II

Subterranean Realm

Hollow Earth

Two Red Stripe apes led the way for their king behind them, riding atop Shimo with Suko marching at her side. Two other apes that didn't have the crimson paint on their abdomens marched behind Shimo, the two apes at the back wielded large stones big enough to carry in one hand, the Red Stripes at the front carried large bone knives. Suko, the scrappy fighter he is, carried two knives while Kong brought the ancestral axe in his right hand, which still had the BEAST Glove worn over it.

Kong's nostrils flared as he sniffed the air, trying to catch the scent of potential prey or clues of where prey could be located. His massive fiery orange-brown eyes watched as the two Red Stripes at the front brushed away the dense foliage; an enormous field was located in the distance. The ape king's eyes narrowed upon the Red Stripes, who both grunted and snarled at each other before grinning with cruel excitement as they turned their heads towards something that was in the field ahead of them. The grips on their bone shivs strengthened, and Kong noticed they would take off any second, thanks to their tense posture.

With a grunt, Kong raised his left fist. The two Red Stripes halted in place and turned towards him, scowling with annoyance. The great simian titan was followed by Shimo and Suko, whom the former scratched on the head while grunting softly.
Stay here. Shimo stood in place and chittered. Kong nodded towards Suko, asking him the same thing as the other apes. Kong took a slow and cautious approach towards the edge of the dense foliage, peeking through to examine what the two eager Red Stripes wanted to charge towards guns blazing.

A tiny bunch of massive deer, three were female while one was a bulky male with impressive horns that were white as ivory. Their coat was beautiful patterns of dirty gold and Kelly green, the does had green stripes on their sides while the great stag had a large patch of green from the front of his neck to the underside of his body, tufts of golden hair covered his hooves like the hairs near the top of a draft horse's hooves.

The stag is the goal, there was enough meat on its bulky body to feed most of the tribe, and if there were any more that were hungry, the vegetation and exotic fruits that hung from the towering trees should be plenty to satiate their appetites.

Kong looked over his shoulder towards one of the apes in the back of the hunting party, with a grunt and a nod he gave a command.
Spear. One of the apes grabbed a tree that stood just slightly shorter than itself, ripping it from the ground, the roots cracking and the leaves breaking as they fluttered towards the jungle floor. Kong watched the reactions of the deer in the field, the ears of the doe perked up before they darted away in separate directions. The stag turned towards them, it couldn't see them in the thick jungle, but it knew something was there undeniably.

The great stag grunted and pawed the ground with its hoof, lowering its head to display its massive white antlers. Kong's eyes narrowed; this stag really had the balls to challenge them? How laughable!

Without looking back at the ape which had removed the tree and stripped it of the leaves to create a spear; Kong gave it the thumbs down.
Kill.
The ally ape grunted as it cocked its arm back and lobbed the spear through the foliage just over Kong's head. The dense shrubbery popped and cracked as the stripped tree punched through the line and into the open. The ears of the stag twitched, and it jolted to the side, the tree narrowly missing it and lodging itself into the ground.

With an idea of where the aggressor happened to be, the stag grunted and lowered its head before charging forward. Its hooves smashed into the ground with thunderous impact as it charged towards the tree-line. Kong wanted to avoid this, but there was no other choice now. Suko shrieked and moved forward as Kong let out a roar of defiance as he tossed his axe aside, he didn't think he would be needing it, however Kong motioned him to stay with his arm, Suko didn't listen and kept charging but was pulled back by the two Red Stripes.

Kong's massive frame burst through the trees and met the massive stag that had quite the size on him in a matter of seconds. If Kong were a 5'7 human, this stag would be a 6'4 human. This would make for a perfect riding companion if the great ape didn't have Shimo as a willing mount and friend. The stag went to jab its massive antlers into Kong's body, but the ape latched onto them before they could contact his torso and pierce through him. The great ape winced as he felt some of the antlers sharper edges cutting into the palms of his gargantuan hands, the impact the stag made against him was enough to force him back a few feet. The heels of Kong carving massive dirt paths in the ground.

With a determined grunt, Kong threw the stag face-first into the ground, using the herbivore's momentum against it. The king of Hollow Earth put some distance between him and the beast, giving his chest a pound with one arm, howling with anger! The stag got up and slammed it's frontal hooves into the ground before roaring back at the ape in an act of defiance, Kong took a quick breath before rushing forward again, he hooted an instruction towards the trees while nodding his head upwards.

