At a globally broadcast corporate event sponsored by the United States, a new mega corporate entity was about to make its opening debut. The buzz generated online across the globe had broken numerous viral records on Tik Tok, Twitter, Facebook, and more for several months on end. And finally, the hour had arrived.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Please welcome the latest innovative genius of our generation, Mister Walter Simmons!"

The crowd at the event erupted in cheers as Walter Simmons took the stage and waved with a smile to the crowd, along with several small bows of his head to the left, right, and center of the audience. And after basking in the moment he took his place behind the podium and cleared his throat.

"Thank you very much for that beautifully warm reception, ladies and gentlemen. Truly, I'm unworthy of the title of "genius" as bestowed upon me by tonight's far too generous host."

The audience chuckled.

"However, I am nonetheless proud to share with you the unveiling of my new company, Apex Cybernetics!"

The room went dark, and a video trailer played on the wall above and behind him on stage. The video showcased numerous cybernetic advancements to aid the disabled with hearing, vision, movement, and more. It showcased new features for smart cars beyond anything Tesla or other innovative producers had yet even dreamed of. And it unveiled a new prototype for AI controlled mini-bots the size of a box of matches designed to help clean homes of cobwebs, dust, and anything identified as "foreign" compared to the surface it's placed on. When the trailer ended, the room once again erupted in cheers as the spotlight hit Simmons who smiled and nodded while panning his gaze across the seats.

"Thank you. Thank you. Truly, it is a blessing to receive such an enthusiastic reception to my company and our mission of improving all aspects of human life."

As the room quieted, he left the podium and began to walk the stage with his microphone.

"I believe that we, as a species, have spent far too long asking "how can we solve problems?" And not enough time asking "what's stopping us from solving these problems?" At Apex Cybernetics, our world class research and development think tank are constantly using that second question, "what's stopping us from solving these problems," as fuel to push a progressive and forward thinking attitude throughout the company as we look into the most simple and effective methods to understand the problems our societies face, and the most simple and effective solutions to those problems. Because what appear to be complex problems need not have complex solutions."

He took a breath and glanced around to see the awestruck faces of a crowd thinking, "Of course! Why didn't anyone think of this before?!"

"Take, for example, the loss of human hearing. Within the human ear is a complex system of chambers and fluids which work hand in hand with the shape of our skull to process the sounds of our world in a way that our brains can effectively interpret it. Whenever something goes wrong with the development or structural integrity of that system, it's long been believed nothing can return what was lost. But we, at Apex Cybernetics, must disagree. And we've found a simple fix for this problem. Observe!"

He pointed to the wall as a new power animated power point began playing and displaying images reinforcing his speech.

"Here, you can see the internal scans of a human ear belonging to one of our brave American military veterans which was damaged and the eardrum ruptured due to a concussive force generated by an IED. Miraculously, this soldier survived, and is with us in the audience tonight!" He said, pointing to the soldier who waved and received a standing ovation from the crowd.

"Within his ear canal you can see the damage caused by that concussive disturbance, as well as the ruptured eardrum highlighted on the screen now. Thanks to our technology we've found a way to synthesize a material with nearly identical density, elasticity, and acoustic treatment as the human eardrum. And following a very delicate surgery to repair the ear canal, this Apex created eardrum has replaced his original eardrum and has restored his hearing as if the IED never went off."

Again, the crowd gave a standing ovation as the soldier bowed and waved in thanks.

"Now, of course we don't expect you to simply take my word for it. So, in the interest of transparency, we're going to pass a microphone to anyone who wishes to ask him a question so he may freely answer on his own. My dear audience, you have the floor."

Simmons took his spot by the podium, and a microphone was given to the first audience member to raise their hand.

"So, Mister Veteran, what is your name?"

"Sergeant Gregory Connors, ma'am."

"How has your hearing changed from the time of the injury to now?"

"My hearing is as good as I ever remember it being, ma'am. I can block the ear that doesn't have the replacement eardrum like this," he used his free hand to cover his good ear, "and I can still hear you. Go ahead. Put the mic down and shout your next question from there."

The woman put the microphone in her lap and shouted halfway across the seats.

"How long have you had the replacement from Apex?"

He brought his own microphone up.

"I've had the replacement for almost six months, ma'am. And it's only gotten better as my body adjusted to it after the surgery."

The microphone was taken back and Connors was again given a standing ovation as he answered more questions from the audience before the spotlight was again placed on Simmons.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you've seen what our technology did for Mister Connors. And these are the problems we, at Apex, seek to solve. Especially those for our brothers and sisters across the world who need answers and solutions the most. People with disabilities. People suffering from starvation and thirst. People who can't find a way out of financial ruin thanks to broken economic systems. Where there's a problem, there is always a solution. And we at Apex are dedicated to finding those solutions through our technology, innovation, and our human spirit. Thank you all so much for attending tonight."

