Chapter 3: Life Goes On

Rest of 1873

Skull Island

Summer

The sun blesses Skull Island with its warm shining rays as a small Great Ape swiftly passes through its vast green jungle, followed patiently by a stomping green behemoth and its observing orange eyes. Kong is a fast one; Godzilla gives him that. When he grows up, he will be a force to be reckoned with against any Titan. Hopefully, he will grow up.

And hopefully, he will not be the force to stand in his way. But that was a problem of the future; Godzilla would like to focus on the present now.

A month has passed since the massive funeral for the Tribe of Skull Island. Days and nights pass by, and the sun and moon change places regularly in a steady rhythm as life goes on. Godzilla does his usual patrol around the Island, with Kong acting as his quasi-guide.

The young Ape himself did not know the entirety of the Island, its history, and its inhabitants, but Godzilla was slowly learning like him. And well… Godzilla refuses to admit it out loud, but he thinks it quite amusing and adorable that the Ape Cub tries his very best to explain the history of his home. Godzilla often lectures the Cub on words he doesn't know or understand, and Kong listens with rapt attention and observation.

Except when he eats. Humans would be disgusted by Kong's lack of table manners, appetite, and the fact that he doesn't keep his guard up while doing so. Well, Godzilla has a… eurgh, front row seat to consumption of whatever substance Skull Island provides, be it those giant fruits the size of those Jackals lurking around or the said Jackals caught by Kong (taught by Godzilla how to hunt), and he knew the Cub trusted him.

It is odd to be trusted by someone so young and fragile, considering they belonged to the species of his ancient enemies. Odd. But it felt nice to have someone to talk to who didn't try to fight him or simply tremble in his presence. It was nice to have company.

Godzilla stops as Kong disappears from his line of sight amongst the wide array of plants and trees. The damn little gorilla was so tiny to him that he could hide very easily. Only his snout told him where Kong was.

'Slow down Kong. I am not as fast as you,' he grumbled, trying to see the little Cub through the jungle. Trees rustle to his right as Kong's little head appears on the top, and he excitedly points ahead.

A row of quite tall pillars, almost as tall as him, stood in front of them. An entrance for a settlement, perhaps?

'But I see something there. I didn't see it before. I see an odd pile of stones.' Kong cheerfully reports, eager for exploration. He disappears once again, trees rustling and parting in the pillars' direction. 'Come on!'

Godzilla shakes his head fondly as he follows Kong, the ground shaking with his footsteps. He stops after a minute of walking in front of the pillars. He sniffs the air and sees it — an old set of abandoned, dilapidated buildings sprawled out behind the pillars, made at the peak of Co-Existence. The mere sight of it awakens deep memories from glorious times, full of life.

Now, it made for a truly sad sight. All this ruin and emptiness. Life should have been thriving here, but there was none besides the two, an old king and an orphan prince surveying the corpse of civilization.

He suspected a thriving city once made for a wonderful presence here on the Island before the War broke out, and the Iwi that built it were forced to abandon it as fighting took place in it; he could see claw marks in several places. One of many casualties of Scar's ruthless ambition.

He wonders about the humans themselves. Many human tribes did join Scar's side, and several battles in the War were carried out exclusively by them. Perhaps Scar learned much from them, the good and the bad.

These details don't matter much now for life, such as it is, has been like that for countless years now. And it will continue to be such. A sad reality, but what can one do?

Godzilla is shaken from his pensive thoughts by the sound of Kong climbing one of the pillars partially covered in moss. Tiny pieces of rock fall as Kong struggles to climb. Nevertheless, he reaches the top, which reaches Godzilla's neck and hangs on it, observing the place curiously.

Godzilla observes the cub in himself. He is doing… well. The poor child has been having nightmares. Not surprisingly, given the massacre he saw and the losses he endured, Godzilla witnessed similar things far too many times in his long life, and it brought occasional painful flashbacks. To this day, from various sources. But time slowly helps you deal with such things. He hopes Kong learns those lessons soon. Until then, he is here for him.

‛Do be careful.‛ Godzilla cautions with a grunt, hand ready to catch him. 'You might fall and hurt yourself.'

‛I am careful.‛ Kong huffed, balancing himself on the tip, and gestured at the ruins, 'Look at this place, it's very strange.'

Godzilla chuckled with mirth, 'You get excited too easily, young one.‛

Kong didn't pay much heed to his warnings, instead, he stared curiously ahead, 'But I didn't see this pile of stones before. Neatly stacked like that.'

'It is called a city. Humans built them and dwell there in large numbers.' Godzilla rumbled in deep thought.

In ancient times, humans were capable of creating great marvels. But also, terrible horrors as well. Nothing that could harm him…

That thought makes Godzilla go still.

What else have they built? What sort of devices came to fruition from their little, crafty minds? Godzilla could already see terrible images in the first encounter between Kong and the humans, and he did not like any of them. And sadly, he knew that inevitably, it would happen, it's only a matter of time.

'Humans built this place?' Kong exclaimed with an awed grunt, pulling him back from his dark thoughts.

'Yes.' Godzilla nods with a smirk. 'It is impressive what they can do when they band together.'

Kong frowned, 'But the tribe that lives by the river. They didn't build something like this. They use wood.' He gestures. 'And it looks destroyed. Did those serpents do this?'

