Terra Monstrum

Chapter 9: The Unbelievable

While Europe was busy tracking the likes of Baragon and Titanosaurus, the Canadian government was more worried about the presence of a different monster. The spiny triphibian kaiju Varan had, according to their experts, taken up residence somewhere in the waters of Newfoundland. Visibility on the nearby foggiest shore on Earth, Grand Banks, had gotten even worse than usual lately, and a dramatic spike in whale-falls and missing boats suggested that something worse than choppy seas was at fault. It wasn't long until the Shobijin came looking for answers.

If the Grand Banks mystery monster really was Varan then they needed to find him before the military did. He hadn't heeded their initial call for aid, nor had he been on very good terms with the humans when last they spoke, but he had helped his fellow monsters in defending the Earth once before. If there was any chance they could convince him to join their cause then they had an obligation to do so, and quickly. The violence of the last few years had taught Varan never to stay in the same place for long, so if he caught wind of anything like a jet or helicopter he'd be gone by sunset. This would likely be their first, last, and only chance to recruit him.

The cold, tranquil waters of the Atlantic parted ways as a lonesome fin slipped past the coast. Varan knew he wasn't alone. Titanosaurus had been patrolling the water all morning, and every now and then he picked up on the barely audible whine of Rodan's wings. The chances of those two showing up by pure coincidence were so low they weren't even worth considering; the Shobijin were involved for sure, and probably not far off themselves. Fine then, he thought. If they really wanted his rejection a second time, he'd give it to them.

The mucky clutter of seaweed and shipwrecks shifted underneath the surface, and Titanosaurus cautiously approached as what she thought was debris suddenly stood up and shook itself off. The exasperated deity clouded the water with heavy silt and clumps of algae, then spread his long, webbed fingers and swam past her. Venomous spines the height of lighthouses climbed from the dark, and the Kitakami's mighty Mountain God finally deigned to come out into the open.

"We've been expecting you, Baradagi-sanjin." said the Shobijin, kneeling politely on a mossy stone.

Varan shook the pebbles from his ears and rumbled curtly, making his feelings clear.

"We had a feeling you'd say that, but things have changed!"

The great reptile narrowed his slit pupils on a cluster of jacketed humans huddling near them.

"These are our friends from the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources. They want to help you."

Varan's nostrils flared and spewed an apathetic mist of salt.

"We remember that too," the Shobijin whispered. "but these humans are different. They don't want to inconvenience you or impose in your domain in any way. They're very polite, actually! See?"

The fairies turned expectantly and the four officers, obviously just as confused as they were cold, hurried to their knees in clumsy, impromptu bows. Varan cocked his head and sized them up without a sound, mentally noting their odd puffy garb and sloppy form.

"They've come very far today, just to see you," the Shobijin explained. "we told them how you feel about big machines imposing on your land, so they walked all the way here. They said it would be worth it to see your majesty in person."

Varan eased back from the trembling apes and scratched some barnacles off his cheek, listening.

"If you would have them, these humans would be your new thralls. They have clout among their people and they could make this land yours by human law. Even the United Nations and their metal monster couldn't touch you here."

"Did they just say 'thralls'?" whispered an officer.

Varan let out a slow, breezy hiss, caressing the air with his forked tongue. Something like a purr rumbled inside his chest, and the group saw one of his hands absent-mindedly squeeze a boulder into dust. What that meant, no one but the Shobijin knew.

"Yes, Baradagi-sanjin, you are..." the cosmos calmly reassured. "but without this gift, you may never be free of the ones who pursue you. Even a god can be bothered by flies. Wouldn't you like to be rid of them?"

That got no visible reply, but apparently the Shobijin heard what they needed.

"You already know what we want in return. Please. You're our only hope."

"What about the other six monsters?" an officer murmured before receiving a furious stare from the fae.

The peaceful lapping of the surf abruptly sucked backwards like water draining in a bathtub as Varan stood up on his sturdy hind legs. The giant looked down on them with frightening censure in his eyes, then parted his limbs and raised both hands to spread a striped, transparent fringe of skin. The officers watched their tiny ambassadors respond with a curtsy, then immediately sought cover as Varan sprung from the shallows and flew into the fog. Cold spray and all manner of flotsam rained down on their heads, but as soon as they deemed it safe to look up, the monster was already gone.

"I think that went very well!" the Shobijin chirped with parallel smiles.

"W-What did he say?" asked a timid, middle aged man near the front of his group.

"That he'll help us!" they beamed. "So long as we hold up our part of the bargain, of course!"

"Well that shouldn't be a problem at all, ladies, but uh... what was all that about servin' him?"

"Oh!" they giggled. "Don't mind that. Varan is just a little spoiled, that's all. You don't really need to do anything special to be his 'thralls', just give him plenty of space and keep the water clean! Oh, and if you ever run into him again be sure to bow and call him Baradagi-sanjin! That's his god name, so please don't call him anything else, okay? He can be very touchy if you use his real one!"

The officers exchanged some uncertain glances, but nodded and helped the little fairies back into their warm little traveling case. Staving off the oil companies and displaced fishermen might not be quite as easy as they had promised, but provided they all survived long enough to fill out the paperwork and hold all the meetings they did have the authority to transform this land into an official wildlife refuge. With the right backers and a little lobbying on their side, they could have so much red tape around this island that it'd take the UN longer to authorize a search than it would to rebuild a new Mechagodzilla from scratch. The fairies had made a wise decision seeking them out- they just hoped they'd done the same.

"Seriously, though. Thralls..." the man whispered one last, incredulous time.