When it reached the news that Godzilla was dead, Cordula wanted to kick someone, preferably the one who told the military where Godzilla was located and what was worse, she had been arrested, not literally, from her home and her father underwent house arrest and she was slowly taken to Nick and the others.
Someone better explain to me what is going on before I do something completely out of character.
~oOo~
Cordula burst through the door to see the team with looks of frustration on their faces and with them was Audrey and her camera man named Animal. Cordula glared at her "Please tell me you didn't tell the government about Godzilla because trust me, my right hook sent someone into the hospital" Audrey took a nervous step back as Cordula advanced on her.
Randy pulled her back "Easy there chica locawe don't want to rile up the extra company" He pointed out to the two soldier blocking the door and Cordula blew him a raspberry in reply before she sat in a vacant chair.
"Where's Nick?"
"He's out talking to Major Hicks"
Cordula rose up a brow. What wold Major Hicks be doing out here and not investigating on the problem in Jamaica?
"How did you end up getting involved? As far as we know. Audrey never knew you very well much less your name"
Elsie asked and Cordula shrugged "Maybe somebody was watching us while we were doing our research. Whoever knew me knew where I lived. The soldiers got me when I was at school and my father went under house arrest" Felling a headache coming along, Cordula rubbed her forehead.
~oOo~
Thanks to Nick,the team got out safely however the problem was far from over.
"We're going to Jamaica?!"
There was an excited squeal coming out of Cordula's mouth as she looked at Nick who nodded. Elsie grinned "I'll have us book an early ticket flight to Jamaica for three, Mendel's coming along" Mendel smiled sheepishly.
"Well good, we could useN.I.G.E.L in scouting underwater. The black ink could only be caused by aquatic animals. Mainly Octopus, Cuttlefish and Squid"
Cordula narrowed it down to the three as Mendel and Elsie nodded to themselves "Alright. We'll meet you here tonight. I'll have the tickets prepared by tomorrow" Elsie said and Cordula nodded before she froze.
How was she going to tell this to dad?
~oOo~
"Don't forget to bring a weapon with you in case something bad shows up in Jamaica"
Cordula held back an annoyed sigh when her father handed her a traveling backpack. He was okay with her going to Jamaica so long as she talk to him on the phone daily for a quick reassurance that she's safe.
"Don't worry dad, I'll be fine. Make sure not to get involved into any business outside your fishing company"
Joe hummed before kissing her on the forehead as she hailed a taxi "Be careful out there champ, go make your old man proud" Cordula grinned as she waved him goodbye as the taxi drove off.
~oOo~
She had arrived just in time to see Nick and Randy packing "Hey guys, where are Mendel and Elsie?" Cordula asked before she heard someone approaching from behind her and turned to see Elsie wearing a sunhat "Ta da! Craven, Cordula and I are ready for Jamaica!" She said, waving three tickets in her hands.
"I uh...got my flu shots" Mendel said before he sneezed prompting Nick, Elsie and Cordula to flinch from his sneeze.
"If there is another creature down there, we'll be on top of it" Elsie explained to Nick "Fine, Randy and I will join you as soon as possible" Nick agreed and the three of them were off to Jamaica.
~oOo~
Location: Jamaica
Military Time: 08:00 A.M
The three of them had woken up early to check out the beach where the ink was found and was met with a little resistance before the police were convinced to let them in.
Elsie used a small pickax to claw for the ink asN.I.G.E.L carefully carried an analyzing bottle "Initializing Analytical Protocols. Analyzing Sample Now...You wanna talk pH levels? We got'em low, low , low, so low they're insa-a-a-ane!"N.I.G.E.L boomed before moving away.
Cordula and Elsie chuckled while Mendel looked none to pleased "Remind me to kill that teenage punk for messing withN.I.G.E.L's linguistic software" Mendel grumbled "Oh come on Mendel don't be like that. You know you care for Randy enough to let him mess withN.I.G.E.L" Corsula pointed out.
Elsie lightly touched the ink with her pointing finger and held i close to her hand. Mendel placed his entire hand onto the ink to test it out "The ink sure is warm. Almost as if something is alive" Cordula said as her rubbed her palm on the ink.
"And do you feel that? That pulsing sensation. Something's in here" Elsie said. Cordula hummed when she noticed something moved and quickly moved the ink away only to slight jump back when a flailing fish broke out of the surface of the ink.
How it was still alive without sustaining any injuries from Elsie's pickax?
"It looks like this tar was draining it but why?"
"What's more concerning is that is there any normal creature that can make tar like this" Cordula questioned and no one had an answer to that. Afraid that if they did, it would only confirm the inevitable.
