I don't own Class of the Titans. It would be a great treat for Halloween.

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Herry vs. Godzilla

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Godzilla stumbled sideways and slammed into a building with a reptilian grunt of pain. Herry, tired and roughed up more, he was sure, than he had ever been in his life, bent double as he tried to catch his breath. He kept a careful eye on the monster in case it should recover before he did. When it finally righted itself, Herry sucked in one quick final breath and got ready.

"Bring it," he yelled, trying to sound tougher than he felt.

It roared and stomped toward him, head snaking forward to snap viciously at any part of the hero it could reach. The descendent of Hercules was ready for this and managed to catch the jaws in his hands. Hot, foul breath fairly blasted his hair back in a breeze Herry would have been happy to avoid. A few gobs of spittle flecked his face.

Chronus sighed from his position on the sidewalk. "Herry, dear boy, why do we do this? You know the prophecy as well as I do and unless you can pull six heroes from your pocket you're doomed to failure." He spread his hands in supplication. "Why prolong the charade? Give up and I'll make sure your end is quick and painless. The usual deal."

"No dice," Herry grunted, barely taking his focus off the sharp teeth and gaping jaws to respond. He was determined to prevail even in the absence of his friends and hoped that in the process he could gain some clue as to what the Titan's plan was. "I'm going to beat this thing, and then I'm coming after you, Chronus."

"Then perhaps another tactic will suffice. If you vow to not oppose me, I will be willing to," he paused, choosing his words. "give you some advice on how to find your friends."

The hero's surprise was so great that his grip slipped dangerously and Godzilla's maw lurched forward, about to bite a sizable chunk from Herry's torso. Herry reacted as quickly as his tired muscles would allow, side-stepping the lunge and simultaneously shoving with one hand. The jaws closed on his left arm and sharp pain lanced through him. He stifled any shout of pain by biting his lip.

Chronus was now visible, standing quite close to hero and beast, just behind Godzilla's head. "I see my offer has appeal." He reached a hand up to pat the monster's head almost fondly. "What do you say, Herry? Information for a halt to your resistance?"

"But the world…" The descendent of Hercules warred with his conscience. He knew that letting the god have free reign over the city – over any part of the world – meant disaster. It was what he had vowed to stop. But on the other hand, if he could find and rescue his friends, couldn't they band together to stop the Titan again?

"Who's to say you won't succeed?" Chronus asked, his question mirroring Herry's thoughts. "I'm sure the world won't suffer terribly for a few days. Weeks." He snapped his fingers and Godzilla released Herry's arm. Warm rivulets of blood trailed down to his hand and dripped steadily onto the pavement. "All you have to do is say no when Zeus sends you out to do his errands. We can even agree that should you manage to get your little group back together our contract becomes void and you can fight to your heart's content."

Herry grimaced. He glanced at Godzilla, the monster's small eyes fixed intently on the wound it had inflicted. Evidently it liked the taste of hero. He considered the other gods and their certainty that he was imagining six other people. What choice did he have?

"No deal, Chronus. I may not have the prophecy to back me up, but I won't let you hurt innocent people."

"Spoken like a true hero." Chronus shook his head regretfully, and stepped away. His fingers snapped almost of their own violation.

In the future, Herry vowed to himself, he would pay more attention to old monster movies. They probably contained tips on how to fight gigantic dinosaur-like beasts that had been fondly dubbed 'Godzilla' by the resident fleeing populous. Failing that, they might at least entertain him for a few hours after classes.

As the monster's head darted forward for a second pass, the descendent of Hercules tucked himself into a forward roll, springing back to his feet well under the range of the toothy jaw. He charged recklessly forward toward the feet. Herry wrapped his arms around several scaly toes and heaved, relying on his innate mythological strength to pull him through. With a grunt he managed to lift the entire foot.

"Since you aren't open to reason, let me tell you something about this particular monster," Chronus called conversationally. The god was watching idly, leaning against a parking meter.

The hero groaned, and not only from the strain of keeping his foe off balance. "How about you don't and if anyone asks, I'll say you did?" he shouted back.

Chronus chose to ignore him. "He's the same type of creature that guarded the golden fleece, you know. A pity Jay isn't around to see it, considering it was his ancestor that found a way passed it." He chuckled and Herry could still hear it over the panting of his own breath. "Although he had a little help."

Godzilla, perhaps as tired of hearing its master gloat hot air as the hero was, shifted its weight to its raised foot. Herry strained against the added pressure. "That's nice," he managed through gritted teeth. And then he let go.

The monster growled in surprise as it lost balance. It stumbled across the street, oddly human-like as it flailed small arms in an attempt to straighten out and not fall clumsily to the ground. The Titan was quick to summon forth a portal and step through as Godzilla's tail leveled the region by his parking meter perch. He reappeared farther down the street.

Herry ran forward in an attempt to press his advantage. He scooped up a miscellaneous bit of debris and hefted it in one hand like a club. Hercules would proud, he thought to himself. The club is not dead.

