Thundering stomps echoed across Skull Island for miles and tidal waves flooded the shores for several hundred feet. Giving off an aura of power that sent even those creatures drawn to the radiation running for cover, Godzilla Senior broke landfall in the island's north. Furious at both the efforts he went to find his lost son and the worry he'd been put through ever since he discovered him missing, Senior had curled his lips back to a permanent sneer. The perpetual storms surrounding the island played hell with more than just magnetic instruments, some element of it had clouded the godzillasaur's otherwise natural ability to sense his own kind. He'd known his son had voyaged out to sea and was somewhere in the southern pacific or indian ocean. But he never could get an exact bearing, so he'd been forced to criss-cross the ocean for the past week. It was concern with finding his child that was the only thing that kept Senior from following his first instinct and blaming the humans before exacting revenge.

King Kong only needed a glance at the creature to instantly have all his defensive instincts fire off like alarm sirens. It stunk of unstable energies and looked beyond unnatural. He did see some resemblance between it and his protege, but also plenty of differences. While Junior was still growing, Kong had seen him change enough to get a rough idea of what he might look like as an adult. Aside from the opposable thumbs, posture, and external ears; he still looked like he was growing into a form natural to him. But this creature? Its tail was overly rounded and almost segmented, the posture was overly upright, many of the muscles seemed oddly proportioned, and the dorsal spines looked too regulated and rounded almost like some unstable heat melted them slightly. Still a functional body, but one that seemed less like a natural growth and more like some creature already grown that had been twisted and reshaped into its current form. Humans in the 2000s would attribute the physical difference between Godzilla Senior and his successor to Senior being mutated as an adult whereas Junior grew up with a stabilized mutation. In the 1990s, King Kong just saw something that looked plain wrong.

Despite the now growling Godzilla Senior being forty meters taller and certainly much heavier, the King of Skull Island would defend his territory and those of the island from threats. As far as Kong was concerned with the weeks past and his defense of the village, Junior was "of the island" now. The ape instantly put himself between the approaching Senior and Junior, pushing on the latter's chest slightly to get him behind him as he sized up the intruder. Stepping up on a tall hill to give himself a bit more height for both appearance as well as a vantage point should he need to lunge, King Kong smacked his palms against his muscular chest with reverberating booms before letting loose the loudest roar he could. Godzilla Senior snarled in annoyance as he stood in the river below the hill, smashing his tails across the waters in a loud crash before returning the roar in kind. The saurian's lips curled back to bare all his fangs and the ape did the same. Godzilla Senior started to advance forward, intent on reclaiming his son and going through anything that got in his way. Kong held his ground to protect his island, picking up the femur bone of a great dinosaur and held it tight enough to turn his knuckles white.

Before Kong could lunge to ram the sharp bone down Senior's throat or Senior tested to see how flammable the ape was, Godzilla Junior's telltale screeches broke the attention as he ran up between them. Barking to his father, Junior's tail wagged happily and he kept a relaxed stance. Breaking away from the mutual death-glare he and Kong were giving each other, Godzilla Senior looked to his son and grunted, letting out a calmed series of barks and low chirps that sounded like a mix of an alligator and bird speaking. Junior returned the sounds, looking back at his sensei and chirping. Godzilla Senior stoically stood up again and looked past the ape at the bone fields. From his great height, the still smoking corpse of Gaw was visible and he'd previously noticed the claw and bite marks on his son. Senior bellowed, looking upon his now much more mature looking child who was now missing almost all his baby fat and almost frog-like face he had before. In a manner of gentleness he rarely showed, Senior walked over to his son and placed a hand upon him to pat him on the head and shoulders. Junior closed his eyes and chirped happily, joyful to have made his father proud.

Seeing hands and claws that could no doubt mangle and shred showing tenderness to his protege, King Kong relaxed even when Senior looked back up at him. The two kaiju stared each other down again, now sporting far more stoic and relaxed expressions. Perhaps a bit impressed the greatest of apes had the courage or bravado to stand up to him as well as grateful for the island king watching over his son, Senior gave Kong a slight nod. The ape put the bone weapon down and snorted, earning a calm bellow from Godzilla Senior.

