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| Godzilla: Genesis of the Leviathan |
By Hudson12
Prologue
Tokyo, Japan
September 1, 1996
Just looking at the Haz-Mat workers made Major Kojima uneasy. He watched them as they pranced around in the rubble, oblivious to the possible dangers that surrounded them outside their suits. Truly terrible dangers; radiation poisoning, exposure to some mutant virus, anything. The flashback went through his mind like a dagger. The year, 1954. The place; Tokyo. The dead and dying lined the walls of the hospital, laying on floors, makeshift cots, piling up one at a time, more and more coming in every minute.
“Help me,” the old man had said gruffly. “Help me, boy. I need water.”
The little boy, Goro Kojima, had been barely six. Maybe seven. He too had been exposed to the radiation brought by this new menace; brought by Godzilla. He had ignored the old man, for he wasn’t a nurse.
He couldn’t block out the screaming of the women and children about him as he leaned his body against the wall and awaited some medical assistance. His mind replayed the events of last night. The creature, Destroyer they had called it, had come earlier, having something to do with the tunnel. Something to do with the Oxygen Destroyer. The flashbacks came again. He remember the yelling and screaming of delight in the hospital from the sick when the news come that Godzilla had been destroyed by a certain Daisuke Serizawa and his invention, the Oxygen Destroyer.
“Sir, Nagashima has sent over a reading from the Geiger counter.” Said the private, saluting before his superior officer.
“What does it say?” Asked Kojima.
“The radiation is below the hazard mark. There isn’t enough to be of any danger, sir.”
How could that be? The monster had just melted down, right here, in the heart of the city. There was enough radiation put off to kill anything. Anything!
“Lieutenant! Take me through the rubble for a good look!”
“Yes sir!” The boy hollered from inside the jeep. Kojima held on tight to the roll bar at the top of the jeep as the lieutenant started forward, down a deserted road into ground zero. The jeep would sway to and fro occasionally, as the Lt would swerve around chunks of concrete and other assorted rubble. He remembered more of the night before as he noticed a few of the MAZER tanks that had been rendered useless in the wake of Godzilla’s meltdown. He could see it as clearly as if it was really there. Godzilla, with a crimson aura, stalking through the city, lured in by Junior. Kojima had been surprised that the younger monster had survived its encounter with Destroyer.
A sudden realization clicked in his mind.
What had happened to Junior?
Sure, the little chap had been badly wounded by the omega stage Destroyer, but had it been enough to kill it? And if not, was it still lying out there now, waiting for G-Force or Self Defense Forces to stumble across it? Would it be hostile?
He unclipped the radio from his belt.
“Sugiyama, do you copy?” He asked into the radio.
“Copy, sir.”
“I want standard forces ready for a offensive strike. Copy?” Said Kojima.
“Loud and clear sir. Is there something we should be informed of?” Asked Sugiyama.
“Nothing to worry about, Corporal, just a hunch I’ve got.”
That hunch turned out to be nothing more, to Kojima’s relief. Six hours of combing the rubble revealed neither tooth nor claw of Junior. Except for that set of foot prints leading to the ocean, but that didn’t proof a thing…
End-Prologue
Chapter 1
Osaka, Japan
June 23, 2002
Miki had always been amazed by the children, and even more so recently, now that the worms had come close enough to give them a good scare. Of course, the children hadn’t been as panicked as she and Tomi. Why, poor Tomi had wet herself when that MASER beam sliced the top right hand corner of the building away.
“Yasuo.” She said to one of the taller children. The boy turned to her with that cold stair on his face that they always had. This was something else that amazed her. This boy, clearly 10 or 11 years of age from appearance, was only 3, having been lifted from the artificial womb around the middle of 1999. But his looks weren’t that deceiving, for he was the eldest member of the group.
“What are you children doing now?” Miki asked. The boy turned back toward the window that he and the other nine had been staring out of. Almost one mile away, they could see the ocean, and had made a habit of watching it for the last two hours of daylight ever since the first few of them started walking. It was an odd scene, even for an experienced ex-military girl like Miki. The city before them lay in ruins, the smokes of last night’s battle still billowing toward the skies. The children where obviously oblivious however, as Yasuo decided to take his time in answering the question.
“We’re calling him.” The child answered.
Strange, Miki thought. Calling who?
“Who are you calling, Yasuo?” Asked Miki, kneeling beside the boy and observing the beach. The gray-blue waves beat against it, forever etching a scene of destruction in Miki’s mind. For, on the beach, where the remnants of three MASER tanks, their laser turrets snapped away or buried. The sand in front of them was still glistening in glass; glass created from the sweeping motions of the Atom Gun.
“Father.” Replied Yasuo. He was immediately corrected by one of his siblings. Natsuki was her name, and although she was the third born, she had taken over as the alpha of the little group. With what was left of her psychic abilities, Miki Segusa could still feel the energy locked away in her tiny body.
“Be quite, Yasuo.” Said Natsuki dully. The dullness of their voices was universal amongst the children, from somewhere that Miki still didn’t quite understand.
“Natsuki, that’s not nice.” Said Miki to the little girl, knowing full well she wouldn’t get a response. Natsuki truly didn’t care.
“Natsuki, who is this, ‘Father’ Yasuo speaks of?”
Natsuki wouldn’t answer. She just kept her gaze set to the ocean and its background of smoke filled red evening.
“How are they today?” Came the voice from behind Miki. She turned to be greeted by a smiling Tomi, sans the wet trousers of course.
“They seem to be fine. Just the evening routine, you know. I tried getting the answer to the father riddle from Yasuo again, but he seems to be totally dominated by Natsuki.” said Miki, walking to the far corner of the room and dropping down into a chair.
