“As the day comes to an end, rescue efforts continue in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Today, at approximately three fifteen PM, the kaiju known as ‘Velostia’ made landfall at Barrier Island and headed north into Central beach, where, in a shocking twist of events, it was attacked by another of its kind,” the newscaster explained, accompanied by amateur footage of the battle.
“After Velostia’s retreat, it was pursued into the ocean by its attacker. A military response followed shortly after, with a focus of securing, assessing the damage the titanic creatures’ battle caused, and aiding those impacted by the tragic event. Early estimates predict an approximate twenty thousand individuals being displaced by the destruction, with experts predicting that number to increase as more details come to light.
“This follows hot on the heels of the kaiju attack from the day prior, in which two kaijus, identified as ‘Nomalia’ and ‘Duogran’ laid siege to Anchorage, Alaska. Due to the threat posed by another double event, the first since the attack that laid waste to Boston, Massachusetts eight years ago, Pantheon officials scrambled anti-kaiju interceptors from across the country- including those stationed in Fort Lauderdale. Many say it was this response which ultimately left the Florida coast unprotected.
“As the dust settles, officials look to Pantheon for answers. After passing legislation in February that allowed the private defense company to establish an air-base in the city, locals assumed that this signaled safety from monster attacks for the foreseeable future. With failure of the military’s watchpoint and what many see as a misallocation of resources by Pantheon, tensions are high.
“At ten PM, Pantheon chief of operations Damien DuPont made a public statement. ‘In light of recent events in Fort Lauderdale, Pantheon wishes to address the concerns and speculation circulating regarding our role in the defense of Fort Lauderdale. As the world’s leading private defense corporation, Pantheon acknowledges the gravity of the situation and takes full responsibility for our part in the unfortunate outcome.
‘First and foremost, we extend our deepest sympathies to the residents of Fort Lauderdale who were affected by the incident. The safety and security of communities are at the heart of our mission, and we deeply regret that our efforts fell short in this instance.
‘Pantheon remains committed to transparency and accountability in our operations. We are conducting a comprehensive review of our response protocols and collaborating closely with local authorities and experts to enhance our capabilities moving forward. Additionally, we are actively supporting recovery efforts in Fort Lauderdale and providing assistance to those affe-”
With a click of a button, the channel is changed, revealing a crowd of people protesting and cheering. The camera zooms to some of the various poster boards and signs that are being held up. One showed a crude depiction of the unnamed saurian kaiju holding up the lifeless body of Velostia, accompanied by the text, ‘GUARDIAN’.
Another showed a profile drawing of the kaiju, underlined by the words, ‘WHO IS THE TENTH?’
A protestor suddenly shoved their sign into the camera, obscuring the view of the crowd. The art portrayed the smoldering remains of the city, with a shadowy creature looming over. ‘A MONSTER IS ALWAYS A MONSTER’. Police quickly pushed the individual back behind the line as the cameraman stumbled back, being ushered away from the crowd.
Various other depictions both flattering and unflattering could be seen, with some of the protestors even getting into fights over whether they saw this kaiju as a potential ally, or just another threat. After some moments of live footage, a voice-over began. “Everyone is wondering, why is the Tenth kaiju different? Why, rather than joining its kin in wreaking havoc, did it instead attack it? Since its emergence a month prior, Pantheon has released little information to the public regarding the creature.
“With its only other exposure being the monster seemingly coming to stop Velostia’s rampage, many the world over are beginning to wonder if this beast is a friend, or just another foe. A representative of The Eden Initiative had the following to say; ‘While we understand little on the intricacies of kaiju behavior, we can say with confidence that what we witnessed today was a territorial dispute, nothing more. With the tenth being relatively new to the world order, it is likely that it is trying to establish itself within-”
The screen turns off as Monica throws the remote across the room. “I can’t believe they rewrote my statement! Those bastards!”
Courtney watched the remote fly by her and crash into the wall. She sipped her soda quietly as she returned her attention to her sister.
“What’s the point of making me the ‘head researcher’ if you’re still gonna censor everything I say!? Does a professional’s opinion mean nothing?” Monica huffed loudly as she rubbed her face.
Courtney crossed her legs as she rested her eyes. “You ever considered your ‘professional opinion’ may not be digestible to the average person? People have really strong feelings about these things, so you gotta be careful not to step on any toes or you might get your funding cut.”
“I’d rather be told someone’s honest opinion than some,” she stopped, gesturing wildly as she struggled to continue her thought, “corporate engineered nothing-burger of a statement! As if DAMNIEN’S wasn’t phoned enough, they had to take mine and-”
“Monica, stop acting like a child.”
