Ch. 61 – Discovered by Monarch and “Let them fight.”
*Yaaawn*
I noticed a group of people gathering just outside my cave two weeks ago, and last week they started digging.
From their conversations I've learned a few things.
They're from Monarch, the organization in charge of researching, and if possible either containing or, if they're a threat, exterminating Titans.
*bang Bang BANG!*
As they finally get through the cave wall, a small stream of light starts pouring in.
I close my eyes and pretend to still be sleeping for now. I want to see how they treat me. As long as they don't show hostility, I won't either.
But if they try to chain me up like Odin did, I'm going to have long pig for breakfast.
It's exactly why I left the mural of Odin's story, as a warning.
Ten people wearing hazmat suits enter through the hole and shine their flashlights around the cave to see what they're dealing with. Only two of them are unarmed.
A middle-aged caucasian woman and an Asian man.
"Wow, amazing. Its fur is white as snow. It's beautiful." The woman says in a british accent while she's staring at me.
"Doctor Serizawa. Here, look at this." A man says as he shines his flashlight at the mural.
Serizawa approaches the wall and looks at it in fascination.
"Those are Viking runes. Doctor Graham, do you think you could have them translated?" Serizawa asks, looking towards the woman who is still admiring my fur.
"Yes, of course."
Serizawa further examines the mural, now focusing on the pictures instead of the runes.
He sees a picture of me being restrained by golden chains and breaking out of them. The next picture shows me eating both Odin and Thor.
The last few pictures show the remaining Asgardians and Vanir living alongside me, while I protect them from other Titans.
Dr. Graham approaches the mural and looks at the images. "What do you think Doctor Serizawa? Containment or just observation?"
"Well, clearly containment didn't work very well for them." Dr. Serizawa says, pointing at the image of me devouring Odin and Thor. "He's clearly another Alpha. This is the second biggest Titan we have found so far. For now we should just observe. Call Doctor Chen and have her dig up any myths about giant wolves. For now we go with the local, Norse mythology and call him Titanus Fenrir."
While Dr. Graham exits the cave to call Dr. Chen and some of the armed men start setting up some cameras and sensors around the cave, Serizawa walks closer to me.
He's accompanied by two men, one of them carries an M32 grenade launcher while the other one carries an M240 machine gun.
"Hey Doc? You ever seen one up close like this before?" The man with the grenade launcher asks quietly while keeping his weapon aimed at my eye.
"I don't think anyone ever has." Serizawa answers.
"It is a big son of a bitch though ain't it? You reckon he's just sleeping or hibernating like the others?"
"Why do you think they brought all those sensors dumbass? To figure that out." The second soldier answers before Serizawa.
"Gentlemen, even if he is not hostile, we are tresspassing in his territory. So unless you want to be his breakfast I suggest you keep quiet."
Right that moment a strong draught blows through the cave, perfectly carrying their scent to me.
Having felt it, they all stand absolutely still and just stare at me in trepidation.
*Sniff sniff*
After sniffing the air, I snap open my eyes and immediately focus on them.
The soldier holding the grenade launcher looks scared as hell as I keep staring at them. He raises the launcher shakily and points it at my face.
"Don't shoot." Dr. Serizawa says softly as he puts his hand on top of the barrel and lowers it slowly.
I lower my head towards them and smell them like a normal wolf would. I then stand up and stretch before walking over them like they aren't even there.
I walk to the wall they dug a small hole through and with no effort I walk through it.
Outside a group of soldiers and scientists all drop whatever they were doing and stare at me in fear.
*BANG!*
One of the soldiers raises his gun and shoots at my face.
*GRRRR!*
I look at him and snarl.
The soldier walks backward in fear, trips over some equipment and falls on his ass.
After a few seconds of me staring at them, I walk away.
-----
"That could have gone a lot worse." Dr. Serizawa says as he walks out the cave and approaches Dr. Graham.
"Yes, but it could have gone a lot better. If he hadn't shot Fenrir." Graham says, pointing to the soldier who shot.
"Actually, we learned something very important because of that. At least for now, he doesn't seem to be hostile at all."
"Thank god for that."
"Have you contacted Doctor Chen?" Serizawa asks as they're walking towards a helicopter.
"Yes sir, she's going to build a profile on Fenrir immediately. She also wanted me to tell you that there is some unusual activity in Janjira. There are sporadic power outages." Graham answers as they get in the helicopter.
"They'll have to send another team to investigate that. I think we're going to be busy here for a while."
"Where to, Doc?" The pilot asks.
"After the wolf. I want to know where he goes."
-----
After leaving my cave I focus on my senses and notice that there's a Muto spore about to hatch and it's trying to contact another one.
A few seconds later there's a response. Focusing on the second one, I trace it to Nevada, where it's currently absorbing nuclear radiation.
Seeing how the females of their species are the bigger threat, I travel northeast towards the northernmost part of Russia.
I then swim for a little while before walking across the North Pole, through Canada and into the United States.
