A/N Hey, everyone. I'm back with the sixth chapter of my first Godzilla fanfic. First of all, I want to thank some of you for the favourite and the follows because that's what allows me to keep going with stories like this. In this chapter, Will, Bianca, and Sonya learn the truth about Monarch as well as encountering the alpha predator Godzilla. So, sit back and enjoy the sixth chapter of this Godzilla fanfic.
I only own my OCs. All of the characters belong to Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures.
Janjira, May 15th, 2014
The following morning was a disaster. Several workers were dead as a result of the flying monster causing destruction before flying away into the night. So, here I was with Will, Sonya, and Ford, doing our best to look after our father figures. Bodies were being loaded into bags and taken to ambulances and other vehicles to be taken away to the nearest hospital morgues while those who survived were being rushed to the nearest emergency medical units for examination and hopeful treatment. I didn't really imagine on how this summer break was gonna go because there are now monsters on the loose.
"This area is now under NATO military jurisdiction… All personnel must report to duty officers for debrief," called an announcer over a loudspeaker.
Dr. Serizawa stood among the wreckage, examining the damage done and looking over at the bodies which were being collected. Serizawa was then approached by Dr. Graham and a tall African gentleman in American military uniform.
"Doctor Serizawa!" Graham called to him as she jogged in his direction avoiding the men carrying body bags.
"Doctor Serizawa!" She called again, approaching and laying a hand on his arm as he didn't respond to the first two calls.
"Doctor Serizawa," she said more quietly this time.
"Captain Russell Hampton. Glad to find you sir," the captain said.
"I've been briefed on your work with operation MONARCH. Now I'm told your organization has situation awareness of our unidentified creature?"
Serizawa slowly looked over to him in silence.
"Is that right?" The captain asked again.
Serizawa offered a single nod of his head in response.
"I'm here to inform you that we are now taking over operational authority from MONARCH. So I'm gonna need you to come with me. Is there any other personnel you need?" The captain asked.
Serizawa turned and looked around.
His eyes came across more dead bodies… A lot of help they'd be at this point. He kept searching faces of the living, scanning over each one individually as quickly as he could until he happened to see both Joe and Ford Brody as well the civilians preparing to board an ambulance. Joe was hurt pretty badly with his head and neck in a brace with Ford looking out for him as best he could. And the civilians were doing their best to keep Frank alive. Serizawa pointed across the way towards Joe and Ford, including the civilians, looking back to the captain.
"Them," he said.
The four of us, including Ford and Joe were whisked away on a chopper heading out of Janjira towards the Pacific Ocean. Joe lay in a medical bed with Ford leaning over the side trying to keep Joe calm and assuring him he'd be all right. I was sitting between Will and Sonya helping Uncle Frank to take deep breaths and making sure he stays alive.
"Dad, you're gonna be okay. Just stay with us," said Sonya as she held Uncle Frank's hand.
Will rests his hand on Uncle Frank's shoulder, trying to get the words out.
"Mr. Jackson, try to stay awake. We're gonna get you medical attention, okay?" said Will.
Uncle Frank struggles to speak and I carefully removed the oxygen mask.
"You three have to promise me something. Make sure you stick together. And don't ever get yourselves killed," he said.
"Don't you dare say that, dad. I'm not losing you," said Sonya.
"Shh… Shh… Dad," Ford said quietly.
Joe's vitals ticked by slowly and steadily, as he was stable for the time being. Serizawa looked on sadly, watching Joe and Ford interact quietly and carefully as Joe tried to speak. Ford reached out and took off the breather his father was wearing to let him speak.
"Hey… Hey…" Joe whispered.
"You gotta," he continued, cut off by Ford.
"You were right… I'm sorry," Ford said, the latter part of his response to Joe being particularly full of sadness and exposed regret.
"… G-g… Go home to your family," Joe said.
Ford leaned away a bit, taking in a breath.
"Keep them safe… O-okay?… Whatever it takes," Joe continued weakly.
"Whatever it… tak-…" Joe's words trailed off as he closed his eyes and his vitals started to drop.
"Hey, stay with me," Ford said quietly.
"Dad…?" He asked.
"Dad?!" He asked again, more forcefully.
"How's his pulse?" Asked one of the medics.
"It's getting weaker I can barely feel it," responded the other.
"We're losing him!" The first one said again.
"Joe, can you hear me?" Asked the second.
"He's going into afib!" Said the first.
"Give me another EPI, one milligram!" Ordered the second, with EPI being a shot of adrenaline.
