Time passed, as it always had, and Godzilla found himself staring at the rising sun. It had been a rough night. He had tried to rest, but unfortunately the humans were annoyingly persistent with their attacks. It seemed as though every time he laid down a new group of helicopters or foot soldiers would come traipsing over and start shooting at him.

The whole situation was beginning to worry him. The humans were too feeble to ever actually harm him, but their constant attacks were depriving him of his sleep. His body needed rest, but he’d need to find a secure place to do so if he expected to get any longer than a few minutes of sleep.

As he traveled across countryside and small, abandoned towns, he tried to think of a good place to rest. He tossed around a few ideas in his head, but eventually decided that the best thing to do would be to slink under the water again and hide there. The humans seemed to have trouble following him underwater. There had been those submarines, but since then he hadn’t encountered anything human below the surface. It was his best bet if he was going to get any rest at all here.

Godzilla remembered the eerie manmade lake in Chernobyl and, despite his less than fond memory of the place, wished he would find another one around here. As he scoured the land in search of a hiding place he found that most of the water was far too shallow. There were a few streams and ponds, but to a creature of his immense size they were more like puddles.

It was funny that he thought of Chernobyl, because another event was taking place that very instant, unbeknownst to him, which had to do with exactly that. When Godzilla laid waste to Chernobyl he had thrown long-dormant radioactive elements into the air, and the destruction of Reactor #4 and the cooling had exhaled even more radiation into the air.

Now, as it had so many years ago, the wind carried those deadly particles in the sky, dumping them all across Europe. Radioactive fallout blanketed numerous locales upwind of Chernobyl, poisoning food, irradiating water, and forcing the evacuation of countless villages, towns, and cities. Though he did not know it, Godzilla had unleashed a radioactive plague.

Not far from Godzilla’s location was the Latvian city of Ventspils, a small city residing on the edge of the Baltic Sea. For years the citizens of Ventspils had taken great pride in the cleanliness of their pristine shores. Crowds came from around the world to bask on the unpolluted beaches, lounging in the relaxing waters without a care in the world. It had been a major tourist attraction for decades, and had brought Ventspils nothing but joy and profit in the past.

That was why the current situation was so morbidly ironic. Lifeguards and police offers struggled to maintain order as people ran from the beach screaming and crying, the air thick with the horrendous stench of decay. Helicopters buzzed the beach, their pilots staring in disbelief at the shorelines. Seeing the danger, the authorities hastened the beach goers evacuation and began to set up barriers as the order to shut down the beach was given. There was something wrong with the water. Terribly, terribly wrong.

Recognizing the sound of whirring propeller blades, Godzilla snarled and went on the defensive. A small group of helicopters came swiftly from behind, heading right for him. He turned just in time to see them fly over his head, rushing through the air and completely ignoring him. Godzilla snorted and let out a terrific roar that shook the air like a thunder clap, but his bellow only caused them to fly away faster. As they disappeared over the horizon, Godzilla noticed that none of them had been carrying any armaments.

He wondered, what was going on? There was no doubt in his mind that they had seen and heard him, but still they flew on. What was so important that they would completely ignore his approach? What possible occurrence would demand such haste, and yet would not require any weaponry? Something very fishy was going on, and he was determined to find out what…

Moving at double speed, Godzilla followed the copters, tearing through forests and country roads. He was beginning to catch up to them when something caught his eye… a silver flicker. Godzilla hesitated, then turned to look. An explosion suddenly engulfed his head as missiles collided with his face, blinding him and throwing him off balance. Head trailing smoke, Godzilla fell forward and slammed into the ground, skidding to a halt, dirt and vegetation mounded around his snout.

Godzilla dug his claws into the dirt and pushed himself back up, snorting loudly and blowing fragments of a tree out of his nose. A trio of jets streaked across the sky and arched into the heavens, disappearing in the cloud cover. Godzilla lifted his head and roared angrily at the flying cowards, but no second attack came. They had left as quickly as they had appeared.

Unfortunately, the helicopters were gone too. But perhaps he could still track them yet. Lifting his nose to the sky, Godzilla sniffed fervently at the air. The humans were small, but they still gave off a distinctive odor just like anything else. The scent was faint, but it was enough to follow. Godzilla grunted, looked around just to make sure he wouldn’t be interrupted again, and took off after the copters’ trail.