Monica took a deep breath, then continued to ramble. “Look, I’m AWARE that we can’t confirm anything now, but to completely ignore half of my hypothesis? I stated it could be THAT, or it could genuinely be something new- something unprecedented! I just needed to observe the thing more before making a concrete judgment!” Monica paced back and forth, glasses hanging crooked from her face. “What if it really was trying to protect us!?”
Courtney stood up, walked over, and blocked Monica’s path. She reached out and fixed Monica’s glasses, brow furrowed. “I don’t blame the big-wigs for altering your statement. Listen to yourself,” she said, grimacing, “a kaiju, trying to protect us? You sound like a fucking maniac.”
“B-but what IF, CICI! What if it GENUINELY IS different?”
“So what? Do you really think that one of those things has the ability to empathize with us!? When you walk down the street, do you worry about the ants you might be stepping on? Are you so consumed with a desire to protect the ants that you’d beat the shit out of someone who tried stepping on them?” Courtney’s grip tightened. “Wake. UP.”
Monica winced, grabbing onto her sister’s arms. “Cici, stop, you’re hurting me-”
Courtney’s anger subsided as she finally let go of her sister. She hadn’t even realized just how worked up she was getting.
Monica rubbed her shoulder gently, glancing at Courtney out of the corner of her eye.
“I gotta go. Gonna be late for training,” Courtney grumbled as she stuffed her hands into her pockets and headed for the door.
The two of them were broken people, each in their own ways. After Wayne died, they began to walk on two very different paths, but even so, they always had each other. After Courtney was discharged following the attack on Boston, it was Monica who got her an ‘in’ at Pantheon. Every day, she wondered if doing so was a huge mistake.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Courtney had changed, she felt, and not for the better. Whatever top-secret project they ended up putting her sister on was wearing her thin and enforcing the hatred that informed her every action. There was nothing that woman hated more than the kaiju. The monsters who took her brother. Her comrades. Her sanity.
Of course, this hatred was another reason why the two of them were beginning to find an ever growing rift between them, Monica concluded as she returned to her desk and began to tidy it up as her thoughts ran. Where Courtney had coped with the loss through her desire to end the monster’s lives, Monica had done so through the pursuit of understanding.
If these creatures really were just giant animals, then why were they so hard to kill? Why did they seem to rapidly grow, change, and adapt to the world around them? Why did they seem to have a sense of camaraderie in spite of their innumerable differences? These and many other unanswered questions were what convinced her to devote herself to their study.
In the twelve years since Wayne’s passing, she had been the foremost expert in the study of kaiju. Macrobiology.
If she knew what these things were made of, what made them tick, perhaps she could find a way to end this needless bloodshed. Were they intelligent enough to be reasoned with, or weren’t they? If they truly were animals, attributing malice to them was what was really childish.
Monica pouted, tapping her foot as she crossed her arms. Of course, the Tenth showing up throws a wrench in things. That was why she was so fascinated by it. It had already demonstrated enough intelligence to not only recognize humans as something it could communicate with, but that it could communicate through drawings. Symbols.
She pulled up drone footage of the Fort Lauderdale incident up on her computer. She panned through it until she saw the moment where the Tenth was being choked by its opponent’s tongue. She grabbed a pen and chewed on the tip of it as she closely observed. While others just saw two giant monsters duking it out, looking into it further, more was at play than a mindless brawl. She noted how the tenth used the limitations of its opponent against it, wrapping around the block so it could strike it from its flank.
It definitely fought like it had more brains than people assumed, that was for sure. She continued viewing the footage, arriving at the moment where it began to strike Velostia with balled fists. Why would a creature with claws go for a punch? Surely its anatomy wasn’t suited for that, and yet when it was put into a corner, that was what it defaulted to.
The moment when it hit Velostia hard enough to send it tumbling was similarly fascinating. Every punch leading up to that moment proved ineffective, so what happened there? She pulled out a notebook and started writing. Friend or no, the Tenth was decidedly fascinating. She was eager to see what it would get up to next.
…She really had to give the thing a name, though. ‘Tenth’ doesn’t roll off the tongue very well. It emerged in her home city, so perhaps they’d give her the honors? A click of her pen, and she began brainstorming, writing all manner of potential names. For this guy, it had to be perfect.
***
Courtney stepped into the elevator in the Pantheon building and scanned her ID on the console within. The LCD screen lit up with acknowledgement of her credentials and began to ascend.
“Now arriving: floor thirteen, Venator R&D,” a synthetic voice announced as the doors slid open.
Courtney strode out, walking down the grungy concrete halls lined with cables. She continued until she reached the hallway labeled ‘SECTOR 9’. She only managed to take three steps down it before she was approached by an individual wearing a lab coat and a face-mask.
“You’re late once more Wells,” the woman said impatiently.
Courtney shut her eyes and furrowed her brow. She wasn’t in a mood to deal with this. “I was spending time with my sister, Seraphina.”
