Humanity's Stand
Chapter 1
Gathering Storm
Welcome back to my retry at making this companion story to Tarbtano's Godzilla/MLP crossover. Before we begin, let me provide some context. When I started the first version of Humanity's Stand I made the chapter entirely on a whim. Just as a fun sort of 'what if' looking at things back on Earth while the kaiju had their adventure over in Equestria. It wasn't meant to be a serious companion piece... right up until the first review came in from Tarb himself saying 'hey I like this, this can be canon'. After that I realized I had to step things up so that I could make a proper story to go along with the Bridge, hence I tried to coordinate with Tarb where I could and try to come up with an interesting plot and story. As time went on I gathered more cowriters to the project and tried to knuckle down on things but eventually I grew dissatisfied with my output and found it hard to focus on moving forward over looking back to see what I did wrong. My rewrites years ago were the emblem of that effort, but it wasn't enough to truly assuage my concerns, hence me putting the story on extended hiatus as I tried to figure out what to do. It was around the turn of 2018 into 2019 that I finally decided to do a wholesale remake of the entire story. Undo everything and start from scratch. Well, mostly from scratch. Quite a number of my previous ideas are maintained in new forms for this rewrite, as you will get to see. But this is very much a new story entirely distinct from the last, so put what you know from before to the side and be ready to throw it out when the time comes. This rewrite has been a long time coming, far too long to be honest, but it is here at last. And I am committed to seeing this through to the end. With that in mind I hope you enjoy my look at events on Terra in the Amalgamverse.
Let us begin.
**HS**
The world was at war. The world had been at war for decades, in one form or another. It was a different kind of war than what the primary species that called it home had enacted for millennia before this. It was a war of survival against forces of nature as much as it was against a thinking, conscious enemy. It was like fighting a hurricane. An avalanche. A volcano. The purest form of madness, but it was what needed to be done, for the only other choice was extinction.
And as his mentor had told him once years before, when extinction was the threat, any alternative was preferable.
Stacker Pentecost started at the map with narrowed eyes while the conversation continued around him. The voices were muted in his perception, as all of his thoughts were consumed with calculation, considering the data he had available. Trying to find some way to make the math make sense. One where the outcome was any kind of acceptable. The results weren't adding up the way he wanted.
"This is the move," he announced quietly, yet the moment he spoke the rest of the room fell silent.
"What move?"
Pentecost looked up at Admiral Stenz, who was standing next to Tachibana over the table holding readiness reports from mech bases and ship squadrons.
"The move," Gordon said. "Xenilla's going for the finisher. This can't be anything else."
Tachibana nodded, waving his hand at the map. "I can believe it. Nearly every single mutant-aligned kaiju is heading across the Pacific, and based on path projection they have to be heading to Solgel."
"Taking the fight to Godzilla and his group directly," Ozaki said, arms folded over his armor. "A full invasion."
"But why?" Miki Saegusa was looking at the many moving red dots spread out across the globe. "Why now of all times?"
Pentecost's eyes drifted to the south of the map, towards the most isolated continent and the contingent of purple dots clustered in the middle of it. "Because of them. The alien kaiju forced his hand. He thinks he can't deal with us, Godzilla's followers, and the aliens all at once."
Stenz scoffed as he said, "Neither can we. I hate that we have to agree with that creature on anything."
"His intelligence was never in doubt," Gordon said. "His morality was. Evil bastard."
"So what do we do, Stack?" Ozaki asked. "Do we let them fight it out, or step in?"
"I say let both sides go at it." Gordon huffed as he glared at the red dots. "We can move in to mop up the survivors who can't be convinced to leave us alone."
In an instant Miki was throwing a powerful glare Gordon's way. "We can't leave the good kaiju alone to die when we can do something to help. They've saved us dozens of times! We need to do the same for them when they need us!"
Stenz stepped between Miki and Gordon, holding his hands up placatingly. "I understand your sentiment Miki, but we need to look at this pragmatically. We don't have enough mechs in a ready state to send on a mission like this. Especially when there's a more than likely chance that even if we do go in we'd still be outnumbered."
