Chapter 5: Déjà vu?
Hollow Earth Temple on Skull Island
25th, November 2019
The pelting sounds of running feet are drowned out by a sudden thunderous explosion in the Ancient Temple's Sacred Chamber as the parasite breaks out of its cocoon. Smashing its way out of the husk, it heavily crashes down onto the stone brick surface beneath itself, cracking the aging stone. Uncoiling its arms and legs, it stretches out and flexes them, before rearing its head back and uttering a shrieking howl.
Picking itself off the ground it surveys its surroundings. Noticing it is surrounded by the skeleton of a larger creature, it moves to free itself. Exiting through the bones using its long and slender scythe-like arm like a rongeur. Splintering the chest cavity of the large creature open and spilling out onto the temple floor below, down the steps leading up to the platform of the resting place of what was once a proud Queen.
The parasite begins searching for sustenance, finding no more of the energy source it felt eons ago. Deciding there's nothing here, it proceeds with its new plan. Looking for a way out of the chamber, it sees an opening where a group of small two-legged creatures are seen rushing through. Instinctively it knows that it would be best to try its luck with digging through that wall. It follows, each footfall causing a tremor that rattles the temple and upheaving the ground as the deteriorating foundation of the ancient temple begins to shift from the weight of the creature.
GROUP POV
The thunderous sounds behind them only serve to reinforce their running as the need to warn the surface drives them onwards. But for the moment all they are focusing on is to try to get out of there as quickly as possible, because the only way for the Muto to escape is through the wall supporting the opening they came through.
They just make it outside of the temple before the parasite begins heaving itself against the wall, gargantuan cracks beginning to form more and more with each push.
"C'mon! We need to warn the surface!" Aaron hollers frantically. As they reach their radios, the creature bursts through the wall. The Muto charges through the temple walls at full speed and bringing down the section nearest to them, sending stone and debris raining down upon them. Screaming, they rush to get out of the path of the falling debris. Two are not so lucky, as two of Bravo team scramble in a straight line, only to get crushed beneath the piece of wall as it slams down onto the steps of the temple and kicking up a dust plume.
The survivors have no time to mourn, as they look up and see the head of the creature emerging through the smoke and debris, unleashing a chirping wail. It steps forward, slamming one of its glowing red and black front arm scythes down onto the ground, generating a visible white pulse of energy that knocks them off their feet and sends some tumbling down the rest of the steps.
MUTO AND AARON POV
Satisfied, the creature pushes forward, tripping and sliding down the steps to the temple before stopping and bracing itself on the soft ground beneath it. Picking himself off the ground, Aaron stares on as he watches the Male Muto begin to search.
It finds the nearest Hollow Earth wall off to the right of the temple, near some gaseous vents and a craggy rock system. It moves towards the wall, before vigorously burrowing through it, smashing the rock with the vibrations created through its unique ability as the species called Titanus Muto, the Earthquake beetle. It burrows upwards towards the surface at an astonishing pace, dragging loose boulders and debris with it along the way.
Upon breaching the surface world, it pulls itself free of its makeshift tunnel, its body dragging the accumulated dirt and debris with it as it exits the burrow. Getting back to its feet, the creature shakes the offending residual dust and dirt off, before unfurling its wings, and taking off. Each powerful flap of its wings dropping a plume of debris as it vanishes into the night sky.
Once in the air, it calls out far and wide to the world, searching for a response. He does not have to wait long, as he receives a reply within the minute. Picking up altitude, the parasite continues on its quest, heading out of the Island's storm system.
Moments before, back down in the Hollow Earth
As the parasite begins to dig itself through the tunnel it's created with extreme efficiency and speed, in a matter of moments, they cannot hear the creature. Slowly and cautiously, the remaining members of the team scramble to the entrance of the burrowed tunnel, up on top of the mounds of dirt and rock piled up from the impromptu excavation to peek inside. Eyes bulging at the depth, they pull back.
"Uh, I think it's gone, guys." One of them breaks the silence. Aaron and Tom speak up. "Okay, everyone. Now that it's over, we need to get in contact with the surface. That Muto was a male and has made it to the surface. We must warn the surface of the male's existence, if it contacts the Queen Muto…I don't want to think about what will happen next!"
"Agreed. Now let's go, luckily for us, that thing opened a direct tunnel to the surface. It's unstable, but it'll have to do, so, let's get moving. Time is of the essence!"Charged up and ready to go, they make their way up to the surface.
UNKNOWN POV
As they leave, they fail to notice the sounds of activity in the vent systems they passed. A stuttering chirping growl is heard as a group of white-faced creatures pokes their heads out of the vents, flicking their tongues.
Shortly after the disturbance had tunneled its way to the surface with the explorers in hot pursuit, the disruption having awoken hibernating predators, who will now begin to follow the tasty morsels up to the surface.
GROUP POV
Not having the luxury to be cautious this time around, the combined group of Alpha and Bravo team nears the surface in less than 15 minutes. Sprinting the whole way, they are almost at the surface when they hear the distinct sounds of scraping and a deep chirping growl behind them. Turning around slowly, they collectively have a heart attack at what they see.
Clemmons' terrified scream echoes what all their minds are screaming in that moment: "SKULL CRAWLERS!"
They push forward even harder to escape, 3 of them making it out first. Leaping to the side, followed by Aaron, Tom, Layne, and Wyatt. They hear firing and turn to see the tunnel lighting up with gunfire as three more men make it through before turning around to provide covering fire, sending a hail of bullets and shotgun slugs down the shaft.
Before all the men can fully emerge from the makeshift tunnel, one of the Crawler's pokes its head out, opening its maw and rocketing out its tongue to engulf one man, before pulling him backwards into its mouth, all the while the man is screaming, and swallowing him whole.
