Ghidorah settled himself to the leisure of grooming his wings and scales which he usually does before the start of the day taking care of anything that would hinder the golden dragon's appearance. After tending to their bodies, the heads started on each other in a team effort. San always enjoyed his grooming, purring in satisfaction whenever his brother cleaned him of the filth that attached to him. Ni didn't argue when it was his turn to be groomed due to him maintaining a higher standard like Ichi, glorying in their well-preserved form.
Soon after the dragons had fully groomed themselves, they had taken flight to acquire breakfast from the sea and sought to search the whale they craved so much. They had to tread carefully however in an event that there was a Kaiju crossing the sea for their exposure who regretfully cause Ghidorah to either engage the titan or flee to another part of the world where they hoped a Kaiju there would not discover them.
Ichi watched the sea carefully while the other two heads performed watched on either flank gazing across miles of open sea. Small islands littered the ocean, but all were voided of life or were too small to even sustain it. Ghidorah was hoping to find the mammals an easy task but coming across one would be rare. The animals lived in the ocean blue and only surfaced whenever they needed to breathe making it harder for the Kaiju to find them. This left Ghidorah scanning across miles upon miles of open sea grumbling to why the largest mammal on the planet had to be in the ocean where their greatest rival roamed. Even so, the ocean was large and vast and would day several days to cover it from top to bottom, left to right.
After an hour of screening the ocean for a sign of something one of the heads spotted something and alerted his brothers. Ghidorah casted a look towards their right flank watching a geyser of water sprout from the surface and they immediately acted. Lining up like a bomber ready to drop it payload, Ghidorah closed the distance between him and surfaced whale seizing the opportunity before the whale could submerge deeply back into the ocean.
Racing onto the unsuspecting whale, Ichi lowered his closer to the ocean surface until the exact moment was perfect. As soon as contact was made, Ichi clamped down hard onto his prey causing the whale to cry in fear and pain. It attempted to squirm free which was futile given that the whale fit snugged inside his mouth and his teeth penetrated its body deeply. Blood trailed down from his chin and drip back into the ocean as flesh was torn. The whale moments soon slowed and became limp inside his mouth. Such a meal would satisfy them, despite its small size, and paid no attention to it considering they all shared the same stomach. Nonetheless, each of head wanted to try a piece of the creature seeking to explore its flavor.
They planned to consume the animal once they arrived back at the volcano but suddenly a scent caught Ichi off guard barely missing it as they flew past and Ghidorah stopped dead in his tracks hovering several miles above the ocean blue. The two other brothers were confused at first until Ichi brought it to their attention. Such a smell wouldn't have bothered them, but it was the familiarity of it that drew their attention.
It smelled of burning charcoal and they knew only one person who could give off such a scent or strong odor. They didn't want to believe it since they assumed, he was dead, but it was too good to be true.
It smelled of the Fire Demon, Rodan…
Ghidorah had enough close encounters with the bird to become aware of his smell. It was very distinctive where some may cast it off as burning wood, but he knew it too well. Despite knowing it, Ghidorah was hesitant and the brothers argued that it had to be something else.
Was there a possibility that Rodan did survive? Ghidorah notice that scent pointed in the direction of a nearby island and that if they were mistaken it would spell doom for the dragon if they were discovered. They could've turned and went home discarding the smell as nothing more than a trick, possibly it being a dormant volcano.
There was conflict in their minds but Ichi made the call. He didn't know why he was drawn to the Fire Demon, whether it was out of concern or to discover the actual truth that he did perish in the battle. The others brothers urged Ichi to just return home, but his moral judgement got the better of him.
If there was a chance Rodan survived, Ichi wanted to know and the brothers gave in and accepted their brother decision. Ghidorah flew over to the island scanning the surroundings below. The land was vast and this placed each head on high alert if there was any Kaiju's nearby. If there was, Ghidorah would immediately leave. Thick forest vegetation covered most of the terrain along with a trail of mountains creating valley's that were separated by rivers.
The scent became stronger as Ghidorah encroached upon the land and they noticed that the smell originated from the bottom of a mountain. They soon slow they're decent as they neared a massive cave entrance where white spiderlike webbing scattered across the ground and massed against the edges and insides of the entrance. Ichi discarded the whale aside for the time being as they scanned the dense forest behind then and the dark cave that awaited them. The smell of charcoal was stronger than ever as they closed the distance to it before stopping at the foot of its opening. Ichi stared blankly into the abyss wondering if the Fire Demon was really in there and if he was, why?
"This feels like a trap," Ni said concerned for their safety.
Ichi huffed at his brothers worries. "Even if it were it would take more than webbing and oversized arachnids to defeat us."
