The One Who Lost His Way

AN: Yes, it's been a while. I gave a full explanation on my Twitter and on my last upload on my Wings of Fire story two or three weeks ago now, but the short version is this: I've been super busy. I've got a full time job, which already means I have less free time, but there were three moves in the past three months that took up the remainder of that free time.

I'm really hoping that everything is settled down now because I really don't like being away from here for that long.

Anyway, I'm actually really proud of this particular chapter. It really highlights the current mindsets of our three main characters. Plus, you guys wanted some Ghidorah and Maddie time? Well, here you go. Enjoy!

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:

With nothing much to do at the moment, the crew of the Argo decided to just sit tight as they waited for the next big crisis. Of course, that didn't mean that they were all idle. Foster was doing her job as military liaison to keep up to date on what the military knew about Jonah. They, and by proxy the government agencies, were hard at work trying to track the eco-terrorist down. So far, they had no real leads, only whispers and rumors that CIA agents had been dispatched to confirm or deny. According to said rumors, Jonah had been seen in Poland, Russia, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Brazil, and Mexico. Whether or not he actually had been seen in all those countries was unknown at the moment, and even if he had been, they still didn't know where his group was based. It could be any of the countries he'd been spotted in, or none of them. They simply didn't know, which is why the CIA was handling this one.

Once they had more intel, and an actual location, the military would be sending a covert strike force. A missile strike would be too brazen if the local government wasn't informed, and if they were, there was always the possibility of that information being leaked by a corrupt official. Plus, there was a lot of red tape with launching missiles into another country. A covert strike team would cause much less of a stir, and if the local government did somehow catch wind of it, it would be a lot easier to pacify them.

Or that's what Foster had told him.

He was just glad he didn't have to tell his daughter that, hey, her mom's about to be blown up in an air strike. At least this way, there was a chance for her Emma to be captured alive. He hoped Emma was captured alive. He had a few choice words for his ex-wife. Add to that, he just wanted to know why. Why team up with Jonah? Why awaken the titans? Why choose terrorism over her own family?

He was positive it had something to do with Andrew. He'd taken his death hard, finding some semblance of solace in the bottom of a bottle. But maybe Emma had taken their son's death harder, and nobody had even noticed. Was all this his fault, then? If he'd been there for Emma, would she have gone to such lengths for what he could only assume was some twisted form of justice?

"Thinking of the past?" The sudden question startled Mark from his thoughts. Serizawa sat at the table in the seat opposite him, they being the only two in the dining hall. With nothing to do and a lot of thoughts going through his head, Mark had just found a quiet place to try and think everything through. So lost in thought was he that he hadn't even heard the elder scientist enter.

Mark nodded, glancing at his old friend only briefly. "Yeah…"

Serizawa nodded, having expected that answer. He was quiet for several moments before he took his glasses off and cleaned them on a cloth he pulled from his pocket. Once he was done, he put his glasses back on and leveled a sympathetic gaze at him. Mark remained quiet, wondering what nugget of wisdom Serizawa was going to give him this time. "I know you cannot help but blame yourself for some of what is happening today. You ask yourself what you could have done differently to change what is happening now."

"If I'd just been there for them…" Mark sighed. Serizawa was about the only person in the world who he would even start to open up with. One, because the elder scientist was his mentor and closest friend. And two, because he simply knew him well enough that Mark couldn't hide anything even if he'd tried.

"Much would have been different," Serizawa nodded. "But the past is set in stone, Mark. You cannot change it, only learn from it. I implore you to do so, for your daughter, if not for yourself. You have a second chance, Mark. Only a fool would waste it by remaining in the past. Look, instead, to the future."

Mark stared at the elder man in silent shock. Not only had he agreed that Mark's past mistakes contributed to where they were now, but he also gave him a reason not to wallow in his regret and advice on how to move forward in one fell swoop. "Where did that one come from?"

He expected some wisecrack about a fortune cookie or how it was something he saw in a movie. Instead, Serizawa hit him with the last thing he expected. "Personal experience." The elder man's gaze drifted away, a sign that he wouldn't clarify, and Mark just stared at him for a few moments before nodding. "Regret is a hard thing to overcome. Bury it for long enough, and it will end up burying you one day. If you have any, do what you can to mend them before it is too late. In your case, I believe the path is simple: be the father your daughter deserves. Try to save Emma if you can, but your daughter should be your priority."