As Godzilla ran, the jets were circling above, still hidden in the clouds. Godzilla wasn’t their original target, but his threat couldn’t be ignored. The three jets descended in a wave formation, swooping towards Godzilla from behind as they activated their Gatling guns. Metallic hate poured down from above and peppered Godzilla’s body, pummeling his thick hide with their streams of armor-piercing bullets.

Godzilla grimaced and snarled- why were the humans always so damn irritating?! Turning on a dime, Godzilla spun around and fired off a quick, defensive blast of nuclear breath. The fiery blue stream of energy streaked over his foes, scattering them briefly. Godzilla planted his feet firmly on the ground and watched as the jets passed overhead, regrouped, and headed back towards him for another attack.

Detaching from beneath the wings of their carriers and coming to life under the guidance of tiny computer brains, powerful air-to-ground missiles came thundering towards him. Godzilla raised his head high, teeth bared and eyes bright with untamable fury. The missiles struck him dead in the chest and exploded, engulfing his form with fire and smoke. The jets flew past the lingering destruction, waiting.

Godzilla’s unmistakable roar filled the air, foretelling his vicious wrath. Stomping forward, Godzilla emerged completely unscathed from the smoke and roared furiously at the circling aircraft, raising his fins and charging them with glowing, radioactive energy. More missiles came firing down, but Godzilla made sure they would not reach their target. His hellish breath reached into the air and hit two of the missiles, instantly detonating them and the others. In a fiery chain reaction they exploded, each one caught aflame by the one nearest to it. Once more the jets scattered, turning away from the unexpected wall of falling flame and shrapnel.

Godzilla snorted, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes on the jets as they came in for one last, suicidal assault. They soared towards him, guns blazing and rockets ready to fire at a moment’s notice. Godzilla rushed towards them, through their pitiful bullets, and jumped into the air. One of the pilots shouted with wide eyes as Godzilla’s head filled his cockpit window, but much to his relief the giant cranium sank down and disappeared. Believing that Godzilla had lunged at him and missed, he flew on, completely unaware of his impending doom. Godzilla’s fins struck the jet, slicing it in two. The separated halves exploded and plummeted to the ravaged forests below.

Clawed feet slammed against vulnerable soil as Godzilla landed, the smoldering remnants of his foe wafting through the breeze. The last jet swerved wildly, caught in vicious turbulence from the sudden movement of Godzilla’s colossal body. He pulled up high, trying to steady himself, but he was only making himself an easier target. Godzilla’s blinding beam scorched the air and struck his vehicle, blowing it apart in a blue-tinted fireball.

Glittering scraps of metal fell from the sky, mimicking the bitter-cold snow that had followed him through Chernobyl. Godzilla snarled and kept moving, picking up speed as he went. His enemies fended off for now, he charged through the forest, driven by instinct. Somehow he knew which direction he must travel, something programmed into his brain since the time of his birth was taking control, acting like a compass to him.

The already stressed citizens crowding the beach began to shout and cry as the earth shuddered, rhythmic tremors pulsing through the sandy soil. Godzilla rushed towards them, white eyes fixed on the giant mass of water. The Baltic Sea, vast and deep, a perfect place to hide! He could dive to it’s bottom and swim to the other side, rising at night to breath, and then slip out while the humans weren’t watching. Finally, a break!

Godzilla could hear more jets coming already. He stomped his foot hard, throwing the surrounding humans down to the ground, and cursed their persistence with a loud, furious roar. He thundered towards the sea, talons slashing at the waves as his feet sank into wet sand and salty water. But as he waded into the water, he began to notice an odd sensation. At first it was just a tingle, almost in itch… then hot, searing pain.

Godzilla threw back his head and roared, horrific pain striking every inch of his body that touched the water. There was something terrible going on, something burning away at his flesh. Godzilla staggered backwards and gazed at the water around him, shocked by what he saw.

The sea churned and bubbled, moving- not in waves, but undulating, crawling… as if it were a living thing. It was stained red, by blood or something else he could not tell. Godzilla tried lifting his feet, but the water was suddenly heavy and thick around his shins, crimson colored quicksand.

