The One Who Lost His Way

AN: I've got two major announcements to make. First, after over a year of searching since I graduated college, I finally got a job. It's not what I was expecting or hoping for, but it's enjoyable enough. Technically, it's part time, but last week, I had to cover so many shifts that I actually made forty hours. I just didn't have the time to write much of anything, which is why I had no updates last week.

In simple terms, I now have a lot less free time, and while I'll try to keep my update schedule, I make no guarantees. I might miss a week here or there.

Which leads me to my second major announcement. I'm opening up my Twitter (X) page for all of you. I've been debating this for a while now, but I've decided that it's the best way to put out news and keep all of you up to date. I'll put my details in my bio on here, so if you want to check out my page (It's pretty much brand new), go ahead. Just be aware that I don't much like social media as a concept, so if it takes me several hours or longer to respond to a tweet, it's because I'm not glued to my feed. I'll get to it in my own time.

With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter. Sorry it's a little short, but I spent most of my time this week on my 'Glorious Politics' chapter.


Key:

"Titan speak"

"Human speak"

Character's inner thoughts

"Telepathic communication"

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


Aboard the Argo, about 200 miles from Isla de Mara:

The good news? The Argo was flying again, and they weren't far from Isla de Mara. There they'd pick up Mark and Maddie and be on their merry way. The less good news? Everyone watching the fight between Godzilla and Ghidorah just got a massive wake-up call. Everyone at Monarch, for the most part, believed that Godzilla was this titanic force, no pun intended, meant to keep nature in balance. He was supposed to be this unstoppable force. Five years ago, he proved just how deadly he was by taking out two MUTOs at once. Now, in the years since, he was bigger and stronger than ever before.

And they just watched him be defeated with almost horrifying ease.

The entire bridge was silent save for the soft beeping of instruments and the constant drone of the engines as everyone watched the news feed. A helicopter circled the unconscious form of Godzilla, and even through the camera, the electrical burns on his neck were easily visible and looked downright nasty.

Like usual, it was Rick Stanton who broke the silence. "So...is anyone else a bit freaked by this?"

Several sets of eyes turned to him, though many were still glued to the monitor. Sam was one of those. "By what? That Ghidorah just got his head ripped off or that they somehow still defeated Godzilla so easily?"

"Uh...both, I guess."

"Yeah, a little bit."

"Can we go back to that little detail?" Foster requested. "How the hell is that thing still alive after getting his head ripped off?"

"Well...he's got two spares," Rick shrugged, but even he seemed uncertain.

Chen was quietly thinking in her spot near the wall, but she decided to make her opinion known. "There are many different legends about hydras in ancient mythology where they can regrow their heads."

"You mean 'cut off one head, two more will take its place'?" Sam wondered.

"Nice Marvel reference," Rick complimented quietly.

"Thanks."

"In this case, it might fit," Chen agreed. Pretty much everyone had their attention on her now. "We've been wondering why Ghidorah has three heads right? Maybe he started with one."

"So his head gets ripped off, and two grow back, and then one of those get ripped off, and now he's got three?" Sam asked for clarification.

"It's just a theory, of course," Chen shrugged.

"Well, we'll know it's right if the three stooges become the fantastic four," Rick concluded.

"If that is true, then why would Godzilla rip off a head in the first place?" Graham asked. "If they're supposed to be old rivals, wouldn't he know that ripping off a head would only make him more dangerous?"

"Well...it took Hercules cutting off fifty heads before he realized it didn't work," Rick shrugged.

"That was just the Disney version," Sam muttered.

"And Godzilla is smarter than that," Chen resolutely declared.

"So we've got nothing but a theory with a bunch of holes in it..." Foster summed up. "Great."

The scientists all looked at each other. "We'll find out for sure soon enough," Serizawa declared. It was the first time he'd spoken during this exchange.

Sam went to say something, but Rick cut him off. "Hey, guys, check this out." He nodded to the monitor just as he reached over to the volume controls on his console.

The aerial view of Godzilla had changed to a street view of Ottawa where a reporter was asking passersby questions. The banner at the bottom of the screen read 'Godzilla: Friend or Foe?'

"Excuse me, ma'am?" the female anchor spoke up. A young blonde woman, probably in her late twenties stopped and looked to the reporter, confused. She wore sunglasses and had a bunch of shopping bags in her arms. "Do you have any opinions about Godzilla or the other titans?"

The woman scoffed. "They just tried to destroy my city, lady." Her voice was that stereotypical dumb blonde voice that just got on any sensible person's nerves. "Other than that, I could care less. Now, I've got places to be." She walked off in a huff, and the reporter turned to the camera in exasperation before turning to find someone else to ambush.

The next person she approached was a middle-aged Asian guy. "Excuse me, sir? Do you have any opinions on Godzilla or the other titans?"

He stopped and thought for a second. "I think they are unstoppable forces of nature, and that this time, we were very lucky."

"How so?" the reporter asked.

"If not for the golden hydra, Godzilla and that other titan would've come through the city like children stepping in an anthill," he explained. "Whatever his reasons, he saved us."

