Humanity's Stand

The War Begins

What the hell is that?

Gabara stared up into the blank blue sky, trying to locate the source of that feeling of being watched that was prickling at him. His fists clenched open and closed in an attempt to relive some of his nerves, but that feeling just wouldn't go away.

Who or what is doing that? Can't be a human thing. I can't feel any of their psychics nearby. But there aren't any kaiju around who can fly that high, so who…

The green ogre sneered at the open air and folded his arms over his chest. You know what? Forget it. Look all you want, weird sinister feeling. I don't give a gyaosshit. I'm just going to sit here and ignore you until you go away, so just buzz off already!

To his surprise the feeling did indeed recede, leaving only a lingering chill running down his spine.

Ha! he cried with a gleeful snort. Not so brave now, are you? Guess you know who's boss after all! Gabara stomped his foot to accentuate the shout, only to howl with pain and curse when he remember which foot he stomped with. Argh! Fucking bug bitches with their pincers and… ARGH! Damnit, I HATE having a physical body. Pain sucks.

Being a former psychic spirit Gabara often times forgot that having a physical form meant physical issues, including the fact that it took more than just energy to reform from damage taken. It took time and pain.

Especially pain.

If only Gamera had bothered to stop by here I might not have to deal with this - his leg muscles gave a nasty twitch - ugh, stupid healing nonsense. How do biological beings deal with it? He laid back against his rock, willing his damaged limb to hurry up and stop being damaged already. Not that that was going to convince anyone.

I guess there is some good news, Gabara mused as he looked around the empty vale he had claimed as his own. It's a lot quieter around here with all the kaiju gone.

Returning to Solgell on his own from Russia after his injury, Gabara had expected the usual suspicious looks and muffled whispers of the other monsters to be his greeting card, only to find the island nearly deserted. The human monitoring station on the north side of the mountain range was the only major sign of life he saw upon arrival, and after giving them a good scare and laughing at their angry glares he had the rare opportunity to be completely alone. The solitude is nice, Gabara remarked, letting his mind wander free from his body and just take in the senses of the scenery.

The trees gently waved in the soft ocean breeze, their palms and fronds providing cool shelter to the few animals who were brave enough to live here. Gabara could see the little points of their minds scurry and fly about. Small bits of tasty fear wafted from them whenever they looked in his direction, but for the most part they went about their business without concern of the world at large. A peaceful existence. Some part of Gabara envied them.

Then a loud crashing noise came from the head of the valley and Gabara could feel his quiet moment come to a screeching hault. Oh Tanaka, what now? he groaned.

Through his regular eyes Gabara watched a small lizard kaiju crawling down the rocks in his direction, occasionally slipping and sliding down the slope when it stumbled. The animals in the valley saw the giant coming and hightailed it to whatever cover they could find, leaving Gabara alone with the new arrival. Joy.

Gabara tried sitting perfectly still, hoping against hope that that smaller monster would mistake him for part of the mountainside. It was to no avail though, as the creature trotted right up to him with a curious look on its face. Who are you? it asked in a squeaky voice.

Go away, Gabara answer as sternly as possible. He kept his face pointed at the sky and eyes closed, but the little lizard was not deterred.

You are Goaway? That's a weird name.

The ogre growled and glared down at the small kaiju. NO. My name is Gabara, and you need to Go. Away.

Gabara could feel confusion emanating from the little creature as it asked, Why do I need to go?

Because I don't want you here, Gabara said reasonably.

The miniature beast paused, as if mulling over his words. Would you want me here if we play together? I like playing games. I'm Gorgo.

Gabara pinched his nose and sighed, then sent a glare at Gorgo. I already know who you are, kid, and no. I don't care if you want to play, so just go away. I'm busy.

Gorgo tilted his head and stared at him. Busy doing what?

Sitting here staring at nothing while I wait for my leg to heal. Very important stuff. Stuff that doesn't go well when there's a little pest bothering me.

Who's doing that?

Gabara smashed his head back into the rock wall behind him, forming an indent in the shape of his skull and giving himself a headache in the process.

Oh, are we playing 'rock smash'? Mom says I'm getting really good at that game, but she's still a lot better than me at it.

Why me? Gabara groaned. Why now? Turning to the kid he could see Gorgo kicking away at a section of the wall next to him, slowly but surely digging into the cliff. You aren't ever going to leave are you?

Well my Mom does want me to come back when it gets dark so…

Gabara rolled his eyes, knowing that was likely the best he was gonna get. Whatever. How did you even find this place? Gabara asked, looking at the head of the vale. It's not exactly easy to spot if you can't fly. He had spent several weeks exploring the island when he had first taken up residence here, running into every inhabitant at least once - and pissing them off in the process - before finding this one, out of the way corner that no one had claimed. The perfect spot for his broo… alone time.

I was exploring! Gorgo announced like it was the most important news ever. Mom told me I could wander around the island since everyone else is gone. She doesn't normally let me go away from her. She says she doesn't want me bothering the others, but today she said I could go anywhere! He paused, then looked up at Gabara and asked, Why are you here? I thought all the other monsters had left.

I left too, but I had to come back because of that. He pointed to his wounded leg, which Gorgo finally noticed and reeled back from. Some bugs bit me in a bad spot so now I can't fight, at least until my body heals. I'd almost say it was worth it to not have to go gallivanting around under human orders, but the pain makes me say it's not. Barely.

Gorgo looked at the wound, gripping his hands nervously. Does… does it hurt?

Gabara stared down at Gorgo blankly, trying to fit all his indignant disbelief into one glare. No. It doesn't hurt at all. In fact, it tickles a bit when you touch it. Go ahead. He gave a nasty sneer at the smaller creature. Try it. See what happens.

That looks like it should hurt, not tickle, Gorgo said while oblivious of the implied threat. I've never heard of wounds that tickle before. Wait, are you lying to me? The childish look of accusation would have melted the hearts of most beasts.

Gabara, however, was too busy being flabbergastedly angry to notice any of the cute. Completely fed up, the ogre slammed his fists into the ground on either side of him and stuck his face down near Gorgo's head. Listen here, twerp. I'm hurt. I'm in pain. I've been in pain for several days now. And you standing around here pestering me, surprise surprise, isn't helping. In fact, I'm fairly sure that my head is hurting more than my leg now because of you. So do me a favor and leave. Now. Gabara ended the speech with his nastiest growl, projecting some energy behind the sound in a wave of psychic intimidation.

Gorgo shrank away from him, but did not run, to the demon's shock. I'm… sorry for bothering you. I didn't mean to. I just… wanted to find someone to play with. No one ever wants to play 'kiddie' games. They're always too busy or too tired.

His anger draining away due to ineffectiveness, Gabara blinked in confusion. Seriously? What you don't have someone your own age to waste time with?

Gorgo shook his head in reply, then paused. Well, Zilla plays with me sometimes, but he doesn't stay here very much. He's always off traveling somewhere. Everyone else doesn't wanna play.

Gabara was going to make snide comment of 'I wonder why?' but held off for some reason. And what do you do with Zilla when you two 'play?' he asked. And why the Daei am I interested in this?, he snorted to himself.

Gorgo smiled and leaned forward as if to start sprinting. Usually Zilla has me chase him around the plain for a while. I never actually catch him, but it's still fun. He also teaches me how to dig really well. I made my own little tunnel that I can hide out in. Nobody else can fit in there, just me! He curled up into a ball and tucked his tail around himself. I like to nap in there sometimes. The quiet is… nice. I don't like loud noises much. It reminds me of…

Somewhere in Gabara's head there was a brief instinct to kick the ball in front of him, but he squashed that thought flat. Reminds you of what?

Gorgo's arms tightened around himself and he seemed to shiver. When I was caught by humans. They put me in this pit and had a whole bunch of people staring down at me. It wasn't very fun.

