If I die in this world,
Who will know something of me?
I am lost, no one knows
There's no trace of my yearning.

The ocean feels so empty.

Surrounded by darkness, a resting Kamata-kun drifts slowly over the sea floor. Every small movement, every lazy swish of his tail propels him forward to send water through his mouth into his gills. But the same motion that allowed for his breath also sends jolts of pain through his body, adding to the burning sensation ever-present within his core. The water around him was stained red from the blood ejected from his gills, bubbles forming around him from the sheer heat of said blood. An never-ending effort to keep himself cool, keep himself alive despite the constant torture.

Even in sleep, he could not escape it.

There was a time in his life where this pain didn't exist; he always struggled to revisit those memories. They tend to come to him in dreams, fanciful dreams of a time long past. He would dream of the dark being a comfort, of being small and content. His life back then was not a particularly eventful one; most of it was aimless drifting, eating whatever fish he happened upon that he managed to snare within his many rows of sharp teeth.

Simple. But happy.

All that changed when he followed an odd scent into new territory, where the food and water held a strange new taste. It was that Taste that started this whole nightmare of existence.

He never knew such pain before he encountered The Taste. He never felt such heat within him, so intense that it felt as though he was on fire. He remembered how the agony drove him mad and eventually propelled him to swim himself ashore in an effort to escape it. But there was no escape, and if anything, being out of his element and onto unfamiliar terrain made the pain even worse!

He recalled laying there, beached and unable to move or breathe, waiting for the merciful hands of Death to take him and free him from this hell. His body was quickly suffocating and without the cool water around him, the fire within was only getting hotter and hotter. Surely, it would not take long to perish. But his wish was not to be granted, as instead, another intense wave of pain overtook him. He remembered thrashing about on the rocky shore, blood pouring from his gills and from the wounds left by the jagged stone. He remembered The Change happening, every fiber of his being screaming at him as he struggled in vain.

He remembered by the end of it, he was able to take his first breaths of air into new lungs. He was able to push himself against gravity with newly formed legs and take his first shaky steps.

It was not worth it and he used this new form only to retreat back into the ocean. The burning cooled back down to more bearable level, and as his head cleared and panic faded, it was then he realized...

His body will not allow him to die.

He would have to live with this new form and the horrific pain that came with it for the rest of his life, and that he did.

But I must carry on.
Nothing worse can befall.
All my fears, all my tears
Tell my heart there's a hole.

He never strayed back ashore, knowing that would only bring more torment and limiting that torment was his top priority. Every minute, of every day, year after year, he pushed on. Every so often, he would return to site of The Taste, to feed. He never liked going back, reminding himself of that fateful day, but he knew of nowhere else to go. It was one of those feedings that brought him into contact with him.

The Big One.

He felt The Big One, heard him, before he saw him. His body picked up the infrasonic waves, the call growing stronger and stronger. It reverberated through his aching muscles, into his very bones. His first sight of him was a blue glow pulsing in the darkness. A light that drew him in, like a small fish drawn to the glow of a predator. He remembered first setting his eyes on the massive beast.

And realizing that this newcomer was the same. The same as him. The same dorsal spines, the same long fluke-less tail. The same legs and gills. There was even a hint of The Taste from him, less strong and more pleasant.

It was the first time he ever recalled feeling joy since The Taste. Joy that outweighed his sorrow and for the first time, he was able to forget the pain.

The Big One regarded him, swam close to him. The bright blue light would grow more intense. Language of light was common in such depths, and as The Big One continued to flash intense light at him, he felt his body Change slightly, and a purple glow came from his dorsal spines in return. Dimmer lights, a steady glow. No threat.

The Big One scrutinized him for a long moment before he too dimmed the blue light. No threat. He watched in awe as the titan then turned and swam away.

Kamata-kun followed.

He followed and followed until he could not follow anymore. The Big One was such a comfort to him, that whenever he was in the giant's presence, the pain was pushed to the back of his mind. He finally had someone like him, who knew what he went through, someone who no doubt felt the same pain as he did. Hell, Kamata-kun didn't even have to go back to the site of The Taste anymore, just being by him allowed him to feed off trails The Big One left behind!

Sometimes, The Big One would make sounds at him. Sounds distinct from the ever-present infrasonic that Kamata-kun learned to distinguish from the rest of the noise. Every time he lost sight of The Big One, he would use this infrasonic waves to relocate him, and when they met, it was inevitable that The Big One would eventually start making those distinct sounds at him.

It happened enough that it triggered another Change from within. A minor one, no less painful than usual, and soon, Kamata-kun was able to make sounds too.

But The Big One never seemed to understand him.

