CHAPTER FOUR

Satomi pushed her soaked bangs aside and glared up at the monstrous entity that she knew as Godzilla. She was finally face to face with the creature responsible for the deaths of so many innocents… and she was ready.

“Fire at will!” She hissed through gritted teeth.

The infantry struck first with a volley of rocket-propelled grenades and bazooka shells. They exploded against Godzilla’s charcoal black hide, releasing smoke and glowing embers that wafted through the night. But as the smoke cleared, it was obvious that the attack hadn’t even scratched him.

Godzilla lifted one of his massive feet out of the water and slammed it back down, sending more water gushing over the soldiers.

“He’s trying to drown us!” One of them shouted fearfully.

“No,” Satomi coughed, spitting up sea water. “He’s coming on land!”

Godzilla continued to stomp through the shallow water, pummeling the infantry with wave after wave of bay Water. Godzilla paid little attention to the screaming specks on shore.

“Infantry- fall back!” Satomi growled, raising her hand and giving the attack signal for the tanks.

The tanks lifted their nozzles as far as possible and fired in unison. Five heavy shells slammed into Godzilla’s chest and exploded. Godzilla growled and stopped, staring down at the little machines. The rocket launchers fired immediately, and eighty rockets blasted Godzilla’s neck, chest, and stomach.

Godzilla roared and lifted his right foot, and then brought it down forcefully. And this time, he was close enough to touch land. His three-clawed foot landed on the pier, the sole of his foot crushing it entirely as the tips of his claws raked the shore. The footfall shook the ground just enough to knock the fleeing infantry to the ground. Shards of planks from the pier rained down on the tanks and bounced off their armored exteriors.

The tanks aimed lower and fired again, hitting Godzilla’s torso. The shells exploded, but once again did nothing. Godzilla lifted back his head and inhaled so deeply that Satomi thought the wind was blowing. The jagged star-shaped spines on Godzilla’s back suddenly began to glow blue, and bolts of energy crackled along his spine.

“Are you getting this?!” Dom yelped excitedly.

“Of course, man! This is once in a lifetime stuff!” Will whispered. Through the camera, he could see the glow of Godzilla’s spines. It grew brighter and brighter, casting a faint blue light on the two men.

“What’s he doing?” Dom asked, staring.

Godzilla’s mouth opened, a blue glow emanating from deep inside his maw. He jerked his head down and let loose. A stream of blue energy burst from Godzilla’s mouth and shot down to earth as a blindingly bright ray. It touched down between the two center tanks, tearing a hole in the earth and throwing debris everywhere. The two nearest tanks were instantly vaporized, and the heat from the blast caught the other three on fire. They exploded in one gigantic orange fireball as Godzilla closed his mouth and stopped his hellish breath.

Satomi shielded her eyes from the blast, then stared upwards. Through the flames, she could see Godzilla growing closer. His foot landed on solid ground, and the earth shook. Satomi reached out in the dark and steadied herself on the side of a building.

“Fall back! FALL BACK!” She cried.

The mobile rocket launchers started to lower their boxlike frames and go in reverse, but it was too late. Godzilla’s foot fell from the sky and stomped both rocket launchers into the ground like insects. Satomi flinched as tiny bits of shrapnel whizzed by. She pulled out her walkie-talkie, glaring at Godzilla as she spoke.

“Aplha team- permission to fire! Situation is dire! I repeat, situation is dire!”

“Roger that,” The pilot of Alpha-One said, switching his com link over to the other jets. “We’ve got the go-ahead, boys. Let’s show this overgrown lizard who’s boss!”

The other pilots cheered, and the Alpha team zoomed over the city. They tore through the sky, flying right over Dom and Will’s head. The resulting gust nearly knocked Dom over.

“You know how you said we’d get out if things got hairy?” Will said, swallowing.

“Yeah.” Dom agrees. “Let’s move back… keep rolling, though!”

“Right,” Will said, standing up and walking backwards. Dom grabbed his shoulder and hurried him along as he rushed away from the bay. Will’s camera watched as Godzilla set both feet down on land and buildings passed by. In between alleys it got occasional glimpses of rising flames and Godzilla moving farther inland.