"And that's not accounting for collateral damage," Tachibana warned. "Intentional or not. We've never fought alongside any of the defending kaiju before. There's every possibility they might hit our fighters either on instinct or just by accident while engaging something else. If we send our forces in we need to do it in a way that doesn't leave us vulnerable to being crippled or destroyed." He shrugged helplessly, adding, "We simply can't afford to lose any of our mechs, even to keep possible allies alive."
"We need to do something though," Ozaki argued, drawing attention to him. "This is going to be the largest kaiju battle the world has ever seen. Not even the Final War had this many fighters in one place before. This could be a perfect chance for us to put down large numbers of mutants with less risk than any singular engagement would carry. And if we don't move in to take some of the heat off the others they're not going to kill nearly as many bad guys, which we need to happen."
"Not to mention saving their lives," Miki stated with a tone of finality. She looked to Pentecost with pleading eyes, a tendril of emotion leaking out of her that the Marshall could feel. "Please, Stacker… we can't sit back and do nothing."
Pentecost did not answer her right away. Instead he stood from his place at the head of the table, moving around his peers to stand before the world map, taking it all in. The streams of moving red dots, moving in from all parts of the world. The lingering purple markers in the South Pole, looming over the planet with unknown intentions. And the cluster of green on an island deep in the endless span of the Pacific. He could picture the faces and names of each dot, waves of alternating hatred, fear, and hope washing through him as he considered each one.
But in the end one face above all the rest stood out in his mind. One whose reflection haunted his nightmares, yet guided his dreams in resistance to them.
"Godzilla needs our help," he said finally, drawing a relieved gasp from Miki and an annoyed grunt from Gordon. "The defenders need our help. And we will give it to them." He turned, putting authority into his voice as he gave his orders. "Ozaki, organize an evacuation team to get our people off the island. I want the only humans to be there to be the ones inside a mech."
Ozaki nodded, ducking out of the conversation to shout at the technicians deeper in the room. Pentecost shifted his gaze to Gordon, his general glaring back at him stoically.
"Gordon, we're doing this right. Get every mech we can to that island and prepare a battle plan for them. Focus on having our forces hold the perimeter once the fight begins. We'll hold back any reinforcements and keep the initial wave from escaping once they've started the battle."
Gordon shifted his mustache in his particular brand of agitation but didn't gainsay him, simply nodding. "I'll see what I can do."
Pentecost turned to Stenz and Tachibana. "I want constant updates on everything we have about the invasion. Location, numbers, participants, everything. Make sure our pilots get it so they know what they're up against. Stenz, get on the horn with the UN, let them know what's about to happen and warn them to start preparing contingencies."
Both men nodded their ascent, but Stenz paused to retort. "We should move Dimension Tide into position, sir."
Pentecost could feel the air around him chill as the name was mentioned, accented by the spike of concern he felt emanating from Miki. "I won't use that weapon unless we have no other choice, Stenz. You know that."
"To be perfectly frank, sir… you might have to make that choice."
Pentecost took Stenz' warning silently, waving for them to follow their orders. That left him turning to Miki, his shoulders drooping as he saw her expression.
"I'm going."
Pentecost closed his eyes, willing his feelings to be silent for the moment. "I know," he said. "I couldn't order you to stay away if I tried."
She shook her head in agreement. "No offense, Stack, but for me I've always had a place there, even if I've gained other jobs since then."
Despite himself Pentecost couldn't help but chuckle. "Miki, if I had my way I'd be out there with you. But one of us has to be the responsible one."
Miki smiled, though the expression failed to fully reach her eyes. "The boring one, you mean. I'll be careful."
"You'll be safe," Pentecost affirmed, patting her on the shoulder. "Now go, we don't have much time."
