Chapter 7: Checkpoint
Author's Note & Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. I apologize for the slow updates; I practically take forever to figure out how to write down these things. I finally saw Godzilla VS. Kong and I loved it. I am going to bring in some more details why Madison sympathizes with Godzilla, considering that she was determined to find what triggered his rampages in GvK. I will also explore why Godzilla doesn't entirely trust Rodan in this chapter, only a fool would trust Rodan. Forgive my Game of Thrones gags, I just heard of the prequel series starting production and I'm hyped about that too.
At Monarch's nest site in the Yunnan rainforest, Dr. Chen was at her laptop in her tent. After she booted her laptop and opened her email program, she noticed a new message from Mark. Eager to see the latest exchange from Mark, Dr. Chen opened the message.
Dear Dr. Chen,
I hope that all is well with you and your team at the nest site. I have important information regarding Godzilla that you should know. Rick Stanton and I discovered that Godzilla is heading toward the nest site. I believe that he is attracted to the egg's bioacoustics and is perhaps looking to make contact. I do not wish to alarm you, but I should at least warn you of Godzilla's probable arrival so that your team is prepared.
We have also had a titan related incident, the titan referred to as the Kraken had attacked the ship, but Godzilla had driven it off before the worst could happen. The ship is partially damaged and some of the crew were injured from the incident, however, Madison and I are alright. The ship's captain has arranged to stop at the checkpoint near Fiji to finish repairs and for the routine security search.
I will keep you updated soon.
Regards,
Mark Russell
Dr. Chen read and re-read Mark's email. If Godzilla was heading toward the nest site, she was intrigued and a little concerned. When Godzilla had trekked on land before, there was collateral damage. There was the flood he caused in Honolulu, the damage to the Golden Gate Bridge, and the number of buildings destroyed during his previous fights with other titans. Godzilla had been intent on taking down the titans that posed real threats, like the MUTOs and Ghidorah, but those fights also resulted with human casualties.
The nest site was in the rainforest, far from most of the larger cities. However, there were the smaller villages nearby that could be lying in Godzilla's path should he choose to come ashore. There were other cities that were in between the rainforest and the coast. Dr. Chen did not want to take chances, she would have to plan how to prepare to avoid heavy casualties. The government of China would have to be involved, which was not going to be easy. Based on her experience in Monarch, once Godzilla had set his objective, he was always determined to see it through.
However, if Godzilla was attracted to the egg's song, he was probably determined to start a new symbiotic link with the new life form that will hatch from the egg. It was one of these rare opportunities in titan behaviour that Monarch had been waiting to witness.
Dr. Chen quickly typed and sent her reply to Mark's message, confirming that she will be on the alert of the situation.
At the Monarch outpost in north of Fiji, on the following day since Godzilla's fight with the Kraken, the ship was stopped to make repairs and for the routine security sweep. Madison stood on deck next to her father and the rest of the team while Colonel Foster lead her security team for the sweep. The whole idea of a security sweep seemed rather absurd to Madison, but after hearing that it was just a precaution considering that the eco-terrorists were still active, she understood that it was better to be safe than sorry.
While Foster searched, the damage done by Kraken was being repaired by the crew who were still able to perform, with assistance from the fleet stationed at the outpost. Those who were unable to stand on deck or offer repairs were still confined to the infirmary.
As Madison waited under the hot tropical sun for the search to be completed, she stole a glimpse of the island with the volcano. She had read articles that the volcano had become the new nest of Rodan, the vicious pterodactyl-like titan that fought alongside Ghidorah. She felt nervous, even though Rodan was probably sleeping, Madison was aware of how dangerous Rodan could be if he woke up.
Madison remembered how the vultures reminded her of Rodan with their hooked beaks and talons. Since Rodan had flattened a whole town like a hurricane, wiped out a squadron of fighter jets, and ravaged Mothra, Madison had felt uneasy about him since the fight in Boston.
If Rodan did wake up, Madison could only hope that Godzilla was close by. Considering that Rodan did bow to Godzilla, it would be Godzilla's authority that would keep Rodan from devastating the fleet. Yet, Madison remembered that Godzilla did not seem to trust Rodan entirely. She was suddenly worried that if Godzilla had to fight Rodan, getting caught between them could be disastrous for Monarch and the inhabitants of the nearby islands.
He was in flight, stormy winds swirled around him, yet did not slow him. Through the clouds, he could see Ghidorah in the ruins of the human colony. All three necks were writhing, jaws lined with sharp teeth snapping, and wings spread menacingly. He glided down at the Golden Demise and squirted silk webbing at the serpentine heads, sticking them to the nearest structure that still stood among the ruins. Spinning on a dime, he circled back, his wings changing from pale teal to red, an intimidation display.
He positioned himself to dive again as Ghidorah's left head struggled to free the other two heads. As he swooped down, claws extended to strike. However, something intercepted him from the right. It was dark red with wings of fire accompanied with the smell of smoke and sulfur.
