Sorry for the delay, sometimes writing and I don't get along!
Enjoy!
The Tale of Hollow Godzilla
…
The glowing crystal towered over them. The pointed end, buried in the ground, the cracks between the broken rock filled with water no bigger than a koi pond. The surface shimmered back the ethereal blue glow that filled the atrium.
The floor felt almost polished, veins of faintly glowing blue oar spreading out from the crystal like a spiderweb. Rocks floated around the crystal, high in the ceiling in a lazy elliptical pattern. Besides the crystal in the middle of the temple, the place was barren. No thrones, no furniture, no signs of life.
The Iwi stopped and began to dismount. People stirred around Amara as some of the Iwi helped Ilene and Whyley with Nathan. Jia came over to help too, but Amara pulled her out of the way.
After nearly pushing Ilene out of the way, the girl twin put an arm under Nathan with Whyley on the other side. She led them the rest of the way to the crystal pond. Other Iwi rushed forward and unpacked blankets. Not only for Nathan, but other Iwi who had been injured in the avalanche.
They laid Nathan down with the others. Whyley backed off and stood with Amara, Jia, and Ren. The Iwi parted for the elders who approached the water. The woman crouched down by the rocky edge of the pond and picked up a crystal urn. She filled it with water, the sleeve of her robe caressing the still surface.
Once filled, she passed it to the old man. He took it and began to make rounds to the injured, pouring the water onto their wounds.
Ilene looked worried when he came to kneel next to Nathan. The water was likely full of bacteria and parasites, probably the worst thing someone could pour on an open wound.
But that wasn't any crystal.
The size and shape. The color. The fact that it still glowed despite the radiation being sucked from the Hollow Earth. It was the broken crystal from Hollow Godzilla's shoulder.
Out of habit, she held up her arm and wiped away the dust on an area that stung particularly badly. The scrape had begun to scab over, but still remained.
Out of the corner of her eye, Whyley did the same.
Though it didn't seem as strong, Hollow Godzilla's radiation likely had the same healing effect as Goji's. There was no doubt that they were currently being bombarded by radiation in this room, as the only escape it had was the crack of the massive door.
Perhaps, Hollow Godzilla's healing power was amplified by water. Though, this Godzilla didn't seem to have the same affiliation with it that theirs had. Hers had.
Nathan winced as the man poured water over his wound.
…
Time passed. A lot of time. Maybe a week, give or take since they got to the temple. Their group had a little area to themselves. With no walls, the huge space was divided up by campfires surrounded by sleeping bags. Most of the supplies the Iwi had brought were different kinds of food.
Occasionally, they sent out scouts who came back with foraged items or some small creature that was cooked and eaten in record time. The injured got the majority of the food, while everyone else lived on modest rations.
Being hungry was just a part of life now.
Everyone in the group had visibly lost weight. Whatever muscle mass Whyley had gained since she'd last seen him five years ago was mostly gone, now beginning to resemble his former self, tall and lean.
But it was Nathan who'd lost the most weight. At first, he looked well on his way to recovery, but then it began to slow.
Whenever they weren't with him, Ilene and Jia spent most of the time learning the language. Amara, Ren, and Whyley supplied gestures of words they'd learned to help, some as little as finger movements or the flick of the wrist.
Ilene said she was well on her way to learning the story of Hollow Godzilla but didn't want to go over it until she knew she had it figured out. She said it only took one misinterpreted word to get the whole thing wrong.
To help with the story, the Iwi took them to old carvings on the wall, where Amara often found herself.
The drawings were vague. Images of the Iwi people and Kongs. Depictions of fights where many Kongs surrounded a Godzilla. Then another of a much bigger Godzilla, this one resembling Hollow Godzilla himself, around him lay dead Kongs.
It wasn't too much of a stretch to assume Hollow Godzilla was the one who killed all the Kongs. But even in the carving, the way he roared…it wasn't one of victory or triumph.
Or maybe she was reading too much into it.
She turned back around, facing the crystal the size of a small building. Not far were Whyley and Jia.
Whyley was lying on his side pointing at whatever Jia was currently drawing in his sketchbook. Jia, who was lying on her stomach, shooed his hand away and resumed her scribbling.
They both acknowledged her as she sat down on her sleeping bag next to them. Their earlier confrontation had been forgiven. Jia wasn't one to hold grudges. Ilene, however, still kept an eye on them whenever she noticed they were together.
