ABRAXAS HAS ITS OWN PAGES ON TV TROPES, BABY! HOLY SHIIIIIT!
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"...Perhaps, you are doing what you were meant to do. Your human mentality screams for vengeance and thrives on the violence that you say you can hardly endure. Your father told you as a child to always fight with honor, but to always fight. Do you care about honor, or do you use honor as an excuse? An excuse to exist in a violent world.
Organic beings are constantly fighting for life. Every breath, every motion brings you one instant closer to your death. With that kind of heritage and destiny, how can you deny yourself? How can you expect yourself to give up violence?
It is your nature.
Do you feel free?"
—Marathon (1994)
RODAN! WE NEED YOU!
The volcanic Titan looks up from his makeshift roost with a smarmy expression, but it's wiped from his face seeing their veins flashing red. Thor watches on in concern. That moment Vivienne had lost her head is still fresh in both their minds, and the part of Vivienne's brain that still has some semblance of self-control can't blame them for being wary.
Is this related to the King leaving so suddenly? Thor raps his knuckles against the earth. Something below is moving fast. Don't like the feeling.
I know! That's why we have to go to Yonaguni! Rodan can take us there, it's the fastest way!
Rodan is unfazed, preferring to preen at his molten armor plating rather than entertain them. I don't know anyplace by that name. And why should I be mounted like the People do with lowly beasts? You're Ghidorah-spawn, why not grow wings and fly there yourselves?
would that we could! San's tone is sharper than usual, the jab at his inability to fly stinging more than he'd like. that is why we need you!
Shame! I am no chariot, and Gojira can handle whatever shows itself. Rodan lowers his head and smirks at the barely restrained agitation in Vivienne's face. Yes, I know you would follow him even to the world's ending. But as you are now, you would be a hindrance. So settle down and let things work themselves out.
That thrice-damned signal rattles through her brain like her skull's been sawed open and someone dumps nails inside, slams the top shut and gives her a good shake. Shut it out, focus on this. A thousand dicks up your every orifice, Satan. A certain memory of San's flashes in her mind – one of the last he had prior to Godzilla decapitating him – and an idea comes to her.
Yeah? And what if I told you Ghidorah's probably the one he's going after? It's recovered enough to scream at me. How do we know it hasn't grown a whole body back by now?
Rodan narrows his eyes. And if so, what is so special about this place of yours that Ghidorah would bother digging its way there?
My best guess is there's something there it's interested in, and if that's the case a friend of mine is in danger. But I hear even Godzilla needed help to put Ghidorah down last time! And based on your first impression of us... don't you want a rematch?
San is puzzled by where she's going with this but she reassures him; remind Rodan of how his first battle with Ghidorah ended. Egg him on but don't piss him off, stroke his ego and hype him up. Understanding, San's angry look turns into a sneer.
remember how ghidorah bested you? how we blasted you into the sea? roosted in your volcano? i remember.
Doesn't that just eat your insides up, being humiliated like that?
Now they have his undivided attention; Rodan rises to his full height and towers over them, his internal heat causing the air to turn hazy and melty. Vivienne remembers how intimidating trying to calm Mark's temper was, and once he got it into his head that he was right and you were wrong it'd be difficult or near impossible to help him see reason. Funny how that's become so easy now. She can't quite imagine Mark's face on Rodan's head, but the agitation bubbling inside her brings to mind her berserk episode; her tail tightening around his neck, fists thrashing trying to cave his skull in. She and San stand their ground, ready to get physical if it comes to that. Whatever it takes to make it to Yonaguni, ensure Ren's safety, and...
Mind your words, whelp, Rodan growls. His eyes blaze into hers. I can burn you to cinders with ease.
Vivienne holds up a placating hand.
Don't misunderstand us. Last time you and Ghidorah fought, you JUST woke up. Now you've had time to stretch your wings and get back in shape. Even Godzilla had trouble with the MUTOs only a few years ago. How tough can Ghidorah be after a year of humans constantly taking off pieces of him? That's so unworthy of a king. And you ARE a king.
Rodan's brows lift up.
you are the fire demon! king of the sky! just as the deep one is king of the seas! and what is ghidorah now? a worm! a dirty thief!
Are you really going to pass up an opportunity for payback? Show that gaudy has-been slug the big dick badasses you and Godzilla are?
Rodan silently contemplates this until he slowly grins. If not the words, he at least understands her meaning.
I think I might like you.
Thor pant-barks at Vivienne, and his stare is hard. Don't bother. Leave it to Gojira. An illusion of the Enemy drives you to madness. If that is what you're going after, can you keep your head straight? Could be a trap. You are not strong enough to face even a wounded beast.
we have tried! always tried to shut it out! ignore it drown it out chant it out! nothing works!
Vivienne takes a few breaths to calm herself down, tries to ignore the accelerated heartbeats and quickening pulse; can't tell if it's anticipation or anxiety or both. Even now when trying to feign bravado she's terrified of what might happen. Everyone knows you kill a snake by taking off its head theheadistheseatofthesoul But even a severed head can still bite. Perhaps the trick to killing a demon is to not fear it huntthefearkillthefeareatthefear Fear's had its fangs in her for so long, too long. No more. It will take more than a little decapitation to lay low that serpent, and she's willing to bet it'll take more than that to kill her and San. And whether what's heading for Yonaguni is Ghidorah or not, they don't have to kill it. Just get a few good licks in and step aside so Godzilla can do his thing. Have to get better someday.
I can't stand it anymore, she looks up into Thor's blue eyes. What Ghidorah does to me, when it's not even trying, it's a disease! It's been festering inside me, trying to change the way I think and feel! It knows my secrets and will use them against me!
cut it out at the source. maybe it works. maybe not. have to try!
Thor suddenly throws his head to and fro, voice rising into a roar. She and San roar back and paw at the earth. The air crackles with electricity and their noses buzz with the sensation, neither Titan backing down. Thor's brawny chest heaves, and something in his gaze turns desperate.
You will go as my cub did.
A beat. San groans as a memory comes back to him; one of the Thunderers, a smaller specimen than Thor with brindled gray coat and only one set of horns, but fearless and defiant even as teeth were at his throat, power sucked from his body, which was then torn asunder. San remembers specifically how he and Elder Brother - no, the right head - took the young warrior's arms and ripped them from their sockets. He'd kept on fighting even with both arms gone and ultimately died standing. A fine death.
your cub. i remember him.
Oh. Vivienne's gut sinks, realizing that must be why Thor's taken a shine to her, like how some animals could lose their newborns and adopt new young, even those outside their species. She wants to tell him she's not his son but knows it wouldn't help. Despite their ease in communicating and some familiarity with human concepts, the Titans are not human. She settles in asking for his name, only for Thor to sigh heavily.
Some have name-songs, like the bird. Not all do. My kin did not give names. The People named us. They did not name him.
Vivienne isn't sure how to react. The memory of Thor's fallen cub brings her back to sobering reality, but tries to separate the ways of mankind from those of Titans. Maybe she really will go out like that young one did, but he died fighting. She's died screaming once already, and doesn't want to face another possible death whimpering. Thor sighs or groans. He offers his hand; they slide theirs down it, but he holds tightly to the tips of their fingers. He huffs at San's face.
I can't forgive you. But tear the Enemy's throat out and sunder its horns. Make it bleed if you can.
San's mouth twitches and he tries not to smile. The images conjured by such a request reawakens something in him, and he's eager for a real fight. For her part, Vivienne recalls the color and smell and taste of Godzilla's blood on her claws, the vague thirst it elicited, and almost licks her chops. What she wouldn't give to draw Ghidorah's blood.
A mighty gust knocks her senses back, Rodan having lifted off without them; she and San watch him soar and bank back around towards them. Thor steps aside and pounds his chest rhythmically, belting out a war cry in time with each thump; HUWAR! HUWAR! Rodan shrieks in response, glad to finally get started. Vivienne and San jump into the air and Rodan catches them, rocketing towards the sea. Once more San feels that pang of longing; if there's one fond memory he has of being part of Ghidorah, it's the sense of freedom and power that comes with flight. He's embarrassed to rely on Rodan for such a thing.
