Chapter 9: Godzilla vs The Crystal Titan
A/N: Prepare your battle music of choice, cause it's time to rumble!
The roar echoed through the forest. It hadn't been heard around here for almost a year, but the humans instantly recognized it. The great predator had returned.
After a ten minute hike, they reached a Cliffside. Here was the source of the call. In the distance Godzilla walked northward, on the hunt for more of the energy towers.
"Oh great," Jean sighed, "Now we have him to worry about."
"Don't worry," Moll said reassuring, "he only goes after the Titans. He won't pay us any mind."
"There's just one problem," Armin said, "The Titans were practically wiped out in this forest. With all the predators popping up there's no doubt that they eliminated the rest by now."
"What are you saying?" Connie replied.
"So if there are no Titans left here," Hange pondered.
"Then what is he after?" Moblit finished.
They checked their view of the area, seeing if they could spot something. Mikasa was the one who noticed it. She pointed out three Crystal towers north of him. That's where he was headed.
He came to the closest one and fed from it, just as he did earlier.
"Well," Moblit asked the three priestesses, "What's he doing?"
"I…I have no idea." Miki replied, "I've never seen anything like it."
They watched as he drained the power from the crystal, reducing it to ash.
"Maybe it's some kind alternative food source," Hange theorized. "A secondary method of gaining the energy needed to survive. Incredible! I've never seen anything like it in animal or Titan."
"That still doesn't begin to explain what is causing them to crop in the first place." Moblit said crossly.
"Will you just let me have my fun for once Moblit?" Hange complained.
Eren ignored the arguing eggheads and watched the colossal beast thunder across the forest. He honestly didn't know what to think right now. On the one hand, this was the creature that had allowed the second age of mankind to grow.
But on the other, this beast had done what Eren believed to be his own true purpose: eliminate the Titans. With them all gone, he had no outlet for his anger.
His feeling of confusion had dimmed thanks to Lara and Moll. They were on their knees, singing a hymn in a strange language. While he didn't recognize its words he could feel their intention; praise towards the beast. The rhythm of their voice soothed Eren's mind.
As they sang, Godzilla had found another tower. This one was massive. He walked ever so slowly towards it. Suddenly, right before he touched it, the ground beneath his feet caved in. The massive cloud of dust filled the air like a nuclear explosion.
Everyone was shocked, what had just happened?
When the dust cleared there was a gigantic hole in the ground, large enough to leave Godzilla trapped inside.
While the Great Predator struggled to climb free, the humans rambled like frightened chickens. What was going on? Had the ground collapsed? This ring of noise was interrupted by Armin.
"Look!" he said, "The Tower is moving!"
Everyone looked. He was right.
The back half of the tower shifted, almost like a large crystal insect had been stirred into leaving its hideout. But this was no insect, even if it did hide like one.
A humanoid figure covered in crystals pushed itself away, a few fragments of its camouflage flying off. There was no need to hide anymore, not for the Crystal Titan. It leaped into the air, landing right in front to the tower. Everyone could see it, all 250 feet of the monstrosity.
"What the hell is that?!" Jean called out.
"A new Titan?" Connie asked.
"It looks….familiar…" Mikasa said.
The dust had finally cleared completely. They saw the exposed muscle, the large mouth full of teeth, and that near-human face. Everyone had the same thought, but only Eren was brave enough to say it out loud.
"Berlot."
It all came back to him, the words the old man said yesterday;
He's not gone, he just left. Left for a short time, went way up north. The trip changed him something terrible too. Stabbed you in the back he did, and he'll be stabbing it again…
The direction he the thing was hiding, it was north. The crystals covering his flesh was obviously the change he spoke of. He couldn't believe the old man had been warning him all along. Warning him about this.
"How the hell is this possible!?" Eren yelled. "HE IS DEAD! BERLOT IS DEAD!"
"I think he'd disagree with you on that." Sasha said.
"The regeneration factor." Hange said, "All Titans possess this power. Perhaps a small piece of him survived."
While the humans debated, Berlot got to work. He pushed hard on the tower, using all of his might to dislodge it from the ground. Once loose, he pushed it into the ditch, collapsing it on Godzilla.
The heavy crystal knocked the dinosaur to the bottom of the pit. It was heavy, but not enough to do more than knock him down and leave a few bruises. Using his strength, Godzilla used his claws to break the crystal in two and freeing him from it.
A few hundred feet away, Reiner and Ymir watched.
"Have to admit," Ymir said, "That was a clever trap."
"It won't be enough." Reiner said in a grim tone.
While the Crystal Titan laughed at his foe, Godzilla propped the fragments properly enough to make a short step assist, allowing him to crawl out of the hole.
Berlot watched as his rival emerged without a scratch. The two shared a gaze with one another. Both knew each other instantly and what this was about. This was a grudge-match, and only one was going to leave here alive.
Godzilla shot a blast at him, but Berlot's newly acquired speed allowed him to dodge in time. The colossus slashed at Godzilla, using his hand like a slashing dagger, emitting sparks on contact. Caught by surprise, Godzilla flinched down. Godzilla opened his mouth, ready to fire again.
