Chapter 14
To Rise from The Ruins
The prime minister and his staff were safe, secured within the bunker, protected from the chaos and the destruction wrought by Godzilla's rampage, and the clash of the nuclear titans up above.
Fujeta had managed to get below, escorted by his bodyguards, just before the two monsters had started fighting. Even when the ceiling shook, even when dust and debris fell from above, the bunker's structural integrity remained stable. And yet, no one knew what the outcome would be.
No one was certain of the level of radioactivity that would resonate within the ravaged streets of Tokyo, just as no one else was sure of how the battle between Godzilla and Gamera would conclude.
Reports from outside were scarce, but everyone remained oblivious as the chaos continued. In those pressing moments, Fujeta was left to wonder what Japan's future would entail.
He was not dead. This was far from the end for him.
That explosion, it had not been the first time he'd been caught in a blast like that. Godzilla remembered that day, when he was still a lesser reptile, residing on an island in the Pacific. He remembered the flash of light, and the fiery shockwave that consumed his surroundings.
Under most circumstances, such a blast would kill a living creature, but not him. In the eons since the mass-obliteration of his kin, with the meteor strike and the volcanic eruptions, he'd continued to survive in the ocean and on land.
And the explosion had changed Godzilla. He recalled the first time he absorbed the radiation into his body, when it began to change him. And for the next many decades, he would evolve, and become stronger.
The near-immortal reptile would develop an affinity for radioactive material, and he would feed on more radiation.
Godzilla sought out more areas with radioactive fallout, wherever a nuclear bomb would explode. But the bombs weren't his only source. The humans would deploy nuclear-charged submarines, filled with enough radiation for him to consume, and the evolving dinosaur would strike with the first chance he got.
Now, he was stronger. But not strong enough perhaps.
As long as breath filled his lungs, he would consume more radiation and become more powerful, until he was strong enough to bring down that titanic fire-breathing, radioactive behemoth of a turtle. Perhaps, it was easier to play dead.
Gamera floated above, overlooking the ravaged wasteland that had been Tokyo.
Buildings had been reduced to ash, and the streets had been scorched beyond recognition. He stared down at the crater in the heart of the ruined city, where the body of Godzilla lay, and the great titan couldn't sense any life from him. Radiation still emitted from the would-be King of The Monsters, but he didn't appear to be alive.
The titanic turtle growled, and nodded his head lightly. He'd beaten another great enemy, and the world knew who was superior.
He stared at Godzilla's corpse for another long moment, then his head and arms retracted into his shell, and Gamera flew over the ruins without looking back. Soon, he was beyond the Japanese shoreline, leaving what was left of Tokyo far behind him.
People soon began to emerge from the subways and fallout shelters into the desolate city streets, taking in the sight of what remained of their homes.
Everyone had worked to rebuild after the war, after the first Godzilla attack, and they would rebuild again. And yet, the major problem was the radioactive fallout. No one knew how high the radiation was, and experts would soon arrive with their Geiger counters to examine the situation.
Emergency units began scrambling, prepared to tend to the human wreckage.
In the heart of the city, Godzilla continued to lay motionlessly in the crater, with hints of scorch marks on his body. Moments later, his dorsal plates began flashing, and the irradiated dinosaur's eyes shot open.
He climbed to his feet, standing at his full height, and Godzilla stared upon the ruins of Tokyo with a roar, "SKREEEEEOOOOOOOONK!"
The atomic reptile marched through the scorched, rubble-strewn wasteland as people took cover again, heading for the ocean, where he would find rest and regather his strength, until the prehistoric kaiju's next encounter with Gamera.
Their battle wasn't over. On the contrary, it had just begun.
The End