Thank you for the feedback guys! Love you all! I did waaaay to much research about the UN for this chapter.
Enjoy!
Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
…
Amara popped a couple of pain killers, drowning them down with a paper cup half filled with water. She threw it out in the garbage before checking her reflection in the public bathroom mirror.
She fixed her blazer and adjusted her skirt. The grey suit screamed professional, but restrictive, unlike all the light and airy materials she'd gotten used to wearing.
Funny, in the mirror was the girl she had once strived to be.
She put the back of her hand against her forehead. It would take a bit for the meds to kick in and dull her throbbing headache.
Exiting the bathroom, she walked down the hall of the huge building. The headache was a familiar one, even if it had been years since she had one like it. A week later, Godzilla still refused to reestablish their connection, and the more time that passed, the worse her headache grew.
How long would he wait?
Mark had told her about Godzilla's injuries, accompanied by blurry footage. Godzilla took an axe to the leg and a direct hit from Mechagodzilla's own atomic breath. When she dived down later that day, sure enough the wounds were still raw. It would probably take months to heal, if his battle with Destroyer was any indication.
It only further raised the question of why Godzilla didn't go to the Hollow Earth to recharge if it was his source of power according to the newly collected data. He used the network of tunnels often enough, his temple used to be in large pocket at the end of one of them. How much harder could it be to go all the way down?
Mi Sun waited at the end of the hall, wearing a black pants suit. Beside her was a sign in front of the door: United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center. The rest of the titans had their own organ of the UN. Godzilla, of course, was a special case.
"Ready?" Mi Sun asked as Amara approached.
Amara pulled her lips into a smile. "I just hope I don't have to talk."
"You'll do fine," she said, leading the way through the door.
The room was a lot like a lecture hall, with rows of seats overlooking over a large curved table. At it sat the main representative of their country, four men and two women. The United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and Japan.
Amara and Mi Sun sat in the front row of the observational seating. Dr. Russell was already there, next Dr. Ilene Andrews. At the end of the isle was Colonel Gondo of the UNTDA.
Seeing him, she couldn't help but look behind her at the other people seated. Was Whyley here too? Her eyes scanned the crowd. If he was, she couldn't see him.
A man's voice came through the speakers to announce the start of the meeting. He was both the President of the meeting as well as the US's elected representative.
"We are gathered here today to discuss the repercussions of Godzilla's latest attack..." He went on at length about the procession of the meeting.
Amara leaned back in her seat. This wasn't going to be a short process.
Once the man finished, it was time for each country representative to speak. The Chinese representative began.
"We in China are outraged," the elderly man said. "Not only at the titans, Godzilla and Kong, but the American multibillion dollar company, Apex Cybernetics, as well. It is because of the CEO, Walter Simmons' obsession to create a robotic titan that led the venture into the Hollow Earth, as well as led Godzilla directly to Hong Kong.
"Godzilla, Kong, and the robotic titan have added Hong Kong to the growing list of uninhabitable cities caused by mass damage and excessive radiation. We demand Godzilla be contained or neutralized."
Wait, neutralized? Wasn't that off the table now? Amara looked to Mi Sun who rolled her eyes in contempt.
The floor was given to Russia next.
"We give our deepest condolences to the victims of Hong Kong in Godzilla's wake. Firstly, we would like to address the implications of this new power Godzilla displayed." The man flipped the page. "According to Monarch scientists, Godzilla burrowed down through the earth to the Hollow Earth below. Godzilla continues to demonstrate new and destructive powers and cannot be left unchecked. Monarch must take responsibility for Godzilla's actions and do something to stop them once and for all, or the military will."
After Russia, came the representative from the UK.
The woman started with her condolences as well. "I would like to expand on the topic of the Hollow Earth. The titan, Kong, is presently down there and has been since the Hong Kong incident. We request not only Godzilla, but the rest of the titans to be contained there as well. If what the scientists say is true, the titans are originally from the Hollow Earth and therefore reasonable habitat for them. We believe this is a more humane option than eradication."
France spoke next.
"We would like to second the United Kingdom's notion." The woman had a strong French accent. "Be it intentional or not, Godzilla's activity influences the other titans. Containment facilities have cost billions of dollars to design and construct, yet when Godzilla becomes aggravated, the titans threaten to break out. In the best case, they cause costly repairs and in the worse case, they breach containment and cause harm and death, recreating the Monster Zero disaster all over again."
The United States took the floor.
"We are concerned of the implications of moving Godzilla and the other titans to the Hollow Earth. We cannot know for sure that peace will be maintained between Godzilla and Kong if they come into contact again. Though their fight would take place in the Hollow Earth, we cannot be sure we can contain them there, which leaves the possibility that one or both may come back to the surface. We, the United States, appreciate Godzilla's past victories against more aggressive titans, but his most recent attack will not be excused. We recommend full containment and sedation if euthanasia is not possible."
