The next morning, Junior and Anguirus ventured into the forest. Around them were trees of all shapes and sizes, the most common of which being massive, quite a bit taller than Junior, with long branches that curved upward at the top and pointed outward below. Mist rose off their branches, making it hard to see more than a hundred feet ahead.

"This is spooky." Junior said. "So, how long before the natives know we're here?"

"Oh, no doubt they already do." Anguirus replied, only adding to Junior's nervousness.

"Okay. So how long before Kong knows we're here?"

"Not long. We probably won't see him until we approach the cave entrance, though."

"Great, so we're gonna have someone follow us. This just gets better and better."

"Calm down. It's not as bad as it seems."

"I hope you're right."

The kept walking for a while, neither of them saying a word. Every time they heard a strange sound, Junior looked over his shoulder to see if there was something behind them. He never saw a thing. After a couple hours, Junior couldn't help asking about something that had been on his mind for a while:

"So this Kong, what do I have to look forward to?"

"Oh, not much, really. He looks kinda like a human, only covered in fur and about your height. He's got a pair of huge fangs and really muscular limbs. His kind are also really strong. Not quite as strong as Titanosaurus, but pretty close. What you really have to watch out for, though, is his cunning. His kind can actually make their own weapons."

"I can do that."

"This isn't like stabbing an Ebirah with its own claw, Junior. This is much more... creative. It's hard to describe. If you end up having to fight him, you'll see."

"Okay. Anything else I should know?"

"Yeah. Be glad the storm isn't so bad here."

"Wait, why?"

"Because if Kong is struck by lightning, he can absorb the energy and double his strength."

"Oh. That's... interesting."

"It may sound weird, but it can be pretty useful."

"I'm gonna have to take your word for it. It really is weird. I'm having a really hard time imagining that."

"Weird or not, Kong is nothing to scoff at. He's one of the greatest fighters ever. He hardly ever loses a battle, and if he does, he deals more than enough damage to his opponents to make them regret fighting him. Those skulls on the beach? A lot of them were his handiwork."

Another few hours passed and, finally, the mist began to lift. Before them, a large valley, mostly void of trees. At its center, a deep-blue lake. A winding river ran water into it from the ocean. On the other side, at the base of a large mountain, the entrance to the caverns could be seen.

"We're here," Anguirus said. He moved to go around, not paying attention to Junior, who made straight for the lake. The latter stopped, however, when he heard the unfamiliar call of another kaiju. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," it said, causing Junior to step and look around in surprise. "The creatures that live in that lake are quite lethal."

Junior followed the sound, looking up toward the top of the mountain. There, shrouded by a cloud of mist, a dark figure stood.

It jumped down, landing almost directly in front of the cave entrance. Junior knew straightaway who it was: Kong. He looked almost exactly like Anguirus described him, except covered in battle scars, which only made him look more intimidating. Looking at Anguirus, he said:

"It is good to see you again, old friend. You are welcome to enter the caves if that is your wish. Your companion, however, cannot."

"Let me handle this," Anguirus said to Junior before looking back at Kong. "I understand that you don't trust him, Kong, but believe me, he is no threat. He is just a young kaiju trying to find his place in the world. That is why I brought him here."

"You're right. I don't trust him. He looks as if he is part of Gojira's tribe, yet he is clearly not."

"That is true, but how did you know?"

"Because Gojira was the last of his kind, and I know for a fact that he has been dead for quite some time. I know this to be true, for it was a Mothra that told me. Gojira was a good friend of mine, that is why I don't trust you, young one. The fact that you bear his likeness is greatly disturbing. And I know that there are many others down below who would agree. You must remain up here until I know for sure that you are trustworthy. You can either comply or you can fight for your right to enter. Which do you choose?"

Junior looked back and forth between Kong and Anguirus, unsure of his decision. Kong's eyes were locked on him. The stern expression on his face made it clear that he didn't care what Junior decided. Anguirus looked at him and back at Junior, clearly worried by the situation.