Streams of thick fear wafted off of the smaller kaiju and drifted towards Gabara. Mechanically he absorbed the energy as he usually did, but rather than the expected rush of power most fear gave him, this felt… hollow. It wasn't the fear for one's life that pushed them to survive against adversity. It was sad, hopeless. The terror of giving up completely. That… sounds rough kid, he said, trying to push away the empty feeling energy that continued to emanate from the smaller kaiju.

Mom tells me not to think about it, that I should focus on the good times instead. He uncurled and spread himself out on the ground, staring blankly at the sky. And whenever I do, I always feel better again. But it always comes back. Why do I keep thinking about it? His claws gripped the soil beneath him, gouging into the dirt. Why won't the bad thoughts just stay away?

Gabara sat there, feeling the occasional twitch of his leg and the energy Gorgo had given him slowly coursing into his reserves despite not wanting it there. I… he started lamely. I don't know kid. Sometimes life just hands us the crappy end of the stick for no good reason. It sucks, there's nothing we can do about it, and we gotta just deal with it.

Is that why you are always alone Gabara? Gorgo asked. Did you have a lot of bad times growing up, so you don't like being around others?

The ogre sneered and answered, Kid, all I had were bad times. I'm the guy that causes the bad times for people. I scare them, bully them, mess with their heads, whatever works. It's all I do.

Gorgo tilted his head. Why would you want to hurt people like that? Why would you be mean to them?

It's not want, kid, it's need, Gabara explained. I need to scare people in order to get their fear and worry. That's what I eat to survive. Without enough fear, I'd disappear into nothing. If I had to choose between giving some kid nightmares and ceasing to exist… well, that kid'll get over it eventually, while I don't get to 'come back' if I don't feed myself. The choice is pretty clear.

Gabara watched the kid with suspicion, certain that any second now he'd come out with all that crap of 'It's still wrong to hurt people,' or 'Why should you exist if that's all you are capable of'. He'd heard it all before so many times, mostly from human physics who'd tracked him down to erase him from people's dreams. Most of the kaiju had shared the sentiment when he first came here, so he'd been more than happy to return the favor. He'd have starved to death otherwise, so if they didn't get that then screw em.

I'm sorry, Gorgo said.

Yeah well too ba… Gabara's brain went on hold as he processed what he'd heard. Wait what. 'Sorry'?

Yeah, the younger kaiju confirmed. I'm sorry you have to live like that. That sounds like it's really sad. Having to hurt people just to live.

Uh… I mean, yeah. It sucks. Really don't like it. Gabara mentally smacked himself for rambling. It's not what I would have chosen to do with my life. But you have to play with the cards you're dealt I guess.

Cards? Gorgo blinked.

Gabara growled to himself and said, Human expression. When life gives you lemons and all that.

What's a lemon? Is it a type of fish?

The ogre slumped and shook his head. You know what, nevermind. Point is, I don't like it, but it's what I gotta do. And it's why most people don't like me, so there you go.

Gorgo nodded, deciding to ask his mom about lemons and cards later. Maybe she would know what they were. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. Um, Gabara, can I ask you a question?

You mean aside from the one you're asking now? Gabara returned with a smirk.

What?

Gabara's eye twitched and he palmed his face. Just ask the question kid.

Alright. Gorgo straightened up and did his best to look brave. Would it be okay if you scared me to get food if I knew I was getting scared? I mean, would that still work?

This time it was Gabara's turn to be confused. What?

What if you scared me, but I knew you were trying to scare me? Would you still get food from that if I'm scared but I know I'm supposed to be scared?

Wait wait. Hold the pho… just hold on a second. Are you offering to be scared by me? At the smaller kaiju's nod, Gabara's jaw dropped so far he nearly felt it come unhinged. Wha… I don't… why?

Gorgo smiled. Well if you scare me and I know I'll be scared, then it won't be as scary. I mean, I'll be scared when you scare me, but I won't be as scared after you scare me. The memory of the scare won't be as scary cause I was ready to be scared.

The mind demon felt his brain go screwy as he tried to make the kid's sentences flow straight in his head. Um… I think I get it, but just to be clear. You are offering to let me scare you so that I can have my fear energy, in spite of the fact that I would be, well, deliberately setting out to terrify you. Is that right?

Yep, Gorgo said proudly. I might not like being scared when the scare happens, but sometimes it's kinda fun to be scared. Like, when we're playing Zilla will sometimes pop up out of nowhere and pretend to grab me, but I always calm down after cause I know he wouldn't hurt me.

And what, you trust me not to hurt you? Gabara asked derisively.

Gorgo nodded, unaware of the larger kaiju's sarcasm. You already said you don't want to hurt people, so if you can get your food with just scares and not causing harm, why wouldn't you?

Despite coming from a child, Gabara felt the question strike deep into his core and he stared wide-eyed at the youth. I… I guess you have a point kid. That was actually pretty deep. You're pretty smart for your age. Um, how old are you exactly?

I dunno', Gorgo shrugged, his face sporting a carefree smile. Still pretty young mom says, but I think I'm a lot older in human years. I don't really get it. Math is weird.

Oh don't even get me started on human maths, Gabara moaned. There were far more dreams I could infect into nightmares with those than I should have been successful with. They just don't make any sense at all.

You can go through dreams? Gorgo started hopping in place. What are dreams like? Can you make stuff happen? What can you do there? Oh! Can you take me into a dream?

Okay, slow down there kid. For one thing, I could go through dreams when I was a spirit. It's a lot harder to do now that I have a physical body. I have to be close to the dreamer to even get access. And while I could make stuff happen in dreams, the host was always much stronger than me at manipulating the environment if they were aware of me. That's why I had to be sneaky about how I tried to scare people, or else they'd kick me out or worse. And no, I can't bring others into dreams if they can't enter them by themselves. Someone like Mothra might be able to do that but that's beyond my power.

To Gabara's dismay answering the questions just led to another slew of inquiries from the smaller kaiju, which he slowly tried to answer whenever Gorgo had to stop for a breath. The fact that his leg was no longer bothering him and that his worry over the bizarre feeling from earlier had entirely disappeared did not occur to him as his 'conversation' with little Gorgo carried on and on through the day.

Unnoticed by either kaiju a head poked over the vale's entrance ridge at one point, a larger, annoyed looking version of Gorgo staring down at the odd pair with a moment of brief panic. It had moved to rush into the valley in attempt to separate them when it noticed the younger kaiju laughing and the larger sporting a plain grin, neither mean nor mocking in nature. Bewildered, the kaiju watched for a while before determining that nothing untoward was going to happen and, bemused all the while, left the two to their own devices.

Of all the kaiju on this island, he just had to make friends with that one didn't he? Orka sighed and continued on her way, shrugging her shoulders as she went. Oh Gorgo, you have the weirdest taste in friends.

---

In the shallow ocean waters off the coast of Australia a mechanical hulk glided through the sea, its metal flippers pushing it forward with casual ease. The behemoth glided through the sunlit water in peace, whilst inside a hive of activity was swarming through its decks and holds. Near the front of the whale-like ship came the sounds of heavy clanking through its hull as one of its occupants prepared to leave its home.

"This is Langoud Launch Control, performing final launch checks for Dragoon 01. All personnel, please clear the launching area. Repeat, all personnel, clear the launching area. Dragoon pilot, report readiness status."

"All systems green," the male voice reported. Theodore 'Theo' Wylder breathed deeply, grey eyes scanning the holo-screens before him. They said, in no uncertain technical terms, that this would work. But that did little to reduce the little ball of nerves curled up in his gut. "Alright," he said, putting his jitters to the side. "Here goes nothing. Worst case scenario, both our brains fry. Not-so-worst case scenario, I'm wetwired in here permanently. Are you ready for this, Aschendaele?"

