Author's Notes and Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the 1978-79 Hanna-Barbera cartoon Godzilla: The Original Animated Series, Hanna-Barbera does, or should I say Warner Bros. does. This incarnation of Godzilla is owned by H-B and Toho. I only own my self-insert, Vicky. I also do not own the story that is based on the second episode of this series. Also, anything in bold when a kaiju character is speaking/thinking means that they are speaking/thinking in their native language.

Recap: San Francisco, California appears to be suffering from mysterious sinkholes. What's causing it? (We know what, of course).

Now, let's bring in the heroes of the story.

CHAPTER 2

San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate Bridge, 10:00 hours

"There it is, Quinn: San Francisco," Captain Majors announced to his friend, biologist Dr. Quinn Darien as he steered the Calico into the calm waters of San Francisco Bay. They had been summoned to a convention about a month into their Pacific Island search for the rogue Monster Island Search Division signal, which had had no success.

"Yes, and it makes me a little nervous, Carl," Quinn confessed. "I've never had to speak to an entire scientific convention before. Nor have I ever expected to."

"Relax, you'll do fine," he assured her.

"I was quite content to be a 'free-lance scientist'; not having to answer to governmental pressure. Whatever discoveries I made I could put to use for everyone's benefit. And now the only topic that seems to be on every scientific mind are 'kaiju' or 'Titans' or whatever they want to call them. Carl," she continued, gravely concerned, "I don't know what I'm going to tell them. I won't have Godzilla and Godzooky exploited, nor Vicky. If the scientific community got wind of her and her knowledge of Godzilla and Zooky's home, who knows what could happen to them?"

Captain Majors put a comforting arm around the worried scientist, knowing that her concern was well-justified. To the world, with a minimum number of exceptions, Godzilla and the kaiju were threats to humanity. However, through Vicky and the time spent with the two saurians, the crew of the Calico had come to know another side of them; there was trust and a need to protect. There was also loyalty, love, and a sense of family. And there was no better evidence than the way all of them-the Calico crew, Vicky, and the two kaiju-all interacted together. This was something to be learned from, not used as a means to an end. Unfortunately, that wasn't how the world worked.

"I'd better let everyone know we're almost there," Captain Majors told Quinn. After giving her another comforting side hug, he reached for the microphone that was connected to the ship's announcement system.

"All right! Look alive down there!" the captain's voice ordered over the intercom on the deck. "Brock! Pete! Vicky! San Francisco off the starboard bow!"

Pete, nephew of Dr. Quinn Darien, a boy about 12 years of age, took the news with his hands on his waist and an exasperated expression. "Oh no!" he groaned. "We're almost there and no Godzooky!"

Godzooky, Pete's best friend and adopted nephew of Godzilla, had not been seen since the early hours of the morning, and Pete was getting worried.

"Well, we checked the Calico from stem to stern, Pete," said Brock, Dr. Darien's assistant and first mate of the Calico.

Vicky, the Calico's newest member and another close friend of the young kaiju, cupped her chin and scrunched her face in expressive thought. By now, the crew was already familiar with her…"over-expressiveness", shall we call it? While annoying to many folks, it definitely came in handy for human-to-kaiju conversation, almost like an actor's reading session; Godzooky's responses would be bounced off from Vicky's face and tone of voice, thus enabling some better degree of translation. Her face soon relaxed and her eyes widened, having come up with an idea.

"Maybe he went for a swim," she suggested, making her way to the bow railing, Brock and Pete not far behind.

The three of them leaned over and began calling for the youngling. In the span of a minute of calling, the bow tilted upward, forcing them to hold onto the railing so that they wouldn't slide (the others in the wheelhouse also having to hold on tight).

The youngling in question, Godzooky, had just surfaced from a social swim with Godzilla, and was currently unaware of the chaos he was causing until the familiar voice of Pete called: "Up here, Godzooky! Up here!" Tilting his head back, Zooky soon recognized the white color of the Calico's hull.

"C'mon, fella! Put us down!" Pete yelled.

"Down! Please!" Vicky begged, straining to keep a strong grip on the railing.

