The One Who Lost His Way

AN: A little bit of a disclaimer before we get into the chapter. Fight scenes are not my specialty. I did my best, and in my opinion, it is better than some of my older ones, but you guys let me know what I can improve on. Give me some advice on what to focus on or what I did good on. It helps me improve for future chapters. If it helps, I aimed for 'short but intense' in this particular fight.

Second, I highly recommend playing the track 'Old Rivals' from the KotM movie soundtrack when you see the asterisk (*). It definitely goes well with the scene, and it's what I wrote it to.


Key:

"Titan speak"

"Human speak"

Character's inner thoughts

"Telepathic communication"

Disclaimer: I do not own Godzilla: King of the Monsters or any characters.


A hint of dark excitement rose up within them when they heard Godzilla's challenge. The thrill of the upcoming fight pulsed in their veins, not unlike the electricity that did the same. Old instincts to fight and dominate their old adversary nearly made them change their heading to intercept the saurian titan. However, with a bit of difficulty, the kept their course straight and true. They would take care of Godzilla once the city was safe from the other titan.

Fortunately, as they closed in on their target, it became clear that there were no humans in the area. That meant they could go all out, if necessary, without worrying about collateral damage. Of course, the wide swath of destruction through the forests and outlying roads on approach to the city would only be added to in the coming conflict. The most likely probability was that the entire area got flattened, but that couldn't exactly be helped. With creatures as large as them, it was an actual impossibility for the landscape to come out unscathed.

But downed trees, ruined farms, and destroyed roads would be the least of these humans' concerns if any one of these idiots reached the city they could see peaking over the horizon. With them being two miles up, they could see a lot farther than anyone on the ground could. Down there, the city would still be out of sight, but it wouldn't be that way much longer at this rate.

So, first thing's first, steer the other titan—they still didn't know her name—away.

With their course of action planned, they dove. They went down at an angle, so they could circle around and come at her from the front. With their approach bringing them around her right flank, San kept a constant watch on her. Through the youngest's eyes, he could see her look up at them in shock. Clearly, she'd expected their challenge to be for Godzilla. Still, she did not halt her march.

Once they had fully turned around to come straight at her, they dove down low and fast. The plan was not to attack, but merely to scare her off. Of course, she wouldn't know that. Once close enough, they flared their wings to slow their forward momentum at the same time their feet touched down upon the earth. Dirt sprayed high into the air like a massive plume of water as their momentum carried them forward for quite a ways. Twin trails of destroyed earth followed in their wake.

Finally, their movement ceased a mere wing's span in front of the other titan, and they rose up to their full height, spreading their wings, and rattling their tails in a show of intimidation. San and Ni were both snarling at her, flecks of lightning sparking between the teeth. Her aura may weaken their electricity, but it did not completely snuff it out. It was still a dangerous weapon.

"You may go no further!" Ichi growled.

She reared back, clearly stunned, and took several steps backwards in fear. However, she wasn't completely cowed yet. "You would side with the tyrant against me? After I proclaimed my service to you?"

"We are on no one's side but our own!" Ni snapped, gnashing his jaws in a threatening manner.

Ichi narrowed his gaze. "We will take care of Godzilla, as well. Turn away from the human city, and we will have no further issue."

She studied them for a moment, most likely weighing her choices, and then turned to look at the trail of devastation she'd left in her wake. Distant, dull thuds were the only sign of Godzilla's continuous approach. "If you would challenge him for the title of King, then I would happily fight beside you."

That made all three of them pause, their tails lowering and snarls lessening. Ichi briefly gazed at the southern horizon in thought. He was tempted to accept her offer. To force Godzilla to submit to them here and now would solve many problems. But...it would also create more in the future.

Godzilla's pride would never allow him to submit willingly. Even if they defeated the King handily, and took his title, Godzilla would simply return later to try and win it back. The only way to make Godzilla surrender the title permanently was to kill him, and they had already decided that they would not do so. The entire planet's future could be jeopardized if Godzilla were to die, especially if they eventually chose to leave. The power vacuum left in the wake of the last two apex predator's departure would cause untold conflict between the remaining titans as they all tried to claim the title for themselves. Humanity would suffer immensely if that were the case.

Once again, Maddie flashed in his mind, and he growled softly. No...Godzilla would not die, even if the stubborn fool seemed intent on pushing them to do so.

Simply overthrowing Godzilla would not work. As long as the other titans believed in him, he would always have their respect and support. No...they needed to win over the other titans. If all of Godzilla's allies left him, he would have no choice but to surrender.

Or fight all the harder to reclaim them, Ni mentally corrected him. Ichi acquiesced to his brother's point.

So even that was a risk and not guaranteed to bring about the result he wanted.

We could try to work with him? San suggested.