“Over here!” Dom shouted, pointing to an alley ahead of them. Dom ran into the alley and pulled will in with him. Godzilla’s roared sounded again, and Dom put his hands over his ears. Will, both hands on the camera, grimaced.

The Hornets raced towards Godzilla as he lumbered through the deserted streets of Tokyo.

“I have visual.” Alpha one announced. “He’s bigger than I expected!”

“He’s still just an animal.” Alpha two replied. “Get a lock on him!”

“Alright- Firing!” Alpha one shouted, depressing the button on his joystick.

Alpha one’s M61 Vulcan gattling gun whirred to life and spewed bullets down on Godzilla’s back. Alpha Two, Three, Four, and Five fired their own gattling guns as they soared over Godzilla’s head afterwards. Godzilla lifted his head, snarling, and turned around. Alpha Six and Seven pulled away right and left, dividing Godzilla’s attention and avoiding destruction. Godzilla hissed and turned, watching Alpha Six fly past his right. Alpha’s One through Five hit Godzilla’s shoulder with another torrent of bullets and zoomed overhead.

“Reform!” Alpha one ordered. Alpha Six and Seven followed Alpha’s One through Five and went back into formation, and circled over Godzilla.

Godzilla roared and followed the jets with his eyes. They turned about and came at him again, firing their gattling guns again. In vain. The bullets sparked and bounced off Godzilla’s skin like balls of paper. He lifted his head and snapped at the airborne vehicles, slamming his jaws shut on the tail of Alpha Seven.

“I’m hit!” The pilot shrieked, fighting with the controls as his Hornet spiraled downward.

“That jet’s going down!” Will gasped, pointing.

The camera’s line of sight followed the jet’s flaming descent. The pilot ejected, and the F/A-18 Hornet crashed into the side of a tall building. The windows shattered, and the jet exploded. The whole building rocked, and large chunks of it’s exterior crumbled away. A long, visible crack formed, separating the top of the building from the bottom. With the remains of the jets hull still lodged inside, the top half of the building tumbled down to the ground and shattered in the streets.

“Take cover!” Satomi screamed, falling to her knees. Chunks of metal and concrete the sive of SUV’s came crashing down through the street. One slammed down on the crowd on fleeing infantry, smashing several soldiers and killing them instantly. Another was taken down by a baseball sized piece of cement that struck his head.

A similar chunk whizzed over Satomi’s helmet and disappeared into the flames behind her. She burst into a run and dove into an alley. The ground shook with every step Godzilla took, and she struggled to stay on her feet.

“Over here!” She shouted. “Quick! Get out of the street!”

The remaining infantry scurried across the street, jumping over chunks of debris and pouring into the alley. Satomi did a quick headcount. Only nine men left… she knew without doubt that all the others were dead. Satomi steadied herself as the ground shook and watched the Hornets whiz overhead, and knew that these were all the survivors.

Godzilla roared a challenge as the Alpha team sped towards him. They fired their puny weapons once more, though for a shorter amount of time. Godzilla hissed as they soared just out of reach over his head and circled around for another attack. Their gattling guns were out of ammo, and they hadn’t even broke Godzilla’s skin.

“Switching to missiles.” Alpha one announced.

“Affirmative.” Alphas Two through Six responded. Under the wings of each Hornet, air-to-ground missiles waited patiently. Now they would finally get their chance.

The Hornets came at Godzilla again, maintaining a steady lock-on. Godzilla snorted. He was getting aggravated with these creatures… they were like annoying flies, buzzing through the air around him. His spines began to glow as he charged up for another blast of his radioactive breath.

“Watch out, he’s attacking!” Alpha Three shouted.

“Roger!” Alpha one acknowledge, pulling away. Godzilla’s heat-beam shot into the sky, but the Hornets scattered. Godzilla roared angrily and turned his head, directing the beam at one of the fleeing aircraft. Alpha Four exploded, raining bits of it’s charred hull down on the city.

“We’ve lost Alpha Four!” Alpha one cried into his com link.

“Roger that…” Satomi mumbled. “I saw Alpha Seven go down. Did he eject?”

