Chapter 35: Godzilla vs. Mothra.
Marcus and Brock returned to the USS Independence with Admiral Malek. The Archimedes fleet, along with the British and Australian navies, swept the Northern coastline of Australia in search of Godzilla and Gabara. There hadn't been any sign of either monster since their battle near Numbulwar. The city had avoided destruction, which was worth celebrating, even if it had been the intervention of Godzilla that ultimately stopped Gabara, and not the efforts of the military.
Marcus was resting inside his helicopter in the hanger of the Independence. He'd just finished a long search mission and was catching up on some sleep while mechanics were servicing his machine. Most likely, he'd be going right back out again after they'd finished their tune up and refueled the helicopter. As such, Marcus didn't see much point in going all the way to his bunk. Admiral Malek was obsessed with reacquiring contact with the monsters. Patrols were running twenty-four seven. As Marcus rested there, Brock came up and shook his seat firmly, giving him a very rude awakening.
"Blast damn it Brock!" Marcus flashed him an irritated glare, jolting back into reality. "I was having a nice dream, now I can't remember what it was."
"If I had to guess, it was probably about your wife." Brock smirked at Marcus, ignoring his superior officer's irritation. He wasn't worried about retaliation. Aside from the usual obvious reasons that Brock wasn't concerned about Marcus' wrath, he had a particular ace up his sleeve on this occasion. "I have some news I'm sure is going to interest you boss." He remarked.
"Oh yeah…?" Marcus grimaced, unimpressed. "And it couldn't wait for me to be conscious?"
"I didn't think you'd want me to wait that long." Brock replied. "Word came in from Japan while you were still out on patrol. Some company is building a giant incubator to house that Mothra egg they found. They're using the same design specifications Dr. Jacquier used over in France."
"You think they mean to hatch it?" Marcus asked, his tone changed almost immediately. Brock was correct, he was indeed very interested.
"Not sure." Brock answered obtusely. "Information is still sketchy. All we know for sure at this point is that they are building it. Rumor is, there is a lot of debate about who has true ownership of the egg." He went on.
"Weird that the Japanese Government hasn't stepped in to take charge." Marcus observed.
"Haven't they learned anything from what happened in France?" Brock asked annoyed. "If they were smart, they'd set that egg adrift on the ocean as soon as possible, and then forget about it."
"That might be in their best interest, but as for me personally, I hope they don't do anything so rash." Marcus replied.
"Ha, I knew it!" Brock smirked. "I figured you'd be itching to get back there and take a look at it yourself. I can hear it in your voice."
"Guilty…" Marcus admitted. There was no point in denying it. "Only trouble is, I have no idea how I'm going to get there. Our forces seem kind of committed here at the moment."
…
After an hour of thinking it over, Marcus saw little other alternative. He decided the best thing to do was go to Admiral Malek himself to ask his permission to go to Japan as a representative of the Archimedes Organization. He would present the request as a mission to investigate what the Japanese were planning to do with the egg. It just so happened that his personal and professional interests aligned nicely in this regard.
Marcus went to the bridge and didn't find Admiral Malek there, so he went to his office next. Upon knocking and entering, Marcus didn't find Malek there either. Marcus decided to wait for him in the office, thinking the Admiral might have gone down to the mess hall. Most given days, Malek would bring his meals back to his office so he could work while he ate. Marcus sat down in the chair in front of his desk, telling himself that he'd give Malek about ten minutes to come back before he moved on.
As Marcus was sitting there, he couldn't help but see a file sitting on Malek's desk. It read: 'Sollgel Island Intelligence Report'.Marcus tried to ignore the dossier, tapping the arm of his chair with his finger, thinking of a song to pass the time. Whatever the folder contained, it was none of his business.
As the minutes rolled by, and Marcus continued to have nothing to do, the temptation to see what was inside of the file was building. His old high school penchant for mischief started to resurface. Finally, Marcus couldn't resist any longer and decided to have a peak. Malek was usually up to no good, and something told him this was no different. If he and the rest of the sailors on the Independence were going to be caught up in another dangerous operation, like the Matango fiasco, he'd like to know something about it ahead of time.
Marcus looked into the hallway through the door that he'd left cracked open, peering outside to ensure that no one was in the corridor. When he was satisfied that there wasn't, he stepped back inside, leaving the door ajar so he could hear anyone coming in advance. Marcus then turned his attention to the file, opening it and reading through the first page. The wordespionagequickly jumped out at him. Malek was up to something.
Marcus read on, until it became perfectly clear that Admiral Malek had an inside man on the Weather Control Team on Sollgel Island, wherever that was. This person was apparently keeping a close eye on the weather experiments that were taking place there and passing along the information to Malek. Marcus saw a handwritten note that Admiral Malek had placed inside the dossier. It said that he saw a lot of potential in the weather control system as a weapon against monsters like Godzilla. The reportcorrectlyobserved that extreme cold was a possible weakness of the King of the Monsters. It might be a vulnerability they could exploit.
Marcus wasn't so certain. The iceberg they had buried Godzilla inside had indeed slowed him down, but it hadn't stopped him for good. None the less, the report theorized that if they could reduce the temperature low enough, it could prove lethal to Godzilla. The weather control system described in the report was theoretically able to drop the temperature far lower than mother nature was capable of doing on her own.
The second page in the file went on to say that if they couldn't induce lethal levels of cold, then they could hypothetically force Godzilla into hibernation with the weapon, or at the very least, deter him from going to places by blocking his path with inhospitable weather. Godzilla was seen to retreat South out of Russia as the winter was approaching.
Marcus was impressed. What he was reading sounded reasonable and feasible. But there was one major problem: This wasn't an Archimedes Organization project. It was being developed through an entirely different United Nations program. If it was discovered that the Archimedes Organization had infiltrated a civilian project, and were spying, it would make them look very bad in the eyes of the world. But it seemed like Malek wasn't concerned about that. He just wanted another weapon at his disposal, even if it meant perverting a peaceful scientific project meant for agriculture.
Marcus hated to admit it, but in this particular case, he was torn over the ethical dilemma involved. Part of him agreed with the idea of trying to use this weather control system to fight Godzilla. It was a far better idea than some of the alternatives Admiral Malek had been exploring.
Marcus read on, trying to find the name of the spy embedded in the U.N.A.C. Just as he thought he was on to something, he heard footsteps coming down the metal corridor. Marcus quickly closed the file and put it neatly back on the desk just the way he'd found it and then took his seat. A moment later, Admiral Malek walked in carrying a cup of coffee.
…
On Sollgel Island, Maki and Raeko made it back to the cave, but only a fraction of the men from the march had survived to join them. The Kamacuras had seen to it that only about twenty-five members of the original science team lived through the night. Fortunately, Dr. Kusumi was among them. The group was going to need his leadership if they were going to endure long enough for a rescue team to arrive.
