#faces consequences. something's wrong at staff hq and we have the right to hold them accountable for that

[serialreblogger]

actually i��m extremely here for this because not only would it engender some actual sympathy for what staff has to deal with, it would also provide accountability for whatever staff members routinely dismiss my reports of overt transphobia and hate speech without so much as taking down a post

Tumblr Support should livestream themselves answering tickets on Twitch just so people can see all the hatemail they get for trying to fix technical problems, and the mountain of horrible shit they have to read and ban people over. And they repeat that every day. And this is the same experience for every social network. And it never ends.

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

GEARBOX THIS IS EVERYTHING I’VE EVER WANTED THAAAAHAHAHAANK YOUUUUU

FUCK OKAY TRAILER BREAKDOWN BECAUSE I AM LOOOOOOSING MY FUCKING MIND OVER THIS TRAILER HOOOOOLY SHIT

POSSIBLE PSOILERS??? MAYBE? GOD DDDDDAYMN WHAT A WAY TO GET BACK INTO THE THEORY SCENE LMAO

SO FIRST OF ALL I’M NOT CERTAIN THIS IS RELATED TO THE BARMAN/SECOND STARS CULT QUEST I FOUND IN THE FILES AS SOME PEOPLE SUGGESTED, BUT I WILL ADMIT IT IS SUSPICIOUSLY SPECIFIC. MAINLY ABOUT A CULT AND THE FACT WE SEE A BAR HANGING OUT IN THE TRAILER, BUT HEY, I AM NOT GOING TO MAKE ASSUMPTIONS RIGHT NOW I AM JUST GOING TO ENJOY THIS WHILE I CAN

ANd breathe in

breathe okay

okay

im okay.

i’ve watched this trailer like 15 times already oh my god it’s so good. i wasnt so hyped about the casino dlc bc, like, i already spoiled myself on it BUT THIS IS (AS FAR AS WE KNOW) UNCHARTED TERRITORY AND

IT’S TECHNICALLY A WATER PLANET

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES

okay

okay

i will stop using caps

for the most part

hhhhhhh

okay.

let’s just be calm. i got this

BUT HAVE YOU SEEN THIS THOUGH????

oh ym goD

the fucking lighthouse sent me. i just. i went feral for a solid hour and a half. just wheezing on my test. i fell onto the floor at one point, don’t remember when. it was so fucking good, i couldn’t feel my goddamn hands

;-; its so beautiful i could stare at this all day hhhhhhh

i just

hhhhhhhhhhhh

oh ym godddd ;-;-;-;-;-;-;

it’s so fucking beautiful

i can’t

okay

we see the gun/health station under the lighthouse so it’s not really THAT big, and we can see a town in the distance. running across the ice sheets is giving me HUGE southern shelf vibes which i am in love with. this whole aesthetic is just ;w; so good

there’s a catch a ride in that town as well so we know this area is fairly big (which is confirmed in a later shot)

and oh my GOD can you imagine seeing some big ol beast lurking beneath the surface of the ice sheets hohhhh

MAN

okay sorry im still not oevr this its just so fckign good

inside the belly of the beast rotting Monster and OHHHHHHHHHHH THE IMPLICATION-s of that. of that. im calm.

we get a look at 2 new enemies and mmmmmm we get a better look at them later on so just look how fuckig beautiful thsi area is with its acid that’s probably rotting stomach acid and AAAAAAAA

first close up of the town, giving me really big uhhhh we happy few vibes? which im not complaining about

TENTACLES asdfghj

anywway more toen, bridge looks like like athenas which is DOPE im hype for more athenas-esque architecture

the TOWNss oh my god im so im love with this aesthetic god. damn.it i need this injected directly into my veins like right N O W

also the bridge is going over another pool of acid, which the tentacle is coming out of. i imagine this monster was sorta acid based, which is funny. since. frozen water planet. and it’s OOZY too. oozy boy means the eridians didn’t make this one! ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

hm who’s ready to face the unintended consequences of our actions?! NOT THE ERIDIANS WHOOO BOY (you cannot tlel me that there are mantakores on this planet and not say there was eridian fuckering going on nooOOPE)

also, side note, DIGGING the spike pit under the house on the bottom right. hope we get to explore that bad boy

ALSO

who are you mysterious figure whose cape billows in the wind? are you just part of the environment?? MAYBE

more town

first look at that BEAUITUFL red barrier which OOOOH I WANNA TOUCH SO BADLY

look at it

LOOK AT IT

NOODLE BOWL

EATS??? food place?? im not sure i can’t read, Jared, 19

see s-ar(?)ed??

THAT

THAT IS BEAUTIFUL

doesn’t look like a corporation shield (no corporation gunk lying around either) and we do know red glowy shit is the New Eridian Aesthetic, so im just saying.

it could be a corporation tho, mostly because uhhh later shots

hold up

that’s not uhhhhhhhhhhh

yeah it CAN’T BE lol

cursetown - something something

these red thingies are probably just rotting monster flesh but it does look very similar to the vines on nekrotefeyo

given how worried wainwright looks i imagine him and hammylocks are being coerced into the whole marriage thing in order to complete a ritual

i mean no judgement but that red background is absolutely garrish for a wedding

1. pirate ship??? please??? look at all the mist outside and the wooden bars

god PLEASE can i get a pirate ship.  CNA I PLEASE GET A PIRATE SHIP

Captain scarlett wsan’t enoughhhh

2. why the fuck does she have a tail

3.

DJ Midnight performing Saturday: The Dark Mix Deep W???? Hear The Voices (hmmm) and Let The Music Enter You

gee i wonder if this is cultist propaganda

I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU PEOPLE ARE

BUT YOUR TIMING

SUCKS

IIIII AM HERMEAUS MORAAA

no wait wrong game

BUT BRO TENTACLES COMING OUT OF THE MAGIC PORTALS???? UFCKF UEYS THIS FITS PERFECTLY INTO H2O A- i mean, damn haven’t we got enough tentacles from the destroyer?? wow gearbox... heh. hm.

SO I AM WONDERING IF MAYBE THE GREEN UNDER THE BRIDGE AND SUCH ISN’T LIKE CORROSIVE ACID BUT MAYHAPS SOME SORT OF MAGIC SLUDGE COMING OFF THE BIG OL MONSTER BOY THAT THESE CULTISTS ARE HARNESSING TO TAP INTO something. i lost steam. but i mean MAGIC PORTALS

and we all know where teleportation takes us

MANTAKORES!!! WHICH MEANS ERIDIAN INTERVENTION SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE

they seem like fire/ice boys which i absolutely adore

THIS SHOT IS SO COOL OH MY GOD

LIKE I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN IT JUST LOOKS D O P E

WHAT IS THIS??

WHAT IS THIIIS??

