EPISODE 1: WELCOME TO MONSTER ISLAND.

 

               August 5^th, 2025

               Location: 30 miles south of Vancouver, Canada along the coast.

               A fishing trawler was reeling in its net. The five crewmen were discouraged by the lack of fish in the days catch. Only about a dozen Cod fell out of the massive net.

               “This is horrible.” One of the crewmen said. “We’ve been out here for a week and we’ve only caught about 200 lbs. of Cod and Mackerel.”

               “I hear the Rolisican’s are going through the same thing.” Another crewman said. “At this rate, we’ll be lucky to have a full hull before the end of the season.”

               A third crewmember then asked, “Do you think Rolisica is conducting tests again? That one company, Bio-Major, was in the news again recently.”

               “I thought Bio-Major was based out of America.” Said the first crewman.

               “Not anymore.” Said the fourth. “America kicked out Bio-Major before the war started.”

               “So much for America’s anti-nuclear and bio-weapons campaign.” Said the second. “Alaska secedes, becomes Rolisica, they lose Hawaii to the Red Bamboo. Civil War goes on for three years and even though a truce was reached, they still never got the 2 states back.”

               “Didn’t Cuba and Puerto Rico become states though?” Asked the first.

               “Enough!” The fifth crewman, The Captain, suddenly said as he emerged from the cabin. “Talk about politics on your own time. Get those fish stored away and prep the net for another drag.”

               “Yes, Captain.” A few of the men said in almost perfect sync.

               “Captain, what are we going to do if the fishing doesn’t improve before the season ends?” The first crewman asked.

               “Well then no trips to Toronto for Christmas.” The captain coldly said.

               “But Cap-“ The crewman started to say before he was cut off by a sudden rocking of the ship.

               The violent rocking swayed the ship back and forth hard enough for the men to lose their footing. One of them almost fell over the side, had it not been for the last minute save by one of his mates. For at least ten seconds the ship swayed, and then gradually came to a stop. By the time it rested, all of the crew were on their hands and knees trying to stand.

               “Holy Christ, what the hell was that!?” The fourth man cursed.

               “A bad riptide maybe?” The second asked.

               “Riptides don’t get that bad.” The Captain said, “All of you, get on your feet and start checking for damages.”

               “Ca-Ca-Captain!” The First man said in a panic.

               “What!?” The Captain shouted.

               The man could not get the words out, only raise his hand and point out to the ship’s stern. The rest of the crew turned to the direction that their fellow man pointed.

               The waters behind them had a strange wake dissipating on the surface, a long curvy line of waves as if something massive had just slithered by. Then just as their curiosity started drawing them towards the edge of the ship, a massive emerald colored tail-about 20 meters long- whipped out of the water and then slithered back into the depths. The men could do nothing but scream in horror.

                        12 DAYS LATER...              

               The dual propeller blades of a US Navy Osprey whirled with a thunderous roar. In the cockpit of the Aircraft, two American pilots scanned the horizon of the Pacific Ocean with sharp analytical eyes. The main pilot was an African-American Captain in his late twenties while his co-pilot was a slightly younger Caucasian Lieutenant. The pair had been flying for roughly 250 miles and were starting to become concerned about their fuel.

               Through their headsets, a voice said, “Passenger is asking if the destination is in sight yet.”

               The co-pilot replied with a professional tone that mostly hid his anxiety, “Negative.”

               “Roger.” The voice replied.

               “I don’t understand why they don’t have a long-range beacon.” The Co-pilot said to his captain.

               “You heard in the briefing how top-secret this place is supposed to be.” The Pilot said. “If its hard for friendlies to find, its even harder for enemies.”

               “Well, they certainly hit the nail on the head then.” The co-pilot complained. “We get taken to a remote launch point in the middle of the pacific, aren’t given a description of our destination, just a direction and told to fly straight until we get radio contact. How much more weirdly covert can anyone get?”

               “From what I understand anyone assigned to this place, even top military commanders require an extensive background check before being allowed access.” The Pilot said. “I wouldn't be surprised if shadow-government agents did investigations on us without our knowledge before we got selected to fly out here.”

               “What would they even keep this far out to sea?” Asked the Co-Pilot.

               “I don’t know. Aliens probably?” Said the Captain.

               Suddenly a voice came over the radio, “Shitatameru mi kakunin kokuki.”

               The pilot and co-pilot, recognizing the Japanese terminology but unsure of the meaning, hesitated to answer.

               As if the person on the other end knew what they were about to ask, it repeated in English, “Unidentified aircraft, please acknowledge, over.”

               “Roger,” The Captain said, “This is Oscar-Tango One-Three-Nine. Over.”

               “Roger, Oscar-Tango One-Three-Nine,” The voice replied. “What is your cargo and destination code, over?”

               The Captain pulled out a card from his breast pocket on his flight suit and replied, “Cargo: Medical supplies and one passenger.” He then read the code on his card, aloud into the mic, “Destination Code: Mike India One Nine Six Eight, Over.”

               “Copy, Oscar Tango. Send first clearance code, over.”

               The pilot flipped the card over, “First clearance code: Gulf Zero Juliet One Nine Hotel Zero November Delta Four Five Four. Over.”

               For several moments the two men waited. It almost seemed like they lost communication.

               The voice over the radio then said, “Oscar-Tango One-Three-Nine, you are cleared for first beacon. Remain on direct course towards beacon and do not diverge. Do you copy, over?”

               “Roger.” The Pilot said as he flipped a few switches, his co-pilot while looking at a monitor, then gave him a thumbs up. “Locking in on beacon now, over.”

               The two pilots adjusted their course.

               “Did they just say, first clearance code?” The co-pilot asked.

               “First of five.” The pilot said.

               “Oscar-Tango One-Three-Nine, requesting passenger’s clearance code, over.” The voice said on the radio.

