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Chapter Text

Gigan let out a loud cry of mixed surprise and pain as he felt another punch connect with the side of his head. He clumsily stumbled back, ears ringing from the hit as the silhouette of his mechanical opponent danced at the edge of his vision. Somewhere behind him Megalon's shrieks were filling the air, accompanied by what the cyborg could only guess was Godzilla's triumphant roar as the king of monsters repeatedly kicked his already downed adversary.

To think they had been doing so well merely moments ago...

Through their impeccable teamwork and unbeatable strategy (which definitely was a coordinated set of actions and not just Gigan and Megalon screaming and trying to hit whatever came within punching range) they had managed to get both Godzilla and Jet Jaguar cornered ; surrounded by a thick wall of flames as the pair stood trembling and exhausted. All they had to do was sit back and watch as the metallic husk of a kaiju and the radioactive reptile were slowly burned alive and reduced to ashes before their very eyes... Or so they thought. Because somehow ; somehow ; by some unfortunate miracle Jet Jaguar had not only managed to fly out and away from the flames- he had done so while carrying Godzilla on his back. Stunned by this sudden turn of events Gigan and Megalon had taken just a little too long to react accordingly, giving the opposing team enough breathing room to recover. And it seemed as though their near death-by-incineration experience had also revived their will to fight, because the two had then come back at the Nebulan-Seatopian duo with renewed energy and strength and completely overturned the situation.

Things had gone from bad to worse and needless to say, this was not good...

Gigan heard running steps rapidly approaching him from his right and jumped out of the way, barely avoiding another punch from Jet Jaguar. He tried to retaliate and swung his bladed arm at the robot but his head was still ringing from the previous hit and he missed, stumbling forward and crashing ungracefully into the ground. He groaned and tried to get up again but his energy was quickly burning out...

A sudden high-pitched cry from Megalon made the cyborg jerk his head up to look at his partner in crime.

The cybernetic beetle was standing between him and Godzilla, clashing his metal drills together in an apparent act of defiance. The king however stood his ground, taking a fighting stance as he simply roared back without advancing. This seemed to greatly anger Megalon as he -much to Gigan's annoyance- suddenly seemed to forget all fighting common sense and charged head first at Godzilla. He shrieked as he got closer, lifting his drills and readying a strike. That was however, until the radioactive reptile opened his maw and unleashed a fiery beam of radioactive energy right into the other kaiju's chest. The Guardian of Seatopia shrieked in agony as he was pushed back several feet. He crossed his drills in front of him in an attempt to shield himself from the blast ; only for the radioactivity to melt away part of the metal and cause even more searing pain. Concentrating more energy into his gut Godzilla increased the intensity of his atomic breath, finally causing Megalon to fall over onto his back. The cybernetic beetle's breathing was ragged and wheezing as a large, dark scorch mark was left on his chest.

Gigan panicked as Godzilla began stomping over to the wounded beetle. He needed to help Megalon- and he needed to help him quick. But as he attempted to stand again he felt a pair of cold, metallic hands on his right arm. He barely had time to react before a sudden, sharp pain exploded in his limb and shot up his entire right side. Jet Jaguar had just slammed Gigan's arm down onto his knee so hard he had essentially obliterated his elbow, causing the limb to limply bend outwards.

The cyborg shrieked in agony and reflexively swung his other arm at the robot ; only to have it grabbed and pulled as Jet Jaguar spun on his heels and launched him over several feet, right into a large pile of jagged rocks. The sharp edges sliced into his back and the Nebulan war-machine howled again, his head ringing as his entire body pulsated with excruciating pain. Gigan felt himself begin to shake as the intense suffering overpowered him. Amidst his miserable condition his mind barely registered Jet Jaguar leaving the edge of his blurry vision- most likely to go torment Megalon instead.

The cyborg groaned and whimpered, swallowing in a raspy breath. His mind was racing with so many thoughts at once it was painful. And hearing his partner in crime's cries for help in the distance only made it worse... He had to get up and help him ; of course he had to! But his body was in such a sorry state... He could barely move without wincing, let alone stand up! And his arm... How could he fight anyone like this-?

A voice suddenly cut through his veil of panic.

[Physical state critical. Abort mission. Return to mothership for emergency repairs.]

