Chapter 5: The Decision

Fire blazed all around Junior, the flames grasping hungrily at his legs. The smoke was dark and thick, choking Junior's lungs and obscuring his surroundings. It almost seemed to form a cocoon around. A dark cocoon of death and destruction. However, there was one thing Junior could see despite the curtain of smoke. However, seeing it did not bring relief.

It brought horror.

There was his father, standing slumped over before him, his eyes closed and seemingly lifeless. He seemed to have been cured of the state Junior had last seen him in. Of the swollen and angry burning orange sores which had spewed smoke and steam and that had covered large swaths of his typically charcoal-colored scales. This terrible affliction was gone, and Junior would have been glad for it if it weren't for the towering creature that stood beside him, his father's limp neck held in its clawed clutches.

It was the very same beast that Junior had last fought. The demon that Junior had failed to kill, allowing it to kill his father as a result. Now, though Junior's father was back, so was his murderer, and it was clear that it was about to murder him again. Right in front of him.

Junior seemed to be about his father's size, but when Junior tried to rush forward to save his father, he found that he simply couldn't. He tried with all his might to do something - anything - slice the beast with his claws or blast it with his fire beam. Yet, he could do nothing. Despite the fire, he seemed to be frozen in place. He couldn't move a muscle, he couldn't twitch a finger, he couldn't even blink an eye.

All Junior could do was watch absolutely helpless - absolutely useless - as the demon let go of his father's neck only to slam it straight into his chest.

Suddenly, Junior's father roared to life, his eyes snapping open as he released an excruciating howl. The demon left its claws buried deep in Junior's father's chest for a moment. A moment that was only brief but seemed to last a lifetime. All the while, the demon locked eyes with Junior's own, staring him down as a sly smile slipped onto its toothy jaws.

Then, the demon wrenched his arm free from father's chest. However, Junior's father didn't collapse onto the ground. Rather, something far worse - far more horrific - happened.

Right before Junior's very eyes, his father began to melt. Literally, melt. His scales began to slide off his body like rain, falling to the ground in disgustingly mushy heaps. His claws suddenly fell from his fingers and his eyes began to sink into their sockets. Father opened his jaws to release an agonizing roar, but only a disgusting gurgle came out. This gargle was eventually silenced when every organic part, whether it be scales or organs, had melted off and fallen to the ground in a grotesque lump. All that remained was father's skeleton, which stood still for a brief moment before they began to melt as well, collapsing to the ground to join the angry red mass of melted flesh.

All the while, Junior stood completely motionless, completely helpless, completely useless.

The Pacific Ocean, formerly Birth Island

Junior snapped awake with a start, disturbing a small group of fish and a thin layer of sand that had developed over his resting form. He was breathing heavily, his gills flaring in and out, a swarm of bubbles escaping his jaws and fleeing to the surface in a panic. It took several moments for Junior to finally calm down, with him repeatedly shaking his head in an attempt to banish the disturbing images from his thoughts. However, Junior knew that he would never be truly rid of such horrible images. Of such terrible nightmares. Not after what he had seen. Not after what had happened.

It had been… - well Junior didn't really know how long it had been since that horrific day. He had spent every day since then at the bottom of the ocean, either sleeping or trying to. This hadn't been the first time Junior had been disturbed from dormancy by a terrible nightmare, nor would it be the last. And Junior knew that it would be quite some time before he would be able to sleep again.

For now, Junior figured he would go out hunting. He did that from time to time, whenever he couldn't fall asleep. He found it helped expend some pent-up energy, helping to fall asleep faster, if only slightly. It even helped take his mind off of the nightmares, though only a little bit and for a little while. Junior would almost always find something to eat, even if he never really had to. But, of course, Junior stayed away from the land where the humans ruled.

They probably knew of his existence, but he did not stay away to protect himself. He stayed away to protect them. Father had told tales of how cruel and destructive humans could be, such as when they had attacked him with a destructive weapon. However, Junior knew that humans had the potential for compassion as well. Both his adoptive mother and the psychic human named Miki were human and had both shown him great compassion. Junior had realized long ago that, while some humans were cruel and destructive, others - possibly even more of them - were compassionate and supportive. He disagreed with the notion that every human had to die because of the evil of a few of them. In fact, when the demon had attacked them - before it grew into its final form - Junior had fought to protect them.

