Author: Harley Jameson | Banner: Vincent Rodger
Rain hammered against the roof of the National Weather Station hub and the two midnight workers were bored out of their minds. The storm hadn’t been severe enough to issue a warning, but they were the ones chosen that day for the graveyard shift. One worker with messy brown hair and wearing a hoodie over his usual work clothes took a sip of the coffee his co-worker had provided. “We need to replace the coffee filter Logan,” he said, before taking another sip. “This tastes like crap.”
“We’ve needed to replace the filter for weeks Bruce,” Logan replied lazily, shifting through various streams of weather-related data. “If you wanna go out in that mess, then feel free.” They both glanced up as a peal of thunder shook the heavens above them. “Jesus, we might need to issue a storm warning after all. It’s getting pretty bad out there.”
Bruce hummed thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair and reading over the data on his computer. “Yeah, maybe. Lemme see if we can get a better image of the storm…” He leaned over lazily, typing his commands into the keyboard to get a couple different graphs and viewpoints before frowning. “That can’t be right,” he said, straightening up and typing more urgently.
His eyes widened in alarm, and he stared open mouthed at his computer. “Logan,” he said after a moment. “Come here and tell me that I’ve gone insane.”
His co-worker did as asked, standing up and walking over to the computer and stiffening at the sight. “What the hell…” He mumbled, walking over to his own computer and typing in the same requests that Bruce had typed into his. The two men gave each other an awkward stare, the rain slamming against the roof of the building. “That… that’s not possible,” Logan said at last.
Bruce rubbed his face with his hands, before scooting over on his chair to grab the phone. “I’m calling Jess, she can chew me out for waking her up all she wants.” He began dialing his boss’s number, tapping his fingers nervously against the desk. “But I don’t know what the hell to do about thi- Jess? Yeah, it’s Bruce. Look I know it’s late but something really bad is happening.”
Gaze flickering towards the computer screen, he took a small breath. “It’s El Niño, Jess. It’s moving.”
—-
Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
The winds shrieked viciously and heavy rains lashed against the turbulent and boiling oceans. Waves rose up and crashed violently back down onto the water, spraying foam and water everywhere before the whole area was lit up with the blinding flash of lightning in the storm clouds.
Water exploded outwards and a howling roar tore through the air above the cacophony of nature. With a bright flash of blue light, Godzilla fired his atomic ray wildly up into the storm clouds blindly, poking holes that were quickly covered up by more of the storm. The waves reared up and splashed against Godzilla’s chest and head. Meanwhile, lightning slammed around the King of the Monsters, sending mist and sparks showering into the air when it hit the water.
Godzilla roared again, fighting to keep his head above the angry water and firing another atomic ray into the sky, only for another wave to crash against his face and cut it short with a spluttering cough. The loud, deafening roar of thunder exploded from the heavens and another bolt of lightning came screaming down and hit Godzilla directly on the few exposed dorsal plates. He screamed as his body was pumped with electricity, seizing in agony for a brief moment.
The whistling of the winds grew stronger. The ocean seethed in tune with Godzilla and he once again fired his atomic ray into the storm clouds, uncaring this time as seawater and lightning danced all around him. A huge wave swelled up, and the colossus fired another atomic ray at the rising water to no avail. With a deafening crash Godzilla was swept away by the furious wall of water as it collapsed down on top of him, sending him spiraling back into the depths of the ocean. Above him, the storm grew heavier. The sound of thunder became more distant as something moved in the clouds towards Japan. Beneath the waves, Godzilla began his pursuit.
—
Lake Ishi
The rain had merged into a single, droning noise on the lakeside manor, drowning out the sounds of the television news station as it reported on the storm warning that was now being formally issued. Now formally the Okouchi household, the scent of warming herbal tea was only offset by the occasional crashing of the lake’s churning waters. Former major, now commander of the aerial side of G-Force, Ryuunosuke Fujin sat in the living room with his cane splayed across his lap, watching the news half-heartedly.
“You know, some would call it unfair that I had a head-start on stocking up for the storm,” The light, teasing tone of Asuka Okouchi broke through the monotony of the rain with a tray of piping hot tea and a few sandwiches. She smiled, a slight twinkle in her eye as she set the tea down and poured the commander a cup. “Especially by such a high ranking member of G-Force. Honey?”
