Godzilla Warriors 8: Zenith

Chapter 10: The Temple of Fear

The morning came, and the journey continued for Godzilla and the others. They walked for a good hour until they came to what appeared to be a temple or crypt. It was a large, square, tunnel-like structure made of stone. Carved stone statues and idols lay all over it. There was a dark entrance in the front, and the area around it was surrounded by a rock wall. The only way around it would be through it.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Godzilla shrugged, and walked towards the entrance. Solomon stopped him before he took another step.
"Wait, Godzilla." Solomon said. "This is the Temple of Fear. It was created by Red."
"So what?" Anguirus asked.
"It's another part of his game." Solomon explained. "The temple taps into the mind of whoever walks through it and makes them experience their greatest fear. If you succumb to your fear, you go insane and die."
Godzilla gulped. The only way to get home was to face their greatest fear. Godzilla was scared of a lot of things, as much as he hated to admit it, but he had no idea what his greatest fear was. And he really didn't want to find out.
"Wait, what would stop us from all going through at once?" He asked.
"Yeah, if the temple has too many minds to read, it would get confused." Anguirus agreed.
"That's not how it works." Solomon shook his head. "If more than one being enter the temple at the same time, their minds will be ripped to shreds."
Godzilla nodded, but this only made him more nervous. Solomon could see everyone's unease.
"Here, I'll go through first." He said. He walked into the temple and disappeared into the darkness inside. After about a minute, he emerged on the other side.
"Remember, you can only go one at a time!" He called back. Godzilla nodded. He was prepared to go first, but he could see Mothra was extremely uncomfortable. She did not want to go into the temple.
"What's wrong?" Godzilla asked. Mothra turned to him and looked him in the eyes. Her eyes were watering in her fear.
"Godzilla... I know what I'm gonna see in there." Mothra said.
"What do you mean?" Godzilla asked.
"This temple shows us our greatest fear. I know exactly what my greatest fear is." Mothra explained. Godzilla knew exactly what she meant now. And he had a good idea what, or more acurately, who she was afraid of seeing. It was the same thing that traumatized her as a child and still haunted her nightmares years later. Godzilla placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright." He said. "Just remember, it isn't real. You're gonna be fine."
Mothra inhaled deeply and nodded reluctantly. Godzilla turned back to the entrance of the temple.
"I'll go through first." He said.
"Be prepared for the worst, Godzilla." Solomon called back. Godzilla nodded, and took a deep breath before walking into the temple. The inside of the temple was just as dark as it appeared. He turned around to look at the entrance again, only to see it was gone. He was completely surrounded by darkness. Suddenly, he heard a crackling behind him, like a flame. The crackling got louder and louder, and Godzilla could even feel the heat on his back. Embers floated past him. Out of curiosity, he turned around and saw what was burning behind him. He saw Monster Island. And it was on fire. Everything and everyone he knew and loves was up in flames. Any idea that this was only a fantasy had completely gone from his mind.
"No... no!" He shouted as he ran off the beach he was standing on and into the forest. Everything was burning. He needed to save his friends. He called out to them, but there was no answer. The flames began to close in on him as he ran further into the forest, but he didn't care. His home was burning, and there was nothing he could do about it.
"How... how did this happen?" He wondered. Suddenly, he started coughing. The smoke was starting to get to him, and it was getting worse. He knelt down as he kept coughing violently. As he opened his eyes once again, he looked down and saw his chest and arms. He was glowing and heating up, but not because of the flames. The heat he felt in his throat was not caused by the smoke. He had let his radioactivity loose. He was Burning. He had caused the fire that destroyed his home and his loved ones. This was his fault.
"No... this can't be real..." Godzilla said to himself, clutching the sides of his head. Suddenly he stood up and started running. He didn't know where he was going, but he had to escape something. But he couldn't escape himself. There was only one thing he could do. He stopped running and closed his eyes. He tried to focus, to suppress his Burning form, but it didn't work. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop Burning. He was forced to accept his fear. Suddenly, he heard a voice.
"Godzilla. Godzilla, wake up!"
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and his eyes shot open. The island was gone. Instead, Solomon was in front of him, with his hand on Godzilla's shoulder. He had made it through the temple. His pounding heart slowed to a normal pace, and his breathing returned back to regular. With one last exhale, he was calm once again.
"What did you see?" Solomon asked.
"I saw my home up in flames. And... I was the cause." Godzilla explained.
Solomon nodded. "I see."
"What about you? What did you see in the temple?" Godzilla asked. Solomon smirked in response.
"I've lived through my greatest fears." He said. "Nothing scares me any more."
Godzilla nodded, and looked back through the temple. He couldn't see the other side, but he knee Anguirus and Mothra were on the other side.
"Alright, who's next?" He asked.