Godzilla thinks about it. 'I doubt it. Perhaps they did, perhaps they didn't. Then again, it is… old. Very old,' he shrugs, hoping its simplicity answers the cub's many questions.

Kong tilted his head and scratched it, 'Older than you?''

Godzilla chuckles, ' I am older than most things around here on the Island. This also includes the entire world.'

Kong gaped, 'You seen it? Mother told us that humans and our kind live together,' he winced, visibly being hurt for talking about his parent in the past term.

Godzilla sighs in sympathy, watching the ruins, 'Oh yes, we did. Long ago, Titans and humans lived together in a Great Co-Existence, in the Age of Peace that lasted for, um,' he looks down, pondering, 'I don't know the exact number, but many, many, many, many years.'

'Many many many many many years!' Kong lets out excited belches.

Godzilla laughed, entertained by the sight and having his spirits uplifted. 'Yes, many, many!'

Kong's eyes shone bright with curiosity, 'What was it like?'

'The humans looked upon us as gods and built temples and statues in our honor. Human warriors fought in our name and elders preached of our greatness.' Godzilla huffed with pride and affection. 'Entire Kingdoms rose in honor of their names and magnificence.'

Kong gaped, 'Wow! Even for the Great Apes?''

Godzilla laughed, 'Yes. Even for them. There were numerous Great Ape tribes scattered all across Inner Earth.' Godzilla frowns. 'Although only a scant few here on the Surface.'

Kong scratched his head, 'Inner Earth. You told me it is a place where we all come from. Then why are we here and not there?' he asked a rather heavy and difficult question.

'It is complicated.' Godzilla replied, tensing. He didn't want to go to that dark place right now, the Cub had enough on its mind as it is. 'A lot happened.'

'A lot of what?' Kong tries to insist, but a sharp glance from Godzilla stops him.

Godzilla makes sure to close his eyes and take a deep breath. He doesn't want the Cub to watch with fear. That would be cruel. He tries to soften his features. Not an easy thing to do by the way.

'That little one is a story for another time, little one.' Godzilla gently prevents any more questions. 'I will tell you what happened. Come,' he offers his massive claw, 'let us see how the Iwi are faring today. Perhaps we could help them with something?'

'I don't think they need help with anything,' Kong mutters, unsatisfied by Godzilla's reflection of his curiosity. But he nevertheless jumps from the top of the pillar and climbs onto his shoulder. 'Hey,' Kong says as they start to travel towards the Iwi. 'You will tell me that story one day. Promise?'

Godzilla nods, 'Promise. Now, I believe you befriended one of the Iwi members.' He casually comments.

Kong groaned at the mention of the small Iwi girl, 'She is not a friend.' He mutters, crossing his arms.

Godzilla shrugs slowly, 'Very well, the Iwi can wait-'

Kong jumps, 'No no! Let's, uh, let's go there.'

Godzilla shook his head and let out a hearty chuckle as they left the ruined city. For a moment, he felt it was just like the olden days.


Fall

Godzilla yawned, stretching his jaw wide as a bit of lethargy still lingered from his nap. He gazed outside as he came fully awake. Although the warmth remains a strong presence on Skull Island, given its Polynesian area, the overbearing summer heat that would make humans ill slowly faded away, and rainy clouds became a recurring sight, making their presence known through occasional drizzle.

The sound and the sight make for quite a relaxing pastime. Godzilla watched it, lying on his stomach in The Sanctuary, a name he bestowed upon a wide space with a large hanging rock where he first led Kong for cover from the rain and the devastation that had occurred several months before.

That was behind them. And yet…

Godzilla looks back at the sleeping Cub nestled peacefully in his arms. The nightmares have- all right, they are still a constant, but there are nights in which they are noticeably absent. Years will pass before they become a rarity, his experiences alone told him that. But they will never go away.

Thankfully, things were not so bleak in their lives right now. The peace Godzilla enjoys on Skull Island is a pleasant one, and he cannot remember the last time he spent such a long time on the surface without a fight, Titans or humans. The Bright One would marvel at the sight and call it a miracle. Before teasing him and heartily chittering about how the mighty Gojira has gone soft. He would do nothing but grumble in mock irritation.

Godzilla misses her greatly. He recalls she was currently hibernating somewhere north. Northwest? What was the name of the place the humans called now? The last time he was there, their flag had a blue dragon chasing a red ball on a yellow field…

As he thought about her, then about the various places other Titans slept, an important, dutiful, and responsible part of himself urged him to move. To patrol and guard the Balance and not to dilly-dally around on Skull Island with the Great Ape Cub. He could sense all the Titans in the world, but he needed to see them with his own eyes, just to be sure.

One major obstacle stood in his way: Kong. He could not take him with him, no argument there. Besides the fact that taking him from this place will doubtlessly affect him greatly, Godzilla is concerned about what the humans will do, for his enormity attracts attention whenever he goes, mostly the unwanted kind.

There is always, always, a significant portion of their race that does not think right or think at all and attempts to do something fascinatingly idiotic, like trying to kill him in amusing, insufficient ways or even daring to climb on top of him and try to take a tiny part of his scales as a trophy, oh ho ho ho, the death count for that was in the thousands for sure. That hasn't changed one bit, a fact, and truly, stupidity knows no bounds.

…And what if they try to harm Kong?