Another Crawler nudges and shoves the first out of the way and lunges for the humans, who throw themselves to the ground at its left before it can grab one of them. "SHIT!" one of them screams.
Aaron aims his E.M.P.R.O.R at the tunnel, intent on collapsing it before turning his attention back to the other Crawlers. Switching it back from Burst mode to Railgun, he pulls the trigger. The familiar crackling rising in volume as the blue light gathers at the tip of the weapon. The telltale sign that the ridiculously overpowered weapon is about to fire.
"Try this on for size."
Barely a few seconds have passed before that oh-so-satisfying sound of the weapon discharging rings through the air, the explosion having already taken place as the beam hit the roof of the tunnel at lightspeed. Burying the tunnel and trapping any possible Skull Crawlers behind or under it in debris from the explosion and collapsed tunnel.
As the dust clouds the area, Aaron spots the others fighting the two Crawlers, flurries of bullets, shells, and bursts of energy pelting the voracious beasts. One of the beasts takes a shot in the eye, and in its rage, slams its tail into a group of them, sending them flying as they yelp in pain from the impact.
Wyatt brings it down with a series of expertly placed stun blasts, and it lays on the ground convulsing and frothing at the mouth. Quick as a whistle, Aaron takes aim at the second one as he notices it creeping up behind Tom who is searching for the beast. "Not on my watch!" He fires, the shot blowing the vile beast back several meters, and blowing a massive chunk out of its midsection.
They turn around noticing the second one as it tumbles to the ground, tearing up swaths of earth as it goes, before switching their sights to it. "Let's smoke this thing!" Taking aim and switching their weapons to Railgun mode. They pull their triggers simultaneously, a hailstorm volley of bullets and Railgun blasts that put the offending creature down hard, the creature being shredded by their all-out assault, now hardly recognizable as they tore the body up with their munitions.
Sighs resound all around as the immediate threat is dealt with. "Okay guys, let's call it in, the reception should be good enough now, so let's try comms." Nodding, they all tap into their comms link, some of them malfunctioning from the EMP blast on top of the many endeavors they've endured thus far, until they hear a transmission coming through in one.
Layne having gotten his call through, sighs in relief before telling them to send in Delta team to pick them up with two land rovers as soon as possible. Ending the transmission, they gather around the kid. Wyatt begins walking up to him. "So, what'd they say? When're they arrivin'?" He asks.
Just as Layne is about to answer, Wyatt catches sight of the previously stunned Crawler. It seems that it's done convulsing, and instead of going unconscious, makes a beeline for the young man, mouth agape.
Before anyone can react, Wyatt throws himself into the young man, knocking him aside before feeling teeth pierce his suit and dig into his skin before lifting him from the ground.
Shouting can be heard all around him, but it fails to register as the shock from being bitten and bleeding out is dulling his senses. Thrashing its head from side to side, Wyatt screams in agony, before choking on his blood as the teeth tear open his flesh, mutilating his torso, arm, and puncturing his lungs.
With a sick rip and pop, Wyatt comes crashing down to the ground. Aaron's mind briefly flashes back to his arrival on the Island, when Karsten was torn apart by Death Jackals in front of his eyes.
Before the demon can do further, and quite possibly fatal damage, the group discharges their weapons, aiming for its neck and unload on the surprise attacker.
The creature staggers back, struggling to breath as its neck is riddled with holes and the stomach acid and saliva begins to drip from the holes in the neck area. Aaron and Tom level their weapons at the creature's legs, firing and blowing them apart.
The heathen collapses to the ground and gurgling as it chokes on its fluids. Aaron walks up to the dying creature and giving it the coldest and most distant look any of them have seen, takes aim at its face and pulls the trigger, piercing its skull and exploding it from the inside as the beast's head falls limply to the ground.
As Wyatt lays bleeding out and coughing up blood, they surround him. "Give me a first aid kit!" Tom yells, his voice a mix of stern and frantic. Layne reaches into his pack and pulls one out, shakily handing it to him. Opening it, Tom finds a stim shot and some bandages with sterilizer and some cloth. Removing his suit and clothes, they jam a stim into his wounds, making the man rocket up and scream in agony.
"Christ, Aaron! His arm's gone! Hand me a tourniquet!" Doing so, they cover his wound to the best of their abilities as they wrap it and cut off the blood flow. "It's not working!" Aaron yells. Tom looks down and sees the pool of blood hasn't stopped getting larger as Wyatt continues to gurgle and choke. Frantically, Aaron races to assist in wrapping his wounds on his chest. Images of his fallen friends and colleagues fill his mind. On the verge of panic, and hyperventilating, Aaron is shocked when Wyatt's remaining arm shoots up and grasps his firmly.
Looking up at Wyatt's face, they see the man's features begin to ease into a tranquil state, as his eyes soften and become distant, before focusing on Aaron's suddenly, and sending a firm look. Wyatt struggles to open his mouth, choking and gurgling, as he speaks with his final breath. "It's okay, Aaron…We're all okay. Time to move on…"
Clemmons' eyes fully dilate, and his form goes limp as Aaron stares blankly. They gently lay him back down to rest as the sound of two rovers stopping nearby draws their attention.
Arriving too late, they load him up into one of the rovers, followed by some of the guys and Doctor Yuhara who covers Wyatt's body with a tarp. The rest of the group enters the remaining vehicle and ride off back to the base to bring Wyatt to the medical wing of the outpost.
Once back in the Monarch base, Aaron heads to the nearest phone to report the discovered Muto Adult to the rest of Monarch and to alert the Military, noting that there's nothing they can do at this moment.
After a long and tedious back and forth conversation, he relays the needed information, omitting their other discoveries to tell at another more appropriate time. Receiving an affirmation and a less-than-reassuring assurance that they'll take care of it before hanging up.
