The One Who Lost His Way

AN: Oh my gosh, Maddie's part was so fun to write in this chapter. Other than Ghidorah's fight with Amhuluk, I think this is one of my favorite scenes so far. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!

Edited (06/01/23): Fixed a few typos and an error in saying that fighter jets were operating within the MUTO's sphere of influence.

Key:

"Titan speak"

"Human speak"

Character's inner thoughts

"Telepathic communication"

Disclaimer: I do not own Godzilla: King of the Monsters or any characters.

Downtown Boston:

It was too bad she didn't have a bicycle or skateboard or something. Fenway was only five or six miles from the bunker, and while that wasn't a massive distance, she was on a time crunch right now. She needed to be there to broadcast either before or right after Monster Zero got to New York. There were already two titans there, so if she could draw one here, technically, she'd be saving lives.

She'd also technically be endangering everyone in Boston, but if she was right, Monster Zero wouldn't actively threaten the city. He could talk for pete's sake! She had video evidence of him interacting with humans peacefully in both Antarctica and China, so that was proof she wasn't crazy! Okay...maybe she was a little crazy, but she wasn't left with many options here.

Since her phone remained turned off, she didn't really know how much time she had left to get to her destination, but every now and then, she'd pass someone with a radio or a shop with a tv that had the news playing. People were usually gathered around, either listening or watching depending on which device they had access to. Others were watching on their phones. They were afraid, and rightfully so. Most, however, seemed to be going about their usual business, completely ignorant as to what was happening just a few hours away. It made her feel bad for what she had to do.

She just hoped her dad wouldn't be too angry. Hopefully, he'd understand her reasons.

Walking through the city felt a bit weird, though. After being stuck with a terrorist cell for the past few weeks and then at various Monarch outposts for years before that, she was unused to being in public around such large groups of people. There were people everywhere and loud noises from every which way like the occasional train or honk of a car or construction noises. She didn't much like it. Honestly, she preferred the quiet and relative solitude of the Monarch outposts. Sure, there weren't any kids her age there, but most of the scientists she'd met were nice people. And she loved learning about the titans.

It was funny. She always felt more comfortable around giant monsters than around her own kind. Of course, the only giant 'monster' she actually interacted with was Mothra. All of the other ones she'd seen were in containment and usually in hibernation, as well. Monster Zero would be her ultimate test, she supposed. She remembered the wonder she felt when face to face with Mothra. Would she feel something similar when faced with the massive three-headed dragon? Would she be afraid? Fear was probably the more natural response when faced with something that...big. All she knew was that she was both excited and nervous to come face to face with this particular titan.

From the videos, she knew Monster Zero was only aggressive if provoked. Russia was the only time he attacked humans, but that was because they attacked him first. Still, seeing something that big on a screen was a lot different than seeing it in person. Plus...he just looked intimidating. That wasn't really his fault. It was just what he looked like. It was sort of the same problem Godzilla had. It didn't matter how many times she reminded herself that he was a good guy, a protector of nature, he was still terrifying to look at even on videos. He just looked...angry, but that was just his facial structure. Monster Zero had the same problem.

It was sort of the opposite for people. Some of the nicest-looking people could be certifiable assholes. It was a lot harder to tell good people from bad. That's quite literally why she was trusting her life to the single largest titan on the planet and not some random Monarch call operator because, for all she knew, that call operator could be one of Jonah's men. Paranoid she may be, but she liked to think it was warranted in this situation.

She spoke with no one on the bustling streets and kept looking over her shoulder in case anyone was trying to follow her. She didn't catch anyone, but she was pretty sure a few people were throwing her strange looks. Watching a twelve-year-old walking down the street with a clear purpose with a military bag thrown over her shoulder and who seemed to be acting like someone was following her would undoubtedly make a few people wonder if everything was alright. No one said anything to her, which she was thankful for.

When she got to the baseball field, however, a problem quickly showed itself. There was a game going on. It didn't matter that there was a titan attack two hundred miles away, no. She glared at the stadium as if it had personally wronged her, which it sort of had. With all of the people there, things would be a lot more complicated.

