Chapter Four: Monarch, Part One

Castle Bravo (Outpost 54), Bermuda, 2019

"Maddie!"

Mark Russell ran to his daughter and held her tightly on the deck of the Monarch facility Castle Bravo, or Outpost 54, in the middle of the Bermuda ocean. Completely unaware of the strained smile on her face. She said nothing but returned his hug while her eyes betrayed everything. But Mark would never see it after three weeks of personally training her.

None of them would.

Mark had tanned white skin, dark brown hair, and brown eyes. Like his ex-wife, he had been a scientist that worked for Monarch until their first child, their late son Andrew Russell, died when Godzilla made his first appearance in San Francisco in 2014. He had blamed Emma considering they made the move from Boston because of a job offered to her. He would have considered recruiting him but he had all but given up on his ex-wife and abandoned his daughter.

He scowled hatefully at him.

But then the older Japanese man, their primary target, who stood behind the reunited father and daughter caught his attention.

Ishiro Serizawa.

The older Japanese man had tan skin, black hair, and dark brown eyes. He was another Monarch scientist he would have considered recruiting to his cause but he was foolish. Even after witnessing the destruction caused by Godzilla, he still believed they could coexist.

He scoffed quietly.

The timid British woman, their secondary target, who stood beside Serizawa caught his attention next.

Vivienne Graham.

The timid British woman had white skin, brown hair in a ponytail, and green eyes. She was another Monarch scientist and potential recruit for Apex after he questioned Emma and Maddie on Monarch's personnel and they both suggested he recruited her to their cause. He didn't tell them he would but he made her a secondary target.

A person of interest.

The General, no longer a low ranking soldier but the leader of Apex, stood at attention in his Monarch soldier disguise like the rest of his men. After capturing a private Monarch airbase, they radioed Castle Bravo and told them Maddie appeared alone outside their front door. They were then ordered to deliver her to Castle Bravo like he predicted. They then departed the airbase with Maddie in a V-22 Osprey.

Now he saluted Colonel Diane Foster. She had brown skin, a shaved head, and dark brown eyes. He hoped she survived the coming assault and the end of the world as he believed she would make a great asset like many present on deck. But he pushed that thought away and focused on the current mission.

After taking the elevator down to the real facility underwater, they were given directions to the areas they had access to. They asked no questions when asked and were dismissed to rest until they were ordered back to the airbase.

Except they wouldn't.

He followed a few feet behind the main party as his men left to sabotage various parts of the base. He heard Maddie tell them "everything" that happened to her such as Alan Jonah keeping Emma but letting her go because he considered her to be useless. Her father "tried" to console her with another hug while her eyes glanced back at him without anyone noticing.

He simply nodded.

Phase One of Operation Flood was complete.

The General watched Graham whisper to Serizawa who nodded. She then left the main party and headed down another hallway. He followed a few feet behind her, making sure to look like a grunt out of basic with wide eyes filled with awe and wonder. He even opened his mouth slightly for dramatic effect. It worked as nearly everyone who saw him rolled their eyes and carried on with their day.

Finally, Graham reached her destination, a lab with a white ceiling and floor and natural rock walls like most of the facility. As the door began to close, he sprinted the last few steps and entered behind her. She heard him and turned around with wide eyes but his eyes burned with determination. He raised his prototype Atomic Revolver, a sleek all red energy revolver, and he told her to be quiet. Stunned and frightened, she simply nodded with wide fearful eyes. He then told her to call Serizawa to the lab alone.

"N-no! I won't! I won't let you hurt him!" Graham cried quietly. He told her he had no intention of hurting Serizawa as long as he gave him what he came for. "A-and that is…?" He told her the coordinates of Skull Island. Confused but still frightened, she asked tearfully. "P-promise you won't hurt him or me?" He nodded and told her she had his word; neither of them would be harmed as long as Serizawa gave him the coordinates of Skull Island.

It only took three minutes before Serizawa appeared. He told Graham not to move but hid himself beside the door. As soon as Serizawa entered and stepped further inside the lab with a concerned expression at the tearful and shaking Graham, he revealed himself with his revolver raised, aimed, and pressed directly at the back of his head, stopping him in his tracks.

For a moment, no one spoke inside the lab until Serizawa did.

"You do realize there are security cameras all over the base, yes?" Serizawa asked calmly but he heard the hardness of his voice. He told him he did but the camera in the lab had already been taken care of. "So you're not alone… No, you wouldn't have come here or done this alone… Jonah's men?" He told him Jonah was dead. "But Madison… How?" He corrected Serizawa with why. "Why then?" And he told him why.

He told him Maddie only had her mom who partly began the end of the world because of grief and because Jonah was a madman who enabled her. He killed Jonah and he made her mom see reason. He was the only one who helped her mom realize the grave mistake she made. He was the only one who gave her and her mom a new and better purpose. Not her failure of a father who blamed her mom for the death of her brother and abandoned her years ago.

"And what would a new and better purpose be?" Serizawa asked evenly.

He told him to save what would be left of mankind. He knew what Godzilla would turn into. He knew what they would all be facing very soon. Monarch was a relic clinging to a dead ideology of world peace with monsters. He was clinging to a dead ideology. Monster and man can not coexist. Godzilla's existence proves that entirely.

And mankind needed to survive no matter what.

"W-what is he talking about, Sir?" Graham asked with wide fearful eyes. He gave her a look before he noticed Serizawa became tense… He didn't tell them… He didn't tell her… So he decided he would. He told Graham what Godzilla's fifth and final form would be. Immediately, she became very pale…

"And you didn't tell us?! You didn't tell me?!" Graham shouted angrily with tearful eyes but Serizawa ignored her.

"Then help us! Our goals align! However you feel about us, about me, our goals still align! We can work together! We can find a way to survive together!" Serizawa shouted.

Silence…

Until he told him no. He would not let Monarch lead them to their extinction. He would not let idealism lead them to their extinction. He would not let him lead them to their extinction. He pushed his revolver further against his head and told him he wanted one thing and one thing only.

The coordinates of Skull Island.

Instantly, Serizwa turned around with wide eyes… But he aimed the revolver between his eyes.

"H-how did you… Emma… You said you made her see reason… You killed Jonah… You got Emma and Madison to work with you… You infiltrated this base… You are not alone… You are dangerous… You are very dangerous…" Serizawa narrowed his eyes.

The General said nothing.

But he shot Serizawa in his right leg. He fell to the floor with a cry and held onto his bleeding right leg. Graham covered her opened mouth with wide eyes but said nothing. He asked Serizawa where the coordinates of Skull Island were.

"Kill me! I will not tell you! I will not let you hide away like the vermin you are!" Serizawa shouted angrily with narrowed hateful eyes.

The General narrowed his own eyes and aimed his revolver at Serizawa's left shoulder. He prepared to fire…

"I have access to his personal computer."

Serizawa's eyes widened and his head snapped to Graham while he said nothing but did the same. No longer stood the timid and frightened woman but a woman filled with burning hatred toward the older man cowering before them. But she only looked at him and her eyes burned with determination.

"I'll find Skull Island for you, Sir."

I know I said old stories would take priority but I really want to write another horror story besides this one. A self-insert crossover which I'll likely only post on AO3. Right now, it's between Scream 5 X The Mist and Dead Space Remake X Resident Evil 4 Remake. Not sure which one I'll do. Maybe I'll end up doing both. I don't know. Anyway, I wasn't sure when to post Chapter Four but I finished writing this arc of the story and I'm excited to write this story again because I've finally rewritten all the old chapters and can move on to the next arc which will be the final arc of the story. Which will be a mix of sci-fi and horror so that'll be fun.