Special thanks to those of you who left reviews!

Enjoy!

To Slaughter

…

More Iwi filtered into the temple. While some still stared in a state of shock, others began signing to one and other. Out of all the gestures, two stood out. The interlaced fingers and sign for Hollow Godzilla.

Why didn't she think something like that could have happened? Everything to do with the Titans had to be bright and flashy. Just touch the crystal. What was she thinking?

At least she reached Godzilla.

Ilene marched up to her, waving a hand toward the crystal. "What did you just do?"

"Nothing," Amara said quickly. "I was looking at the water and I fell in. I barely touched it."

"You're trying to tell me you fell and that happened?"

"I don't know, Ilene. I swear I just touched it."

The crowd of Iwi parted as twins came through. The elders followed behind. The twins took her arms and pulled her out of the water. Immediately, the boy grabbed her wrists. She went to pull her hand free but stopped. Putting up a fight would only make things worse. Right now she had to act clueless.

In the end, they would see it wasn't Hollow Godzilla who responded to her call.

"Hey, what are you doing? Let her go!" Whyley approached the twin tying her hands but was stopped by the other.

"Whyley, it's fine," she said before he pushed the twin out of his way.

"He's tying you up for no reason!"

"No reason?" Ilene cut in. "It looks like she just sent out a signal to Hollow Godzilla."

"She told you, she just touched it and it lit up, there was no signal."

The twin holding her finished tying her hands and urged her forward. Light drew her gaze downwards towards the stone floor where it lit up under her feet.

Everyone else looked too.

"What in the…" Ilene's voice echoed quietly.

"She probably absorbed a bunch of radiation from that." Nathan had walked over, using a cane to help him. Ilene went to his side but the girl twin remained in front of Whyley to block him from coming any closer

Ren was probably there too, watching from afar with a smirk on his face.

The Iwi backed out of the way as the elders led her and the twins toward the wall carvings. The lines etched into the walls lit up when she was pushed against the wall and forced to sit.

It only caused more silent chaos among the Iwi. Gesturing, pointing, looking at each other and back to her.

The elders turned back to the crowd and signed. Three of the largest men came forward. They took their places around Amara on either side and in front.

When Whyley once again began to push past, one of the three men stood to face him.

"Jia!" Ilene called as she signed to Jia to get back.

Jia either didn't see or ignored her and came up beside Whyley, tugging on his pant leg to get his attention. Whyley tore his eyes from the man and looked down at her. Jia just managed to sign something before Ilene came over and pulled her away. Jia then switched gears, going from American sign language to the Iwi's and began gesturing out to anyone who was looking.

They watched her, conflicted.

The elders turned away, the woman waving a finger above her head. Everyone followed, walking further and further away until they sat and began their meeting.

Ilene hesitated, but followed, Nathan at her side. She held Jia by the hand, though Jia was looking back at her.

It was only her, Whyley, and the three guards left.

"Go with them," she hissed. "We need to know what they're planning."

"No, they can't treat you like this—"

"Whyley, go. I need you to do this for me. Talk to Jia when you get the chance. Tell her that we need them to know Goji isn't a threat. Then they'll let me go."

He made a frustrated noise, looking between her and the group of Iwi in the distance. "How can you still be so confident?"

"Because I have you and Jia. Now hurry up and go."

Whyley hesitated before finally turning to leave.

Despite what he thought, her confidence in the plan was quickly waning. The first step was supposed to be the simplest one. The easy one.

The only good thing was though she'd felt Hollow Godzilla's presence through the crystal, it didn't feel like she'd called out to him. There was no other thread.

But that didn't mean that he didn't feel it. The crystal was a part of his body that she used like a beacon. The pulse was likely pure radiation sent out for miles.

Hopefully if he did feel it, Kong would still be enough of a distraction.

In the distance, Whyley had joined the Iwi. His only distinguishing feature was the light brown color of his desert camo uniform. Now the only sound was Ilene's voice, too far to be clearly discernable.

Chances were that they would start packing as soon as the meeting was done. There wasn't a chance they would stay. And better yet, they would leave her behind.

The sound of shoes against stone drew her attention. It was none other than Ren.

"I hope that wasn't what it looked like. Or is this a part of whatever you and your boyfriend are scheming?"

"The only thing we're scheming is how to get out of here."

"I was under the impression you were going to valiantly stay behind with your dog."

"Maybe you should watch your mouth and hide before he gets here."

Ren's smug expression dropped. "You did call him here," he said quietly before anger overwrote his shock. "You stupid little girl. You'd put everyone at risk here to help that monster. This radiation is all they have left, and you'd take it without asking and feed it to your pet."

"Just because you're content leaving Hollow Godzilla to destroy the Hollow Earth doesn't mean I am."