Gigan sighed softly as he felt a sudden wave of calm wash over him and his whole body relaxed at once. His trembling ceased and he regained control of himself as he took in a long, deep breath. Slowly, he felt his mind clear itself of all his previous worries until nothing remained but soothing, undisturbed peacefulness.  He was still in great pain but somehow it felt... Distant, as if it was someone else's.

Of course, this was all thanks to The Voice. To think he had started to worry it wouldn't come to his aid...

Ever since he was a hatchling and as far as he could remember, it had always been there. A genderless, toneless, languageless voice that arose from the very depths of his mind in every crucial situation... It guided him through fear and panic, kept him going through any and every pain he suffered... He knew it wasn't his conscience ; it didn't sound or even 'think' like him ; so it must have an outside source. But it had been there for so long now that it felt like a part of him.

Focusing on The Voice's words, Gigan pushed himself up with his valid arm into a kneeling position. The rocks he had been thrown against were dripping with thick, silvery white blood and he could feel the fluid gushing down his back as he sat up. And although he could't turn his head enough to see, he could only guess his back sails were in a rather pitiful state as well...

[Subject Gigan-01. Abort mission. Return to mothership for emergency repairs.]

Right, right.

Get back to the ship. Get patched up. There was nothing to worry about.

He took another deep breath as his doubts were once again sucked away by The Voice. He didn't understand quite how it did this, but whenever it spoke he instantly felt infinitely calmer... It was as though it shielded him from any negative thinking. Even when it gave him instructions that sounded counterproductive or that he would have never followed on his own, like abandoning an ally or fleeing from a fight, any rebellious thoughts he might have held were dissipated and lost to the calm abyss The Voice instated in his brain. He never had any desire to defy it, to find its source or to question it, really. He was content with simply letting it take control and mindlessly following its orders.

With a groan Gigan forced himself up and stood on shaky legs. Megalon was lying a few feet away, both Godzilla and Jet Jaguar kicking at him every time he attempted to get up. Seeing Gigan he cried out for help but his plea fell on deaf ears- or rather on ears that were already obnibulated by another voice. The Nebulan cyborg raised both of his arms in front of him and swiftly took flight, ignoring the searing agony in his broken limb. He figured the Nebulans were probably going to have it removed anyway, as they had with every other part of his body he had damaged. Cut off flesh and bone and replace it with yet another robotic part... Gigan felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach, but it was quickly dissipated by another wave of calm that made all emotions hazy and distant. His thoughts were cleared again, leaving him to focus on only one: getting back to the Nebulan mothership.

But even this single thought was disturbed when Gigan suddenly heard Godzilla roar again, followed by the unmistakable sound of the king firing his atomic breath.

There was no time to avoid it. The cyborg heard the loud snapping of fire before his shoulders and the back of his head were engulfed in radioactive heat. He shrieked and was about to try and shield himself when the smell of smoke suddenly filled the air. He heard the sharp pop of electrical sparks behind him- and then his body was overtaken by levels of pain he had never experienced before.

It started at the base of his neck ; like a burning hot needle being pushed deep through his scales and into his flesh ; before shooting down his spine. The torturing agony then rippled throughout the rest of his body ; through every bone, every muscle and every vein down to his organs -but the worst had to be his head. It felt like an explosion tearing apart his skull. His mind rang with a terrible high pitched screech as his temples pulsed with unbearable pressure. His teeth began to chatter uncontrollably as a blinding white light filled his vision, burning everything in its path. He didn't realize he was falling until he crashed hard into the ground, the impact knocking the air out of his lungs. He choked and let out a strangled cry as his body was overtaken by violent tremors. A thick mixture of foamy saliva and silvery white blood began pouring out of his mouth and pooling onto the ground.

Godzilla and Jet Jaguar took a step back and stood in silent horror and awe, staring at the seizing cyborg. The king of monsters in particular was rather... Shocked, to say the least. He had used his atomic breath against many kaijus before. He had even hit Gigan with it before- multiple times, even! But he had never witnessed such a violent reaction... Had the damn thing finally fried a circuit?

Godzilla's thoughts were interrupted when he received a violent strike to the back of the head. He roared in anger and turned to see Jet Jaguar stumbling back with his hands on his head (having presumably received a similar blow) while Megalon half-limped half-hopped towards Gigan. The giant beetle clumsily grabbed the still shaking cyborg and threw him over his shoulder. He clasped his drills together, fusing the two metal appendages into one before swiftly punching it into the ground. A thick cloud of dust immediately formed around the duo as rotors spun to life, dissipated only slightly by the occasional projection of soil. By the time it had disappeared, so had Gigan and Megalon.

