting her arms around them in comfort.
"Captain! In the water!" Brock exclaimed, pointing to a darkening spot that was the indication of something coming to the surface.
"Get back!" Majors ordered, ushering the others toward the stairs leading to the wheelhouse.
With an erupting splash, the form of Godzooky shot out of the water as if ejected from a cannon, crashing onto the deck at the Calico's stern. By some miracle, there was no dent or break in the deck from the landing.
The youngling was wet from the seawater and from the tears running down his cheeks. He was trembling greatly, hands, feet, and tail twitching about, lost. He was breathing through his mouth, which came out shaky, with short coughing bouts thrown in. What scared everyone were his eyes; they were wide open, but not seeing, like he was still trapped in whatever nightmare was haunting him.
The crew stood silent for a moment, trying to absorb what they were seeing, before Pete raced to him, Vicky following. Quinn ordered Brock to get some towels to dry Godzooky off, and also told Captain Majors to get some mint leaves and some water from the hold when Pete and Vicky gave notice to Zooky's rather foul-smelling breath. He had thrown up again.
Vicky put a hand to Zooky's face. Besides wet, it was near-burning hot. She moved around to avoid his frantically twitching hand. She avoided eye contact; that scared, not-seeing stare rattled her. The current state of his breath made her have trouble getting close.
Pete, on the other hand, as soon he reached Godzooky, had started comforting him, petting and speaking soothingly, despite getting very wet and the disgusting smell of Gojiran bile hitting his nose full force. Vicky soon pulled herself together and joined in.
They both caressed his neck, the back of his head, and Vicky even caressed his brow, hoping that that would automatically make him close his eyes. It didn't.
Meanwhile, the three grownups gently dried Godzooky off, throwing a light blanket over him when finished.
"Well, least he's not shaking as much now," Brock whispered.
"All that petting and caressing from drying him off helped," Quinn observed. "He's slowly starting realize he's not alone."
Vicky removed her glasses, putting them by her right knee, then proceeded to rub the side of her face against Zooky's in the manner of a comforting nuzzle, the way she had seen Godzilla do. She then lightly pecked Zooky's cheek with loving kisses. Slowly, his eyes began to close, his appendages relaxed, and he brought his arms in. Vicky quickly put her glasses back on before taking his right hand. Pete took his left.
"It's all right, Zooky. The nightmare's over. Everything's OK," Pete told his friend gently.
Godzooky's eyelids briefly fluttered in response to Pete's voice, like he was coming out of a trance, before opening them. Pete saw Zooky's pupil dilate before he blinked, the eye becoming watery with tears. Pete and Quinn sighed in relief; Zooky recognized the human boy.
"Pete, keep talking," Vicky urged quietly. "Hello, Zooky," she then addressed the young, winged saurian in a tender tone. "We're all here. There's no need to be scared anymore."
"She's right, Zooky; I'm right here. Your best friend," Pete continued. "I'm here. I'm all right."
Vicky quickly got out of the way as the youngling brought his other hand to Pete, embracing him while crying in relief.
"I thought you were gone," Zooky cried. "I thought that thing…I wasn't…I couldn't…I thought I failed you!" he sobbed.
"No, you didn't, Zooky," Pete assured him. "I'm safe, Vicky's safe; we all are."
"Whoever gave you that idea?" Vicky asked the youngling compassionately, trying to dab Zooky's tears with a fistful of tissues.
There was no response, just more crying. They weren't going to get anything else from him. As soon as Zooky was calm enough, they gave him the mint leaves to chew on so that he at least wouldn't have to deal with the bad taste in his mouth for the rest of the night.
Carl Majors turned to find Dr. Darien facing away from everyone, hugging herself and looking tense. When he got to her side, he found her nervously biting her lower lip, her face looking pale even in the darkness.
"Quinn, what's wrong?" Carl asked his friend.
After taking a breath to compose herself, she replied hesitantly, "I…I…This was what…what Major Cassidy was afraid of. What I was…afraid of. Carl…I think…I can't be sure, not without consulting an expert, but…from what I know…"
There was a long pause. Carl waited patiently, trying to figure out what Quinn was trying to say.
Finally, she spoke gravely, "It looks like…post-traumatic stress. It's early, maybe too early to tell for certain, but he's exhibiting some of the signs."
Carl tensed up. "Are you sure?" he asked in a low tone.
One couldn't blame him for asking that; post-traumatic stress was, and is, a very serious thing. Making that grim diagnosis was not something to be taken lightly. Or made by those who are unfamiliar with it or those untrained in psychology. However, untrained as she was, Quinn had learned from professors and even from personal experience, especially after the Hong Kong incident, to spot the various signs. She had even noticed Godzooky scratching himself nervously earlier in San Francisco.