As Godzilla reoriented for another run, the descendent of Hercules stood ready. He waited for the head to sweep into range and then brought up the bit of metal. The impact jarred his arm and his club slipped from his grasp. His foe shook its head and pressed on the attack. It was all Herry could do to side-step the maw. Glass and concrete debris scattered as the monster's head dragged along the road for a moment before it turned.

Wounded though he was, a good bit of the left side of his shirt darkened with blood and his arm throbbing painfully, Herry stood waiting for the next charge. How Hera and the other gods could imagine him standing alone against Chronus when he was barely holding even in this fight, the hero couldn't understand. What did they see in him that he didn't? Clutching his arm, he stumbled to what remained of a storefront, hoping he might be inspired by his reflection, in much the same way the absent Neil might be.

The Titan laughed. "Trying to fill the void, are you?" he called. "I'm sure Neil would be thrilled."

Herry ignored him in favor of wincing at his bedraggled appearance. Some hero, he thought, thinking back on all the male leads in some of his favourite movies. They all seemed to keep it together. As he started to turn back to his scaly foe, Herry paused, seeing something in the reflection that seemed promising. Divine inspiration, some would call it. What a lucky break was the thought that ran through his head as the descendent of Hercules broke into a run, ignoring the sharp jabs of pain from his arm.

His beloved truck sat parked where he had left it, the door flung open from his haste to confront Chronus' latest plot to take over the city. Herry practically dove into the driver's seat and twisted the keys in the ignition until the engine fired to life with a satisfying rumble. Turning the radio volume to full blast, the hero pleaded silently that Godzilla was cut from a similar cloth as Cerberus. He hit the on button and turned the dial to the local easy listening station. Jazz hit him in the face.

"Not exactly what I had in mind," Herry mumbled to himself, pulling the door shut and revving the engine. He pulled forward until the monster was squarely in front of him. Godzilla cocked its head to follow the trill of saxophone and bass.

The truck came to a stop as Godzilla stomped a few paces forward. Its head snaked forward to nudge the bumper, sending Herry hastily scrambling to shift to reverse. He swung the truck around in a wide arc. Godzilla happily rubbed up against it again, trying to get closer to the sounds of brass and crooning vocals. When the rear tires thumped back to pavement, Herry jammed his foot down on the accelerator. The squeal of rubber followed him down the street until it was drowned out by the steady whomp of Godzilla's pursuing footsteps.

Maybe I should've thought this through a little more. Herry kept one eye glued to the rearview mirror and one eye on the road, simultaneously worried about being stomped and sideswiping a parked car. The streets were fairly vacant now as word of a monster attack had spread quickly. Clawed toes were the hero's only company. He reached to turn the stereo off but paused. How far will it follow me?

For a moment, the descendent of Hercules imagined himself in the role of the Pied Piper, serenading a band of rats to their doom. But one glance at what was following quickly shattered the dream and he swerved a hard right toward the harbor. The gods were about to owe him a big one and though Herry was sure he'd be duly compensated, a part of him was screaming against what he was now planning to do.

Not that, it said. Anything but that.

When the first glimmering glimpse of water appeared between buildings, Herry braced himself. He waited as long as he dared until prying his white fingers from the steering wheel, shouldering open the door and tumbling free as his truck roared off the road and sailed gracefully into the bay. A saxophone wailed out the blues.

Godzilla, for its part, seemed to see the fall coming. It skittered against momentum, trying to grind to a halt as inertia and the siren song of jazz drew it towards the edge. With a final, almost defiant bellow, Godzilla tumbled after Herry's pride and joy. The hero watched a wave surge up and break against the pavement in silence, mourning his loss. Chronus appeared beside him.

"I must admit," the god said solemnly, "I didn't expect that."

Herry forgot himself for a moment to laugh. "Yeah, no kidding." Realizing who he was talking to, the hero was quick to get to his feet trying to look as fierce and intimidating as he could, trying to match bravado with his feeling of loss. "Is it going to surge out and start attacking again?" he asked, half expecting Godzilla's return as he spoke.

The Titan shook his head. "No, I think we'll call it even. I have all the time I need to conquer the world, Herry, and you need some time to think about my offer." In an odd gesture of fraternity, Chronus awkwardly and distantly reached out to brush Herry's arm in his version of a friendly shoulder clap. "You did surprisingly well. But it won't last." He stepped through a waiting portal and was gone.

The hero sank back to the ground, looking out over the water. No one was going to believe him about what had just happened.

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Ah, Herry. Will you cross over to the dark side?

First, sorry for the long silence! I went on holiday for two weeks and didn't have a chance to update anything before being robbed of Internet access to attend a wedding.

Now, a few comments. Lost Experiment? Yes, the statue thing does stand out, doesn't it? Bittersweet, you're right about the state of Neil's dress in the previous chapter. I completely forgot he was in only his underwear at the end of Skin Deep, and I have gone back to rectify the mistake. Thank you for pointing it out.

Thanks once again for all the reviews. I'm a very happy writer.