Godzilla searched the seas around Japan non-stop for two whole days, but there was no sign of the creature that attacked him. Eventually, he was so worn out that he had to stop for sleep in the Seto Inland Sea. Honda was exhausted, too, having slept fitfully and spent her waking hours anxiously awaiting any news. She and Takashima were sitting in Yuma's office, trying to decide whether to stay there or return to Iwato Island, when a guard knocked at the door.
"Excuse me, Doctor Honda, but there's someone here to see you. She says her name is Doctor Amirpour."
Honda suddenly felt wide awake as her visitor entered the lab. Doctor Amirpour had accompanied her on the Adona Island expedition, posing as an anthropologist; she was actually Agent 9 of the Saradia Secret Service. Honda could tell from the look on 9's face that she had news and meant business.
"Thank you, sir," said Honda. "Would you mind giving us some privacy?"
"Of course. Excuse me."
Once the guard was gone, Amirpour approached Honda to shake her hand. "Good to see you again, Doctor."
"Likewise, Doctor Amirpour."
The agent saluted Takashima. "Commander."
Takashima returned the salute. "Always a pleasure, Doc."
Honda was taken aback. "You two know each other?"
Takashima nodded. "I'm sort of an inform-"
Amirpour hushed him abruptly. She pointed at Honda, then to the side of her own head. Realizing she wanted to communicate telepathically, Honda nodded and began interfacing with Amirpour and Takashima at the same time.
Okay. We'll do it like this. Agent, why the extra secrecy?
I don't know if we can trust anyone at this facility. I know Takashima is on the level because he has worked with me as an informant.
Wait - Commander, were you spying on me?
More like looking out for you. Agent, would you mind explaining?
Of course. Doctor, a UN special intelligence committee has been pursuing a ring of illegal weapon manufacturers and black market dealers. We first became alerted to their presence two years ago when they raided a base in eastern Russia and stole the designs for portable energy weapons made to combat the Meganula. Two months later, terrorists in my home country were using those weapons on civilians. This has happened multiple times: weapons made for use by the UNMCC are stolen and reappear in the hands of criminals and mercs. It seems their dealers have carved out quite a niche for themselves.
Do you think they were behind this?
Yes. In addition to the weapons and technology, many of the researchers who made them have gone missing, and we have reason to think it's connected. That is why we had Commander Takashima keep tabs on you, to make sure you didn't disappear and to watch out for moles in your operation. Recently, we identified the head of this facility, Lt. Col. Hirano, as a suspect. We believe he took Doctor Yuma in order to forcibly enlist his services in making bio weapons.
You knew about this?! Don't you think you should have done something sooner?
We were going to, but the committee believed we should wait to put together a stronger case against him; otherwise, we might have blown our cover and spoiled the operation. Doctor, I'm terribly sorry that he made his move before we could get to him, but we're using every resource to find Doctor Yuma - and we'd like you in, as well.
Me?
You can just read their minds, right? No need to blow our cover.
I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. It's a two-way connection. When I read someone's mind, they can feel it.
Damn. Oh, well. At least you could make interrogation easier.
Do you have any ideas on where to search?
I have a few leads, but I think we're nearing the big one. Hirano popped up on our radar because we intercepted correspondence between him and Pyotr Prokofiev, who led a military coup in Rolisica. We think Prokofiev is one of the top guys in this organization.
Do you think he has Adam?
I don't know. They serve so many clientele; they might have handed him off to someone else.
But do you at least have a plan?
We do. Prokofiev oversees everything from a seaside base, and in a few days, he'll be gathering his customers together to show them something new. My man on the inside has arranged for me and a team to attend disguised as potential buyers.
And me?
You and the commander will be on standby with Godzilla. We don't know for sure what Prokofiev is showing off, but it's probably going to be big - literally, and we'll need Godzilla for backup.
Three days into his work on Devil's Island, Yuma was suffering from severe exhaustion. He could not sleep for more than an hour at a time, and no matter how much water or food he took in, it passed right through him without filling him up.
Keiko lay on her cot all day, not making a sound. Yuma could not stop thinking about the danger that he had put her in, and how much she must have hated him for it. She had looked up to him for so long, and now she knew exactly what he was and what he had done. He did not know about the voice she heard in her head, growing stronger with each passing night, nor of her repeated unsuccessful attempts to escape her room and find its source.