Quinn nodded, swallowing hard. "It was what happened today. In the Eartheater's tunnels. I think…I think…he might have seen…Oh, Carl! What are going to do?!" she whispered frantically. "I should've made the three of them stay behind. What's going to happen if Godzilla realizes that it's our fault-no, my fault-that his nephew is like this?"
"You can't take all the blame, Quinn," Carl said, putting his arms around her comfortingly. "I was the one who insisted that Godzooky come along, remember?"
"But I was the one who told Major Cassidy that whatever came, we could handle," Quinn countered. "I couldn't possibly have been thinking straight!" she growled, blaming herself.
"Quinn, it's not going to do Zooky, us, or you any good to keep blaming yourself. It's happened, it's done. Now, the best thing to do is be there for him and guide him through this. Okay?"
Quinn sniffled and rubbed her eyes before nodding. Once she had calmed down and refocused on what was going on, she suddenly thought she remembered feeling Carl's beard as he kissed her on the temple before letting her go. Before she could process what just happened, her attention was drawn by Pete asking, "Isn't there something we can do to calm him down?"
Vicky thought for a moment, then had a realization as a memory pushed itself forward.
"There's a song that usually made Zooky feel better. A lullaby, actually," she explained. "I often heard it on Monster Island when Zooky was really little. I don't know the words, but I think I remember the melody."
After being given the go-ahead, Vicky knelt down beside Godzooky's head, started caressing him again, gave herself a moment to get the melody right in her mind, took a breath, and began to vocalize the tune. It was gentle, full of a mother's hope for her child, and, although there were moments she thought her pitch wasn't perfect, Vicky managed to hum the whole tune.
(to the tune of "Inuyasha's Lullaby")
Hmm-mm-mmm, hmm-mm-m-m-mmm,
Hmm-m-mm-mmm-mm-hmm-m-hmmm.
Hmm-mm-mmm, hmm-mm-m-m-mmm,
Hmm-m-mm-mmm-mm-hmm-m-hmmmmm.
..
Aa-ah-ah-aahh, aah-aah-ah-ah-aah,
Aah-ah-ah-aa-a-ah-ah-ah-aa-a-ahh.
Aa-ah-ah-aahh, aah-aah-ah-ah-aah,
Aah-ah-ah-aa-a-ah-ah-ah-aa-a-ahh.
..
La-la-la-a-a, la, la, la-la-la, la, la, la
La-la-la-a-a, la, la-a, la-la-la-a-a.
La-la-la-a-a, la, la, la-la-la, la, la, la
La-la-la-a-a, la, la-a, la-la-la-a-a-a.
As Vicky hummed, Zooky, remembering the melody, began to relax. That lullaby brought back a lot of good memories: The night he had first laid his eyes on his uncle, imprinting on him as "Mommy". The memories of him sleeping on his uncle's chest, the massive heartbeat of the older saurian another lullaby to his ears; the games they played together, all those times his uncle cheered him up after he had been belittled by the other Gojiran younglings because of how different he was, and seeing his uncle, Vicky, and their friend Lina interact like a family. His family. He also remembered, faintly, hearing his uncle hum the melody to him often, but there was also another voice; all he could remember was that it sounded familiar and it was a female voice, but not Lina's or Vicky's. It was puzzling, but it didn't matter at the moment.
Aa-ah-ah-aahh, aah-aah-ah-ah-aah,
Aah-ah-ah-aa-a-ah-ah-ah-aa-a-ahh.
Aa-ah-ah-aahh, aah-aah-ah-ah-aah,
Aah-ah-ah-aa-a-ah-ah-ah-aa-a-a-a-ahh.
Once Vicky was done, it was clear that the lullaby had worked its magic; Godzooky was sleeping soundly, comforted by all those good memories. Once they were sure he was asleep, Carl quietly told Brock that it was his turn to keep lookout, and Vicky hummed the tune once more while the others went below to their quarters to sleep. As she started up a third time, Vicky quietly snuck away to her own quarters, leaving a peaceful Godzooky to sleep on the deck under the night sky.
A cool sea breeze brushed over the Calico, stirring the slumbering Godzooky. His waking moans as he stretched brought to his mind the growls of the Eartheater and a red, billowing cloud entered his waking vision. Godzooky quickly sat up with gasp, scared by the sound and vision his mind brought up and shook his head to dispel them. Once he was sure they were gone, he looked around to find himself on deck, and not in his nest down in the hold.
How'd I get up here? he asked himself, not quite remembering what had happened earlier.
