Chapter 3: Keys To Coexistence

143 miles south of Miami, Florida

31st, October 2019

12:22 AM

MARTY's POV

Images begin to emerge in Marty's mind, memories that are not his own. An ancient tribe of people on an Island in the pacific. The arrival of a strange self-propagating giant creature and its attack on their tiny budding village. The arrival of a second, new creature from the sea. The epic battle that takes place, and the second one emerges victorious after burning the first to ashes, disallowing its ability to regenerate.

Forward in time, more images begin to embed themselves in Marty's struggling brain. The now slightly less primitive tribe has begun worshipping this creature, whom they've dubbed Dagon. The peaceful times afford them prosperity, and quicker advancement of their society. The massive temples they've constructed, shrines to their God. The impressive and large scaled stone cities that surround them, leading up to the equally as large and impressive altar built next to the Island's volcano.

Flashing further forward in time further reveals the city and island has grown unstable. It had begun to collapse. Seismic activity having weakened the supports of the Island, the volcano being the sole reason that it still floats. Tragically, the volcano erupted, alleviating the pressure inside, but causing the hollow tunnels beneath to collapse from the weight as the Earth began to shift. The city and island had sunken deep into the sea, now only accessible by entering a Hollow Earth tunnel.

The few surviving tribes had been forced to migrate to other locations. 5 different groups travelled by sea for many moons. One arrived on and colonized a small country surrounded by many smaller Islands. This country would eventually become modern day Japan. Another would end up on an Island in the Pacific surrounded by a massive storm system. The two others arrived on separate continents, one in Asia, the other in modern day North America. The final tribe arrived on a large Island in the tropical climate in the Pacific, modern day Hawaii. Marty struggles to understand how he knows this, as thinking isn't beneficial to him right now.

The pain in his head redoubles as intense feelings and more vivid imagery is printed in his brain. He can only scream in pain as the influx of info overwhelms him. These groups would undergo their own hardships and evolutions over the many generations that flash through Marty's mind. Though one constant always remained, each one still worshipped a deity, who would come to their aid in times of great need.

Dagon would be renamed Raijin by the group that colonized Japan, the others would receive Godzilla and his infinite inquisitiveness. One different Godzilla would reside on Skull Island before the Iwi would be established there. It seems larger than the other two. The decades flash by in Marty's mind in the blink of an eye, his mind struggling to catch up to what he had just seen. He shakes his head vigorously to try and clear his thoughts, shakily getting back to his feet, his body trembling as it rights itself and his brain's fog lifts.

'What? There were two of Him? No. No, there were more than that. Those people…' It clicks. "They're my ancestors? No…They're much more than that, they're everyone's ancestors." Oddly numb to the realization, Marty can only stare blankly at Godzilla as His glowing blue eyes study the small human in front of him. Marty groans, clutching his head again, trying to clear the fuzzy feeling in his brain from the drink and the memories that had been forcefully printed onto his, as well as something else that he can't quite figure out. "Never having that shit again!" Marty swears.

NORMAL POV

Godzilla having grown bored of staring leans in close and sniffs the man, snorting before slowly turning away to submerge back into the ocean, tail smashing into the water and sending a splash up into the breezy moonlit night air. Submerging all the way back into the depths, and swimming with such a grace and beauty that would make Steve Irwin want to hop in and swim along-side Him.

Marty watches on in silence, noting that Godzilla hasn't left the area. Judging by the faint blue flashes he can make out under the surface. Curious, he watches to see what He's up to. It's at this moment that people have begun to leave their rooms and investigate the weird glow and sounds they heard. Filing out of their cabins to look around the waters below, hushed whispers and excited chattering abound follow at what happens next.

Godzilla returns to the task at hand. To clean up the humans' mess. He begins diverting his atomic power to his back, as well as circulating it around his body to the opened cracks in his skin. Attempting to push out the radiation into the surrounding ocean, to restore balance to the currently uninhabitable sea.

Miraculously, right before Marty's eyes, everywhere Godzilla passes begins to emit a small glow as he spots a trail of blue light in the ocean. At first, he thought they were massive schools of Noctiluca miliaris. But as the glow diminished, he could see fish and other creatures following in behind the trail. 'This shouldn't be possible!'

Marty, remembering why he came on the cruise to begin with, rushes back inside his cabin to find his camera. Tearing through his cabin, he locates it in its case in seconds. Retrieving the camera, he quickly makes his way back out to the deck to videotape the never-before recorded phenomenon. The camera being a top-of-the-line 8K High Dynamic Range model beautifully captures every vivid detail, while he simultaneously takes a few snapshots of the receding form of Godzilla. From the bright blues mixed with the swimming fish, to the wake in Godzilla's path, he captures every detail possible. He's never been happier to have taken that photography class in 2012. 'Money well spent', he grins.