Ready as I'll ever be. The female voice's tone was worried as well. Her violet holo-eyes, steeled with determination, glowed in the flickering light of the displays. Let's do this.

With a nod, the displays vanished, leaving Theo enveloped in darkness, the only sound that of the foam walls inflating around him. Theodore rested his head back against his seat-brace and closed his eyes, then opened his mind. Soft arms wrapped around him, crossing his chest gently. In his vision he returned the embrace, until the sight faded and he felt another present in his thoughts. For a brief moment the conjoined minds went black and ignored the world. Then his eyes opened up again and he saw a metal hanger around him.

"Meld confirmed complete and holding," A voice announced in his ear. "Well done you two." Theo took a moment to recognize it.

"Doc?" He said, woozily coming back to life. Vaguely he noticed that another voice had said the words in time with him, but the meaning failed to connect for some reason. It took a moment for him to gather his own thoughts together in the mixed sea inside his head. "Ugh, I feel like I got hit by a truck." He looked down at his hand, but instead of his own flesh and blood he saw a metallic appendage painted a glossy pitch black. Suddenly, reality snapped back into place.

He was Theodore Montague Wylder, son of Tori Regalia Wylder, master engineer and professional (mad) scientist, former engineering teacher at CalTech university. But now that wasn't all he was.

She was the biomechanical experimental warmachine Dragoon 01, code named 'Aschendaele', engineered by the team of the GDFS Langoud for the purposes of providing heavy fire support for Jaegers and Kaiju on the battlefield. 'Her' brain was that of a specially cultivated organic computer, embedded deep within the Dragoon's core and uploaded with the mind and thoughts of a real human being.

And this was a very successful test of the new 'Wetwire' system.

"BY JOVE I THINK WE GOT IT!" the duo shouted, their minds fully linked as one, allowing the pair to control Aschendaele's massive mechanical body.

"Nice job, son," Tori said while clapping. Her hair was bright white and she sported a motherly smile over her purple business suit. "Well done indeed."

"Thanks mom!" the combined voice returned. "Uh, I mean, thank you very much boss. Dang it, who's who right now?"

The Langoud's head administrator laughed and shook her head. "I'm sure that both apply equally right now, given how mixed together you two are."

"Don't go cheering yet, kids!" Doctor Yuhara called over the intercom. "You seem to be doing good so far, but we still need to run a few tests before you can go hog-wild out there. This is your first time in a fight like this, we need to make it count."

The massive warmachine moved jerkily in its enclosed bay, hands raised in surrender. "You're the boss, Dad. I mean... Toku," the two said in tandem. They paused and ran one of the mech's hands over their head, scratching it. "Man, this is weird."

"The first Jaeger pilots said much the same thing," Yuhara said as his gaze swept back and forth over the telemetry data the mech was transmitting to his console. "Most humans take some time to get used to having another's thoughts inside their head. Just take a few minutes to test each other out, see how it feels to move around."

"You got it!" Slowly, with the hesitance of a toddler taking their first steps Aschendaele rotated and flexed in place.

Yuhara watched their progress, calling out suggestions and advice whenever the mech team had trouble. While he was doing that the rest of the control crew were going through the other preparations needed for the coming operation. Someone called out "Captain on deck!", prompting the Doctor to look over his shoulder.

Captain Hicks walked over with his usual rough plodding, eyes fixed on the screen showing Aschendaele currently bending over and touching its singular pointed toe. "What's the progress, Toku?" he asked bluntly.

"Good so far, Anthony. All the telemetry data checks out. We'll be ready for launch in a few minutes."

"That won't be soon enough. Radar shows that Vishnu is just a few hours from Brisbane, and we just got word from the Shatterdome that Zilla's too injured to fight. The only other thing we've got in range is MOGUERA, and it won't be there in time to stop the kaiju from reaching the city. Aschendaele's the only one who can distract the thing long enough for more firepower to get there, which means we need to launch NOW."

"No arguments here. I think we're ready," Aschendaele said. "Seems like it's high time we got going! Have we got approval from our two CO's?"

Hicks gave a clipped nod. "Get outta here and go smack that kaiju around, Dragoon. Show the insect our own special brand of bug spray."

"I vote go as well," Tori said. "Normally I would be on the side of greater safety, but right now you both are needed in the field. Just… be careful out there, hmm? We can't afford to lose one of our top engineers to a kaiju fight."

Yuhara fiddled a bit with a potted plant sitting at his desk, biting his lip. "That and we don't wanna lose…" He stopped talking, sharing a look with Tori, who seemed similarly concerned.

Aschendaele came to a halt in its movements and turned to the cameras directly. "Mom. Dad. Either or, both. Whatever. We're coming back. Promise."

The doctor stared at the plant, watching it wave slightly in an unseen wind after he had touched it. Eventually he looked up and nodded at Miss Wylder, who gave him a reassuring smile. "Very well. You have the go ahead for launch, Aschendaele. Stop Vishnu before it can reach Brisbane. A lot of people are counting on you right now."

"Wait!" they shouted, "We need weapons." Aschendaele posed, showing they they were completely unequipped save for the stowed claws in its arms.

"OK so how long does it take to get this thing loaded?" General Hicks asked. "We don't exactly have a lot of time to waste."

"About thirty seconds." Tori responded, watching as a veritable army of arms came down from the ceiling, weapons of all kinds dropping into place. Two large pistols attached themselves to Aschendaele's hips. A massive folded up cannon latched onto one shoulder, a broad dark blade on the other. In her left hand went a gnarly-looking assault rifle with a hooked bayonet, and in the right went a long sickle-like sword. It took almost exactly thirty seconds to fully load the weaponry and Aschendaele was already taking position onto the MAC catapult, locking into place and bracing herself for what was about to come.

"Alright everyone, brace yourselves! We're surfacing now!" Hicks' voice echoed over the speakers throughout the mech bay, the last few techs and engineers scattering to the walls for handholds.

Seconds later the entire vessel rocked as the Langoud rose rapidly to the surface of the ocean. Waves of ocean water poured off the flat top of the ship, mechanical groans sounding a dull roar as its ballast tanks refilled. Aschendaele watched the tunnel before them warily, the heavy metal doors at the far end creaking as they prepared to open. Once they were clear Aschendaele would be launched from zero to twice the speed of sound in less than a heartbeat.

The doors started to open.

"Langoud Launch Control preparing to launch Dragoon 01. Begin capacitor charge."

The long rail running the length of the tunnel began to crackle with unshed power, Aschendaele seeing through its electronic eyes the voltage building within the steel.

"Charge complete. Ready for launch."

"This is it," Aschendaele said to themselves, a human-like shiver going down its body. Then its systems locked it into place, arms frozen at its sides and leaned forward as if ready to pounce.

"Launch beginning in 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Initiate launch!"

At the blare of a large horn, the energy stored in the rails released in sequence, pulling Aschendaele forward hundreds of feet in seconds. At the same moment the overboosters ignited on the mech's back, filling the air with their fiery roar, adding their own thrust to the rail launcher. Seconds later Aschendaele reached the end of the tunnel and shot out of it like a cannon ball, leaving a disturbed line in the water below her.

The moment Aschendaele left the Langoud's shadow its anti-grav generators kicked into full gear, reducing its weight to a fraction of its actual mass. Now as light as a standard fighter jet Aschendaele's engines were more than enough to keep it airborne, allowing the mech to climb up above the ocean surface to a safer height.

"Whoooah, what a rush!" Aschendaele proclaimed as they leveled out several thousand feet up. "That is better than any rollercoaster I've ever been on. Like, ten times better at least."

"Any problems up there?" Tori's voice asked over the radio.

"Nothing so far. By the way, can I just say flying is awesome? Cause it is."

"I'm sure," was the amused response.

Hicks came on and ordered, "Alright, enough gabbing. Our party's over for now, so the rest is up to you two jokers. Follow the waypoint, find Vishnu, and keep the damn thing busy long enough for MOGEURA to provide the boot."

