legacy [james conrad] 2

Chapter 22

Charlotte goes breathless as she watches what is going on in front of her. 

She knew Godzilla was powerful, but the extent of it... it was something else. 

The light he emits from its mouth is powerful and bright, almost blinding. 

Nothing that had happened in her short but eventful life prepared her for what she was seeing. 

It was awing, and it held a sort of spell on her. 

She watches as Godzilla sends the beam of light into the MUTOS direction, and it doesn't take long before the MUTO falls to the ground in front of Charlotte, emitting little whimpers as it tries to gain strength. 

A hand pulls at Charlotte, snapping her out of her trance. 

"We need to go, Charles" James warns, turning to look back at the team. 

She nods, jogging behind the team as they get to the seaside, carrying the nuke into a port and finally into a boat. 

She heaves in breaths, stopping as Ford leans forward into the nuke's settings. 

"You find the ignition sir?" Ford questions, turning to the soldier. 

"Here you go" the soldier holds something out, but it's too dark for charlotte to see. 

At once the exhaust washes in on her, and she turns to the MUTO and Godzilla who are fighting. 

"Ford" She says, her tone on edge. 

"Yeah. I know" Ford replies, his gaze not leaving the nuke. 

"We need to turn this boat on" James mutters, staring around as the realization hits him. 

Charlotte nods, turning around and leaving the entrance as she leans down into the cabin. 

She crouches down under the top, removing the cover as quickly as she can. 

She grumbles as she tries to put the cables together. 

"James. I need you to put the controls on" She tells him. 

James nods, turning to the top and pushing the controls. 

She winces as she pulls her arm, grabbing the cables. 

Then she pulls back, and she looks around, looking for a button. 

"There you are" She mutters under her breath before punching it. 

There's a moment of silence, and then the motor comes to life, followed by the lights. 

She turns around, chuckling as she tries to stand up with her one good hand. 

"We did it" She declares, turning to James. 

She pauses, examining him. 

It was the first time since they had flown down a couple of hours ago that she could see him in a good light. 

He looks tired, there were scratches all over his face, soot covering the rest. His hair was rumpled and messy. 

James scans Charlotte as well. Pausing as he sees what she really looks like. 

Her cheeks are sunken and she has blood dripping from a cut on her lip. There's dirt on her forehead, as well as scratches. Her eyes are bloodshot and slightly red, and he can see a bruise forming on her jaw. 

She sighs, smiling weakly at him as she points at him. 

"You look like shit"

"I could say the same thing about you" 

The boat emits a loud sound. 

Charlotte's smile fades, and she turns around to the bay, where the MUTO is still fighting. 

"Oh god," James mutters, watching as the MUTO turns to look at them. 

There, in the dark waters, they were a lighthouse to the MUTO. A beam of light and attention. 

The MUTO lets out a yell before turning it's whole body towards them. 

"Shit shit shit" Charlotte mumbles quickly and under her breath before rushing out of the cabin and into the main deck. 

"Guys! We have a problem" She shouts at Ford. 

Though they were at a distance, the MUTO was catching up to them, and fast. 

Charlotte looks behind the MUTO, watching as Godzilla battles the other one. She watches as finally, its tail smashes the MUTO into a building, multiple wires and bars of metal through its body at once. 

One down, one to go. 

The now-dead MUTO slumps down into the ground, it's mouth hanging open limply.

But there was still another one, and it was heading right towards them. 

Charlotte trusted that Godzilla could take the remaining MUTO, but her hopes die flat when she sees Godzilla fall unconscious under a collapsing building on the distance. 

"We're fucked" She breathes out, her blood running cold as the MUTO heads their way through all that chaos. 

Suddenly she couldn't think of anything else but James. 

She had been through so much with him, and she still hadn't told him what she felt. 

She was a coward, for running all those years ago, for denying she felt anything for James, for leaving him without saying goodbye. 

She blinks back the tears as she sees everything in slow motion. The MUTO heading their way, the soldiers rushing around the boat, James telling her something she can't quite register on her mind. 

She's going to die, and she's going to die without telling James that she loves him. 

She's going to die without living her life. Without having a family, without getting to see the rest of the world, without being happy again. 

She gets dragged away by James, who is shouting at her, but it all seems muffled. She can't stop looking at the MUTO.

After all her efforts. After everything she'd done, to keep herself alive, she was going to die. 

The MUTO comes closer, one of its legs raising up as it walks. 

Charlotte turns to James, tears in her eyes. And she finds herself hugging him. 

His body is warm and comforting, and she closes her eyes as she feels the boat jostle around as the MUTO hits the water. 

James runs a hand over her hair, turning to look up as the MUTO comes to a stop in front of them, it's arm rising up to strike the boat. 

James didn't want to die, no one did, but if he was going to, he was glad it was with Charlotte in his arms. 

He turns away, enveloping Charlotte in a protective hug as he closes his eyes as well. 

"It's going to be fine, Charles, we're going to be fine"