“Has Ozu given us any word?” Asked Tomi.
Miki knew Tomi was getting anxious. Hell, she was getting anxious too. Ozu had promised to find them and the children a safer place to stay somewhere on the island of Kyushu, where the worms hadn’t gotten to yet. She thought about the worms. Funny how such a dangerous creature could originate from the same labs as these seemingly innocent children. It all played back through her mind. It was two years after the Destroyer incident. 1998 to be exact. Dr. Ryuji Hazuki had been working with G-Force to build the ultimate Bio-Weapon. Something to defend Japan in the event that another country decided to invade. And so, through the crossing of fly cells and G-Cells, he created the Dipterie. Huge, maggot like creatures. After the accident, one had escaped. Then, during a raid on Nagoya, G-Force successfully blew it to pieces. That’s when they learned of the creature’s re-generative abilities. The scattered remains of that one worm had regenerated into nearly two-dozen more. Japan was cast into a state of chaos. Honshu was the first island infected. The worms seemed to just pop up from city to city, do a little damage, and mill back into the countryside. Many, many of the residents had fled to Hokkaido, some to Kyushu, others to Shikoku. The handful that remained was usually over financial problems. Some where just too stubborn to leave, while others weren’t afraid.
The children had been created in the same lab. Of course, human rights didn’t, and still hadn’t, found out of the experiments. The government had decided it was time to experiment in the field of cloning. Another lab in Kitami had cloned the first boy and girl successfully two months prior to the creation of the Dipterie. The government wanted it taken a step further. The question had been raised years before about G-Cells and cures for illnesses, including cancers, after they had learned of Godzilla’s regenerative powers. Especially after the discovery of Organizer G-1, which was the main reason the cells could heal so quickly. A cross was called for. And it went exceptionally well. Yasuo was the first born, and was a complete success. The G-Cells molded nicely to his genetic makeup, leaving most human traits prominent. Most.
The children seemed to be without emotion. No fear, no anger, no love. General Ozu, commander of G-Force, had decided to put them under Miki’s watchful eye once they learned the children were born with psychic abilities. In all that time, that hadn’t shown a stitch of emotion. Except when Natsuki occasionally set Yasuo back in his place when he talked too much.
“Miki, are you all right?” asked Tomi.
“Huh? Yes, I’m fine. Just thinking some things over.” Replied Miki.
“Ahhh…last night, right? I’m still a little shaken as well.”
“No, no. Not last night. Just something, else.” Said Miki. She looked out the window again. The orange-gray light was beginning to fade rapidly, and soon it would be completely dark. With the power knocked out at the moment, it would be pitch black in no time. She went to the window and squatted down beside Natsuki, and looked in the little girls eyes. They were normal human eyes. Brown eyes. But one thing that stood out to Miki was that blue ring around the iris. It appeared only when the children where up to something.
“Are you still calling father?” She asked.
The little girl didn’t answer.
“Bring your siblings and come to bed, Natsuki. It’ll be getting to dark to find our way around in a moment.”
Natsuki obeyed. Without a word they seemed to turn and start toward Miki and Tomi, and followed Tomi as she lead them down the stair well to their rooms. Miki took one more look out the window at the carnage below, and thought once more.
“Who is Father?”
End-Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Japanese Alps
June 25, 2002
The image on screen was a night vision scope of the mountains in front of him. Major Kojima sat behind the primary control panel of the Volt Canon, waiting for his targets to move through the gap in the mountains before him. Once again, he ran a quick check of the diagnostic systems, checking every gauge, meter, and sensor onboard the weapon. This weapon was his latest toy, just imported from Lucian Technologies head quarters in the states. Capable of firing a 5 second, 500 million volt blast, it was guaranteed to be the latest and greatest weapon in his arsenal against the Dipterie. That was great, considering that bombs, rockets, and explosives in general where a real no when dealing with the worms.
“This is Hawk 1 to Major Kojima. Targets sighted. Moving directly toward the gap. Over.”
“Give me a ETA.” Said Kojima, reading himself for combat once again. It was the same old routine. Pop the knuckles and the neck; get comfortable, and secure safety restraints again.
“Two minutes. Better look sharp.”
“Copy Hawk 1.” Said Kojima, flipping two switches above his head and readjusting his microphone. “Kojima to front line. Get ready, they’re coming threw.”
The MASER squad formed a line on either side of the Volt Canon. Seven of them in all, it should have been more than enough to stop a handful of Dipterie. Not only had he brought them along, but the Atom Gun as well. He wanted maximum firepower for this operation.
“One hundred meters and closing, sir.” Said the voice from Hawk 1, the general reconnaissance helicopter.
Kojima tapped in a code on an access panel before him, and watched as a section of his control board flipped upside down to reveal three white switches covered in white plastic guards, and a red button that had ‘Primary Weapons Fire’. He double-checked his monitor again. No motion in the gap. He raised the first switch and flipped it. The generators of the weapon sped up drastically, making a loud humming roar fill the cabin. He then flipped the second switch. The primary power shut off, leaving on only the auxiliary power. Kojima turned back to Sgt. Omura, who gave him a nod an assurance that he and the main gun where ready. With a quick glance to Cpl. Takarada, he then turned completely back around and radioed Hawk 1 about the location of the Dipterie.