Ryuunosuke waved his hand a bit, sitting up a bit more in his chair. “Officially, I told you absolutely nothing. Besides, this part of the country is rather isolated. By the time the official announcement went out, you probably wouldn’t have had time to supply yourself properly, Miss Okouchi.”
“Please, Commander, call me Asuka,” she insisted firmly, placing his tea on the table next to him with a sandwich. Another teasing smile twitched on her lips. “Although I suppose it helps people believe that you’re not my father, with how much you’ve tried to take care of me lately.”
He chuckled, blowing into his tea and taking a sip. The liquid scalded his throat a little, but the taste was worth it in his opinion. “All I did was make sure that you got to keep the house that… that Miss Segusa had, and if you want to be called Asuka, then I want to be called Ryuunosuke. You’re not formally part of G-Force, you don’t have to address me by rank.”
Asuka hummed, sipping her own tea and watching the Major carefully. “And it’s the guilt over her death that keeps driving you to try and help me.” Swallowing a bite of her sandwich, she leaned back on the loveseat. “Even though my powers are waning, it doesn’t take an ESP to see how much it’s affected you.” Her eyes glanced down at his cane. “That with the stress of your new promotion…”
With a guilty shrug, he took another sip of his tea. “I manage. If the world thinks I’m going to roll over because I need a cane to walk, they’re dead wrong.” He sniffed, motioning with his cup. “This tea, Asuka, is very good by the way.”
Rolling her eyes a bit at the blatant attempt to change the subject, Asuka leaned over and turned the volume on her TV up a few notches. “If it wasn’t raining so hard, I’d take you out to the greenhouse. I’ve finally finished rebuilding it and I’ve started on a flower garden.” A sad, wistful smile blossomed on her face. “I’ve started with Roses. I thought it was appropriate, considering… considering Miki’s passion before joining me at the school. You know…”
Leaning over, she set her teacup down on the tray and poured herself another cup. “If you find the military too exhausting, you could always join the school and help me teach the younger ones. It’s a bit difficult with just myself there now.”
Ryuunosuke snorted into his sandwich, shaking his head and wiping his mouth a bit. “I mean you no offense Asuka, but I’d rather deal with the incompetent morons of the Self Defense Force than a bunch of high schoolers.”
She laughed out loud at that, giving an exaggerated exhale. “I guess you have a point. But if you ever change your mind, the door’s always open.” A shrill beep suddenly pierced the air, causing Asuka to jump a bit as the major pulled out his pager.
He squinted at the message, before sighing and grabbing his cane. “It seems I’m needed back at the base. I’m sorry, it looks like I’ll have to cut this meeting short.” Planting his cane on the floor, he hauled himself up and waved away Asuka’s attempts to help him. “Be safe, will you?”
She pulled him in for a brief hug. “Only if you do the same, Ryuunosuke.”
Returning the gesture, he adjusted his jacket a bit and gave her a wry smile. “I’ll do my best, assuming Godzilla doesn’t beat me to it.” Chuckling darkly, he made his way to the door and pulled on his raincoat and stepped outside into the storm, sloshing through the mud a bit as he made his way over to his car and stepped inside.
Rubbing his hands together, he dumped the raincoat on the passenger’s seat and turned the motor, cranking up the heater and pulling out of the driveway slowly. Despite the message summoning him back, he had to drive carefully over the slippery mud and unpaved roads of Lake Ishi until he made it back to the highway.
—-
G-Force Japanese HQ
Grateful for once about the insulated warmth of the sleek silver-grey building of G-Force headquarters, Commander Fujin hobbled his way past the receptionist’s area and down the stairs towards the heart of the building. His leg throbbed a bit as he briskly marched down to the control center, computer screens whirring and various screens blasting information at a breakneck pace. They had shut the elevators down due to the storm, out of fear that someone would get trapped in there. A few men saluted him as he passed by. “At ease, Men.” He raised his voice so it would be heard over the din of computer banks and conversation. “Anyone want to tell me why I was called down here?”
One of the scientists, Ryuunosuke couldn’t quite remember his name, approached him with his hand slightly raised. “It was General Kazuma, sir. I believe he said he’d personally fill you in on the situation. We already have a representative of the SDF here in the war room. If you’ll follow me, sir.”