"So you're planning on fighting then? Good, Godzilla's clearly outmatched. You'd be saving me the trouble." He turned his back to her. "The question is, should I go tell the others about your attempt at a plan."

"Sure, if you want to sound crazy, go ahead. Or you can let the Iwi come to the same conclusion anyway and leave without you making yourself look like a lunatic."

Ren turned on her. Two of the guards stepped into his path. "How dare you. Don't forget I almost killed your precious monster the first time, I won't fail the second."

As Amara tried to stand, the remaining Iwi guard pushed her down. Ren was already walking away.

Maybe Whyley was right to watch him. Maybe he was capable of killing a human if it meant killing Godzilla.

Whyley took Ren's threats seriously. It made sense for him. Whyley lived a completely different life, one filled with violence and desperation and war. While he was constantly exposed to it, she five years to grow complacent.

While the fight with Destroyer plagued Godzilla's dreams, Jonah haunted hers. But after so long, the reality of it became dreamlike in itself. The gun aimed at her, the fighting. Dreams of reality until reality became dreams.

But it was the nature of cycles to repeat, and now instead of Jonah, there was Ren. Instead of Destroyer, there was Hollow Godzilla. Instead of Mothra, there was Kong.

At least Godzilla and Whyley remained constant.

And although she missed Mi Sun's wisdom, Amara was glad she hadn't come. It was bad enough having to worry about Whyley and Jia all the time.

Movement in the distance caught her eye. Some of the Iwi were getting up. A moment later, the small form of a child came up to Whyley and they both slipped away from the group.

Some of the Iwi approached her. It was the elders, the twins, and Ilene.

The three men stepped to the side when the elders stood in front of her. After a moment, they kneeled on the ground. Ilene sat down with them while the twins remained standing on either side.

"Amara, I know this might sound crazy, but the elders are asking if you called Hollow Godzilla here."

"First of all, why would I do that? And secondly, how?"

At least she was somewhat talented at acting clueless and offended. Ilene began to sign to the elders but judging by the expressions on their faces, it was hardly necessary. They signed back to Ilene.

"Why did you touch the crystal then? Was it…" She struggled to interpret a gesture. "…Calling to you?"

"I swear I just fell in. It's been a few days since I've seen my reflection and I was just making sure I didn't look like a mess."

Ilene really struggled to translate that one. Half the gestures looked made up.

The elders didn't look convinced.

"They say they've touched the crystal before and it's never done anything. Only Hollow Godzilla can control the radiation within the crystals."

"And they know this for a fact or is this another legend? I have nothing to do with Hollow Godzilla."

"What about that time in the canyon when it stopped? It looked right at you!"

"Yes, then it was about to kill me, remember? And Jia was with me too. Maybe he was looking at her, you know, because she's the one connected to Kong."

Ilene was taken aback. Evidentially, she hadn't thought of that before.

The elders gestured again. It seemed like they were starting to pick up English, or at least the words "Jia" and "Kong".

"Look," Amara said, "If they're worried about Hollow Godzilla coming here, they can go back home. I don't see what the big deal is."

Ilene gestured to them. The elders looked at each other before getting back up. The twins followed them back to the meeting.

Ilene got up too, but didn't move. She looked like she wanted to say more.

"Just fly the HEAV back to the village with the Iwi if you're concerned."

Even as she spoke, Whyley was still off in the distance with Jia. They just had to coordinate when to call Kong. The later the better if Hollow Godzilla was still following him. Then everyone would be gone and Godzilla had time to absorb the crystal's radiation.

Ideally though, the fight should be somewhere else. The temple was important to the Iwi, destroying it would be disrespectful and completely unnecessary.

But if worse came to worse, Godzilla said he would act as a decoy while Kong built the pickaxe.

With a hesitant nod, Ilene turned to rejoin the elders.

Time passed slowly in the silence of the cave. Even Ilene's voice was quiet now. At some point, Whyley and Jia had rejoined the group so whatever they were planning was decided. Now it was just a waiting game.

Though it was strange. Last time they thought Hollow Godzilla was coming, it took them under an hour to pack up and leave. Now they were taking their sweet time. Perhaps they were deciding where to go. But why not back to their village? Did they think it was destroyed?

Then again, maybe it was. Maybe Hollow Godzilla did go through it. They could have easily sent a scouting party to check without her knowing.

They really needed to hurry up though.

The tingling sensation of radiation prickled at her skin. The thread in her mind pulled, becoming more prominent.

The blue cast on her arms fluctuated. The crystal wavered almost like sunlight on a cloudy day. Dark then light, then dark again.

Many of the Iwi turned to look. Not long after, Ilene's voice rose, then Whyley's.