Miki held the hand on her shoulder for a moment, pressing the familiar friendship she'd always conveyed to him without words, then turned and left the room, parting the technicians around her with her psychic presence. Pentecost watched her go, then surveyed the controlled chaos going on around him as his staff and subordinates rushed to fulfill his orders.
People were going to die in the fight to come. Human and kaiju alike. He knew it was bound to happen. Nobody would be leaving this battle unscathed. He had to hope that he could find a way to make sure the least number of people who fought to defend the world were lost while removing as many of those who would threaten that world as possible. Unlike many he knew, including most in this room, he made no distinction between human and kaiju in that calculation. His mentor had taught him that.
Content that the work was being done as best it could, Stacker looked to the silent form sitting at the end of the table, the man holding a small, battered old pocket watch in hand, staring at the map in silence. Pentecost moved to sit next to him, neither speaking for some time, busy with their thoughts.
"Is this the right thing, Ishiro?"
The man didn't look at him, but Stacker knew he had the man's attention. "The right thing is hard to determine. Right for us? Right for them? Right for everyone?" He sighed, setting the watch on the table. "The only way we know that answer is by looking at what has already happened. But… yes. I think the only choice is to help them. Help the kaiju who have done so much to help us."
Pentecost nodded, not letting his relief show. His doubts remained, but they were pushed back, at least for now. "No word from Theodore?"
Serizawa shook his head, looking down at the table sadly. "No. He is on a mission. He will likely not be in contact until this battle is over. I doubt he would have much to add for this, but having any of the council missing is a concern. Especially if…"
"If," Pentecost agreed. "You and I both know why that decision is one we should put off as long as we can."
"I more than most," Ishiro said quietly. "Yet I feel that that time is rapidly approaching. It may be forced upon us, either by circumstance or by order."
"I can countermand that order if it comes to that," Pentecost said. "It may cost me some control over the UN members, but that isn't a decision they should be able to make."
"I was not referring to them."
Pentecost looked at Ishiro just as Ishiro looked back at him. Neither was sure what they were seeing.
"Will you make that choice? I feel you may. To save him. And…"
Serizawa paused, picking up the pocket watch from the table and putting it away in his shirt pocket.
"To kill the other."
Pentecost said nothing, standing and leaving his friend alone at the table, seeking something else to do. He had to develop other options, other alternatives.
When faced with extinction, every alternative was preferable. But some of them could never be said to be worth the cost.
**HS**
Cold was inescapable. No matter where you went in this frosted hell you'd always feel it gnawing at you. Even if the temperature was livable inside the facility the cold still found ways to leak in. But then, maybe that feeling wasn't atmospheric…
"Sub-Controller 437, please come to the command center."
She froze in place, gritting her teeth in annoyance as the automated voice system played its message. Oh how she despised that system.
"Sub-Controller 437, are you listeni-"
"Yes, I am," she said, cutting off the program with a growl. She took a breath to calm herself, easing her tone back to the customary neutral. "I will be heading up immediately."
"See that you do." The audio cut off with a crackle, which she knew it did just to bother her. Knowing that her feeble attempt to find some time off to relax and heat herself up was now canceled for the day she turned around and went back the way she came. With the base being as small as it was it only took her a few minutes to get to the lift that deposited her at the correct level. At her old posting teleporters were required for reasonable travel, but in this tiny prefab warehouse of a base they were deemed 'nonessential', along with most of the other things that made a remote research base functional.
Calling it a 'research' base though was its own bad joke. They were glorified spies at best, mixed with superficial resource mining as a way to 'cut costs'. A proper base would have hundreds of personnel, dozens of AI ports and a whole micro-factorum to build whatever was required for operation. All they had instead was a prefab mining machine doing its rounds several thousand feet below the glacial surface and barely adequate signals interception gear that could pick up on human satellite communications for their own use.
But even all of that was mere lip service to an idea that most of the Empire had wanted killed and buried in the bureaucracy, that she had the misfortune to bring to their attention. She'd wanted a way to reach out to the people of this border world dirtball and attempt to make amends for prior 'mistakes', to avert a repeat of prior events that her people really could not afford to have happen again. She'd thought she'd had enough clout to make it happen, but she'd made a miscalculation.
