Mars. 2014.
Deep beneath the surface of the red planet, in a cavern the size of Japan, carved out from the crust by the crimson Titan, blue, glowing crystals sprouted from the ground like plants, slowly growing across every available space and producing more of itself in a self-sustaining cycle.
Meanwhile, thousands of little pink creatures happily sang in the fields of crystal flowers, using their powers to direct the energy from within the crystals towards a single location.
The cave that housed their 'creator'.
As for the crimson titan and his brother, the emerald dragon, they stood by the side and watched everything happening in front of them with a content and intrigued look.
"The new Crystal field has bloomed just like the previous ten fields. I guess, with these repeated, consistent results, we can call this experiment a success."
"Indeed, Groudon. This was a complete success. In fact, it was more than a success since we managed to solve one of the biggest hidden dangers to our world unintentionally."
Groudon nodded at his brother's words.
While Eternatus, the alien dragon, was indeed dormant from his injuries and was only considered to be dangerous by the Clefables because of his predicted berserker state after starving for more than twenty thousand years, it could not be denied that he was a hidden threat to the Earth should he ever wake up.
Something that they knew to be inevitable, even if the Clefables did their best to conserve the sleeping dragon's energy as much as possible.
However, with the introduction of the Hollow Earth Crystals to Mars and their growth cycle similar to plant life, thanks to the help of the Clefables, this problem has been permanently solved.
With a single patch of these crystals, the Clefables have a near limitless source of energy that they can process through their bodies and convert into the exact energy needed by Eternatus. And given the abundance of energy, it was only a matter of time before the Clefables managed to satiate the dragon's hunger and heal his body, which would in turn stop the leakage of his energy and awaken him fully from his slumber.
With his mind no longer dominated by his starvation, Groudon and Rayquaza, along with the Clefables, hoped that Eternatus would be willing to negotiate peacefully and would not devolve into a fight.
Of course, being who he was, Rayquaza already had several contingency plans in case things did go wrong, but that was a different matter altogether.
"I heard the little ones are planning on coming here?"
"Yeah. The people of Hoenn are preparing to establish a permanent colony on the Moon, followed by the USA, Russians, Indians, Japanese, and basically every other space-capable country on Earth. After that, Hoenn plans to establish a secret base on Mars."
"....Are we still withholding information about the dragon from them when they are so close to reaching this planet?"
Rayquaza fell silent.
"Yes. And, if possible, I want to warn them from establishing a base on Mars and maybe even try to stop any missions to Mars from humans. They are still not ready for what awaits them here."
"...Don't you think you are becoming too controlling of them?"
"It is necessary, Groudon. They are not yet a united species. Their ways-"
"-Are not yours to decide, brother."
Groudon interrupted his brother's words.
"I know that you don't trust them. And, to some extent, your distrust is justified given what we've learned so far. However, you need to remember that it is not our place to decide their future for them."
"Just like it was not our place to decide the future of the Apes back then, when they and Godzilla's people went to war. Just like it was not our place to decide the future of the Parasites, just like the many other times the titans of our world went into conflict with each other."
Rayquaza fell silent as Groudon continued to speak slowly, trying to help his brother overcome his paranoia and innate need to control everything when it comes to those he sees as dangerous.
"Brother, you need to remember that we are a part of the Earth's system, not above it. We are not the judge, jury, and executioners. Kyogre and I exist to protect the natural world's balance, and you exist to protect the world from external and internal threats. However, that does not give you the right to judge an entire species for the mistakes of a few and keep them from progressing."
"If that is what I wanted to do, Groudon, do you think I would have ever taught them anything? Do you think I would have taught the Titan Apes to build tools and make a civilization of their own? Do you think I would have ever forgiven the humans?"
This time, Groudon remained silent as Rayquaza spoke out about his own grievance.
"I know better than anyone what our duties are, brother. Unlike you two, I was born with knowledge and understanding, remember? However, this knowledge and understanding are just as much of a curse as they are a blessing."
"Every time I see a species make mistakes, I can't help but think of the worst-case scenario. Every time my heart dares to trust in others and hope for a brighter future, my mind always turns to the worst case and can't help but make contingencies upon contingencies."
"My heart trusts, but my mind is afraid."
"That is why, even though I trusted the apes, I still made a contingency plan, just in case they ever decided to become the new rulers of the world through blood and violence."
Groudon gave a shocked look at his brother, who had a cold light in his gaze.
"Godzilla?"
"Correct. There is a reason why I let him devour those crystals back then and let him absorb your radiation. He and the others of his kind were my backup plan in case the apes went out of control. And, sure enough, that brat Skar King did do something like that."