~oOo~
After looking up at each tar and seeing the same thing with each fish that washed offshore, they headed out to sea with Mendel driving, Cordula looking at the radar to see if there is any blimp under them while Elsie analyze the tar with the first fish they found.
"The data suggests that while draining fishes on electrode lights, the tar was also keeping it alive" Elsie stated which bewildered Mendel and Cordula "Why would it do that?" Mendel asked "Maybe to store it later for food. I don't know..." Cordula said and Elsie nodded.
"That could be"
Unknown to them that whileN.I.G.E.L scanned underwater, something swam pass by him, something big.
"Call up Nick, he needs to hear this" Cordula said and Elsie was already on it. While Elsie was talking to Nick, Mendel and Cordula decided to keep watch.
"Well we analyzed the tar. Amino acids reading right off the chart and the fish we found trapped inside, completely drained of electrode lights...Yeah we're thinking of external stomach. Once the food is digested the tar is probably reabsorbed into the predator's body"
Cordule blinked when she thought she saw something dark and moving underneath the surface but as she leaned closer, a tentacle shot straight at her and she was barely able to dodge "SQUID!" Cordula screamed. Elsie turned to look at her before Mendel shakingly pointed a finger in front of her and she turned to let out a scream.
A squid as big as their boat was trying to climb up.
"Elsie dropped the phone with Nick still on the line as she grabbed a spear for protection while Cordula sent out a distress signal. The squid let out a terrifying shriek as it waved its tentacles full of tar.
"Well now we know what kind of animal it is but a squid can't be that big unless it is-" Her sentence was cut off when something slimy grabbed her feet and she was lifted off from the ground. Cordula let out a scream when she was suddenly hanged upside down.
"N.I.G.E.L!" Mendel screamed whenN.I.G.E.L was pulled down underwater by a tentacle. The last thing Cordula saw was Elsie being grabbed by a squid before she was suddenly seeing black and freezing cold water surrounded her.
~oOo~
Cordula felt something pouring over that made her feel uncomfortable and she quickly shot out of bed and coughed out tar lodged in her mouth, pounding her chest. She heard Mendel screaming about "Squids" as she tried to regain what had happened.
When she did, she looked around and shook her head "Are you okay?" Nick said as he stood beside her "Aside from tasting icky tar and feeling a headache coming along. I'm fine" Cordula said with a smile.
~oOo~
After a few minutes of explanation from Nick about what had happened when they were unconscious with tar all over them, Mendel couldn't help but gasp out loud "You mean that tar was eating us?!" There was a gulp in his statement. Cordula shivered and wondered if their skeletons would be found in the bottom of the sea buried with tar.
"Paradoxically, while also keeping you alive and the whole time it was draining nutrients from your blood"
They felt the ship rumble to a stop and Cordula, Elsie and Mendel froze at the sound of the squids right on top of the upper deck. Nick quickly rushed up and opened the door to see many squids with Monique and Randy trying to fend them off.
"What's going-oh!"
Nick hissed when he felt Monique jab him at the end of a paddle as she forced him to move inside. She quickly locked the door and shoved the people in her way "I don't know who she is but I hate her already" Elsie commented which didn't make a response to Monique when the doors made a loud bang and gave way to tentacles slithering around.
"Not again.."
Mendel groaned as he and Elsie pressed themselves together, far away from the tar as possible "Is there another way out of the-Whoa!" Nick let out a shout when his foot was suddenly grabbed.
"Nick!" Cordula and Randy made a dive for his arms before Cordula felt something slithering around her waist "AAAHHH!" SHe screamed when she was hauled up as well. She and Nick dangled uselessly in front of the squid's snapping teeth.
"AAAHHH! I don't wanna be a squid's dinner!"
~oOo~
He had gone into hiding when they attacked him and he decided to head back to the female's den only to find out that she wasn't there and her scent led her out to sea as well as his father's. He quickly followed the scent to come across his father and the female being held captive by a giant squid.
"AAAHHH! I don't wanna be a squid's dinner!"
The female screamed before she was suddenly pulled underwater and his father was left to be devoured. He let out an underwater roar as he charged at the tentacle that held the female captive and before it could even cover her with that black, he pulled her away and pulled it underwater with his father back on the boat.
~oOo~
Nick didn't know what had happened, for a second he though he and Cordula were history when something pulled the squid away from him and he was able to pull free from its grasp but he saw no signs of Cordula.
Until Godzilla surfaced up with an enraged roar and on his head was Cordula with her waist covered in tar.
"Godzilla!" Nick gasped as the creature looked at him almost as if assessing if Nick was okay "You're alive" Nick stated "I'm alive too ya know!" Cordula called out from her position in Godzilla's head.