Sure enough a green dot appeared in Aschendaele's vision, lat and longitude numbers as well as distance in miles appearing next to it. "You got it sir. You can count on us."

"Get to it then." The radio fell silent and Aschendaele was left to itself, gliding through the air.

They let the quiet continue for a while, simply enjoying the sensation of flying under their own power. Eventually though, the combined minds separated slightly as Theo started to get bored.

His eyes still saw everything the mech's cameras were recording, but in his mind he was sitting in his darkened cockpit. Next to him in the black sat a little girl made of purple light, a calm smile on her face. So… he mumbled through their mental link. Do you ever…

Ever what? Aschendaele asked, turning and giving him a curious look.

Do ever miss it? Being… alive?

I'm still alive now aren't I? Aschendaele returned. I may be a bit bigger and stronger than I used to be, but I'm still me.

True enough, but still… it can't be the same thing. I mean, some part of you has to miss being flesh and blood right?

Aschendaele glared at him and put her hands on her hips. Oh no, Theo. I'm positively thrilled to be here. I don't at all miss being a real girl and having a body to hug my papa with. Whyever would I miss that?

Theo winced and turned away, the mech's head following his movement. Sorry.

Aschendaele shook her head and replied, It's fine. I know you were just asking. You didn't mean anything by it. And yeah, I… miss it sometimes. Her face brightened and she shoved her holographic elbow at him, his thoughts reading the touch despite the lack of actual matter hitting him. Still, better being the brain of a giant robot than being dead right?

Also true, Theo allowed. He smiled at her. Your dad must love you a lot to go through all of this for you. I mean, it's not everyday that someone commissions an entirely new class of Mecha with a brand new, never-before-tested control system just to give his daughter a chance to keep living. That… that takes dedication. Dedication, a bit of insanity, and a lot of love.

That's my dad alright, Aschendaele said. He's always been very focused on his robotics work, and when I was… diagnosed, he sorta went off the deep end. In a good way though.

Theo laughed. I know the feeling. My mom and I are the same way about our work. Heck, any good scientist worth his degree should have that kind of passion about what they do. It's the only reason tech like this even exists.

Yeah… Aschendaele turned away and folded her arms, leaning against Theo.

What's wrong?

I just… I can't help but wonder. If this tech had existed back when I was born, then maybe my mom would be here instead of me. The girl started to shake, causing the mech's vision to blur and its sensors to jumble their data. And… and what about everyone else who has what I did? Why don't they get to be saved like this?

Simple answer? The tech didn't exist then…

Well what about now? she shouted. Why did I get saved and not someone else huh? Why can't we save all of them too? Why… Small stray tears flowed down her face, reflecting and distorting the purple light she was made of.

Theo looked on for a moment without moving, then reached out and brought the purple girl into a hug. I know why you're asking that. Why you feel guilty about being the one who was chosen for this. I've been there before. And I can tell you this much: sometimes, life isn't fair about who gets to live or die. Fate has its own plans for us, whether we like it or not, and sometimes it decides that our time here on Earth is done. There's nothing we can do to stop it.

But, he continued, sometimes there are things we can do. We might not be able to save everyone, but if we do the right things in the right way we can still save a lot of people. So don't focus on the stuff you can't do, the things that are beyond your control. Instead, think about what you can do to help others. What you can add to the whole to make everything better.

Aschendaele looked up at him with a sad smile, tears still shining in her eyes, before giving him a stronger hug back. That… sounds like a good idea.

Well yeah. I'm the one saying it after all. Theo gave her a lopsided grin, to which she rolled her eyes.

Yeah sure. That's the only reason you're right on that. Nothing to do with the philosophical stuff. She shook her head and looked back outside through the mech's eyes. Well alright then. Let's do our part now, save a whole buncha people from a really angry bug, huh?

Theo clapped her gently on the back. You got it Aschendaele.

Sara. The holo-girl winked at him and grinned. My name's Sara.

"Let's get to work," the two announced, the dreamscape fading away as they came back to fore in the mech's body.

Thousands of feet below an endless column of dust and debris was being kicked up, the line pointing to the edges of the big urban sprawl that was Brisbane.

"Oh boy. He's a lot closer than we thought. Guess we'll have to work quick."

Hold on. I'm getting a radio signal coming from near the dust cloud, Sara said. Let me try and connect to it.

"-peat, this is Nick Tatopoulos calling any GDF units in the area. Is there anyone here at all?"

Aschendaele's pilot laughed aloud to himself and said over the radio, "Heya Nick! How's it going there buddy?"

"Theo?! What… where are you? Why are you here?"

"Oh you know, just flying around," Theo said with a snicker. As he got closer his vision locked onto the radio signal and zoomed in, spotting a small single engine helicopter painted a glaring orange. "What's with the paintjob? No wait, let me guess…"

"We owed Randy a favor and he wanted to practice. That's not important right now. What are you doing here? Do you know if any GDF forces are in the area?"

"You're talking to one pal. Look to your right, above and behind."

A few seconds passed before a questioning grunt came over the mike. "What is it? A missile?"

Aschendaele smiled internally then powered up its engines for more forward thrust. "Better." Tightening their arms in towards their sides Aschendaele dived down towards the plain below, a sonic boom erupting around it as it accelerated. At the last instant Aschendaele leveled out over the ground, moving past Nick's chopper, kicking up a wall of dust over a hundred feet high.

Aschendaele blazed forward at full speed, locking onto its target and zooming by it. In a moment of insanity, the high-speed war machine blasted past Vishnu's face, less than a dozen feet from it's nose. The sonic boom crashed through the air like an explosion, bouncing off the kaiju's side and flattening anything standing up too tall on the ground. For Aschendaele the seconds passed like minutes, its conjoined mind accelerated so that time seemed to slow down. As they flew by, they took the enhanced seconds to examine their target.

Vishnu from the front didn't appear very big. It stood only about a hundred twenty feet tall when it reared upward and had a weird mix of alligator scales on its underside and centipede exoskeleton elsewhere. It's head had huge shiny black eyes lining each side and sharp mandibles that clacked incessantly. It was certainly creepy, but not that imposing by kaiju standards. Until you got a look at the creature's true size.

A look Aschendaele got just fine, using her ion thrusters to make a looping ninety degree turn around the kaiju. Vishnu, counting the wagging whip tail at the end, was almost six hundred feet long, and would easily match sixty thousand tons, with eight clawed reptilian limbs.

"What… what the hell is that thing?" Nick asked.

"Say hello to the next generation of Jaeger support," Aschendaeledale said while throwing a salute towards the distant helicopter. "These babies will make the Herons look like biplanes. But that's a talk for later. What's the sitch here?"

"I wish I knew. Theo, how much do you know about Vishnu?"

"Um…"

Before them Vishnu stomped through an abandoned campground without pause, mandibles snapping through the power lines that stood in front of it.

"It's a big bug-slash-lizard thing?"

They could all but hear Nick rolling his eyes over the radio. "Well yes, obviously. Thing is, normally Vishnu is really peaceful and prefers to stay far away from human settlements. All we have to do is deliver him some food to his home in the Outback and he's content. But when we were making our drop yesterday he just seemed to… snap. He lashed out at the delivery vehicles and destroyed them all. We barely managed to get away."

"Did you lose Nigel again?"

"Theo," Nick said warningly.

"Bad joke, sorry. So, any idea what caused his freakout?"

"None. We've been scanning him nonstop since he left his nest, but we haven't been able to find anything, radio signals or otherwise. Any attempt to impede him is met with violence. I just hope we can stop him before he gets to the city. Otherwise..."

