Chapter Seventeen:

Godzilla Comes Ashore

Somewhere secluded, a man in robes knelt before a crystal ball, watching a hideous image appear in the reflection. The image took the form of a dinosaur breathing fire, and then it showed a cruise ship, sailing towards fire, before the image of the ship changed to show it sailing harmlessly.

"The ship should turn back, it shouldn't sail." The fortune teller said, "They don't know. Something bad is about to happen, the hour is nigh. The god of destruction grows in power and is about to rise. The RMS Sun Shroom is doomed. They're all doomed."

He moved his hands away, and the crystal ball settled, but the fortune teller was terrified. He'd seen the future unfolding, and all of the foreseen events were about to happen. Worst of all, there was no trying to change fate, the future was set in stone and it was far too late to fix things.

Godzilla was inevitable.

Meanwhile, off the coast of the Mushroom City, the Sun Shroom sailed into the night as people took in the view of Fuji City from the side of the ship. A brown Toad stood near the edge, watching the city lights glowing, while a pink female Toad in a velvet dress joined him and held his hand.

"Such a lovely night, isn't it?" Aleta asked.

"Yeah, and this cruise has gone well so far." Ern remarked, "I just hope nothing unusual or scary happens."

And a few feet below, something was stirring, and watching the ship pass over. The beast observed ominously, preparing to strike, and destroy all of those who were aboard. It wouldn't be long, and yet, the creature was hungry.

Luigi approached Dante, filled with curiosity as to how he had been with Donkey Kong. "Excuse me for asking, Mr. Dante the Koopa..." The green Italian said, "But how did you get to Kong Island?"

"Let me explain everything for you..." Dante replied, "I was fishing when a shark took my fishing rod. And then, a giant tail emerged from under the water and sent me flying all the way to the island with the Kongs."

"Hold on, a giant tail?" Mario inquired.

"Yup." Dante nodded, "After I crash landed on the island, DK took care of me. Remember, that tail did send me here."

"Now what kind of creature has a tail like that?" Luigi remarked.

"Who knows, but it looked like the tail of a giant lizard." Dante said.

"GIANT LIZARD?!" Luigi shrieked, "That does not sound like-a Bowser."

"Looks like it's your turn to tell the story, DK." Dante told Donkey Kong.

"No problem, Dante buddy." DK nodded, "After Dante woke up and told me what happened to him, we went to visit my grandpa Cranky. Dante told Cranky everything about the giant creature's tail, and Cranky was already aware of what the creature was supposed to be.

"Dante told us to get going and so, we told Diddy about the god that will bring destruction to the Mushroom Kingdom, then we left the island to warn you of what's to come. Diddy took his jetpack while me and Dante took the dolphin, and you know what happens next."

"Oh, dear!" Toadsworth exclaimed, "So that is why you're here, to warn us about that creature!"

"Exactly." Diddy nodded, "And I hope Dixie will be okay back on the island."

Donkey Kong pat his young associate on the shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy. I'm sure Dixie and Candy will be okay." He remarked to Diddy.

"Wait!" Luigi held up a nervous hand, "If that creature is the god of destruction, then could it be worse than Bowser? We know Bowser is bad news, but he doesn't have the power to destroy everything, despite having black magic and an army as well as an armada of doom-ships."

"If you think that-a creature is far worse than Bowser, then yeah, it is." Mario nodded grimly.

"Oh, god..." Peach said with worry, "D-D-Do you think it's coming to Fuji City?"

"If it's already awake, then it will come!" Dante nodded, "We gotta warn the government and the army, and everyone else."

"Now, I don't know what kind of god it is, but we need to-a be careful." Mario cautioned with uncertainty, "That thing can show up anytime or maybe any minute..."

"We're with you, Mario!" DK said with glee, "And we're not letting this monster destroy my island as well."

"Yeah, and we're not letting it destroy the city." Diddy nodded.

"We're glad that you guys are joining us." Mario tipped his hat with a smile.