There hasn't been a human or a human-made contraption that could truly harm Godzilla. Time, however, shows again and again how advanced they can become in a relatively short amount of time. What did they create in a time when he slept? Godzilla wasn't so keen on knowing what they created. Well, whatever they made, Godzilla could endure and fight back easily. But Kong? He bet he could take a great number of humans on his own, and despite that, it would take just one good strike to…

Godzilla huffs, slowly shaking his head. He doesn't want to think about that, in what awful ways the little Cub could be hurt by humans. Or by Titans. Or anything at all.

And what will he do in retaliation if he's hurt…

Godzilla is nearly startled when he hears Kong grunt a question.

'What is it?'

Godzilla looks down at him, the Ape Cub staring at him with wide curious eyes. He feigns confusion, 'Hmm?'

'Your face. You do that when you think. Like really think.' Kong points at him.

'Oh, I do? Well, I am thinking about different… things.' Godzilla simply states as he notices the rain steadily fading away.

'What kinda things?' Kong insists on asking.

'Oh, nothing to concern yourself with.' Godzilla insists on being vague. Kong gave him a flat look. Godzilla points with a shake of his head, 'Look, the rain has stopped. Perhaps we should stretch.' He suggests.

Kong huffed with a frown, 'Fine.' The little Cub has no problem swiftly getting up from his arms and jumping outside. He made it known by hollering while Godzilla struggled to get out. 'Come on! You are slow!' he beckoned as he stretched.

Godzilla grunts as he moves forward at a snail's pace, 'It is easy to be fast and nimble when you are so young.'

'And it's easy to be strong when you are so big and old!' Kong hollers back, beating his chest.

Godzilla gaped in mock outrage as little tyke laughed, 'Oh, you little-!'

'Try to catch me if you can!' Kong challenges as he runs off, leaving mud flying everywhere.

Godzilla grumbled as he slowly left the Sanctuary. Positing himself, he planted his claws and pushed himself up with a heave as the Cub ran, little arms and legs carrying the brown-furred Titan far away. Kong entered a jungle that led towards a river with mountains acting as their watchful neighbors. Godzilla shakes his entire body, stretching his massive muscles. He feels the bones creaking and restrains an urge to complain.

'Old…' Godzilla still mutters as he follows the tracks Kong left, slowly and steadily walking, making sure he does not step on any other animals minding their business. 'You'll see one day…!'

*thum *thum *thum *thum

He stops as he sees the river, vast from the human's point of view but quite small from his, a little blue line flanked by green and grey, several large foliage hanging on them. A small herd of Sker Buffalos that eat the algae from it a mile away tensed at the sight of him, not knowing if to run or not. Godzilla makes a show of ignoring them, looking around for the sign of the smallest Titan and finds none. He refrains from using his snout, wanting it to make it more interesting.

'Kong? Kong? Oh, where has the Ape gone now?' Godzilla demands aloud and makes a show of looking around and mimicking a human action of putting his claws on his hips. He notices a brief rustling nearby to his left that makes him smirk. 'Hmmm, my my, he could have hidden anywhere! After all, I am big, old, and mighty, and he is tiny, young, and scrawny.'

'Hey, I am not scrawny!' the tiny, scrawny gorilla cries out in protest from his hiding place.

'Oh really?' Godzilla gives a patch near the shore a dubious look with a smirk.

'That's right, I'm… Oh damnit…!' Kong murmurs, coming out of his hiding spot right in front of the stream. He punches the water, 'Probably should have kept my mouth shut…'

It was a good hiding spot. If he didn't reveal himself, Godzilla wouldn't see him at all. But, oh well, youth and all that. He chortled heartily, turning away from him and trying to see what else was here, 'You should know, young Cub, hubris is a path towards-'

Godzilla goes still as his eyes catch a symbol. On one side of the mountain, at its broad side, was a mark he had seen several times on his patrols on the Island — a red claw swiping across in vicious might.

Scar's sigil.

The mere sight of it made him curl his face in disgust, and all that good-natured feeling burned away in a simple glance. Kong saw it, definitely, the way he shrank and stared at him apprehensively.

'What's wrong?' he asks worriedly. Following his line of sight, his eyes widened in shock. He points at the symbol, 'What is that?'

He does not wish to answer such a simple question for a simple-looking symbol, for it bore a dark history. Every time Godzilla saw it, he felt a sting of pain. It made him remember the War and what he had lost and would lose in the years following it.

Godzilla weighs his options and looks down at Kong. The Cub climbed several dozen feet up the side of the mountain, trying to get a closer look at the red claw. His brown eyes stared at the symbol, trying to make sense of it, glancing between it and Godzilla, looking at him for answers.

Ah, there is no way he could leave that aside. It would bring more questions and several other unwanted things that he felt could go wrong in several ways. And the young gorilla should know the meaning behind the sigil. It's history after all.

'Do you remember when we found that ruined city, the questions you had about it, and the Great Co-Existence?' Godzilla reminds him.

Kong gaped in surprise, 'Yes, I do! You promised you would tell me.'

He sighs, 'Well, the time has come to fulfill it. Sit down, it will be a long story.' He beckons him. As Kong goes to do so, Godzilla continues, 'This is a sigil from a time long ago,' he answers, going to lie on the side, submerging half of his body in the giant river, and its waters splashing the sides.

'A sigil? What is a sigil?', Kong wondered as he went to sit on a small clearing and flicked his stare at him and the symbol.