In one way or another, by body language or vocalization, Godzilla Senior said something to King Kong he'd practically never told any other soul in his life.

Thank you.

Turning back to the sea, Senior began to wade upriver and towards the ocean; casting a grunt behind him to call Junior to come along. Refreshed even after his battle from both the warm sun and the cool waters rinsing off his wounds, Junior chirped and waded then swam after his father. As they approached the cloud bank just off the shore of the island, a low bellow called out after them. Senior ignored it and walked into the mist and clouds, but Junior turned back to see King Kong standing beside some of the sea spires looking upon him. The ape grunted with an almost pleased look on his face, beating his chest again and roaring out over the ocean. It wasn't a declaration of dominion, a threat, or any other sort of negative utterance like all his other roars had been. It almost sounded happy for it was a farewell.

Paused in front of the storm wall, the now young teenage Godzilla took in a deep breath. With a spur of confidence and growth of the past weeks allowing him to do so, both Kong and the world heard Junior's first roar that day. Master and student verbally bowing to each other, Kong and Junior returned to their domains of jungle and ocean in opposite directions.

Inside the hallowed wreckage of "The Wanderer", that behemoth of a ship that came to the island in the 1930s and was dragged inland by Kong's parents when their infant was captured, several islanders received a nod from the patriarch and matriarch as they brought forth the hand-crafted paints. With great skill with hand and brush, they went about decorating a blank piece of wall like it was a canvas.

King Kong beat his chest, thundering with each blow as he declared his might to intimidate a pack of skullcrawlers. Years and kilometers away, the grown up Godzilla Junior would face down Grand King Ghidorah. He smacked and clapped tightened fists together while slapping the ground with his tail with thundering blows; loosing a defiant roar that got the demon dragon's attention.

The painting continued, showing both broad strokes and fine detail as the two painting teams worked in unison on opposite ends of the canvas, working their way in.

Kong, battling it out against the crawlers near the caves, grabbed hold of one and used it to bash others of its kind aside when they attempted to pounce on him all at once.

Godzilla Junior braced himself to withstand the force of the charging Super Gyaos in front of Canterlot, throwing the bat off and grabbing it by the neck to use it against it's own kind in an identical manner.

The familiar visage of Kong became visible in the painting, standing atop numerous foes as it defended the bowing a show of their gods' mighty strength he held giant dinosaurs aloft with either hand, gripping a vast serpent with his foot while stomping on a crawler with his other limb. On the opposite side of the canvas, the second figure was coming to familiarity. Smaller than Kong at the moment, but doing the same divine act nonetheless as he stood between the bowed humans and the demonic beast they called Gaw. The figure bore a reptilian tail, spiny back, and flickers of light erupted from his maw.

Finishing his battle, Kong wrenched open the jaws of the alpha crawler and stuffed his fist down its throat to end it. Its limp body fell at his feet and left the pack scrambling while retreating to their burrows. The King of Skull Island beat his chest and bellowed in dominion.

Standing inside San Francisco Bay, Godzilla Junior wrenched open the jaws of Trespasser to copy what he'd been taught before adding his own flair to the finishing blow by firing his burning wrath down the monster's throat. He didn't stop until it was little more than smoke and a disembodied head.

The painting was done and it was a masterpiece. All the village gathered round and bowed their heads. They had their god and he was irreplaceable, but a new story had been added to their pantheon. One of a traveler from the seas who learned under their king, someone who they thought destined to become a king in his own right one day.

Godzilla Junior dropped Trespasser's head and roared to the heavens, the King of the Monsters reasserting his title.

The master honors the apprentice by teaching them, the apprentice honors the master by spreading the teachings to become a master themselves.

In memory of Merian C. Cooper, the original master who inspired, and Tomoyuki Tanaka, the indirect apprentice who became a master.