Simmons gave a bow and received the largest standing ovation of the night before making his exit stage right. Behind the curtain, he removed his tie and smiled as a young woman approached and embraced him in a hug.

"That was wonderful, father."

"Thank you Maia."

"I wish mom were here to see it."

"As do I, my dear. But she's watching with a smile. I promise."

"Yeah. Definitely."

"Is the car ready?"

"Yes. He's standing by outside to take you to the airport."

"Thank you, dear. I'll be on my way then. I'll leave the press to you, as planned."

"Of course. Safe travels, father."

Simmons walked out the back to the street where a limo was waiting to pick him up. And as he climbed into the vehicle and was driven away he brought out a tablet and opened a rather futuristic looking application labeled "APEX," and began browsing the information database of the company before landing on a file labeled "TEP." Opening it, he smiled upon seeing a single folder labeled "MG."

"Perfect." He whispered.

"Sir?" The driver asked.

"Nothing. Just talking to myself. Please, step on it. My flight leaves quite soon and I'm a man who's always early."

"Of course, sir."

The car picked up speed and Simmons opened the folder. Nothing was inside yet, save a single placeholder word document with a single line of text on it: Humanity Comes First.

… Meanwhile.

Elsewhere that night, Serizawa sat on the false oil platform serving as the entrance to MONARCH's Castle Bravo facility with his legs dangling over the edge as he watched the stars twinkling above him with a single faint smeared cloud just barely obscuring about 1/6th of the total skyline. A few moments later Ling emerged from the elevator and sat down next to him, legs folded up against her body with her arms wrapped around them.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"Mm."

"You don't usually come up here."

"Just thinking."

"About the egg?"

"And Ilene."

"You said earlier your sister is keeping well. But I could tell there was something else you wanted to say about it."

Ling chuckled. "It's never been easy hiding anything from you."

"I raised you, Ling. If I couldn't see through your attempts at hiding your pain, what sort of adoptive father would I be to you both?"

Ling smiled and scooted closer to lean against him.

"I just miss her."

"Ah. It's been almost four years now that you two have been apart for the sake of your respective research focuses, hasn't it?"

"Mm."

"Well, she's due to return in two weeks. So you don't have long to wait."

"I know. But I'm anxious."

"For Ilene, it's probably mutual."

"I doubt it. Ilene was always better at separation than I was."

"Perhaps. But hardly anyone can feel nothing after being reunited with a loved one after years apart."

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. You've spent many years apart from almost everyone you've met before. Especially Ren."

Serizawa's heart skipped a beat and felt like someone stabbed a needle into it.

"Y-yes… I know."

"Are you ever going to reach out to him?"

"I want to. But he's made it difficult. The last phone number and email I had for him aren't in service anymore. And I'm not finding him anywhere else online."

"I see."

"Anyway, let's talk about you some more. What else have you discovered recently?"

"Well, not a lot that's really new, so to speak. But I did find out one thing about Godzilla just earlier today. I've been waiting to share my report with you on the matter."

Ling brought out a folder she'd been keeping in her jacket and handed it off to him. Upon opening it, he saw a printed screenshot of what appeared to be Godzilla's recent movement pattern through the Pacific.

"Can we confirm the accuracy of this?"

"Yes. I triple checked it before printing the image."

"Hmmm."

"What is it, Serizawa?"

"His pattern is bringing him closer and closer to the Chinese mainland."

"Well, she is going to hatch soon."

"True."

"Maybe he's getting closer in the event he needs to protect her?"

"Hm. It's possible. You did mention they have a bond. But I'm sure there's more to it than just that."

"Well, we haven't discovered any other Titans in the region of China. And according to the image he's specifically getting closer to the Chinese mainland via the East China Sea and avoiding both the Philippines and Japan. So it's got to be related to her."

"Not necessarily. Just because we haven't found any Titans other than Titanus Mosura doesn't mean there aren't any. I think we should re-double our search efforts in the region."

"That'll require some talks with the Chinese government. You think Ilene can manage that?"

"No. Ilene needs to stay at the Outpost and monitor the egg. I'll send Vivian to handle the political negotiations."

"Okay. What about Godzilla?"

"For now, we'll let him be. We confirmed he's passive and is simply patrolling his territory as expected. With no major threats like the MUTO's, I've no doubt he'll continue to keep to himself."

"I hope you're right. If he were to ever change focus or expand his perceived territory to any major landmass it'd spell trouble for everyone."

"Mm. Have faith, Ling."

"I know."

Serizawa gave her a side hug before she departed for the elevator leading down into the facility, and he couldn't help but look up and wonder what Godzilla must be thinking right now.