Godzilla threw the squids in his clawed hands with Randy shouting for joy "Watch out! Behind your back!" Cordula warned as squids tried to pull Godzilla down. He roared and bent down his head to the boat and Cordula easily slid off him before he dove underwater.
All was silent for a moment before Godzilla surface again this time with a few squids clinging onto him. He let out his atomic breath at each squid in his hands, roasting them dry "Woohoo!" Randy cheered as he pumped his fist into the air.
"Fried calamari!"
"I think I'm going to hold off eating squid for a moment" Cordula said a she tried to get the tar off her waistline. Godzilla let out a rumbling noise once he knew his father and the female he was interested in was safe before he went back into the water.
"I don't believe it. That thing...saved our lives" Monique said "Lucky it doesn't hold a grudge" Nick said as he turned his attention to Monique.
~oOo~
The roasted squids were carried by the waves to the shore and the team quickly headed in that general direction.
"So how'd it feel to ride in the G-man?" Randy asked and Codula shrugged her shoulders "Try comparing it to riding a lizard" She stated as she walked to where the squids are with Nick and Elsie talking behind her.
"Squids this size have never been seen before only speculated upon"
Nick stated as Randy jumped on one and began to walk on it "They must be deep water dwellers" Nick said as he stared at the size of the squids "Then what brought them to the surface" Randy jumped onto Nick as he answered.
"I'm guessing somebody, lean, mean and oh so green"
Cordula gave Randy a look "That would be impossible, Godzilla was born merely days ago. He couldn't have caused the squids to rise up from the depths" Elsie nodded "Something is not right. These squids aren't charred like the others. Something siphoned out all their vital fluids" Elsie said as she gestured to the squids that were different from the charred ones caused by Godzilla.
"You mean, Godzilla didn't do this?"
Mendel asked a he knelt down in front of a squid "I thought we already established that after we saw how he battled the squids" Cordula said "They looked like they've been drained" Nick said "Just like the fish we found in the tar" Elsie said
She turned to Nick to see him holding out a device "Radiation?" She asked "These squids may not be the predators we thought they were. They may be part of a larger food chain processing food for some other natural enemy" Nick said and Cordula wondered what kind of enemy would drive out the squids from the depths.
"Let'me get this straight, these mutant squid things use this tar to break down their food and now something else is sucking them dry?"
Cordula shrugged her shoulder "That pretty much is it" She said from beside Mendel "Any theories Dr. Tatopoulos?" A voice Cordula knew from before made her look at Audrey as she slid down a small hill.
"Audrey"
Nick called out "And the stalker factor of this girl just got higher" Cordula commented which made Randy laugh a bit. Nick approached Audrey "What are you doing her?" He asked her, he was stunned and shocked to see her here.
"My job" She stated in a matter of fact tone. She then drew a low chuckle "Miss me?" Cordula saw Elise cross her arms and mumbled out a "I didn't" Animal adjusted the lenses of the camera.
"Can you just say abandonment issues?"
He commented which made Audrey glare at him. Elsie groaned and walked away while Randy gave her a smug grin from behind her back "You must leave. It's too dangerous" Monique said as she approached Audrey.
"More dangerous than a cab right through Godzilla's mouth?"
Audrey shot back and Cordula had to give the girl a little credit for her sharp tongue "Been there, done that" Audrey said with a small glare straight at Monique.
"There is no telling what sort of predator is feeding off this squid"
Monique said as Animal viewed the dead bodies of the squid. Cordula heard rushing water behind her and she sharply turned to see a shadowy movement from the water.
"Uh...guys!"
Cordula called out as she slowly backed away "What is that?" Audrey asked out loud. Out came a monster with yellow-green in color with a dark green shell on its back. It had two large, clawed feet, and four tentacles on its chest, as well as two vestigial tentacles on its thorax. It has a segmented mouth composed of four tentacle-like structures around a simple, toothless mouth.
Great.
"I'm guessing we found our predator" Nick said as randy ran up right beside him "Really now? Is it because its the only living thing that surfaced on the water?!" Cordula asked as she watched the creature tower over them.
"Guess again compadre, it just found us!"
Randy screamed as the creature roared before taking a step forward "Down! Down! Down!" Nick shouted and they all ducked down as sand either flew pass them or went into their clothes and hair.
Animal kept on filming as the creature grabbed one squid and almost seemed to be sucking something out before it threw the dead squid away and roared in frustration.
"What's his issue?"
Randy asked with a raised brow "I think he's weaning off seafood" Audrey said as she stood up "It followed the squid to the surface and now Godzilla burned up its food supply. This batch isn't even a snack!" Nick informed them.
"It's heading towards the nearest village!"
Cordula called out as the creature roared and made its way out of the beach and into the nearest village. Cordula raced with Mendel, Randy and Elsie when a truck drove in front of them "Get in!" Audrey called out.