               “Roger. Stand by.” The pilot said before pressing a button on his headset. “Hey Vasquez, is the passenger in possession of a clearance code?”

               In the cargo bay of the aircraft, Vasquez, a Hispanic technician was standing next to 4 large pallets stacked six feet high with cardboard boxes. To his rear, resting in a seat with her arms crossed between two fully packed duffle bags, was a 27-year-old female Air-Force Lieutenant with light brown hair in a neat bun and blue eyes.

               “Lieutenant Johnson!” Vasquez called out.

               The young lady called back, “Yes?”

               “Captain wants to know if you have a clearance code.” Vasquez said as he approached her.

               “I do.” Lieutenant Johnson said.

               “Yeah, she does.” Vasquez said into the mic on his headset. “Roger, one second.”

               He removed his headset and handed it to the Lieutenant.

               On the receiving end of the Osprey’s communications, was a large control room consisting of three rows of roughly half a dozen computer consoles and monitors: each with a uniformed operator. The Uniforms they wore were mostly NATO-issued camouflage uniforms with the tan and pale green pattern. Each operator wore a flag on their right arm sleeve representing their native country and a patch with a giant CS in a shield emblem on their left arm. Most were from Japan and the United States but there were also several British, French, and Chinese personnel as well.

               The operator talking to the Osprey was an early-twenties Japanese Sergeant, who was listening as Lieutenant Johnson’s voice said over his headset, “Kilo One Romeo Yankee Uniform Mike Gulf Three.”

               On the monitor before him, he watched as a green mark with OT139 next to it moved across a black background towards a stationary yellow mark with BPA89 next to it.

               “Good.” He spoke. “Remain on course and await further instruction.”

               “Roger.” The pilot’s voice said over his headset.

               Shortly after getting the clearance code, an African American man with a shaved head in his late thirties wearing a US Navy Officer’s uniform appeared behind the operator. On his black uniform, he had no fewer than a dozen ribbon-awards on the left side of his chest nestled under a black tag with G-FORCE engraved in white. On the Opposite side of his chest was another tag with BARNES engraved on it.

               With an authoritative but calm voice, he asked a female Japanese operator at the console to the left, “Who does that code pull up?”

               After typing in the code, a window opened on the screen with Lieutenant Johnson’s photo and information loaded almost instantly.

               The female operator read aloud for Barnes, “First Lieutenant Brianna Rebecca Johnson. United States Air-Force F-22 Pilot of 3 years. Age: 27. She has been requested to be MFS-3’s new pilot, sir.” She then asked him. “Shall I notify Captain Yoshiro?”

               “No thank you, I will.” Barnes said before returning to his desk to the rear of the room.

               Just as he was about to pick up a phone at his desk, another operator at a console in the first row called out to him, “Master Chief! TK-5 is on One-Three-Nine’s beacon route, sir!”

               Barnes paused and looked up at a large screen on the opposing wall displaying a digital map of four islands: one large and three smaller ones. A large light blue ring surrounded all four islands in the ocean. One-Three-Nine was displayed on the screen as a green airplane mark moving along a yellow line to four points; ending with a larger fifth point on the largest island. In addition to a couple-dozen other green marks there were also seven red markers with the letters TK and a number from 1 to 7 next to them. TK-5 appeared on the screen in the water not far beyond One-Three-Nine’s fourth point.

               Barnes said, “If TK-5 is in the water then One-Three-Nine should be just fine.” He proceeded to pick up the phone and dialed a number. After a few seconds he spoke into it, “Sergeant Hayama, this is Master Chief Barnes. Is Captain Yoshiro back from her morning PT?... Inform her that MFS-3’s new pilot is about 25 minutes out.”

                Back on board the Osprey, after sitting patiently for fifteen minutes, Lieutenant Johnson stood up from her seat to look out the side window.

               As she peered out the circular window at the passing waves, Vasquez asked, “Is everything all right, ma’am?”

               “Just getting a look around,” The Lieutenant said. “It seems like we’ve been on final approach for a while now.”

               “We have to follow a strict series of beacon checkpoints.” Vasquez said. “It shouldn’t be long now.”

               She continued to look out across the waves and to her relief she could see up ahead, the coastline of one of the Islands. The aircraft was about a thousand feet in the air, but it was low enough to make out the outlines of the waves and the sandy shores of the island.

               “Looks like we’re about ten minutes out now ma’am.” Vasquez said.

               Lieutenant Johnson was about to head back to her seat when something in the water caught her attention. She paused for a couple seconds to get a better look at an object roughly ten meters long on the oceans surface. At first, she thought it might be a sailboat, but as the aircraft flew by, it soon dawned on her it was only the head of something. The head resembled that of a caiman, predominantly dark red with yellow stripes over the sides, gold reptilian eyes, and black bumps. Additionally, it sported a large orange dorsal fin that rose about 7 or 8 meters out of the water with what looked like two smaller fins on the back end of either side of its jaws.

               “Ma’am, you have to return to your seat now.” Vasquez said.

               In the couple seconds she diverted his attention to him, the massive head had submerged back into the depths. When she looked back there was only a bubbly wake. Though astonished by what she just witnessed, the young officer sat back in her seat without raising any alarm.  As she buckled her seat belt, she tried to process what she just saw in her mind. There was but one explanation she could come up with; she had just witnessed a Kaiju.

               Ahead of the Osprey on the island there was a massive facility, part seaport and part airport. In the center of it all was a humongous compound that resembled a huge indoor sports stadium like Madison Square Garden. Much of the island’s countryside was made of lush forests and a couple wide open grasslands. Its geography was varied as well with high plateaus visible in the distance and a couple large peaks in its center.

