A/N: I honestly don't know how to feel about this one. On one front, it feels slip-shod, kind of running together, and on another front I like the way it runs. Definitely a case where feedback would be appreciated, it could just be a case of me needing another set of eyes.
Chapter 7: Stowaways and Stormy Mutants
It was midafternoon when the voyage took a surprising turn for the motley crew of the Calico, in the form of a sudden storm that appeared off the starboard side and quickly overtook the ship's attempts to steer clear.
"Where on earth did this thing come from?!" Brock wondered aloud as both he and Captain Majors tried to keep their vessel steady. The Captain, for his part, had no answer. The rough swells had simply shown up around their ship, too soon to avoid and growing steadily stronger the more they tried to brave it. Captain Major's grip on the stern had not relaxed from white-knuckled for at least fifteen minutes as he tried to keep the boat upright; steady had been a foregone goal once the waves had grown too rough. The rest had gathered in the navigation part of the bridge, but both Doctor Darien and Pete could not make heads or tails of the instruments, they had all been alternatively rattled or rendered nonfunctional by the storm.
"There does seem to be some sort of odd electrical interference…" Darien muttered, trying to stay on her feet despite the rocking. Pete clung to the side of the table as the Calico gave another sharp series of jolts.
"Are we nearly out of it, Doctor Darien?" Brock hollered back as he tried to keep his eyes on the instruments for any problems below.
"I honestly couldn't tell you." The Doctor called, and Pete, whose gaze happened to flick to the rain-soaked window, just in time to catch an odd shape on the tilting horizon.
"Aunt Quinn?"
"What is it, Pete?" The answer was distracted, and to be honest he could have just imagined it, but it seemed to out of place not to point out.
"I think there's something outside."
"On the deck, are you sure?"
"No, in the water!"
"Be a fine time for something to get loose." Captain Majors grunted as he battled his way through another oncoming wave.
"Think we should risk going to see what it is?" Brock asked, looking up from the instruments.
"It's practically a typhoon out there!" Came the frustrated and sharp yell from the front helm of the Calico.
"We aren't near any islands, are we?" Doctor Darien suddenly asked, the implications of what Pete had observed beginning to sink in, had they been blown completely off-course? Brock hurriedly consulted what he could of the instruments and charts, along with Doctor Darien peering in to give her own bits of advice when needed. Pete edged over to the window by the door, squinting as he tried to catch sight of something like the object he'd seen out in the water. Maybe if he just caught sight of it again…
Another enormous wave rocked the Calico, sending everyone in the bridge stumbling as they tried to regain their footing. Pete's floundering bought him perilously close to the door, his hand automatically coming out to grab at the doorknob. The force wrenched the door open, and Pete crashed against the door frame before tumbling out onto the deck, fingers scrabbling to hold onto the slick wood as he tried to get to his feet. The crashing had bought both Doctor Darien and Brock to the door, though the storm wasn't done toying with the boat. Another wave crashed against the Calico, making the deck roll violently under everyone's feet. Thankfully, Doctor Darien and Brock managed to keep a firm hold on the door frame, Captain Majors bracing himself on the wheel of the ship.
The rocking, however, was too much for Pete, who slipped on the already wet deck and fell overboard with a yell of fright.
"Pete!" Quinn cried, seeing her nephew hit the water. At that moment in the ship's hold, a pair of luminous eyes opened in the dark. Amidst the noise outside, they had caught snatches of the drama happening on the deck, and moved closer to the only hatch big enough to let them through, flinching a bit from the water dripping in. Over the squaws and wind, they heard the noise of the elder humans trying to coordinate a rescue effort.
"Pete! Brock, get the life preserver, hurry! PETE!"
The sounds might not have made sense, not as they were, but they remembered the parts that sounded like names, and knew exactly who those sounds were supposed to refer to. The manner in which they were being said didn't make one feel very confident, either, and it only took them a moment to make a decision regarding what to do. Scaly green arms pushed against the metal, claws scraping as the weight of the entire form was put behind the door, the metal clasp and lock giving way under the force and allowing the hatch to be flung open. The noise was lost in the rest of the cacophony happening outside, but Brock and Doctor Darien certainly noticed the appearance of Godzooky on the Calico deck.
The mini-monster wasted no time. Upon spotting Pete bobbing like a cork in the rough ocean, he'd hurried to the side of the boat and jumped in after the boy. It didn't take him long to get Pete up on his back, though in his rush Godzooky had forgotten one very important thing; the rough waters of the ocean were very different from the calmer tides of the lagoon. It also made getting into the air an exceedingly difficult task, and it was only through sheer luck and adrenaline that he and Pete were not getting pushed back under the waves. It wouldn't be long, though, the realization filling the small kaiju with primal fear and the memories of a wave of earth coming down—
Acting on pure instinct, Godzooky threw his head to the air and let loose a cry that seemed to rise above the noise of the storm, moments before a wall of earth water came down on his head and forced him and Pete under, spinning in the dark.
