p dir="ltr"That was closer than he had /Godzilla let out a triumphant bellow, swishing his tail to clear the dust and debris kicked up by his final blow. Up in the skies, the rainclouds began to clear- and the sun sent down its light to show him what he had / Kong's wounds reeked of burnt flesh, and Godzilla could tell that his body would take a long time to heal- especially because Kong did not have his atomic fire. The ape let out a weak groan as he struggled to reach for his axe; clearly he wasn't done yet. /p
p dir="ltr"br / "..."/p
p dir="ltr"br / There was already a conspicuous amount of blood on the dirt- and Kong had stopped moving. But the simian's breaths slowed, a good sign- as it showed his body was entering a regenerative state. /p
p dir="ltr"br /He would live. /p
p dir="ltr"br / Godzilla's charcoal black scales were tinted with bits of Kong's blood as he was suddenly aware of dozens of silhouettes- appearing from every nook and cranny of Skull Island. It was only now, far too late, did Godzilla notice the tremors from their footsteps. /p
p dir="ltr"br / "Look at what he has done!" /p
p dir="ltr"br / Rodan, of course it would be him. The Firebird was perched upon a cliffside- his wings spread out to carry his words to the edges of the horizon. /p
p dir="ltr"br / "The young Kong was only looking for peace-"/p
p dir="ltr"br / "And Godzilla gave him violence!"/p
p dir="ltr"br / "Rodan!" /p
p dir="ltr"br /Anguirus stepped from in between the furry shoulders of Gabara and Behemoth, or at least Godzilla thought those were their names./p
p dir="ltr"br / "What is this treachery?"/p
p dir="ltr"br / "Treachery?! I have brought light to the darkness in our ranks,"/p
p dir="ltr"br / "Don't you find it unbelievable? That our King would do this to one of our own" The Firebird descended onto the slowly breathing Kong, fire dancing at the tips of his wings. He made a motion akin to a brother shielding his comrade from a monster, but his eyes betrayed the smugness at his victory./p
p dir="ltr"br / "And yet he spares the hairless humans?!" /p
p dir="ltr"br /" Even as they take so much from us-"/p
p dir="ltr"br / With each word, he eyed another member of the crowd- as if imploring them to turn to his side. Some of the other kaiju looked like they wanted to speak up, but the threat of being incinerated by Godzilla's atomic fire made them a little more wary./p
p dir="ltr"br / "Look at him, look at how he remains sil-"/p
p dir="ltr"br / "Rodan. Shut up." /p
p dir="ltr"br /His maw glowed with blue fire, an act that managed to temporarily silence Rodan's silver tongue. Anguirus' attempts at salvaging the situation were ineffective, and soon even he realized that the others had made up their minds. Godzilla scanned the slowly growing crowd of daikaiju, and in their eyes he saw a flood of mixed emotions. /p
p dir="ltr"br / / Revulsion./p
p dir="ltr"br / Rage./p
p dir="ltr"br / "Anguirus, we're leaving."/p
p dir="ltr"br / His steps shook the earth as Godzilla pushed through the crowd- who wisely decided to not interfere with the King. br / But their hushed whispers still reached his ears./p
hr /
p dir="ltr"br / Whatever Kong did to that blade made the wounds burn, and Godzilla had to find and take care off whoever made the coating. But that was for another day. Godzilla let out a grunt as his foot stubbed on a rock, before slipping into the beach to make the swim to Odo Island./p
p dir="ltr""You have to go back."/p
p dir="ltr"br /Anguirus. Of course. Godzilla stopped, the water gnawing at his healing gut./p
p dir="ltr"br / "I don't have to do anything."/p
p dir="ltr"br /Anguirus rose on two legs- a gesture he usually reserved for intimidating enemies or Gabara./p
p dir="ltr"br / "This isn't Kong's fault, this is Rodan's, I just know it is."/p
p dir="ltr"br / "We have to tell the others."/p