               The aircraft circled around the complex and headed for one of the landing pads in the airfield. As it dropped altitude, the pilots prepped the landing gear. Its large rotors slowly moved from lateral to an upright position. With the rotors facing upward it was able to hover in place over one of the pads for a short while before slowly coming down. Upon touching down, a ground crew immediately rushed over to its rear.

               Before powering down, the pilots lowered its cargo door. Lieutenant Johnson grabbed her bags and watched as the ground crew quickly boarded with floor-jacks. While they were busy unloading the pallets, Vasquez opened the side door and beckoned her over so that she could exit. The bright, mid-day sunshine was blinding at first from sitting in the Osprey for so long.  As she stepped off, she found a Japanese soldier standing next to an open-top HMMV saluting her.

               She returned the salute and the soldier said, “Sergeant Hayama of Kiryu Squadron. I am here to escort you to G-Force Command and then to your living quarters.”

               “Thank you, Sergeant.” The Lieutenant said. “Lead on.”

               Another soldier assisted her with the luggage as the three of them climbed into the HMMV and drove towards the compound.

               In Vancouver, Canada. Another aircraft was touching down, this time it was a Cessna 747 at a civilian airport. A Japanese man with blonde hair in his mid-twenties wearing his favorite green hoodie, was among the hundred passengers disembarking the plane. After leaving the plane, he proceeded through customs where he was bombarded with questions about his reason for visiting and what he carried with him. As the clerk at the desk opened the young man’s passport, she was surprised to find it was UN Issued passport. Additionally, it had the stamps of 9 countries. The date-of-birth under his name, Kenpachiro Saegusa, showed that he was also only 26.

               Though stunned at how much the young man traveled, she proceeded to add the Canada stamp.

               “Enjoy your stay.” She said while handing him back his passport.

               In perfectly fluent English he replied, “Thank you.”

               After passing through the security checkpoint, he reclaimed his black duffle bag off a conveyer belt & proceeded to the terminal’s exit. Another Japanese man around his age with black slicked-back hair and glasses ecstatically waved him down.

               “KEN! KEN!” The man shouted.

               The man’s extremely loud voice and excited nature drew some annoyed and concerned looks from other people in the area. Ken, awkwardly smiled in embarrassment. However, he walked over to him.

               Speaking in Japanese, Ken greeted. “Akira: in high spirits as always.”

               “Absolutely!” Akira said. “And we must hurry, too! There’s much to be done!”

               The ecstatic young man quickly snatched Ken’s bag and proceeded to push Ken towards the exit, Ken saying “Hey! Hey! Alright! Alright! No need to shove!” the whole way.

               “We found another!” Akira said as he hurried Ken to a car parked outside.

               Akira remotely unlocked the car’s doors and rushed ahead where he placed Ken’s bag in the back seat and opened the door for Ken.

               Akira then hurried around to the other side and sat in the driver’s seat, while Ken said, “Obviously, that’s why I’m here.”

               “This one is different from the others, though.” Akira replied as he began to drive. “You will see what I mean.”

               “They’re all different.” Ken stated. “And at the same time, they’re all the same.”

               “Oh no my friend.” Akira countered. “There’s definitely something different about this one. Do you think they will let me name this one?”

               “No chance.” Ken said. “They gave it a designation the moment the first reports came in.”

               “Damn it!” Akira said.

               Suddenly the two men heard a phone ringing. Both checked their pockets to see who’s it was. It turned out to be Ken’s.

               “It’s my aunt.” Ken said.

               Before Ken could answer the call, Akira quickly said, “Hey! Tell her I said hi!”

               Annoyed, Ken jabbed his friend’s arm. Though the punch did hurt slightly, Akira snickered mischievously.

               Ken answered the call and said, “Hello, I’m sorry I did not get a chance to call when I arrived… Akira rushed me out. … I don’t know, I’ll ask.” He dipped the phone down and asked Akira, “Your team has the ESP equipment set up already, right?”

               Akira said in a loud voice, “Yes we have Miki-sama!”

               Ken snatched a large eraser out of his pocket and angrily threw it at his friend, hitting him square in the right side of his head and knocking his glasses off. Akira snickered for a few seconds before putting his glasses back on.

   

               “Yes, I apologize.” Ken said embarrassed into the phone. “He’s excited because he thinks there’s something different about this one…” As Ken listened his tone grew more intrigued and serious. “Oh?... I see… I will keep that in mind… Yes, I will… Yes… I will talk to you again soon, Aunty.”

               Ken hung up the phone.

Akira, a little more serious upon noticing Ken’s shift in attitude, asked, “Is everything all right?”

“She thinks there’s something different about this one as well.” Ken said as he sat deep in thought. “She thinks it could be linked to one of the major theories of where some of these kaiju come from.”

“I knew it!” Akira said triumphantly. “When it comes to Yokai-Kaiju investigation, there is no one better than the great Akira Sahara!”

“If only your charm with women were as good, you’d be unstoppable.” Ken said.

Akira’s ecstatic expression slumped into a frown, to which Ken cracked an amused grin.

“That was uncalled for.” Akira said somberly.

Ken chuckled and said, “I was just kidding.”

Akira kept driving with the grim frown, uttering in a low tone, “jerk.”

Back on the island, Lieutenant Johnson got on board an elevator with Sergeant Hayama. The Lieutenant got a glimpse of the numerous buttons on the panel inside the door. Aside from the sheer number of levels, she was surprised to see that there was just as many, underground levels as there were surface levels.

“Captain Yoshiro requests to meet you in the hangar with the rest of our squadron before you are shown your living quarters.” Hayama said.

“Very well.” The Lieutenant said.

Hayama pressed one of the sub-level buttons and the elevator began moving. To the Lieutenant’s surprise, the darkened walls of the Elevator, were in-fact windows. She watched as they went past the various floors; some of which she got glimpses of various labs, armaments, and numerous personnel.