“They should be coming around the corner right….about…..now.” It replied. Threw his night vision scope, Kojima could see the first one, a big, tan beast covered in small tendrils. Around a huge orifice in its head, presumably its mouth, was wrapped four huge lip like appendages, concealing the rows of hook like teeth inside. This is what was referred to as a ’Big One’, a Dipterie that had made it two the last three parts of its larval stage. Soon it would pupate, but no one knew what came after that because all the pupated worms that had been found where quickly napalmed to death. This one wouldn’t live that long; Kojima was going to make sure of that. He flipped the last white switch, and the cabin was completely dark except for the lighted buttons on his control panel. It was time to see what this bitch could do.
Upon depressing the red button, Kojima could hear the main gun charging. It took three seconds before the charge of electricity spiraled up the center rod, out to the tripod that surrounded it, and was projected directly at the worm. The worm was struck under its mouth, and raised up before it froze into position, its eyeless head gazing toward the sky. With a blast of steaming blood, its back erupted forth, sparks and gores spewing out onto the two Dipterie following it. This in turn captured the attention of one of the following worms; a worm called ‘Old Lucky’. Set apart from most Dipterie, this one had survived more skirmishes with G-Force than a dog that chases cars. It turned its self around and moved away quickly, while the other remained.
The blast of electricity made short work of the big one. Its skin for the most part boiled away, and its lips fell off after having been cooked away and shriveled. Great clouds of steam rose from the worms carcass as it fell back to the ground, its skin loosely hanging to its side after being severely drained of liquid.
Kojima took immediate notice of the remaining worm. It was a second stage, just like Old Lucky. Several dozen smaller tentacles surrounded its mouth, and its body was covered in small knobs that would become the tentacles when it transformed into a big one. Kojima grabbed the radio above his head.
“All units! Fire at will!” He shouted urgently, having noticed Old Lucky as it scurried back into the mountains. “For God’s sake! Don’t let it get away this time!”
By the time he had said this, the MASER tanks were blasting away at the other worm. The neon blue lasers where slicing right threw it, mortally wounding it. It flailed about franticly trying to get away, while Kojima watched in dismay as Old Lucky burrowed into a hill side, escaping the killing power of G-Force yet again. He slapped the face of the control panel with his open palm.
“God dammit! Move in! Move in! We can’t let it escape!” He shouted throughout the cabin.
“Major! It’s gone! We can’t catch it now!” Shouted Omura.
Kojima paused, realizing that once again he had indeed lost ‘Old Lucky’. He nodded his head, and looked at the two remaining corpses.
“This is Major Kojima to Pegasus Air Transport units one, two, and three. Operation completed. 2 of 3 targets eliminated. Needing air evac. Over.”
“Roger that, Major. Air evac in route now. Over.”
He glanced to Cpl. Takarada again. And then back to his communications specialist, Lt. Mafuni.
“Lieutenant, radio G-Center. Tell them we need this area napalmed immediately.” Said Kojima. He replayed the battle with the Dipterie threw his mind again. Could he have stopped Old Lucky’s escape? No, probably not. That worm had scored a deal with destiny, he decided. That, he knew, was something he could never change.
Kitakyushu, Japan
June 27, 2002
Dr. Anzai tilted his head back and took another sip of the warm, black coffee, savoring every moment of it as it ran down his throat into his stomach, warming his insides and waking him up. Boy, it felt good. He held up the morning herald and read threw a few articles, allowing the sun to outline a most interesting one whilst shining through a window over looking the city below him on the 35 floor of the Kitakyushu Research Facility Main Office building.
“Good morning sir.” Greeted his personal assistant, Ken Satsuma. “Would you like some more coffee?”
Anzai wasn’t listening. He was reading through an article in the herald. ‘Chinese Fishing Boat Sinks in Bering Sea; 5th Incident Reported This Year’.
The first half was boring information he’d read already a dozen times, about Chinese and American fishing trawlers going down in the Bering Sea with no survivors.
The second part was the most interesting.
‘Reports from Beijing claim that the bodies of the three fishermen recovered where severely burned, and showed abnormal traces of radiation after being tested with the Geiger counter. Beijing has made accusations of Nuclear test toward Russia, America, and India. Russia and America have denied all accusations, although India has not responded to such.’
How odd he thought. What sinks ships like that? Could something be igniting uranium pockets along the floor of the ocean?
‘Both Chinese and American foreign ministers are scheduling a press conference in Beijing as early as next week, but Chinese officials have began threats towards India and have vowed to respond if no word has been heard as of July 4th.
The Americans have released no statements about the situation, other than ‘We don’t know who or what the culprit is, but we intend to find out.’
More on this subject in next weeks write up.’
He read on down a little more, finally coming across an article about a military action in the Japanese Alps two days prior. It didn’t go into detail, just something about a G-Force operation in the Alps, as well as some sort of new super weapon that the military wouldn’t discuss.
Oh damn that was hot! He tossed the newspaper down and leapt from his seat to see a much-startled Ken looking on, jaw dropped and wide eyed.
“Oh! I’m sorry sir! I was trying to warm your coffee and…”
Anzai knew what had happened. He’d been holding the cup on the brink of dropping it anyway, and then when Ken had poured the hot coffee in it, it had spilled.
“Its alright, I’m fine.” He said, getting some napkins from the table in front of the plush leather chair where he had been sitting, and dabbing the coffee from his khaki dress pants. That was going to be a stain for sure.
“I thought you might like to hear the latest news from the Bio-Weapons branch.” Said Ken, setting down the little tray of coffee, cream, and accessories and handing Anzai some pictures. Anzai flipped through them, and found nothing interesting, just a snapshot or two of some G-Cells, and a picture of a fume hood.
Nothing special about that.
“I hope it’s better than what these pictures tell.” Replied Anzai, stepping from the well-lit office into the hallway, beginning his stride down the corridor across the less than plush purple carpet.