But, of course, he was far too big to seek refuge with them. But most of all, his last fight with the demon and the death of his father proved to Junior that he would not be able to protect the humans. He was far too useless. In fact, trying would only create more death and destruction. It would be far better to leave them be. Junior would be alone, crushingly alone, but it was better than risking the lives of the humans, whether it be with his size or his uselessness. At least if Junior stayed in his self-proclaimed exile, he would not be able to fail them in battle as he had failed his adoptive father.

Junior growled as he shook his head violently once more. The more he thought of his father the more pain he felt from his death, from Junior's own loneliness, and his failures. So Junior decided to distract himself from those thoughts. Hunting may not banish them for long, let alone permanently, but it was better than nothing.

So Junior got up from his resting place, which happened to be where he had once lived peacefully with his father a long time ago and swam off into the darkness, trying to forget his pitiful existence and the nightmares of the past.

Outpost 55

After collecting their respective meals in the cafeteria, Azusa and Ken brought the group to an empty conference room where they could eat in private. The food itself had been quite diverse, including dishes from Asia, North America, and Europe. Of course, considering how the only American had left, everyone had constructed dishes of traditional Japanese cuisines. Miki picked at her sushi with care as everyone else picked at their meals in relative silence. Eventually, though, as the food gradually evaporated, a conversation began to build up.

"So, Dr. Otonashi," Azusa said, "how long have you been in Monarch?"

Otonashi set down her chopsticks and said, "Oh, a year or so, though I've been interested in studying kaiju for some time." She paused, taking a sip of water. "I would've come here sooner, but I was pretty busy with my job at the institute in Tokyo."

"The institute that's named after my grandfather, right?" Kenkichi asked. When Otonashi nodded, Ken then asked, "What did you do there?"

Otonashi sighed. "Oh, this and that. An experiment here, a study there. I don't specialize in a specific part of biology. I'll do whatever I find interesting, or what the institute assigns me." Otonashi paused, glancing up at the ceiling in remembrance. "One time, back in '98, I was briefly assigned to study worms in Chernobyl."

"Worms?" Kiyoshi said with surprise, glancing up from his plate.

"I know right?" she said with a chuckle. "I was only interested at first because I was researching if the radiation from Chernobyl had mutated the worms in any way. Actually, the worms were a bit larger than normal, but I quickly left the project. Some guy took over in my place. An American with a strange name."

"I've wondered if Chernobyl's radiation created some sort of kaiju," Ken said.

"I wasn't allowed near the power plants themselves but nothing pointed to there being one," Otonashi said. "I don't think the Russians or Ukrainians would be dumb enough to keep it from Monarch or the UNGCC if there was."

"Maybe there's one the Russians don't know about," Azusa said. "One that's still being created."

"Well, we won't know until we either find it or it comes crawling out of the ground," Otonashi said. "It's probably best to focus on the kaiju we are aware of rather than the ones that might not even exist."

"Good thing there aren't many of them," Koji said. "Anguirus and Desghidorah are the only ones we know the locations of, and both are already heavily guarded."

"I figured you guys had some sort of outpost around him," Otonashi said, referring to the later kaiju

"Outpost 64," Kenkichi said, "though it's specifically for G-Force. Research of Desghidorah is prohibited. We don't want to accidentally break him out again."

Otonashi suddenly gave Kenkichi an almost triumphant look. "So, you're willing to abandon potential discoveries to keep a dangerous threat from attacking?"

Ken released a heavy sigh. "That's different. We know Desghidorah is a threat to humanity. He would have destroyed all life on the planet if Mothra hadn't stopped him. Barubaroi hasn't done anything."

"Yet," Otonashi said. "As I said earlier, you don't know what this creature is capable of. Even if you did, you cannot know if it wants to use those capabilities against us. There are so many factors about this creature we have to keep track of and there are many that we might not even know exist." Otonashi briefly glanced around the table before returning her gaze to Ken. "I mean, how can you possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?"

"I don't," Kenkichi admitted, "that is why I want to study it. So I can learn about it. So I can understand it. So I can have an idea of what to expect."