Rodan trills, the anticipation for battle bleeding into them. Keep your head on! If you had spunk in the heat of a frenzy, I am eager to see how you perform in a controlled rage!
Now who needs to settle down? Where did Godzilla go?
He's headed south, to intercept our underground prey. Where is this Yonaguni?
It's a tiny island in the eastern sea. There's a sunken monument there, maybe with two others like it. We think it's a temple of some kind.
Rodan chirps in some surprise, as though it sounds familiar to him. Temple by a tiny island? Might there be monuments to a turtle and the sun?
we think so. do you know it after all?
I do, under its old name. That was once Mu, the great sea-city of dragons! Home to the guardian Manda, as the People called him! Why so surprised, whelp? There are more secrets hidden under earth and sea in this world than you realize - the city-temple dedicated to the Deep One, great necropolises and graveyards, mouths leading to the underworld, and more. So much lost history returning to the fold since the Awakening! Who are you, that smell of the bone singers but knows not your own history?
I was dead at the time!
That is hardly stopping you now, is it?
God, her whole life has taken so many turns for the weird it's almost funny how much Rodan reminds her of an ex-boyfriend from high school. She and San give one of his horns a yank, causing Rodan to stumble mid-flight and catch himself before they crash into the sea. He bucks in retaliation, not enough to throw them off but enough to make them cut it out, though his expression indicates amusement. Don't make me turn myself around, she imagines Rodan scolding her.
Yonaguni
As the boat rumbles along the island's south side, Ren idly looks through his most recent photos. Not of the underwater monument, but of the island's mysterious rock formations; the "Battleship Rock" Gunkan-iwa on the far east coast, Sanninu-dai to the south, and Tachigami-iwa in between. He recalls the Phoenician tablet Emma Russell and others viewed in Kyushu and how not only do some believe Sanninu-dai might be connected to the Yonaguni monument due to their similar formations, but also the fact that a certain rock there is covered in writing that isn't Kaidā. Ren's heard suggestions that the writing could be Phoenician, like that Kyushu tablet. Might there also be similar writings within the monument that they haven't seen yet? He wonders if Tachigami-iwa might be related as well, with a name like that - the "Standing God Rock." Or maybe he's just grasping at straws.
Ren wipes sweat from his brow, surprised by the sudden wave of humidity. Did the reports mention a storm for today? He steps outside the boat cabin to look for dark clouds, joining the other divers. His phone buzzes; Monarch. Are they on their way with more equipment to help the investigation? Why didn't they just call earlier to plan a rendezvous? Just getting to Yonaguni is a pain, between the expenses and only three daily flights to and from the island's only airport. He barely gets a syllable out before flinching at the volume blasting into his ear. The others stare his way, bewildered.
"REN! THAT YOU?! REN, YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Dr. Stanton?" Ren switches to English. "Stop shouting. Is something wrong?"
Thankfully Rick lowers his voice, but his tone is still urgent. "Where are you right now?"
Ren glances northward. He's gone back and forth on this speck of land enough times to remember they're passing by the public beaches near Higawa, and the monument is only minutes away. He relays the information to Rick, curious as to why things sound so busy on the other end.
Rick's response is immediate. "Okay, Ren, listen to me! You gotta pull everyone out of there!"
"What?"
"There's a Titan party headed straight for you! Something's coming, we don't know what, but Godzilla's chasing after it and it's got Monster X spooked! It's hitching a ride on Rodan and they'll show up any minute! You need to get your friends, pack your stuff, and tell everyone to make like Michael Jackson and beat it! Right now!"
"I don't understand – is it the Titan under the monument? It's dead, I'm sure. Or is it the—"
"REN – DUDE – WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING RIGHT NOW?"
Ren looks from the phone to his fellow divers and back. "Running?"
"RUNNING!" Rick yells.
Off in the distance a siren wails from Higawa, followed by multiple phones on the boat blaring with alarms. Ren assumes it's the new Titan warning system that's been implemented all over the world. Three, maybe four Titans coming for this tiny, remote island of all places? Aside from the tourist spots and the monument, there's barely anything on this island but wild horses and rice fields. Not even two thousand people living in Yonaguni, and all of them could be wiped out. Ren can only imagine people flooding towards the ferries and airport trying to catch an escape flight to Ishigaki. A powerful gust rocks the boat and Ren's heart lurches when he nearly loses his phone to the ocean waves.
"Okay, okay, we're going!" Ren shouts into the speaker before hanging up. The boat captain approaches him.
"Serizawa, what's going on? You're with Monarch, right? What's with the alarms?"
Despite not actually being a Monarch operative, Ren doesn't feel it important enough to correct him. "That call was from Monarch. Gojira and two other Titans - Rodan and Monster X - are following a fourth coming this way, and we have to hurry back to land!"
"But we're almost at the monument," another protests. "Besides, what's Gojira want to do here? It's not even hammerhead season."
Ren sprints back inside. "It must be the monument - the body, or the egg, I don't know. The fourth Titan is coming somehow, maybe it wants to grab the egg for a food source? I really don't know! What I do know is that Monster X looks like Ghidorah. Do you really want to stick around when a bio-electric Titan shows up and we're in the middle of the ocean?"
The captain opens his mouth and closes it with a resigned expression. "Point taken. Everyone! We're doubling back, full speed!"
Crew returning to their places, the boat spins around and aims back west where they came. Some of the divers start panicking, asking among themselves what they'll do afterwards and if they should evacuate the island. Ren wishes he knew what to do. But the Titans always seemed to show up at major locations - Tokyo, London, San Francisco, or Honolulu. They generally leave small, middle-of-nowhere places like this alone. His father revered Gojira as more than an apex predator to end all apex predators; Gojira was like a god to him, for all intents and purposes. Ren ruffles his hair and wishes his father was still around to give him guidance. Or, hell, Graham - things had always been awkward between them, but she'd have done her best to help—
The boat lurches with a groan and Ren almost falls on his face. Everything goes silent save for the waves and startled exchanges amongst the crew. Ren's stomach drops realizing the boat has stopped, only propelled forward by momentum.
The captain barks, "Engine's out!"
"What do you mean the engine's out?"
"Exactly what I said, Serizawa! Power's gone and the engine's out! It could have been from an EMP for all I know. We're sitting ducks."
Ren pulls his phone back out. Dead. He's about to ask if they have oars and can paddle their way to Higawa beach when an approaching sound cuts him off. It reminds him of stories from the Second World War, of the German Stuka dive-bombers screaming like demons to sow fear into enemy ground forces. He steps back on deck, everyone stopping what they're doing to pinpoint the source. One of them cries out and points, all eyes following the invisible dotted line to the horizon where a comet comes their way. It's the most surreal thing Ren's ever experienced, staring slack-jawed at the approaching force of nature like a dinosaur watching the meteor that will end the saurian age and thinking 'what the hell is that?' Until everyone's inner primitive lizard-fish brain kicks in with instincts honed over untold millennia, pounding the ground, shrieking to the heavens, DANGER!
Rodan shrieks overhead and drops Monster X into the water like a plane dropping its payload, the ensuing impact causing a tidal wave heading straight for them. Ren has enough sense to bellow for everyone to hang onto something and don't let go before the wave hits.
Oh, for fu—
Water hits them like a slap in the face and San begins to panic; he doesn't know how to swim, and the last time he'd been in water Godzilla had been dominating Ghidorah. He probably would have ended them rightly if it weren't for that goddamned oxygen destroyer. She soothes his nerves, taking over and paddling them back up, taking a breath of air upon breaching the surface. A great blanket of dark gray clouds covers the sky, and they can taste the coming storm. San shakes the excess water off, wiggles his horns, and makes a disgusted retching sound tasting saltwater in his mouth.
don't like the water. how does the deep one live in it?