Ichi didn't respond. In truth, he had considered the possibility. He didn't like it, but maybe a joint rule was the only way. Godzilla could rule the titans, and Ghidorah could rule the humans. Somehow, Ichi doubted the stubborn fool would agree, though. His pride, and arrogance, was often greater than even their own.

All of these thoughts took less than a minute, though even that long was long enough for the female titan to watch him curiously, wondering what they were thinking of. "Leave," Ichi commanded her. "We will make sure Godzilla leaves you alone."

"What do you plan to do, King Ghidorah?" Her tone was teasing, and her amusement only increased when she saw how they shuddered a bit at the name.

Damn her for stroking their ego like that! It just made this harder! "We will do what we must." His vague answer clearly didn't satisfy her, but she was wise enough to not push her luck. Godzilla was still closing the distance, so she really didn't need a second alpha titan out for her skin.

"Oh, very well..." she eventually relented, her exasperation evident from her tone and posture. "But do keep my offer in mind, will you? Not everyone is happy with Godzilla as our King. You seem different than what I remember you, but still...you're not him."

With that, she began lumbering away, heading due west further inland and into the more rural areas. The three heads watched her go for a few minutes, her form slowly shrinking into the distance, before turning their gaze south. A blurry grey shape was now visible on the horizon, and it was heading straight for them.

It seemed Godzilla had completely forgotten his original purpose for being here. Now, all he cared about was answering the challenge they had dared level against him. His pride wouldn't let such a transgression stand.

Twenty-five thousand years, and it seemed they were the only ones to change during that time. Godzilla was still as prideful and confrontational as ever. Rodan was still a coward. Mothra still meddled behind the scenes.

The three of them were supposed to be the ones to protect humanity. Back then, they kept the rest of the titans in line and made sure humanity could flourish without too much interference. And they had been the destroyers, the ones out to snuff humanity and the other titans from existence.

Oh, how things have changed. Now, they were the ones looking out for the humans. And the other three were too oblivious to how widespread humanity had become and how reliant on technology they now were. The three still operated like humanity was still living in caves and hunting with sharp sticks rather than as an advanced race with destructive weapons. And one that could soon fight back against the titans, by what they'd seen.

They could not continue on this course. The 'protectors' had to be made to realize that humanity needed to be left alone. And humanity needed to understand that this planet wasn't solely their own anymore.

And apparently, through some twist of fate, it was them that had to steer them back on course. Them. The ones who had originally come here to wipe out life on the planet. The world was rapidly changing, yet no one but them were changing with it.

They'd long since lowered their wings and tails to watch Godzilla lumber their way. They had not moved from their spot since they did want to confront the saurian titan. For them, that just meant a stern talking-to. Of course, if things escalated, that would be on Godzilla, not them. It was not their intention to start a fight.

Yet...

So they stood there, standing tall yet remaining firm. Nothing about their posture or body language suggested that they were a threat to the approaching King. However, even from here, Ichi could see how tense Godzilla was at the mere sight of them.

"You interfere with my hunt! Let my prey go! Who do you think you are!?" Godzilla roared. 'Furious' would be an understatement.

Ni and San scoffed and snorted, respectively. Ichi, however, shook his head in mild exasperation. "You are some kind of fool, Godzilla." The Saurian snarled as he stopped a wing's span away, but Ghidorah continued. "We have been cooperating with the humans, trying to secure a future for our kind on this planet, yet everything you and yours have done is ruining whatever progress we make. Or did you seriously not think the humans might hold resentment towards us for the destruction of their cities and the death of their kin?"

Godzilla took a single, challenging step forward, but Ghidorah didn't so much as flinch. Each head merely continued to stare the King down. "The humans aren't your concern!" He snorted derisively. "And since when do you care about them, anyway!?"

"Since we woke up and realized in which direction this planet was heading!" Ichi snapped back. "Give it a few more decades, and the humans will have the capability to wipe us all out!" He paused. "Well...the capabilities to wipe the rest of you out. We are not so easily killed, as you well know."

(*)"That a challenge?" Godzilla's childish retort made all three of them make some sort of exasperated noise, be it a scoff or a sigh.

"Twenty-five thousand years we remained encased in ice. When we were freed, we set out to correct our ways. We need not be enemies." Immediately following that declaration, they rose up to now look down upon the saurian imperiously rather than the two being at eye level like equals. "But if you wish to remain stuck in the past, we will have problems. We cannot secure coexistence with the humans if your pride keeps getting in the way."

"My pride!?" Godzilla shouted incredulously. "What about yours!? You want me to not think of you as a threat? Then, bow."

All three of them growled lowly. "For reasons beyond your comprehension, we cannot." That wasn't completely true. They could. And when they first woke up, they did bow upon hearing the human machine. But when faced with Godzilla for the first time, they would not do so again.

