"Reporting live from Pensacola, Florida, this is Audrey Burns of the News 6 Team here with mister Walter Simmons of Apex Cybernetics. Mister Simmons. A statement, sir?"

"Yes, yes. Of course." Came a calm, gravely voice from a man with graying hair wearing a suit.

"Apex is the pinnacle of technological research and development in the world. And according to our analysis Godzilla's attack last night seems to be yet another unprovoked assault on humanity. Nothing more."

"But the Apex facility looked to have been specifically targeted, sir."

"That's probably because our facility is the largest structure in the area. So it's likely what caught his attention first. But that was all it was."

"Mister Simmons. Can you explain why it was Godzilla seemed to halt his attack after destroying the facility before the planes seemed to anger and encourage a follow up strike?"

"I believe that's simply a case of seeing what you want to see instead of what happened, miss Burns. Godzilla did not halt his attack after destroying our facility. He was merely pausing after using his blue breath before charging it for a second round."

"Then you believe Pensacola was always the target?"

"Yes. And you can quote me on that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Simmons ignored the reporters around him clamoring for further questioning and nodded to his security team to get them off him, which they did in fairly short order.

Simmons made his way towards the wreckage of the facility. Stepping over the rubble on as flat a path as could be managed he made his way towards a man dressed all in black holding a piece of metal with a tiny red wire sticking out of it.

"Mister Serizawa. I hope you have a good explanation for what happened yesterday." Simmons demanded calmly.

A man of Japanese descent and hair slicked to the side turned around, not breaking eye contact from the shard of metal in his hands.

"Is a verbal explanation really necessary?" He asked as he finally looked up to meet Simmons' gaze.

Simmons chuckled.

"I suppose not. Still, I would like one."

Mister Serizawa held out an arm and gestured towards the entire destroyed area.

"Gojira attacked." He said simply.

"I can see that, mister Serizawa. What I want to know is why he attacked. Did you activate part of the project?" Simmons demanded as his voice began to sharpen.

"I did. It was time to test-"

"Remember what we discussed in our meeting two weeks ago, mister Serizawa. We do not activate the project when Godzilla is within 500 nautical miles of the facilities. Doing so turns them into a beacon which he cannot and will not ignore."

"Yes. But we are also on a schedule, mister Simmons. It was either test the project, or fall behind and risk total exposure. I chose the option least dangerous to Apex in the long term."

Simmons took a deep breath, tight lipped, and gave a few slow nods before releasing his breath on a sigh.

"Very well, mister Serizawa. I can see your logic. And while I do not appreciate the risk you took, there's something you can do to mitigate my frustration."

Serizawa arched an eyebrow.

"Tell me that nothing of the project was damaged." Simmons said.

Serizawa nodded.

"The project remains in tact."

"Good. So long as the project remains in tact and is evacuated to our headquarters in Hong Kong, then I suppose everything is fine and this mess can be forgiven. Now then… What of your father and MONARCH? Have they attempted contact with you?"

Serizawa hesitated in answering, but finally nodded.

"I see. The old bag still thinks he needs to look after you as if you're a child, then? Aren't you tired of it?" Simmons asked.

Serizawa's lips tightened slightly, but he did not offer a response.

"Well, either way you're your own man now. Time to focus ahead, mister Serizawa. If your father attempts contact again, just block his number. It's as simple as that. Now come. We have a lot of work to do before the project is ready. And it's time to visit a new face whom I'm hoping will have the keys to the project's success."

Simmons walked away, but Serizawa remained behind and turned around to scan the rubble.

He was standing just outside the safety lines established by the government clean up crews as the area within the lines was still radioactive nearest where Godzilla's breath struck the ground. The crews all wore heavy radiation protection gear and were working hard to clear the rubble so that proper measures could be taken to begin the rebuilding process. But this clean up could take weeks.

Serizawa's eyes closed and his head dipped slightly while his hand holding the shard of metal dropped to his side and tightened its grip. His lips tightened and curled back revealing his teeth as he took a few slow and steady breaths to calm himself. After doing so his eyes opened once again as he looked out at the sea and frowned.

"Such a troublesome big brother, you are." He growled under his breath.

Putting up his hood, Serizawa turned and followed the path Simmons had taken towards a chopper waiting in the distance just beyond the rubble.