“Affirmative.” Alpha one said.

“Good…” Satomi said, sighing. “Continue the attack… but be careful up there! And call in the Thunderbird if you lose anymore Hornets!”

“Will do.” Alpha one said, switching off the com-link as he lead the team towards Godzilla. They would attack from behind this time.

The jet-fighter pilots reached for their joysticks and switched to missiles. They depressed the fire button, and released two missiles each. The missiles quickly descended and shot towards Godzilla’s back. One missile missed, flying past Godzilla’s shoulder and detonating on a nearby building. Godzilla’s eyes widened, seeing the explosion. He turned, and the other missiles exploded against his side.

The Alpha’s flew over Godzilla, turned, and attacked again. Another flurry of missiles came at Godzilla and detonated, this time hitting his back as planned. The pilots soon noticed that Godzilla’s back was no weak point. The missiles exploded with no effect at all; one bounced off the side of one of Godzilla’s spines and blasted a small home to bits.

Godzilla lifted his tail into the air, hitting Alpha Five as it flew by. The jet’s windshield was shattered, hitting the pilot with cold air and bits of glass. He hit eject as his jet was thrust forward and crashed into Alpha Four. It’s pilot wasn’t so lucky. The Alpha Five and Alpha Four collided and exploded before he could hit the eject button. Flaming debris bounced off Godzilla’s hide as he watched the last three Hornets flew away from him.

“They’re getting creamed over there!” Dom whispered, shaking his head.

“Nothing hurts him at all!” Will exclaimed. “It’s just like what Yuzuha said!”

Dom ducked instinctively as another aircraft suddenly passed overhead. He looked up as it headed towards Godzilla, and the jet fighters departed. It’s a bomber… this must be their last line of defense, Dom thought, shaking his head. This isn’t looking good.

The Thunderbolt II bomber soared over the city to meet Godzilla. The pilot, a gruff man with a crew cut and a black mustache, glared through the windshield at his target. Finally, some action! He thought, clutching the joystick. They should have sent me in the first place. Ha!

He flew the Thunderbolt closer and prepared his Avenger cannon. The entire aircraft was built around that fearsome gun… he was certain that it’d have enough power to do Godzilla harm. And if not (which he seriously doubted), his payload of AGM-15 Maverick’s sure would.

Godzilla watched the bomber approach and roared. The pilot laughed. I accept your challenge, you stupid lizard! And I’m going to beat you down! The pilot though, amused at the roaring animal. He thought of his team mates being trounced by a reptile and laughed out loud. He didn’t see what all the fuss was about. Sure, it was big… but so what?

He depressed the button on his joystick, and the Avenger cannon whirred. It fired a rapid stream of bullets at Godzilla, aiming at Godzilla’s chest. Bullet after bullet pummeled his body, and the pilot grinned. Take that!

Godzilla roared, raising his left arm to block the seemingly-never ending onslaught of bullets. It was bad enough that the humans thought they could hurt him, but this one was aggravatingly persistant. He inhaled and released a blast of radioactive breath at the Thunderbolt. It dove down, dodging the beam, and flew past Godzilla’s side. He lashed out with his tail, hitting the bomber’s wing. It shook, but regained balance and avoided disaster.

“He’s reckless.” Satomi snorted, leaning against the alley wall.

“But he is holding his ground.” One of the soldiers said.

“For now.” Another chipped in.

“It doesn’t matter… this is serious, and he’s acting like it’s a game! That beam almost hit him! I don’t want to lose any more of my troops tonight!” Satomi snapped, glaring up at the Thunderbolt II as it ascended and began firing again.

The second attack was as lengthy as the first. The Thunderbolt’s Avenger Cannon was practically pouring lead on Godzilla. The pilot finally stopped, but only because he was out of ammo. Godzilla snarled and lunged forward, swinging his gigantic mouth open. The pilot laughed and dove down, Godzilla’s jaws snapping shut mere feet above his bomber. He switched to missiles, and fired.