Must be an acquired taste after millions of years.
Vivienne's about to dive back under to see if she can spot the monument underwater when San croons at something in the distance; a lone boat near capsized in the aftermath of their sudden drop. Guilt stabs at Vivienne's gut and she heads toward it - if whatever's about to cause trouble hasn't shown its face yet, then it can wait. San is more interested in the ruins but doesn't feel like arguing against helping people who haven't helped them. As delicately as she can Vivienne takes the boat and rearranges it to float upright, winces when voices start screaming; at least there are survivors, all clinging to their boat for dear life. She and San scan the waters for anyone who might've gotten separated from this group, and she's relieved to see that isn't the case. Now to put them somewhere safe.
power the boat?
We'd better not. Water conducts electricity, and it might kill them.
what about there? beach, shore. higher ground.
Good thought.
It's awkward going, swimming with a boat nestled in the crook of one arm, but they make swift progress. She's nowhere near Godzilla's size, but it still makes her uncomfortable as they reach shallower waters, remembering how Godzilla's arrival in Honolulu came with a tsunami. There's a small population center by the beach; there could be a school or two, businesses, homes. This island is too small for a Titan to trespass on. She and San keep their distance from the town and place the boat with its terrified, and no doubt extremely confused, occupants on the lonely forested shore away from civilization.
Sorry about your boat, she thinks, and is given a start when one of the humans jolts like he's been given an electric shock. Her horn thrums. Had she accidentally transmitted that? Meanwhile San huffs at the humans and points them toward town; the humans look at him, look where he's pointing, and back to him again. It's a regular comedy sketch. Between her and San, which of them would be the Abbott and Costello? Boke and Tsukkomi? Ah, that wouldn't work anyway. The startled human pulls a phone from his pocket and gapes up at them; isn't that...? She squints, leans in close. Her eyes widen.
Ren! She almost hadn't recognized him, but it's him and he's okay! Thank god. She holds both palms up in a universal 'mean no harm' gesture and bows her head. San just looks between her and the humans, tilts his own head. Well, she can worry about explaining cultural practices another time. Now that she knows Ren's relatively safe they can focus on what they came here to do.
They retreat back into the water as carefully as possible while the humans take their leave. How does Godzilla come and go as he does without fear of stomping on anything or anyone in his path? The change in perspective makes her realize something now more than ever; how many times has she, in her human life, stepped on an ant just going about its business and never realized it or noticed? Every fly swatted, every spider scuttling for safety from a brandished tissue box, no different from humans and Titans. She clings to the island cliffs for a time, suddenly short of breath. Whatever happens next, she cannot allow damage to befall the island or its people.
The ocean rolls and sighs behind them and San alerts her to Godzilla's dorsal spines knifing through the water like a group of sharks. Out of pure reflex she kicks against the cliffside like she would to the wall of a pool, cursing herself immediately afterward - what if that caused a quake? - and swims her way to Godzilla, both heads taking deep breaths and dunking under the surface. Godzilla thrums at them, his voice underwater coming out rather like whale song. He doesn't seem displeased that she and San have followed him.
Thought I saw that bird fly past me.
You're not upset we're here?
What would be the point? You're both here. Rodan is here. Strength in numbers. But you're trembling.
There are... people on the island. Little ones. I don't want them to be caught in the crossfire.
Remember what I told you both.
She and San remember what he taught them. Protect the humans like they're children and they'll come help in return. It's actually rather Sun Tzu of him. Gripping onto one dorsal plate they ride alongside Godzilla as he surfs towards the Yonaguni monument. He moves so elegantly in water, it's a shame she only ever saw this in person once before; that tremendous display at Castle Bravo.
Have you been here before? To Mu?
Godzilla's tone grows sad. I was here when it stood above water. This island was just a small piece of it. A great city with vast fanes and mighty fleets. Its guardian Manda was an ally... a friend. Lord of dragons. He liked to swim with the whales and ships, and the sailors learned voyage songs from his kind. We raced through these waters when we were small. He and his mate were to start a clutch. But that was long ago. So long ago.
There's an immense heaviness behind his words and San finds his eyes growing hot, never expecting to see different sides to his old enemy. Vivienne aches, wondering how many companions Godzilla has lost in his long life, but her thoughts are interrupted by a buzzing sensation in her snout. San snaps to attention and noses the sea floor as they arrive at the monument itself.
here. somewhere. hiding.
Thankfully Vivienne can't be distracted by imagining how the monument looked in its lost glory days, between the electro-sensory feedback and a familiar tingle rolling up and down her neck. A massive wall of fish, entire schools of fish, fly at them - they're barely buffeted by the underwater stampede, and the fact that so many prey would go towards a predator like Godzilla and not care if they swim into an open mouth or kill themselves just by ramming into his body as long as they get away from the area, is a clear red flag. San is unconcerned with their flight, laser-focused on seeking out whatever's drawn them here and releasing their grip on Godzilla's spines to investigate further. But he seems confused; alternating between nosing the monument and looking elsewhere, probably towards the other formations.
Godzilla growls. What do you smell?
something... here... but also there... here is a thing, but over there... more. it is more.
Godzilla shark-circles around the monument. Could there be more than one thing, and is one of them Ghidorah after all? She remembers Jonah - he wasn't just testing his weaponry on her and San, he'd been experimenting on others. Could this other thing be a result of whatever crime against nature he'd been playing around with? Anxiety rears itself but Vivienne takes comfort in the King's presence, and Rodan is flying overhead. She and San didn't go through the trouble of convincing him to bring them here just for the great buzzard to up and fly off. She taps into San's senses to help his search. He's right, there's a... presence of some kind within the monument, but it's a small one. If only she could see what secrets are hidden inside without causing damage.
The buzz increases in intensity like a full-body shudder. The larger presence has moved. San's horns flare and he takes over, kicking them back to the surface. A four-taloned hand or paw bursts from the ocean floor and grips their tail. Vivienne reflexively opens her mouth in a scream and giant spheres of air rise above them, San roaring for Godzilla's attention—
B̶ȨA̴̴͟S̡T̶͠
The sound penetrates them. Vivienne clutches her head, choking down water, feeling like fingers have pierced her skull and is groping around her brain. So many voices! All talking, groaning, rasping out, either as one or just crying out for something - release, or death, or...
San kicks furiously at the hand holding them taught, but his movements are sluggish in water. Godzilla rushes in and rams his head where the lurking fiend hides - they're released, her and San retreating upwards for air. She coughs out the saltwater inhaled from just before, unspeakably thankful to have her head above water where whatever that sound was can't travel as powerfully, but it still rattles her. Godzilla's bioluminescence flashes from below like an underwater borealis and a familiar screech answers, Rodan circling above.
What was that?! What in all the world was that... SOUND?!
I don't know—
Something sharp latches onto a leg and Vivienne's response turns into a shrill cry before being dunked back under. She and San thrash against the thing, whatever it is that slipped away from Godzilla. A terrific sound like bursting water comes from above and Rodan's talons sink into them, and with powerful beats of his wings drags them back up like an eagle would its prey. A skullcrawler is the culprit, jaws sealed like a vice around her leg, but it's the single most hideous specimen Vivienne's ever seen - what should be a sinuous creature built like a whip looks even more corpse-like than its appearance ought to suggest, seeming to have been stretched out longer and bigger than it's supposed to be with flesh shriveled and pulled tightly across its bones, coloration marred by diseased blemishes. It's hard to tell from this angle, but the neck and back appear hunched with tumorous growths that bulge and seem to move like multiple animated organisms flail under the skin, and some of these growths are topped with psoriatic tendrils. And, god, the odor - the sickly sweet reek of death. Flesh, muscle, and a large portion of its tail are violently shredded from its lower half.
