Disclaimer: All rights to Godzilla and its characters, places and names belong to Toho Studios. All rights to Godzilla (2014) and its characters, places and names belong to Legendary Entertainment. The author of this story owns nothing; this story is for entertainment purposes only, not money or profit of any kind.

Chapter 5

San Francisco, California

Across the television screen, breaking news reports of a 6.3 earthquake having occurred in Japan were on every network. The epicenter was reported to be in the Kanto region, just offshore from the Janjira Quarantine Zone, and that fires were now raging through the abandoned city.

Worse is that the damaged nuclear power plant had been destroyed, and experts from all over the world were now speculating on the potential danger of further radiation leaking from the damaged reactor site.

Elle Brody was pacing frantically in front of her TV, her cellphone in her hand. She was on the verge of pulling her hair out with worry. Her husband Ford had gone to Japan to bail his father out of jail, and the last he had called her, he was at Joes apartment, and they were going to fly home in the morning.

When she had heard about the earthquake, it felt like she'd been punched in the gut. She hoped that they were on a plane home, but Ford would have called to let her know they were on the way. She had called him and texted him dozens of time without reply, and knew something was wrong.

"Yeah, it's Ford Brody," she said, on the phone with the international airport. "Uh, Japan to San Francsico." The individual on the other end confirmed there was no one by the name on any of the incoming flights and abruptly hung up.

In exasperated frustration, Elle cursed as she slammed her phone down on the coffee table and buried her face in her hands for a moment. She looked up and saw her five year-old son, Sam, standing in front of her with an uncertain look on his face.

She hadn't told him directly about his father, but children always seemed to be able to instinctually know. Trying to keep tears from leaving her eyes, she pulled her son to her chest as she hugged him and whispered everything was going to be okay, although she was also trying to reassure herself, as well.

Janjira, Japan

Vivienne Graham was making her way through the rubble and bodies trying to coordinate search-and-rescue teams. The survivors were scattered among the dead and injured, some teams looking for survivors and others collecting anything salvageable.

The events of last night were like a blur. A horrifying, nightmarish blur.

During the evacuation, the Monarch members from the Crow's Nest Team had become separated when the winged-behemoth pulled down the suspension cable towers that surrounded the complex.

One of the towers slammed into the side of the building while they all made their way through the hallways, virtually in the dark. Sadly, Dr. Whelan and several workers were killed; crushed by falling rubble as a result.

Herself, Dr. Serizawa and four others had miraculously escaped the chaos unharmed. Emiko and Jainway were still unaccounted for, as far as Graham knew, and she didn't know what happened to Joe and Ford Brody.

Currently feeling wholly numb, with the adrenaline and shock of the event having worn off, Graham was filled with sorrow at the loss of life as she saw body bags carefully lined up in a row. Colleagues she had worked closely with for the past fifteen years.

She was grateful that a large number of workers and scientists from around the site had escaped with their lives.

Taking a steadying breath, she carefully stepped around a piece of twisted metal. Yes, she reflected grimly, everyone who worked for Monarch had trained for events like this, but no amount of drills could prepare one for the chaos of a gigantic winged creature wreaking chaos at your research site, or the loss of life it entailed.

As she rounded a corner with her team, she saw a young woman standing up from a crouched position, pulling her arm from out from between a piece of twisted metal. In her hand was a small item and she dusted it off, looking it over for damage.

"Emiko," Vivienne called, a sense of relief filled her.

The young paleontologist looked up in surprise to see the British woman rushing up to her. "Vivienne!"

The two women briefly shared a hug, which caused Emiko to wince and Vivienne took a step back to take in the state of her colleague. Emiko was in an equally messy state as Graham, although she seemed slightly worse for ware. Her left arm was in a sling and she had a few small scratches lining her forehead and left cheek.

"Are you alright?" Vivienne asked.

"Apart from my shoulder having been dislocated, I'll be okay," Emiko replied, wincing as she adjusted the sling around her arm. She smiled slightly as she held up her prized netsuke she had recovered from the rubble.

"I dropped this in the chaos," she said, looking at it fondly. "I'm glad I found it."

"Where is Jainway?" Vivienne asked. "Did anyone else make it out with you."

The Japanese woman's expression fell in sorrow as she shook her head.

"He didn't make it," she said, as she turned and pointed to several body bags, her voice shaking. "They're working on Goro, but they think he'll pull through."

