The Original Chapter 4 to Call of Titans · 3:56am Dec 3rd, 2022
This was going to be the initial interaction between Gojira and Godzilla in Call of Titans during a sequence in chapter four, but after a lot of pondering, and suggestions from y'all, I came to the conclusion that this was simply not how I wanted to depict Gojira. He's not a tyrant, after all... At least not by design. The new version that will come out sometime this weekend will be collaborative between Tarbtano and I. I do, however, still want to show this alternate version, which was inspired by a comment I saw on Chapter 3.
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Godzilla lifted his head at seeing her approach and gave a soft smile, though it didn't take long for him to sense that she was nervous about something. "Luna?" he urged, furrowing his brows before glancing up at Gojira with a questioning glance.
Casting a gaze over her shoulder at the behemoth, she spoke. "I am alright, Goji... I would like you to... keep an eye on him, I have my lunar duties to now, and then we shall discuss what to do with Gojira, she said, lowering her voice slightly before turning to face The Ancient. "We shall make use of you yet," she decreed before an earth pony trotted up to the group before she had the opportunity to fly away.
The pony wore a faded blue bandana and a hat not too unlike Applejack's, his top lip covered by a mustache and his eyes a crystal blue. Applejack would recognize this pony instantly, a wide smile spreading across her muzzle as she trotted towards him. "Well if mah fur ain't orange, is that Burnt Oak?!" she whinnied jovially as the older stallion panted briefly, attempting to catch his breath.
"Miss Jack," the earth stallion exclaimed, lifting his head to look at the Element of Honesty with a grin.
It was here that Luna's attention had shifted away from Gojira to the newcomer, a brow raised as he removed his hat and bowed before her. "There is no need for such formalities, Sir Oak. You may rise," she said, lifting a hoof. As patient as she had grown in recent years, Luna sincerely hoped that whatever it was that Burnt Oak had to say could be said quickly. It wouldn't be long before ponies began to wonder where the moon was, after all. "And for what reason is the urgency that I see upon thy's muzzle?"
"Forgive me for holding up your duties, Madam, but I did overhear what you was talkin' about earlier with the big fella regarding getting him a job and figured I'd throw myself out there as an employer," the woodworker said with haste, quick to catch on to Princess Luna's slight impatience. He was an observant stallion, after all.
Gojira raised a brow as he looked down at the older-looking stallion and glanced back to Godzilla and Luna, his ears flicking subconsciously as a frown touched his lips. He had no desire to work amongst the populace and simply live and act as one of these equines. But as Luna pondered for a moment, the inevitability of such seemed more and more clear.
"I shall take your request into careful consideration Sir Oak," Princess Luna answered Burnt Oak after a moment, giving him a nod and brief bow before she spread her wings.
Godzilla Junior stepped back from the alicorn at seeing her prep to take off, giving her a nod and a smile that didn't go unnoticed by Gojira before Luna took to the sky to tend to her duties. The stallion watched her for a brief moment before he gave a soft sigh and turned to look at the massive stallion that was The Ancient, expression taking on something that expressed a more stern, serious tone.
Gojira grumbled and turned away from the stallion as Burnt Oak gave a nervous chuckle. "Perhaps I shoulda chosen a better time," he surmised, lifting a hoof and rubbing the back of his head with a wide, uncomfortable smile. "Ah think I'll just wait and see what happens with all this." With this, he turned to trot back to his shop.
"Wait fer' me, Mistah Oak!" Applejack called after him, following the dirty brown earth pony.
As the duo drew out of sight, Godzilla watched as the old king leaned back on his haunches with a huff. "I'm tired..." Gojira lamented in a way that brought a pang of guilt to Godzilla's face. The words weren't spoken with hostility or even in a manner that indicated a sense of loathing, but the way his shoulders slouched and ears flattened. Godzilla couldn't see his expression with his back turned, but he could feel a sense that his face depicted that of exhaustion in its purest. "You... where have you all been?" he grumbled, rising to his hooves and looking back at the other kaiju, his brows knitted into a leer. "You still have not explained that to me and I would like my inquiries answered before I go anywhere with you, don't think I didn't hear what she said. Keep an eye on me? For what purpose?"