The skullcrawler's lean arms reach up as if to cradle her face. Rodan soars for the nearest land and does a midair somersault, him and Monster X forming the chain to a makeshift flail in order to thrash the skullcrawler against the flat cliff face. He releases the siblings so they can clamber up to higher ground, their long thin tail snaking around the thing's swollen neck and squeezing tight as they can. Their muscles strain and bones pop against the weight as the skullcrawler claws at the rock wall dangling like a man in an out of order version of being hanged, drawn and quartered.
Godzilla breaches the surface with a roar. There are two! Merged together, then torn apart! The other slipped back underground! He dives back under to hunt the second half down.
Again the skullcrawler talks, but it's... unnatural. It doesn't communicate like how Titans do. Their calls have cadence and rhythm and tone, like music. What she and San are hearing has no rhythm, no structure, no sense of cohesion, no tonal center. Even with Ghidorah's calls breaking down concentration and inhibiting her ability to make sense of the world, even it has more harmony than this. This reanimated cadaver sounds like multiple voices are speaking through its hijacked vocals to produce sounds of airless gurgles and disgusting, fleshy squelching. Animal and... human, almost. Something about it sounds familiar, but there's so much noise between the voices actually making sense and others reduced to insensate wailing.
CH̶̡I͝L̴̡̧D̷ Ơ͝F̧ ̶̡T͠͏H̵̨͜E͝ ̵̕͢W̧͟OR͏L̛D̛͜͠ E͡͠A̷T̴͡Ȩ҉R̴̶̡ the corpse gargles, both Vivienne and San physically recoiling at how the sound vibrates in their skulls. YOU ̸TŲRN̸ YOU͟R҉ ̵BAÇK͝ ̨OŅ ̛TH̴E GRE͠AT ͟ON̛E.
That primitive fear surges through her but the Ghidorah-given instincts conflict with it, as what happened when Rodan first attacked them, distorts it into rage as was drilled into the creatures that became the Devil an eternity ago. They stand at the edge to watch their dangling haul and flash red, strengthening their grip around the bloated throat.
Your "great one" should have let me stay dead!
The corpse seizes and hacks, more death rattle than laugh. YOU ̷WI͠LL ͡WI͢SH ͢T̢HȨY ̴H͠AD̸. BUT WE ̛ARE ̕DU̷TI̶FƯL.̡ ͟W̧E ̧W͢ILL ͡MAKE ͡Y͠O͏U SEE ͝THĘ TRUTH̸. TA͟KE̢ Y͠ǪU ͞TO̡ ͜THEM̛.̨ YOU ͝HAV̶E͢ ͟U͡SE F҉OR͢ T̕HE͝M͟ YȨT͝.̵
San hisses in disgust at the thing. smells like ghidorah. remember what i said? how ghidorah takes power from living things and dead things? but never like this. they... we... took living and dead things inside us. ate them to grow stronger or regrow flesh. never like this! they never... He trails off, noticing something. His red eyes flash with recognition and bristles his horns. the old coward!
What?
She stares at the skullcrawler and spots movement at the neck. Is that... is that an arm? She leans down for a closer look and immediately regrets doing so. What she'd thought were merely tumors and growths are actually people. Human men somehow horrifically fused into the flesh in a grotesque reversal of what she and San used to be. She's heard of teratomas, tumor-like growths consisting of fundamental human parts or organ tissue, but had never been brave enough to look into it. Half-melted faces groan and distended limbs writhe, some with mutant serpentine tongues so engorged they choke around it, others looking like parts of their heads are mushrooming from cancer and blinding them. How in the name of holy Jesus did this happen? One particular figure is completely fused from the waist down at its skullcrawler host's spine, upper body hanging limply. Vivienne squints at it.
It's Jonah.
Overriding the knee-jerk horror of it, something like anticipation builds inside them, feeding their rage. Finally, after all this time, after everything the old bastard's done to them and to others... despite Godzilla's wisdom, she has to admit, violence is starting to look pretty good right now. A breathy giggle wheezes from her throat.
Well, well, well... so a misanthrope and a skullcrawler walk into a bar...
Jonah's face gives her a rictus grimace of a smile. His voice grows more prominent as his horde animates the skullcrawler's jaws to pantomime physical speech. The ̷de̷a̴d ̷wi͏ll̷ li̸ve ag͡a̡i̧n.̢ ̶ Y͠ou'̡r͡e l̸iv҉ing ͡p̸r͡oo͏f̶ of t̴h̨a͏t̶. ̕ I ̢hav̵e̸ be҉en͡ e͜le͡vat̕e̢d.̛
and got ugly, San snarks.
The skullcrawler digs its claws into the rock and throws its body up with a strength both unexpected and incongruous with its skeletal frame, the siblings thrown off their feet due to their tail still coiled around its neck. San reacts quickly, releasing the beast and cracking a storm-powered fist against its jaw when the skullcrawler lunges at them. Despite the force of the blow nearly taking its lower jaw clean off the thing isn't bothered by its injury. Rogue ribbons of bone and flesh grow in place of the lost portions of its body and the skullcrawler almost nonchalantly pops its jaw back into place, where fine, needle-thin fibrous growths begin to spread.
YǪU ҉W̵A͜NT̴ ŢHI̷S͢.͠
I told you we'd feast on your bones, Jonah.
Ye͡ş,̸ ̷th̵e͢ wol̸f͠ av̴en̷ging i̷t̢s ̨impri̵s͝on̶m̸e͜nt̢ an̛d͏ s͢o͢ ͝f̶orth. Ḩo͡w ̸ve̢r̨y̡ ̧d͞r͢am҉a͜ti̛c̕.̷ ͘ S͡o y͝ou̷ can͠ ̨p͝u͟nch͡ ͞a ͏littl̶e h̷ard̸e͞r̕.̕ Am I͞ ̧s͞uppos̡ed ţo ͝b̴e ̛i͏mp̷r͡e̴şsed̢?̛
The skullcrawler's lower body rearranges, the rogue bones and membranous skin forming something like the mouth of a Venus flytrap; the reptilian head extends its long multi-forked tongue at Monster X as though taunting them. In his peripheral vision San watches Rodan soar above the clouds and recognizes it as the buildup to a dive. He and Vivienne get an idea to let Rodan strike, then follow up with their own attack. Vivienne smirks and beckons the skullcrawler puppet.
Oh, I don't know, how impressive can a carcass like that be? You're still just a hypocritical, delusional old man running away from your death... like a little bitch.
Cold fury glares from Jonah's eyes, but he doesn't take the bait. Go̵dzil͞la̵ ͟di͝d͝n't̢ s͠a̸ve y͞o͘u b҉e̶fore ͟a̴n͢d ͜he͜ w̕o̢n͡'t͟ ҉sav̧e y̛o͝u now. ͢ ҉Y͟ou and̛ tha̷t ͢thin͜g͞ ̸on͏ yo͢ur̢ back ͝s͘ha͜ļl̛ dr͞i̴n̵k ̶the wr̛a̵th o̶f ̶the t̢r͢ue͘ ̶a̸lmig͢h͏t͡y.
San mentally signals her, now!
Almost faster than a blink, Rodan streaks past them with enough wind force to feel like getting bulldozed - the skullcrawler is knocked ass over tea kettle, sent flying from the sheer speed and force of Rodan's strike. San barely catches the thing before it sails over their heads, grasping the bony tail and holding fast. He spins the corpse puppet in a few revolutions before slamming it back to the ground. Rodan had built enough momentum to stun or outright kill a lesser thing just by balling one talon into a fist and striking. San's glad to have never been on the receiving end of such an attack when he was still part of Ghidorah, but is also intrigued by the idea of a proper rematch with him.
Vivienne takes her chance and steps atop the body, drawing on her anger and hatred for Jonah into a lightning-powered stomp that near completely crushes the skullcrawler's head under one foot. She can feel shattered bone fragments and gray matter squishing between her toes. Gross. San approves of the maneuver, though; brutal, but efficient.