Godzilla struggled, pulling as hard as he could, trying to get out of the stinging, piercing grip. He jerked back towards the shore, throwing his weight around, trying to fall onto the shore. One of his feet lifted out from the water, thick globs of red mud flying off his leg and into the air. From the knee down his leg was stained red, covered in bloody spots that still burned like wildfire.

Godzilla fell, his upper body landing on the shore in a cloud of sand. He sank his claws into the soft soil and pulled with all his might, dragging himself out of the ravenous waters. His other foot sprawled out, freed, and he slid his now bleeding tail out of the water quickly afterwards. He crawled away from the rolling, plunging tide, breathing hard and dragging his belly over the beach. He watched, amazed, as a glob of the stuff slithered over the sand and disappeared into the sea, joining it’s original mass.

Godzilla struggled to his feet and stared in disbelief at the water. The entire shore was lined with the oozing, blood-red muck. What new, terrible mistake had the humans made now? What awful thing had they poured into the sea, what man-made monster had they left alone in the depths?

Godzilla took a step towards the shore and growled at the sea, challenging it’s red tide. The murderous waves gave no response. Godzilla snorted and glared at the sludge, scrutinizing it’s vile form. He could make out tiny little things bobbing up and down in it. Cautiously, Godzilla stepped closer and crouched down, looking hard.

Floating in the unnatural tide, painted deep red with freshly shed blood, were thousands of skeletons. Humans, fish, sea birds- their corpses, completely stripped of their flesh, littered it’s surface. Godzilla hissed with disgust and backed up, totally repulsed by the foul substance. If this was indeed one of man’s follies, it was certainly one of his greatest ones.

As he contemplated his course of action against this new surprise, the oncoming jets grew near. Godzilla had forgotten about them… now because of this grotesque roadblock, he’d have to deal with another squadron of mindless fighters. Godzilla turned around and raised his spines, expecting another volley of high-speed projectiles- but Godzilla wasn’t their target, not at the moment.

High-powered incendiary bombs dropped from the undersides of the machines, plummeting into the sea. Powerful explosions went off on and above the surface, rocking the sea and bathing it in fire. Flames burned red and spread across the contaminated surface of the shore, spewing black smoke into the air. Godzilla, disturbed, watched as the bloody water shuddered and burned, spluttering red blobs into the air and oozing closer to the shore.

Then he noticed just how far onto shore it was. He took a step back and growled in surprise as the red waters crept up the beach, leaving the sea behind. Putting out the flames with it’s own flowing, oozing mass, the crimson ooze pulled itself onto dry land. The water, faint red from blood, sank down several feet as the monstrosity exited the sea. The jets circled around, locking onto the slithering mound and readying another set of bombs.

The fiery explosives soared through the air and struck the increasingly massive blob, throwing bits of it’s form across the area in smoky bursts. Godzilla eyed the writhing blob as it took the hits, hurt by them, but only barely. As per usual, the humans were shamefully ineffective.

Before Godzilla could dismiss the foolhardy machines with his nuclear breath, the thing extended a portion of it’s body, tendril-like, and hit one of the jets with amazing speed. The tentacle whipped around and snatched two more from the sky before the first had finished burning. Godzilla took another step back, trying to keep his distance from the thing as it made short work of the military.

The blob shot out more long, spindly tentacles, whipping apart the remnants of the squad before they could fire off another barrage. The debris settled, and the blob calmed, it’s tendrils sliding back into it’s body and disappearing. Godzilla watched, disgusted and amazed. This creature, if it even was a creature, was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. No animal he knew looked or acted this way… it’s unnatural appearance struck him as eerie.

Slithering like snakes, several tentacles emerged from the bottom of the beast’s body and spread out. Godzilla hissed, watching their sinuous movements closely, expecting a strike like the one that had thwarted the jets. But the strike did not come; the monster continued to expand and change shape. It’s tentacles, now too numerous to count, continuously writhed and grew, budding from the beast’s body and pre-existing tentacles. Godzilla hissed and took a step forward, stomping his foot hard on the ground and shaking the beach.