Jia had been worried sick about Kong for the first few days, but Whyley told her that if she concentrated really hard, she might be able to tell where Kong was and if he was okay. Since then, she seemed contented, which could only mean Kong was fine as he led Hollow Godzilla on a cat and mouse chase through the Hollow Earth.
Whyley took out his earbud. "She's not a very good student. Refuses to take my advice."
The drawing was of Kong, or at least that's who it looked most like. The proportions were off…or maybe Kong's arms were that much bigger than his legs. Either way, his head was small and too egg shaped.
"I keep telling her to add a beard, but she's adamant he doesn't have one."
Amara thought back to the last time she'd seen his face up close. "There's definitely something there. Is it called a beard though? Maybe there's a more technical name."
"I wouldn't know. You're the biologist."
"Mandibular hair?" she offered.
"Bless you."
Amara scoffed. "Speaking of mandibular hair, I think I can see some growing on your chin."
Whyley touched his face. "Yeah my razor's getting dull. Nicked myself. You haven't been stealing it to shave your legs, have you?"
"Whyley, if you say anything about my leg hair, I will end you."
He smirked. "What? It's perfectly natural for a girl your age—"
"Whyley!"
"If you guys are done flirting, Ilene has news."
They both looked up at Ren, the look on his face suggested he'd rather be anywhere else.
Ignoring his comment, Amara asked, "Is it about Hollow Godzilla."
Ren just rolled his eyes and walked away.
"I don't know what his problem is." Amara got up. "It's like I threatened to punch him in the face or something."
While Ren didn't talk to them much, she caught him chatting with Nathan now and again, even Ilene from time to time. Other than that, he spent his time doing his little experiments with the rocks. Now that they were surrounded by radiation, he could assess their superconductive properties.
How that worked was beyond her.
Jia got up, passing the sketchbook back to Whyley who put it in his bag. They followed Ren over to Ilene. Nathan was there as well, both sitting with the twins and the Iwi elders.
They stepped over the countless images etched into the ground. The lines of which glowed brightly from the crystal veins under them. The whole area was covered. Ilene and the Iwi used lots of them to work out words and meanings.
Jia sat next to Ilene and Nathan. Amara sat next to Whyley, and Ren sat away from them all.
More Iwi gathered around, taking a seat around the fire where the elders sat. It had become apparent that while some of the Iwi found the sounds of their voices annoying, some enjoyed listening.
"I've got it figured out," Ilene said once they were settled. "Some of this might sound a little out there, but I promise, this is what they're telling me."
Everyone leaned in, ready to hear the tale.
Ilene took a breath and began.
"A long time ago the Iwi lived together with the Kongs. Many of them were like Jia and had special connections that allowed them to communicate with each other, developing almost familial relationships.
At this time, Godzillas roamed the Hollow Earth as well. Unlike the Kongs, they did not care for anything but themselves. One day, a Godzilla happened upon a village and instead of leaving it, trampled through, killing many of the Iwi. One of the Iwi who died shared a connection with one of the Kongs, and it too, suddenly died.
The Iwi and the Kongs were outraged. Many of the Kongs banded together and attacked the Godzilla. Though they could not defeat it, they ripped off some of its dorsal plates and made axes. When they attacked again, the axes easily cut through its scale, killing it.
Over time, the Kongs killed more and more of the Godzillas. Because of this, the Iwi population grew and they explored more of the Hollow Earth. Eventually, they came across a field of crystal. Learning of its abilities to heal, they began to mine it.
The Kongs warned them about the area, telling them an ancient Titan slept there. They carried rocks and formed a wall to stop the Iwi from coming too close. For years, the Iwi obeyed until one day, a curious girl climbed through a hole in the wall. As soon as she set foot on the other side an earthquake shook the Hollow Earth as a Godzilla rose, bigger than all the rest.
Somehow it knew that its species was being wiped out. It attacked the closest village leaving no survivors but the girl. The girl traveled for days until she found another village and told them what had happened. They let her live with them and the village became her new home.
Over time, the Iwi of that village devised a plan to defeat Hollow Godzilla. They sent out the strongest Kong who broke a crystal off the back of Hollow Godzilla. With the crystal, he would make a weapon capable of penetrating its skin. But before the great Kong could finish the weapon, the girl snuck into his connected one's home and killed her. And the Iwi awoke to another dead Kong.