The commander rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he followed the scientist to the war room. General Kazuma, the man in charge of G-Force’s ground troops, ordinarily didn’t give briefings himself. He believed his rank meant that he didn’t need to get involved with the nitty gritty of everyday soldiering anymore. His grip tightened on his cane, realizing that the situation must be serious if Kazuma was willing to get his hands dirty a bit.
The war room was already packed with a few individuals. The General, a man in a Self Defense Force uniform, a couple of his best pilots and what he presumed to be a couple of Kazuma’s men. Kazuma was studying a map of the storm, his angular features shadowed by the light. He turned his gaze towards his co-worker and gave a brief nod of acknowledgement. “Good, you’re finally here.” He turned, hands clasped behind his back. “To put it in the terms of our American counterpart: We’re up shit creek without a paddle.” He inclined his hand to one of his men, who handed a couple of files to the Commander. “We’ve got a more detailed report of the storm and we’ve found that there’s some sort of creature that’s living inside of it.”
Ryuunosuke opened the file, studying the few blurry photographs of the rainswept skies and reading over the information detailed therein as Kazuma continued. “The violent nature of the storm means that we don’t know much about this creature, except that it is responsible for the weather phenomena known as ‘El Niño.’ The only other bits of information we found was its name: Balkzardan.”
The commander nodded, still reading as he absorbed the information. “So this Balkzardan is responsible for the storm,” He concluded, although he knew it was an obvious one to draw. Finally, he looked up and met Kazuma’s impassive gaze. “Yet that’s not the sole reason you called me back here, is it? While this creature must undoubtedly be dealt with, I presume Godzilla is somehow involved.”
Kazuma studied him for a few moments, before nodding sharply. “Yes, unfortunately that is the case. Just before our satellites stopped being able to track him, Godzilla was reported to be following the storm.” His voice grew quiet now, more serious. “It’s likely that Godzilla perceives Balkzardan as a threat or invading his territory, and is trying to ward him off. With the storm coming over the mainland…”
Ryuunosuke felt his chest tighten a bit, and he finished the morbid line of logic the other man had started. “Godzilla will follow, causing untold devastation in his wake.” He sighed, looking down at the paperwork that now suddenly felt like it weighed as much as the King of the Monsters. “And evacuation attempts?”
“Slow, the storm is impeding the process greatly,” Kazuma explained, bowing his head a bit. “I’m afraid that if a flood starts, our normal kaiju shelters will be overrun with water. We have storm shelters as well, but they’re not quite as protected against Godzilla. A lot of people are going to die it seems, no matter what we do.”
“There must be something we can do,” Ryuunosuke objected, slapping his cane against the ground. Furiously his mind tried to come up with some kind of solution. “Is there no way we can force this Balkzardan out of the sky? Perhaps we can shoot it down before it’s too late.”
Kazuma shook his head briefly, giving his co-worker a sad look. “You know as well as I do that won’t work. None of our aircraft are capable of flying against a kaiju that can literally create a thunderstorm. I’ve no doubt the ability of your pilots, but…”
A voice cut through at that moment, “Sir!” and all eyes turned to Fujin’s second in command and best pilot, a young looking American, Nicholas Wright. “With all due respect sir, there is one craft we have that could theoretically brave the weather.”
Fujin leaned over, giving Wright a hard, knowing look. “The Garuda hasn’t been properly flight tested yet, Nick. You know that as well as I do. We can’t take the risk of flying her into this sort of weather.”
Wright shook his head, leaning forward on the table a bit. “No, Sir. The Garuda is our only chance to properly lure this Balkzardan out in the open. Godzilla won’t stop chasing it, and if it keeps traveling, it could potentially go to other countries.” He sat back down, his voice clipped with fear and trepidation of speaking his opinion so brashly to his superiors. “If we can either shoot Balkzardan down or stop its advance, then perhaps we could corral it into a fight against Godzilla, like we did a year ago with that Dogora creature.”
“No!” Ryuunosuke spat firmly, slamming his fist down on the table. “No, I won’t order more good men and women to their deaths again,” he breathed out, his chest tightening and his leg burning with a sudden agony. “There must be another way.”
