Edited dec 2023 (and the last chapter too). I've made a few small dialogue changes throughout, but nothing major.

Sayonara

…

Armed men escorted Amara and Tao back to her house. Neither spoke the entire way. There was nothing to say. It was too late for words. For the conversation she should have had with him.

Not like it would have made a difference. He would have told her not to go. And then she would have told him that she had to and left anyway.

The island was in shambles. Hundreds of boats and ships filled the surrounding waters. Dozens of helicopters dotted the sky. Planes landed on the hour, every hour. Media and tourists had already doubled the island's population. Trash blew along the usually pristine streets.

The navy found Godzilla's final sanctuary. From what the men said on the boat, they tracked his radiation signature and happened across Tao's boat.

Her house was in shambles. All the Monarch equipment was gone. The notorious laptop too. She wandered over to the kitchenette, closing the drawers that were thrown open.

Tao wordlessly folded the futons and blankets that were heaped on the floor.

The only things left undisturbed were the countless drawings of Godzilla that filled the walls.

Godzilla was angry. Very angry. Like Tao, he didn't want to talk either. Probably because she made a bad situation worse.

First, Apex used Ghidorah to control a robot, then Monarch took Kong into the Hollow Earth, and then Godzilla's battle in Hong Kong. And to top it all off, instead of everything slowly going back to normal, the UN decided Godzilla needed to go.

And then Emms drove the final nail in the coffin, outing her private research to the world and putting another, even larger target on Godzilla's back.

And hers.

They tidied up the small home. Amara pulled out her duffel bag, slowly filling it as she came across useful items. The colonel back on the boat relayed specific instructions on what to pack for the Hollow Earth expedition. Apparently, Mark predicted she would do something stupid.

One bag was all she could bring. The small group would be down there for at least two months if everything went well. Two months. In the Hollow Earth. A place filled with Titans, megafauna, and who knew what else.

But maybe it held the solution. She still had to talk to Godzilla about it. Maybe he wouldn't be as against it as she believed—however unlikely that was.

She sat on the futon and began folding and packing her clothes. Utility pants, shirts, hiking shoes. It wasn't easy packing for a place no one's ever been before.

Tao sat on the floor in front of her, picking up from the pile and helping her fold. His eyes never lifted to meet hers. The bruise under his eye was darker now and starting to swell. The person who gave it to him was lucky she didn't see, or they would have one to match.

She leaned forward and planted a kiss on his bruise. At least it would heal quickly, here on Yonaguni.

Once she was packed, she laid down while Tao made some food. Between jet lag and stress, and now the lingering feeling of Godzilla's exhaustion, drained her of all energy. She rested her eyes, picturing what the Hollow Earth was like.

The vision faded to the dark blue hue of the depths of the ocean. It was always so beautiful through Godzilla's eyes.

You are thinking of the First World again.

I'm curious about it. Have you been there before?

Amara was careful to keep her inner thoughts to herself, only letting him hear the ones that were meant for him. A balancing act that took a lot of concentration.

Not in a very long time.

Why not?

It is balanced. I am not needed there.

But some people think the source of your power is down there. Couldn't you go there to heal faster? Recharge?

My presence alone would risk the stability of the First World. The last of our old rivals—Kong, as you call him—could disrupt it as it is. Yet another unwise move on humans' part.

They told me that he was outgrowing his island and destroyed his containment facility. They thought it was best for him.

When will they learn that they do not know the best for everything? Containing Titans after I put them to rest. If I willed it, they would break free.

So you can control them? Like Ghidorah did?

I am, as you call me, The King of the Monsters. If I call, they will listen.

To think, all this time Godzilla had the power to awaken all the Titans but chose not to.

Couldn't you control the Titans in the Hollow Earth too, if they acted up then?

My rule is not established in the First World. It would have its own. One that Kong may learn of if he is not careful.

The Hollow Earth has an Alpha? Who?

I do not know. My memory fails me of times long past.

But if you went down there, you would just have to defeat whoever the Alpha is and balance would be restored. That's how it works, right?

A waste of energy. This world is my home. Why these questions, Amara?

I just thought that because there are no humans down there, it might be more…peaceful for you.