Sighing in frustration, he heads back to his quarters to remove his suit and gear. Setting aside some fresh clean clothes, he tiredly heads to the shower to take a much-needed bath before heading to get some food from the mess hall floor. 'This expedition did not go as well as we had hoped. We didn't even scope the whole place out and we've already had to retreat. There could be other undiscovered Titans down there and we won't know. We need to find out where the source for that new radiation is…' he muses to himself.
Sighing as he holds his head cradled in his hands while sitting at the edge of his bed facing the ground. Tears fall while a quiet sob escapes him as he recalls the last words of Wyatt Clemmons.
MUTO POV
Across the ocean, the creature is flying over the ocean, before sensing a source of radiation beneath the waves. Ascending, it climbs in altitude before diving straight down, plunging into the depths. Moments pass before the creature crashes out of the surf and in a great flap of its wings, exits ocean, gripping an American Nuclear submarine in its scythe like arms.
Castle Bravo: Monarch Outpost 54
December 30th, 2019
Several weeks have passed since the alert that a Male MUTO had emerged from hibernation and is now loose. Luckily, the creature hasn't made any moves yet, aside from having captured a nuclear submarine.
At the same time, the female has coincidentally dropped off the radar. Monarch and the rest of the world are growing restless as the anticipation for the next events to play out are predictably not going to be pleasant.
Fears of a repeat of the Muto Prime attacks of 2014 begin to manifest in everyone's hearts, though nobody seems willing to talk about it. Godzilla hasn't yet changed his usual routes, but his movement is erratic, and touchy. At the current moment, all seems calm. But that is usually the case with an impending storm…
Mark Russell having returned to Monarch after having reconciled with his daughter over the months, now works at Castle Bravo as part of the Godzilla monitoring crew and the current head Godzilla researcher of the facility. Having inherited the position of the late Ishiro Serizawa, who had previously asked his son Ren to take over his duties should he ever pass away in the field.
Ren respectfully declined, citing his reasons as he doesn't feel the same connection with Godzilla as his father and grandfather. When attending the memorials of those lost in the event dubbed the "Ascension", courtesy of the many civilian operatives on Twitter and Social Media who coped with the rise of the titans by creating memes based on the events, Ren had solemnly resigned from the organization, stating that "Monarch's incompetence has caused enough damage to my family and the rest of the world, and that they had best come clean to the public or I will."
Taking what Ren had said into consideration, Monarch contacted Mark who along with his daughter, had been living in his cabin in Colorado temporarily. Taking weeks for him to reply, they asked him if he would like to return to them as the lead biologist of Monarch's outpost 54.
Before he could decline on grounds of having to look after his daughter, Monarch offered him to let them put her into a private school system on the mainland with their own new home near Tallahassee, Florida.
Mark has it in his contract that he is to be flown to and from work every 2 days so he can stay connected with his Daughter, who for one reason or another, has taken an interest in Titanus Mosura.
Attempting to figure out what to do, they make some calls to other outposts, mostly receiving unhelpful suggestions until they reach Outpost 33. Through the other end, Aaron Brooks, son of the retired Houston Brooks, suggests they contact reporter Steven Martin, who seems to have a connection with Titanus Gojira.
Based how Godzilla seems to be aware of the arrival and disappearance of the two Mutos, they strongly consider this suggestion, suspecting Godzilla might act soon. Taking the suggestion, they prepare to make the call as the Titan tracker screen starts flashing red, signaling a Titan outside of its designated area.
Curiously, Mark and the others consisting of G-Team Captain Jackson Barnes, Sam Coleman, and a few others turn their attention to the tracker screen. Displayed on the screen is what they've been searching for the better part of a month. The Male Muto.
"It's resurfaced off the coast of San Diego!" Hurriedly they ping for the location of the female, to no avail.
"Given its location, I'd say it was hiding in the Channel Islands…On San Clemente Island's Naval Base. Though I have no idea how they remained off the radar AND undetected by the soldiers on the Island."
'This is bad, there are nuclear plants on the mainland there. One of them is currently being decommissioned, the San Onofre plant. Though it makes me wonder where that eight-legged female is during all of this…' Mark ponders.
"I'd say he's either there trying to get his freak on or trying to get there without being noticed." Blurts out Barnes.
Mark grimaces at the mental image of the two creatures mating. "Thanks for the imagery, Barnes. How about a warning next time you decide to grace us with your input? Maybe? Just a little?" Mark scowls.
Coleman coughs, trying not to laugh. "We, uh, we should probably contact that Reporter guy. Maybe he could help us figure out what Godzilla knows?"
Getting back to the issue at hand, Mark clears his throat, before nodding his agreement. "He should be available, last I checked he lives and works in L.A. as a reporter in the United World News." Looking down at his papers, Mark is surprised at what he finds. "His recent article on Godzilla is expected to win a Pulitzer. Anyway, the working theory is he has some way to connect with Godzilla that we don't know of."
"He definitely looks like our guy, then." States Barnes. "Let's give him a ring."
Los Angeles, California
Marty has just finished typing up his article for the week, a piece on how a seemingly charitable and yet unnamed corporation goes out of its way to pay for the cleaning and rebuilding of cities ravaged by Titans. The article going into detail about how the corporation seems to hold a humanist's view on the matter when interviewed, and dismisses the Titans as nuisances, treating them as nothing more than dumb animals, often trying to paint the creatures in a negative light.
Marty refutes that the creatures do not seek to destroy our cities, and that it is simply a byproduct of their existence. Marty closes his article with an enlightening take on how the public should not let these people form their views for them, that they should look at both sides instead. They are not 'monsters' by choice. They are born too tall, born too heavy. That's their tragedy, and we should be sympathizing with them instead of hating them for it.