It wasn't pride that prevented them from bowing. It was standing. Godzilla may be an alpha on this planet, but they were meant to be an alpha of the entire universe. "We will not bow, but—"

Godzilla's atomic breath smacked them in the chest and sent them reeling back several steps, all three of them roaring in a mix of pain and surprise, though Ni's was also tinged with anger. Once the beam stopped, they quickly regained their footing. Ichi glanced down at the circle of blackened scales on their chest before glaring at Godzilla with a furious snarl, lightning already sparking between his teeth. Ni and San held similar expressions.

"You won't bow!? Then, I'll make you!" Godzilla roared one last time, as both a challenge and a final warning that carried with it a single command. "BOW!"

Ichi just sneered at him. "Stubborn fool..." he spat.

"Apparently, you haven't learned how far out of your league you are against us!" Ni roared. "We could crush you!"

"Yet we are offering a diplomatic solution!" San continued, not quite as threateningly as his brother, but still furious. "If you would rather fight than talk, then you're no better than we used to be!"

Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say. No sooner had those words left San's mouth then did Godzilla give another, shorter roar and aback by the sudden aggression, they just barely had the time to ready their stance before Godzilla was upon them. As he usually did, their opponent focused on Ni since he was the most dangerous of the heads in combat.

Ni shrieked as Godzilla bit down on his neck. San tried to intervene by attacking from Godzilla's right, but the saurian's left hand held him back. Ichi, then, fired a short blast of his gravity beam at Godzilla's gills, knowing it was his greatest weak spot.

Lightning crackled upon his scales, cracking some open and causing the skin beneath to blister and burn. Godzilla roared in agony and fury, the brief respite enough for Ni to pull away from their opponent's jaws. Black blood dripped down Ni's neck, but his furious snarl showed the wounds didn't affect him much.

Freed for the moment, Ichi spread their wings wide and performed a powerful backstroke, launching them backwards and away from Godzilla, who had recovered and was already charging them. Once again, Ichi used their wings to give them space, this time going straight up and over their opponent's head to land a good distance behind him, and away from his dangerous tail.

"How many times must we tell you that we do not wish to fight you!?" Ichi yelled. In response, Godzilla turned and fired another beam at them, but they were ready for such an attack this time. Ducking low under the beam, all three unleashed their gravity beams, which impacted Godzilla in the center of his chest. It caused him to stumble backwards several steps as his own beam cut out. He groaned in pain. A similar circle of blackened scales now marred both of their chests, though it was much more noticeable on Ghidorah's golden hide. "We want this world to survive! But that outcome is unlikely as long as the two of us are constantly at the other's throat!"

"Then let me solve the problem by ripping yours out!" Godzilla charged again, but this time, he took them by surprise. As they braced to negate the impact, Godzilla spun and hit the base of San's neck with his powerful tail.

The choked gurgle that erupted from San in a fountain of blood was enough for Ichi to see red. Of course, that could've been from his own head trauma rather than anger. See, the impact was hard enough for them to airborne for a moment. Ni's head hit the ground first, and Ichi's right cheek landed right on his horns, the tips piercing into Ichi's face.

He roared in agony, blood covering the right side of his face and dripping down onto Ni's forehead. He was only just able to rip himself off of his brother's horns when a massively heavy weight landed upon them.

Ni was pushed further into the earth, splintered trees piercing the underside of his head due to the sheer pressure. Ichi turned just in time to see a pair of jaws heading straight for him. He dodged the first bite and attempted to use their left wing to throw Godzilla off. With the awkward position and lack of leverage, it did nothing except annoy their opponent. He couldn't even get their feet under them or use their tails to pull Godzilla off, because again, they had no leverage to do so.

Another bite came, and this time Godzilla predicted Ichi's dodge. Teeth pierced his neck, and Ichi shrieked. And he shrieked even more so when San's agony lanced into his own mind. The youngest had finally come around and used his gravity beam on Godzilla's gills again. With his neck damaged as it was, it did more damage to him than it did to Godzilla as the lightning overloaded his nerves. Still, it was enough of a distraction to loosen Godzilla's hold. The pressure upon them eased over so slightly, and Ichi used the opportunity to fling their left wing backwards. This time, it was enough to break Godzilla's hold, and the saurian tumbled off of them.

He recovered quickly, quicker than they did. Before they were even on their feet again, Godzilla was back upon them. This time, instead of pinning them on their stomach, he pinned them on their back. They weren't quite as helpless in this hold, and they used the talons on their feet to claw Godzilla's belly, leaving massive bloody gashes in the softer flesh.

Despite the clear agony in Godzilla's expression, the saurian merely grit his teeth and bore the pain as he lunged at Ichi's neck again. Again, he was foiled by San, who threw his mostly limp neck into Godzilla's path. Their opponent's teeth clamped upon San's neck, but Godzilla didn't seem to care that his primary target had once again escaped for now. Instead, he pulled backwards, and Ichi and Ni both roared in utter torture as San's head was ripped off. In an instant, the consciousness belonging to San, the one both Ni and Ichi could feel at all times, was snuffed out. It relit moments later in another part of their body, awaiting the moment San's head could regrow, so it could return to where it belonged.