And, miles away, a much larger form thundered to action, cutting through the water with the power of a hurricane condensed to a point, straight for the out-of-control storm.
Doctor Darien had nearly hurtled to the railing when she had seen Pete and the smaller creature go under. She vaguely felt Brock holding her near the door, ready to drag her back inside if it looked like she were about to follow Pete's example, and Carl is yelling something about the life preserver. It blurs in her ears a little, she's more preoccupied with the fact that neither her nephew nor the monster that went in after him are coming to the surface. There's also another sound in the air, something that stands out from the rest of the storm. A roaring rumble that sounds as though it comes from somewhere in the air, and too continuous and loud to be thunder or wind. It almost sounds like a roar, and abruptly the ocean surrounding their boat is…unsettled. It's the only way that Doctor Darien can adequately describe the rocking that suddenly shakes the ship, independent of the other waves rolling in the water. It's a rhythmic sort of bobbing that nearly seems to jar the Calico skyward, and immediately any background noise from the helm dies down as all are shaken by the motion.
And something is rising from the water.
If one had asked Doctor Darien what she first thought it was, she would have said that the great mass of dark green looked more like a large mountain than a monster, a safety zone in the tumult of the storm. The illusion was immediately broken when it did more than simply rise up; it turned, the wake pushing them to the side a bit, and as she craned her head up she caught sight of two almost glowing pinpricks that were caught by a few bolts of lightning behind them. The sight was so transfixing that the motion of an equally-sized scaled hand for the water was almost ignored. Both Pete and Godzooky came up from the depths coughing and choking on salt water, though only the mini-monster immediately snapped to a happier disposition once he'd caught sight of who saved them. Squawking, he hopped up and down in the larger hand, causing a low, thundering rumble that seemed to tower over the rest of nature and demand its silence. The great head lowered, peering at the pair, eyes mostly focused on Godzooky rather than Pete. The noise came again, and this time the head was close enough that Doctor Darien could see the nostrils dilating, picking some scent out of the tossed and tumultuous air of the storm. The thunder tried to fight for its presence again, but it appeared to lose ground.
However, there seemed to be something in the noise that drew the attention of the gigantic kaiju, and it only paused to rather gently deposit Pete and 'Godzooky' onto the deck of the Calico before simply turning and heading with renewed purpose. It's shape never really faded, but at the moment the three had more pressing concerns, such as the preteen and the creature that had just been left on their deck.
"PETE!" Doctor Darien cried as she darted to her nephew, somehow making it to Pete without slipping on the slick ship deck and immediately catching him in her arms, looking him over for any sign of injury.
"I'm okay." The boy responded, more automatically than out of any real thought as to what his physical state was. He shivered, though his eyes were locked to the shape that was still just visible off in the distance. Godzooky too managed to get to his feet, also looking off, though for the moment everyone's attention was more on the boy and getting him back into the relative safety of the ship's bridge. They were able to get him in and shut the door before Godzooky realized they'd moved, and scrambled to come to a screeching halt outside of the bridge. Brock spared the mini-monster a glance, but the other two were far more wrapped up in the prospect of getting Pete into a warm blanket and checking him over. After a moment of looking between Godzooky and the huddle of the other three humans, Brock figured it would be better to just stick with the problems at hand rather than create a new one by addressing the presence of the smaller kaiju.
"I'm fine." Pete was saying as Doctor Darien checked him over more thoroughly, even going so far as to peer into the boy's eyes. Carl had draped one of the ship blankets over Pete, rubbing at the boy's shoulders to sap some of the cold from the salt water.
A sudden noise rising above the racket of the storm suddenly caught their attention, all four turning to look out the front window of the bridge to see two shapes emblazoned against the sky as a flash of lightning crackled across the roof of the storm. One seemed a dead ringer for the shape that had rescued Pete and Godzooky out of the ocean. The other seemed to spawn straight from the storm itself, a lean, delicate looking thing that still stood strong in the swirling clouds that wreathed its frame. The larger and bulkier of the two started to come near, the blacker shape nearly blocking the thinner one entirely from the sky. However, the leaner would not be daunted, raising up to hover partially in the air overhead and well above the immediate reach of its opponent. The bigger and stockier of the two tried to swipe, though missed its chance as the other rose further and further out of reach, and out of the immediate view of the ship's windows. Judging from how Godzooky's head was craned up outside of the bridge door, it certainly hadn't disappeared.