Godzilla sighed and shook his head at the questions, unsure how exactly he was expected to answer a question, especially with it worded in such a hostile manner. Gojira was right to be angry, but Godzilla needed him calm if he was to answer the question. "Gojira, please, relax," he gestured, growing weary of the titan that stood before him. Gojira had changed... He wasn't always those volatile, and at one point, was more of the mentor type, a wisened old kaiju who had years of experience and used it to help his cohorts grow and learn. Now though... he was angry. "What happened to you?" the King of the Monsters questioned, shaking his head before he looked up at the behemoth stallion.
"What happened to me? Where shall I start, Your Excellency? Perhaps where you disappeared seven years ago? Leaving me and very few others to protect Terra from an endless onslaught of battery?" Gojira growled cruelly, standing up and snapping his head to look at the group.
It was here that Anguirus inserted his opinion, a leer crossing his muzzle as he stood up to defend Godzilla. "Hey! You say that as though it was a choice we ma--!"
"Shut... your damn mouth!" Gojira snarled, his harsh tone knocking Anguirus' words back down his throat as his eyes blazed. His venomous gaze silenced the Guardian Beast of Fire as he snarled, ears pinned back.
It was here that Godzilla took a step towards Gojira, standing up to The Ancient with clenched teeth. "Back off, Gojira. He didn't do anything," Godzilla Junior growled. He didn't want to get violent with his ally, but given how quickly the situation was escalating, the unicorn weighed his relationship with Gojira and his relationship with Anguirus, choosing the latter over the former as he stomped a hoof.
"Mind... your... tone, Imp... Lest I thrash you as I did the little upstart, Kong," the Alpha Predator snarled aggressively, his eyes beginning to pulse softly. They'd yet to take on that sinister blue glow, but Godzilla could sense his growing fury. Hearing Gojira's insulting tone when referring to his teacher though, caused his fur to bristle.
"Hey! Leave Sensei out of this!" he barked, beginning to lose his temper with the stallion.
"Is that what the ape is to you? A teacher? Well now, this just grew a little more intriguing. Yes, I faced your precious 'Sensei', and I must say, I was thoroughly unimpressed," Gojira growled, narrowing his eyes at the unicorn as he studied Godzilla's expression, wondering how far the kaiju king would go with the confronting tone that he was currently on the receiving end of.
It was here where Godzilla's nostrils began to flare and a wisp of smoke rose from his nostrils. "Continue with this instigating and you'll soon learn what Kong taught me. I am not your enemy."
Gojira held steadfast, unphased by the threat, but growled at Godzilla nevertheless, his anger all too apparent as he sneered. "If his display in Hong Kong is anything to go off of, I have very little to be weary of. I would have killed the unruly little primate where he laid, had there not have been more pressing matters than an ape with an axe at hand," The Ancient grunted plainly.
This further enraged Godzilla as the implications of such a statement began to sink in. Had he been in a clearer state of mind, one detail, in particular, would have leaped out at him. "What did you do to him?!" Junior snapped, his pupils pinpricks as he imagined what kind of scene would have unfolded. King Kong was no slouch, by any means. But even the King of the Monsters knew that against Gojira, Kong was severely outmatched.
"Oh, do cease your complaining. He lived the encounter if that's where your concerns lie. If the ape has a shred of common sense in that underdeveloped cortex of his, though, he'll stay in the Hollow Earth where he belongs," the kirin snarled, his tone now antagonizing. He was angry, and in his anger, he was lashing out in a way that made all too apparent what he thought of the situation at hand. He was beginning to toy with Junior's patience, see how far he could push the kaiju into lashing out.
And nearly lash out he did, his mane beginning to glow with that familiar hum of radiation as he took up a battle stance. The audacity of this Titan before him... "Ignorance truly has no age limit, does it?!" Godzilla sneered, his eyes now awash with that same luminescent blue glow.
It was here that Rodan hopped into the conversation, having thought quickly to stall, or hopefully completely avoid any further conflict. "Chief, wait! That doesn't make any sense! He said he fought Kong in Hong Kong! What was Kong doing there and not on Skull Island? He never leaves the island! the gryphon exclaimed, brows furrowed into a puzzled expression as he beat his wings and hovered between the two.