"Overconfidence is what also got us killed," Ni responded, recalling the dreadful events against Godzilla that led to their demise.
"No, it was the voice that carelessly forced us to tackle Godzilla head on," Ichi growled.
"So why be careless now?" Ni argued.
"Guys I don't want to be here," San whimpered shuddering at the thought of seeing an eight eyed, eight-legged freak of nature. He didn't have a fear of spiders but despised how creepy in nature they looked.
The brothers bickered to each other exchanging their opinions of the situation arguing that they should just leave but Ichi dared not to budge. Ni almost came close to aggravating Ichi that he was putting their lives at risk but out of the blue a screech pierced the air. The three brothers snapped their heads towards the cave instantly recognizing the sound. It was undoubtedly Rodan and from the sound he emitted he was in pain, suffering from whatever aliments troubled him.
Ichi didn't need any more reason to convince his brothers and acted own his own will, stepping into the cave using electrical currents in their body to generate and illuminate themselves to see the dark cave much more easily. San, to his displeasure, kept watch above them and to their left flank while Ni did the same but watched the right flank. Ichi's head remained straight forward watching their step. They froze in place when they heard something skitter across the wall and checked their surroundings making sure nothing was waiting for them and occasional watched their back to make sure nothing would take the opportunity to strike the dragon with his back vulnerable.
It was obvious that they weren't alone and given how deep they were already inside the cave, there was no turning back and had to stay committed. The farther they went into the cave the more they ventured to enemy territory and went so far in that they soon began hearing chittering towards the end along with whimpers and cries. The noise gnawed at Ichi's mind tormenting him as he listened to the suffering that Rodan was enduring. He wanted to get there immediately but had to hold back from any rash decisions. Rushing blindly into the fire and not knowing what could be on the other side could spell disaster for the dragon despite being very powerful, their death against Godzilla had made them wiser and more careful.
They noticed there was faint light source ahead of them. They treaded carefully, slowing their moments to where it was like they were almost sneaking, despite their enormous size. The chittering combined with a present crackle was now within room distance of hearing. Ghidorah lowered stopped illuminating their bodies and stared at the sight before them. A massive arachnid sized creature almost bearing the same size to Scylla skittered across the ground moving around its nest unaware of its current visitor lurking at the front if its entrance. Straight across the room Ghidorah took notice of a faint red-orange glow immediately knowing who it was.
It was actually Rodan who was webbed up to a part of the wall head limp as he barely managed to voice his pain. He was indeed alive but barely. He seemed extremely weak from the lack of movement and almost seemed to be on the brink of death. Worriedness flashed across Ichi's face fearing that if they didn't act soon, Rodan would die. The giant spider crept towards Rodan and almost seemed to toy with the bird. It jutted its leg towards his chest and pushed a considerable amount against him causing the bird to screech in agony.
Rodan's pain and suffering enraged Ichi to where he was boiling with hate. He doesn't know when he starting feeling sympathy for the Fire Demon but seeing him being tormented and toyed with was enough for Ichi to make a move. His brothers felt the same way unable to witnessed the Fire Demon exhibit anymore of his pain and Ghidorah announced their presence to the creature with a bloodthirsty roar.
Slowly reacting, it spun around to meet the dragon, but Ghidorah had already unleased a volley of Gravity Beams at spider and sent it crashing against wall. A snap was heard as the spider shrilled in pain by one of its legs snapping against the wall causing its green blood to ooze onto the ground and drag a disfigured leg as it recovered and prepared to attack Ghidorah.
It hissed and raised its mandibles revealing its fangs and let loose a high-pitched screech. Ghidorah heard the cave around them burst to life as smaller and midsize spiders poured from openings in the cave wall and surrounded the golden dragon. Ghidorah didn't hesitate as they set the walls ablaze frying the spiders by the amount of electricity jolting through their bodies. The smaller ones withered away by the sheer power of the beams Ghidorah casted across them. The smell of burnt corpses polluted the air as Ghidorah continued its campaign against the hoard of endless spiders that emerged from the crevices in the cave.
The largest one spat webbing at Ghidorah covering him in its strong silk causing all the heads to be glued against the wall. The dragon wrestled against the silk and the swarm of spiders rushed him covering his entire body until not even a golden scale was present. The spiders barraged the dragon with its fangs in an attempt to pierce the skin and poison him. The largest spider screech in triumph as another prize was collected. It celebrated too soon however as light peered from the cracks of the swarm, screaming in pain as they were forced off Ghidorah as he unleashed a surge of electricity from his body. The entire swarm either baked or disintegrated as the electricity ricochet and bounced from victim to victim causing them to either explode or disintegrate by the sheer volume of heat and energy generated by this attack.