"We've come too far to turn back now. I will fight."

"I was hoping you'd say that. But before you face me, you must face what's in the lake."

Junior knew that this was a test. And he intended to pass it. Cautiously, he entered the dark waters and made his way toward Kong.

"Let's see what goes after him first," Kong said to Anguirus, looking on in anticipation. His attitude only enraged Junior, who roared viciously. Immediately, one of the lake's residents responded. Long tentacles sprung out of the water, wrapping around Junior's limbs and torso.

"Oh, a mire squid. Hmph. It must be their breeding season," Kong said. "You see, Anguirus, once a year, a big female comes upriver, chases off whatever else is in the lake, and lays her eggs here. She then sticks around for a while to protect them before dying and washing ashore. I kinda regret telling your friend to go in there, now. If he kills her, the babies will probably die. Then it'll be decades before another squid comes here. They're pretty tasty. Clearly, she hasn't been here long, though. She's still got a pretty good bit of strength in her."

While he spoke, Junior struggled to free himself. Sharp cutting edges on the suction cups dug into his flesh, the pain only making his efforts more difficult. He struggled to remain above water, but eventually, the squid dragged him under completely, the sound of Anguirus's worried cries fading as she did so.

She let go of him, only to latch onto him again seconds later, tighter this time. Her massive beak dug deep into his side, making Junior cry out in pain. He collapsed on the bottom, the squid attempting to eat him alive. He continued to try and free himself, but to no avail. The squid was too strong. He then changed tactics, rolling over on top of the squid.

The pressure of his weight on the squid was too great for her to handle, and she loosened her grip. Junior freed himself and got onto his feet. The squid, however, wasn't done just yet. Quickly, she swam off. Junior lost sight of her and remained alert.

In preparation of another attack, he charged his atomic breath. He waited, the only movement he saw being the mud he stirred up returning to the bottom. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something. He turned just in time to see the squid, arms and tentacles outstretched as they wrapped themselves around his head, the snapping beak scraping his nose.

On the shoreline, Kong and Anguirus were still waiting. A blotch of red blood becoming increasingly less visible on the surface. Then, a bright blue light could be seen. It lingered for several seconds, then faded. Anguirus's anticipation grew and he stepped toward the lake.

A few minutes later, Junior surfaced, his body covered in bloody scrapes, particularly his face. There was a nasty wound in his left side where the squid had chewed on him. He dragged its charred body out of the water with one hand and dropped it at Kong's feet.

"A shame," Kong said. "I can't even eat it now."

"Do I look like I care?!" Junior growled.

"No. You look like you're about to slump over and die at my fee- What is happening?!"

Kong was shocked to see Junior's wounds repairing before his eyes. Within minutes, he was completely healed. Kong couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"You certainly are full of surprises, young one. You have earned my respect, but you haven't earned my trust. Leave now, and this will go no further."

"It's too late for that. You've already pissed me off."

Taking him by surprise, Junior struck Kong as hard as he could in the face, knocking him down flat on his back. He then moved to stomp Kong's chest in, but the latter rolled out of the way at the last second. Once he was back on his feet, Kong charged, tackling Junior before repeatedly punching him in the face.

Junior charged up and sent Kong flying with a nuclear pulse. Kong splashed down in the middle of the lake, struggling to get up and get out of the water. By the time he managed to do so, Junior was already back on his feet.

"You know, when Anguirus first told me about you, I was actually afraid of you. But that fear's gone now. Now, I just feel sorry for you. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"All you're doing is keeping me from trusting you!"

Junior roared and charged at Kong, claws outstretched. The latter jumped out of the way and made for the trees. Junior pursued, charging his atomic breath. Kong climbed one of the trees and stood on one of the topmost branches, looking down at Junior.

"Let's see what it is you're 'capable of,' young one. How do you intend to attack me from down there?"

"The same way I killed your squid!"