Unconsciously, he pulled up the blanket that was on him. What he did remember was the faint fringes of a terrible feeling, almost feeling his voice box tear itself apart, somehow falling into the water, seeing Pete and crying for no apparent reason, and then hearing Vicky humming that lullaby he loved.
What had he been doing? Did he have a nightmare and disturb everybody? Zooky groaned; he hated it when he did that. That usually meant that neither he or his friends would get a decent sleep. But what kind of nightmare would make him leave the hold? The billowing cloud of red briefly came back and Zooky pulled the blanket over himself in fear. Scared questions began to run through his mind: Did he dream of someone dying? Of someone being killed? Did Pete get killed in that dream? Why was he seeing red when he was awake? And why did he think he heard that Eartheater when he woke up, when he knew that his uncle and Vicky had taken care of it?
Godzooky covered his mouth to try to muffle his now-loud breathing so that the others wouldn't hear. One thing was for certain now: He did have a bad dream, and there were too many questions and worries that surrounded it. He needed to tell somebody. No, not Pete or the other humans; they needed their rest and he had probably put them through enough already. Well, at least there was one more option.
As carefully and stealthily as he could, Godzooky took off from the Calico, and slowly lowered himself into the ocean. Once it got to the point where the water touched his wings, he stopped flapping and dropped, hoping that no-one heard.
Even with the moon out, the Pacific Ocean was still pretty dark. There were moments that Godzooky wasn't sure whether he hadn't swum in a circle back to the Calico or if there were nocturnal marine predators about, waiting. Sure, he was almost as big as some, but they were still pretty dangerous. However, he decided to take the chance and stopped.
"Uncle Goji?" Zooky called softly in kaiju-tongue. "Uncle Goji? Where are you?" He paused before calling again, this time a bit louder. "Uncle Goji? Uncle Goji, I need to talk to you. Can you come here, please?"
"I'm right here, Zooky," came a deep rumble.
Godzooky spun around a few times in confusion before allowing his sixth sense to guide him. Godzilla swam up from the ocean floor a few southeastern degrees behind Godzooky. Upon seeing his beloved uncle, Godzooky smiled widely, swam to him, and nuzzled himself against his larger relative's snout in an affectionate greeting. Godzilla reciprocated by very slowly tilting his head right and left to gently nuzzle his nephew; being aware of the considerable size difference between the two, Godzilla had to be very careful when his nephew was close to him. One accident could result in devastating consequences.
Picking up Godzooky's uneasiness, Godzilla gently asked, "What's wrong, kiddo?"
"Well…I…I had a bad dream," Zooky replied hesitantly. "A really bad one, I think. I…I can't stop thinking about it. I don't know what to do," he whimpered.
Godzilla observed his nephew carefully; Godzooky had had bad dreams before, but it was like something was different in this case. What had happened in San Francisco had scared his nephew so badly that he had called him "Mom" instead of "Uncle". He had to have been with the humans when many of them had been eliminated by that earthen reptile and seen…
"Well," Godzilla began, shaking off his morbid train of thought, "how about we go somewhere more private and you can tell me about it, okay?" he suggested.
Godzooky nodded, still feeling nervous and unsure about what was going on with himself.
Godzilla brought up his left hand, palm up; this was to give his nephew a ride to save him the effort of trying to keep up, since Godzooky was much smaller than he was. Godzooky swam to and settled on Godzilla's massive palm.
"Try to get some sleep on the way," Godzilla advised. "You still need it."
Godzooky didn't feel much like sleeping, but he closed his eyes anyway.
Godzilla carefully closed his hand around his nephew's tiny form to prevent him from falling off, then made his way down to the ocean floor, where he had found another entrance that led to another part of that ancient tunnel system he had learned about.
The massive saurian stole a glance at the hand his nephew was dozing in; he had a feeling he knew what Godzooky's bad dream was about, but he decided to let his ward tell him about it himself. To become a warrior, one has to face their demons, he remembered. It didn't matter how, as long as one didn't use them to control others or hurt themselves. It wouldn't be easy, but Godzilla promised himself to help Godzooky through it, and knew that Vicky and the other four humans would help him as well.
He felt Godzooky shift his position. He hoped that this was just normal.
Inside the darkness of Godzilla's enclosed hand, Godzooky soon found that not even being near his uncle couldn't keep this bad dream away.
Darkness.
Movement; running.
Toward or away? I don't know.
Gotta keep running.
Gotta get there before it's too late.
But where?
..
Thunder?
Is it gonna rain?
Why does the thunder sound like a growl?
Splash-splash-splash-splash.
Running through water.
Why does it make me feel scared?
Breathing hard.
Running so fast.
..
Splo-osh!
Deep puddle.
Got drips on myself.
They feel kind of warm.
Ew! Yuck!