Jonah's voice slides inside her skull. Do͞n'̕t ͞you͝ ̧see ͏it y͠et̡? H̢o͘w̴ Ghidorah ̷complet̕es ͞y̢o͞u̢?̶ ̛ T̵h͜e͡y waņt͜ ̷yo̶u͏ ̛ba͏ck. T̛h͜ey̴ ҉want̸ ̴yo̡u҉ t̢o be͞c͜o͏me on͟e wit͏h t͞hem.̸
Ah, so she's to be the dreaded number four. Ichi, Ni, San, Shi. Too bad for Ghidorah, but it'll have to do better than this if it wants her so badly. The corpse with its gore-splattered head surges to life, again propelled by unnatural strength, and throws Monster X off their feet. Before they can get back up the skullcrawler lunges and flares its flytrap mouth open to envelope them; Vivienne catches both flaps in her hands but the thing is possessed by some freakish source of power. San lunges for Jonah's torso, but is stunned by a right hook from the skullcrawler, its hands taking hold of his neck as if to tear off his head—
theheadistheseatofthesoul
—and Vivienne can feel the fury thrashing against her ribcage trying to break free and take control, but she fights to rein it in. Muscles bulge with effort as she and San are locked in a stalemate with this thing. She tries to focus on the here and now, but Christ, her head is throbbing, and the stench of death is enough to make her sick. The foul rot of its noise causes her limbs to shake, the trap closing in around her.
Fuck 'em, she manages. Don't they know three's a crowd?
And̕ ͢m͡is͏ery loves comp҉an͡y͢. ̢ I͜ ̢k̡n̨o͏w̕ you͟ se͘e̛ it!̧ ͞H͞o̶w y͏ou ͟we̵r̷e̡ bo̶rņ bur͞sti͘n̸g ͘f҉ull̡y ͏f͡o͞rme͞ḑ ̶f̡r͘o̵m͢ Ghi̕d̸or͠ah̶'ş ̡head͜, nơt҉ u͏n̵li͝ke ͟t͠h̛e ͝b̴irt͏h̕ ̛o͢f A̸t͠h͡ena f̕r̡o͝m Z͝eus̴! ̶ O̶r, i͝n͝ t̢his ̡c͘a͘se͠, t̵h͠e͢ ̛bir̕t͞h ̕of S̴i͘n͡. It wa̕sn͡'t͟ ͞h͢y͏p̛e͠r͏b̵ol͡e͘ w͡hen ̸I͟ ͞çall̴e̵d y̕ou̡ the͠ ̶prog҉enito̷r o̷f̷ a new s̴pe͜c͡i҉e̴s̕. ̧ Hav͡e ͜yo͡u̡ r͟ea̸d M̧il҉to̷n?̧ ̧ Do̢ you re̴me͟mber̸ wh͝a͝t happ͟ȩne̴d ҉t̡o S̷in҉?҉
Take your book report and shove it!
Vivienne adds her legs to the equation; if she's inherited Ghidorah's regenerative abilities, then fuck it! She'll gladly trade a limb for San's safety! Letting go, she allows the flaps to crush around her left arm, and with the free one flashing red she thrusts a hand towards one of the arms holding her brother. Fingers extended in a makeshift spear tip, she punches clean through and the limb is severed enough to loosen its grip on San's throat.
VIVIENNE!
Are you alright?!
fine! i'm fine!
Again, a thunderous kick, this time to create distance between them and the abomination. There's a sound like wet planks of wood snapping and meaty tearing, pain exploding in her brain. She loses balance and stumbles, good hand clawing at the broken, bloody stump where their left arm used to be, but Vivienne finds something darkly funny in it, recalling Monty Python's infamous Black Knight. She'd probably replay the whole scene in her head if they weren't in the middle of actually getting dismembered, but even that isn't a problem. Expectantly she waits for the stump to form a new replacement arm.
Any second now.
it's... not growing back.
Vivienne tries flexing as if that will make something happen, but all she gets is a little squirt of black blood. She turns her head to meet San's.
Oh, balls.
Godzilla follows the other, the larger half of the abomination as it slinks under the sea floor, using the subterranean caverns Manda and the people of Mu once used. He has confidence in the young hybrid's abilities against the smaller half that tore itself away, and Rodan would be foolish to allow harm to befall them. Death's rank odor clings to his nose, but he presses on. It makes for the monument that was a fane and roost for Manda and his species, remembers that the second head – the one she calls San – said there's a small presence inside the fane. Could Manda have started a clutch after all? Could even one of those eggs have survived in dormancy after all this time, or perhaps something else... could it be him?
He propels himself to swim faster. If need be, he will break through the fane-nest to secure the egg and the hatchling within. Just as he is about to ram through the monument, a plume of erupting rock and dust greets him, followed by something body-checking him. Godzilla ignores it for now and noses through the hole; this is where Manda's kind left their clutches. That small presence takes priority. He just needs to sift through the debris and dust... where? Where is the clutch? The body of Manda, or his mate – where?
Behind him, the thing that burst from the fane makes itself known; a stench like an overfull carrion pit, a sound unlike anything he's ever known. He can't quite recall the last time he felt such... unease. Is this what the dead sound like? It's not Ghidorah. It carries only a hint of the void dragon's thunder but whatever the thing is, it is not Ghidorah. Godzilla turns to face it. He remembers what Manda and his kind looked like, their long serpentine bodies colored in beautiful blues or greens, some with finger-like cerata appendages along their length flaring out like wings and others with fur lining down their backs, the translucent horns and antlers and spines like crystals, reflecting moonlight or an aurora borealis. They were magnificent and deadly.
But the creature is now nothing more than a hideous, reanimated corpse. The diseased abomination with its jagged dorsal spines and wailing mutant heads has burrowed itself into the body through decomposed openings in the flesh, its tendrils sliding and bulging under the skin, the sea dragon's head lolling to the side and jerking like an abused prey caught in spiderwebs as the tendrils spread throughout its system. Soon the half-decayed head turns and stares at Godzilla through one unseeing milky white eye, the right socket an empty void. Its mouth twists unnaturally, baring teeth in a sneer, and Godzilla spots a flicker of smooth pure white hidden in the decay of its maw. The egg.
Where rage would have commanded him in his youth, he has long been a master of battle focus. The abomination desecrates the body of an old companion, but it will not have the scion. Godzilla tackles the corpse and expertly rolls it, taking care to reserve slamming it until after the egg is secured.
Above Yonaguni dark storm clouds blot out the sun and thick sheets of rain pour down, thunder rumbling ominously. The indigenous wild horses flee to safety, birds flocking en masse, insects screaming, people rushing to either leave the island or stay far away from the melee as possible without diving into the sea. At Higawa, Ren's muscles burn in protest from the mad dash. Everything is happening so quickly he doesn't know what to think - had Monster X just talked to him? Did a voice really crackle through dead air on his phone? And the voice itself - the words were Japanese, but the accent and cadence were of a non-native speaker. He only knew one westerner who spoke Japanese with an accent like that, and she died in Antarctica. He and the boat crew pause by an evacuated elementary school to catch their breaths. Ren doubles over, hair sticking to his brow and covering his eyes. Despite the humidity and deluge soaking him to the bones there's a chill rolling through him.
The earth quakes beneath their feet and one of the divers half-chokes, half-sobs out a curse. Everyone looks behind them and sees a mutant skullcrawler with a crushed skull approaching from the east forests. Ren coughs and holds the stitch in his side. He hopes a passing vehicle heading for the ferry will give them a lift, but doubts it very much. Rodan crashes into the fray, the impact causing shockwaves that knocks them off their feet. The boat captain yells for them; one of the school faculty must have forgotten to lock the main doors after evacuating the children. Ren and the others rush inside, though he knows this tiny building won't offer any protection if the fight draws closer to town. Neither the walls nor the raging storm do anything to muffle the sounds of battle.
"Hey," a diver pants, "did anyone notice Gojira?"
The captain nods. "I did. Saw his spines in the water. Don't know where he is now."
