My head is swimming…

Where am I?…

And why am I so… Tired?…

I can… Smell the sea…

I hear… The tiny things…

They're making a lot of noise…

So tired…

Kong's eyes, only slightly open and glazed over, slid closed as he drifted completely into unconsciousness.

"… Phew…" Doctor Lind sighed quietly.

Doctor Andrews glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and subtly shook her head as Jia looked between them curiously.

"How long will those sedatives keep him under?"

Doctor Andrews' lips pursed as she rolled her eyes.

"For the third time, Nathan, they'll keep him under for a few hours at a time. The exact amount is a little random." She replied.

Reading their lips, Jia smirked before hopping up onto a chair so she could see Kong outside.

He lay on his side, head against his shoulder, with one hand partially hanging over the edge and being gently caressed by the splash of the waves beneath the ship. He occasionally let out little grumbles and groans as his mind slipped between conscious, semi-conscious, and unconscious. And watching him sleep Jia couldn't help but let slip a subtle frown as she hopped off the chair and went to stand by Doctor Andrews' side again.

"You're sure about this, Doctor Andrews?" Came a deep voice from her left.

"About as sure as I can be, Admiral Wilcox." She replied. "Have you done as we asked?"

"Yes. We're keeping an eye on Godzilla via satellite. He's hanging out in the Northwestern Pacific not far from Japan. And he doesn't seem to be moving just yet." The Admiral replied.

She nodded her head.

"But if he does move? And if he comes for this fleet, what's the plan?" He asked.

"The plan is to present no threat to him." Came a familiar voice from the back of the bridge.

"Doctor?" The Admiral asked as he looked over his shoulder.

"Gojira does not exist to destroy. He is nature's enforcer of balance among the Titans. If he perceives Kong as a threat to that balance then he will likely come to determine Kong's intentions. If Kong defies him or refuses to acknowledge his position at the top of the Titan's food chain, Gojira may force Kong to submit." Serizawa said calmly.

"You mean he's gonna fight Kong, right Doctor?" The Admiral asked.

Serizawa nodded, and the Admiral looked at Doctor Andrews who was looking at Serizawa in complete shock.

"… You never said anything like this in our meetings before, Serizawa." She growled.

Doctor Serizawa gave her a subtle nod and glanced at the table between them.

"Apologies, Ilene."

"APOLOGIES?!" She screamed as she stormed around the table and slapped him across the face.

"You knew all this about Godzilla! His position in their food chain! His behavior! You knew!And you never brought it up until just now!" She yelled.

Serizawa adjusted his jaw and sighed through his nose.

"I have spoken about it at length before to all of my colleagues. You included. I did not bring it up at our meetings about Kong because I presumed you remembered."

"That's no excuse you bastard! You put the responsibility of Kong and Skull Island on my shoulders and then left me to it without any other support! I had to find support myself! I had to comb through MONARCH's databases myself to learn what there was to learn about Kong and the island! I had to discover what secrets were on the Island about Kong and other Titans like the Skullcrawlers myself! I had to figure out how to safely contain Kong in the little bit of the island we could spare when the storms took over! And you expect me to remember one or two talks you had about Godzilla however many years ago just because he's your favorite damn Titan?!" She slammed her fist into the table, instantly regretting it as a wave of pain shot through her arm.

Serizawa made a subtle move towards her, but refrained. Jia, on the other hand, was at her side immediately.

"I'm sorry, Ilene." He said calmly.

"Doctor." She growled as she cradled her hand. "Doctor Andrews." She said through grit teeth and a harsh glare.

Standing up straight and staring into his eyes with pure ire practically seeping from them, she huffed a breath through her nose and stormed out of the room with Jia in toe.

Doctor Serizawa sighed quietly to himself and closed his eyes.

"Serizawa." Came Doctor Lind's voice.

"You really knew all that about Godzilla's place in the Titan world and his behavior and didn't think to tell us before we got Kong on the boat?" He continued.

Serizawa opened his eyes and glanced towards Doctor Lind who, more than anything else, looked incredibly disappointed.

