With a thud, Mothra's weakened body landed on a small hill that lay at the top of a row of cliffs. The waves, though many metres below, thundered loudly against the cliffside, seemingly in unison with the darkening sky overhead as a crash of thunder drowned out the whimpered sounds of the gigantic moth. A storm was brewing, and this one – the moth could sense – would be as destructive and vengeful as if between gods themselves.
She lowered her bulk to the ground, bending her wings to allow the group to slide down to the ground. When they did, Anna rushed over to the edge of the cliff, frantically scanning the water. Kristoff came up beside her, panting heavily. He had never liked the flying so much, and the moth being half-dead only exacerbated his anxiety.
"There!" Anna exclaimed, pointing out down the coast.
Kristoff and the others (who had joined them after making sure Mothra was not going to pass out) followed her direction. A way out, roughly a mile from their position, they saw a set of dorsal fins, followed by a tail that was beginning to break the surface, round a bend in the cliffs and disappear from sight.
"If memory serves me correct, a beach lies there," Moll said.
"But what will he do once he gets ashore?" Kristoff muttered anxiously.
It was a good question, one that they had pondered over immensely on their way back in. Whilst Mothra had revived him, and he had not attacked them, there was no telling what would happen once Godzilla made landfall and, most certainly, would make a beeline for the mountain. Would he try and fight Cthulhu? Possible; said Mu god had literally beaten him to a pulp and left him for dead. If his past exploits and actions were anything to go by, Godzilla was going to seek revenge, wounded or not.
And Elsa?
Her sister's name sent a wave of trepidation through Anna. Her mind raced, countless possibilities, all horrible and terrifying at the prospect that they may actually happen, came to her. If Godzilla found her, what would he do? She had frozen him after all; he may not differentiate between Cthulhu and Elsa. Would he fight her? What if he killed her? Tore her apart, or-or blasted her to dust like in her dream? If so, would she fight back against the titan she held dear? Would she kill him?
So many potential outcomes, yet the future remained obscured, unclear like a dense fog clouding their vision. A final nail-biting chapter before the inevitable, yet unknown finale.
Mothra let out a weak moan as she pushed herself up, her spindly legs wobbling like they were going to give out under her. Looking ahead, her antennae fluttered and she let out a squeal, quiet to her but loud as a gunshot to those nearby.
"Mosura, what is it?!" Moll said, rushing over, her sister in tow.
Anna, Kristoff and Sven followed close behind, looking up with concerned expressions as the gigantic moth gazed out over the landscape and then back down at the Mu twins. She let out another noise and Lora gasped in response.
"What is it?" Anna asked, stepping over to the twins as they turned to the Arendelle princess, both wearing identical expressions of surprise.
"Cthulhu fights," Lora explained.
Anna blinked. "Fight?" she repeated, flabbergasted. "With what?"
"A blue dragon, of an ice colour and makeup similar to your sister's powers," Moll said.
Anna's face fell, her head snapping up to look in the direction the moth was. As in on cue, a distant boom rolled out from somewhere inland, the vibrations strong enough to be felt by the humans, moth and reindeer despite the distance. A large silhouette in the distance got up and appeared to knock something aside, followed by a cloud of dust and debris further back shooting up from the ground. A loud screech, something too high-pitched for Cthulhu, rang out. It sounded hurt, yet enraged, the desire to kill palpable
Elsa!
"We have to get over there!" Anna exclaimed, heart racing. "Elsa's in trouble."
"I don't think Mothra's gonna be able to fly anymore, Anna," Kristoff pointed out, nodding at said moth, who was having to sit partly on the ground, breathing heavily as though she had flown around the world several times non-stop. "She looks like she'll pass out." He added worryingly.
Anna cursed, then looked up at Sven. "Sven, do you think you can get us there?" She asked, looking from him to Kristoff.
Kristoff looked over at his reindeer companion. There was no doubt the reindeer could get them there, but this was running into a fight between two gigantic creatures (well, one gigantic creature and the other a human turned into an enormous ice dragon to be more specific). If they got trapped or crushed or injured, that would be it for them.
Sven cocked an eyebrow at Kristoff, as if to say: Really, Kristoff? Haven't we done this before at least twice?
He is right Kristoff thought. This isn't the first, but then the titans were fighting each other, not us.