Humans will learn to coexist. I will not let them drive me away. And as I recall, you are a human, or have you forgotten? We are connected. Being so far apart, it is not meant to be.

What if I came with you? Found a way to live there. Forget about everyone else.

I acknowledge the sentiment, but you would die. The First World is not suited for humans. Or you. He added as an afterthought.

"Amara?" A hand touched her back. "Supper is ready if you're hungry," Tao said in Japanese.

The daylight was jarring as her conscience returned to her from the ocean. She rolled onto her back, meeting Tao's gaze. He was sitting beside her.

"Daijoubu ka?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm good."

She definitely wasn't good.

…

The next morning seemed to come way too quickly despite an endless night of tossing and turning.

Tao looked ill. His tanned face had a pale tinge and his frown was etched deep enough to age him.

Her poor fisherman. He did so much for her, even before he really knew her. And now she was standing outside of the airport, about to leave him. But this time, he knew as well as her, that there was no coming back.

She'd ruined the island that took her in. Even if it was Emms that outed her, it was her own research that caused everything. The only way for the island to ever go back to normal was to leave it and never return. Both her and Godzilla.

Earlier, she'd opened all the windows of her house. Told Tao to leave it, let the birds use it, let nature take it back.

Tao wiped the tear off her cheek despite the tears rolling down his own.

"Sayonara, Tao," she croaked through the gravel in her throat.

He swallowed. A distraught look on his face. After all, sayonara wasn't the same as a "see you later" or an "until we meet again", it was a final goodbye.

A goodbye to Tao. A goodbye to Yonaguni. A goodbye to her life up to this point.

"Ki o tsukete." His voice was soft.

"I will. You take care too. Don't do anything I would do."

He let out a choked laugh and nodded. His face was getting blurry through her tears.

She hugged him.

His arms wrapped tightly around her. "Aisheteru," he whispered in her ear.

Was this truly the last time she would see him? The last time she would hold him?

She never wanted to let him go. "I love you, too."

"Time to go ma'am. The plane's about to take off." One of the surrounding soldiers approached.

Her arms fell to her sides like dead weights when she let go of Tao. The man was right. It was time to go.

Tao gave a weak smile. "Ganbatte ne."

And with one last look, she turned away.

…

The privacy of Castle Bravo was welcome. The underwater base was a sanctuary to most of Monarch's employees thanks to its secluded location off the coast.

Amara avoided everyone she could, going straight to the room she was designated. The meeting was coming up in less than an hour. Apparently, the selected candidates had been chosen but not announced. The mission itself was top secret. Maybe not the best move if anyone found out, given the current political climate.

Not even ten minutes after getting to her room, the door burst open.

Before Amara could fully react, Mi Sun crushed her in a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Amara!" she exclaimed. "I was in a meeting. You were already gone. I tried calling too!"

"No, no, it's okay. I didn't look at my phone at all since I left Washington. It's confiscated now anyway. Besides, not like I need it anymore."

Mi Sun let her go, pausing momentarily. "Ah, yes, I guess that's true." She checked her watch. "We should head down to the meeting room. You can fill me in on everything."

"Sure."

Amara told her everything that happened on Yonaguni through the halls and down the elevator. She spoke as if recapping a chemistry textbook, keeping all emotion from her words. She'd cried enough on the plane.

"And what does Godzilla think of you going to the Hollow Earth?" Mi Sun asked as they rounded a corner.

"He doesn't know I'm going."

"But you're connected again, aren't you?"

Amara nodded. "I talked to him about it, but he thinks it's a death wish for me to go down there."

Mi Sun looked at her, raising a brow. "You're cutting him off now?"

Amara nodded again, her eyes straight ahead. "It was easier."

"I suppose," Mi Sun said hesitantly. "I can't say I disagree, but I'm not sure I agree either."

"If I tell him, he'll stop me. He would have no problems destroying the Antarctic tunnel or turning on Monarch. And we can't afford to have Godzilla do anything to draw attention to himself. Or Monarch. Or me."

"You really want him down there?"

"No I don't, but where else can he go? It's only a matter of time before humans piss him off. No matter what he thinks, living in coexistence isn't possible. Mankind doesn't know the meaning."

