The One Who Lost His Way

AN: The last two weeks have been absolutely rough at work because I've had to cover extra shifts. Three people quit in four days around that time, and then pretty much everyone else just stopped showing up to work because they didn't want to do that extra work. So these past two weeks for me, I've been working somewhere between 40 and 50 hours to pick up the slack.

Good news, though, is the manager just hired someone new, and my hours are shifting because of that. Instead of working 10-6 or 7, I'll be working 2-8 or 9. So instead of 8 or 9 hour shifts, I'll be down to 6 or 7 hour shifts with all of my free time being in the morning before I go into work instead of split up like it was before. Put simply, with this new schedule, I'll have a lot more free time to write again.

As far as the chapter goes, it's short but special.

Key:

"Titan speak"

"Human speak"

Character's inner thoughts

"Telepathic communication"

Disclaimer: I do not own Godzilla: King of the Monsters or any characters.

Brazilian rainforest, unknown coordinates:

She had to admit it. Jonah had a lot more resources and contacts than she had originally expected. Not to mention he was quite adept at making contingencies for almost every conceivable setback. Their current base of operations, deep within the Brazilian rainforest, was surprisingly well equipped for what was basically an old Narco base.

All the old equipment for making cocaine was still in one of the old buildings when they arrived, and Jonah's men had thrown all of it out, claiming the place as their barracks. The former barracks had been converted into the command center since the building was sturdier and more defensible. Of course, Jonah made it clear that these were temporary lodgings. They were only here to lay low long enough to get an actual plan. Then, they would be heading back north.

She'd been watching the news that they were somehow able to pick up out here when the most interesting thing happened. Ever since the series of interviews she saw, and the discovery of one Bernie Hayes, she'd been listening to the 'conspiracy theorist' podcast. The stuff he was able to figure out without any actual scientific equipment or facts was...astonishing.

That's not to say that the stuff he said was groundbreaking, because it wasn't. The stuff he got right was common knowledge in Monarch, and there were other things he got straight wrong. But the fact he had such a net positive at all made her realize two things. First, Bernie Hayes was a highly intelligent individual. And two, if she knew about him, her old friends at Monarch definitely did, too.

What they played to do with him, she didn't know. All she did know is that he would be a fantastic asset for her and Jonah's plan. If he had such a way of figuring things out with limited information, he would be crucial to coming up with theories about, and eventually ways to kill, Monster Zero.

Of course, right before she had discovered this promising recruit, Jonah had taken off somewhere, not telling her where he was headed. Although, since he had taken a chopper, he was obviously not going just down the street. He'd already been gone for three days, and she was extremely impatient for him to get back. He needed to know about this.

And every time she went to the command center, asking the men there to contact Jonah, they had declined her request. They said he had ordered radio silence for the time being, so she would just have to wait.

It was infuriating. And she was beginning to think that maybe she wasn't being treated as an equal in this arrangement anymore. She had nowhere else to go, of course. No one else to turn to. Right now, Jonah was her only ally, strained and tense though their alliance might be right now.

Currently, she was sitting at her computer, listening to Bernie's podcast. Again, how they got internet way out here, she didn't know. Beside her was a notebook with a T-graph where she kept track of everything Bernie got right and wrong per episode. Doing that for nearly two dozen episodes—they were each an hour to ninety minutes long—she was able to determine he had about a sixty-eight percent validation rate. Which was not bad for someone who didn't have access to Monarch's archives and was only going off of his own research across the internet.

So far, she'd listened to episodes covering each individual titan that he knew about, several key members of Monarch, including herself, an episode about Jonah, and the latest episode she'd listened to was a discussion about the titans' collective role in the natural cycle.

Having been doing this for ten hours straight, and having drank four cups of coffee during that time, she had a massive headache. So when that episode ended, she turned her computer off and sighed, holding her head in her hands, her eyes shut to relieve the pain in her head. After several minutes, she sighed again, looking at the messy counter next to her. There was one noticeable absence, however.

The ORCA.

Jonah had 'commandeered' it for the time being. He said it was to make sure she didn't run off with it or use it in some hairbrained scheme, but she got the sense that he simply didn't trust her anymore. Not that she blamed him, what with Maddie running off to join Mark in Monarch.

Still, it was frustrating to be demoted from equal partner to potential threat.

The sound of a distant helicopter pulled her out of her thoughts, and she looked out of the window to her right, the one that overlooked the center of the small collection of buildings that constituted their base where the helipad was. It had a noticeable lack of helicopter, but from the activity outside—men were running around to make sure the pad was clear, moving wayward boxes and other detritus—she assumed that someone was about to land here.

And that could only mean Jonah was returning.

"Finally..." she muttered. Even with a headache, she needed to talk to him. So she rummaged through her things, grabbed a bottle of Tylenol, and downed a pair of pills to help with the headache, drinking her latest cup of cold, cheap coffee. Then, she grabbed her notebook with the notes on Bernie's podcast and made for the door.

The sound of the helicopters rotors were getting closer, and when she looked up and to the north, she could see it approaching, the angle and elevation making it obvious that it was coming in for a landing.

She just stood there, her hand shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun, and watched as it approached. She had to look away as it got nearer to the ground due to the rotors kicking up a cloud of dust and debris. The noise definitely wasn't doing her headache any favors, either. Finally, though, she heard the engine turn off, and the rotors slowed and came to a stop. When she looked up, it was just in time to see Jonah step out of the door, his eyes instantly fixing upon her.

