TITANS 2150.4 - The Last Empire (Disney Monster Universe Phase 2)

Chapter 10 - The Subterranean Realm

In the Hollow Earth, Kong and Elsa had continued their way towards the great ape's lair, while the HEAV had taken the direction of the position of the outpost which still gave no news. On board, Ann Possible had just received a transmission from Gretchen from Middleton's outpost on the surface, informing her that Godzilla had just destroyed a nuclear power plant in France to absorb an abnormally large amount of radiation, then he had a brief confrontation with the Kiryu mecha and that a totally abnormal and living thing coming from the bowels of the earth had disturbed him. Ann wanted to know more, but the satellite link with the surface was cut because it was too far away.

_"Damn it... It's really war on the surface. We just have to pray that there will be something alive when we come back." whispered Ann, anxiously.

She then felt Jia's soft hand come to take hers, the young girl supporting her adoptive mother with her gaze which met hers. Ann smiles tenderly at Jia, also thanking her with this silence as communicative as the slightest word.

_"Approaching Outpost 1." Pilot Mikael indicated to the rest of the crew. "I start the descent and... what the hell...?"

_"Oh no, that's not a good sign..." added James, who saw the same thing as him from his seat.

Trapper, Ann and Jia looked in turn and could see the same column of black smoke rising from the jungle, right where the outpost was normally located. Everyone shared the same intrigued and worried expressions. The HEAV made a maneuver to descend and land on the site's small landing platform and once done, Mikael left his cockpit to equip his weapon, for safety. When the rear airlock of the ship was opened, he was the first to come out, gun ready to fire, followed by Ann and Trapper, James staying with Jia inside to reassure her and not leave her alone, but observing from afar. Jia was overcome by a bad feeling floating in the air, like a residual unhealthy power. James saw her feeling uncomfortable and, thinking she was afraid, took her hand to reassure her.

Meanwhile, Mikael, Ann and Trapper could observe the horror that had happened here: the buildings of the outpost, all without exception, reduced to smoking ruins, the walls gutted and torn away by a prodigious force. The ground was shattered in every direction, as if there was an earthquake. All communication and study materials were scattered and destroyed. But the most terrible thing was the discovery of the lifeless bodies of all the members of the outpost, scattered on the ground and some of whom appeared to have been crushed or torn into pieces, which horrified the team even more.

_"No heat signature detected in the area." Mikael said, checking his portable scanner and showing a rather cold detachment from the situation. "We can forget about the possibility of survivors."

_"Show a little respect, these people had families." replied Ann, outraged by the pilot's attitude. "What could have done this?"

She knelt next to the body of the outpost mechanic, whom she knew well, and was saddened and sorry for him. As far as she knew, no presence of Skullcrawlers or other major predators had been detected in this area for years. For his part, Trapper had started searching through the rubble while Mikael stood sentry.

_"Hey guys, look! I found something!" Trapper indicated to the others and brought a perfectly intact holo-tablet, in fact the only thing still functioning. "It's strange, looks like someone wanted we find it."

_"There is a video recorded on it." Ann said.

She pressed the touch screen, triggering the start of the recorded video and what appeared left them speechless. The operator appeared, kneeling in the grass, his face contorted with fear and held hostage by someone who had placed the wavy blade of a sword under his throat. The person in question was a woman of Asian ethnicity and slightly dark skin, with long black hair, wrapped in a large cloak of worn red fabric, and wearing on her head a wide conical brimmed hat made of woven bamboo.