Chapter 12
Birth of the Mutants
Jason Sterlington was sitting on a couch in the Godzilla Memorial Lounge located in to the Godzilla Memorial Museum in Tokyo. The roof of the lounge was the side of a building which Godzilla had stepped on, leaving a huge footprint, during his 1985 attack. Ironically, the lounge and museum were spared another trampling during the recent attacks.
The museum held a collection of artifacts and documents covering Godzilla's two former attacks. The adjacent lounge served as an indoor forum for citizens.
Jason felt grateful to finally be out of his gear, but something still weighed on his mind.
Glenn, who was approaching, could see that Jason was in deep thought.
"Philippe and I planned on celebrating first contact by starting the evening early." Glenn sat in a chair next to Jason. "Why is the roughneck Jason chilling in a lounge?"
"Why is the yankee twaut out looking for guys who don't like being bothered?" Jason replied in his typical tone.
"You've been through hell, Jason. We all have. I just need to make sure you're still all there." Glenn asked with concern. "What was on your mind?"
"It's…" Jason started, still forming his thought. "It was just awful convenient, don't you thing? The world is going to hell and then bloody aliens show up to save the day just before we're spent."
"Would you rather be lizard chow right now?" Glenn joked.
"I can't be the only one smelling something funny. Their story about the giant moth sounds like rubbish too."
Glenn leaned forward. "Jason, we've all been under more stress than most people have in their entire lives. Take my advice and relax. You need it."
"Maybe," Jason replied while covering his face with his hands.
"Good," Glenn got up. "We're sneaking some drinks into the base for Anton. Try to swing by. Try to stay out of trouble too."
Glenn started to walk away.
Before Glenn got too far, Jason said "They don't blink."
Glenn stopped and turned around.
"I watched the whole speech. Neither of them batted once." Jason said without turning to Glenn.
Glenn said nothing and continued out.
What Jason had said and how he said it left him with an eerie feeling. He almost understood how Jason was feeling; like something was wrong.
Taylor Martin picked up the phone.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Taylor, it's Vince. How are you doing?"
"I'm alright. We're all a little on edge. There's a giant alien spaceship outside my window and no matter how many times I say that, it doesn't seem any more believable."
"I can't really wrap my head around it either. But at least the monsters are gone."
"I won't argue with that. Still unnerving, though. I always thought first contact would be more exciting. All I can think about is Independence Day."
"Ya, What would Will Smith do in this situation?
Taylor laughed. "Hey! Think I could come live with you in Japan?!"
"Ugh…" Vincent hesitated. "We'll see. Tokyo's kind of a shit show right now. Stay in New York for now."
"Well we're coming to see you soon! I torrented the Japanese Rosetta Stone, so I'm totally ready! Kon'nichiwa! Watashi wa Taylor desu!"
"Good start. Just wait till you get to kanji. And I'm calling to let you all know you will be able to see me. I'll be on UWN Nightly tonight to talk about the big guy."
"What?! No way!" Taylor telled away from the speaker "Hey mom! Vince is gonna be on TV tonight!"
Vince heard his ecstatic mother in the background. Then one of his assistants entered the room.
"Hey, Tay, hold on a sec." Vincent turned to his assistant. "What's up?"
"The tests are almost done, Doctor Martin."
Vincent nodded and moved the phone back to his face.
"Hey, Tay. I gotta go. Tell mom and dad I'll call later, or in the morning."
Glenn still had business to take care of. Thanks to his connections with the JSDF, he was able to get a lift via helicopter to the US marine base on Okinawa. There he would keep the promise he made to Masahiro.
When he landed on the island, he noticed many statues of lions. They reminded him of the Caesars. He wondered if Okinawans long ago had seen the beasts and have been building statues in their honor ever since.