"Stay with us!" Come on Joe, hang in there!" The medics said.
Uncle Frank's vitals then started dropping.
"Dad? Please say something," Sonya pleaded.
"His pulse is getting weaker. We need to keep him stabilized!" one of the medics said.
"Come on, Uncle Frank! Stay with us! Don't die on us!" I cried.
Will grabbed the sides of his head, trying not to freak out. I felt tears stinging my eyes as I was about to lose Uncle Frank at any moment now.
Sonya watched as Ford sat there watching his father in shock, grabbing furiously at the sides of his head and rocking back and forth as he tried to keep himself calm. Consciously, this was a psychological response to keep himself calm. Subconsciously, he was trying to keep himself calm to further help keep his father calm should he pull through.
The adrenaline would hopefully be of help, but there was no way to tell at the moment.
Ford could barely contain himself as his hands closed into fists at the sides of his head and he fought back tears hoping that his father would be all right. Serizawa watched in silence, silently hoping as well that Joe would pull through.
There were many things he wanted to ask him about his work in the plant fifteen years ago and there were even more things he would have to tell Joe should he survive. Joe was right.
He deserved answers, and Serizawa had to the chance to give him those answers if Joe were able to survive this ordeal.
Serizawa looked to Dr. Graham, who also sat in silence with a look of sadness on her face. Not more than twenty minutes later, the chopper landed on the deck of the USS Saratoga, an aircraft carrier in the US Navy just off the coast of Japan.
Joe and Uncle Frank were rushed to the infirmary where the medics scrambled to help keep them alive as the four of us were taken along with them.
Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graham were asked to go to the planning room, where the current military leader of this operation was now giving a speech about how to deal with this new threat.
"This is our needle in a haystack people!" He said, pointing towards a series of television monitors displaying footage of the creature from before.
"M.U.T.O., Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. It is however no longer terrestrial, it is airborne. Now the world still thinks this was an earthquake and it would be preferable that that remained so. Before we lost sight of it it was headed east across the Pacific, and had emitted enough emp to create havoc with our radar and satellite feeds and reduce us, for the moment, to a strictly visual pursuit. I emphasize "for the moment," because we will get on our game… And we will find this thing," he said, turning back to face the crew.
"It is imperative that we do so," he concluded.
"Captain I want any and all search options on this table ASAP," he said.
"Yes, sir," Captain Russell responded.
The man in charge walked over to Dr. Serizawa, who had just arrived.
"Dr. Serizawa… Admiral William Stenz," he said, extending his hand.
Serizawa shook his hand, responding with "Nice to meet you," before the admiral continued.
"Glad to have you on board," Stenz said.
"Sensei," Graham said from the door, beckoning Serizawa over.
"Excuse me," Serizawa said to the admiral.
Serizawa jogged over to Graham, who whispered to him that Joe Brody and Frank Jackson were both awake and had been moved to the meeting room where they could finally discuss with both men what happened at the plant fifteen years ago to give him some closure, as well as inform him of what they were planning to do next. Serizawa then walked into the room, taking a moment to acknowledge the Brody's including Frank and the civilians as he and Graham walked over to the table.
"Gentlemen. Ladies," Serizawa began.
"I am glad to see that the four of you are here," he said, walking over to Joe's and Uncle Frank's bedside.
"Mr. Brody and Mr. Jackson , it is nice to meet you," he said, reaching down and putting his hand on Joe's own since Joe was still too weak to raise his hand to shake.
"Thanks," Joe replied softly.
Dr. Serizawa then shook his hand with Uncle Frank's.
"Pleasure's all mine, Dr. Serizawa," Uncle Frank responded.
Serizawa nodded, looking to Ford.
"Lieutenant," he said with a nod.
Ford nodded back.
Dr. Serizawa then looked at the three of us next.
"You must be the civilians," he said.
Will nodded as he held the briefcase in his right hand.
"Dr. Serizawa, Dr. Graham. My late father has some paperwork that's related to the flying monster and I think the information might be helpful," said Will.
"It is my hope that you will both agree there is much to talk about," Serizawa said as Graham walked in quietly behind him.
Joe nodded his head.
"Yeah there is… I was right, wasn't I?" He asked.
Serizawa nodded.
"Your data confirmed that it was the giant creature fifteen years ago which caused the meltdown, also resulting in the loss of your wife… My condolences," Serizawa said sincerely, bowing his head slightly.
Joe nodded, closing his eyes as they filled with tears.
