As the Hollow Earth expedition continued, Monarch also had his work cut out for him on the surface. Thanks to their satellites transmitting live images, the organization was able to monitor the progress of the awakened titans. From the control room of Castle Bravo, Henri Serizawa supervised operations with the army of operators behind him, his eyes tirelessly scanning the multitude of screens.

_"Rodan and Quetzalcoatl managed to repel the living alien mass in Colombia." one of the operators indicated to the boss. "However, other more or less important clusters with the same origin have been spotted all over the world, all in places with a very high level of pollution. The titans Leviathan, Baphomet, Sekhmet, Anguirus and Gamera are currently confronting them."

Indeed, the different screens showed fights of absolute violence in the four corners of the world, the titans fighting with ferocity against these viscous tentacular masses which seemed to become larger and larger as they progressed.

_"Evacuations from nearby populated areas are proving more complicated than expected." said another operator. "There are too many civilians and the titan battles pose serious difficulties for our teams."

_"Do your best." Serizawa then ordered, well aware that it would be anything but easy. "What about Godzilla? Where is he now?"

_"He continues his way through Europe." replied the chief operator. It has destroyed several other power plants on its way to devour the radiation and is currently heading towards the city of Chernobyl!"

Serizawa scanned the radar showing the current location of the King of Monsters. Kim, Ron, and Hiro had returned to base, the Kiryu mecha in need of some repairs after its brief but violent confrontation with Godzilla. Kim Possible entered the operations room, coming to stand next to Henri who rubbed his eyes from fatigue and stress.

_"What is his goal?" whispered Serizawa. "His radiation level keeps increasing, to the point where our scanners can no longer keep up. Godzilla wouldn't do that just for a single enemy."

_"I think it's clear." Kim replied darkly. "Whatever this alien thing is, it's not the only threat. I could see the look on Godzilla's face, it was the same when he was fighting Destoroyah...it wasn't even anger anymore , but... rage, a rage that no human words can explain. He knows what is happening, and he is determined to put an end to it, no matter the cost."

_"No matter the cost..." Serizawa repeated thoughtfully, looking anxious.

_"Godzilla is the guardian of the natural balance, not of humanity." said Kim, sure of herself. "If saving the planet meant exterminating our civilization, he wouldn't hesitate for a single second to do it. And I think even Elsa wouldn't be able to stop him."

Serizawa recognized this fact although it made him shudder even more.

_"That's why I admire him as much as I fear him." admitted the Monarch leader. "He witnessed the birth and fall of so many peoples, survived all the mass extinctions in our history... We who pride ourselves on being the most evolved species... In the end, who are we to question the judgment of nature itself?"

************

Filled with an exceptional but still insufficient reserve of atomic energy for him, Godzilla had made his way across the continent, causing considerable devastation, many nuclear power plants destroyed and emptied of their contents, leaving a growing number of human populations deprived of their electrical resources. But this kind of detail was worth nothing to Godzilla. He had a clear objective and nothing would distract him, and certainly not these humans and their ridiculous weaponry.

Crushing entire groups of trees under his feet, the king of the monsters finally arrived in sight of the silent ruins of the city of Chernobyl. Breaking down ruined buildings in his path without a care, Godzilla headed towards the infamous nuclear power plant, also long abandoned. With a dull growl, Godzilla began to tear the building apart with claws and jaws, digging little by little to finally reach the basement where dormant radioactive stocks were still located.

Without hesitation, the titan leaned down, grabbing the radioactive deposits between his teeth, breaking them to absorb their contents and further strengthen his own power. But Godzilla did not stop there and also began to absorb, thanks to his unique body, all the radiation present in the environment around him for miles around.

Suddenly, the king of the monsters growled darkly, feeling like a faint but very real ghostly presence inside him that seemed attracted by the upwelling of power he was devouring. He could feel the residue of... Destoroyah. The aura of the abomination was clearly felt, as if coming to taunt Godzilla, to try to take possession of him, to encourage him to let himself drown in the seductive lure of chaos. But Godzilla refused to be fooled, continuing to strengthen himself for war. The only thing that still separated him from the chaotic madness that awaited him was Elsa and the deep desire to see her again. But he couldn't let his bond with her, strong as it was, get in the way of his goal, too much was at stake.

************

In the Hollow Earth, the HEAV continued its patrol in the sector. On board, Ann Possible continued to browse the latest saved recordings of the outpost's cameras in the holo-tablet. Since the discovery of the massacre of the personnel and the presence of this strange warrior woman, the atmosphere was gloomy on board. Jia, who had also been able to see the video, was lost in thought, wondering who the unknown woman with the conical hat in the video was. James Possible, sitting in his place, was watching outside to try to detect any presence of other titans while Mikael piloted. Trapper glanced at Ann, seeing her tirelessly continue to search the files.

