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"Alright... I understand." Dr. Ishiro Serizawa hung up, his expression grave.
Natsuki watched him from the side and figured the call hadn't brought good news. Not that he'd had much choice but to listen , with Old De's hearing, tuning out a phone conversation was basically impossible.
"Another Titan waking up?" Natsuki asked.
With Travelers causing chaos at every turn, nothing would have surprised him.
"No."
"The situation is complicated. Let's head back to headquarters first, get some rest. I'll explain on the way." Serizawa pocketed his phone, glanced at Natsuki, and gestured ahead , lead the way.
The Titan over at Skull Island, Kong, had a reputation for being friendly toward humans. It wasn't going anywhere, and it wasn't going to burn anything down in the next few hours. Natsuki had just come out of a fight. A short rest before heading over wouldn't cost them anything.
...
Monarch Headquarters. Bermuda Triangle, Outpost 54.
The black Sky Carrier descended slowly, and the group filed into the underwater base below.
Between Mexico and the South Pole, they'd had quite a run , first the battle with Rodan, then wiping out King Ghidorah at the bottom of the world. Word had reached headquarters long before they did. The staff there were buzzing with curiosity about the people who'd lived through it all, especially the giant from outer space.
Hard not to be curious. The commotion Natsuki had caused killing King Ghidorah in the waters near the South Pole had been enormous. Governments around the world had been flooding Monarch with inquiries ever since, demanding to know exactly what had happened. Serizawa hadn't had a spare second to respond to any of them, and the messages had been piling up.
They'd have to keep piling up a little longer. An important guest needed attending to.
Not that Monarch's relationship with the military was particularly warm right now anyway. They could wait. Monarch had people whose entire job was kicking the ball back and forth with politicians , let them handle it for now.
And honestly? Deepening the partnership with Ultraman was worth a hundred times more than whatever goodwill they'd earn by calling a general back promptly.
"Please, help yourself." In the spacious reception room, Serizawa gestured at the table — a full spread of carefully prepared dishes , and nodded to Natsuki.
"Don't mind if I do."
Natsuki held it together for about three seconds. Then the smell hit him, and any pretense of table manners went straight out the window. He picked up a plate and started eating like a man who'd been told he had five minutes before someone took it away. Jared and Old De both stared.
Was the energy drain from a fight really that severe?
Jared thought back to the night they'd tangled with the MUTOs. After de-transforming, Natsuki had complained loudly about being hungry , but when the energy bars came out, he'd barely touched them.
There was definitely some post-battle consumption happening. But this? Jared was becoming increasingly convinced the man was just a glutton.
Four grown men at the table. The oldest one was clearly enjoying himself the most.
"'s fine, I'm eatin', you got business to talk, jus' talk, I'm lissenin'." Natsuki waved a fork at Serizawa without looking up, cheeks full, words barely intelligible.
Eating and business. Both at once. No reason they couldn't overlap.
He wanted to hear about Skull Island.
"Very well." Serizawa nodded.
He couldn't help but feel a quiet appreciation for it. He hadn't even gotten to the actual problem yet, and Natsuki was already signaling he'd help. No conditions, no posturing, no waiting to see what was in it for him. If this had been the military, they'd still be arguing about jurisdiction.
"Skull Island is a remote island in the Indian Ocean. Monarch conducted its first official survey there in 1973. The island is home to a large number of giant creatures, and the most powerful among them is a Titan called Kong — a massive ape."
As he spoke, Serizawa activated the projector. Monarch's internal files filled the display.
Their acquaintance was short. But he trusted Natsuki. No need to hide anything, no need to dance around the sensitive parts. Just say it.
Talking to Ultraman was so much easier than talking to politicians.
"The 1973 expedition experienced a great deal on that island. In the end, the organization confirmed that Kong has a relatively docile temperament for a Titan, and established Outpost 33 on Skull Island to monitor him."
"In recent years, we've been constructing an ecological dome around the island's perimeter. It's nearly complete. Once finished, the site will be redesignated Outpost 236."
Natsuki looked up.
He finished the spaghetti on his plate in one clean sweep, then set it down. "Why build a dome around him? Isn't that his home?"
It sounded a lot like putting Kong in a cage.
"Because our research determined that Kong's ancestors were enemies of Godzilla." Serizawa switched the projection to photographs of ancient murals. "If we don't protect Kong, a confrontation between him and Godzilla becomes inevitable."
They'd all seen what Godzilla could do. In 2014, it had fought two MUTOs simultaneously and barely broken a sweat. If it came to a fight with Kong, the outcome wasn't hard to predict.
Kong posed no threat to humans. Godzilla had protected humans. Monarch had no interest in watching them tear each other apart.
"That big ape isn't exactly the obedient type, though, is he?"
Old De looked at Serizawa. "Titans aren't stupid. The moment Kong figures out he's locked inside that dome, he's going to start breaking things."
He knew Titan behavior well. He'd seen Kong with his own eyes. He'd always known Kong would never accept being kept by humans , it was only a matter of time.
The call from Skull Island almost certainly meant Kong had started smashing. And the reason behind it was probably exactly what you'd expect: he didn't like what the humans were doing.
"There is that trend, yes."
Serizawa's expression shifted into something harder to read. "But that's not why Kong is out of control this time."
If it were just a tantrum, just Kong venting frustration by wrecking equipment, that would be manageable.
"Skull Island was once home to an indigenous people called the Iwi. Some time ago, a disaster struck them. Their tribe was nearly wiped out. Only one child survived — saved by Kong."
He brought up a photo on the projector.
"Her name is Jia."
"This time, Jia has had a vision. A premonition of disaster. She's terrified." Serizawa paused. "Kong can communicate with her. He felt what she was feeling. That's what set him off."
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