Pain flashed through Rayquaza's gaze as he stared off into the distance.
"Unfortunately, I miscalculated how far that bastard would go, which resulted in the near extinction of the Godzilla species and the Apes, with only a handful of their kind left scattered across the world. Now, Godzilla is the only one left of his kind, and the Apes are imprisoned in the deepest parts of the Hollow Earth for eternity."
"....Brother...this.."
"I know, Groudon. It is cold-hearted and cruel. I know that it might appear like I am using everyone as nothing more than pawns on a board. And, to a certain extent, it is true."
Rayquaza turned to his brother with a bitter look.
"But what choice do I have? Brother? I took on the job of protecting our world, and I must face the consequence of that choice."
".....You are a fool, brother."
"Yeah, maybe I am."
"No. You do not understand."
Heat started to radiate from Groudon's body as his control slowly slipped with anger, directed both at himself and his brothers.
"You are a fool for taking on this burden all by yourself. You think you alone need to think about everything, but have you ever thought of sharing that burden with us? Your brothers?"
"You already have your duties-"
"Bullshit!"
Groudon roared, startling the Clefables, who immediately ran for cover and stared with caution and worry at the two titans.
"All you have to do is ask, brother, and Kyogre and I would always help you. But you would never do that, would you? Because you think you alone are qualified to do what is necessary. That you alone are born to suffer for the sake of others."
Groudon snorted as his power gradually returned to normal.
"Truth is, you have a saviour complex, brother. A complex that is now clashing with your paranoia and your broken heart, leading you down the path of extremes."
"...."
"Brother, let me give you some advice. Learn to trust others more. Learn to let go of the past. Stop living in the moments that are long gone. I know it is a hard thing to do for long-lived beings like us. To us, eons are a mere blink of an eye. But for the humans? Those incidents of the past are ancient history."
"Learn to look past your prejudice and paranoia, and for once, trust in the good in their hearts. I admit, many of them are foolish and react violently to anything they do not understand. But, just this once, learn to look past these primal instincts of theirs. Just this once, don't let the past color your vision."
Rayquaza remained silent at his brother's words, trying to come to terms with what his brother said.
Then, Groudon whispered through their link
"And, for what it's worth, I don't think you are cold-hearted, brother. Granted, you might have planned for Godzilla's people to be your pawns back then. But, there is no denying that you cared for them."
"...How can you be sure of it?"
"Because I remember the years you spent grieving their loss, brother. I remember your desperate attempts to stop that war, torn between your promise of non-interference and your worry for the innocent lives being lost. I remember how you took out all your rage and anguish on that stupid monkey that started it all. and I remember the eons you spent trying to find a way to help repopulate Godzilla's people."
The cavern soon returned to silence as the Clefables slowly came out of hiding, staring with apprehension at the two silent titans.
Groudon spotted their worried look and crouched down, gently placing his open palm on the ground for some of them to climb on him.
Some of the pink creatures ran up Groudon's hide happily and started chittering in their cute voices, while the others approached Rayquaza and jumped on his head.
Much to the surprise of the emerald dragon, the tiny creatures started to pat him on the head exactly how they would pat the heads of their young.
Rayquaza's gaze softened as he let out a tired huff.
"..Maybe you are right. Maybe it's time I let go of the past."
"Then...?"
Rayquaza smiled.
"I will not interfere with their development and plans. Let them do as they please. However, I still want to keep Eternatus hidden until we are sure about his intentions after he wakes up."
"That is fine by me. And, I am sorry. I know that I don't have the right-"
"Groudon."
Groudon stopped apologizing at the gentle look from his brother.
"What you said was not wrong. You don't need to apologize for it. You and Kyogre are my siblings, and it is expected of siblings to help each other and make sure they do not stray from their path."
The two titans remained in comfortable silence, watching everything around them.
However, their calm would be shattered violently when their brother on Earth contacted them urgently.
"Rayquaza! Groudon! We have a problem!"
"Kyogre? What happened?"
"Invaders! We have invaders from another world travelling to the Earth! They have already attacked a human city. Godzilla has already intercepted the threat, but the portal from which it came remains open!"
"WHAT?!!"
Rayquaza's rage instantly overwhelmed him as he went Mega and hauled Groudon out of the cavern, heading straight out of the atmosphere with the help of the newly restored magnetic fields of the red planet.
The moment they went out of the atmosphere of the planet, Groudon went into his Primal form, and his suppressed rage erupted just like his brother's.
The Earth was the shared territory of the brothers and the Titans. The ecosystem was theirs to command, and all living beings were their children.
Now, some alien creature wants to invade and wreak havoc on their turf?
Not on their watch.
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Author Notes:
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