The woman clicked her tongue. “You will refer to me as Doctor Blackwood while within my department.”
“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”
Courtney was guided into a small atrium of sorts with a metallic chamber at its heart. Inside the chamber stood a large, black chair hooked up to myriad cables and wires. She ascended the steps leading up to the room and strode inside, heading straight to the chair. She wasted no time in sitting down, resting her arms at her sides.
Dr. Blackwood flanked her all the while as other scientists in similar garb scrambled about, tapping away on screens and handheld devices. She grabbed Courtney’s sleeve and pulled it up, revealing myriad puncture wounds that had yet to heal. She tutted.
“Unless you’re trying to get an infection, you should be wrapping these.”
Courtney scoffed. “I get new ones every day. Seems like a waste of time.”
Blackwood looked down upon Courtney, visibly annoyed. “I’ll be informing medical to pay regular visits to your chambers and tend to them for you. If you’re going to act like a child, you will be treated like one.”
A large robotic arm descended from the ceiling. A clamp of sorts filled with small needles was affixed to its end. Blackwood guided the arm to line up with Courtney’s bicep. “You may begin coupling,” she announced to the room.
Hissing emitted from the machine as it slowly closed around Courtney’s arm, then snapped shut like an animal’s maw.
Courtney grit her teeth and scowled as her muscles tensed. She was used to this by now, but no amount of familiarity would ever help these tests hurt any less.
“Now… Let’s begin, my dear,” the doctor said as the corners of her lips just barely peeked over the corners of her mask in a smile.
***
“Urgh, my head…”
Wayne stirred from his slumber, feeling returning to his body. He recalled falling down the cliff, then passing out, and then-
“...Velostia,” he said as he opened his eyes. He was still in that same rocky clearing, the debris from him and the other kaiju’s encounter still surrounding him. Slowly, steadily, he hauled himself into a sitting position which looked quite silly considering his anatomy.
He raised a hand to rub his face. As his digits slid across his eyelids, he let out a sigh of content. That felt nice. How long has it been since he was able to do that?
Wait. He shouldn’t be able to do that. His arms were too small. Or, they used to be. What he was greeted with when he observed himself was not the meager limbs that used to confound him, but instead, much more well developed arms with plated ridges sprouting from them at the shoulders which resembled the armor on his back.
“Woah,” he said to himself as he stretched them out, taking note of their reach. He flexed each arm, feeling the increased muscle mass beneath his scales. This certainly changed things. How did this happen? Why did it happen? He was glad that it did, but the logistics of the situation were mind-boggling. He got knocked out, then woke up with a new feature to his body? He rubbed his chin in thought for a few moments, then chuckled. He forgot how comforting the ability to do small gestures like that was.
Another question presented itself. His faithful pack of hexwolves were protecting him before he went down if he recalled right, so where were they?
“Looking for someone?” A feminine voice goaded.
Wayne whipped around in search of the source, but found nothing. No matter which way he looked, he couldn’t see a single living soul. By the time he thought to look up, it was too late. A raven blur descended upon him as something constricted his neck and slammed him into the ground, cracking the stone beneath him.
Once the shock had worn off, he craned his neck to try and see who had him pinned. Was it Velostia, coming for revenge!? No, the voice sounded completely different. This kaiju was composed, confident, and powerful.
Yellow eyes gleamed through the dust cloud. Just as it began to settle, their owner lunged closer, her beak settling mere meters from Wayne’s snout.
“Not the most intelligent,” she spoke in a low tone, “you’re failing to impress, Tenth.”
Wayne recognized this kaiju now that he had a closer look at her. The terror of the night skies, Kagezora! She was the only Avian kaiju to have ever been encountered, and her unique looks that took traits from eagles, ravens, and peacocks all bundled them into some kind of monstrous shadow-phoenix struck fear into the hearts of pilots worldwide. Of all of the-
Wayne’s thoughts were cut short as the avian kaiju gripped more tightly, shaking his head around for good measure.
“Do you have nothing to say for yourself!? Are you just going to let me kill you?”
“N-no! I’m sorry, I just wasn’t expecting to be attacked like that after waking up like that!” he blubbered in response.
Kagezora leaned back a bit, tilting her head. “You’re awfully polite.”
Wayne stared with wide eyes. “Uhm. Thank you..?”
It was then that Kagezora spread her wings and let out a threatening screech. “Let’s see how long it holds.”
With a mighty beat of her wings, all of the stones in their surroundings were sent tumbling away. Wayne was dragged into the sky, kicking and screaming.
“Is this REALLY NECESSARY? Can’t we just TALK!?”
Kagezora looked down with a cold glare before she rocketed forwards, dragging the green kaiju with her through the sky like he weighed nothing. “Our kind do not make our point with words. We speak through actions.”