“Have you seen MFS-3?” Hayama asked as they waited.

“No. I assumed it is some kind of advanced aircraft though.” She answered.

The Sergeant, a little amused, stated, “Not quite. Sounds like security is as tight-lipped as ever about our operations here.”

“All I was told, was that NATO was offering a top-secret, three-year assignment with the option for renewal.”

“Well,” Hayama said, “You are in for quite a surprise then.”

Suddenly, the Lieutenant’s eyes glazed open as the elevator took them into a massive hangar. She walked up to the glass in awe as the hangar’s ceiling was at least 500ft high and it seemed to stretch for at least a kilometer. At the opposing end, she caught a glimpse of a mechanical giant of some kind. It had thin diamond shaped yellow eyes, a drill between them that gave it a bird like face, drill-tipped arms and its feet were like blocky pillars. Its geometrical design was also outfitted with blue treads in various areas.

“Is that MFS-3?” The Lieutenant asked.

“No, that’s MFS-2.” Hayama said before pointing to an adjacent window. “That’s MFS-3.”

Her eyes grew even wider with wonder as the elevator was coming down within sixty feet of another mechanical monstrosity. This one had more of a dinosaur-like head with wing-like protrusions from the sides and top of its head, dark yellow-trapezoid eyes, and a segmented neck. The metallic portions had a very fine silver color, contrasting the darker grey coloration of MFS-2. She couldn’t see the back or the feet, but she could see the arms at its sides which sported clawed-tipped hands.

On several platforms and several places on MFS-3 she also could see multiple technicians hard at work doing surveys and maintenance. Some were welding, generating a brilliant firework-like display of bright blue sparks. Others were tightening bolts or replacing parts. The busy workers looked like ants compared to the mechanical titan. For Bri it was difficult to fathom that such enormous machines were even possible; let alone the fact that she was going to have to take control of one.

The elevator slowly came to rest at a catwalk that ran adjacent to MFS-3’s chest, where three men in flight suits stood before another female Japanese officer.

“Looks like we’re just in time,” Hayama said as the doors opened.

The female officer turned to them and said, “Hurry! Formation!”

The two hustled over to join the three men on the line. They stood at attention as the officer inspected the five troops with her eyes. Her auburn hair was in a neatly made bun and her eyes had a very deep engrossing stare.

In English she said, “Sound off!”

The first man in line, a Japanese man with short black hair in his late twenties shouted, “First Lieutenant Haru Mizaki!”

The second was a younger Japanese man with a high-and-tight haircut, who said, “Second Lieutenant Tomo Nakajima!”

“Staff Sergeant Ben Peterson!” The third pilot, an American with a muscular build and wavey brown hair said.

Hayama then said, “Sergeant Kyuzo Hayama!”

Lieutenant Johnson was a fraction of a second slower than everyone else in her sound-off, but said loud and clear, “First Lieutenant Bri Johnson.”

With a calmer voice than before, the female officer said, “At-ease.”

The troops moved to the at-ease position. She took a moment to analyze once more with her deep gaze, the line before her.

She then spoke up, “I am Captain Akane Yoshiro. As most of you know, I was the former pilot for MFS-3, aka Kiryu. I was selected by Major Hayashida to be the new squadron leader as he moves up to be Capture Division’s new Commander. For those of you that don’t know, our newest member, Lieutenant Johnson has been asked to become Kiryu’s new pilot. I trust you all will treat her with the same respect as you treated me. Any questions?” She waited for a moment to see if anyone would speak up, to which no one responded. “Johnson and Sergeant Hayama, hold fast. Everyone else, dismissed.”

The other 3 pilots snapped to the position of attention before taking a step back. They then saluted and proceeded to the elevator. Akane waited until the men were on the elevator before saying anything; all the while she judged Bri with her eyes. The new pilot was unaware of the stare-down as she was still taking in the incredible sight that was Kiryu.

Once all 3 men were out of sight, the Captain spoke, “Rest.” Prompting Bri and Sergeant Hayama to stand easy.  “For a moment I was worried you wouldn’t make it in time.”

“My apologies ma’am.” The lieutenant said.

“Her aircraft only landed about ten minutes ago.” The Sergeant said.

“I’m aware it was not your fault, Lieutenant, nor yours Sergeant.” Akane said. “I’m sure the security barriers were painful to get through.”

“Yes ma’am, they were.” Bri said.

“And I’m sure they did not give you the specific details of your assignment.” As she turned towards Kiryu. “Correct?”

“Yes ma’am.” Bri answered.

Akane cracked a slightly amused smile as she looked up towards Kiryu’s head, “I apologize for all the secrecy. It must be scary asked to do a long assignment with no idea of what you’re actually doing in that time. It is necessary though. If the wrong minds knew of our operation, this place, or what we have, it would be trouble unlike anything the world has ever known.”

Bri said, “There’s no need for apologies ma’am. When I found out about the assignment, I assumed that like any top-secret operation that it had an incredibly significant reason as most do. If it were something of that much importance, something that could help the world, I was more than willing to accept it.”

Akane’s eyebrows raised, surprised by Bri’s response, and she said, “Well, you are indeed correct. We have a task that is unlike anything that the militaries of the world could comprehend.” She then turned towards Bri. “So, what do you think of Kiryu, here?”

“I…” Bri said as she looked up at Kiryu’s face.

In that moment it looked as though the Mechanical Marvel was looking back at her as it stood motionless, the slightly angled eyes looking as if it were judging her with deep serious thought. The same look that Akane had.

“I don’t know what to think.” Bri said. “But I will do my absolute best with it.”

Akane’s serious face revealed a pleasant smile, though her eyes remained serious.

“You remind me of myself when I was first given the position.” Akane said. “Which is why I believe that you will indeed give it your best.”