Then they began standing. The meeting was over. Most of the large group stayed together while the elders, twins, and Ilene once again came toward her.

But where was Whyley? Surely he would have come over too if he could.

The guards were more erect this time, clearly wanting to know what was going on.

This time the elders did not sit. Ilene's face looked paler in the blue light.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on? Where's Whyley?"

"He's with Nathan. Amara—I need you to tell me why you touched the crystal."

"I didn't—"

"The Iwi don't believe you, and frankly, neither do I. You've been hiding something from us the entire time we've been down here. Now's the time to fess up and tell the truth."

"I swear, Ilene, I didn't call Hollow Godzilla."

In the distance, Whyley's voice called out to her. But all she could see was a wall of Iwi.

"What's going on?" Amara pushed herself up only for the guards to grab her.

"Amara, they're not leaving this time. The crystal's too important to them!"

Whyley yelled again. She craned her neck to look past the twins but the guards kept her still.

"It's just a stupid crystal, why would they risk staying for it?"

"So you do think he's coming."

"No, that's not what I meant! What's going on, where's Whyley?"

The elders motioned to the guards.

"Let go of me!"

"Don't you see, Amara? They think you're connected to Hollow Godzilla. They think you're a second chance!"

But before she could reply, the ground tremored.

Ilene's eyes went wide as she stared at Amara.

The ground shook again. Pebbles rattled against the smooth stone floor. The crystal flickered.

Amara.

"I didn't call Hollow Godzilla," she said.

And then everything happened instantaneously. The twins looked at each other. The guards pushed her forward, hands grasping her arms.

She twisted her entire body to pry herself free, but their fingers were like steel bars digging into her skin. She drove her heel into one's foot. She elbowed their stomachs. When nothing worked, she bit down on the one's hand.

He let go only to grab her again, one hand on her arm and the other gripping the hair at the back of her head and jerking her back.

The crowd of Iwi parted, some retreating to the far side of the temple, the rest running outside.

So many of them stared at her. Stopping wide eyed in fear.

Finally, she caught sight of Whyley. He was shouting, pushing through a group of Iwi men that held him back.

She tried to turn her head, but the man's grip was too strong. "Whyley!"

"Get out of here!" He yanked his arm from one of the Iwi's grip only to be grabbed by two others. "Go!"

She thrashed, using every part of her body to get free. Hair ripped from the back of her neck. It was no use. They were too strong. She was too weak.

The men pulled her behind the elders, the twins following at their side. Ilene was there too, gesturing the signs for "Stop" and "Wrong".

"This isn't the way to do this!" she pleaded. "You can't sacrifice her, it's wrong!"

Even Nathan appeared from the sea of Iwi swarming around them. "Ilene, what can we do?" he asked weakly. Every time the ground shook, he had to steady himself.

Seeing him, Ilene rushed to his side. "I don't know how to talk them out of it! We need them to run not try to kill her."

With each passing moment, the footfalls shook the earth more and more.

Ilene's and Nathan's voices mixed with Whyley's shouts and the rustling of hundreds of people gathering around.

The men that held her came to a stop halfway between the temple and the wall of the crater that surrounded them.

The old woman stood behind her and a moment later something sharp was pressed against her throat.

She swallowed.

While the Iwi came to a standstill around her, Whyley still fought to get through. His voice was hoarse from yelling, but every time he freed himself from the grip of one Iwi, more would grab him.

The twins stood in front of Ilene and Nathan. Ilene was sobbing while Nathan looked distraught, still trying to talk to them.

The dull edge of the blade dug into her skin every time the ground shook. Everyone was still. Waiting. Resolute despite their flinches at every distant footfall.

So this was what it was like. Thousands of years ago, another girl stood where she was now. Waiting for Hollow Godzilla to appear so they could end them both. The Iwi were replicating the story in hopes that it would work the second time.

But they were wrong. It wasn't Hollow Godzilla who was coming.

And when they saw that, they'd let her go. Surely if they saw that it was a different Godzilla. One they'd never seen before, they'd at least hesitate.

Right?

She reached out beyond the rim of the crater. Show them you are not the enemy.

The footsteps came to a stop and a growl deep and low filled the air from the other side of the crater wall.

But you are in danger.

The wrinkled hand holding the knife trembled, the blade nicking her skin.

Everything went quiet. Even Whyley.

Watching. Waiting.

They'll let me go when they see it's you.

They will cower. They will panic.

They won't. Please, just hurry.

A roar. The ground shook. The wall trembled. Then, like an explosion, rocks were thrown into the air. Claws ripped through stone, boulders crumbled down the slope. Dust billowed through the air as Godzilla tore through the rock, his head appearing through the dust and stone.