Wright gave his superior a determined, grim look. “With all respect, Commander Ryuunosuke. I don’t see another way. I’ll personally lead the flight mission to attempt to halt Balkzardan,” he took a breath, before continuing. “We’re already risking a lot of lives trying to keep track of Godzilla. With the storm’s interference, we have a naval fleet tracking him the old fashioned way.”
His brow furrowed, and he gestured to the screen in front of him. “And as you can see, sir, we’ve already lost a few ships with this process. This will be our best bet to make sure all of our sailors can make it back to land in one piece.”
Ryuunosuke felt the world grow black for a moment. He knew Nicholas was right, there wasn’t an option he could see that didn’t involve sending good people to their deaths again. His mind cast back to Miki Segusa, of her sacrifice to try and stop Dogora. Would he have to live with more deaths on his conscience?
He let out a slow breath. “I’m getting too old for this,” He admitted to himself, before nodding and standing up sharply. “Very well, Wright. I’ll authorize the mission.” Wright seemed taken aback, but nodded and stood up with his superior. “But I want one thing to be clear: Under no circumstances are you to take any unnecessary risks. Your mission objective is to either down Balkzardan or force it out into the open. The second this objective is complete, you’re to return to base immediately. Am I understood?”
“Yes sir!”
Ryuunosuke studied his second in command for a moment, before nodding in satisfaction. “Alright, Nick. Get your best men and prep the Garuda for launch. Good luck out there.” He clapped the American on the shoulder.
General Kazuma ordered the others out of the room, back to their stations and sat down next to Ryuunosuke. “Are you alright?” He asked, a surprising gentleness in his voice.
The Commander gave a weary sigh, smoothing his hair back with his hand. “I don’t know if I can keep this up anymore,” he confessed quietly. “This is the second time we’ve had to do something like this. Ordering men to their deaths because we’re not capable of stopping the threat ourselves. I wonder if I’m cut out for this type of life anymore.”
Kazuma said nothing, and instead sat with his friend in contemplative silence as the lights flickered and distant thunder shuddered far above the ground. It was only when the door hissed open that they both looked up to see a nervous looking soldier. “Sir, Godzilla’s made landfall.”
—–
The water sprayed off of his charcoal black hide like fine-mist thanks to the storm winds. The waves violently rolled and slapped against his legs. Godzilla marched angrily onto the shore, giving an angry cry upwards at the raging tempest. Thunder boomed in response, the winds picking up dramatically and rain lashing hard against the King of the Monsters. Dorsal plates flashing briefly, Godzilla fired an atomic breath into the storm clouds, only to be blown off of his feet when the force of a hurricane slammed into him.
He fell back into the ocean, spluttering in anger until lightning slammed down onto his still-wet form. A howl of anguish mixed with pure rage and Godzilla fired wildly up into the darkened skies, dragging himself out of the ocean. Another harsh hurricane-force wind sent Godzilla sprawling into the mud, splattering across his hide. Digging his claws in the muck, Godzilla began crawling through the sludge and the mud, firing his atomic breath with relentless abandon into the storm clouds above. He reached out, slowly pulling himself through the muddy ground until he was finally able to stand back up on his own two feet.
Dorsal plates flashing violently, Godzilla shot at the ground around him in frustration with his spiral ray and arched it up to the sky, sending more mud rocketing up into the air. The clouds parted slightly when the powerful blue beam shot into them. The thunder boomed ominously and Godzilla continued his trek towards the city, lightning flashing above him. There would be nothing short of death itself that would stop him.
—–
The hangar bay for the Garuda was already flooded as Captain Wright and his two best pilots sloshed through the bay. All of the most vital equipment had been removed to higher ground, with tools sunken to the bottom and various other equipment floating on the waist high water. The Garuda herself stood resplendently amidst the water and the debris, sleek dull silver and ready for launch. They sloshed through the water, hauling themselves up one at a time into the Garuda. “Remind me why we didn’t install air conditioning on this?” His co-pilot, Apollo, grumbled as he strapped himself in.
The third, a navigator and weapons expert, strapped herself in and grinned at her co-workers. “And waste vital tax-payer dollars? For shame Lieutenant Justice.”