Godzilla and Jet Jaguar stood at the edge of the newly formed tunnel for a moment, before silently turning to each other. What the hell had just happened?

Chapter Text

Gigan groaned and stirred as consciousness began ever so slowly pulling him out of his slumber. His mind felt hazy and his body incredibly heavy, weighed down by the lethargy still coursing through him. He took long, deep breath as bits and pieces of information pushed their way back into his brain. It was all muddled together but he was beginning to remember a desertic scenery, a fight...

He exhaled deeply as he tried to collect his thoughts.

So the Nebulans had sent him to Earth, that he remembered... They had sent him over to help some of their allies cause some well deserved mayhem and destruction on the planet's surface. And there was this other kaiju... Ah yes, Megalon was his name. The giant beetle with drills for hands... Not the brightest of beings but a good fighting partner nonetheless. Although that fight... Considering Gigan barely remembered anything from it, he must have received a pretty ruthless beating.

He sighed and focused on his body, trying to put his senses to work. It took a few minutes before he finally became more aware of his surroundings: he was lying on his side, the ground beneath him hard and rough but surprisingly warm. The air smelled faintly of salt, heated metal and smoke. There was a lingering taste of blood on his tongue and his throat felt incredibly dry for some reason. He coughed lightly at the unpleasant sensation- only for it to turn into a full-on coughing fit as his throat tightened painfully. He hacked and gasped for several minutes, clenching his teeth and wheezing once it was over, trying to catch his breath. As a few more seconds passed, he suddenly heard a faint noise which slowly grew louder, sounding like a high pitched cry of some sort. It felt... Familiar, although he couldn't quite make out if it was saying anything. He tried to concentrate on it but to no avail. His hearing and his translator hadn't quite re-adjusted yet it seemed...

Gigan mumbled a little. Some more memories of the fight were coming back to him ; namely Godzilla's presence. Of course that radioactive mutant would show up to ruin his fun... Although this time, rather than the angry "ball-of-spikes-on-legs" that usually accompanied him, Godzilla had become allied with some sort of giant humanoid robot- an abomination created by humans, he assumed. A supposed 'equal' to creatures like he and Megalon...

"Can you hear me?"

Oh. Speaking of Megalon.

Now that his hearing had come back, Gigan could tell that was definitely the giant beetle's voice he'd been hearing. He groaned and nodded slowly before turning on his visor, causing it to emit a small flash of red light.

"You're alive!" the beetle kaiju cheered.

Had Gigan had functional eyeballs, he would have rolled them. He looked up and paused for a moment as he took in his surroundings.

The two giants were in what appeared to be a large cave of red mineral, the ground covered in a thin layer of dust. About twenty or so cables of varying color and width snaked along the rocks above them, a few of them disappearing into the rather sizable round lamps hanging down from the ceiling. There was moss growing in uneven green patches on the cave walls ; water trickling down through cracks in the rocks here and there.

Megalon himself was sitting opposite to Gigan with his back against the wall. His arms were splayed out to his sides, resting on two odd metal scaffolding-like structures which crept upwards along the stone. As he squinted, the cyborg could see a dozen of humans on either structure, seemingly working away at Megalon's drills- presumably the reason he could smell heated metal earlier...

"-Where are we?, he asked tiredly.
-In Seatopia, the giant beetle responded cheerfully.
-Seatopia...?"

The name rang a bell... Gigan looked around some more, spotting some houses and other similar buildings towards the end of the tunnel. If he remembered correctly, the Nebulans had referred to the allies he was supposed to help as "the Seatopians". So this must be their kingdom... Gigan frowned.

"-Why did you bring me here?
-You were hurt, so we needed to fix you.
-Did you contact the Mothership?"

Despite Megalon's lack of facial muscles and inability to frown, Gigan could see the confusion in his yellow multi-faceted eyes.

"-The... What? Who?
-The Nebulan Mothership. I was supposed to go back to it ; did you manage to contact it?"

The beetle's antennae twitched.

"What are you talking about...?"

Gigan groaned and began sitting up, pushing himself up with his bladed arms which were folded beneath his body.