Masahiro told him to find a boy in Okinawa named Shin'ichi Ozaki. He looked up the boy in a database and was able to find his address. He was ten and lived with his mother, Rei Kitamura, near the east coast of the island. They lived with the mother's family in a nice neighborhood. The house was nothing like the compact ones in Tokyo; it was a nice two story house with a pool. No doubt paid for with Masahiro's paycheck. He didn't meddle in his fellow agent's finances, but he knew he almost never had much money. He must have sent most of it here.
As he approached the house, he heard an ambulance in the distance. Normally he would not think anything of it, but he had been hearing ambulance sirens since he landed. He saw three of them speed by him on his way to the house. 'No monster had attacked Okinawa; why so many emergencies?' he thought.
He knocked on the front door. Almost immediately, a woman answered. She looked at Glenn and looked behind him as if expecting someone else. "Where are the paramedics?!" she asked frantically in Okinawan. Family members were rushing back and forth behind her. There seemed to be some sort of emergency.
"I… I'm sorry," Glenn replied in English. He knew a little Okinawan from Masahiro. "This is obviously a bad time. I can come back later."
"Who are you?" the woman asked in English.
"My name is Glenn Adams. I'm here on behalf of Masahiro Ozaki."
"He couldn't come himself?!" she asked as if offended.
"No, ma'am." Glenn said coldly. The stern look in his eyes and the harshness in his words said why. He pulled Masahiro's dog tags from his shirt pocket and presented them.
"Oh," the woman said. For a few seconds, all she could do was stare at the dog tags, not sure what to do. She could only stand there.
Glenn gently took her hand and placed the tags in her palm. "I'm sorry for your loss. He was a good friend of mine even though he didn't tell me much about his family. The last thing he told me was to deliver these to a boy named Shin'ichi Ozaki."
"I… I… I, I can't think about this right now. There's something wrong with Shin'ichi and no ambulance has come." Her maternal instincts tried desperately hold back the heartbreak.
"Is there any way I can help?" the eagle scout in Glenn asked like a reflex.
"Perhaps. Come in."
Glenn followed the woman into the house. He heard a boy crying upstairs. It was not the crying that came from a tantrum or even from sadness. The boy he heard was in agonizing pain.
When he entered the boy's room, he saw young Shin'ichi with four men around him. They were trying to hold him down as he was thrashing violently. Oddly, the four seemed to be having trouble restraining the ten year old boy. Glenn rushed to the foot of the bed to help hold little Shin'ishi's legs. Then he could tell what was going on, even though he could not imagine why. The boy seemed incredibly strong; as strong as several men.
The boy's mother rushed to her son's side as he screamed. She placed her gentle hand on his face. It did not seem to help.
Then the young Shin'ichi grabbed the headboard of his bed. With the loud splintering of wood, the boy tore the backboard off and through it at Glenn. Fortunately, Glenn was able to dodge the projectile by throwing himself to the floor just in time. The backboard went out the window and into the street. Glenn was shocked, but continued to try to hold the boy.
Again, the world was in chaos. Whatever plagued the boy was also manifesting within children all around the world. Boys suffered from agonizing muscle pains and girls faces horrific migraines. The afflicted children were all between the ages of ten and twenty one. However, there was one exception.
The Erzherzog stumbled into his quarters overlooking the UN building. His muscles aches and his head pounded. Then, like a stab to each part of his body, a pain shot through him and he fell to the floor. It seemed the suffering was closing in on him like walls. He cringed and clutched his head to stop it from exploding while he yelled.
The Erzherzog was not one to become a slave; not to anyone or anything. He was bred to be strong; bred to overcome all that hindered him. An automatic reaction took control of him. His hands moved away from his throbbing head and formed fists. Managing to ignore the pain, his mind slowly took back his body. He was in control. The pain was still there, but his will kept hold over it.
He opened his eyes and unclenched his fists. He opened his eyes in amazed realization. He looked down at his feet. To his bewilderment, he was levitating three inches off the floor. Upon realizing this, he quickly dropped and caught his footing.
The look in his eyes said he wanted answers; and he knew who could provide them.