That's okay. The presence of one like him was enough to satisfy.

But one day, everything changed. Kamata-kun could no longer find The Big One, because the infrasonic noise was gone. Cut off abruptly in an unsettling manner. At the same time, a new sensation overtook him. A sense of dread separate from any he's known. A new call took The Big One's place, and it held no comfort or significance to Kamata-kun. There was a forceful demanding tone in that call, he knew not what it meant. It didn't matter anyway.

He waited and waited, for the presence of The Big One to return, but it never did. There was no more distraction from his pain and it felt like he was back to square one. Except worse, because now he knows the feeling of loss.

The ocean felt so empty.

I wear a void,
Not even hope.
A downward slope
Is all I see.

It was almost too much. More and more, he would feel a primal impulse to come back ashore, to try once more to force Death upon himself although he knew it would do no good. The Change will just happen again, to force survival against his will. There was no purpose in running himself onto the unforgiving land. Unless...

The period of inexplicable, unnatural dread was almost suffocating, and although it did not last long, it still marked the day where The Big One was lost to him. That sensation had something to do with the disappearance, as was the new infrasonic waves that took the place of the one he once knew and loved. Perhaps his judgement is clouded more than usual, but he can't help but think if he tracked down the source of these new calls, it would be his best chance at getting answers.

If anything, he just wants to know what became of his only friend.

So that was what he has been doing these past few days. The Source moved fast, and he would push himself to his limit to follow it. His mind became hyper-focused on those waves, where nothing else existed. Even when his body pined for The Taste, he would not be distracted. The infrasonic noise was getting clearer and louder, a clear sign he was drawing closer.

This was where he finds himself now. He has been resting since nightfall, to gather his strength in preparation of what lies ahead. As he stirs from his sleep beyond the hours of midnight, he turns himself back towards The Source. It is very close now, up onto the shore. Memories of the last time he beached, the intense pain it brought, intrudes his mind. Only greater pain awaits him there; although he would no longer suffocate, the burning within him would get worse and worse and...

He had to do it.

It is the only way to know the fate of The Big One and if possible, bring him back.

He has nothing left to lose...

-

It is the pillar of steam suddenly rising from the surface of the ocean that catches his keen eyes.

With the full moon reflected off the surface, it highlights the pillar with its silvery rays and San focuses his gaze intently onto it, curiosity overwhelming him as he sees a plume of bubbles break the surface as if the water is boiling. A silhouette appears at the center of the activity. It wasn't a rock, for it was moving. It is a low hump at first before a long serpentine shape rises high up from the water. It stands out like a sore thumb, in the midst of the vast open ocean stretched out beyond the waves before the silhouette disappears once more beneath the surface.

His tongue flicks from his mouth, and he stretches his neck up to try to raise himself higher. His brothers are asleep, and he is careful not to disturb them as he squints his eyes at the vibrant color of red on the water's surface. There is a heavy scent of the sea obscuring the scent, but San knows the smell, scent of blood. Red is the color of blood from most of the native creatures they have come across on this planet, and red is the color on the water's surface.

Is this creature dying? Injured? Such intense curiosity that has him wanting to venture closer if he could.

After a moment of staring, he finds the creature, whatever it was, is approaching them. Why? Glancing towards his brothers, he decides it could possibly be a threat and that his siblings wouldn't get mad for the rude awakening. So he sends a jolt of alarm through them, powerful enough for them to jerk their heads up, Ni automatically making a snap at the air around him.

Ichi raises his head up, glancing around the sky automatically as it's usually always attacking alien insects in their metal bird contraptions harassing them. But he sees and hears no sign of them and looks towards San.

The youngest looks off pointedly towards the thing, both his brothers following his gaze. He hears a growl from Ni beginning to rise from his throat and when the creature resurfaces close enough to make out what they are looking at...

They could see the distinct shape of plates slicing through the water.

"Is that...?" San trails off, curling himself down nervously as he does. He glances toward Ichi, who stares hard at the thing. San tries to keep his voice calm; rather difficult as he recalled the last confrontation they had with the former king. The scales on his neck twitches. "I thought you guys said he was dead!"

"He is," Ichi's voice is soft, but is laced with disbelief and anger. "This cannot be possible. He is supposed to be dead."

They saw it! They saw him drift to the ocean floor after that green light engulfed them. They saw the life fade from his eyes. It made no sense that he was swimming full speed towards them! Both San and Ni could feel the overwhelming anger coming from Ichi's neurons, an emotion Ni shared but made San more nervous. He's never felt such rage from his sibling before!