CAN I PLEASE HAVE YOUR JACKET

OH ALSO

I MENTIONED IT IN ANOTHER POST BUT THIS

REMINDS ME A LOT OF THIS

IM SURE THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NO CORRELATION BUT I THOUGHTIT WAS FUNNY

ALSO REMEMBER THE BLACK EYES THING I HAVE A WHOLE THINGIE THING IMMA BRING BACK OT IT JUST HOLD TIGHT

THIS SHOT?? OH MY GOD? IT’S LIKE A MOVIE????????? I LOV EI LOVE IT LIV E OT

nND THE WOLFIE BOYS THATTHE ARTICLE MENTIONS

UCKING TENTACLES HFDGDHFGJKH THIS IS SO FUCKING COOL OH MY GOD

HE’ SGOT TENTACLE ARMS LIKE MOTHERFUCKING CHADAM

BRO IM

BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AND A GUN THIS MOTHERFUCKER STILL HAS A GUN

WHAT A MAN

MORE TECHONOLOG Y THAT IM SURE PLAYS A ROLE IN THIS SOMEHOW

BEAUTIFUL

WE SLAM THIS DUDE UP AGAINST A WALL SO HARD SHE/HE/THEY (I ASSUME SHE BC WE CAN’T SEE HER FACE AS A COMMON TROPE) 

BREAKS THE WINDOW WHICH LOOKS SUSPICIOUSLY LIKE A WINDOW ON SANC-III BUT IM NOT MAKING ANY ASSUMPTIONS

also red SPARKS WHICH REMIND ME OF ERIDIANS AGAIN

also her whole helmet thingie??? very Guardian-like

THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE IS GIVING ME HUGE HECTOR/KEY/PLANT/ERIDIANBULLSHITTERY VIBES THEY EVEN HAVE THE GLOWING SACS OF OOOOOOOZE

which is another point to the “green sludge is magic/connected to their powers somehow” theory. hmmm i hope we mix neon green and eridium purple. purple/green is my favorite color combo. and ugh with the lovecraftian vibes? be still my beating heart!

WINNIE SHOOTING SOMOHE

i fucking LOVE the laces on this shotgun. so fucking pretty omfg

magic circle MAGIC CIRCLE MAGIC CIRCLE

also new chest it looks like

BROO??? HOLY SHIT?????????

JABBER WOLF!! SO FUCKING COOL

THAT SKULL MOUTH IS SO FUCKING DOPE IT LOOKS LIKE TROY’S TATTOO

ohhhhhhHHHHHH THE MOON IS GREEN TOO DON’T DO THI GEARBOX IM GONNA SCREAM IF THERE’S ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE ERIDIUM

THIS SHOT OHHHH

THE BAR LOOKS FUCKING FANTASTIC OH MY GOD

shots SHOT SHOTS SHOT SHOTS HTOSHSTOHSOHTS

dND the MERFOLK TAIL ON THE FAR RIGHT I DON’T GIVE A FUUUCK WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS THAT’S MER TAIL THAT’S A TAIL FUCK U

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YSEY SEYSEYSE BIGGG

THE BARTENDER OHOH

HAVE I MENTIONED THE GIANT FUCKING MUSHROOMS BTW

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM GETTTING SUCH DRAGONBORN DLC VIBES I LOVE IT

SWEETFRUIT VILLAGE BTW THAT’S IMPORTANT

YOU ALLL LOOK SO FUCKING AMAZING OH MY GOD

the bartender!!!! his glasses!! AND THE VOICE MODULATOR???

the netch looking boys are called

slithercresses btw and THEY LOOK STUNNING

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

NEW RED CHESTS??? LOOK ERIDIAN TO ME

WHICH MIGHT MEAN------

ALSO THE DIMENSIONAL TRANSFER PROGRAM ON SANC-III WHERE BBY BOY MAUREICE MAKES US A PORTAL TO HELL??? WHICH GREEN OOZE WHICH IS “HECKTOPLASM” BUT MAYBE ACTUALLY N O T

THE STAR OF THE SHOW BABY GIRL GAIGE WHO’SACTUALLY OLDER THAN ME NOW FUUUUUUUUCK

YOU’RE SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL II LOVE YOUR NEW GOGGLES

H??????????????

POSSIBLE NEW PSYCHOMASK UNLESS HE’S JUST GROWING THOSE BONE HORNS IN WHICH CASE YOU GO MAN IM PROUD OF YOU

TENTACLE GUNNNNNN WHICH BETTER LPAY A PART ERIRDIANS YOU FUCKS

THIS PLACE IS WHY I THINK THIS MIGHT BE RELATED TO S O M E CORPORAITON? BUT THEN AGAIN IT MAY JSUT BE THE CULT HEADQUARTERS OR WHATEVER, THAT RED BUBBLED MANSION LOOKS P HQ

FOOD CARTS AND ALSO WHATEVERS IN THAT SWINGING BAG LOOKS LIKE BONES HELL YEAH

this this THIS THIS THIS THIS WHAT IS THIS A NEW CIRCL  E OF SLAUGHTEr? ERIDIAN???

THEYRE PUMPING SOMETHING INTO/OUT OF THE CORPSE!!!!!!! ALSO

mutaTED FEET

[something] world! with a skull symbol on the side

both green btw

god YES I LOVE GREEN AND PURPLE IM SO HAPPY

SAILOF HOLE

hammylocks helping us with a fight by some bones and more wolfie boys!!!! i love these little dudes

FIRE MUTATED SLUGS AAAAAAAAA THEYRE SO COOL

ns tHEY CUR L UP INTO BALLS AND ROLL AT YOU LIKE KRAGGONS

AND I WONDER HOW THE SLUGS MUTATED IS IT POSSIBLY THE G R E E EN?

AND THEIR SHELLS LIKE SUCC UP LAVA?????????????

THESE BRAIN-Y BOYS 

SO BLUE I LOVE THEM

AND MORE GREEN MIST BY THE WAY OWOWOWOWOWO

another look at a baddie with STUDS THIS TIME

A MAGIC WARLOCK TYPE BADDIE THIS TIME AND HE SUMMONS A STAFF AND ALSO I THINK THAT’S ERIDIUM CANNISTER BEHIND HIM

AND IT HAS SIMMILAR TENTACLESTO THE GUNS DO YOU THINK WE’RE FINALLY GOING TO GET ANA NSWER ASA TO WHY OUR GUNS ARE A L I V E

MORE SNAIL DUDES AND THE GREEN STUFF IN THE BACKGROUND M A N I LOVE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA SNAILS

OOOOOZE

BACK AT IT AGAIN IN MY CYCLONES

GREEN FUCKING PUDDLES

B O N E S FUCKING I HOPE THIS EXPLAINS HOW THE SKAGS ON PANDORA GOT SO FUCKIN LARGGO OUTSIDE OF JUST ‘YEAH THE SEASONS’

MORE

this

THIS

ONE

THIS LOOKS LIKE A SAURIAN THE ARMORED ONES THE BASHY ARMORED ONES THAT START WITH ‘C’

TWO THAT GUN IS KICKASS

IT’S GLOWING G R E E N AND IT HAS ***THE TENTACLE BARREL***

OHHHH IM SO READY FOR AN EXPLANATION GEARBO X PL E ASE

GIVE IT TO ME

ALSO THIS

IM EXCITED ABOUT

PROBABLY RELATED TO SWEETFRUIT VILLAGE BC THE MUSHROOMS MAYBE THEY USE IT TO MAKE BOOZE MUSHROOM BOOZE EW

WHY IS HE GRAY?????? HE’S NOT WEARING A JACKET MAYBE HES CRYO-FLAVORED

more sluggus THESE ARE GREEN FLAVORED :O

also, side note

PLEASE TLEL ME THIS WAS INTENTIONAL GEARBOX

LEMME SLAP BLANE’S ASS

YOU *GUYS* PLEASE

BUBBLE MANSION??? GREEN OOZY VILLAIN THAT GOT SLMAMED INTO A WALL??? BABY BABY GIRL

THE R E D

and she’s USING A TENTACLE GUN TOO

THAT’S GOTTA MEAN SOMETHING RIGHT

hhhhhhHHHHH

also ther’e sa fridge on the left lol

also the consoles look similar to that one shot with zane which is why i believe this is part of that bubbled-y mansion.