Marty sighs, cracking his knuckles and his vertebrae as he stands to stretch. 'This ought to help convince at least a few open-minded people. Now, time to get some lunch!' he happily muses with a satisfied smirk on his face. Walking to his kitchen of his apartment, he's about to pick up the phone to order some pizza when the phone rings inches before he reaches it, scaring the living daylights out of him.
"Jesus!" He yelps, nearly jumping out of his skin. Calming quickly, he curiously picks up the phone, not expecting anyone to call him, he just got this apartment a week ago and hadn't gotten the chance to give his number out to anyone yet.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Mr. Martin? Is this Steven Martin?" a soft, higher-pitched but still masculine voice answers.
"Uh, yes, but you can call me Marty." Marty replies nervously.
"Wait, why?" the man asks in a confused sounding voice.
"…Uh, do you? Um, no- never-mind." Marty cuts himself off, not wanting to prompt the man.
Several seconds of silence. "Oh! I get it, because of 'The Jerk'!" he exclaims.
'DAMN IT!' "Who is this and what do you want from me?!" Marty growls, growing irritated at having been likened once again to the famous actor. 'What's it gonna' take to get away from that?' he scowls to himself.
"Sorry!" The man clears his throat. "This is Sam Coleman, Titan Biologist of Monarch Outpost 54. We're calling you, Mr. uh…Mr. Martin, to ask if you could come visit us here on matters of great importance."
Marty's eyebrows shoot up, but then lower. "Monarch, huh. And how, pray tell am I supposed to believe that? Tell me, does 'Monarch' usually take it upon themselves to call random people and insult them the first chance they get? How am I to believe that they'd have someone so incompetent working at such a dangerous and high-tech facility like Castle Bravo?"
Coleman doesn't respond immediately. "I'm sorry, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot, here, I'll patch you through to the lead biologist…"
Unconvinced, but playing along, Marty waits. Finally, another voice airs though his phone's earpiece.
"Hello, Marty, this is Mark Russell. I am the lead biologist here at Castle Bravo, I apologize for earlier, Sam means well, but he doesn't really think before he speaks." Marty hears muffled laughter from the other end. "Back to business, we would like to formally request you to join us here at Castle Bravo for a meeting concerning the disappearance of two Titans…Two Mutos in particular."
Chills run up the length of Marty's spine as memories of 5 years ago come rushing back to him, having witnessed firsthand the destruction of Honolulu and being there for the aftermath. Dragging himself out of his memories, he replies. "What's that gotta' do with me? What do you need me for?"
Sighing, Mark confesses. "We received word from your friend, Aaron, Aaron Brooks that you share a… connection to Godzilla. Godzilla has been very aggravated recently. We suspect it has to do with the appearance of a male Muto specimen that Aaron and his team of explorers had unintentionally released from its prison in the Hollow Earth under Skull Island. That, and the simultaneous disappearance of the Queen Muto. We have reason to believe that you may help us be able to interact with Godzilla somehow, and maybe in the process find out the whereabouts of the Mutos."
Marty's mind is racing a billion miles an hour, trying to piece together that information, finally coming to a reasonable conclusion, but before he can answer, he hears telltale signs of an alarm on the other end of the phone. "What is that?" he queries.
Mark replies "Not sure, that's our Titan tracker, it only goes off when a Titan is outside of its zone."
Castle Bravo: Monarch Outpost 54
The alarms going off signaling a Titan out of its zone sound throughout the facility, in the command center, Mark and the others gather to gaze upon the screen.
[Alert!] [Titanus MUTO Located] [Alert!]
"Well, shit." Says Barnes.
On the screen, the Muto female has shown itself…in Bakersfield, California's Sequoia National Forest, and making a beeline towards Los Angeles. The Male is on the same trajectory, currently moving towards San Diego.
As they watch the creatures make their way, Mark returns to his conversation with the reporter. "So, it looks like our suspicions are confirmed, the male has resurfaced along with the female, both in California. The good news is, it'll take a few hours for them to meet up. The bad news is this isn't going to end well for the city of Los Angeles. These creatures seem to have a strange fixation on California."
Marty opens his mouth to respond, as his brain is racked by sudden intense pain, while images flood his brain. Doubling over in his kitchen and clutching his head in a silent scream as he feels about to burst.
Underneath the sea, the seafloor illuminated by a blue light. The mouth of a large undersea cavern. A large underwater facility.
"Marty? Mr. Martin are you there?" Mark asks in a concerned voice. Groaning is heard on the other end of his phone as a now weary Marty picks his phone back up after gathering himself and getting back to his feet.
"Fuck, my head…" Marty pants as he struggles to regain his breathing. "Mark, was it?" An affirmation. "I just got another dose of that 'connection' I seemed to have formed with Godzilla." He winces. "It's nothing solid, it seems he's below some underwater facility right now… I think he's making his way up to the surface." He ends with a small cough.
Mark is about to reply before he is cut off by the klaxons at the outpost blaring. Lights are flashing yellow, signifying a Titan approaching the facility that tripped the sensors and entered the sonar range. Everyone scrambles to the command center; the 3D sonar begins pinging. Something is approaching and fast.
Returning to the phone, Mark decides to end the conversation, having the man come here now would be pointless, things already seem underway now. "Look, kid. Thanks for your time, but things are about to get bad. If all goes well, I wouldn't mind having you escorted to Castle Bravo some time. You would be a great help in learning more about Godzilla." He clears his throat. "At the moment, the best I can do is stall the Military from interfering and focus on just evacuating Los Angeles. I suggest you make it out of there pronto."
Mark disconnects the call, before shifting his attention to the 3D Sonar screens again, seeing the blips getting closer and more frequent. Watching the spherical grid, he can see whatever had tripped the sensors is closing in at 40 knots. He and the others rush to the Bioacoustics monitor, reading the screen to confirm.