This water tastes like metal!
Wait…warm, metallic water…?
Reach up.
Get a drop on my finger.
…
Red.
…
..
Look down.
Red.
Up to my ankles.
Dark red blood everywhere…
..
Scared;
Heart pounding.
Chest heaving.
Can't think.
Where's Uncle Goji?
Where's Pete?!
WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!
Wait, I hear Pete.
Thank goodness.
There he is ahead of me.
Why is he moving so slowly?
Why does he look so thin?
Why does he look so pale?
Why doesn't he look at me?
Something's wrong.
..
There's something bad nearby, I feel it.
Some sort of shadow under Pete.
That growl again…
Thump-thump.
Gasp! No!
Not again!
Thump-thump…
Be quiet!
Thump-THUMP…
Oww…chest hurts…
Like my heart's trying to beat its way out.
Thump-THUMP…
Can barely breathe.
Thump-THUMP…
I'm scared…
I wanna go home.
Mommy? Where are you?
..
Shaking.
Surface of pool rippling.
Something's coming up.
Thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP…
Pete, run! Move!
Can't move.
I'm stuck.
Thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP…
..
KA-SPLAS-S-SH-H-H-H!
..
Those blocky teeth…
…Thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP…
Those jaws…
Those eyes…
Those colors, yellow, green, brown…
…And red…
…Thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP…
He's back!
But he can't be!
He can't!
He's got Pete!
Draped over one of the spaces between his teeth like a limp prey…
…Thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP…
No!
No, no, no, NO!
He can't be dead!
..
Hold on.
I thought I saw…
Yes! His hand moved!
He's still all right!
I've gotta get him out while there's still time.
..
Coming closer.
Why am I feeling scared again?
Pete's OK…
…Isn't he?
..
Just have to lift him out now.
…
…
I can't move.
Everything's gone quiet.
I can't even hear myself breathe.
Why can't I make myself move?
Wait, Pete's moving.
Maybe he'll try to get himself out.
..
Wha…?
He's not even using his arms to push himself up.
What's…going…on…?
He doesn't even smell like himself.
He smells like…
Like…
…DEATH…
Pete lifts his head up…and…
Godzilla stood up so fast that he banged his head and almost bent his top dorsal on the ceiling of the underwater cave. When he had arrived, he had put Godzooky on the dry cave floor and found him whimpering and writhing in his sleep. Godzilla was just about to nudge him awake when Godzooky exploded awake with a scream of horror, startling him.
Now he knew how bad it was. As bad as the screaming he'd done the night of the day of Lina's mother's death. In saving Lina from hearing her mother's death cries, he had exposed himself to them, and they had become a recurring nightmare for him ever since.
Godzilla went to try to nudge him out of it, but ended up nudging him to the water's edge when Godzooky threw up for the third time that day. Now the older saurian was very worried. What Zooky was going through was worse than what happened to him. For a moment, he felt a brief flash of anger towards the Calico crew for letting his nephew go with them, but he swallowed it for his nephew's sake; they were his close friends, especially Pete, the youngling human. And Vicky.
Poor Vicky, he suddenly thought. She must've been as worried as I am now.
Once Godzooky was done, Godzilla gently began licking him, back to front, like he had done the night Zooky hatched, an act of bonding akin to a mother kissing and holding her newborn child. He kept this up until Zooky turned himself over into his side and opened his eyes.
For a brief moment, Godzooky looked at him but didn't see him. Then he blinked, came back to reality, began shivering and crying profusely, and then started babbling, switching between kaiju-tongue and even English (a skill both uncle and nephew learned from Vicky) in his fright, "The Eartheater came back! He killed everyone! I couldn't save Pete! I couldn't do anything! I failed my friends! I'm a failure! A freak!"
"GODZOOKY!" Godzilla roared in kaiju-tongue.
Godzooky covered his ears and curled himself up, but he managed to look at his uncle, who was starting to look upset himself.
"Don't you ever, EVER, call yourself that!" Godzilla continued sternly. He took a deep breath to calm himself some before going on, "You are neither a failure, or a freak. You are a sweet, playful, kind, funny, rather mischievous child," he said sincerely. "You may get yourself into trouble frequently, but I love you all the same. And as long as I'm alive I always will."
Godzooky sniffled a little. "But, what about—" he began, going back to his native language.
"Did you see Pete when it was all over?"
"…Yes…"
"And he was fine?"
"Well, yes. But he looked worried."
"Of course he did," Godzilla said, offering a finger for Zooky to grab onto. Once his nephew was on tight, Godzilla carefully turned his hand so that it was knuckle-side up, got on his back and reclined, head and shoulders propped up by the stone wall. He continued, "And so did the others, right?"