Ren can't help but find a window that gives him a view of the brawl, feeling like he's finally getting an idea of why Graham and his father were so dedicated to these monsters. It's the sublime of it. They're more than just animals, they're each a literal force of nature, and what are gods but forces such as this? The earth quakes beneath their every step, the heavens shake with every wing beat, volcanoes stir or slumber at their command. They don't have to want to do it, or even think about it. They just do what they do.
The skullcrawler slips away from combat, but not to run away. After all of Ghidorah's conquests, San knows the difference between a full retreat and a tactical withdrawal, and he knows the abomination is not giving up the fight this soon. What's more, it's headed west where he and Vivienne left the boat. Fired with rage they give chase after the thing, Vivienne not caring that losing an arm leaves them off balance or that Jonah is clearly trying to trigger another berserker frenzy.
H͏o͞w ͞l͞ong do you pl̕an͜ ̨t̶o̧ ch̛a͟se me͘? We ͘o̶n͢ly ̶c̸am͜e h̡e͏re͠ ҉for what̛'̷s in th͝e͡ ̶mo͢n̵um̷en͝t̷. ͜ You d̸id̷n'͝t ͢hav̕e to ̵c̵o̷m͠e̴ ̛h̕er͡e and ͠r͘i̴s͟k̸ the li͞v̡es̵ of͜ ҉e͝v͢eryone͞ ̕on th͡is i͢s͘land. ͢D͡idn't ̡ha̴v͢e to ri̢s̨k̶ ͏a̛ny̵o̡ne's̢ ̵ļives w͜he̶n ̢y̧ǫu̴ ͝were̵ ̡s̕t̕i̢l͟l ̨mor̢tal̷. ͏ ҉I̷ ̨s͟up̕p̕os̕e̸ ҉s͠om̸e p͡ȩo̴ple͢ ̴are̛ ju͢st a͡c͏c̴e͜ptąbl̛e lo̢sşe͜s t҉o M͘o̡na̶rc͡h, aren't͠ ͝t͟he̕y?̵
Coming from you, that means less than nothing!
Rodan plummets like a meteor from the storming clouds above and pins the mutant skullcrawler beneath his talons, but the advantage is short-lived as it repeats the same maneuver that took Monster X's arm, this time the flesh cage aiming to trap Rodan's head. Vivienne and San leap into the fray in a crimson bolt, but they only manage to catch the torso, Rodan's screeches muffled by the trap. With one arm and both jaws working in tandem they struggle to pry the trap open, even with the storm strengthening their muscles, all the while Rodan flails wildly and casting embers into the surrounding woodland. Both heads roar in frustration and thunder rumbles overhead.
An͘d now Roda̢n̡'͘s͡ ̛a̷t risk̷! ͡ ̧A̶r̕e ͘yo͘u ͝rea̕l҉l͜y go̡in͜g to let t͝h͏is ͏happ̡e̛n? Jonah's eyes roll back in their sockets and falls silent for a moment. Again, that groping sensation in her skull - goddamn it, focus - and soon the old man's dead-eyed stare is locked with hers. If he can hear Ghidorah, then that snake must have revealed some secret to him.
Fire bursts within the trap and causes its fleshy membranes expand from the heat, air whistling from the gaps like a tea kettle until the trap explodes in a flaming plume; all three monsters knocked back from the force, the scorched abomination screaming in conflicting signals. Rodan recovers first, Monster X's severed left arm held tightly in his jaws; he lets it fall and takes it into his talons, powerful wings spread in an intimidation display as he approaches. Monster X limps back to their feet and tackles the skullcrawler, followed by Rodan, not about to let it get any closer to that town.
Well, look who's wrong again!
Y̸O҉U̡ C̨ANNOT͘ ͠BE ͝EV͏E͘RYWHE͞RE̢ W̢E̸ A͝R͢E͡, ͘APOS҉T͢A̸T̕E. ̛ ҉THE͟ SNAKE F͞A͟TH̸E̴R̛'S̵ S̶E͠E͜D ͞HAS ̛S̷PR̨EA̡D AN̷D͞ ̶R̕OO͡TE͝D̨. ͞ OU͘R ͝FA̴MILY ̵GR҉OWS.͠ ̶ ̨W͘E̢ ̴W͝ILL͘ ͟B҉ECOME҉ ҉LEGION͢.
Vivienne hesitates.
...seed?
Focus! Rodan screeches. Don't listen to it!
E͏ven͟ if̶ ̴y͡ǫu ̶kil̢l us̷ ͡yoų'̕v͜e ǫnly̵ slash͞e̶d o͘ff o̶ne̷ ten̸d͝r͝i̡l of a s͏in̡gle͘ g͏rea̢ter̢ or͜ga͝nism̵.͟ ̷So m͢an̴y sam͠p̴l̨e̕s. ͟ ̧S͞o m̕a̶n̸y people͠ o͟uţ ͠t͏her͏e͝ h̛op҉i̵ng̢ ̵to͜ ͞start a famil̨y҉, b͞ut can'͝t̛ ̛co͘n͏ceive̶. S͞o ͏th̴e͟y ͞re͘s̷or͘t to... ͝o҉utsid͠e a̕s̴si͘s҉t̡an̡ce̷. ͞ H̴ow ̸m̨an҉y g͟enerątion͝s wįll i̸t͡ ̸t͠a͟ke, do y̨ou͡ ̷thi͞nk̸,̴ ͞be͟fơre̢ ҉t͟he c̨ḩi͘ldre̶n͠ o͡f ̛the dra͠gǫn̷ ̸w͘alk̸ t̕h̨e ͝ci̢ty ̢s̛tr҉e͢et̢s i͟n̵ ͝p̛l̸ai͘n si̢gh͟ţ, ͝n̕o͜ ̡one sųsp͢ec̡t̵ing̸ ̢a th̴ing? ̶ H͞o͝w many mo͟re ̧frien̴ds͠ of yo̢u̢r͡s͟ m̵ight sti҉l̷l͘ be ̶end͘an̢ger͟ed̶? ͞ B̛e͝s̴ide͟s,͏ ͏we͘ ͝kno̡w w͠here̴ ͢to f͜ind͢ y̴our͏ ͡f̴r͏i̕ends.̴.͟. wh͞ere ̡to f͘i̵n͘d ҉Madis͞on.
͏
W͢E ͠KN̵OW W͞HE͠RE THE̴Y ARȨ. YOU̢R͞ F͏AM̧I͢L͏Y̸. ̢Y̴ƠUR͜ M͢OTHE̷R͝.
There's a physical, almost spinal snap.
While the skullcrawler's head regenerates, San watches the storm clouds and extends his neck upward, horns flaring and teeth bared. Vivienne aims her horn to the heavens. Drawn to them like a lightning rod, a bright fork of plasmic light beams down and connects, Monster X's body flashing bright red. Vision grows tunneled and pulsates with crimson. They don't notice Rodan backing away. Nothing else existing in sight but the skullcrawler - the prey.
Rip... and... tear...
Fueled by the storm both within and without their bodies move in a blur, ripping and tearing into the corpse - ripandtearripandTEARRIPANDTEAR - both jaws locking around the torso and pulling it asunder, blood splattering all over them - RENDTHEFLESHDRINKTHEBLOODRENDTHEFLESHDRINKTHEBLOOD - claws sending giblets of gore flying - HUNTTHEFEARKILLTHEFEAREATTHEFEAR - Rodan methodically chases these with blasts of fire. San stabs their remaining hand into one of the skullcrawler's swollen eyes, caving part of its skull once again. This frenzy isn't just to rip the thing to shreds, but to find that son of a bitch Jonah and finally make him pay for what he's done make him hurt make him suffer make him PAY IN BLOOD. HATE YOU. KILL YOU. HATE YOU. KILL YOU. HATE YOU KILL YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU I'LL TEAR YOU TO FUCKING PIECES EAT YOUR INTESTINES MAKE YOU PAY WITH YOURFUCKINGBLOOD YOU'LL PAY PAYEVILUNTOEVILHEISNOTHINGBUTFOODHISFLESHCONSUMED
Even with his efforts to purify the corruption, this display of wrath gives Rodan pause. He can't look away as the two-headed whelp paints the island in gore, howling and baying and laughing insanely, but it wasn't triggered by fear. This creature is so young and yet so capable of brutality. But what disturbs Rodan more is how... nonresistant the living corpse is to being shred to pieces in such a manner; as if it planned this all along. Wanted to see what would happen. But for what purpose? Didn't he hear something about the Enemy wanting this whelp back? It will be a dark day indeed if that plot succeeds.
