His spine cuts through the waves as easily as a knife in butter, unaffected by the push and pull of the ocean's currents. Veins aglow with azure, the titan of the sea drifts along the currents: scales tickling as a variety of smaller creatures gather around him. Starbacks and other ocean-going titans were a veritable buffet for marine life, the sheddings of their dead skin alone capable of fueling an ecosystem in and of itself.
A jet of water erupts from his nostrils as he breaches the surface, savoring the way the light warms his charcoal black scales. Annoyingly, a pod of whales follows in his wake. Their songs are high-pitched to his infrasonic baritone, surprising considering they rivaled him in size. Playfully, the pod moves past: blowholes sending columns of froth high into the air. The Starback scoffs, and his mighty tail quickly pushes him fast past them. The morning had been peaceful: it needed not these smaller creatures and their chatter.
Following his internal compass, the vagabond picks up the growing smell of charcoal and burnt sand. The space beneath his feet is quickly filled with sand and stone, the titan switching over to walking as he comes ashore with a triumphant stomp of his foot. His gargantuan weight crushes a few unlucky reef formations. The weather was perfect for a swim: but it was also perfect for a good few hours of sunbathing.
Godzilla yawns lazily.
There would be enough time for both. After all, the island was all his- far from the Mainland and their countless rivals. No Kongs. No Parasites. Just him and his garden.
A sudden gust of wind makes the titan slow his pace.
He pushed past the palms scraping at his knees, a low throaty growl emanating from his throat. Trusting his instincts more than his thoughts, the titan pushes on past such minute observations. Starbacks often dug indents where they could lay half buried in the sand to better absorb the radiation. Godzilla had done so the night before, and he briefly reminisced how he had complained on how the coarse sand chafed his softer scales.
An Armorhide.
He briefly considers why the armored creature is here in the first place, seeing as they rarely left the mainland: but his concerns shift towards the enemy as it rouses from its sleep in what was once his nest. It opens one eye dismissively, before letting out a single grunt of annoyance as it stomps itself awake with the air of a charging bull. The intruder rattles its scales, a classic interspecies intimidation display. Its spiked tail smashes onto the ground with a calamitous bang - most of it covered in barbs to make it hurt for the unlucky titan on the receiving end. The golden beast claws at the ground, lowering its crown of horns for a charge. One by one, Godzilla's rows of spikes begin to glow in growing indigance: eyes changing from yellow to a brilliant blue.
This island was far too small for the both of them.
"GAAAAAAAOOOOOO!"
"SKREEEOOOOONK!"
His enemy rolls into a ball- similar to the giant isopods he often ate for sustenance. The Starback is left stunned and perplexed when the ball launches forward: with an explosive speed belying the Intruder's heavy armor. Too slow to dodge, Godzilla braces himself for the inevitable impact.
BANG!
The Armorhide swings into his shoulder: the blow more than heavy enough to stagger the heavyset Starback. The sound of tree bark cracking en masse snaps the titan from his momentary stupor, shaking to clear the stars drifting around his head. But it comes too slow as the Intruder rolls in and knocks the wind from his lungs a second time. Desperately, Godzilla blindly swings his tail: throwing the ball off course and into a mountainside.
With a screech, the Armorhide runs back into the fight without fear. Godzilla spreads his arms wide and lowers himself to the ground as the enemy closes the distance, and tackles the larger titan right in the chest. The foe has longer serrated claws and spikes, but Godzilla's prodigious strength lets him draw first blood with a single scratch from his claws.
Lifting the beast clean off the island thanks to its own momentum, Godzilla pivots to throw it overhead: sending the Armorhide right into a nearby forested valley and completely destroying the scenery. A gargantuan plume of dust erupts the impact, Godzilla's pushing the cloud aside with a swing of his tail. The Starback approaches; hide sizzling and crackling with atomic energy. The thump of his illuminated scales moved to his head, crackling bolts between each plate. He was taught from birth to never use his flame unless it was necessary.
Godzilla wasn't always a good listener.
But before he can unleash his breath weapon, a stray rock flies into his mouth: the Starback wobbling back as his short arms attempt to dislodge it. A flurry of boulders continues to pelt his body, more annoying than painful. When the dust clears, Godzilla catches a glimpse of the rival's tail disappearing into a hole that was certainly not there before. It seemed that this Armorhide was a bit more cunning than he had given it credit for.
The Starbcak stands still in the exact same position and reduces his breathing. The earth beneath his feet trembles as something large and prickly burrows through the soil, pulses of infrasonic waves shifting the ocean of dirt. Like clockwork, the Armorhide pokes his head out of the ground with a grunt a short distance away: confused by his opponent's sudden lack of noise. It scans the island, and does not think to look behind it until the last second.
