On the main monitor at base camp, live footage of the Male Muto delivering the nuke to the Female at the heart of San Francisco played over an eerie silence. Save for the faint whisper of the wind in one's ear, at any moment anyone would hear the drop of a feather onto a blade of grass. Until…

"Captain." Admiral Stenz asked, not turning away from the monitor.

"Sir?"

"Tell me that nuke hadn't been armed yet."

"… It was, sir. The team didn't have time to disarm it after the order was given before the Male took it."

Admiral Stenz's head slowly pointed down.

"May God have mercy on us all." He whispered.

The Female began digging into the ground which clouded the screen's visuals and sank everyone's hopes along with the feed which shortly thereafter cut out.

Ford and Joe watched from nearby in a pair of chairs. And while Joe's head sank with the release of a heavy sigh, Ford's eyes hardened and he grit his teeth while looking out towards the city.

"Dad." He said quietly.

"Yeah son?" Joe asked without lifting his head.

…

"If I don't make it back, take care of Elle and Sam."

Joe's breath hitched, and his head shot upright.

"What?" He asked.

Ford stood up and smiled.

"I'm EOD. It's my job. And besides, there's no way I can leave my home and my family at the mercy of those things."

Joe's mind exploded with visions of him standing from the wheel chair and screaming "NO" at his son. But not only did the wheel chair stop him. Ford's smile did.

Ford hadn't smiled at him in a long time. And certainly not like this. In fact, he couldn't recall a single instance where Ford's smile was more genuine or filled with emotion and determination ever in his life. And as much as he struggled to open his mouth, his body practically moved on its own as he tearfully nodded his head.

Ford approached and knelt down to give his dad a hug, and then regarded him with a curious look.

"You think maybe Godzilla feels the same?"

Joe smiled.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

At that moment, Godzilla's roar could faintly be heard in the background echoing across the bay.

Ford then approached the Admiral and stood at attention.

"Admiral. If you can give me a team and get me to that nuke, I can disarm it and get it out of the city."

Admiral Stenz turned around slowly.

"I'm sorry son. Could you repeat that?"

"If you can give me a team and get me to the nuke, I can disarm it and get it out of the city."

"Lieutenant Brody's EOD, sir." Captain Hampton added.

"I see. Got any ideas how to get in Lieutenant?"

"How long until the nuke goes off?" Ford asked.

Admiral Stenz looked at Captain Hampton.

"Approximately two hours, Lieutenant. So there's not much time. You think you can get a team in a vehicle and reach the Female MUTO's location in time?"

Ford mused on it for a second.

"I think a HALO Drop would work best, sir. We'd be able to see the Female's location a lot easier and guide ourselves into a safe landing zone away from Godzilla and the Male."

The Captain hissed nervously.

"That's gonna be really tight, Lieutenant. To get a plane, team, and equipment ready for this kind of thing in that time…"

"Captain, make it happen."

"Yessir!"

Captain Hampton saluted and ran off as Admiral Stenz approached Ford.

"Lieutenant… For an idea like this I'm sure you know the risks. Correct?"

Ford nodded with a quiet but confident, "Yes, sir."

Admiral Stenz extended a hand.

"God speed, son. We'll do what we can to keep the MUTO's off you once you're in position."

Ford reached out and shook the Admiral's hand.

"Thank you, sir."

Within the hour ford was in the air with a team in a C-130 at altitude and cruising speed. The ride was relatively quiet and smooth, all things considered. And while the others exchanged nervous glances, read from their personal Bible, or tried to make small talk to settle their nerves, Ford closed his eyes and envisioned Elle, Sam, and Joe all gathered on the front lawn around a barbecue while smiling and laughing.

The alarms began beeping, and the team was immediately on their feet and lined up to help with final gear prep and check before the back of the ship opened for them. The red light flashed a few times, then flashed green. All of them, in formation, jogged out of the plane and leaped into the open skies.

And for a brief moment, all sound in Ford's ears disappeared. Time stood still. And the view of San Francisco as he'd never seen it before enveloped his FOV.