"Even though we can just kill it and be done with it?" Otonashi asked. "This isn't a kaiju that's proved to be invulnerable to our current arsenal. A kaiju we need to research so that we can discover a way to kill it. But it can easily become one. The best way to prevent that is to kill it right now, while it can be killed."

"And what would we kill it with? A flamethrower?" Ken asked. "We don't even know if that'll work."

"It's worth a shot," Otonashi said. "Better than giving it the chance to grow and become an indestructible kaiju."

Miki sighed and decided to intervene in the conversation. "But that's how we create enemies out of kaiju. We attack them, hoping to kill them before they have the chance to kill us, only to fail and give the kaiju a motive to kill us anyway. In a way, it isn't just the radiation that creates monsters. It isn't just our use of it that makes them. It's how we respond to the existence of monsters that decides if they will attack us or not. It is entirely likely that both Anguirus and Barubaroi would rather live in peace, and would only attack us if we attack them first."

"I understand that," Otonashi said with a nod, "but we wouldn't just be throwing ammunition at these things. The Gotengo has the Absolute Zero Cannon and Barubaroi - at the moment - is not the size of a kaiju."

"Making him easier to control," Kenkichi pointed out.

"Making him easier to kill," Otonashi retorted. "Look, I would like to study these creatures too. I joined Monarch so that I could study these creatures. But the fact of the matter is that these creatures have the potential to kill thousands. To destroy entire cities. We have the opportunity to prevent that. I'm not going to risk those lives just to feed my curiosity."

As Otonashi spoke, Miki considered the argument being presented. Miki understood that kaiju were dangerous and destructive creatures, even when they weren't doing it on purpose. This made Otonashi believe that kaiju were too dangerous to be left alive when a means of killing them was available. However, Miki felt that was unfair to kaiju. It felt wrong to assume a kaiju's intent based simply on its size or power. It felt discriminatory even…

Miki's eyes widened as an idea suddenly entered her mind. She quickly cut into the conversation so that she could get out her thoughts. "If you're willing to kill to protect humanity," she said, "then you might as well kill humanity itself."

Otonashi looked at her and said, "What?"

"The greatest threat to a person's life is from another human being," Miki said. "Humans are just as dangerous as kaiju, perhaps even more so. After all, how many people have been murdered throughout history? How many human lives have been destroyed at the hands of others?"

"I don't think that's a fair comparison," Otonashi said. "There's a pretty big difference between humans and kaiju."

"Is there?" Miki asked. "Obviously, we have very different biologies, but both humans and kaiju have killed a lot of people. Humans have killed even more people than kaiju. World War Two alone killed more people and destroyed more cities than every kaiju attack in history combined. That's not even talking about what people do to other people that kaiju don't, and regularly."

"I'm not naive to humanity's faults," Otonashi said, "I just prioritize the lives of people over the lives of monsters."

"But I think it's wrong to kill a being who hasn't displayed the intention to harm innocent lives simply because it has the capability to do so. I don't care if that being is sentient or primitive. I don't care if that being is the size of a skyscraper or smaller than myself. It is wrong no matter what. If it weren't, then every single human being would be just as guilty."

Otonashi sighed and shook her head. "I understand that, but kaiju aren't just random citizens you pass by on the street. They aren't even like animals at a zoo or in the wild. They're practically walking WMDs. But most of all, unlike most people, kaiju don't care about innocent lives. They may not intend to kill people, but they aren't going to hesitate if they wander into a city. They won't even notice. If there was a way to keep these creatures completely contained or away from human populations, I would consider it. But Anguirus is not contained, he can wake up at any time and dig his way out whenever he wants to, and there isn't a known way to keep him out of our cities. As for Barubaroi," Otonashi glanced at Ken, "I don't even want to think about what might happen if it gets out."

Miki opened her mouth to make a retort, but Azusa beat her to it. "I don't think that's a good enough excuse to kill them. I think all organisms have the right to live." Azusa looked at Kenkichi. "Even Barubaroi."

Kenkichi gave Azusa a smile in reply. Otonashi, though, merely sighed and leaned back in her chair, seemingly giving up hope on convincing them. "Fine. Whatever. Let these creatures live. Study them to your heart's content." Otonashi gave each of them a serious look. "But don't say I didn't warn you when these things break out and begin to rampage. Don't come crying to me when thousands are dead because you decided to let them live."

