PROPHETIC PREMONITIONS & FAMILY TIES (7)

"That is such a beautiful view," Asagi remarked.

She and Ayana were looking out over the ship's railing, staring at the tiny islands as they passed by. The sight of the Pacific's blue glow and the comforting sound of the waves brushing up against the keel of the ship made the scene all the more relaxing, hypnotic even.

"Yeah, it is," Ayana replied. She thought the same, but she had other thoughts on her mind at the time.

"Still thinking about them, aren't you?" Asagi asked.

"Yeah," Ayana replied, looking down at the ocean below.

"I know how you feel, Ayana," Asagi said resting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I miss my parents too."

"You're father? He's still doing alright isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is," Asagi replied, "But after the Legion incident, we've grown... distant."

"You kept looking for answers, right?" Asagi had told Ayana a lot about herself, but there were some things she hadn't fully explained yet.

"I see," Ayana replied. The two paused briefly.

"How's your brother doing?" Asagi asked.

"Satoru is doing well. Tatsunari's been taking care of him, and..." Ayana paused. "I haven't spoken to them in a while, though."

"I'm sure they're alright, Ayana." Asagi said, attempting to comfort her friend.

"I hope they are."

"What's the matter, Ayana?" Asagi asked.

"You remember what Nagamine told us," Ayana whispered.

"Oh, right. About the Gyaos."

Nagamine had told them that the Gyaos were smarter than they previously thought. Before the Gyaos had seemed to act purely out of an instincitve drive to live and feed. Or at least that's what they thought. The Gyaos were never stupid animals, they always had this ability. They just hadn't recognized it until now.

"Look at it," Ayana said as she looked back at one of the islands. "One of them could be filled with nests of them, and nobody would know it until it's too late."

"I see what you mean," Asagi replied. It was scary. The thought of a nest full of giant carnivorous monsters hatching and terrorizing a small village on any one of those islands was terrifying. So far away from the mainland, without any military to help... Perhaps there already were some Gyaos that had hatched? Perhaps they'd grown into adults and were waiting for another meal to come cruising by, like them. A cold chill came down their spines when they thought about it. And the idea that they could think and plan made it even worse.

Because of the depletion of earth's mana, the Gyaos were multiplying at an alarming rate. Nests could be anywhere. No place was safe from these monsters. Despite how hopeless the situation was becoming, the world still had hope. Asagi knew it did. She gave an optimistic smile when she remembered her friend.

"What are you smiling for?" Ayana asked, noticing the smile on Asagi's face. "You're thinking about him again aren't you?" Ayana sighed.

"The world still has hope, Ayana."

"I know it does, Asagi, but Gamera's all alone. There's nothing we can do to help him. You saw how ineffective the JSDF is at stopping the Gyaos. Heck, they'd probably just turn their sights on Gamera again," Ayana said in a dispondent voice.

"Ayana, nothing's happened yet," Asagi said.

"I understand, but something's coming. I know it is. You know it's coming too," Ayana said.

"You... You've..." Asagi stuttered.

"Yes, I know about the feelings you've been having. The premonitions... You weren't the only one connected to a monster, Asagi. I can feel them too."

"The world isn't on fire yet. Gamera is still here," Asagi said, trying to be encouraging and optimistic.

"Yes, but it's still coming. And when it does, it's going to be a wild fire."

"Ayana, if we lose faith now, that'll only make things worse."

"I know how you feel about Gamera, Asagi, but he isn't a god! He's still alone! Besides how are you so sure he still cares about us?"

"Gamera is still on our side! He's not the monster you thought he was! He won't abandon us!"

"What about the magatama? You said it broke when he revived himself. You said he had to shatter his connection with you just to beat the Mother Legion? How do we know he still cares about us, Asagi?"

"He isn't a monster, Ayana."

"I know he isn't! I realize that! I'm not trying to say he wants to kill us. But what if he's ignoring us? What if we get in his way?" Ayana questioned. They paused, glaring intently at each other.

"If Gamera didn't care about us, then he wouldn't have saved us." Asagi said.

