A/N: I like to be able to reply to my reviewers who took the time to review. At the bottom of the story are my responses. Thanks for reviewing, and if you haven't, please feel free to do so!

Mokujin

Chapter Two

August 6th, 1945

Mokujin awoke with a start. Energy beckoned him. It was greater than anything he had felt in eons. He never felt more… alive. With his increased vision he scanned his surroundings. A museum… and he was apparently an exhibit. Mokujin felt the energy somewhere. And his substance- the wood of the magic tree- craved energy. With ease Mokujin broke out of his glass box and ran at inhuman speeds. He ran east, the source of the energy, the Land of the Rising Sun.

Mokujin felt the mushroom cloud rising towards the heavens. He wanted to absorb the atomic energy, heal the suffering, live. He ran without stopping, he didn't feel tiredness. In fact, he felt stronger as his destination became closer. And then he stopped. There was an ocean blocking him. He stared down at the chains around his wrist, where he hung at the museum. And then he felt his wooden arm, and then his wooden head, and found a small chip of him was missing.

Meanwhile, the guards examined the break at the museum.

"A dummy from a magical ancient tree, you say?" One of the cops said as he turned to the museum owner. "What motive could anyone have? Why didn't the 'thieves' steal something worth value?"

"Actually, it was…"

"What I mean is, this, of all things, was what the thief wanted? Maybe it fell and some chap picked it up. We'll post bulletins."

The surviving carpenter, late in his eighties, got a phone call that night. "It escaped? Do you have any of its wood left? A small chip of wood, you say? Could it possibly be from the Mokujin? Good. Bring it to me. I would like to try something."

The old carpenter turned to his work, trying to make sense of what happened years ago, when the dummy came to life during the Siberia Explosion.

"Well, we'll finally see it it's true," he said as he opened the curtain on his prized work, a platinum model of mokujin, missing one little piece on its back… a piece to be filled with the magic wood. "Soon you will be among the living, my creation!"

Two days later, another massive cloud erupted into a mushroom, escaping the earth and reaching for space.

Mokujin felt the energy diminishing, and slouched as it made its way to its only home in the museum.

The old carpenter hastily inserted the ancient wood and put splinters throughout miniature slots in the machine. He sat down. The metal mokujin sat down as well. The carpenter offered his hand. The titanium model mimicked him and they shook hands. "Welcome, Tetsujin."

Replies to reviews from Chapter ONE

FlamingFenix: Thanks for your review! As soon as I get the chance, I'll see your work!

tombraidergirl: Thanks! I hope this story gets some attention, too.

Ryu Ematsu: I reviewed your novelization so far, and it's looking pretty good!

Thanks to all of you for your support!