"I've been searching f-… for fifteen years. It's nice to finally know why she died," Joe said quietly, letting his tears fall.
Ford too shed a few silent tears, patting his dad's shoulder. Serizawa and Graham looked at one another, sharing a silent moment of happiness for the pair as they could both close this chapter of their lives and finally move forward.
"Now, Mr. Brody and Mr. Jackson," Serizawa continued.
"I have many things to show you. Please direct your attention to the screen behind me," he said, backing away so Joe could get a better look.
The projection device fired up and began showing footage of the USS Nautilus in 1954, as well as other images of special events taking place during that time.
"In 1954, the first time a nuclear submarine ever reached the lower depths… It awakened something," Serizawa began.
"The Americans first thought that it was the Russians. The Russians thought that it was them… All those nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific," Graham said.
The screen showed footage of the nuclear bombs going off one by one, ending with the Castle Bravo footage.
"… Not tests,' Graham continued.
"They were trying to kill it," Serizawa added.
The footage then cut to a massive creature rising out of the water with a nuclear warhead in the foreground. It froze after just a moment, showing the spines and tremendous body of some kind of enormous reptilian creature. I was shocked by what I was seeing. And I started to realize the truth about the cover-up and it was a lie.
"Him…" Serizawa continued.
"An ancient, alpha predator," Serizawa said.
"Millions of years older than mankind. From an age when the world was ten times more radioactive than it is today. This animal, and other like it, consumed this radiation as a food source. But as the levels on the surface naturally subsided, these creatures adapted to live deeper in the oceans, further underground, absorbing radiation from the planets core. The organization we work for, MONARCH, was established in the wake of this discovery. A multinational coalition formed in secrecy to search for him. Study him. Learn everything we could," Graham told the two.
"We call him…" Serizawa turned to the two men.
"Gojira."
"In other words, his name in English is Godzilla," Will muttered.
"The top of a primordial ecosystem… A God, for all intents and purposes," Graham stated.
"A monster," Ford whispered.
Joe and Uncle Frank listened quietly and watched the screen, studying Godzilla's anatomy and the way he moved from what little footage was shown. Godzilla moved similarly to a crocodile in the water, but his back remained largely straight using only his tail as a means of propulsion rather than undulating his entire spine left and right like his much smaller reptilian counterpart. The spines were unique as well, and Joe could not figure out what purpose they could possibly serve. They didn't appear to have the kind of surface area needed to regulate body heat, though perhaps the sheer number of them served the purpose anyway but he couldn't be sure. Godzilla also seemed to spend much of his time under the water which meant that he had to either have a tremendous lung capacity or he could breathe underwater which meant he had gills somewhere. Sonya, Will, and I were shocked by what Godzilla looks like. I started to realize why my parents had hidden the truth about their work and their involvement with Monarch.
"Fifteen years ago we found the fossil of another giant animal in the Philippines, like Godzilla. But this creature died long ago, killed by these," Serizawa said as the screen showed images and footage of the MUTO pods.
"Parasitic spores," Graham added.
"One dormant, but the other hatched. Catalyzed when a mining company unknowingly drilled into its tomb," she continued, looking to make sure Joe and Ford were on the same page.
"The hatchling burrowed straight for the nearest source of radiation, Joe's power plant in Janjira, and cocooned there for fifteen years absorbing its radioactive fuel to gestate, to grow."
"Until it hatched, like a butterfly, into the creature you saw last night," Serizawa added.
"Whoa, wait. You knew about this?" Ford asked.
Joe cleared his throat, and Ford immediately looked to his father.
"It's all right Ford… What could they have done?" He asked.
"They could have killed it when they had the chance!" Ford said angrily.
Joe shook his head.
"No son… If they had tried, it might have released the radiation it was absorbing into the environment which would have endangered countless lives."
Ford was not convinced, but he trusted his father's word and silenced himself and subdued his anger.
"Sorry," Joe whispered to Serizawa.
Serizawa nodded, happy that Joe was strong enough to contribute to the conversation.
"So this Godzilla… You said that the nuclear tests were attempts to kill it, right?" He asked weakly.
Serizawa and Graham both nodded.
"Why were they only "attempts." Shouldn't they have worked?" Joe asked.
Serizawa shook his head.
"Godzilla managed to survive the Castle Bravo nuclear strike, a blast yielding fifteen Megatons of energy. That amount of power should have vaporized him, but Gojira managed to survive. We don't know where he is right now, but we do know that he is alive because he was seen walking retreating from the area around an hour after the bomb went off," Serizawa said.
