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Chapter Text

It had been a good seven months since the battle in Boston. Amidst all the worldwide rebuilding, life had gone on as normal: cities that were evacuated or destroyed set up camps for the people to live in while the buildings were repaired; most Titans had gone back to hibernation, with a few exceptions.
Monarch had located the next Mothra egg, and set up a temporary station to monitor it.

It was only a few weeks after Outpost 61-RB had been established, led by Dr. Ilene Chen and her sister Ling, when Mothra's larva finally hatched. Thanks to the more peaceful environment and most importantly, no Titan threats looming over the world, this version of the Queen of the Monsters had all the time she needed to peacefully develop and interact with the world around her; in fact, she was so docile she would allow the Monarch scientists to get much closer to her than they had to any other Titan, and even touch her in some cases (though this was discouraged by the higher ups, it never stopped the Chen twins or anyone else who was craving moth pets).

A couple of days after her hatching, Mothra started to build her cocoon and around her, Monarch was setting up the equipment to monitor her.
Doctor Ling Chen was hunched over a computer monitor, looking at the x-ray imaging of Mothra's cocoon to ensure her imago was forming correctly, when her twin sister approached her from behind.
"Do you think she will look the same as last time?"
"We won't know for sure until she hatched. But look, here" she pointed at the screen "it's hard to tell what her wingspan will be, but her body is only two thirds the size her previous one was at the same stage"
"Is that a concern? Maybe she's just developing at a slower pace. After all it took her four days to cocoon instead of just a few hours like last time."
Ling hummed in thought, though her face still showed some concern.

Ilene gently grabbed her sister but the shoulders, guiding her away from the monitor.
"Come on, let someone else take over. You'll keel over from exhaustion before you get to see Mothra emerging"
Ling conceded, motioning for another Monarch scientist to take her place at the computer.
The Chen twins walked out of the outpost tent, towards the faint glow of Mothra's cocoon. It was gently pulsating with blue light, a hypnotizing display that left both researchers awestruck.
"See? She's doing fine" Ilene whispered to her sister.
"She does...feel...serene" Ling muttered.
"Feel?"
"I wouldn't know how else to describe the sensation. It's like..."
"No. I understand. It's the same for me"
The sisters held each other's hands, a reassuring gesture that went back to their childhood.

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Inside her cocoon, Mothra could feel a faint tugging at her psyche. She recognized that link from millennia prior, though this one was much more feeble. It was the unmistakable touch of her priestesses, even if these twins were obviously not fully aware of it. She supposed it had something to do with the fact that she was absent in their childhood, and thus had no time to establish a stronger connection.
-No matter- she thought -if this change goes well, we won't need a link to communicate-
She smiled faintly to herself, and went back to her slumber.

Chapter Text

Ishiro Serizawa sat at his desk in Outpost 54. On the other side of the monitor, Doctor Ling Chen was once again explaining the events of that past week. Behind her, Ilene rushed in with a flash drive in hand.
"Here, I found the camera footage. I'll send it to you now, Doctor Serizawa"
An email with a video attachment popped up on Ishiro's computer.

On the video player, security footage of Mothra's cocoon played. A bright blue light emanated from the silky wrap, just as a giant pair of wings emerged from a crack in the now useless cocoon. The rest of the Titan's body slowly rose up from the remains of the silky strands, but instead of settling on its usual horizontal stance, it kept rising and rising until Mothra was standing on her two back limbs. As she turned towards the camera, the video feed fully showed her new appearance: instead of her usual insectoid body, she now looked almost fully human; though her bright blue eyes were still the same, with no discernible iris or pupil, she now had flowing silky white hair, and a short beige dress with a fur collar.
The tall young woman (Mothra, Serizawa had to remind himself) briefly turned away from the camera, before taking flight and disappearing from view.