"Did you see the way Ghidorah was looking at her?" In a moment of self-doubt, he wondered if Maddie even needed him, what with the strongest being on the planet seemingly trying to take his spot. Ghidorah could protect Maddie better than he could, too, so what use was he?

Serizawa hummed in acknowledgement as he nodded. "It seems Ghidorah has grown quite attached to young Madison. But if you worry about being replaced, you need only remember one simple fact."

"What's that?"

"You are her father," he responded instantly. "And nobody, not even Ghidorah, can change that."

Mark released a heavy exhale and nodded, seeing the wisdom in his old friend's words. "Thanks," he said genuinely.

Serizawa nodded. "Anytime." Then, he stood, "It's a nice day outside, Mark. It would be a shame to waste it in here."

Mark huffed in mild amusement but acquiesced and stood. "Alright, let's go see what sort of trouble everyone's getting into."

Meanwhile, outside:

The humans milling about the beach made a pointed effort to make it seem like they weren't interested in them even though they clearly were. Also, to keep a respectful distance. On the former point, however, many were caught gawking at them, admiring their size or whatever. In fact, not that Ichi himself was paying attention to it, but through San, he could see the humans doing all sorts of things that the youngest find entertaining, funny, or both.

Some were measuring their footprints in the sand, the width, length, and depth. Others were using lasers to measure the length of their body or wings. Another was taking pictures of them. Still more were just talking about them, theorizing how much they weighed or how they could grow their head back.

It was obvious that the humans were fascinated by them, wanting to know all they could. Ichi couldn't blame them, they were utterly magnificent. Of course, these being scientists, this was sort of their job, too. And no one before them had really been able to take up close measurements or observations of a 'titan' like this before. Most of the time, the titan in question was either in hibernation. Godzilla was the one exception, but no one had been able to approach the alpha titan like this before. They were quite literally just lounging on the beach, entirely content with where they were.

Content enough for Ni to fall asleep, and that was saying something.

Boredom had played a part, but the fact he wasn't so on edge that he was constantly watching everyone every time they got a few inches closer than he liked was quite a feat. San had taken the role of watching everyone, though not from any form of suspicion. No, San was just curious, as always.

Ichi, however, had remained lying upon the sand next to Maddie, listening to the 'podcast' she had been shown. He found it quite interesting, actually. From what he understood, this 'Bernie Hayes' was not a prominent human by any means. He had no connections to Monarch, yet he seemed uniquely knowledgeable about titans. It was interesting to hear what the common humans thought about the titans. In the three episodes they'd listened to so far, they had not been mentioned a single time, but that was no surprise. They had supposedly been kept a carefully controlled secret by Monarch.

Shutting his eyes, but not falling asleep, Ichi was utterly content with where he found himself, sprawled upon a tropical beach, the sun's rays warming their scales, his little human sitting next to him with an interesting podcast to listen to.

Actually…

Now that he thought of it, he didn't hear it anymore. Opening his eyes, he glanced down to see what was the matter just in time to see Maddie stand up. She showed him the phone, "Battery's almost dead."

He gave a small sigh, though that was still enough to kick up a small cloud of sand. "A shame. I was really enjoying myself."

"Me, too, but we'll have to wait until the phone's charged back up again." He watched as she glanced at the human airship with a slightly worried expression.

She didn't say anything, though, so he decided to gently press her with a question. "Something the matter?"

After a few more seconds, she tore her gaze away from the airship and back to him with a small shrug. "I don't know. It's probably nothing. Just forget it."

He raised his head up just enough to look at her more directly. "Speak your mind, Maddie. What troubles you?"

A few of the Monarch scientists had frozen in their tracks when they saw him move, but when they realized he wasn't going to do anything more, they went about their business. Maddie remained quiet for a few seconds more before sighing. "It's just… Dad's been in there a while."

"Perhaps he is just busy?" he gently suggested.

She nodded and shrugged. "That's what I keep telling myself, but I can't help but worry about him."

"He seems a capable individual."

His attempt at reassuring her apparently backfired as she shook her head. "You don't know him like I do. After San Francisco, he…" She trailed off, and Ichi's interest suddenly piqued. One, because he was interested in learning more about Mark and Maddie's past. And two, because whatever happened seemed to have a deep effect on his human. "Let's just say he went through a rough patch and leave it at that."