The Keizer was observing the news from around Earth. There was something happening to the young humans. He anticipated a lot when coming to Earth, but nothing like what he was viewing.
It was then when the Erzherzog burst into the office.
"Tell me what's happening to me!" the Erzherzog demanded.
The Keizer turned in shock as if he were expecting this confrontation any second. "What do you mean?" he asked innocently.
"You!" the Erzherzog shouted before stumbling to the floor. He had lost his hold over the pain for a second. He collected his mind and continued. "You've been hiding something from me ever since we arrived." He thought deeper. "No. No! All my life! And today, right now, you're going to tell me, o wise Keizer!"
"Do you forget your number?! I will not stand for such insolence!"
"I…" he began, but stopped before yelling loudly due to a piercing pain in his head. "I was viewing the human visual feeds. Much of Earth's young are undergoing some sort of… simultaneous episode. Then, not even one minute later, I'm experiencing the same thing!"
"You're writhing in pain. Lie down and let the medics take care of you." The Keizer slowly approached with comforting hands.
"I know. I know! There's always been something wrong with me. Different, not like any other Xilian. And I know that you know!" the Erzherzog formed fists again and closed his eyes. He tried to withhold the pain like he did before. But unlike before, everything went black.
The last thing he remembered was the feel of the Keizer's arms catch him.
When Gordon and Yuki arrived back at G-Force Base in Tokyo, things seemed worse there than in Dubai. A chill ran up Yuki's back when she heard the cries of children fill the halls of the base. The whole base seemed dingy and depressing. The air felt thick with humidity. The air conditioning system had ceased. The emergency lights dimly light the halls. There batteries were beginning to die.
The screaming put Yuki into a daze. She almost thought she had fell asleep on the jet was experiencing a nightmare. Then Vincent approached her and got her attention.
"Gordon, nice to see you alive," Vincent greeted Gordon quickly. "Yuki, thank god you're here. Something is happening with the kids here. It all started at once. Boys are having severe pain throughout their body and girls have severe migraines. None of the nurses or medics has a clue about what's going on!"
"I've never heard of anything like this," Yuki replied. The chaotic situation was beginning to overwhelm her.
Just then, a woman came running down the hall calling "Doctor Martin! Doctor Martin!" She looked out of breath. "There is a girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen, under the same attack as the other girls!"
"Taylor, my sister, is going around with blankets. That's all we can do right now. She's going to be fine." Vincent tried consoling the woman.
"But you don't understand. She's pregnant! She is in labor right now!"
"Christ!" Vincent said aloud. He was not even sure if the afflicted individuals were going to survive. The chances of a baby surviving such stress seemed much slimmer.
"Take me!" Yuki promptly requested. With a goal to concentrate on, she was able to hold herself together.
The woman led Yuki, Vincent, and Gordon to the laboring girl. She had already been transported to the base's infirmary. When Yuki and the others arrived, there was one frantic nurse. The other nurses and medics were busy tending to the seriously injured or dying.
"Thank heaven you're here!" the solitary nurse said. "This girl is in labor and I can't do anything while she's flailing around like a lunatic!"
The girl's cries of pain made it difficult for everyone to think.
"Vincent, Gordon, hold her." Yuki instructed the men. "Is the father here?" she asked the nurse.
"He's in the same state as the rest of the boys." the nurse answered.
"What's her name?"
"Anne, I think."
Yuki continued to ask other questions about the girl. Her contractions had become more frequent. Vincent and Gordon did their part by sacrificing their hands to the girl's grip as she wailed in pain. She couldn't even form words, the pain was so great.
Two hours had passed. Yuki could tell the birth was growing closer. Since the girl was so young, she had assumed this was her first child, which concerned her. Normally, labor for a first time mother lasts much longer, around eight or ten hours. Then again, something very unnatural was happening to the girl. Yuki tried telling the girl to begin pushing. While she could only reply in screams, the message got through. It was not long before the child began to crown.