Ishiro took off his glasses, placing them on his desk with a disbelieving sigh.
"Doctor Chen, do you have any idea where she might be headed?"
"That's just it, Doctor Serizawa. From our tracking, it seems like she's headed to Castle Bravo"

Chapter Text

Rick Stenton rushed in the room, opening the door with a loud slam.
"Doctor Serizawa, there's.." he trailed off as his eyes fell on Ishiro's computer monitor, which was still displaying the human like form Mothra had taken. "...er, well at least that saves an explanation. But you better come to the observation deck."

The scene before them would have made the Castle Bravo team laugh if it wasn't so absurd.
Godzilla's head was slightly above water, atop which stood Mothra. Compared to the King of the Monsters she looked positively diminutive, even though she was about ten meters tall. The humans had clearly caught the Titans mid conversation, though obviously Godzilla's side couldn't be understood.

Godzilla huffed in what could only be described as frustration.
"Gojira! Don't be stubborn. This will help everyone in the long run"
Godzilla rolled his eyes.
"Don't you remember what happened with that dead star*? Or do you enjoy being pelted with human weapons every time you take a step?"
Godzilla snorted, shooting up a jet of water from his nostrils.
"That's what I thought. Now just hold still, and remember, you can always change it if you want, you just need to focus"
That said, Mothra lightly hovered above Godzilla's head, and a smattering of shimmering blue scales gently rained down from her wings to him.
Godzilla dove down deeper immediately, his dorsal spines glowing the same soft blue as Mothra's wings until he went too deep to be seen by the human eye.

The Queen of the Monsters look down at the ocean surface below which her King had just disappeared, a satisfied smile on her face.
Mothra flew upwards, doing a loop in the air before flying towards the observation deck where most of the Monarch team was gathered.
She gracefully landed on the platform, much more lightly than one would expect from such a large creature.
The Monarch team murmured amongst themselves, some stepping forward and some stepping backwards; at the front stood Doctor Serizawa and Doctor Vivienne Graham, the only ones brave enough to take more than two steps forwards; Ishiro took off his glasses in awe. Mothra knelt down in front of them to lessen the size difference, though she still loomed above the humans, her bright blue eyes scanning the small crowd.
"Hello. I believe you are owed some explanations."

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Vivienne adjusted the tripod on which was a small camera meant to be recording their conversation with Mothra, as well as the tape recorder. She turned to Mothra.
"Okay, we're all set. The Chens should be arriving here in a few minutes, if you'd like to wait for them. They left as soon as you did."
Mothra beamed with happiness.
"Oh, yes, I haven't seen my Ailenas in so long...I'm looking forward to meeting them again"
Just on cue, an Osprey landed on the helipad Outpost 54, and Ilene and Ling jumped out, clearly having gotten there in a rush.

Mothra clasped her hands together in delight. The twins immediately went to her, looking at each other before turning their gazes upon her in awe. The Queen gently took their hands in hers; she stared intently at them for a few seconds (even if it was difficult to discern where exactly she was looking due to the monochromatic appearance of her eyes) before Ling gasped happily.
"So it was you in the dream tonight!"
Vivienne, who stood off to the side during their meeting, tentatively stepped forward.
"I'm...sorry, could you elaborate?"
Ilene turned to face her, a content smile on her face.
"Tonight, before she emerged, me and Ling had a dream of a white haired woman with blue eyes coming to greet us and telling us that we'd meet soon. We couldn't imagine that was Mothra herself"
"And just now...it seemed like you reacted to something she said...but I didn't hear anything. Does this have something to do with the connection your family has to her, as you mentioned before?"
"My Ailenas don't need words to hear" Mothra intervened "but I promised I would give you an explanation, so I will speak to all. You mentioned needing a...device, for our conversation?" she asked in a tone that made clear she wasn't fully sure what that meant.
"Oh. Oh! Yes, the recorder is ready. We can start whenever you choose" Vivienne scrambled to get her notebook and pulled a pen out of her hair to transcribe everything that was about to be said. Some might think that a camera, tape recorder and notes are overkill for a single conversation, but with such an unprecedented event, it was better to cover all the bases.