They knew it was the girl. She had been growing more distant with the people of the village and wanted the Kongs to surrender. They found her as she ran and tied her up, waiting for Hollow Godzilla's arrival. When he did, they knew who she was. They killed the girl and Hollow Godzilla fell. The crystals on its back became dull.
For three days he lay there dead. Kongs gathered to celebrate their victory as the last Godzilla had been vanquished. Some built a temple to house the crystal in case it was ever needed again.
But their victory was short lived. The Kongs stopped celebrating as the world went dark and Hollow Godzilla rose again. It let out a roar before killing the rest of the Kongs in a single attack. All of its power spent, it went into a deep sleep. To be sure it was never woken again, the Iwi dug a trench around it like the Kongs had before."
Everyone looked at each other. Expressions etched with a thousand questions but not knowing which to ask first.
"You're sure that's the story?" Nathan finally spoke. "Like one hundred and ten percent?"
Ilene nodded, eyes on the ground.
"You know what that means then, don't you?"
Ilene raised her voice. "Of course I know what it means! Why do you think I wanted to be sure before I told anyone?"
"This is serious. All these years we've been letting Kong fight not knowing what could happen to Jia."
"I know, and I asked the Iwi about that."
Amara couldn't help but lean in.
"There seems to be an age thing to these connections. I'm assuming it has something to do with brain development—"
"What do you mean?"
"Can you let me finish?" Ilene's tone was sharp as she held a hand up to Nathan. "It seems like the connection grows stronger as the person or Kong ages. If either is still developing, the connection is weaker. So if Jia is truly connected to Kong like the Iwi in the past, then they may not be close enough to share pain or death."
Amara swallowed.
"What do you mean pain? Like if one gets hurt, the other feels it?"
"Yes, precisely."
The definitiveness of Ilene's answer stopped Nathan's stream of questions. He looked to Jia who was leaning on Ilene's side. There was a faraway look on her face.
"Did you tell her already?"
This time it was Ren who spoke.
"I told her the story last night." Ilene stroked Jia's hair. "I wanted to make sure she would be okay with me telling the story to all of you."
"I felt it before too," Ren said. "Connected to the power of a Titan. Having its thoughts flow through you. Its power at your fingertips."
Whyley must have noticed her tensing up, because he took hold of her wrist a moment before she was about to jump. It didn't stop her from speaking though.
"You don't know the first thing about being connected to a Titan like Jia is. Don't pretend whatever that thing you built even comes close."
"What, jealous that you're not special?" Ren sneered.
"Me, jealous? I'm not the one building robot Titans so I can 'feel their power'."
"My creation almost killed your precious Godzilla."
"My Godzilla saved your life!"
"Both of you, stop it!" Whyley cut through them causing some of the surrounding Iwi to jump.
Amara closed her mouth and glared at Ren.
"That's right, listen to your little boyfriend."
Whyley held her back. "Just ignore him."
Amara pulled her wrist from Whyley and stormed off.
She stopped when she reached the pond. The crystal towered above. No doubt it was the one from the story. She had noticed a while ago the notch chipped out of it near the top. It was where the handle would fit and create a pickaxe.
She turned and looked back at the group. Whyley was still there with the others. Despite the sting, it was probably for the best that he stayed. Ren didn't need any more fuel for the fire.
Why Ren of all people? Couldn't Monarch have found another person to fly a HEAV. Postponed the trip a couple of weeks to train someone else? No, they saw Ren and how much money they'd save using him.
She sat down beside the pond. No Iwi were around so she let her hand dip into the water. They were protective of it, not letting anyone collect water except the elders. They would fill up an urn that others could use.
Just the touch of water was soothing. Maybe it was the familiar feeling of the radiation that made her feel more at home. Though the feeling wasn't exact, it was difficult to discern the difference.
The story explained everything. The trench they crossed, the abandoned temple. The empty feeling in her chest when staring into the eyes of Hollow Godzilla.
No matter how far away she was from Godzilla, his presence was always there. Even when they learned to cut off the connection, he was still there, deep inside. It really was more than sharing a mind. It was sharing a soul.