The bay doors opened and dropped one of the Thunderbolt’s AGM-15 Maverick missiles. It realized it’s target and shot forward almost immediately, hitting Godzilla in the thigh. But unlike the air-to-ground missiles the Hornets carried, the AGM-15 Maverick was designed to pierce it’s target before detonation.

But then again, it was intended to be used against warships and tanks, not giant monsters. The missile struck Godzilla’s hide, but only the tip of the missile managed to penetrate. The missile detonated, and most of the explosion was absorbed by Godzilla’s tough hide. Still, he felt it.

This human was different, Godzilla realized… he wasn’t an annoying fly. He was a really annoying mosquito. Godzilla roared and brought down one of his clawed hands on the Thunderbolt, swatting him like the insect he was. The Thunderbolt II exploded as Godzilla’s claws pierced the hull and engine. The cocky pilot was incinerated before his bomber had even began falling. Godzilla hissed with satisfaction as the nuisance hit the ground as a flaming mess.

“He’s toast.” Dom muttered, gulping. “I don’t think that hurt Godzilla at all.”

“I don’t know about you, but this is freaking me out Dom.” Will whispered. An explosion rocked the city as Godzilla released his destructive breath on an unlucky building. Dom nodded.

“Let’s get out of here. I’ve seen enough…” Dom said, looking down with a disgusted expression.

“And so have I!” Growled a feminine voice. Dom spun around and saw a Japanese woman in a military outfit standing five feet away from him. Behind her were several bruised and battered soldiers. Will shut off the camera and stood up.

“This city was supposed to be evacuated!” She continued furiously. “But you stayed- to get Godzilla on film! Do you have any idea how much danger you put yourself in?!”

“Of course I do…” Dom said defensively.

“Then why’d you stay?! Are you an idiot?!” She shouted.

“With all due respect, uh…” He trailed off.

“General Satomi.” She snorted.

“Well, with all due respect, General… I think my cameraman and I know what we’re doing.” Dom said. “And the last time I checked, evacuation orders weren’t mandatory. I can stay here if I want.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s smart.” Satomi said, folding her arms.

“Stupidity isn’t illegal.” Will said, grinning. Another explosion shook the ground, and his smile faded.

“But I wish it was.” Satomi sighed. “Now we need a transport for you two…”

“What?!” Dom said, his eyes lighting up.

“You’re out of here the minute I can get a jeep in this city.” Satomi said, reaching into her pocket. “I’m putting Tokyo city on quarantine. And that means that you have to leave- stupid or not!”

“You can’t do that! I have the right to-”

“I can and I will,” Satomi growled, poking Dom sharply. “And the only right you’ll have if you don’t leave is the right to remain silent!”

“Fine.” Dom grumbled softly. He turned to Will and whispered. “This isn’t over!”

Satomi retrieved her walkie-talkie and spoke into it loudly and angrily. Dom let out a long, aggravated sigh as she talked about quarantining. She gave him a fierce look, but kept talking. Dom leaned against the alley wall and shook his head. Alright, let’s think, Dom. The city is under quarantine… okay. That sucks… but we’ve got footage. Good footage. But… we need to cover the entire story.

As Satomi spoke on the phone, Dom turned his head to watch Godzilla in the distance. The titanic dinosaur pushed his way through Tokyo, tearing buildings down with his claws and occasionally blasting away structures with his fiery blue breath. To Godzilla, the buildings were like cardboard. Nothing in the Tokyo could keep him away from where he wanted to go. Then it hit him like a sack of bricks.

Two minutes later, three jeeps arrived with their headlights shining in the night. Soldiers filled two, leaving the third for Dom, Will, and the general. You’ve got to be kidding me… I have to listen to this General’s whining all the way back? Dom thought grimly. He and Will got into the backseat, and the General sat down in the passenger seat in the front.

But, much to Dom’s surprise, General Satomi didn’t whine the whole way back. In fact, she didn’t whine at all. Or even talk. She just sat there in silence. The driver looked over at her and started to say something, but changed his mind and kept quiet. What’s the story with her? Dom thought, raising an eyebrow.

Their jeep stopped outside the city limits as the other two jeeps proceeded. General Satomi turned around in her seat and looked at Dom and Will.

