Elsa ran, ran as fast as her legs would carry her, hoping with all her heart that she would be able to get to him. Her mind raced as adrenaline rushed through her veins, her eyes, once a source of calm, collected serenity, able to calm anyone, calculate and proceed with decision, and bring joy to those she loved, were now laced with panic, darting from location to location as she scanned the treetops.
The mountain! His hideaway!
She had to find it, she had to get to him, warn him, tell him to leave! She would not let him fall victim to Cthulhu, or whatever he had planned for her to do. No! No! She had to save him! She would save him! Tell him to leave, to run, to hide away somewhere else, somewhere that Cthulhu would not be able to get to him.
Part of her wondered if it would really work. Would it?
She repressed it harshly, fiercely. It has to!
She came to the top of a small hill in a clearing in the jungle, giving her a higher vantage point of the entire section of the island. To her right a couple of miles away and a little behind her was Mothra's nest, said gigantic moth poking her head out of the hole, her colourful wings unfolding as she looked in the direction of the jagged mountain as if sensing something there, something that must have been powerful for her to physically come outside and investigate. To her left was the ocean, the great vast expanse that led out to some European colonies to the far west and the northwest and an immense trench not too far in the ocean to the east – something she had learned Belvera on their way to Cthulhu earlier when she had answered a brief question from Kristoff about the location of where they were. The name escaped her, but now it was not important. She looked around and saw ahead another large mountain by the sea, its size bigger than the one used by Mothra, yet devoid of any trees.
That's it!
It was still a bit away, but she had to get there now, get to him and tell him to leave, swim away, hide somewhere, anywhere from Cthulhu.
But how? It's still far away! It'll take me forever to get there if I run!
Unless …
An idea formed in her head, one that was quite far-fetched and may not work this way with her powers. But … well, she had created a huge palace, frozen an entire fjord and a kingdom, and even created life in the form of various snowmen, so this would not be too far out there. Hopefully.
She threw her hands down and propelled herself into the air, the wind tossing her like a leaf falling from a tree in the autumn. Her heart raced, her breath caught in her throat, mind racing and screaming if such a move was a good idea. Was she going to fall to her death? Become a splatter of red and gore on the island now a hundred feet below.
Instinct seemed to take over as her hands shot out in front of her and formed a huge ice ramp that extended over the treetops in the direction of the mountain. She fell towards it, her feet landing on the smooth icy surface and slid down to the end. The world rushed past and rose up the closer she got to the end as if eager to meet her. When she neared the end, she was flying again and, as quick as she could, she formed another ramp, this one just slightly above the trees and was now straighter like a path, albeit a wider ice made one. When she landed, Elsa continued on, using her hands to create wind and propel herself further down the path towards the mountain.
When she neared the end of the path, she thought 'bend down' and another section formed, pointing down towards a large patch of charred earth with a large number of blackened trunks, just before the mountain entrance.
As Elsa slid down to the ground, she paused, momentarily surveying the devastated area with an uncomfortable silence, the images of last night flashing through her mind. The blackened, destroyed tree trunks, the earth charred as if it had been set on fire, the lack of any life here. Her eyes fell to her hands once again, nervously wondering how she had been able to do what she did, how she had used … lightning to … well, quite literally devastate an area of forest like some goddess delivering punishment to a land tainted by sin and corruption. Part of her even reflected back on the fire of Godzilla, his blue fiery breath able to devastate entire areas when used, wiping out any and all life from existence in the affected zone.
Was I becoming like him? She thought. Am I some kind of Titan, like him?
It was a harrowing thought. Godzilla was not evil – that part of her still held on tightly to that belief – but he was not exactly safe either. He could be ferocious and territorial if he needed to be, so that also made him a potentially dangerous creature. Yet, that was only if you were a rival Titan or a force threatening her, though it still did not diminish the fact he was still a destructive force of nature. Large sections of Arendelle's landscape and the Southern Isles could attest to it.
And her? She glanced down at her hands, feeling a slight tingle at her fingertips, probably from the ice. With her current powers of controlling ice and snow and, to a lesser but still powerful extent, wind, and now with this power of lightning … was she becoming a force of nature? In essence, a human Titan?
She snapped herself out of her thoughts, remembering why she was here, that sense of urgency rushing through her once more.
Elsa ran ahead across the charred clearing and into the cave entrance, this time forgetting about the immense darkness that greeted her, consumed her like it was beast awaiting a meal. She held out a hand and used it to guide her. Her mind raced. She had to get to the chamber, get to him! If he was not here, then she had to seal it up, stop him from coming back.