With Maki and Raeko's assistance, Dr. Kusumi patched up Fuji's leg. The break was displaced and required resetting. Kusumi pumped Fuji full of morphine and antibiotics ahead of the procedure. With a lot of force, and an unpleasant crackle, it was done. Fuji struggled and cried out, despite the medication. Maki held his hand to support him the only way he could. After a minute, Fuji settled down enough for them to apply a splint. They let him rest from there. He was going to have a rough night, but in time, he would make a full recovery.
With that done, Professor Kusumi got to work on the radio, if only to keep his mind off of all the men they'd lost. Fuji was really the technical guy. Once he was feeling well enough, he'd have to be the one to try to get it working again. In the meantime, Kusumi put Raeko and Maki in charge of recovering whatever materials they'd lost during the night. Many of the men who hadn't made it to the caves were carrying supplies that would be useful to their newly established operation, including food stores. Even with only around twenty men to feed, what resources had made it through the journey weren't going to last long enough with so many mouths to feed.
Most of the other survivors recognized how urgent that issue was and were quick to volunteer to go out to forage along with Maki and Raeko. The one exception was Furukawa. He refused to move from his spot in the cave. He was curled up in a dark corner in a fetal position, unwilling to do anything useful. Some of the surviving security officers decided that they should stay behind and keep an eye on him. There was no telling what he might do if left to his own devices.
The rest of the men got organized and set out to gather any resources they could. The highest-ranked security officer left alive elected to take a few men back to the trail. It was considered the most dangerous assignment, but he wouldn't have it any other way. He was an honorable sort of man and would not let others do what he wasn't willing to do himself.
Raeko and Maki, along with a few others, were assigned to areas of the jungle where Raeko frequently gathered fruits. It was only natural, since she knew the lay of the land so well. It was still considered dangerous, but less so than the trail. The luckiest group of men were assigned to fishing in the ocean and gathering anything else they could find along the shoreline like crabs and coconuts.
…
Once they were out in the jungle, Maki and Raeko could see the changes that Dr. Kusumi had warned them about. The trees were noticeably bigger than they'd been before, perhaps as much as a third larger. Even the underbrush was overgrown and unruly compared to before. There were plants growing amongst the shrubs that Raeko had never seen before in all of her time living on the island. In particular, she saw enormous pods with spiky vines that were very out of place. She had a bad feeling about the unusual flora and ensured that the men stayed well clear of them.
The group eventually came upon the fruit-bearing trees that Raeko frequently visited. They too had undergone a change, enlarging considerably. However, this benefited the party. For the fruits had grown in size right along with the rest of the tree. The only trouble was, they were now out of reach. Before, Raeko could have easily walked right up and cut one loose with her knife without much effort. Now she'd have to climb up the trunk to get at them.
It took Raeko a moment, but once she was at the top, she got to work cutting the fruit loose one at a time. Maki positioned himself below so he could prevent them from hitting the ground and splattering on impact. Other members of the party spread out and followed their example. Eventually, there was a pile of fruit big enough to fill each sack they'd brought with them.
With the job done, Raeko began her descent. As she climbed down, her foot slipped, and she fell. Raeko's landing was soft enough. She managed to avoid the outcropping of roots from the tree. She didn't sustain any injuries, but she found herself entangled in some vines next to one of the strange pods. Raeko carefully tried to free herself, but the vines refused to let her go. Raeko reached for her knife to cut herself loose, but she had lost it during the fall. The knife was sticking into the ground blade down just a few feet out of reach.
As Raeko fought, the pod split in half and opened up wide, revealing its true nature. It was a carnivorous plant. The outer edges of its mouth were filled with what appeared to be teeth. To Raeko's horror, the vines started to move, pulling her towards the open maw of the pod. The vines were surprisingly strong, and the thorns dug into her leg keeping a tight hold. Raeko knew she was in real trouble.
Help was close at hand though. Maki sprang into action, taking up Raeko's knife and hacking away at the vines. A few sharp chops later, Raeko was free. The damaged vines recoiled, oozing out green sap. They retreated towards the pod, which closed back up again. Maki and Raeko just stared at it in shock. Raeko was bleeding from the thorn puncture wounds on her leg. Fortunately for them, Maki still had some supplies on him from Fuji's procedure. He used some alcohol prep pads to clean Raeko's wounds and then began to wrap up her ankle.
The alcohol stung as Maki applied the pads, but Raeko didn't complain. She knew it was for the best. They couldn't risk an infection out in the jungle. Maki would see to it that she got a round of antibiotics when they got back to camp, just to be sure. As he finished wrapping her ankle, Maki looked up to see Raeko staring at him. Their eyes met and they just gazed at one another for a moment. An unspoken feeling passed between them.
"Thank you." Raeko finally said. Maki smiled and then stood up.
"Okay, let's see if you can put any weight on it." Maki suggested. Raeko got to her feet and had no issues. Luckily, the punctures weren't very deep. The damage turned out to be mostly superficial.
Maki and Raeko's private moment was broken up by the buzzing sound of a large insect. For a second, Maki feared the worst, but as it turned out, it wasn't one of the Kamacuras. Instead, he saw a beetle about the size of a German Shepard fly by. It landed near one of the pods. Regrettably for the beetle, the vines ensnared it and dragged the bug inside one of the waiting pods. It was fascinating, though a little disturbing to watch. It was a small example of Sollgel Island's new ecosystem at work. Overhead, an enormous hornet, half the size of the Kamacuras, flew over the jungle canopy, alarming everyone in the party.
"Come back with me to Japan Raeko, this isn't the island you grew up on anymore." Maki observed solemnly as the huge insect disappeared into the distance.
…
An hour later, Maki and Raeko returned to the safety of the cave with their bounty. Aside from some minor injuries, their group hadn't taken any casualties. The foraging party that had gone to the trail wasn't as lucky. Several of their men didn't make it back. The research team was down to around seventeen members now. Going back to the trail again for any reason was out of the question. They'd have to rely on whatever they could take from the sea and the surrounding area.
If there was a silver lining to the loss of men, it was only that there would be less men to feed and more living space in the cave for the other survivors going forward. Still, the hit to morale was pretty bad. All of the men knew one another well. Every casualty was felt. Dr. Kusumi was still fiddling around with the radio, but he hadn't made any significant progress towards fixing it.
Everyone started to settle in for the night, making do with what they had. Raeko and Maki decided to eat before turning in. They'd worked up an appetite during their jungle misadventure. While sitting at the table, Maki noticed a statue sitting in the corner of the room that he hadn't seen before. It was an intricate carving of a spider. Raeko saw him looking at it and turned to see it for herself.
"So, I suppose that's the Spider-God who lived on the next island over, right?" Maki inquired.
"No…" Raeko began. "He lived on this one."
"I thought you said the other day, that the temple was over there?" Maki asked confused.
"I did." Raeko agreed. "The natives wouldn't live on the same island as the Spider-God. They feared his hunger too much. Occasionally, they would send sacrifices over here, marooning them to appease his appetite."
"Oh… well, that's comforting." Maki scoffed. "You've never seen anything like that before, right?"
"No, just the Kamacuras." Raeko answered.
"Good…" Maki sighed in relief.