They bring their feet up underneath them, standing from their resting spot and turning to face the advancing titan. Godzilla did not falter from his path and with a flare of their wings, Ghidorah stands up on their hind legs and raise their wings up high in a threatening posture. Their three hearts are racing and Ni is leaning forward, snarling and eager for a fight. San feels his horns flare and he gives a hiss as Godzilla comes closer and-

Oh....

This isn't Godzilla.

Their wings lower slightly.

Reaching shallow waters as it swims ashore, they could see that this... thing is puny, its torso barely bigger than their heads! And although the back plates are incredibly similar to that of Godzilla, everything else only vaguely resembles him.

After a brief pause, where their hearts calmed down to normal, their wings lower all the way, folding back to rest. Giving a contemptuous snort, Ni lifts himself back up, visibly disappointed as this... thing could in no way offer a proper challenge. San replaces him as he leans forward curiously, wanting to examine and sniff and taste the new thing, but Ichi isn't coming close to the water's edge. Just in case.

"What is it?" San questions, wondering if this was a kaiju or not.

".......... Offspring." Was Ichi's verdict after a moment spent in silence, glaring at the little thing pulling itself onto shore with an odd, clumsy gait from short legs. "The young of the false king's species."

"It doesn't smell like Godzilla, though," San comments, still trying to get as close as he can to the thing, sniffing and flicking his tongue. He flinches back on reflex when the creature let out a shrill cry, punctuated by a spray of blood upon the sand, dripping from the creature's gills. They can hear gurgled noise vaguely resembling something akin to words, in a language they could not even begin to understand.

It only serves to baffle them even more; they thought they were pretty fluent in the language of the native kaiju, but it seems that wasn't the case. Probably some underwater language that need not apply to them.

San has so many questions, so much he wanted to learn about this thing. What was it? Where did it come from? Was it really the child of the former king? Will it bleed if he bit it? Thankfully, Ichi is not immune to the effects of curiosity himself and he holds himself tall as a king should as he addresses the newcomer in a cold voice.

"Who are you and why do you approach us?"

The creature doesn't answer them, looking up at them with unblinking dead eyes as it pushes itself further onto the sandy beach. It boldly makes its way up to them before it leans itself up almost upright, resting its weight on its tail like a tripod. It lets out another gurgling shriek of unintelligible "words", in a rather demanding tone.

Ni snarls back at it, awaiting Ichi's orders to tear this defiant little thing apart.

"Do you know what we say?" San asks slowly with emphasized syllables, earning a brief glare from his oldest brother. Especially when he leans down to touch the creature with his nose, only to have his horn tugged on in reprimand. San feels a spark of impatience, whining softly as he pulls himself back up. Ichi gives him a stern growl before returning his attention to the little creature at their feet.

Such boldness of this creature, to stray from its element and hold its gaze with them. The words coming from it held a tone like it was demanding something of them, but it was clear that it did not understand what they were asking of it. If this was indeed the offspring of the false king, then it had not yet learned the primary kaiju language.

But fear is a universal language, as the telepathic aura of dread and terror emanates from Ghidorah. The creature beneath them falters, coming back down to its more horizontal posture. A smirk begins to grow on Ichi's snout as he looks down upon the child, reveling on its change of behavior. So easy to manipulate the lesser creatures of this world. Oddly enough, though, this creature did not turn tail and retreat as he expected. Was it that upset that they usurped the throne? Was it here to avenge the death of its sire? Such a foolish endeavor for one so young.

"It's still here~," San coos, glancing towards Ichi. "It must really want to fight."

At this, Ni snorts but San continues, sending a wave of playfulness towards his eldest sibling.

"Can we, Brother Ichi?"

Ichi does not reject the request immediately, his sharp eyes gazing over the child before a cold smirk graces his snout. What a fitting fate for the offspring of their fallen rival; the last trace of his legacy reduced to nothing more than a toy.

"Yes," he answers, much to the delight of the youngest. "It most certainly would do well to show this creature the error of his ways in approaching us so recklessly."

Ghidorah moves forward, the creature letting out another piercing shriek. But it still does nothing to retreat, even as San moves forward to grab the little thing's back in his jaws. His teeth sinks into its wet flesh and is startled to find that it did not feel the same as it did when biting Godzilla. There was no thick hide hindering the strength of his bite. The creature's skin felt cold to his gums, but the blood smearing his scales from those gills felt surprisingly hot. Much like the lava in their slave's volcano.

It wasn't painful but it was enough of a surprise for him to let go. And no sooner did he do that than Ni lunges forward and grabs the child in his own jaws as well. There was no inhibition to the strength in his bite, and the creature lets out another terrible shriek. For once, San did not enjoy the sound of that.