She underestimated the Prime Controller's vindictive pettiness.
The door to the command room slid open before her, letting her walk back to her work station unimpeded. Mostly, at least.
"Welcome back, Sub-Controller," her theoretical subordinate said, scratching his hairy chin in obvious amusement. "So sorry to interrupt your time off, but I had an urgent report that you needed to hear in person."
She glared flatly at the Simian, already devising ways to pay him back for his smugness. "It had better be important, Kabo. I did have plans for today after all."
Kabo laughed, his deep baritone ringing in her sensitive ears. "Well if you'd prefer to be in the bath when you hear that Ghidorah is on his way I could let you go again."
437 gaped, then hissed at the Simian and grabbed him by the front of his uniform, hauling the much taller and heavier alien off his feet. "Tell me you're lying like you usually do."
Despite being several feet off the ground the ape's expression hadn't fallen an inch. "Oh I wish I was brave enough to lie about that. But no, he's coming. Even better, Command said he wasn't given orders to come here. He came on his own."
The persistent cold already lingering in 437's body took on an even greater chill, as if she'd stepped outside without her enviro-suit. She let the Simian fall from her grasp, him landing as smoothly as could be. Soundlessly she waved her hand at her command console, bringing a projection of the view from their exterior cameras. Sitting there together in the snow were two of the finest war machines the Nebulans had ever produced, Gigan and Megalon. Cyborgs both, they were sturdier than any of the mass produced Simian saurimechs by a factor of five, and much better armed besides. Personality-wise they were a mixed bag, but so long as they followed orders nobody cared.
Further out from the pair was that mutated abomination codenamed 'Gryphon'. Just seeing it put a sense of distaste in 437's mouth. It was a creature that should never have been, crafted by some long lost alien civilization as a weapon that had unsurprisingly gotten out of their control and killed them all. It was an amalgamation of numerous different animal species, having a lizard-like face and hide, leathery wings, and mammalian appearing hands and paws, though all of those features could be changed by it at will. Combine that with its unnatural healing ability and devious intelligence and 437 found very little reason to trust the creature for anything. Yet all the same it was a titan that could take orders and come back from otherwise lethal blows, so it had its uses. Personally she hoped that something would one day put it down for good, but that was likely wishful thinking at this point.
And last but certainly foremost of the lot was the one whose bony armor matched perfectly with the frozen tundra around him, even as his black skin contrasted sharply. Monster X. A relic of an older, more foolish Empire, salvaged for use in the modern day in the hopes that it could atone for the destruction it had caused. 437 had read the history reports of its actions that day on the Homeworld, as well as the reports on its current mission success. The data read like night and day, suggesting that the lingering threat X posed was in the past. Yet she had a suspicion it was still there, hidden away.
And if He was coming…
"And our orders for hosting him?" she said, knowing enough time had passed for Kabo to finish his laughing.
Kabo shrugged his broad shoulders, folding his arms over his barrel-width chest. "Same as the others. Take care of any issues they may have and wait for further commands."
437 narrowed her eyes, letting her analytics take stock of the situation. There were no active orders for deployment of any of the titans they'd been sent, merely 'wait and see' placeholder commands. That made her think that these titans weren't here to take part in active combat, but were here for some other reason. What it was she couldn't divine, as she lacked some higher data that would give her insight into High Control's thought process. Not that it was her job to know what they wanted to do. No, she was here because they wanted her out of the way. Unable to infect others with her 'wasteful and pointless ideas'.
"I don't enjoy the idea of playing host to the Great Destroyer," she said with barely hidden venom.
"Nor do I," Kabo said with uncharacteristic seriousness. "Any system he is in is liable to see more than its fair share of death and pain. And us being the closest ones to him…"
The speaker system crackled again in that way that sent pain into 437's ears, announcing that the base AI had something to lecture them about.