“Well, not really. Someone got the G-cells to start dividing again, and they’ve been breeding them in that fume hood, but nothing anymore spectacular than that.”
Dr. Anzai stepped up to the door of the file room and pushed in the access code. There was a ratcheting sound as the door unlocked, and he stepped through, inviting Ken in behind him.
“Has there been any word from Omori about shutting the project down?” asked Anzai, stepping back to the back to get his daily bundle of mail. What bundles he did receive. Anzai was apparently quite popular. He had a bundle of letters everyday that was usually two to three inches thick. Of course, most of it was junk mail. Some of it was threats from families who had lost it all to the Dipterie. Every time he read such a threat, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the people who had lost it all to those monsters. His thoughts went back. 1997. What a successful year. They had major break threw with the G-cells. Why, when #1 had been born, the mood of the lab had been nothing short of ecstatic. He remembered carrying the naked baby over to the gaggle G-Force personnel. Miki Segusa, Major Kojima, General Ozu, and Prime Minister Takao Omori had all been there. All but Miki had had that look of excitement on their face, as he showed off the screaming infant; its body still wet in the pink goo from the artificial womb in which it had gestated.
“Brilliant, Dr. Hazuki!” Ozu had chimed, looking at the ‘perfectly normal’ little boy.
“This almost makes up for the damage your other creations have wrought upon us.” Said Omori.
“No. Omori thinks research here is too important right now, especially with some of the children fixing to hit puberty. They plan on moving them from Osaka to here, by the way.”
Anzai wasn’t sure why Ozu hadn’t moved them yet anyways. Honshu had been turned into a no-mans-land. The population had dropped considerably, and the cities where in bad shape. Worst of all, that was a multi billion dollar project he had up there, and all of his over seas investors would shit kittens if it got destroyed.
“He does? This building doesn’t have the facilities to house them, Segusa, and her assistant as well.”
“That’s what I tried to tell him sir, but he wouldn’t see it any other way.”
There was a knock at the receptionist window as he started to walk away. He turned and she slid another envelope under the glass. Anzai picked it up and examined it, and decided very quickly it wasn’t junk mail. It had the government seal stamped on it, and was addressed to him from G-Force.
End-Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Osaka, Japan
June 28, 2002
Miki pulled the covers up around her neck and adjusted her head on her pillow again, knowing full well it was time to get up. But today, she had decided to sleep in for a little while. Tomi could watch the children while she did so. As she started to drift back into sleep, she started to dream. At first, it was most pleasant. She was in Osaka, before the worms had come. People where walking up and down the streets, talking and laughing and having a merry time. There wasn’t even the faintest sign that disaster could, or would, happen. She strolled down the sidewalk amongst them, taking several looks upward toward the towering skyscrapers above.
“Miki….” the voice called.
Just a coincidence, she decided. There had to be 10 Miki’s in the crowd around her. She continued her stroll, moving down town toward the skyscraper she would someday call home.
“Miki.” The voice said suddenly. Miki turned around to look.
She wished she hadn’t. The city behind her was in ruins. The night was setting in, and she watched the shadows cast from the flames or burning rubble as they danced on what was left of several concrete slabs, tossed from the bodies of the enormous sky scrapers that where around her. She then noticed that she was the only human out there. There where no other signs of life at all.
“Miki!” the voice screamed.
Miki turned around quickly, and looked upwards toward a familiar looking skyscraper that had been behind her. Then, without a warning, its upper levels exploded in a ball of fire, sending chunks of debris flying in all directions. She screamed as she turned to flee the falling rubble, most of which was concrete and melted steel. Before she could find shelter, she tripped over a large stone in the road, and crashed down onto her side. Miki knew she didn’t have enough time to get up and scurry to shelter, so she hunkered up and covered her head, and listened to the sound of the debris as it started to careen into the ground. There was the thumps and bang of the concrete, as well as the pings and clangs of the steel, not to mention the occasional sound of bits and pieces of glass as it hit all around her. She could feel the particles of the concrete as it shattered and was cast onto her.
And then she could hear, of feel rather, the screams of several young voices all in unison. It seemed to be a scream of sadness and pain, although the sadness was rather dull. Then, behind it, came a roar. A deep, waterlogged roar of triumph and rage that Miki knew oh so well…
“Miki!!”
Miki Segusa nearly jumped out of bed as she set up to see Tomi at the foot of the bed.
“Miki! Yasuo’s gone!” She exclaimed. Miki rose immediately and started putting on some more fit clothes.
“Do you have any idea where to?” Miki asked franticly, buttoning up a pair of pants and grabbing up a white shirt.
“No! He’s not inside anywhere’s!” replied Tomi as Miki rushed from the room, down the hall, up the stairs, and into the room where the children where always watching the ocean. As usual, they where all gathered around the same large window, looking out onto the beach. Miki took one glance at it. The destroyed weapons where still there of course, and the sun shine that had come out on this beautiful day really set the glass on the beach off in a wave of sparkling beauty. Miki then looked to Natsuki, and kneeled down beside her.
“Natsuki. Where is Yasuo?” She asked as calmly as possible, to hide the feel of sheer terror she harbored within herself. The little girl kept staring out to sea, unblinking and unmoving for several seconds. Miki turned her gaze in the same direction, and was horrified to see Yasuo walking out onto the beach. She jumped up and headed for the door, just before Natsuki stopped her. At first, she thought the little girl was speaking to her, it sounded so clear. But then she realized she wasn’t.
Natsuki was inside her mind!
“Why are you afraid for Yasuo’s well being? He is fine. I have sent him there.”
“Why?” Asked Miki.