Ayana was hit with rememberance when Asagi said that. It reminded her of her hatred for Gamera. The spite that had led to countless deaths, mass destruction, and Asagi's disability. Because of Ayana and Iris, Gamera nearly died as well. He was the only thing that could stop the Gyaos. Ayana realized that now, and although she'd moved on, she still felt guilty about what she'd done.

"I'm... I'm sorry Asagi," Ayana apologized, "There's still a part of me that's still... stilll so angry."

"I know, Ayana. I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to push." Asagi said as she rested a comforting hand on Ayana's shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm scared."

"I know. I am too."

/

Tadaaki was looking out at the ocean when he heard the arguement. Despite how many people there were on board, few of them were on deck. There were only a couple of sight-seers and fellow students from the university; other than them though, he was practically all alone.

Tadaaki was to excited to stay in his cabin, he just couldn't wait to land. When he found out that he was going to be visiting Odo Island, he was exstatic. This was the perfect chance to learn more about his family history, and the island's infamous folklore. He already knew a lot about the island and it's history, but he thought there was more he could learn about.

But something interrupted his as he was looking off into the blue horizon. He turned around, and saw the two girls he'd bumped into last week. He couldn't help but stare when he saw the girl in the wheelchair. She was just so cute. Asagi Kusanagi, he remembered her name.

As he was zoned out he heard somebody calling out to him. "Hey!" Whoever it was, they sounded angry. He woke up and saw the other girl approaching him. "Why are you staring at us?" The girl asked. Ayana, He remembered her being called.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to. I-I just heard you... and... and I couldn't help overhearing..." Tadaaki apologized.

"You're alright." Ayana said calmly. Tadaaki was a little confused by the response after how she came across, but he said nothing.

"Hey, aren't you the guy we ran into last week?" Asagi asked as she came. "O-Oga..."

"Tadaaki Ogata. Yes, that's me." Tadaaki replied awkwardly. "Miss Kusanagi?" Tadaaki asked her name just to be sure. Asagi replied with a nod.

"I thought I recognized you," Ayana commented. "So how's mythology been?"

"It's been... okay... I suppose. I've just been going through refresher courses so far. Once the field trip is over, I'll be moving on to my other courses," Tadaaki replied.

"Same." Ayana replied.

"So, are you looking forward to the trip?" Asagi asked.

"Yes," Tadaaki replied, "As a matter of fact. My family is from Odo Island."

"Interesting," Ayana remarked, "So you're doing some genealogical study while you're here, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"Is there anything else you're looking for while you're there?" Asagi inquired curiously.

"Uh, yes. There's a legend I'm very interested in learning more about. It has a lot to do with my family's genealogy. It's about the 1954 incident."

"1954?" Asagi said curiously.

"Yes. Godzilla."

After he said that the ship's horn blew. They were almost there. The three of them hurried to the bow of the ship and saw the island coming into view. They looked at the island for a moment in wonder, before Tadaaki broke the silence, "I'm sorry. I need to get my things together."

"We should get our packs too, Asagi," Ayana said before she began wheeling her friend away.

"Nice meeting you again." Tadaaki smiled as he waved good-bye to them.

"Nice meeting you too," Asagi returned his smile, "I hope you find what you're looking for."

Tadaaki blushed when she said that.

/

It'd been two days since they arrived on the island. Asagi and Ayana had enjoyed the field trip, but now it was drawing to its close. They only had one more day left to spend on the island before they needed to return.

So far they'd been taught as much as they needed to be taught, except for Godzilla. The 1954 incident rocked all of Japan, and the aftershocks that came thirty years later nearly drove the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. into hot conflict.

Asagi and Ayana had never shown much interest in the monster. The incident from 1954 and 1984 had been memorialized, Asagi and Ayana showed their respects just like everyone else did, and left it at that. After their experiences with Gamera however, they grew a little more curious.

It opened up a new perspective to them. They could actually feel something as they stared out at the sunset. They could sense the horror and the tragedy that began here on this island. It was like the souls of those who'd died were calling out to them, telling them, begging them not to forget.

"Beautiful. Isn't it?" Ayana said.