"Yeah. Well, looks like we got our work cut out for us," Aschendaele said. "Might as well get started." The mech boosted forward, spinning upside down to careen beneath the massive reptile. Aschendaele pulled out its sword from its back and activated it, causing the blade to glow with a bright blue light. They swung the super-heated plasma sword at Vishnu's belly, chipping away at the thick scales and nicking into the flesh beneath. The effort was hardly noticed by the humongous monster and was just barely enough to draw blood.

Aschendaele retreated from underneath the beast and hoovered a few hundred feet away, watching Vishnu continue on its way without pause. "Weeeellll buck," they groused. "Plasma blade ain't long enough to bite in well. I don't think he even noticed we were there. Still, the curved build DID get a few scales ripped off. Points for the sword design I guess." Aschendaele moved cautiously towards the nearest leg, holding the sword in front of them angled to swipe. "Let's try a different target."

The mech climbed up a dozen feet and chopped down with both hands. The plasma covered metal landed against Vishnu's scales and struggled to slice into the hardened material. Success didn't completely elude them though, as the heat managed to melt away the thicker upper skin and allow the sword to bite down into the flesh beneath. "Hah!" Aschendaele crowed as it pulled its weapon free of the limb. "How do you like that?"

Again Vishnu gave little to no reaction to the wound, continuing to plow forward over the plain in ignorance of its surroundings.

"Oh come on, what's it take?" Aschendaele complained. "Notice me, you big stupid bugzard!

They spun a full hundred eighty degrees and burned the boosters brighter, rocketing them up to the head of the beast. Building up speed, Aschendaele put away its sword and took aim with the assault rifle at Vishnu's eyes. They opened fire, the armor piercing, incendiary explosive slugs accelerated through magnetic coils so that each bullet was coated with a thin layer of friction-induced plasma. The bolts careened into Vishnu's eyes with nearly surgical precision, the heavy shells piercing into the eye's (relatively) soft material and then detonating a few feet within, causing the struck organ to cloud over with blood.

This time Vishnu did react, letting out an ear piercing screech that force Aschendaele to turn own its audio receivers lest they blow out. "That's what you get for ignoring me," Aschendaele said. "Now, be a good kaiju and just follow the metal birdy away from-OH SHIT!"

Vishnu launched forward like a cannon shot towards Aschendaele, pincers stretched wide to snatch it out of the sky.

Emergency burn! Sara announced before sending the boosters on Aschendaele's back into overdrive, rocketing the mech upward just a second before 60,000 tons of kaiju passed through the same space.

"I think we made him mad," they mused from a thousand feet up, Theo's panting in the cockpit reflected in Aschendaele's chest movements.

Below them Vishnu began to circle around itself, forming a giant ring of exoskeleton, flesh, and sharp claws. It's head was fixedly staring at them, all but the one ruined eye projecting a sense of pure loathing.

"Okay, on the plus side, we managed to stop it from moving any further towards the city. The minus? We now have a very pissed off kaiju that wants nothing more than to mush us into oblivion. Progress?"

"Not much," Nick's voice came in over the radio. "But any progress is better than no progress."

"Nick, is that you?" Hicks asked as he came on.

"Nice to hear you again Major. How've you been?"

"I've been… busy let's say. Right now that, I'm just praying. Hopefully MOGUERA will show up soon to take care of this thing. This is Aschendaele's first battle test in the field."

"Wait, what!?" The shouts over the radio hit a cacophony. "You're fighting a Category 4 kaiju with an untested mech!?"

"C'mon, Nicky-boy, you know me!" Theodore's voice was crystal clear in the channel. "I NEVER make claims to 'sanity'. That's your job."

Not giving either side a chance to berate them further, Aschendaele dove down at Vishnu while spraying the last of its assault rifle ammunition. Without a clear shot at the eyes, the shells mainly bounced off or exploded harmlessly on the kaiju's thick exoskeleton, but it did manage to grab its attention.

Uncoiling itself with surprising speed Vishnu again struck out at the approaching mech, forcing Aschendaele to bounce to the side and fly around it. Spotting the earlier wound on Vishnu's leg, Aschendaele moved in with its empty rifle pointed forward. Adding insult to injury (as well as more injury), Aschendaele jabbed into the weak spot with the rifle, allowing its gruesome hooked bayonet to dig further into the burned flesh, tearing out small chunks with it.

It was a minor injury, barely a scuffed knee for Vishnu's size, but it was painful enough, and unexpected enough, to really get the multi-limbed kaiju's goat. With a deafening roar, Vishnu turned back and glared at the tiny black machine that had dared attack it. Angry beyond belief it bore down upon Aschendaele. The mech started playing hard-to-get, pulsing left and right and up and down and forward and back, constantly keeping just barely out of Vishnu's reach and peppering its face with bullets from its pistols.

"Seems he doesn't like playing with us much." Aschendaele, if the machine had a face, would be grinning right now to match its pilot. Over its left shoulder, the large metal box dropped down horizontally, splitting open to reveal its true cannon shape.

"Lesse how he likes the MEGAFLARE!" The opened box began to glow with an angry red light, a powerful beam firing directly into Vishnu's screeching face. The impact point of the beam exploded with energy and heat, further angering the massive kaiju and causing it to rear back with shock. It came crashing down with tremendous force, throwing up chunks of rubble and rocks. Aschendaele dodged back to avoid the crushing blow, but some of the debris flew toward them faster than they could avoid and whacked its upper chest.

"Craaaaaaaap!" they cried as they were flung round by the blow, just barely righting themselves before hitting the ground. Aschendaele beat a hasty retreat as Vishnu continued to pursue them, flying up above its reach before pausing for a breathe.

"Aschendaele, are you alright?" Hicks demanded. "Report damage!"

Sara? What's the word? Theo asked. He rubbed at his shoulder, wincing at the feeling of a bruise forming in his head.

We're mostly okay. Rock just scraped the paint on our chest, but the cannon...

Theo glanced to his right and blanched as he saw the twisted metal next to his head. The rock must have collided directly into the cannon, damaging it beyond use.

"Well fuck," Aschendaele growled, a quick thought jettisoning the damaged part for later retrieval. Three blade-like 'feathers' popped out of the mech's back, acting as stabilizers to counteract the weight of the remaining gauss grenade rifle on the other shoulder.

Looking back at the target Aschendaele noticed that Vishnu had left them behind and was advancing again towards the far off cityscape. "Oh no you don't." Acting fast, the Dragoon spun around and sent its Vanguard overboosters in full force, quickly catching up with the kaiju and moving ahead of it again. "You aren't getting any closer to them, Vitch."

Vishnu didn't take long to notice their reappearance and barreled at them again, this time intent on ending them for good. Thinking fast, the duo spun down under Vishnu's chomp and slipped back beneath the kaiju, opening fire with its pistols at the underbelly. The shots peppered its underside for a few seconds, then they sent themselves into a topspin, putting the pistols away before cutting into the thick scales with their blade and bayonet.

This proved less than wise, as it gave Vishnu a clear idea of what direction they were heading. While trying to slip out from under the kaiju, they didn't anticipate Vishnu bringing one of its feet down on their left arm, crushing the metal beneath its claws. Theo felt the jolt in his bones as Aschendaele was pinned to the ground and grimaced at the loss of feeling in his arm. Thinking fast, they disconnected the damaged limb, boosting away before the massive claw could come down on them again.

Phew! Close one! Theodore's mind echoed, Now aren't you glad I still went with the modular limbs idea? Hurts like a vitch though.

Don't get cocky, Ted! Sara countered, We've still got a while before MOGUERA arrives!

I know, I know. I got a plan! With that, Aschendaele took up its sword in its remaining arm and flew past Vishnu, keeping a steady pace to stay just out of range. With a burst, the mech somersaulted over the kaiju's whipping tail and leapt onto its back. Running along Vishnu's spine, Aschendaeledale took whipping slashes against it, nicking and chipping scales along the trek up towards the bugzard's head. Vishnu shoved alternating sections of its body up and down in an attempt to remove them, but each time Aschendaele shoved their sword into the kaiju and held on through the waves.