He was suddenly fighting in flight, flapping his elegant wings and striking with his claws. His foe with the wings of fire shrieked, striking back with a hooked beak and sharp talons. As he sparred with the titan of fire, he could see his true self tackle Ghidorah through the structure.
It was strange seeing himself from the outside, yet he knew himself well enough. There was no mistaking the reptilian features, the glowing blue dorsal spines, the long tail, thick legs and arms and the rage directed at Ghidorah. He was unable to watch himself, considering that he had to defend himself against his opponent of fire.
Godzilla woke up in a crevasse of the ocean bed, stirring up silt as he stretched his tail and forearms to remove the stiffness. After swimming persistently, he must have fallen asleep from exhaustion. On the ocean floor he could feel the vibrations of the earth's crust shifting, indicating that he was near a volcanic area.
Not wanting to draw that much attention to himself as he swam to the surface, he only poked the top of his head above the water. Only allowing his eyes to see and his nose smell anything at the surface, he could see an island with a volcano, surrounded by vessels of the humans. The smell from the volcano had a familiar scent. It was the scent of the titan Rodan.
Rodan, the one with wings of fire, the wretch who bowed to Ghidorah to avoid death. Godzilla remembered that while he fought against Ghidorah that Rodan fought against Mothra. Soon after Ghidorah's defeat, Godzilla at first assumed that he would be challenged by Rodan, but Rodan bowed to him.
It was strange that Rodan bowed to him, even though Rodan had been loyal to Ghidorah. Perhaps Rodan was choosing the coward's option to survive rather than fight to become the alpha. The other titans who arrived after Ghidorah's defeat also bowed to Godzilla, only because they discovered that their former master was slain by him.
The other titans accepted his authority and followed his commands to return to hibernation or restoring their environments while leaving the humans alone, but Godzilla was not so sure about Rodan. For now, Rodan might have fallen in line and gone into hibernation, yet, that could always change.
Godzilla had to be vigilant of Rodan, should the flying titan ever attempt treachery. If it came to a fight, Godzilla might be bigger, stronger and armed with deadly breath, but he knew that Rodan had advantages over him with flight and speed.
Submerging his head, Godzilla swam closer to the volcano. He kept his senses focused, if Rodan was on the alert for him.
Colonel Foster had been in charge of the security search, she made sure nothing was left unturned as the ship was searched from top to bottom. Nothing out of the ordinary, the ship was storing equipment and supplies for the journey, including weapons to fend off aggressive titans. The Monarch team members and crew of the ship were accounted for, except for those who did not survive the titan attack. Those who were injured in the attack were confined to the infirmary until they were fit for duty. Leading her team back on deck, she met with the captain and the Monarch team.
"All is clear," she said to the captain, "nothing unusual."
"Very good, Colonel," the captain said. "As soon as the repairs are done, we'll continue on our course."
"Understandable. If you require replacements for the crew who were lost, I can assign some of my team to the ship."
"Thank you, but no. I cannot allow your outpost to be short of able-bodied soldiers if that thing in the volcano gets loose."
"Very well, but I doubt that even if I had twice the number of soldiers stationed here that we'd never be able to take down that thing." She was aware that the captain was referring to Rodan, a titan that she wanted to avoid fighting after Isla de Mara. The fire titan was not recently showing any activity, which was a relief.
"Let's hope that the thing never does get loose. As you were, Colonel." The captain and Colonel Foster exchanged salutes. As the captain began speaking with his crew, Colonel Foster focused her attention on Mark Russell, Madison, Rick Stanton and Sam Coleman.
"Dr. Russell, Madison, Mr. Stanton, Mr. Coleman," she addressed them, "I heard reports from you that our mutual friend is also heading for the egg's location in China."
"It's still a theory," said Mark, "after we sighted Godzilla swimming in the same direction, I considered that it was possible that he is attracted to the egg's signal. However, it's not exactly clear if that is where he's going."
"We believe that it's Godzilla's thing with Mothra," said Rick, using his fingers to quote on Godzilla's symbiotic relationship with Mothra. It was Rick's typical sarcasm that Foster found unimpressive.
"If Godzilla and Mothra can communicate with each other," said Mark, "the egg could be Mothra's and it's bioacoustics were received by Godzilla. This might be a new opportunity to study titan behaviour and how they communicate."
"I am aware that Monarch's mission is to discover and learn about these creatures," said Foster, "but I'm concerned about the safety of civilians in the populated areas. Would Godzilla become a problem if he were to set foot on land and trek over cities just to reach the egg?"
"That's a bridge that we haven't crossed yet," said Sam, nervously.
"You are aware that Godzilla actually broke the bridge in San Francisco, right?" Foster was concerned, even though Godzilla had not been malevolent towards humans, he was still destructive on cities when fighting with other titans or because human made structures mattered little to him.
"I am aware of that," said Mark, sternly, "I saw what happened in San Francisco."
