The One Who Lost His Way

AN: AN: I'm leaving to go on a trip later today and won't be able to post these chapters when I usually do, so I decided to get them ready and post them before I left. Unfortunately, that means 'The Good Life' and 'Life is Precious' won't be updated next week in case anyone here reads those stories.

This picks up almost immediately after the last chapter. 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.

Isla de Mara, village remains:

This place was definitely a mess. She remembered seeing bits and pieces of the village on the screens back in the bunker, but that was before Rodan gave the place a rather significant makeover. Maybe that was a bit too lighthearted to describe the tragedy that had happened here, but she didn't like thinking about it too much.

Their osprey had landed on the western outskirts of the village where the few Monarch personnel that had remained behind had set up a rudimentary outpost to observe the titans that hung around the island. By 'rudimentary outpost', she meant a few computers and beds set up in an old, mostly intact farmhouse with only a few remote-controlled drones to take pictures and record videos. There was a single, old civilian jeep and an even older Ford pickup to the outpost's name, which had both been salvaged from the town, in all likelihood. The 'landing pad' was just an open part of the backyard with an orange 'H' spraypainted on the ground.

In other words, not exactly state-of-the-art.

Not that the scientists here really had a choice. After the place had been evacuated, they'd been left to monitor the situation on their own. They'd barely been able to get what little gear they had on the ground before the Argo had been called away. Adding to that, Rodan's rampage had destroyed a good three-quarters of the village. The eastern and central parts of the town had lava flows going through them now, so that limited the salvageable area by a good deal. Honestly, she thought it lucky the scientists had been able to find two working vehicles.

Even before the lava came and burned most of the town to the ground, Rodan's prior rampage had the place looking like a Cat 5 hurricane had just come through. Buildings were smashed to pieces, debris littered the streets, cars were tossed aside like Hot Wheels. And, as their quick flyover had revealed, there was absolutely no one here. A couple of locals had decided to stick around and were staying near the Monarch outpost, but from what she saw, there couldn't have been much more than twenty of them.

It was eerie. Just a few weeks ago, this was a bustling, little town of twelve thousand-ish people. Now, it was nothing but a ghost town that looked like some Middle-Eastern warzone. She didn't remember much about San Francisco, but she imagined this was a taste of the destruction that city had experienced.

It made her wonder how many Andrews had been lost here.

Putting that depressing thought aside, she decided to focus more on the here and now. Her dad was by himself and far removed from anyone else, talking on the phone with someone. His back was turned, so no one could see his expression, and nobody could hear him, either. She was curious, obviously, but he'd told her to sit here and wait for him.

'Here' meant on the tailgate of the outpost's pickup. Two of the five outpost staff were sitting in the vehicles' respective driver seats. Stenz and his few troops had already loaded up in the Jeep, so all anyone was doing was just waiting for her dad to finish his phone call, which had been going on for nearly ten minutes now. It didn't take a genius to see that everyone else was getting impatient.

That included the sole titan visible even several miles up the beach. Only their necks were peaking above the trees, and all three were watching the gathered humans. From this distance, she couldn't make out any of their expressions, but every time she waved at them, Lefty cocked his head in a way that reminded her of a curious dog. 'Cute' was not a word she'd thought to associate with a massive three-headed dragon, but, well...it was.

Just because she was bored, she waved at them again, and Lefty did the same thing. Righty looked away, Middle looked at Righty, and then Lefty turned to look at the other two. Then, Righty lifted his head to the heavens, and even from miles away, the roar was loud. Everyone around her tensed, the soldiers clutching the weapons and a few of the outpost staff dropping a box of gear in surprise. Her dad had spun around to see what was going on before saying on last thing to the phone and finally hanging up.

He jogged over. "Get in the truck, Maddie!" he called, and as she slid into the middle of the truck's single bench seat, her dad was a few seconds behind her. "I think that was them telling us to 'hurry up'."