No one noticed that Hal and Jeff were still watching, the former was very annoyed that he had to see Donkey Kong again. The last time they'd seen him, Hal had beaten up the tie-wearing gorilla... or so he thought. It appeared that a Koopa beating couldn't keep the mighty Donkey Kong down forever.

"He's tough, ain't he?" Jeff quipped, just as a cruise ship passed by and tooted its horn.

"And did you hear what that Koopa said?" Hal changed the subject, "There apparently is a god in the ocean somewhere, for real!"

"I wonder what kind of god it is. Is it a whale or a fish?"

"Dunno..." Hal shrugged, "But for now, we better report to King Bowser."

"Maybe you are right or maybe you are wrong..." Jeff remarked half-grimly.

The RMS Sun Shroom tooted it's horn once more, which wound up being for the last time. A second later, a bright flash of light illuminated the surface of the ocean, and the ship went up in flames. On board, passengers screamed as they were consumed in a fiery blast as an explosion engulfed the Sun Shroom.

On the beach, the group watched with shock. Luigi looked up, seeing a piece of the ship coming their way, and he screamed, "INCOMING!"

Everyone scattered, narrowly avoiding the impact of the ship's piece as it struck the sand. As the dust settled, Mario made sure that Peach was unharmed, showing concern for the princess' safety. To his relief, Peach was unscathed and she stood up, dusting off the debris that had settled on the skirt of her royal gown.

"What's happening?!" Yoshi exclaimed.

"Obviously, that ship exploded, and who knows how many people died..." DK said.

"You know what happened, right, DK?" Diddy asked.

"Unfortunately... no."

"Has Gooper Blooper gone crazy again?!" Toadbert shrieked.

"Or perhaps it's Eely-Mouth." Toadsworth then suggested.

"I don't think so." Dante shook his head grimly.

Mario's face lit up. "Hey, Dante. You didn't tell me how far away the creature was..." He commented.

"Over there!" Dante pointed far out to sea, "I was fishing in that spot when the tail emerged.

"THIS CLOSE TO THE CITY?!" Luigi yelled with dread.

"Yeah, hate to say it, but I'm afraid so." Dante nodded gravely.

A torrent of water rose into the air, and a dark shadow fell over the beach. The night air became cold, and the moonlight was blocked out by a large mass. The water settled and the gang looked up, eyes filled with horror, as a towering, bipedal dinosaur with dark, scaly skin, and white-black spikes on it's back rose from the depths of the ocean.

The creature stared down upon the group with menacing yellow eyes, and faced the city ahead, letting out a growl. Mario looked up at the humongous reptile, knowing this was nothing like Bowser or any other force that he'd faced over the years.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" He yelped.

"It's... It's a giant lizard!" Peach exclaimed, "It's some kind of dinosaur!"

The newly-arrived reptile stepped forward, and the earth shook under its feet, causing sand to shift, as it made landfall. The shadow got larger, and the 100-meter-tall monster growled once more. Seconds later, the beast threw back its head and its maw opened as an earsplitting roar shook the earth;

SKREEWAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOONNNNGK!

When the roaring subsided, the monster looked up, staring at the city ahead. And it marched forward once more, advancing towards the city without stopping. And Mario and the others were in its path...

The creature opened its fanged mouth again, and let out another menacing roar. WRAAAAAAAAAAAHRRRRRRRRROOOONGK!

"IT'S GOING TO CRUSH US!" Luigi made a break for it, running as fast as he could to get out of the oncoming beast's path. Mario followed his little brother's lead, knowing it was time to get out of there, and he took off running. Peach, Dante, DK, Diddy, Yoshi, Toadsworth and Toadbert all ran for their lives, running right towards the city.

WHAM! The monster's foot slammed into the spot where the group had stood moments before, leaving a massive footprint in the sand. Hal and Jeff witnessed the creature's arrival from behind their rock, and, as soon as the beast set foot on shore, they made a break for the city as well.

The monster let out a hideous growl, and advanced closer towards the city, trampling on trees, and a few cars parked close by crumbled under the weight of the beast's foot, their alarms wailed for a moment and soon became silent. On the edge of Fuji City near the beach, Toads screamed and ran for their lives. The god of destruction had arrived...