With one final push, the cries of the newborn filled the halls. Yuki held the tiny baby girl in her hands.
Vincent and Gordon were in as much relief as the new mother as they tended to their crushed hands.
Strangely, as the child cried out, the cries of the many young girls ceased all at once. They had all passed out, including the new mother.
The halls of G-Force base rang silent except for the cries of the newborn baby. Evacuees and nurses all gazed down the dimly lit corridor leading to the baby.
He slowly managed to open his eyes. The lights overhead were bright. His head was still ringing from the pain, but the pain was gone. His long duster was on the counter across the room.
He almost always wore his black duster. The taylors had offered to shorten the sleeves, but he liked them ever so slightly longer than normal. He always felt cold without it and thought every others xilain strange when they felt perfectly comfortable in the mothership. 'Why does everyone like it cold?' the Erzherzog thought. 'Can't they tolerate a bit of warmth for their Erzherzog?'
Upon seeing the Erzherzog awaken, the xilian nurse left to inform the Keizer. The Keizer made it clear that he wanted to be the first to know when he woke up.
While alone, the Erzherzog tried to remember what happened. The short time he was in agony blurred together in his mind. He remembered feeling tremendous pain throughout his body and head. Then he passed out shortly after going to see the Keizer. What puzzled him was why he thought the Keizer could answer his questions. He could not recall his reasoning.
He could recall being caught by the Keizer. A sense of what humans called Déjà vu came to him when he thought of being in the Keizer's arms. He would have certainly remembered making physical contact with the Keizer before. He never did accept on the rarest of occasions. Touching the Keizer was most socially unacceptable. "But why, then did it feel familiar?' the Erzherzog thought.
It was then that the Keizer himself entered the room.
"How are you?" The Keizer asked.
"What happened to me?" the Erzherzog replied. "All I remember is fighting off this horrible pain and then passing out at your feet. You caught me."
"You appear to have suffered the effects of some sort of attack. We don't know what it was or who it was from. All that matters now is that you and our people are safe."
The Erzherzog only looked bewildered. "That's all that matters. You don't seem very worried, though."
The keizer smiles. "We are at the climax of our long journey. There's no stopping us now. Have faith in me, Erzherzog. Now get some rest."
With that, the Keizer left. And the Erzherzog sat in the bed more confused than ever. One thing he was less confused about, however, was his faith in the Keizer.
Anne Saegusa opened her eyes. She was immediately alarmed. The last thing she remembered was sleeping on a cot in the halls of the base when she felt her baby. She could tell it was coming. Then everything got fuzzy and her head felt like it was going to explode. Then she woke up. She leapt up and realized she was in a different bed. To her horror, she found that her stomach was flat. She became frantic.
"Anne! Anne!" Yuki walked in to comfort the girl.
"Where is my baby!?" Anne demanded to know.
"The little angel is just fine." Yuki informed. "Oh Kazama," she called to the young man on a couch holding the child in a blanket, "the new mother would like to see her baby."
Kazama Katsunori, the new sixteen year old father, got up and approached Anne.
Anne extended her anxious arms. Kazama gently handed over the girl.
The delicate babe was peacefully asleep. As Anne adored her, she very carefully brushed aside some the baby's thin black hair. Anne then looked back up at Kazama. He placed a tender kiss on Anne's temple and then one on the child's head.
"Figures, we could only agree on boys' names," Kazama lightly joked.
"What girls' names did you like?" Anne asked softly.
Kazama looked down at Anne and saw how happy she was. He only wanted to make her happier. He was not fond at first of the name he was about to propose, but he knew Anne would like it. "What about naming her after your grandmother, Miki?"
Anne's face lit up with joy. She had grown very close to her grandmother and was heartbroken when she passed away the year before. "Really?! You like it?"
"Yeah, it's grown on me the more I think of it." Kazama smiled back.
