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Deep within Antarctica's Hollow Earth Tunnel, a flash of red light streaked past.
The Monarch convoy that had descended through this tunnel was making its way back.
"What a trip."
"I don't think I'll ever forget it as long as I live." Jared leaned back in his seat, drew a long breath of clean Antarctic air, and let it fill his lungs as he stared at the familiar ice walls around him.
Coming back up from the Hollow Earth felt unreal. Like completing an actual interstellar voyage and stepping off the ship.
The things down there — the creatures, the environment — it was all too much. Too far outside anything he had a framework for.
"Don't worry," Old De said, turning to glance at Jia in the back seat, where she had settled against Dr. Ilene Andrews. "Things are going to get better for the big guy. You'll see."
Unlike Jia, Kong hadn't returned to the surface with them. He was the leader of the Giant Ape clan now. His people came first , he had to get them settled before anything else.
Jia understood that. The reluctance was there, quiet in her chest, but underneath it was something warmer. She was happy for him.
Thank you. Her voice surfaced gently in Old De's mind.
Behind the convoy.
"ROARR!"
"ROOAARRR!"
A gray Giant Ape nearly a hundred meters tall lumbered after the vehicles, its hands lashed behind its back with tough Hollow Earth vines. It strained toward the figure walking ahead of it, bellowing, clearly expecting someone to do something about the restraints.
Natsuki, floral shirt and all, kept walking. He dug a finger in his ear, tuned it out completely.
"Relax. It's not time to ship you to the Cosmic Prison yet."
"Skull Island just opened up. You'll stay there for a while, and then..." He paused. "You'll probably need to cooperate with Dr. Serizawa's research." He left it at that, stepped into one of the snow vehicles, and the convoy rolled on toward the cave exit.
"Rooaah..."
The Wise One's eyes went blank.
Research.
As in — experiments. On me.
NOOOOO!
It genuinely considered spinning around and hurling itself straight back into the Hollow Earth. But then it thought about the gap in their combat ability, and the impulse died.
At least there's still a prison to wait things out in. If it caused any more trouble... it was probably going to be eating Spacium Beams until it was full.
...
Natsuki climbed into the vehicle where Dr. Ishiro Serizawa was sitting.
He dropped into the back seat and immediately clocked the expression on the man's face. Serizawa looked like someone had just handed him a bill he couldn't pay.
"What's wrong?" Natsuki asked.
Every problem in the Hollow Earth had been handled cleanly. This should've been a good moment.
Serizawa's face said otherwise.
"We were down there for seven days. And in those seven days..." He rubbed his forehead, phone in hand, the screen buried under missed calls and unread messages. "Monarch has practically become military property."
"I knew this was coming. I just didn't expect it this soon."
In the Hollow Earth, it had felt like a single day. Up here, the world had moved on without them for a week. They'd saved the world once and come back to a full pile of wreckage waiting to be sorted through. For a man his age, that was genuinely hard on the heart.
"Let me guess." Natsuki kept his voice light. "They want you to hand me over too, don't they?"
It was the predictable move. People who sit in power long enough always forget where the edges of that power actually are. Humans, aliens , didn't matter which civilization. It happened everywhere.
"Yes." Serizawa exhaled. "And they want a full accounting of what happened during the battle with Ghidorah."
"Easy enough."
"Didn't I promise you before we left? I'd handle it." Natsuki leaned back. "Let them come. And while we're at it, I need something from them too."
He hadn't forgotten being cornered by military soldiers. Not even a little.
If they thought sparing those soldiers meant he was someone who could be pushed around, they were about to be corrected.
"At this point..." Serizawa looked at him steadily. "You're the only one I can rely on."
"I'm sorry. Our internal problems shouldn't be your burden to carry."
The giant of light from beyond the stars had already done more than anyone had the right to ask. Piling more on top of that sat uneasily with Serizawa, no matter how necessary it was.
"It's nothing." Natsuki waved it off, genuinely unbothered.
"Once we've dealt with them, we need to start preparing. The darkness the Iwi prophesied isn't going to wait for us to get comfortable."
He had no interest in sitting around and letting the enemy pick the timing.
"Understood." Serizawa nodded without hesitation. "We will give everything we have."
On that point, his conviction had never needed defending.
The convoy exited the cave, crossed the snow-blanketed glacier, and pulled up at the shoreline where they had first landed. The ship that had carried Kong was long gone. Ordinarily they'd wait for a relief vessel, but the situation didn't allow for patience , they needed to get back to Monarch's headquarters and take back control of the organization.
When they contacted the organization, it was military personnel who picked up. No surprise there.
The moment they confirmed a return to HQ, the military dispatched an aerial carrier immediately. An investigation and interrogation would be waiting for them when they arrived, that much was clear.
"ROAR!"
The Wise One had been listening to the whole exchange. It let out a sound and pointed a finger at itself.
What about me, then?
You're all getting on a plane and leaving. Does that mean I'm free?
"You?"
Natsuki turned and looked at the gray Giant Ape , snow piled across its shoulders, visibly shivering , and asked plainly: "Can you swim?"
There was no version of this where the creature boarded an aircraft.
"ROOAAHH????"
The Wise One's eyes went wide.
What!? Swim? All the way there? From Antarctica?
Is that a joke?
"ROAR ROAR ROAR!" It shook its head rapidly, emphatically, making its position as clear as possible.
Swimming from Antarctica to Skull Island. It would sink halfway and never be found.
"That's a shame." Natsuki looked genuinely disappointed.
"We'll have to wait for a helicopter to airlift you, then."
That was the only realistic option , a heavy transport helicopter, a sling-load, a long ride. As for shipping it directly to the Cosmic Prison, there wasn't much point yet. The battles ahead were likely to get significantly harder, and Natsuki needed to see what he could squeeze out of another round of special training with the bracelet.
Transporting the Wise One would fall to Jared and Old De, who'd make the extra run. Since Dr. Ilene Andrews and Jia were heading back to Skull Island anyway, the group split in two again for now.
It didn't take long.
A deep engine roar rolled in from the distance, and a massive black aerial carrier descended through the Antarctic sky, settling onto the flat stretch of glacier. Natsuki and Serizawa looked at each other.
Then they walked toward it together.
➤ Next: What Are Rules?
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