I'm already running out of good words for chapter titles.
rubatosis:the unsettling awareness of your heartbeat
Opening his eyes, he closed them again from the bright light. His neck hurt from where Ghidorah had bitten into it, but he didn't feel drained as much as usual. Feeling arms around his waist and a puff of air breathing down his neck, he resisted the urge to shudder. He was the King! He always finds a way out, he always does.
It was getting harder everyday to tell himself that. To tell himself that this wasn't going to last long. That he will find someway to escape and this time kill the three-headed bastard. But in the last three days he's been in Ghidorah's lair, he still hasn't found a way out. Ghidorah was being extra careful with the Tartarus Chains that keep him from going into his true form and draining him of his Gaia's Gift. He was truly trapped.
Don't think that! Mothra is out there. In her cocoon! Once she is out, she'll be able to get me and the kid…WAIT! THE KID!
Standing up, which made Ghidorah awaken in surprise, Godzilla looked around the cavern. There was no sight of the little boy that Ghidorah had crazily said was their son and heir. Without even thinking, he grabbed Ghidorah by the throat.
"Where is he?"
Ghidorah blinked before getting a cocky smirk on his face. "Who are you talking about, my dear Broken Prince?"
Slamming the bastard against the wall, if it wasn't for the chains, Ghidorah was sure that Godzilla would have blasted him right there with how angry he looked.
"YOU KNOW WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT, YOU DAMN SNAKE! Now WHERE IS THE KID?!"
"Oh, you mean Destroyah! Don't worry, my Prince, the little hatchling is fine! You see, when I was feeding, the little one decided to stop me by stabbing me with a rock." he said this while pointing at a piece of where the armor didn't protect him. There was a blood stain on the bandages that wrapped the wound. "So after I fed the hatchling, I put him in time out,"
"Get him," Ghidorah blinked at the comment. "I said go get him. I want to know if your telling the truth."
With a sigh, Ghidorah took Godzilla's hand and took it off of his neck. "Very well darling," And with that, he left the cavern.
Godzilla's tail flicked back and forth. "Dammit, kid. Please be ok. If Ghidorah hurt you too bad…Please, Mothra, hurry up."
Mordred Russell didn't know how long he'd been in here but he'd certainly been inside long enough for his legs to start hurting. The hole was tall enough that he couldn't reach the top but small enough that he couldn't sit down. His hands were rubbed raw with his fingernails bleeding from trying to dig hisway out.
Oh, Poseidon, what if he decides to just leave me here! How long have I've been down here...Minutes, hours…What if it has been days! Its getting smaller in here… "Please let me out!" he began sobbing. "I'll be good! Please let me out! Please! I'm sorry!"
Then suddenly, Mordred's head went up when he heard the boulder being moved. Not caring that his hands were bleeding, he tried climbing out. Of course, his hands just made the dirt and rocks fall in the ground, but a clawed hand grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him out of the hole with ease. Before he could stop himself, knowing who this person was, he clung hard to his waist, just sobbing.
He felt the hand run through his hair as the monster cooed at him. "There, there, my little hatchling. It's alright, your time out is over," he said as a deep rumble erupted from his chest. To his non-surprise, it didn't make him feel better as much as Godzilla's did. It just made him feel sick to his stomach, that he was even trying to get comfort from him.
He grabbed the chains and started leading him back to the cavern. Mordred followed without hesitation, sniffling a few tears. Before he knew it, he was pulled in a hug. The rumble from this one was soothing. Godzilla brought his face up, wiping the tears from it and then glared at the three claw marks that were going down hos right eye.
"I thought you said he was OK!" he turned to Ghidorah.
Ghidorah put his head down. "It was a reflex. Anyway, I'll leave you two be…I got some plans to finalize," With that, he put the boy's chains on the wall and left.
"Dear Gaia, kid. I'm sorry," Mordred was pulled into the nest. It was made of soft blankets and pillows.
"It's not your fault he put me in a hole. This is probably what I get for trying to be a hero."
Godzilla looked at him with wide eyes before grabbing him by the shoulders. "Kid, you do not deserve this at all! Let me tell you, Ghidorah is a creep. If I had dealt with him instead of just leaving him frozen in that ice, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"How did he get frozen? With how fast he moves, I think he wouldn't be able to stay still long enough,"
"It was a group effort." Mordred blinked. The fallen King's attention shifted to the boy's wounds. The new scars across his right eye were fresh and still had smudges of blood. The giant bite mark across his leg was fully healed. Must be from Gaia's Gift that she is healing so fast, he thought, and asked "So, kid? What's this thing I heard about you acting like a hero?"
"So, kid? What this thing I heard about you acting like a hero?"
"Some people just wanna go out and be evil, like that parasite. We call them rogues. They aren't running rampant because of the good people keeping them in check, the heroes."
"Oh, so these heroes you speak of, they're like the Knights, right?"
Mordred blinked again. "Knights?"
And then Godzilla told Mordred all about the Knights, a special group of Titans that were trained to help him keep the balance, led by his brother Quartz. They answered to him, his true mate Mothra, and their right-hand man Rodan.
"Amazing..." said the boy. "Among the human world's heroes, I wanna be most like Superman. I wanna be that bright light that gives people hope, even if I don't have the same powers as him."