Axe! The axe appeared a moment later, chopping through the air as the stag rushed towards Kong, antlers aimed at his torso once again. The ape enemy snagged his axe from the air with his gauntlet-covered hand and managed to sidestep the beast's charge attack, hacking the axe down at one of the antlers.
CRACK! The right antler of the titan stag was severed, the only thing remaining was the jagged edge that the axe didn't strike. The stag shouted in pain and stumbled forward before collapsing, but it still had much left in the tank to fight. It struggled back to its feet before turning around, thinking of a different strategy now instead of rushing headfirst to attack. Kong held the axe and approached the stag, moving slowly as he started strategizing on how to kill this thing. It was a giant deer, yet its ferocity was commendable.

When the ape got within an arm's reach, the stag reared up on its hind legs, cocking its forelimbs back, wanting to strike forward to deliver a blow to the ape's chest that would knock the wind out of him. Unfortunately for the stag, the spike at the top of Kong's axe pierced its chest, it howled in agony, the forelimbs flailing and kicking wildly before the body of the beast went limp and fell to the side as Kong dislodged the spiked end of his weapon.

Kong raised his axe into the air and roared triumphantly at the successful hunt. The rest of the party emerged from the trees now that it seemed alright to do so. The victory would unfortunately be cut short as Kong's nostrils flared and his satisfied grin turned into one of confusion and agitation, the ape glanced around, trying to find the source of the discomfort. Unsure of what this could be, he held his hand towards the party, getting them to stop just beyond the tree-line.

Several seconds passed by, and Kong figured he was getting paranoid. Scavengers and cowardly opportunists have robbed him of kills so many damn times in the past that he was geared up for a fight even after taking down prey. Nothing had happened after thirty seconds, but the air was still, too still...

Thinking it was alright now, Kong grabbed the carcass of the fallen stag and began to hoist it up, but right when he did so. The ground beneath his feet shook with immense vigor, and the great ape noticed the ground beginning to crack and break apart at his immediate front. With a gasp, Kong hopped back, tossing the carcass away and kicking the antler towards the hunting party to make sure it didn't get lost in whatever commotion was about to commence.

A hole had formed, but nothing emerged from it. This was quite a common occurrence; the ape had witnessed this happen even before he met the rest of his kind. It was so common that it was damn near a daily happening, but he let his guard down too soon…
Suko shrieked, pointing to the sky. Kong raised a brow as he looked up to be face to foot with some winged creature. It was too late to avoid the inevitable blow; the ape tensed up as he was struck!

POW! The foot slammed between his eyes, forcing him to stumble to the side a bit. Wobbly at first before regaining his senses. The sheer force behind the attack had Kong accidentally launch the axe further than he expected to. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, the king of Hollow Earth got a good look at the attacker as it came to a landing several yards before him.

It was like a bat creature, yet it wasn't. Kong had fought a massive bat before, Camazotz, it was the last scrap on Skull Island before the storm overtook it and ruined it. This titan was different, instead of crawling, it could stand on two feet. Hell, the only thing Camazotz and this thing had in common was the color, they were both a brownish grey.

The front of this thing's body was covered in a sort of natural spiked body armor similar to the front of Rodan's torso, and it had bird-like feet as well. The face resembled that of a lion, two large tusks jetted out of the bottom of its mouth, and two horns were atop its head curving backwards. The wings of this new titan were more bird-like in appearance as well as opposed to Camazotz's wings which looked like shredded cheese with how many holes they had in them.
This scavenging beast howled at Kong, snarling towards the carcass on the ground behind him. The hunting party moved forward, but again Kong commanded them to stay back. Perhaps his ego was getting to him?

The great ape's fists crashed against his chest as he let out a bone-chilling roar that echoed across the valley as he rushed this winged threat. The scavenger leaped into the air and clapped its wings, propelling itself into Kong, its claws slamming into his chest and driving him into a rock. The ape wouldn't let this monster have the top position for long, as it went to stomp his face, he grabbed the leg and sank his fangs into its thigh, the creature cried out in pain as blood oozed from the puncture holes.