Through the door of a bank, she spied a tv showing the news. The map showing the tracking information for the titans was on right now, and Monster Zero was approaching New York airspace at this very moment. The time was at the bottom of the screen, it was just after two o' clock, which meant the titan disaster had been ongoing for over an hour now, and a third titan was about to hit the city.

She had to broadcast now, but the first problem would be getting in. Her mom always made her carry around some cash, just in case. The easiest way to get in, then, would be to buy a ticket...if there were any still for sale, that is. No one was lined up at the ticket booth, but it was worth a shot.

She approached the ticket counter and spied two people inside talking to each other while watching the game on one the guys' phones. "Excuse me?" They looked up in surprise at hearing someone. "Do you have any more tickets?"

One of them, a younger guy with brown hair, spoke over the microphone, "Game's already started."

"I know," she shrugged. "Do you have any tickets, though?"

The two guys shared a look, shrugged, and the blonde guy looked over at the computer screen, clicking through a few pages. "We've got a few seats left, looks like. Cheapest one will be fifty-five bucks."

Maddie pulled out her small wad of cash and counted it. She had a hundred total, so she gave the guy sixty. "Keep the change," she told them as she grabbed her ticket.

"Thanks! Enjoy the game!" she heard them call as she walked to the barrier. The attendee scanned her ticket, and then she was in. Of course...that was the easy part.

She couldn't exactly summon a titan to the field with 30,000 people in the stands. That meant she needed a way to get them out. The fire alarms were all out in the open with people walking by them, so she couldn't just pull one without drawing some attention to herself. As she was walking down the corridor trying to come up with a plan, the roar of the crowd and the announcer shouting about a home run, she passed the janitor's closet and paused.

Well...she was already planning to bring a titan into the city. How much more trouble could she get into by setting off a makeshift bomb? One of the benefits from being raised in Monarch outposts was that she got to talk with a lot of different scientists from a lot of different fields, including chemists. There were a few movies out there where a character sneaks into the janitor's closet, combines a few chemicals, and voila! Makeshift bomb! She once asked an actual chemist if it was possible. It was, and she knew which chemicals she needed.

She knocked on the door, and when no one answered, she checked the handle. It was unlocked. "Someone really should get fired for this..." she muttered, slipping inside when no one was looking. Looking around quickly, she grabbed the chemicals she needed and made her explosive. She was done within thirty seconds and then opened the door, making sure to lock it from the inside.

"What were you doing in there?" She jumped at the question, shutting the door before whoever it was could see the ongoing chemical reaction. When she turned, an older black man in a janitor's uniform was looking at her in suspicion.

Thinking fast, she said the first lie that came to mind, and it involved the mop cart that was sitting to one side of the door. "I-I was looking for a janitor. There's a mess in the ladies' room."

He studied her for a moment, and then he huffed in frustration. "Go on, get outta here. I'll take care of it." He grabbed the mop bucket and started walking away, grumbling to himself.

Maddie sprinted in the other direction, weaving between the people walking. Indignant cries of 'Hey!' or 'Watch it!' followed her, but she paid them no mind. She really, really hoped no one got hurt when that bomb went off. With the door closed, the majority of the blast would be contained inside the room. Hopefully—

BOOM!

Cheers turned to screams on the field and in the stands. The fire alarm started soon after, and calls for evacuating the stadium came over the speaker system. She ran down the corridor shouting "Mom!?" as if she was looking for her parents. The crowd of people all but ignored her as they fled the stadium. Spying a bathroom, she dived in, passing a few women that were coming out. Seeing that there was no one else in here, she found the first empty stall, locked it, and crouched atop the toilet to make sure her feet weren't visible in case someone came in to do a sweep. "I am so getting grounded for this..." Juvie probably wasn't off the table, either, but she was hoping the dire circumstances and her connections to Monarch were enough to avoid that.

After a few minutes, the sounds of fleeing people were significantly diminished, so she took a chance and peaked out from under the stall. Seeing no one, she did the same for the hallway. It sounded like most everyone was out, but she didn't want to take any chances and get caught. She moved quickly yet carefully down the corridors until she found a path out to the stands. Seeing that it was clear, she sprinted up the stairs to the announcer's box.

