Archive of Our Own ^beta

Godzilla had never imagined his life would take such a turn. Staring at a pair of sleeping mer-kaiju in a small patch of seagrass that was partly hidden behind some kelp. It wasn’t the best hiding place to rest. It’s out in the open and these two were easy prey for anything that wanted a filling meal. 

It’s night as well and many nocturnal predators have begun to swim about. Luckily his night vision is superior to any modern creature that calls the ocean home. It’s how he can tell that the pair of mer-kaiju is an adult male and a young female, possibly a pup.

Why had they not found a secure shelter? 

He leaned down and sniffed at the pair. They had human scent all over them like they had been living with the surface creatures. A growl rumbled deep in his chest at the thought of the humans taking two of his kind and raising them as if they were humans.

Luckily the pair had not awakened from the growl. Assuming these two had been raised by humans, he knew they most likely lacked survival skills and knowledge. With a deep sigh, he lies next to the sleeping pair and curls his massive tail around them. 

He had planned to return to his and Mothra’s nest after his patrol, but it seemed that was not going to be possible tonight. 

Patrolling was a normal thing an Alpha does and with the sea being his domain, he had a lot to patrol. Luckily as Alpha, he can pinpoint where the mer-kaiju are and feel if they're causing any trouble. 

This is how he sensed something off and headed to investigate. He had pinpointed two new mer signatures and was perplexed. He had not sensed them before, it was like they had materialized from thin air. When he arrived, he couldn’t contain the startled noise that had left him as he found the pair of mers sleeping in such a vulnerable place. 

He couldn’t even call the place they chose to sleep as a nest! Too vulnerable and too out in the open. At least with him here, nothing would dare attack the sleeping mers. Not unless the creature attacking wishes to lose its life. 

Crossing his arms and laying them over his tail, Godzilla rests his head and looks at the sleeping pair. He notes how the male has curled himself around the younger. It reminded him of what his mother and father would do when he was a pup. He didn’t know the relation of the two, but with the female looking much like the male, Godzilla assumes the pair are father and daughter.

Letting out a huff, Godzilla settles himself and closes his eyes to try and get some sleep. The morning will be full of questions that he wants answered and trying to figure out why the humans had taken two of his kind. 

He didn’t know how long he had slept as movement had awakened him sometime during the night. Rubbing his eyes with a groan, Godzilla looked to where the two mers were nestled in his tail and found one staring back at him. 

Oh, well… he didn’t expect this. But the opportunity to ask some questions had popped up and he doubts the merman will fall back to sleep. 

“Where did you and pup come from? I had not sensed you both until hours ago.” 

The mer-kaiju pushed himself into Godzilla’s tail, clearly wanting to get away. He had pulled the pup closer to himself as well. If not for his tail, Godzilla suspects the mer-kaiju would have taken the pup and fled. 

“It’s night,” Godzilla comments, “There’s no safe place for you and the pup to hide,” 

The mer-kaiju tilted his head with a confused expression. While he didn’t show fear, his scent was thick with it. Godzilla had not meant to frighten the merman, but with all things considered, he did not blame the mer. 

“It’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you or the pup,” Godzilla had tried to soothe, but the mer didn’t seem to listen. He had pushed himself farther into his tail. 

Titling his head and raising a brow, Godzilla didn’t understand what was going on. The other should be able to understand him. All mer-kaiju were born with a mother tongue that allowed them to speak with each other. While mer-kaiju could learn to speak the language of humans, most didn’t. It didn’t help that the humans’ mother tongue constantly changed. 

“I don’t… understand what you're saying,” The male said. 

Well, that appeared to be a given. Maybe the other hasn’t used the mother tongue in so long that he had forgotten about it? If he and the pup were raised to believe they were humans, then that would explain why he wasn’t understanding him. Luckily there are a few ways that this can be fixed. 

Letting out a low rumble, he allowed his Alpha status to help soothe the frightened mer. He didn’t like forcing his will upon others, but with communication unavailable, he had to help the other calm down. 

Watching as the other’s body listened and relaxed, Godzilla lifted himself and reached for the male. While the other mer-kaiju had tried to move away, his body had relaxed enough that it wasn’t moving. He could see the fear on the other’s face, but Godzilla knew he wasn’t going to hurt him. It would take a few minutes to tell the other this, but once the mother tongue was awakened, Godzilla would explain. 