They go from the bioacoustics screens which are side by side to the Sonar station, and head to the Lexan windows. Searching out into abyss, looking for any signs of it, they don't have to wait long, as a telltale blue glow creeps out of the darkness. The Great Leviathan snakes His way out of the Abyss, creating a strong current wherever His tail swishes to.
"Dear God…" exclaims Mark. "zilla…" references Sam. Mark glares at him. "I-yeah, I regretted it as soon as I said it, I know."
At first, all they can see is the light from Him, penetrating the darkness like an underwater lantern that keeps the night's creeps at bay. Next, they hear his massive heartbeat, followed by the rough and baritone whale-like moans.
Slowly the profile of His head emerges from the depths, rising with some bubbles. Not even a full 25 meters away from the window, they can see Him in all His glory. His strikingly fierce glowing blue eyes acting like night vision goggles for Him to navigate the depths, carrying an intense and focused gaze as He stares upwards.
From His side they can see His gills fluttering open and shut, releasing bubbles as He respirates. One by one their eyes remain glued to His magnificent swimming form, highlighted by the dark of the deep sea. His great dorsal fins steadily pulsing with blue light in tune with His great heartbeats. The massive organ pumping in a melodic, calming rhythm as He ascends before them.
Suddenly, Godzilla opens His mouth, creating a tide of bubbles, and sends out a large pulse, reverberating through the water and rocking the facility with the sheer volume of His vocals being sped up as they travel through water. Returning to their bioacoustics screen, they attempt to isolate the sounds He's making. What graces their ears is one of Godzilla's trademark bellows.
Everyone can only gawk at the sheer majesty of this creature, the raw power He exudes from His presence alone, yet encapsulates the gentleness of nature in all its mesmerizing beauty. As they stare on enraptured, Godzilla picks up speed, undulating his body with finesse a crocodilian could only dream of. Soon all they can catch from Him is His swishing tail.
"Woo! That was something." Breathes out Barnes. "I didn't think I'd ever see Godzilla this way, the last time this happened I was too focused on fearing for my god damned life."
"I think we can all agree on that, Barnes, even Serizawa didn't know what to expect." Replies Mark.
"Uh, guys, I hate to interrupt the moment, but shouldn't we figure out where the big guy's heading?" asks Coleman. Everyone seems to snap out of their trance and rushes back to get to their stations.
After returning to their stations, it is made clear when looking at the trajectory that Godzilla is indeed aware of the Mutos, as the path the King is following is the same one it takes to Californian waters. Godzilla is a creature of habit, they've discovered. He takes specific routes to get to certain parts of the world. Much like how we humans take specific routes to get to where we want in our cars.
"I think we should notify the state of California. They'll need to preemptively evacuate the areas in the creatures' paths as best they can. Godzilla will arrive there in a little less than a day at the speed he's going. He's hunting again."
San Diego, California
New Year's Eve, 2019
UNKNOWN POV
The City of San Diego having been visited by the male Muto, is unfathomably lucky to not have been hit as hard as they feared. All that the parasite had done was land nearby at a Nuclear plant in the process of being decommissioned and stole the reactor. Aside from inadvertently sideswiping some buildings, and crushing and trampling many cars in its path, the Muto escaped with its prize, leaving San Diego relatively unharmed.
Elisha Levitan, a younger man of 31 years of age sits on the beach of San Onofre, absently gazing out into the surf, contemplating his loneliness and how miserable his life has been since the loss of his beloved wife in the events of the Mass Awakening. Today is the day he feared most. He doesn't give a damn about the impending Titan attack. All he could lose has already been taken from him.
His wife, Amy, a young woman of 29, was killed in battle at sea. Against that three-headed Demon in Washington D.C. Her ship was sunk in battle by a falling fighter jet, whose payload exploded upon contact with the hull. After the battle, among the list of casualties and lives lost, her name was among them. The loss of the crew and ship being reported by one of the few surviving ships, the USS Brody.
Though he couldn't have prevented this event from transpiring, because she willingly answered the call for reinforcements at the Battle of Washington in a selfless act of bravery and patriotism, he still feels responsible for her death. 'If only he had picked her up from her day at the San Diego Naval Base.' 'If only…' His thoughts would often drift to the what-ifs constantly, hitting a downward spiral as he grieves, and finally reaching the breaking point.
The man was completely beside himself, just barely scraping by these past months, but as the holiday season passed, the dreaded day of the anniversary of their meeting arrived. New Year's Eve. The day he met his wife 5 years ago, after the events of the San Francisco Muto attack.
They were lonely, missing their families who had been killed in the attack. Having moved from their hometown of San Francisco a few months before to find work elsewhere and meet new people. They coincidentally met up at the same beach at the same time. In an act that both described as "fate", they greeted each other and hit it off instantly. Speeding through the motions, becoming lovers not far after. They comforted and consoled each other on the cold nights they would wake up in a cold sweat and weep and mourn their families, finding solace in that they at least have each other.
Shortly after, they decided to make a new life for themselves, together, in San Diego. They almost did until 5 years later, and now he was once again, on his own, ironically worse off than he was that same day 5 years ago.
He shakily stands up, the sand which was clinging to his trousers falling from his backside. With a heavy sigh, he looks up. Intent on ending his misery by just walking into the sea and never coming back, he slowly makes his way towards the surf. After all, that's how his wife perished. It's only right that the seas should claim him too, they'll be reunited once the seas take them.
"I'll see you soon, Amy." He states distantly.
Now deeply submerged in the water, the man catches sight of something moving in the surf. Something massive. Ascending, he gets the shock of his life as only a few meters in front of him, not even 100 meters from shore to the left, a towering rack of bone-like dorsal fins cuts a swath through the waves.