YES ES YES YES YES YESY SYEYSE 

I WANNA RIDE THE SKY TRAM SO BAD PLEASE

I WANNA REENACT UNTIL DAWN

I HAVE A MIGHTY NEEEEEEED

ALSO NOTE THE EYES

AND THE PURPLE HOW IT LOOKS LIKE AN ERIDIUM PURPLE

ANYWAY I HA[VE TO GO EAT FOOD NOW BUT GO LOOK AT THIS LINKN

I LOOKED UP THE NAME OF THE PLANET AND MYTHOLOGY AND NOTHING CAME UP, BUT GOOGLE RECOMMENDED ME 

T H I S

https://pantheon.org/articles/l/lycurgus.html

AND MAN OH MAN

“FAMOUS FOR HIS PERSECUTION OF DIONYSUS” THE GOD OF P A R T I E S LIKE IDK A WEDDING PARTY, WHICH FORCED YA MAIN MAN DIONYSUS TO <JUMP INTO THE OCEAN> WHICH COULD HAVE SOME RELATION TO THE TENTACLES

OH AND ALSO LYCURGUS WAS THEN <<<BLINDED>>>  WHICH COULD PLAY A PART IN THE BLACK OOZY EYES EVERYONE HAS

DIONYSUS ALSO ENDS UP PUNISHING LYCURGUS WITH MADASS AND WE ALL KNOW HOW THAT RELATES

OKAY BYE 

[the-voltage-diaries]

When Demons Prevail - Soryu Oh

Warning: Implied character death(s), Angst (but with a happy ending)

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Your time is running out, Soryu Oh.You just have one day left.

Soryu scrunched up the note angrily, his frustration getting the best of him. It had been three weeks since Samejima had disappeared, and three weeks since Soryu had gotten proper sleep. These notes came in everyday, crippling his sanity little by little, everyday, that is, if he had already not broken down completely by now.

It had been three years since Soryu had been made the leader of Ice Dragons, and needless to say, he had fulfilled his role dutifully. It was moments like these, moments where someone else got hurt because of him, where someone else’s  life was being played with because of his position, that he truly wished to escape this life, even if for a day.

Even today, if he closed his eyes for a moment, he saw flashbacks of that one incident that made him shudder every single time. It had been two weeks since the incident had taken place, but it still made his eyes burn with un-shed tears, whenever he thought of it. 

He remembered that one day two weeks ago, when Ota and Baba were supposed to come back from their trip to Las Vegas. He had just gotten up from the breakfast table, munching on a toast, when he got the call from Eisuke, asking him to hurry up towards the harbor. Eisuke’s voice had cracked, indicating the seriousness of the situation. 

Just as he was about to open the door of his car, a note on the windshield had caught his attention.

Surprise, surprise, Mr. Oh.

Thinking of the note as an empty threat to scare him, just like what he thought of the previous ones, he crumpled it up, motoring his vehicle to life, starting towards the harbor. 

Little did he know, the notes weren’t an empty threat.

That day, he had felt so broken for the first time.

He still remembered it, the way Ota and Baba’s bodies were floating on the ocean, lifeless. One shake of head from Eisuke was all it took for him to know that this wasn’t a prank, that it was indeed Ota and Baba, his friends, the ones he had spent the last decade bantering with, laying there without an ounce of life in them. He had shaken their bodies, wanting for them to wake up, tell him it was a prank, laugh at him for being so gullible. He wanted to hear Baba give one of his overly-sexual suggestions, or Ota be the brat he was.

But alas, they didn’t open their eyes. That was when Soryu realised that they had closed their eyes once to never open them again.

Eisuke had asked his staff to leave him and Soryu alone with the bodies, and the moment the staff had left, he had seen Soryu shed a tear for the first time in all the years he had known him.

Eisuke had walked over, and rubbed his shoulders in sympathy as Soryu remained crouching, not believing the fact that this was the last time he might see the two so-called “banes” of his life, that after this, there’d be no sexual references to anything and everything he and Eisuke uttered, there’d be no fun and games, no talks of wanting to inspire people through one’s art, no debates on whether he was really straight or was he asexual. There’d be no life in the penthouse, for the two lifelines responsible for carrying out that work were lying right there, in front of his eyes, with their bodies as cold as ice.

That was when he knew the notes weren’t just empty threats.

That day, he had told Eisuke everything about the notes he had been receiving, while Eisuke already knew about Samejima’s kidnapping. They had decided not to call Mamoru yet, for he was in his hometown, spending some quality time with his family. Mamoru had seen his fair share of bad times, and they didn’t want to taint one of his happy memories with dark ones.

Eisuke had promised to do everything in his power to find out who was behind this, his eyes red, indicating how affected he was by the death of two of the five people that mattered to him the most, as of that day. He was barely holding himself together, but he had promised Soryu to see this through with him.

A knock on the door to his office cabin shook him out of his reverie, as Inui entered, his face crestfallen.”No clue, sir. We have no idea where the notes have been coming from, or who was responsible for Mr. Kisaki and Mr. Baba’s deaths,” He said, his eyes nearly watering from uttering Ota and Baba’s names. 

Soryu nodded his head, acknowledging the piece of negative news Inui had given him, and turning his gaze back to his laptop, he lifelessly started typing away at his keyboard, not noticing the way Inui’s brows furrowed in concern, yet again.

Ever since that incident at the harbor, Inui had noticed a change in his boss. Soryu had stopped talking to his mob members, he had stopped asking them how were they doing, he had stopped eating, sleeping, he had stopped living life. He didn’t talk unless absolutely necessary, and stayed cooped up in his cabin, looking at the pieces of evidence he had on his hands, trying to figure out how to find the mastermind behind all of this, and it concerned Inui. He knew the death of two of his close companions had had its effect on Soryu, but he was still worried. Shaking his head at the inability to do anything to change the situation, Inui had just walked out of Soryu’s cabin when Taichi, another mob member had stopped him in his tracks.

“Inui, can you give this to Soryu? It was at the door, with ‘To be opened by Soryu Oh only’ written on it.”

Inui hurriedly grabbed the small envelope, once again knocking on his boss’ cabin. Once he got the green light to enter, he opened the door, immediately handing Soryu the envelope.

Opening the envelope, Soryu’s eyes widened as he saw something he was not prepared for.

If you want Samejima, come to the XXX Warehouse at 6 in the evening. Be late, and you might want to bring a bouquet to give to your subordinate’s dead body. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Your time is ticking, Mr. Oh.

Soryu got up faster than the speed of light, calling Eisuke as he left the Ice Dragons HQ, already entering his car. Looking at the time, he saw it to be 4:57 P.M. He cursed under his breath, for it would approximately take him 45 minutes to drive to the location, considering there was no traffic on the road. Connecting his phone to the Bluetooth speaker of his car, he waited for Eisuke to pick up as he stepped on the gas, already on his way towards the destination on the note.