It was beautiful. But at the same time, it was foreign. From up here he barely recognized anything except a few of the taller skyscrapers like the 555 Building or the Transamerica Pyramid. His brain tried working out which streets were which. But from up here they were so small he couldn't make them out or see properly where they began and where the ended.

But what he could see were the Titans.

Godzilla had finally managed to catch up to the Male MUTO and was engaged in battle with it not far from their original intended drop zone. That meant the team had to alter their course to the backup drop point. It was a tad further away from the docks than they'd have liked, but it was the best route given the position of the Female and the two combatants.

As the altitude meter read 1,000 feet, Ford and the others began deploying parachutes. Any lower than about 800 feet and they risked not slowing down enough to avoid serious injury upon landing.

As Ford led himself lower, he noticed Godzilla and the Male MUTO getting perilously close to his landing spot. He did his best to turn and evade them, but the Male shot back and away from Godzilla right across his path with Godzilla in hot pursuit. As Godzilla stomped forward, jaws agape in a roar, Ford noticed he was heading right for Godzilla's mouth while feeling the heat of his breath. His grip on the handles tightened and he took a deep breath and held it…

Godzilla's jaws snapped shut. And unless Ford's eyes were deceiving him Godzilla looked directly at him on his descent. Once Ford was clear, Godzilla looked up and at the MUTO again and gave chase.

With the Titans behind him and the open street ahead, Ford touched down and rapidly discarded his jump gear, prepped his weapon, and got his bearings by checking street names. He didn't really recognize a lot from the air. But he knew it from down here.

Jogging down the road and hanging a right, he heard the calls of the team and darted ahead until he caught up to them.

"All right Lieutenant. The Female's just ahead a few blocks. So now we-"

The Female MUTO's roar shook the ground beneath their feet and sent dust and small shards of debris raining down around them as they ducked for cover under a shop overhang.

"We gotta get her attention somehow. Get her away from the nuke."

Ford nodded.

"All right, let's move!"

Gathering their equipment, the team set out for the Female and her newly made and egg-laden nest.

Meanwhile, Godzilla shook off the sting of a Male MUTO claw to his left cheek and growled as it disappeared into the skyscraper forest surrounding him. Tall as he was, these colossal square and pointy things dwarfed him utterly. And it was annoying.

Every time the Male MUTO disappeared, Godzilla either growled, snarled, stomped his foot, snapped his tail out behind him, or a combination of any of the above.

The blasted little thing was using hit and run tactics against him and using the environment well to its advantage. He couldn't turn easily while surrounded by all these things. His spines and tail frequently bumped into them or got him stuck as he tried to keep pace. And when he was stuck or fumbling to shake off the debris that got stuck to him, the MUTO struck.

Godzilla's lips curled back in a long snarl and a deep guttural growl emanating from deep within his throat as his eyes flickered with blue light. From his tail tip, a matching blue light flared to life and began traveling up each spine along his tail in turn. But a moment later, a pulse came from behind one of the buildings causing Godzilla's eyes to snap to the pulse's origin as he then slammed his tail into a building ahead of the pulse which caused the building to collapse partially onto the Male MUTO's right wing and brought it crashing to the ground.

However, the pulse still affected Godzilla and once again shut down his breath and put him in a coughing fit. Still, the Male struggled to get free from the debris and it bought Godzilla just enough time to clear his lungs and gills of the blue smoke and stomp his way over towards his prey.

As Godzilla approached, the Male pulled hard away from the debris and, although he freed himself, he ripped open a tiny section of the tip of his wing membrane as well causing a small stream of red blood to pour into the street as he took to the air.

Godzilla lunged to try and grab its leg, but due to him over-committing to the lunge he ended up falling face first into the building just beyond it instead bringing the entire thing down on his back. The MUTO clung onto another skyscraper just off to the side and smashed in its sides until it too collapsed onto Godzilla pinning him beneath the thousands of tons of rubble. But unlike the airport, this time Godzilla had kept his hands close and under himself and was able to use his tail to push against the ground and help stand up letting everything fall off of him as he gave his body a shake and looked up at the Male who flew away once more into the skyscraper forest.

Godzilla followed it with a roar and gave chase once again.