Captain Wright coughed, flicking a few switches and sitting back as the engines to the Garuda began warming up. “Athena, Apollo, I need you two to focus. We’re going to be flying in some real rough weather out there. We’re strong, but we’re not invincible. We don’t even know what this “Balkzardan” looks like, so we need to be prepared for anything.”
Athena frowned at him, nodding seriously. “Even Godzilla, boss?”
Sucking a breath, Captain Wright leaned over a monitor. “We’ll pray we don’t have too. Weapons check?”
“All systems are green.”
Athena pulled a headset on, tuning the radio to the right frequency and leaning over in the microphone. “Open the doors and clear the hanger, we’re ready to launch.”
Gripping the throttle, Captain Wright pursed his lips. “Be ready for a lot of water.”
The shuttle doors opened and a giant wave of water came pounding into the base. The Garuda’s rockets roared into life and blasted away the water around the edges creating a superheated bubble around the flames as the entire craft was instantly submerged.
The ship shuddered ominously before lurching forward. Captain Wright grit his teeth and slammed on the throttle, pushing the Garuda’s engines to the maximum as the mighty ship began slowly moving through the water. It boiled around them thanks to the heat of the engines, until finally the nose broke through the surface and with a loud sonic boom the Garuda launched off into the air at full speed.
Rain and winds lashed at the Garuda as it flew through the air at Mach 3. Lightning rained down around them and from high above they saw the flooded streets of Tokyo, the waters slamming into skyscrapers and completely obscuring smaller buildings. A deep blue light hummed from the storm clouds and the Garuda angled upwards. If they wanted to be at Balkzardan, they needed to go into the heart of the storm.
The Garuda shot off like a rocket, piercing into the storm clouds. The crew remained silent as they fought through the intensity of the winds and the rains. The radio hissed with static before a single word caught their attention. “Godzilla-” before it died by the clap of thunder.
The warning sensors screamed and the Garuda swerved suddenly, a blue beam of energy piercing through the clouds underneath them. Godzilla had clearly made landfall and was still trying to get at Balkzardan from the ground. The distant rumble of thunder and a low echoing cry alerted the crew towards the mysterious creature’s presence.
The twin lasers blasted into the clouds and flew in deeper. The radar was going haywire, and with visibility low they could only rely on the sounds of the monsters to indicate Balkzardan’s location. Another harrowing cry before suddenly the crew was blinded by a flash of lightning crashing into the ship. Sparks flew from the console and Captain Wright wrestled with the controls, diving away and firing another blast of the laser cannons.
“Boss, this is getting ridiculous,” Athena chipped in. Her hands were flying over the various instruments to reroute power from damaged systems into fresh ones. “We can’t even hit this thing- even Godzilla can’t hit it.”
“We have to try,” Wright insisted, the whole ship shuddering as something flew past it at speeds faster than the eye can see. “One good hit and we’ll finally be at the advantage. Apollo, I need your eyes more than ever. Athena, try to pinpoint Balkzardan’s sounds through the storm.”
Apollo leaned over the console, staring intently into the storm as Athena cranked up the external volume outside and closed her eyes. Another roar sounded in the distance, and some of the clouds shifted. Apollo sat back down, frantically typing in various flight paths and data into the terminal. Athena began doing the same, the targeting systems flailing around wildly before slowing down. They crawled across the screen, before locking on. “There!” They both screamed.
The Plasma Needles were fired into a mass of boiling black clouds and they briefly lit up, the explosions muffled by the noise of the storm. A loud cry of pain echoed out around them as another of Godzilla’s atomic rays crashed into the stormcloud and elicited a louder cry of agony.
The storm hummed around the Garuda and before the ship could properly react it was bombarded from all sides by lightning. Engines failing and the crew fried, the Garuda dove down and crashed into the flooded streets of Tokyo.
In the flood stood an angry and tense Godzilla. He watched the clouds with narrowed eyes, wanting to see if the intruder to his territory had been defeated. He called out another challenge into the sky, daring the storm to bring its occupant down to fight him. He jerked in surprise when a loud rumble of thunder and the equally loud cry of the creature finally answered his call.
The clouds parted and Balkzardan finally began descending from the skies. Its pitch-white hide shone with unnatural light as its feet touched the floodwaters so delicately that they didn’t even leave ripples in its wake. Two glowing yellow horns surged with electricity and the graceful creature’s eyes were full of malice and contempt.