Berlot was prepared for this. Forming a large shard of Crystal from his hand, he shot the projectile into Godzilla's mouth, plugging it up. He couldn't risk firing, so he had to lift his arms to take it out manually. With the large reptile distracted, Berlot charged in, ready to slash again at his face.
This forced Godzilla to use his arms as defense, blocking the hyperactive slash attacks from touching his face. Using his tail, Godzilla tossed Berlot aside and into a thick patch of forest. While his foe was picking himself up, Godzilla shattered the Crystal with his jaws, free from the handicap.
Godzilla wasted no time at all and blasted Berlot with a spiral beam, engulfing his opponent in radioactive heat.
The survey Corps cheered on, celebrating prematurely. Reiner and Yimir thought they had lost. But the fog had cleared. Berlot was…alive?
Not just alive, he was completely unaffected by the Saurian's signature attack.
"By Deliverance…" Moll said in fear.
No one was more surprised than Berlot himself. How in the world did he survive that? Even Godzilla stared in confusion as the Crystal Titan examined himself.
It then came to him, the change affected him in other ways. This gave him an idea. If he could survive this, what else could he do?
Berlot marched forward, heading towards the Great Predator. Godzilla shot more bursts of radiation, hoping to at least knock him over and give him some time to figure something out. But like the waves on the shore, it just washed over him with little to no effect. Finally, the humanoid monster caught up to him.
The hands of the two kaiju clashed against each other. Godzilla struggled to push Berlot away. With one final shove, he tossed the Titan down to the ground. Once down, Godzilla bombarded Berlot with a series of stomp attacks onto his stomach.
While in pain, The Crystal Titan waited patiently. Once he inched his head close enough to Godzilla's other leg he chomped down hard on the scaly calf of his mortal enemy.
Roaring in pain, Godzilla began to beat Berlot with his fists in a panic. But Berlot refused to let go.
"The bite isn't affecting him." Armin said, "Last time they couldn't do that without killing themselves."
"Whatever changed to him must have something to do with it." Mikasa said, "Those crystals on his body might be protecting him."
Come on Predator, Eren screamed in his head, Fight back! There has to be a way!
Eventually, Godzilla had managed to tear Berlot off his leg, removing a decent chunk of flesh in the process. Berlot stood up with a slab of dinosaur meat in his maw and swallowed hard. It almost looked like Berlot was taunting Godzilla.
"Why would he do that?" Reiner asked. "He's supposed to kill the Predator, not show off."
"I think you forgot how Titans work." Yimir said.
Reiner thought about it for a second. Then he smiled, realizing what Berlot was up to.
The battle continued as the giants clashed once more. Realizing that his heat beam wasn't going to work, Godzilla switched to physical tactics. Once he had an opening, Godzilla punched Berlot's face continuously. With a quick turn, he whipped Berlot away with his tail.
Berlot got back up and dashed forward. Leaning to the left, Godzilla dodged the attack but managed to grab hold of Berlot's right leg.
Godzilla beat Berlot onto the ground like a dirty rug over and over, crystal fragments flying all over the place.
In a panic, the Titan formed a small crystal blade in his right hand. Holding it like a dagger, he stabbed it into Godzilla's shoulder. The amount of pain Godzilla felt allowed him to break free. Ready to attack again, Berlot punched Godzilla right in the stomach.
But Berlot left himself wide open, letting enough room for his opponent to uppercut him in the jaw and then backhand him to his knees.
Once kneeled down, Godzilla kicked Berlot twice. Then he used his tail once more to beat the Titan mercilessly. Berlot tried to construct a crystal to shield him, but it didn't last long against Godzilla's might. Once more, Godzilla picked up the humanoid and tossed him into the Cliffside.
Berlot quivered in pain. He couldn't handle any more attacks. Godzilla opened his jaws, ready to finish him with a bite to the throat.
But before any moved could be performed, something happened. Berlot's body began to glow. Godzilla was surprised, completely taken over by curiosity.
"What's happening?" Connie asked.
"Oh no." Hange said.
"What?" Miki asked.
"Remember that theory I came up with not too long ago?" Hange said. "About what really happens to their victims?"
"I do." Armin said grimly, "Titans absorb traits and abilities from those they devour."
"Then… that means…" Eren said, horrified.
As they spoke, the transformation occurred. Each and every one of Berlot's unstable cells began to shift and adapt. His genetic coding became more and more erratic as the traits became fully absorbed.
The small patches of white flesh grew, covering the exposed muscle. The crystals on Berlot's back grew. His hands and feet were now crystalline claws that almost resembled battle gauntlets. The most painful change of all was the long, thin tail covered in crystal emerging from his spine.
Berlot finally stood back up, fully transformed. Any part of his body not covered in skin were purple crystals. His eyes now had a yellow tint to them and his teeth were sharper than ever.
Berlot's plan had worked. He was now a combination of what the crystals had changed him into and Godzilla's might. He was a Titan no more. Instead, he was something new and even more powerful…
…For now he was Krystalak.
To be continued…
A/N: don't worry folks, round two is a short time away. See you all next time, which should be about a week if schoolwork goes as planned.
PS: Krystalak design used here is from Godzilla Neo by Matt Frank.