Fifteen minutes before dawn, Matsumura and Yamada took their positions on a roof terrace facing the ocean. With them were Sergeant Fujisawa and the monk, Takenaka. They were all standing. Beside Matsumura was a video camera on a tripod.

The terrace was otherwise empty. It was large enough to hold maybe half a dozen people comfortably. Its outer edge was a simple wooden half wall in need of some paint.

"How long will the incantation take?" Matsumura asked Takenaka.

"About 43 seconds. And no, I dare not rush it. Enunciation will be important."

"Any further ideas on those strange symbols?"

"No. I've asked a few of my colleagues for their thoughts, but I haven't heard back yet."

"And you still think they have nothing to do with the spell itself?"

"Correct, though I stress that that's only my opinion. My best guess is that the symbols are a personalized signature of the spell's creator, or some other kind of identifying feature."

She nodded, then spoke into a walkie talkie. "Status check, all stations. Containment."

"Containment ready," came the response.

Matsumura continued, calling each station.

"Communication."

"Ready."

"SAM 1."

"Ready."

"SAM 2."

"Ready."

"They're technically not SAMs if the target's on the ground," Yamada quipped.

"Stow it," she told him, then resumed her check. "Fire crew 1."

"Ready."

"Fire crew 2."

"Ready."

"Medical 1."

"Ready."

"Medical 2."

"Ready."

"Retrieval boat."

"Hidden and ready."

"Bunker 1."

"Ready."

"Bunker 2."

"Ready."

Matsumura looked at Takenaka. "Ready?"

He nodded.

She spoke into the walkie again. "Containment...commence, with updates."

"Thawing."

"If we have a battle, the SAM crews are in the most danger," Yamada said. "Can they evac quickly enough?"

"Each crew has a Humvee ready to roll, and a smooth, straight road inland, under cover of the trees," Matsumura said. "They know how to jump and go. It's the troops in the bunkers who are most at risk. We expect the bunkers to be unharmed if trod on directly, as Godzilla's weight should be distributed over enough solid ground."

"What if we need to evac quickly?" Takenaka asked simply.

Everyone looked at each other in befuddlement for several moments. Yamada glanced over the edge at the three-story drop.

Sergeant Fujisawa finally said, "If it gets that bad, we're toast anyway."

Takenaka nodded sagely.

They stood in silence for half an hour, enjoying the sea breeze. Morning birdsong surrounded them as they watched an ocean sunrise slowly bring light to a completely clear sky. It promised to be a beautiful spring day.

The voice down in the containment room spoke through the walkie. "Operating temperature achieved. Attaching electrodes. One hundred millivolts."

"Acknowledged," Matsumura said into the walkie.

Half a minute passed. The voice spoke again. "Neural activity."

Yamada's heart beat faster. He thought, Oh, we're just reanimating Ghidorah! No big deal!

Matsumura looked like she had ice in her veins. She simply said, "Acknowledged."

"Slight muscle movement. Dialing back to seventy millivolts."

"Acknowledged."

A thought struck Yamada. "What if he's near the antipode?"

"He should still be here within ten hours," Matsumura said. "His underwater speed is phenomenal. We actually don't know his limit. Combine that with hollow Earth, and he can cover the globe quite easily. But he's probably in the Pacific. He seems to prefer it."

The voice from the containment room came back. "Muscle movement subsided. Brain activity minimal but detectable. Maintaining seventy millivolts."

"Any cellular regeneration?" Matsumura asked into the walkie.

"None so far."

"Acknowledged. Refreeze or destroy if you detect the slightest sign of cellular regeneration, and keep me informed."

"Yes, ma'am."

The hours passed. A private brought up some chairs so they didn't have to stand all day. Another private brought up some sushi, but no one wanted any. Yamada worked a few kakuro puzzles, but they didn't relax him like they usually did, so he put them away. No one really felt like chatting.

Just before 11:00, the walkie crackled to life with a report from the communication room. "Unknown sonar contact from the battleship JS Wasp. Relative to our position: 035, 182 nautical miles. Depth 850 meters, 63 knots in our direction, size within scope."

"Acknowledged," Matsumura said into her walkie. "All stations acknowledge."

One by one, each station confirmed they had heard.

"Sixty-three knots underwater!" Yamada whispered in awe.

"A walk in the park for him," Matsumura said. "He's not even in a hurry. I wonder why."

"Maybe he senses that it's just a head."

"No," she said slowly, trying to puzzle it out. "That's not it."

They received periodic updates over the next few hours as different vessels of the JMSDF tracked Godzilla. The voice kept saying, "Unknown sonar contact," but there was no doubt who it was, for his speed remained consistent and his path was straight toward Junta Island.