p dir="ltr"br / The charcoal reptile snorted indignantly, while Anguirus was growing more and more tense. The two of them were glaring at each other now, both burning with determination to make the other see their point./p
p dir="ltr"br / "I don't think they care, Anguirus."/p
p dir="ltr" "They think you are a weak king, a coward-"/p
p dir="ltr" "I proved them wrong didn't I?"/p
p dir="ltr"br /Godzilla spoke calmly and coldly, yet his words carried a hint of irritation./p
p dir="ltr"br / "What kind of noble King nearly slaps a younger kaiju to death?!"/p
p dir="ltr"br /"He challenged me for the throne-"/p
p dir="ltr"br /"What am I supposed to do? Let him go without teaching him a lesson?"/p
p dir="ltr"br /"We both know that you didn't have to be that harsh Godzilla!"/p
p dir="ltr"br /"I did what I had to do to ensure my rule."/p
p dir="ltr"br /"As if you would understand what it takes to be the King of the Monsters-"/p
p dir="ltr"br /"Listen to yourself Godzilla, he is a child-!"/p
p dir="ltr"br / The King of the Monsters flinched at his old friend's tone, and Anguirus seemed just as surprised as he did. /p
p dir="ltr"br /"I don't care."/p
p dir="ltr"br /His spines flared blue once more, after snapping viciously at his longtime friend. The two stared at one another, the only noise on the coast the lapping of the waves. Godzilla didn't say another word, turning away from Anguirus to hide his regret. /p
p dir="ltr"br / "Can you deal with the others?" /p
p dir="ltr"br /The reptile let out a deep sigh in surrender, acknowledging his fatigue, a sight that Anguirus had only ever seen a few times in his long life. br / "I'll keep them busy for awhile," Anguirus turned back to the island- and the subtle tremors in the ground meant that more kaiju were flocking to the battlefield to see the ape who had challenged Godzilla. The armored titan's words sounded distant and empty, internally Godzilla felt the hammer of guilt nailing at his heart once more./p
p dir="ltr"br / Godzilla did the best grin he could, before disappearing under the deep blue waves. The little fish dashed away from him as he swam, and he watched them swim away in fear./p
p dir="ltr"br / As they all did./p
p dir="ltr"br / "..."/p
p dir="ltr"br / There was already a conspicuous amount of blood on the dirt- and Kong had stopped moving. But the simian's breaths slowed, a good sign- as it showed his body was entering a regenerative state. /p
p dir="ltr"br /He would live. /p
p dir="ltr"br / Godzilla's charcoal black scales were tinted with bits of Kong's blood as he was suddenly aware of dozens of silhouettes- appearing from every nook and cranny of Skull Island. It was only now, far too late, did Godzilla notice the tremors from their footsteps. /p
p dir="ltr"br / "Look at what he has done!" /p
p dir="ltr"br / Rodan, of course it would be him. The Firebird was perched upon a cliffside- his wings spread out to carry his words to the edges of the horizon. /p
p dir="ltr"br / "The young Kong was only looking for peace-"/p
p dir="ltr"br / "And Godzilla gave him violence!"/p
p dir="ltr"br / "Rodan!" /p
p dir="ltr"br /Anguirus stepped from in between the furry shoulders of Gabara and Behemoth, or at least Godzilla thought those were their names./p
p dir="ltr"br / "What is this treachery?"/p
p dir="ltr"br / "Treachery?! I have brought light to the darkness in our ranks,"/p
p dir="ltr"br / "Don't you find it unbelievable? That our King would do this to one of our own" The Firebird descended onto the slowly breathing Kong, fire dancing at the tips of his wings. He made a motion akin to a brother shielding his comrade from a monster, but his eyes betrayed the smugness at his victory./p
p dir="ltr"br / "And yet he spares the hairless humans?!" /p
p dir="ltr"br /" Even as they take so much from us-"/p