Once he shut the door, he nodded to the driver, a woman in her early thirties or so, and she cranked the old truck up. The engine turned slowly a few times before firing to life, and then the Jeep cranked up beside them, Stenz looking a bit more nervous than before. The two vehicles pulled away on the short trip up the beach towards the single biggest lifeform on the planet.

And the only one here not nervous or scared in some capacity was her, the twelve-year old. It was funny to think about, actually.

A few minutes earlier:

"Ugh...What is taking them so long!?" Ni complained.

Ichi huffed, though he would admit to becoming rather impatient with all this waiting. He was really excited to see Maddie again, but the fact the humans had just sat there ever since landing was a bit ridiculous. None of them remembered much about the other species they'd encountered in their time wandering the universe, but he was almost certain none of them had been this slow.

Almost as if he was reading his thoughts, which he probably was, Ni huffed again. "They have to be the slowest species we've ever come across."

It didn't help that San was pretty much vibrating with excitement that only worsened every time the distant shape that was Maddie waved to them. The youngest would cock his head to the side and laugh like the two of them were playing some game with each other even though they were about four miles away. It was almost absurd that San was the one least affected by the continued wait.

Ichi, ironically, was in the middle on this issue. He was excited like San yet also impatient like Ni. He wanted to see Maddie again and let her climb up on his face if she so wanted. The fondness he felt towards that one human girl was unlike anything he remembered, and all in such a short time, too.

Just as he noticed Maddie waving to them again, causing San to cock his head like normal and Ichi to smile fondly, Ni snapped. "I can't take this anymore!" Ichi glanced at him as he raised his head to the sky, his patience having completely run dry, and was vaguely aware of San leaning further out to do the same. "HURRY UP, HUMANS!"

Ichi deadpanned at his brother, unimpressed with his outburst. "You know they cannot understand you." Though, when he saw motion from the humans, and two vehicles began pulling away several seconds later, he realized they'd gotten the message, regardless.

With the two human vehicles finally trundling their way towards them, Ni finally seemed satisfied. It didn't take long for their visitors to arrive on the stretch of beach they were currently relaxing on. They were laying down on their right side with their right wing, which was bent at a right angle for better support, covering most of the trees and part of the volcano. Their left wing and both of their tails were at least half-submerged in the water. Their legs stretched out towards the ocean, the waves casually lapping against their feet.

It was comfortable. In fact, Ichi would say it was the most comfortable they'd been able to get since awakening from the ice. Of course, there were more reasons than mere comfort for them to adopt such a position. After noticing the other humans accompanying Mark and Maddie, Ichi thought it best to adopt a more relaxed pose to show they were not a threat. Plus, with them already lower to the ground, they wouldn't have to bend down as far for Maddie.

Ichi couldn't help but smile again when he saw Maddie bouncing with excitement in the less cube-like vehicle. As soon as the vehicle stopped and Mark was out of the way, Maddie all but shot out and ran straight to them.

"Is that wise?" he heard one human say, but he was more focused on watching San getting scratched under his jaw, pure happiness in his eyes.

"They seem to be enjoying it," came Mark's reply. Only then did Ichi tear his gaze away from Maddie and San to see the elderly man in a military uniform standing next to Mark. The soldiers they'd brought were staying back, their grips tight on their weapons but jaws slack in either shock, awe, or horror.

"Why is he so attached to your little girl?" the elder human asked Mark.

Before he could reply, however, Ichi grabbed their attention when he switched his voice box. "Because she is not afraid of us, despite what we are." All of the human, save for Mark and Maddie, seemed to struggle with the fact that they, a being so large they were mere insects in comparison, were speaking amicably with them. "Our appearance, size, and power may be a bit misleading for beings as small as you, but we are not aggressive unless...suitably provoked."

That was a clear warning that the elderly man seemed to recognize, and he turned motioning for his troops to lower their weapons. They did, albeit slowly, and once he was satisfied there wasn't about to be an incident, the old man turned back to them and spoke. "I'm Admiral Stenz of the United States Navy. I've worked closely with Monarch over the past five years in an attempt to decide the future of the titans on this planet."

