Mechagodzilla: Shiryu

-28-

Procedures of coupling went normally, and in no time the group headed out.

As the twins have spoken, the moth titan, Mothra, soon joined them, having awaited at Odo Island before heading out to follow. The blinding bioluminescent light of the moth titan lit up the land all around them to announce her presence. Akane remained inside of Shiryu while the Argo airship carried the mechagodzilla with the cable wires. A few squadrons of combat aircraft, along with new Heron fighters, escorted the Argo and the mechagodzilla through the airspace of Asia. Chen, Ling, and Sam were above inside the Argo ship, Simon and Rivk having chosen to stay behind to handle other things in case their help was needed from afar. Hours passed by, with only a few events happening like other country escort fighter jets moving close to them to confirm their route. Those were from China, Russia, and Europe, and even when they only came close to escort them, Akane didn't let her guard down.

At last, after endless hours of flight, they arrived at the Monarch outpost in Berlin.

While the Argo airship that carried Shiryu got closer and closer, everyone could see that the base was swarming with all kinds of military personnel, equipment, and vehicles. Shiryu's eyes zoomed in on the picture for enhanced visuals on the operations. ["Dang. Even from here I can see that they have taken the threat seriously."] Rick said on the radio. "Seems so" Akane agreed as she observed how busy the ground teams moved around. Some time later, the Argo airship began to descend and turn to the side as a landing area was given, and soon Shiryu was lowered down to the ground. The four cables detached from Shiryu and the Argo airship ascended back towards the sky, leaving Shiryu momentarily to gain a safe altitude. "Shiryu is now deployed. Confirm to base" Akane said to the Argo pilots on the radio. ["Copy. Relaying status to command center."] one of the Argo pilots said. Once the confirmation was sent, Akane pulled and moved the controls to pilot Shiryu to the portal. ["Remember, Akane. Make sure to take out and deactivate fully Shiryu Kai first. And then focus on Gigan next. Communications will not work at their fullest due to the interference detected below the outpost. So finish them off quickly."] Colonel Togashi said on the radio. "Roger that." Akane said firmly, grabbing the controls tightly as she piloted Shiryu right towards the Hollow Earth portal. Mothra, now having toned down her light, flew above the portal before the wings were tucked in to dive, entering the portal first. ["Good luck. And stay safe down there."] Chen said, Ling with her. Akane nodded in response and then looked up where she had Shiryu standing. The second Argo airship hovered high in the air, carrying a heavy package that would be delivered just in case things didn't turn out as planned.

So, with everything steady, Akane piloted Shiryu to leap down into the portal.

* * *

The mechagodzilla landed, more gently this time, in a cold region of the Hollow Earth. Snow fell all around the place as if the entire "sky" was the storm itself. The trip down was still as frightening as Akane had remembered, but thankfully it was all over. It was to be expected when traveling to places in this realm that were similar on the surface. Despite the fact that weather wasn't supposed to exist down here, it only took back Akane for a moment before she focused again on the mission. Using the radar layout that the surface outpost and command center had given her, Akane began to pilot Shiryu to the general direction. Based on the intel, Shiryu Kai's location was near the vicinity of the Hollow Earth outpost, following a circular pattern. They didn't know its precise speed and trajectory around the outpost, mainly due to the interference, but they surmised that they were definitely there. With only that sort of information, Akane piloted Shiryu towards the Hollw Earth outpost ahead of her. Up in the sky, the shadow of Mothra flying around close by was noticed, possibly scouting up ahead to warn Akane of any dangers beyond the limited vision due to the snow. Most of  sensors from Shiryu continued to work, despite the tremendous amount of interference.