Meanwhile, on board a MONARCH transport bound for Japan, Doctor Serizawa sat in a seat near the rear of the craft at a small table and looked at his father's watch with the time, 8:15am, August 6, 1945, forever burned into the device's face. His thumb traced the outline of the watch as he looked up at a few pictures on the table laid out before him of areas Godzilla had recently attacked, as well as a picture of Godzilla himself just off to the side while in the middle of using his breath against Ghidorah.

Serizawa put the watch away and leaned forward on his elbows as he scanned the pictures one by one searching for some kind of rhyme or reason to Godzilla's ire. The only connection that was common between them is that they were areas near Apex Cybernetics facilities. But that was likely a coincidence since they had a presence in nearly every major city in America at this point and had a hand in nearly every technological industry on the market. Even phones were beginning to integrate new Apex technologies.

But Pensacola was not a major city. It was more like a town on the coast of Florida than anything else. Nothing special or unique about it at all. So why would it become the ire of his attack? Watching the footage, it seemed like the Apex facility was what set him off. But why? Was he sensitive to the electronics? Was there some kind of signal being broadcast from the facility he didn't know about or that MONARCH couldn't detect?

He pinched the bridge of his nose and adjusted his glasses afterwards before pulling the picture of Godzilla over to give it a good long look.

"What angered you, old friend?" He whispered.

Serizawa's eyes trailed to Ghidorah whose heads had leaned sideways to avoid the blast of his atomic breath in the photo. One of them was beginning to launch its own attack and was frozen in time within the photo with golden waves undulating up its throat.

Serizawa then looked at the picture of the ruined Apex facility in Pensacola and dragged it closer. And as he gazed at the photo, he remembered what happened five years ago when Godzilla engaged Ghidorah in the waters just before the oxygen destroyer struck. The footage back then had revealed that Godzilla had seriously wounded Ghidorah as the waters filled with brown-red blood. And as it landed on the volcanic Island from which Rodan had come it was missing a head before regrowing it.

Serizawa's eyes slowly looked up at the empty space on the wall opposite him before trailing back down to the Apex Cybernetics facility photo as Marks' words echoed through his mind.

"… something was producing a call with a frequency similar to Godzilla's which was enough to trigger an alert from SIREN..."

… Ren…

"Ren…" He whispered as his fingers touched the corner of the photo of the Apex facility.

The transport suddenly jerked a little which forced Serizawa to steady himself as Doctor Graham came over to his side.

"Sensei. We're hitting some turbulence. But we'll be on the ground soon."

He nodded in response and gathered the photos together in their folder and went to sit down in a proper seat as a crew member came to fasten the table and other chairs down for safety. Looking out the window Serizawa saw they were now descending towards a large facility near the base of Mt. Fuji. It was one of MONARCH's original facilities and most definitely showed its age on the outside with the faded and weather-worn metal no longer shimmering in the sunlight as they touched down and stepped out of the vehicle.

Stepping out into the morning air of Japan, Serizawa took in a deep breath and couldn't help but smile to himself just a little bit.

"Happy to be home, Sensei?"

"My home is with you and the others, Vivienne. But yes. It is good to see my homeland again after all these years."

Together they went inside the facility which, on the inside at least, had been kept state of the art. Following the halls to the central observation deck, Serizawa was greeted by a woman who looked exactly like Ilene Chen but wore her hair long and in a ponytail. She bowed to him with a smile before rushing in for a hug.

"Greetings, Ling. How are you?" He asked with a smile.

"I'm fine, Doctor. It's wonderful to see you again!" She said excitedly.

As they ended the embrace, they both gave each other a proper bow.

"Anything to report?" He asked.

"Yes. Please come with me." She urged while turning and walking briskly to a large computer monitor.

Ling took a seat and began furiously typing and going through files and arranging images as Serizawa and Graham stood on either side of her chair. After arranging the photos and files to her liking, and double checking the names of each document, she scooted the chair back slightly and pointed to the first photo in the upper left corner.

"Is that Mothra?" Doctor Graham asked.

"Yes." Ling replied with a fond smile as they looked at a picture of Mothra's new larval form. "We made her a new home after the old one was attacked by Jonah's men five years ago. We believe she will be safe at this facility."

"Where is that?" Doctor Graham asked.

"It's at an undisclosed location in the Pacific. But someone knows where it is." Ling replied as she pointed to another photo just to the right of the first.

"Gojira da." Serizawa whispered.

A picture of Mothra's larval form standing on a cliff edge looking out at the sea with Godzilla's head poking out of the water graced their screen.

