"What? Are you not used to fighting giant reptiles?"

(Joss Whendon owns Buffy and co., Gorgo is owned by John Loring and Daniel Hyatt. This story takes place in season 4 of "Buffy: the Vampire Slayer", just before Prof. Walsh tries to kill Buffy, so basically, somewhere before/during S4's: "The I in Team".)

"Ah, Bloody Hell!"

Spike ran for his un-life. Behind him, six commandos from the Initiative were in hot pursuit. He ran through a wooded area in a futile effort to evade them. He then entered a clearing, he exclaimed profusely upon seeing what lay in wait there. It was about 6 feet tall, charcoal black with red eyes. It had a box-shaped, alligator like head full of needle like teeth.  It looked like a dinosaur, or upright crocodile. It had an armored back, fin-like ears, huge hands with large claws.  It had 3 toed, dinosaur-like feet with a prominent dewclaw. A long, armored tail as well rounded out its body. The monster reared back and gave a mighty roar. Spike quickly jumped to the side as the monster gave its threatening display. Spike quickly formulated a plan in his head of how to get the commando's off his back. "Better you than me, kid." He said and ran right by the monster, just barely dodging his claws.

The commandos burst onto the seen just as Spike jumped past the monster. His plan worked, the commandos forgot about 'Hostile 17', and focused on the more immediate threat.

"Holy Crap!" the lead commando exclaimed, just before he was decapitated by the monsters massive claw.

(Opening credits)

The monster roared again in its threatening display. The remaining commandos backed away slightly from the monster. One of them raised his tazer rifle at the monster. It ducked slightly and spun around, letting the electricity strike his armored hide.  As it spun, its whip like tail swung around and effectively gutted its attacker. The man fell to the ground, desperately trying to keep his intestines from spilling out.

The third member of the attack force threw a grenade at the monster. A yellow mist hissed its way from the grenade, creating an asphyxiating wall of dense smoke. The monster moved away and was obscured by the smoke.  The commandos moved forward cautiously, tazers rose to their shoulders. They inched forward slowly, waiting to see if the gas had worked. They got their answer when the monsters open maw lurched forward and bit down on the head and shoulders of the nearest commando. Twisting its head, it tears off a large amount of flesh and bone from the solder, including his head. Lazily, it opens its mouth, letting the chunk of human fall to the ground.

The others opened fire, sticking its soft underbelly. The monster howled in pain, and turned to run. Terrified screeches replaced its once threatening roars. The solders continue to fire mercilessly on their retreating foe. The monster fled toward the nearby river as electricity scorched its body. With one last cry, it fell partially into the comforting waters, unconscious. 

The solders breathed heavily, as the adrenalin in their bodies slowed its flow. They proceeded to drag the creature from the water. Unknown to them, an oily slick emanated from the unconscious monster. It would take only a half an hour, but the slick would eventually reach the docks, then the open sea.

********

Out in the sea, some hours later, the oil slick reached its intended destination; the nostrils of a larger beast, similar to the smaller one, and linked by blood. The eyes of the large one snapped open and frowned in anger. Her offspring was in danger, so she rose from her resting place. Years of built up silt billowed down in watery clouds.

********

Willow hung up the phone with a sigh. She had just gotten off the phone with her mother. It was the first time since she got to college that she had any contact with her mother. And, it wasn't very pleasant. She and her mother had never been very close, or really related to each other at all. Though she did try, Willow could give her that. Well, now at least. Ever since she had been nearly burned at the stake by her, their relationship became more strained then normal. So her mother tried to make up for it on occasion in her attempt to apologies for that, and years of never really listening. It rarely worked.

She sat in her dorm room, alone. Buffy was at the Initiative … again.

********

Buffy was being given the all-round tour of the Initiative base.  Professor Walsh lost her attention long ago; Buffy was going through a mental list of the demons.

'Seen it, slayed it, seen it, Slayed it….' Buffy's mind went down a mental list. Then she spotted something she didn't recognize. The monster roared and began to approach the glass barrier. 

"What is that?" Buffy asked.

"That," Prof. Walsh smiled proudly, "is one of our newest additions, a sea monster, dubbed 'Gorgo'. "

"A sea monster?" Buffy asked after reading the label by the cage.

Graham turned to Prof. Walsh, "He seems to have gotten accustomed to the cage, when we first brought him hear, he remained huddled in a corner."

Walsh nodded in agreement.

"Yes, brought in rather recently. Tough little bugger too." Riley stated.

Graham stated. "The reason we call it Gorgo is because of its claws, clearly built for Goring out the stomach and underbelly of its victims."