With the other in his grasp, Godzilla pulls him towards himself and against his chest. Letting himself purr softly, he feels the mer-kaiju grow limp and he looks down to find the other with his eyes half-lid. 

Harmonizing is the fastest way Godzilla has helped those raised by humans unlock their mother tongue. While he had done this a few times over the centuries, it was still a rarity that a mer-kaiju would be caught and raised by humans. Hopefully, harmonizing would help. Godzilla didn’t like giving his blood, but was the next way to help the other mer-kaiju if this didn’t work. 

Harmonizing should help the other unlock his mother tongue within minutes, but Godzilla had allowed the harmonizing to go on a bit longer. About thirty minutes to insure since the other appears to a grown adult.

“Can you hear me?” Godzilla softly asks. If the other had fallen asleep, he didn’t want to wake him. 

Watching the mer-kaiju move his head and peer at him, Godzilla could see the confusion. Maybe he had spoken too softly, and the other thought he had heard something. So, he tries again, though a bit louder. 

“Can you hear me?” 

“What?” The other asks, “What did you say?”

Well, that was…  not good. Harmonizing appeared to not have worked, and the other mer-kaiju needed to know what was being said to him, preferably soon. Godzilla didn’t want to do this, but this next method was a surefire way in unlocking this mer’s mother tongue. 

Taking a deep breath, Godzilla removes his hand that is in the other’s hair and looks down at him. With an uncomfortable expression, Godzilla says, “You’re not going to like this.” 

The mer-kaiju titles his head, but Godzilla ignores him to bring his hand to his mouth and bites. 

Plums of dark blood waft from the injury and Godzilla brings his bleeding hand to the mer-kaiju against him. He tries to get away, but Godzilla has a firm grip on the other mer. As much as this mer-kaiju didn't want to drink his blood, Godzilla knew it would help. 

Pressing his palm to the other's lips, Godzilla could tell that the mer-kaiju had clamped them closed. Though to him, it didn't matter. He could hold the other for however long it's needed to get him to drink. 

The only problem would be the pup. Godzilla didn't need her waking up and fleeing while he dealt with her father. 

“I know you don't want to, but it'll be easier if you feed,” Godzilla says soothingly, even if the other couldn't fully understand.

After some minutes of struggling the mer-kaiju in his hold had stopped. Godzilla didn’t know if it was due to the other realizing that fighting wouldn’t get him anywhere or if he had a little fighting spirit, but feeling the slight sting of his wound being fed on had him… pleased. It’s a strange feeling to experience, but Godzilla pushes that to the side. 

Removing his hand and reopening the wound, he placed his hand in front of the mer-kaiju and motioned for him to feed again. A smile pulls on his face as the other did. He allowed the mer-kaiju to feed for a few more minutes before removing his hand and trying to speak again.

“Can you understand?” 

The mer-kaiju jerks his head back before blinking at him, “That’s weird. This is weird.”

“You understand,” Godzilla gives a pleased hum and a soothing rumble, “Good, this makes things easier.” 

“What… Did you do?” The mer-kaiju asks with a confused and concerned tone. He tried to push away from him, but Godzilla had a firm grip. 

“I helped you unlock your mother tongue,” Godzilla says, “What happened? Had the humans taken you and the pup and raised you?” 

“Mother tongue?” The mer-kaiju mumbled, but his expression changed to one of anger when the other questions were asked, “Taken? No. My daughter and I were human. We were… turned into this. My wife had done this to us.” 

Turned? 

They were… turned? 

Their kind had turned them! 

A snarl comes deep in his chest as he digests the information. The humans had used their own as subjects to turn into mer-kaiju? He didn’t know how that was passable, but at this moment he’s too angry to care. The humans had forsaken their own and abandoned them to the sea. To a place where they didn’t have a chance of surviving without help. 

Movement draws his attention, and he finds the mer-kaiju is trying to pull himself away. Godzilla sighs and lets the other go. They can understand each other now; there’s no need to keep holding onto the other. He watches the mer-kaiju head to his daughter and curls around her.

And to know that the human-turned-mer-kaiju mate had done this. The betrayal is immeasurable. He can’t fully understand the feelings the mer-kaiju is going through. But he could give them something. 

“Rest,” Godzilla says as he settles himself again, “We can… continue this in the morning,” 

The father mer nods, closes his eyes, and within minutes has fallen asleep. Godzilla sighs and closes his eyes as he nuzzles into his tail as he tries to fall asleep. Whether the father mer wished to continue the conversation or not was up to him, but Godzilla had decided that for now, he’d offer the two a place in his and Mothra’s nest until they developed skills for survival. 