The journey is more than twelve thousand kilometers. Seeing as I'm being followed by a helicopter and two drones, I decide to keep my speed within reasonable limits so the whole journey takes about two days.
Along the way I make sure to avoid densely populated areas, but I'm still spotted by people quite often.
-----
On board the USS Saratoga in the Pacific Ocean, a large monitor is displaying Hokmuto's current trajectory as he's headed toward Hawaii after breaking out of the containment on Janjira. On another monitor is a live newsfeed of an earthquake report from Japan.
"MUTO, Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. It is, however, no longer Terrestrial. It is airborne.
The world still thinks this was an earthquake and it would be preferable that that remains so.
Before we lost sight of it, it was headed east across the Pacific, towards the Hawaiian Islands and had emitted enough EMP disruption to create havoc with our radar and satellite feeds and reduce us, for the moment, to a strictly visual pursuit.
I emphasize 'for the moment' because we will get on our game and we will find this thing. It is imperative that we do so."
After summarizing the current situation regarding the Muto, Admiral William Stenz moves to the other side of the room where another monitor is showing video of a large, hundred meter tall, white wolf making its way through snowy forrests.
"This large wolf, called 'Fenrir' by our friends at Monarch, and 'Ralph' by weirdos on the internet is making its way across Northern Russia and is still heading further north.
We have no idea what it's doing and why it's doing it but it's too late to keep this one hidden.
For now a group of scientists from Monarch are tracking its whereabouts, and given the current situation the Muto remains our number one priority."
"Sir, we received an intel report of a missing Russian Akula fifty nautical miles west of Hawaii. It could be the Muto." Captain Hampton reports.
"Martinez?" Admiral Stenz walks over to a console where a woman is watching live feed from a Special Forces team.
"Yes sir, Special Forces team Sparta One is picking up a distress signal on the Island of Oahu. They're on the ground and are headed to the beacon."
A few minutes later, the monitors showing feed from their helmet cams are showing Hokmuto eating large nuclear canisters from the submarine's nuclear reactor and from nuclear warheads.
"Cat's out of the bag people, our highest priority now is safety. There's close to a million people on that island."
"We're picking up something else sir, it's approaching from the Pacific at high speed."
-----
While I'm making my way across the North Pole I'm also keeping track of the Hokmuto and Godzilla who are currently duking it out on Hawaii.
At my current speed I'll probably make it to Nevada just before the Femuto lays waste to Las Vegas.
After fighting for about an hour Hokmuto takes flight and heads northeast towards San Francisco.
As I run across Canada, I can sense the Femuto breaking out of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository where it has most likely been feeding for months.
'Okay, slightly miscalculated. Guess Las Vegas is fucked. Oh well, at least I might be able to minimize the damage done in San Francisco.'
I slightly change course and start sprinting. At one point I even jump over a small town.
-----
Back on board the USS Saratoga, Admiral Stenz is watching footage of the Femuto laying waste to Las Vegas, trampling everything in her path.
"Admiral, we have contact with Doctor Serizawa from Monarch." Captain Hampton says as he hands the Admiral a tablet displaying Dr. Serizawa's face.
"Doctor Serizawa. Admiral William Stenz."
"It's nice to meet you Admiral."
"What can you tell me about this wolf doctor?"
"Not much it has only just awoken right after we discovered it.
But we've been tracking it and based on where it's heading it is likely that he's hunting the second Muto."
"We've come up with a plan on our end doctor.
They all seem to be converging in San Francisco. We're going to rig a nuclear warhead with a shielded timer, put it on a boat and send it twenty miles out.
The radiation will lure the Mutos and the Mutos lure Ralph and Godzilla."
"But that's been tried before, in the sixties. Besides, they feed on radiation." Serizawa says, clearly doubting the viability of the plan.
"Doctor, if you have a better idea, I'm all ears."
"I believe Gojira and... uhm, are we really going with Ralph? Well, they might be the answer. I believe they might be here to restore balance. They can defeat them." Serizawa says with conviction.
"And what? We just stand by and watch?
I'm sorry doctor, I can't take that risk." Admiral Stenz says and disconnects immediately.
"Prepare the warhead."
-----
As I run past Novato, thirty kilometers North of San Francisco, I can sense Godzilla and the Mutos have arrived there and the Mutos are building a nest after the Hokmuto took a nuclear warhead from a Navy ship in San Francisco bay so they can reproduce.
-----
Inside a command center, just north of the city a group of soldiers is getting briefed on their mission.
"Okay, listen up. The male delivered the warhead to the center of downtown. That puts a hundred thousand civilians in the blast radius. And we can't stop it remotely.
An analog timer has been installed." Captain Hampton explains.
"The Mutos are frying all electronics within a five-mile bubble. Which means approaching from ground is not an option.
That's why we'll be conducting a HALO insertion. Jumping altitude of thirty thousand feet.
Get to the warhead and disarm it."
After the briefing Admiral Stenz walks out towards Dr. Serizawa.
"These Alpha predators of yours doctor, are you sure they have a chance?"
"The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control and not the other way around.
Let them fight."