Junior fired his atomic breath at Kong, who began to jump from tree to tree to avoid the attack. Surprisingly, he managed to keep ahead of the beam, until he made for a particularly tall tree, that is. Junior's atomic breath hit the tree almost directly below where Kong's foot was about to land, causing Kong to fall to the ground.

However, he managed to grab onto a branch before he could hit. Once on the ground, Kong ran deeper into the forest, forcing Junior to follow, quickly losing sight of him in the mist. He came to a stop in the middle of a clearing between the trees.

"You're fast, I'll give you that!"

No reply.

"You can't run forever! I'll find you!"

"Not likely! You see, I've lived on this island for hundreds of years. I know every inch of it. Every mountain, every tree, every hiding spot. My eyes have grown used to this gloom. I can see you, but can you see me?"

Junior fired his atomic breath in the direction Kong's voice came from, but missed.

"Oh, well that's a pity."

Junior fired again, bringing a tree down instead of Kong. He looked around, desperately trying to catch sight of his opponent, and saw nothing. He heard a loud snap and fired in its direction. Again, all he hit was a tree.

He stood there, ready to attack at a moment's notice, only to be blindsided by a hard hit to the back of the head. He turned his head back to where the attack came from, catching sight of Kong, a large branch in his hand, disappearing into the mist.

Once more, he fired, this time, spinning around as fast as he could. All around him, trees fell, parting the mist around him. He still missed, however, for Kong appeared from behind a fallen tree, laughing.

"You almost had me that time. I guess I should stop running, shouldn't I? It isn't very sporting to hide from one's opponent. Plus, you look like you have a lot of rage in you. And I wanna see you let it out."

"Good. Because I have a really strong desire to tear you apart."

"Ooh, scary. You don't have a lot of intimidation experience, do you?"

Junior charged, only to get smacked in the face by the branch Kong was still holding. Again and again, Kong clubbed Junior with the branch, only stopping when it had been broken down to the point where it was no longer useful. He tossed the remains aside and punched Junior in the face so hard, a few teeth went flying out of his mouth.

Dazed, Junior was on his hands and knees on the ground, trying to get his bearings. He had never faced an opponent like this before. Kong was more experienced and more skilled than any foe he or his father had ever encountered. Once more, fear began to overtake his mind. His determination to win this fight, however, surpassed his fear of losing it.

"Get up," Kong said. "I won't fight you while you're on your knees. Face me like a warrior!"

"If you insist."

Junior whipped his tail around, tripping Kong and giving himself time to get up. Kong prepared to launch himself at Junior, only to be stopped by a clawed hand scraping his face. Junior moved to bite at Kong's neck, but the latter grabbed him by the jaws and pushed him off.

Junior roared viciously, Kong roaring back in response. Kong charged, and Junior fired his atomic breath, forcing the former to jump out of the way. It just barely missed. A second blast, however, hit him square in the left shoulder, knocking him to the ground. Kong cried out, having never felt pain like this before.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Junior asked. Picking Kong up by his other arm, he continued. "I bet this'll hurt a lot more."

Junior charged up again, ready to blast Kong in the face, but stopped when he heard Anguirus's voice as he ran up to them.

"Junior, stop! He's beaten. You won. There's no need to kill him like this. Let him go."

"No," Kong said. "I am not beaten. I won't be. I won't allow you to pass through that cave entrance like this. You'll have to kill me."

Junior looked back and forth between them, atomic breath ready to fire. Then, he froze, looking Kong in the eye, as the realization of what he was doing hit him. In his rage, he'd lost all sense of honor or mercy. If he allowed himself to continue like this, he'd become a monster, not unlike Destoroyah. And he knew it.

"Have it your way," he said, letting Kong go, charging down, and beginning to walk away. "I'm done fighting."

"What are you doing?" Anguirus asked as he began to follow.

"Leaving."

"Yeah, I can see that. Where? What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I just... need some time to myself." Anguirus stopped upon hearing this. Junior continued: "Just go home, Anguirus. Go back to the island. I'll make my way there. Eventually."

