The next morning, Junior was roused from his slumber when the first rays of sunshine shone onto his face. When he opened his eyes and looked around, he spotted Mora sitting on a rocky mountaintop nearby. Fearing something was amiss, he got up and went to investigate. As he approached, he realized that there was no reason to worry. The younger kaiju was just watching the sun rise. He tried to remain as quiet as possible, but it was no use. She could sense his presence.

"You should be resting," she said.

"Shouldn't you?"

"I like to get up early." She paused, entranced by the bright colors projected onto the clouds. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Very."

"It's funny. I can remember all the way back to Gigamoth's day. With the exception of my mother, I can relive everything my ancestors have ever done, see everything they've ever seen, and nothing, nothing, compares to the sight of the sunrise over the ocean."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Huh."

There was a long pause. Then: "So, when you're fully recovered, what do you plan to do then? Before the fight with Ghidorah, I mean."

"Well, Anguirus and I talked about going to Skull Island and taking the underground passage."

"You wish to go to the Hollow, then?"

"Yeah. I've never been there before and Anguirus has been telling me about it for months. We tried going not too long ago, but it didn't turn out well."

"So I've heard."

"Anguirus told you?"

"And Kong."

"Oh."

"You hate him, don't you?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"I suppose I would at first, but I wouldn't hold a grudge against him."

"Why?"

"Because I know his side of the story and I accept it. Surely, Anguirus told you?"

"Yeah."

"Then accept it. Kong holds no grudge against you for the injuries you gave him and has granted you access to the Hollow. The least you could do is let go."

"I'll try."

"Good. That is all I ask. You can never do anything if you don't try, right?"

"Right."

"I suppose it's time for Leo and I to go on patrol. The water around this island is especially deep. In case you get tired of sitting around, I suggest you go down and explore. Plus, I believe there may be an Ebirah colony down there somewhere. You'd probably speed up your recovery if you ate something. Provided they're actually there, that is."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

"As I told you yesterday, there is no need to thank me or my brother. It is what we do."

With that, Mora flew off to wake up Leo and begin their patrol. Junior stood there for a while longer and watched the sun rise into the sky before returning to his resting spot, a flat depression in the ground halfway surrounded by a large grassy hill, with smaller hills rising from the ground on the opposite side. Anguirus, who was laying in the hill's shadow, was just waking up as he approached.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked.

"No. Just got the sun in my eyes."

"Oh. So, what were you doing?"

"Just watching the sunrise and talking to Mora."

"Oh, okay."

"She said that there might be an Ebirah colony offshore if we get hungry."

"Hey, great! We're gonna have to check that out later. I was afraid the Destoroyahs wiped them out here on the surface. Which reminds me, I should probably go back to our canyon and see if the Ebirahs were able to lay any eggs before they were slaughtered. If they did, then the population might be able to normalize itself in the next few decades."

"That's definitely worth investigating."

"Well, I guess we've both got something we can do today, eh?"

"Yeah. And here I was worrying that we'd be sitting around doing nothing all day."

"You and me both. Except in my case, it's more like two weeks with the trip and all."

"Hey, at least you'll be busy."

After a couple of hours, they made their way back to the beach. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways upon swimming out into the water. Junior remained near the island while Anguirus made the trip back to the Ebirahs' canyon. After watching his friend leave, Junior began his investigation. He followed the rock slope around the island, heading farther and farther down. After about five miles, the bottom came into sight.

As far as Junior could tell, there wasn't much down here, at least not anything large enough to be his concern. He swam around the island multiple times, each time wondering if he had missed something the time before. After some time, he began to distance himself from the island, hoping he might come upon a cave or a canyon, somewhere a group of Ebirahs would hide. Hours passed, and still nothing. It was almost evening when Junior decided to head back to the island.

On the way, he repeatedly looked down to the bottom, hoping to see something he missed. As he approached the island, he saw a large cave hidden under a rocky ledge. This had to be it. He approached the entrance, somewhat nervous about what he would find inside. It was easily large enough for him to enter, which he did with caution. For all he knew, either a nest of Ebirahs was waiting for him or something... more fearsome.