"And I bet you will." replied Godzilla. "I don't know that much about this Superman fellow, but seeing as how you absorbed the Gaia's Gift that powered Ghidorah's attack, I'm sure you could very well surpass him."
Mordred tilted his head to the side, not noticing the blush on Godzilla's face when he did that, "Gaia's Gift? What's that?"
Running a hand down his face, he sighed, "Gaia's Gift is our food source. It's what powers us. It used to be all over the world but with time it started fading from the surface. Probably Mother Gaia telling us we need to hide from humans, since, you know, they like trying to blow us up,"
Giggling at the deadpan look on his face, he realized what Gaia's Gift is. "So you're talking about radiation! Well, that explains how I'm able to absorb it and probably why I was always hungry."
"Look me in the eye now, kid, let me tell you a story." said Godzilla, and Mordred looked up into those orange eyes. He saw concern and warmth. "Now listen carefully, I may only known you for a little bit but I see a spark. A spark that shows you want to protect people."
Many years ago, when Atlantis still resided on the surface, long before Darkseid came, twin Princes were born.
Glaring in rage, the Uncle sneered at the gasping infants, as their lungs filled with air for the first time and they unleashed wails, announcing their arrival to all. Their birth heralded the end of the Uncle's chances of becoming king. The Queen fell back, exhausted from her labor.
"They must have names before sunrise, my Queen."
The nervous physician reminded. To not have names to greet the sun is a heresy you must remember.
"Ja-Ho…Ko-Di…"
She managed to breath out, before her eyes slide closed and she fell asleep. The King held his children and while his beloved wife slept he took them to greet the sun. The sky was cloudless. A good omen indeed. But if he had turned to the west behind him…he would have seen the building storm of his own Brother's murderous jealousy.
Years went by and the Twins grew up. Trained by the finest of all teachers in all things a king should know. Neither worried about who shall ascend to the throne for Atlanteans believed twins to be two halves of a whole person, and thus both are needed to rule properly. But above all else, they were protected by Death himself. The King had a premonition that his sons would be in danger, and thus approached the gods themselves to protect them. None save Death would do it. The shadowy god would watch over the growing boys everyday without ceasing. And then the fateful day of the Twin Princes' fourteenth birthday, the Brother's jealousy boiled over. He claimed the Twins had not had names to greet the sun, and were cursed. And many fools believed him. They stormed the castle, intent of ending the Princes' lives. But the King's deal held true, and Death stole away the Princes before they could be killed.
Unfortunately, to deny his own nature like that wounded Death. He could no longer provide the protection he promised. So he left the Princes with a friend. And begged the Guardian to show the boys how to defend themselves and protect others. The Guardian agreed. The Princes were saddened by the departure of their old friend. But Death whispered a promise to them.
"I shall always walk with you."
Thus Ja-Ho was trained in the way of the Sword. Ko-Di, the Bow. Together they were a mighty team. And they have heard the whispers of the ruin brought to their home by their Uncle. So they took their leave of the Guardian. Only for the Guardian to take up their mantle once more and follow the boys. The Princes boldly kicked in the doors of the palace and challenged their Uncle, only to lose. But the Guardian whisked them away.
"What did we do wrong?!"
Ja-Ho sobbed, clutching the Guardian.
"I-I-I thought we were ready…."
Ko-Di whispered in disbelief.
The Guardian gave a quiet chuckle.
"You are. But your Uncle is old. And powerful. And cunning."
"So we are outmatched…"
"No. You are not."
"How?"
"What are you fighting for? Revenge? Or the Revolution that will save your Kingdom?"
The Princes looked up in shock.
"But it's not ours! It's Father's!"
"So you are well with the suffering of the People? Because it's not yours?"
"NO! WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP!"
"Then I dare say this Kingdom is more yours then your Uncle's. He slain your Father. So this is not his either. Take it from him."
"It's…It's…It's ours…Our people are suffering. Our people are dying. We have to stop it."
The Guardian smiled.
"Then you know what to do."
And the Princes did. Town by town, acre by acre, they freed their people. Until at last they stood before the palace once more. Older, wiser, the Twins called their Uncle out. Begging him to consider them family. He refused. And so the life blood of a nation tore the palace down. Led by the Princes. They stormed the Throne Room and took their Uncle's crown…and broke it. They beheld their people and raised the broken crown when a horrified gasp came from the people. Behind the Princes the Uncle held a fearsome sword. Then Death touched Ja-Ho's Sword and Ko-Di's Bow and blue fire danced on the weapons. Together, they fought their Uncle. Together, they brought him low. And Together, they chose to give his fate to the People. Alone they couldn't succeed. But Together, you can topple mountains. Never forget that. Anyone that cannot stand silent in the face of injustice is a hero. Anyone that throws so much as a pebble against evil is a hero. And sometimes, a hero is just one who survives against evil.
"Thank you." Mordred smiled. "But before that, I think I gotta do some training."
"That's a great idea!" the fallen King agreed. "And I have to say, I'm not pretty bad at fighting in my human form. It also gives us something to do instead of sleeping all day."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Mordred exclaimed, before standing up. The story gave him hope, not for just being a hero...
...but hope of becoming free again.