OK, this'll probably be our last real human-centric chapter, as the climactic battle approaches fast. So, enjoy!
Only the name for the Husks is © Me.
PREPARE FOR WAR
USMCF HQ, New York, Infirmary
"She got pretty lucky," The doctor explained, "If that thing had been falling just a little faster…"
"I know," Mike shook. "Will she be alright?"
"Hopefully. She managed to escape without many serious injuries."
Mike stood silently by the bed as the doctor walked out.
"God…" He finally breathed, "Sara, I…"
He turned away, walking out of the room filled with guilt and remorse.
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Holding Area
"Alright," Jill began as she paced around the cell, "You know about this thing. How do we kill it?"
"You can't," Tomoyuki repeated the phrase he'd spoken five times in as many minutes, "It's the leviathan."
"What?" Plaqueze demanded.
"The book of Revelations," Tomoyuki replied, "The people of Mars…"
"Don't give me that bullshit," Plaqueze snapped.
"…They came here thousands of years ago," Tomoyuki continued as if Plaqueze hadn't spoken, "Some who had the gift foresaw what would happen: The leviathan and the Behemoth."
"Godzilla and the Gryphon?" Jill demanded.
"The creatures of the sea and the land. The great sea beyond what you know; the void beyond. Space. And the land; your land. The Earth. And you know what will happen."
"Revelations," Jill realised, "The Apocalypse."
"No," Tomoyuki answered, "Not the end. It isn't yet, it isn't now. It can be stopped if the Gryphon is stopped."
"How?" Plaqeuze shouted.
"Godzilla," Tomoyuki answered. "The leviathan and the behemoth will make war at the end of the world."
"I haven't got time for this shit," Jill snapped, turning to the door and leaving.
"Piece of advice," Plaqueze glared down at Tomoyuki, "Either you tell us what we want to know, or… well, we'll find out one way or another."
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"You OK?" Tina asked as Jack stepped into the room, a can of soda in each of his hands.
"Yup," Jack nodded as he threw a can to her, "Didn't get a big dose of radiation, so at least I got off luckier than…" He trailed off.
"Yeah," Tina answered, "I still don't know what the hell I was thinking. I guess…"
"Hold on," Jack interrupted as he saw Mike dart past, "Hey, Mike. What's up?"
"Sara," Mike gasped, "They just called me. She's awake!"
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Infirmary
"I'm sorry, Mike," Sara said, shame-faced, "For what I did, for putting you through this…"
"It's alright," Mike answered, "You were doing your job, and I… I was just being stupid, and neurotic, and…"
"Not that this isn't a touching scene," Jack interrupted, "But what were you doing in Detroit?"
"I snuck past the blockade," Sara admitted, "When they said that thing was heading there, the editors sent me there, probably why they sent me to report on Godzilla in the first place."
"Because of your relationship with Mike," Jack realised, "Assholes."
"Not that I managed to get any recording done," Sara explained, "My camera went on the fritz just when it went for the troops."
Jack suddenly looked up.
"When the Gryphon jumped at the troops?" He realised, before adding under his breath: "When it went after Tina. Tina," He turned to her, "I think I've got something."
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"See, what if it was you?" Jack explained as they entered the room full of computers, "The interference with the camera. Those Martian… people… things… they'd have had stuff way past video recorders, so maybe if you were sending out some kind of signal, it could have interfered with it."
"And that helps?" Tina asked sceptically.
"Yeah," Jack answered, "Because if it's a signal, maybe we can boost it. Do something with it. Increase what that pendant already did for you."
"By transmitting it," Tina realised, "You're planning to hook me up to a transmitter?"
"No, just the pendant, and have you touching the pendant. Anything that gives Godzilla an advantage over the Gryphon."
"Least you're rooting for him," Tina shrugged.
"I always side with the home team," Jack beamed. "Maybe Tomoyuki can tell us something useful."
"My mom and Plaqueze are talking with him," Tina answered, "They're in the cell."
"With a surveillance camera?"
"Yeah."
"Oh well," Jack said with a sly grin, "If only we had a computer genius who could hack into the cameras…"
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The screen flickered to life, showing a clear view from inside the cell.
"Oh my God," Tina gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "They're…"
On the screen, Tomoyuki doubled over in pain as, unseen thanks to the camera view, a pair of soldiers jabbed something into the back of his shoulders.