"Where did-?" Brock caught himself murmuring, just before all on the bridge froze upon hearing what sounded like a small tornado passing over the boat, the wind making the Calico bob in the water for a few moments. Carl managed to brace both Pete and Doctor Darien where they were standing, though Brock was further away and stumbled to grab onto the frame of one of the windows. Even with his balance recovering, he strained to get a look at what had just flown overhead. All he could really make out through the clouds was the faint outline of the creature, the long limbs and frame almost indistinguishable from the rest of the mire that was the sky as it tried for another loop to get around the larger monster still in the water. For its part, the water-bound creature didn't seem able to do much, though it craned its head to keep the flying kaiju in its sights, opening its mouth in a roar that blasted over the din of the thunder, seemingly to shout down the storm itself.
The cry was rounded by fire, springing forth from the monster's maw. Leaping through the air it skimmed at the other's wings, causing a less-impressive shriek as it began to drop from the sky. The wind itself seemed to turn on the fire-breather, forcing the water and elements to its head, a bolt of lightning almost cracking into its back. The reptile plunged into the churning waves, and for a moment, the sounds of the storm prevailed.
It was still unable to really fly, but the lithe creature gave a few wobbly loops around the area where the other had disappeared. Despite the rumbles of thunder and wind, all were quiet, eyes rooted to the ocean.
And from under the agile creature, a pair of jaws lined with gleaming teeth sprung from the depths. It gave a shriek as they closed around it's leg, biting down hard as the monster they were attached to quickly dragged the rest of the body down. Thrashing, it quickly disappeared into the depths, along with their apparent rescuer.
As it went, the storm began to calm, clouds and rain weakening though the sea kept churning outward of the spot where the pair had gone under.
The Calico rocked, partially due to the water and because Godzooky had leaned too much towards the railing, cries suddenly loud in the absence of thunder and lightning. The smaller kaiju hollered into the ocean, and Carl moved away from the chair Pete was in to approach the front window.
Suddenly Godzooky's cries changed in pitch, and the water in front of the Calico started to foam and churn. Steadily a shape began to rise from the depths, quickly coming to tower over the ship. Godzilla stared down at the vessel, eyes glowing balefully down from the dark mire.
Carl felt his fingers twitch for the controls of the Calico, though he knew that he would not be able to move the ship nearly fast enough to outpace the monster. The wake from its surfacing was pushing the boat back, just a bit and nowhere near helpful in giving them distance from the altogether too-close kaiju. He didn't have to turn to know that Doctor Darien, Brock, and Pete were thinking something similar; the charged, tense silence of the bridge was more than enough answer for that.
And suddenly the boat rocked as Godzooky threw himself into the air, winged arms working in a furious bid to make it up to the towering figure. Carl felt his breath catch in his throat at the sudden movement of the deck beneath him, and heard a gasp and a yelp from behind, sounded like Doctor Darien and Brock respectively, though Pete remained quiet. Carl recovered as quickly as he was able, trying to listen to the sounds of the two creatures outside. He still felt it was too soon to start vacating the area, though the fact that Godzooky had gone and flown right into the larger monster's sights made him feel like he had more breathing room. At the very least, those large eyes weren't staring down the Calico anymore.
Speaking of the Calico, the boat still bobbed in the water, wake still pushing it back from the living mountain of scales. Carl quietly surveyed the situation for a moment, and looked back to the pair still occupied in and above the ocean. The larger monster had quietly proffered a scaly paw to the smaller Godzooky, letting him land and, from what Carl could tell, consider. The large head was inclined in the apparent direction the smaller monster was in, eye turned to the comparative speck in the scaly palm.
Through the front panes of the Calico's bridge window, he couldn't hear the specifics of what was happening outside. Carl resisted the urge to turn to the rest of the Calico's crew, wanting to be ready just in case the giant creature suddenly decided that the boat was in the same class as the monster that it had just plunged into the sea. Carl caught a figure off to his left, Brock from what he could tell.
He still couldn't look away. Not yet. There had to be an answer for this, an end game. He may not have been a scientist with multiple fields of experience in the way Quinn was, but even he knew that when they had happened upon the monsters on the island, the general assumption was that they would be going their separate ways once Godzooky had healed. That had obviously fallen through, and any attempt to get away would throw the situation in a direction that Carl wasn't entirely sure he wanted it to go.
It took him a few moments, but the returning speck of Godzooky quickly became apparent as he wobbly winged his way back down to the deck of the Calico. All too soon, the Calico seemed to bob ominously in the water as the comparatively smaller kaiju touched down on the deck.
Carl felt his head mechanically turn as he tracked Godzooky's path up from the bow of the Calico to the door of the bridge. A scratching at the door heralded the now all-too-close reality of the mini monster pawing at the metal. Above them all, the figure of Godzilla began to sink into the water, eyes still fixated on their boat as he went.