"I'm sorry. I thought that-"

"You explained already. You thought we all remembered what you said about Godzilla. But remember those conversations took place almost ten years ago. If not more. And when I was with MONARCH I was just as busy with my own projects as you were with yours."

Doctor Lind walked up to him and subtly shook his head.

"You should have brought it up, Serizawa. You should have given us everything you knew about Godzilla right up front when we were all around that table. Nobody knows Godzilla like you do. So even if you think it should be common knowledge among MONARCH staff, that doesn't mean it is. Not unless you put in the effort to share it more readily and consistently."

With that, Doctor Lind left the bridge as well leaving Serizawa with the Admiral who raised his eyebrows and looked out the window at Kong.

"So, Doctor. If Godzilla does come to fight Kong, what do we do?"

Serizawa joined up up near the windows and forward stations.

"The Titans are too dangerous to risk interfering should a fight break out. We must let them decide a winner."

The Admiral glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"So we just let 'em fight and that's it?"

Serizawa nodded.

"Let them fight."

The Admiral took a deep breath.

"That's a lot of risk either which way, Doctor. And my men's lives aren't expendable. If the two of them fight and they begin sinking the ships or putting the lives of my men at risk, I'm dumping Kong into the sea and we're getting the Hell out of here. Got it?"

"Did you discuss that with Doctor Andrews?"

"No. Why?"

"Because she has final word on what happens with Kong." Serizawa said as he exited the room.

"… Great." The Admiral grumbled.

In her room, Doctor Andrews and Jia were tending to her hand which was now slightly puffy. Gently applying a pain killing ointment and wrapping it up they were able to relieve the pain, at least for now. She smiled at Jia and gave her a little forehead bump.

Is it okay? Jia signed.

It will be.

Promise?

I promise.

The two shared a hug and left the room and nearly smashed Doctor Lind's nose in with the door by accident.

"Nathan! Sorry about that."

"No, no. It's okay. I didn't get hit. Just startled."

"Okay. Good."

"How are you two feeling?"

A moment of silence.

"He should have told me." She said quietly, but harshly.

"I agree. We all worked hard in MONARCH. Lots to think about. Lots to do." He said.

She nodded.

"Well. We're already here now so it's best to soldier on and just do everything we can to make sure Kong stays in one piece until we get there. If Godzilla moves for us, we at least will have advanced warning and some time to figure out what to do about Kong."

Again, she nodded.

"Well, you two should probably just get some rest. It's getting late anyway."

"Yeah. I think we will. Thanks Nathan."

"Sure thing."

Taking his advice the pair went back into their room and had dinner before watching some Disney movies together, Moana being Jia's favorite, and going to bed.

The following day Kong was wide awake and sitting on up watching the sea.

Doctor Lind was standing just by the stairwell leading up to the bridge with Doctor Andrews and Jia standing next to him.

"Scared?" She asked.

"What? Oh, no. Just watching." He replied.

Jia looked up at Doctor Andrews and signed "Coward," which Andrews couldn't help but chuckle at.

"What'd she say?"

"Oh, it means you're very brave."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She replied while looking at Jia who was still smiling.

Doctor Lind chuckled and looked at Jia and mimicked the sign back to her which made the girl shake her head slowly, still smiling ear to ear.

Suddenly, a helicopter arrived and began blowing a lot of wind over the deck making Doctor Andrews shield Jia from the winds while Nathan backed up a step and gripped the stairwell's railing. Out of the helicopter stepped a young woman of Latin descent who approached the pair with a confident smile as she walked towards them with her back to Kong.

"Who's the idiot who came up with this idea?" She asked while gesturing over her shoulder.

Doctor Lind chuckled nervously.

"Maia Simmons. My father sent me. I run point for Apex."

"Nathan Lind. Mission Chief. Uh."

He walked forward, keeping his eyes on Kong, and leaned forward to reach out and shake her hand. She raised an eyebrow, but shook his hand anyway.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'm just here to babysit." She said while walking around him towards the stairwell.

"The Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicles are on their way to Antarctica as we speak. I know you people at MONARCH think you're cutting edge. But these prototypes we're loaning you will make what you've been flying look like used Miata's."