But before Natsuki would answer, she left Miki’s mind, and continued her set gaze out the window.
“Find him!?” Said Tomi questionably as she barged into the room.
“He’s on the beach! Stay here, watch the children while I go get him!” Shouted Miki, as she rushed franticly back towards the door.
As Miki rushed down the stairs, she tried her best to pick apart what Natsuki had said, trying to divulge from it some sort of clue. But alas, there was nothing. It seemed to have meant so much, but turned out to be so empty.
She had almost forgotten how bad it was to go down 50 levels of stairs. Her legs and chest where burning from her doing more exercise than what she was used to. But then, she turned the corner, and there was the front lobby. In a way, she was relieved, but she knew that she still had about a mile to cover before she reached the beach. She ran out the doors and kept pace threw the streets, moving in the general direction of the beach. The city around her had taken more damage than expected. The streets where littered with bricks, steel, concrete, and the remains of several vehicles, military and civilian. She dodged chunk after chunk of rubble, moving as quickly as possible to cover the three quarters of a mile stretch.
Then she could see it. The beach, the ocean, the sheet of glass that was several inches thick; all there in front of her. And out on the glass stood Yasuo, his gaze set to the sea just like the other children. She stepped lightly out onto the glass, and found it surprisingly strong. It jiggled ever so slightly as she stepped on out toward Yasuo, but never gave hint that it would break. She examined him head to toe as she approached. He seemed to be okay, except that he was standing in a small, shallow pool of blood. Miki grabbed his shoulder and spoke.
“Yasuo, you’re hurt. Let me see your feet.” She said, motioning for him to sit down. He did so, and she sat down beside him, and looked at the soles of the child’s feet. The blood was dried on, but there where no cuts, only a few scars left. She looked up at his face in aw, noticing the dull, expressionless look on his face, the blue ring around his iris’ glowing brighter than usual.
“What are you doing down here?” she asked him calmly.
“He’s coming.” Replied the boy. Miki had expected a more intelligent answer, but after she thought about it, this was of importance. Her powers where weak, but she could feel something happening in Yasuo’s mind. Something important, that echoed in the background of something terrible.
Whoever, whatever, Father was, it was coming.
End-Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Nagoya, Japan
June 28, 2002
Major Kojima walked down the hall side by side with Sgt. Sugiyama, making their way down toward the waiting room where Dr. Anzai set waiting. For Sugiyama, this was just the routine gathering of data whenever there was some sort of ‘unexplained disaster’ looming in the background. He hadn’t realized the truth that Kojima did; nor would he expect anything like it until told.
They rounded the corner and continued down the hall. It was in the more ‘formal’ section of the base, the section used to houseguest, press conferences, scientific counsels, and the like. The walls had pictures from before Godzilla’s attack in 1954, and some before the attack of 1984. They all showed the beauty of Tokyo back then, as it had been.
Major Kojima barged into the waiting room lobby as unexpectedly as one could imagine, and like death stuck out one finger toward Dr. Anzai and beckoned him into the back section of the base; the formal military section. Although civilians had been back there before, it was usually only with U.N.G.C.C. high command personnel.
“I see that Nagoya is in really good shape.” Started Anzai, “I had expected to see it almost in ruins, like some of the pictures I’ve seen.”
“The worms tend to stray away from coastal cities.” Said Kojima. “They especially stay away from Tokyo and Ise Bay’s for some reason. This coastal region is the only area on Honshu that still has power and most of its civilian population intact. Tokyo and the surrounding cities have been ‘attacked’, but damage is minimal. As soon as we’re rid of the worms, both area’s will be renewed and civilians will be allowed to move back in.”
“Is that why I’ve been brought here?” Asked Anzai.
Major Kojima adjusted two buttons on the front of his shirt and then his shirt collar, and gave an inquisitive gaze to Sugiyama.
“No.” He then replied.” Something else has come up that we’re worried about. I’m not at liberties to discuss it here, in the ‘open’, but I assure you you’ll know all about it once we’re in the conference hall.”
What could be that important that I’m involved in? thought Anzai. It didn’t make much sense to him. He was renowned for his work with Project Leviathan, nothing more. That didn’t mean much either; Ryuji had been the brains of the project. He knew much, much more than he did. Why, he had been the one to spearhead the operation from day one, when Prime Minister Omori had brought the suggestion to attention.
Major Kojima tossed his hat down on the conference room table and took a seat in one of the plush leather chairs that surrounded the table. It was a beautiful table; maybe an oak wood with read stain on it. It made a nice match with the red chairs of the room. Anzai took a quick look around at the white walls and some of the pictures that hung around the room.
“I’m gonna skip all this formal bs to begin with.” Said Kojima. “We have a problem and we need someone who knows something about Godzilla. That’s why you’re here.”
“But, I’m not a Godzilla expert!” Protested Anzai. “There are people here that are more qualified than me to answer your questions, surely.”
Sugiyama walked in with a tan files folder in his hands. He set down across from Anzai and laid it on the table, and started unwrapping a rubber band that kept it sealed closed. Upon getting it open, he shifted through some of the papers until he came across seven satellite photos. Anzai watched him then as he laid them on the tabled and slid them over to him.
“Well, you’re right, there are people more qualified, but Yamane is dead, and last time I called asking to speak to Hayashida, his secretary informed me that his health has taken a turn for the worst. They had been giving him only days when I called, so its more than likely that he is dead now as well.” Stated Kojima.
Anzai hadn’t picked up the pictures yet. He was more interested in what Kojima had to say about what had happened to Koichi Yamane.
“What happened to Yamane?” He asked, expecting something along the lines of a vehicular accident or murder.