"Junior, what's wrong?"

Junior stopped walking a few paces ahead of Anguirus. "I just saw a side of myself I never knew I had. It was all rage, no remorse. It took pleasure in inflicting pain and wanted more than anything just to kill. I don't feel safe now. At least, not around others. Least of all around you."

"Junior, I-"

"I know you can protect yourself, but I'm afraid that that may not be enough. Look at me. I just beat Kong, just about the greatest kaiju fighter ever, and a giant kaiju-eating squid! Yesterday, I beat Titanosaurus, and I wasn't even at full strength. Do you really think you could last any longer than they did against me if I go crazy on you?"

"I think I know you well enough to say that that wouldn't be an issue."

"You don't know that!"

Behind them, Kong was still on the ground, groaning in pain and clutching at his shoulder.

"Just... let me go. You should go back and help Kong. I'll... I'll be fine."

"Okay, then," Anguirus sighed. "Take care of yourself, my friend. It's a dangerous world out there."

"I will."

And with that, they both turned around, and went their separate ways. Junior made for the ocean, and Anguirus helped Kong to his feet and took him to his people.

"Why did you push him like that?" Anguirus asked.

"It was a test. You can tell a lot about someone when you make them angry. How he would react would tell me whether or not I could really trust him enough to let him pass."

"And did you approve?"

"Yes. His reluctance to kill me and his reaction to his own behavior told me what I needed to know. If he returns, I won't get in his way."

"Yeah. If he returns."

"He said you would see him again. You can tell him when you do."

"Yeah, I know. I will. If that's what he needs to hear, anyway. He's in a bad place right now. There's no telling if he'll ever be the same again. He may not want to come back."

"We'll just have to wait and see, then. Why'd you bring him here anyway?"

"He's been living with me for the last few months. He's only four years old, and before we met, the only other kaiju he knew either tried to kill him or was his father."

"Four?! Great Gigamoth, he grew fast! He shouldn't be much more than an infant."

"I know. I reacted the exact same way when he told me. He didn't know how to explain it. He said that the day before we met, he was only half as big as he is now."

"Tell me about him. I wanna get to know the young kaiju who bested me. Besides, we have some catching up to do anyway."

"We certainly do."

Hours later, Junior returned to the beach. He looked out over the ocean, wondering if this was the right path to follow. He knew Anguirus was right when he said that he should go out and see the world. He also knew that he found nothing more relaxing than swimming through the ocean. It would be the perfect time to sort things out and figure out how to deal with this new problem .

He regretted it, though, because he was leaving his best friend behind. He knew that he would see Anguirus again, however, which was a comfort. It didn't make this any less difficult, though. Ultimately, he came to realize that this was the right thing to do. His resolve strengthened, he waded out into the water and began to swim away.

Humanity has made a grave mistake weaponizing Gojira's bones. This is something Mothra's newborn children know well. Fortunately, with the weapon having yet to be completed, there is still time to remedy this. When the time is right, they will leave the safety of Infant Island and confront this issue.

For now, they wait and grow. A month after they hatched, the Cosmos returned to Infant Island, informing them of the impending danger from the stars. It would still be well over a year before this threat arrived, however, and there was plenty of time to prepare.

After warning the larvae, the Cosmos sought out their human allies and informed them of the threat as well. They also asked to stop construction of Kiryu and return Gojira's bones to their resting place. Of course, the military had a thing or two to say about that. They decided that they should continue with Kiryu's construction and and use it to fight off whatever it is that's coming. Despite the Cosmos's best efforts, there was nothing that could change this decision.

For the larvae's part, they had to come up with a plan. Eventually, it was decided that when they reach maturity, the first thing they need to do is find Godzilla. When they do, they will see if he will fight with them or not. If not, then they may have to kill him. Afterwards, they will go to some of their ancestors' oldest allies and inform them of the situation. The fate of the world is at stake, and if it is to survive, they need all hands on deck.