Mothra’s going to kill him.

Waking up in the morning to the pup crying wasn’t what he had expected and yet he should have expected it. He hasn’t been near a pup in so long that he must have forgotten how emotional distressed pups can get. He lifted himself and let out a low rumble. 

The two looked at him in response to the rumble and the pup seemed to have stopped crying. Letting out another rumble, he watches the pup settle down more. He looks to the father, who shakes his head. 

Humming, he uncurls from the two and stretches. Shaking off the rest of sleep, he turns to the father-daughter duo and finds them blinking in surprise. Titling his head, Godzilla looks back at his tail and doesn’t understand what the two are surprised about. 

“What?” 

“You— you're massive!” The father exclaims, “You're at least 25 feet from head to tail. Your human half is half human as well,” 

Godzilla blinked as he looked down at himself and saw what the father was speaking about. His human half is well… half human. Most of his abdomen and stomach are covered in dark scales as well as his arms. The human skin is mostly around his shoulders and chest. 

“Yes, I happen to be long.” Godzilla shrugs, but lowers himself, “Little one,” 

The pup titles her head and moves a little closer to him. He had not expected the little one’s actions, but he didn’t push her away. Watching her carefully, she opened her mouth and said something, but he couldn’t understand. He looks at her father and finds the mer-kaiju tired. 

It would take a while for them to make it to his and Mothra’s nest. So, they needed to get going, “Come let’s get going. My nest is a bit away, but it’s close,” 

He had expected the father to argue, but he nodded and swam up to his side. Feeling a bit of pity, Godzilla curled his arms around the two and nestled them against his chest. He can swim for a while and allow the two to rest if they need to. 

Two months had passed since Godzilla had brought the father and daughter to his and Mothra’s nest, who were named Mark and Madison. But Madison likes to be called Maddie. At first, Mothra had not been too pleased when she had seen him bringing two, but after hearing the whole story from Mark had changed her mind. 

Over the two months, Godzilla had watched as the two had grown into their kaiju features. Both had their tails grow and Mark was about 16 feet from head to tail. Maddie, still young, was closer to 12 feet. They had scales in the same pattern as himself and Godzilla wonders if the serum that was used had been made with his blood. 

He remembers having been caught by humans some years ago and they had stuck something sharp into his skin. He couldn’t see what the sharp object was doing due to another holding his head and shining something bright into his eyes. 

There was a human he remembers though. An angry one that had demanded the others to release him. He didn’t catch what the human had said to the others, but he had pulled at the netting that he was tangled in and helped him escape. 

He isn’t sure what happened to the human, but he does hope that particular human is doing well. 

Returning from a hunt with a decent-sized tuna in his hands, Godzilla finds Maddie and Mothra napping in the nest. The cave he had chosen is filled with a mix of seagrass, seaweed, and kelp that is used as bedding. Mothra had helped Maddie decorate the walls with shells that were worn into seaweed, which Godzilla had found quite adorable. Maddie had not been very outgoing when he had brought her and her father to the next, but once Mothra had helped the pup settle in and adjust, she had been nothing but a ball of energy. 

She even tried to sneak up and seal portions of his food, believing that he wasn’t paying attention. That had caused many chases within the two months of the pup settling in. Mothra had found these antics hilarious and even got a chuckle or two from Mark. 

“Mothra. Maddie,” Godzilla shakes the two awake, “Got lunch,” 

Maddie had perked up at the word lunch and eyed the tuna with a look Godzilla knew all too well. With a snort, Godzilla tears a chuck off and tosses it to the pup. He watches as she catches it and tears bite-sized chunks that she devours within seconds. Pulling another small chuck off, he passes most of the tuna to Mothra and nods to her. 

Mark wasn’t in the nest and Godzilla had a feeling he knew where the mer-kaiju was, “I’ll be right back,” 

“He’s still… having difficulty,” Mothra says, “Be gentle,”

“I know,” Godzilla nodded and left the nest. 

The nest is secluded in a cliff shelf and Godzilla tends to find Mark sitting somewhere on the lip. While Maddie had adjusted to being a mer-kaiju rather well, her father had not. He still has issues trying to swim as a human instead of swimming with a tail. Godzilla had wanted to try and take Mark out to hunt, but Mark had been against it and Godzilla wasn’t going to push the other’s comfort zone. 