"Warning, massive gigafauna movement detected! Automated orders initialized. Beginning deployment of stationed warfighters."
"Wait, what are yo-"
"Sub-Controller 437, you are not authorized to ask questions at this time," the AI said dismissively, rankling her deeply. "High Control orders supersede your command and must be followed. Standby for further instructions." It crackled again as it deactivated, leaving the pair to watch as the titans outside began to get up and walk across the frozen landscape, soon disappearing into the hail and sleet.
"I don't envy whoever they're going after," Kabo said, a slight sneer on his face. "I doubt even that lizard king of theirs would stand a chance against all of them at once."
437 didn't bother to give her thoughts on the matter. Instead she was focusing all of her efforts on not letting her seething hatred of her life boil to the surface. The cold helped with that. It always did in letting apathy take precedence over anger.
The door behind them banged open, letting in a skittering, jittering and chittering mess of chitin to smack the two of them aside to hijack the terminal, shouting in a high-pitched squeal, "WHERE ARE THEY SENDING MY BELOVED MACHINES!? BRING THEM BACK DAMN YOU!"
"Get over it, Skitter," Kabo said as he climbed to his feet. "They'll be back later. Probably."
"BUT I WAS STUDYING THEM TO IMPROVE MY OWN DESIGNS! I NEED THEM FOR FURTHER RESEARCH!" The Nebulan was shaking Kabo vigorously as he continued to shout. He stopped shouting an instant later as 437 tapped him on the carapace and sent a psychic signal into his brain, turning off a portion of his emotions.
"Think logically for a moment, Skit," 437 commanded. "Let your emotions silence themselves before you embarrass us further."
The oversized insect breathed through his limbs violently for several seconds, then settled in place to be still as if he were a piece of ice in the glacier. "I was this close… THIS! CLOSE! To finishing my newest design!"
"That being?" 437 asked, managing to not let her boredom seep into her voice.
"A very special project," Skitter said in a whisper. "One that would make all of our lives vastly more… tolerable."
Kabo chuckled. "Sounds wonderful, you Nebulan super-scientist you. So why did you need the warfighters to do your studying?"
Skitter twitched his front legs in a way 437 had learned was a mix of pleasure and scheming, though from what she knew of the Nebulans they were often one and the same. "I was testing my device on them. I needed to push my machine against their cyber defenses to see if it would do its job correctly. Luckily I think I can skip my final few tests, since they are unfortunately leaving."
"And what does it do?"
Skitter chittered a laugh, then pointed the oddly shaped device in his manipulator arms at the AI bank at the back of the room.
"This."
He pressed a button and 437 could hear a subharmonic signal emanating from it. Suddenly the lights in the room flickered, the speakers screeching with an unholy shriek of pain for several seconds. 437 had to clap her hands over her ears to block out the noise, but as soon as she had it stopped. Instead it was replaced by a soft chime, followed by the speakers coming to life, the normally grating AI voice now soothing in tone.
"Reprogramming is complete. I now serve Nebulan super scientist Skitters Through Shadows. What would you request of me, my most amazing master?"
Sub-Controller 437 looked at Skitters in mute disbelief, while Kabo fell over himself due to laughing so hard.
"Skitter… did you do what I think you just did?"
"I did indeed, Sub-Controller. Or, should I say… Controller?"
437 still felt cold. That cold would never leave her so long as she lived in this dreadful place. But now the cold was augmented with a small spark of heat. One with a core of anger, fueled by vengeance.
She was going to enjoy this.
**HS**
Having a private jet had to be one of the best forms of luxury that could exist. Sure fancy cars or a giant mansion were equally effective ways to convey wealth, but those were expendable, interchangeable. Having a jet to call yours and yours alone conveyed that you were important, that your time was too valuable to be spent on mundane airlines.
And as one of the, if not THE richest person on the planet, Cameron Winters' jet was exactly as extravagant as it deserved to be. The most modern engines, the finest furnishings, and enough fine food and wine to stock the luxurious kitchen for days. In fact he did a good amount of his work while flying. Saved him time on the ground for more important personal connections.