By lighting up his spines, he made it easier to see in the blackness. The problem with this was that it would alert any hostile kaiju to his presence. As he ventured further in, however, there was no sign of anything living. After twenty minutes, he came upon a skeleton. The long snakelike body and small legs told Junior that that the bones belonged to a Manda. Maybe this was his den, he thought. Upon a closer look, he realized that the creature didn't die from natural causes. Its head was cut off.

How it happened and what did it remained a mystery. Junior's only guess was that an Ebirah got lucky and managed to get its claw around the serpent's neck. Or perhaps it wasn't luck. Maybe the Ebirahs that lived here were smarter and more proficient in combat. Whatever the case, Junior knew that he had to remain vigilant, for the killer could very well still be in the cave. It may even have been watching him since he entered.

It was thoughts like this that made Junior wonder whether or not he should keep going. His instincts told him to turn back, but he kept moving, hoping that his fears would prove to be unfounded. After a few more minutes, he came upon a massive opening. Below, the cave floor dropped down about a mile or so. Above, the ceiling rose about a hundred feet higher. The opening itself was about a mile and a half wide, the gloom making it hard to see, even with the Junior's spines lighting up the place.

He swam out into the middle of the opening and looked around. A few tunnels dotted the walls around him. Below him, he found exactly what he'd been looking for. A large colony of Ebirahs covered the cave floor. None of them appeared to be active, however. Either they're dead or they're hibernating, Junior thought. He wasn't about to find out which, however, for if they were indeed hibernating and he woke one, they'd all wake up. If that happened, Junior would be torn limb from limb.

While he tried to figure out what to do, a strange sound came from a nearby tunnel. Cautiously, he approached the entrance, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. He tried not to get too close, but the tunnel was so dark, it was hard not to. The noise grew louder. It sounded as if something was crawling around in there.

Suddenly, something sharp hit Junior in the face, drawing blood. Before he could retaliate, his assailant launched out of the tunnel and slammed into him, sending him careening through the water. When he managed to steady himself, he saw that his attacker was an Ebirah. It waved its arms around and screeched loudly. Junior saw that some of the others on the bottom were beginning to stir. With no time to lose, he bolted back to the cave entrance. The first Ebirah followed him, intending to either chase him out or kill him.

As it did so, it continued to screech, probably trying to get its brethren to come to its aid. Junior had to shut it up. And fast. The problem was that the cave wasn't wide enough to engage his pursuer in combat. Instead, he stopped, flipped over, looked down, and fired several blasts of his atomic breath. Only one hit its target, however, nailing it directly in the face and killing it instantly. Using his tail, Junior grabbed the Ebirah by the arm and dragged it out. As soon as he left the cave, he stopped to pick the Ebirah carcass up with his hands and made for the surface as fast as he could. Whether or not he was followed, he didn't know.

He didn't stop to look until he was onshore. Fortunately, he didn't see anything. He headed back to the spot where he and Anguirus rested the night before and sat down to catch his breath. He was exhausted. After a few minutes, it occurred to him that the sun had already set by the time he'd returned. He'd been gone the whole day. In his state, it was no wonder he was as tired as he was. He feared the Mothra would have words with him about this, given that he was supposed to take it easy. Almost right on cue, Junior heard the unmistakable sound of one of them approaching. It was Leo.

"We were beginning to worry about you," he said after landing in front of Junior. "Mora feared that a swarm of Ebirahs had gotten to you. I suppose the opposite happened, eh?"

"Not really," Junior replied. "It took me the whole day to find the place and I barely got out of there alive. I'm lucky I was able to catch this."

"I see. I also see that you used your fire-breath to kill it. You do realize that this goes against the whole conserving-energy thing, right? If you keep using it like this, you could drain yourself again and die."

"I was desperate, okay? I'm sorry. This one was calling for help. I tried to get out and it followed. It was either this or have a swarm of Ebirahs rip me to pieces."

"I understand. And I recommend you try to avoid taking such risks for the time being."