The two monsters stared at one another for a long time. Neither willing to make the first move until Balkzardan crouched down slightly. Godzilla took a step forward and suddenly Balkzardan was on top of him, shoulder checking him and sending a great outpouring of electricity coursing into Godzilla’s body thanks to the Spark Dash. The water sprayed over them and Godzilla felt explosions rip into his chest thanks to the sheer power and tried to swipe with his claws.
To his surprise, Balkzardan was already gone. He looked around wildly, seeing trails of water before a brief crack of thunder sounded and he screamed in pain when a yellow beam of electricity hit his dorsal plates. The Tornado Bolt fuelled Godzilla’s body again with deadly lightning and Godzilla spasmed, thrashing in the water.
Balkzardan galloped with ease across the surface of the flood, riding the turbulent waves and crashing rains with grace that belied its size. He skidded around, firing another Tornado Bolt at Godzilla who dove into the water to avoid the attack before rearing back up and firing an atomic ray at Balkzardan.
With a giant sheen of electricity, a yellow and blue forcefield overcame Balkzardan. The water around him began to turn into steam as it was electrocuted and the atomic ray was harmlessly absorbed into the S Thunder. Moving forward, Balkzardan leaped into the air and pounced down onto Godzilla, the S Thunder detonating around them both and engulfing Godzilla in a massive explosion.
Pushing his front paws onto Godzilla’s shoulders, Balkzardan shoved the King of the Monsters down into the water. Godzilla thrashed wildly as Balkzardan held him in place. The sky god’s horns glowed for a moment before he shot another Tornado Bolt down at Godzilla through the water, coating him in electricity.
Godzilla seized, trying to gasp for air and choking when water poured into his throat. His eyes rolled up inside his head and he tried to fire his atomic ray, his spines flashing brighter and faster but nothing came out as he drowned. Something inside his chest squeezed tight, Godzilla felt himself propelled away from Balkzardan as the water exploded violently from atomic fury. An accidental nuclear pulse sent Balkzardan careening away and crashing into the waves with Godzilla.
His vision dimmed and Godzilla rose to the surface. He stood up, gasping for breath against the stormy and salty air. A coughing fit overcame him, and he doubled over before expelling water out of his mouth and shuddering violently. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked around for Balkzardan.
The waters raged around him, and for a brief moment he thought he could sense something else in the water. His eyes narrowed towards the waters, wondering what the strange sensation was before a clap of thunder arrested his attention again. He looked up to see Balkzardan’s back protrusions sticking out of the water. Lightning slammed against them and with a great show of power the sky god rose into the air and began galloping across the skies before settling on one of the rooftops.
He stared down at Godzilla, who immediately began struggling to get closer to his opponent. Godzilla fired a weaker atomic ray at the building but Balkzardan shot off into the skies as it exploded behind him. Swinging around, Balkzardan touched down on the water and sprinted over, slapping Godzilla with his tail as he did so.
The speed at which he did so, combined with his electrified attack, caused a minor explosion across Godzilla’s face, staggering the King of the Monsters. Balkzardan spun around and sprinted towards Godzilla again, his body glowing white. He crashed into Godzilla, sending the Spark Dash’s energy into his foe’s battered and beaten body once more.
Pain he had never experienced coursed through Godzilla. He was acutely aware of the explosions on his body but nothing compared to the pain he was feeling within his chest. His heart beat faster and faster. Supercharged with all of the electricity. Then in an instant, it stopped. Godzilla felt his heart stop. He froze, staring wide eyed into the sky.
For a split second, Godzilla had died. Death had edged into his surroundings before his regeneration forced his heart to begin beating again. He gasped out as his senses returned to him and panic overrode his senses. He gave an animalistic shriek of fear and fired his atomic ray like a wild animal, sweeping it around and blasting everything he could see and even more he couldn’t.
Godzilla hadn’t noticed that one of his atomic rays had hit Balkzardan until he heard the cry of pain it brought out. His gaze focused, then tunnel-visioned on the trembling monster. The god that had brought him to death’s door. With a renewed sense of life fueled by his fear and panic, Godzilla sprinted after Balkzardan like a demon from hell, screaming like a wild banshee and firing his atomic breath at the god.