The reporter nodded in thought. "Any ideas or opinions on what the hydra's reason might be?"

He shook his head after a few seconds. "I think some things are simply beyond our understanding."

The reporter made a soft 'huh' sound before nodding again. "Well, thank you very much for your input." The guy nodded and walked off.

The reporter walked in the other direction, the cameraman following dutifully in pursuit. A few other interviews followed. One preached about how this was punishment from god for the sins of humanity. Another said that the titans needed to be destroyed. They were in the middle of the fifth interview with an old lady, probably in her seventies, who was talking about how the titans were more dangerous than anything the communists had ever come up with. Suddenly, someone shouting off-camera had the reporter and old lady looking off to their right. After a short hesitation, the cameraman also looked that way.

An overweight—but not horribly so—black guy was running in their direction, shouting at people to get out of the way. A lot of unfriendly insults followed in his wake, and he stopped right next to the reporter, pretty breathless. "This...This about the titan attack?" he asked.

"Yes...it is..." the reporter began a bit awkwardly. "Do you have any opinions you'd like to share?"

He chuckled awkwardly before nodding enthusiastically. "I've got so many opinions about the titans, I started my own podcast." He looked to the camera then, his expression much more serious. "Titan Truth, find it on all the popular podcasting sites." Once again, he turned to the reporter. "I've been following this string of attacks since New York. I know for a fact that Godzilla was hunting the other titan down. Jinshin-Mushi, it's called, though a lot of people call them MUTOs. Anyway, their species are natural enemies, and just like five years ago, Godzilla was trying to hunt this particular Jinshin-Mushi down."

For the first time, the reporter actually looked genuinely interested to have found someone who actually knew what they were talking about. "So what about the third titan?"

He froze for a moment, mouth open, before shaking his head. "I don't know...yet," he admitted. "I've been researching titans and Monarch on my own for years now. I've compiled a list of all of their outposts and all of the titans they were guarding...or so I thought. I've never heard or seen anything about that golden hydra." He turned and pointed at the camera, his expression serious again. "But I'm going to find out. I'll share my findings in a couple weeks, so stay tuned."

"Well...thank you for such an enlightening conversation," the reporter began, but the guy had one last thing to say, apparently.

"Don't thank me yet. See...there's something big going on right now, and Monarch, the military, and the eco-terrorist Alan Jonah are all involved somehow. The string of awakenings and attacks we've seen so far are just the beginning. There are a lot more titans where those came from. A lot more," he stressed. "To anyone listening...do what you can to prepare in case things get bad. I'll keep you all updated as I find out more." With that, he bolted down the street again.

The old lady, reporter, and cameraman watched him go in silence. Then, the old lady spat, "Jerk! This was my interview!" The two news people turned to her, and she had a grumpy face. "I bet he's a communist spy, trying to spread panic and disinformation!"

Rick turned the volume off, and all of the Monarch staff glanced between each other. Rick broke the tense silence. "Okay...two questions. Who the hell was that guy? And how the hell did he know so much about the titans?"

"Dr. Coleman, Dr. Stanton, check to see if we had any leaks recently," Serizawa requested.

"Check out his podcast and see when the first episode was," Chen suggested. "That should give you a good starting point."

Rick pointed at her, impressed, before getting to work. "That's a good idea, Chen." After a few minutes of typing and scrolling, Rick sat back, a look of surprise on his face. "Woah...that guy wasn't kidding. He covers topics ranging from theories over Godzilla's disappearance after the attacks five years ago, speculation about what the military is covering up, both then and now, conspiracies about titan intelligence, what role humans played in why Godzilla and the MUTOs awoke in the first place. He's got an episode about Jonah." Rick leaned in again and squinted his eyes. "One of his more recent episodes is about the ORCA."

"Really?" Graham was clearly surprised, and she wasn't the only one. Most of the scientists started gathering behind Rick to check it out, too.

"Yeah...of course, he doesn't actually call it that, but the summary is about 'a device used to mimic and control titans through bioacoustics signals'." He leaned back again. "I ask again: Who the hell is this guy?"

Isla de Mara, Monarch outpost:

The worst thing about waiting here, specifically, was that this outpost, such as it was, didn't have a radio or a television. The island's radio tower was destroyed, so there wasn't any signal to be found. Plus, the power was out across the island, so only the most crucial electronics were being powered by the rickety generators the staff had salvaged.

As far as he knew, the battle of the century was raging as he sat there twiddling his thumbs, and there was no way to know what was happening other than a phone call. But if everyone on the Argo was busy, he didn't want to distract anyone from doing their job, especially if lives were on the line.

Then again...maybe that was just an excuse. Maybe he was just scared to pick up the phone just to hear about yet another city being reduced to rubble. That was probably the more likely case.

As a way to keep busy, he'd been helping the outpost staff monitor the volcano and its lone titan resident. So far, nothing much had happened. Rodan had peaked his head out once, looked around like he was thinking about leaving, and then submerged himself in the lava once more.