Occasionally flashing a light blue glow that illuminates the waters, creating a rainbow from the water and mist that surrounds it, as the light passes through as it moves at incredible speed. Shocked beyond belief, the man stares on in wonder with his mouth agape, completely forgetting his misery as the majesty of Godzilla, the King of the Monsters knocks the despair out of him. Godzilla's head briefly pokes out of the water as he looks to his right, eyes meeting with the small mortal in his domain.
Coming to his senses, Elisha turns back and races back out of the water to gawk at the passing leviathan as it delves back into the deeper waters again. A reverberating growl pierces the loud crashing of the surf as the sea itself makes way for the Titanic Leviathan's sheer mass. The bewildered man now has had yet another fateful moment to add to his life experiences, and the second to happen on New Year's Eve.
Contemplating he now has no-one to talk to about them, he contemplates what to do with himself. It's as if God himself intervened and stopped him from going through with it and doing something irredeemably stupid. His self-preservation instincts kicked in and proved to himself with a shadow of a doubt that he still has the drive to live. Something dawns on him.
"Godzilla…" Age and wisdom rolled off him in waves, from the brief glance they shared. At a loss of words of how to describe him, it would be without a doubt, one word… 'Divine.' The awestruck man saunters off back to his home, to mull over today's happenings and search within himself and find what he feels he should do after all he's witnessed here today…
Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California
MARTY's POV
"Damn it. Can't believe it took this long to decide what to take with me. It's not like I have a lot, but oh no! You just had to be indecisive at such crucial timing!" Marty chastises himself.
Marty finished packing his most important things, not knowing when the Mutos will arrive, but not wanting to be here to find out, because an agitated Godzilla is sure to follow. Bringing his duffel bag with him out of his apartment complex, Beverly Oakhurst Apartments, he looks at the many people who seem to be late evacuating. Thousands upon thousands of people frantically running in the streets from the impending danger that will be surely arriving soon. He makes his way through and away from the crowds of people, not intending to be trampled on his way out of the city, and heads further inland towards the Sunset Strip.
It takes him a good ten minutes to get there, having passed a Shake Shack on the way, but before he can go any further, thousands of screams echo as the telltale chirping of the male Muto sounds, and the flapping of its wings kicks up dirt and debris as he carries his prize, the nuclear reactor.
The creature begins circling overhead, before stopping and landing heavily on top of one of the apartment complexes, collapsing the roof and top half of the building under his extreme weight. The debris and rubble crumbling and tumbling as it cascades down the sides of the building and onto the streets full of panicking people, burying some under the debris and injuring others. Marty gazes upon the creature in horror, remembering Honolulu and how the airport had been destroyed in minutes upon the arrival of the male Muto from 2014.
Now fearing a repeat of those events is about to happen in his home, Marty desperately sprints through the crowds of fleeing people, intending on reaching some sort of shelter. Suddenly, the male rears back, and utters a long chirping growl, before unleashing a nasally snarl. Seconds pass. Minutes. Finally, above the sound of the running and screaming humans, a reply is heard.
A chirping moan, as the female eight legged Muto makes her appearance, having finally bulldozed a substantial part of California in her beeline rush to meet the much faster male Muto. Marty having been sidetracked by these sudden developments watches on in morbid curiosity as the female on all eight of her legs, slowly and feebly makes her way towards the male parasite.
The female trampling restaurant buildings and the fleeing crowds of humans as she makes her way towards the male perched on the apartment complex. Finally reaching her destination, she stops. Standing stiffly and eyeing down the male before leaning down and nuzzling him, making strange chirping-purring noises. Marty stares on, fascinated. 'They haven't even met really yet, and they already act like lovers…So bizarre.' He muses to himself. Then, just as things appeared to begin to start getting spicy…They don't. Marty frowns, as he watches the male climb down off its perch and circle the female. 'What's going on here, they didn't travel all this way to mate?' he ponders.
As if to answer his question, the male stops, before opening his mouth and extending out a long glowing red tube. The female, still as stiff as she was when she stopped, seems to cease glowing, and suddenly crouches down on the ground to sit, folding her long limbs and doing a fine job of imitating a dead spider.
The male's tube begins oozing out a thick white viscous fluid, before spraying it all over the female. The fluid appears sticky once it hits the air, and lands on the female appearing much like silk. Marty gawks at this new display in grim fascination. "This is new, I should unpack my camera, get this on film." By now, the crowds have begun to thin out as people make their escapes in the chaos going on, having been drowned out as Marty races through his duffel bag in search of his camera. "Ah, got it!"
Picking it out of his bag, he turns it on, and begins recording. By now the male has covered a third of the female in the strange silky substance, and it angles it to cover her entire body from the air. The substance binding to her as if it were some sort of webbing. Strangely, the shape it begins to take on is very alien in appearance, as the air hits it. Appearing much like the ribbed tubing out of an HR Giger painting. And as well as the changed shape, it begins to darken, soon turning as black as the Muto's skin itself. Along with the black, cracks begin to form in the tubing, slowly reddening, and emitting a faint glow.
Eventually, after what feels like hours, the male finishes, now the female is completely cocooned in the substance, and the male steps back to admire his work. Marty observes as the female's cocoon is finished, resembling a red and black tower spire, the top portion looking like an organic version of the space needle from Seattle. The bottom and base of the cocoon large enough to accommodate the female's size and then some. As Marty watches, the cocoon appears to grow, bit by bit, but barely noticeable. Feeling like he's gotten enough footage and should probably prioritize his life right about now, Marty fumbles to put his stuff away and leave.
He high tails it down the street, intending on finding a safe place to hide for the time being. After about 20 minutes of running and passing many different types of stores and buildings, he stops at one safe-looking place. Finding what looks to be a night club, he enters, noticing how the floor is unnaturally clean for such an establishment. He finds his way down the stairs, where a strange man with dark brown hair and eyes in a nice-looking Armani suit is sitting at his piano, holding a glass of whiskey in his hand, and looking utterly displeased.