"But my father said he did once." Raeko went on. "He called it Spiga. Said that the monster wakes up once in a while to feed, usually on the Kamacuras. There is a barren valley nearby where my father said it sleeps. He told me never to go there. I've been avoiding it ever since. I never knew for sure if my father was serious, or if all of that was just a story he made up to scare me into behaving. But he said that if the monster were to be disturbed, he might rise up again."
…
Marcus found himself wandering down a long passageway inside of a huge stone temple. He could hear music radiating from down the corridor. He could make out voices but couldn't quite understand the words. He followed the alluring melody further inside. As Marcus came closer to the source of the sound, he realized that the song was familiar. It was becoming louder and clearer as he went. He was certain that he had heard it somewhere before.
Marcus eventually found his way into a huge open chamber. The music was echoing throughout the space, although he couldn't locate the source of it. There were no singers to be found in the room, though the melody was unmistakably the work of at least two vocalists. Natural light was pouring into the chamber from numerous openings near the top of the domed stone roof. The room was shadowy, but Marcus could still easily make out everything in the space around him. The halls of the temple were covered with writing that Marcus couldn't read, as well as crude images that had been etched into the walls and painted over. Marcus soon realized that the whole thing was some sort of mural. There were worn out traces of people and animals. They must have been there a very long time. The paint was quite faded.
One iconic image stood out from the rest and Marcus recognized it for what it was right away. Dead center in the mural, positioned high above the rest of the figures, was a visage of Mothra. Her brilliant wings were spread out majestically across the carving, dominating the work. Marcus stood there admiring it for a moment before moving on. As Marcus continued to scan the area, he couldn't help but feel like he'd been there before. He could see a stone slab which served as an altar. There were glyphs carved into it. Marcus approached the slab and took a close look at it. Suddenly it hit him, he'd seen this very altar before in a dream.
Marcus' attention shifted to the sound of the music again. He could tell the source of it was nearby. It was coming from somewhere behind the altar. Marcus walked up the few stairs in front of the platform and made his way around it. Once there, he could see a pair of statues near the back wall of the temple. They were life-sized sculptures of two young women. They had the appearance of priestesses, with elaborate flowing gowns and ornate headdresses. Their craftsmen had some profound skills. They almost looked alive. Each of the sculptures mirrored the other, posed in a kneeling position, as if they were offering prayers. Both statues were holding out a hand in front of them. Their hands came together in the middle, each with their palms up, as though they were presenting something to anyone who stood in front of them.
As Marcus drew nearer, he could see that there was something in each of the statue's hands. In the middle of their palms, he saw two faint lights, resembling burning embers. As Marcus came even closer, the cinders burnt a little brighter, flickering into twin flames. It didn't stop there. Before long, each statue was holding a solid pillar of light. Marcus realized what he was seeing was not fire at all. Instead, he was witnessing strands of pure yellow energy, almost as if they were radiant beams from the sun itself. And they moved as though they were alive.
Marcus' pupils grew wide. He got the urge to reach out and try to touch one of the shafts of light. He stopped himself short though. The twin energies started to change shape before his very eyes, forming themselves into what appeared to be tiny female figures. Their bodies were abstract and lacked distinguishing features, but they still undoubtedly resembled young women. They were avatars of radiant energy, ancient and primordial beings. Marcus knelt down close to get a better look at the spirits. From a few inches away, he could make out eyes. An incredible sensation tingled from the depths of his inner mind to the very tip of his fingers.
'Return the egg.'Marcus heard a voice in his head.
Suddenly, Marcus jerked forward. He opened his eyes alarmed and confused. Around him, there were rows of seats. Beside him, Ling was sitting in a cushioned chair. Marcus realized that he was on an airplane. The jolt of the tires hitting the runway as they landed had woken him up. Marcus must have had quite the expression on his face because Ling was staring at him funny.
"We're here…" Ling finally said. "You were having some dream, huh?"
Finally, it all rushed back to Marcus. Admiral Malek had agreed to his proposal to go to Japan. He regarded Marcus as an ideal candidate to investigate the egg because he knew he'd take the assignment seriously and would work diligently towards that goal. Malek sent Ling with Marcus on the mission because his Japanese wasn't nearly good enough to get by on his own. Brock, however, was ordered to remain behind with the fleet. He wasn't the best man to send on a diplomatic assignment. His colorful personality simply wasn't suited for that type of work.
Marcus' mandate was simple: Fly out ahead to investigate the egg, gather all information possible and the fleet would follow soon after. The probe into Gabara and Godzilla's disappearance wasn't proving fruitful. An unhatched Mothra egg, however, just might be worth their attention.
After the landing, Marcus was slow getting off the plane. He was having a hard time shaking off the visions. As he and Ling entered the terminal, they found a familiar face waiting for them. It was Akira. The Japanese Government had chosen him as a military liaison to represent them. Given Marcus and Akira's shared history, he was an obvious choice. He warmly greeted Marcus and then escorted them to their hotel. A short drive later, they were pulling up to it. Marcus could see that the Japanese had spared no expense, it was a ritzy joint. It made him feel like a real VIP. They were treating Marcus like a bonafide foreign dignitary. Ling on the other hand wasn't very impressed. In fact, he'd been very quiet for the most part since they arrived in Japan. Akira knew some English, so his services weren't yet required.
After settling in, Marcus and Akira met in the hotel lounge for drinks and to catch up. Ling elected to sit it out. He told Marcus that he intended to stay in his room and not come back out unless he was needed for official duties. Marcus just shrugged and respected Ling's wishes. Clearly, his animosity towards the Japanese hadn't died down quite yet. Once in the lounge, Marcus and Akira traded stories. Akira had married Kiki and the two of them had a twin boy and girl. Kiki had co-founded an ESP Institute for people like herself with extraordinary gifts. The Japanese Government was sponsoring the Institute. They had a vested interest in developing the skills of the students there.
With the pleasantries out of the way, Akira got to work bringing Marcus up to speed on what was going on with the Mothra egg. The egg had been brought to shore by a group of fishermen who sensed an opportunity to make some money. They were right. Within days, the fishermen had struck a deal with a local businessman with a disreputable reputation amongst the community. His name was Mr. Kumayama. Akira slid a picture across the table for Marcus to look at. The man in the photo certainly looked like a sleazeball. He had what Brock would refer to as a verypunchableface. Mr. Kumayama was sporting one of those tiny ugly mustaches that Hitler made popular. The dislike was instant for Marcus.
Akira explained that Mr. Kumayama represented a corporation called Happy Enterprises. Apparently, they were planning to build a theme park around the Mothra egg, using it as the main attraction. It seemed like a very bad idea to Marcus for several reasons, but the construction was already well underway by that point. The casing for the egg had, in fact, just been completed the day before.
Akira continued, informing Marcus that the Japanese Government was planning to undercut Mr. Kumayama, but he had the backing of a shady, yet influential, character named Jiro Torahara. He was a rich powerbroker with lots of political connections. Jiro was using his network of associates to slow down the process of handing over the egg to the proper authorities. He had gone as far as to bring a lawsuit, under Kumayama's name, to block the immediate transfer of the egg. Fighting the Government in the courts would slow things down, but it was really just a matter of time before they'd be strong-armed into relenting. What Jiro was doing was a delaying tactic at best.