"Which, unfortunately," Prof. Walsh began, "it displayed during its capture, killing three of our men."

"Three? I thought you guys were all 'super efficient demon-hunter' types. I could probably handle this guy." Buffy boasted.

Inside the cage, Gorgo moved about frantically. He was scared. He had been warned not to go on to land anywhere near a human. But, the pull of the glowing here was so strong here, he couldn't resist. Now, he was paying the price. He longed for his home and his caring parents. He cursed himself for exploring so far from the nest. He became determined to escape from the humans.

Gorgo roared and slammed its massive claws into the glass wall, little phased by the electricity. They bounced off, leaving a deep scratch on the thick, clear barrier. Gorgo slammed its fists into the glass again and again, then, the glass shattered. Alarms sounded and the lights turned red. Gorgo reared back and roared once, and headed out of its cage as fast as the heavily armored animal could.

Buffy charged toward Gorgo and attacked it with speed that caught him off guard.  Gorgo wasn't really harmed by his attacker, but was knocked back slightly. True, the blows were rather powerful, and they were directed at his relatively soft underbelly. They were not as effective as the slayer might have hoped. The pain induced by the blows only continued to fuel Gorgo's urge to return to the sea and hope that he never came across another human as long as he lived.

If his mighty roar could be translated into human words, the defiant roar he issued as he raised one of his claws in the air would be something along the lines of  'Let me go HOME!'

Gorgo was about to 'lower the boom' on the slayer when it was hit with several streams electricity from the nearby armed guards. Gorgo howled in pain and collapsed to the floor, still breathing.

"I could have handled him." Buffy stated as several solders dragged Gorgo away.

"Get Gorgo to the laboratory, I might as well examine him as long as he's unconscious. Agent Finn, if you would be so kind as to finish the tour." Walsh stated

"Yes Professor."  Riley answered as Professor Walsh walked away with several guards, who carried Gorgo's prone form to the laboratory.

Riley walked with Buffy for a few moments before she broke the silence.

"Something was odd about that thing."

Riley vainly tried to lighten the mood, "What? Are you not used to fighting giant reptiles?"

Buffy playfully hit him, "Well, no, but this one was different"

"How so?"

"It's attack, it seemed…. He was fighting scared."

"Well, you are the slayer."

"Yeah, but that usually doesn't make anything I fight act scared… most of the time. They're more like 'oh, the slayer! If I kill her, I'll be treated like Al Pachino!'"

Riley stopped walking, "So what are you saying?"

"…I, I don't know. It, it just didn't feel right, and I've learned to go on my gut instincts a lot, cuz they're usually right."…

********

Just offshore now, the giant sea-monster came grew closer to shore, in search of her child. She was angry. The monster hid well in the backdrop of the night's sky, her red eyes the only thing that truly made her distinguishable from the darkness.  The monster made her way to her child, guided by her son's scent… 

********

"…So, what? Big slimy reptile didn't activate your 'spider sense'?" Xander asked after hearing of Buffy's encounter with Gorgo.

She, Xander, Anya and Willow were all sitting at a table in the Bronze. Due to Buffy's recent involvement in the Initiative; they had been doing this less and less. Yet, Buffy felt that she should clue her friends in on what happened the other night.

"Yeah, it was acting more like, well, a caged animal than a demon." Buffy stated.

Anya raised her arm slightly, "Uh, Excuse me, but… it is a caged animal"

Buffy lowered her head slightly upon being corrected. "I-I know, but it just wasn't very demony. It, it was scared like-"

"Like one of those baby gorilla's taken away from its mother by poachers" Willow blurted.

"Yes, That's exactly it!" exclaimed Buffy

"Wait, wait, wait, wait" Xander raised his hands in the air and then lowered them on the table with a small thud. "If that's a baby…"

************

Riley entered Professor Walsh's laboratory in a calm fashion. He noticed that the still-unconscious Gorgo was lying on the table.

"You wanted to see me?" Riley asked.

"Yes Agent Finn, I want you to see what I've found out about this creature." Prof. Walsh said. "It's very interesting." Walsh walked over to the head of the creature. "These eyes are perfectly adapted for seeing low light, beyond anything we have yet developed. The 'ears' also function as gills. It has a very powerful scent gland underneath his chin that is continuing to emit a very potent odor."

"That would account for its horrible stench. Forrest and the others are still trying to get the stench of their uniforms." Riley chuckled slightly.

Prof. Walsh continued uninhibited. "The claws, teeth, bone and especially the carapace are very interesting. Though they are already extremely durable, are continuing to harden as the animal grows."