“What is it?” Came Eisuke’s voice through the speakers, and Soryu quickly gave him a rundown of events, not wasting any time on pleasantries.”I am coming with you too, Soryu,” Eisuke spoke, after hearing about the progress of things from Soryu. At the latter’s opposition, he clicked his tongue, “Soryu, you don’t get to order me around. If I say I am coming with you, I am coming with you. That’s it.”

“No, Eisuke. What if something happens at the hotel? I need someone with a calm head to be there, making sure everything is okay. Anyways, I have already informed Inui, he is coming with the other Ice Dragons. Okay, take care, I’m hanging up.”

Eisuke scowled when he heard the line going dead, and as much as his instinct was telling him to go after Soryu, he chose to stay behind, knowing that Soryu was indeed correct. He needed to be at the hotel to make sure nothing went awry.

On the other hand, Soryu kept looking at the time, internally cursing the traffic he was met with. As soon as the traffic cleared, he sped up the vehicle, cursing his luck for having wasted 15 minutes. It was 5:30 P.M. now, and he had to make it in the next 30 minutes or else... he didn’t wish to even think of the consequences.

As soon as he reached the location, he went inside the warehouse, only to find it empty, except the single piece of paper that was lying there.

You’re late, Soryu. Whatever happens now is your fault, for it was you who didn’t reach in time.

He immediately looked at his wrist watch, only to see that the time was indeed 6:02 P.M. He was two minutes late. Looking around, he found nothing; no trace of life whatsoever. Turning around, he picked up his phone, trying to dial Eisuke to make sure everything stayed okay back at the hotel.

His heart beat sped up when Eisuke didn’t pick up for the fourth time. Maybe he is looking after the security of the hotel, Soryu thought, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut, telling him something was wrong. He turned the vehicle onto the road leading to the Ice Dragon HQ, not being prepared for the sight that was about to hit him.

As soon as he entered, he was met by an eerie calm. Looking around, he didn’t see a soul. The sinking feeling in his gut only got stronger as he neared his cabin, remembering Eisuke’s text. While he was on his way back, Eisuke had texted him that he’d meet Soryu at the Ice Dragons HQ, for he had some news to share.

What Soryu saw in front of the door to his cabin made him feel as if the ground beneath his feet had given out, his eyes widening at the two lifeless bodies slumped together in front of him; Inui and Samejima. 

Although he couldn’t believe what was happening, and he didn’t know what to do now, something in him told him to keep it together. Choosing to listen to that internal voice, Soryu’s trembling hands moved the two cold bodies away from the door to his cabin, and he fearfully opened the door, holding on to that silent thread of hope that he’d find Eisuke in there, waiting for him, helping ground him and telling him to keep it together.

Alas, he did find Eisuke. But just not how he expected to.

The shock of what Soryu saw made his legs give out, and he fell on the floor in a heap of bewildered mess. Gathering whatever energy he had left in his body, he slowly crawled towards the human lying there on the floor, right in front of his table.

Reaching the said body, he touched it’s face, not wanting to believe that it was him, even though his clothes gave him away. He touched the ice cold face, turning it over to see the one man who had been by him when he didn’t know what to do, the one man who had promised to see things through with him.

Soryu barely chocked on a sob at the face of his best friend, Eisuke, lying there in a pool of his own blood. He did nothing to stop the tears that now streamed down his face, he was too tired to keep it together now. He was too broken to care.

His fingers moved over Eisuke’s face, refusing to believe it was him. He remembered Eisuke’s words of wanting to come with him. He laughed self-deprecatingly, blaming himself for not taking his best friend with him. At least he had the chance of securing Eisuke’s life, and he had lost it too.

Soryu sat there, with tears streaming down his face, for over an hour, with Eisuke’s stiff face in his lap, his eyes sorting through the memories they had made together in the short time they had, his eyes shedding new tears at every new expression of Eisuke that surfaced in his mind, his fingers clenching on Eisuke’s clothes every time he remembered his cockiness, his smirk, his micromanaging everyone.

Needles to say, that was the day Soryu not only felt, but also heard himself shatter. 

He couldn’t help but think about how there would be no Eisuke who would irritate him, promise to be by his side, be the protective older brother, the cocky younger one. His shoulders shook when he thought about how he wouldn’t be able to tease Eisuke about his sweet tooth anymore. 

Soryu looked up at the ceiling as his tears refused to stop, silently saluting Eisuke for being the diamond among the countless stones in his life.

He was just about to get up to wash his face and call Kenzaki to set dates for the last rites when he noticed a letter clenched in his best friend’s hand. With shaking fingers, he took it out, opening it and silently reading what was written.

Soryu,

I don’t know who this person is, but I do know that I don’t have enough time. I might not be able to say this to you face-to-face, but this time even I won’t be able to stop the worse from happening. I have already signed the papers giving away all my resources to you, so use them wisely.

Since we might not even get to see each other in time, treat this letter as my last message to you.

In whatever the years we had with each other, thank you for being the rock of my life. I know, this sappy stuff sounds unusual coming from me, but you need to hear, or read, this. 

You can’t give up now, Soryu. Stay strong, for you know, I don’t keep losers as my friends. Keep it together, Soryu. Remember, I believe in you. Don’t let me down.

Until we meet again, 

Farewell.

()

Soryu woke up with a start, tangled in bed sheets with cold sweat dripping down his forehead and back. Looking around, all he saw was the darkness of his room. Turning to see the time, he noticed it to be 2:37 A.M.

He ran his fingers through his hair, not knowing what to believe anymore. Had Eisuke, Ota, Baba, Inui and Samejima really died, or was it all just a nightmare?

He didn’t know what to do, so he did the first thing his instinct told him. Getting up, without a care about how bad he looked, he rushed out of his suite and stepped onto the elevator, pressing the button that would take him to Eisuke’s personal suite.

The ride in the elevator seemed like that of an eternity, but as soon as the doors opened, he scrambled out, knocking on the door of Eisuke’s suite repeatedly.

“What the fuck is it at two in the morning, Soryu?” Eisuke asked, not prepared for the tall mobster to gather him in a tight embrace. Before he could ask what in the world was happening, he felt the man’s shoulder’s tremble, and that was when he noticed Soryu’s sweat stained shirt, his tired but red eyes, his one silent tear of relief that had shed out.

Calling Soryu inside and having him sit down, he waited for Soryu to calm his trembling down before he asked Soryu what had gone wrong.

 As soon as Soryu finished telling him about his nightmare, Eisuke burst out laughing, his signature smirk soon taking over his features, “Heh, that’s interesting. You think you can get rid of me that easily, do you? Nice daydream you have going on there.”

Soryu looked at him, exasperated at his sense of humor, when he noticed the sound of someone knocking at the door. Eisuke sat back on the couch with a scoff, motioning with his chin for Soryu to go and open the door. Soryu, although confused, did get up from his place on the couch, walking towards the door.

Soryu didn’t have the time to register what was happening when bodies crashed into him in a hug from both sides. Looking up to see Ota and Baba being the jerks practically crushing his bones, he pushed them off of him hurriedly, looking for him gun, only to remember he had forgotten it at home in his hurry while coming to the Penthouse.

“Aww Soryu, we knew you loved us!” Baba stated, laughing as he got up from the floor after Soryu had pushed him. “Unfortunately for you, even though I am 35 and single, I am ready to mingle with only ladies, so I can’t kiss your sadness away.”

“Stop it, Baba. You sound creepy as fuck,” Ota retorted, smirking at the fake hurt expression Baba made, trying to gain his sympathy.