Graham sighed heavily and placed a hand on her friends shoulder, not sure of what she could say.

"Excuse me, Dr. Graham? Dr. Vivienne Graham?"

She and Emiko turned to see a tall, dark skinned American Navy Captain flanked by two soldiers approaching, deftly making their way across the debris to the two scientists.

Dr. Serizawa surveyed the destruction that surrounded him. For a brief moment, he imagined this scene was similar to the destruction of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, but then chastised himself for comparing the two incidents.

'You old fool,' he cursed himself.

This was his responsibility, he decided. He would take the blame, the weight of the loss on his shoulders. His colleagues would disagree, likely pointing out that no one was truly to blame, but every life that had been snuffed out last night was because of his decisions.

Because in his arrogance, he had thought they could contain the creature; even kill it if needed. Such was the arrogance of man. It was mans greatest weakness; it lacked the beauty of balance that nature possessed. Man would look upon nature and think itself greater, and by extension could control it.

"Dr. Serizawa! Dr. Serizawa!"

The voice pulled him from his musings and he turned to see Vivienne and Emiko running up to him, which filled him with some sense of relief. It was then he noticed they were followed by several American solders. Likely the U.S. Navy, judging by their blue camouflage fatigues. The lead soldier marched up to Serizawa and introduced himself.

"Captain Russell Hampton," he said, standing at attention. "Glad to find you, sir. I've been briefed on your work with Operation Monarch."

Serizawa nodded, prompting the Captain to continue. He noticed Vivienne nervously rubbing her hands together in front of her, slightly shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

He had learned to read her like a book, and they could often tell what the other was thinking. And judging from Vivienne's expression, she was deeply concerned about the presence of the American soldiers.

"Now, I'm told your organization has situational awareness of our unidentified creature?" Captain Hampton continued. "Is that right?"

The Japanese doctor could do nothing but nod.

"I'm here to inform you that we are now taking over operational authority from Monarch," Captain Hampton said.

Out of the corner of his eye, Serizawa noticed Vivienne now looked crestfallen, raising her knuckle to her mouth as if to prevent herself from speaking out.

"I'm going to need you to come with me," the Captain continued. "Doctor Graham, here, has already gathered members of you team, but are there any other personnel you need?"

Serizawa turned around to survey the area for any surviving members of his team that he could need when his eyes caught sight of someone he hadn't expected. Paramedics were tending to Ford and Joe Brody. Both were sitting in the rubble, with one medic shining a small flashlight in Joe's eyes, checking for head damage.

"Them," Serizawa said to Captain Hampton, pointing to the father and son.

USS Saratoga

A Navy helicopter carrying the Monarch team and the Brodys soared over the abandoned city of Janjira, out to sea where the USS Saratoga was waiting.

At a length of one-thousand and ninety-two feet long and weighing an impressive ninety-seven thousand tons, the Saratoga was a state-of-the-art nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. With a crew compliment of over six-thousand, and over ninety aircraft on deck, the carrier was a roving fortress upon the ocean.

After an hour of briefing with the top brass, United States Navy Rear-Admiral William Stenz entered the command deck.

A career man in the Navy, Stenz was a stern, calculating individual who had earned every rank he had ascended to through his tenure with an unyielding commitment to getting the job done. Now in his late fifties, he had seen more than his share of action and served his country to the very best of his abilities. He also expected no less from those under his command.

"This is our needle in a haystack, people," Stenz announced, pointing to the large monitor replaying recovered security footage from the previous nights attack.

"MUTO. Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. It is, however, no longer terrestrial; it is airborne. Now, the world still thinks this was an earthquake and it would be preferable that that remain so.

"Before our friends in the Japanese Self Defense Force lost sight of it, it was headed east across the Pacific, where it had emitted enough EMP disruption to create havoc with our radar and satellite feeds and reduce us, for the moment, to a strictly visual pursuit.

"And I do stress, 'for the moment'," he emphasized with a raised finger. "Because we will get on our game, and we will find this thing. It is imperative that we do so."

The Admiral then turned to Captain Russell Hampton. "Captain, I want any and all search options on this table, ASAP."

"Yes, sir," Captain Hampton affirmed and left to perform his duties.

Admiral Stenz then made his way over to Dr. Serizawa, who had remained out of the way of the vessels personnel during the Admirals speech. Stenz extended his hand and introduced himself. He studied the scientist, and could tell he was still shell-shocked from the ordeal.