"Duly noted."

"Good. Now, I'm going to let my sister know you're back. She'll be so relieved. She was about ready to go underwater and track you down."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well, maybe I should go tell her myself."

"No. Stay here. You should eat and rest. Trust me. You need it."

"I don't look that bad, do I?"

"Yes."

"Okay, fine. I'll stay."

"Good. You should probably expect Mora to come check on you in a little while."

"All right."

Sure enough, Mora did come see Junior. As he feared, she had certain things to say about his actions. She seemed to be berating herself more than him, however; repeatedly saying that she shouldn't have told him about the Ebirahs. He understood why she was saying this, but he also knew the only one responsible for what happened was himself.

"Mora, please," he started. "It's not your fault. The only one to blame for this is me. I pushed myself too far. I spent the whole day down there. I swam into a dark cave with absolutely no idea what was waiting for me inside. I should've waited for Anguirus to come back before I tried to find the Ebirahs on my own. I was too excited for my own good."

"And it was my fault you were that excited to begin with."

"No. It isn't."

"Why not?"

"Because I felt like I really needed to do something today, you know? When you told me you thought there was an Ebirah colony down there, I lept at the chance to go down there and see. Plus, I was afraid that they'd all been wiped out here on the surface. And I also knew that if that was true, it was my fault."

"No. Junior, that's not true. It was Destoroyah that did the killing."

"But I led him there."

"Not intentionally. And now you know the truth. They aren't all gone."

"No."

"Hm. I suppose we both worry too much, yes?"

"Heh. Yeah, I guess we do."

"You know, I could stay here and keep you company while Anguirus away. At the very least, you'd have someone to talk to."

"What about your duty? If there's trouble, you should be there to stop it."

"It'll be fine. Leo can take care of things on his own. By our kind's standards, he's quite powerful. Not as powerful as Gigamoth, but still. Strong enough. Besides, there are very few other kaiju here on the surface. None of which would cause any harm."

"Okay. Do you think he'll be okay with you staying?"

"Of course. We never patrol together anyway."

"But I thought-"

"We may leave together, but we always split up within a few minutes. And the reason we return together is because we always meet back up on the way home."

"Oh."

"So now you see. It's no problem."

"Yes."

"Good. I'm going to let Leo know and get some rest. You should rest too."

"So I've heard. And I am pretty tired."

"I will see you in the morning, then."

"Yeah."

After Mora left, Junior ate his fill and rested. He was more content now, knowing that he would at least have someone to keep him company while Anguirus was away. At least he'd have someone to talk to. He was also a bit excited, for he had many questions for her. Since he first learned of the Mothra, Junior desperately wanted to know more about them. Now, he had his chance.

A few days later, Anguirus returned to Adonoa Island. The sight of the island's charred ruins disheartened him a bit, but he knew that there was no other way. Junior did what had to be done and Anguirus was proud of him for that.

After such a long swim, Anguirus took a few hours to rest on the beach. And when he was ready, he returned to the sea and made for the canyon. Once there, he began his search. He inspected every nook, every cranny, and every tunnel, hoping to find some sign of life; an egg, a hatchling, a surviving adult, anything. He only stopped when he needed air. He also remained on alert, for even though the chances were quite low, there was always the possibility that an aggregate Destoroyah or two was still around.

So far, all he saw were rocks and the remains of the dead. After almost a whole day, he began to lose hope. He'd gone over the whole canyon and found nothing. Eventually, he decided to give up. He would return to the beach and rest for a while, then return to Infant Island. He could only hope that Junior had had better luck in his search.

As Anguirus made to leave, he saw something. A small hole in the canyon wall. One he hadn't noticed before. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that this hole was dug by something. He looked inside and saw exactly what he'd been hoping to see: eggs. At least a dozen were hidden inside. The Ebirahs weren't all gone. There was still hope.

Satisfied, he left. In a few days, he would return to Infant Island and tell Junior the good news. And with luck, Junior would give him some good news of his own. The next morning, he began to make his way back, unaware that unfriendly eyes had spotted him.