“Alright. Listen up, you two.” Satomi said firmly. “I have a couple of questions for you.”

“I’m all ears.” Dom said, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back.

“First thing’s first. What are your names?” She asked.

“Dom Giovanni.”

“Will Griffin.”

“Hmmm.” Satomi said. She looked over at the driver. “Check their files when we get back.”

She turned back to them and frowned.

“Alright, Dom. Will. Why were you shooting footage of Godzilla out there? What was worth taking such a risk?” She asked.

“I’m a reporter for Channel Four News, and Will is my cameraman.” Dom said slowly. “Our boss… Jerry Olmer… wanted us to come to Tokyo and cover the ‘sea monster’ story. That was before Godzilla showed up… when that ship was sunken.”

“And your job is worth so much to you that you’d risk your life to do it?” Satomi asked coldly.

“Yes.” Dom said. “I’ve been having… financial troubles. It’s very important to me that I keep my job. Will and I were hoping that we’d get a nice amount of money for this story…”

“Humph. Of course. Money.” Satomi sighed, turning back around. “The root of all evil!”

“Aw, come on!” Dom grumbled. “I need the money! I’m not greedy, I’m desperate!”

Will laughed, but Dom didn’t join him.

“Okay, Mr. Giovanni. Mr. Griffin. I have a proposition for the two of you.” Satomi said, this time deciding not to turn around and face them.

“Oh? Will said, sitting up. “What?”

“As you know, I was talking with my superiors earlier, and I told them the situation we’re in… including the two stubborn reporters sitting in a deserted alley filming Godzilla.” She chuckled. “And unfortunately, they’re interested. They’re looking for someone to film Godzilla, it seems.”

“What?” Dom said, confused.

“According to them, it’s a justifiable cause. They think that if they could record Godzilla’s actions and the military’s fights with him, they could learn a great deal of important information that my troops and I might not notice.” Satomi said quietly. “Personally, I think it’s a stupid idea!”

“No sale, General.” Dom replied. “We work for Channel Four. It’s our responsibility to get them their story.”

“Mr. Giovanni, I want to make something clear to you.” Satomi said, turning her head and glaring at Dom through the corner of her eye. “Whatever your boss is paying you, the military would be willing to pay more. A hell of a lot more. Not only that, but you’d be given permission to enter quarantined areas where civilians are not allowed to tread. You’d probably be supplied a helicopter for aerial footage as well.”

Dom said nothing, and neither did Satomi. Will was the one to break the silence.

“Dom… this sounds like a pretty good deal.” He said meekly. “If we tag along with them, we won’t have to face Jerry again. Ever. And we’d be given living quarters with them, right?”

“Correct…” Satomi muttered.

“Then you’d be clear of Derek and the rent too. And on top of that, you’d be getting paid more than before! Can you really pass that up?” Will said, shaking Dom’s shoulder.

“And what about the footage Will’s already shot?” Dom asked, looking to Satomi.

“It will be used for us instead of Channel Four.” She answered.

“And who’d break it to my boss back in New York?” Dom asked.

“If you should choose to accept, then your boss would receive a call from my superiors telling him the situation.” Satomi said.

“And if he doesn’t agree?” Dom asked.

“We’ve got enough money to shut him up, I’m sure.” Satomi said, rolling her eyes. “Just make your decision already, okay? I have to get back to the base and get the troops ready for a new attack, explain to my superiors why we failed our objective, deal with the monster in Seattle, get-”

“What?” Dom interrupted. Satomi stared at him questioningly. “The last part- what did you say?!”

“We have to deal with the monster in Seattle.” She said, lowering her head. “You havn’t heard?”

“No…” Dom said, shaking his head. “What monster?”

“And why does it concern you? You’re part of the Japanese military… Seattle is in the US…” Will said, scratching behind his ear.

“I can’t tell you anymore than that unless you agree to work for us and quit Channel Four.” Satomi said crossly.

“…Okay… Fine. It’s a deal.” Dom said reluctantly, extending his hand. Satomi, still frowning slightly, shook his hand and turned to the driver.

“You heard him. Time to go to HQ.” She said. The driver nodded, and they returned to the road and sped away from the spot.