p dir="ltr"br / With each word, he eyed another member of the crowd- as if imploring them to turn to his side. Some of the other kaiju looked like they wanted to speak up, but the threat of being incinerated by Godzilla's atomic fire made them a little more wary./p
p dir="ltr"br / "Look at him, look at how he remains sil-"/p
p dir="ltr"br / "Rodan. Shut up." /p
p dir="ltr"br /His maw glowed with blue fire, an act that managed to temporarily silence Rodan's silver tongue. Anguirus' attempts at salvaging the situation were ineffective, and soon even he realized that the others had made up their minds. Godzilla scanned the slowly growing crowd of daikaiju, and in their eyes he saw a flood of mixed emotions. /p
p dir="ltr"br / / Revulsion./p
p dir="ltr"br / Rage./p
p dir="ltr"br / "Anguirus, we're leaving."/p
p dir="ltr"br / His steps shook the earth as Godzilla pushed through the crowd- who wisely decided to not interfere with the King. br / But their hushed whispers still reached his ears./p
hr /
p dir="ltr"br / Whatever Kong did to that blade made the wounds burn, and Godzilla had to find and take care off whoever made the coating. But that was for another day. Godzilla let out a grunt as his foot stubbed on a rock, before slipping into the beach to make the swim to Odo Island./p
p dir="ltr""You have to go back."/p
p dir="ltr"br /Anguirus. Of course. Godzilla stopped, the water gnawing at his healing gut./p
p dir="ltr"br / "I don't have to do anything."/p
p dir="ltr"br /Anguirus rose on two legs- a gesture he usually reserved for intimidating enemies or Gabara./p
p dir="ltr"br / "This isn't Kong's fault, this is Rodan's, I just know it is."/p
p dir="ltr"br / "We have to tell the others."/p
p dir="ltr"br / The charcoal reptile snorted indignantly, while Anguirus was growing more and more tense. The two of them were glaring at each other now, both burning with determination to make the other see their point./p
p dir="ltr"br / "I don't think they care, Anguirus."/p
p dir="ltr" "They think you are a weak king, a coward-"/p
p dir="ltr" "I proved them wrong didn't I?"/p
p dir="ltr"br /Godzilla spoke calmly and coldly, yet his words carried a hint of irritation./p
p dir="ltr"br / "What kind of noble King nearly slaps a younger kaiju to death?!"/p
p dir="ltr"br /"He challenged me for the throne-"/p
p dir="ltr"br /"What am I supposed to do? Let him go without teaching him a lesson?"/p
p dir="ltr"br /"We both know that you didn't have to be that harsh Godzilla!"/p
p dir="ltr"br /"I did what I had to do to ensure my rule."/p
p dir="ltr"br /"As if you would understand what it takes to be the King of the Monsters-"/p
p dir="ltr"br /"Listen to yourself Godzilla, he is a child-!"/p
p dir="ltr"br / The King of the Monsters flinched at his old friend's tone, and Anguirus seemed just as surprised as he did. /p
p dir="ltr"br /"I don't care."/p
p dir="ltr"br /His spines flared blue once more, after snapping viciously at his longtime friend. The two stared at one another, the only noise on the coast the lapping of the waves. Godzilla didn't say another word, turning away from Anguirus to hide his regret. /p
p dir="ltr"br / "Can you deal with the others?" /p
p dir="ltr"br /The reptile let out a deep sigh in surrender, acknowledging his fatigue, a sight that Anguirus had only ever seen a few times in his long life. br / "I'll keep them busy for awhile," Anguirus turned back to the island- and the subtle tremors in the ground meant that more kaiju were flocking to the battlefield to see the ape who had challenged Godzilla. The armored titan's words sounded distant and empty, internally Godzilla felt the hammer of guilt nailing at his heart once more./p
p dir="ltr"br / Godzilla did the best grin he could, before disappearing under the deep blue waves. The little fish dashed away from him as he swam, and he watched them swim away in fear./p
p dir="ltr"br / As they all did./p