"-Wait, Megalon said as he leaned forwards ever so slightly, You shouldn't-
-Did you ask the- AAAH!"

A high pitched cry escaped the cyborg as he felt pain shoot up his right arm and bounce around the rest of his body. He jumped up into a sitting position, holding the agonizing limb to his side as he tried to catch his breath, the pain blinding even his visual receptors. Suddenly, the image of his arm being grabbed by two hands of metal flashed in his mind. He remembered Godzilla's robotic ally attacking him ; savagely breaking his limb with one swift movement of its knee… Once the pain subsided, he looked down and was surprised to find his arm encased in what appeared to be a contraption of black metal and plastic. It kept the limb bent at an angle and secured it from moving too much. He poked at the metal curiously.

"-What... Is that...?
-The robot broke your arm, so we put a cast on it to fix it! You never had a cast before?"

Gigan was silent for a moment before shaking his head. The Nebulans didn't really do 'fixing' as much as 'replacing'... Which they were probably going to do anyway, once he got back to the Mothership... There was another moment of silence before the cyborg sighed.

"-Listen, I don't think I should be here. Can you tell me where the exit is-
-Oh! And we had to take another thing out of your head that was hurting you, too.
-Out of my head...?"

Gigan felt a weight in the pit of his stomach.

"-What did you remove?
-Oh, It was just this little metal thing..."

The gigantic beetle turned towards the other side of the cave and let out a call, slightly lower than his usual roar. It took a few minutes before a human appeared at the entrance of the cave carrying what looked like a flat, metal slate which was nearly half his height. The newcomer was dressed in all white and silver and carried himself with great confidence in his stride. Gigan watched as the other Seatopians bowed before him, leaving him room as he walked by them. He approached the two giants with his head held high ; no fear or even the slightest hint of hesitation in his eyes. The cyborg was a little taken aback by this attitude. He watched as the human looked up at him, still silent, before slowly setting the metal artifact down before him. He then turned to Megalon who let out an approving sound and bowed to the gigantic beetle, before promptly leaving.

Gigan watched him go, still a little taken aback. Humans usually ran away in utter terror when they saw him, they didn't casually stroll by to bring him gifts... He huffed and carefully slid his left blade beneath the object to pick it up and inspect it.

It was a bit hard to identify ; especially because it was completely burned and had apparently been deformed under great heat. Gigan could tell it was originally supposed to have a somewhat green color and a rectangular shape. It was also still very lightweight and had, although they were damaged, about half a dozen metal downwards-pointing pins attached to either of its longer sides. Gigan also noted it was roughly the size of one of his scales- and smelled faintly of his own blood, too... He looked up at Megalon, feeling uneasy.

"-Are you sure this came out of my head...?
-Yeah!, the Seatopian kaiju nodded, It was hurting you and you were trying to pull it out, so we did it for you. And then you passed out..."

There was a moment of silence, before he asked:

"-... What is it?
-It's a microchip, Gigan explained.
-What's that? What does it do?
-A lot of things really... Wait, how do you not know-..."

The cyborg trailed off as he noticed a symbol on the back of the artifact. It was barely visible and scorched over but he could recognize the simplified drawing of an orange cockroach- the Nebulans' signature. Gigan felt his stomach twist.

"Why would they chip me...?"

Something was wrong, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what...

That's when he noticed the silence.

He could still hear sounds ; his own breathing, the Seatopians' tools working away on metal, Megalon's wings scraping against the cave wall...
He could still hear things from the outside. But his mind was completely silent.

"You have to put it back."

Megalon's antennae twitched as he looked at the cyborg quizzically.

"-Uh? What-
-You have to put it back in my head! Now!"

The color had drained from Gigan's face. He began trembling as the realization of what had happened took hold of him.

"I can't hear the voice without this! That's-! I-! I need it!"

The gigantic beetle was taken aback by his counterpart's sudden outburst. He pulled his drills out of the metal structures in one swift movement and held them flat-side up against the edge of the platforms, waiting for the Seatopian workers to get on before carefully lowering them to the ground and quickly ushering them away. He had no idea what Gigan was panicking about, but he knew better than to let his people get in harm's way...

He turned back to the cyborg who was frantically looking around and breathing loud and hard.

“-Why do you want it back?, he began, It-
-You don’t understand!, Gigan cut him off almost immediately, I need the voice! I-I don’t know what to do without it!
-What are you talking about?! What voice?!”