Godzooky nodded.
"And they were all right?"
Godzooky nodded unsurely; his memory of what had happened on the Calico was a bit sketchy, but he had sensed them nearby.
"But," Godzooky began. "But all those other humans, the ones who got scared of me then became my friends when I cheered them up; I couldn't do anything. I should've done something!"
"Godzooky, there was nothing you could have done for those human soldiers," Godzilla stated truthfully.
"But all those humans, they were my friends. I feel like I've let them down."
"I understand. But, if you had tried to do something, what do you think would've happened?"
There was silence as Zooky thought. "I…would have…gotten hurt?" he answered.
Godzilla nodded. "Exactly. And if anything had happened to you, I'd…I'd never forgive myself," he admitted. "Listen," he continued, "I know you feel bad about not being able to do anything to save those soldiers, but, unfortunately, this happens. There are moments where it's bad to kill, but it's not bad to die. Sooner or later, everything does. It's part of nature. At least those human soldiers died to protect what they hold dear, a worthy cause."
"You mean, I'll die?" Zooky asked tremulously, rather scared at the thought.
Godzilla sighed heavily. "Yes. Someday. A long, long time from now, I'm hoping. And, as much as you don't want to hear this, I may come off as indestructible, but I'm not. Whether by old age, battle, or by whatever cursed conditions my ancestors gave me, there'll come a day when I won't be around anymore."
Godzooky was shocked to hear this. Never, in all his young years, had he ever thought of there being a time when his uncle would never be around. He saw his guardian as strong, unable to be hurt or scared by anyone or anything, like how any one of us would see their favorite hero. Thinking of him dying was, well, unthinkable!
Seeing how upset Zooky was, Godzilla gently moved him from the back of his hand to his chest, where the youngling curled up, the strong beat of his uncle's loving heart giving him a sense of security. It was rather loud for someone so small, but Godzooky never minded it; for him, it was a sign that Godzilla was always there.
"Like I said," Godzilla said gently, being mindful to minimize his movements, "I know that's something you didn't want to hear, but it's true. Many others have gone through losing someone: Lina lost her mom (Zooky's eyes widened; he never knew that and immediately felt sorry for her), and Vicky's lost a few members of her own family, some before she was even born. You haven't been the first, and you won't be the last."
Godzilla hoped that that little speech would cheer up Godzooky some, but the youngling still looked downcast.
"Talk to me," Godzilla subtly urged, the gentle command coming out as a rumble from his chest.
After some hesitation, the teary-eyed Zooky replied, "What about the families? Early this morning, I listened to some of the human soldiers talk about their families. One of them told me one of kids was going to graduate out of grade school—a place where young humans learn basic stuff like how to read and write. Another said that he was hoping to go home to see his father before he died. There was even one who was hoping to live long enough to see his first child born. Now all those people waiting for them will never see them again."
The empathy and remorse Godzooky was expressing touched Godzilla. Even if Godzooky hadn't been born with wings, Godzilla had known from the moment that Zooky hatched that the youngling was very special; the experience of trying to take care of Godzooky in itself had given him knowledge of rearing younglings and an understanding of what his own mother went through in taking care of him and his older brother. Being focused on Zooky's wellbeing and giving him much love and gaining some back had staved off his recurring nightmares for a time. It had also proven to be a bonding experience between him, Vicky, and-especially-Lina; all three of them were usually the ones who were the very young Godzooky's constant guardians, and it was almost like they were a small family, with Vicky being an (additional) older sister figure, Lina being the mother figure, and Godzilla himself as the father figure, although he often took on both parental roles and was, by imprint, Godzooky's "mommy".
Godzooky's birth and rearing dramatically changed Godzilla's life, almost as much as meeting Vicky and Lina, or that terrible day when he heard Lina's mother's death cries. And the experiences of bullying and belittlement that Zooky was put through by the other younglings also helped him gain more knowledge about the similar circumstances that human children had gone through, including Vicky herself. These experiences had also shaped Zooky; through them and the teachings (and often healings) Vicky and his uncle gave him, he gained a sympathetic and empathetic nature, found a likeness and a fellow soul in individuals real or imaginary who were also different or belittled, and personally promised NEVER to hurt anyone else like he had been. The best development of Godzooky thus far came from spending time with Pete. With the human boy, Zooky was free to be himself, gaining an outgoing personality, which Godzilla often suspected lent a hand into Godzooky developing his mischievous, trouble-seeking streak.
Godzilla was at loss to find something to make Godzooky feel at ease about his regret, but then he remembered that something like what Godzooky had said a minute ago had been said before, by him.
"Zooky," Godzilla began. "You know, I actually had a similar conversation with Vicky about this?"