Instead of heading into the meeting room, Mi Sun stopped at the doorway. Like Tao, her face dropped. "There has to be something we can do."

"And we're about to do it." Amara took a step into the room but stopped when Mi Sun didn't make a move to follow. "You're not coming in?"

"No."

"Wait. You're not coming?"

"No. I didn't meet all the qualifications. Plus, someone needs to look out for the Titans." She smiled. "Make sure they behave."

Amara managed a nod before Mi Sun beckoned her in.

For some reason, she assumed Mi Sun would be coming. She had much more biology experience than her, both in schooling and in the field.

Then again, maybe that was the very reason Mi Sun wasn't going. She was more valuable to Monarch on the surface. Unlike Amara, she wasn't expendable.

A conference table sat in the middle of a large, dimly lit room. The entire back wall was glass, looking into the blackness of the ocean. And dead center of it was a solid rectangle where the Monarch logo was projected onto a blank screen.

At the table sat the other recruits. Dr. Ilene Andrews, Dr. Nathen Lind, and Jia, the little girl from Skull Island. Mark stood at the end, shuffling a pile of papers.

Amara took the seat on the opposite side of the three. Everyone muttered quick greetings, but they only seemed to make the atmosphere more tense. Mark passed her a small stack of papers. As she looked though, she felt the glances of the others crawl over her skin.

Sudden movement caught her eye. Jia gestured to Amara then signed something to Ilene, who signed something back with a stern look on her face.

Amara looked at Dr. Andrews. She really needed to learn some sign language.

"Jia was just asking if you were the Godzilla researcher," Ilene said with a polite smile.

Jia looked between her and Ilene, eyes wide in curiosity.

"Ah," was all Amara replied. She didn't even know the answer to that question anymore. "I'm here to help find him a new home."

Ilene signed what she said to Jia. The girl quickly responded.

"Is Godzilla good?" Ilene asked on Jia's behalf.

"Of course he is. He just didn't know what was going on."

Dr. Lind spoke up, "He didn't look very confused when he took out our entire fleet and almost killed all of us."

Amara turned sharply to the man. "No, a land-dwelling alpha Titan in the middle of the ocean is perfectly understandable."

"So Godzilla's number one advocate is admitting he isn't as smart as she claims he is?"

"I don't think it's Godzilla's intelligence I'd be questioning. Moving a Titan to an unknown environment based on a hunch on the other hand..."

"Guys, guys. Now's not the time," Mark interrupted before Dr. Lind could voice his comeback. "You're going to have to learn to play nice if you're going to survive down there."

"As far as I'm concerned, she's not needed. The whole point of bringing Kong to the Hollow Earth was to give him his own territory. Bringing Godzilla down there isn't going to end well for anyone."

"I don't know about that." Ilene turned to him. "They may have reached a truce after defeating Mechagodzilla. There's a possibility that they could learn to get along. Or at least coexist."

Voices came from the hallway. It sounded like Mi Sun was talking to someone. The other voice was masculine. Actually, on second thought, it was familiar.

A man walked into a room. She'd seen his face before somewhere. Strong Japanese features, black hair, and dark brown eyes.

Both Ilene and Dr. Lind stood abruptly, looking at him like he was a ghost.

"What is he doing here?" asked Dr. Lind. "He should be in jail."

Jail? What did he—wait. Before her face had been plastered over the news, it was his.

Ren Serizawa.

The son of the late Ishiro Serizawa, who was the only man to possibly care about Godzilla as much as she did. Monarch had way more influence than she thought. He was put in jail the second he got out of the hospital. Not only did he help create Mechagodzilla, he piloted it.

So what in the hell was he doing here?

Her vision tunneled in on him. Her fingers clenched the fabric of her pants. He may have survived getting electrocuted, but if he made one wrong move. Just one.

The next person who walked in drew her attention away. The owner of the familiar voice. This time she was the one who stood.

"Whyley!"

She ran over to the blonde. He was tall as ever, but a bit more built than before.

Finally, something good.

He froze when she wrapped her arms around him. He obviously didn't realize the effect his mere presence had on her.