"Very well then." Mothra spoke softly. "The reason for this...change is because I felt that it was time for more direct communication with you humans. After the whole ordeal with Ghidorah, I realized that it is much more beneficial for both of us to work together, you see? And while we could always understand you, we needed a way to make you understand us."
"But how did you turn yourself into..." Vivienne gestured vaguely to Mothra's whole body.
"I can decide what my form will look like once out of my cocoon. There are some things even I cannot change" she lightly flicked one of her antennas "but for the most part I can mold myself into whatever is needed. I thought choosing a form close to yours would make it easier to mimic your speech"
Ishiro, who so far had been silent, took a step forward "Then, your conversation with Gojira earlier...it had something to do with this?"
Mothra nodded "Yes. I can trigger this change in the other Titans as well. My plan was to convince them all; or at least, the ones that aren't dormant. That's part of the reason I came here, I know you can help me discern which ones are awake without me having to go all over the world to check one by one. It would make things easier for all of us. As for Gojira, he also agreed to this change, even though he'll probably sulk about it for a few days. But you'll see him soon enough"
Vivienne and Ishiro turned to each other a bright smile on each of their faces.
"We can give you the list of active Titans right now if you'd like" added Doctor Graham.
Mothra smiled happily. "I'd appreciate that, thank you. The sooner I get this done, the better it will be for everyone"
Vivienne nodded "It's not a very long list. As far as we can tell, the only active ones are Rodan, the Queen MUTO, Scylla and Tiamat"
Mothra tilted her head "Queen MUTO...? Ah, the Dweller Queen. Yes, I understand."

Mothra got up, and walked to the edge of the platform. "I will be going to Rodan next, if you are interested in following. But be assured, this won't be our last conversation"
With that, she gracefully leapt from the deck, taking to the skies.

Chapter Text

The Argo had taken to the skies almost immediately after Mothra did. On board were the Chen twins, Doctor Vivienne Graham and her sensei Doctor Serizawa. Stanton and Coleman had elected to stay behind at Castle Bravo, allegedly to keep an eye out in case Godzilla decided to pop in, but Ishiro suspected they just needed time to process what had just happened.

Almost everyone was pacing back and forth, unable to sit still following the revelations of their past conversation with Mothra; the fact alone that they had a conversation with her was enough to appall most of the crew present. The only one in her seat as should have been regulation was Doctor Vivienne Graham; while nowadays she could walk without crutches more often than not, her doctors had recommended not to put unnecessary pressure on her spine if she could help it.

"Sensei?" Vivienne addressed Ishiro, taking him out of his idle musings "Mark Russel just confirmed that he'll be able to meet us there. By a lucky coincidence he and Madison were vacationing in Mexico City, they're already on the flight. He might actually beat us there"
Serizawa chuckled to himself "Lucky indeed. i look forward to seeing him again. I hope he and Madison have had enough time to recover after everything"

The two scientists turned to look out of the window, at the imaginary path in the sky that Mothra was treading. It seemed almost like the (formerly) insectoid Titan was keeping pace, making sure not to leave the human aircraft too far behind, which considering her disposition was likely the case.

The radio of the Argo crackled to life, being hailed by the corresponding device in Outpost 56. A woman's voice came from the speakers "Argo, this is Monarch Outpost 56, Doctor Ginevra de la Cruz speaking. The landing pad has been cleared. What is your ETA? Over"
The pilot of the Argo picked up the microphone "Roger that. Our ETA is 36 minutes. Over"
"Understood. Will you be requiring any specific equipmen-" Doctor de la Cruz was interrupted by a younger feminine voice "Is Mothra actually with you? Is it true she's coming here for Rodan? Will-"
"MORGAN! ¡No me fastidies! How did you even get in here?"
The communication cut out there, leaving all present on the Argo to stifle a laugh at the intrusion.