A wall! Okay, now down here! She ran down the pathway deeper into the darkness, hoping that nothing was sticking out in front of her from above. Ah, damn! I nearly tripped. Okay careful, over that gap, I remember from last night! Ofph! (She nearly tripped on a rock). Stupid rock!
As she ran, the mountain shook a little, making her skid to a halt in the darkness, her breaths heavy, eyes scanning the darkness, fearing that something was going to happen. Boom! It happened again, not fierce or heavy, but it was enough to send a vibration up her body.
What the hell is he doing?!
She ran on, feeling the vibrations run through her as she went, each one steadily getting louder. When she felt her hand hit another corner, she turned and rushed on further into the mountain. A large hole appeared before her. The ground now began to shake, this time becoming more violent with each step. Elsa nearly stumbled at one point, but managed to keep herself upright and leapt the final few steps into the chamber.
Almost as soon as she arrived, she looked over in the direction of the hole at the other end of the chamber, only to be greeted by a pair of blue, luminescent eyes staring back at her from above, the concern palpable within them.
"G-Godzilla!" Elsa exclaimed, suddenly needing to breath a lot as she felt out of breath from all the running and adrenaline coursing through her veins.
He let out a low noise and lowered his head towards her, the scent of her fear permeating off her like when a deer would catch the scent of its predators.
Are you alright, Elsa? Why are you here again?
His voice, deep and soft, but now more urgent, even demanding in its delivery. She heard it loud and clear, but ignored the question. "No, listen, you have to leave! Right now!" she told him urgently.
He stared back at her, dumbfounded. What? Why!
She could see the disbelief. "You're in terrible danger. You-"
The ground rocked a bit, shaking the remains if the wooden ship still in the corner of the chamber. Godzilla and Elsa looked in its direction, the latter realising that in her haste the shaking had not stopped. In fact, she realised that it had come with a certain pattern, almost like … footsteps?
She looked at Godzilla, who was now looking up at the ceiling, his eyes wide and alert, afraid even. Did he know what this was?
CRASH! It was as if the biggest and loudest cannon in the world was going off right in front of them. The ceiling exploded in a shower of rock and light, large chunks being tossed in all directions, smashing into the ship or across the chamber floor. Elsa had conjured up a thick icy dome to protect herself, though a barrage of rocks fell onto it and cracked it across the side and top. She looked up, mentally praying that the ice would hold, all the while looking through at the shape of Godzilla as he let out a small roar, shielding his head with his arm.
Suddenly, something black and huge reached in and grabbed the gigantic beast by the back of his neck and lifted him out of the chamber – or what had been the chamber – so quickly Godzilla barely had time to react. Elsa, upon seeing this, stood frozen to the spot for a moment, mouth agape, eyes opened wider than she thought possible, her mind blank.
What the hell?
She dissipated the icy dome to see the huge space where Godzilla had been now empty, the once huge, darkened chamber now torn open and exposed to the outside world as if it were some kind of newly opened Pandora's Box. A loud thunderous BOOM shook the chamber, sending parts of the now open ceiling crashing into the chamber, crushing the ship. Elsa covered herself with more ice to stave off any more rocks falling her way. When they had, she conjured up a wall of ice and willed it to take her to the outside.
When she emerged, what she saw left her beyond speechless, though inside she was screaming in abject terror.
"Anna, come back!"
"No, we have to get to her!"
"I was told to keep you here!"
The copper-haired princess ignored the purple haired Mu woman and emerged from the mountain into the open, the others following right behind her with Belvera begrudgingly bringing up the rear. She had tried to keep the others inside the mountain the moment Cthulhu had left to go … wherever it was he was going. Anna's insistence – and stubbornness – quickly challenged her and she rushed out after her sister with the others in tow. Belvera had called after her, saying it was too dangerous, but Anna had ignored her ("She's persistently stubborn" Kristoff told Belvera as they made their way through the tunnels).
When they too emerged, however, the sight before made all stop dead in their tracks, some giving a collective gasp. A chill ran down their spines, their minds went blank, any and all notions of understanding exactly what they were dealing with and what they planned to do instantly evaporated.
Kristoff shook his head: "You got to be fucking kidding me!" he breathed raggedly, aghast, as Sven hid behind him; Belvera wrapping her arms around her younger siblings as they looked up in horror.
Though Anna did not reply, she felt like uttering the same thing.
With a groan, Godzilla lifted his head up from the ground, shaking off piles of dirt, mud and foliage. His thick skin had saved him from having anything crushed or broken or even blood being drawn, but that fall still hurt.