There were other people trying to persuade Happy Enterprises to give up their hold on the egg. A scientist by the name of Miura wanted to study the egg, but he couldn't persuade Mr. Kumayama to give him access. Akira presented Marcus with some notes he had acquired from Professor Miura. The information in the report was very limited, but the professor did note some striking similarities between the Japanese egg and the egg found in French waters years earlier, though Miura observed that there were some distinguishing variations in the egg's color. Otherwise, the proportions and markings were nearly identical.
Besides Professor Miura, there was a local newspaper that had put out several scathing articles about Happy Enterprises. Mainly, it was two members of their news team who were behind it. A reporter named Ichiro Saki, and a photographer named Junko Nakanishi. They had taken it upon themselves to launch a public crusade against Mr. Kumayama and Happy Enterprises. They'd managed to garner a good deal of popular support, but they hadn't landed a significant blow to the corporation yet. Marcus told Akira that he'd like to meet Professor Miura, Saki, and Junko to see what information he could get directly from them.
Over the next couple of days, Marcus and Akira traveled to Shizunoura and made arrangements to interview everyone relevant to the case. Professor Miura, Mr. Saki and Mrs. Junko all happened to be conveniently gathered at the same place when Marcus arrived. Marcus discovered something astonishing while questioning them. It seemed that each of them had a dream very similar to what he'd experienced. They all described having visions of twin fairies or creatures of light which compelled them to get involved with the egg.
Marcus started to sweat as he realized what it meant. The things he'd seen in his dream were not a dream at all. It couldn't be a coincidence that four separate individuals all saw the same thing. The vision had to be real. Marcus knew the next step in his mission was to confront Mr. Kumayama and Jiro.
…
On a beach near the suburbs of Nagoya, a small Japanese boy was building a sandcastle. He had made the outer wall, the keep, and was nearly finished adding towers on top. His mother was nearby, sitting under a parasol reading a book. She enjoyed the view looking out over the water, but she was the cautious type and wouldn't allow her son to play in the bay. Off in the near distance, there was a large industrial complex. She was concerned that oil and chemical runoff might contaminate the water.
A series of rumblings distracted the woman from her book. She looked up to see where the noise was coming from. She assumed it was simply machinery operating from inside of the industrial zone. Perhaps they were erecting a new building and using a pile-driver to hammer steel rods into the ground. She didn't see anything like that though, so she went back to reading.
A moment later, her son cried out angrily and the woman sat up in her chair to see what was the matter. It turned out that the boy's sandcastle had crumbled right before his eyes. Strong vibrations resonating from the tremors had shaken it apart. The woman could feel the quaking in the frame of her folding chair as well. She realized that something was very wrong.
Out in the ocean, a huge column of water erupted and churned. The sea roiled with white foam until three rows of spikey dorsal plates rose out of the water. Godzilla breached to the surface, roaring. The woman's heart nearly stopped. She acted almost on instinct alone, snatching up her son and carrying him to their car in terror. An air raid siren started to sound off in the distance, adding to the anxiety and tension. Godzilla paid no mind to the woman and child though. Instead, he turned and began walking towards the industrial zone.
It took no time at all for Godzilla to reach the coastline. He soon found himself walking amongst rows of oil storage tanks. In front of him lay several factories with tall smokestacks sticking out of them and a large oil refinery complex. Godzilla mostly ignored his surroundings and just kept moving forward. For a time, he only inflicted damage to things that were directly in his path, simply trampling over them. Godzilla did however manage to sever the main oil pipeline, which spilled hundreds of gallons of crude throughout the complex.
Perhaps it was the smell of the oil, but Godzilla suddenly got the impulse to cause destruction. He turned sharply, allowing his tail to collide with one of the main refinery hubs, knocking over the silver tower and igniting a blaze. Godzilla then unleashed his atomic breath onto a factory in front of him. The oil at his feet caught fire from both directions, causing the whole area to erupt into a firestorm. Godzilla just walked on, unbothered by the flames.
Local firefighters quickly responded to the emergency, their long red trucks rushing out of the station with men clinging onto the sides, but the situation was already far beyond what they could control. The best they could hope to do was contain the flames and prevent the fires from spreading further into the oil storage units.
Godzilla meanwhile was moving onwards towards Nagoya. In the city, alarms were already sounding. A newsman was broadcasting over the emergency loudspeakers, warning everybody of the monster's approach. He urged all citizens to evacuate as quickly as possible.
In less than a half hour, Godzilla was strolling into the streets of Nagoya unopposed. Despite the warning, there were still plenty of people in the city fleeing before him in a panic. Perhaps it was a good thing there wasn't a military presence in Nagoya to challenge him. Godzilla seemed content just to walk through the metropolis. If he were to become agitated and start using his atomic breath, there was a lot of potential damage he could inflict on the city and its people.
Godzilla's path took him right by Nagoya Tower. He passed it harmlessly enough, but his tail twitched just the wrong way, and it got caught up in one of the legs of the tower. As Godzilla noticed his entanglement, he pulled hard to free himself. In doing so, he swept away one of the main support pillars, causing the tower to collapse towards him like a massive falling tree. The metal framework collided with Godzilla's shoulder, pushing him forward and angering him. The King of the Monsters shoved the tower off of him and then turned around to smash it, as though it had willfully attacked him. The distraction gave people ahead of Godzilla more time to get away, but it cost the city one of its most recognizable attractions.
Once Godzilla was satisfied that the tower had been thoroughly defeated, he resumed his trek across town. The next landmark he came across was Nagoya Castle. Unfortunately, Godzilla wasn't minding his footing as he approached it. He stepped into the deep moat surrounding the fortress and fell forward into the castle. Godzilla clipped into the side of the building, stripping away a large section of the roof with his forearm. Again, Godzilla seemed to take umbrage with the building itself and used his claws to smash the majority of the structure down into ruins. Just like that, another priceless piece of Japanese heritage was lost forever.
…
In Shizunoura, Marcus and Akira were not yet aware of Godzilla's landing in Nagoya. They were proceeding as planned to Happy Enterprise's theme park. They'd been joined by Professor Miura, Saki, and Junko. Marcus made sure to wear his formal black Archimedes uniform. It made him look more formidable, which was exactly what he was banking on. His plan was to intimidate Mr. Kumayama and Jiro into yielding to his demands. Marcus even put on his aviator sunglasses to enhance his look of authority. If he had Brock along, the charade wouldn't be necessary, but he'd just have to make do in the big man's absence.
Akira's credentials as a member of the Japanese armed forces was enough to persuade the guards patrolling the facility's exterior to let them into the headquarters building to speak with the management. As they entered the main office, Marcus saw something that would've made him grin widely if he was willing to break character. Jiro wasn't present, only Mr. Kumayama was. Kumayama was far less sure of himself in the face of adversity. The plan could work if Marcus put on a good performance.