“I agree, ma’am.” Sergeant Hayama said.

Bri looked at both in surprise.

“Bri, was it?” Akane asked.

“Yes, Captain Yoshiro.” Bri answered.

“You can call me Akane.” She spoke.

Bri felt a bit more relaxed, “Yes, Akane.”

“But you may not call me Kyuzo.” Sergeant Hayama joked.

Bri laughed a little.

“Follow us Bri, it’s time you were properly briefed.”  Akane said as she turned toward the elevator.

Bri and Hayama followed. Before stepping away, the new pilot took one last look at her new partner: Kiryu.

               Back in Vancouver, a group of scientists dressed in tan and green outfits were surveying along the shores of the ocean. Some were setting up infrared cameras facing out to sea, some were analyzing digital satellite maps of the area, others were taking readings and samples from the sand and water using various forms of equipment. While most were Japanese, the group was very ethnically and culturally diverse. One thing they all had in common aside from the mild uniformity of their clothing was the badges they had clipped to them showing their portrait, names, nationality, and the word “Monarch.”

               A female scientist with a long ponytail, who’s badge indicated she was named Sarah Cooper from the UK, was among the group searching through the knee-high shallows. As she cautiously stepped through the water in her black rubber thigh-high waders, her eyes scanned the shallows vigorously. With every stepped she looked with the intensity and the precision of an eagle until finally they caught sight of something. At first glance it looked like a large sharp flat rock. However, it’s glistening emerald surface was what suggested it was something much more than a stone.

               “Hey!” She called out. “I found something! Bring gloves!”

               Several of her colleagues donned large black robber gloves and made their way over to her. At the same time Ken and Akira’s car was just arriving on a gravel path that connected to the shore.

               Seeing the commotion, Akira shouted with glee, “Look! We must have arrived just in time for something big!”

Before Ken could even unbuckle his seatbelt, his friend excitedly got out of the vehicle and was racing down the sand to see what they found.

Ken rolled his eyes as he got out of the vehicle and said to himself, “I’d hate to see him as an old man.”

Down at the water’s edge, a group of six scientists-including Sarah-carried the five-foot-long slab out of the ocean and over to a large blue tarp that others had laid out for them. The object weighed at least 100lbs and had the shape of a basil-leaf; minus the stem. Its texture on the top was smooth like stainless steel and the underside had a rougher, grooved surface. Akira and Ken arrived just as the group set it down on the tarp. Immediately, chatter filled the air as they stood back and observed for a moment.

Is it a tablet?

No, it must be a spur or a scale.

Yes, it’s a scale.

The size of it though.

Whatever creature this came off must have been massive.

Anywhere between 60 to 80 meters at least.

“Does anyone have a Geiger Counter?” Ken asked.

“Yes.” One of his colleagues said holding up a small handheld device resembling a calculator.

The device clicked slightly every three seconds for ten seconds as the young scientist held it over the scale. Ken leaned forward to check the reading.

“It’s incredibly low.” Ken said. “Given the half-life of their radiation, this couldn’t have been here for more than a few days.”

“Alright!” Akira said with great gusto. “Let’s start taking measurements, more readings, samples; lets document everything! Who was the one who found this wealth of knowledge!?”

“Sarah.” Several voices said.

Akira turned to look at who Sarah was. His face went red as soon as he saw her standing with her hands overlapped in front of her, looking both humble and bashful at the same time.

“I uh...” Akira uttered as he stammered over his words.

Ken turned his attention away from the scale to see Akira’s petrified state. He acted fast to save his friend from embarrassment.

“He means to say, that he cannot believe what an amazing specimen you’ve found.” Ken said stepping forward to shake her hand.

“Why thank you.” Sarah said while shaking Ken’s hand. “This is only my second day, so I promise I’m not this fortunate.”

As the two of them went into a discussion, Akira seemed lost in his red-faced trance. It wasn’t until a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, that his concentration finally broke, albeit with a startled gasp. He turned to see it was one of his colleagues.

“Doctor, you might want to take a look at this.” The young scientist said.

Akira sighed in relief and embarrassment, “Of course, what is it?”

As he calmed down and returned his focus to the scale, his fellow scientists directed his attention to the grooves on its underside. Towards the pointed end of the specimen, some of the grooves had a strange reddish-brown substance in them.

“Think it may be blood?” Another researcher asked.

“It’s possible.” Akira said as he removed a swiss army knife from one of his side pockets on his shorts. “Does anyone have a petri dish?”

Another Colleague handed him a petri dish. Akira, using the nail file on his knife, began scooping samples of the substance into the dish. It seemed to break apart in chunks like dirt as it hit the plastic plate. He then stood up and began fiddling with it using the file.

“It’s some kind of clay.” Akira said. “Ken, have a look at this.”

Ken’s attention diverted to clay in the dish as Akira held it out for him.

Ken scratched his chin with his thumb and index finger as he observed, “well, it’s definitely not the same sort of mud or sand from around this area.”

Sarah suddenly leaned over Akira’s arm and stated, “It looks more like the kind of sediment found in the earth’s mantle.”

 With Sarah’s shoulder and bicep grazing Akira’s arm he suddenly froze, and his face went bright red once more.

Ken asked, unaware of his friend’s paralysis, “Do you think it could have come from the Mariana Trench then? It does have vents that connect to the mantle.”

“No,” Sarah said. “The sediments that come out of those vents becomes diluted. This looks way too concentrated for that.”

Ken’s right eyebrow raised in curiosity as he asked, “So this had to have come directly from the mantle, itself?”

“Yes.” Sarah said. “I think I have something here that can prove it too!”

As Sarah hurried back to their camp, Ken looked back down at the dish in wonder. Suddenly he noticed Akira’s hand trembling a little. He looked up and discovered Akira was still petrified and as red as a tomato.