Mendel wheezed "Couldn't we just stay here for awhile. On the nice cool sand" He said as he knelt down. Elsie pulled him up "Come on!" She said and with the help of Cordula, managed to get Mendel inside the truck.
"Whew... Mendel you really need to workout"
"Like what I am doing is working out enough"
~oOo~
Alarms sounded off the village as terrified citizens raced for safety from the giant creature that was wreaking havoc in their city. Audrey drove as fast as she could with Animal filming the monster in sight.
"Drive faster, we gotta get ahead of him!"
Randy said and they raced in front of the monster who instantly took note of them and opened its toothless jaw to devour them "Everybody Out!" Randy shouted and they all jumped out and landed in the bushes.
Cordula shook her head and looked up to see the creature looking at them with its jaws opened wide. Before they could assume the worst, a honk drew the monster's attention to it and there Cordula saw Nick and Monique driving a truck filled with-
Was that cement tar?
Whatever it was, it drew the creature's attention away from them. Cordula dashed after them as fast as her feet could run, leaving the group behind and in real danger.
They were heading to shore.
Cordula didn't stop running until she saw the creature about to devour Nick and Monique did she start banging and kicking its legs to divert the creatures attention. It did for a split second before she heard Godzilla roar out to the creature and the two were engaged in battle.
"Watch for its tentacles!"
Cordula called out when she saw Godzilla slip when one of the creature's tentacles wrapped itself around Godzilla's leg and brought him down. The rest of the crew soon arrived and watch the showdown.
"I got a hundred bucks on the walking crab-cake" Animal said as he adjusted the lenses and began recording the fight. Cordula watched in horror when the creature spat tar directly in Godzilla's face and brought him down.
"Godzilla!"
Cordula called out as the creature began making its way back to the village for food. The sound of a chopper made her turn to see Major Hicks jump down a d walk up to Nick.
"Watch Out!"
Cordula called out when the creature brought down one of its clawed feet. Cordula felt the ground shake as it made its way to land. The people screamed when they saw it coming again before a huge boulder flew over and hit the creature.
The creature roared out in anger and turned to see Godzilla on top of a cliff. Cordula watched as the creature moved towards Godzilla before Godzilla turned and began tunneling down.
"What's it doing?"
Major Hicks asked "He's tunneled all over that ridge. It's unstabled" Nick explained and sure enough he was right when Godzilla dug his way out to see creature already beginning to fall.
Cordula gasped when the creature attempted to pull Godzilla with him but Godzilla released his atomic breath to release himself from the tentacles wrapped around his body and watched the creature fall. However, the unstable ground couldn't support his weight and Godzilla fell as well before he was buried in rocks.
"Ha! Two monsters for the price of one"
"That monster just sacrificed itself for us major"
Nick said before they heard a rumble in the ground "Dude!" Randy called out as he turner Nick's head to where the rumble was coming from and out came Godzilla who unleashed a mighty roar.
"Yeah!"
Cordula cheered and punched both her hands in the air "Ha! Never bet against the big guy!" Randy said as he pulled the hundred bucks from Animal. The sound of more choppers made all eyes turn upwards to see at least three choppers with their target aimed at Godzilla.
Godzilla quickly dived back into the water and Cordula couldn't help but wonder where he was going now. It didn't take long for her to figure out what he was doing when she saw black tar bursting out of the surface and with it were the missing boats and people.
She wanted to cry out stop when he got back to where he was standing with the choppers aimed at him. He barely gave his full attention to them because his gaze was on his father and the others to decide on what to do.
His loyalty to them made her want to give him a pat in the head and a quick kick in the shin if she was as tall as he was.
Nick was persistent on keeping Godzilla alive as he gave every reason to keep him safe and alive. Finally the major relented.
"Godzilla is dead...Repeat, Godzilla is dead. Is it clear?"
The entire crew sighed with relief when they saw the choppers retreating. Cordula looked at Godzilla who looked back at her and gave her a toothy smile before he retreated back into the water.
~oOo~
"And so another monstrosity was destroyed by the U.S Armed Forces with no loss of life. This is Audrey Timmonds reporting from Jamaica"
Cordula clicked the TV off with a sigh as her father handed her a drink "So i suppose Godzilla is alive judging by your suddenly happy mood" Cordula smiled and nodded.
"Do you think there will be others like the creature you fought off today?"
Joe asked and Cordula shrugged before her gaze went to the night sky "Maybe, the world is full of mystery" Joe placed a hand on her shoulder.
"In that case, always expect the unexpected my dear. This may be just the beginning"
The resounding roar of Godzilla echoed in her ears and whether Cordula heard it or not, she felt much safer now that there will be someone watching over the dangers that lurk in the unknown.