The blue beam of nuclear fury hit Balkardan square in the chest as he tried to rise into the sky, throwing him across the city. Godzilla was on top of him in an instant and all semblance of self control was gone as Godzilla clawed frantically at Balkzardan. Blood and flesh were sent flying as Godzilla forewent even his atomic powers in his desperate and insane attempt to murder Balkzardan.
It was only the erecting of another electric shield that forced Godzilla away from his opponent. Balkzardan rose into the sky suddenly, firing volley after volley of Tornado Bolts that crashed against Godzilla’s chest and sent the frothing kaiju into seizures with each hit.
Balkzardan kept rising into the air and swerved out of the way as an atomic breath nearly collided with the S Thunder again. Before long, he had disappeared back into the clouds and they were receding slowly. Sunlight shone down on the panting Godzilla and his mind took a minute to register what had happened. He looked around, suddenly feeling tired and confused, and it was only when he saw his reflection in the sparkling waters that it truly sunk in.
Godzilla opened his mouth to unleash a victory cry and instead fell back into the water with a thunderous splash. He forced himself back up into a sitting position and slumped against one of the ruined buildings, trying to get his breath back. Everything in him ached, from his muscles to his bones to his organs. Godzilla sat there, chest heaving and staring blankly at the sky for a few moments.
He looked around again, only now noticing the bodies of the little humans floating in the water around him. A watery graveyard of those who weren’t able to survive the flood. He watched the bodies float around aimlessly, knowing how close he had become to being one of the many corpses in the water. Something stirred within him but he was too exhausted to process the new emotions yet one question did pervade in his mind: Was this worth it?
Godzilla stood up, reflecting on his past encounters. Biollante, Dogora, and now this god of thunder. He had nearly died three times in such a short amount of time. He felt his chest and mentally corrected himself. He had died this time, it was only through some miracle that he survived this encounter.
No, he realized. He had died twice now. Twice he had nearly been killed and it was only through powers he wasn’t aware of and couldn’t understand that he was still breathing. Was all of this pain and agony worth the need to assert his dominance? Who was he trying to prove this too, the humans? Himself? Was this worth dying twice over?
He began walking away in quiet contemplation, being careful to avoid any of the buildings as he made his way towards the sea. He needed to sleep, to heal from his injuries. Maybe then would he find the answers he sought.
Godzilla dipped beneath the waves of the calm ocean and disappeared without another sound.
—-
The water had taken weeks to drain from the city. In that time, Ryuunosuke had focused his efforts on the relief process and helping wherever his aging body could. They had dredged the Garuda from the city and he knew there were three more funerals he would have to attend this year. This wasn’t worth the pain, not to his old heart. With renewed purpose, he began walking towards the nearest phone booth and wondered how difficult it would be to teach psychic kids.
—-
The clean-up crew stared in astonishment at the sight before them. A sleek, perfectly preserved skeleton. Dorsal plates glistened with water, and there was no mistaking who this belonged to. A crowd had gathered around the site and the police were already keeping them at bay. Scientists would likely be swarming the new discovery like a colony of ants. The foreman leaned on his mop, looking unimpressed. “What’s the big deal about a bunch of old bones anyways?” he asked no one in particular, and fell back into silence as they all watched them paw over the first Godzilla’s skeleton.
—
Water poured from the warped roof of her former home. She had kept coming back every day while the construction crews brought the dead out of their demolished homes, hoping that they would finally find her parents. A dark cloud seemed to hang around the teenager and she walked sullenly through her old house, retracing her steps to her room. Godzilla had done this, had ripped her family away from her and demolished the only home she knew. One day she would make him pay for what he did, but she had no idea how. It was only the sight of something strange that snapped her out of her dark thoughts.
Staring, she walked cautiously over towards what was unmistakably an egg sitting on her ruined bed. She knelt down, reaching out and brushing a gentle hand over it. Something connected with her mind and she jerked back in alarm. The presence seemed to shy away but she quickly went back up and placed her hand on the egg. “It’s okay, I’m not mad,” she whispered quietly. “You just startled me. I won’t hurt you.”
Ayana sat there, communicating with the creature in the egg and gave it a new name.
“I’ll take care of you Iris, I promise.”
Draw: Godzilla (Heisei), Balkzardan