All of a sudden, going to the Hollow Earth didn't feel like a death sentence. Whyley was going to be there with them. Everything was going to be okay!

"I missed your stupid face," she said into his shoulder.

"And I thought you forgot about me," Whyley said as Amara let go.

She grinned. "I would never, Gale."

"Don't call me that." He frowned.

"Okay, party's over. Take your seats."

Amara took her spot. Whyley sat down beside her, while Ren sat beside him, keeping his chair away from the table.

"There's only six going? I thought we had room for eight?" Ilene asked, giving the table a quick scan.

"We had to factor in supplies. One of the HEAVs was modified to carry equipment. We had to remove two seats."

"Good to see we're wasting one of them on him." Nathan glared at Ren.

"You're the ones bringing a child," Ren shot back.

"Guys!" Mark interrupted. "We needed a second pilot, a mechanic, and a physicist. Serizawa here, covers all three." He then turned to Ren. "Jia's presence will keep Kong on our side, and you guys are going to need him down there."

Amara tensed. Whyley seemed to as well.

"What do you mean this little girl will keep Kong on our side?"

Dr. Ilene answered, "Jia is from Skull Island. Ghidorah's storm wiped out the population, but Kong saved her."

Dr. Lind gave her a sideways look. Not dissimilar to the look Whyley gave her.

"So Kong protects the child. What's the point of him then?" Ren gestured to Whyley. "Entire units are useless against Titans, what's one grunt going to do?"

Whyley straightened. "I'm here to make sure you guys don't do anything stupid to draw attention to yourselves."

"Last I checked, we're the scientists here, not you," Dr. Lind said.

"All right, all right, enough," Mark cut in. "I know you're all excited at the prospect of working together, but I'm going to need you to all shut up and listen for a minute."

Harsh gazes lingered on each other before finally turning their attention to the director.

"First of all, you're all here because you're the best for the job, regardless of whatever you've done in the past. Dr. Lind here, is a geologist with experience piloting the HEAVs. Dr. Andrews is head of Kong's behavioral research division, as well as a background in chemistry. Dr. Rey is—was chief of Godzilla's behavioral research division and has a background in biology. Dr. Serizawa, as I said is the other pilot, engineer, mechanic, and physicist. And Whyley is a Lieutenant of the UNTDA, who has been on the front lines of multiple Titan attacks."

"And it just so happens he and Dr. Rey know each other?" asked Ren.

Amara spoke before Whyley, looking Ren straight in the eye. "He arrested me multiple times."

The way Whyley whipped his head toward her probably meant that wasn't what he had in mind for an answer.

"So the soldier and the mad scientist are buddies. Great, I can't see how that could go wrong."

"Nathan," Ilene chided. "You know as well as I do that Amara didn't do anything we wouldn't have. It's Emms who should be in jail right now for the position he put Monarch in. I'm glad Amara is coming, she has the Titans' best interests at heart."

"'Titans? You mean Godzilla?" Ren crossed his arms. "It's going to take a lot more than healing powers to make up for all the death he caused."

Oh he wanted to play that game, did he? "You mean in Pensacola or Hong Kong? You know, where you led him." Amara matched his glare. "Oh, and what about Mechagodzilla?"

Nathan cut in, "How about the fleet Ilene, Jia, and I were on? Or the countless other places he's leveled?"

Amara squared her shoulders to face him. "The cities he's leveled fighting the Titans that threatened the planet?"

"Yes, because Kong is so evil." Nathan waved a hand.

"I'm not sure how Godzilla is supposed to deduce that from the bottom of the ocean."

Bam!

Amara jumped when Mark's hand slammed down on the table.

"Enough! You guys better start getting along real quick or you're not going to last a second down there. Now can I please have your attention, or are you going to act like children for the rest of the meeting?" When no one made any indication to argue, Mark straightened. "Thank you."

Amara's eyes fell on Jia as Mark began to speak on the logistics of the mission. The poor girl looked uncomfortable. She didn't have to hear what was being said to know the tension between everyone. Of everyone there, Jia was the least suited to go.

Or maybe it was the opposite. Maybe she was the most suited. She grew up on Skull Island. She had a personal connection with Kong.

Or perhaps something more.

…