Kong roared furiously as his foe reeled back in pain, baring the rest of its sharp teeth before jumping towards him again, but the ape was ready this go around, intercepting it by grasping the collar of this threat and forcing it to stand. The king of Hollow Earth drove it back, grappling with it before he cocked his head back and bashed it forward, and the bat-lion thing hissed before it retaliated by sinking its tusks and teeth into the massive left shoulder of Kong. The ape howled as blood oozed from the bite mark; two can play the biting game!

Kong disengaged and took a step back, prompting the scavenger to swipe at him with its three clawed digits on the tips of its left wing. Unfortunately for the scavenger, it wouldn't have a left-wing a few seconds later, as Kong grabbed the wing and, with all the rage within him, viciously ripped it from the body with a sickening sound of tearing flesh!

The scavenger howled and stumbled towards the hole in the ground, trying to regain its footing which its ape enemy wouldn't allow. Kong hurled the severed wing towards the threat, and it smacked his opportunistic rival into the hole. The scavenger tried to dig its clawed digits into the sides of the cavern for purchase, but it simply couldn't hold on and it began to plummet into the shadows while roaring in defeat.

Huff, huff, huff Kong let loose three sharp exhales before glancing towards his allies, who had watched his battle with two fearsome titans in consecutive fashion. A grin crossed the ape's face as he nodded his head. Who was hungry?

The hunting party waited patiently as Kong heaved the massive carcass of the stag over his shoulders before approaching Shimo, climbing atop the frosty titan's back before hooting out a command, pointing his axe back in the direction they came.
Back home.

The hunting party turned 'round and started for their home, a dense forest with massive trees that provided a grand natural canopy at the foot of a towering mountain with a cave at the bottom of it. The canopy of leaves and foliage provided protection and security for Kong's tribe, but Kong didn't plan on staying there long. It was too close to where Skar's Lair was, a fiery hellscape of death and bones, and haunting memories. When the rest of the apes were completely nourished, Kong planned on leading them to a more suitable environment, the one they currently had worked perfectly, but the king of Hollow Earth could tell by the looks of his kin that they were still uncomfortable, still too close to their dark past.

Following the liberation of his tribe from Skar King's tyrannical reign, Kong's first order of business was to get all of the apes fed. The workers, the child-bearers, and the children themselves. Some of the apes were hesitant, some of Skar King's loyalist Red Stripes that still wanted to rule with a dominant iron fist, but Kong had given those rogues an option: Leave and fend for yourselves or stay and enjoy security and peace. The Red Stripes that weren't killed during the battle of Hollow Earth two years prior weren't dumb enough to go out on their own. Sure, they could start a tribe, but none would fit as a leader. Losing Skar King had been too much of a shock to them, and the remaining Red Stripes would more than likely tear each other apart before any predators or superior titans could take them down.

Kong had found this location not too long after leading his ape tribe from the cruel caverns where Skar King had them shacked up. They found large red berries hanging from trees and massive berries the size of armored tanks.

The Iwi people of Malenka called these berries Soma Berries and had sometimes juiced them to create healing beverages for the sick and elderly. The tribe of silent folk didn't take too long to find out that drinking too much of the juice can knock one out or have them walking around in sluggish stumbling patterns. It was when they first understood the concept of being drunk, some of the titans got themselves drunk off the delectable juices, usually it was the Great Apes that were most vulnerable.

Once Kong and the hunting party arrived, several of the other apes gathered around them. Gawking at what their leader had brought for them to consume. Shimo came to a rest at the mouth of the cave and entered, curling herself around a large, jagged rock before falling into a deep slumber. Nodding his head; Kong gave his tribe permission.
Dig in.

Monarch Control

Barbados

"Relax, Ilene…you're getting' yourself worked up over potentially nothing." Trapper tried to reassure his ex but she turned to him incredulously.

"Potentially nothing!?" The linguist gasped in amazement at just how ridiculous the titan dentist sounded. "A titan just surfaced from the Hollow Earth like a bat out of Hell, and you think it's nothing!?"

"I mean…Godzilla took care of the thing, did he not?"

"Yes, but monsters from the Hollow Earth don't come to the surface like Baragon did. I've reviewed its mannerisms and it looked stressed or ready for a fight."
Dr. Andrews was nigh hysterical, her mind started to harken back to the dark days of Skar King and Shimo, and how everything leading up to the war in Rio was one of the greatest shitshows that Monarch had ever found itself in, coming close to being on the levels of the 2019 Mass Awakening.