"But I love Miatas. Also I'm not with MONARCH anymore."

"Fascinating. But forget about the price tag which is obscene, of course. The anti-gravity engines alone produce enough power to light up Vegas for an entire week." She said before stopping at the top of the stairs and turning to give him a sideways look. "Feel free to be impressed."

Doctor Lind said nothing, but glanced to the side with semi tightened lips.

"Wow." He said sarcastically.

That evening, a storm raged above the seas drenching Kong and anyone aboard who was unfortunate enough to be on deck at the time.

Meanwhile, inside the bridge.

"We'll be at Antarctica in about 48 hours. This path," he said while pointing to the tablet as he marked which entrance they were taking, "will get us into the Hollow Earth. And once we're there Kong should lead us to the power source. We just need to follow his lead while he follows his instincts."

Everyone glanced around to each other.

"Now the gravitational inversion will be quite intense. Our best guess is that on entry it'll feel like bungee jumping with the cord tied around your lower intestine."

A few eyebrows went up.

"But, if your helicopters are as good as you-"

"HEAVs," Maia interrupted.

"If your HEAVs are as good as you say they are, then I believe we can do this."

"Oh they'll do the job. You just gotta do yours." She replied.

"Excellent." Doctor Lind said with a hint of irritation.

"And what about anything else we find down there?" Mark asked.

"Kong should protect us down there." Doctor Lind said.

"How do we know that?" Doctor Chen asked.

"We don't." Mark replied.

"Kong has a relationship with humanity. So I think we'll be okay." Said Doctor Lind.

"That's just an assumption, Nathan. Just because Kong had a relationship with the Iwi people doesn't mean he has one with the rest of humanity." Doctor Andrews countered.

"Maybe. But still he knows we're trying to help him go home. Right?" He asked.

"I don't know. We've no knowledge of how far Kong understands what's happening." She replied.

"And in the meantime we've the problem of Godzilla." The Admiral said as he stepped forward.

"We've been avoiding his known territorial waters. But our satellites picked up movement."

He looked at Doctor Andrews.

"He's coming."

Her expression said it all as her wide eyes blinked slowly and she looked out the window at Kong.

"Our plans have not changed. If Gojira arrives, we present ourselves as passive. Let him approach. And let nature take its course." Serizawa said.

Doctor Andrews was in no mood to argue. But her tight lips and hands clenching in fists on the back of a chair were enough for Doctor Lind to take notice and clear his throat.

"Anyway. Um. We need to figure out what to do when we get to Antarctica. Do we have a way to encourage Kong to go into the tunnel?" He asked Doctor Andrews.

"Nope." She replied.

Mark glanced to the side.

"Actually, we might." He said, causing everyone to look at him.

"If we go in first, we might be able to prove to Kong that it's safe. Mammals that don't naturally make nests or dens in the ground are wary of tunnels and caves by nature. So if we just show him it's okay then he should follow and then take lead of his own accord once we reach a more open area down there."

Doctor Lind nodded excitedly.

"Nice!" He exclaimed.

"All lovely thoughts, mister Russell. But we still need to answer the more important question: What do we do if Godzilla and Kong start fighting?" The Admiral said sternly.

"I won't risk the lives of my men for Kong. Doctor Andrews, you and I discussed this a few hours ago. But for everyone else, I want you to know that if those two go at it we are going to turn around and head to the mainland and let them figure this out." He continued.

"Bad idea." Mark said.

"Why's that mister Russell?"

"Because Kong is a Titan, and MONARCH cannot and will not abandon a Titan in need of help." Doctor Chen added.

"Ilene." Serizawa said firmly.

She tightened her lips and huffed a breath.

"Mark. You were saying?" Serizawa continued.

"Yeah. Turning around and leaving is a bad idea for two big reasons. One, Godzilla may perceive movement as an act of aggression and turn on us. Two, if Kong wins this scuffle and drives Godzilla away he's going to know we abandoned him. And if he swims as fast as I think he does he's not going to be likely to let us off the hook for it." Mark continued.