“He was killed while collecting cells from a ‘dead’ worm.” Said Kojima, making quotation marks when he said ‘dead’. “Turns out it was still very much alive. It made a quick jerking motion and crushed him to death under its tail before burrowing into the ground.”
“Why did you need those cells?” Asked Anzai. He reached for the pictures and got them in his hands while he awaited his answer from Major Kojima.
“We were testing for mutations. The particular worm, we call it Old Lucky, had been part of an attack on an abandoned nuclear plant 10 miles northwest of Tokyo. We just wanted to see if there had been any changes on a cellular level.” Said Kojima.
Dr. Anzai was listening, but as he was he was flipping through the pictures. Seven in all, they showed what appeared to be a ship. Then, a blue dot, a brighter blue dot, another, bigger, brighter blue dot, the dot fading, the dot and ship fading, and the last picture was what appeared to be a infrared of a ship fire. All the pictures had been taken in thermal vision. He flipped through them once more, and then looked up at Kojima.
He didn’t have to ask the question, his facial expression said it all.
“U.N.G.C.C. has had its monitoring satellites set to the Bering Sea ever since the Destroyer incident in ‘96. I’ve been trying to convince Ozu that is absolutely preposterous, but he doesn’t seem to agree. Anyhow, that’s what the satellite saw whenever that Chinese trawler went down. What do you make of it?”
“I…I don’t know.” Said Anzai, lying the pictures down, “why, are you insinuating that Godzilla is still alive?”
“No, not at all.” Kojima laughed. “But General Ozu is, although I saw it die at Tokyo. Junior too. Neither one of them walked away from that.”
Kojima paused. He had the events of September 1st flashing threw his mind. He was in the jeep, looking down at the spotlights that swept the beach of Tokyo Bay. All down the beach for some 400 meters was a series of footprints, slowly leading out into the ocean in a diagonal line. He watched the Haz-mat workers as they tested the prints with Geiger counters, making sweeping motions of each and every print. Kojima could hear the crackling of the reading as the masked figures scanned the beach. No, that’s just some coincidence, he had told himself. They’re both dead, Junior and Godzilla both. They must have left those prints early in the battle.
But now, now he wasn’t so sure. Something had survived that, or spawned from it, or something. He didn’t know for sure, but he was getting worried.
“The important thing to do now is prove that we know its something other than nuclear test. We have the only satellites that monitor that region, so no other countries have seen these photos. There are around 30 in all, all of them a ship sinking. Unless we can prove that something is out there sinking ships, then China has vowed to nuke India off the map. Will you take up position as head kaijuzoologist on this operation?”
Kojima leaned forward then on the table, clasped his hands together, and stared at Anzai. What could he do? Thought Kojima, Refuse?
“I’ll do it.” Said Anzai, slipping the pictures back over to Sugiyama. “Why, I don’t know, but seems like there is something jerking at the back of my mind telling me too.”
End- Chapter 4
Chapter 5 Sea of Okhotsk July 1, 2002 The helicopter hovered over the Chinese battleship for only a brief moment, and then turned back toward the south and covered an area of about 1000 yards to rendezvous with the Lang Mee Tai aircraft carrier. It set down on one end of the deck under the instructions of several men on the deck waiving orange flags, and as soon as the rotors had come to rest, Dr. Anzai and Major Kojima bailed out of the chopper, making their way over to a Chinese military official. Admiral Chong Lee was his name, and he had been commanding officer of the battleship that lay wrecked, split in half in the middle of the deck Anzai listened to Kojima and Lee in the back of his mind, as he turned and took another look out to the other ship. Smoke rose up from it, filling the sky with a black-gray haze, giving off the uneasy feeling that was mutual between everybody aboard the Lang Mee Tai. “What are we looking at here, Admiral?” Asked Major Kojima, turning with Lee to set their gaze to the battleship along with Anzai. “Its been a nuclear weapon of some sort.” stated Lee, “The radiation level is too high right now to actually do a close quarters damage assessment, but from what I can tell its completely cut in half right down the middle, and then the weapon has done some damage to the left side of the hull. There where three survivors to begin with, but the radiation poisoning finished them up within a matter of hours after we found them.” “Was it a bomb?” Asked Kojima. “Actually, its properties suggest something more along the lines of a torch.” Replied Lee half-heartedly. A set of images scanned through Anzai’s mind. He thought about all the times he’d seen Godzilla; how the monster had used the oral beam. Just like a torch! “Admiral Lee, did the ships sonar pick up anything unusual before it went down?” Asked Anzai, setting his gaze to no particular part of the sky above the battleship. “I don’t know.,” said Lee. “We received radio that it was going down, and then that was it. We rushed here to save the survivors, and found this. The radiation level has prevented us from entering the wreckage, but I’m afraid it appears the cabin voice recorder was fried with the ship.” “Admiral Lee!” Someone shouted behind Anzai. Anzai didn’t bother to turn and look. He listened, keeping his eyes set to the wreckage, pondering the evidence at hand. “Sir! A fishing trawler team just reported a large object moving south underwater 200 miles south of here!” Nagoya, Japan July 1, 2002 Seldom ever was Sugiyama called upon at such short notice, but this time it was actually rather important. U.N.G.C.C HQ had just received word that a Dipterie had surfaced in ruins of Takefu, and ordered a G-Force deployment to handle the situation. Sugiyama had been napping, but after receiving the word he sprung from his bed and ordered the Volt Cannon and four Maser Tanks to board Pegasus Air Transport Units 1 and 2. He was hoping that they had already had time. Sugiyama really wanted to see some action tonight. He hadn’t seen combat in a few months, and it was about time to scatter some worm fodder around… Takefu, Japan July 1, 2002 The Pegasus Air Transport Units landed just outside the