Chapter 3 for your enjoyment, despite the fact that I've got a horrible cold. Worst of all: Wish me luck, I get my GCSE results tomorrow morning AND my dad's going into hospital for a minor operation on the same day. But enough of my woes. Enjoy the chapter.

If I get the geographical location of anything wrong, that is because I don't know where it is and I don't have the patience to find out.

Godzilla is © Toho

DESCENT OF DESTRUCTION

Mt. Aso

The thick plume of smoke still remained, spreading at almost a right-angle over the village, as the boat, emblazoned with its new emblem, slowed to a stop along the nearby river.

A few minutes later, its occupants had disembarked and entered the small village that sat nestled near the base of the volcano.

"This volcano's been dormant for years," Takuya recited, "There's definitely a link between this… whatever it is… and the eruption."

"Obviously," Akane answered dryly.

"I might not know anything about her except her name," Miyuki muttered to Osaki, "But I already want to feed her to Miki's lizard."

"Any units been up to the volcano yet?" Colonel Gordon asked one of the soldiers standing by the jeep parked on the side of the street.

"No, sir," The soldier answered, "Not yet. Orders are to let your people take the first crack at it, but the village has been evacuated."

"This confuse anyone?" Kazama asked.

"The giant monster?" Miyuki asked sarcastically.

"That too, but think about it," Kazama answered, "The Colonel said that monsters and things were made and killed about fifty or sixty years ago, right?"

"Your point being?" Takuya asked.

"Well first Godzilla hatches, then Anguirus turns up on Odo Island, and now…" He paused, "…This one needs a name."

"Actually, he has a point," Miyuki realised, "There doesn't seem to be anything actually linking their appearances, so why are they all showing up now?"

"Does it matter?" Akane answered, "We're here to kill this thing."

"No," Miyuki corrected her, "We've been put together as a research unit, and this thing's a scientific anomaly. We're here to find out what it is and find a way to contain it so that it can be studied."

"So that it can break out again?"

"Ladies, ladies," Kazama interrupted, "We're professionals here…"

"Says the soldier who spent his morning painting the side of a boat," Akane retorted.

"Wait a second," Osaki interrupted them, "…Anyone hear that?"

The sound was faint, growing slightly louder with each passing second. Like drawn-out drumbeats, or…

Or the beating of massive wings.

All eyes turned up as the veil of ash hanging in the air over the village was forced aside, the massive shape lowering into view with such speed that the ash almost seemed to form a tail behind it.

"Everybody down!" Osaki shouted, everybody diving to the floor as the creature swooped down over them. As it shot past, a huge rush of wind sent the jeep and the few remaining cars flying through the street, smashing into each other and into the sides of buildings.

The creature was 150 feet long, and as they folded out, its wings were 270 feet from one tip to the other. The scales that covered it were a dark brown, the undersides of its wings lighter in colour. Its head, tipped with a pair of curved horns with a cluster of smaller spikes in the middle, terminated in a hard, off-yellow beak that parted to give an echoing howl. Its underside was covered in spiked ridges, and a pair of muscular legs ended in long talons.

As the flying creature passed over the village, its talons dropped down, smashing through the tops of buildings and sending chunks of brickwork and cement flying out behind it like the wake behind a jet-ski. With a flap of its wings, it rose higher into the air, smashing through the sound barrier as the sheer force of its momentum caused the buildings beneath it to shatter into showers of debris, clouds of dust rising into the air.

The monster turned in the air, unfolding its wings and soaring over the remaining part of the village.

It pulled its head back, as if preparing itself, it parted its beak, a stream of flame shooting forth to coat the buildings below, bathing them in fire and burning through its solid targets even as the source of the flame passed over, the searing blast ceasing.

"Fire!" Gordon shouted into his radio.

Three soldiers who were near enough to the passing creature raised missile launchers to their shoulders, took aim and fired.

Three missiles, atop smoky streams, shot up through the air and collided with the creature, bursting into fiery explosions on contact. Two struck the monster's chest, one more exploding against the side of its wing.

The beast simply turned its head in mid-air, opening its beak and, pulling its head back again, spat forth a burst of fire, the soldiers scattering as the projectile struck the ground between them.

With a triumphant howl, the avian beast turned again, flying back up into the coat of ash that shrouded the village, vanishing into its fold back towards the volcano, as the plumes of dust and smoke rose to mix with the ashen cloud.

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"Somebody want to tell me what in the seven hells that was?" Gordon asked as the newly-christened "G-Force" bustled into the JSDF base camp, brushing a layer of soot and ash off of his shoulder.

"Another dinosaur," Miyuki answered, "Well, something similar. This looked like a pterosaur, maybe a Pteranodon…"

"Fascinating," Gordon answered dryly, "Now what to we do about it?"

"I'm not sure," Osaki answered, "This one's definitely mutated, unless other pterosaurs were able to breathe fire."

"According to what the scientists already here told us, there's no radiation in the area," Takuya answered.

"And the flames were different from Godzilla's breath," Osaki nodded.

"I wonder," Miyuki thought out loud, "We saw earlier that Godzilla and Anguirus were pretty resistant to damage. Maybe… what if Rodan actually came from the volcano?"

"Already mutated?" Takuya asked, "I know for a fact: Pterosaurs were big, but they didn't grow to that size."

"It's still a possibility," Miyuki answered, "If it became entombed underground after it was mutated, perhaps it could have been in some sort of suspended animation. Then this eruption happens, and out it comes."

"Wouldn't someone have noticed that?" Osaki asked.

"Not if the UNXCC covered it up like they did with all those others," Miyuki answered.

"But to survive in those conditions, it would have to be able to withstand the temperature of molten lava," Takuya pointed out.

"Well, who's to say it can't? You saw how it shrugged off those missiles."

"Hang on a second," Gordon cut in, lifting his radio to his ear, "Colonel Gordon… What? …That's not… Yes, I understand that, but… Fine." He placed the radio back on its holster, "UNXCC." He declared grimly.

"How do any of you even know about them?" Akane spoke up for the first time since entering the base camp.

"They had a run-in with Godzilla just before the whole mess last week," Osaki answered. "So what about them?"

"The UNXCC is to be involved in the operation?" Gordon answered, "Thanks to satellite surveillance of what happened, this is now a matter of national security."

"Then this isn't going to end well, judging by what happened with their last attempt," Osaki said. "Great."

It was at that moment that Miyuki turned her head to see that Kazama seemed to be engrossed in thought.

"Have you even been listening?" She demanded.

"Of course I have," Kazama answered defensively, "Mutant pteranodon-thingy that breathes fire, came from inside the volcano, tough, bad people now involved. I was just thinking."

"I already regret asking," Miki sighed, "But thinking what?"

"Well," Kazama mused, "This thing needs a name so I was thinking: Pteranodon… Pte… Ran… O…. Don… Ranodon… Radon… Rodan. Hey, that's a good one. How's Rodan sound?"

Akane slapped a palm to her forehead, silently lamenting who she was stuck working with.

And there we have some plot points, the proper introduction of Rodan, and a little attempt at humour towards the end.

Well, I'm off, I'll need a decent night's sleep before tomorrow. (I'm more worried about the results than the exams themselves…)

All reviews welcome!