Many of the Iwi held firm. Some looked at each other in confusion. Some ran.

The knife on her neck shook more than ever.

Dust, like a veil, settled over the field of lichen. Godzilla looked down at them, tall and imposing. When his eyes settled on Amara his eyes narrowed.

Baring his teeth, he inhaled. How dare they.

His heartbeat was one with hers. Racing, pounding inside her chest. He would step on them. Crush them. Destroy anything and everything until they released her.

No!

His jaw snapped shut.

They're just scared. They were expecting Hollow Godzilla. This is our only chance to show them you are not the enemy. That we are not the enemy.

I am to comply with their threat?

Warm blood trickled down her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut. Please, just show them you mean no harm. I promise they'll let me go.

You will promise no such thing—

Just do it!

When she opened her eyes, Godzilla's posture changed. His chest dropped and he bowed his head. Still, he glared at the elder who had her knife to Amara's neck.

"He's on your side!" Whyley hollered. "Let her go and he'll help you. Please!"

"Whyley's right," Ilene looked at the elders, making a hand sign. "Godzilla's not evil, he helped Kong! They're friends!"

Ever so slowly, the knife lowered from her neck.

Amara took a breath.

Godzilla's mock submissive posture truly relaxed. Get away from them.

But before she could, something hard hit the back of her legs. The sudden pain sent her down to her knees. A wrinkled hand grabbed her shoulder. Something glinted above her. The knife.

Now wielded by the old man, it was raised high in the air, ready to be plunged into the side of her neck.

It…didn't work.

Jonah's gun flashed through her mind. Pointed at her head.

Godzilla's visage blurred. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She'd escaped that time only to be back in the same position. Was this her fate? Was this how it was meant to end? Sacrificed in front of Godzilla. Dying because of her connection to him?

Whyley's screams were drowned out by Godzilla's roar ripping through the field. Dust pricked her skin like a thousand needles.

Clothing rustled behind her. The knife rose higher. A cobra preparing to strike.

She closed her eyes. Maybe this was fate. Maybe this was how it was meant to be. Even if they had made it back to the surface, it would be more of the same. Ending in yet another situation just like this.

Doomed as Godzilla's weakness.

But why? Why wasn't it over yet?

She opened her eyes. A small figure was running toward Godzilla. A child.

Jia.

Ilene was calling her name, trying to leave but being held still.

Godzilla had gone quiet looking down at the tiny girl. He knew what she was doing.

Saving them.

Jia turned back to the Iwi, waving her arms.

And then Kong leaped over the canyon wall, landing next to Godzilla.

A shockwave rocked the earth. The Iwi tumbled down. The knife fell from the elder's hand as he collapsed behind her.

Kong kneeled down to better look at Jia. He breathed deeply, out of breath. His fur was disheveled, and he was covered in cuts.

Standing back up, Kong regarded Godzilla. Both looked at each other with expressions of resentment. Slowly, Godzilla inclined his head. Kong thumped his fist across his chest where the scars of their battle were forever etched.

The twins let go of Nathan and Ilene as Jia came running back. One of the large guards who had grabbed her now picked up the knife and used it to cut the thick vine from around Amara's wrists.

She had only just stood up when she was engulfed in Whyley's arms. He pressed her against his chest so hard that she could barely hear anything above the sound of his thundering heartbeat.

"How could you do that to her?" His voice cracked. "You were going to kill her after everything she's done to protect you!"

Just beyond Whyley's chest, she could make out the figures of retreating Iwi. All of them were backing away from her and Whyley, even the elders. They interlaced their fingers in front of them in the familiar gesture they greeted Jia with.

The ground shuttered. Amara pulled away just enough to face Godzilla from Whyley's arms.

He was lowered on all fours, his head now only meters from them.

Whyley let her go but stayed by her side as she walked up to Godzilla. She leaned her forehead against his nose.

Relief flowed through her.

We owe the girl.

And Kong.

Godzilla let out a growl. The surrounding Iwi backed further away.

This is the ritual they used to try to kill The Ancient One?

It is.

And what is their fate?

Just leave them. They thought I was calling Hollow Godzilla. I should have told them the truth… but I didn't think they would try to sacrifice me.

They know our connection now.

Yes, but now we can help them with Hollow Godzilla.

I will defeat the Ancient one. How it affects them is none of my concern. His focus shifted to the temple. I feel the crystal.

Amara backed away and Godzilla got back up. She turned to lead Godzilla into the temple. Whyley wrapped an arm around her shoulders as if daring anyone to come close.

"You can tell the Iwi that Godzilla is using the radiation to get his strength back," Amara said as they passed Nathan and Ilene. "Then we're going to fight Hollow Godzilla."

Ilene nodded, the shocked expression never leaving her face.

…