city limits, and the ramps lowered to let loose their cargo. Sugiyama was leading the crew of the Volt Canon in Kojima’s absence, and gave the orders to the whole team. They moved quickly down the deserted roads of Takefu, rolling over the occasional abandoned vehicle. Within five minutes Sugiyama could see the dust that swirled up as the worm thrashed about in the middle of the road. He remembered Hawk 1 had been brought along as well, and awaited a status report from it before moving any farther, as a precaution. “Sugiyama to Hawk 1. Can you see what’s going on up there?” He asked into the radio, scanning the dust storm with his infrared scope. “Looks like a digger up there, sir. Its wigglin’ around in the street is all I see. Over.” Sugiyama thought “Wiggling around in the street? How odd…” “Sugiyama to squad; move in and attack. Single worm. I’ll lead the way. Units 17 and 38, move slowly around to circle it in but avoid making a crossfire course.” “Roger.” Replied the squad. Sugiyama gave a hand signal to Takarada, and the Volt Canon resumed its forward march towards it enemy. The Volt Canon proceeded forward through the dust, smashing any and all small obstacles in its path. Ahead the large body of the Dipterie became clearly visible, and once the Volt Canon was in range, Sugiyama began the firing procedure. “Well well, Kojima will be rather upset when he returns to find I’ve killed Old Lucky.” Thought Sugiyama, recognizing some scars on the worms head. He flipped each switch in the proper order, and the machine activated the main gun. Sgt. Sugiyama depressed the firing button and listened to the roar of the main gun as the onboard nuclear reactor powered it up for one devastating blast. Without warning, the gun stopped charging, and the auxiliary lighting came on. “Diagnostic systems report a failure to charge the main gun, sir!” Shouted Lt. Mafuni. “Retry firing procedure suggested.” Said Sgt. Omura, taking a look at his outside monitor. Old Lucky was still in the dust tossing and turning about, and Sugiyama could hear the occasional clang of metal against the outer shell of the Volt Canon. Sugiyama worked his way back through the firing procedure again, and again, listened to the hum as the main gun charged, and again witnessed as the gun failed to charge. “Sir, I think you had better look at this.” said Mafuni, calling to Sugiyama. Sugiyama unstrapped himself and ran over to Mafuni’s control panel. On it was a live picture from Hawk 1. Neither man knew exactly what they where looking at at first, but then realized that the worm was shedding. “It’s turning into a big one…” said Sugiyama in disbelief. Rushing back to his command seat, Sugiyama switched from the main gun to the secondary weapon; dual rotary canons mounted on either side of the Volt Canon. He pulled a helmet down from behind him, and fitted snuggly atop his head, pulling down a targeting screen over his eyes. Next he pressed a button on top of the helmet, and two arm rest, a joystick on each, turned out beside him from behind the chair. He took a joystick in either hand, and positioned both targeting crosshairs on Old Lucky. “All units! Open fire!” The four lasers from the MASER tanks lit up the night sky with their blue hugh as their awesome force was unleashed on Old Lucky. By this time the worm had completely shed its skin, and the MASER lasers reflected from its still moist body, piercing straight through it. With a wiggle and a roar, Old Lucky rolled over and took a huge chunk out of the bottom of a skyscraper, sending it toppling to the ground. Sugiyama had also started firing the rotary canons. The bullets tore through the soft flesh of the worms newly formed skin as though it where nothing. “Takarada!” Shouted Sugiyama, “Roll us in closer!” The sudden lunge forward of the Volt Canon was enough to cause Sugiyama to temporarily loose Old Lucky. For a brief second, all he could see where the streaks of light that the MASER tanks where producing. The lasers where not only tearing through Old Lucky, but where beginning to riddle the buildings behind it with holes, sending concrete and debris flying from a cloud of sparks and smoke. And then, just as easily as it had appeared, Old Lucky dropped its head back into the hole it had crawled out of, and wriggled away to the safety of its subterranean tunnels. Sugiyama could only watch with mild disbelief. He had fully expected it to escape somehow or another. It always had managed it. Down hearted, he pulled away the helmet and sighed, and gave Takarada the order to return to the Pegasus units. End- Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Osaka, Japan July 2, 2002 The room was dark and quiet as Natsuki rolled out of bed and wondered across the bare floor toward the window that faced towards the inland. She had been beckoned from her sleep by a life force; a life force that she felt was somehow connected to her in much the same way as Father. It was out there, in the mountains. Most importantly it was moving her way. And for some reason she felt the urge to get closer to it. She concentrated on it for quite some time. Natsuki was probing into its mind, feeling her way around as she realized what a simple being it really was. But simple or not, she knew that is was her chance to prevent the military from taking her away before Father could come. Ozu’s mind was full of the information she had desired during his last visit. He had planned to move her and her siblings away to Nagoya temporarily, before sending them off to Kyushu. Realizing what potential she had, Ozu had even thought of the money he could get from sending her to the states. She didn’t want that to happen. Father may never find her then. Natsuki placed one hand upon the glass in front of her as she leaned forwards a little to get a better view of the ground. Yes, it was pitch black outside, but she could still see the ground as the moon illuminated it. The glass had to go. If she was to ever make contact with this being, she’d have to destroy the barrier it had created to trap her inside the building. Natsuki concentrated on the glass with her mind. At first it felt empty, as though it where as fruitless as a dead tree. But after a few minutes it began to wobble and shake, creating a light vibrating noise from within its foundations. Then it cracked. At first there was only one crack. Then, two, and more and more began forming after that. Soon the entire pain was cracked all about, looking