Gigan swallowed thickly, shaking.

“-The voice in my head! The voice that tells me what to do! I need it! I-I can’t do anything without it! I need the chip to hear it!
-But it was hurting you!
-I NEED IT BACK-”

Gigan was interrupted by a sudden flash of blinding white light and the sharp sound of electricity crackling all around him. He stumbled back with a cry and hit his back against the wall, dropping the chip as he did. He coughed and looked up to see Megalon looming over him, the occasional spark of electricity still bouncing off of his horn. The beetle kaiju remained silent as he walked towards him. His foot bumped lightly into the chip as he took another step, stopping him in his tracks. He briefly looked down at it before looking back up at the cyborg.

Gigan didn't have time to utter a single word before the chip was crushed under Megalon's foot.

He opened his mouth for a few seconds before closing it, speechless. Instead, he only stared at the other kaiju in disbelief.

"It was hurting you, Megalon simply stated as he sat back down, I don't know what voice you're talking about, but that..."

He lifted his foot, revealing the shattered pieces of the chip.

"It was bad. It was making you scream and burning you, so we took it out to help you. We're not putting it back in your head."

Gigan remained silent, staring at the broken pieces under Megalon's foot.

It was hurting you...

He brought his left arm up and behind his head, running the blunt side of his blade against the back of his neck. There was a distinct spot where scales were missing and he hissed lightly in pain as he touched raw, burned flesh instead of his usual thick hide. There was also some kind of scarred hole in his flesh where he assumed the chip was implanted. So they really had chipped him... But why? Why would they do this? Sure, they'd thrown all kinds of prosthetics and gadgets on his body before- blades, his universal translator, his visor ; even his beak was made of steel. But chips were different... Chipping was for machines. To tell them what to do, to keep them under control...

Gigan's chest suddenly tightened painfully, leaving him breathless for a few seconds as the Voice's last order rang in his head.

"Return to the Mothership..."

By all logic, that's what he should be doing. Listening to those disembodied which had guided him his whole life ; this empty tone he knew so well...

But despite all the logic and familiarity  involved, something felt incredibly wrong. The thought of going back to the Nebulans was making Gigan... Uneasy. He had been fighting for them for as long as he could remember ; if anything that was all he knew. His entire life consisted of nothing but battles and destruction...

And yet.

He couldn’t help but think back to his fight with Godzilla and the robot… Being thrown around like a rag doll, punched, kicked, burned ; getting his arm shattered… He was reminded of Godzilla’s atomic ray hitting him in the head and the pure, blinding agony that had followed ; reminded of how he’d completely lost control of his body as he lay helpless on the ground. Megalon caught him shaking lightly and pressed the tip of his drill against his arm gently.

“-Are you okay?
-I… Don’t know…”

Gigan swallowed thickly, mindlessly running his left blade over his cast and toying with the straps.

“I should go back, but I… It sounds wrong...”

The words barely made any sense to the cyborg. How could something he was so familiar with suddenly feel so foreign and unsettling? What was this weight in the pit of his stomach?
Megalon gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder.

“If you don’t want to go back you don’t have to.”

Gigan paused.

“-Don’t “want” to…?
-Yeah, you know… If it makes you feel bad, then you shouldn’t go back.”

The cyborg fell silent again, pondering the question. This was new... This gut feeling... None of the Voice's orders had ever made him feel like that before...

He looked down at the destroyed chip with a worsening feeling of dread, a shiver trailing up his spine. Was this why? Was it because of this minuscule device that he'd never felt anything similar before? Why he'd never try to go against the Voice's orders before? Did it control his emotions? Was this how the Nebulans had kept him fighting for so long?

He turned to Megalon, feeling a little light headed.

"What... What do I do?"

The large beetle was a little taken aback by the tone in Gigan's voice and the look on his face. Despite the cyborg having no real eyes he could still read the fear in him... And although he didn't really understand what he was fearing, he also knew he had to help. He pressed his drill against Gigan's arm, giving it a gentle rub.

"You can stay here if you want... You're hurt and Godzilla and the robot might still be out there, so maybe it's better for you to stay in Seatopia until you feel better..."

Gigan's visor flickered for a moment before its light was dimmed, indicating he had 'closed his eyes'. If it was a question of not making him feel 'bad', as Megalon put it, then staying in Seatopia certainly sounded like the right option.