Focusing on what he had to do, Marcus marched right up to Kumayama's desk and stood directly in front of him, glowering down at the businessman. In his menacing uniform, Marcus did his best impression of a stern hard-assed officer, making demands in English which Mr. Kumayama couldn't possibly understand. The tone alone was enough to frighten Kumayama though. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck, confused and unsure what to do. Marcus just glared at him through his sunglasses, towering over the Happy Enterprises president as he sat in his chair, waiting for a response. Kumayama was already on the back foot, visibly uncomfortable with the situation.
At that point, Ling stepped forward and translated Marcus' request. Ling made it clear that Marcus' wish, as a representative of the Archimedes Organization, was to closely inspect the Mothra egg. Kumayama's first instinct was to say no. Upon hearing his response translated, Marcus thundered and growled, as though he was Brock himself. He spit, cursed, and made threats, gesturing with a pointing finger. Mr. Kumayama was so frightened that he almost fell out of his chair, and that was before Ling even translated what Marcus actually said.
Marcus' threats centered around the idea that there was a large fleet of Archimedes warships on their way to Japan, and if Kumayama denied him entry to the hatchery, there would be hundreds of angry marines beating down his door looking for answers within days. It was a bluff, but Kumayama swallowed the story whole. Under Admiral Malek, the Archimedes Organization had garnered a certain unsavory reputation. Marcus let his jacket slide open, revealing a service revolver sitting on his hip. At the same time, Marcus noted that the Archimedes Organization had authority over anything related to Kaiju, including the egg Kumayama had bought. In that, Marcus actually had a legitimate point. The Japanese Government had agreed to such a stipulation with the U.N.
At that moment, Akira stepped in as a IJN officer to protest an American overstepping his boundaries on Japanese soil, but as per the script, he allowed Marcus to shout him down, pointing out the folly of his argument which violated international treaties. With what seemed to be his sole defender backing down, Mr. Kumayama was sweating profusely. Finally losing his nerve, Kumayama capitulated. He agreed to allow Marcus and his entourage full and free access to the Mothra egg. He scrambled to find the correct key that would open the doors to the incubation housing.
Marcus seized the key forcefully as soon as he saw it and thanked Kumayama for his cooperation. He then turned and left the office like a successful conqueror. His gambit paid off, his victory secured, Marcus could now enjoy the spoils. He was quite eager to get a close up look at the egg. As he came out of the office, Professor Miura, Saki, and Junko all looked astonished that he had pulled it off.
Mr. Kumayama sent one of his men to supervise Marcus and his entourage. The chairman then left Happy Enterprises Headquarters, no doubt to go meet with his partner Jiro. Kumayama's man guided the group through a tunnel which took them directly from the HQ building to the egg chamber. In the tunnel, it was dark and cool. Overhead lights dotted the walkway. The whole facility was still under construction, and it showed. Kumayama's man was acting like a tour guide, telling them about the park and what it was going to be like once it opened. Ling translated so Marcus could understand him, but Kumayama's man abruptly stopped talking.
"I'm curious, why would an American choose to bring a Chinese dog into our midst?" The man asked Ling vulgarly.
Apparently, he must have put together Ling's background. Ling usually spoke with very few flaws, so how he'd given himself away was a mystery. Marcus didn't understand what was going on, but it was obvious something was wrong. Ling and Kumayama's man stopped walking and just stared at each other. It felt as though a fight was about to break out. The tension was palpable.
"The war is over!" Akira said sharply, coming up and striking Kumayama's man hard in the face with an open hand. The sound of the slap echoed throughout the tunnel. "These people are our guests!" He scolded furiously. Akira's red handprint was already plain to see on the cheek of Kumayama's man. There were tears in his eyes and the rest of his face was quickly catching up with the handprint. Akira was prepared to go further if the man tried to retaliate. "They are to be treated with respect, apologize!" He demanded angrily.
"I take it back…" Kumayama's man grumbled, relenting. He apparently didn't see any advantage starting a brawl in the tunnels without any backup. Akira was satisfied and they moved on from there.
After a short walk, the group finally came to the final door between themselves and the egg. Kumayama's man unlocked the entrance and opened it wide for the party to enter. Light poured into the dark tunnel. It took a moment for all of their eyes to adjust. One by one, each member of the group stepped inside. Marcus immediately stopped in his tracks when he set eyes upon what lay within. It both shocked and baffled him. It just wasn't what he was expecting to see.
"That's not a Mothra egg..." Marcus said ominously. Everyone gathered around to see for themselves.
The object which sat before the group had all of the same markings and patterns as a Mothra egg, and it was roughly the same size, but the colors were completely wrong. The base color of the egg was red instead of blue, the stripes running along the length of it were black, not yellow, and the small speckles of color found throughout were yellow, not white. Whatever was concealed inside the egg, it wasn't a Mothra Larva.
"What does it mean?" Junko asked.
"I'm not sure." Marcus replied. He could feel something in his bones. The sensation was much like his experience in France with the Mothra egg, but it was somehow very different. Much darker… "I think Happy Enterprises made a big mistake bringing this egg here."
"What is that?" Professor Miura asked from the back of the group, raising his arm, and pointing a finger. Everyone's attention shifted to the base of the red and black egg, where a strange mechanism had been planted on it.
"Is that part of the heat regulation system?" Marcus turned, asking Kumayama's man. He shook his head no. Marcus had a bad feeling about the device. Upon closer inspection, he found that it had writing on it, but it was written in a language that he didn't understand. "Ling, can you tell what this says? Ling came up close and studied it for a moment.
"It's not any language I've ever seen before." He answered.
"Really…?" Marcus frowned, finding that very hard to believe considering just how well-versed Ling was in linguistics. Then he noticed something else that was even more troubling. The device had several dials that were moving. On them, there were more letters, or numbers, that he couldn't understand. However, the symbols appeared to be diminishing, as though they were counting down. Marcus finally had a terrible moment of clarity. It was a bomb! "EVERYBODY GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Marcus barked.
His shouting took everyone by surprise, and after a second of getting over the sudden jolt, everyone else began to understand the situation and ran out through the tunnel. Marcus remained behind. He was determined not to abandon the egg. He had no idea how to disarm the device though and wasn't even going to try. Instead, he looked around for a place to dispose of the explosive.
Marcus ran to the side of the plastic casing of the incubator, trying to break through and make a hole to throw the bomb onto the other side. Despite his efforts, the hard thick plastic refused to budge. Marcus started to panic, realizing that his time was running short. At that crucial moment, he saw a potential solution. Nearby, was one of the large air vents that was meant to pump warm air into the egg chamber. The conduit attached to it slanted down a steep slope that led away from the hatchery.
Marcus got to work, prying off the metal cover of the vent and using his legs to beat a bend into one of the fan blades inside. Luckily for him, the system was not in operation. After a few more hard kicks, Marcus had made a gap large enough for the device to pass through. He scrambled back towards the egg with haste.