The ground sizzled around them from the remains of the corpses that begun polluting the air with a horrendous smell. The Kaiju-sized spider screeched in anger and charged at Ghidorah tackling his body into the wall behind him. The spider then sunk its fangs into his chest causing the golden dragon to cry out in pain. Acting quickly Ni and San lashed out onto the front legs capturing the limbs within their mouths. Biting down as hard as they could to secure the spider from freeing itself, Ghidorah used his immense strength to lift the spider off the ground and into the air where Ichi begun charging up a Gravity Beam. The spider struck the dragons head with its other legs as it struggled to free itself using everything it's power to free itself.
Ichi released his beam onto the spider and with synchronized coordination the brothers released the legs at the right moment. The sudden shift of weight and raw power behind the focused beam caused the spider to lose its grip on Ni and Sans head was sent crashing into the other side of the room taking the full impact. It landed on its back screeching in pain listening to the massive dragon move closer to it. It attempted to flip itself, but it was too late and Ghidorah was already holding it into place with his footed claws.
He sunk his claws into the creature growling with anger and hatred wanting to make it suffer just as Rodan did. The creature hissed and wriggled its legs. Ghidorah deep down had a sadistic nature to himself when it came to his enemies, but this was much worse than his previous encounters. Ghidorah in his time had never really cared for anyone other than their brothers but just seeing Rodan in so much agony sparked that nature to be brought to fruition. Whether it was Rodan's prior loyalty or Ghidorah unknowing care for the Kaiju, seeing his subject being mistreated in such a form angered the dragon.
The brothers mind was synchronized in battle and were capable of sharing emotions, pain and communication without having to taps one mind directly. Ichi mind fueled with hatred and raw bloodthirst to hear his opponents' cries. The emotion bounced between his brothers and soon they felt the same caving into the middle heads command.
"Do you feel this… pain?" Ichi asked despite knowing they're words were alien to the creature. He claws dug deeper into the exoskeleton of the creature hearing it snap and crackle under the dragon's pressure. The spider clawed at Ghidorah leg in a futile attempt to escape but Ghidorah didn't budge. Ni captured one of the creature's leg in his mouth and with little effort tore it from the spider's body. It screamed in pain and Ghidorah could see it pleading for its life and they grinned pleased with the outcome.
A small cry pulled the dragon from his trance and Ichi focused over to where Rodan struggled to his head seemingly trying to see what was happening. His strength failed him from his obvious state of weakness and his fell against the body of webbing before him. Ghidorah attention shifted and with a final thrust of strength to his leg, he crushed the spider's thorax, listening to the crackle of the exoskeleton shattering and felt its blood flood around his feet. The spider gave once last cry before becoming limp from a swift death.
"Rodan?" Ichi asked worried that the bird was already dead. A faint sound emitted from the bird as if he was reacting to his name being called but made no attempts to move. Ghidorah moved close to the Kaiju checking his body condition and Ichi brought his head next to Rodan's to stare into his eyes. Rodan weakly opened his eyes as to meet the dragon but exhausted as the bird was, he closed his eyes.
"He's alive… barely," Ichi remarked and started the task of removing the webbing from the bird. The heads combined they're efforts in removing the trapped bird from its prison discovering that Rodan must have been suffering from malnutrition given that the area around his stomach was smaller than usual and what seemed like the outline of his ribs were showing through his tough molten rock armor.
Ghidorah felt sympathy for the creature wondering what turn of events caused the Kaiju to end up in such a position. With extreme carefulness the dragon carefully placed the Kaiju onto the back of Ichi's head and along his wings to drape over each side to balance him out and prevent him from falling.
They will ensure the Kaiju's survival and bring him back to his original home where they will tend to his wounds ensuring he will have a swift rehabilitation. Rodan said nothing as he was being carried away by an unexpected rescuer, but he didn't even think the bird was even conscious. He knew he was still alive by feeling his heartbeat against his neck which he was thankful for not knowing he would feel if they arrived too late to save him. Exiting the cave entrance, they stopped to retrieve the discarded whale and begun they're ascent to fly home. How they will adapt to they're new occupant remains unknown and how Rodan survived the battle against Mothra, but he felt glad that the Kaiju was alive and hope the Kaiju remained royal to the golden dragon. They will see once the bird makes a full recovery.
Author Notes: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter as we finally adding got Rodan back Px. See you on the next chapter. Also, my twitter link has been added to my profile if you want a stream of updates on the next chapter or prefer just having fanfiction alerts. Thx for reading everyone. Px