'The humans that live here, the Iwi. They have a unique marking that makes them different from other humans. Other tribes. It was also used by different Titans and the Great Ape tribes.' He explains.

'I… my Tribe didn't have a sigil.' Kong frowned. 'I think.'

'…You remember my speech at the funeral.' Godzilla softly starts.

Kong flinches, '…Yes. You said that you fought my Tribe.' he stared at him for more answers.

Godzilla breathes deeply, 'A long time ago. There was a Great Ape. Nothing like you or your tribe. This one was evil. Like the Crawlers. A true monster. One who wanted to conquer the entire world and kill anyone who stood in his way. His name was Scar.'

'Scar…' Kong mumbled. 'And this sigil. It was his?' Godzilla nods, 'What happened?'

Godzilla thought about what to say to the little Cub. The War was a long and complex affair to explain.

'The years of Great Co-Existence were truly good times.' Godzilla reflects. 'Some of the best years of my life. All things must come to an end, however, no matter how great. And Scar. Well, he did not bring the end of those times. No, no, no. But he surely tried his damnedest.' He darkly reveals.

'What do you mean?' Kong shuffled in his spot. 'What did he do?'

Godzilla saw the images of that bastard; the cruel smile, a wicked mind, while others suffered for his gain. 'Scar, too, was worshiped as a god. And he liked it. He liked it too much. To the point he grew jealous of other Titans and was hungry for more praise. More worship. More power. He ruled a tribe of Great Apes in the north of the Inner Earth, a place that is quite cold. In there, a heinous act was made… he enslaved the Cold Ones.' He withholds himself from spitting in disgust.

'Cold Ones?' Kong blinked. 'They are Titans, right?'

Godzilla solemnly nods, 'Rare, powerful Titans, large beings.' He mutters sadly, their fates causing him to clench his heart in pain. 'Larger than me.'

'Larger than you?' Kong's eyes widened. 'But you're like the biggest guy ever!'

Godzilla hums, 'Imagine them like this. Skin scaly like mine, but white as snow with blue crystals adorning their backs. They were capable of causing winters, even during summer, with mere breaths. Shimo, they were called by the Iwi.' His face darkens, 'Scar used their own crystals to control them against their will and take control of other Great Ape tribes.'

'But that is evil! He did it because he wanted more?' Kong cried out at this injustice.

Godzilla hung his head in silence for a moment in memory of those magnificent beings.

He snaps his head up and locks eyes with a startled Kong, 'Yes, it was evil, and know this, Kong, evil knows no decency nor shame.' He imparts this lesson to the Cub. 'You already know this.'

'Like those serpents…!' Kong growls to himself.

Godzilla rumbles in agreement, 'It wasn't long before Scar gathered all the Ape tribes, through words or violence, and formed a massive army, not just from Apes or the Shimos but from other Titans as well. This also included the humans who worshiped them. Scar declared himself ruler over everyone and challenged the Alpha Titan of that time, my mother, for dominance.'

Kong shuffles in his spot, taking in all this knowledge. Godzilla waits patiently; in case the Cub has questions. He finally asks one with hesitation, 'Did… my tribe fight for Scar? And the humans who worshipped them as well?'

Godzilla nods, 'They did. As I said, all the Ape tribes, through words or violence. I believe it was the later, they fought for him because they were coerced. Scar often killed the tribal leaders who refused to serve him. Either by himself or he ordered the Shimos to do it for him. I believe that your tribe, such as it was… was a mix of all those others that were spared.'

Kong stands straighter, 'Spared? What do you mean spared? What happened?'

Godzilla sighs, 'Scar's challenge began when he started attacking other Titans that refused to bow to him all over Inner Earth. Through several long years, he was ultimately beaten and pushed back. Because of this, he decided on a different course of action. Conquest of the surface.'

'The surface?', Kong gasped, 'He came here?'

'Yes. You see, humanity wasn't unified here on the surface as they were in Inner Earth. The Titans themselves were rare and so were the human kingdoms that worshipped them, and they weren't so friendly with each other.' Godzilla explains.

He stops so Kong could ponder more. The little Cub said nothing, picking up a rock and toying with it absent-mindedly while his mind processes the complicated history. Godzilla stares right ahead through the passage. The clouds slowly parted, the sun's beams shining through.

'So the surface was an easy target?' Kong correctly guesses.

Godzilla is glad for the Cub developing critical skills. He nods, 'Scar knew this, tried to use it to his advantage, so he had the Shimos utter an Ice Age, a time of unrelenting cold that ravaged the surface and caused many deaths. Mother had enough of that rampant destruction and in return, led an army of her own that met Scar and his on the battlefield, right in front of a palace that he took for his own from the largest Ape tribe at the time.'

'And you fought him there. You and your Mother?' Godzilla remains quiet for several moments. So quiet that Kong gets noticeably worried. 'G-Godzilla? Are you alright?'

Godzilla's mind is filled with the intense scenes from the battle. Friend and foe falling left and right, unspeakable horrors and mutilations inflicted upon each other…

Godzilla realizes he is shaking and that the Cub is visibly anxious seeing him like this. He must focus. Right now, he is a fixed point for him, a pillar upon which Kong can rely for safety and guidance. He cannot allow himself to fall apart like this.

Godzilla takes a deep breath and exhales. 'I am alright, little one, it's just… remembering that day.' He reassures the little Ape.