Godzooky submerged in compliance to the panicked command, letting the bow come down with a splash, soaking the faces (and glasses) of his friends. Vicky coughed to get the water out of her nose and throat and blindly used her sweatshirt to wipe her eyes. She then opened the storage menu of her watch to find a suitable wipe for her glasses, and ended up using a tissue. She then looked up to see a still-dripping-wet Godzooky now flying, courtesy of wings under his arms, towards the deck and tapped the button at the 12. The young one soon landed hard, causing the Calico to rock back and forth some.

"Hey, you gotta watch that Godzooky," Brock told the soaked saurian.

"Yeah, Brock's right, Zooky; you've gotta be more careful," Pete concurred.

"Unless someone's lookin' for another time-out?" Vicky finished in a sing-songy, warning tone with a raised eyebrow and head tilted downwards with her eyes still in contact with the youngster, her way of showing warning intimidation.

"No, ma'am! Yes, sir! I'm sorry!" Zooky said quickly. "Ya just…caught me."

"Caught you?" Vicky parroted. Then it hit her. "Oh? O-oh! Oh! I see. Quality time; I gotcha," she said, nodding and smiling in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Zuke," Pete apologized. "But we're almost at San Francisco. You don't wanna miss it, do ya?" he asked.

Zooky shook his head, then proceeded to shake himself dry, sending water droplets all over the deck and on Pete and Brock. The two of them then looked at Vicky to see her shaking her watch arm, the rest of her completely dry.

"What?" she asked with a giggling catch in her voice at their surprised faces. "Apparently my shield makes for a great umbrella, too."

A few minutes after, the crew began noticing something odd about their surroundings.

"That's strange; the city sounds so quiet," Dr. Darien observed.

"Maybe it's just an off day?" Vicky suggested in a tone that had hope that there wasn't catastrophe afoot.

The answer was "doubtful".

Everyone scanned the city for any sign of life. A breeze blew out from the city. The minute it hit Godzooky's nostrils, he recoiled and cringed. Seeing this, the crew became uneasy. According to common knowledge, many animals had heightened senses, such as a dog's hearing and sense of smell, that enabled them to survive better, and from what they just saw, it was apparent something terrible had occurred. Godzooky looked to Vicky, asking for an explanation of the smell, which he remembered only faintly from a long-ago incident. The girl turned her head to the wind and the stench evoked memories; bad ones. Seeing a loved one in a casket and being close enough to breathe it in: death.

"You okay?" Zooky asked the girl gently, seeing the expression of sadness on her face.

She wanted to say "no", but replied "yes", removed her glasses to wipe her eyes, and stepped back inside the wheelhouse.

"Quinn, everyone," Captain Majors suddenly said, pointing out the window to San Francisco's most famous landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge. "Look over there."

As they drew closer, they could hear car horns and soon saw that the bridge was clustered with vehicles, all departing the city.

"Looks like everyone's trying to leave town," Dr. Darien observed.

"What is going on?" Vicky questioned demandingly, her sympathetic side reaching out to all those people.

"Casualties are still climbing as this disaster continues," came a voice over the Calico's radio. They had picked up radio waves being broadcasted. "Everyone must evacuate at once. Repeat, all citizens must evacuate the city before-"

"We've lost contact," Brock announced as the broadcast was suddenly cut off.

Apprehension spread amongst the crew.

Something tells me the scientific convention is going to be the least of our worries, Quinn thought.

Intermittent rumbling began to sound off in the direction of the bridge, and shortly after, the Golden Gate Bridge began to sway precariously.

"Something's wrong; that bridge is about to collapse!" Quinn exclaimed.

"But the Golden Gate Bridge was built to withstand earthquakes!" Vicky yelped in frightened confusion. "It shouldn't be doing that!"

"What about all those cars?" Pete pointed out. "A bridge can only hold so many."

Vicky understood the angle Pete was coming from: Bridges, no matter what they were made of, had their limits. However, that still didn't quell her panic.

"We'd better call Godzilla," Pete suggested.