Once inside, she looked around at the different stations and equipment. "Please have an aux cord. Please have an aux cord..." She looked on the tables and shelves but couldn't find one. Cursing to herself, she dug her phone charger out of her bag. It was the kind with a standard USB cable on one side, so she turned on her phone, connected it to the unlocked computer, copied the ORCA file to the desktop, opened the media player...and hit play.

The haunting cry of the ORCA's alpha call blared from the stadium speakers, extracted from videos of its previous uses. She wasn't exactly a tech wizard, but she knew how to extract audio from video. There were several apps for doing just that on her phone, and she'd just trimmed down the audio to get the clearest call and set it to loop.

Someone would come investigate this, she knew. The police were already on their way, and once they made the connection between this signal and the one from New York...she just hoped Monster Zero got here first.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, the Breaking News banner came across the screen of every tv in the booth. "This just in..." the news anchor began. "An explosion and subsequent evacuation at Fenway Park came just minutes before a nearly identical signal to the one broadcast in New York City just after what the military and Homeland Security is calling a terrorist attack. Experts say this signal is responsible for luring the titans to the city. Residents of the Boston area should prepare for a possible evacuation order—"

That was quicker than she'd like. She couldn't stay in here, so she grabbed her phone and ran up the stairs of the roof access. She stopped just inside the door. Helicopters would be circling the area, and she didn't want to risk being spotted. She'd stay right here until either Monster Zero or the police arrived.

Several minutes earlier:

The city was on fire.

Battle cries from both Rodan and a new, unknown titan were easily distinguishable above the roar of human air vehicles and the occasional explosion from either human weapons or one of the battling titans being thrown into a building by the other.

What was once an undoubtedly proud city was now a battleground. There were massive trails of destruction where the heaviest fighting took place. Fires raged, especially in areas where Rodan went, his fiery composition igniting all of the flammable buildings with ease. Smoke and dust covered the sky like a ceiling of black clouds that blocked out much of the sun. The red glow of the fire lit up the clouds from below, giving the entire scene a hellish vibe.

The humans, surprisingly, weren't attacking them upon approach. None of them could figure out why, especially when they seemed just fine in attacking the other two, but they wouldn't complain. If the humans didn't attack them, they wouldn't need to retaliate.

It was simply one less thing they needed to deal with as they smacked some sense into that stupid, oversized bird. They could feel the aura from that other titan, though. Their electricity was dampened significantly, but they wouldn't need it for this.

Speaking of the other titan, it was in rough shape. Rodan was cycle charging it from the air, attacking from its vulnerable angles. Rodan himself had a few injuries, but nothing like what he was about to receive.

Evidently Rodan was too engrossed in his current opponent to notice them, so as he dived to attack the other titan again, they intercepted him midair. They hit him feet-first in the chest, and Rodan could only produce a startled squawk as he fell from the sky and crashed into a large, open area in the middle of the city. Dirt erupted around him, creating a plume as he skidded across the ground.

They paid no attention to the other titan as they landed nearby, pinning Rodan to the ground with a single foot. "What are you doing, you imbecile!?" Ichi roared. San kept watch while he and Ni leaned down, the former to berate the bird and the latter to appear intimidating, something Ni excelled at.

Pinned upon his belly and with no way to escape, Rodan tilted his head slowly to look up at them with his right eye. He was afraid, clearly. Still, he tried to talk them down. "It was Mothra! I heard her! She was in trouble, and when I got here, that thing was here, so I thought—"

"Maybe next time, don't think," Ni snorted derisively. "Maybe you won't be so stupid then."

Confusion entered the bird's gaze, but Ichi continued before he had the chance to respond. "Do you see Mothra?" Rodan's beak opened as if he was about to answer, but he never did. "No? Because she was with us and Godzilla on your island. The humans have made a fool of you yet again." Ichi applied more pressure, causing Rodan to squawk in pain. "What was the one thing Godzilla ordered you to do? Do not antagonize the humans! Yet you have destroyed one of their cities with your ineptitude! The next time we find you in a similar situation, we shall not be as merciful!"

"You have no right to threaten me!" Rodan screeched, a brief moment of outrage overshadowing his fear. "Godzilla is King!"