The experimental weapon the military used had basically made the surrounding oceans uninhabitable! But he can clearly see the life returning to the waters. "Dear God!" someone exclaims, as others marvel at the events unfolding before their very eyes. Oohs and Ah's.

Marty records the situation while voicing his wonder and capturing the reactions of the people on the cruise ship as the ocean in front of him is slowly recovering. "So, this is what Monarch meant. 'Godzilla is not only proof that coexisting with the Titans can happen, but he is also the key to it. He has a capacity for forgiveness that we as a species could learn from.' According to Monarch, we had tried to kill him many times, and almost succeeded twice. But he still comes to pull us out of the fire. And here He is, fixing our mistakes…"

Gradually the onlookers and the crowd begin to disperse as they can no longer catch a glimpse of anything interesting. Marty stops his recording, and heads back to his room. Just as he turns the handle, that same rolling warble from earlier vibrates through the moonlit night, and Marty grins, before entering his room to get to sleep. "Wow, that was something else. He's, beautiful…"

Briefly he tosses the idea of notifying his friend Aaron of what had just transpired, before deciding he can just wait until the morning to read the news like everyone else. "I'm gonna' have one hell of an article to type in the morning…" He yawns, setting his camera down next to his laptop before settling under his covers.

Skull Island

3rd, November 2019

Back at the Monarch Base, the team begins unpacking their belongings in their personal quarters after their multiple month break, feeling much better now that they've gotten a great vacation with their loved ones.

Eager to get back into things, they meet the Director and Dr. Brooks in the control room to receive their new plans. The two had stayed on the Island because they're there as monarch scientists to study the Island. While the Team had been vacationing, Aaron had suggested they request from Congress funding to begin an expedition into one of the many Hollow Earth tunnels on Skull Island.

After a lot of convincing, Congress had approved, since Project Gjallarhorn was a separate project hosted on Skull Island to ensure no outsiders interfere in any capacity, including Titans. As everyone meets up in the control room, they receive their next objectives.

Dr. Yuhara speaks first. "Alright guys, how was your vacation? Good?" Voices of affirmation. "Good. Now, let's get down to business. We need to test the machine further to ensure no other issues pop up when we least expect them to, safety is our top priority. I want you to test out movement capabilities, test out the hand-to-hand combat, the movement speed, and…" He looks down at his list with wide eyes. "Wait, this thing can swim and fly?" He laughs. "A little overboard, don't you think?" chuckling and shaking his head.

"Anyway, yes, I want a full swimming capability test before we get the funding from Congress for the expedition. Who knows what we'll find down there, right?" he jokes. Groans and eye rolls. "What? Nothing is gonna' happen down there! It's not like there's an ocean under the Earth."

A broadly grinning Aaron walks up. "Alright people, after you complete these tests, we're going to need to fill in a checklist of the testing for Doctor Del La Rosa, he personally requested a full list so he can fill in his superiors on the progress we've made so far. The few months you had off were a gift, for the outstanding amount of progress we've made in such a short amount of time. Be proud, you've built a prototype machine like this in a fraction of the time it would take any other people!"

Yuhara dismisses the Team, and they go back to their stations to prepare for the next round of testing. Aaron makes his way to find Jill, assuming she's in Del La Rosa's office. Upon arrival he finds her talking excitedly to the Doctor about the possibilities that this new advancement will lead to.

"Do you know what this means?! In the next decades mankind will have achieved complete control over the Titans, we won't ever need to worry about any unexpected attacks ever again, we can prevent them from even entering our cities if every country has one of these Machines!"

Del La Rosa states plainly "What makes you sure that's such a good thing, is it in our best interests to control nature, or should we use it for other things? Let's say we provide one of these machines for every country with a Titan nearby. Where would those Titans go once driven away, back to their original locations? Or would they head off to invade another's territory? And what about Titanus Godzilla, what would it do if it found these machines that sound like rival Alphas scattered around the planet? We can't just assume the best in these scenarios. There are too many variables."

Jill opens her mouth to retort.

"Yes, Jill, we can see that, but surely you don't think that this would be that easy, do you? With mankind's propensity for warfare, wouldn't some try to misuse these machines for their own gain and doom us all? There is much to gain in this project, yes. But also, much to lose should it fall into the wrong hands." Interjects Aaron.

Jill jumps, surprised. "Oh, Aaron, when did you walk in? I didn't even hear the door slide open!"

Aaron laughs. "Oh, just a minute ago. I wanted to tell you two that it won't be long until we receive our funding, and that the next tests are scheduled to be performed here in a short bit."

Jill smiles. "Well, that's great news! I can't wait to see what you guys find down there!" She pauses, thinking. "Oh yeah! Did you hear the news?" Aaron quirks a brow.

