A/N: Two in the row. Because, why TF not ?!
Let's get into it.
He had gone mad. Part of him believes it. That at last his mind was broken beyond repair.
She was gone. He watched her, torn and battered, bravely fly into her death. This…illusion could not be…
He closed his eyes, head shaking. Perhaps in hopes of making it go away. Or in denial. Of being given such a cruel thing amidst his great turmoil.
Stop it. He raged within. Stop this.
It would not leave. The mirage still hovered over him like a haunting.
"Open your eyes."
He froze at the gentle request. Her voice seemly taking hold over his very being. His eyes opened, deep orange meeting halo yellow. She covered all there was to see.
A breath left him. Her great wings beat. A burst of light released.
He feels it again.
Stronger.
Through all of his being.
It was real.
It was truly her.
He noticed he had risen to his feet only when standing eye-to-eye with her.
Nothing could make him turn away. Even as questions battled at the tip of his tongue.
But one was victorious.
"How ?" He let out.
The was amusement in her reply. "Surprised ?"
Yes.
At the same time…maybe he shouldn't be ?
For, no matter how long he has lived, there is yet to come another like her. One who found the way to conquer death itself.
Many a time he had seen it. Life would end and begin anew. And she stayed as she was before.
However, this was not as it usually happened.
"You look…Different." She commented, giving him a once over. Interrupting the mess in his head.
For he also came to notice that early. He felt different. There was lightness, but no less strength in his body. His arms looked longer. It was easier to remain upright while standing.
It was curious. Nowhere near as important as she was in the moment, however.
"I don't…" He could not make sense of it. "…Mosura"
"Death has long lost its reach on me. In more than one way." She revealed to him. "My body can fade. But my spirit always remains. Be it free." She hovered closer, raising a talon in his direction. "Or within."
He stops for a moment, in understanding, in remembrance.
Of the pain. Of barely having the strength to move. Laying down on the ruined battleground after the fall. The gold demon stood proud ahead, ready to finish their battle. Watching as she vanished against his attack. The pressing feeling as bits of glowing light fell upon him.
"You." He stated. "It was…"
"Yes."
His debt grew. More so for her.
"Thank you."
"You are welcome. It is good to see you again. Without a war to be fought, I mean."
"Those always seem to bring us together in the end." He playfully replied. And both shared a good-natured laugh.
They went on for a while like this. Talking, of everything and anything. It was a well-earned moment of peace.
At the same time, there was a spark of hope growing inside. She was there, with him! He was not alone as he had thought! Perhaps, now together again, they could find a way home.
"I'm sorry."
His thoughts ceased at her sudden words.
"For what ?" He asked, head tilted to the side.
Gone was the cheerful attitude from moments ago. Now, she appeared somber, guilty "…Our time is…ending." She confessed.
The hope started slipping away. Shock and fear taking its place. Was there something wrong ? Had he done anything he should not have?
"It is not your fault. None of it." Mosura stated quickly, before he could speak.
Still, he had to know.
"Why ?"
He felt her hesitate. "This." She referred to her presence. "Takes much effort. It can not be maintained for long. Soon I shall fall asleep." The regret in her voice was clear. "And will not return, until is time."
His tail almost struck the ground once more. Yet, he had no right to protest. As he, himself, experienced with his wounds. Long it would take until they healed. He could not even begin to imagine, to comprehend, on how long it would take to come back as she does.
"Don't apologize." He put it to her amicably, returning the assurance she gave him. "I should've been stronger. I…should've faced him alone in the end."
"You say it like I would have just stood aside."
He gave a small laugh. No, she would not. She was never not by his side against the demon. Not once. Ever the guardian of life.
The price for their full victory simply felt too heavy in the aftermath.
There was nothing to do except accept it. And that meant accepting he was right back to where he was before.
"Is there no way of going back ?" He forced himself to ask what he already knew. "Back to home ?"
Again, hesitation.
"…I do not know." She eventually said, sparing a few moments to look around them.
Noticing it, he wondered aloud. "This world… is it familiar to you ?"
Once, long ago, she had told him that, in her dreams, she would see countless amazing things. Completely different lives she had. Of different worlds. Ages. In addition, she would also him. Ones when they never met. Others where they faced each other in combat. Including one in particular, where she joined forces with the gold demon and others to stop him.
Baffling as it sounded, she was never the kind to lie. And parts of her were a mystery to him yet.
So could this one be part of those she saw ?
She considered, still looking.
"I don't recognize it." She stated much to his disappointment.
The hope withered away. That was it then.
He signed, wanting to turn away. But her warning kept him in place. Whatever last moments they had, he would use them.
"But that could be a good thing." Mosura surprised him with the sudden declaration. She probably saw it in his face. "I felt your thoughts. Your distress. That is why I am here now."
A huff. "Then there is nothing else to say."
"Isn't there ?" She asked.
Now he groaned, frustrated, eyes cast down. "Only that I have lost everything. Again."
At least after the war, after Red Skar and his army, after so many losses, he had an option. A path he could choose. What, in this unknown land, did he had ?
"More."
He snapped back instantly to her. Remembering she could hear beyond his voice. "More ?"
"Coming to the surface was your choice, yes. Visiting it was one thing. You could have easily stayed where you were. Instead, you made a hard decision. Of leaving your birthplace. For a chance to start anew. Of moving on. You were still a stranger in a strange land when we first met. Remember?"
How could he ever forget?
"You scoured the earth, for plenty of seasons, and made a home out of it. And chose the burden of protecting it."
