KellHound270's Work

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Chapter IX

M.U.T.O. Egg Site, Siberia, Russia

Ken and Madison were in the now empty conference room. Ken was sitting alone after the conference ended, and Madison came in to comfort him.

"I'm sorry about your mom," she said, hugging his arm.

Ken only nodded as he put his hand on Madison's shoulder. She almost unconsciously rested her head on his hand. He didn't react, so she just let it lay there.

She noticed one of the leftover cups of water was trembling. She raised her head, which caught Ken's attention. Thinking the worst, they ran outside.

They looked outside to see Angilas, or as Ken called him, 'Anguirus,' taking Battra and Mothra to the crater where the eggs were. Everyone ran away from the eggs as Mothra and Battra crawled down the side of the crater. Behind them, several of the giant mantises, known to Monarch as 'Kamacuras,' walked down as well.

The larvae and their new mantis friends feasted on the eggs. The moth larvae seemed to enjoy their food very much, making sounds of contentment as they ate.

"Well, what do you know," Ken said, seeing the feast happening before them.

"Guys, those eggs are making noise again," Stanton called out.

"It must be because of the larvae," Graham said.

"How are they able to make noise?" Barnes asked.

"Many animals can make sounds while they're in the egg," Mark answered. "Most chicks, before hatching, will make little peeping noises to talk to their mothers."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Wait, did you say 'before hatching?'" Graham asked.

"Yeah, why?" Mark replied.

"They must be close to hatching. If Mothra, Battra, and the Kamacuras can't eat them all, we better have those pylons on hand."

"We'll go out and finish them," Martinez stated, before leading his group outside.

"'Kamacuras?'" Mark asked.

"The name they have on Skull Island," Chen explained. "They're the males of the species 'Titanus Abbadon.'"

"Well, if the males are like this, then I wonder what the females are like."

"These males are just nymphs. Their fathers are out somewhere, while their mother is sleeping in Wyoming."

"Not anymore," Stanton interjected. "Outpost 77 just reported that Devil's Tower blew it's top. Abbadon is on her way."

"If she's coming," Chen said, "then we're in deep shit."

"Where's M.U.T.O. Prime?" Mark asked. Stanton tapped on his keyboard to search for her.

"She's... gone," Stanton said. "Oh, Lord Almighty. It's the Hollow Earth."

"Rick..." Chen sighed.

"Well, what else could it be?! M.U.T.O. Prime is gone! We can't find her!"

"I'm confused," Mark said.

"It's a network of tunnels beneath the Earth's crust. Most are miles below, while some entrances are right under the oceans."

"Theoretically," Chen pointed out.

Stanton only sighed as he searched further.

"The last sighting of M.U.T.O. Prime was in Seattle," he said. "She disappeared into the ocean just a few minutes ago."

"When the eggs started acting up," Mark noted.

Chen picked up her radio.

"Guys, get moving," she said. "We're going to have company within the next three days."

"Twenty bucks says she'll be here by nightfall," Stanton challenged.

Chen sighed again as she looked at him.

"Fine."

Stanton laughed confidently as he got back to work.

Madison, Ken, and Andrew walked out to the larvae. Andrew saw them walk outside, and joined them.

The Kamacuras were more absorbed in the eggs than the kids, so they weren't too worried about them. The real worry was Anguirus, and how he'd respond to three kids approaching his charge.

Madison walked up to Mothra slowly. The larvae, having finished her egg, saw Madison and turned to face her. She let her human friend touch her face.

Battra raised himself up to look over his sister. He saw the kids and crawled around Mothra and Madison. He lowered his head to interact with Ken and Andrew.

"Hey there, bud," Ken said, his arm raised. "Remember me?"

Battra purred slightly as he drew close. He pressed his head against Ken's outstretched hand, eliciting an excited laugh from the boy. Ken turned to Andrew, who had stepped back a ways.

"It's OK," he assured, reaching out to Andrew. "He won't hurt you."

Andrew walked slowly and let Ken grab his hand. Ken placed Andrew's hand on Battra's head iin place of his own. Battra purred lightly to see another human child so close. He looked up and made eye contact with Anguirus.

The Earth Dragon lumbered down the crater to the little meeting. Battra raised up and moved a bit to put himself between his guardian and his friends. Anguirus growled lightly to assure him that he wouldn't hurt the humans.

Anguirus lowered his head to the kids' level. He pressed his snout against Andrew and sniffed him. Andrew laughed and placed his hand on Anguirus' nose. Anguirus seemed to actually smile at this.

The Kamacuras took note of this and watched as Anguirus, Mothra, and Battra interacted with the humans. The mantises took note to never harm these humans.