" And do you still want her to have my surname? Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure, Anne. Miki Saegusa is perfect."
Yuki quietly left the new family alone and tended to the other patients. After the hours upon hours of exhausting work, seeing those three together filled Yuki with much needed hope. That child made the whole ordeal seem worth it.
The Erzherzog looked over the great human city. He stood shirtless. The Earth's sun was brighter than any of the lights on the mothership. In the bright light, his skin looked almost transparent. Purple veins could be seen snaking through his body.
He was wondering what an Xilian city would look like here. He had never seen an Xilian city. Most Xilians had not. Only the elderly were alive to see them. The closest thing to an Xilian city he knew was the mothership. These dirty looking buildings the humans had constructed would not do for Xilans. The Erzherzog was thinking of ways to get them out of the way.
A female stepped into the doorway of his chamber. "My Erzherzog…"
He did not really want want to reply. He wanted to ignore her and hope she got the message and left.
"My Erzherzog…" she repeated a bit louder.
"What is it, female?!" The Erzherzog asked with irritation.
"The Keizer wanted you to know of the birth taking place at this moment."
The thought took a second to get through. The ban the Keizer had put on conception had not been lifted. They did not have the resources to care for any more of their people. "Birth?! A child?! Why was it not aborted after conception? Who allowed it to develop?"
"Forgive me, my Erzherzog. I do not know. I can take you to the Keizer now if you would like."
The Erzherzog grabbed his large black coat and put it on (without putting his shirt back on) while he walked with the female.
The female let the Erzherzog to the med-bay. Their, they went to the room with the screams emanating from it. Inside was an Xilian woman about to birth the first Earth born Xilian.
The Xilian process of childbirth was very similar to how it was for humans. The xilian woman was on a bed with her legs held up.
The Keizer, with a smile on his face, approached the Erzherzog.
"I'm glad you were able to come," the Keizer said to the Erzherzog.
"Why are you allowing this to happen? Are you lifting the ban?"
"I am. When the news of the conception reached me, I knew that by the time we had a home, so would the child. It was kept a secret to avoid a population boom."
The doctor exclaimed "My Keizer, it's coming!"
"Perfect timing, my Erzherzog!" the Keizer patted the Erzherzog's shoulders. "Come witness the first Earth born Xilian."
With a final scream and final push, the woman gave birth to the child and the doctor delivered it. "A male!" he announced. He handed the boy to the nurse who proceeded to wash him off. The female nurse then passed the boy off to the Keizer who inspected him. Newborn Xilians had thinner skin than adults. Their skin was more transparent. Purple veins along with a tiny beating heart could faintly be seen. One could see his organs moving inside while under light. The skin would thicken and be less transparent in about an Earth year.
The Keizer, very happy, handed the boy to the Erzherzog. It was his first time holding a baby. Upon feeling it in his arms, a strange, warm feeling stirred up within him. Without ever knowing the new Xilain or even knowing of its conception, he treasured it. "Who is he?" the Erzherzog asked.
The Keizer answered. "We've decided to name him Shin Zero One. The beginning of a new generation of Xilian."
The Erzherzog continued looking at the child. "Such a precious child…"
"Indeed," the Keizer agreed. "We've parted the child from his mother for too long. Perhaps we should give them some time together."
The Erzherzog give the child to his mother and left the room with the Keizer. But he turned around one last time before leaving. The baby Xilian gripped his mother's finger.
The Shobijin knelt before the almighty Mothra. They put their hands together and prayed to the mighty thing.
"How are the islanders?" Mothra asked.
"The affected ones are still asleep. The drink worked well to ease them. The transformation seems to be nearing its end," the girls said in unison.
"Good. I didn't want this to befall the young people. But the Earth did this on its own. It was forced to without its kaiju," the moth explained.
"We have faith in you, Mosura. We trust in the Earth."
"With the army before us, I fear the Earth, myself, and the mutants may not be enough. That is why we must have faith in the brute I've brought here."