Another boom from the distance drew all eyes in that direction for a moment (they had no idea if it was from either Elsa or Cthulhu being knocked down, though the former seemed more likely, dear readers) then back to Kristoff and Sven. Anna gave him a pleading expression. They had to get there, or at least somewhere where they could be help her sister.
"Alright," Kristoff said. "Let's go."
Anna beamed and looked over to the Twins.
"What about you guys?" she asked them.
"We will help Mothra back to her cave, it is not so far from here," Moll answered.
"Okay, good luck." Anna rushed over to Sven and Kristoff helped her up onto his back, the redhead wrapping her arms around her partner's waist to steady herself.
"But Princess Anna," Moll said, rushing over and gently taking her hand, looking up with a pleading expression. "Please be careful. You do not want to get caught in the middle."
Anna reassured her. "Don't worry. Elsa's my sister. She would never hurt me."
With that, Sven took off into the trees, leaving Moll and Lora behind to wonder what would happen in the coming hours.
Cthulhu grunted as the ice blue dragon slammed into him, knocking the titanic biped backwards, crushing scores of jungle underfoot. Again, Elsa's dragon form lunged, this time grabbing him around the upper torso and forcing him to the ground with a thud that rocked the island. She went to bite down on his neck, but he grabbed her by the snout and tossed her to the side, flattening another portion of trees.
As Cthulhu got up, the dragon flipped over upright again, glaring furiously at her larger opponent, a low growl emanating from within. Teeth bared, claws ready, she crouched into a position as if she was ready to pounce again. Cthulhu responded; bending his arms at the elbows and half-turning his body to her, fists clenched.
Come at me, Elsa!
Instead, the dragon reared back and, opening its mouth as wide as it could go, shot a wave of ice at him. The move startled him and the massive behemoth was knocked back into the ground, driving a large trench into the earth. Ice laced up his legs and on the surrounding surface of the jungle, cracking trees and creating a thick mist that limited visibility to just a few hundred feet. When the ice stopped, Cthulhu jerked his legs and the ice cracked, clearly not being strong enough to hold him in place.
As he sat up, he caught sight of a pair of fiery blue eyes glowing in the mist just ahead him, and they grew as they moved closer accompanied by heavy footsteps. Even though his human foe in her dragon form was much smaller than he was, he could not deny that a shiver ran down his spine.
Driven by an icy power that could not be contained. She is nothing but rage.
The eyes blinked out and disappeared, and the sound of the footsteps immediately stopped too. Cthulhu glanced around, trying to locate her, but the silence was deafening. She could be anywhere. Like a predator waiting to ambush, and he was the prey. Ironic considering size difference, though that doesn't necessarily mean safety.
A sound came from behind. Cthulhu threw out his hand and grabbed something large and cold in his fist. Looking, he saw he had the dragon by the throat, his thick wrist almost crushing the neck like a human would an insect or small animal.
"An admirable attempt, Elsa." He spoke to her. "But not good enough."
He tossed her back into the mist and charged after her. He heard her land somewhere and, emerging from the mist, saw on top of a small mountain that had been covered with foliage, but was now covered with ice, its once green and brown colours a ghostly mix of white and pale blue, the vegetation – from what he could see that had not been flattened – cracked and fallen around her.
Cthulhu charged and brought his fist down on the dragon's midsection. She cried out in pain, a sound a mixture of something animal and female human, and tried to fight back, but he grabbed her by the head and swung her into the forest again, tossing more vegetation and earth in all directions like the island was exploding from underneath. As he marched over to attack her again, he saw the dragon leap to her feet, growling angrily, furiously, wanting nothing more than to hurt him, maim him. Kill him.
He paused, replying with his own glare, calm but focused and furious. "You cannot hope to defeat me, Elsa. He did not, and neither will you."
She snarled, teeth bared, ready to rip him limb-from-limb. We'll see about that.
Her tail grabbed a large boulder that had been displaced from the earth when he threw her out of the mist and she lobbed it at Cthulhu. With a simple flick of his arm, he knocked it aside, shattering it into tiny pieces, but was not quick enough to stop a ball of ice knock him over once more. She jumped on top of him, ice racing once more across the ground and over his arms and legs, helping her pin him in place. Cthulhu, however, broke out of her grip and swung a punch that nearly took her head off and sent her to the ground, but she rolled over upright.