They stood as the moment approached, and Matsumura pressed Record on the camera. The tension was as high as it could get.

Five minutes before estimated arrival, they received the final update. "Local sonar buoy no longer responding, presumed destroyed. No further sonar data available."

"Acknowledged," Matsumura said into the walkie. "All stations, hold on my order, no matter what."

After all stations confirmed, she turned to Takenaka. "Don't begin the second he appears. I want to see what he'll do in the first ten seconds or so. But be ready at a moment's notice."

"Yes, ma'am." He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and began unfolding it.

"Also, once you begin, let nothing distract you or stop you, no matter how violent or awful."

They shared a somber look. Again he said, more softly, "Yes, ma'am."

They gazed at the ocean expectantly. Matsumura breathed deeply, calming her racing heart as best she could.

Three minutes later, Godzilla arrived.

He burst from the sea 200 yards off shore, the waters of the Pacific cascading off him. Almost 400 feet tall, he was so mind-numbingly huge that he took five or six seconds to stand up straight.

A powerful wave surge rushed the beach, forcing the troops hidden there to seal their bunkers for a few moments.

Matsumura had glimpsed Godzilla in person once, but not this close. She had mentally tried to prepare for this moment, but one was never ready for Godzilla. His enormous presence filled the senses with primal terror, and filled the environment with a majesty which had to be seen to be fully grasped.

Godzilla reached his full height, took a deep breath, bunched his muscles, and roared a declaration of war to the entire island.

Thousands of birds exploded from the jungle. Everyone felt the vibration through their feet.

Godzilla's roar was fully long and as loud as possible. It went on, and on, bone-shaking and terrifying.

Matsumura counted slowly to keep calm and grounded, mastering herself with a supreme effort. As Godzilla's roar finally faded, she noted that he hadn't moved.

It's now or never, she thought.

She nodded to Takenaka. "Begin." She started timing while somehow never taking her eyes off her prey.

Reading from his paper, Takenaka chanted, "Oh great spirit of the Earth..."

Godzilla gave another short, sharp roar. He seemed to be scoping the land, looking for Ghidorah.

"...we call on your transformative powers," Takenaka continued. "The same power which raises mountains, then lowers them again, focus your energy here, in our hour of need."

Godzilla began walking.

"I name this creature as Godzilla," Takenaka said. "While transforming him, give him knowledge of our cultural modesty, and simple attire."

Godzilla walked slowly, but his stride was so huge that 20 seconds into the chant he was already almost on the beach. Matsumura wanted another 23 seconds; she absolutely did not want him on land in this form.

"SAM 1, two in the torso, two seconds apart, then evac," Matsumura said into the walkie. "Everyone, shield."

She and Yamada ducked while Sergeant Fujisawa shielded Takenaka with his body. The monk continued chanting calmly as a missile slammed into Godzilla's chest with a burst of thunder. While the giant was momentarily blinded by the fireball, the second missile plowed in and hit him again.

"Give him general knowledge of our language and vocabulary, both written and spoken," Takenaka said, without pause.

Godzilla screeched in fury, arched his back, powered up his radioactive breath, and blasted SAM 1 into a gigantic ball of fire. The boom of the explosion rattled the house even from a hundred yards away. Matsumura didn't care. She'd bought ten seconds.

"Give him general knowledge of our species and culture, of human interaction," Takenaka said.

"SAM 2, same thing," Matsumura said into the walkie. "Evac fast, he has the pattern!"

Two more missiles from the opposite direction hit Godzilla, one practically on top of the other. A double crack of thunder rent the air. A double fireball enveloped the titan, who screeched again.

"I call upon you, powers of the Earth," Takenaka said.

Godzilla turned, unleashed atomic breath, and obliterated SAM 2. Another boom shockwaved across the island; another fireball rose into the sky.

"All land, all sea, all air, all fire, all lightning," Takenaka said.

Godzilla roared and stepped onto the beach. His right foot landed ten feet from one of the bunkers. The ground shook.

"Make this creature one of us," Takenaka said. "Make this creature a man."

Godzilla froze.

He grunted. He seemed to be trying to move. Something rippled over his body, then rippled again. Then his body warped sharply for a split second, like an image in a flexible mirror when folded inward.

White smoke wreathed around him, encircling him in trails. He began shining with a fierce white light.

Everyone had to look away and duck. There was a horrendous crack and a rush of wind toward Godzilla, like he was imploding. Then all was still.

Matsumura and Yamada cautiously looked over the terrace wall.

Godzilla was gone.

Where he had been, lying face down in the surf, was a man.