Near Antarctica, the MONARCH helicopter pushed through heavy winds as the frozen landscape came into view.
Nobody spoke for several minutes.
Ethan broke the silence. "Sometimes I wonder what goes through your head, Dr. Serizawa."
Serizawa looked up from the mission tablet. "What do you mean?"
"When you found creatures like Monster Zero, why didn't you kill them?" Ethan looked out through the side window at the endless ice below.
"You knew it was dangerous, yet you built an outpost around it instead of making sure it could never wake up."
Serizawa was quiet for a moment. "Because that isn't our purpose. We don't exist to destroy Titans. We exist to understand them."
"And if understanding gets everyone killed?"
"If humanity destroys everything it fears, eventually there will be nothing left to understand."
Chen listened without interrupting before speaking. "Not every Titan is hostile. Godzilla has had opportunities to wipe us out, but he hasn't."
Ethan nodded slightly. "That's true." He rested his head against the window. "I just hope your faith isn't misplaced."
The pilot's voice came over the radio. "Approaching Outpost 32. Visual contact established."
Everyone turned toward the front windows. The massive Antarctic outpost emerged slowly through the snowstorm, its walls barely visible beneath layers of ice.
Ethan looked through the window. "You people really have a bad habit of keeping dangerous things alive."
Serizawa met his gaze. "You disagree with our decision?"
"I do. Not every Titan deserves mercy, and that one definitely doesn't."
Chen looked at him. "Why are you so certain?"
"Because Monster Zero isn't one of Earth's Titans," Ethan answered.
"It doesn't belong here. It's an invasive species that arrived on this planet a very long time ago. The Titans of that era managed to stop it, which is why it's buried beneath all that ice."
The cabin became noticeably quieter.
Serizawa's expression hardened. "You're saying it isn't part of Earth's natural ecosystem?"
"Exactly. It has no place in the balance you're trying to protect."
Mark looked at the frozen landscape outside. "If that's true, then releasing it would be catastrophic."
"Yep," Ethan said. "If that thing gets loose, you're all fucked."
Chen looked at him. "Then you'll help us stop it?"
Ethan shook his head. "Why would I?"
Everyone looked at him.
"This isn't my mess. Humans found it, humans built an outpost around it, and now humans are about to wake it up."
Chen frowned. "So you'll just watch?"
Ethan leaned back in his seat. "I don't interfere every time humans make a stupid decision. If I did, you'd never solve your own problems."
Mark folded his arms. "But if billions of people die, doesn't that change anything?"
Ethan looked at him for a moment. "No." His tone stayed calm. "If a civilization keeps making the same mistake because someone always rescues it, it never learns." He glanced toward the cockpit.
"You invented nuclear weapons. You polluted your own oceans. You keep digging up things you don't understand."
"If some higher being stepped in every single time humanity created a disaster, you'd eventually blame that being the moment it stopped helping."
Nobody answered.
The only sound inside the helicopter was the steady rhythm of the rotors as Outpost 32 drew closer.
The pilot's voice came through. "Approaching Outpost 32. Landing in thirty seconds."
The operations officer followed immediately over the radio.
"Alpha Team, once you're on the ground, secure the perimeter and sweep the entire facility for hostiles."
"Priority one is recovering the ORCA. If the eco-terrorists present a lethal threat, eliminate them. Primary objective is to prevent Monster Zero from being released."
"Copy that," the team leader replied.
The helicopter touched down on the snow-covered landing pad with a heavy thud.
Before the rotors had fully slowed, Ethan slid the side door open and stepped onto the ice as though he didn't feel the temperature at all.
He stretched his arms over his head and took a slow look around — endless snow, jagged ice cliffs, the massive facility carved into the mountain face.
"I've got to admit," he said, "the view's pretty nice."
Serizawa, Mark, Chen, and Rick Stanton headed toward the temporary command post had established near Outpost 32.
Technicians were already setting up communications equipment and monitoring the assault team's helmet cameras as they advanced into the facility.
Inside the operations tent the atmosphere was tense.
Rick watched the live feed. "Alpha Team has entered the outpost."
"Moving toward the central chamber," another operator confirmed.
Mark stood beside the monitor, eyes fixed on the feed. "Any sign of Emma?"
"Negative. Team is still clearing the upper levels."
Barely two minutes passed before every monitor erupted with interference.
A deep rumble echoed across the ice. Everyone instinctively looked toward Outpost 32.
A massive pillar of golden lightning burst upward from the facility, tearing through the clouds and illuminating the Antarctic sky.
The discharge split into several arcs. One shot directly toward the command post.
Everything happened in an instant.
Before anyone could react, Ethan appeared in front of the incoming bolt and raised one hand casually.
The lightning struck his palm. Instead of exploding, the energy dispersed around him and faded into the air.
Ethan lowered his hand and looked toward the outpost.
"Well," he said calmly, "looks like Monster Zero has been released."
***
A/N: And on Patreon, The Boys arc started.
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