"I'd better get out there, too," Vicky added, preparing her hoverboard. "I think the evacuees will respond better to a human giving directions."

"All right. But be careful," Captain Majors warned her.

The girl gave a nod of agreement before taking off for the crumbling bridge. Godzilla emerged from the water after being summoned by the signaler just as Vicky reached the bridge and began yelling directions to the evacuees at the top of her lungs.

"DON'T WORRY, FOLKS!" Vicky yelled as the already-frightened motorists began to panic more at the sight of Godzilla approaching. "GODZILLA'S COMING TO HELP! PLEASE FOLLOW MY DIRECTIONS: AGAIN, THOSE PAST THE SECOND BREAKING POINT, PLEASE KEEP GOING! THOSE BEHIND THE FIRST BREAKING POINT, PUT YOUR VEHICLES INTO REVERSE AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTION! THOSE IN BETWEEN, REMAIN IN YOUR VEHICLES! GODZILLA WILL BE HERE SHORTLY! GOJI!" Vicky then began addressing her friend, who was now practically next to the bridge. "THIS PIECE IS ABOUT TO GO! BE VERY CAREFUL; THERE ARE STILL CIVILIANS ON IT!"

Godzilla nodded in response to the girl's warning, also noticing the intense fear in the atmosphere. He was almost taken aback by it; it was like the fear he sensed from Vicky when he first met her, but multiplied by a hundred thousand. Why had he never felt this kind of fear in any of the other places he had been like that before? The simple answer was that he had never really paid much mind to it. He had always usually been too focused on defeating an enemy, and it had been a while since he had been in a populated area, so he had practically forgotten what a populace's fear felt like. But that was then. Now, he did not like it at all. And it was because he sensed that, although he had unintentionally added to the panic, there was a greater threat at work, one that also left the stench of death in the air. This discovery, for the first time in a long time, sent a chill down the Prince of the Monsters' back as he submerged a little to get under the bridge.

Meanwhile, the crew and Godzooky watched the rescue begin to unfold, rather helpless to make any difference. Or at least, the humans thought. Godzooky, on the other hand, decided to contribute and took off from the Calico's deck toward his uncle and Vicky.

"Godzooky! Come back here!" Pete called.

Once again, Godzooky ignored his friend and continued flying over.

"GET READY, GOJ!" Vicky yelled as the cracks on the bridge began increasing. "IT'S ABOUT TO COME LOOSE! GODZOOKY!" she then called, noticing the youngling.

Zooky quickly stopped, expecting a reprimand and a command to turn around, but instead, the command that came was: "LEAD THE CIVILIANS OFF THE BRIDGE!"

The youngling could hardly believe his ears; he was being asked to help. Looking to his uncle for confirmation, he got an affirming nod in return. Zooky returned that nod and flew off to lead the remaining cars ahead of the break out of danger. It took a minute or two for the panicked motorists to come out of their frightened, and now confused, stupors to pay attention to the little kaiju's directions, but a good portion of them managed to get across just as the piece of bridge Godzilla was under broke.

Godzilla very carefully held the bridge piece above his head and walked slowly to avoid making any of the cars still aboard fly or roll off. Vicky used her now-larger shield to provide a backboard for those not quite off what was left of the bridge.

A metallic, vibrating sound suddenly filled the air, drawing everyone's attention. The sound grew louder, and Vicky was the first to notice that some of the cables that held the bridge were trembling. Her eyes widened; without the bridge piece that broke off, what was left between the first tower and San Francisco was about to drop. Not only that, but when those cables snapped, they would surely hit the remaining evacuees, herself, and Godzooky if they didn't move fast enough.

That latter thought also hit Godzilla's mind as he looked back at the bridge. In his first in-city battle, he had broken a similar bridge and ended up getting scratched by the flailing cables. Not one of his most serious injuries, but they had stung like crazy when inflicted. Godzilla carefully picked up his pace and soon set the bridge piece down on the opposite shore, then turned back to the bridge as the cables began to come undone.