Fang worked with Yuma, providing some suggestions but mostly deferring to his expertise; however, he suspected that her true purpose was to keep an eye on him and ensure that he did not slack off or foil the experiment. Her habit of pausing to play with her jangly earrings quickly became obnoxious to her prisoner, who had to fight the urge to rip them out whenever she started doing it while standing next to him.
Yuma found the laboratory's resources exceeded expectations; under better circumstances, he might have felt honored. In a short time, he was able to identify the molecule in the Adona mold responsible for combating radiopathology and create a solution to be used as a protective agent for the reluctant subjects of Shinzo's experiments.
The process for creating the ORGA solution was far more arduous and time-consuming, and the rate of failure was high. The G1 first had to be isolated from a red blood cell, then inserted into a human blood cell; the organelle rarely survived the removal process, and insertion into a human cell frequently triggered apoptosis. Once a hybrid cell was successfully formed, it could be placed back in the donor sample and refrigerated, allowing the G1 to spread through all of the blood cells to create a blood solution that could be injected; this, too, had a high failure rate. Finally, after more attempts than Yuma could count, a viable solution was created and deemed ready for use.
The two scientists were brought into an observation room where Shinzo and Hirano stood waiting. On the other side of a two-way mirror, a frail old Japanese man in a grey prison uniform lay strapped to a test table, trembling in fear. Yuma peered in to take a look at the man. "One of your own men?" he asked.
Shinzo chuckled spitefully. "No, we are not quite so callous as the men of your military. We have taken many prisoners over the years. This man was an officer in the war, but he surrendered rather than dying honorably. This is his chance to be redeemed."
Fang held out the vial of ORGA blood to Yuma. "This is your work, Doctor."
Yuma took the vial and held it up to eye level. Then he looked grimly at Fang and Shinzo. "Professor, General, I know how determined the both of you are. You've been waiting for this for a long time, experienced many failures, and took a tremendous risk bringing me here. Nevertheless, I am first and foremost a man of medicine, so I must beg you not to go through with this. Please. Don't subject anyone else to this cruel experiment."
Shinzo shook his head solemnly. "No, you are right. We have sacrificed much - too much to go back now. Know that it brings me no pleasure to force you to do this." A corner of his lip curled upward for a fraction of a second, betraying the lie. Yuma pretended not to see.
"In that case, at least understand that I would sooner be fed to your overgrown flytrap than ever put this poison in another man's body again."
Fang smiled as he passed the vial back to her. "Very well. I shall do it myself."
The professor walked into the next room and approached the table. The bound man squirmed at the sight of her and cried out for mercy, but Fang ignored his pleas and injected him without a word.
Even before the effects of the injection manifested, Yuma could feel his own heart racing. As he remembered the horrors experienced by the men he butchered, it was like the ghastly elixir was coursing through his own veins. At any moment, the man's body would begin to twist and change violently.
But it never happened! The man on the table gradually calmed down, as did Yuma. Had the experiment succeeded?
Yuma sighed. "I was pretty worried for a moment there!"
Shinzo grinned. "That was just inoculant from the mold. The ORGA is next."
Yuma caught his breath as Fang pulled the vial of G1 blood from a pocket of her coat, transferred the contents to a syringe, and stuck the man in the arm.
Almost immediately, the subject began trembling and his veins bulged, turning jet black. As the solution reached his heart, his chest heaved and his back arched. His cries of pain were muffled as dark green, tar-like fluid came bubbling out from his mouth. Yuma had seen it before; this was exactly what happened to the man in the film recovered by Fang. The subject's immune system was fighting the injection, and the G1 retaliated with antibodies that made the blood toxic.
As the subject's spasms intensified and the sounds of his bones snapping could be heard over his screams, even through the glass separating the rooms, Fang reached into her lab coat and pulled out a strange-looking firearm. It was similar in size and shape to a large caliber revolver, but in place of chambers for bullets was a glowing green energy cell. The professor pointed it at the man and fired a bolt of crackling plasma that incinerated his head in an instant; the body continued to shake for several seconds before its movements ceased.
Shinzo gave a sigh of mild disappointment. "I guess we're still getting there."
Yuma turned away from the carnage, taking deep breaths to calm down.
Shinzo looked him over. "You seem worn out. Have you been eating and sleeping?"
"Trying to."
"Maybe a little sunlight will do the trick. Come. Let me show you a bit of the island!"
Knowing the difference between an invitation and a command, Yuma obediently followed Shinzo to a cylindrical elevator. The lift carried them up for what seemed like ages, until finally they reached the surface and stepped out from a small cave. Yuma stepped outside and was nearly blinded by the noon sun; once his vision recovered, he looked around him.