A moment of silence permeated through the room before being dissolved by Koji's voice. "We won't be deciding anything," he said. "It's up to the higher-ups whether or not these creatures will live.

Otonashi looked over at Koji. "Well, what do you think they'll decide?"

Koji thought about the question for a moment before saying, "They're not scientists. When they look at these things, they won't look for scientific potential." Miki saw Koji glance at her. "They also won't look at any sort of morality in keeping them alive. All they'll see is the danger they possess towards innocent civilians, and that we have weapons that might just prevent their deaths. For them, the answer is clear."

Miki looked down at her plate and realized that Koji was right. Whoever was in charge of G-Force wouldn't view Barubaroi or Anguirus as innocent creatures who would rather leave humanity alone. They wouldn't see that possibility. They would just see them as monsters. Obviously, Miki agreed that they should try to prevent the deaths of innocent people. But even so, Miki wished that it wasn't at the cost of other innocent beings.

At Koji's response, Otonashi sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Well, all we can do now is wait."

Control Room

Captain Douglas Gordon stared out through the large window at the massive creature beyond, his arms crossed and a frown sitting on his face. A frown was what Gordon usually had on his face, at least in professional settings. However, in this case, he thought it was well deserved. Here was a kaiju, lying helplessly dormant before him, and with a weapon that could kill it only a few minutes walk away. Yet, the most Gordon could do was twiddle his damn thumbs or, what he chose to do instead, simply stare at it.

It was infuriating. Gordon had been given command over the Gotengo so that he could use it to destroy kaiju threats. The kaiju was fascinating, sure. It was a marvel to look at, with its massive body, thick armor, and sharp spikes. But it was still a threat - its marvelous size is what made it a threat - and Gordon had a duty to destroy it for that.

So why was it taking so damn long for him to do that duty?

Gordon wished that he had come up with the idea to destroy it here and now, not because he wanted any sort of prestige from the idea, but simply so they could have destroyed it sooner. If he had come up with it, say, when he arrived here, the leaders of the UNGCC would have decided by now. The kaiju would have been killed by now. That only left Yamane's discovery, which was just as dangerous, if not more so thanks to its evolutionary abilities, but also probably much easier to kill due to its small size. Of course, Barubaroi wouldn't be a problem if Yamane had let it die in Tokyo, or at least shared its existence with Monarch when he had discovered it.

The only comforting thing on Gordon's mind was the thought - or perhaps the hope - that the UNGCC would probably decide to have both creatures killed due to their dangerous nature. But, of course, that left Gordon's greater fear not that they would decide otherwise, but that they would decide too late.

Gordon sighed to himself, gently rubbing his bushy mustache in thought. Sometimes he wished he had been born long ago before all of this kaiju stuff happened. It seemed odd to call the world wars "simple," but as chaotic as they were, they seemed to make a hell of a lot more sense than the giant-sized shenanigans going on now. If Gordon could, he would want to live at some point before the world wars, perhaps over a hundred years ago in the 1890s. They may not have been nearly as advanced as the world was today, but at least they didn't have giant monsters to worry about.

Of course, such things were impossible. Even in a world of giant monsters and flying battleships, time machines still seemed like a whole other world away. It was ironic to think that, considering what happened in '92, but that was more of a freak occurrence. A once in a lifetime opportunity. One Gordon didn't have the opportunity to participate in. But even if he had been there, even if he had the opportunity to go back in time and live in another era, Gordon knew he wouldn't take it. He couldn't, not when he had a duty to protect the people in this era. Not when he knew that there were people to protect in this time period and the kind of danger they were in. Gordon knew he couldn't protect people in the past, for it would either create a paradox or be simply impossible. But he could save people in the present. Abandoning this era would also be abandoning them.

And Gordon just couldn't do that.

Footsteps approaching from behind him brought Gordon's attention away from his thoughts and the monster before him. He looked back to find Ozaki, still in uniform, walking up to him.

"Decided to skip out on rest?" Gordon guessed.

Ozaki shrugged. "I couldn't rest," he replied. "Too much on my mind."

Gordon glanced at the kaiju. "I'm guessing it might have something to do with our big, scaly friend," he assumed.