And to lose a huge part of your soul and still be forced to live…
For years now she lived under the assumption that if one of them died, so would the other. For a while, she let paranoia get the best of her, wanting to avoid things with even the slightest chance of death. Cars, motorcycles, planes. But over time, Godzilla reassured her that everything happens for a reason and that if he were to die, the earth would just have to go on without them.
But this changed things.
What if she died and Godzilla lived?
What if he too became a shell of himself? Fueled by nothing but anger and vengeance?
A fate worse than death.
She ran her fingers across the surface.
And then there was the girl who happened to be the only person who crossed the Kong's wall. It was no coincidence.
She turned against her people to save Hollow Godzilla. She killed someone. Though tragic, it was almost nice to know that she wasn't alone. There was another girl just like her.
Jia was the same too, but having a connection to the perceived enemy was different. Because, at some point, she would become the enemy too.
A tap on her shoulder caused her to pull her hand from the water. Jia was looking down at her. Everyone was still gathered around Ilene. She had come alone. In her hand was Whyley's sketchbook. Amara adjusted herself to face Jia, ready to entertain the girl by drawing with her, but Jia flipped to a blank page.
"Should I be scared?" she wrote.
Amara looked from the page to Jia's brown eyes. They regarded her as if she held all the answers in the world.
But she didn't. Fear was a part of life. Fear of dying. Fear of others dying. Fear of being responsible for another's death.
"No, Kong is strong."
Jia scribbled again. "But I'm not."
"You don't have to be strong. You have to be smart." Amara tapped her head for emphasis.
"What if I'm not smart enough either? I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."
As Amara read the words, she couldn't help but think back to Mi Sun. She'd gotten hurt not once, but twice because of Amara's actions.
Now she had Whyley to worry about.
"It's not always something you can control. Some people will choose to protect you just like you can choose to protect others."
Jia seemed to ponder this.
"And you have Kong to protect you, that doesn't hurt," Amara added to the paper.
Jia reached for the sketchbook. "Does Godzilla protect you?"
Amara blinked at the words.
At Amara's lack of response, Jia flipped through the pages and held up one of Whyley's drawings. One she hadn't seen before.
Godzilla's head filled the entire page. He was sleeping on the shore. But upon looking closer, there was someone resting against his cheek. Her.
Had he drawn this while she was sleeping?
Jia pointed to the small sleeping figure and then to her.
Amara snatched the sketchbook and flipped back to their conversation. "Whyley has a funny imagination."
"Whyley only draws what he sees," Jia wrote back, her face serious.
She was going to kill Whyley. Drawing things like that in a sketchbook anyone could find. Jia had it out by Ilene half the time.
Yet…her anger melted away as she looked back into Jia's eyes. She was searching for something. Hoping for something. An ally. Someone who truly understood what it was like to be like her.
Amara lifted the pencil, letting it hover above the page for a long time before writing.
"Don't tell anyone."
"Why."
"Because I am weak, so I have to be smart."
Amara glanced over at the others. They were still talking.
When she turned back, Jia was still looking at her, writing nothing. Amara's answer wasn't good enough.
"You heard the story. Godzilla doesn't care for humans like Kong does. Like Hollow Godzilla, our Godzilla is the enemy on the surface."
"You can make people understand."
"I'm already trying, but I only cause fights."
Jia frowned at this.
Amara took the opportunity to rip the page from the book. She grabbed a rock from the ground and crinkled the paper around it before throwing it into the water. She then flipped to the drawing of her and Godzilla, ripping it out too. This time Jia stopped her, grabbing the paper. She folded it up and handed it back to her, pointing at her pocket.
Amara couldn't help her smile. Jia was right, she didn't want to throw out Whyley's picture.
Pocketing it like Jia suggested, she craned her neck upwards to the crystal.
So now Jia knew her secret too. Whyley got his way after all. But at least this way, Jia was an ally. Though she was young, Jia understood what it was like to share a life with a Titan.
The others began getting up, footsteps echoing against the floor. They had likely been discussing how the story could help them defeat Hollow Godzilla. Getting Kong here would likely be their first move. Then he could finish the pickaxe.
But she had a different goal. She had to get Godzilla here first.
"No matter what they ask, don't let Kong come here yet." Amara wrote quickly. "Uncle Gary needs the radiation first."
Jia looked confused for a moment.
Then laughed.
…