Shinzo and Yuma stood on a ledge halfway up a high cliff. The island was densely forested, but a huge area had been cleared, and in that space, hundreds of prisoners toiled away, digging a deep quarry.
"What are they digging for?"
"Artifacts. This island is part of the Adona archipelago; there's no telling what treasures our ancestors left behind. Don't worry; we're far from the radiation zone, but you'll find this island is abundant in monsters all the same. Take a peek over the edge of this cliff."
Yuma poked his head out and looked straight down. Below was a monstrous ape, seated with his back to the cliff, watching over the prisoners.
"That," said Shinzo, "is Kong, the strongest animal to ever live. He keeps an eye on the prisoners. Should one attempt to escape, he'd snatch them up in the blink of an eye. He's not the only muscle we have around here, either." He pointed to the right, toward a second, deeper quarry; an orange monitor lizard watched from the top level, flicking a tongue the length of a truck. "Komodithrax, queen of the lizards, with a bite that even Godzilla would fear."
Shinzo led Yuma off to their left; from this new vantage point, more prisoners could be seen chopping trees to make clearings through the jungle, and overhead, a gold-feathered bird surveyed their progress.
"Ookondoru! Another of our exotic pets. Isn't she magnificent? I'm sad to say that she can't quite match the speed of Rodan, but she can come close. "
The bird abruptly swooped down and seized a terrified prisoner in her talons, pausing just long enough to devour him before taking off to resume surveillance.
Shinzo chuckled. 'Well, we do have to feed our pets every now and again!"
"So you're controlling that bird and the gorilla with your technology, like Titanosaurus."
"Correct."
"What's the mechanism?" asked Yuma, sabotage on his mind.
Shinzo smirked and wagged a finger. "I'm afraid that's a trade secret!"
"Well, what about your hybrid creatures? Why not use them to do your work?"
"It seems they inherited some of Godzilla's psychic power and are immune to our mental control." As a ship's horn sounded in the distance, he pulled out a spyglass and looked toward the shore. "Ah, one of our ships is back! Care to see?"
Yuma took the spyglass and peered through it to watch the heavily armored ship pulling into port. He panned right a bit and saw two prisoners sneaking onto the beach with a handmade raft.
Shinzo noticed him staring and grabbed the spyglass back to see what was so interesting. He gave a short gasp of surprise. "How did they manage to-? Hmph! It doesn't matter. They're not going to make it far."
The escapees were not seen by any of the crew on the dock until they were nearly a hundred meters from shore; the guards did not intervene, but pointed to the tiny raft and laughed with each other. Yuma realized what was coming but could only watch in horror.
A giant crustacean claw broke the surface, nearly swamping the raft. The escapees knew they had made a fatal error and tried to turn back, paddling for their lives, but the claw smashed down on top of them, pulling them down to a watery grave.
"You see," said Shinzo, "this island is inescapable. We may not have the manpower to patrol every square meter of beach 24/7, but the monsters will attack on sight unless we order them to stand down. So unless you want Ebirah to make seafood out of you, I recommend you steer clear of the beach."
Yuma swallowed nervously. "Are you going to put me under your control?"
"No. Our technology suppresses higher thought processes to make subjects more vulnerable to suggestion, and we need you to be thinking clearly and creatively. Now, how about you go back to that fancy lab we built for you and make the best of it?"
Once back in the laboratory, Yuma found Hirano standing by the door, and within, Fang was already hard at work creating a new concoction. She greeted him with that toothy grin he found so menacing. "Not a bad setup those old boys have, eh?"
"I don't need to tell you how I feel about it all."
"No, I suppose it makes sense. For what it's worth, my opinion of their organization is no higher than yours. They just have something we want."
"So are you a Seeker, too?"
"I am, but not in the same way. I suppose Shinzo's told you by now about his 'art of the gods' idea."
"A bit."
"Well, hope for your own sake that you never hear his whole spiel. I, on the other hand, believe in science. These ancient people, whatever you want to call them, were not gods but scientists, much like the two of us. My organization searches for ancient technology and sells it to the whoever will buy. I understand you saw some old relics yourself on your last expedition. Oh, don't give me that look! Rex told us everything, like how that psychic friend of yours went Golden Bat on his team mates. He also told us there wasn't much to see, aside from some savages, gold trinkets, and a lovely stone pyramid; not exactly what we're looking for, though I would still like to see it for myself one day."