"Brother Ni! No!" the left head cries out in dismay, well-aware of his older brother's intentions to destroy his toy. Ni ALWAYS destroys his toys and he looks to Ichi in the hopes that he'll stop it. "Brother Iiiichiiii!"

"Brother Ni," Ichi starts, his gaze firm on the right head. "Release it, now."

Ni growls, as the tiny thing chews on his upper lip in some vain attempt to fight back. He had the powerful impulse to shake his head, to kill this pathetic creature immediately. But at the alpha's orders, he opens his jaws to let the thing drop. But it doesn't let go of him, hanging off his lip stubbornly. He growls louder and swings his head to slam it against the ground. He did this several times before it lets go and it took every inch of his being not to Gravity Beam the brat out of existence. But he had some semblance of self-control to his anger and irritation. He understood now; this was no actual 'fight'. This was just pointless play time for the other two. Without a word, he licks the blood from his lips as he pulls away, lifting himself high to keep watch as he typically does whenever Ichi and San wasted their time on games.

With their toy freed, San lets out a giggle as Ichi takes the still-recovering creature by its tail and lifts it from the ground. Its feet kick uselessly at the air, trying desperately to curl upwards and bite but to no avail. Ichi ignores its writhing as he takes the child further inland, away from the water it called home. He wants to give it no hope of escape, have it develop learned helplessness before they torture it. Given how feisty it is, it could be a process and a fun one at that.

Finding a particularly jagged rocky ground, Ichi drops the child unceremoniously to fall onto the sharp rocks. There was noticeably larger squirt of blood from its gills on impact, wisps of smoke coming from the puddles. San is quick to lean down to flick his tongue upon the bloodied rocks, wanting to taste. Strangely, its flavor of radiation was exceptionally strong and it was even hotter than it was moments before. Interesting.

The creature is pushing itself onto its feet again, sides bloodied and bruised. Even now, it maintains its defiance and is now emitting a very bright purple glow from its dorsal spines. It is something they recognized, as it was the same threat display the former king of this world once displayed towards them. It is quite amusing seeing it again, in a feeble creature incapable of properly fighting back.

It's this defenselessness that gives San his boldness as he moves away from the splatters to snatch his new toy in his jaws once more. He wants to watch it hit the rocks again, maybe with more force to test its durability and how high he can make it bounce! He is ready this time for the unexpected heat of its blood, and he purrs as he sinks his fangs into the creature, relishing its shriek of pain as he begins to lift it...

-

As long as breath comes from my mouth,
I may yet stand the slightest chance.
A shaft of light is all I need
To cease the darkness killing me.

Another Change is happening, although the pain of it is dwarfed as the giant serpent clamps its jaws onto his torn and bloodied back once more.

The heat is migrating towards area of the assault, energy accumulating into his dorsal spines very quickly. All this is new to him and acting on pure instincts, Kamata-kun takes this gathered energy and unleashes it in concentrated beams from his dorsal spines right into the mouth of his attacker. He feels blood that was not his own spill upon him, and he is dropped back onto the rocky ground as the head that grabbed him screams in pain. His attacker steps back from him, visibly startled by this show.

He can stop now; he's free from their grasp and maybe now they'll be willing to give him what he wanted and tell him where The Big One is. He wants to stop, he tries to stop, but he had no control over this anymore. His body continues to act on its own accord, as he turns his back on the creature, assaulting it with more of the beams erupting from his plates. This encouraged more space between them as the creature took off into the air to avoid further harm.

They were running; the source of his answers and his only hope of finding The Big One was running. He still could not regain control as his body kept pushing this new form of counterattack, giving it everything he had until they disappeared into the clouds.

The horrific burning within him was getting truly intense now, far worse than any he's felt previously. And it was this, and not his own will, that forces an end to his defenses. The beams fade abruptly, as does the purple glow from his spines. His back is left in even greater agony and his muscles feels weak as he stumbles. Whatever it was his body did there, it took a lot of strength from him and his over-heating core now urges him to retreat back into the ocean. But he knew he wasn't going to make it, it seemed so far away, and his shaky legs buckled beneath him.

Rest. He needs to rest, and he felt his system begin to shut down as a last resort to cool off and prevent his own self-destruction.

As the world around him begins to slowly fade to black, he feels the earth beneath him tremble as the creature returns and lands before him. He barely even had the strength to lift his head enough to meet their angered gaze. No answers ever came from them, but their wounds bled as much as his gills did, and that felt enough of an accomplishment to satisfy him as the world fades to darkness.

He did not know if he was going to wake up again, but at least there was no more pain.

Just comforting darkness.

To be continued...