PROPHECIES CHILD

Captain Nakano tread stealthily among the warehouses along Oneda's port. Only a handful of his soldiers remained. The rest were either dead, or scattered into the jungle. Varan had decimated his conventional forces, but conventional forces were not Nakano's only resource.

The Markalite harnesses were still only prototypes. Technology had evolved the giant plasma cannons from tread mounted war machines, to wing mounted blasters. Now, self contained personal ordinance had been developed, theoretically at least, giving the user the capacity to slow the advance of the Daikaiju known to invade the mainland. Nakano prayed to his ancestors the weapons would succeed.

Varan howled in triumph! The Atomfire he had stolen from the invader was serving him well. He had felt the passing of the Final Conjunction, the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy. His place as this world's new King of Monsters was now assured. Surely, there was no opponent left here who could withstand him, and soon his journey would begin. The predestined quest to usurp the powers of the other Wild Gods. Soon he would be truly supreme.

A group of humans had fled into the structures where the city met the sea. The tiny, insignificant creatures sought to escape him, but there is no escape from destiny. Varan stalked closer to his prey...

Behind the beast, the night was rent by a sudden glow. Varan turned at the light, to be confronted by a wall of golden mist. The reptile hissed, and from deep within the shining vapor came a low guttural response.

Godzilla emerged from the glowing nimbus, enervated and primed for combat! A positive charge to counter the Lakebeast's negative one. He could smell the Obake's shock at his sudden reappearance turning quickly to fear, and Godzilla attacked!

Varan recoiled, unleashing a blast of nuclear energy from his maw! It struck the invader point blank and was absorbed. Godzilla seemed almost not to notice, continuing his charge without pause. He grappled with the spiky beast, steam rose from its flesh at his touch. Again Varan loosed the beam, and in a strange parody of a kiss, Godzilla opened his own jaws wide to accept the blast!

The creature from the lake was flailing its limbs, clawing and thrashing desperately against the assault. The golden mist that surrounded his enemy was weakening the Obake, numbing him like a drug. The forcebolts he had stolen were useless now, seeming to feed the enemy rather than harm it. Varan struggled with all his will, unable to stop the flow of power. He could not shut off the beam!

Godzilla bore down on the beast, forcing it to the ground. Sparks began to flash, his dorsal plates glowing as the Atomfire flowed from his adversary to be re-assimilated back into his own massive form! The energy charged the living cloud surrounding him, triggering a change, a transfer. The mist was moving away from Godzilla, to settle on the Obake. Its struggles were slowing. The sustained beam it emitted was weakening, losing intensity. Then finally, it was gone. Weakly, Varan faced the invader. Their gazes locked as the Obake hissed a final rattle of defiance.

Godzilla studied the dying, mist shrouded beast. His expression caught somewhere between pity and contempt. He lunged then, jaws open wide to sink his fangs into the Lakebeast's throat!

Godzilla drank, the minerals and isotopes that had been leeched from him now returning with the flow of blood. Again the nimbus arced along his dorsals, mixing with a fading golden glow. The mist was moving away now, moving back to Obake lake. And somewhere not so very far away, an old man's spirit laughed with glee, like a mischievous child always one step ahead of getting caught!

Captain Nakano signaled his men to cut the primers on the Markalite rigs, and the weapons powered down. Quickly, he pulled his squad back among the few structures still left standing at Oneda's port, just as Godzilla came crashing through the one behind which they had been hiding. They watched from the shadows as the monster paused at the dock, then turned back toward the city as if there were something it had forgotten. It swept its gaze across the shattered landscape of Kunashirashima. The blasted jungles, the burning city. And for a moment, Nakano could have sworn he saw a brief golden glow reflected in the monsters eyes. A look not unlike longing had flashed across its face. The beast had regained its birthright of power, once again the true King of the Monsters. Yet it had lost something too. A communion with all that is good in the spirit of humanity, a touch of kindness it was destined to forever be denied. Godzilla raised his massive head and bellowed, the roar carrying with it just the barest tinge of grief.

Without warning, the beam burst from Godzilla's jaws, immolating the corpse of the fallen Varan. His tasks fulfilled, Godzilla turned from the ravaged island, and slipped back into the sea.

"Did you see it, Captain?" Asked one of the men. "That look on its face?"