Mamoru, on the other hand, was already dozing away in one corner of the room, not the slightest bit bothered by the ruckus the others were creating.

This time, instead of hitting them on their heads to knock some sense into them, Soryu chose to let it slip just once. While Ota and Baba were busy bantering away and Eisuke was too focused to try to get them to shut up, they all failed to notice the small smile that crept its way onto the mobsters face, glad to see his family alive and well, being the weirdos they always had been.

[deztinywarriors]

ES Spectre 2.0 Chapter 9-4

[michaelmyersmalewife]

LEVIATHAN | 4. Reunion | MASTERLIST

words: 6k+

warning(s): mark russell being an asshole

A/N: finished this chapter way ahead of schedule so decided to just post it anyway instead of waiting for next monday

you can also support this fic on wattpad & ao3

They had been airborne for a few hours now.

No one in the Osprey had uttered a word since leaving Mark's cabin, there was no need to. Aside from dealing with the craft's awful turbulence, the air was heavy with a melting pot of emotions. Serizawa was up front, looking out the window with a serious expression (not his usual one, Jodie noted, this one looked different - sullen) and flipping the old pocket watch he carried everywhere open and closed. Graham, of course, was right by his side, checking her phone so often it was borderline neurotic. Poor Sam was in the back with Mark, trying to keep his voice down as he answered call after call from what sounded like Monarch and Government officials alike. She didn't envy him.

Last she checked, word hadn't broken outside of close circles. And she doubted it would reach mainstream news anytime soon. Her journalistic mind wanted to be the first to break the story, but she knew the type of panic that came with anything involving Monarch nowadays - let alone titans. And that wasn't even covering how they would give word of the incident to each of their families (if they even had any). It was a mess. So instead she settled back, letting Sam take the reigns for the time being.

As they moved further east, Colorado's rolling mountains gave way to Kansas' checkered, grassy plains. By the time night came, they had already reached the wetter, greener country of the south. Eventually, in the earliest hours of the morning when the moon was still visible despite the warm glow of the sun breaching the horizon, they were already cruising over a seemingly endless body of water. On occasion they would pass over small, mist-shrouded islands scattered throughout like the scutes of a certain lizard.

Until then, Jodie had been dosing on and off throughout the trip, but each time she would be startled awake by images of Gill hiding somewhere in the outpost. She couldn't begin to imagine how scared she must've been to see her coworkers gunned down so mercilessly. She knew that she was one of the lucky ones, reassuring herself that she was now sitting safely in the heart of Monarch's HQ. But that couldn't stop her from replaying the security footage over and over again in her mind.

Why them? She could understand taking Emma, as she was the only one there that knew the ORCA like the back of her hand. It was her brainchild, after all. But the kid?

She wasn't as familiar with her as Gill was, but she knew Madison had guts. She had to, if she wanted to stay with Emma rather than Mark. As she mentally scanned through the footage once more, she recalled an..interesting segment. No one else had commented on it thus far, but something about it bothered her. She couldn't tell for sure, but there was something off about Emma's ORCA, it was as though it hadn't worked. At least, not until Madison appeared out of nowhere and stood between her mother and a certain end at the hand of a giant bug. If anything, it was simply a weird coincidence and the "terrorists", as they had been referred to, took her as a form of motivation. A sharp chill ran down her spine at the thought.

Snapping her out of her thought spiral, Graham walked past her and sat beside Mark.

"How are you holding up?" she asked softly.

Of course, he didn't respond. Typical, Jodie thought, rolling her eyes.

"You could yell at us more if it'll make you feel any better." she said with a lighthearted chuckle.

"I'd rather you not." Jodie muttered under her breath.

Though she couldn't quite see it, Mark smiled at the exchange.

"Don't get me wrong, it's good to see you two." he said. "I know you and Serizawa were good friends of Emma's after..y'know."

Graham paused for a moment. "When was the last time you spoke to her?"

Feigning sleep, Jodie listened. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but after years of investigative journalism it became a habit hard to break.

"About three years ago. After San Francisco, we went back home to Boston...tried to put the pieces back together. Emma dealt with it by doubling down on saving the world, and I...." there was a long pause. "I started drinking..I can't tell you how much I hated myself letting Maddie see me that way."

Vivienne didn't respond. Yikes.

Lucky for them, Coleman's voice sounded from the back of the Osprey.

"Uh, you mind if we cut in here? It's just..you're going to want to see this." Jodie was roused from her pretend sleep.

Sitting across from him, he handed Mark a tablet. She couldn't make out exactly what it showed from looking over Vivienne's shoulder, but she could tell it contained blueprints. 3D models and what looked like sound frequencies. Emma's research.

"Emma combined the bioacoustics of different titans to create the ORCA's signal. A sort of baseline frequency that all the creatures respond to - attracting them, repelling them, and even at times calming them down. It's pretty remarkable, actually." Coleman couldn't suppress the impressed smile from growing on his face.

"The problem is that we don't know which titans she combined. But if you can identify those frequencies, we'll be able to track the ORCA." Graham said. "And find Emma and Madison."

Mark continued swiping through the data, eyes scanning x-ray upon x-ray of various titans. No two of them looked alike, some had tough exoskeletons like giant insects while others were more mammalian. A few even shared similarities with Godzilla.

"Scylla, Behemoth, Kong..." Jodie commented. "Even the G-man himself. And those are just the few we've been able to confirm."

"Jesus," he said. "How many of these things are there?"

"Seventeen." Serizawa responded. "And counting, after Gojira."

"Seventeen?"

"Now, now, don't throw yourself into a fit." Leaving her seat with an irritated sigh, Jodie inched closer to the group huddled around the tablet. Clearing her throat, she motioned for it. Mark handed it to her.

Pulling up a map of the world, various locations were marked in a seemingly random pattern. After all these years, the map of titans found and contained had become so normal to her. To Mark, not so much.

"Most of them were discovered in deep hibernation," she said as she watched him scan through each outpost, disbelief steadily growing on his face. "While others we've contained in sites around the globe."

"Cambodia, Mexico, Skull Island. We even found one in Wyoming. They're everywhere." Graham chimed in.

"Why don't you kill them?" he asked.

Jodie bristled. Before she could even think of opening her mouth, Serizawa spoke up.

"The government wants to. But we believe that some are benevolent."

"Don't kid yourself." Mark snapped.

Serizawa sighed, looking down at the floor. Jodie limply threw her hands into the air.

"Look, man, I know you had a bad run-in with the big guy but have you seen them They can't help it!" Jodie retorted.

"Yeah? Then maybe something that can level a city if it so much as sneezes shouldn't be kept in a cozy little containment center while everyone else suffers the consequences."

"That still gives us no right to decide whether they live or -"

Suddenly, something in the Osprey began beeping.

"Uh, hey look at that. We're here." Coleman said, nervousness potent in his voice.

Vexed, Mark got up, walking toward the cockpit. Jodie rolled her shoulders. It was going to be a long day.

Looking out the window, Jodie spied the oil platform that jutted out of the sea, shrouded in mist like a lonely spire from a fairy tale. As they got closer, the Osprey began to dip closer to the rig's landing pad.

"Castle Bravo, this is Raptor 1 on direct approach." the pilot spoke into the mic in her helmet.

With that, the landing pad opened, revealing an empty shaft that went down, much deeper than what the rig above suggested. As they descended, they passed by floor after floor, many of which were bustling with people going about their regular workday. Or about as regular a workday could get at Monarch's HQ.