Out of the ice came more of the chains used before. Wrapping around his legs and arms and holding him down. One emerged and wrapped itself around his neck like a snake trying to strangle its prey, clamping down hard and making Cthulhu gasp for breath. Elsa crawled over to him, one clawed hand grabbing the top of his head, digging in hard and almost breaking the skin. She leaned in close, growling a satisfied, sadistic growl at her enemy being so helpless, at her mercy, unable to fight back.
I'm going to enjoy killing you she seemed to be saying.
To his credit, Cthulhu only chuckled (which was difficult given the chain around his throat). "L-look at you, Elsa. A 'queen' you were, now nothing more than a beast."
She grabbed his throat with her other hand, though it was too small to fully wrap around his neck, but she had the pleasure of seeing struggle to breathe for a moment.
I'm not a beast. I'm not a monster. The chains tightened their vice-like grip. You are the monster here. You killed him in cold blood.
Another laugh. "And you still try to defend him, even when he had destroyed an entire community and more in the same way you wish to do to me." A pause, letting his words have their effect, and judging by the dragon gritting her teeth angrily, the area around her chest glowing brightly as if undergoing intense emotion. "If your sister could see you now, or even the rest of the humans, you would be feared, not loved. Your own flesh and blood would and has deserted you."
She roared and struck across Cthulhu's face, missing his eyes, but leaving a trio of cuts across his forehead and down his nose to where the mass of tentacles writhed. It was the equivalent of a monster slapping another akin to how a human would do the same to one of their own. That burning desire within was raging now. She wanted to kill him. To stop this creature who thought himself a god and avenge Godzilla.
Elsa stopped, the glow around the dragon's chest dimming a little as she tried to calm herself. Conceal, don't feel. Don't lose control. Part of her wanted to get it over and done with, but another wanted to savour it. She was in control now, but she wanted to show him how much he hurt her, how much-
She felt the form beneath her shaking with chuckles. She looked at Cthulhu and met his gaze. It was … jovial, yet malicious.
"Is that all you have, Elsa?" he reached out and grabbed her neck once more, this time clutching down hard like it was the force of god, or in this case a god.
He tossed her back into the jungle and broke free from the ice and stood up once more. As the dragon picked itself up and turned back to face Cthulhu, she froze. He stood before her, tall and large, almost as if he had gotten bigger in the last few moments. His muscles bulged, fists clenched, eyes holding that malicious grin, which seemed to be enhanced more by him standing over her like a mountain.
He wiped his face and looked at the blood, cocking his head to one side as if transfixed by the sight, as if he had never seen it come from his own body before.
"All this anger for a drop of blood," he said, almost admiringly as he looked down at Elsa's dragon form and stepped forward, and she instinctively retreated a pace. "Now it's your turn."
He lunged at her with a speed that belied his massive form, grabbing her by the head and throwing her as hard as he could into the surface, cracking the ground as if a meteor had struck the island. The dragon barely had time to react before she was grabbed again and held her up in front of him as she frantically tried to wrestle free, but he struck her in the face, sending out large cracks across the skin. He struck again, and again, and again, breaking off part of the snout and shattering one of the horns.
No longer was he holding back. This time, he was going to kill.
Emerging from the forest, Sven jumped over a fallen tree that had been launched from its original position further away, then came to a screeching halt, almost throwing Anna and Kristoff off his back. The reindeer along with his two human riders looked up; Anna with a terrified expression; Kristoff at a total loss for words.
"Oh no!" Anna gasped.
Cthulhu struck again, cracking the side of the dragon. Another punch took off the wings. The dragon struggled desperately, ice lacing up his arm, but he held on despite the numbing cold. With another strike at her underbelly (this made the dragon groan in pain), he tossed her to the ground as if throwing a stone into a pond. She landed with a THUD, only this time was still for a moment or two before trying, and failing, to get to her feet.
Heavy footfalls. A huge hand grabbed the back of her head, raised it up and slammed it into the ground, another loud crack filling the air as more of the body fell apart like a gradually breaking statue. She tried in vain to shoot some ice at his foot, but he moved it out of the way and slammed it onto her head, almost decapitating her. Then, grabbing her around the midsection, he turned and tossed her once more back into the forest, sending dust, debris and vegetation in all directions.
"For you, it is done," he spoke, his ubiquitous voice rolling out across the island.
As he walked the few paces over to his fallen foe, he saw the dragon glow bright blue, almost a white colour like he was looking directly at the sun. It grew in intensity, so much that he shielded his eyes from the glow. Then it faded as quick as it came and he looked down to see the beast now having dematerialised into nothing but a thick mist that encased them in a sort of bubble like a prison, shielding them from the outside world.