Finally Aschendaele reached the head and began unleashing a flurry of slashes into Vishnu's skull. Their placement was just out of range of its massive claws, garnering an annoyed roar from the far larger monster. But like a wasp stinging with rage, Aschendaele was doomed to be swatted. With a wicked sonic crack, the kaiju's tail lashed out far faster than before, tearing Aschendaele away from their target's head and sending them careening into a barn nearly a kilometer distant. Aschendaele's legs sparked and screeched as they twisted in the impact, broken beyond repair.

"Ow." Aschendaele grunted, pushing itself up with their one remaining arm. The pain of the loss was much worse this time, shivers and spasms going through Theo's as his mind reported the damage to his expanded body. "Note to self. Do not fight super-sized kaiju in a 100 foot mech. Doesn't seem to work out well."

Theo, are you alright? Sara's hologram appeared in the cockpit, her face bearing a look of sympathy for her copilot.

Mostly. Never lost virtual limbs before. New experience for me.

Should we retreat? The legs are gone, but we have enough juice to still fly. Several strong beeps caused Sara's hologram to wince. Okay, maybe hover for a few minutes, but we can still use that to get to safety.

Retreat? Hell, we just got here. Theo looked with Aschendaele's eyes to see Vishnu receding from them. And we're not leaving until those people are safe. Right?

Sara bit her virtual lip for a moment, then steeled herself and nodded. Yeah. We've got one more trick up our sleeve. Let's hope it's enough to stall him.

"Exeter. Bismarck," Aschendaele said while wheezing. "Target Vishnu and open fire. We're not out of this fight yet." Sputtering weakly for a moment before lighting up again, Aschendaele's boosters pushed it out of the wrecked barn and once more into the air, its lower half falling away into an unrecognizable heap. The twin pistols rotated in their holsters, moving and targeting on Vishnu, tiny bolts of searing plasma flying from their barrels towards the angry Kaiju. They may not have hurt him, but Vishnu turned around to stare at them anyway, angry beyond comprehension that this little gnat continued to attack it.

Aschendaele allowed Vishnu to get closer and closer to it as the large weight on its back shifted and clanked. With a groaning creak, the massive Gauss Grenade Rifle unfolded and locked into place over Aschendaele's head.

"Theo, what are you doing?" Tori screamed over the radio. "That weapon hasn't been test fired yet. Without proper placement and grounding, the recoil…"

"Will tear us apart yeah," Aschendaele responded bluntly. "I know that already Mom. I helped do the math for this thing after all."

"Theo, this is Hicks. You've already done all you can and bought Brisbane valuable time. The city's almost evacuated and Moguera is almost there. Just get out of range of Vishnu and retreat."

"No can do, boss. We don't have the thrust to fly for more than a minute longer, not with the damage to the fuel cells. We'll be lucky to even get a shot off from the cannon at this rate."

"Sara, Theo, wait!"

Dad?

Doctor Yuhara didn't hear the mental whisper, saying, "There might be a way to survive the recoil. If you switch the effects of your gravity generator on you at the last instant, vastly increasing your mass instead of decreasing it…"

"It might stabilize the shot." Theo's eyes opened in awe. "By George you're a freaking genius! We still only got one shot, though. Best make it count." Aschendaele growled, taking aim with the massive cannon. Sparks of light grew within the barrel, the super powerful electromagnetic coils powering up. The one lonely shell locked into place in its firing chamber.

The GGR was by no measure a small gun. Even by the standards of far bigger Jaegers it would qualify as a fairly big weapon. Thankfully for the pair of pilots the anti-grav generator managed to handle the final influx of power that increased the mech's weight by a hundred times, the gravitational pull centered on its chest. Lining up the shot to point right between Vishnu's remaining eyes, Aschendaele opened fire.

The rail-gun launched its payload, the giant artillery shell flying towards the kaiju and impacting its forehead. The massive slug of TNT detonated on contact, exploding with the force of a small nuke. Despite the gravity well holding it in place Aschen was flung back from the blast, scraping into the ground again several hundred feet away. Across from them Vishnu's body seemed to go slack, its legs twitching unsteadily before faltering and letting its bulk fall to the ground.

I… Theo paused to cough, I can't believe it. It worked! Theo collapsed back into his seat and nervously laughed, Sarah appearing next to him with a relieved smile.

Trust me, I'm just as surprised, Sarah said. Now I don't know about you, but I'd like to get out of this body for a while. Having your body be repaired is a very strange experience, let me tell you.

Theo open and closed his hand, flashes of the lost limbs still ghosting in his nerves. I think I have an idea. But yeah, let's get out of… here?

The ground beneath the crippled mech rumbled and shook as the final patches of smoke faded from where the railgun round struck Vishnu. From out of the cloud the kaiju's head reared up again, a deep pitted hole in the middle of its forehead surrounded by dark holes of hatred. Vishu clattered its mandibles together and let out an unearthly screech, announcing for the pair just how badly they had screwed up.

"Well… fuck." Aschendael's body went slack, both pilot and brain seemingly spent.

Guess that's it then, Theo thought dejectedly. Nothing else we can do.

Sarah bit her lip. There is one thing. I… don't think you'll like it. She brought up a visual over Theo's hud, showing several of the reactor cores' heat levels going above their max and into the red.

Vishnu crawled closer and closer, murder in its eyes. It belted out a deafening roar, long scythe-like mandibles spreading alongside crocodilian jaws.

Might as well. We're doomed either way. And Sara? Theo said. I just wanna say… I'm sorry it came to this.

Thanks. It's been an honor working with you, too, Ted. Ch-charging energy cor… wait, I'm reading something!

Vishnu stood only a few hundred feet from the downed mech when the ground beneath its feet began to rumble. The kaiju halted its forward charge and looked down, puzzled. The creature stared down intently for several seconds until the ground steadied again, then shrugged its shoulders and moved forward again.

It had barely taken its first step when a giant metal drill erupted out of the ground and flew upward into Vishnu's chin. The spinning cylinder dug into Vishnu's armor for a split second before sending the kaiju's face flying up and away, flipping over its front half and sending the creature off on its side.

While Vishnu scrambled its legs trying to right itself the rest of the new attacker finished emerging from the ground. Avalanches of displaced dirt fell from its silver shoulders, twin drill hands spinning briefly to clean themselves. Dagger-shaped eyes flashed yellow and treads whirled as Moguera placed itself between Vishnu and the fallen Dragoon.

"And the cavalry arrives at last," a cheerful male voice announced. "Sorry we took so long, but we had to make a proper entrance."

"Kiyoshi that's not what we were doing and you know it," a harsher male rasp said. "We were trying to tunnel under the monster and collapse the ground under it, but it was moving around too much chasing you jokers."

"Oh yes Yuki, it's entirely their fault that your unspoken plan that they were completely unaware of failed."

"Shut the hell up Koji."

Aschendale stared up in bewilderment at the larger mech standing over them. "Um, guys, I'd hate to interrupt your little lover's spat, but there's kind of A GIANT FREAKING KAIJU RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"

Sure enough Vishnu screeched as it finally got itself upright, a dribble of bluish-green blood falling down its chin.

Moguera turned to the kaiju it had just decked and lifted up its arm-drills, various panels opening along its shoulders and flanks revealing banks of missiles and rockets. "Don't worry folks," Koji said. "This shouldn't take long."

"I HOPE not!" Theo shouted. "Our reactors are about to go critical. If we don't vent, we explode, and if we do everything within half a mile gets scorched to ash! I'd rather not DIE or have Pentecost on our ass because you guys are missing half of Mog's treads!"

Vishnu began to charge forward blindly, swinging its forward claws in random swipes.