"Wait. That's not a photo, is it?" Doctor Graham asked.

"No." Ling replied as she hovered the mouse over it revealing a "play" icon.

Clicking her mouse, a short video about 10 seconds long began playing. Mothra chirped a few times, and Godzilla responded with a low guttural growl which vibrated the waters making them dance like the water around the body of an alligator or crocodile. Mothra chirped again, and again Godzilla growled in response.

"They're talking?" Doctor Graham asked.

"Yes." Ling said as her smile widened. "They're more than allies or species with an amicable coexistence, Doctor Graham. They're friends."

Ling closed the first video, and another one was already behind it which she then clicked "play" for. The new clip had Godzilla's body already half out of the water as he approached the shore and leaned in close to Mothra. She leaned forward and seemed to nuzzle his snout before he stood up, turned, and disappeared into the ocean. And that was where the video ended.

"Remarkable." Doctor Graham whispered.

"I knew it." Serizawa said with a satisfied smile.

Ling nodded in response and turned in her chair.

"It's just like you always said, Doctor. The Titans are capable of far more complex thoughts and emotions than humans ever gave them credit for. Godzilla and Mothra share a true friendship. Not just coexistence like other animals do. There's a true bond at work."

Serizawa's eyes grew a bit watery as he removed his glasses and wiped the beginnings of a tear away and replaced his glasses on his face. Ling patted his arm as he cleared his throat.

"What else do you have, Ling?" He asked.

"Well…"

She brought up a document, or rather a report, which she'd put together regarding the links between Godzilla's attacks.

"There's only one thing tying Godzilla's attacks together, Doctor."

She highlighted one word on the page: Apex.

Serizawa nodded and his eyes closed slowly as he dipped his head. Doctor Graham touched his shoulder as Ling looked sadly over her own shoulder at Serizawa.

"Doctor?" Ling asked quietly.

"It's okay, Ling." He replied calmly as he opened his eyes. "Is there anything we've been able to find about how Gojira knew to attack the facilities?"

"No, Doctor. I've used every tool at MONARCH's disposal to try and figure out just what was happening and whether or not there was something detectable with our instruments that might get his attention. But there's been nothing." She replied.

"What about Mark's device? The SIREN?" Doctor Graham asked.

Serizawa nodded.

"Yes. I remember he said it detected a signal similar to Gojira's. But that's not enough to draw any conclusions just yet. We need more information." He said grimly.

"And you tried… Well, contacting him?" Ling asked.

Serizawa nodded.

"… He's ignoring you, isn't he?" She asked.

Again, he nodded.

Ling sighed and looked over at a picture on her desk which showed Serizawa with Ling, Ilene, and a young boy under Serizawa's arm all smiling in a photo together.

"Excuse me. Um, what're you two talking about?" Doctor Graham asked.

Ling cleared her throat and looked back at the computer while Serizawa glanced at Doctor Graham.

"Nothing, Vivienne. Just a personal matter. What else do you have, Ling?" He replied.

"I have a bunch of other small reports and photos of Godzilla's behavior and that of the other Titans. But given what we know so far and where this all seems to be leading, I don't know if it's really necessary to go through them."

"Agreed. I'm going to try contacting him one more time. If he still ignores me, then I think that's proof enough for the time being that Apex is somehow responsible for all this." Serizawa said as he stood up straight and began walking away.

"Sensei?"

"It's okay, Doctor Graham. Let him be for a few minutes. He'll come back once he's finished his call." Ling said calmly.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Serizawa returned and shook his head.

"Straight to voicemail. Ling, please keep an eye on Gojira as best you can and contact me if you find anything."

"Yes, Doctor."

"Vivienne. Please give Mark a call and see if he knows anything more about that call the SIREN detected."

"Yes, Sensei."

"I'm going to go make a few more calls myself. And providing everything works out we will have a meeting with the others to start plans to move Kong from Skull Island to a new habitat."

With that the Doctors all bid each other a temporary farewell.

Speaking of Kong, however...

On Skull Island, Kong was growing restless. He had attacked the dome three more times in only two days out of sheer frustration. And Jia's attempts to calm him down had all either failed or only worked for a few hours whereas it was usually enough to pacify him for several days at a time.

"C'mon big guy. Work with us here." Doctor Andrews exclaimed as she slammed her fists onto her desk.

Jia, meanwhile, sat nearby watching Kong on the monitor as he sat down with a deep scowl on his face.