YESSSSSSSSssssss
It feels like Vivienne's brain was removed from her head and then slammed back to where it belongs. That one word brings Vivienne back to sanity with a shudder. That was Ghidorah. She knows its voices, and San all too well, but the particular tone is so different, so out of character. Deep and rough as ever, just... quieter, intimate... almost sensual.
The air is suddenly pushed from their lungs. The malformed skullcrawler, almost completely turned to pulp, has taken advantage of their distraction and ran them through on the sharpened tip of its skeletal tail. Vivienne prods the tip of the bone that pierces through their unarmored abdomen, more darkly fascinated by the sensation of being impaled than alarmed by the fact that, well, they're being impaled. She and San have been turned to Swiss cheese by gunfire, they've had grenades and rockets fired at them, they've had their lungs melted by chlorine gas, they've been set on fire, they've literally microwaved themselves, but this is new. This is... interesting. She chuckles, feeling how the penetrating bones catch on their insides with every slight movement.
But it also seems so primitive. This surely can't be the extent of Jonah's capacity for torture, and it certainly isn't even a fraction of what Ghidorah could do.
Di͏d͏ ̶y҉ou̡ ͘fee͠l ͠it,̷ ̢Beast? Can̸ y̴o̢u ̵f͠eel̡ the ͢G̵reat ̴On͠e͟'s ͟hu̧ng̢er̕ p͝ier͠cing i̛nto͡ y̕ou?͞ Y̧our ̕vio͜l͏enc͟e͘ ͘fe̛ed̶s the̢m͟.̢.. ̨e͝nti͘ces ͏them—̷
Their right hand finally, fucking finally, finds him, tears him away from his hideous perch. That tiny, feeble, delusional old man. That insect. She can actually see the realization of his inevitable end in his eyes, his chin trembling; she can smell his growing fear. Oh, was this not part of his plans for today? So much for his talk of facing death with dignity. Hypocrite. COWARD.
Jonah barely gets a scream out before her thumb presses down on his head and pushes just a little. Vivienne blinks in morbid surprise at the almost inaudible pop his body makes as it's crushed between her fingers. So easy. She unfolds her hand and studies how the gore, the last reminders of Alan Jonah's existence, is washed away by the rain. The same man who plotted Ghidorah's awakening and held her and San at his mercy for so long, the same man who believed himself a servant and devotee of the thing he once tried to control, dies alone and mindless. Life wasted. Honors meaningless. She doesn't know what to feel, can't decide if she should feel satisfied to have finally killed Jonah, remorse for intentionally taking a human life under her own power and not in the throes of a blood rage, disappointed in how abrupt and anticlimactic it was, or just... cold. She doesn't know.
Suddenly San gives an alarming roar.
Wake up, will you?! Rodan screeches at her.
He and San takes the tail impaling them between their jaws and with tremendous effort manage to remove it, Monster X's petrol-black blood streaming to the trees and ground in a torrent. The pain sears white-hot in their brains, blinding them for a moment, and Vivienne tastes copper. Once vision and sense return she finds herself dragged away from the still living corpse by Rodan just as an immense shape erupts from the sea. She doesn't get a good look at it, only knowing it reeks worse than the skullcrawler and looks vaguely like a serpentine amalgamation of corpses, maybe standing at Godzilla's height or even taller, with jagged dorsal spines bursting from its back like the kind Godzilla had before his battle with the MUTO Prime. But instead of continuing where the other started, the undead leviathan crushes its jaws around the skullcrawler's remains and slides back into the chaotic waters. Rodan shrieks at the size of it and watches its flight, this time a full retreat.
That was the guardian of Mu! Rodan is stunned. But he smelled of death and thunder! What power makes the dead move on their own?!
ghidorah, San supplies. He clicks when Vivienne gets them back on their feet, only to wince and hold a hand where they were skewered. no, stay. we are wounded.
But Ren's out there. I have to be sure he's safe. He's sensei's son.
oh. sen-sei. the father. is ren also your brother?
No, I mean... no, well, not exactly. It's weird.
little ones are weird, San agrees and Vivienne rolls her eyes at him. Wise-ass.
Rodan scrutinizes them from a distance. Of course - she'd lost her head again, so naturally he wouldn't want to get too close after being on the receiving end of a previous rage state. Her head lowers in shame. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but her hearts sinks at how quickly she falls into such a mindset even when fighting against it. What the abomination called her - "Beast" - she really is becoming a savage thing, nothing like the noble monster Godzilla is.
I'm sorry. I lost control again.
Rodan huffs and preens at the specks of gore lingering in his armor. So?
What do you mean, 'so?' That's the whole point, isn't it? For me to learn control and master it?
What were you in your old life?
A scientist. A scholar.
And how long did it take you to earn that title? When Vivienne shrugs and answers how it took years of dedication and study, Rodan gives her a 'well, there you go' sort of look. Like with hunting, so with crafting, so with flying, so with fighting. You didn't master it your first try, you'll likely not master it your fifth or tenth try. Did the world end because you turned into a screaming vortex of blood and spit? Does the day go on? So, keep trying. You'll master it eventually.
...huh. For all his hot-heated antagonism, he really does have some wisdom in there. And with that titanic lich by all appearances gone and taking the lesser threat with it, it seems like damage to Yonaguni has been minimized even with her newfound berserker tendencies. Plus, it didn't take another mental breakdown to calm her senses this time. She's willing to call that progress. Seeming satisfied, Rodan steps into their space and examines their wounds, smelling the blood. Reflexively Vivienne pushes back on his chest when Rodan's beak gets too close to her abdomen; it's stupid, but she's embarrassed by his closeness and apparent intention to act as her nurse-slash-teacher. Rodan crows in some surprise at the touch - probably due to her hand's proximity to his scar - but his blazing orange eyes stare at her, unamused.
I prefer one IN control of their rampages and not controlled BY them. What's more, you're not going anywhere with a hole in you and a missing arm.
It's not missing, it's right there, Vivienne points out the arm in question, still in Rodan's talons. He pecks the tip of her nose in reprimand.
If I must sit on you like a hen with her eggs until you heal, so be it! Now settle down and let me work!
Vivienne bites back a petulant 'Yes, DAD!' Maybe she'd panicked over that lost arm for nothing; San knows Ghidorah's severed limbs wouldn't regenerate straight away, and in the case of a severed head it would take several minutes before growing one back. Even this hole in their gut is slow to heal. Maybe whatever Mothra did to help them changed some aspect of their regenerative mechanism so it wouldn't cause a crippling mutation. Vivienne nearly bites through her lips when Rodan breathes small bursts of fire to cauterize their wound, pounds her right fist against the earth. San nuzzles her through the pain, but grows anxious when he doesn't sense what he calls a 'tickle' in their muscles that signals regrowing a lost limb. After a moment Rodan leans back and their wound closes, blood clotted and burns fading; she pats her back and the corresponding hole there has closed as well. She and San take a relaxed breath, but Rodan suddenly jumps and knocks all three heads together, drops the severed arm.
What, what?!
It moved on its own!