His atomic breath rakes across the island, starting a forest fire and scorching the idyllic beaches into glass. The lump that was the Armorhide bobbed and weaved through the underground like a fish in water, at some points mere inches from being roasted into a crisp by his flames.
With about as much grace as a killer whale, it leaps out of its tunnels: claws digging into Godzilla's shoulder. His fist rocks it across the jaw, and the Starback stops his beam to bite down on the Armorhide's snout. Blow after blow shakes the island as the two titans relentlessly batter one another, bruises and blood coating their hides. A missed swing from the Armorhide's claws and the Starback digs in on its softer underbelly.
The tenacious creature's howl fizzles out as it is launched away. Godzilla is left tired, chest heaving as he takes a few tentative steps. It had been so long since he had last fought: had his atomic breath always burnt his lungs? His muscles burned from exertion. The Starback snarls menacingly as a shadow moves within the cloud. The Armorhide's blocky shadow is too easy of a target, and Godzilla's atomic breath bubbles in his throat.
Until he is assailed by a blinding flare of light.
The Starback lets out a surprised screech and shields his sensitive eyes from the burst. As Godzilla's vision clears of dark spots, an unfamiliar song pierces the heavens: clearing out a ring in the cloudy skies.
In between him and his enemy is a second intruder, this time a creature Godzilla is unfamiliar with.
It has a thin segmented body and a pair of gargantuan wings that dwarf the intruder's petite frame. Godzilla takes a second to marvel at the intricate patterns adorning the Second Intruder's wings, a kaleidoscope of sea greens, fiery oranges and bright yellows that continuously change before his very eyes. Razor sharp claws flex menacingly as it screeches at the Armorhide, who replies with another howl and a slam of its tail.
He looks over at the armored beast, nodding his head down towards the newcomer. The Starback sensed a great power from this one, and its small size only made him even more worried about what it could do. The First Intrduer's low growl tells him it feels the same way. With a combined roar, both titans charge at once.
Only for the newcomer to simply take off into the air: and cause them to slam into each other.
It looks almost pitifully at the two titans quarreling on the ground, tilting its head in curiosity. The lack of a violent response only frustrates him further, how dare this creature toy with a Starback?
Godzilla recharges his atomic breath, but a claw strike from the berserked Armorhide causes him to lose focus: the ignition fizzling out within his throat. Biting back, the Starback shoves him off: exposing the titan's underbelly as he does so. Seeing a new target of his irritation, Godzilla reaches down to disembowel the Armorhide's chin to groin: before something heavy lands atop his head. His mouth is abruptly pulled shut by a pair of clawed forelimbs, before silk is sprayed across his jaws.
The Starback drops to all fours and shakes his head like a rabid dog, but the newcomer is tenacious: only leaning back into the air to avoid a swing from the Armorhide's spiked tail. The Starback claws at the bindings: desperately trying to reach his greatest weapon, Godzilla was too occupied to notice it rolling towards him with full intent to pulverize-
Another stream of silk from the newcomer lands in its path, the fibers stopping its attack with ease. The Armorhide flails its arms pathetically as it lays on its back: glaring at Godzilla as he chuckles beneath his muzzle. The newcomer lands atop a mountain, antenna wiggling and fluffy chest puffed up with a smug satisfaction. Both of the reptile's heads snap towards her, unhappy at having their bout interrupted. The insect begins to chirp at them, a series of high notes and taps of its limbs that only confuse them further. Realizing its mistake, the newcomer presses its two frontmost limbs to its head.
A splitting pain suddenly assails the Starback, like something had entered into his skull and was currently punching its way out. The titan's thoughts were thrown all over the place as the Starback fell onto one knee. His typically blue dorsal spines flare to life with flecks of crimson, as Godzilla's jaws break through the silk muzzle.
"Do that again insect, and I'll snap you like a twig!" The voice that escapes his lips is not his own: spoken in a language deeper and more guttural than that of the Starbacks. Godzilla coughs into his claws, trying to dislodge an invisible wad of phlegm in his throat. "That wasn't me."
"Then who else could it be dumbass?" The Armorhide speaks, sounding like a rock being dragged across the ocean floor Based on his similarly panicked reaction, the enemy is in a similar situation.
"Worry not friends-" It doesn't take a genius to know the owner of the final voice, a calm melodious chorus of smaller female voices with the air of a soothing gentle breeze on a hot day. "A slight difference in your bioacoustics is a perfectly normal symptom of forming a mental bond, and I'm sure that two titans of your age and stature ought to be fine in a day or two."
"Mental what?"
"Mental bond. Did you not hear her the first time?" Godzilla snaps, his prior shock wearing off to be replaced by the irritation of having these two on his island.
"Wait, you put something in my head?!"