On the other side, Anguirus and Mothra looked at each other. Anguirus may not have been particularly smart, but even he could tell Mothra really did not want to go through the temple. Her eyes were practically silently begging him to go before her.
"... I guess I'll go next." He said. He wasn't sure what he'd see, but he was still kind of nervous. Despite this, he bravely entered the temple. Inside, he could see what appeared to be metal walls and machinery. He was inside a massive factory, with computers on the walls, as well as several tubes on the ceiling. It was also dark, only lit by the dim glow computer screens.
"What, am I afraid of factories or something?" Anguirus scoffed. "This will be easy."
He continued to walk casually through the factory, seeing the exit on the other side. Just as he approached the centre of the room, the tube on the ceiling made a mechanical noise. Anguirus raised an eyebrow and looked up. Something was about to come out. Before Anguirus knew it, a humanoid robotic figure fell out of the tube, landing on the ground on its fist and knee. Anguirus recognized the robot immediately.
"M-MechaGodzilla!?" Anguirus stammered. As he said this, MechaGodzilla slowly raised itself off the ground. When it was at full height, it coiled into a fighting stance. As sweat dripped down Anguirus' face, MechaGodzilla ran at him. It tried to grab him, but Anguirus managed to regain his senses and dodged, gripping onto MechaGodzilla's wrist. He flung him around and slammed him into the ground. While it made a dent in the metal floor, MechaGodzilla stood up and rushed at him again. Once more, Anguirus managed to dodge MechaGodzilla's attack, but he wasn't prepared for a second attack, this time a strike to his side. His sharp metal hand pierced Anguirus' flesh, prompting him to cough up a small amount of blood. While Anguirus was still shocked, a third attack sent him to the floor. Normally Anguirus would never have let himself fall so easily, but this was different. His fear was making him sloppy. He tried to get up, but MechaGodzilla tackled him to the ground and started pummelling him. It sent punch after punch at his face, giving him little to no time to defend himself. Anguirus finally managed to raise his arms again, and grabbed hold onto MechaGodzilla's arms. Using his immense strength, he ripped both arms off. He then raised his leg and kicked MechaGodzilla in the chest, sending it flying away from him. Finally freed, Anguirus stood up and tossed the arms to the side before wiping the blood from his mouth. He slowly walked over to MechaGodzilla, who was struggling to stand up without arms.
"Don't bother standing up." Anguirus growled, spitting blood on the ground. "You won't be moving at all soon."
As MechaGodzilla looked up at him, Anguirus reached down and grabbed both sides of his head. With one swift motion, he cracked MechaGodzilla's neck, tearing his head straight off. His heavy breathing slowed, and MechaGodzilla twitched a few times before completely shutting down.
"That was... too easy." Anguirus said. "For my greatest fear, that was pretty lame."
Suddenly, he heard another noise from the tubes above him. It sounded similar to when MechaGodzilla came down, but much louder. Anguirus' eyes widened. There was more than one. Before he knew it, multiple MechaGodzilla's flooded out of the tubes. These were different than the previous one. They were black and silver, with sleek armour and joints, and glowing red visors on their faces. As they landed on the ground, they stood up making horrific mechanical noises. They all turned to Anguirus, and quickly ran towards him.
"Oh shit!" Anguirus muttered to himself. Now he was truly afraid. He had never felt fear like this in his life. He ran to the exit, but felt something grab his wrist. He reached back and punched the head off the MechaGodzilla grabbing his arm. As soon as it was gone, another took its place. Then another, and another, until five MechaGodzillas were holding him back. Anguirus reached for the exit as the MechaGodzillas dragged him back into the centre of the room. The fear was too much now. The only thing Anguirus could do now was scream.