"Nice to meet you," Serizawa said quietly, shaking the Admirals hand.

"Glad to have you on board. I realize it's not what what your used to, but I trust the space we've provided your team will suffice?"

Serizawa nodded in confirmation, when Dr. Graham walked into the room.

"Sensei, we're all set up," she said.

"Excuse me," he nodded to Admiral Stenz and followed her out of the room.

Joe and Ford were sitting in a small room, waiting for someone to decide what to do with them. Of course this irritated Joe, but Ford reassured him it was standard military procedure. The two sat in silence for several minutes, still attempting to process the events of the previous day.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this son," Joe said softly, leaning over to rest his hand around Fords shoulder. "I really am. You could have gotten killed. I don't- I can't even begin to think about what I would've done if I lost you like I lost your mother. To that- that-"

Ford looked up to see his dads eyes brimming with tears. "Dad, it's alright. I'm here; we're both here. That's all that matters. All these years, I didn't believe you when I should've. All this time I thought you were so obsessed because-"

"I was crazy?" Joe finished with a chuckle. "Don't worry about it. I got used to being thought of crazy years ago. Almost started to believe it, myself. But now..."

Joe gave a big exhale before he continued. "Now I finally know. There's no feeling quite like being liberated. The truth is potent, as they say. And thank you, Ford. You saved my life. I am alive because of you."

"Mr. Brody? Lieutenant?"

Both men looked up to see Dr. Yamane standing in the doorway, flanked by a Naval officer. "I'm so glad the two of you are alive and unharmed," she said, an apologetic smile on her face. "I'm truly sorry for putting you both in harms way.

"If you would, please come with me," she continued. "Dr. Serizawa would like to speak to you."

The Brodys and Yamane were led through the corridors of the Saratoga by the accompanying officer, who opened the door to a small conference room. A large table was scattered with papers and folders, and a small projection screen was lowered on the far wall.

Several Monarch scientists and Naval officers were working in tandem, pouring over all the collected data on the MUTO. Upon seeing the new arrivals, Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graham stood from the table and approached the Brodys, each with an uncertain expression on their faces.

"Thank you for speaking with us," Serizawa said. "I'm grateful you were unharmed."

"We know you are both eager to get back to your loved ones," Graham said somewhat meekly, as though worried the two men would turn them down. "But I'm afraid we still need your help."

To Ford's surprise, Joe simply nodded in agreement. Ford had expected his father to blow up again, and after what they had seen last night, Ford would have understood if Joe had done just that.

As they took their seats, Serizawa turned to speak with the man in control of the projector, and Graham and Emiko both sat down alongside them. The projection screen lit up with an old black-and-white film that looked like it was from the 1940's or 1950's.

On the screen was a submarine with the name of USS Nautilus sailed past the camera. Dr. Serizawa cleared his throat and stood beside the screen.

"In 1954, when the first nuclear submarine ever pierced the lower depths of the ocean, it awakened something," he said.

"Shortly thereafter," Emiko continued from her seat. "Vessels carrying nuclear weapons began to be attacked. Some were destroyed with the few survivors rescued later, while others simply vanished without a trace from the face of the Earth."

The projector changed to show what was clearly classified footage of military salvage operations of several various wrecks. They looked like they had been in a war; one in particular bore what was clearly three vertical claw marks. Something huge had tore into the vessel like a tin can.

"At first, the Americans thought it was the Russians, and the Russians thought that it was them," Graham explained as the footage then changed to numerous footage and pictures of the unmistakable mushroom clouds of atomic blasts. "And then, all of those bomb tests in the 50's? Not tests."

"They were trying to kill it," Serizawa clarified as he turned to point at the screen. "Him."

Joe leaned forward as the footage on the projector changed to show a massive figure half shrouded from the water that poured down it's form as it rose from the sea. It was massive, with rows of huge jagged fin-like spines running along its back. Judging from the footage, the entity was absolutely gargantuan, far larger than the MUTO that escaped from Janjira the previous night.

"An ancient alpha-predator."

"Millions of years older than mankind," Graham said. "From an age when the Earth was ten times as radioactive than it is today. This animal, and others like it, consumed this natural radiation like an energy source.

"But as the levels on the surface naturally subsided, these gargantuan creatures adapted to live deeper in the oceans and deep within the crust. Absorbing the radiation from the planets core."