_"Do you think you can find anything else?" he asked.

_"I... I think so... look at this..." she replied, showing a shocked face and gave the holo-tablet to Trapper who took a look.

The video, although very damaged, clearly showed the appearance of a huge, non-human and menacing eye, emitting from its iris a bluish glow very similar to the energy of the Hollow Earth.

_"What... it looks like... a primate, right?" Trapper asked.

_"Yes, but that's impossible. Kong is supposed to be the only one of his kind. There's something wrong, it scares me." Ann breathed.

Suddenly, without warning, the flying machine's machinery began to go crazy, the holographic screens crackling and going crazy and all power being cut off. The crew, as confused as they were terrified, clung to their seats as the HEAV began to freefall. Mikael did everything he could to right the craft. Then, without explanation, the failure stopped and the HEAV was able to resume its flight normally, narrowly avoiding a crash.

_"Damn Mikael, what happened?" James asked.

_"I don't know. Everyone calm down, okay? I've got this under control." the pilot replied nervously.

_"It looked like the same kind of electromagnetic signal recorded by the outpost just before the attack." Ann said as she checked the data.

She then felt Jia's small hand gently pat her shoulder.

_*I feel them. It's getting stronger and closer. And it's coming from this direction.* the young Iwi signed, pointing in a direction.

Ann then looked in the indicated direction and noticed this huge ridge stuck between two mountains and seeming to sink very deep into the bowels of the earth.

_"Jia says that the origin of the signals comes from inside this huge ridge over there. We should go take a look."

_"Okay. Hold on tight, I'm starting the maneuver." Mikael indicated to the others.

The ship flew over the ridge, which must have been several hundred kilometers wide and sank very deep. It descended for several minutes until finally reaching the bottom, covered in thick, humid jungle. Once it landed, the rear hatch opened and the crew finally set foot on dry land at the bottom of this enormous natural cavity. For safety, Mikael had taken his assault rifle in hand and remained among the first to protect them. Jia stayed by Ann's side, followed by Trapper and James, fascinated by the natural formation of this place, took his camcorder and began to record some images.

_"The Hollow Earth..." he said with a hint of emotion. "A unique place, never touched by the hand of humans. All my life I have sought to prove its existence and here I am, treading it with my modest steps. Is this what Armstrong felt when he set foot on the moon?"

_"Uh dude ... Can I know what you're doing?" Trapper asked as he appeared right in the camera's field of view, which surprised James who jumped a little in fear.

_"Raah, please, could you not interrupt me? Thanks." James said, annoyed.

Trapper raised an eyebrow, a little perplexed but didn't insisted and left the scientist to his little personal documentary and even heard James repeat the same introductory speech, as if he were re-doing a failed scene. Trapper gave a small smile as he walked a little further and joined Ann and Jia.

_"Your husband is an original person." he said.

_"I think he would take that as a compliment." Ann admitted in a loving tone as she looked over her shoulder to watch James who was still filming the wildlife. "We met when I joined Monarch right after college and even then he was already fascinated by the Hollow Earth and had a deep desire to discover it and unravel its mysteries... He suffered so much from the rejections and mockery of the world regarding his theories but he remained so obsessed with his ideas. I called him selfish and I let him down when on the contrary, he needed me the most... It almost destroyed our family. I never want to go through that again."

_"And I know you will do everything to preserve your family, Ann." Trapper told her in a supportive tone. "Listen, I know it's over between us and we've been apart for years, but if you need help of a friend, I'm here."

Ann smiled and gave her friend and former college crush a thank-you look. She trusted him and knew that he wouldn't try to seduce her again, that he had moved on but that he remained her friend above all and was concerned about her well-being.

With Mikael in the lead and indicating that the ridge where Jia perceived the origin of the signal was still three kilometers away, the small group began a long march in the middle of dense, tropical and above all very primitive vegetation. The air was heavy, humid and the heat overwhelming and everyone felt so small and observed by thousands of invisible eyes hidden in the bushes or trees. Jia seemed the least suspicious, advancing as if she felt called by something that only she could see and hear. Mikael, for his part, did not share this same enthusiasm and slapped his own cheek to chase away a mosquito that tried to bite him.

_"Fuck, I'm getting eaten alive here." he growled.

_"Hey, look. I must be tasty too." added Trapper, who voluntarily let a mosquito that had landed on his arm drink some blood, which disgusted Mikael who preferred to continue on his way, muttering "fucking hippie" under his breath.