"The military started it," said Madison, sounding firm on the matter, "Godzilla broke the Golden Gate Bridge because the military attacked him, I remember seeing the news footage from that day. He didn't even strike at the military before they attacked him."
Foster was aware that Madison was making a point that Godzilla would only strike if he was antagonized by something else, like another titan or human machinery attacking him. Perhaps Madison had a deeper understanding of the titans given the time that she spent Emma Russell on studying them. However, humans were known to react rashly to things they did not understand. Foster had studied most of the military encounters with titans from Monarch's archives that revealed those facts. The incident at the Golden Gate bridge was one example when the military reacted to Godzilla's appearance, which caused heavy collateral damage. Another was the expedition of Skull Island in the 1970s, which lead to Colonel Packard getting himself and the men who followed him killed.
"Okay, Madison," said Mark to his daughter, "we know that Godzilla won't attacked unless provoked. We're just concerned that not everyone will understand that if he comes on land, some people might panic and react with violence."
"Do you have a plan of action just in case such a situation occurs?" asked Foster.
"I've contacted Dr. Chen," replied Mark, "she's been informed about Godzilla heading toward the nest site. She and her team will be prepared and if Godzilla heads near any populated area, we can at least send warnings ahead to avoid heavy casualties."
"What about the Chinese government? They might send in their military if they believe that Godzilla is a threat." Foster knew that Monarch cooperated with governments in the different countries where dormant titans were located, but agreeing with the military on how to handle titans was a different story.
"I am sure that Dr. Chen will do what she can if the government does get involved. I just hope that the military is not necessary, I wouldn't want more lives lost."
"I agree with you on that, after Outpost 32, Isla de Mara and Boston, there's been enough death."
Within the volcano, the titan of fire was rejuvenating. Even though he remained silent, he was still awake. The magma of the volcano flowed like the blood in his veins, and through the magma he could feel the changes in the earth and the presence of another titan. The vibrations of the other titan's heartbeat travelled through the ocean current, transferred to the earth's crust and into the magma within the volcano.
Rodan could sense that Godzilla was swimming nearby. He could have emerged from his nest to challenge the great sea beast, yet Rodan still needed to fully heal from the wounds he received in the previous fight.
He was all too aware that Godzilla did not fully trust him, which was not a great concern to Rodan. For the moment, Rodan's best option was to stay within his nest, recover to full strength, and wait until the right opportunity. There will be a time when Godzilla's authority will slip, then Rodan could seize the moment.
After Colonel Foster and her team departed, Madison stood at the rail and stared at the volcano. The volcano was silent, but Madison was still concerned that the sleeping titan within could wake up and wreck havoc. Scanning the waters, Madison could make out a huge, dark shape under the ocean surface, gracefully slithering through the current.
Godzilla? She asked herself. Madison was hoping that it was him, then at least Rodan would not cause any grief. There was a probability that the dark shape under the surface was not him, but just a pod of whales moving as one unit.
Madison understood that her father, Colonel Foster and the other members of Monarch were concerned that people could get hurt if Godzilla set foot on land to look for the egg. However, she was worried that if the military attacked Godzilla because he was just walking near a town or city, Godzilla would retaliate and more lives would be lost. She hoped that Dr. Chen's team at least could find a solution to prevent the worst from happening.
If the ORCA had not been destroyed, maybe it could be used to lure Godzilla away from human populated areas. Even if a duplicate of the ORCA could be made, it would be pointless. Godzilla was already being lured by the egg's bioacoustics, as Mark theorized. If the egg was calling to Godzilla, Madison hoped that the egg could lead Godzilla on a less destructive path, given Mothra's more gentle behaviour towards humans.
Mothra and Godzilla did have a symbiotic relationship and could communicate with each other. Madison had witnessed it in Boston and she sympathized with Godzilla when the moth titan was obliterated by Monster Zero. There was no mistaking the sound of Godzilla's grief, which he then turned to rage to destroy his opponent.
Madison realized that Godzilla was a force to be reckoned with if he was enraged. She did not want innocent civilians to become casualties of that rage. If Godzilla was not aggravated by something else, then there should be less damage done.
Of course, her father was right, not all humans would understand that Godzilla was simply following his instincts and not deliberately destroying towns and cities. Madison remembered when she was little that she and Andrew got into an altercation with a group of other children who were throwing rocks at a snake in a park near their old home. It was a small and harmless snake, but the children who threw the rocks at it called the creature disgusting and that it deserved to be brutalized. Since then, the thought of humans attacking animals out of fear or disgust just agitated Madison and the same thing applied to the titans.
Madison scanned the ocean again, the huge dark shape under the surface seemed to be circling the volcano. Godzilla, if that was him, certainly appeared to be cautious around Rodan's nest. Perhaps the sea titan did not want to get into a confrontation with Rodan.
The dark shape that must have been Godzilla eventually retreated to deeper waters and disappeared. After losing sight of him, Madison backed away from the railing, sticking her hands in the pockets of her jeans. She decided to retreat to her quarters to be alone with her thoughts.
To be continued…