Speaking in Japanese, Ken asked, “Are you all right?”

Akira trembled a little and uttered back in Japanese, “I think I want to marry her.”

Ken looked at him awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

“Here, set it down.” Sarah said as she returned with a small vial of clear liquid.

Akira did not lose his red color but was able to fight his catatonic state enough to oblige. He set the dish down on the tarp. Sarah began unscrewing the lid from the vial.

“What’s that?” Ken asked.

“Sillic acid.” Sarah said as she cautiously was about to pour some onto the clay in the dish. “The mantle is incredibly rich in silicate minerals. If there’s a reaction…” She poured a few drops onto the clay, which began bubbling and emitting smoke. “Then this sample is rich in silicates as well.”

“She’s incredible.” Akira thought to himself.

Ken was in awe of this discovery.

“This definitely proves one of the theories then…” Ken said.

Akira came out of his love-struck daze and asked, “The Hollow earth theory?”

“Yes.” Ken replied. “Large spaces in the earth’s crust and mantle that could potentially hold subterranean life. It’s now believed that its one of the origins for kaiju.”

“It would certainly explain the origin of the one we captured a few years ago.” Akira said. “Perhaps this is another member of its species?”

“Doubtful.” Ken said. “Baragon doesn’t have scales like this.”

“Just how many of these things could there be?”

They stood looking at the scale in wonder as more of their colleagues continued to examine it.

Back at the base, the elevator doors opened to one of the motor pools. Sergeant Hayama, Akane, and Bri stepped off the elevator. The trio proceeded to walk among many vehicles of various types. At first it appeared to house conventional ones such as HMMVs, 5-ton trucks, armored personnel carriers and tanks.

“G-Force started out in the mid-90s as a separate branch of the Japanese Self-Defense Force.” Akane explained as they walked. “Its sole purpose was to defend the nation against the threat known as Gojira; known in the west as Godzilla. It utilized a vast array of resources and technology at its disposal. Shortly after its formation, MFS-1 was created. Also known as Mecha-Godzilla. We harvested technology in the aftermath of the futurian incident of 91 to create MFS-1 and improve our more conventional weapons as well.”

“Like these beauties!” Hayama said with a flare of enthusiasm in his voice.

Bri’s eyes widened as they began to walk past large treaded tank-like vehicles with what looked like radar or communication discs on their turrets.

“Maser Cannons were a weapon commonly used by the JSDF for many years.” Akane continued. “In the last thirty years, they have improved exponentially. Though Gojira was our primary target, there were others: Battra, Rodan, Space-Godzilla, Destoroyah, and more. And although Gojira would perish after a nuclear catastrophe, like a phoenix, a new Gojira would rise from its ashes.”

“It’s adopted son as I understand it.” Hayama said. “Apparently this one was not as aggressive to humans as its father.”

Akane then said, “Indeed. Strangely enough, this new Gojira would go into hibernation. For the last thirty years it has not awoken. With the rise of so many more Kaiju though, G-force began reaching out to forces across the globe and, in complete secrecy, a massive coalition was formed. Comprised of multiple nations, we answer to no single country; only the United Nations itself.”

“We’re comprised of 3 Factions,” Hayama interjected, “Combat, Security/Containment, and Investigations. Our Combat Division is comprised of 2 Divisions; Capture and Termination.”

               “Our Investigations Faction operates under the name Monarch. They are sent out whenever a new Kaiju or demonic entity, which we call Yokai, is reported. They investigate whether the creature exists, and then they determine its nature towards humans. If the Kaiju or Yokai, is hostile then our Termination Division is deployed to eliminate it before it can cause any harm.”

               Hayama enthusiastically then added as they neared the opposite end of the motor pool, “But, if the creature in question is not hostile, then we’re dispatched! We Capture the creature and bring it back here to our archipelago.”

               “How many have you captured?” Bri asked as they were about to board another elevator.

               “Seven.” Akane answered while they boarded. “Termination has killed nine.”

               The doors closed and the elevator began moving.

               “Why do you insist on capture?” Bri asked. “I’ve heard stories about the Kaiju, they are supposed to be very powerful beasts. What if they were to break out?”

               “That would be thanks to our director.” Hayama said. “She was a former psychic and insisted that not all these beasts were evil. She once said to us, that she sees them more as tragic beings. Born too tall, too strong, too heavy, and they are not evil by choice.”

               “Considering humanity itself was responsible for the creation of some,” Akane said. “I can see her point. Especially when you look at creatures like Gojira. That is why we capture the ones with no malevolent intentions. We keep them in an environment suitable to their needs with others like them, so that they do not accidently come into conflict with humanity.”

               “And that is where our Containment and Security team comes into play.” Hayama said as they came to a stop.

               The doors opened to the same control room that monitored Bri’s approach. Master Chief Barnes was observing something on the screen when the trio walked in.

               “Afternoon, Captain.” Barnes said.

               “Hello Master Chief.” Akane said. “Forgive our intrusion, we were just giving Lieutenant Johnson a tour and a proper briefing.”

               Barnes extended his hand to Bri, “Welcome to Monster Island, Lieutenant.” They shook hands as he continued. “Master Chief Barnes. Head of Ogasawara’s containment.”

               “Thank you,” Bri said. “Its good to meet you.”

               “What do you think of our tropical paradise so far, Lieutenant?” Barnes asked.

               Bri looked around at the numerous consoles and various personnel in the control room, and then up at the large digital map of the four islands.

               “This is honestly unbelievable.” Bri said.

               “Everyone says the same thing during their first visit.” Barnes joked. “But you’ll get used to it as time goes on.”

               “That’s the whole containment site?” Bri asked looking at the map.