Maddie was just as worried as he, though he suspected she was worried for far different reasons. He'd noticed that her gaze drifted to the northern horizon more often than he'd like. While he was worried about the people that may or may not be dying right now, she was worried about the titans.

It made him sigh, not in disappointment or sadness, but just...exasperation, he supposed. She was so her mom's daughter. Not surprising considering how long Emma had had her for.

It was rather dull, but Mark was always doing something to keep busy, and therefore keep his mind off of what was happening up north.

That evening, however, things started getting more interesting.

It started with Ghidorah returning just before dusk. First, the radar picked them up on approach, so he and Maddie, eager to hear what happened, went outside to meet them. Or, at the very least, watch their approach.

It became very obvious very quickly that something was very, very wrong. One of the three necks, Kevin's, seemed shorter than it should've, and it was hanging limply. "Dad?" Maddie looked up at him, but it was only when he realized why Kevin's neck seemed shorter that he ushered her back to the building. "Get inside and stay there until I say so. I don't think you'll want to see this." She hesitated, her gaze stuck on the approaching titan, and he gently ushered her towards the building. He hated seeing the moisture building in her eyes. It was too late to prevent her from figuring out what happened, but that didn't mean she needed to actually see the gruesome sight. "Make sure she stays inside!" he ordered the staff that were also watching.

Once Maddie was escorted inside, the guy who shut the door tossed a set of keys at Mark, who caught them easily. "You'll need those, I think."

He nodded in thanks and jumped into the old jeep. Cranking it up, he pulled out onto the coastal road heading to the north side of the island where Ghidorah's favorite beach was. He was halfway there when he heard a furious roar, and suddenly Rodan bolted from the volcano's caldera and flew straight south as fast as his wings could carry him.

Mark wondered what exactly that roar was to make Rodan scurry away so fast. A loud thud and earth-shaking impact shook the ground and almost made him lose control of the jeep. Thankfully, he managed to slam on the brakes just in time to prevent driving into the rather deep ditch.

"Mark! Maddie!" Mark recognized Ichi's voice. "Stay away! Do not look!"


They'd just landed upon the north beach. Ni glared in the direction that Rodan was flying as Ichi gazed to the road where he'd seen a jeep driving their way from the air. Lances of pain still shot through their body from San's severed neck, which still occasionally twitched even now long after the wound was inflicted. Ichi could sense San's impatience, and because of both of those things, the constant pain and San's annoyance, Ni was in a rather...short mood.

All the way back, they'd been in pain, but Ichi had been more concerned about the trauma Maddie would experience upon seeing them in such a state. San was clearly her favorite. Still, despite his warning, Ichi could still hear the engine of the human vehicle approaching. Ichi growled softly, knowing they had ignored his warning. Then, his gaze turned to the rim of the volcano, and they took off before their two human friends could see them.

Landing upon the rim of the volcano, their feet submerged in the molten rock as if it was nothing more than hot water. Then, bracing themselves for the utter agony that would come next, the two remaining heads took several deep breaths before focusing on, and absorbing, the natural radiation emitted from the volcano.

As soon as the regeneration process started, their entire body shuddered, and both Ichi and Ni roared. Their agonized screeches loud enough to echo and cause little chunks of rock to break from the mountain. From the stump of San's severed head, a lump began to form. Bone slithered under the scales like a serpent before bursting forth in a fountain of gore and viscous material. Over the course of nearly twenty seconds, they had to endure such a burning, white hot sensation that nothing else mattered. They could feel nothing else other than the excruciating pain.

Eventually, mercifully, the process neared completion and the pain lessened considerably. At that moment, Ichi tore the fleshy membrane from the tip of San's regrown neck to allow his new head to break free and regrow. Soon enough two panting heads turned to three as they all just took a moment to recover.

"I hate when this happens..." San muttered.

"You didn't have to feel most of it," Ni snapped.

"Still don't like it." Then, something dawned upon San, and he looked down to where the outpost was. All of the Monarch staff were outside looking up at them in shock, awe, and in some cases, horror. And at the beach, only Mark was looking up at them. Thankfully, however, Maddie was nowhere to be seen in either location. "Um, Ichi...how are we supposed to explain this one?"

Ichi opened his mouth to respond before closing it again. "Just tell them titans are weird," Ni suggested.

Ichi glanced between Ni and the humans down below and shook his head. "I have no better ideas right now." This was going to be a hard thing to explain either way. They weren't exactly experts with life on this planet, but they were experts with life in general because of how many planets they'd been to. They didn't remember a lot of it, of course, but their instincts told them, quite clearly, that most forms of life couldn't regenerate severed heads without any lasting consequences. And from what they did know about this planet, that remained true here, too.

The titans were a curveball to the normal form of evolution on this planet, so maybe Monarch would believe it. Mark and Maddie, knowing their true origins, would know the truth. That they weren't a titan and this ability was beyond their planet's natural order.

Well...best to get it over with.

AN: Yeah, it's shorter than I'd like, but I've spent eight hours just today on this, and I'm typed-out for the day. I'll try to make the next update longer in exchange. But, then again, the last chapter was slightly longer than normal, too...

I'll make the next chapter longer, anyway.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22