"And yet your life or death is ours to decide in this moment. Do not look to Godzilla to save you, for he is not here. We are." Ni growled in emphasis, and Rodan stilled.

"What do you want from me?" Ichi snorted at the pitiful question, but he was cut off when a familiar sound reached their ears. They stood up, stepping off of Rodan as all three looked towards the source of the sound.

"A challenge!" Ni hissed.

"Or a trap maybe?" San suggested, looking around at the destroyed city as if to remind him why they were here to torment Rodan. Ni growled at their brother for arguing.

"We are being summoned, brothers." Both of them looked to him curiously. Then, to Rodan, he continued, "Return to your island and do not leave until we or Godzilla say you can."

"You serve him now?" The unfamiliar titan had approached them, though she was still far enough away to show she was not planning to attack them.

Ni growled, and Ichi bared his teeth at the question. "We serve no one. We follow him by our own choice."

"A shame..." she replied absently as she turned to leave. "If you were still against him, I would have served you gladly. His kind and mine are enemies, after all. I suppose I shall see you around...King Ghidorah."

All three of them froze. No one had ever called them that before, at least not that they knew of or remembered. Ni was the first to recover, grinning almost maliciously at the thought. Ichi, too, couldn't help but grin at the title. Yes...he liked the sound of it very much.

And if what Mothra said was true, this was the second titan to side with them. They could seize the title if they so wanted, for now Godzilla wasn't the only one with backup. They would think on it. Ni already had his answer, predictably. San was less sure. Ichi himself was also uncertain, which took his brothers by surprise. Ni had expected Ichi to agree with him, and San had not expected his oldest brother to agree with him.

They'd all made a decision, a promise to themselves, while stuck in that glacier. They would not resort to their destructive ways and instead return to their roots.

Putting the other titan's words out of his mind, Ichi turned to glare at Rodan until he left with a small whine. As he left the area, most of the human craft that had stayed back followed him, attacking him as he left. To his credit, Rodan did not attack back. The ones that remained merely circled in the distance, watching them, awaiting their next move. "We shall go see what human has summoned us and why," Ichi declared.

"Could it be Mark?" San asked.

It was a possibility, though it was far more likely to be one of the bad humans. They were in the air as soon as Rodan was out of sight, heading east towards the signal. Behind them, the city continued to burn, but with the battling titans gone, it would have its chance to rebuild.

The sight left Ichi in a quiet, reflective mood. They'd caused destruction much like this in the past. It should not have been affecting him this much, but...they were different. He was different. Rather than filling him with malicious glee, the burning city invoked within him a curious feeling of guilt. If he had forced Rodan to stay with them, the fool wouldn't have been put in this situation.

Shaking away those thoughts, he focused back on the task ahead. Who exactly was summoning them? And for what purpose? Was San right in thinking this was a trap? Well, they'd find out soon enough.

Meanwhile, aboard the Argo:

The mood on the ship was...somber, to say the least. The military's plan to lure the new MUTO away from the city with a nuke nearly worked. It would've, too, if not for that meddling bird. Rodan had swooped in and engaged with the MUTO, which turned into a fight that left the city a smoldering wreckage like San Francisco. Not all of it, at least. Manhattan was pretty much toast. Brooklyn and Queens had some damage in their northern districts, and the Bronx was completely undamaged.

It could have been a lot worse.

The city had begun evacuating, but it took a lot longer than a mere hour to empty a city that size. Estimates for the death count were...astronomically high. Almost fifty thousand predicted to not make it.

And there was nothing they could do. The military tried scaring Rodan away, but all they did was piss him off. A dozen pilots were killed before they decided to back off, and the navy started using long-range cruise missiles on the MUTO, thinking if it was downed, Rodan would leave. Conventional weapons couldn't kill a titan, though. Everybody, even the military's top generals, knew that. But after sitting on this ship and watching that destruction happen on a screen, Mark could sympathize with their 'we can't just sit here' attitude. They had to do something, and good soldiers got killed because of it.

Miraculously, Stenz had come through for them. The pilots were specifically ordered to not engage Ghidorah when he arrived, and within minutes, he'd straightened both titans out. Rodan was on his way back to Isla de Mara from the look of it, and the MUTO was following the military's bait nuke away from the city.