Unbeknownst to Marcus, he was being watched by a hooded figure outside of the incubation chamber. In the hills above, they were following his every movement through the scope of an advanced sniper rifle. The hooded figure fingered the trigger when Marcus stopped to pull the mechanism from the egg. It was a perfect shot, and yet, they hesitated.
Back inside of the chamber, Marcus was sweating bullets as he carefully pulled on the bomb. He couldn't know if it had an anti-tampering device built in. He might accidentally set it off by mistake by detaching it, or by tilting it one way or the other too far. The bomb came free without incident. Marcus quickly and carefully rushed it towards the vent. The sniper's crosshairs followed him all the way. Marcus held his breath and then flung the bomb into the duct. It clanged against the metal walls as it slid down the pipe. It didn't instantly go off. Marcus had caught a break. He took in a huge breath of relief.
Marcus realized that he wasn't out of danger though. The pipeline flattened out about a hundred and fifty yards down the track. That was where the bomb was going to explode. When that happened, it was going to send a fireball and shrapnel right back up the line towards him. It was very much in his best interest to get away from the end of the pipe before that happened. Marcus turned and got about seven paces away from the vent before the bomb at last detonated. The force of the blast did indeed in part funnel back up the tunnel and knocked Marcus to the ground.
Fortunately, the vast majority of the concussive force of the explosion burst through the sides of the thin metal pipe. An enormous fireball erupted through the middle of Happy Enterprise's theme park. Several buildings immediately caught fire. The blast definitely would have destroyed the egg if it had gone off inside, but the fire that now rained down couldn't get through the plastic casing of the hatchery. The egg was perfectly safe, thanks to Marcus.
The sniper on the hill was still watching Marcus, waiting to see if he was going to get up or not. Slowly but surely, he did get to his feet and dusted himself off. Once the hooded figure saw that, they turned and shouldered their weapon. They wouldn't be killing Marcus this day. His display of valor and selflessness had impressed them, even though the end result had ultimately ruined their mission. The wind picked up, blowing back the sniper's robes. It revealed them to be the masked woman from Kushiro who'd beaten up two Japanese officers and kicked Marcus in the face.
Inside the egg chamber, Marcus stood there trying to calm down. There were only three questions in his mind: What was inside the egg? Who had tried to blow it up? And why?
…
Since Godzilla's arrival in Japan, he'd been making his way Southeast along the coast towards Shizunoura. The Japanese military was quick to get organized but slow to concentrate their forces. They wanted to focus on one big effort instead of multiple anemic attacks. Thus, Godzilla had so far marched through Japan entirely unchecked. However, the Archimedes fleet had arrived between Godzilla and his perceived objective. Admiral Malek was planning to use the newest anti-kaiju weapon against Godzilla, Frontier Missiles. The system had the largest non-nuclear warheads ever developed. They were dual purposed. In more conventional military conflicts, they were built to be armor-piercing battleship killers.
Considering the immense power of the missiles, the Japanese Army employed tanks to lure Godzilla to an uninhabited section of the coast were they could avoid causing too much collateral damage to civilians or infrastructure. There, the Archimedes fleet was waiting for the King of the Monsters out in the ocean. Admiral Malek and Brock were watching Godzilla through binoculars just as he set foot on the beach. A delegation of Japanese naval officers were also present to witness the assault firsthand.
"Begin the attack." Admiral Malek commanded, and the fleet quickly went into action.
From the decks of the Archimedes cruisers, Frontier Missiles began to launch from their racks. One by one, they flew forward through the air until the whole area was filled with smoke trails left behind in their wake. The high-pitched shriek of the rocket engines announced their proximity to Godzilla just before their arrival. The first missile screamed in, pounding down at Godzilla's feet. It exploded, kicking up a tremendous amount of sand and smoke. It left a crater seventy-five meters wide and twenty deep. More and more missiles found their mark in a cascade of explosions around Godzilla.
Through the smoke and soot of the first barrage, Godzilla could be seen falling to the ground. It looked as though the attack was having an effect. The second assault was launched and hammered down on the fallen King of the Monsters. Unfortunately, the fleet was already starting to run low on missiles. The ordinance was so heavy and bulky that each ship could only afford to carry a couple volleys worth. They'd only be able to sustain the attack for a little while longer. Nothing on earth was meant to tank so much punishment.
After a few more launches, the ammo was finally spent. The results were unclear. The coastline was obscured by curtains of smoke and debris. The beach had certainly been blown to bits. The sand was scarred and pockmarked with huge craters from the bombardment. It resembled the surface of the moon, lonely and lifeless. However, a shadow soon arose from the carnage. It was Godzilla. He got to his feet and roared in defiance. The attack had failed.
Though disappointed, Admiral Malek was wise enough to have foreseen the outcome and had several flights of Phantoms waiting on standby to cause a diversion while the fleet withdrew from the coast. The fighters hit Godzilla from inland, drawing his attention away from the surface ships.
…
While the Naval assault in the morning had failed, the Imperial Japanese Army had not given up the fight so easily. They'd been in the process of throwing together a last-ditch effort to kill or repel Godzilla. In the fields ahead of the King of the Monsters, were long rows of electrical towers. Several of them had been specially modified to discharge powerful bolts of electricity.
By the afternoon, the IJA's opening moves had begun, and they were much like the last operation. The Japanese again planned to lure Godzilla into the designated operational area by using tanks as bait. The units were waiting for Godzilla in an open field, and attacked from a distance, drawing his attention. At first, the tanks were charging towards Godzilla through the valley, firing along the way, but they quickly reversed course once Godzilla started after them. There was no sense in getting too close.
As the minutes passed, Godzilla was catching up with them regardless. The tanks had to fight to get up and down the various hills in the area which were slowing them down. Sabre jets were waiting on standby to support the tanks for just such an occasion. They launched several harassing raids to distract Godzilla. Jeeps equipped with long anti-tank cannons around the perimeter of the battlefield joined the attack. When that proved ineffective, a second wave of fighters rushed in to help. They were armed with napalm bombs. The Sabres flew over close, dropping them on Godzilla. One very lucky hit landed directly on his head, setting his entire upper torso on fire as the gelatinous fuel ignited and spread.
The fighters had bought the tanks enough time to escape. They passed under the powerlines, and then beyond to their rally point up in the hills. Godzilla was still pursuing them. The flames on his head were just starting to burn themselves out. The King of the Monsters soon reached the unassuming powerlines. He didn't make much of them. He'd seen electrical towers before, and they'd only ever managed to slow him down slightly in the past. What Godzilla couldn't know though, was that the whole area around the cables were rigged with pads that were wired to trigger the electrical discharges from the top of the towers. Godzilla happened to find himself sandwiched between a pair of them.
Godzilla's left foot found its way onto one of the pads, activating the trap. The two towers in front of him came alive with arcing streams of electricity. Each of them had a round toroid built in, which acted like a huge tesla coil. The electrical current raked up and down against Godzilla's body and he shrieked in agony. Painful as it was, it didn't stop Godzilla from moving forward. He rammed his body into the nearest tower and toppled it over with his weight. The wires broke off and the connection to the power source was severed. Neither tower could function anymore.
