Disclaimer: Same as it's been for the past few chapters. Godzilla just hangs out in my headspace. Hanna Barbera was the one that made the cartoon.

Chapter 4: A Study in Parenting

When Godzilla came up and saw his 'nephew' in his newest predicament, he had to wonder if the universe was trying to get back at him somehow for some past wrong.

The smaller, green kaiju was covered head to toe in what looked like a very pungent slime, or simply a greenish kind of mud. Godzooky, on the other hand, looked unbothered by the stench, and was happy as always to see him.

That being said, he was startled when Godzilla promptly picked him up, and plunked him down into the shallower section of the shoreline. When the child-monster surfaced, and noticed the ooze trailing off of his green frame, he seemed to get the message. Diving under, and coming back up mostly clean, the little monster chattered away, about this, that, and the other thing.

Yep, back to normal, or so it seemed.

"Pete, can you hand me the sample, please?" Quinn asked, buried up to her eyes in little vials containing ocean water. The boy's thoughts, however, were elsewhere, as he stared out of the porthole with a thoughtful glaze over his eyes. After a few moments of simply holding her hand up, waiting for the vial to be handed to her, Quinn looked up from her work.

"Something on your mind, Pete?" She asked, punctuating her query with a tap on the shoulder. The boy, jumping, turned to his aunt with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry, Aunt Quinn, just thinking about that creature we found in the reef. Did you find out anything from its scales?"

"Well, aside from the fact that it's unlike any other species of reptile, it's also somewhat similar to the diluted saliva I keep finding in the water near the island."

"Like maybe there are more like him?" Pete asked.

"More, perhaps, but not exactly like him. From what I can tell, the species that I keep coming across is more amphibious than our find." Quinn explained, showing the two DNA series to Pete. The teenager tilted his head, not quite seeing the difference. The seasoned scientist chuckled a moment deciding to just explain it in layman's terms.

Or, more rather, she would have, if Brock hadn't come in right then and there with a newspaper in hand, smiling like he had just won the lottery.

"Hey, Doctor Darien! I remembered where I'd seen that creature before; I thought you might be interested." He finished by placing the newspaper down on the table, giving both a full view of the headline.

'UNNAMED BEAST TERRORIZES ISLAND PEOPLE'

"Honestly, the terrorizing bit's a little exaggerated, but the descriptions the people gave the reporters sound a lot like what we saw today. You think the two of them are related somehow?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if the two species shared a common ancestor. From what I'm reading here, that creature could go from about ten feet to one hundred and sixty, approximately."

At that, both Pete and Brock exchanged impressed glances. Such sizes were usually only heard of in comic books and fiction movies. Still, the article did hold one interesting, albeit blurry picture of some large creature walking back into the ocean. Pete tilted his head, noting that the supposed monster did resemble 'Godzooky' to some degree.

Perhaps they could be related in some way?

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong and Godzilla knew he didn't like it. It had started when he had come up to check on the younger kaiju this morning, and the other wasn't there to greet him as he usually would have. Searching about, he found Godzooky curled up in the shade of a large tree, tired and uncharacteristically quiet. And far too warm to boot. The small scrapes that he had gotten from the reef were even more so, and painful, from the way the younger kaiju had yelped when he accidentally bumped them. Despite the fact that he was amphibious, and the lack of water was starting to get to him, Godzilla stayed on dry land. Godzooky, meanwhile, had all but dissolved into a feverish, shivering ball as the day wore on, huddled up next to the larger monster.

At around midday, the sickened child woke up, feeling a noticeable dryness in the back of his throat. Too weak to really move, he gave a small bleat for attention, which the elder kaiju responded to sluggishly, worn down from his prolonged exposure to the sun. Through a few frail gestures, Godzooky managed to get his point across; he needed water. Lifting the youngling up, Godzilla carried him back to the lagoon. After drinking his fill of water, [a bit much, if the King of the Kaiju was any judge] the small monster slid back into an uneasy sleep, Godzilla keeping a firm vigil, part of his body resting in the lagoon itself to ease the dryness settling into his scales.

"You'd like to visit the island?" Captain Majors asked, eyebrow raising at the somewhat unusual request. Quinn, for her part, looked unabashed at the unspoken refusal. After what they had seen that day, it was to be expected. There could be more creatures like that one, and perhaps of larger size. It wasn't something the captain felt comfortable with risking, even for the pursuit of science. Still, Quinn at least felt it was fair to meet him halfway.

"We won't go too far in, but I would at least like to survey the coastline."

"Hmm, alright, but I'd prefer we go tomorrow, in the morning."

Fair enough, Quinn nodded her consent.

"Thank you, Carl."

The night was something of a relief for Godzilla, given that he didn't dry out as rapidly as he did during the day. However, the reason for his prolonged absence from the sea hadn't really improved over the hours. If anything, Godzooky had deteriorated over the course of the afternoon. Despite the fact that he had an inkling over what was causing this, Godzilla could not figure out why. His wounds had never pained him this badly. Then again, his memories of childhood were a bit hazed. Maybe this was normal?

Still, something in him rebutted the idea. The idea that the younger kaiju was sick seemed more plausible than anything.

Of course, that didn't mean he was satisfied with the answer.

Godzooky whined in his sleep, the sound cutting through the ordinary tranquility of the night like a steak knife through jello. Leaning over the shivering huddle, Godzilla placed his hand within easy reach, only partially surprised now when the comparatively smaller fingers snatched it up. He was learning to expect that, tolerate it, even.

It still didn't help the thought that it wouldn't do any good.

Yeah, I figured this would be a better way to break the ice. Also, just about anything else I could see Godzilla being able to deal with enough that the Calico crew really wasn't needed. That, or it was just a matter of what was more of a plausible reason.