"We believe that Godzilla's sheer size was his salvation. The inverse cube law dictates that the greater the amount of matter energy released during an explosion has to pass through, the less energy actually makes it through. The energy which did manage to make it through Godzilla's body caused damage to his internal organs and bones, but the rest of it either passed over and around or ended up causing the burns when the extreme heat next struck his body. Thanks to his body being submerged in water, the few fractions of a second those temperatures remained were not enough to reach him. The evaporation process of the water covering him sucked away most of the thermal energy allowing him to just barely survive the blast," Graham added.
"Godzilla received grievous injuries from the blast, but he survived all the same," Serizawa stated as he pointed to the screen.
The next image was a still taken by Serizawa's father of Godzilla right before he retreated into the depths of the ocean that day. His body was littered with darkened burns and exposed bone on his shoulders, hands, spines, and even on his face. His left arm was hanging as if broken and useless, with his left side slumping which was a clear indication of a limp. But all the same, as Serizawa stated, he had survived.
"I still don't understand," Joe said quietly.
"The thermal energy alone released during the blast should have vaporized him… Was the water really enough?" He asked.
Serizawa nodded.
"Barely," he responded.
"The water covering his body acted, if you will, as a buffer. The bulk of the thermal energy was absorbed during the momentary evaporation process and the residual heat was powerful enough to burn him severely but not kill him. The blast force as well was buffered by the water, as it is denser than air, shielding him from the vast majority of the blast's power. Even at fifteen Megatons, Godzilla is at least a quarter mile away from the blast as you can see from this image. We estimate him to be around three hundred and fifty feet in height judging by the photograph, and again his sheer size was also one of the keys to his salvation. The inverse cube law worked in his favor, and his body's natural durability did the rest," Graham concluded.
"So, basically we're dealing with a giant monster who absorbs radiation and how he was able to withstand the nuclear bomb. That's a really strange discovery," said Uncle Frank.
Joe rested his head back.
"What a creature," he whispered, completely awe of Gojira's survival power.
Serizawa nodded, pleased at Joe's fascination and awe at Gojira.
"Wait a sec," Ford interjected.
"You said this thing feeds on radiation right? Wouldn't a nuke's radiation make it stronger or something then?" He asked.
Serizawa shook his head.
"A "food" source and a "power" source are two very different things lieutenant," Graham said.
"Only around five percent of a nuclear bomb's energy upon detonation is radiation energy, and even then it would only serve to slate Godzilla's hunger. It would not in any way make him stronger," Graham continued as he looked to Joe.
"Mr. Brody, I hate to ask but now we must turn the conversation around. We have told you what we know, and now we ask that you tell us what you know," Graham said.
Joe nodded, taking a moment to collect his thoughts.
"After the death of my wife, Sandra, I started doing research on the incident at a rather rapid pace. I gathered every document and print out I could of that day and studied the conspiracies surrounding it for years. I also started studying bioacoustics, as I didn't believe for a second that the emp was caused by anything "unnatural," as most of the reports were saying."
"Wait, bioacoustics?" Graham asked.
"Yes… Echolocation," Joe responded.
"That creature wasn't just emitting an emp. It was "talking."" Joe continued.
"Talking?" Serizawa asked.
"Yes… Talking," Joe responded.
"If the MUTO was talking that day… Did you find a response call?" Serizawa asked.
"A response?" Joe asked.
Serizawa nodded.
"An identical but separate call, perhaps even right after the MUTO's own… Check again," Serizawa said to Graham.
"Yep," she responded as she got up to sift through the data they had acquired so far.
"So what now?" Ford asked.
"The MUTO is young… Growing. It will be looking for food," he said.
"We're monitoring all known sites but… If we don't find it soon," she said, trailing off.
"Then what?" Ford asked.
"Nature has an order. A power to restore balance," Serizawa started, turning towards the still image of Godzilla.
"I believe he is that power," he concluded.
"So, the MUTO is communicating with another creature. You don't think it has something to do with Gozilla, right?" I asked.
"I don't know. Whatever the MUTO has communicated with, it can't be good," Will answered.
And that's the end of the sixth chapter of the Godzilla fanfic for now. So what did you guys think? Was it cheesy? So in the next chapter, Will, Bianca, and Sonya encounter Godzilla for the first time and they're about to realize the stories of giant monsters are about to become a reality they may never escape from.