The creature reacted instantly, pulling in it’s tentacles all at once like a startled sea anemone. Godzilla snorted proudly- his foe was a coward! Godzilla lifted his foot again, amused, ready to startled the spineless creature again, but he had forgotten the speed his foe possessed. Before his foot could strike the earth, one of it’s stinging tendrils shot out and wrapped around his ankle, yanking Godzilla’s foot out from underneath him and toppling him over. Godzilla hit the ground with a loud thud, and the monstrous blob launched it’s attack.

Godzilla rested his chin on his chest and peered over himself at the fast-approaching monster. The amoebic terror was lurching towards him, it’s tentacles grabbing at the air, groping for something to latch onto and devour. Godzilla’s eyes lit up with surprise- as did his spines. He opened his mouth and let out a shotgun blast, pushing the formless thing away with punishing heat and concussive force. As it recoiled, Godzilla sprang to his feet and sank his claws into the sand, ready to fight.

The blob shuddered, recoiling a few singed tentacles and sprouting new ones in their place. Godzilla watched the blob as it oozed in place, sand from the beach sticking to it’s body. He wondered if he could fight the monster with his teeth and claws, or if all contact with the thing was as painful as his first encounter. Godzilla hesitated, staring at the waving tentacles as if hypnotized, then charged forward with a furious bellow.

Godzilla took a swipe at the creature, raking his three-clawed fingers through it’s gelatinous flesh and throwing bits of quivering flesh through the air and onto the beach. It’s tentacles immediately responded, several of them suddenly wrapping around his wrist and holding tight. Godzilla let out a howl of agony as the stinging tentacles tightened their burning embrace. He pulled back his arm with all his might, ripping the tentacles off their owner’s body . Godzilla staggered back, gawking at his arm. Despite being ripped in half, the tentacles were still alive. He roared furiously and swung his arm, throwing them off his arm and across the beach. The flew off into the horizon and landed somewhere in the distance with a quiet thud.

As Godzilla turned his head, the monster launched more of it’s insidious tendrils. Two of the larger ones shot straight at Godzilla’s chest, like javelins. They splashed against his chest, his bulk shattering them. Tiny bits of the creature’s tentacles showered Godzilla’s body, each tiny particle stinging terribly. Godzilla shrieked and took another swipe, slicing through the bunch of thrusting limbs and ripping them apart. The monster shivered, it’s rust colored body flushing dark crimson and then changing back as it recalled it’s tentacle arms.

Godzilla snarled, his regenerative cells working round the clock to repair the numerous patches of dissolved skin and muscle. The monster’s very touch seemed to melt his flesh… hand to hand fighting was completely out of the question. As much as he’d like to crush the frustrating beast in his jaws, he knew that the only way to fight this foe without hurting himself was to keep a distance and burn it to death with his breath.

Just then, two of the fiend’s tentacles, longer and thicker than the ones it had used previously, shot up into the sky over Godzilla’s head. He roared and quickly ducked to the side, afraid the towering extensions would fall down on him with their painful grasp. Instead, the tentacles stretched on, paying Godzilla no attention. They came crashing down farther up shore, slamming into the ground as their tips split into many thinner, smaller tentacles. Like a pair of grotesque, alien hands, they branches of tentacles swept across the landscape, crushing and devouring everything in their path. Godzilla watched as trees and even buildings disintegrated, feeding the monster’s bulk. The color of it’s body began pulsate, dark red bands racing up and down it’s form as it fed.

Dim, sapphire light emanated from Godzilla’s back as he charged up his beam, eyes fixed on the arc of the two feeding tentacles. He unleashed his beam with a fiery burst of energy, blowing the two tentacles in half with an explosion of burning red flesh. Godzilla directed his beam down towards the monster’s main body, blasting it with radioactive death. Black smoke billowed from it’s body and, much to his surprise, the squirming blob moaned.

Godzilla closed his mouth and took a cautious step back. Was he hearing things? He was sure that it had just made sound… but how could it do that without a mouth? It didn’t have a mouth… did it?