He waved to the bar attendant as he made his way out of the bedroom and towards his office space, a long curved table taking up most of the room in the plane. Both the walls behind and in front of the desk had what looked like full windows, but were actually just highly advanced projections of the airspace outside the aircraft. Winters appreciated the view they gave, looking down on the world below from a height only the gods could once have reached. It was quite enthralling.
What was less so was the pile of paperwork he had to look over as he sat behind his desk, letting the extremely plush chair take some of the impending tediousness of the task ahead off his shoulders. While he had done a great amount of work in his time as CEO of MARS ensuring he didn't have to do this kind of work, there was no avoiding all of it. Some things required his exacting attention to get right. Certainly someone else could do the job almost as well… but almost wasn't quite good enough.
It had to be him. Someone else might get it wrong.
Just as he was about to pick up his pen the phone on his desk rattled, prompting him to roll his eyes.
"I thought I told you all that I wasn't accepting any calls at this time," he said in a rising tone of anger, only to get a bewildered look from his secretary.
"But, sir, I did put a block on your line…"
Winters paused, looking again at the phone. He noticed that the blinking light wasn't green like it usually was. It was red.
"Leave."
"S-sir?"
"Leave," he repeated, his voice brokering no resistance. "Go to the downstairs quarters, and take everyone with you." When the man didn't move at first Winters looked up at him with warning eyes. "Now!"
The man hastily got up and fled down the hall, pulling the barista with him. Winters waited for several seconds until he heard the door close, then a few seconds more as the locks engaged and a quiet hum filled the room. Assured no unsecured ears were listening, Winters hit the answer button.
The projector on his desk flicked on, a red tapestry weaving into the air over his deck as he sat back in his chair, hiding his mouth behind clasped hands. The picture resolved into a familiar face, the dark red of the projection highlighting the dark veins leaking through her skin under her eyes. That was what most noticed first when they saw someone of mysterian blood, but Winters had known this woman long enough to know that the eyes themselves were the thing to watch. The dark, merciless eyes that looked like they had never known warmth in their entire existence. Or perhaps it had simply been purged, as so much else she disliked had been.
"Winters." Her voice was flat like ice and carried just as much chill, though he'd hear it before when it was filled with fire. Neither was particularly appealing in his experience.
Cameron inclined his head at her. "Tiptree, a pleasure to speak with you as always. What is it you are requiring of me today?"
She didn't answer initially, her eyes looking about the cabin in her projection, her frown angling a few degrees further downward. "Close the windows. No one should be given a chance to see me speaking with you."
Winters allowed his eyes to roll, being rewarded with a sneer on the other end. "They're not windows, my dear, they're projections. Just like what you're doing now. Nobody can see through them."
She ignored him, holding up a hand and waving it through the reach of the projection. A muted beep sounded in the room as the cameras displaying the view of the outside shut off, plunging the cabin into darkness lit only by her projection. Winters gave off a dramatic sigh.
"So in love with the darkness, as usual. Fine, we're 'completely invisible' now. So are you going to continue to play with my decor or do you actually want to talk?"
Tiptree fixed him with a glacial glare, but he just smiled pleasantly right back at her. He mused to himself that if she ever bothered to learn how to smile and perhaps act a bit more human, she might have been pretty. But then again, such beauty would only be skin deep. And he knew exactly how little that mattered to a being like Tiptree.
"The GDF is mobilizing," she reported. "All active mech units around the Pacific Rim are being prepared for transport."
Cameron lifted an eyebrow at the information. "Well that's certainly news to me. I'm afraid if you want an explanation on what it is they're up to, then you're better off looking elsewhere. Once I hand my designs off to them I have no further input in the machines they use."
"We are aware. We have other means of acquiring the needed data." She shook her head. "I am contacting you to tell you that our project needs to be accelerated."