"They're torturing him," Jack scowled. "They think he knows something about how to deal with the Gryphon."
"That's insane," Tina insisted, "If he knew, he'd tell them."
"They're acting out of fear," Jack answered. "Fear makes people do crazy things."
"I'm gonna be sick," Tina stated, as Jack considerately turned off the screen.
The door behind them suddenly burst open, Jill storming in.
"You and I talk," She addressed Tina, "Now."
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"What?" Tina asked harshly.
"What?" Jill parroted, "How about putting that in a sentence? Like: What in God's name is wrong with you, Tina?"
"What's wrong with me?" Tina repeated, "What about you?"
"Excuse me?"
"This would be over right now if you'd actually listened to me," Tina answered.
"Tina--"
"The Gryphon would be dead if you hadn't told your men to interfere." Tina shouted, "But no. You couldn't have stopped. You just wanted Godzilla dead. That's all you want."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Like I said: After what happened to Dad, I moved on. But you didn't. All you can think about is killing Godzilla, like you think it'll bring him back."
"Listen, young lady…"
"No. You listen! You're obsessed, mom! Maybe you can't see it, but I, and Jack and Mike and everyone else can. You don't care what happens as long as you get to kill Godzilla, even if the Gryphon kills everyone and everything else."
"That thing killed good men," Jill answered just as loudly, "Not just your father, but all those…"
"And that only happened because you provoked him!" Tina yelled back, "If you hadn't been so obsessed, if you'd listened, if you'd taken the warnings you'd gotten, this would be long over!"
"Do you even care about your…"
"I know what happened to Dad!" Jill screamed, "And you know something? I'm glad he's not here! Do you know what he'd think if he could see what you've turned into, mom? You think this is what he'd have wanted? I already lost one of my parents, but because you couldn't let go of it, I lost two!"
There was a long, slow silence.
"What do you mean by that?" Jill asked.
"You don't care about anything except your precious revenge," Tina answered, her voice changing from angry to sad, "Including me."
"Tina…"
"Just leave me alone," Tina snapped, "Do you even know what Plaqueze is doing? He's having Tomoyuki tortured! Tortured!"
"What?" Jill gasped, "He… torture?"
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"You men," Jill barked as she swung the door of the cell open, "Out of here. Now!"
"Tomoyuki!" Tina gasped, helping him to his feet, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I… I couldn't do anything…"
"It's alright," Tomoyuki breathed, "He can still help us. He's our last hope now."
"Easy, man," Jack told him as he and Tina helped him back onto the bed.
"Plaqueze," Jill seethed, "When I get my hands on him…"
"Time and a place, Jill," Jack interrupted. "What's going on with the Gryphon?"
"It's heading here," Jill answered. "The Pentagon finally listened to us and allowed the city to be evacuated."
"Politics," Jack shrugged. "Hollywood for ugly people."
"The Gryphon's less than three hours away," Jill explained. "We don't have a hope in hell of evacuating the whole city in that time."
"OK, look, we have a plan we wanted to run by the alien-thingy-guy," Jack started.
"Do it," Jill answered, "Whatever you have to do. Both of you. And Tina…" She looked to her daughter, who refused to meet her gaze, "I'm sorry," She whispered before leaving.
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"Plaqueze!" Jill roared as she burst into the command room. "Torture? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"As opposed to what?" Plaqueze retorted, "I don't know if you noticed, but we've got a hell of situation. Or did you not see that thing grow it's wing back?"
"It's a reptilian trait," Mike answered from beside him, "The ability to regenerate a lost limb. It's just been massively sped up, possibly adapted into something more effective."
"So we can't kill it?"
"Not necessarily. We'd just need something that caused instant death."
"Great," Plaqueze seethed, "Just brilliant. And what about the tail?"
"Probably some kind of poison. Godzilla has the same sort of regenerative abilities as the Gryphon, we've seen it in cell samples for years."
"Gryphon's ETA 2 hours 30 minutes," Someone reported.
"I want a defence up against this thing now," Jill shouted, "Plaqueze, don't think I am nearly finished with this."
Ignoring her, Plaqueze stepped forward.
"You have your orders!" He barked to the room, "Ladies and Gentlemen… we are at war!"
Now that was a hard chapter to write. Still, from here on in it's just pure giant monster butt-kicking. Oh yeah, and the torture scene was inspired by Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
All Reviews Welcome!