Lastly was Japan.
"We speak of Gojira as if he should pay for his actions, but we forget that Gojira is only an animal, acting as an animal does. More focus should be placed on Monarch for their negligence and lack of proactivity. Too many times has Gojira been left unchecked after leaving a wake of destruction. The record also shows past and present Monarch employees acting on Gojira's behalf, such as hiding evidence and convincing mankind of his benevolence. This is not the case. The titan, Gojira, has no regard for human life as proved in his most recent actions. Gojira has caused more human fatalities than all the other living titans combined."
Amara became aware of her open mouth and abruptly closed it. Even Japan was against Godzilla now? Was there no one on his side? No one could see the bigger picture?
Statements completed, the council began debating. They were equally divided between building some sort of containment facility for Godzilla and sending him down to the Hollow Earth.
Nearly an hour later, the first half of the meeting concluded. They would reconvene after a lunch break.
"Looks like it's going to be up to us to end their stalemate," Dr. Russell said.
The four of them sat at a wooden table in an elegant lunch room. Most of their plates were sparsely filled, maybe they all felt the same looming dread in the pits of their stomachs.
"It's like watching children argue," Dr. Andrews spoke under her breath. "They don't realize that both options are not possible even if they had the finances to pull either off."
Amara met Dr. Andrews over a video call while she did her dissertation. The woman was an expert on the Iwi people, Kong, and pretty much everything on Skull Island. She was also one of the only people that had ever been to the Hollow Earth.
Dr. Russell leaned in. "Just talk nice and use small words. They're already about to defund us, so try not to piss them off."
Then it definitely was a good idea for her not to speak. Dr. Andrews was right, the representatives were talking about serious issues that needed to be addressed, but they knew next to nothing about the details, the nuances, the fall out.
It was easy to point fingers, especially at Godzilla. But throwing Monarch under the bus wasn't fair. No organization, no matter how powerful, could hope of controlling Godzilla's actions. He was an animal just as much as a human was. What they failed to see was that to Godzilla, humanity was to him as ants were to them.
And sometimes it was up to the ants not to get stepped on.
The meeting resumed. This time, Amara sat with the other scientists along a table set up in front of the representatives. The plaque in front of Amara's seat read Chief of Godzilla Behavior and Observation Division. Looks like she'd have to speak, after all.
"The floor is open to questioning Monarch." The president announced once everyone was settled.
France was the first to speak. "Dr. Rey, what is your opinion on putting Godzilla in a containment facility?"
All eyes turned to her, a stark silence filled the room while everyone waited for her response.
Amara swallowed. "I don't believe it is possible to contain Godzilla in the same manner that the other titans have been. Unlike them, Godzilla is territorial and regularly patrols the Earth's oceans. He is also highly sensitive to other titans, so much so that he could pin point Ghidorah's skull when Apex was using it experimentally.
"Just as the other titans reacted to Godzilla, he would react to them, but he would escape by any means necessary. I don't believe any material on this planet could contain his atomic breath. We know that now more than ever."
The UK representative addressed Dr. Andrews next. "Do you believe Kong and Godzilla could co-exist within the Hollow Earth? And if not, would it make any difference to us?"
"Even if we could get Godzilla into the Hollow Earth, we have no idea how he would react to the new environment, let alone the other titans. Kong submitted in the end, but we can't predict if they would fight again if Godzilla were to invade his newly established territory.
"On the question if it would make a difference, it would. If they fought, there's a good chance that one would send the other back up to the surface, as was previously mentioned. There's also the matter that Dr. Rey discussed of the other titans responding and causing chaos."
"Once again, Monarch does not have a solution," the Japanese representative said, shaking his head. "Is there anything you suggest?"
Amara raised her hand to speak. Mi Sun's head snapped towards her. Amara nodded.
"I've only been Chief of Godzilla's behavioral research branch for about a month now, however, I've been researching Godzilla's habits and patterns for five years. I'm confident that I can better help Monarch monitor and anticipate his actions."
"Do you have any examples to prove this?" Japan asked.
"Yes. A week before the Pensacola attack on Apex Cybernetics, I observed more agitated body language before an unexpected patrol. When he's not threatened, his movements are lethargic and he sleeps for twelve to sixteen hours a day."
The Japanese man frowned. "You speak of him as if he were a house cat."
"We tend to focus on Godzilla when he is attacking, which is only when something else disturbs him. The other ninety nine percent of the time, he's completely harmless."
"So your saying we could sedate him. Keep him in that state permanently." United States addressed her.
"Absolutely not." Her eyes met his. "Permanent sedation is inhumane. And I doubt there's enough sedation on this planet to stop Godzilla once he sensed danger. A better idea would be to monitor crime organizations and corporations with the means to create artificial titans."
