Chapter VII: Jessica's Plan
:Fairport, NY:
They hadn't told her anything. She'd already figured out as much though. She didn't think they would tell her anything, but that was all right. The answers were already clear to her.
Sweeping loose, red hair behind one ear, Jessica pressed the doorbell again.
It opened just as she pulled her finger away from the buzzer, Mike Galers peeking out from behind the door. "Jessica!" He shouted, throwing open the door and quickly embracing her. "Damn, girl, you look like shit."
"They have him, Mike." She whispered in his ear, still hugging him. "Whoever funded us took Aaron."
"What? Who took him? Why?" Mike pulled her into the house, shutting the door behind him.
"Ikeda-Remming, the joint company that funded the Antarctica expedition."
Mike looked at her, confused. "But why would they take Aaron? That just doesn't make any sense."
"We have to go back."
"What? Are you kidding?"
"No." Jessica pushed back hair behind the other ear. "No, we have to go back to Antarctica, back to the crater. That blue stuff at the bottom, do you remember that?"
Mike nodded.
"This all has something to do with that and the alien."
"Alien?" Mike ran a hand through his hair. "C'mon, Jess, now you're starting to freak me out with all this."
"I freaked myself out too, but I'm not joking. We dug up something that was asleep and would have stayed asleep, the alien, the Tsunagara. Now, I don't know what exactly that blue stuff was..."
"Alien snot." Mike muttered
"...But I figured that's why all those weird government types were so concerned with Aaron. He touched it, we didn't."
"Jesus, Jess. What if it did something to him? What if they're doing something to him?"
Jessica nodded, thankful that this whole meeting was going better than she though it was going to go. All the other team members that she had rounded up had taken a lot of convincing. "Come with us, Mike. We need you're help, your expertise. Aaron needs you." She suddenly felt a pain of fear, dread, sadness all rolled up into one in her heart. Why did it have to be Aaron, why? Why any of them, why any of this?
Goddamned alien, she cursed, the image of the beast rising from the frozen landscape still burning in her mind. It was all over the news now, all over America, but the pictures they saw were so unreal. It seemed smaller, harmless, almost as if it were some Hollywood prank on American society.
But it is real, so real, and we have to get to the bottom of this.
"Aright, I'm in." Mike nodded. "But how are we going to do this? None of us has the funds to even get a plane to Antarctica, let alone food and supplies and the trip back!"
"Ever hear of G Force?" Jessica asked with a grin.
Mike blinked. "No, and I'm almost afraid to ask."
:Mito, Japan:
Eric grinned at the sudden news.
Natsuki shook his head.
"I'm not worried about that," Eric muttered as Natsuki exited the room.
"So, your sister was one of the people on the original team?" Samantha asked, her eyes still glued to the T.V.
Eric nodded, flopping backwards onto one of the hotel beds, tucking his hands behind his head. "Yeah. She told me before we left that she was going on some expedition, but she wasn't able to tell me anything about it. Man, can you imagine? She must have seen it when it woke up. Up close!" He shouted jealously.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you can tell people that you got to see Godzilla up close." She shuddered at the memory.
"Hehe, you're right. And Godzilla is a legend. A lot better than some freaky alien."
Samantha rolled her eyes. They were all big, scary monsters to her. She'd be glad when they left Japan, she had had enough of this place. Ever since Godzilla's initial attack on Tokyo, they had been carted all around by the JSDF officer, Natsuki.
Godzilla. He scared her, and she hated him. It would be too soon to never see that horrible monstrosity again! Him, and that overgrown, winged lizard, Rodan. How could they possibly have laid waste to Tokyo like that?
"So, um, when are we leaving again?" Eric asked, sitting back up.
Samantha sighed, This would be the third time she'd tell him this. "Sometime tonight. You're sister arranged with General Takahashi to get home ASAP."
"I thought all the planes were still grounded because of the Rodan threat?"
"Well, yes, but this is a private plane, belongs to some merged company, Ikeda-Remming or something-other like that. I guess they're flying a bunch of scientists over to help figure out the Tsunagara problem down in the Carolinas. They'll be here in a few hours to pick us up."
"Maybe we'll be lucky enough to see the Tsunagara too." Eric grinned.