As the smoke cleared, the creature’s bulk pushed upward, a wobbling tower of ooze, flashing light and dark red as it moved. Godzilla couldn’t help but find the vibrant display beautiful… but he did not let his guard down. It’s hypnotizing display of colors would not and could not phase him. Godzilla roared valiantly, standing tall as the monster changed it’s form yet again.

As it shaped it’s towering body higher and higher, it became apparent that the creature did have a mouth, at least now. It’s top caved in, a dark abyss lined with teeth as red as it’s oozing skin. They moved independently from one another, hungrily pushing in and out as if they were alive. A band of small, wiggling tendrils formed around it’s maw, and the tentacles at it’s base reformed and continued their endless slithering in the sand.

As the crimson tower swayed back and forth, tentacles flailing, it lowered it’s “head”, aiming it’s giant, circular mouth at Godzilla. With a sound like vomiting, it exhaled a putrid red spray, hitting Godzilla square in the chest and knocking him over with a scarlet splatter.

Godzilla groaned, the wicked substance destroying his flesh. It had literally thrown itself up on him! Godzilla shook his head and, without thinking, grabbed at the burning blob and pulled at it. Godzilla ripped the painful red glob off, but instantly felt the repercussions and shrieked, wrought with pain. Then, As Godzilla shook his hand to repel the few clinging particles, he noticed something.

With most of it gone, the pain was lessened, made endurable. Godzilla lifted his hand closed to his face and looked hard. Gnawing endlessly at his hide with razor-sharp teeth sat several small, spherical shaped things. They were tiny, only human sized… Revolted, Godzilla slammed the back of his hand against the sand and smashed them.

So, this was the nature of his foe- it was not one singular monster, but an entire army of creatures! Each part of it’s body, it’s monstrous trunk, it’s lashing tentacles, it’s jagged fangs… they were all made of up millions and millions of tiny, biting monsters! That was why it’s touch was so painful- it was eating him!

Filled with rage, Godzilla lifted his head high and released a booming roar that shook both land and sea. His foes, the Bacteroid, as some humans would later call them, had met their match. Godzilla would strike the monstrous colony at it’s very core, kill every one of the tiny biting creatures that made up the tentacled monster. Godzilla felt his strength and snarled, clenching his clawed fists and bowing his head. He had another trick up his sleeve, another long-forgotten ability granted to him by mutation. He couldn’t remember the last time he had tried it, or even if he had ever tried it before. He simply knew that he could do it, and that now, he needed it to survive.

Godzilla narrowed his eyes, raised his glowing fins, and ran forward as fast as his legs could carry him. Everything he knew told him this was suicidal, but he was no longer operating under thought. Instinct had taken over, now it was his driving force. Godzilla leaped towards the Bacteroid, plunging into it’s ravenous form and meeting it’s grasping tendrils head on.

There was a bright flash of light, then nothing. Time seemed to freeze, to stop entirely. Everything around him seemed to cease to exist, if only for a second. Then, with an orchestra of rolling thunder, reality snapped back into place, and the world burned.

Blinding white light, hotter than any earthly flame, expanded in every direction. Sand melted into glass, trees burned to ash, and a sonic boom that could’ve muted the eruption of Mount Vesuvius rocked the entire area. Giant ripples coursed through the quiet waters of the Baltic sea, and then, once the cataclysm had run it’s course, the bright white light faded blue and, like a fire being sucked into a vacuum, disappearing- into the standing form of Godzilla.

Godzilla stood amidst the dying chaos, pieces of his vanquished enemy, blazing with azure fire, rained from the sky and bounced harmlessly off his back and shoulders. His spines were bright with energy, bolts of electricity bouncing back and forth along their length. His legs shook, almost giving out on him.

For the first time in a long time, or maybe the first time ever, Godzilla had used his nuclear pulse. It was his most devastating attack, no doubt about it- but it took tremendous energy to use. He felt tired and drained, barely able to stand up. He’d need to replenish his strength and rest for a while before he could keep going… he needed to go into the sea, now more than ever.

Godzilla turned, wobbling, towards the shore. He stumbled forward and awkwardly pounced into the sea, dropping into the water with a loud splash and slipping beneath the surface. He dove into the cold, murky waters, swimming deep into the gloom and disappearing into the abyss.