The British paleontologist leaned forward on her elbows on the table as she looked at the Brodys, waiting for them to look at her before she continued.

"The organization we work for, Monarch, was established in the wake of these discoveries. A multinational scientific coalition formed in secret to search for him, study him, and learn everything we could about him," Graham finished.

"We call him, 'Gojira'," Dr. Serizawa said heavily, putting emphasis on the Japanese word.

"The absolute top of the primordial ecosystem," Graham said, reverence in her voice. "For all intents and purposes, a god."

"A monster," Ford breathed quietly. A chill had run along his spine during the presentation that grew colder and colder, and he could see his father was equally stunned.

Moving around the table, Serizawa leaned in front of their guests, lifting several photographs from a manila file and handing them to Joe.

"Fifteen years ago, we found the skeleton of another animal in the Philippines, like Gojira," he explained. Joe examined the photographs of a large skeleton, fossils larger than any dinosaur. Even after all he had seen, Joe was floored by the sheer size of the bones.

"It was a member of the same species, but this creature died long ago; killed by these," Serizawa continued, drawing their attention back to the projection screen, now displaying footage taken in the mine. It showed several people in hazard suits examining the strange bulges attached to the rib cage.

"Parasitic spores," Graham explained. "One dormant, but the other hatched, catalyzed when a mining company unknowingly drilled into its chamber. The larva burrowed straight for the nearest source of radiation; your power plant in Janjira where it cocooned for fifteen years, absorbing its radioactive fuel to gestate; to grow."

Joe sighed and ran his hand over his tired eyes as he digested the information. He finally had the full story he had relentlessly searched for for over nearly two decades. And it was so much more than even he had imagined.

"Until it finally hatched like a butterfly into the creature you saw," Serizawa concluded.

Joe was about to speak out, but his son beat him to it.

"Wait, you knew what it was doing all these years?" Ford exclaimed outraged. "Why didn't you just kill it when you had the chance?"

"It was absorbing radiation from the exposed reactors," Graham explained. She somewhat fumbled over her words, clearly not used to having to explain these things to people outside of her organization. "We had feared killing it would release that radiation into the atmosphere, endangering millions."

"That is why our mission was to contain it," Serizawa said. "To study its biology, to understand it."

Joe rolled his eyes at that. The creature that ruined his family was still on loose, and would likely keep killing innocent people. However, as a nuclear physicist, he could also understand need to contain the leakage of radiation. One only needed to look at Chernobyl as an example.

Despite this, Joe was still distraught at the information. "You people," Joe scoffed, his blood starting to boil. He ran his hand over his mouth before continuing. "All you people did was hide the truth! Sealed it away! You endangered the world by keeping that thing alive!

"If it weren't for you keeping that thing a secret, Sandra would still be alive! She's dead because of you!"

Vivienne and Emiko both looked saddened and slightly taken aback by Brodys outburst of accusations. Dr. Serizawa, however, stoically allowed Joe to continue to vent, not willing to offer any excuses. Joe then leveled a finger at Serizawa before continuing his rant.

"You should have warned everyone that thing was on the loose after it hatched! We could have been prepared! We could have-"

Ford put a firm hand on his fathers shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"We have made mistakes in the past, Mr. Brody," Serizawa said. "Now is the time to correct them."

"This parasite, it's still out there," Ford said. "Where is it headed?"

"The MUTO is still young," Serizawa answered. "Freshly hatched, it will be on the hunt for food."

Vivienne explained to the Brodys that the MUTO would search for radiation sources to consume, and that Monarch was monitoring all known sites, such as nuclear reactors.

"And if you do find it, then what?" Joe huffed. "You think you can, what? Contain it again? Because that clearly went so well for you all last time. Kill it, maybe? And if that doesn't work, then what?"

"Nature has an order, Mr. Brody," Serizawa said. "A power to restore balance that humanity has upset."

The Japanese man turned to the projector which once more showed the image of Gojira emerging from the water.

"I believe he is that power."

Joe eyed Serizawa with a healthy dose of skepticism. "You would put the fate of humanity in the hands of another monster?"

"Men are the only real monsters, Mr. Brody," the Japanese scientist responded, his voice a low and somber tone. "When mankind falls into conflict with nature, nature responds. There are forces in this world that are beyond our present knowledge or understanding."