Trapper approached her as she buried her face into her hands, propping her elbows on the table and shaking her head in disbelief.

"Ilene, are you alri—"
"I'm fine," The linguist lied, "I'm not looking forward to whatever is coming, at all…"

"Relax, babe…" Trapper pleaded, "Whatever's stirring up trouble down there might get dealt with down there."
"Well, Baragon must have dealt with Kong…"

"Just to get put in it's place by Godzilla; listen, if something's got the balls to come up here, the Big G will take care of it."

Before Dr. Andrews could continue her side of the argument, Director Hampton came storming towards the two former lovebirds, phone in hand.

"You haven't been answering your phone calls, Dr. Andrews…" she grumbled with deep agitation, her brow knitted with anger.

"I'm not ready to deal with all the bullshit, Director Hampton…" The linguist groaned.

"I'm not wanting to go through it either, but you can't just turn off your phone. Dr. Russell is scared shitless that something might be wrong with you!"

Dr. Andrews's face shifted into one of surprise blended with confusion, sitting up in her chair instead of slumped over.
"Dr. Russell? Mark?"

"Who else would it be, honey?" Trapper teased.

"Let me speak to him." Dr. Andrews requested as she stood up and approached her superior, motioning for the phone to be given to her.

"Make it quick, lest another damn senator calls me…" Director Hampton begged with a roll of her eyes trailing her words.

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises." Dr. Andrews said exasperatedly as she was handed the phone.

"Mark! It's been a while…" Dr. Andrews began as she started for the door, looking over her shoulder to see Trapper following her, she held up a hand to stop him in his tracks, also making a mental note of Dr. Hampton leaning against the wall.

"Is everything alright over there?" Mark Russell asked from the other end of the line, voice weighted with heavy concern.

"Yeah…I'm sure you've seen what happened in Paris."

"It's a repeat of Rome," Mark added on.

"Took the words from my mouth, and just like Rome, another famous building has been eradicated…now imagine the phone calls we're getting from everywhere."
Mark remained silent, taking in every word that came from the linguist's lips, which prompted her to continue.

"That's why I turned off my phone, so, sorry about that."

"Yeah…it's fine." Mark replied, his voice monotone and lacking enthusiasm.

"Anyways…what were you calling me for? If you don't mind me asking that is…"

"Believe me Andrews, I'm more than happy to explain…" Dr. Russell started, "We've been getting these…signals…from our satellites. I don't know what to make of it, but my question is if your daughter has been acting strange lately."

Signals, from space!? The thought screamed in the back of Ilene; her face twisted with surprise.

"Yeah, Jia's been acting normal. If you can call anything an angsty teen does normal…"

"No, what I'm asking is if she's been having visions, scribbling stuff…she caught on to the Malenka distress signal before any of us could, and I'm just wondering if she's been having nightmares or strange shifts in emotions."

"No, not that I know of." Dr. Andrews answered, the sudden thought to check on her daughter entering her mind.

"Good…good…" Dr. Russel sighed, sounding much relieved, "occasionally, look after her. If she starts freaking out in sync with these signals, it could be the key to figuring it out before shit hits the fan again."

"What do you think I do every day, Mark?" Dr. Andrews sighed, her lips forming a hard firm line.

"I know you do, but if she has any sort of hallucination, be it auditory or otherwise, a dream, whatever, you call us first thing.""Will do."
"Thank you, Ilene, I'll see you later."
"You too, Mark."

The two scientists hung up, and a door was creeping open. Ilene turned to face the source of the sound and found Trapper to be peering through the crack.
"Can I come out, now?" He asked jokingly; Ilene nodded.

It disheartened Trapper to see that his former lover was still in an unhappy mood, he thought that a conversation with the "Godzilla Guy," would alleviate her mood, but thanks to her pacing and brushing of her hand through the back of her head, he was proven otherwise.

"Nothing good?" he inquired after hesitating a moment, his voice carrying a hint of nervousness to it.

"Signals, from space…and I'm being led to believe that it's some sort of distress signal according to Mark…"

"Just like the signals from the—"
"Hollow Earth!" Dr. Andrews finished for Trapper.

"As above." Trapper let loose a cynical laugh.
"So below…"