They watch as the left hand's fingers twitch - Vivienne registers a phantom sensation and San coos, feeling that tickle, and thinks of something. He picks the arm up and positions it by the bloody stump and this time Vivienne can feel the tickle, can't help but giggle at the sensation though her still healing abdomen makes laughing uncomfortable at best. Almost like magnets the arm and stump pull together, meaty strings of muscle coming to life from the stump and reaching into the arm - Jesus! Vivienne and Rodan lean into each other, neither sure if they should be fascinated or disgusted, but unable to look away. The tickle turns into a chilly, wet, slippery sensation like worms sliding up and down the length of that arm and burrowing into the meat, soon followed by a muffled snap of bones connecting. They all stare at the reattached left arm, still scorched black from when Rodan blasted himself free from the mutant, and San gives it a few test movements. It feels strangely cold and stiff compared to the rest of them, but the charred skin is already beginning to flake off and recover. Rodan and Vivienne stare at each other.
That's new.
what fun to watch you work THE OLD FOOL THOUGHT HE COULD COMMAND US BUT LOOK AT HIM NOW so deluded so easy to manipulate TALKING SUCH ROT he thought he could bring someone back YOUR KIND IS MINDLESS YOUR KIND WEEPS OVER THE ENDLESS DEAD HE MADE FOR SUCH TEDIOUS LISTENING THOUGHT HIMSELF SO IMPORTANT but he was only an insect after all he served his purpose
and you YOU
SO CLUMSY SO INEXPERIENCED but you are young and tender you can learn you learn quickly so capable of hate and suffering HOW EASILY YOU ARE CONSUMED BY WRATH HOW... INTERESTING... HOW FASCINATING HOW DELICIOUS we have seen into the old man's mind his and others WE KNOW WHAT MANKIND CALLS US devil dragon monster demon WE KNOW THE WORKS OF MANKIND FABLES INVENTED BY THE IGNORANT BLIND we know the devil stories you see us through WE LEARNED THE DEVIL STORIES and we had a thought a new thought the old man called you beast and sin FOR SIN WAS BORN FROM THE DEVIL'S HEAD as you were born from our head SUCH WRATH AND HATE AND FURY SLEEPING IN YOU SUCH BEAUTIFUL VIOLENCE
YESSSSSSSSssssss
c ome home to us and we can teach you LET US TASTE OF YOUR HATRED COME TO ME JOIN YOUR VOICE WITH OURS A ROAR OF WAR see your reflection in our eyes YOU CAN BE MORE SO MUCH MORE SING YOUR SWORD SONG YOUR WAR SONG YOUR DEATH SONG
come to us sing with us WE WILL MAKE YOU A TRUE GOD A MOTHER OF MONSTERS COME TO ME AND WE WILL TEACH YOU PERFECT HATRED
After a fierce engagement Godzilla has managed to secure the egg, carries it in his mouth just as his species did with their own young. Despite his efforts to maim the parasite it just keeps coming back; every slash of his claws or battering from his girth or crash of his tail, even radioactive pulsations from his dorsal spines, none of them keeps the abomination down. He will not risk harming the egg by shooting fire. To his surprise the dracolich falls back and reaches for something on land - thankfully its target was neither Rodan nor the hybrid - and rapidly retreats back into the sea.
Godzilla considers his own injuries and decides against chasing after it for now, but will resume his hunt eventually with greater numbers. For the time being, he has something important to tend to. Recalling how gingerly the hybrid made their leave of a certain beach, he opts to settle the egg to another place where his size will not flood the land and makes his way along the southeast coast. Soon he arrives at shallower waters and wades towards a certain standing rock formation, settles the egg onto flat stone - he dimly recalls some young sea dragons basking in the sunlight on rocks like this. The storm calms and slowly passes overhead, where sunbeams will gently warm the creature within its shell.
The egg shifts.
Godzilla's heart seizes in his chest.
So mesmerized by the subtle movements he almost doesn't notice when Rodan sails for him with the hybrid in tow. The volcanic avian roosts atop the standing rock and the young drake slides down to meet him, startled by his injuries but freezing at the sight of the egg, watching parts of it bulge and crack.
Neither halves of Monster X have any experience in this - San's species left their egg clutches hidden away and left behind, and Vivienne has never been present for the birth of anything. A hand twitches with the desire to help pull the egg apart but the impulse is checked by a knowing rumble from Godzilla; this is something the creature within must do on its own, this first and most important battle. If it cannot break free, it will die without being born. Instead, Rodan and Godzilla both urge it on with encouraging chirps. Vivienne and San follow their lead.
Come on, little one. push. you can do it. Very good! Keep going! that's it that's it that's it! You can do it!
A piece of the egg breaks off and a little blue snout pokes through the hole, taking its first breaths of air. It retreats back into the shell with a nervous peep! Hearts melting at the sound, Monster X leans their heads down to peek into the hole and both purr, trying to coax the infant out. This time tiny claws curl around the opening to push it yet wider, more and more, bit by bit.
Very good!
push push push!
A head pops out. Soon after the rest of its body follows, a short little thing built like a ferret and covered in smooth, spotted baby blue hide with a pale underbelly, little nubs on its head and dotting down the back. In the decades and centuries to come, this creature might grow into a majestic serpent with beautiful horns or antlers crowning its elegant head, whiskers growing from the elongated snout like a catfish, crystalline spikes lining down its sinuous body. The dark blue spots on its back will become a solid color camouflaging it from those looking at it from above. This one might become a benevolent guardian and fierce protector, a dragon god revered by sailors and fishermen; they might hail it as such, deliver prayers or offerings in exchange for safe passage and a successful voyage.
But for now, it is only a baby.
The little one peers up at Godzilla and blinks two sets of eyelids, the second a nictitating membrane sliding over amber eyes with slit-shaped pupils. The two of them touch noses, each scenting the other. Now those gold eyes survey Rodan and Monster X, the baby studying them with curious clicks. The baby dragon scents the two dark heads watching it, head tilted, amber eyes staring into green. There is recognition in those eyes, but Vivienne doesn't know if it's of a baby recognizing its parent.
Godzilla recognizes the look in those young eyes as something similar to Mothra in her rebirth, remembers the scent of the lone man who came to his temple with heart aching for its partner; but he knows the hybrid's female half - Vi-vi-enne - won't understand right away, and the newborn wouldn't remember her. But that's quite alright. Unfair to foist memories of a man whose life has long passed unto a newborn with no care of its own thoughts, or those of the one still mourning. The baby dragon clicks again, lets out a series of trills and sounds like whale-song, and Godzilla answers it, the newborn scuttling over to him and rubbing the length of its body against his snout. It zips back to Vivienne and San with more clicks and peeps, and presses a three-clawed paw to San's nose, eliciting an adoring sound from him. He turns wide, watery eyes to his sister.
can we keep it?
She laughs and rubs her own eyes, not knowing why she's tearing up or why her chest aches - but it's a good, happy hurt. Vivienne extends a finger and coos when the little one does a little jump and tackles the digit with playful gnaws. Godzilla and Rodan watch on with bittersweet, wistful eyes perhaps recalling the young of their own kind. She wants to name it. Thor had said some Titans give each other name-songs but others don't.
Do you name your young?
Godzilla's mouth quirks into that half-smirk. I don't believe in giving young ridiculous names.
And yet you call the Queen by name, Rodan points out.
Because that is the name she came with. Godzilla blinks one eye at Vivienne. Names are the way of your kind. You should name him.
The siblings look down at the baby, now rolling on its - his - back with belly exposed, and they take care to rub with the pads of their fingers. A name... what would be a good name for him? Monarch always called the Titans as the legends of ancient humanity had named them. San remembers something Rodan had said and Vivienne catches on. They gather the baby dragon in their hands and lift him up, the little one chirping in delight at his surroundings; just as Thor did at their rebirth, the siblings release ululations into the air.
Manda! His name is Manda!
ᛊ - Sowilō. "Sun." The sixteenth rune. It represents illumination and the necessary power to achieve objectives; it resists the forces of death and destruction. It is the counter-force to the rune Isa (ice).