As if he had any other...

He didn't know anything outside of the Nebulan fleet and this single cave. If he didn't pick one or the other then he'd have nowhere to go. And in that case, the choice was simple...

"I'm staying."

Megalon's antennae perked up.

"Really?"

Gigan nodded and gave a gentle sigh, the light in his visor flickering back on.

"I don't know what else to do... So I'll stay here for now."

Before the cyborg had even finished his sentence Megalon clapped his drills together, letting out an excited sound which Gigan assumed was both a laugh and an exclamation of joy.

"Great! Great! You'll see, it's great down here!"

He pushed himself up and stumbled awkwardly for a second before catching himself.

"Come on! I'll show you around!"

Gigan sighed as he stood up, following an excited oversized beetle through the tunnels of his new temporary home.

What kind of mess had he gotten himself into now...?

Chapter Text

Gigan let out a gasp as he was jolted awake by a sudden tightness in his chest, sitting up as cold sweat ran down his back. He took several long, deep breath to try and calm his racing heart. He couldn't count how many times this had happened already... Every time he tried to rest, his body would violently shake him awake just before he could fall asleep. And to make things worse, he could tell it had only been an hour or two since he and Megalon had decided to go to sleep. The night was nowhere near over...

He took another deep breath and sighed, looking over at the beetle kaiju who was peacefully sleeping just a few meters away. Part of him wanted to wake him up just so he could have someone to share his misery with...

But of course, that would be rude.

So instead he stretched his back with a groan before slowly getting up, making sure to take his time as he knew his body still wasn't in great shape. If he couldn't sleep, then at least he could explore his new temporary home a little more. The tour Megalon had given him earlier had been brief and, in Gigan's dazed state, quite confusing...

He turned towards the tunnel leading out of Megalon's cave, the end of which was illuminated by a gentle orange glow. Shadows danced on the walls as human activity carried on despite the late hours. The cyborg quietly followed the path until he emerged into a subterranean area so large he could barely see the ceiling or the other end of it. This place had been described to him as "The Red District" due to the red dust from the nearby mines leaving a thin, colorful layer on everything. It was where most of the humans -or rather Seatopians as Megalon had fervently insisted they were called, assuring him they weren't human- lived and worked. The place was chock full of buildings with some of the weirdest and most unusual architecture Gigan had ever seen: skyscrapers encircled by rings of clear glass, towers with a deep and noticeable inward curve on one side, glass domes mounted with parabolic antennas, giant faces carved into the cave walls... Clearly after staying down here for so long the Seatopians had developed their own personal aesthetic. The buildings also seemed to be placed on some sort of grid, divided by giant boulevards nearly 150 feet wide- presumably so Megalon could walk through without crushing anything...

Several passerbies stopped at the sight of the giant alien, freezing as they nervously looked up at him. An uncomfortable tension and a sudden, thick silence lingered in the air. Gigan huffed softly as he looked down at the minuscule creatures, before turning into another tunnel, away from the Red District. He could tell when he wasn't welcome somewhere...

As he advanced through this new passage the orange glow seemed to slowly weaken while the air cooled and took on a sharp, salty scent. Gigan mindlessly ran the tip of his blade along the tunnel wall as he walked. A thin layer seemed to flake off into dust at the contact, fluttering gracefully to the ground. The gentle sound of waves reached the cyborg as he neared the end of the tunnel.

Another large cavern opened up before him- although this one was smaller and darker than the Red District. In fact, if Gigan remembered what Megalon had excitedly explained to him, this was the "Blue District". He wasn't quite sure who lived here, but if he had to take a guess, from the smell of salt and the sound of rushing water, he would assume fishermen ro some kind of navy. The buildings here were a little less bizarre than their red counterpart, although they still curved and bent in odd directions and followed a similar grid pattern ; with the exception of a large, empty circular area in the center of everything.

The most impressive part of the Blue District however, had to be the colossal glass dome standing nearly 350 feet wide and 200 feet tall at the other end of the cavern.

It was made of clear glass, offering a gorgeous view of the dark oceanic depths lying outside. A vast plateau covered in colorful corals and seaweeds disappeared into the shadows, surrounded by rocky cliffs. Large turbines had been set up in rows and spun slowly with the current, except for a few which seemed to be blocked by slug-like mushy organisms clinging to the blades. The only lights outside came from small glowing domes placed along the ocean floor, gently flickering away.