"Really?"
Godzilla nodded. "Back when I was younger. Vicky was telling me about different belief systems human have; "religions" was the term she used. Have Pete or any of the others talked about this before?" he asked, wanting to clarify if there was anything about the subject that Godzooky already knew beforehand.
Zooky scrunched up his face in thought, trying to remember. "Ma-a-aybe…I don't think…" He debated with his memory a bit more before shrugging his shoulders and replying, "I dunno. I don't think they talked about anything like that. Is that bad?" he asked.
"No, no. It's fine," Godzilla reassured him. "Vicky told me that humans have different beliefs, different ways of looking at the world, whether it's through religions or science. Or both. It only means I have to give you a brief history lesson." Assuming I can remember everything she told me, Godzilla added.
Clearing his throat, Godzilla began, "From what I can remember of our conversation, Vicky told me that humans have been practicing religions for a long time. It started as a way to explain different occurrences, like, say, the sun rising and setting, or the rain. Ancient humans believed things that seem ordinary today were controlled by greater powers, and gave them names. They even believed that if they didn't appease one of the deities, something terrible would happen. It wasn't until many, many years later that a belief in one deity came about. Both kinds still exist today, she told me; and each one even has a different idea of what happens after one dies."
Godzooky listened intently, absorbing the information as his uncle recounted his conversation.
"Vicky said that one human religion teaches that when a person dies, they are reborn as something else," Godzilla continued. "And that what they become depends on deeds done in life. The goal is to do good in each life and achieve perfection. Another one, an ancient human religion, had multiple deities, including one for death. When a person died, their heart would be weighed against a feather. If the heart was lighter than the feather, then the person's soul could pass into the afterlife. If not, then the soul would be condemned to remain in what was called "The Underworld". I think there's another ancient religion that Vicky mentioned that has something like that as well, only the judging is based on deeds and the Underworld has different sections. For instance, heroes would go to a paradise while those who did wrong were put through eternal pain.
"The religion that Vicky belongs to taught her that when a person dies, their soul is also judged by what they did in life and, if they are pure enough, they go to a place called Heaven."
"Where's that?" Zooky piped up. He wanted to ask about souls, but he decided to ask about Heaven first.
Godzilla smiled gently; he had asked Vicky that very question. Godzilla tapped the top of his snout, a silent signal for Zooky to get on that particular spot, which the youngling complied to with a confused expression. Once his nephew was aboard, Godzilla got up, warned Zooky to stay low, dove into the water, swam through the tunnel back to the sea floor, and went to the surface.
It was the early hours of a new day, but the stars were still out. The sky was clear; no clouds, harsh winds, or approaching storms.
Godzilla surfaced with Zooky still on the top of his snout, looking up at the sky.
"Where am I looking?" asked the adopted nephew of Godzilla, turning around to ask.
"Where I'm looking," replied Godzilla.
Zooky turned back around and looked up. It was about a minute before the answer sunk in.
"Up there?" Godzooky asked in wonder.
"Yep."
Godzooky was amazed; he never thought that the sky had a place like that.
"Uncle Goji, I almost forgot to ask; what's a soul?"
Godzilla chuckled softly. Yet another question he himself had asked.
"Vicky warned me that sometimes trying to understand what a soul is can be difficult because it's not something you can see or touch, but she told me that it's a pure part of all living things that lives on after death. Yes, you and I each have one, too," Godzilla said when Zooky silently asked if he had a soul. "Of course, on occasion whenever one does wrong, it can become clouded. But, she also said that her religion has a special ritual where a person talks to another human of a religious standing who has blessed by God—her religion's name for their deity—and given the authority to cleanse their souls of wrongdoing. It's a recurring process, but it's necessary if one wants to get to Heaven. Oh, yes," he remembered, "she also said that you also have to able to forgive yourself and make up for your wrongs in order for the process to truly work. If you do, then your soul will be taken there.
"Sometimes, Vicky also said," he continued, "that there are those who haven't done as much good as they should have, but haven't been entirely bad either. When they die, they go to an in-between place. And, if a person has been very bad and not once showed remorse or asked for forgiveness, then they go a terrible place, where they suffer for eternity."
"I wanna be good," Zooky chirped, the thought of that latter consequence scaring him, as it well should.
"I know you do," Godzilla grinned. "But you've still got a lot to learn about not rushing in where you don't belong," he said seriously. "You're not at the level where you can start taking on larger-sized threats; you've got a long way to go on that. And like I said, I love you very much, and I can't bear the thought of losing you. Whenever you try to get in on one of my battles, I get scared that something terrible will happen; you may get caught in the crossfire, or an enemy may take you and do harm, or…or I may get so caught up in the fight I forget my surroundings and hurt you on accident. Or even…Anyway, now you understand why Vicky and I have yelled at you to get out of the way?"