"It's hard for him not to be," Ozaki said.

Gordon sighed, "Well, I hate to break it to you, but he's not our only problem. Not anymore." Gordon proceeded to briefly explain Yamane's discovery and the abilities his creature displayed.

When he finished, Ozaki sighed and said sarcastically, "That'll help me sleep tonight."

"Well, I have good news," Gordon said, though he quickly added, "at least, if things went my way, we should have good news soon," Gordon explained the debate the scientists had over whether they should kill either or both of the creatures.

Ozaki considered this for a moment before saying, "I assume you want them both dead."

"Of course," Gordon said. "If I were in charge, I would have ordered it as soon as the idea came to mind." He sighed. "But, I have to wait for whatever the higher-ups say."

"I wouldn't worry, they'll probably want them dead too," Ozaki said.

"I know," Gordon said, "but how long will it take for that order to reach us?" Gordon looked out at the sleeping giant. "If they take their time, the order might not arrive until after it wakes up."

"If that happens, we won't need the higher-ups to give us an order," Ozaki pointed out.

"Sure," Gordon agreed, "but it would be a hell of a lot easier to kill it if it couldn't fight back."

Suddenly, from behind them, a voice said, "That's why we have you."

Ozaki and Gordon turned around to find Colonel Yuki walking up to them. "The Gotengo was built to combat kaiju," Yuki continued, "and you were chosen specifically to control it."

"I'm glad you have faith in us," Gordon said, "but how many people will die in that battle?"

"I don't know," Yuki admitted, "but none of them would be unsuspecting civilians. Everyone here knows the risks, and they know what to do when that thing does wake up." When the colonel's response was a doubtful look from Gordon, Yuki continued, "Besides, I just contacted Commander Kuroki, and he's already gone to talk with the UNGCC. This isn't the kind of decision that takes days to make, and the order is only one phone call away. We should get a decision by tomorrow at the very latest. That still leaves some time before the kaiju is due to wake up."

Gordon sighed, looking back out at the kaiju. "I hope you're right," he said.

"What about the scientists?" Ozaki asked. "What do they think?"

"They're eating dinner right now," Yuki said. "I don't know if they've decided on anything yet."

"Dr. Otonashi seemed to be the only one who wanted both of them dead," Gordon informed. "Dr. Yamane wants both of them alive. Dr. Gojo seemed to want Barubaroi dead, though she could change her mind on that, and she definitely wants Anguirus alive."

"What about the psychic?" Ozaki asked.

"She couldn't decide," Gordon said with a shrug.

Yuki, however, said, "I know Miki. She might not be sure now, but she doesn't like the idea of innocent creatures dying. Whether either creature is innocent or not, she'll see them as such. Even if she doesn't know now, she'll make up her mind eventually. She's probably already made it up by now."

"It seems most of them want at least one of the creatures alive," Ozaki observed. "What if their decision conflicts with that of the UNGCC's?"

"Nothing," Yuki said. "The UNGCC has the final say. Unless they somehow decide against it, which I doubt, they'll have both creatures be killed, whether the scientists want it or not."

Ozaki looked out towards the sleeping kaiju. "Well, Otonashi will be happy, at least."

"And it is the right decision," Gordon added. "Both of these things are major threats, not just to national security but to human lives."

"Kenkichi and Azusa think that Anguirus can be prevented from attacking a major city. Miki too." Yuki pointed out.

"Well, they're wrong," Gordon said. "Sentient or not, kaiju are dangerous. I don't care if it's unintentional. As soon as that thing lands anywhere civilized, lives will be lost. The only way to prevent that is to kill it now."

"I agree," Yuki said with a sigh, with Ozaki nodding as well. However, he then added, "But we can't do anything about it now."

Gordon sighed. "I know," he said. "I just wish we could."

The conversation quieted down for a moment and seemed to have concluded when Yuki said, "Well, I think the scientists should be done with their dinner by now. I'm going to check on them."

"When is Kuroki going to respond?" Gordon asked.

"Eventually," Yuki said with a shrug. "Hopefully tonight. I'll keep tabs on the phone."

"I'm going to head back to my quarters," Ozaki said. "Have another go at that rest."