Gigan remained staring quietly into the abyss for several minutes before snapping out of his trance when he suddenly heard his name. He glanced around as a chill ran down his spine. For a second he thought the Voice might have returned, until he heard his name again. It wasn't coming from inside his head (thankfully) but rather from further down the path, towards the dome. He took a deep breath to calm himself and continued his way further into the cave, lumbering slowly out of the shadow of the tunnel and between the buildings until he reached the circular area in the center of the grid. He hadn't noticed before but about a dozen humans were sat around a round, white marble table in the center of the empty area. A few of them seemed deeply immersed in conversation while the other half (coincidentally, the one facing towards the cyborg) was staring at him in disbelief. He took a few steps closer before sitting down a few dozen feet away from the little reunion.

Don't think you can talk about me behind my back...

By then the conversation had fully stopped as the entire gathering was staring at him. They were all unfamiliar faces except for one: it was the same Seatopian who had brought Gigan the fried control chip earlier that day ; the one dressed in a white robe with a silver crown and belt. And now that he wasn't in such a daze the cyborg could see him a little better: he looked older than the rest,with thinning brownish grey hair, sideburns and a mustache. He still had the same aura of confidence to him and an authoritarian stance ; leaning over the table with his fingers pressing down almost menacingly against the smooth surface... Seeing this, Gigan guessed he was probably some kind of commander. The leader took a brief look at his colleagues before leaning back and coughing to get their attention.

"-As I was saying, he began with great non-chalance, We have no reason to worry-
-Wait!"

One of the other Seatopians shot out of his seat, gesturing frantically and furiously towards Gigan as he spoke.

"We can't talk with that... That thing sitting so close! What if it hears us?!"

There was a moment of silence as the group exchanged nervous glances between themselves, the two standing men and Gigan. Then another Seatopian snorted and laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous, there's no way it can understand us! There's a reason the Nebulans had to control it with a chip instead of just telling it what to do, y'know?"

He turned towards Gigan with a smirk.

"You have no idea what we're blabbering about, don't'cha big guy?"

Gigan huffed and sighed quietly.

Time to play dumb...

He cocked his head to the side and made a gentle cooing sound.

Of course he understood human speech ; his universal translator was called universal for a reason... He'd never come across a species he couldn't understand. The problems arose whenever he had to respond... Having no lips and simple vocal cords meant he couldn't produce a great array of sounds. It was enough to communicate with most kaiju ; but humanoid creatures only ever seemed to hear a garggled mess of screeching noises... But even though he couldn't respond, he still wanted to know what the conversation was about- which he guessed the group wouldn't carry on if they thought he could understand them.

He cooed again, trying to make himself look as harmless and not-human-speech-understanding as possible. This seemed to somewhat ease the tension as he heard a few relieved sighs.

"See? I told ya. Not a damn clue!" The same Seatopian from earlier laughed.

A few slightly more awkwards laughs followed, before the conversation resumed. Almost immediately the atmosphere tensed again- although this time for a different reason. One woman with dark skin and short hair clasped her hands together, glancing at the rest of the individuals present.

"We cannot keep Gigan down here. If we do the Nebulans will try to take him back ; they will attack... And I'm not sure we'll have enough firepower to win this battle..."

The leader sighed and shook his head.

"-You give them too much credit. They attacked this planet just last year and even though it was just the surface dwellers, they still failed. Not only that, but if they do choose to attack again, this time we will have both Gigan and Megalon to protect us-
-Your blind faith in Megalon will get us all killed!"

One of the Seatopians jumped up and out of his seat, slamming his fists down on the marble table. It was a much taller man with wide shoulders, pale ; scarred skin and dark hair. He walked over to the leader, looming menacingly over the shorter man.

"Megalon will protect us ; We must have faith in Megalon ; it's the only answer you ever have! You put all your trust in that beast and look where that led us?"

He gestured angrily, yelling louder.

"-We lost two men in that little operation of yours ; and for what?! The surface dwellers barely suffered any loss! They're still standing strong and they could retaliate at any moment! You and Megalon did nothing but doom us all-
-Silence!!!"

The sudden shount echoed through the now quiet cavern as the leader slowly stood up, his confident aura replaced by one of quiet fury as he stepped closer. He trailed one hand over the smooth surface of the table, the other rising to the other man's chest with his index finger pressing into the fabric of his shirt.