However, the Japanese Army hadn't put all of their eggs into one basket this time. After their previous encounters with Godzilla, the military better understood what he was capable of and had anticipated failure. They began to fall back to their secondary line of defense, which was even more formidable. To cover this retreat, high level bombers from the Japanese Air Force made an attack run. The bombing wasn't particularly accurate, but it didn't need to be. The ensuing torrent of fire and smoke simply hampered Godzilla's field of vision for a time.
As Godzilla got close to the second Japanese line, a flight of Chinook helicopters carrying a heavy wire net approached from behind. Just as they passed over Godzilla, the helicopters released the metal net which fell directly onto him. Godzilla stopped in his tracks once he realized something was covering him. He fought to get the net off, but it was designed to stay on for as long as possible. The net was also designed to attract electrical discharges from the tesla towers. The two closest pylons started to emit energy bolts.
A second flight of Chinooks came over and dropped another net on top of Godzilla. It made the signal strong enough for a third tesla tower to activate and join in on the attack. A third flight of helicopters dropped yet another net on Godzilla, which confused and angered him even more. The electric attacks were getting stronger.
The final part of the trap was revealed. All three Archimedes' Mazers had been brought over from Australia and rolled forward to add their firepower to the already considerable assault. Under so much pressure, Godzilla went down. Sensing an advantage, the commanding Japanese General demanded an increase in voltage output from the tesla towers. His subordinate in charge of the technical operations warned him that the system was already pushing its limits and running at maximum capacity. The General, however, disregarded his junior officer's caution and insisted that he push it even higher.
Reluctantly, the officer did what he was told, increasing the current. The system briefly discharged electricity at two hundred percent efficiency, but it couldn't sustain that much power flow for long. The wires began to visually overheat, glowing bright red until they melted and snapped. The system had completely burnt out and stopped working.
It only took Godzilla a second to take advantage of their mistake. He used his atomic breath to destroy one of the towers. The heat of the attack made the steel girders burn red hot until they melted and folded over onto themselves. Godzilla got to his feet, ripping off the nets, and then angrily started to pick off tanks one at a time with his breath. The men inside the machines died horrible burning deaths. The Maser crews were trained well enough to know when it was time to retreat. They backed away as five additional tanks were melted into slag.
Godzilla had claimed yet another battlefield win. He seemed unstoppable.
…
On Sollgel Island, Fuji had woken up following his procedure and immediately got to work on the radio. His technical expertise was far beyond Dr. Kusumi's. While his leg was still hurting badly, he recognized how dire the group's situation was and he worked feverishly to fix it. By that point, everyone recognized that contacting the outside world was their only real hope for survival.
After two hours of experimenting and trading out parts, Fuji finally got a signal transmitting. There was a brief moment of cheers, jumping around, and general excitement before Dr. Kusumi calmed everyone down. It was unwise to draw too much attention to themselves, even from the safety of the cave.
To boost the signal, Fuji had a soldier feed an antenna through the opening in the cave's roof where smoke escaped. The transmitter was taken up even higher and secured up in a tree that was growing above the cave. Upon testing it, everything seemed to be working normally. Fuji tuned into the correct frequency and broadcast a distress signal. They didn't get an immediate response, but that didn't discourage anyone. Fuji said that he would continue to try every half hour until someone picked up. It was getting late by then, so everyone else turned in for the night.
…
Several hours later, Maki was woken up by the sound of a voice. He sat up and saw Furukawa messing around with the radio. Fuji had fallen asleep at his post. The pain medication for his leg had knocked him out cold, and even Furukawa standing right next to him talking apparently wasn't enough to rouse him.
"Furukawa, what are you doing?" Maki asked.
"What..?!" Furukawa jumped; Maki's voice having startled him.
"You shouldn't be fiddling with that." Maki warned Furukawa. "If you break it, we're all screwed."
"I'm trying to contact my family!" Furukawa snapped back defensively. "I haven't seen my wife in over six months! I just want to hear her voice."
"That's fine." Maki replied. "But wait until the morning, and have Fuji help you. He's the expert."
"Fine…" Furukawa answered with a grimace, heading back to his sleeping bag.
Maki lay back down himself. He wasn't sure what to make of Furukawa's midnight radio misadventure. It was damned strange, but Furukawa had become a very strange person. He hadn't seemed right from the moment Maki met him. Hopefully, getting back to Japan would set him straight again.
…
After a long trek, Godzilla was finally nearing Happy Enterprise's half-finished theme park in Shizunoura. He'd just smashed his way through a nearby hotel. Marcus and the rest of his group retreated into the neighboring hills to avoid the King of the Monster's wrath. There was simply nothing else they could do. Marcus and the others could only watch as Godzilla got nearer to the defenseless egg waiting for him in the incubation chamber.
When Godzilla reached the plastic shell, he just stared for a moment before smashing his way through it. Within seconds, he'd ripped away the protective framework, exposing the egg itself. Again, Godzilla paused. There was a gleam of hunger in his eyes as he looked over the egg. It was obvious to the onlookers that he was savoring the moment.
Godzilla's pleasant moment however was disrupted by the shrill cry of another monster approaching. He turned to see Mothra soaring on the horizon. Godzilla roared, outraged that Mothra would dare intrude upon his feast. Mothra however wasn't intimidated by Godzilla. Quite the opposite in fact. She came directly at the King of the Monsters and buzzed right over his head, distracting him from the egg.
Mothra flew right over the hill where Marcus and the others were standing. They had to duck down and hold on to whatever they could to stay on the ground as a great rush of wind battered them. Mothra wheeled around to face Godzilla again, hovering and waiting for him to make a move. Godzilla took the bait, smashing his way through some pipes and buildings in pursuit of Mothra.
Mothra went to work, beating her enormous wings hard to create hurricane level winds. They proved strong enough to put Godzilla off balance. Everything remotely close to Godzilla was affected by it. Trees snapped in half or were entirely uprooted. Buildings were torn to pieces. Godzilla tried to retaliate by using his breath, but he was so off balance that he couldn't properly aim. The beam simply struck the ground. Debris was getting into his eyes, impeding his vision. Pieces of buildings were also smashing into him.
What remained of the plastic casing surrounding the egg caught the wind and was blown away by the violent tempest. The egg itself even started to roll away, which in a way was good, because it was moving away from Godzilla. Before long, Godzilla himself was having a hard time maintaining his balance. He finally lost his footing and fell over. Unfortunately, he started to roll towards the egg. As he got up, he saw it and went after it a second time.
That was intolerable for Mothra. She moved in close and deterred Godzilla by increasing the intensity of her windstorm. Godzilla again fired off his atomic breath, but he didn't aim particularly well. His posture was awkward, hunching over the egg and turning his head, trying to blast over his own shoulder. He simply couldn't turn his neck far enough to hit Mothra from that position.