In Moguera's cockpit Yuki growled and said, "Delay that crap as long as you can. I've got an idea that should make the venting safe, but we gotta take care of this asshole first. Kiyoshi, give him a full barrage."

"Understood sir. Launching the 'Kill everything right in front of us' attack."

All over Moguera projectiles launched out of their holders and blazed towards the oncoming monster, joined by split second flashes of maser fire and bright blue beams of plasma firing from Moguera's arm drills. The gigantic barrage of weaponry struck all over Vishnu and the landscape near him, creating a hail of explosions that churned up the air and ground. Parts of the kaiju's armor cracked and shuddered under the assault, bringing it to a halt as it tried to shield its head from damage. Finally the attack ceased, the plain beneath Vishnu turned into a flat span of soot and demolished foliage.

Moguera stood stock still before the monster, its loudspeakers crackling before it said, "Vishnu, this is your last warning. If you do not stop attacking us or attempting to make your way to the city, we will be forced to kill you. Turn around and leave now or you will leave us no choice. I know you understand us. Please, stop this now before it's too late."

Vishnu growled, its body covered in ash and sprays of its verdant blood. It stared back at the facing mech and roared, slamming its legs into the ground, its intent clear.

Koji sighed at his controls, shaking his head. "Well, it was worth a try."

Yuki patted him on the back. "You gave it your best shot kid. It's all we can do sometimes. Yo, toy Jaeger over there, what's the sitrep?"

In Aschen's cockpit Theo was moving his hands all over the console in a flurry of motion, Sara's hologram gone as she raced her consciousness from one part of the mech to the next. "We've managed to get most of the cores under control, but one of them has been partially breached. There's nothing we can do about that one. One way or another it's gonna go, and us along with it if we don't eject it. Got any ideas on how we can do that without turning this place into another Chernobyl?"

Moguera's drills spun up and its central chest panel retracted to reveal a huge maser array. "Simple, kiddies. We stick the core somewhere we don't care about getting wrecked. Someplace that is about to feel a whole world of hurt."

"Fear our heavenly drills, Vitch!" Koji and Kiyoshi said in tandem.

"YOU STOLE MY LINE!" Theo shouted at the duo. Yuki just groaned.

Vishnu ran forward at full speed, no longer caring about its injuries. At the same time Moguera's treads started rolling, moving the mech towards the charging kaiju. The two quickly reached each other, Vishnu reaching out with its claws to snap at the mech. Moguera returned the favor and stabbed out with its drills, the spinning metal digging into the claws and sticking into its flesh, holding the arms up and away. Vishnu tried to snatch Moguera's chest with its mandibles but couldn't reach. Instead it got a steady stream of maser power straight to the face, it's already damaged and broken armor disintegrating under the churn of energy.

"What does plasma taste like I wonder?" Koji mused as he pulled Moguera back from a retribution swing by Vishnu.

"No idea," Yuki answered. "Not really interested. Come around the side and target the legs. Make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

"Got it boss. One Christopher Reeving coming right up."

Theo winced as he continued to try to kept his mech from exploding. "That's a terrible joke," he muttered to himself.

Elsewhere Moguera slid over the ground at surprising speed, quickly leaving Vishnu in its dust as the mech moved to the monster's left side. Bursts of yellow darted out of the mech's 'eyes' and struck at Vishnu's leg joints, the heavy plasma scalding through the skin and nerves under the concentrated barrages. Vishnu didn't just sit there and take it though, sending its whip tall reeling towards Moguera and managing to smack the mech across the face. The crew jostled in their seats but stayed steady, dodging back from the next blow and sending another volley of missiles at Vishnu to dissuade any more tail whips.

"Tough guy, ain't he," Yuki said as Moguera ducked under another swipe and fired back with its drill lasers.

Koji grunted in answer as he pulled his control sticks hard to the right. "Wouldn't be a Cat 4 if he weren't boss. Next idea?"

The old vet stared at Vishnu through his display, eyes flicking from one place to the next as he tried to judge where to strike. "There," he said, pointing to a larger hole on the kaiju's left shoulder. "That hole should be big enough. Kiyo, get the drills ready. We're gonna go digging."

"You got it sir!" Kiyoshi said as Mogeura drove closer, aiming at Vishnu's side. The kaiju screeched and attempted to ram into them, throwing its whole upper body at them. Mogeura shuddered as Vishnu slammed into its torso but stayed in place and sent its drill arm into one of the monster's wounds. The drill dug deep into the flesh, causing the creature to scream in agony and thrash about trying in vain to dislodge them.

"Alright, I think that's big enough. Got ourselves a nice little deposit spot." Yuki looked on his radar to where Aschen lay, measuring out the distances in his head.

"Deposit spot?" Koji asked. "What for?"

"We got a broken core that needs to be covered up, and we've got a kaiju that needs killing. Why not solve two problems with one solution?"

Moguera started rolling over to Aschen, dragging the weakened Vishnu along with them, the kaiju flailing about and smashing its limbs into Mogeura, who ignored every blow.

Theo looked up at the approaching pair, then blinked as he made the connection. "Wait, are you telling me you want to stick our damaged core inside Vishnu? That's both clever and… kinda cruel."

Yuki sighed. "Better that than letting the radiation leak everywhere with Brisbane just a few miles away. It won't be a clean kill, but it's what'll work."

"So be it. We're ejecting the core in five seconds!" Sara said. A port just between Aschendaele's shoulders popped open, revealing a smoking Elerium core, orange light shining from cracks in its sides. "Only core left online is the Magicite reactor, and it's somehow still holding strong."

"Good," Theo replied, "because without SOME power we'd probably suffocate." Using one of the Dragoon's remaining hands to pull out the core they tossed it up towards Moguera. "It's all yours, dudes."

Moguera's free arm drill reached out to the core and opened up its tip, catching the core in a three pronged vice. "Here goes nothing," Koji said before withdrawing the other arm from in Vishnu's shoulder. The kaiju collapsed to the ground under Mogeura, drained of the ability to fight from the massive wound and blood loss. With steady hands Koji lined up the core with the exposed flesh and dropped it within, the kaiju shuddering as it bounced down the hole.

"Time to back off a ways folks. How long do we have before the thing detonates?"

Sara did some split-millisecond calculations and said, "About twenty seconds. So, would you mind picking us up? We're kinda sorta crippled down here."

Theo chuckled nervously. "Uh yeah. Uppies?" The smaller mech reached up its remaining arm and wiggled its hand.

"Theo, please don't baby talk, having to be carried is embarrassing enough." Sara sighed. "I outgrew 'uppies' before I DIED! It's been a decade since then! Oh, ten seconds left."

"... Sorry."

"And I thought you two were bad," Yuki said to his two team members. Moguera lifted Aschendale with both arms and immediately poured on the speed, quickly leaving Vishnu behind them. The kaiju gave the retreating mechs one last screech of defiance before a blinding orange flash shone from its shoulder and its armor shattered outward. Chucks of its body exploded away and tumbled across the plain, the kaiju's corpse becoming a pile of smoldering meat and cracked armor. The mech pilots all stared on in silence as they watched the last bits of Vishnu hit the ground some distance away.

"Well. That was gruesome as all hell," Kiyoshi said, Koji holding his hands over his mouth and gagging.

"Don't tell Tya," Theo said. "She might try to see what it tastes like..."

"I swear to god, if anyone makes a 'tastes like chicken' joke." Yuki shook his head and cued up the long range radio. "Attention Brisbane. The kaiju Vishnu has been defeated and is no longer a threat. Evacuation warning for the city can be lifted now, but remains in place for the river and the plain. Any GDF forces in range, request a radiation clean up crew and Jaeger repair corps. Got a lotta debris to get rid off."

"GDF Mech Moguera, this is GDFRS Langoud! We're sending a repair and clean up crew your way. Thanks for saving our kids." The motherly tone of Tori Wylder echoed across the radio waves clear as crystal, a tidal bulge visible in the distant ocean.