Meanwhile, at Outpost 56 Ginevra de la Cruz was pinching her nose in exasperation. Her niece Morgan was standing in front of the communications hub, the radio's microphone still in her hand, and an innocent smile on her face.
"What? I thought inquisitiveness was a virtue"
Ginevra sighed deeply. "Not on official communications channels it isn't! Now would you please go back to doing your homework?"
"I finished it already!" Morgan beamed with a proud smile "Doesn't such gooooood behavior deserve a reward? Like, say, coming with you when the Argo and Mothra arrive?"
"Absolutely not. I don't care how much security there is or how docile Mothra acts, I'm not taking you anywhere near the..." she briefly glanced at a diagram on the wall depicting an ancient rendition of Rodan. "Not without at least ten feet of concrete walls in between."
Morgan scoffed, waving her right arm in front of her aunt, the metallic paint on the prosthetic limb catching the bright LED lights of the outpost. "If it's because of this, I still have three perfectly good limbs! And I can afford to lose at least two more"
Ginevra rolled her eyes, pushing the thirteen year old out of the door "No, and that's final. Now away with ye, I'll see you at dinner nina"

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Just as estimated by the pilot, the Argo touched down in Isla de Mara after 36 more minutes of flight. The Russels had in fact beaten them there, if only barely.
Greetings and reunions were brief, as soon after somebody spotted Rodan making his way back to the island, and Mothra flew upwards to intercept him.

All of the Monarch personnel was huddled around the security monitors; unfortunately the two Titans were too far away to pick up on the audio of their conversation, but judging by his body language, Rodan was pretty willing to listen.

Up in the sky, Mothra was hovering slightly above Rodan, following him in circles since he couldn't keep afloat in one spot midair like her.
"That's good then. I appreciate your cooperation, Rodan" she nodded in gratitude "Only, are you sure you don't want to land first? I'd imagine it will be more difficult to change your shape so drastically in mid air"
Rodan squawked in response, in a tone that had it been on a human voice would have sounded extremely overconfident.
Mothra shrugged, obliging him "Very well then"
Once again, a smattering of shimmering blue scales fell from her wings, with some excess rolling off the volcanic Titan. His wings started to twitch and jerk oddly, like they were wrapped in invisible strings that were being pulled in every direction. Rodan lost balance, and in a few seconds plummeted too far to be able to recover altitude in time, crashing down on the beach at the base of the volcanic island, not too far from where the Monarch scientists were observing.
Mothra touched ground a few moments before Rodan did, using her wings to shield the humans from the ensuing shockwave and massive sand cloud that he had kicked up.

The dust settled, revealing Rodan's human-like form. Just as Mothra was beautiful and ethereal, he too would have been quite handsome if he was a regular person, with bright red hair and piercing yellow eyes complimenting his facial features. His outfit looked like and odd cross between a biker and an aviator, though the flight goggles on his head pointed more towards the latter. He still had about an head of height over Mothra making him roughly eleven meters tall.
"Maldito sea..." he groaned as he picked himself up, stretching his arms and cracking his neck.
Mothra rolled her eyes - not that anyone could tell since they were completely monochromatic. "You'll be fine. And I did warn you. These are the consequences of your own actions, Rodan"
Before Rodan could retort her statement, his eyes fell on the group of humans behind Mothra, all expressing some degree of curiosity directed at him.
He sighed in annoyance, shooting a glance at Mothra "This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?"

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In the waters of the sea surrounding Isla de Mara, the excess of Mothra's scales that had rolled off of Rodan was floating aimlessly in the current, getting carried towards the more open waters. Before the shimmering blue particles reached the expanse of the ocean, an unnatural current dragged them down, well below the surface; the stream syphoned them towards the only object that was left untouched after the detonation of the Oxygen Destroyer all those months ago: a perfectly intact draconic Titan skull.