Ichi cocked his head, curious, and even San had turned to watch their conversation. "You fear for his mental state?" he assumed, correctly judging by her nod. "What happened in San Francisco?" he asked gently, fully aware that he could be crossing a line. Humans were fragile, and not just physically. Emotions were particularly potent in their species.

"San Francisco…" She sighed and trailed off. "Is where everything fell apart." As seconds of silence went by, he realized that she would not elaborate. San and Ichi shared a glance, and the oldest decided then and there that he would ask Mark later. He wished to know what happened and why it affected his human so much. Because even though her voice was steady, he could tell she was upset. Mostly because he could smell the strong scent of sadness coming from her.

He didn't get the chance to even try to console her because he, and everyone else on the beach, suddenly heard a familiar cry echoing across the landscape. The gathered humans all scattered, though Maddie remained where she was, her surprised gaze turning to the sky in the direction the cry came from.

It was loud enough to startle Ni awake, who looked to the sky with a growl. "What does she want!?"

Ichi remained silent, and while they remained in their relaxed position on the ground—Ichi knew she wasn't here to attack them—all three of them did raise their necks to watch as she approached from the west. Soon enough, the beach was clear of all humans except Maddie, who San was guarding from sight. None of them were particularly concerned that the bug would try anything—she was the biggest softie among the titans, particularly in regards to the humans—but Maddie was theirs. Call him overprotective or jealous, but Ichi didn't want Maddie interacting with other titans, even one so 'safe' as Mothra.

Speaking of, the oversized moth landed on the beach not far from them. She was comically small compared to them, despite being huge compared to the humans. The smallest of the titans, she was still a force to be reckoned with, he was sure. Just…not against the likes of them. Her moniker of 'Queen' was more likely due to her symbiotic relationship with Godzilla than any combat ability.

"What do you want?" Ichi asked her, not entirely polite, but not outright hostile, either.

Mothra didn't seem perturbed by his tone in the slightest. "I just wanted to check in. Thank you for sparing Godzilla, by the way." Ichi wasn't surprised that she already knew of the King's survival. There was a bond between the two that he couldn't even begin to understand. But somehow, each one always seemed to know where the other was and what state they were in, even when on opposite sides of the globe.

"Is that all you came to say?" Ni scoffed.

"No," she answered simply. "I also wanted to say that you have my moral support for what you three are doing here. I cannot side with you publicly, but I do hope you three triumph over Godzilla." So taken aback was he, that Ichi physically recoiled as if struck. San and Ni, likewise were stunned silent, the former's jaw dropping open, and the latter so stunned that all traces of hostility were lost in favor a completely gob smacked expression. Apparently, their reactions were enough to make her giggle. "He needs a reality check, and the residents of this planet need a change in leadership if they are to survive. You three seem to be providing that change, building trust between titans and humans." Ichi and Ni shared a quick glance, and when the eldest turned to look at the moth again, he noticed that she was looking at little Maddie, still standing under San's protective shadow. "If she can see the good in you like I can, then the rest of humanity will soon see it, as well."

With one last knowing look, Mothra took flight again, this time heading north. The three of them watched her go, their thoughts whirling from this new development. Mothra was on their side. Their side. Not Godzilla's. Even if her support was only a token gesture, as she evidently had no intention of actually siding with them openly, it was still a massive boon.

"What'd she say?" Maddie asked hesitantly.

Remembering that Maddie couldn't actually understand titan speak, Ichi paraphrased the short conversation for her. "She said that we have her support."

"Woah…so you guys have another ally, then?"

Ichi hummed at that. "More like we have one less enemy. She will not openly side with us, but neither will she intentionally impede us."

"But that's still a good thing, right?"

"Indeed…" Ichi finally tore his gaze away from the northern horizon to glance down at her, only to see Mark, and what looked like the rest of Monarch heading their way.

"Alright, guys…what the hell was that about?"

Ni sighed, knowing they were going to have to repeat themselves again, and not wanting to deal with that, he gave a curt, "I'm going back to sleep," before laying his head down again and shutting his eyes.

AN: So Mark's having some self doubts about his worth, Maddie's worried for her dad and wonders if he's as alright as he's seemed, and Ghidorah really just wants to help the two but has no idea how at the moment. I don't know about you, but they sound like a family to me. A very, very weird one, granted, but a family, nonetheless.

What do you all think?

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22