"What news?"

"Aren't you friends with that reporter guy, Steven Martin, I believe his name is?"

"Marty! Yeah, what about him, how is he doing?"

"Well, get this. Apparently, he had a run-in with Godzilla on his vacation. Godzilla visited the waters near ground zero for the Oxygen Destroyer, where the Cruise ship Carnival Breeze was passing through on their way to Cuba from Miami!"

"What was Godzilla doing there?" Del La Rosa queries before Aaron can open his mouth to ask.

"That's the thing, he was just passing by, but that's not why it made the news. Apparently, the ecosystem in the area's activity has jumped from 0 to a full 25% and is still recovering. According to the video and photos taken by your friend at the scene, Godzilla's passive radiation had destroyed the oxygen destroyer particles in the area. This enabled the creatures that left the area to reintegrate back into their original habitats. Isn't that something else?"

Aaron and Del La Rosa are left speechless at this new revelation. Aaron is the first to speak up.

"It would seem, that Doctor Serizawa had been right about him all along. He seems to be restoring balance every time it gets upset. Be it by Human hands, or by those not of this world, like Monster Zero. Godzilla will show up to put things back to the way they are meant to be."

"It definitely seems that way, doesn't it, Doctor Brooks? Though it makes one wonder, why does Godzilla tolerate man's interference and upsetting the balance of the world so often?"

Doctor Yuhara enters the room, startling Aaron who hadn't heard him come up from behind him.

"If I had to guess, it's probably because he'd be bored otherwise. All he's got to do is swim around aimlessly otherwise. I'd think he doesn't destroy us because our blunders seem to give him something else to do. I mean, you guys heard what Serizawa said. We're basically his pets, right? Do we kill our pets every time they mess on the carpet or tear something up?"

Del La Rosa scowls. "Fair point, but did you have to use that analogy?"

Yuhara laughs. "No, but I wanted to. I didn't come here to annoy you. I'll cut to the chase. The team has asked me to tell you guys to join them in the Command Center, they're about to launch Mechagodzilla. Oh! I forgot to add. Yeah, the team voted what to name the machine. They thought anything that gave it too much individuality might give the creature too much of an ego, being an AI and all, so they gave it something simple."

Aaron smiles, geeking out while speaking. "Mechagodzilla? Tom, have to admit, it does have a really nice ring to it."

Yuhara sputters a laugh and pats him on the shoulder.

Jill rolls her eyes. "What is it with men and giant robots, I don't get the appeal."

The two Man-Children laugh heartily before being interrupted by a scowling Del La Rosa. "If we're quite finished, I'd like to get up to the Command Center and oversee the final Testing."

Clearing their throats, Aaron and Tom straighten up. "Oh. Yes, of course!"

As Del La Rosa leaves the room with Jill following close behind him, Aaron and Tom glance at each other. "Killjoy much?" Tom states, rather than questions. Aaron nods. "Why does he never seem to laugh and joke around with the rest of us? That dude's got a serious stick up his ass."

"From what I've heard around the rumor mill, Alejandro lost his family in the Isla De Mara attack. He hasn't been the same since. Though, in my opinion, I think he's gotten a little bit too dark. He specifically doesn't like to talk about Titans."

Tom's eyebrows quirk in suspicion. "Yet he still works at Monarch. Odd place to work if you don't like Titans. Don't you think?"

Aaron frowns. "It's not what you think. He swore he'd keep going to honor his family's memory, in the hopes that one day he'll find a way that Titans can coexist with humans without any death."

"Using Project Gjallarhorn, I'm guessing?"

"Yes. If it works out, that is."

"Speaking of, we should go catch up. It should be starting soon."

The four Monarch Scientists make way to the Control Room to oversee the final round of tests before they receive their funding from Congress to explore the Hollow Earth.

Arriving just in time for the launching of Mechagodzilla, they all sit down at their respective stations.

"Standby. Launching 'Mechagodzilla.'"

On cue, Del La Rosa presses the launch button, and Mechagodzilla begins to ascend on its platform, the ceiling opening. Upon reaching the top, the roof ceiling shutters close in on the platform, locking it in place for stability.

Once topside, Del La Rosa activates the machine after a brief countdown. The machine whirs to life as the internal tokamak reactor starts up, the red tinted translucent eyes flashing to a deep crimson. Slowly the head rises from its ceaseless staring into the Earth to face forward.

"Alright, no issues re-activating. Let's see how fast this bad boy can move on land."

Typing a command into the main console, Del La Rosa looks back up to the monitor.