"This is new." Mark whispered.

"Yeah," Coleman said, the pride in his voice unmistakable. "We call it Castle Bravo, our new flagship facility. Built to track and study Godzilla on his own turf."

To Jodie, it had become so much more. It was home.

"I thought it was missing." Mark said, all but gritting his teeth at the thought of the titan still being alive and well.

She bit the inside of her cheek. This guy's deep-running hatred for the giant amphibian was already getting on her nerves.

"Well, only if you don't know where to look." Coleman replied.

That was easier said than done. After San Francisco, Godzilla had taken a pretty bad beating at the hands of yet another MUTO just a few months later - the signature glowing spines that adorned his back had been completely shattered. After crawling back to his home in the ocean, there hadn't been a public sighting of him since.

Slowing to a hover, the Osprey landed. The bay was impressively large for being a little under a mile below sea level.

"This is our stop." Coleman said.

As the group filed out of the Osprey, a line of men and women donning camouflage uniforms waited on the deck. Their leader, a woman with a clean-shaven head and a no-nonsense air, was unmistakable.

"Dr. Russell, this is Colonel Foster. She's the head of G-Team." Coleman said.

"A pleasure." she offered her hand. This time, Mark shook it.

"I take it you're not part of the scientific mission here." he remarked.

"Damn right." a man with a dark, close-cropped beard called from the back.

Colonel Foster grinned. "Chief Officer Barnes," nodding to the rest of the group she continued. "And this is Sergeant Hendricks, Staff Sergeant Martinez, and First Lieutenant Griffin."

Mark gave a quick wave.

"If you'll excuse me, Dr. Graham and I have some catching up to do with Colonel Foster." Serizawa said, coming up from behind Mark. Looking over his shoulder at Coleman, he continued. "Sam, why don't you give Dr. Russell a tour, help him get adjusted."

Coleman cringed. "Sorry, Doc I uh," he placed his hand over his phone's speaker. "Senate's not really taking our sudden leave so well. They're starting to get a little antsy."

"It's alright, I can -"

"Oh, don't worry, Jodie could probably show you around." he said without a hint of sarcasm before quickly returning to his call.

Jodie groaned to herself, putting on her most convincing friendly face as she turned towards Mark. He didn't seem too happy about it either.

_____

The first stop of the tour was the submarine bay.

It was bigger than one would've expected, holding around seven subs, at least a dozen smaller submersibles, and with space for more.

Although Castle Bravo was technically a research facility, it also acted as a fortress, fitted with large reinforced glass windows along with raised metal sleeves that definitely contained weapons of some kind. It had to, when it studied the sort of creatures that would call for that level of protection. Thankfully, Jodie thought, they hadn't needed to use those in years.

"Looks like you could stage a war from here." Marked noted.

"Don't get too excited, most of these are just research vessels." she walked ahead of him, not bothering to pay attention to whether he was following her or not. "Remember, we're still looking for titans. For all we know there could be dozens more out there."

"That's just great." he grumbled.

"If you're so hellbent on seeing them all as mindless monsters, wouldn't you want to be better prepared?"

"Give me a break, Monarch's been chasing these things since the 40s. As far as I can tell, whatever they learned prepared us for jack shit."

Jodie's lips curled inward with irritation. "Y'know, for someone that studies a keystone species for a living I would expect you to know better."

"Those monsters hardly count as a keystone species, they're walking natural disasters." he said, voice as angry and venomous as a snake.

".....That's exactly the kind of mindset Emma was trying to change."

Mark recoiled. "She was messing with something she shouldn't have." he paused, eyes scrunching closed for a moment. "Now look where it got her."

No wonder she divorced your ass, Jodie thought. As much as she wanted to spit it in his face, it was a low blow, even for her. Instead, she kept quiet, continuing to march forward until they reached level two of the facility. Jodie perked up just slightly when they entered the massive room, hearing the softest of gasps from Mark.

"What the hell is that?" he whispered to himself, awe and horror melding together in his tone.

Before them sat a giant reptilian creature. It vaguely resembled Godzilla, in the sense that it too possessed jagged spines jutting out from its back. The similarities stopped there, as this one's face was flatter, almost like a marine iguana. It even had similar, rounded jowels. Not to mention that it was much, much smaller, roughly the size of a blue whale. Jodie was no zoologist but she could've guessed that whatever species this belonged to, it was likely a juvenile.

It was also undeniably dead.

A vast majority of its body was obscured by scaffolding and heavy lifting machinery, but what could be seen was pretty grisly. Whatever this thing ran into had it out for them.

"That's Margygr, poor girl." she said, eyes filled with sympathy. "Found her washed up in the Arctic a few weeks ago."

Mark's eyes wandered to the rest of the room, finding that - much to his dismay - Margygr wasn't the only titan on the floor. As Jodie led him through, they passed by an assortment of titan parts - bones, semi-intact limbs, an organ or two - less than a handful were completely whole. Nearing the other side of the room, he found one that he recognized. The decapitated head of the female MUTO. Out of the corner of her eye, Jodie saw him grimace.

"You're dissecting them?" he said, disgusted.

"Well, yeah. And that's just the start of what they do down here." she said, unfazed by the scene around her. "Don't ask me about the dirty details, though. This isn't my division. The most I know is that the general mission is to understand them - how their ecosystem works, sequencing their DNA, etcetera."

"Their DNA?" he froze. "What could you possibly need with something like -"

"Ugh, could you chill out? This isn't Jurassic Park."

"Chill out? You're just gonna drop a bomb like that and then tell me to chill out?"

".....Are you done?"

After opening and closing his mouth, Mark said nothing.

"What I'm trying to say is that things have changed since you left. We've gathered more information on them in the past five years than in the last decade and since Godzilla showed up again, we've gotten so much closer to understanding them. Connecting with -"

"Do you even hear yourself? This isn't some child's fantasy, we're talking about genocides waiting to happen."

"Mark, they're animals. Just like any other thing that breathes on this goddamn rock!"

"Just - I don't care about this." He waved her off, turning to walk away but realizing he had nowhere to walk away to. "I just want my daughter back. And once that's done I'm done. I'm washing my hands of - of all this. Again. Forever."

Frustrated, Jodie pulled her phone from her pocket. She couldn't deal with him, of all things. She was just about to scroll through her numerous unread messages before seeing the time at the top of the screen.

"Fuck." she muttered under her breath.

"What is it now?"

"The meeting. We've got ten minutes until it starts."

"Meeting?"

"Must've forgotten to tell you." she said nonchalantly. "Guess the tour's over."

_____

The walk to the command center was a quiet one, heavy with tension and just a hint of anxiety.

That whole time Jodie was mentally punching Sam for making her waste precious time with this has-been instead of her own wife. Thankfully, that walk had also been short, and as they entered the room, she made sure to sit as far away from him as possible. Pulling up a chair between Lieutenant Griffin and Dr. Stanton, she waited as more people filed in one after the other. Soon enough, Vivienne walked into the room, standing in front of a large screen. Immediately, all chatter died down.

"As you know," she began. "At approximately 0700 hours, our containment site in China's Yunnan rainforest was raided."

The screen behind her displayed a waterfall, and wriggling just behind its curtain was a massive larva. The same one from the security footage from before. Jodie squinted. The scale of the scene would've fooled her had it not been for the two helicopters shining floodlights down on the creature. What was it doing? It didn't seem to be as distressed as before.