Seeing that the extra wind power hadn't stopped Godzilla, Mothra buzzed around his head, distracting and annoying him. In response, Godzilla threw up his tail, trying to sweep Mothra from the sky, but her reflexes were too good to get caught out that way. Godzilla hit nothing but air. Mothra sensed an opportunity, and the second time Godzilla attacked with his tail, she allowed it to make contact, catching it with the numerous tiny legs on her underbelly.
Mothra then used her leverage to start dragging Godzilla away from the egg. She displayed an impressive amount of strength, beyond anything anyone thought her capable of. Mothra was able to drag Godzilla by the tail with seemingly little difficulty. Godzilla naturally tried to resist, clawing at the dirt trying to hang on, but nothing he found was strong enough to anchor him. Unfortunately for Godzilla, he was being dragged belly down, so he couldn't even fire up at Mothra. He was virtually helpless, getting dust in his mouth every time he roared. Mothra kept up her efforts until both of them were very far away from the egg.
Mothra finally let Godzilla go and he rose to his feet with a head of steam. He was thoroughly pissed off by that point. No one had ever put him in a position like that before and he wasn't about to stomach it. Godzilla quickly fired a third time with his atomic breath, but he was in too much of a rush and missed yet again. Mothra made sure to punish him for it. She circled around and rammed Godzilla in the back of the head, keeping him off balance. Godzilla retaliated with a fourth and then a fifth atomic blast attempt, but he was way too off kilter to be effective with either effort.
Mothra wisely chose to attack Godzilla from behind, using her tiny, yet oddly strong legs to scratch at his head while beating him with her wings. Mothra used her legs to grasp on and ensure that Godzilla's front side, in particular his mouth, stayed pointing away from her. Godzilla again tried to use his tail to counter Mothra, but she was simply flying too high and out of reach for that to be effective.
Mothra next used her body to slam into Godzilla's back, knocking him forward. Godzilla threw his hands up, trying to claw at Mothra, but that too wasn't proving useful. For the most part, Godzilla was missing because he couldn't see where he was aiming. Godzilla was so preoccupied with Mothra behind him, that he couldn't see he was being forced towards a huge open pit ahead of him. He stepped into the hole and failed to find any footing, and so he fell hard into it.
Godzilla had been completely overwhelmed by Mothra for the entire fight so far, and yet, she hadn't done a whole lot of damage to him. If he could just land one meaningful blow, he could turn the battle around. Mothra wasn't letting up though. As Godzilla struggled on the ground, she came down at him again. Godzilla defended himself, firing off a short sixth and seventh atomic breath at her in quick succession, but he missed yet again. He simply couldn't get a bead on Mothra. She was very fast and could dodge exceptionally well. She wasn't giving Godzilla a moment's reprieve to find an opening to counterattack. Mothra was all over Godzilla, dominating the fight.
And Mothra was about to up the ante. As she hovered just above Godzilla, Mothra began to use her most potent weapon, the yellow wing powder. It floated down onto Godzilla as he struggled to get off his back. When he sensed it, Godzilla fired a seventh and eighth blast of atomic breath, each missing. He didn't seem to want any part of Mothra's dust, but the strong wind gusts Mothra was producing from her wings were preventing him from getting up.
The powder, however, didn't seem to be having any effect on Godzilla. Considering just how quickly it took down Varan during their battle in Berlin, that was surprising. The paralyzing effect on him was nearly instantaneous. Was Godzilla immune to Mothra's poison? Perhaps his healing abilities were countering it. Mothra herself didn't understand. She poured more and more of the dust onto him with no discernable results.
While Mothra was distracted, Godzilla finally landed an atomic breath hit on her. The beam struck Mothra in the face and on the right wing. She didn't like it one bit. Mothra immediately stopped using her powder and backed off. Her wing had taken some damage. A section was charred and smoking, but otherwise intact. After that, Mothra was not as fast or agile as before. She circled around the pit and knocked Godzilla back into it just as he started to climb out. Mothra didn't resume her attack though. Instead, she puts some distance between herself and Godzilla.
"It looks like your faith was misplaced." Ling said to Marcus. "Mothra isn't strong enough to defeat Godzilla."
Away from the battle, where the egg was still resting, something was happening. A colorful outpouring of yellow and purple light drew everyone's attention over to it. The eggshell was beginning to crack, revealing that it was hatching. More and more fissures appeared on the egg's surface until finally something forced its way out of the top. The first thing anyone could see was a single yellow horn piercing the eggshell. Following it was a black armored head with fierce red eyes. As the body emerged, the creature could best be described as a horned armored worm. Its body was primarily black, but it had splashes of red and yellow throughout its carapace. This new creature saw the battle going on in the distance and immediately started to move towards it.
As soon as Mothra saw that the armored worm had hatched and was approaching, she flew over and started to chirp down to it, seemingly communicating. The armored caterpillar called back to Mothra, as though they were having a discussion. Whatever was said was brief. The angry looking worm started forward again towards Godzilla, but Mothra came down and landed directly in its path, blocking his way. The armored caterpillar looked annoyed, but Mothra wasn't moving. Finally, it turned and started to move in the other direction.
Godzilla by that point had climbed out of the pit and was starting towards Mothra and the armored larva. Mothra took to the sky and took a wide path circling around Godzilla. The King of the Monsters had spotted the new arrival and was intent on getting a better look at him. Mothra, however, had no intention of letting that happen. She fully committed to stopping Godzilla then and there.
Mothra stealthily glided towards Godzilla from behind. He sensed her coming just as she landed on his head, but it was already too late. Mothra's legs grasped tightly onto Godzilla's face. He fought against her, even firing off another atomic blast, but Mothra wouldn't be displaced.
As Mothra clung on tightly, yellow strands of energy materialized between herself and Godzilla, forming a connection. Watching from the hillside, Marcus swore he could see some type of energy being transferred into Godzilla's body. In a flash, it was gone and Mothra detached from Godzilla. Mothra's body glided down and skidded into the ground. The life had entirely left her eyes.
At that moment, Marcus knew Mothra was dead. His eyes welled up uncontrollably, his heart was breaking. Marcus didn't really understand what had happened. One second, the divine moth seemed to have the advantage, the next, she was just gone. Her lifeforce evaporated before his very eyes. The loss Marcus felt in his heart was heavy, and he was utterly unprepared for it. Behind his eyes, the world was falling down around him. Marcus sank to his knees in anguish.
Godzilla meanwhile still stood right where he had been. He was as stationary as a statue. It was as though he hadn't even noticed what happened. The King of the Monsters was seemingly in a trance. Godzilla finally blinked a few times and then slowly started to move again. He appeared calm and at peace, turning towards the coastline and making for the water. He didn't make a sound, not even a roar of victory. No one watching understood what it meant.
…
On board the USS Independence, Admiral Malek was just getting word from the Japanese authorities that Godzilla was retreating and learning of the emergence of the new Kaiju. He was sitting down in the captain's chair processing the news when the radio man gave him a slip of paper containing an encoded S.O.S from his agent on Sollgel Island. His spy reported that their mission was badly compromised. He was urgently requesting extraction as soon as possible.