The group continued their exploration of this hidden valley, passing near a small watering hole fed by a splendid waterfall and where some animals like some sort of strange antelopes came to drink but fled when humans approached. Going deeper and deeper into the forest that was getting darker and denser, Trapper had passed in front and suddenly, his attitude changed. Becoming more suspicious, even worried, he signaled to the whole group to wait and not move forward.

_"Trapper? What's going on?" Ann asked.

_"Yeah, why are you stopping?" Mikael added.

_"I... We should take a detour, go by another path... I feel like there's something here and it's not friendly." admitted the veterinarian on the lookout and really looking around him cautiously.

His way of speaking really showed that he wasn't joking, which didn't reassure Ann who kept Jia close to her and James even came closer to them. Around them, the jungle was really threatening, like a natural cage gradually closing in on them.

_"I detect no thermal signature within a 50 meter radius around us." Mikael declared while checking his portable detector.

_"No, there's an unusual smell, and for once it's not you Mikael... Can't you smell it?" Trapper said, sure of himself. "It's like... rotting flesh."

_"Probably because we're downwind of a nearby carcass." Mikael huffed, visibly annoyed not only by Trapper's remark but also by what he considered just paranoia. "Come on, let's keep moving."

_"Mikael, wait, seriously..." Trapper insisted, wanting to hold him back by the arm, but the soldier shoved him back abruptly.

_"Listen to me, man..." Mikael growled. "I'd rather trust a functional device than your kind of hippie Ace Ventura sixth sense, okay?!"

_"Mikael, I know we're all a little nervous but there's no point in insulting..." James Possible wanted to intervene.

_"And you, the fairground scientist, if you don't shut up, you're going to end up with your camera buried deep in your behind, is that clear?! I'm the one with the weapon, I'm the one who decides... So let's keep moving." Mikael retorted violently, visibly at the end of his tether.

A little behind, Ann kept Jia with her and watched with concern, fearing that Mikael's loud voice would attract something to them. Trapper and James were visibly trying to calm the soldier down, but Mikael lost his cool for good and began to yell that he was the leader. Suddenly, what looked like the black roots of an uprooted tree just behind Mikael opened up and deployed growths, grabbing the man at lightning speed to engulf him in a huge organic jaw filled with sharp teeth in a circle. In shock and screaming with fear, the rest of the group quickly fled while the monstrous thing gradually tore and swallowed Mikael in a horrifying concert of bestial growls, crushing of flesh and bones and the muffled screams of the man who was entirely swallowed in a few seconds, only his rifle and his sunglasses, covered in drool, having been spat out and the thing emitting a huge filthy burp of satisfaction.

The group ran for long minutes through the dense forest, until they were sure they were out of range of this thing.

_"Oh my god... It's... it's not possible... He got eaten by a tree!" James gasped, trying to catch his breath while shaking with fear and shock.

Ann, after making sure that Jia was okay, quickly took her radio to try to contact the base for an emergency extraction. Jia stayed next to her, still in shock from the horrific sight she had just seen.

_"A tree... You all saw the same thing as me, it was a tree that came out of nowhere and just swallowed her like it was a hamburger!!" James insisted, traumatized.

_"Yeah, I know, it can be heavy..." Trapper breathed. "That's the natural world, man, red in tooth and claws."

James then looked at Trapper like he was completely crazy.

_"Tennyson, seriously? You just watched a man get devoured by a topiary nightmare and you're quoting Tennyson? Down here, in Hollow Earth?"

_"Yeah... yeah, man." Trapper agreed, gently placing his hand on his shoulder and even coming to hug James like an old friend. "He knew where he was, what was the risk. Humans think they're out of the food chain, but... maybe the titans are here to remind us of our true place in the world."

Frozen in the hug, James listened but remained really confused by the guy's detached, baba cool attitude.

_"You know... The more time passes, the more I really think there's something wrong with you." James admitted.

Trapper heard but didn't even take it badly, simply accepting James' remark with a big smile, which disconcerted the scientist even more. Meanwhile, Ann had been trying to test all the possible frequencies of the radio, but...

_"Nothing to do. We must be out of range." Ann whispered.

_"We must first try to find a high point to locate where we are, and then, get out of this valley. We'll mourn later, let's go." Trapper affirmed who, after a firm pat on James' shoulder, continued on his way.

The group, diminished, resumed its path in the jungle but with even more caution knowing this time that even the vegetation could prove deadly, James often glancing behind him as if fearing that the thing that had devoured Mikael would start following them in secret. Jia, meanwhile, holding her adoptive mother's hand, thought of Kong and Elsa, both hoping that they were okay.