Powerful footsteps made him look over and, like his human acquaintances around the island, his eyes widened with horror, a panicked gasp escaping his body as he took in the sight before, or rather over him.
Standing directly over Godzilla, the one who had defeated many foes over the millennia, the one who had maintained the balance of nature across the planet for so long, was another creature. It was huge, even bigger than him, with enormous pulsating muscles, thick trunk-like legs, a heavily built torso and a face partially hidden between a mess of tentacles that writhed and grabbed at the air as if trying to escape from this beast. Looking at it reminded him of the Kraken, that enemy he had beaten so long ago, only this time a pair of golden eyes, each blazing with fury and hatred, stared back at him, ready to fight, ready to kill.
"You," it breathed, soft, yet deep and powerful, carrying out across the island like the voice of god himself, the hatred palpable. "Your time has come!"
Cthulhu grabbed Godzilla by the throat, making said titan cry out in a strangled breath, and literally lifted him off the ground, snarling a nasty snarl. Those on the ground could not believe their eyes. Though Godzilla was not much smaller than Cthulhu, probably a few tens of metres at the most, the gigantic god's strength more than overpowered that of Godzilla's, being able to lift him - a creature of similar weight and size - clear off his feet and toss him around like a rag-doll only emphasised his power and capabilities.
Cthulhu slammed Godzilla into the ground once again, cracking the earth and sending shockwaves across the island like a powerful earthquake. Trees were uprooted, ground displaced and tossed into the air like a volcano erupting beneath them. The humans watching in horror from nearby were knocked off their feet. Mothra rushed back inside the cave to ensure her brood were safe.
Godzilla groaned in pain and tried to lift himself up, but a large foot slammed onto his chest, pinning him down. A pair of blazing gold eyes glared down at him, a fiery aura beaming like the glow of the sun, festering with reasonless hatred.
"The world will know what you really are," he spoke again, though the anger from his gaze did not translate into his voice. It was more matter-of-fact, as if explaining something almost typical and everyday. "And none will mourn you."
Godzilla grabbed his leg with both hands and tried to push him off, but received a sharp blow to the side of the head, followed by another that knocked his cranium back into the ground behind him. Cthulhu stepped off Godzilla, grabbed him by the throat and turned tossed him through the air, landing with a powerful thud that the island bounce and launched rocks and debris in all directions, but Godzilla's opponent did not stop there. He jumped with speed that belied his immense build and landed on Godzilla's back and neck, grabbing the head and slamming it into the ground once more.
"Oh shit!"
Elsa, who had been rushing towards the battle through the jungle after nearly being knocked off the platform at the hidden chamber, thrust her hands at the ground and, using the wind, launched herself into the air. A second later, a large boulder that would have crushed her easily smashed into the ground, tearing many trees and foliage from their roots. Breathing a momentary sigh of relief, she gently lowered herself back to the ground, glad she was able to avoid being flattened like a pancake. She wondered if the others were safe, as no doubt there was going to be much more destruction before this was done.
Another roar of pain made her look back and, from her position on a small hill, she looked on in horror as Cthulhu's towering form delivered another blow to Godzilla.
No, stop! she cried internally.
As if he could hear her, Cthulhu looked back in her direction, him being no more than a few hundred metres away.
'Stay where you are,' his voice reached her, though she could hear it within her mind.
She shook her head, staring back angrily. No, you'll kill him!
Cthulhu did not reply, but turned his attention back to Godzilla, who was trying to crawl away towards another mountain, towards Mothra's home.
Mothra emerged from the mountain to witness the 'Father' god standing over her home, his large body filling much of her peripheral vision, sending a jolt of anxiety through her like a sinner being judged before god. Movement of something grey drew her gaze lower and she saw Godzilla crawling along in her direction, face a pained expression, a low moan of pain emanating from within. He looked up at Mothra, desperate for help, pleading, begging. His opponent was too strong, too fast. Each blow was like being hit with a sledgehammer of divine making. His bones ached and he felt his jaw crack.
Mothra looked at Godzilla and then at Cthulhu, who stomped towards them, reaching out and grabbing Godzilla by the dorsal spines at the back of his neck.
"Witness this, Mosura!" Cthulhu spoke to her. "This is the end of a monster, a terror that will terrorise no more."
Grabbing the tail with his other hand, he swung Godzilla over his head and slammed him into the ground where the small river from the cave to the ocean was, driving a huge crater deep into the ground. Before Godzilla could react, Cthulhu threw him away back in the direction of his own mountain. Mothra watched him go and visibly shrank back into her cave in fear.