Gojira snorted, a mixture of disgust laced with anger in his tone as he reeled his head back. "You want to know why Kong wasn't on Skull Island? Hm? Because of your precious humans. Because of them... They destroyed the island!
Godzilla paused, the glow of his mane and eyes dying down at the words. "No... They wouldn't do that. They couldn't...
"You mean just like they wouldn't rid Terra of you, of Mothra, of Rodan and Anguirus? Just like they wouldn't recreate the Oxygen Destroyer that killed your grandfather in a last-ditch effort to rid the planet of me? Just like they wouldn't build a machine made specifically to murder what remaining Earth Defenders there were? Hm?! All the while you... in your ivory fucking tower, in this land of magic, rainbow horses... While you court with somebody, not of your own damn species. Tell me, Godzilla, King of the Monsters; have you bred with these aliens too?! While Terra falls into ruin?!" The stallion, at this point, was shouting, his voice a rumbling roar as he stomped toward Godzilla.
As Godzilla was pressed back into a metaphorical corner, Chibi Moon finally began to cry out in fear, burying herself in his mane as Anguirus leaped into action, biting down on Gojira's tail in an attempt to pull the behemoth back. In his anger though, the massive stallion was oblivious to this, even as Rodan leaped atop his back and tried to wrench him backward. Gojira's eyes blazed, the anger, hatred, and resentment he'd been forcing back exploding outward. Between the group, he was pissed, enraged that after dealing with something so traumatic as this, Godzilla seemed unaffected in a new world, a new body. He was infuriated that, while he had been risking life and limb on a near daily basis, the other kaiju were living comfortable lives, teaching, farming, and enjoying the fresh air and open space.
"Zilla is dead, Godzilla, DEAD! Do you know what I had to do last month?! I had to put down a cybernetic corpse of one of your allies, while you were fucking some HORSE!!"
It was here that Godzilla lashed out abruptly, throwing a hoof forward at Gojira's face and sending him staggering. The behemoth stallion snarled and lifted a hoof to his muzzle as Rodan fluttered away from his back and Anguirus yanked hard, managing to pull The Ancient away from Godzilla just long enough to sprint around and force himself between them. With a grunt, the Guardian Beast of Fire rammed against Gojira's chest and sent him stumbling slightly. Where he took a few steps back and lowered his hoof.
Blood ran down his snout as he went eerily calm, and silence washed over them, save for Chibi's fearful tears at the bestial roars from somepony whom she thought was friends with her Sensei. Gojira looked over at the group as they now stood before him. His eyes narrowed as blood dripped down his mustache and stained his beard red. He felt warmth run down his throat and realized that his nose was broken. It would mend, and quickly, but he cared not for that right now.
I wouldn't say it's wholly unusable, but as it was written, it strikes me as more of a last-straw moment than anything. Perhaps, a moment like this would be better served at a later point when Gojira's frustration is at an all-time high. Or perhaps, rather than attacking Gojira, Godzilla calms down and replies, "Okay. I get it. Things aren't going well on Terra, and you're frustrated by the position you've been put in. But, Gojira, that doesn't give some special right to go and pick fights over something out of our control. Like it or not, we're stuck here, and so are you."
Talent and emotion is appreciated, but I'm glad that a different course was taken. I find this not only a little bit too overly nihilistic as to the current condition of Terra and the capability of those left behind to keep things in order, but it's also very out of character for a lot of characters involved. At least by my standards and canon.
Again, could work perfectly fine for this particular story, but if canon alignment was a desire then some things were better left changed. Gojira I always saw as someone who is ultimately good, if just simply out of their time and not quite fully acquainted with how the modern world works or how things wound up the way they did.
Gojira has been through a lot but he is lashing out here and his anger seems very misplaced. Him boasting about attacking and battering characters the core 6 are close to and constantly cutting them off really does make him come on as antagonistic. And narrative wise, because he gets the last word on the subject and it isn't shown as being in the wrong per se, it could come off as we're supposed to agree with him.
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Agreed, I definitely prefer the direction you took and having him simply listen to what Godzilla had to say rather than blowing up. He's not a villain, and this sequence seemed to push him towards a villain arc as apposed to a redemption arc
I was hoping Zilla would be mentioned. As in Junior and Gojira making jokes about their Kaiju Prince. Lol. But dead?! No... no... not my boy... 🥺😢😭!