"The specimen - code-named Mothra - escaped, only to cocoon itself under a nearby waterfall, while Dr. Russell and her daughter Madison were taken hostage."

As Jodie peered closer, she saw dozens of iridescent threads spouting out of the larva's mandibles. The silk casing that had already begun to form had to be at least two stories tall.

Then, Emma's file photo and personal data flashed across the screen, quickly followed by a screenshot from the Yunnan footage. It was grainy, and although it was enhanced as much as it could be it hardly showed any detail save for the basic outline of a man's face - an older man, all gray hair and sharp features. A cold, empty stare. Despite the anger Jodie felt looking at the man responsible for all this, she couldn't stop the wave of goosebumps from forming along her arms.

"This is the man responsible," Vivienne wrung her hands. She always seemed to do that when she was nervous. "We haven't been able to find much information on him save for assumed previous encounters, but other than that, it's as if he never existed."

"What we do know is that he's had a penchant for this sort of thing." she went on as the screen displayed multiple screenshots of the man, each from different locations spanning years. This briefing couldn't get any more discouraging. "At the current moment we've assumed he's part of a wave of violent ecoterrorist activity that's steadily been on the rise in recent years. He could possibly be the man behind it all."

"Ecoterrorists?" Mark asked incredulously.

"Someone's spent too much time off the grid." Jodie muttered to herself.

"Wouldn't be surprised. Why else would they go after one of our outposts?" Stanton chimed in.

"What the hell's someone gonna do with a giant worm?" Martinez asked, seemingly genuine.

"You kidding? What can't you do with it?" he went on, leaning forward. "Pharmaceuticals, bioweapons, food - hell, there isn't a country or company on the planet that doesn't wanna get its hands on one of these suckers."

Looking up at the screen that now showed an x-ray of the pupa, Stanton's eyes narrowed. "And remember, this one's just a larva. A baby. After it cocoons? Something else is gonna crawl out. Something bigger. Meaner -"

"We don't know that, Rick." a woman with short, black hair cut in bangs interrupted.

Dr. Chen, the same scientist that Gill followed around like a lovestruck high schooler for the first year after their recruitment. Jodie trusted her.

"Oh, yeah?" Stanton raised a mug full of lukewarm coffee to his mouth. "Just wait for it, Chen."

She turned away, shaking her head with an exasperated grin on her face. Jodie couldn't quite put her finger on it, but Chen always seemed to know something everyone else didn't.  Maybe that was why she liked her so much.

"Our intel indicates our perpetrator wants to capture the specimen alive, which means he and his mercs won't be far behind." Colonel Foster said, stepping forward. "At 0500, we'll ship out to launch a joint operation -"

"I wouldn't bother." Mark said, crossing his arms.

That got everyone's attention. Jodie could feel Coleman's anxiety shoot through the roof after the first syllable left the man's mouth. As quickly as he had spoken, the room became silent as all eyes turned on him.

"Excuse me?" Foster finally asked.

"Sounds like a duck hunt to me."

"U-Uh, Mark? Why don't we let Colonel Foster fini -"

"A decoy," he continued, this time standing up from his seat. "A diversion. Look, they already got Emma and the ORCA. Why would they want just this one when they've got the keys to your entire kingdom of horrors back here?" he pointed to the map of Monarch outposts in the back of the room.

Foster remained silent, hands curling and uncurling.

"I think they want you to go after this Mothra so they can go after a real prize. Something bigger."

"Right.." Foster said, trying desperately to hold onto her composure.

"Mark," Serizawa said. "This is not the first specimen they've captured, they know what they're doing -"

"That's not just a specimen, I've got an ex-wife and a daughter out there. In case you forgot."

"No, no one's forgotten that, Mark," Coleman said. "But, uh, to remind you, you were brought on here to help track the ORCA and to advise -"

"I advise you to kill these things," he snapped. "All of them!" Pointing at the screen that now depicted archival footage of Godzilla, he grimaced, brows closely knitting together. "Especially that one."

Serizawa leaned back into his chair. He was looking more troubled by the second. Jodie ran her hands down her face. At least now she didn't have to deal with his bullshit alone.

"You wanna make sure these things don't fall into the wrong hands? You kill them, and the ORCA is useless."

"Emma wouldn't have wanted that," Chen said firmly. "Even to save her life."

"Well it wouldn't be the first time she put all of this before herself." he retorted. "Or her family, would it?"

With that, he stormed off. Jodie practically breathed a sigh of relief.

"Glad that's over." Jodie said, running a hand through her hair.

"Damn..dude really hates titans." Barnes remarked.

"Yeah, well, you would too if you were him." Coleman replied.

_____

There wasn't much to see outside the small, circular window of the "dorm" save for the faint glint of the moon bouncing off of what looked like an infinite expanse of ice. But to Madison, it was better than looking around the equally cold cage around her.

None of those strange people had bothered them in the hours they had spent in the air. Save for once, a few hours ago when that same woman from before had come offering them all a bland substitute for food. It only reminded Madison that she hadn't eaten anything for almost a day. Looking at it, remembering what had happened, she didn't feel hungry at all.

She didn't think she'd ever forget the scene she had been subjected to in China - the smell of blood, the looks of surprise or fear or pain captured forever on the faces of people she knew. That's what made it all worse, she thought. She had practically grown up around these people. Dr. Tanis would always help her with her homeschooling when her mother was too busy. Tim would make it a point to visit their living compound every now and then for a cup of coffee before work started. And of course, there was Gill. The two of them had become a notorious pair after pulling a prank on one of the archaeologists early into their deployment at the outpost. And one prank soon became ten.

At least she didn't see her among the carnage. Maybe, she reassured herself, she had managed to get out in time. Her mother had told her not to think about it, how in order to get through this they had to keep a level head. That was easier said than done. If anything she wanted to scream. She wanted to scream and cry and beat her hands against the walls until they collapsed or her knuckles became bloody. Instead, she sat on the uncomfortably stiff cot, closing her eyes as she tried to file all those images of death away to the farthest reaches of her mind. Instead, she thought of Mothra. The feeling of connection that she couldn't explain. How important it seemed, despite not knowing how or why it was important in the first place. Maybe if these guys hadn't interrupted them, she thought, she might've figured it out.

She wondered if the pupa had remained unharmed, as the mercs that took them didn't seem all that interested in her. She hoped she was okay.

Suddenly, there was a shift in their course, it felt like they were descending.

Looking over at her mom and the other woman, they seemed to notice it too. Although her mother didn't like showing it, Madison could tell she was nervous. The woman - Elena - she seemed on edge. She had only known her for a few hours, and spoken to her much less, but there was something so startlingly familiar about her. It was like that feeling you got when you stared into a mirror so long that you couldn't recognize your reflection as your own. But she wasn't scared of her, despite the defensive and withdrawn air about her.

Seconds after the sudden descent, the door opened.

"Put these on, you'll need them."

The woman that other guy had called "The Regulator" barged into the room, not caring at all for their personal space. In her arms were three thick parka-looking coats.

"Where are we?" Elena asked.

"You'll see. Follow me."