like some sort of road atlas. With her mind, Natsuki began to push outwards, out toward the streets below. The window bulged outward, and then retracted inward again as she began to realize how tired she was getting. No more than she had done had mentally exhausted her. She tried again. This time the glass bulged out, and then shattered, sending out all the pieces into the nothingness of thin air. Natsuki held it there for a moment, and then released it, allowing it to plummet to the earth. A chill night wind rushed in as Natsuki regained her concentration on the being. It was much, much clearer now. She could feel it. And as simple as it was, it had one thing it common with her. It too was calling Father. The wind rippled the dull gray shirt Natsuki wore as it rushed in with a ghostly howl. Natsuki could now feel Yasuo stirring behind her, as well as Tomi in the next room over. Now that she was easily in the beings mind, she touched it, and in doing so she told it to come to Osaka to be with them. To protect them. That done, Natsuki turned around to face the beds. Ten in all, there was five against each wall. Beside hers was Yasuo’s, who was now sitting up facing her. “Natsuki! What happened to the window!” Said Tomi as she entered the room. “I broke it.” Said the child. “Oh my! You didn’t cut yourself did you?!” Asked Tomi. She grabbed Natsuki’s arm so she could better examine her, but was suddenly paralyzed from within her mind. She could barely roll her eyes up to look at the little girl. Fear swept over Tomi with the realization of what Natsuki was becoming. She was allowed to release her arm, and walked backwards toward the door, shedding a tear of fear as she shut it back to. End- Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Nagoya, Japan July 3, 2002 Sgt. Ozawa rose up out of a hole in the back of the Volt Canon’s main gun holding a shiny piece of rod that was melted off at one end. Taking a puff of his cigar, he handed it over to Major Kojima and reached back into the hole, retrieving the other half of the rod. “There’s your problem.” He said with a puff of smoke. “Platinum electric relay rods have melted in half. No way the gun will work without them.” “Melted? I thought platinum was heat resistant.” Said Kojima. “It is, to a certain extent. I’m guessing that a five hundred million volt blast of electricity is gonna’ produce a lot of heat, though.” Replied Ozawa. Sugiyama was standing there too. He simply turned around and ran his fingers through his short, jet-black hair and sighed. Without the Volt Canon, they had nothing to kill the Dipterie quickly… …and then he realized he had forgotten the Atom Gun. That was a nasty weapon, and could easily burn a worm alive. “Major,” he said, “if we need to do another mission against the Dipterie, we can still use the Atom Gun. Right?” Major Kojima was far too upset with the damage to the Volt Canon to think about it right now. His main concern was to fix it and be prepared for Godzilla. Or whatever else may have melted that Chinese ship in half. “Get Lucian Technologies on the phone, Sugiyama. Tell them we need the electrical relays for the Volt Canon. Ozawa, try to figure out some way to shorten the length of the blast intervals. I’ll be in my office.” Ise Bay July 5, 2002 Dr. Anzai stood at the stem of the battleship Major Kojima had assigned him to. It was around 10:00 AM, and the morning air was still cool; cool enough that it helped to pull him from the sleep he had awoken from. He didn’t know why he was out there though. Something seemed to beckon him forth from his bed and draw him outside to the stem. Some force unknown. Anzai wasn’t sure of what it was, but he was sure of this; whatever force it was, he was not meant to know about it. He felt as though it was trying to hide itself from him, but was just too big to. And suddenly, for the first, and probably last time in his life, he could feel a psychic calling. It was as if from the voices of small children, but inside his head. Whoever they where, they where using him as an antenna! The message was going to something out there in the water. Anzai could feel it, and became very frightened. He wasn’t sure why, but like a suppressed natural instinct, his body was telling him to flee for his life. And then, in front of him maybe some 400 yards, he noticed several large bubbles rise to the surface of the ocean, and the water churned violently. “Captain! Someone, get the captain!” He shouted, rushing back from the stem. Sheer panic gripped him now. He was quickly greeted by two sailors and Captain Aoki. “What? What is it? You’re making a scene, doctor! I demand you cease at once!” said Aoki. “Captain! There is something out there! In the water!” Stated Anzai. There was a pause amongst the captain and the sailors, and they all four then approached the stem of the ship again. Out in front of them now, less than 200 yards came up more bubbles, and again the water churned. A burst of brown sand and grime floated up to the top of the water, and suddenly the surface began to give way to something huge beneath it. Rising from the depths before them came a huge reptilian form. The mat’ black of its skin was almost like looking into a looming storm, and the water logged roar signaled its thunder. Anzai stammered back as he looked up into the face of Godzilla. It was almost like a nightmare come true. The great beast roared once more as it began its slow stride forward, just to the left of the ships stem. “I don’t believe it…” muttered one of the sailors beside Anzai as he watched the giant lumber past. Many, many thoughts relayed through Anzai’s mind. He remembered seeing pictures of Junior being broadcast from a news station as it battled Destroyer in the heart of Tokyo, and later recalled how its father had melted down in the middle of the city. The mass radioactive output from Godzilla would explain Juniors physical changes. The forehead had become more rounded than its predecessors, and its chest was filled out like a massive barrel. The rounded dorsal fins Godzilla had where now more jagged, but relatively the same length. And its arms! Those short little arms had clear muscular definition. Anzai could only watch in awe as the monster moved off, nearly over half a mile, while Captain Aoki was off radioing Kojima. And then, just as quickly as it had appeared, he watched Godzilla sink back into the depths, presumably continuing its way into the bay.
End- Chapter 7