Godzilla Lives!
A Godzilla fanfiction by Travis J. DeSantis
Chapter Seven
Oshima is the largest of the volcanic Izu Islands. At 110 kilometers away from Tokyo, due south, it takes mere minutes to travel the distance by airplane. On a clear day, you can even see Mount Fuji from its shores. Tourism is by far the primary industry of Izu-Oshima, which is famous for its dynamic culture, abundant natural hot springs, and most infamous resident.
Almost immediately after Godzilla was trapped within Mount Mihara, UNGCC established the Oshima Volcano Observatory. It had a dual purpose: to study and explore Mihara like any other geological research center, and also to act as an early warning signal. Any peculiar volcanic phenomenon might indicate Godzilla was becoming active again and the scientists at OVO would be able to alert G-Force, possibly preventing another disaster.
In the complex's main lab, a circular room with a panoramic view of Mt. Mihara, a pair of volcanologists were hard at work.
"Eiji, have you seen this?" asked one man.
He was reviewing general seismic activity on the island over the past few months and noticed something strange. All seemed well up until mid-June, when a series of normal tremors from Mihara began to occur stronger and more frequently. The charts showed them escalating in strength and it appeared that a minor earthquake which hit Oshima last week was actually the latest of these 'tremors.'
Eiji crossed the room and looked at the stack of papers in his colleague's hands. "Oh, don't worry about that. We recorded a similar incident in 1986 and everyone thought it would be a massive eruption, but the tremors disappeared after a while." Eiji walked away, but kept talking. "We'll keep a close watch on it, of course. But I wouldn't think too much of that."
There was a beeping sound coming from a console on the wall. Eiji pressed a switch and another man's voice crackled over the intercom. "Guys, it's me! Open up!"
"Hang on, Satoshi. I'll buzz you in," Eiji answered back. He pressed another button on the console and there was a buzz, then a click. After a few minutes, the bleach-blond Satoshi entered the lab with a young woman in tow. "Hey, didn't I tell you not to bring your dates up here?"
The other man laughed, taking off his stylish reflective sunglasses. Satoshi clearly wasn't as young as he acted and his coworkers suspected he was going through a mid-life crisis. "No no no, this is Miki Saegusa. The woman from the Psychic Research Center who asked to stop by, remember?"
"I'm so sorry, Ms. Saegusa," Eiji apologized. "Welcome to the Observatory, I'm Dr. Tsuburaya. You've already met Dr. Chuko and over there behind me is Dr. Murata."
"Hello, everyone," Miki replied, feeling a little nervous. "Sorry for interrupting your work."
"Oh, no trouble at all. But I have to wonder why a psychic would be interested in volcanoes?"
"Well, I'm not so much interested in volcanoes as I'm interested in this particular one."
"Ah, so that's it. You know, I was surprised the government let that editorial get printed in newspaper. But then, it didn't exactly cause a national hysteria, did it? Don't worry, we've got everything under control," Eiji said with confidence. "No Godzilla activity today."
"Actually--" began Dr. Murata, but he was cut off.
"I told you before, Takeo. That's nothing to worry about."
"Excuse me, I don't understand. Is something wrong?" asked Miki. Standing by the window, she looked up at Mihara with apprehension. Miki was getting some intense vibes from the volcano, and they weren't seismic tremors.
Takeo quickly spoke up before his colleague could once again dismiss it as 'nothing'. "Increased seismic activity. Mihara is more active now than it's been in a decade."
Off to the side, Satoshi chuckled. "Seems like an awful coincidence, especially with all those ships disappearing on the sea lanes. You know, there are volcanoes underwater. Who's to say they're not all connected?"
"That is ENOUGH!" Eiji growled, stamping his foot.
Just as he did so, the entire room quaked with a tremendous rumble. The lights flickered briefly and various instruments clattered. Miki lost her balance and latched on to the nearby table. When it finally subsided, Takeo seemed to be the only thing not on the floor, as his chair was bolted down. Satoshi quickly went to check the computers while Eiji was sitting on his butt, eyes wide. Apparently he was the most shaken up, no pun intended.
"That was a five-pointer!" Satoshi called from across the room.
Miki's brain barely registered the announcement, because her eyes were glued to Mihara. From her vantage point on the floor, she could see the volcano's summit and the giant plume of smokey ash billowing out of it. There was now a long fissure running down from the rim, glowing red hot.
Miki felt choked. She couldn't speak, she could barely breath. No words would come out, so she pointed hesitantly at the volcano. The three scientists' frantic chatter gradually petered out as they, one by one, noticed it as well. The rumbling started to build back up and they watched in silent horror as Mihara erupted.
Lava shot a mile into the air and the sky went black. The sheer violence of the eruption blasted boulder-sized chunks out of the volcano's rim. For a moment, everything seemed to slow down, then gravity finally took effect. Rocks, ash, and lava rained down on Oshima Island. From inside the Observatory, it sounded like they were being bombed. Again they were thrown to the floor from the quaking and booming crashes filled their ears. For a wild moment, Miki imagined she could hear the screams of Oshima's residents as they too were caught unaware by the Earth's rage.
The reinforced complex protected the foursome from the initial assault, but it wouldn't long stand against the rivers of molten rock that now cascaded down Mihara's sides. Now that things had settled, relatively, the three scientists quickly went to work. Takeo and Satoshi were stumbling around the room, gathering instruments and recording data while Eiji was shouting at someone over the phone.
Miki had her face pressed against the window, trying to see past the thick layer of ash which covered it. Though the view was gritty and smudged, the bright heat coming from Mihara's magma cast enough light that Miki could see it was still quite active. There was no second blast of lava, but there was a fierce bubbling at the surface. Another fissure was torn into the volcano's side with a sharp ripping sound. Then slowly, the lava began to rise. But this was no eruption. This was a surfacing.
Something was emerging from the glowing hot depths of Mount Mihara. Something large. Something dark. Something angry. It was cloaked by the thick black clouds of ash, but nothing could mask this being's tremendous presence. A giant stood at the edge of the volcano's rim, heedless of the towering jets of fire and molten earth surrounding him. He raised his arms and opened his jaws wide.
"GGWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUU!!!"