"Hai. It was almost like regret," Nakano agreed. "I saw it, soldier. I think I shall never forget it."

Sleep had again overtaken Kyoko Iso where she lay in the Obake shrine. Silently, Kenji crept toward her, and leaned close. She's beautiful. An angel, he thought to himself. The angel opened her eyes. "Kenji?"

"Ssshh," he said, bending close for a kiss.

"Your bruises are gone."

"Healed. All my injuries are! There was this fog, and the wind..."

"Then it was not a dream," Kyo realized.

"No. It felt like... well, like it was Matsu."

"I know. He touched me too. Kenji, you must tell me what happened out there!"

"Ever the scholar, eh my love? I'll tell you everything, but first you must come with me."

"What? Kenji, what are you doing?"

"We must go to the lake!" He cried, leading her quickly from the shrine. The Koshida too were stirring from their sleep as the couple raced past them. Waking to see the Obake icon as it burst into golden flames. The image melted and ran, until only featureless stone remained.

At the lakeshore. Ken fumbled through his pockets, looking helpless. "Oh the heck with it!" He said, stepping one foot into the water and scooping up a drink in his hands.

"Kenji, don't...!" Shouted Kyoko.

"Pfflaagh!" Ken spat with a grimace. "It's salt! The formula didn't work. It's still salt water."

"Kenji, I would think you would apply a more precise methodology to your analysis?"

"Yeah, sure. But it's still salt water." He caught her smiling at him, lifting his mood. "So what happens now, Kyo? How would you feel about getting out of the jungle for a while?"

"I am not sure, Kenji. I have a responsibility here, to these people."

"Ms. Iso, Mr. Bradley!" From the trail, a group of Koshida approached. The one called Jinko continued. "After you left the shrine, we watched the totem burning there."

"Burning? What do you mean?" Asked Kyoko.

"The Obake is dead, his temple died with him, as has his cult," the native explained. "Matsu was the one who revived our beliefs, now he has put them to rest."

"But, Jinko, You can't mean you are going to just abandon your heritage," Kyo protested. "The Koshida culture has existed here for centuries. I do not think Matsu ever intended for you to commit ethnicide!"

"We are still a spiritual people, Ms. Iso. Our culture will not die here. It will evolve," Jinko faced his fellow natives. "All of us were touched by the mist. We know what must be done. The shrine will be razed, and replaced with a temple to our new patron; Matsu. He was the true child of the prophecy, his teachings will survive."

Kyo looked at Ken and smiled. "I guess I am not as badly needed here as I believed."

"Not so, Ms. Iso," Jinko laid his hands upon her shoulders. "We need you to do what you came here to do. To chronicle our cultures history, as well as the new chapter which has now begun. Through you we can ensure our future generations continue to move forward. The Obake was a powerful influence on this island, a negative force from which we have finally been released. It was Matsu, the man of the mist, who freed us. He who showed us the way. Go and write your books, Kyoko Iso. Write in them all you have learned here. We will be waiting when you are done."

"Arigato, Jinko san." Kyoko bowed, and the Koshida dispersed, filing back to the village.

Alone on the shore, Ken slipped his arms around his lady. "Have you ever been to America, Kyo? Have I told you of the monsters worshiped there?"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Oh yes! Little green monsters with pictures of Presidents on the front, and their temples on the back!"

"Sounds like an interesting place to investigate, but what about completing your experiments here?"

"I've decided to turn my data over to the Self Defense Force. Their scientists can finish the analysis. I am curious though, why the DSC bombardment didn't work."

"But Kenji, it did work."

"How do you mean?"

"Look at it, Ken. Don't you see?"

"Yeah, I see a big salt lake."

"Hai, a big healthy salt lake! There are fish swimming in that water, Kenji. I saw them yesterday when I was out in the boat. It is no longer toxic. You have healed it."

"Well, maybe you have got a point there, but I realize now there was much more than science at work on this island. You taught me that."

Kyoko turned to him, to share a kiss. The dawn's light now breaking on the horizon. "Yes, there is magic here too," she said, smiling. "Forces that I now realize were meant to work together. You taught me that."

A mist was rising along the surface of the lake, henceforth known as Matsuko. Kenji and Kyoko felt a comfort in its presence, and stood to watch as the sunlight warmed them, and tinged the water gold.