"God, I hope not!"
:Fairport, NY:
They hadn't told her anything. She'd already figured out as much though. She didn't think they would tell her anything, but that was all right. The answers were already clear to her.
Sweeping loose, red hair behind one ear, Jessica pressed the doorbell again.
It opened just as she pulled her finger away from the buzzer, Mike Galers peeking out from behind the door. "Jessica!" He shouted, throwing open the door and quickly embracing her. "Damn, girl, you look like shit."
"They have him, Mike." She whispered in his ear, still hugging him. "Whoever funded us took Aaron."
"What? Who took him? Why?" Mike pulled her into the house, shutting the door behind him.
"Ikeda-Remming, the joint company that funded the Antarctica expedition."
Mike looked at her, confused. "But why would they take Aaron? That just doesn't make any sense."
"We have to go back."
"What? Are you kidding?"
"No." Jessica pushed back hair behind the other ear. "No, we have to go back to Antarctica, back to the crater. That blue stuff at the bottom, do you remember that?"
Mike nodded.
"This all has something to do with that and the alien."
"Alien?" Mike ran a hand through his hair. "C'mon, Jess, now you're starting to freak me out with all this."
"I freaked myself out too, but I'm not joking. We dug up something that was asleep and would have stayed asleep, the alien, the Tsunagara. Now, I don't know what exactly that blue stuff was..."
"Alien snot." Mike muttered
"...But I figured that's why all those weird government types were so concerned with Aaron. He touched it, we didn't."
"Jesus, Jess. What if it did something to him? What if they're doing something to him?"
Jessica nodded, thankful that this whole meeting was going better than she though it was going to go. All the other team members that she had rounded up had taken a lot of convincing. "Come with us, Mike. We need you're help, your expertise. Aaron needs you." She suddenly felt a pain of fear, dread, sadness all rolled up into one in her heart. Why did it have to be Aaron, why? Why any of them, why any of this?
Goddamned alien, she cursed, the image of the beast rising from the frozen landscape still burning in her mind. It was all over the news now, all over America, but the pictures they saw were so unreal. It seemed smaller, harmless, almost as if it were some Hollywood prank on American society.
But it is real, so real, and we have to get to the bottom of this.
"Aright, I'm in." Mike nodded. "But how are we going to do this? None of us has the funds to even get a plane to Antarctica, let alone food and supplies and the trip back!"
"Ever hear of G Force?" Jessica asked with a grin.
Mike blinked. "No, and I'm almost afraid to ask."
:Mito, Japan:
Eric grinned at the sudden news.
Natsuki shook his head.
"I'm not worried about that," Eric muttered as Natsuki exited the room.
"So, your sister was one of the people on the original team?" Samantha asked, her eyes still glued to the T.V.
Eric nodded, flopping backwards onto one of the hotel beds, tucking his hands behind his head. "Yeah. She told me before we left that she was going on some expedition, but she wasn't able to tell me anything about it. Man, can you imagine? She must have seen it when it woke up. Up close!" He shouted jealously.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you can tell people that you got to see Godzilla up close." She shuddered at the memory.
"Hehe, you're right. And Godzilla is a legend. A lot better than some freaky alien."
Samantha rolled her eyes. They were all big, scary monsters to her. She'd be glad when they left Japan, she had had enough of this place. Ever since Godzilla's initial attack on Tokyo, they had been carted all around by the JSDF officer, Natsuki.
Godzilla. He scared her, and she hated him. It would be too soon to never see that horrible monstrosity again! Him, and that overgrown, winged lizard, Rodan. How could they possibly have laid waste to Tokyo like that?
"So, um, when are we leaving again?" Eric asked, sitting back up.
Samantha sighed, This would be the third time she'd tell him this. "Sometime tonight. You're sister arranged with General Takahashi to get home ASAP."
"I thought all the planes were still grounded because of the Rodan threat?"
"Well, yes, but this is a private plane, belongs to some merged company, Ikeda-Remming or something-other like that. I guess they're flying a bunch of scientists over to help figure out the Tsunagara problem down in the Carolinas. They'll be here in a few hours to pick us up."
"Maybe we'll be lucky enough to see the Tsunagara too." Eric grinned.
"God, I hope not!"