Godzilla had been helping Mark adjust as much as the mer-kaiju would allow. But Mark needed to learn how to hunt and fend for himself if he wished to survive the open ocean. Godzilla does not mind helping him and Maddie, but there’ll be a time when the two will have to find a nest of their own. 

It had not taken Godzilla long to find Mark. The mer-kaiju was sitting on the ledge where he had always been. Godzilla swims up and sits next to Mark, who looks at him with a raised brow. 

Offering the chuck of tuna to the other, Godzilla asks, “How are you doing?” 

“As well as one can,” Mark says as he takes the offered food and takes a bite.

With how slow Mark is chewing, Godzilla can tell that he isn’t too interested in the tuna, which he can understand. If he had to deal with what Mark and Maddie had gone through, he wouldn’t be too interested in eating. 

“Do you… want to talk?” Godzilla asks, placing his hand on Mark’s shoulder, “I know you're aware that I can turn you back to a human. I won’t get mad if you want to return to the surface.” 

He had spoken to Mark about how he felt about the situation a few times over the past two months, but he could tell that Mark had not been telling him everything. He can’t fault the human-turned-mer-kaiju for not being fully honest. If he were in Mark’s place, he’d not be fully honest as well.

Mark takes a moment to think before answering, “I’m not sure if I want to return to the surface. After everything that had… happened. I don’t think I— forget it.” 

Godzilla hums, knowing that forcing the matter would only cause Mark to isolate himself more, “I can’t force you to turn back into a human, you have to want to return. Though, me, Mothra, and some others are here if you want to talk. Can’t force you to do something you don’t want to do,” 

“I know, but I don’t want to leave Maddie, though. I— she’s all I have left. I— I can’t lose her. And she seems to want to stay. I don’t blame her. She seems so happy.” Mark looks at the tuna in his hand, tossing it and watching it float back to his hand, “I still have a full month cycle to decide what I want to do,”

“She does,” Godzilla agrees. Maddie does look happy with Mothra and the others. But he can understand where Mark is coming from, “You don’t have to wait until the third full month cycle. I only asked for three-month cycles so you both have time to think about wanting to return to the surface or not,”

“I know,” Mark says, “I want to wait and see if… anything chances.” 

“I understand,” Godzilla nods and moves from where he sat, “Why not come to the nest? You don’t have to finish lunch if you're not hungry,” 

Godzilla looks at Mark, who looks at the tuna in his hand and shrugs. He offers it to him and Godzilla takes it and devours the chuck within a few bites. He doesn’t like to waste food, but he understands why Mark doesn’t have much of an appetite. 

Helping Mark from the shelf, they swim down to the nest and Mark smiles as Maddie swims up to him and starts on how she and Mothra are going to be visiting Rodan and some of the other mer-kaijus within a few days. 

The last full month cycle had come and gone. 

Godzilla woke up to the feeling of movement and blinked his eyes open. Looking around he finds Mothra curled up to his side and Maddie is sleeping on his stomach. There’s movement again and Godzilla finds Mark sitting against him, looking out the mouth of the cave. 

“Mark?” Godzilla whispers, “You, ok?” 

“Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.” Mark looks at the other, “I’m fine, can’t sleep. Too awake,” 

Godzilla nodded with a yawn. He knew why Mark’s restless. The third full month cycle had passed, and Mark would soon decide to either return to the surface without Maddie or stay here with her. 

“I do know what day it is and if you're nervous, I can tell you—” 

“I want to stay,” 

There’s silence between the two for a while before Godzilla blinks and asks, “What?” 

“I said I’ll stay,” Mark repeats, “I don’t want to return to the surface,” 

Godzilla softens a little. He had grown attached to Maddie and Mark swimming about the nest and while he’d never admit it aloud, he would have been upset if Mark had chosen to return to the surface. But he would have respected Mark’s choice if the mer-kaiju wished to return. 

“It’s good to know that you’ll stay,” Godzilla purrs, as Mark crawls into his chest and curls up, “I’m sure Maddie, Mothra, and the others will be happy to know you’ll be sticking around,” 

“I feel more at home here,” Mark yawns as he falls into sleep. 

A smile pulls on his face and feeling the warmth and weight of those around him, Godzilla closes his eyes as he starts to fall into sleep.