"While that's great in theory, Dr. Rey, it's impossible in practice," the president said.
Amara was about to reply, but Dr. Russell beat her to it. "The same is true for a containment facility or forcing him down into the Hollow Earth. Godzilla is the one keeping the rest in check. We can't predict what would happen either way. For all we know, other titans could pop up in his absence."
Amara exhaled. It was Dr. Russell's turn to tell them off.
Questioning continued for what felt like hours despite no resolution being reached. No matter how much they denied the UN's requests, the representatives refused to back down. They would not let Godzilla continue to live undisturbed.
Finally, it was time for the council to vote. Three raised their hands to contain Godzilla and three to send him to the Hollow Earth.
It was then the president gave Monarch the choice. "Monarch will be given one year to come up with a permanent solution. If none is reached, we will resume attempts of eradication," he announced. "We award all remaining Apex Cybernetics assets pertaining to Hollow Earth research and technology to Monarch to assist with further exploration and assessment." He hit his hammer against the table.
Everyone got up and began to shuffle around, gathering paperwork and talking to the people around them, some shaking hands.
Amara remained still. What—what just happened? One year to do the impossible or they would go after him again?
What was the point of them being here if it didn't make a difference?
A hand touched her back. "Come on, Amara," came Mi Sun's soft voice.
Amara exited the building in toe with the rest of the Monarch employees. The four of them packed into the transport vehicle that took them to the hotel. No one said a word.
It wasn't until they made it into Dr. Russell's hotel room that they began to vent.
"What was that? Are they nuts?" Dr. Andrews said the second the door closed. "Him and Kong will never get along in the Hollow Earth, they'll kill each other."
"We don't know that," Dr. Russell replied. "You said it was huge, maybe we can put Godzilla on the other side."
Amara intervened. "You can't just put Godzilla somewhere."
"I'm aware of that. That's why you're going to figure out a way to get him there."
Amara dropped onto the couch. "I told you, he's not going to go. We were just trying to convince the UN the same thing."
"Well now we don't have a choice. Unless you'd rather help our engineers design a containment facility."
"Absolutely not. I won't do either. Godzilla is exactly where he belongs." Amara crossed her arms. "They can threaten to kill him all they want, but they won't because they can't. And if they're smart, they won't even try. They nuke Godzilla, he'll nuke them right back, causing just as much destruction as any other battle Godzilla has had, but this time it will be them under fire, not us."
Dr. Andrews stepped in. "I'm sure they're developing something else under our noses. The Oxygen Destroyer technology is still out there and they know it hurts him. Just because we don't want to risk what will happen when he dies, doesn't mean they won't. Sending him to the Hollow Earth is the most humane thing to do."
Amara turned her eyes to the woman. "For a place we just found out existed a couple of weeks ago, you sure seem eager to stuff the titans down there."
"I saw it in person. The place is incredible, perfectly suited to the titans, some are still down there."
"You guys keep saying that, but if that's the case, then why did most of them leave?" Amara looked between them.
"We believe there was some type of war that sent them up to the surface," Dr. Russell replied, sitting on one of the beds. "But any records we find are vague at best. At least now we have the chance to go back down much sooner now, thanks to Apex's generous donations."
"You're going back down there?" Mi Sun asked.
"Dr. Andrews put down her bag. "Yes. We want to keep tabs on Kong as well as additional research."
"Good," Dr. Russell said. "Then you can figure out a way to get Godzilla down there if Amara won't."
"I'm an anthropological linguist working with Kong, not a Godzilla expert. Godzilla is Dr. Rey's area of expertise."
"How many times do I have to say there's no point because Godzilla isn't going to go!" Amara's voice rose as she spoke. Why couldn't they figure that out?
Dr. Russell's phone dinged. He pulled it out, looking at the screen. "Apex has two additional HEAVs left. That's a maximum of eight people."
"Dr. Lind, Jia, and I are going for sure," Dr. Andrews stated.
Dr. Russell nodded. "That leaves five more spots. We're going to need a biologist, physicist, chemist, drivers, and military personnel at the very least."
"Multidisciplinary people would be ideal. With hands on titan experience and physically fit. It's not exactly a hospitable environment down there." Mi Sun said, taking the spot beside Amara.
"She's right." Dr. Andrew's voice was reassuring. "Amara you'd be perfect. You have a background in biology on top of your behavioral research. I know you don't think Godzilla will go down there, but you're the best bet we have of finding a way if there is one."
"I—no. I won't"
"Please, just think about it."
There was no point. Even if she wanted to, the Hollow Earth was a dangerous place. Godzilla would stop her even if she tried. That was if he ever reestablished their connection.
Amara put a hand on her forehead. It was time for more pain meds.
…