The Armorhide sounds genuinely panicked at the revelation, starting to rub on the top of its empty skull. The other two titan roll their eyes, but Godzilla is quick to turn on the Second Intruder. His pride as a Starback had been wounded after his stalemate with the Armorhide. He needed this small victory. Even if it was in words rather than claws.
"You. Get your disgusting influence out of my mind. Now."
The Intruder eyes the two titans, before deciding to side with the Starback in a show of reptilian solidarity. Or that it wanted the Second Intruder off the island so Godzilla could continue to beat it senseless.
"What he said - but with manners - so I'll add a 'please' before that."
The air around them suddenly tightens, the entire island becoming deathly quiet. Flocks of birds leave the trees with haste, the only noise being the labored breathing of the previously battling titans. The Earth herself let out only a small shudder as the Second Intruder lowers herself, frontmost limbs digging into the face of the mountain she sits on. A primal unease, some long forgotten instinct of his lizard ancestors to fear the light, makes his legs shake and heart beat too fast.
"Do you know who I am?"
The Second Intruder's radiant wings turn a deep crimson as they unfurl to their full breadth.
"I am Mothra, Future Queen of the Lightbringers." Her body glows brighter than any Starback he had ever seen: wings crackling with arcane energy. The titan flexes his claws and lowers his stance. If I wanted you dead, you would be. But since you're still here, has it perhaps occurred to you that I do not come for violence? Regardless, I think you get the point - don't you, Godzilla?"
His name is dropped between them with the air of a severed head, the Starback could almost see one rolling towards his feet. The Alpha of his old pack, Dagon, would go out of his way to avoid Lightbringer territory at all costs- despite how powerful the alpha Starback was.
Now, Godzilla could finally see why.
"Hah. Serves you right for being an asshole."
His fury is immediately redirected to the Armorhide, armed with a flippant demeanor that deflects a scathing glare that could burn through a glacier with malice alone. But before he can act on the impulse, Mothra beats him to it.
"As if you would do any different or better in this situation, Anguirus."
The Armorhide quickly averted his eyes, awkwardly flailing his limbs in an attempt to escape his bindings.
" I assume now that the introductions are out of the way- Let us move on to the more important half of this discussion shall we?"
With both of her opponents sufficiently cowed, her wings revert back to her original pattern and hue: the heir to the Lightbringer visibly relaxing atop her lofty throne. It was startling how fast her tone changed.
"I've been looking for a fellow Lightbringer, and I feel his presence somewhere within this area. My telepathy has told me that he is located deep beneath the ocean's abyss - but despite my best attempts at finding an alternative more suitable path: I see it for myself."
"Do we have a choice?" Godzilla snorts under his breath. "I'll do it."
"Same." Anguirus is more forgiving: though his words are not without a hefty dose of reluctance. "But unlike the Starback, who is a major asshole I might add, I'll help you find your brother - so long as I get the rights to my island when I'm done."
"You'll get it when I'm dead."
"What was that? Afraid I'll kick your ass again?"
"Now listen here you overgrown-"
An intentionally loud cough from Mothra silences both of the titans. Despite her best peacemaking efforts, the two still glared daggers at one another.
"Both of you are going. That is final."
A pause. Both titan process the words of their newfound rival.
"Why me? Can't this idiot take care of himself?"
The idiot in question had somehow righted himself, but the silk left a chunk of rock attached to his back. It was like the Armorhide was trying to prove Godzilla right in calling him an idiot.
"No, it has to be both of you. After all," Mothra says in a placating tone, "If one of you deserts- the other will be held responsible. And I think that neither of you can swim faster than I can fly."
The meaning of her words is clear. The Starback rolls his eyes as the lapdog Anguirus passes to his right, longingly watching the waves lapping at the shore. The stout titan's tail annoyingly smacks the back of his leg, just hard enough to be painful without drawing any real blood.
"Come on Tubs, let's get on it."
Godzilla looks back at the Lightbringer; humming to herself. Her passive aggressive threats were intimidating to an extent, but to titans that lived everyday killing one another over territorial disputes such bravado was nothing if not ineffective. The only reason Mothra could even push Godzilla around was the power difference: her and her moron lapdog could beat him in a two on one fight. He was prideful, yes, but Godzilla was far from stupid. Mothra waves awkwardly, tapping on the rocks. Her gesture is not reciprocated.
But she is patient despite their insubordination and gentle despite their crassness. Had their places been switched and he had the might of a Lightbringer instead of her, Godzilla might have killed the two intruders and went on with his day.
"OI!" Anguirus calls out impatiently from the coastline, doing his best to remain as annoying as possible. "I don't have all day!"
Reluctantly, Godzilla follows: both titans sinking into the waters.