She respected the 'Father' god, but she knew it was appropriate to fear him too. While benevolent, his power was unmatched and nigh-impossible to stop when he had to act, something she had witnessed firsthand, and hoped no one else would need to. Trying to oppose him was suicidal in of itself.
"C'mon, Sven, hurry!"
The reindeer raced through down the path through the jungle, his passengers holding on for dear life as he every so often leapt over a fallen tree or hole in the ground. Kristoff was at the front with Anna behind him, then came Moll and Lora and Belvera right at the back, holding onto the skin just above Sven's legs for dear life, silently praying that she would not fall off and go flying.
"LOOK OUT!" Lora screamed in alarm, pointing above them.
For a moment, the sun disappeared. A huge mass was falling in their direction, quickly filling the sky and turning it to early night.
Kristoff yanked Sven to the left into a small clearing; the reindeer increasing his speed tenfold and jumping as far as he could go. The air exploded and tossed the group through the air as simultaneously as the earth seemed to explode with a thunderous roar. Anna landed on her side, hitting her head against the ground, blurring her vision, a ringing sound echoing in her ears. She heard the others cry out, voices shouting, movement from all around her. Someone rushed to her, grabbed her. She felt herself be picked up and carried into the trees. Someone shouted her name. She touched her head and felt something warm and irony run mixing with her hair.
Is it blood?
"Kristoff!" he heard Moll call. She rushed over with Belvera right behind her, the elder sibling carrying Lora on her back. Sven, shaking from nearly being crushed, followed close behind. "Is she okay?" the Mu woman asked him upon seeing Anna's injured form.
"I-I think so!" he replied shakily, nervously as he set her down on the ground, resting her against a tree. Moll knelt down next to her.
"Anna, can you hear me?" Moll spoke as Kristoff got up to check on Sven.
The Arendelle princess gave a slight nod, only to cry out in pain when a sharp pain ran down her neck and across her brain. Moll shushed her, gently holding her head high.
"It's okay," she comforted, gently moving the girl's head to the side. There was a small gash at the top left of the back of the neck, a trail of blood running down the skin and mixing with the hair. "Nothing big, we can fix it."
The ground shook again, then again. Something big was coming. The group looked up and went still as statues when they saw the familiar gigantic form of Cthulhu marching over their way, more specifically towards the huge form of Godzilla, who groaned in pain at the latest blow he had been given by the gigantic rival god. When he reached him, Cthulhu swung a punch at Godzilla's face, filling the air with another deafening crack, followed immediately with another pained, this time noticeably weaker cry from Godzilla as he felt the entire side of his read rattle with pain.
For the smaller beings on the ground, seeing Godzilla be thrown around and beaten so badly, so easily by another titan was ... well, jaw-dropping, and terrifying. Even for the Mu siblings, they knew that their 'father' was powerful (there was a reason why he was seen as the top deity in their old culture) but to see it in action against something that even Megaguirus or Battra had found difficult to beat was ... well, something they would not easily forget.
"God, someone help him!" Kristoff breathed as Cthulhu picked up Godzilla by his jaw and elbowed him in the neck, sending the gigantic lizard-like titan to the ground with a strangled roar.
"We can't," Belvera said almost nonchalantly as she put her sister on the ground next to Anna and began to tend to her leg, which had hit the ground hard when they were thrown off Sven. "There's nothing we can do."
"E ... Elsa!" Anna groaned, placing a hand on her head and trying to sit up, but Moll stopped her from going to far, though the princess did not hear it given her head was still ringing.
Where was she?
The princess groaned and, latching onto Kristoff, ignoring his protests, got to her feet and called for Sven and the girls, wanting to head back to Mothra's cave. The girls and Kristoff protested, but Anna insisted, pulling herself onto Sven's back. Kristoff and the others acquiesced, knowing how stubborn she was, and joined her. Soon they were running off back in the direction of Mothra's mountain home.
Elsa emerged from the jungle just outside Mothra's nest, her chest heaving both from the adrenaline wearing off and the shock and terror at what was playing out before her. She looked up in the direction of Cthulhu's huge form and saw him deliver another deadly blow to Godzilla, the sound echoing through the air like a cannon blast, making her wince. She wanted to rush out there, to stop him, to do anything to save Godzilla, even ... even if meant ...
Her fingers began to burn again, that all-too familiar electric feeling surging through her body, awakening an energy hidden within her. Her teeth became clenched, her eyes narrowed and began to glow almost white. She could not let him die, not when she could save him. Not when ...
A loud chirping sound snapped her out of her thoughts. Mothra emerged from the cave and was looking in her direction. What are you doing?
Elsa looked back at the moth titan, her gaze hard. I have to stop him. He'll kill him!
