1954. Bikini Atoll.
In a hangar located a small distance away from the celebrating military officers, who were enjoying their evening after successful 'neutralization' of an 'existential threat' called Godzilla, three people stood in silence, lamenting the loss of something truly extraordinary.
"The general called me in to discuss some funding."
Leland Lafayette Shaw III, or Lee for short, spoke up as his two partners turned their gaze at him.
"Figured since we were going down anyway, might as well shoot for the moon."
"So, I gave him a proposal. A string of Monarch outposts, extra staff, equipment, the works."
"He rejected it."
Keiko Miura, who had just stopped crying, sighed in defeat at those words, as William Randa, or as his friends called him, Bill, gritted his teeth in anger.
However, Lee smiled wryly.
"He said we didn't ask for enough."
That got the attention of his friends.
"They are giving us a blank check to find out if there are more of those out there."
Bill chuckled excitedly.
"How did you pull that off?"
"Well, I asked a simple question. What if the next one doesn't pop up in the middle of the Pacific? What if it's near New York or Washington?"
"Then we gotta tell the whole world."
Lee gave him a flat look.
"So, you wanna go public with the details of a classified H-Bomb explosion?"
"I mean, yeah! Why not?"
"Because they electrocuted the Rosenbergs."
That made Bill pause. But Keiko got an idea from the conversation.
"....Let's say, we find another one. Does the General need to know everything?"
Lee gave his closest friend, and the woman he held loved an amused look.
"I'm sorry. Are you suggesting I lie to my superior officer?"
"No. But, a lie and a secret are two different things."
"Hm. I'm sure the court marshall tribunal will see that distinction, Kei."
"...Do you trust us? Lee?"
Lee gave an exasperated look at the two before sighing.
"Ok. All I can tell him is what you can tell me. And I trust that you will tell me everything that I need to know. Are you okay with that?"
The two scientists immediately caught on to what the military man was trying to say.
Lee could not bring himself to break the protocol drilled into him during training. Yet, he could also see where his friends were coming from and trusted them with his life. So, he made a compromise.
They would only tell him what he could tell the General. Everything else, they would keep to themselves.
Keiko gave her friend a worried look.
"Are you okay with that?"
Silence reigned in the hangar before Bill broke it with a happy tone.
"I'm definitely fine with it."
That made the three friends break out into chuckles, coming to a silent agreement.
Yet, the humor soon died down as Keiko asked the question that had been bugging her all this time.
"But, what about Him? Do we tell the General about....?"
"Absolutely Not."
Bill gained an uncharacteristic stoic look as he glared at the Godzilla footprint held in the hanger.
"If those jarheads learn that he is not a mere myth like the world has been led to believe for more than three hundred years now, thanks to the efforts of certain people, there is no telling what they will do."
Bill looked worriedly at the sky, knowing that a certain being was orbiting the world at this very moment, protecting it from threats they could not even begin to imagine.
Lee looked at the sky as well before speaking.
"Yeah. I can understand that. Things are bad enough as they are. We don't need more tension between the homeland and the Reds across the sea, which will definitely happen if Puckett sends a Nuke heavenward. Not to mention that our allies over at Hoenn would be up in arms if something like that happened."
Bill laughed mockingly at the very idea as Keiko gave him a worried look.
"That old bastard can try. Something as insignificant as a nuke can never harm him or his fellow 'Kings' if the records are anything to go by."
Realizing that he was speaking with his friends and not those idiots in the scientific community who always laughed at his ideas, his tone softened.
"Sorry. It's just..."
"I know."
Keiko smiled, knowing exactly what Bill was feeling.
Bill had been onboard the USS Lawton when it was attacked by the Ion Dragon, triggering his thirst for knowledge and his obsession with these creatures. It was what led him down the rabbit hole of ancient traditions, oral stories, lost cultures, and many more that explored ancient myths that may or may not have been grounded in reality.
It was during this hunt for truth that he stumbled upon Keiko and Lee and became friends with them.
And later on, they stumbled upon the most significant discovery of their lives aside from Godzilla's footprint. A discovery that cemented their stance of coexistence.
Keiko smiled at her friend.
"The Trio are not simple superfauna like the others if our research into that tribe is true. So it stands to reason that our primitive weaponry would fail to even scratch them."
"Yeah. But still, I don't want those guys out there to provoke them. The Sky King may be benevolent enough to ignore our attempts to harm him. But the Sea King and the Land King are not."
Bill shuddered as he remembered the haunting tales he learned from that tribe in the Hoenn's ancestral lands, along with his friends. Those horrifying tales of the very earth turning to magma and the ocean consuming the world before the Emerald Dragon descended to restore balance.
Lee nodded seriously at his friend's words.
"Agreed. It is better to keep this information as secret as possible, just like it has been kept for so many years now-"
"And it will be kept a secret. Not to worry, Lieutenant Shaw."
The sudden voice made the three jump in surprise before they gained a delighted look at the sight of the old Japanese man, who smiled warmly.
"Serizawa-sensei! Its good to see you here."
Eiji Serizawa smiled warmly at Keiko's greeting before shaking hands with the men.
"I came as soon as I heard what was happening. And I am glad to see that you have upheld your word to the Tribe."
Lee nodded his head, knowing that he had no choice in this matter. If he really listened to his instincts and reported his and his brothers' existence to his superiors, the Pentagon would be in a riot, and things would escalate from there.
If his information was not intercepted and he didn't 'mysteriously' disappear, that is.
And, even if he could tell them without incident, he would never choose to do so as long as he remained himself.
Because some things were not for man to meddle with.
Satisfied with the response from the men and the woman, Eiji signalled them to follow him out, heading towards his own tent set up away from the others, thanks to his reach in the United States government, provided to him as a part of his existence within the tribe as an honorary member.
It was thanks to this reach that Monarch was established in the first place.
"What happened with Gojira was a tragedy, born of fear of the unknown. But we must now look to the future. What did you three decide?"
Keiko outlined the plan that they had come up with. A plan that Eiji agreed with.
"Good. That will do for now. Especially since the Tribe is planning on pulling back from certain tasks for now to enter their decades-long communion."
"Now!? Especially when we need them the most?"
Eiji sighed at Bill's shocked words.
"I know what you mean, Randa-kun. But you need to understand, it is their tradition. It is an event that happens once every three centuries. One that is integral to their culture and their attempts to communicate with him. It simply cannot be delayed or stopped."
Bill sighed, knowing the significance of the event.
"Yeah. I get it. But, without them looking out for Monarch in the government, things will become difficult."
"That, they will. But we must endure. This way, we will show them our worth and show them that we truly are dedicated to doing what we have set out to accomplish. To understand the Titans and the possibility of coexistence alongside these majestic beings."
That night, the group continued their talks for a long time until the young ones finally left, leaving behind Eiji Serizawa, who continued thumbing the delicate, ceremonial flute carved from an emerald crystal. The symbol of his honorary membership within the ancient tribe that had influenced human history from the shadows.
'I hope we can truly pull through during their absence for the next few decades.'
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon
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