Marty clears his throat. "Um, sir?" No reply. "Sir, shouldn't you be evacuating like everyone else?"
The man reacts instantly. Replying in a distinct received pronunciation accent "Evacuate? And leave where, exactly? This is my home; I belong in this city and none of these boorish creatures can drive me out of here!" As he finishes, he raises his glass to his lips, downing it in one go before muttering "But of course, the bloody heathens can drive all the fun out of it, so there's not much of a difference, now is there?"
Not about to push further, Marty changes the subject. "Well, then, do you mind if I stay here?"
"I don't see why not. Anyway, where are those creatures anyhow?"
"They're in Beverly Hills."
The man's spirit seems to lift somewhat as he grins amusedly. "Beverly Hills? Guess that's not where you want to be."
"No, especially not now that they're nesting there, or, I guess that's what's going on. I don't know what to call that…I'd have to ask Monarch."
The man stares blankly, before rolling his eyes and grabbing the bottle and refilling his glass. Lifting it to his lips, he states. "Stay as long as you deem necessary. In the meantime, care for a drink?"
Thinking about it, Marty nods. The man stands up from his piano and strides over to the Club's bar.
MALE MUTO's POV
Back at the Muto site, the male leans down and plants the reactor he stole directly into the female's cocoon, providing her a source of nourishment to help her quickly develop into her final stage. Gently he nuzzles the cocoon and settles to sit down beside her. Just before he can settle down, a distant rolling growl can be heard. Alarmed, the male stands up and heads to investigate.
As the male crushes many a human structure and vehicle in his path, he sniffs the air, attempting to have the scent of the disturbance betray its presence. Strangely enough, smelling nothing. He makes his way down the Santa Monica boulevard.
Venice Beach, Los Angeles, California
GODZILLA's POV
As the waters lap against the sandy shoals of the beach, seagulls squawk as they fight over the remains of a fish that washed up on the beach. Gradually the waves begin to recede and crash back down upon the beach. The seagulls straighten up, as if sensing a presence approaching, and quickly take off, followed by a large flock that frantically fly overhead in the overcast skies above, away from the sea.
The sea begins to churn and crash, and the waves begin to recede an abnormally large amount, building up in one spot far out in the ocean. Slowly the tips of what appears to be a large rock formation begins to emerge from the water, before gradually the rock formation begins to shift. Jagged plates attached to a long muscular tail lift from the ocean and into the air before the behemoth body of a giant creature too begins to emerge from the ocean. A deep rumbling is sounded as the massive body emerges.
On its back are the same protrusions that covered its lengthy tail, as well as powerful arms tipped with sharp claws, and tree-trunk sized legs betray his arrival, as his mere footsteps shake the very Earth beneath him. The water now having gathered to the sides of his shoulders, cascades down his body, and surges forward as he stands to his full nigh 400-foot height.
The ocean having been unleashed in a torrential wave of nature's fury, a monstrous tidal wave that rapidly descends upon Los Angeles, pummeling and drowning everything in its wake. The towering 80-meter-tall wave sweeps along human vehicles like mere bath toys, annihilating the smaller human structures and the ground floors of the larger ones alike, dragging with it the thousands of tons of debris left and the vehicles which smash into the buildings at a high velocity, demolishing what was lucky enough to survive the initial impact.
As the tidal wave makes its way through Oakwood and slows down to a crawl, just stopping at the beginnings of the Santa Monica college, the creature has made its way onto land, stomping massive craters the shape of its feet in the wet sand. With large strides that makes the Earth tremble, and the waters splash up, he quickly makes his way to the start of the human city. Upon entering it, he moves further inland for the source of the sounds he's been hearing since he arrived, having been listening for signs of the parasites since it awoke.
West Los Angeles, near the beaches
GODZILLA's and MUTO's POV
The male Muto continues his search for the source of the sound, and upon reaching the end of the boulevard, turns to his left, catching sight of a tail disappearing behind a building several hundred meters away. The male's wings flare up in alarm; before it unleashes a rolling chirp-growl.
Agitated, the parasite stomps forward before leaping into the air, flapping its wings thrice to pick up some altitude, before diving down to pursue this new threat, gliding over the city. His winged form casting a shadow over and rattling the buildings as he searches for the intruding creature.
The hunter lies motionless behind a large skyscraper, poised and waiting for the right opportunity to strike the intrusive creature from the sky. The wing beats grow closer, until He can hear and feel the surrounding human constructs rattling at the force of each beat.
Sensing with His acute hearing the nearness of the parasite, his muscles tense as he prepares to strike. Just as the creature's shadow begins to creep over the edge of the building, Godzilla brings his tail up like a whip, before slamming it down hard, connecting with the startled creature.
The force of the impact ripples through the smaller parasite as it crashes down onto the streets with a resounding crash, the impact crushing the pavement and roads beneath it and kicking up a cloud of debris, shattering the glass windows of the surrounding buildings from the force of the impact alone.
Godzilla's chest rumbles, steadily growing louder as it grows from a growl to a full-on roar, facing down his stricken prey as it struggles to get up on all four legs and face Him. The male shakily gets to its feet, dazed, but facing down his opponent. He roars defiantly at Godzilla, causing the Great Leviathan to narrow his eyes and raise his lips to show his fangs.
Godzilla snarls, before lunging and grabbing the parasite with both claws, and biting down on its wing and pulling on it before the Muto can move to escape, intending on severing the appendage. Before he can apply enough torque, the male instinctively brings down his hooked forearms on Godzilla, nicking his gill slits and causing a jolt of pain to run through him, eliciting a small groan of pain and causing him to lose his grip. Blood trickles from his gills as he stares down the Muto, anger surging through his being.