"Yeah, it is," Asagi answered.

"It's so peaceful," Ayana commented.

"Yes," Asagi replied simply. There was a short pause.

"I don't mean to argue when I say this, Asagi, but you know something's coming."

"Yes it is. And when it does this view isn't going to look so peaceful.

"What are we going to do?" Ayana asked.

"I... I... I don't know," Asagi replied.

Another pause came over the conversation as the two thought. They wondered what new threat was coming. Another monster perhaps? A stronger Gyaos creature maybe? Another swarm? They didn't know.

Their attention was arrested suddenly when they heard rocks falling from the hill behind them. They both looked up and saw a man. By that time most of the light had gone away, and it was difficult to see. They pointed their flashlights at the figure. He recoiled when they did that.

"Tadaaki?" They both said when they saw him.

"W-Yes!" He screamed in irritation as he held his hand in front of his face.

"What are you doing out here this late?" Asagi questioned.

"Nothing, what are you two doing out here?" He replied defensively.

"Are you seriously stalking us?" Ayana glared at him.

"No," Tadaaki replied as he came down to face them, "I was just looking for something."

"You didn't decide to do this earlier?" Ayana asked.

"I didn't have the time." He responded.

"What did you find?" Asagi asked.

"The village elders talked about a shrine on the other side of the island. It's suppose to be located in a cave somewhere along the hills here," Tadaaki explained, pointing at his map. "No one has been there for a while. Everyone's forgotten about it, but those that still know about it think it's cursed. Apparently some people went missing in that area and they think an evil spirit lives there," Tadaaki explained. "Personally, I think it's because there's still traces of radiation on that side of the island." Tadaaki commented.

"You're not seriously thinking of going their are you." Ayana asked.

"I'm very serious," Tadaaki replied.

As Asagi listened to Tadaaki, a wave of curiosity came over her. "Could I come with?" She asked.

"What?" Ayana blurted.

Tadaaki was visibly perplexed by the request, but he wasn't going to say no. Especially not to a cute girl like Asagi. "I... don't see why not."

"Excuse us," Ayana said as she wheeled Asagi away. "Are you serious, Asagi?" She whispered.

"Ayana, I'm just curious. Besides maybe there's something in that shrine that can tell us more about Gamera," Asagi replied.

"Asagi, he said that the village elders think the cave is cursed. I found Iris in a cave like that." Ayana reminded Asagi.

"I'm not asking you to go Ayana. But I'm curious," Asagi told Ayana before, rolling to Tadaaki. "I'm coming, Tadaaki."

Ayana really didn't want go, but she couldn't let her friend go off on her own. Especially with a boy they'd just met.

"Wait for me." Ayana groaned.

"You are?"

"I can't stop you, but I'm not going to see you get hurt," Ayana replied as she began pushing Asagi.

"Alright then," Tadaaki shrugged as the three began their hike.

"Try anything funny with me or Asagi, and I'll beat you to death." Ayana whispered to Tadaaki. He didn't doubt that she could, and for the first half of the trip he made sure to keep his distance.

/

"So..." Ayana grunted as she and Tadaaki helped cart Asagi up a hill, "What makes you so... interested in Godzilla?"

"Like I said... He's part of my family's history..." Tadaaki began. "Back in 1954... this island was hit by a typhoon. A lot of the village's structures were destroyed and many people died. My grandfather's mother and brother were some of the people killed in that storm."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Asagi said with sincerity.

"Don't be," Tadaaki excused her. "Everyone thought the storm caused all the devistation, but my grandfather saw what happened. He saw Godzilla... A science team was gathered together and they went to the island to investigate. They found footprints, discovered dangerously high levels of Strontium-90, they even got to see the creature, one of them even got a picture of him."

"What else happened?" Ayana and Asagi asked curious.

"The government sent a fleet of ships out to kill him..." Tadaaki continued. "They used depth charges on him. but it didn't work. Godzilla swam into Tokyo Bay and... Well I'm sure you know what happened after that. After destroying Tokyo. Dr. Serizawa came forward with a deadly chemical weapon he'd been developing at the time. He called it the Oxygen Destroyer. He meant to keep it secret until he found a way to counteract the weapon's effects. But the situation was too desperate. Hideto Ogata ,a coast guard officer, and my adoptive grandfather, convinced Serizawa into using the weapon. They went out to Tokyo Bay to use the weapon. Ogata was able to make it back, but Serizawa..."