Kong stood up, disregarded the rock, and jumped from the clearing onto his back. He went towards his head and nestled himself upon it. 'If you don't want to…' he slowly replied, being quite considerate.

Kindness. Even after what he endured. Godzilla was grateful, truly grateful for his presence.

Godzilla slowly shook his head, giving him a ghost of a smile, 'No no. Might as well finish. The Battle lasted for an entire day. Both sides refused to back down, despite the bloodshed of immense magnitude. I fought right by my mother's side and kin, leading the charge. The Cold Ones were small in numbers, but still powerful and required several of my kind, along with the help of other Titans, to… kill them.' He regretfully whispers.

'There wasn't any way to save them from Scar?' Kong sadly inquires.

Godzilla ponders in equal measure, 'Perhaps there was. Perhaps we could have saved them. Alas, what has happened has happened.'

'You… had no choice. It was you or them.' Kong tries to reassure, tapping his head.

Godzilla rumbles, 'Hmph. And when did you become so philosophical?'

'I have an old teacher who is very wise and very grumpy.' Kong quips. He could sense the tyke smirking.

Godzilla laughs at that. 'A teacher who should probably teach you a thing or two about respecting your elders.'

Kong belches, 'Hahaha! Yeah, maybe!' The Cub goes quiet. 'How… how did the battle end?'

Godzilla sighs. He carefully stands up and starts walking. Kong holds on as he listens, 'Many of the Titans on Scar's side fell too. So then, he decided to make one last desperate attempt. He used the last remaining Shimos and Apes to breach the surface through the portals and started the Ice Age. The last one. We stopped him. But he left lasting damage, going on for years and years.'

'And what happened to Scar?' Kong asks.

Godzilla restrains the urge to growl, 'Scar was thrown down in the darkest pit in all of Inner Earth, along with several thugs and morons who refused to show remorse for their allegiance.'

Kong shifts, 'Is he dead?'

Godzilla pondered that question for months. Several thousand threats and events made Scar an unimportant issue.

Now?

'I do not know.' Godzilla answers honestly, 'The area in which he was thrown has been sealed. There is a tribe of humans who live near it, worshiping an… old friend of mine. If Scar were alive and he were to attempt to escape, they would contact me the moment that happens; they have their ways to do so. But all was quiet on that front. It has been that way for many, many, many years.'

'Many, many, many, many…' Kong mumbled as they came to a stop at a shore.

Godzilla sees the storm far away surrounding Skull Island. 'On occasion, I check up on the place. Nothing. Hopefully, the bastard is dead.'


Winter

Winter itself doesn't change much on Skull Island, besides a minor decrease in temperature. Godzilla paid no mind to the weather, however, for he sensed a disturbance in the ground. A familiar rumble that led him to confront the problem he's been putting off for a while.

Something he shouldn't have done in the first place, and would have earned a harsh smack in the head and quite an earful from the Bright One. Mind you, he had reservations that were all personal, pragmatic, and completely justified, and definitely didn't breed out of his slothful nature.

He stood on top of a hill overlooking what should be a simple, wide plain, if not for its obvious source of disruption. In the center, the weakest point of Skull Island was spread out and, so far, thankfully, Kong has obeyed the rule not to go anywhere near this hazardous place. Nevertheless, it would take only a pique of interest, mixed with his youth, to break that rule and possibly cause his death aaaaand now that line of thought passed by… yes, Kong will definitely break the rule very, very soon-

Alright, it was time to close it, no more excuses.

Restraining himself from downright rushing towards the literal death trap for Kong, he approaches the huge problem he intentionally left to fester for several months and stares at it. The gaping maw that leads into the Inner Earth is three times his size, the hole showing signs of being made by the force of living things, not by natural tectonic shifts in the Earth's core.

The Crawling Ones. They emerged from here to the surface itself; no argument there.

For what reason came three answers: A predatory desire to expand territory, sadistic glee for carnage and murder, and simple curiosity mixed with boredom, all mixing into a foreboding formula for disaster.

As one more question floats in his mind, it is shadowed by another. How? How could they do this so fast? The Crawlers were not that powerful; even the strongest among them would take years to do this. Only a Titan of immense power could do this. Or influence…

He could think of several Titans capable of digging their way upwards so swiftly. Their incentive, however, to do so would have to be a quite strong one, considering they would risk his ire and therefore their lives. The one who came to mind first was the most talked about subject for the past several weeks, thanks to Kong's insistence.

Skar is not free; Godzilla would know easily. The Iwi tribe, which lives on Inner Earth, would alert him immediately. Even if, through some odd reason, they don't do that, the very moment Skar is free, he will start another war in a grand display of violence and death. He would not hesitate, not even for a moment, to reassume his ambitions for conquest and revenge. Even if he did go after him, Skar will not be alone.

How could he fight him?

Oh, Godzilla can trounce Scar, no matter how much the red-furred bastard's agility and slippery nature allowed him to live too long. But his army… Godzilla knew he could be overwhelmed easily. Skar's true strength always lied within his twisted, cunning mind. And he had a way of coercing others to do his bidding, through trickery or force. Not all leaders of the Great Ape Clans were benevolent rulers bowing down to him to ensure the safety of their tribes or indifferent slouches content in staying on their territory, picking their noses and scratching their arses.