"Good luck," Gordon said with a nod. "You and Kazama can have dinner whenever you want"

Ozaki saluted to his captain and colonel one final time before he turned around and walked out of the room. Yuki then turned to Gordon and the two gave each other salutes of their own.

"See you later," Yuki said. He then walked out of the room without another word.

With both of them gone, Gordon had nothing left to do except turn back towards the large window and stare out at the dormant kaiju on the other side.

Koji and the rest of the group had just about finished their dinner (mostly in silence) when Yuki suddenly entered the room. "I take it you're about done with your dinner," he said, glancing around at everyone's plates.

"Just about," Otonashi said, a little grumpily.

Yuki glanced in her direction. "It also seems like you came to a decision," he observed.

"More like… an understanding," Kenkichi said hesitantly. "Azusa, Miki, and I have agreed that both Anguirus and Barubaroi should be left alive so we can study them further and see if we can live peacefully with them." Ken looked over at Otonashi. "Dr. Otonashi still believes that they should both be destroyed."

"And that you're all fools for not thinking the same," Otonashi added pointedly.

Yuki ignored her, looking over at Kiyoshi and Koji himself. "What about you two?" he asked.

"We weren't really a part of the discussion," Koji admitted.

Kiyoshi, however, suddenly said, "I think we should leave them alive." When everyone looked over at him, he continued, "I mean, I understand how dangerous they are, but it would be a waste if we killed them when they would have been peaceful anyway."

"And if they attack us?" Otonashi inquired.

"Then that is when we fight back," Kiyoshi replied.

"But that is how we lose lives," Otonashi said, "not just soldiers doing their duty but innocent civilian lives caught in the middle. If we killed it here before they could kill anyone, then we would be preventing those deaths."

"But as Miki said," Kiyoshi retorted, "attacking these things might be the very thing that causes them to attack us in the first place."

"But that is assuming the Gotengo fails to kill Anguirus before it wakes up and Barubaroi fails to be killed by flamethrowers," Otonashi said. "Both are possible," she admitted, "but I find it unlikely, and much better than just waiting for them to attack us first."

Kiyoshi opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Yuki. "What about you, Koji?" he asked, looking over at him.

Koji considered the situation, formulating his thoughts. Honestly, he felt kind of split on the matter. Both sides made good points. But, in the end, Koji had to make a decision. And that decision was, "I think we should kill them both."

Koji tried to ignore the disappointed looks on Kenkichi's, Azusa's, Kiyoshi's, and on Miki's face in particular. "If we knew for sure that both of these creatures would remain on this island, safely away from civilization, I would say otherwise," Koji explained. "But the fact of the matter is that nothing is stopping Anguirus from breaking out of here and swimming straight for Tokyo, and who knows what will happen if Barubaroi escapes into the wild. I know there's a chance that they could be peaceful, but I would rather be safe than sorry."

"Finally, someone with some sense," Otonashi sighed. She then looked over at Yuki and asked, "What about you? What do you think?"

Yuki sighed, thinking for a moment, before eventually saying, "I agree with you and Koji. Both of these creatures are too dangerous to be left alive."

Otonashi nodded with approval, but everyone else's faces sank further. Suddenly, Miki said, "But Godzilla was dangerous, extremely so, and you were fine leaving him and Junior on Birth Island."

"That was a different situation," Yuki said. "Godzilla stayed on that island to raise his adopted son. Not even his hatred for us took greater priority. Godzilla and Junior had a greater reason to stay than to go. This island, however, only has a little radiation left, and when that has run out there is practically nothing keeping Anguirus here."

"That's not even mentioning Barubaroi," Otonashi added. "I don't want to imagine what sort of impact that thing will have on the global ecosystem if it somehow gets out."

Miki opened her mouth to make a retort but was cut off by Yuki. "Besides," he said, "it's not down to us, no matter if we all agree or not. I've already contacted the commander, who's probably talking to the UNGCC right as we speak. Whether or not Anguirus, Barubaroi, or both will die is down to what they decide."

"Can't we give them suggestions?" Azusa asked.

Yuki gave a slow nod. "I can send a message to the commander if there's something important they should know about, but we don't make the final decision. They do."

"So much for that, then," Otonashi said. "What are we supposed to do now? Twiddle our thumbs while we wait for an answer?"