Godzooky, meanwhile, had been helping move a family's station wagon across—it had somehow gotten a flat tire—when he became aware of the weakening bridge cables. He also began picking up his pace, but it wasn't fast enough; the cables were about ready to snap. Thinking quickly, in his native language and using a form of charades, he told the family to get out of the car and onto his back. Still frightened, the family interpreted the command and obeyed, taking what they could with them.

Godzooky had gotten about a yard-and-a-half away when Vicky yelped, "SCATTER!" The cables snapped. Vicky recalibrated her shield to encircle her and sped away. Godzooky had to make some quick maneuvers to avoid getting hit. Godzilla shielded his nephew from some incoming cables he couldn't avoid, resulting in deep scratches along his muzzle, arms, and chest which were accompanied by quick growls of pain. The Calico crew watched in worry and horror. As soon as the metallic twanging of loose suspension cables ceased, Godzilla turned to the Calico crew, bearing the scratches like whip lashes, and Vicky and Godzooky, the family still on his back, came into view.

Godzilla and Godzooky gave their "I'm OK" calls.

Vicky shouted, "WE'RE ALL OK! NO-ONE WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED!"

The crew let out a collective breath that they didn't know they were holding. With Vicky following, Godzooky then deposited the family on the opposite shore, where some police officers and emergency medical vehicles were waiting to transport them. Vicky gave them the routine "Are you folks all right? Will you be fine?" questions before they both left, but not before the family's 10-year-old daughter gave Godzooky a hug and a kiss of gratitude on the nose.

Vicky and Godzooky then went back to the San Francisco shoreline to direct the remaining people to the next nearest bridge at Oakland Bay or the next ferry. Godzilla even contributed himself as a ferry, earning a surprised smile of admiration and a look of "Sometimes you really surprise me" from Vicky. About two hours later, all the evacuees were in safety, leaving San Francisco deserted.

"That was a tough job," Vicky commented, wiping her face of sweat. "Nice work, you two," she told the saurians.

"Thanks," Godzooky said, a big smile on his maw. "It was great that I got to help."

Godzilla, his injuries now barely visible thanks to his special healing factor, growled a "Thank you", as well as a warning of "Be careful" before departing. Vicky and Godzooky then went back to the Calico, where they were promptly peppered with worried questions and concerns of injuries.

Once all concerns were waylaid, the Calico crew looked back at the now-deserted city and questions and speculation were brought into the open.

"What do you think's happened?" Pete asked.

"Maybe a quake?" Brock offered. "I mean, the way it shook the bridge."

"An earthquake would have shaken the whole city, Brock," Dr. Darien noted.

"We would've felt it out here, too, right?" Vicky asked the scientist, having learned about earthquakes and their effects in her science classes. "I mean, the shifting plates would have created waves, right?"

"Right," Dr. Darien affirmed.

"But what else could it have been?" asked Captain Majors, more confused than ever.

"That's what we're going to find out, Carl," the biologist answered. "And it looks like we're going to have help," she added, noticing a small group of Army helicopters on the San Francisco shoreline that had arrived before the bridge incident.

"I just hope they don't mind us droppin' in," Vicky said, looking uneasy.

Well, there you have it. Not even five minutes in San Francisco and the trouble is already starting. And, as you can see, besides making Godzooky a bit more useful as the character was deemed "unnecessary" in the original material (he was really there to "sort of get the kids going"), I've upped the stakes in this version based on the episode; people are going to get hurt. Even die. I know that's not the style of the original, kid-friendly material, but when those opening scenes in the episode played, you can't ignore that people were killed when those buildings went down. Some other details are also going to get changed around a bit and/or added, such as the inclusion of the Army.

Next time, we meet the army soldiers who stationed themselves in San Francisco. A head's-up; if you're keen on voice actors and Hanna-Barbera, you're going to see a lot of familiar names related to that studio in terms of staff and voice actors that worked there. (In other words, prepare for some geeking-out on the part of the authoress).

On another, more serious note…there will be some serious topics talked about. And remember what I mentioned in the last chapter about more serious consequences being involved, the fear and death factor being high, and something bad will be happening to a character? Well, brace yourselves, we'll be getting there very soon…

As always, read and review, and hang in there. Thank you.