Some joined Skar willingly, tempted by offers of power or for the freedom to do as they please, as long as allegiance to Skar is pronounced and his bidding is done first and foremost. Bloodthirsty bastards, Godzilla's side had those too, and it wasn't just the Crawling Ones. Mother was quite busy upholding order in their ranks, and Godzilla was forced to intervene and break up numerous petty fights himself. And then some crossed the line and were dealt with swiftly.

Which is why Scar lost. In the end, their side was far more unified and better led. The bastard's counter-strategy was just sending wave after wave, counting on his mightiest to win the battle for him and running away when that failed him-

'Whatcha' you doing?'

Startled, Godzilla restrained himself from turning around and striking at the intruder with his claw. He did crack his neck in their direction, a disobedient little gorilla. Kong jumped high with a yelp but didn't run away. Little tyke…!

'Hrmp! Don't do that!' Godzilla warned, dumbfounded. How did he?... 'Sneaking up on me like that! I could have-'

'What's the matter?' Kong smirked, far too relaxed and oozing childish smugness. 'Scared you, huh?'

Godzilla rolled his eyes at the ape's bravado, 'I could have hit you, boy,' he scolds him.

Unbothered, Kong puffs up his small chest, 'Yeah right! You would miss; I am fast!' he proudly proclaims, running around like a wild child he is and edging closer towards the maw. 'I'm Lighting itself!'

Godzilla decided to give up. There was no sense in instilling rationality right. He huffs, 'Just try not to fall into the hole, "Lightning".'

Kong actually listened, thank the Stars, and carefully approached the hole. Godzilla flexes his claws, ready in case something happens.

'Wow, it's so dark I can't see a thing,' he mulled, staring into the dark abyss. He takes a whiff of the air and gags, 'Oh, youghhr! It smells funny! What is it?'

Godzilla raises a brow, 'Hmmm. Interesting.'

Kong cranes his neck, wiping his nose, 'What?'

He explains, 'It is the energy pouring through from Inner Earth. That's what smells so funny.'

And that's one of the many reasons he didn't let Kong near this place. Unknown side effects.

None so far as Kong's eyes widen, 'Huh. Inner Earth. So. This is where they came from.' He peers into the darkness again.

'Which is why I told you not to come here. It's-'

Kong rolled his eyes, '-too dangerous. Yeah, I know, but you told me not to come here alone. You are here now, so I am safe, right?' he held his head high, sounding pleased for saying such supposedly wise words.

Godzilla sighed, gazing upon the heavens and asking them for strength, 'Yes, I suppose.'

'So whatcha doing?' Kong persists with his usual inquisitive curiosity.

'Trying to figure out how to close this.' Godzilla answers, returning his focus on the gate.

Kong watched him with those wide orbs, 'Can you?'

Godzilla snorts, 'Oh, I can, but it is going to take some time to do it.'

'But youuu don't want to close it.' Kong tries to guess.

Godzilla rumbled, 'Oh, I do and I will, it is just, it makes me think. About many things.'

Kong smirked. He belched, 'Many, many, many, many, many, many-'

Godzilla shook his head, a smile working its way, 'Alright, alright, you little runt, suppose it wouldn't hurt for you to see how it is done-'

Both heads snap as chittering is heard. Warily, they glance at the pitch-black darkness. Kong saw nothing, while Godzilla did perfectly. His eyes nearly popped out as several shapes made themselves clearer and clearer. Shapes that could fly. Giant shapes.

Kong is quickly backing away, 'What was that-?'

'Leave for the jungle.' Godzilla orders, getting in his combat stance.

Kong watches the opening and him, 'But-'

'Leave!' He turns his head towards Kong, desperate to implore him-

Too late. One after another, at lightning speed, they leave the entrance. Green-red insect-shaped beings fly up in the air and circle them.

Four. He counts four. And each one is large for Kong but not for Godzilla, an individual being half his size, and could be easily squashed. But in numbers, they are a nightmare. Nasty mandibles, sharp sickle claws, and speed. Kamacuras — bloody bastards. Those damn mantises didn't fight at the beginning of the war—oh no, no, they joined their side at the very end when it was obvious they would be the victors. Cowards, all of them.

Oh, and they were so obnoxious.

'LOOK! LOOK! WE ARE ON THE SURFACE!', one shrieked so loud, Godzilla felt his head vibrate with pain, and he worried Kong's drums would pop. Thankfully, the little Cub hid under his legs and watched them with apprehension.

'YES, YES!' the one behind her who was the smallest screeched in agreement, twirling in the air. 'FINALLY!'

'MY SISTERS, WE HAVE THE FREE REIGN HERE!', the biggest looking one proclaimed, claws spread out. This one was in charge, so she was the first target.

'OH, I CAN'T WAIT TO TASTE THE LOCAL CUISINE!', the last Kamacura declares, sadism oozing off her.

'What are those-!?' Kong cried out in fear.

'Get to safety! Now!' Godzilla desperately tries to urge the gorilla to go away while the mantises are distracted.

And of course they're noticed. Damnit.

'Uhhhh, sisters… um…' , one Kamacura stopped and pointed at him.

The giant mantises halted their delighted flying and stared down at him; elation replaced with fear in those unblinking yellow compound eyes and black pseudo pupils that unnerved even him. Thankfully, most of these red-green morons were cowards so a possibility of a fight is minimal.

'Oh shit…!' the shrieking one swore in terror.