As the craft slowed to a stop, Madison could hear the harsh wind buffet against the walls. Every now and then it would wobble in place from its sheer force. She struggled to keep up with their pace, falling just behind her mother while Elena walked ahead of them both. As she passed by a window, shrugging on the deceptively heavy coat, she could see a glimpse of the world outside. Under the light of a full moon was a desolate, icy landscape that stretched off as far her eyes could see in every direction except ahead. There, ice and stone joined with a metal encampment. A Monarch outpost, she realized. But not just any outpost. It had to be the Antarctic base.

Under different circumstances she would've been excited. She often overheard her mother talking with Dr. Graham about this place - the landscape, the surprising amount of life, the silence. And, of course, the sleeping giant that lay inside.

She shivered, and not because of the cold atmosphere that seeped through the walls of the craft. She had never actually seen the creature up close save for photos that she had sneaked glances at. Her mother had a high security clearance, but Madison didn't.

"Outpost 32," she overheard a man, presumably one of the pilots, say into a radio as they drew closer to the front (center?) of the craft. "This is Raptor 5 on approach with reinforcements and supplies requesting permission to land. Serizawa has all sites on high alert so transmitting emergency codes now."

After a moment of silence, the person on the other end responded. "Codes are good. Nice to have you back."

Madison's brows creased together.

They were definitely not in an Osprey. The base would notice that something was wrong right off the bat if they approached in whatever they were in right now. Still, they continued walking until they were herded into what looked like an elevator. After a quick and silent trip down, they exited, now in an area that looked like a hangar. It was bustling with a good amount of people, and in the center of the room was an Osprey. Of course, Madison thought. Why wouldn't they have managed to steal one.

As the Regulator corralled them into the Osprey, Madison could see the strange man - the Controller - waiting for them inside. Great.

He said nothing as its engines whirred to life, only staring outside the front window in the same position he had when they first met. As they sat down, Madison could feel her mother's hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly as the mercenaries took up their weapons. She tried her best not to flinch at the sound.

It frightened her how casual it all was. Like it was just another day at the office for these people. The Osprey hovered in the air for a moment, the bottom of the hangar opening up beneath them. Looking out the window, Madison found that they were actually far from the base, somehow standing still in midair in a ship that made no sound. It was only a little unnerving. Shortly afterward they began their descent, approaching the base after five minutes or so. To her, it felt like forever. As the Osprey neared the base, Madison could see Monarch officials coming out to greet them, illuminated by the floodlights.

Go back!, she wanted to scream, hoping her thoughts would somehow reach them.

When they finally touched down, she began feeling just slightly nauseous as the Controller and his men disembarked.

For a moment, there was a suffocating silence, the wind being the only sound filling her ears. Then the gunfire started. Without meaning to she huddled closer to her mother, and even out of the corner of her eye she saw Elena stiffen.

"I'm scared." Madison whispered.

"I know," her mother said, pulling her closer. "Me too."

At that second, Madison looked up, eyes connecting with Elena's for just a brief moment. In her eyes she had seen something akin to pity, but underneath that was something else. It wasn't quite fear, but it was something like it. In the next second, the gunfire stopped, and with it the Controller stepped back into the Osprey.

"Let's go."

The walk to the outpost was a nightmare. Besides the harsh wind and biting snow coming at them near horizontally, there were at least a dozen more bodies lying frozen on the ice. On either side of her was her mother and Elena, and despite their attempts at shielding her from the grisly view, she just felt even sicker than before.

"Keep your eyes straight ahead," she heard a voice whisper into her ear. It was Elena. "Take deep breaths."

Madison nodded.

Inside, the mercenaries crowded them into an elevator and began yet another descent. Standing just beside Elena, facing in her direction, was the Controller, wiping a drop of blood from his face. He must've felt her eyes on him, as his gaze suddenly turned to her, flashing the tiniest of smiles. If you could even call it that. He smiled as though he had just learned how to move his face in such a way. It was strange and terrible, and she did her best to stare straight through him. Finding that she couldn't quite manage that, she scratched her eye with her middle finger and felt a little satisfaction when he seemed to understand her. At that, Elena stepped between them, staring at him so intensely that Madison almost felt a little scared for her.

Thankfully, the elevator doors opened, revealing a cavern of ice. Dozens of catwalks and research equipment surrounded the massive wall of ice that was at least hundreds of feet high. But that wasn't what caused everyone in the elevator to look up with rapt attention.

"Mother of God," Elena whispered to herself in horror.

"She had nothing to do with this." the Controller replied.

Madison could only stare at it in wonder and just a little dread. Within the wall of ice was a titan, all serpentine coils and gigantic claws. It looked like it could've been several titans tangled together, as she could make out at least two dragon-like heads. Whatever it was was also massive, far bigger than Mothra and possibly even bigger than Godzilla himself.

"Monster zero." she mumbled. That's what she had heard Dr. Graham and her mother call it.

The thought suddenly sent a jolt of worry through her. Was Graham still stationed here? Had those mercenaries killed her too? She hoped not, that would've been too much. After the divorce, it had been somewhat of a relief to have her around. She was like an Aunt, though she didn't really know what it was like to have family outside of her parents. Or her brother.

She tried not to think about it.

Instead she thought about the tunnel she was being led through. It had been carved through the ice and insulated with something that looked a bit like a hamster tube. It was warmer, but she still felt goosebumps forming up and down her arms. As they worked their way up, past what was once people's workspaces, they reached the heart of the facility - the biolab.

From the catwalk, Madison could see one of the horned heads, while a vast majority of its body obscured by layers of ice. Her mother walked up to it, placing her hand against its frozen surface. Elena hung back. It almost looked like it was hard for her to breathe.

"Are you okay?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down.

Elena only nodded, trying to give her a reassuring smile but only further convincing her that no, she was not okay.

"Any survivors?" the Controller asked a man with short black hair.

"No," he replied. "They tried to launch an emergency beacon but we cut them off in time."

"Oh, they'll figure it out. Fire up the drills." Turning to her mother, his gaze focused on the ORCA in her hands. "Do you have everything you need?"

Her mother barely seemed to register what he said, but she nodded.

"Good," he said, that same dark smile growing on his face. "Let's get started."

As the men started up several drills mounted on robotic arms that hung from the ceiling, her mother began connecting the ORCA to the biolab's diagnostic equipment. She cocked her head in confusion when she saw one of the Controller's men walk next to her mother, connecting wires attached to what appeared to be two sleek headpieces into the ORCA. She didn't remember ever seeing those before. Standing closer to Elena while everyone was preoccupied, she looked up at her.

"The ORCA...it hadn't worked back in China. How's it gonna be any different now?"

Looking down, brows furrowed and lips pulled into a thin line, she exhaled. "It's not that it didn't work, it was missing something." she said, face hopelessly blank. "A human connection."

A connection.

Stepping closer to the wall of ice, she placed her hand against it just as her mother had.

Why were they bothering with the ORCA when this thing definitely seemed dead? It had been frozen for decades, possibly even longer than that. And how had a creature of this size been frozen like this in the first place? Other animals had been found in a similar state, but they were never like this. From what she could make out, Monster Zero had been standing in a very lifelike pose. It seemed impossible that the ice had accumulated on him over time. And how long ago had it happened? Antarctica wasn't always a frozen wasteland. Was it even possible that he wasn't dead at all? Stranger things had happened.

Madison got her answer an instant later, when she heard a series of beeps from one of the diagnostic machines behind her. On its screen it showed a flat line that slowly but surely spiked. The waves were brief, shallow, inconsistent - but they were there.

Monster Zero was alive.