It was what any of his kind would have done in his place. But what was the point of all of this ?
"We both already know all of this." He pointed out. "Why speak of it ?"
Now she laughed shortly. "Even with so many years and two eyes, you still only see half the picture at times."
He still did not see the point. Nonetheless, he listed as she went on.
"What was once a cross-road now is a forward path." She stated. "And again you have a choice." He did not had the chance to argue. "Again a stranger in a strange world. You can either give up or do your best."
"My best ?"
"Yes. And sometimes, the best that any of us can do…is start over."
He leaned back. Finally seeing what she was implying. It seemed simple enough. Redo the steps he took several millennia ago. Yet…
"It is not the same as before." He said matter of fact.
"Indeed." Mosura agreed easily. "This time, there is no going back. There is no comfort. You are scared, lost, confused." Things he once hoped never feel again. In the end, life never goes as one plans it. But your heart is strong. And I know, whatever comes your way, old friend, you will not falter."
Always a source of optimism. So much so, that it could bleed into him occasionally. It did not seem to work fully this time. He risked faltering. For a reason.
"Will I…ever see you again ?"
The possibility of maybe finding a new home, but at the cost of losing the last companion he had left did not feel like a worthy and fair exchange. Nor a consolation.
She chirped softly, getting closer. Her presence pulsing stronger, comforting.
"The future is blurry and uncertain, my dear Gojira. Dry your eyes." She said, and, had she been physically there, she would have done that herself. "You and I, we have been through so much. Seen so much. Now, we must go forth on our own. But, we will always be together. Even if from afar. Even if you can't see me, or I you."
How he wanted to beg her to lie and say she would stay.
"Do not let my absence weigh so heavy. There could be a glorious world out there, waiting for you. Maybe even needing you too. Open your heart to it, just as you did with ours. Then you shall soon find reasons to go on living. Can you promise that ? Promise you will believe as you once did?"
He silently stared at her. Uncertainty and conflict plagued his mind, as much as he tried to push them away. He spoke up at last. For there was no other answer to give her. "I…I will…try."
It surely was not as confident and strong as she expect it to be, but it was all he could truthfully said.
"Good." She said, and then glanced at the sky.
He heard the wind run strong around them. Saw the waters moving in waves, the moon glowing brighter than before. And Mosura's light dimmed.
She did not need to say it. He already knew. Their time had run its course. On what was possibly the last time they would see each other.
She looked back to him again. Sharing the same conclusion.
Mosura's wing beat, putting a distance between both. His heart slumped over his lungs. Voice stuck in his throat. Jaw tight.
He didn't want her to go. He didn't want her to go. He wanted to say.
He wanted to reach over. To tell her to wait. Maybe give them a few more moments. But he held his ground firmly, taking her visage to memory like a treasure.
She rose, hovering over him.
"Take care of yourself." She chirped happily.
Normally he would have scoffed. Yet he only nodded in reply.
The light engulfs her with one last beat of her wings.
One moment a symphony echoes as the world shines. In the next, the world was left in a deafening silence and darkness.
Only he remained.
"…Goodbye."
A/N:
This is quite possibly the shortest chapter I have ever done. But that kind of helped in the end. To keep it focused.
Also…I may or may not have listed to Kung-fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragons songs while writing this, and incorporated some parts of them….*Whistles*
Tho "Epiphany" from Pixar's Soul is such a mood.
Now then, let's talk about something's:
1 – Godzilla X Kong = Cinema. And what inspired this chapter, and final section of the last one, to be just Goji and Mothra talking. Well that, and the comic dominion, where he kinda hallucinates about her. Sad that Adam won't come back to finish his trilogy tho. Was really excited to see what he would do with Godzilla as a focus after doing such a wonderful job with Kong. Speaking of him, WE BACK ON SKULL ISLAND IN MONARCH S2! Hell yeah.
2 – For Godzilla's look, I'm very much going for the evolved version. Only without the pink dorsal fins and the elbow spikes. In addition, the discharge that happened at the end of KOTM works as a reason for him to be "burnt out" of his old body mass.
3 – Mothra's abilities here came more from personal head-canons. Especially the part that her spirit now remains dormant inside Godzilla until her next egg hatches. And that bit that she saw her Toho self came, surprisingly, from transformers. With the idea that Unicron, no matter what version of him, is actually the SAME one each time, just in a different body and universe. Crazy concept, but I felt it fit with Mothra quite nicely.
4 – As for the last chapter. At first, Rhaenyra would outright say what really happened. But then I thought to myself. This is king's landing, she's the daughter of the king, and has Daemon as a uncle. She has to at least know parts of the inner workings of society there, especially in court. No way she would just she spell it out from the get-go. Nah, something this big ( quite literally)needs caution and patience to come into the light. Also…SEASON 2 BABY, LFG!
5 – Now that the setup is already done. It will be a matter of paying some more attention to the cast. And move up to the big events that will be Westeros first experience with the king of the monsters. In the topic of cast, some of you may not know, but, in the MV community one thing that is unanimous between all parties is that Keith David is the official fan choice to voice the G-man. So, every time you read his dialogue here, imagine Keith's voice. As for Mothra, I went back and forth, and settled with Laura Bailey. Wait for more voices as more and more monsters get introduced into the story.
With all that said and done. Hope you enjoyed your reading. (Those who actually managed to notice that update. Thank you fanfiction! Great job the team is doing!)
Stay safe.
Peace.