A/N I wanted to thank all my lovely reviewers so far; I love feedback on all my stories and any tips/suggestions for this fandom are highly appreciated. It's kind of lonely up here, and your thoughts and encouragement make it less so :) Thank you all for your support in this small fandom! I'm so glad your enjoying this story so far and can't wait to see what you think of the rest of it. Anyone who's reading and not reviewing, thanks as well...all readers are appreciated!
Chapter Five
Mendel was sweating as he steered Nigel towards the barge. "Okay, here we go," he muttered, pushing a few buttons. Nigel veered upward and broke through the surface of the water. Godzilla was close behind him; body streaming elegantly through the murky ocean, he opened his jaws below Nigel in preparation for the final snap.
"Hurry up, doc!" Randy yelled.
"I thought I told you to shut up!" Mendel yelled back.
Leaning over the monitor, watching the camera feed closely, Mendel sent Nigel climbing up the barge. Godzilla's head surfaced, his teeth snapping shut on nothing once more. He looked in the direction of the boat with an expression of what could only be annoyance.
"He doesn't like being manipulated," Mendel said pointedly.
"It's for the greater good," Elsie said. She had her hands on the back of Mendel's chair and was watching his every move like a hawk. "Just go through with the plan. Godzilla will forgive you eventually."
"Are we really safe with that thing so close?" Steve had grown more frightened by the minute and was now nearing hysteria.
"Randy, take him on back, will you?" Elsie asked.
Randy looked at her in dismay. "Aw, but I want to see the G-Man total Nigel!"
"Haven't you seen that happen often enough?" Mendel asked through clenched teeth.
Randy sighed and got up, motioning to Steve to follow him into the back room. "There's a window in there too, I bet it's an awesome view," he said enthusiastically.
"Um," Steve said.
"Don't go too low," Nick said. "You might distract Godzilla."
At the controls of the helicopter, Monique sighed. She knew Nick was just paranoid, but really, by now he should be able to trust her judgment with such things.
Nick leaned out his side window to watch the scene below. From here, he had a clear view of Godzilla several yards below as he churned in the water, eyeing the Seeker. He could also see Nigel teetering his way up the side of the immense fungus. Nick was shocked to see it up close. It had completely encased the barge in its shelf-like sections, and its many mycelia protruded from its underside as it searched for more sustenance.
He'd have to talk to Randy, again, about the dangers of messing around with peculiar organisms.
Suddenly Mendel pointed up and out the window. A movement in the sky had caught his attention, and looking up he saw it was a helicopter hovering overhead.
"That must be Nick. What's he doing here?"
"Couldn't trust us alone with the kid," Elsie surmised. She turned on the radio and tuned in to the chopper's signal.
"Hey Nicky, what's the matter, don't you trust me and Mendel?" she asked into the speaker.
"A little less humor would be appreciated at this time," Nick countered. "You didn't tell me the thing was so big."
Elsie shrugged, then remembered Nick couldn't see her and said, "What was I supposed to do, measure it?"
"You could have given me a rough estimate."
"Does its exact size even matter? Besides, it's been growing."
"Size always matters, Elsie."
Mendel stalled Nigel halfway up the mushroom. He watched Godzilla look from the boat to the chopper and then Nigel again. "He can't decide what to focus on. He's losing interest in Nigel," Mendel called to Elsie.
"Hey Nick, tell French Fry to pull up. You're distracting Godzilla," Elsie said into the radio.
"Oh, and you are not?" came Monique's voice from the other end of the line.
"Why must everyone always blame someone else?" Nick demanded. "Can't we cooperate for once? Can nobody claim responsibility for anything? Monique, pull up. Elsie, see if you can't back off the Seeker a bit. And Mendel, tell Nigel to start talking again."
"Won't the movement of the boat make Godzilla lose attention again?" Mendel asked.
Elsie made for the Seeker's control panel. "Not if Nigel barks loud enough."
"Why is it I have to do everything?" Mendel muttered. He sent the command to Nigel, and the robot once again began emitting the ultrasonic blasts he had earlier. In the water, Godzilla shifted to face the robot, letting out a brief cry of annoyance. He ignored the movement of the boat and helicopter as they moved away, and focused on the source of the infuriating noise. Placing his front legs onto the barge, he attempted to haul himself up next to Nigel.
"Wait, no!" Mendel cried.
"What's up?" asked Elsie, who was busily steering the boat away from the scene.
"He's climbing onto the barge. It won't hold his weight—"
In the helicopter, Nick saw what Godzilla was doing and attempted to wave him down through his open window. "Godzilla, back away!" he called down, using a command he knew he recognized. But over the rumble of the boat, the chopping of the helicopter blade, and the ultrasonic sounds that Nick could not hear, his voice was lost. Godzilla heaved himself onto the barge, causing it to tilt towards him. With a startled cry he let go, leaping back into the water with a massive splash that sent the HEAT Seeker spinning a few extra yards away. A bit of the wave hit Nick in the face even as Monique steered them out of harm's way.
Godzilla was safe, treading water in the ocean, but unfortunately Nigel wasn't so lucky. The weight of the giant mushroom sent the tilted barge rocking back into place, catapulting Nigel off. The robot soared through the air with his characteristic scream and disappeared in the wake of Godzilla's wave.
"We lost Nigel!" Mendel shouted. "And Godzilla didn't even fry the mushroom!" He and Elsie were both currently on the floor after being sent spinning. But Mendel still had Nigel's controls and could see what had happened via the Nigel Cam. He stared forlornly at the now-blank screen.
"Well." Elsie was stunned. "That worked well."
"I told you it wasn't going to work," Mendel snapped.
"That doesn't help us right now," Elsie shot back, rising and going back to the steering wheel.
"Yeah, but it might have helped us earlier, if you'd just listened to me!" Mendel said.
In the back room, Randy helped Steve to his feet—they too had been knocked off-balance by Godzilla's wave. Randy cocked an ear, listening to Mendel and Elsie bickering in the other room. He felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that it was his fault Nigel was now making his way to the bottom of the sea. Actually, it was his fault for two reasons: for buying the mushroom in the first place, and for coming up with the idea that hadn't worked. Not that it was his fault it hadn't worked. Either way, though, he felt he should do something about it.
He'd heard what Nick said over the radio about taking responsibility. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. If he could get Nigel back, maybe that would make Mendel feel better about the whole thing.
"Ready for another ride in the rowboat?" Randy asked Steve.
Steve looked horrified. "With that thing in the water?"
"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Randy gave him a winning smile. He pushed Steve down the stairs and over to hatch. "Besides, the G-Man knows better than to blast one of his buds."
"You're….buds?" Steve asked incredulously.
"Of course! Any friend of his daddy is a friend of his!"
"Um, but I don't know Dr. Teradopolous," Steve stuttered.
Randy sighed as he tugged to rowboat over to the hatch. "First of all, it's Tatopoulos. Not—whatever it was you said." He opened the hatch to the ocean outside. "Second, I won't let the G-Man eat you. Besides, he doesn't like eating people. They give him cramps."
The humor of his last remark was lost on Steve. The man turned as white as a sheet and glanced nervously out the open hatch as if expecting Godzilla's tongue to be there waiting for him to step on it. Randy gently pushed him into the rowboat and followed suit. He kicked them off, ignoring Steve's startled yelp as they took the three-foot plunge into the water. Randy stood up to close the hatch behind him before they drifted slowly away from the boat.
"Oops," he said suddenly.
"What?" Steve squeaked out.
Randy turned to him with a shrug. "Forgot the oars," he said.