With that declaration, Ichi realized that this meeting wasn't just a social call. It was, in fact, of the utmost importance. Sending a telepathic warning to his two brothers to stay on their best behavior, he asked the important question. "And what future have you decided upon?"

Stenz stood up straighter and clasped his hands behind his back. "We've yet to make that decision...but I and my superiors were hoping you could help us reach one." Even San and Maddie were paying attention to the exchange, and Ni was being surprisingly compliant to Ichi's demands. Apparently, even his more aggressive brother knew alienating this particular man wouldn't be a good idea.

Ichi hummed in thought. "What would you like us to do?"

Stenz nodded approvingly. "I don't claim to be an expert on titans or titan hierarchy, but I know enough to assume Godzilla is in charge, at least in some capacity. Is that correct?"

"Godzilla and Mothra are King and Queen, respectively," he explained. "All titans follow their command. Those that resist are...reminded of who they bow to. And why."

The very obvious question came next. "And what of you? Do you bow to him?"

Ni scoffed, grabbing the humans' attention. "We bow to no one."

Ichi was about to expand on that, but Mark spoke up first. "Dr. Chen did some digging and found out that Ghidorah and Godzilla are ancient rivals. They once fought each other for dominance. Like two alpha wolves trying to take control of the pack."

Ichi studied Mark intently, suddenly suspicious of the human. What else did he now know about them? "Rivals?" Stenz sounded skeptical, though it might've been an act. "The two of you seem like allies now. Is it because he defeated you?"

That question prompted an immediate reaction from all three of them. Ni snarled, San glared at the human, and Ichi hissed in clear outrage. All of the humans, even Mark and Maddie, seemed to step back in sudden fear. The soldiers were pointing the weapons at them again, but they mattered little to them. Such tiny weapons would do nothing to harm them. "Defeat us!? He and his allies trapped us in ice because they could not defeat us!"

And that wasn't just a matter of pride, either. That was fact. Ichi watched Stenz raise his hands in apology. "I apologize if I offended you. I just would like to know why the two of you seem to be allies now if you used to be enemies."

All three of them were silent for a while, for each of them, and especially Ichi, knew they had to be careful of what they said here. The truth, that they had once been a destroyer of worlds from the void of space and had just decided to change their way of life after twenty-five thousand years of self-reflection, probably wouldn't sit well with the humans. He couldn't say something along the lines of 'we felt like it' because he knew that wouldn't satisfy them. And saying that they respected Godzilla was a lie that they would never utter.

In the end, Ichi said the only thing that came to mind. It was the truth, too—part of it, at least—and the way he presented it could possibly earn them some extra respect. "The last time we fought Godzilla for control was a decades-long conflict. In the end, the damage we wrought caused a climatological shift that eventually sent the world into an ice age. Were that to happen now, with humanity as reliant on technology as it is, it is unlikely that your kind would survive, so we...allowed Godzilla to keep his title."

Stenz glanced at Mark, who returned the Admiral's gaze after a short moment. "Am I to understand that in a one-on-one fight, you would defeat Godzilla?"

Ni snorted. "Easily."

"His only advantage is his allies," Ichi added. "Without them, he would fall to us." These questions were taking a new turn, and Ichi had a feeling he knew what the destination would end up being.

Stenz nodded to himself. "And if Godzilla were to be killed...what then?"

"Admiral?" Mark's desire for more information was ignored.

"We would take control," he answered hesitantly.

"Good," the Admiral stated with finality. "Then we'll take care of him for you. You will become 'King' of the titans, and then all of us will work out how we can coexist on the same planet together."

"You're going to kill Godzilla!?" All eyes turned to Maddie at her outraged yell. "I ran away from Jonah's group because of that kind of thinking! The world needs him!"

"What the world needs, young lady, is a chance to rebuild and learn to accept the titans' place in our world. With Godzilla constantly chasing the others around and destroying cities and nuclear power plants, that goal becomes increasingly improbable." Maddie just gawked at him, but Ichi could see that Mark didn't seem too concerned with the discussion. "If a CEO of a company makes a string of bad decisions, they get replaced. It's the same principle here."