'You said it was a safe passage!', the lead Kamacura accused the smallest one.

'It was, those little Crawlers said so!', the smallest one defends.

'Well, maybe if you listened before munching on them, and not saving any for us, we wouldn't be facing him!', the sadist screeched.

Their heads snapped back at him when he emitted a low growl. 'Are you done with your little quarrel? Good. Now. Get. Back. Inside.' He points at the hole with authority.

'Oh come now!', they whine like children.

'It has been forever since we've seen the surface!', the leader tries to reason.

Godzilla squints. He knew a lot of Titans, even some Kamacuras, but he these group of morons, 'I don't recognize you. Have you ever been out here?'

The way they begin to glance at each other in alarm, like a bunch of stupid larvae, which they were, makes Godzilla want to pinch his snout like humans do.

The smallest waves her claws, 'Oh, uh yeah, we've been on the surface plenty of times! Long before, uh, before before… ummm…'

Godzilla snaps, 'Enough with the lies!'

They shut up, not wanting to aggravate him any further. Although he notices the leader starting to glare at him. Planning to do something stupid for sure, like try to kill him.

He rolls his eyes at that, 'Alright larvae-'

'LARVAE?!', the leader growls.

'HOW DARE YOU?!', the sadist points her claws at him.

'WE ARE GROWN-!', the shrieker protests.

'-leave.' Godzilla bares his teeth. 'Before I make you leave.'

'We won't leave! ', the smallest plays at bravado.

'Yeah, you are not the boss of us!', the leader declares.

Godzilla could only give her an unimpressed flat look, 'I actually am. I am the Protector of Balance-'

'PROTECT THIS, GRANDPA!'

The leading Kamacura dived in, claws raised, trying to stab Godzilla with them. Godzilla gave her an unimpressed look before grabbing the insect by the arms, turning around, and tossing the arrogant mantis far away.

The Kamacura met the ground, chittering in pain as it slid for several hundred feet, dirt and rocks flying everywhere. Godzilla hoped it would be enough for them to be scared.

It was not.

'Screw it! ATTACK!', the sadist roars, proving that stupidity is truly mightier than fear.

The remaining three rushed into action. The Kamacura number two that ordered the attack dived down straight into his neck, and she was too fast for Godzilla to counter.

*THAM

The combined elements of speed and strengths of a relatively light-weight Titan are enough to disorient him briefly, as if he were punched. He groans as numbers three and four use this opportunity to attack him on the side, their sickle claws stabbing him.

Godzilla growls in pain as he has had enough!

He feels his plates beginning to glow as he turns his attention to Three and Four and grabs the bastards by their throats. The Leader and her second-in-command jump on his head, biting him on the neck and snout. The pain prevents him from using his Atomic Breath. He isn't too concerned, however; they are merely annoying right now. Push through the pain. What harm could they actually do-?

'NO! Leave him alone!' he hears Kong cry out in anger.

Godzilla's eyes widen in panic as he realizes Kong did not use the opportunity to escape and instead was rushing towards them.

'NO! Damn Cub, stay away from this!'

The leader halted her assault and turned her ugly gaze upon Kong. The Cub froze in fear.

'Oh, what's this, a snack?' The leader hisses, licking her mandibles as she jumps from him at Kong.

The mere sight of Kong's terrified face was enough for a hot rage to engulf his being, the pain irrelevant in the face of losing his child. Godzilla hisses, spreads his arms, pushing the Kamacuras off him and letting out a mighty roar.

*SKREEEEEEEEOOOOOONK

He charges at the leading Kamacura, who stopped in her tracks and turned around, her giant orange orbs lit with fear at his furious advance. She raises her claws in surrender, 'Oh crap! Wait, wait, wait-!'

Godzilla doesn't allow her to plead, tackling her to the ground. In fear, she swipes the left claw, but he catches it with his teeth. Growling, he tears the claw out of her arm socket, or whatever the hell insects have, causing her to shriek in pain as green sludge pours from it. A buzzing is heard to his right, the sadist trying to attack him from the side.

Godzilla takes the claw out of his mouth and throws it at the Kamacura, smacking her in the face while the rest retreat. This gives him enough time to grab the wounded Kamacura by the throat and throw her back down with enough force to dent the ground. Lifting his foot high, he brings it down with full force on the Kamacura's head.

The leader has but a few seconds to scream in terror. 'NO NO NOOOOO-!'

*SQUELCH

The explosion of green liquid engulfs the area. Godzilla breathes heavily, removing his foot and gazing down at the squished face of the Kamacura.

'AAAARGH! YOU BASTARD! YOU'LL PAY!', the sadist roared, the idiot thinking that it would give her strength to fight him.

Godzilla quite frankly had enough of morons for one day. The advancement of the second-in-command is countered by Godzilla's hard swipe of his claw. And with it, the energy surges within him.

*vrrrm vrrrm vrrrm

The sadist rose for another strike, 'YOU-! Ah, crap…', she froze at the sight of his blue plates. And her upcoming death.

VRRRM VRRRM VRRRM- PSHOOOOOO!

Unlike the monstrous Alpha Crawler, the Kamacura is instantly set ablaze, the fire covering her entire body. She's writhing on the grounds, rolling around, desperately trying to snuff out the powerful flames. Her cries of pain are short before succumbing to the flames. Godzilla stares down at the scorched corpse with cold fury. He does not turn to address the remaining two giant mantises, trembling with terror and not daring to make a move.