"Grows, you mean…its not fully grown?" Riley asked

"I took a scale sample, the scales resembled a fish's scales, but they were almost completely smooth. Only one ring on them"

"What does that mean?"

"Fish's scales are ringed, and like the rings of a tree, they indicate how old the fish is."

"So that means that this is only…"

"A baby."  Walsh sighed, "Just a year old."

"So, how big do you think it will get, and how fast will it grow?"

"Well, judging by the closest genetic comparison we have to this creature, Alligator mississipiensis, usually born at about 7 inches in length, grows at a rate of up to one foot per year for the first twelve years of its life. Depending on the food supply… This one seems rather well fed, so I speculate that it has grown considerably since then. In fact, since its capture it has grown 6 inches." Prof. Walsh paused to let this sink in before delivering the bomb. "It is possible, that under the right circumstances, this species may be able to attain a total length of up to 240 feet, with a height of 180 feet."

*********************

Xander and Anya decided to head home early…for some 'intimate' time alone. They were at the half waypoint between Xander's home and the bronze. The docks. Anya seemed to be holding on to him tighter then usual.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked her gently

"It's just what Buffy said tonight about the sea monster." Anya explained.

"What about it?"

"Well, I know for a fact how aggressive sea monsters are when it comes to their offspring. They babies are very reliant on their mothers, who would usually stop at nothing to protect them." Anya explained.

"Hmm, Kinda reminds me of my mom." Xander mused.

"…How?"

"Well, she defends me…a lot. Mostly from my dad." Xander said with a heavy heart. "I think I'd probably have an injury every day if it wasn't for her…. So, Ahn, how do you know so much about sea monsters?"

"Well, I met up with two very distinct water monsters."

"Was one of them Nessie?"

"No" Anya laughed. "I met up with one common sea monster, called Yofune-Nushi in Japan. This guy was your classic sea serpent, all eely and stuff. Every year on the 13th of June, he demanded a girl be sacrificed to him. The 'young maiden', as they were called in those days, was actually used to feed his children because they couldn't stomach anything else. He did that for a while, till this Slayer named Tokoyo came along, replaced the sacrifice with herself. Gouged his eyes out and slashed his neck open."

"Wow. That's… different."

"Oh, that's nothing, I've actually been witness to the great Leviathan!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, though he doesn't look like what you'd think."

"A huge fish-thing with a enormous mouth?"

"No, he looks more like that big dinosaur that stomps around Japan in those movies you have."

Xander's jaw dropped in shock. "You mean…Godzilla?"

"Yeah, that's it. He looks like Godzilla, right down to the smallest detail. The fire breath, the glowing spines, and especially the caring for the offspring."

"…. Now that has got to be the most shocking thing you ever told me…. Godzilla's REAL!?"

"He's called the Leviathan."

"I know but… Godzilla, the king of monsters…. is the Leviathan!?"

"Is it so hard to believe?"

"Well… not really. So where did you see him?"

"Where do you think I saw him, and just what do you think he was doing?"

"Okay, I can guess, never mind."

"Xander, I'm kind of scared…that mother's gonna come. I just know it"

"Don't worry, my house is no where near the initiative. They're on completely different ends of town."

"Can we hurry home anyway?"

"God, this thing has you as scared as seeing a rabbit" Xander commented. "I mean, how big could the mother be? Can't be bigger than the mayor, can it?"

"Oh, yes it can. The Leviathan is about-"

"Let me guess…" Xander interrupted. "About 300 feet tall and 700 feet long"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I know my Godzilla's."

"Anyway, most sea monsters are around 50 feet long, but there are a bunch of them about 200."

"That's big."

"You see why I want to go home and get as far away from it as possible."

"I don't see why you wouldn't"

A noise from the docks grabbed their attention. The sound of ships rising and falling with the water levels, but much more exaggerated. Along with that noise was the sound of something moving through the water, swiftly.

Xander's curiosity got the better of him and he went to look. He got a clear view of the water, and what was coming out. With a mighty roar Gorgo's Mother raised her head above the surface of the water. Her son was her spitting image. She rose up, out of the water, towering over everything around her.

"Oh…. My…God!" Xander staggered, nearly frozen in fear. Anya was the same, though no words escaped her open mouth.

The sea monster moved her clawed feet, smashing the wooden docks. She placed its feet on the hard cement and raised herself out of the water, fracturing the artificial rock beneath her. She opened her mouth, issuing her echoing roar that shook the warehouses around her. She stood an impressive 140 feet tall, towering over the warehouses around her. She sniffed the air, pivoting her body ever so slowly.