Godzilla couldn't do that. He'd have probably joined Rodan and prolonged the fight if what happened five years ago was any indication. The whole thing, their helplessness and Ghidorah's astonishingly quick resolution of the situation, it just reinforced the idea that they needed to back that dragon.

"Where's he headed?" Mark found himself asking. Ghidorah was flying east now according to the tracking information. No one had been able to say why since his departure nearly a minute ago.

Foster was staring at the screen, shaking her head in a 'beats me' sort of way. Sam had left a while ago. Probably couldn't handle watching what was happening, not that he blamed the guy. Mark himself felt nauseous, especially when the first estimates came in. It was San Francisco all over again. Serizawa just looked...done. He was taking this whole thing hard. He'd been trying to argue on the titans' behalf for years, yet everything that was happening was just more reason for the government to kill them all. There was still hope yet as evidenced by the military's decision to leave Ghidorah alone, but...the oxygen destroyer was still on the table. Chen and Graham were with him, just sitting in a silent show of support.

A sudden chime had everyone looking towards Rick's station. "Jesus...there's another ORCA signal being broadcast in Boston right now. Ghidorah's probably headed there."

"Jonah?" Foster wondered. They'd heard nothing from the guy since the initial attack at Yankee Stadium. He had a knack for disappearing, it seemed.

"I mean, who else could it be? They broadcast from Yankee Stadium right before big bird showed up. This new signal's coming from Fenway. The M.O. matches." He turned in his seat to see what the others thought.

There were some nods here and there, but to Mark's surprise, they all ended up looking at him. With a quick glance to Serizawa, who had his face buried in his hands, he understood why. "Follow him. Matter of fact, make that a standing order. Anywhere Ghidorah goes, I want us on his tail."

"Tails." Foster and Mark both glanced at Dr. Stanton, who was making a gesture with his hands. Both index fingers were together, and then he split them off in a branching motion. "'Cuz you know...he has two tails."

"Whatever. On his tails, then," Mark clarified. Foster nodded to the pilot, and the Argo was off, changing course to follow Ghidorah.

"I never thought this would happen..." The unexpected declaration had everyone looking over to Serizawa. He looked up, and Mark spied the faintest traces of moisture in his eyes. He was taking this hard.

"None of us did," Mark told him. "It's not your fault. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"We're going to find Jonah and Emma, Doctor," Foster assured him. "Then this whole nightmare will be over."

He shook his head. "No...then the nightmare will truly begin."

AN: Now, before anyone says anything about the 'battle', let me just say that it was purposely meant to be like it is, and I did so for multiple reasons.

First, it's taking a page straight out of Godzilla (2014)'s script. The initial 'fight' between Godzilla and the male MUTO in Hawaii was teased as if it was about to start, cut off to Sam watching it on TV, and then cut back to Ford the morning after the fight. I did the same thing here. The fight between Rodan and Queen MUTO was teased last chapter, but it cuts to the tail end where all we see is the resolution and Monarch's reaction to the devestated city.

Second, and this sort of pairs with the first: This isn't the final battle. Someone said this would be a good place for Jonah's plans to end, but oh no...this isn't the end yet. He's still got a few tricks up his sleeve yet.

And third, Ghidorah's quick resolution of the fight between Rodan and the Queen MUTO is just a way of showing just how powerful he is and how the other titans respect that power. He took Rodan down in the actual movie like he was nothing, and of course, the MUTOs and Godzilla's species are natural enemies, so it would only make sense for the Queen to pledge allegiance to Ghidorah instead. The enemy of my enemy, after all...

And yes, this chapter is the first time that any character has addressed Ghidorah as 'King Ghidorah'. I'm sure that won't inflate Ichi's ego at all...

As for the other scenes, Maddie's time with a literal terrorist cell has clearly given her the will and cunning to do what she needs to without regards to rules or laws. Probably not the best thing for a twelve year old. And as Serizawa begins losing hope and grieves over the heavy losses they've already seen, Mark's starting to take the reigns for him. And that right there's important as we all know he becomes the director of Monarch eventually.

So yeah...lot of character development in this chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Reviews are always appreciated. I love hearing your guys' thoughts about stuff and things.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22