Rage overtook both Ichi and Ni in that moment, and they used their gravity beams on Godzilla's face at point blank range as he dove to bit again. Their opponent recoiled with an anguished scream, and the two brothers kept up their attack until they were once again standing. By this point, Godzilla was turned away to let the beams hit his shoulder and neck rather than his face, and he was rubbing at his eyes. Once up, Ichi and Ni cut their beams off, and Godzilla slowly turned to them, a massive scar over his right eye, that had clearly been destroyed by their beams.

Ni snarled in utter fury while Ichi breathed heavily, looking over what was left of San's neck. The stump now hung limply, occasionally twitching. The base of the neck had a hole blown out of the front where his gravity beam had exploded out of his broken neck. Blood dripped from it profusely. Scales blackened from both blood and electrical discharge surrounded the wound. It was a grisly sight to be sure, but it would regrow once they had enough radiation to feed on.

Slowly, Ichi turned from the stump to briefly glance at San's remains lying upon the ground where Godzilla had dropped him. Then, he turned to glare at Godzilla with pure hate in his eyes. "Congratulations...you just succeeded in making me very angry." All thoughts of going easy on their opponent vanished the instant San's neck was ripped off. And this time, saying 'me' wasn't a slip. No...this just got personal.

San would grow back, but Ichi still just watched, and felt, his little brother die because of this...this...beast. This fight needed to end now before things went too far. And the only way to do that was to put Godzilla on the back foot and hit him relentlessly until he stayed down.

So that's exactly what they did.

This time, they initiated the charge, taking flight briefly before hitting the saurian feet-first in the neck. Basically, they just landed upon him for a moment before jumping off. Half blind as he was, Godzilla didn't see them coming until it was too late to dodge. He did manage to get some defenses up, but the impact was still enough to send Godzilla sprawling backwards. The saurian shook his head to clear it, but he was too slow to recover.

He tried to reclaim his feet, but their twin spiked tails smacked him across the face, blood and teeth flying out in all directions from the impact, and all strength briefly but immediately left their opponent. Dazed as he was, Godzilla crumpled back to the ground. With a clear opening to exploit, Ichi and Ni took complete advantage, blasting him in both gills with twin gravity beams. Godzilla roared in torment, trying to use his arms or head to block the beams as he struggled to stand. Every time he tried, they would smack him with a wing or tail to unbalance him again before continuing the gravity beam assault. As long as he couldn't stand, this fight was as good as over.

Only once did Godzilla get his own beam off in an attempt to retaliate and buy himself some time to recover, which hit them on their left shoulder. That just made them increase the power of their own beams, which only increased the pain Godzilla had to endure. Minutes went by as they continued blasting Godzilla's weak spots. Eventually, when they cut the beams off, the saurian lay upon the ground, groaning and half unconscious.

Ichi used a single foot to push kick the saurian in the ribs, and he flopped onto his side rather than his stomach with a weak groan. "It seems you got soft in our absence," Ni sneered. Even Ichi was genuinely surprised by how quickly he'd gone down once they got serious, though he didn't let that show.

Godzilla just glared at them through half-lidded eyes as they towered over his prone form. Ichi leaned down to whisper in his ear. "We could kill you right now...but as we have said, we do not wish you dead. Remember this the next time you want to fight rather than talk. We are stronger than you...but we are asking for your cooperation. The next time you decide to cross us, though...we will put you down for good."

They wouldn't...maybe. But Godzilla didn't need to know that.

Ichi stood and looked over their battlefield. As expected, the earth was torn to bits. Massive footsteps littered the ground, and not a single tree remained intact. Thankfully, the fight had actually moved them away from the city. Still, the surrounding area was akin to a devastated wasteland. It would take time for the plants to regrow and for the humans to rebuild their roads.

Leaning back down, Ichi said one last thing to their defeated opponent. "If you wish to discuss the future of this planet in a civil manner...you know where to find us."

With that, Ni grabbed San's head in his jaws, and they took to the skies, San's limp neck flopping uselessly in the wind. They were headed back south to Isla de Mara. That volcano would be a good enough source of radiation to heal their accumulated wounds. And to regrow San.

...Maddie was going to absolutely freak out seeing them like this.

AN: So? How was that? Any and all constructive criticism is welcome because, as I said, it'll help me improve future fight scenes. I know it's short, but is it too short? Or does my description of 'short but intense' work in this particular chapter?

Next chapter will have many characters reacting to the carnage that just happened. Kevin's head growing back might make a few people start asking questions...

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22