"If that's what you wish, so be it," Yuki retorted. "Alternatively, you can either learn what you can about Anguirus and Barubaroi or I can show you to your sleeping quarters first."

Everyone sitting at the table briefly glanced around at each other. Eventually, Otonashi looked back at Yuki and said, "I wouldn't mind checking out where we'll be sleeping tonight."

When no one protested, Yuki nodded and said, "Take your dishes to the cafeteria and we'll get going."

When everyone had given their dishes up to the cafeteria workers for cleaning, Miki and the others met Yuki just outside of the cafeteria. He then led them through numerous hallways before they arrived at a pair of elevator doors. Apparently, as Yuki explained, the housing area was on the lowest few levels of the facility and furthest away from where Anguirus was resting. This also happened to be closest to a series of large tunnels that led away from the outpost, which was an emergency exit in case Anguirus unexpectedly woke up and began to attack. There were emergency tunnels such as these on every floor to make an escape as accessible as possible, but it was important to have some near the housing area in case that attack was at night.

There were four levels of sleeping quarters. The topmost level was for the laborers, such as maintenance workers, janitors, and cooks. It was also the largest (as in, the longest and widest) to fit a larger number of people. It was closest to the rest of the facility so the workers could get to their stations quicker. The second level was for the officers, soldiers, and security guards, who also needed easy access to the outpost. The third level was for the scientists who, though important, weren't necessary to uphold the security and functionality of the facility. Then the fourth and smallest level of the housing area. This level was pretty much empty since it was just extra space. However, it made it perfect for guest rooms. Of course, the only two true guests in the group were Otonashi and Miki herself. Everyone else had their own quarters.

Upon seeing how much space was available for them, Otonashi said to Miki, "I guess we'll have to bunk together, huh?"

"I don't think you really want to," Miki replied. "I tend to talk in my sleep."

This was able to get a chuckle out of Otonashi, though Miki wasn't exactly lying. She knew that, back when she had her powers, she talked in her sleep nearly every night. It seemed to have died down a little since then, but Miki was pretty sure it still happened from time to time.

In the end, Miki and Otonashi chose rooms a few doors down from each other. They only spent a few minutes after that for Yuki to explain where the nearest restroom was (a few doors down from Miki, who was the furthest from the elevator) and that he would have their bags delivered to their room. They then returned to the rest of the facility.

Upon leaving the elevator, Yuki said, "That's all I have for you. I'm going to wait for a decision from the higher-ups." He turned to Koji and Kiyoshi. "You two are dismissed. Return to your posts or take the rest of the day off. Doesn't matter." He then regarded the rest of the group. "The same applies to you. Rest in your sleeping quarters or continue researching the kaiju."

Yuki turned to leave but was stopped by Azusa. "Could you tell them our input?" she asked. "Give them our opinion on the situation?"

"Both our opinions," Otonashi emphasized, shooting a glance in Azusa's direction.

"I will," Yuki said, only to add, "but I can't promise that it'll make any difference." The colonel then turned and walked away without another word.

When he rounded the corner and disappeared, Koji said, "Well, we'll see you later, I guess."

"Yeah," Kiyoshi added. "See you later."

Once Miki and the others gave their own goodbyes, Koji and Kiyoshi turned back and entered the elevator behind them, disappearing behind its silver doors shortly after.

A silence hung in the air for a brief moment before Otonashi said, "I guess that's it, then." She turned to Azusa and Kenkichi. "What do you suppose we do now?"

Kenkichi shrugged, but Azusa responded with, "Well, we didn't really get to finish showing off the control room. Might as well do that now."

Ken, Otonashi, and Miki quickly nodded in agreement, and it didn't take long for them to begin making their way towards the control room.

Approximately thirty minutes later…

Yuki was back in his office, laid back in his office chair with his shoes set upon the office desk. In his mouth dangled a cigarette, and held in his hands was a fairly sized novel. It was this novel that Yuki used to pass the time as he waited for a response from Commander Kuroki. With video communication technology readily available to all branches of the UNGCC, Yuki knew it wouldn't take long for all of the council to get together. How long it would take for them to make a decision was another matter.