She held up her notebook as he approached her without a word to anyone else. "I need to talk to you."

He nodded. "I've some information I think you'll find interesting, as well." He gestured to the command building. "Shall we?" She nodded and followed him as he began walking that way.

Neither of them said anything as they crossed the compound. Once they were inside the main room, Jonah gave a curt, "Everyone out." Within moments, everyone was outside. No one dared to argue or take longer than needed to get up and walk out. He waited a further few seconds before turning to her, hands clasped behind his back. "Alright, Doctor. Are you going to go first, or shall I?"

"I'll go." He nodded once but didn't say anything. She took that as permission to continue. "I was watching the news a couple days ago, right after the fight between Monster Zero and Godzilla, and I think I found someone we need."

She watched as one of Jonah's eyebrows slowly rose in surprise and slight skepticism. "Explain."

She set her notebook on the table and flipped it to the first page of her notes of Bernie's podcast. "Bernie Hayes, 38, lives in Pensacola, Florida with his wife. Went to Florida State for a Marine Biology degree but dropped out during his third year because he claimed the course was too easy, and he was left with too many questions after each lecture. For the last decade, he's been working part time jobs. Plumbing, fast food delivery, retail...anything that doesn't take a lot of time or skill. In his free time, however, he frequents beaches across the Gulf Coast, even buying a boat to take out on the water."

"So he was doing his own research?" Jonah asked, no doubt making sure he was following. She nodded. "And when are you going to get to the interesting part?"

"About five years ago, though, the subject of his research began to change..." She trailed off there for effect, and suddenly Jonah began to seem a bit more interested. "He started a podcast called 'Titan Truth', giving his opinions on anything and everything relating to titans and Monarch...including you."

"Really?" As she expected, he didn't seem too thrilled that some internet personality was talking about his life story.

She nodded again. "Yeah. He's been to San Francisco, Vegas, Hawaii, even to Janjira and the Phillipines where the MUTO attacks in '99 happened. This guy's been following the titans wherever they go, learning whatever he can. I've listened to his podcast, Jonah. For someone doing research on his own money, in his spare time, with second hand equipment, and using unclassified info from the internet, this guy is right about a startling number of things."

When she gestured to her notebook, Jonah picked it up and began reading through it. For five minutes, he said nothing, merely flipping through the pages. At last, however, he put it down and gave her a serious look. "And what do you propose we do about him?"

Her answer was simple. "Recruit him."

"You said you learned about him from the news, correct?" She nodded to his question. "Then the probability that Monarch also knows about him is near guaranteed. They'll be watching him. Any move we make against him is sure to draw their attention."

She nodded again, sighing in mild frustration. Not at him, mind, but more at their current situation. Not too long ago, they had been two steps ahead at all times. Now, they were basically hiding here in the jungle. "You asked me to do research on Monster Zero. I can't really do that if I'm stuck here. But this guy has a way of collating data from the internet that I couldn't even begin to match. Plus, he clearly has a way of thinking outside the box, coming up with these wild theories, which end up at least partially true." Jonah was considering it, but she finished up with something she knew would catch his attention. "I need him."

Jonah studied her intently for several seconds, and she really wished she could hear what he was thinking, what schemes he was coming up with.

And whether or not they involved her or not...

Finally, however, he nodded. "Very well, I'll see what I can do. If this Bernie Hayes is as smart as you seem to believe he is, then he'll be a very useful asset, indeed." He walked over to the main screen, studying the data upon it. Right now, the last known locations of all known titans were on there. From the direction of his gaze, she could tell he was looking at Isla de Mara.

Right where the singular red dot labeled 'Monster Zero' currently sat.

"I think you'll find what I say to be quite interesting as well, Doctor." He turned to her then, his expression serious. "I took a trip to Isla de Mara to meet up with my local contact there. With our backdoor into Monarch's systems closed, we're having to do things the old-fashioned way. He told me quite a few interesting tidbits. First, Monster Zero has a name. Ghidorah, if that means anything to you." She shook her head. She didn't recognize the name. He grunted and continued. "And second, little Madison seems to have earned the affection of Ghidorah somehow."

That took her completely by surprise, and she blinked in utter shock. "H-How?" How could her daughter catch the attention of a five-hundred foot tall, three-headed dragon? As a matter of fact, how could anyone? They, as humans, were so inferior to the titans that they were mere ants! Less than ants, really! The idea that any one of them, especially one so large as Monster Zero, or Ghidorah, rather, could bond or make friends with a human was so ridiculously outlandish as to be akin to a fairy tale.

"I was hoping you might have an idea, Doctor," he responded. "You're the titan expert, after all." After a few moments of silence and a bewildered shake of her head, he sighed. "I thought not." He paused for only a moment, heading to the door as he spoke. "But after thinking upon it, I do believe you're right. We need Bernie Hayes to come up with a way to kill Ghidorah. And when the time comes to implement that plan...well, let's just say little Madison will make perfect bait."

Her gaze snapped to him. "What are you—"

He cut her off. "I'm going to kidnap your daughter, of course. Letting her leave seems to have worked out in the short term, but now I need her back. Rest assured, though, I have no intention of harming her."

He walked out then, and Emma could almost hear the unspoken 'yet' at the end of his sentence...

For his sake, though, that better have just been her overactive imagination.

AN: This is the first check in with Jonah's crew since...I want to say chapter 13. They've got schemes cooking in the background, it seems. Bernie being part of them. And kidnapping Maddie? That can only go well, what with Ghidorah watching over her.

I guess we'll see how that turns out later.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22