~Atomic Blading~

Chapter 1: The Egg

5 am. The sun was just starting to rise, the soft red that followed it wasn't even enough to give off any glow. The warm summer wind had kicked up again and whisked through the blond's hair. 

Free closed his eyes as he continued his early morning walk. This was the most peaceful time of day, when the night animals and day ones existed together. A bat fluttered overhead, making Free look to the sky. He watched the small mammal soar across the sky, landing in a faraway tree. 

This was one of the rare chances he got to be truly alone, surrounded by nothing but nature. This forest, his forest, was majestic. He knew all the flora and fauna that made it their home. The herd of 14 deer, the colony of bats, the handful of opossum families. The groups of lilacs, the bushes of wild raspberries, which he loved to snack on while out for walks. 

It was nearly 8 am when Free finally decided to start heading back. The rest of BC Sol would be awake soon and he didn't want to get in trouble with Chris again. She doesn't mind him going off on his own, but she doesn't like it when he's outside in the dark. There are wolves in this forest.

Something peculiar caught his eye, however. A soft blue glow emitted from the foilage to his right. That's odd... Free thought. Nothing in the forest glows like that...

Free turned and headed in the direction of the glow. If the sun rose before he got there, he might miss it. He brushed a few fronds out of his face as he headed into a small clearing.

Free's black eyes widened in surprise when he saw what was sitting in the clearing. A huge black egg sat in a nest of leaves. It was half the size of the blond. Jagged spikes jutted out from the sides, pointing upwards. The blue glow came from the tips of these spikes. 

"What the..." Free muttered as he cautiously stepped closer to the egg.

He had never seen anything like this before. No living creature that he knew of could lay an egg of this size. Or texture, for that matter. He was drawn to something about this egg, but he didn't know what.

Free crouched down to examine the egg closer. It gave off heat as he neared it. When the blond gently laid his hand on the rough shell, the embryo inside reacted.

The creature stirred. In the dawning light, he could see it through the shell. It pressed what looked to be its nose up to his palm. A shock ran through Free, making his arm twitch as he pulled away. He stared in awe at the baby inside. 

In this moment he knew that he had been chosen. He was now this new species' caretaker. 

Free wrapped his arms around the egg and lifted it. He staggered under its weight, but once he got a good grip on it, he began his trek back to BC Sol.

As he neared the doors to the training gym, Free felt an itching burning sensation where his skin came in contact with the eggshell. He wondered with a stab of anxiety that maybe this egg secreted some kind of toxin as a defence mechanism. He'd have to check when he put it down.

Free nudged open the doors with his shoulder, walking into a room full of people. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared in awe at Free and his egg.

"What is that...?" Rantaro whispered as he and the rest of BC Sol approached the blond.

Free gently set the egg on the ground, looking back up at his teammates. 

"I found it in the forest. I've never seen anything like it." Free said. He examined the burns on his arms. Wincing in pain, he noticed how red the skin was. "I think the shell is poisonous, best not to touch it."

Silas was the first to approach the egg. Something unfamiliar glowed in his blue eyes. 

"Is it just me, or does this egg look kinda familiar?"

Free blinked. He cocked his head, crouching down in front of the egg. "What do you mean?"

Silas stood up and walked over to the bench, where a book with a metallic blue cover sat. He brought it over to Free and gave it to him.

"Flip to page 57." He said.

Free did so, and to his surprise, an exact picture of the egg stared back at him. He read the description underneath the picture, horror and wonder filling his black eyes. 

"No fucking way..."

Silas nodded, backing away from the egg. 

"Everyone back up. The egg feels so hot because of the radiation it's emitting."

Valt gasped and stared at Silas in horror.

"Radiation? As in...Nuclear radiation? Like....Atomic bomb kind of radiation??"

Silas nodded grimly.

"But how can a living thing emit radiation?" Cuza wondered.

Free swallowed hard, his eyes locking with Silas'.

"There's only one creature that can," The green-haired blader said.

"But....He doesn't exist. It's just a movie." Free protested, unwilling to believe what Silas was getting at. 

"You're holding its egg." Silas retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"So that means...This egg...belongs to-" Free paused, looking at BC Sol in astonishment.

"Titanus Gojira. Otherwise known as..." He turned back to Silas. Silas nodded.

"Godzilla."