Godzooky nodded. He knew that his uncle meant it; there had been a quiver in his voice when he spoke, thinking about such a thing occurring scared him deeply. The tone may have been firm, but there was love, caring, and concern in it.
Wanting to get his mind, and his uncle's, off that unpleasant topic, Godzooky queried, "Is there a place in the sky where you can see Heaven?"
Godzilla carefully shook his head. "Like souls, it's not something that can be seen," he answered.
"Then how do you know it's there?"
Godzilla grinned. Third time's the charm.
"Remember what I told you about the origins of human religions?"
Zooky was stunned for a second; he wasn't expecting a quiz. He thought hard to remember the early part of the conversation, then answered, "Ancient humans believed that there were deities behind different happenings, including life after death."
"And why do you think that particular part of religions has carried on to today?"
"Because…because…they originally didn't know what happened and they were scared?"
Godzilla pondered that answer. He wasn't sure if that was correct or not, but it sounded plausible, so he accepted it.
"It gave them comfort that there was something, a better place to look forward to after they passed on," Godzilla said, building on the answer Zooky had given. "And the hope that they would see the loved ones who had gone before them again."
"But what about now? I mean, that's gonna happen a long time from now. But those families are going to really miss them. How are they…? I mean, isn't there some present…sign or something that they're in Heaven?"
Godzilla thought a bit on that, then remembered something his grandfather had said he had learned from an "old and dear friend".
"Look back up," Godzilla instructed. "Now, what do you see up there?"
"Stars," Zooky stated.
"Mm, sure," Godzilla agreed. "But did you think those were stars when you first saw them?"
"…No."
"What did you think they were?"
That was a hard question. Godzooky had never been asked that question, and he never really thought about it. So, he just gave the best answer he could think of.
"I guess I thought they were just lights that always came out at night and went away in the day," he said honestly.
"That's quite a common answer. Even I've thought that at one point," Godzilla admitted.
"I heard Pete's Aunt Quinn say that they are lights. They're just shining from miles away."
Godzilla hummed at that, interested.
"But what do you think some humans, even the humans who lived long ago, could see them as? Think about it: do you think that they ever saw a star suddenly go out? Did they think that stars could die? No," he affirmed when Zooky shook his head in response to the question. "They thought stars were eternal, that they lived on forever."
"You mean, like souls?"
"Now you're catching on," Godzilla smiled. "And you know what? If those stars, or souls, are just miles away from here, then when it's light here, they don't "go away" when the sun comes out; they're just out of view."
"You mean they're always there? No matter if it's night or day?" Zooky asked, his face brightening at the thought.
"M-hm," Godzilla affirmed. "So you see, even if those human soldiers have passed on and can't be seen physically, they'll always be there in their families' hearts and memories. And, like the stars, those souls will always be watching over them from Heaven. Does that make you feel better?" he asked after a pause.
"Yeah, a little," Godzooky said, nodding. "Thanks."
With the conversation over and worries laid aside, the effects of staying up at such late/early hours caught up to the two saurians and they both let out loud, wide yawns.
"Wow, look at us," Godzilla yawned. "Talking our sleep away. Worth it though," he managed to add before yawning again. Once he was sure his tiredness wouldn't interrupt, Godzilla said, "I'd better get you back before the others wake up."
"Uncle Goji?" Zooky asked.
"Yeah?"
"What if my bad dreams come back? I don't feel as worried as I did before, but I can't help but think that they're gonna come back."
"Well, I'm sure the others are thinking of ways to help you. And, well, I wouldn't object to an occasional sleepover," he hinted with a grin, but then became serious. "But like I said, I won't always be there when something like that happens, so sooner or later you'll have to learn how to keep your nightmares at bay yourself, OK?"
"OK," Zooky replied, understandably uncomfortable still with the possibility of finding himself without his beloved guardian someday.
Godzilla put his nose to the wind to find the scent of the Calico, and was about to start swimming forward when…
"Uncle Goji?" came the sleepy question.
"M-hm?" Godzilla asked, smiling patiently.
"I'm cold."
Rolling his eyes and sighing, but still with a patient smile on his face, Godzilla interpreted this as his nephew wanting to get off his uncle's snout and back on his favorite spot. Well, the sea breeze was a little nippy, so he decided to oblige. Gently carrying Zooky with a finger, Godzilla reclined onto his back just enough for his head, the front of his upper body and part of his midsection to stay out of the water, then put his nephew down on his chest. Zooky curled up and snuggled in contentedly.