"Not, it's not!"

"Maddie..." Mark tried to stop his daughter, but she wouldn't listen. She was too angry at the Admiral to stop.

"It's not the same. For one, they get replaced, not killed. And two, this isn't a company we're talking about, it's the natural order." She let that linger for a second. "That's a whole lot more important than some random company."

"Do you not believe we could keep the natural balance in check, Maddie?" The girl froze, and both Mark and Stenz seemed taken aback that he was the one defending this plan. "It is not Godzilla himself that keeps it in check. It is the titan who holds the title of 'King'."

She turned to them slowly. "What are you—" When he saw her expression, Ichi decided that he would not go through with this. It wasn't that she doubted him. Rather, she was horrified to think Godzilla had to die.

"We accept this idea, human," he cut over her. "But we do not wish Godzilla dead." For more reasons than one. Sure, he didn't want to upset Maddie. Mostly, however, he was looking ahead. If they decided to leave this planet in the future, Godzilla needed to be alive to take control back, lest the entire world fall into chaos. "If you wish us 'King', then King we shall become, but...we do it our way."

Maddie seemed torn between feeling relieved and anxious, which was more acceptable than outraged for the moment. Stenz, however, did not look pleased. "If your way lead to untold destruction of infrastructure and planetary stability, then I'm afraid I'll have to protest."

"As well you should," Ichi huffed. "But we have no intention of doing such. Things have changed since our last attempt at becoming King. We have allies that we did not before. Godzilla no longer has the advantage of numbers." Ni grinned maliciously, and even San seemed to have a dark satisfaction about him. "Now...we can make him submit."

Stenz was silent for a long time, and for a moment Ichi believed he would still attempt to argue, which was within his right. He didn't understand human hierarchy, but if he was here, he was at least somewhat important, and he needed to think about the safety of his world first and foremost. However, he was actually taken by surprise by the human's response. "Alright...we'll do it your way for now, but if things get out of control, we'll take matters into our own hands."

Fair enough. "We understand."

The Admiral nodded, glad to see they were getting somewhere. "Now, is there anything you need from us to accomplish this plan of yours?"

"Time," Ichi immediately responded. "And cooperation."

"And a way for us to communicate over long distances in case we need to." Ichi glanced at San, impressed by his suggestion.

"I'm afraid we don't really have anything for that last one, but we'll give you the first two." Ichi nodded, glad to have that much.

"If we get the Argo operational, we can use that as a mobile, Ghidorah-following base." Stenz nodded at Mark's suggestion.

"Then we'll make that our first priority. Tell Dr. Serizawa that he'll have anything he needs to get Monarch's systems secured." Mark thanked the man, and then the Admiral motioned for his troops to load up. "Thank you for allowing us to speak with you. We'll go ahead and get out of your way now." He glanced to Mark, as if expecting him and Maddie to pack up and do the same. "Are you coming, Doctor?"

Ichi looked to Maddie, who had her arms crossed and was looking at the ground. She seemed upset that her time with them was being cut short again. Or perhaps she was upset with them for their agreeing to help dethrone Godzilla.

"We'll stay at the outpost here for a bit." All three of them and Maddie looked at Mark in utter bewilderment. None of them had quite expected that. "Once the Argo's up and running, tell them to come down here to pick us up. They'll have to, anyway, because of them." He gestured in their general direction.

Stenz seemed a bit hesitant to agree but ultimately nodded. "Alright. Have it your way." Within moments, he and the soldiers had loaded up into the cube vehicle and started driving off. Mark motioned for the driver of the other truck to follow, and she did after a quick 'you sure?'

Once they were alone, Mark looked at the three of them seriously. "We need to talk..."

AN: Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all. I'm sure everyone knows what Mark wants to say at this point, but how will Ghidorah react to being confronted? What will Maddie think?

And what does Ghidorah have planned regarding Godzilla? More importantly, is the military planning something else beyond what's been told?

Guess we'll find out.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22