The Admiral took a deep breath and sighed through his nose.

"So you're saying we have to sit still while they fight?" He asked.

"If they fight, yes. We need to keep still and not give either one of them reason to think we're creating a problem." Mark affirmed.

"Hey… Is she supposed to be out there?" Maia suddenly interjected.

Doctor Andrews looked outside and saw Maia approaching Kong and her heart about leapt out of her mouth.

These CHAINS!

Kong raised his arm up high pulling the chain taught.

These puny things…

They take my home. They take my freedom. They put me in the never ending water. They leave me in the rain…

Why?!

Kong roared furiously and pulled on the chains until they were creaking and groaning dangerously against the anchor points nearby.

Jia, meanwhile, was in her rain coat and approaching Kong.

I wish to return!

He roared again, raising and stamping a foot down into the deck of the ship causing it to rock and Jia to lose her balance momentarily. The movement caught his eye, and he locked his gaze on Jia.

The kind tiny one.

Kong leaned in to get a closer look and Jia raised a hand with a finger pointed at him.

You come to comfort me.

Kong's face softened and his roaring turned to quiet, mournful groans as he reached out with his own finger towards the girl.

You understand my pain.

Jia kept her eyes locked on Kong. And even in the rain she could feel his heartbeat through the deck beneath her feet.

I wish to go home.

His finger reached Jia who opened her hand and brushed his fingertip. Kong retracted his hand and sat back with another saddened groan.

Doctor Andrews approached and turned Jia around, signing furiously.

What are you doing out here?! She demanded.

Kong is sad.

That's because he doesn't understand. We're trying to help him.

Jia glanced back at Kong who observed the conversation.

He doesn't believe that.

How do you know?

He told me.

Doctor Andrews' eyes widened. Movement caught her eye. And as she looked up at Kong she saw his hand come up to his face as he signed the word Home. He signed it again, and Doctor Andrews' jaw dropped as she held Jia's hand and stood up.

I want to go home. Kong signed.

Everyone on the bridge was just as slack-jawed as Doctor Andrews.

Please… Take me home. Kong signed.

Doctor Andrews' eyes started welling up as she looked down at Jia in pure shock.

See? Jia signed.

Doctor Andrews knelt back down.

Why didn't you tell me?

He didn't want you to know.

Why?

Kong was scared.

Why?

Because of what happened on the island. You put him in a cage. And then you put him on a boat. He does not trust you.

Doctor Andrews' heart about shattered like glass in her chest as she glanced up at Kong who was staring right at her with a mournful gaze. Standing up straight she walked a bit closer to Kong.

Do not be afraid. We want to help you.

Kong's hands came up.

Prison is not help.

Her legs became weak as she gasped back tears.

I'm sorry. She signed. We didn't mean to cage you. But we wanted to protect you from the storms that took your home.

Kong frowned.

I do not fear the storms. The rain cannot hurt me. The wind cannot hurt me. But you can hurt me.

Kong's lips curled back slightly revealing his teeth.

You did hurt me.

Doctor Andrews collapsed to her knees and hung her head. Jia came up beside her and put a hand on her back as she wept and looked up at Kong. Walking closer and nearly up to Kong's feet, Jia looked up at him.

We are searching for a new home.

Kong's frown softened.

The island is home.

Jia hesitated for a second, but looked back up with a smile.

You are my home. She signed.

Kong's mouth opened slightly and his eyes softened. His lips closed a moment later and he looked to the side and then back to Jia.

Thank you, little one. He signed.

You are welcome.

By this point Doctor Andrews had caught the conversation and half hugged Jia who helped her to her feet as they both went inside.

Kong, meanwhile, looked out towards the horizon with a grim expression.

"What's he looking at?" Doctor Lind asked.

Serizawa took a breath.

"Gojira."

Doctor Lind looked at Serizawa and then to the Admiral who was nodding slowly at him.

"He's going to be here tomorrow." The Admiral said in a low voice.

Doctor Lind gulped and looked at the satellite photo which showed Godzilla's position in the Northwestern Pacific.