Mechagodzilla slowly starts lifting its feet, moving one at a time until it finds its rhythm and pacing. Gradually it begins to pick up speed, and it hunches over, arms cradled in a sideways v as the machine enters a sprinting stance. Tail pointing straight outwards behind it, legs moving like pistons, and hunched over in a posture slightly closer to the ground than when Godzilla charged at Monster Zero, the machine could almost pass off as the real creature if not for the lifeless feel it gives off.

The heavy footfalls reverberate through the Earth as the 175,000 metric ton doppelganger charges in no-particular direction, trampling trees, small animals, and smashing boulders unfortunate enough to be caught in the path of its gait.

Del La Rosa pleased, types in the command to stop the Machine from charging.

With rather remarkable grace for such a large and bulky prototype, the machine slows its charge to a halt in less than half a minute.

"Good, excellent. Now let's take this to the beach, now, shall we?"

Typing in a command to send the machine to a specific set of coordinates, he adjusts his monitor to display the beach zone on the Island.

Mechagodzilla turns and marches its way to the designated coordinates, when it is suddenly set upon by a Titan that happened to be residing in the area. The Machine having disturbed its slumber, aggravated the camouflaged sleeping giant.

Much resembling a gigantic scorpion covered in a wood tree bark-like exoskeleton with moss patches all over, this creature, the Titan 'Serket', may appear to be a predator, but truth be told is mainly omnivorous. When it consumes meat, it is usually scavenged. It feeds on the lush vegetation surrounding the island with its scissor-like mandibles, which it uses to shear and grasp the foliage before feeding it into the hole in its mouth area.

It will however scavenge whatever corpses it can find, and anything unlucky enough to be caught in its vice gripped pincers. The tail is a self-defense weapon with a potent venom capable of temporarily paralyzing the Titan dumb enough to attack the beast.

Serket chitters angrily, before lashing out at Mechagodzilla with its tail, in warning.

"Titanus Serket. Well now, this was a surprise." Aaron states.

"What should we do?" Asks Jill.

Before Yuhara or Aaron can open their mouths to speak, Del La Rosa steps in.

"If I may, wouldn't this be a good opportunity to test out the Orca's effect on the Titans?"

"Hmm, fair enough. What about Kong, though? Wont he hear it if we activate the Alpha frequency right now?" worries Yuhara.

Del La Rosa goes back to his monitor, punching in the various surveillances systems to spot Kong. Scrolling through each camera system, he stops on one. Finding Kong in the Valley of the Fallen Gods wielding his makeshift axe, slaughtering Skull Crawlers as the creatures try to escape his wrath, or even stupidly attack the Great Guardian and trespassing on the sacred ground.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about Kong, he's hunting right now."

"Alright then, just this once while he's distracted."

Grinning, Del La Rosa returns to his console, using the touch screen, he scrolls for the correct frequency. Locking onto Godzilla's, he selects it.

Before the agitated creature can lash out again, Mechagodzilla lifts its head and opens its mouth, before a slow, deep pulsing sound resounds, before turning into a rather convincing but noticeably electronic Godzilla roar. Stopping in its tracks, the creature bows slightly before crawling away on its six legs.

Alejandro chuckles darkly, but to the others who haven't heard Del La Rosa laugh, think nothing of it.

"Good, good. Works like a charm. My superiors will be pleased with this."

"Glad to see it worked, when we were building it, I wasn't sure it would work since it doesn't sound entirely like Godzilla. But it did and that is what matters." says Jill.

"Alrighty, lets continue and get this test finished." Yuhara states.

Mechagodzilla proceeds to the beach, stopping knee-deep in the ocean. It trudges its way through the surf and upon getting waist deep, plunges into the ocean, before descending to the bottom of the seafloor.

"Alright, let's let the AI take control of the movement from here." He types the command into the console.

"We might need to update this control system at some point, make it a little bit easier to input commands?" asks Jill.

"I agree, that does sound like it'd make things easier. And a lot less tedious." states Aaron.

"We'll get to that eventually, but for now, if it isn't broke…"

"Yeah, don't fix it, like we haven't heard that a thousand times already." scoffs Yuhara.

The machine pushes off the sea floor, before undulating its body much like a crocodile, each segmented part of the mechanical endoskeleton designed to allow this movement to appear as natural as possible and remain efficient. It swims around with ease, passing by many schools of fish and beautiful reefs, a very colorful rainbow of undersea life dotted all around the island.

"Okay, that's a giant check for functional in every box on the list. I think it would be safe to say this Project is a complete success." says Del La Rosa with a wide grin plastered on his face.

"Alright, now that that is out of the way." He continues. "Let's get prepared to send the results back to congress, and they'll get back to us with the funding for the expedition!" exclaims Yuhara.

Aaron chuckles softly, before grinning "It's gonna' be a really long one if you keep up this level of excitement, Tom."

To Be Continued…