'The surface is off-limits for anyone from the Inner Earth.' He proclaims, 'And tell anyone who dares to do so,' he turns and glares death at them, 'will be destroyed. Now, fleeee!'

'LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!', the shrieker urges.

'WE WILL NEVER FORGET THIS!', the small one threatens.

'YEAH! THE BIG BOSS WILL HEAR OF THIS-!'

*SKREEEEEEEEEEOOOOOONK

They scramble as pathetic cowards they are. As swiftly as they came, they swiftly ran back inside. Godzilla huffed as the sound of their wings got weaker and weaker until they were gone.

Who sent them? That thing they said. Big Boss? Who the hell is Big Boss?

Through all the turmoil his mind goes through, he still notices a shuffling near him.

'Are you alright?' Kong timidly asks.

Godzilla takes a deep breath to calm himself. He looks down at the Cub who hung his head, 'I should be asking that. What were you thinking? I told you to go hide in the jungle-!'

'They were hurting you!' he looks up at Godzilla, showing worry.

He sighs, and he hisses. Some of those mandibles nearly punctured his thick skin-

Godzilla stops. He feels blood dripping past his right eye. A mere trickle, but for Kong…

He wipes his head, 'I am alright, little one, the worst those weaklings could give me are but a few painful stings, nothing more. Beyond that, they are completely harmless.' He waves it off.

'To you, they are…', he mutters. 'I couldn't do anything, could I?' Kong now turned his back on him and hugged himself.

Godzilla could understand a part of it. To be helpless, not being able to do anything. He lowers himself on all fours and approaches the Cub. He gently taps him with his snout, 'Hey, don't be sad. One day, you will grow up. You will be big! Bigger than them, bigger than your pare…, ah…' he halts as he winces.

'…Bigger than my parents?' Kong asks timidly, turning around to face him.

Godzilla gives him a firm, reassuring nod, 'Yes. Even bigger than them.'

Kong nodded back, 'What… what about the hole?' he points at it.

'Well, it would seem it needs to be closed with urgency. I-''

Kong rolled his eyes, 'Yes, yes. I go to the Iwi, and you will close this and come back for me-'

'Actually, I think you should stay.' Kong blinked in surprise. 'To learn a bit how things are done.'

'Great!' Kong jumped in excitement as Godzilla lifted himself.

'Just be at a safe distance, little one. We don't want another fight today, right?', he points at the burning carcass.

Kong sighed, 'Right.'

As Godzilla prepares to close the breach, he looks back at Kong twiddling his thumbs.

'What?'

'Say… Can I eat that?'

'Ugh, wait until the flames go out!'


After the gate was closed and they had their mantis lunch, Godzilla went to the beach with Kong, playing with the Cub to ease the little Titan's mind. It worked, as Kong spent the remainder of the day hollering with joy and splashing in the shallow water. Godzilla found it infectious, for he too felt happiness at the sight. He didn't even mind the several members of the Iwi tribe watching them. As day traded places with the night, they've returned to their Sanctuary, resting after an eventful day.

'Why didn't you do it?' Kong asks, resting atop his head.

'Hm? Do what?' Godzilla hums. He lay with just his head outside. Together, they had a nice view of a clear sky showing beautiful stars.

'Close the breach sooner? You know how to, but didn't. Why?'

My, my he is quite persistent with the heavy stuff, isn't he?

Godzilla huffs, 'Inner Earth. It's supposed to mean home. And I feel I should go there. But I don't. Most of the time I spent here on the surface.' And most of the time he spent lost in the memories of those days.

'Don't you want to go back there? To see home?' Kong wonders himself.

'Of course I do. But I feel… I felt if I left the surface for even a moment, something bad would happen. Something bad to you.' Godzilla admits.

Kong hummed, deep in thought. Godzilla grunted when the Ape suddenly jumped.

'Wow, look!' he points at the sky.

Godzilla saw it. Patterns of brilliant lights slowly appeared, covering the entire sky in a dynamic display of beautiful green and pink spirally rays dancing for everyone to see.

'It looks so beautiful…', Kong breathed out as he lay back down, at the awe of the amazing sight.

Godzilla chuckled in agreement, 'It is. Sights like this exist in the entire world. And this entire world is my home. Our home. Inner Earth could be that too. But it's different in there. You know little one, there is more to the world than this Island.'

'…It's the only home I know.' Kong whispers.

'Well, in that case, perhaps I will take you one day to see the world itself.' Godzilla offers.

Kong gasped, 'Really?'

Godzilla smirked, 'Really.'

Kong fell asleep shortly after that. Godzilla felt the edges of slumber getting closer. Feeling the small weight atop his head, Godzilla felt all would be alright in this beautiful world that had contained numerous dangers.


*peeks nervously around the corner

So… It has been nearly nine months since the last update.

*nervous laughter

Biggest apologies to everyone who waited so long for an update. Numerous things, such as my job, my personal life, writer's block, and trying to figure out how to write this story and in which direction to move in.

This chapter has been mostly a lore dump slash Godzilla and Kong bonding, but you get a short interaction and a fight with old Godzilla villains from the Showa Era, so I hope you enjoyed that.

Right, now the next chapter will be a short time skip and will entail a historic event. How are our two protagonists involved? Well, stay tuned for the next chapter.