               “Indeed, it is.” Barnes said. “As I understand it, there used to be a dozen islands, but seismic activity and a volcanic eruption on nearby Birth Island, realtered the geography of this area. A few of the islands sank into the ocean while others merged together forming the 4 landmasses that you see now.”

               “How do you keep them here?” Bri asked.

               “Do you see those blue rings on the map?” Barnes asked.

               “Yes.” Bri said, spotting the large one around all 4 islands and a few around certain areas on the islands themselves.

               Barnes smiled with reassurance as he said, “Those are special fencing-barriers designed by my father. They use a combination of magnetic and electrical fields to form a strong invisible wall. Completely harmless to the creatures themselves but also able to withstand any force.”

               “That explains the check points we had to pass through on my way in.” Bri said.

               “Exactly.” Barnes said. “Whenever someone leaves or enters the area, they have to follow a strict flight path to prevent them from running into the barriers or the Kaiju themselves.”

               Suddenly an alarm beeped from the map.

               “What’s happening?” Barnes asked.

               A soldier at his console replied, “A territory dispute, sir!”

               “Where?” Barnes asked.

               “Ototojima,” The soldier replied. “TK-04 and TK-07.”

               “Surveillance drone in route already, sir!” Another soldier called out. “Visual coming in now sir.”

               “Good, bring it up on the main screen.” Barnes said. “It seems you three are in for a show.”

               The digital map shrank to a tenth its size down to the bottom left corner of the screen. A video feed came up in its original place, displaying the viewpoint of a drone flying over the canopy of a dense green forest to the left of a large cliff face.

               “What’s going on?” Bri asked.

               “Sometimes the Kaiju clash.” Barnes said. “They battle to determine territorial boundaries. This usually happens when a new one is introduced.”

               “Do you try to stop them?” Bri asked.

               “No.” Hayama said. “They don’t try to kill each other, just determining their hierarchy and who has claim over what.”

               “Everything in nature has a way of establishing an order.” Akane said. “We can only allow them to establish theirs as they do; let them fight.”

               As they watched the screen, the drone was still flying around a large cliff-face. Suddenly a cloud of dust was stirred up from something just up ahead of the bend. Bri leaned in with great curiosity. At that moment a massive tail, roughly thirty-five meters long, lined with ivory-colored spikes whipped into the air from the ground; the tip of it sported a thagomizer like a Stegosaurus. Her eyes widened as the drone continued to reveal more of the massive beast; the tail connected to a large carapace covered with spikes. Its legs were mostly concealed behind the tree line, but she could see that they had the same rough texture of a rhinoceros’s hide. The neck was thick, with the top lined with three rows of smaller spikes. At first the head was up and away from the drone, but it provided the group with a view of its curved crown of horns and the horn-tipped muzzle. Then it slowly turned its head, still facing in upward direction, scanning the top of the cliff. The beast’s face resembled a cross between a wolf and a crocodile. The whole thing measured out to roughly 75 meters in length and was roughly 40 meters tall.

               “Which one is that?” Bri asked with the stunned awe of a child.

               “TK-07” Hayama said. “Better known as, Anguirus.”

               The group watched as Anguirus scanned the top of the cliff. The large green eyes had the sharp perception of a hawk. After a few seconds it reeled its jowls back, revealing its wolf-like teeth, before letting out and angry roar. Suddenly something dropped down from the cliff, 150 meters away from its left side; causing another large cloud of dust to stir up from the forest. At first, all that was visible was an emerald hump with a hide like an alligator’s but with a single serrated line of short spines protruding up along the top.

               As the dust started to settle, the mystery beast reared its large head up. Unlike the quadrupedal Anguirus, this Kaiju stood on two muscular legs; its head and body resembling a therapod dinosaur like Allosaurus. Its three-digit clawed hands curled as it began growling. Standing 70 meters tall and at least 80 meters long with an orange-red underside, it was a stunning beast.

               “And that is…” Bri started to ask.

               “TK-04” Barnes answered. “Gorosaurus.”

               The massive therapod began to circle Anguirus intimidatingly. The spiny-backed behemoth growled and began arching its carapace. In an impressive intimidation display, its spikes began to quiver like the spines of a porcupine. Gorosaurus, not impressed, roared at its opponent as if it were giving it one chance to back down. Anguirus roared back in defiance.

               Suddenly Anguirus raced forward and snapped at Gorosaurus’s left leg. The giant dinosaur leaped over its rival. As the spiky brute attempted to stop, Gorosaurus grabbed its tail with its jaws and, in a display of tremendous strength, threw Anguirus into the cliff face.

               “It’s over.” Hayama said.

               “Don’t count old Spiky out yet.” Barnes said.

               Just then, Anguirus was able to twist itself in the air and, like a cat, landed against the cliff on its feet. It then sprang back at its opponent, carapace first. Gorosaurus was struck hard on its right side. Though it felt the full force of the impact, its thick hide protected it from the spikes. As the beast fell over, Anguirus regained its footing and stood ready for another skirmish; its spikes quivering again.

               “How did it do that?” Bri asked.

               “Anguirus has a second and third brain in its waist and shoulders.” Barnes said. “That allows it be both extremely agile and possess really fast reflexes, despite its massive size.”

               At that moment, Gorosaurus stood back up. Anguirus let out a loud roar; seeming as though it was now the one telling the other to back down. Gorosaurus angrily roared back before crouching down. It suddenly jumped high into the air. Anguirus took evasive action and rolled to its right, just moments before its opponent came down with a double stomp. The ground shook with the force of a 4.0 earthquake, stirring up a massive dust cloud in the process. With the cloud obscuring visibility, Anguirus took the opportunity to charge and pounce on Gorosaurus. The spiky brute’s attack worked; it managed to tackle its foe to the ground and hold it there.