Mothra ambled towards her, her own eyes firm and warning, and fearful, pleading. Do not! I beg you!
The Arendelle queen head frantically turned back to the fight to witness Godzilla be pummelled again, then back to the moth: "Then do something, Mothra!"
A loud roar stopped the two mid-sentence. They looked over and saw Cthulhu grab Godzilla by the neck and shoulder whilst his feet clamped down onto his stomach and upper tail. Something along his back shifted slightly, then spread open so fast they were a blur. They were a pair of wings, huge, thick and jet black in colour, the ends pointed and deathly looking as if Cthulhu was a sort of demon, a fallen angel akin to those of Biblical origin. A living, breathing Lucifer.
With a loud grunt, Cthulhu's wings flapped, kicking up dust and dirt in all directions, even uprooting a few trees closest to the two monsters, so far having managed to survive the carnage. Godzilla tried to wriggle free, but Cthulhu clamped down harder, stopping his attempts as he and Godzilla ascended higher and higher into the sky.
Elsa looked on, shaking her head, tears forming in her eyes, the power within her suddenly fading. "No!" she weakly cried.
Cthulhu broke through a layer of cloud, still clutching tightly onto Godzilla's body, the prisoner weakly trying to break free again, but it was hopeless. Cthulhu's strength was too strong, his blows and ways of inflicting injuries too overbearing for him. Never had he faced a foe as deadly as him; even Megaguirus was not as powerful or deadly as this creature.
"You know not real power, Godzilla," Cthulhu said, his words rhetorical, even slightly mocking.
Godzilla could not reply, but only look back at his foe, his eyes pleading, begging. Please!
Cthulhu was unfazed. "You see yourself as a god, the one who brings balance?" He raised Godzilla slightly above him. "I cast you out from the heavens."
He released. Godzilla let out a roar, a cry, a scream of pure terror as he fell, his grey form breaking through the clouds, the friction of the atmosphere burning his body as he raced towards the ground like a meteor, begging, hoping for someone to save him.
The gigantic moth and Arendelle Queen looked up in horror as they watched the silhouettes of Cthulhu and Godzilla disappear into the clouds. Elsa felt so helpless, so powerless. She wanted to help him, to stop Cthulhu, save Godzilla. Rustling from the foliage drew her attention, it steadily growing louder.
"Elsa!" Kristoff called out as they broke into the clearing from the jungle.
The group now on Sven's back, though Anna was resting in Kristoff's lap, one arm wrapped around her waist to keep her upright as she clutched her wound. Moll and Belvera held onto Lora's leg, a gel-like substance being placed across it to stem the flow of the pain. It was not broken, but would take some hours to heal. Anna too was okay, but would probably feel pain in her neck for a while.
Sven came to a halt Kristoff got off and helped Anna down, who was immediately engulfed in a hug by her elder sibling. "Are you all okay?!" Elsa asked her sister.
Anna nodded, wincing a little as she moved her head. "We're fine! I'm okay." she said when Elsa asked about the pain. "D-did you see him?" she asked, her tone quivering a little.
Elsa nodded and looked at the Mu siblings, of whom Belvera was keeping Lora upright. "What do we do?" she asked them.
A loud roar from above cut off any reply. All eyes turned in its direction and were mortified to see a grey shape falling through the clouds, the edges of it burning a fiery colour as it went through the atmosphere, the roar of pure, sheer terror echoing in their ears.
"No! NO!" Elsa cried out, her voice screaming in terror.
She wanted to save him, to stop him from colliding with the earth. But the distance and rate he was falling would be fruitless.
Those with her looked on helplessly as Godzilla's form neared the ground, then, with another earth shuddering THUD that felt like it had rocked the whole world, collided with the island. A wave of dust flew out in all directions, racing across the surface like a mega tsunami. Mothra dived in front of the group and spread her wings, covering them protectively. The wave of dust passed over them, filling the air like a vacuum. Elsa pulled Anna close to her whilst conjuring up a layer of ice around herself and the others, hoping it would hold. The winds cried and roared, a sound deafening to those outside.
And then it was over. A quiet descended around them, save for the slight rustle of the jungle greenery around them in the wind and the shaky breaths of the girls' companions. 'Deathly silent', one might even say in this case.
Gingerly, Mothra unwrapped herself from them and Elsa dissipated the ice, all eyes looking in the direction of the impact.
Godzilla's form lay on the ground, now more visible over the new, altered landscape, motionless, utterly still like a statue, like he was ... was ...
Elsa did not want to think it, let alone say it, but ... it looked ...
It looked like he had been killed.