"Okay, son," Godzilla said with a smile as he bent down to be face to face with the little one. "Now, I want you to go out there and experience some nature. Who knows? You might see a unicorn or even a human!"







As the last word left his mouth, his smile faded a bit. Filius could see that his papa was thinking of something, something that made him sad. When Godzilla spoke again, his voice was lower, more serious. "If you see a human, come back here. To me. Humans are very cruel and dangerous, so don't mess with them."







"Not scared, Daddy!" Filius squeaked, giving his fiercest growl. "I am big monster. I see human, I step on. Squish!"





As his father let him go on his walk, watching with some unreadable emotion in his eyes, little Filius almost, ALMOST hoped he DID see a human, so he could show his papa how brave he was.





--





The fleeting memory of his father's warning left the frightened child's mind as quickly as it had come. The flappy thingies he'd played with so many times were trying their hardest, and he was fighting for his very life, but they couldn't stop them, he couldn't stop them, they just kept coming and coming... He'd heard his father's stories of how smart the humans were, lacking only the strength needed to harm him... Well, now apparently they had found that strength! "Go away! Go away!I not do anything! I not DO anything!" They were wearing him down, tiring him out so he'd let his guard down. He couldn't try to flee, because that would mean turning around to face away from them, and he remembered what his father had said about The Back Spike That Hurt Him. If only his father was here! His momentary wish cost him dearly as his weakened-from-overuse shield fell and the final blow was struck; right in the part his father had told him to protect at all cost. He had said he wasn't scared, but as the energy inside him began to bounce around, faster and faster, he realized he WAS scared. Oh so scared as the pain built, he wanted, he needed...





"DADDYYYYYYYYY!"