The male seizes this opportunity to draw Godzilla away from his queen, taking to the skies, moving slow enough for Godzilla to follow him. Once in the bay area, he swoops down, back towards Godzilla whom until now has been avoiding the strange solid structures instead of plowing through them.
As Godzilla splays out his arms and opens his jaws in attempt to intercept, the male feints, before doing a midair roll to the right of Godzilla, grasping his side with his hooked sharp talons. Using his momentum to drag around Godzilla, attempting to throw the Great Leviathan down to the ground using his speed and weight to knock Godzilla from his feet. Instead, Godzilla merely seems to stumble as the male catches himself before he can be caught. Using the rest of his momentum, he swings to Godzilla's left, resting on Godzilla's back.
Godzilla thrashes around, aggravated by the parasite latching onto him. Seeing that he can't reach the pest, he tries to reach it with his tail, only for the male to lean down and snap at his neck, Godzilla grunts in pain and reaches for the Muto's head, attempting to grasp it by the clamped jaws. Before he can grasp it, the male pulls back, before bringing up one of his talons high above his head, and bringing it down on Godzilla's head, with a hard crack. Godzilla buckles slightly, the blow shocking him more than harming him. Godzilla redoubles his efforts to rid himself of the Muto before an idea crosses his mind.
Godzilla breathes in through his nostrils, sucking in air, before exhaling it in a loud snort. A blue light begins to creep up the length of his tail, as his spines begin to suck in the surrounding gases, fueling his internal reactor's functions, and intensifying the output of his radiation. The plates gradually begin to light up until his entire back is radiating a bright whitish blue.
The male having noticed by now that Godzilla has gotten much warmer and is glowing, curiously looks down. Godzilla's fins rapidly change from a glowing blue to a now blinding white light, with heat shimmer radiating from his back. Godzilla hunches over, leaning forwards while facing the ground.
The male's limbs that contact Godzilla's back and grip his jagged maple leaf shaped protrusions begin to singe as Godzilla's body increases with heat. He has no choice but to dismount Godzilla! The male unhooks his talons from Godzilla's hide, readying to take off to the air. With a great flap of his wings, the brazen parasite attempts to pick up altitude in order to dive bomb Godzilla at an angle. It does not go as planned. Godzilla's heat reaches a crescendo, where the air surrounding him begins to audibly crack and fizzle as the moisture begins to evaporate.
Godzilla unleashes a long and thin curved wave of heat and atomic energy from his back, it slices up through the air with a massive sonic boom. The attack moves at an astonishing speed as it catches the male completely off guard.
The male has little time to react, barely managing to move at all to shift his body's position and evade. The curved wave of white-hot atomic energy slices through the air and hits him like a katana, completely severing one of his forelimbs and both of his smaller limbs on his chest, both falling to the city streets below with dull thuds, kicking up some debris.
The parasite cries out in shock and pain, and flees towards the ocean, intending to lure Godzilla away without getting too close to the King of the Monsters. His wings working overtime to get him there with Godzilla now standing once again and in hot pursuit. Reaching the ocean, the male looks below himself while gliding, occasionally giving a flap of his wings to keep this altitude.
Below him he sees ripples in the ocean from where Godzilla had submerged, but he cannot see the Great Leviathan under the surface. Panicking, he circles back, before getting closer to the water, hoping to sense Godzilla's electronic vibrations through the water using the Muto's penchant for utilizing electromagnetic waves. While skimming the water, he does not notice that Godzilla has gone deep and is biding his time.
Godzilla, lurking at 300 fathoms, sits in wait, stalking, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. He can smell the parasite, smelling the blood that trails from the severed limbs and into the water. The male frantically searches for Godzilla, instead deciding to head back to guard its queen. Turning back, it has no idea what lies in store for it in a few short moments.
Gradually the Muto begins to pick up altitude again, Godzilla sneers, before making his move. In three swift and powerful thrusts of his great tail, he breaches out of the water, right beneath the Muto male and clamps down on its neck, before dragging it down backwards into the ocean with him, the creature screeing in surprise and terror the whole way.
Once in the water, the parasite attempts feebly to fight back. Godzilla having none of this, simply bats the attacks away, before clamping down on its neck even harder, drawing blood which clouds the surrounding water as he crushes through its tough exoskeleton.
Eliciting a muffled cry of pain, Godzilla then grasps the creature's remaining arm with his powerful claws and pulls. Pulling away from himself with all his might, the creature's bloodcurdling screeches of pain quite literally being drowned out, before Godzilla gives one final jolt, and tears him in half at the neck. The blood in the water having increased one hundredfold. Godzilla carries the corpse to the surface within his jaws, breaching the surface and roaring in victory!
Returning his focus back to the corpse, Godzilla rips and tears the corpse of the male Muto apart, looking for the organ in its body that stores and regulates the radiation. Finding it, he sinks his teeth into it, ripping it from the corpse, and swallowing it whole.
Temporarily sated, he refocuses on the human city. Slight apprehension fills him as he recognizes the faint bio-acoustic signature emanating from the nest in the fleeting ones' hive. His mood greatly sours as memories of his past bubble to the surface, bringing pain, and loss with them.
An old nemesis has come back to haunt him. Memories of his fallen kin resurface, and rage fills his being. With a burning desire for revenge, he half submerges back into the ocean, his dorsal fins breaking the surface and leaving ripples in his wake as he makes his way back to shore, intent on ending the bloodline of the parasites once and for all…
Back in the city…
The Queen Muto's metamorphosis is complete, what was once a female, squirms and writhes inside its cocoon, before unleashing a rough and low screech. The newly matured creature immediately sets to burrowing through the concrete and down into the Earth using her newly improved electromagnetism and seismic powers to pierce the Earth as if it were mud, pulverizing the very ground, intent on getting the drop on the creature that killed her subservient male…
To Be Continued…