It had been a few minutes since Godzilla started swimming toward the Calico (going backwards, no less) when Zooky stirred.
"Uncle Goji?" asked the drowsy youngling.
"Mm?" Godzilla hummed.
"You think I'll go to Heaven someday?"
"If you learn to behave better and be more careful, yes."
"I hope so," Zooky continued sleepily. "Otherwise I won't be able to see you when you go to Heaven."
That statement caught Godzilla off-guard.
"What…what makes you think I'll go there when I die?" he asked hesitantly.
Zooky smiled and replied, "Because you're a great guy and the best uncle…and the best mommy…in the whole world. You protect and care about everybody and keep the bad guys away. I'm gonna learn to beat my bad dreams just like you beat the bad guys. Besides," he continued with a yawn, "I love you and I wanna be like you someday."
Godzilla looked lovingly at Godzooky for a moment, tears of parental love and pride glimmering in his eyes. His nephew was still a child, but there were times like these when he could swear he saw Zooky grow up before his eyes. Those moments even made Godzilla forget that he really wasn't Godzooky's blood parent. Not many would choose to be like him given his family's history, so hearing something like that, especially from the youngling he had loved and raised as his own, was a precious compliment.
"I love you too…my little one," Godzilla rumbled tenderly, his emotions creeping in.
The rest of the trip back to the Calico was in silence, except for the sound of the wind pushing the Pacific water into waves. The Calico had been pushed around by the tides, its engines still off, but Godzilla managed to find it.
Carefully, almost reluctantly, Godzilla moved the slumbering Zooky from his warm chest to the wooden deck, and even used the tip of a claw to pull the blanket that had been left on the deck over him.
Godzilla thought about their conversation, and the confidence Zooky had expressed about Godzilla himself going to Heaven. Personally, he wasn't sure about that. When Vicky had first told him about it, Godzilla had no doubt that when his grandfather's time came, he would go there, same with his father. Aside from his great-great grandfather Godzilla Junior, he couldn't picture any of the other previous Godzillas having gone to Heaven when they died. Godzilla Senior possibly went to that in-between place because of him taking care of Junior, he had thought. But the ones before Senior, especially Gojira, he couldn't picture them being in Heaven at all, not after what Gojira had done to the people of Tokyo in 1954. But then again, Gojira must've had his reasons; besides, it wasn't his fault that those atom bombs had made him a monster.
But what about himself? Did he have a reason for acting like an animal in the early battles he had after meeting the Calico crew? Or rushing into battle against Biollante, decimating Hong Kong and taking human lives in the process? He had often attributed his attitude then to wanting to protect Godzooky, but those 27 days after Hong Kong made him seriously rethink that. He really hadn't been protecting anyone, he had thought. All he had done was indulge himself on his namesakes' hereditary rage, completely forgetting his training and what he had promised himself and his friends what he would become: a Guardian of Earth. There was no way he could ever be forgiven for that, he thought sorrowfully, looking to the sky.
There they were again; two bright, blue-colored stars that always seemed to shine brighter than the others, like a pair of eyes. Somehow looking at them comforted him and made him sad at the same time. They reminded him of…her. Of Lina. What would she think of him when she found out about what he had done? What would his family think?
The humans and Godzooky slept peacefully into the late day, but Godzilla had no sleep at all.
Poor guy. :( Anyway, looks like we got some foreshadowing and a rather sweet interaction that emphasizes the connection between Godzilla and Godzooky; an angle I felt could've been explored more in the original series. We also see Godzilla reflecting on actions he has done in the past and finding himself wanting and not feeling very sure of himself in the matter of if he will go to Heaven when he dies.
OK, I didn't get the links, so here are the two titles of the two YouTube videos of "Inuyasha's Lullaby" that I found:
"Inuyasha's Lullaby" Original Lyrics by Lizz Robinett - YouTube -This one is the very first one I found and said: "This is it. This is Godzooky's song". This will be used in later stories.
Inuyasha's Lullaby + Background Rain - YouTube – This is the second one I found and the version used in this story.
Now, I know I said at the beginning if a kaiju character was speaking/thinking in their native language, the words would be in bold, but since there aren't any humans characters in the latter part of the story, plus it would probably hurt your eyes, the dialogue between Godzilla and Godzooky is not in bold.
So, here we are at the end of another one, and oh boy, what a ride this has been. Again, please don't hate me for what I did to Godzooky, I like him, I really do; but I decided that this was going to be part of his character development in this fanfic-verse, so…
Now, for those of you who know the show, you know what's coming up next, but prepare yourselves for a bit more kaiju history…and that's all I'll say about it.
Again, if anything sticks out as erroneous, don't hesitate to correct me, please.
Please read and review. Thank you.