"Xander!" Anya shouted and pulled at his arm. "We gotta go!"

"…You… you're right!" Xander said as he was pulled from his shock. "We gotta get Buffy!"

"Huh?" Anya asked. She had simply wanted to run away. Xander grabbed his girlfriend by the arm and led her back to the Bronze.

The sea monster's son was near. She crashed effortlessly through the buildings. Her red eyes glowing slightly in the night, she headed towards her son. A path that lead her in the same direction Xander and Anya fled, and through the town of Sunnydale. Cement cracked underneath her feet. Her tail slashed unintentional gashes into nearby buildings, causing some to collapse. She didn't care about the damage she caused, only one thing rested in her mind, getting her son back.

Xander and Anya ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Xander was almost hit by a car as he did. The owner of the car screamed at Xander for a few minutes, then he screamed in terror and ran from the car. Only seconds before the mother's foot came crashing down upon it.

The car exploded in a plume of fire, which didn't even faze the mother. The mother looked down and scowled and wiggled her fin-like ears. Unknown to the fleeing humans below, that subtle gesture told others of her kind that she was VERY angry. She smashed her massive hand-claw into an adjacent building. The effect was much like a wrecking ball; only it tore out a large chunk of the structure and hurled it into the street, and on some unsuspecting people. Xander and Anya could hear her foot thunderous footsteps as they ran, refusing to look back.

******

Back at the Bronze, Buffy and Willow, despite being roommates, had to catch up with each other on what was happening.

"Your mom called?" Buffy asked. "I haven't talked to mine since Halloween, and even then, it wasn't much."

"Yeah…she tries, she really does, but…" Willow sighed. "She just doesn't get it. She still treats me like the 'Average Teenager'"

"When we all know that your not. Hell, I none of us are, especially Xander." Buffy smiled

"Especially not Xander!" Willow chuckled.

Xander suddenly burst in with Anya. Both of them were out of breath, and rather pale. They were also extremely frightened. Buffy and Willow ran over to their fellow Scoobies.

"Xander, What's wrong?" Buffy asked hurriedly

"The-the Sea Monster!" He staggered

"Its mother's here!" Anya added.

"Its mother?" Buffy asked confused. "You mean the thing at the initiative is really just a baby?"

"And judging by the size of the mother, a very young baby!" Xander yelled.

"No wonder I didn't feel right attacking him." Buffy thought aloud. "Where is the mother?"

Xander didn't answer, the thunderous noise made by her footsteps told them all the mother was very real, and very near.

Her large, 3 toed, clawed saurian foot with a dewclaw crashed into the side of the Bronze nearest the street. The foot lifted up as the monster moved away, but its long tail cut a swath of destruction as the monster left.

Buffy ran out to see the monster. She was speechless.  First from the sheer size of it, never before had she seen something that big other than a building or a blimp. The sea monster was heading in a straight line, not wavering off course one inch.

The Mother's claws and tail smashed into building casually, doing immense amounts of damage to the buildings. The mother didn't care. All it wanted was its child.

Buffy was stunned; she couldn't bring herself to attack it no matter how much she wanted to defend the town and stop the carnage. It was just too big and she didn't have the right weapons or anything. Buffy hated being helpless, especially now. She was the slayer, she couldn't be helpless, if she ever was, people would die. And people were dying now. She thought desperately for a way to tackle this problem.  Then, it hit her.  Warn the Initiative. She knew the monster was heading for them because that's where the other one was.

As Buffy began to run towards the Initiative, she reached a startling conclusion on how to beat this monster. If this was Gorgo's mother, then she probably only wanted her baby back. The Initiative would have to part with their prized sea monster, one way or another. Buffy ran with all her might, slowly putting distance between her and the monster, but not as much as she wanted to. Behind her, she could hear the monster's destructive movements that it was oblivious too. The monster didn't care for the lives lost in her movements; all she wanted was her child.

**********

At the Initiative base, Gorgo was already awake from its unscheduled 'nap'. Gorgo was in his new cell, already banging on the triple-reinforced, heavily electrified barrier that held him in. Professor Walsh marveled at its persistence, even for a baby, this thing was tough. She could probably use one if its claws for her project, or maybe its tail, or its armored back or…

Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted when Buffy and Riley burst into the room, grabbing her attention.

"Professor Walsh, we have a problem." Riley stated

"What is it Ms. Summers?" Prof. Walsh asked

There was a suddenly, loud, crashing noise. Followed by sirens and an awkward silence.

"Mommy's very angry." Buffy answered.

"What, the juvenile's parent? Impossible, reptiles don't show parental attachments this strong, it's unheard of!" Prof. Walsh stammered slightly.