               Seizing the moment, Anguirus began pounding its front feet into Gorosaurus’s ribcage. The giant therapod let out a higher pitched roar from the painful stomping. In a last ditch-effort, it contorted its legs against Anguirus’s midsection and delivered a powerful double-kick. The attack caught Anguirus by surprise and it was launched 500 meters away. Though its landing was rougher than before, landing on its back, it still quickly rolled over back on its feet.

Anguirus, as before, stood ready for another bout. However, as Gorosaurus stood back up, it was clear that its previous skirmish had taken its toll. The beastly therapod stood panting like an exhausted canine. Instead of attempting another skirmish, it remained still for a moment; painfully gasping. A moment later, Gorosaurus turned back towards the cliff and retreated up the plateau. Anguirus roared triumphantly as its rival disappeared.

“I guess Ototojima has a new king.” Barnes said.

Akane turned towards Bri and said, “What you just witnessed, is only a small taste of what you’ll be up against.”

“Yeah,” Hayama added. “Some of them even have special abilities beyond what you saw here.”

Bri stood speechless; her mouth dangled open, and her eyes were wide. Her frozen state of shock and awe had Akane and Hayama both starting to become concerned.

Suddenly Bri broke her catatonic state by standing at attention and stated with enthusiasm, “When do I begin training, ma’am!?”

Akane and Hayama looked at each other and smiled; half-amused and half-relieved.

On another part of the base, a school of colorful butterfly fish swam past an underwater window. The water was crystal clear, giving way to a dark blue backdrop further out due to a dense cloud-cover. On the other side of the glass, someone was standing in a darkened room, tinted blue from the ocean. Just a foot away from the glass, a Japanese woman in her mid-fifties stood looking out across the blue abyss with the same thousand-yard stare of a veteran. Though her shoulder-length hair retained much of its natural black coloration, her parted bangs had a ghostly white color. She wore a long black overcoat over a white silk shirt and a blue, knee-high skirt. Her stature was firm, upright, and had an aura of authority. Her sharp eyes remained locked on something in the dark blue shroud of the ocean; not flinching and unblinking.

They didn’t even budge when a door opened behind her and a voice said, “Director Saegusa.” She did not respond and after a moment’s pause, the voice then added, “Forgive my intrusion, Director. Your nephew requests that you contact him as soon as possible.”

Finally, after standing still as a statue for minutes on-end, the Director turned towards the soldier and said with a calm and gentle voice, “Thank you.”

She then reached into her overcoat’s pocket and removed her smartphone. On the screen of her phone, there were 3 missed calls from Ken on it. She pressed the call-back button and put the phone to her ear.

In Japanese on the other end of the line, Ken’s voice answered, “Aunt Miki, are you all right?”

Replying in their native dialect, she said, “Yes, I’m sorry to worry you. I forgot that I had my phone on silent.”

“I hope I did not interrupt you during anything important.” Ken said.

Miki said with a reassuring and at the same time passive tone, “No nothing official. I was just trying to see if I could reach him again.”

Ken replied, “Auntie you should really be careful. Your abilities are not what they used to be. If he lashed out like his father did…”

“I understand the risk.” Miki said. “I will be fine though. He’s not as angry as his father.”

“We can’t be sure though.” Ken countered.

“I have my utmost faith in him.” Miki said. “Now, you have news from your investigations?”

“MIKI-SAMA!” Akira’s voice shouted in the background. “WE HAVE BIG BIG NEWS!”

Miki cracked a mildly amused smile, before Ken said, “Sorry, I’m sorry.”

“Big big news, then?” Miki asked.

“Yes.” Ken said. “We may have to run more tests but it would seem that this new Kaiju does have strong evidence to support the Hollow Earth Theory after all.”

“Very good work.” Miki said. “Have you located it yet?”

“Not yet.” Ken replied. “It has a very reclusive and shy nature, not unlike Varan. I will send you all the data we have so far, but everything we have found so far suggests it is not hostile.”

“Very well.” Miki said. “I will have the Capture Division put on standby. As soon as you’ve located it, inform me immediately.”

“I will, auntie.” Ken said.

“SAYONARA MIKI-SAMA!” Akira shouted again in the background, once again provoking a slightly amused smile from her.

Ken quickly said with an embarrassed tone, “Sorry! Sorry!”

“It’s quite all right.” Miki said.

“I will call you the moment we have a location.” Ken said. “Talk to you later, Auntie.”

“Bye for now, Ken.” Miki said before hanging up her phone.

The soldier, who remained standing in the room at parade rest, asked in English, “Is there anything I can do ma’am?”

“Please inform Major Hayashida and General Kuroki to report to my office as soon as they can.” Miki said.

“I believe the General has yet to return from Tokyo.” The soldier said. “Shall I send word out to have him report back immediately?”

“No that won’t be necessary.” Miki said. “Just Major Hayashida will do.”

“Yes ma’am.” The soldier said before saluting and exiting the room.

As the door closed behind him, Miki’s serious state of mind returned as she looked back out the window.

In her mind she seemed to speak out to another presence, “Junior… What are you waiting for?... Why do you refuse to wake?... Junior… please say something…”

Another school of fish swam by the window. Across the blue abyss, the cloud cover overhead gave way, allowing the sunlight to reveal more of the sand and coral bottom of the ocean. As the rays of sunshine grew in number, more of the bottom became visible. Eventually it revealed an object in the distance, first appearing to be a mound of dark-colored rock. The receding clouds revealed more of the mound and then strange silhouettes protruding out of it; three rows of massive bone-white plates that had shapes like Black Oak Leaves.

The massive entity that they belonged to had been there for some time; made evident by the light coating of sand and debris it had accumulated over its body. 

It was the adult form of the beast that everyone formerly knew as Junior. 

Now it was called by most, the new Godzilla.