Godzilla Warriors 10: The Final War

Chapter 44: Mourning

The Next Day...

The air was strange on Monster Island for the rest of the day. Everyone seemed to deal with the news in a different way. Some denied it, thinking there must have been some kind of mistake. A few were enraged. Others were depressed. But by the next day, everyone seemed to have accepted the inevitable. Godzilla was truly gone. The appropriate thing to do now was bury him. A grave had been dug for him, and everyone gathered around to bid him farewell. Everyone but one. Battra looked around at the crowd and found someone was missing.
"Mothra's not here." He stated.
"She's in her tent... She's really taking this hard." Komi explained. She had tried to talk to her best friend the previous day, but Mothra seemed not to want to talk to anyone. Komi was equally devastated about the death of her brother. She understood why Mothra would want to be alone.
"I'll go get her. She needs to be here." Battra explained. He walked into the forest and eventually reached the tent. He breathed a deep sigh and knocked on the door.
"Mothra? Are you awake?" Battra asked. He got no answer, but he assumed this was just her not wanting to talk to anyone. He sighed and leaned against the door.
"Look, Mothra, I know this is not how any of us wanted things to go." He said. "Believe me, you're not the only one taking it hard. But everyone needs you right now. You're the only one who holds everything on this island together. Please, we need you... I need you..."
No answer. Battra waited for a moment, and then sighed, defeated.
"We're burying him now." He said. "I thought maybe you'd like to be there... but if you don't, that's alright."
He got up from the door and began to walk away, but a shuffling sound alerted him to the tent's door opening. He swivelled around only to see Mothra stepping outside. Her hair was messy, and her eyes had bags under them. She was in a black tank top and pants, which is what she normally wore under her robe. She held Godzilla's sword in her hand, still tucked into it's sheath. Her eyes were bloodshot. Battra guessed she hadn't slept the previous night.
"Hey." Battra nodded.
"... Hey..." Mothra whispered hoarsely. She cleared her throat, but her voice remained quiet. "Sorry... I've been crying a lot. I think I lost my voice a little."
"That's alright." Battra said. "Are you feeling okay? I mean I know nothing is okay right now, but how are you feeling?"
"... Numb." Mothra shrugged. "... But I think I'm ready to be outside again."
Battra nodded, and Mothra threw on her robe, tying it lazily around her waist. She froze as her eyes fell on her own stomach. Immediately, she remembered what she had never gotten to tell Godzilla. Her tears began to fall once again. Battra wiped them for her. He knew she was pregnant, and understood that's what Mothra was crying about now.
"He never got to know..." She sobbed. "He'll never get to meet our baby..."
"I know, I know..." Battra comforted, placing a hand on her back and rubbing it gently. "It isn't fair to him or to you. And it's not fair that you have to deal with this alone. Let us share your burden, okay?"
Mothra nodded, drying her tears with her sleeve. Battra kept rubbing her back as they walked back to the funeral.

Everyone stood at attention as Mothra and Battra arrived. Mothra didn't say a word for a few moments. She simply looked at the ground before her eyes fell upon Godzilla's body, still wrapped in a tarp, in its grave. She almost burst into tears once again, but she managed to hold herself. She wasn't sure if this was because she was getting over it, or if she had just run out of tears to cry. Instead, she took a deep breath and finally spoke.
"I suppose I should say something?" She muttered.
"If you want to." Anguirus sighed. She did want to. She swallowed her sadness and breathed in a shaky breath as she thought of what she should say.
"I think you all know about my relationship with Godzilla." She said. "Yes, he loved me. But that doesn't make me the most important thing in Godzilla's life. His love was truly nothing special. He loved us all." She had to pause before she continued, as she got too choked up. Battra quickly put a hand on her shaking shoulder. Finally, she breathed in another shaky breath and continued.
"He loved us enough to sacrifice himself in order to keep us safe. He was our leader, our brother, our partner, our saviour, and most importantly, our friend. I'll miss him, but he'll never truly leave us. He will be with us as long as we remember him." It was hard for her to hold back her tears now, and she let one slide down her cheek, only to immediately wipe it away.
"The best thing we can do now is avenge him." She said, beginning to get more determined. "We won't let him die in vain. We are going to find Ghidorah, and we are going to defeat him." Her tone shifted to one of pure anger. "And this time, he won't come back."
The others enthusiastically agreed. Mothra felt pride as she looked out at her fellow Kaiju. They were injured, broken, and saddened by Godzilla's death, but they wouldn't give up. Finally, Godzilla was buried, and a stone was placed over his grave. Eventually, everyone began to leave the grave, but Mothra stayed behind. She knelt down in front of the stone marking Godzilla's resting place.
"Godzilla, I don't know if you can hear me..." She began, "but I know better than anyone that a part of you is still alive somewhere. I can sense it. I know we'll see each other again one day. But that won't be for a while. Until then, I'll have to defeat Ghidorah for you. I will always love you, Godzilla."
She placed a hand on her stomach as a tear rolled down her face. "And I'll make sure that our child knows how much of a hero you truly were."

Meanwhile...

Glasses clinked and people cheered as the celebration raged on. Ghidorah wasn't one for parties, but he felt at least some celebration was warranted for this special occasion. Finally, Godzilla was a thorn in his side no longer. And he couldn't be happier. Now, everyone was in his throne room, drinking as they watched the news report on Godzilla's "disappearance". Nobody seemed to realize that Godzilla was dead. Ghidorah found this hilarious.
"Can you imagine the look on their faces when they find the truth?" He chuckled, rubbing Slattern's shoulder as she leaned against him.
"I'm too busy imagining Mothra's face." She laughed. "God, I wish I was there to see it. She probably cried so hard."
"What else is new?" Gigan cackled. Since he had been promoted, he had been getting along much better with Slattern now. Biolante didn't seem to mind her either.
"Those Kaiju are all useless without Godzilla." She said, taking a sip of her drink. "The next time we fight them, we'll stomp them into the ground."
"Especially with Mecha Titan Ghidorah." Gigan added. "I heard Titan Godzilla disappeared after the fight. Don't think we'll be dealing with him again."
"And we owe it all to our beloved king." Slattern said, planting a kiss on Ghidorah's cheek.
"Now now, I can't accept all the credit." Ghidorah began. He raised his glass to the whole room. "I may have killed Godzilla, but I wouldn't have been able to do it without each and every one of you. I couldn't ask for a better army."
Everyone was surprised to hear Ghidorah speak so kindly. Eliminating Godzilla must have improved his mood.
"But the war is not won yet." He continued. "We still have a lot to do if we're to win this. But know that this will be our final war. We will destroy what's left of Godzilla's army soon. And when we do, Earth will belong not just to me, but to all of us!"
The room erupted in cheers. But the celebration was interrupted by Destroyah entering the room.
"Ghidorah, I have good news." He announced.
"Ah, you've finally decided to join us." Ghidorah said. "Have a drink, we're discussing our imminent victory."
"Er, no thank you." Destroyah refused. "I just received a message from Venus. Mecha Titan Ghidorah's prosthetics are complete and being attached to the body now. He'll be ready by tomorrow."
"That was quick." Ghidorah muttered. "But no matter. This certainly is good news."
He turned back to the screens showing the news broadcasts. Nobody knew Godzilla was dead yet. He grinned once more.
"I think I should make a little announcement." He chuckled.