"Don't act as if I don't know this..., he hissed with a grim expression, Shiro and Hans were close friends of mine and we all knew the risks of sending them up there... But they were willing to take this risk because they knew we needed that robot ; and they knew Megalon needed to be guided- not to destroy the surface dwellers but to send a warning. To remind them of the pacts of old and our presence in these hidden grounds..."

The leader took a deep breath and sighed, lowering his hand. He was quiet for a moment longer before sitting back, his adversary now speechless.

"The goal of this plan was never to destroy the surface dwellers- we can't and should never attempt so in the first place, he continued, The goal was to get them to stop their nuclear testing. And in that regard, Megalon succeeded..."

He paused for a moment as an uncomfortable silence fell over the group, before continuing:

"I trust he knew what he was doing when he brought Gigan down here and he won't simply let us return him to the Nebulans. We have always thrived on alliances with giants rather than other civilizations, whether they were from this planet or aliens. So tell me, who would you rather anger? The god who has been watching over our civilization for millions of years ; or supposed "allies" who fled the fight before it was even over?"

The silence grew even more tense and Gigan was quickly losing interest in the conversation. He briefly heard a female voice suggesting to call a vote before a loud, dull sound resounded in the air. He turned his attention towards the dome just as a large, red creature appeared from above ; its short stubby legs tapping against the thick glass. It seemed to be some kind of crustacean, with one claw far larger than the other and an elongated body. The huge creature slowly walked down along the dome's curved surface until it reached the ocean floor. It then proceeded to lift its claw and pinched at one of the slugs on the watermill ; delicately prying it off before bringing it to its mouth and slurping it up whole. It repeated the process a few more times until the windmill was cleared of slugs and began spinning more rapidly, as all the lights within the Blue District suddenly seemed to glow brighter. The elongated crustacian then turned towards another windmill and began the same process once more. Gigan watched it work in silence, captivated by its slow movements.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he finally snapped out of it at the sound of chairs dragging on the ground. He looked down to see the Seatopian council dispersing ; some individuals walking alone and others walking off in groups. The leader was the only one to stay behind. He waited quietly until the others were further away before walking up to Gigan, his confident aura having returned.

"Good evening."

Gigan looked down at the Seatopian in silence.

"I don't believe we've been formerly introduced. My name is Emperor Antonio- or simply Antonio. I am Seatopia's leader as well as Megalon's prophet."

The cyborg cocked his head again, making Antonio smirk.

"You can drop the act, I know the Nebulans wouldn't send you to Earth without a universal translator. We've worked alongside them for centuries, I know how they operate..."

He paused for a few seconds before looking up at the cyborg again.

"You understood everything we said, didn't you?"

Gigan huffed and nodded slowly, but didn't show any more interest. Silence lingered for a minute or so before Antonio spoke again:

"It was my great-grandfather who founded this alliance between Seatopia and the M Space Nebula, many generations ago. But I've never agreed with their practices... I've always found them shameful and barbaric. Giants like yourself and Megalon deserve respect, not... Whatever the Nebulans were trying to do."

Antonio paused and glanced up at Gigan. The cyborg simply nodded, seemingly bored of this one-way conversation- or maybe just tired. The emperor shook his head.

"Right... I guess you'd rather not hear about them for now... Well anyway, I believe I speak for all-"

He paused again, looking back as the last of the council members let he premises ; before turning to Gigan once more.

"Well, most of Seatopia when I say you are welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like or need. I'll make sure my associates don't bother you."

He waited for a few more seconds to see if the cyborg would respond- and when he got nothing, simply and quietly left towards the dome. Gigan watched him knock gently against the glass, to which the giant crustacean from earlier turned around and let out a high pitched, almost cheerful chirp when it spotted the Seatopian leader.

What a strange character...

Gigan yawned as he was beginning to feel lethargy take him over once again. He took a brief look around before lying down on his side, curling up with his tail swiftly wrapping around one of his legs. He turned off his visor and waited. The sound of waves came and went slowly, accompanied every now and then by gentle tapping against the glass dome. Combined with the fresh and salty air it created a soothing atmosphere ; and before Gigan even knew it, he was finally asleep, unbothered by the few Seatopians staring through their windows at the giant beast blocking the Blue District's main avenue...