Yuma was relieved to hear that the secret of the Wise Ones, which Honda had been reluctant to share even with him, was safe.
Fang produced the glowing firearm from her coat. "This, on the other hand, has potential. We've found three so far; the other two are being examined to see if we can reverse engineer them. If so, they're guaranteed to be a big seller."
"Is that the sort of thing Shinzo's hoping to find in the quarry?"
"Perhaps. In any case, he's using my organization's technology to control the monsters guarding this facility, so that means we get a share of whatever they find." She set the gun aside and flicked her hearrings again.
"Can't you stop doing that?" Yuma growled, reaching for Fang's ears only to be floored by a stinging lash across the face from the back of her hand.
"Now, now!" said Fang, wagging a raised finger at him. "Never touch a lady's jewelry!" Still playing with her earrings, she walked to the door and opened it. "Hirano," she said, "keep an eye on our guest for a few minutes. I must speak with Shinzo."
Hirano did as he was told, closing the door as Fang left. "Isn't she a doll?" he said mockingly as Yuma braced himself against a table, swaying dazedly. "Don't let her get under your skin, Doc."
Fang found Shinzo meditating in his personal quarters, seated on the floor wearing only his pants. She saw him from behind and noticed his eyepatch lying on the floor; he picked it up and put it back on before he stood to face her. "What is it, Professor?" he asked impatiently.
"A word from my boss. He demands an update on our timetable. Care to offer your opinion?"
"I put you in charge of the lab work. Just tell him what you think."
Fang tapped her left earring and waited a moment. "Bare with me. Hard to get a signal underground." She tugged her earlobes until the receptors picked up the message being transmitted. "Ah! That's better!"
"Well? What does he have to say?"
"He is…disappointed. He was expecting results by now."
"So was I. We had a deal."
"And thus far, you have been unable to deliver on your end of the bargain: our technology in exchange for ORGA."
Shinzo stomped toward her, pointing an accusatory finger. "You're the one who was supposed to be making it! Your incompetence-"
"My incompetence? Was I told wrongly that you executed seven prior scientists for failing to realize your designs? We gave you all of our best scientific resources, and even with my services and now those of the experiment's progenitor, nothing has come of it!"
Shinzo balled a fist and held it before Fang's face. "You're right about one thing: I have no qualms with killing those who fail me! So you'd better watch your mouth, you little bitch!"
Fang smiled. "You know as well as I do that if you lay a finger on me, you'll be the one who suffers." She placed a hand over Shinzo's fist and nonchalantly pushed it away. "We could turn every monster on this island against you." She pulled at the cord of his eyepatch to expose what was left of his injured eye; he was trembling and did not resist. "Then, once your base is in ruins, maybe we'd put you under our control and make you do funny tricks. You know, like a little bitch!" She spat into his face and released the cord so that it smacked loudly against his skin.
Shinzo glared at her, knowing that she was right. He told himself that one day the Red Bamboo would assert their power over the world, including Fang, her boss, and their wretched organization of faithless war profiteers.
A few nights later, Keiko once again awoke in the late hours to hear a feminine voice calling her.
Keiko! Keiko! Come to us. We need you!
Who? Where are you?
We are here! Follow my voice and you will find us.
Keiko managed to lift herself upright in bed with a groan. She hesitated to move further, expecting Fang to barge in again. Presently as nothing happened, she tried to stand up, but putting even the slightest pressure on her legs caused tremendous pain. Her wheelchair was in the room; she reached for it, but it was just beyond the extent of her arm from the bed. She considered rolling out of bed and climbing into it from the floor, but knew that doing so could be injurious or loud enough to draw attention to herself.
Come on! Keiko thought to herself. Just a little farther!
Suddenly, the wheelchair moved.
Keiko drew back her hand in disbelief. How could it have moved on its own - or did it?
Reaching out again, she concentrated intensely on the wheelchair. Sure enough, it slowly rolled over to her bed. Excitedly, she climbed on and wheeled herself toward the door.
The door! It was bolted from the outside. Nervously, Keiko reached toward it and tried to sense the bolt on the other side. After a few moments, she could feel it as though her fingers were running directly across the cold metal. She slowly moved her hand in a sliding motion and felt the bolt come out of place.
With a smile of satisfaction, Keiko wheeled herself toward the door with her hands, but as she was most of the way there, she decided to try using her mind to move the wheels, too. It worked! She had to bite her lip to contain a hoot of delight. Now she was free to explore the facility and find out who or what was beckoning to her.