Though, Yuki doubted that it would take until tomorrow for that decision to arrive. Yuki did deliver the suggestions made by Azusa and Otonashi, which probably both interrupted and extended the discussion, but even so, Yuki felt that the entire council would mostly agree on the issue. To Yuki, it didn't matter when the council would decide, but when they would be able to carry out their commands.

Assuming they ordered the destruction of Anguirus, Yuki considered waiting until the following day until he began the operation. It was getting late, and Yuki would rather execute the operation in broad daylight when everyone in the outpost would be the most active and prepared. Barubaroi, however, should be easy to kill and could be at any time, considering its small size and accessibility.

Of course, assuming it was easy to kill.

Yuki's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the ring of his office phone. He had already received a few calls over the past half an hour, but they hadn't been from Kuroki. One glance at the receiver, and Yuki quickly knew that this one was.

Returning his feet to the floor and setting his book on the desk, Yuki snatched the phone off the receiver with one hand and removed his cigarette from his mouth with the other.

"Commander?" he asked.

"Yes," Kuroki's voice replied. "It's me."

"Did you get my message?" he asked. Yuki was, of course, referring to the suggestions made by the scientists. His call earlier had been picked up by a receptionist, for Kuroki had been in a meeting at the time. The meeting, to be precise. Yuki wanted to make sure that the suggestions were heard by Kuroki and delivered to the UNGCC council.

Sure enough, Kuroki replied with a "Yes, I got those suggestions and I gave them to the council."

"Well," Yuki said with bated breath, "what did they say? What's the verdict?"

Yuki heard an audible sigh echo from the phone, which was shortly followed by Kuroki's response. "The council has decided that Anguirus should be destroyed, and has ordered its termination."

Yuki leaned back in his chair, feeling a flutter of relief in his chest. He knew that people like Azusa, Kenkichi, and especially Miki wouldn't be happy with the decision, but Yuki felt it was the right choice. Anguirus was a kaiju, and unless they were sure that it was a peaceful one or at least one that would stay away from humanity, it had to be killed.

"Good," he said. "I plan to have the Gotengo attack tomorrow, possibly after breakfast." When Kuroki made no objections to that plan, Yuki began to say, "As for Barubaroi -"

However, that was when Kuroki suddenly cut him off. "Barubaroi is to be left alive."

Yuki leaned forward again. "What?"

"They want Barubaroi to be left alive for further study," Kuroki explained. "They want to see if we can turn it into a weapon."

Yuki fell back into his chair once more. "I don't think that's a good idea," he admitted.

"Neither do I," Kuroki said. "But the council has made up their minds, and I can't go against their order."

"What made them decide that?" Yuki asked. "What gave them the idea that Barubaroi could be turned into a weapon?"

"That was actually kind of an afterthought," Kuroki said. "The council was going to have them both killed, but then those suggestions from your scientists came in. Many kept the same opinion, but some felt that the scientist's opinions should be taken into account. Some of them agreed with the scientist's opinions - or at least of those except for Dr. Otonashi. Some even began to bargain for Anguirus's life.

"In the end," Kuroki continued, "the council decided to make a compromise. Kill Anguirus, which they believe is the bigger threat, and leave Barubaroi alive for the scientists to study, which they believe can be better contained because of its smaller size. The idea that Barubaroi could be turned into a weapon was brought up at about that time, and that was what pretty much sealed the deal."

Yuki sighed. "I'm glad that they want Anguirus dead, but I don't think I agree with their decision on Barubaroi," he admitted. "I highly doubt it can be turned into a weapon, and I'm even doubting that it can be easily contained too."

"I agree," Kuroki said. "But, again, I can't disobey an order. And neither can you."

Yuki sighed again. "I know," he said reluctantly. "I'll announce the decision, and I'll have the Gotengo attack tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes."

"Okay," Kuroki said. "Good luck, Colonel Yuki," he added.

"Thank you," Yuki said grimly. "We may just need it."

A/N - And that's it for chapter 5! There's not much I can really say here. Mostly just another chapter about the debate featured in the last one, with some Godzilla sprinkled in the beginning, and tipping it off with a decision that will affect the course of the story. With what that decision was, you can probably guess what that course will be. Hopefully, that means I will be able to get some kaiju action in the next chapter. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and that you have a great day.