And just like that Winters knew he wasn't going to like this call. "Accelerated? Tiptree, I'm not sure you understand just what you're asking. I've already put every loyal worker I can spare for the project in play by now, and vetting new ones will take time. Besides, it will only be a few more months before it is ready anyway. Why the sudden rush?"
"We feel that a change in the global situation is approaching. Premonitions have reached suggesting that the status quo as we know it will soon be broken."
"Broken how?"
"Unknown." Tiptree folded her arms over her chest, staring down at him like his mother used to. As if he didn't loathe her enough already. "But we suspect our timetables will all have to be accelerated. That includes your part as well. Use whatever means you have to. The project must be ready by the start of next year."
And next you'll ask me to invent an interdimensional portal device, because surely I can do such a thing as a miracle worker. He snorted to himself, opening his mouth to speak only to be halted as a spike of ice worked its way into his brain.
"Your sarcasm is noted," Tiptree said dryly. "I am aware of the difficulties this will cause, but it must be done. It is Her will."
"And her will must be done," he managed to say without grinding his teeth. "I get it, and I'll start the work right away. But I warn you that this may cause outside eyes to start paying attention. The lid on our little box of secrets is going to be removed sooner rather than later at this pace."
Tiptree nodded. "We know. We'll deal with the problems as they arise. We are at the final steps of the plan. A few more successful finds and we should have sufficient power to move to the next step. Make sure your step is complete by the time we get there. Or else…"
He waved her off before she could continue with her threat. "Yes yes, 'fate worse than death' and all that tripe. I know. I've worked with you for how long, Tiptree? I know what you consider to be just punishment for failure."
He expected her to get upset, but instead she grinned. He had NEVER seen her grin before. And he was right, it did make her more beautiful.
It also made her vastly more terrifying.
"It is not me who would be meting out punishment for your failure, Cameron. It would be Her." She let the statement linger in the air for a moment as her smile faded back into her normal blank expression. "But so long as you keep up your part of the bargain there's no need to worry about that, is there? Take care Winters. To a better world."
"To a cleaner future," he finished as she signed off, her projection disappearing as the lights and windows of the cabin came back on. He let out a shiver as he tried to shake off the chill he was always left with speaking with her. Sometimes he looked back on the first time he met her and wondered why he had made his deal. Why he risked everything he desired, everything he'd worked for, just for that little bit more that got him where he was today. The fabulous jet around him didn't feel so much a comfort after the reminder of just how he got it.
But then, if not him, who would it be? Someone else, that's who. There would always be someone else.
Winters sighed, then pushed his paperwork to the side and brought up his plans for his special project, mind whirling as he started to figure out the ways to speed production in a manner only he could do.
It had to be him. Someone else would get it wrong.
**HS**
Waves washed over him as he dived into the ocean, throwing up crashing surf in his haste, but knowing nobody was nearby to get washed away. He spared a moment to blast the last of the melting flesh of the anteverser kaiju he'd just murdered, then sent a rage-filled beam down the hole it had come out of, turning away as it exploded behind him and fell shut. There wasn't time for this, wasn't time for him to watch the hole close so he'd be sure it wouldn't open again. Wasn't time for him to melt the other monsters who'd come through. Wasn't time to rest, to heal, to do anything but make a line right back towards Solgel.
He didn't know what was happening yet, his sense of the situation wasn't that clear, but he could tell that whatever it was, it was bad, and going to get worse. He could say that about a lot of situations he'd been in over the years, so the feeling barely phased him, but he certainly didn't let himself slow down out of a sense of routine. He couldn't afford that, because someone else might get hurt if he didn't push himself as hard as he could. Someone might die if he didn't get there as fast as he possibly could. So he'd go, full speed ahead for as many hours as it took, and he'd be ready to fight when he got there, regardless of the fact that he hadn't slept for a few days at this point.
He'd go, and he'd fight, because he could, and thus he had to.
Godzilla growled to himself as he put on more speed, seeking out the nearest major current to increase his velocity further.
The King of the Monsters was on his way.