"What happened to him, Serizawa?" Asagi asked.

"He cut his line," Tadaaki replied.

"Why?" Ayana inquired.

"Serizawa burned all of his notes to keep the secret of the Oxygen Destroyer safe. He still knew how to create it though. He didn't want the secret to be revealed to the rest of the world. So he cut his line," Tadaaki explained.

"So you feel like you're closely related to it. Godzilla," Ayana deduced. "You admire him don't you?"

"He's a modern day marvel. He not only survived the extinction of all the other dinosaurs, and the hydrogen bomb. But he's managed to adapt to his mutation and is able to feed off of radiation," Tadaaki replied.

"I don't see how anyone can admire a monster like that." Asagi felt a little hypocritical when she said that, but Gamera was different from Godzilla. One was a protector while the other was a destroyer.

"I don't think he's a monster. Dangerous, yes. But intentionally hostile... I believe he's just a hyper-intelligent animal driven by a will to live," Tadaaki began. "I was three years old when my grandfather ,Hideto, told me that story. When I saw the news about the 1984 attack, I just felt a sense of wonder and attachment to him. Ever since then, I've been fascinated by him." Tadaaki sounded like a wonderstruck child when he told them about it.

"I don't know much about the 1984 incident," Asagi confessed.

"Wasn't that the same Godzilla?" Ayana asked.

"No, No it wasn't. When they went looking for Serizawa, all they found was a part of Godzilla's dorsal plates. Besides the first one was believed to have come from Bikini Atoll, or one of the Marshall Islands. Their not really sure. The second one was thirty meters taller than the first, and he popped up at Daikoku Island."

"You really do admire it," Ayana commented.

About ten minutes later they made it to the other side of the island, but they didn't see the cave. The three of them spent the next hour searching for the cave, but they still couldn't find it.

"This is useless, guys the cave isn't here." Ayana said as patiently as she could.

"We've got to keep looking," Asagi said adamantly.

"Hey, Asagi, I think Ayana's right. We've been looking around for over an hour now and we still haven't found it." For as eager as he was to find out more about Godzilla, Tadaaki knew when he was on a wild goose chase. "Besides, I heard that there's suppose to be a storm coming. We'd better head back," Tadaaki added.

"Wait. Why did you decided to come when you knew there was a storm coming?" Ayana criticized.

"I told you, I didn't have time earlier! Besides, I wasn't counting on anybody else coming with!" Tadaaki defended himself.

"Guy's stop fighting!" Asagi screamed at them. "I'm sure the cave is around here some..." Before Asagi could finish her statement, the ground underneath began to move. All three of them turned their attention to it when they felt it.

"What was that?" Asagi asked.

"Uh, g-g-girls," Tadaaki stuttered, "Don't move!"

Asagi and Ayana noticed he was looking at the ground when he said that. They looked at the ground as well and froze. They'd been standing on a fault this whole time, and it was beginning to give.

"What do we do?" Asagi asked.

"We stay perfectly still, and back away slowly." Tadaaki said as he began to move away. Asagi and Ayana followed his lead. "You're doing great guys. Almost there," Tadaaki said.

"Crap!" Asagi cursed. "I'm stuck on a tree root."

"Don't try to correct it, Asagi," Tadaaki told her. I'll come and help you."

Ayana went to do the same but Tadaaki stopped her. "No, don't. The ground is too unstable."

"Almost there Asagi," Tadaaki reassured her.

Suddenly something caught Tadaaki's foot and he fell forward. Everyone gasped as they felt the ground begin to shake. They all stayed perfectly still. The ground became still again. They waited for a moment to see if anything would happen. When it didn't Tadaaki gave a smile.

Suddenly, the fault broke open, and they fell screaming. The fall wasn't very long, but for a moment their was nothing, but darkness and silence.