"In any case, the mother is here." Riley stated. "I suggest we release the juvenile in hopes of routing the female."

"No, we can't let this valuable specimen go to waste." Prof. Walsh stated, the then called an order out to the general in charge to gather the troops together to defend the base.

Buffy was slightly displeased at this. Slightly.  "Are you nuts! Have you seen how big that thing is!? It's at least 20 times as large as the baby."

"Thank you for that information Ms. Summers. But, I believe we will be able to handle the adult." Professor Walsh stated, confidently.

"I have to agree with Buffy on this one Professor."  Riley stated. "The protective instincts of a mother can turn even the most docile animals into dangerous ones, and this thing is dangerous to begin with. I say we give her what she wants."

"Duly noted." Prof. Walsh answered coldly. "It's surprising to see you sympathizing with the monster like this, you are the Slayer after all."

"Exactly. I have a natural instinct to protect, my family and friends especially. That's what this monster is doing. Protecting her family, like I do. You kidnapped her son, and now she wants him back." Buffy was angry, to say the least. "You brought this on yourself. All the damage and death she'll cause rests completely on you. Just give her back her son and you can avoid any loss of life."

"Is that a threat, Ms. Summers?" Prof. Walsh answered

"No. It's a promise that the Mother is going to fulfill" Buffy hissed.

**********

Less than an hour later, The Initiative was waiting for the monster to come. All the solders were heavily armed; they just waited for the monster to come into range. The growls of the mighty beast were very audible.  They saw the monster come. At first, all they could see were her red eyes and bone-white teeth. As she drew nearer, she seemed to melt in from the darkness. The monster issued a powerful roar, and the troops opened fire.

*********

Inside the base, the baby was beating on its newly reinforced cage with all its might, to no avail. Two solders were left to guard the infant. Buffy suddenly dropped from the ceiling, knocking out one of the guards, then proceeded to lay the other one out for an impromptu nap.  Buffy grabbed a card key from one of the unconscious guards and went over to the infant. The infant stopped banging against its cage as Buffy approached it.

"Listen, I know you don't like me. But I'm here to get you out. The sooner you and your mother leave, the better. So, don't slash me when I let you go, okay."  Buffy told the creature and hoped it understood. The creature stepped out, and looked at Buffy, seemingly asking 'okay, now what?' Buffy grabbed the creature by the arm and led it to the surface.

*******

The bullets, grenades and rockets did nothing to slow the monster down. Not even armor piercing shells left a scratch on her underbelly, let alone her carapace. Her powerful roar echoing through the night. Things were not going well for the Initiative. The monster's feet came down and crushed solders. Her tail ripped apart armored vehicles like they were made of tin foil. Tazers were just no good.  Occasionally, the monsters massive claws would strike the ground, pulverizing some poor solders. She would also knock down trees upon the solders, causing more injuries and deaths.  Professor Walsh looked at the battle in horror. She never believed a pure biological entity, even a demonic one, could have that much power. Her project paled in comparison to the might shown in this monster. Those were her last thoughts as the monsters huge claws came crashing down upon her. All that was left of her was a red stain on cement.

Buffy led the infant to the surface. He immediately called out to his mother. The monster stopped and looked at her child. There were no more shots fired at her, most of the solders were either dead, unconscious or in shock that the monster had halted her seemingly unstoppable rampage. The infant ran to his mother. The mother looked about and made sure her baby was safe, and then issued a defiant roar; warning not to mess with her, or her family, again. With that, the two monsters turned and left, without further incident. The surviving solders looked at the leaving monsters in stunned silence. 

Riley limped his way over to Buffy, a small wound from some shrapnel on his side still bled slightly.

"You let him out." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah. I knew all she wanted was her baby." Buffy answered.

"Walsh would apologize to you, if the mother hadn't gotten her revenge."

"She had a right to it. After all, Walsh kidnapped her son."

"I'm just really glad I didn't lead the expedition to get him." Riley half-joked. "He's road kill."

The couple then looked back at the two monsters, the moon set in front of them as they returned to the sea the same way the mother came, the little one never straying far from his mother.

"Listen, there's something I need to take care off." Buffy told Riley. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

"Alright" he answered begrudgingly.

"Thanks" she blurted as she quickly kissed him on the cheek and ran off.

*********

At the Summer's home, Joyce was greeted with a surprise visit. "Buffy! It's good to see you!"

"Hi mom." Buffy smiled. "I just thought we'd catch up a bit tonight."

"You have the time to? No school work or monsters to fight?"

"I made the time." Buffy said as she entered the home.

The End.