In its place, he saw the bedraggled form of a lone human female lying on her side. Her ice blue dress was torn and hanging loosely off her. Her hair was a mess, body laden with cuts, bruises and gashes. He saw her roll onto her back, revealing a scarlet colour over the abdominal part of her dress. He paused for a moment, a brief look of concern flashing across his face, wondering if that had been him.
He shook off any concern. No. As much as this pained him, he knew he could not allow himself to hold back. Given her viciousness she had displayed in this fight (he briefly ran his hand over the wound on his face) and her reverence for Godzilla, letting her endure would only bring more misery and pain, to herself and those around her. To end it now would end it all.
A blur. A swirling jumble of images. The ground quacked under the footsteps of something approaching, something big. Her mind slowly reawakened, a dull but growing sensation of pain flooding through her.
That means I'm still alive.
With a strangled cry, Elsa opened her eyes, wanting to tear at herself for feeling such a high level of pain rocket through her. Her head hurt, she felt there and among the masses of now loosened blonde hair she was sure she felt something wet and thick. Her shoulders and back ached. She tried to move her fingers, but it was like fire coursing deep in her veins. Her legs practically refused to move and she feared for a moment that they were broken, or her back or hips were. Looking down, she saw a small, but deep ruby red on her abdomen, though this was mostly covered by her dress (what was left of it, as it exposed much of her torso and back and was completely gone around her legs).
A huge form stopped near and above her. Her vision still faint, her eyes trailed up the form to see the gigantic behemoth of Cthulhu standing there. She expected him to be glaring down at her, or maybe something more devilish and sadistic mixed with enjoyment at her having been beaten. But rather she saw a ping of regret, as if he knew what had to be done and was saddened it had come to this conclusion, like a judge sentencing one of their own.
A deep exhale from above she felt go right through her. "See what has come from this, Elsa?" he asked rhetorically. "You tried to fight me, to defeat me, to kill me … and yet you failed. You did not heed my warning."
Elsa wanted to speak, to curse him, to damn him to the very pits of hell itself. Pain, however, continued racing through her. Her vision became fainter, going from dark to light and then back again. The world becoming a blur once more.
She heard him sigh, a regrettable one. "I take no pleasure in this, Queen Elsa. But I must do what needs to be done."
He raised his foot over her section of the now devastated landscape, one arm sticking out a bit to maintain balance. Elsa closed her eyes, feeling a set of tears run down her face.
She felt nothing but regret. She tried to save Godzilla and failed. She had frozen out her people, her friends, her own sister. The one person she had always relied upon, who had always been her strength and support, who had always been the reason for her to keep going.
All of it she had thrown away with reckless abandon. And now she was going to pay the price for her hubris.
"Goodbye," she heard his voice roll out laconically, softer, regretful.
She closed her eyes, hands over her heart, waiting for the moment to come.
"ELSA!" Anna screamed out, knowing what was about to happen.
They had managed to race their way through the jungle; the vegetation having spared them to being witness to the beating Elsa had received at the hands of Cthulhu. As they emerged from the bush and onto a newly formed mound on the edge of a crater, they saw from the waist up of Cthulhu's huge form sticking out from the mist that surrounded him. Then his foot came up, ready to crush something.
Anna ran from Sven, having leapt off him towards the mist. Cthulhu gave a quick glance in their direction, seeing the tiny human female coming his way, a sad expression replacing his dourer one when he saw it was Anna from his great height.
Anna ran. She was only a hundred metres from the mist. She had to stop him. Kristoff and Sven followed not far behind, calling out to her, but their voices were lost as her mind raced.
Get to Elsa! Get to El-
A sky splitting flash, this time bluer than the deepest blue sea and as bright as the sun filled the air. She felt it impact something with a heavy thud. A roar. One that seemed as if it was coming from the earth itself. The island rocked as something fell not too far away. It was enough to knock her off her feet and she would have fallen into the crater if Kristoff had not grabbed her.
They both looked up and saw the mist had mostly disappeared, and Cthulhu was gone. They exchanged looks, aghast.
What was that?
They got their answer when a familiar light roar drew their attention.
Coming out of the dust thrown up from the fight, his form towering over much of the island as if it were touching the sky, a look of fury on his wounded, but determined face.
Godzilla had returned.