"Thank God for loving parents, eh?" Aschen's pilots said.

"I swear these Jaeger crews get younger every year," Yuki grumbled.

"They're not young Yuki. You're just old," Koji replied.

"I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a momma's boy." Theo said, chuckling.

"And I kinda died before I was a teenager," Sara added. "So… yeah."

Moguera gently set Aschen down and turned back to the fallen kaiju. "Man, the GDF hires some weird people doesn't it?" Kiyoshi said.

"Mog, meet Aschen. We're both made of metal."

The various mech pilots laughed or groaned as appropriate, while over Vishnu's corpse an orange helicopter floated, its passengers looking on with helpless sighs. "How did this happen?" Nick asked himself. "What possessed you to do this Vishnu?"

"We'll find out, Nick," Theo said. "We'll find out, and we'll fix it. Somehow."

---

Far off from the ruined plain on a lonely hill a group of people watched through the treaded mech move around the fallen kaiju's body. Most were dressed in all black and bore red symbols on their shoulders, save one man garbed in a carefully tailored white suit. Behind them was large truck with a towed mass of antennae arrays centered around a hard metal chair. The person in the chair was limp, a line of red leaking down down from their nose. None of the others attended to them.

A taller man with black hair lowered his binoculars with a sigh. "It appears our test was a failure. The Lady will not be pleased."

Next to him the man in white laughed, a smooth and calm sound, almost empty of feeling. "A failure? My good man, you are stuck seeing one rotten tree out of a whole healthy forest."

The man snarled and waved his hand out to the plain. "The kaiju failed to reach the city, failed to do significant damage to the GDF's mechanical monster. All we accomplished was destroying that flying toy. A waste for a great beast such as this."

"Perhaps," the suited man allowed, "but that is not all that was accomplished here. Our main goal was to test our technology and our level of control, and in both areas we were wildly successful. Destroying the city was just a side benefit, one I'm sure Lady Adeline will be able to live without."

"We lost our telepath," was the retort, said as if about a damaged car or broken window.

"Only after the kaiju was killed. Up until then they managed just fine, and that's good enough for our purposes. Besides, it's not like we don't have more."

The black haired man grunted. "Very well, Mr. Winters. Is there anything else we need to do before we leave?"

Winters smiled and shook his head, stroking his well trimmed goatee. "No, I think we're done here. Let's get going before the rest of the military starts combing the area. Give the order to pack up."

"And the telepath?"

Winters waved the other man off, striding away with a grin. "We'll dispose of the body back at base. Or not. I'm sure I could find some use for them, even after death."

Around them the rest of the group moved with mechanical precision in breaking down the array and closing up them up in metal covers. The person in the chair was left in place, the panels covering them up as the truck drove off in a solitary cloud of dirt as if it had never been present.

---

Pentecost stood in his office, facing a television screen displaying the Australian Prime Minister, his hands clenched behind his back to contain his emotions. "And you're certain of this?"

"There's no doubt. Satellite imaging shows a truck loaded with an unknown machine following Vishnu's path through the Outback." The Minister sighed. "And close study of spectrometers shows a subtle telepath signal connecting the truck with the kaiju. I don't know how they did it, but it had to be them." He paused, then steeled his gaze on Stacker. "They killed hundreds of people with that thing, Marshall, and threatened to kill millions more. I don't care what it takes. I want these people's heads on a pike. It's time to show those cu… those monsters that we are tired of their shit."

Pentecost nodded in agreement. "I understand, Hendricks. Thank you for the information. Rest assured the GDF will be taking action to make sure an event like this does not happen again. More than anything I am glad that we were able to keep the city safe from harm, but I am happy that you have brought this information to my attention. Now if you will excuse me, I must return to my work." The two men traded some last pleasantries before the Minister signed off. Stacker turned to the rest of the Council, letting some of his agitation show in his seating behind his desk.

"So it's as we feared," Tachibana said. "Somehow the Dawn has managed to replicate the telepathic control method that was used on Titanosaurs, only it's even worse than before, because we can't actively track where it's coming from."

"And they tried to used it to force a kaiju to destroy a city," Gordon growled. "They've crossed the line again."

"Enough is enough," the Marshal said, the other council members falling silent at his words. "No more kiddie gloves. As of right now the Red Dawn are to be considered on the same threat level as the Coalition. Any and all means needed to combat them are authorized. Serizawa, you said that the Langoud team had new infantry armors in the works?"

The scientist nodded, lacking his usual hesitation. "Yes Stacker. They have a number soft and hard armor sets in the design phases right now, most of them near direct copies of Coalition army equipment. At least they were. No idea what they are now. With the new batteries to power them, they should be ready for a prototype by the end of the month. Assuming they haven't been making progress without telling me..."

"Tell them to make it next week," the Marshall said. "Gordon, send the word out to the council nations that they are authorized to deploy the Exosuits."

"Are you certain that's a good idea sir?" Tachibana asked. "We haven't finished field testing them yet. There might still be some teething problems we've missed."

The Marshall shook his head. "We need them out there now, before something else unexpected happens. I'd rather have our units given untested gear than leave them outclassed any longer than necessary." Pentecost turned to his desk and hit one of the buttons on his phone, causing a dial tone to start up.

"Hospital section, who is calling?" a male voice asked.

"This is the Marshall. Please retrieve Doctor Johnson for me if she's available."

"Affirmative. One moment sir."

Gordon lifted an eyebrow and asked, "What are you up to, Stacker?"

"Miss Tytanna stated yesterday her desire to prove herself to us, so I'd like to give her a chance to do so."

Ozaki smirked. "Isn't sending a kaiju after a bunch of terrorists a bit overkill Marshall?"

"Not if she's the same size as a human. At that point she's no different from any other hybrid." He paused as he heard some murmurs from the other side of the line. "Are you there Miss Johnson?"

"I'm here sir! Tya's recovering fine, thank God. I've told her countless times, 'Don't push yourself so far!' Just making a facsimile of that damn sword is hard enough. It's another thing entirely to actually use it!" The doctor sighed. "Oh well. Maybe one of these days she'll actually listen to me. And here I am rambling. Did you need something sir?"

"Serizawa tells me that your team is currently at work making a series of powered armors for both normal military and Special Forces units. Do you know how far they have progressed?"

"Vaguely, but it's not really my field of expertise. That's more under Theo's team. Still, he tells me that they're making good progress so far. Though apparently one them, the 'Nebula' armor, still has issues with radiation."

Pentecost narrowed his eyes. "We shouldn't need to worry about the enemy using nuclear weapons, I hope."

"No I mean it GIVES OFF Radiation. Like I said, it's still in progress. What makes you ask exactly? Did Mordred start complaining about 'realism' again?"

Serizawa cleared his throat and announced. "I'm right here you know."

The phone remained silent for a moment before the doctor said meekly, "I'm on speaker right now aren't I?"

Stacker smiled and shook his head. "Yes Doctor, but don't worry. I'm not asking because I want to shut these programs down."

"If you had seen them, you might reconsider that Marshall," Serizawa said with a sly grin. "These designs are very… ostentatious let's say."

"Oh they're not that bad," Joanne said, sounding none too sure of herself.

"How many spikes do they have, JoJo?"

"Not that many! Just six… hundred. And seventy five..." She paused. "Give or take a few… They're not ALL like that! Just the one, and it's… okay maybe not strictly necessary but it's part of the aesthetic, and the research shows that most mutant monsters are off put by spikes, so it's meant to keep them off kilter and-"

"Joanne," Seizawa interrupted. "Just… stop making excuses and just tell the truth."

Joanne let out a little 'eep' and admitted, "I think they look cool..."

Gordon rolled his eyes and said in his usual gruff tone, "Who the hell cares? You think having our first Battle Platform be equipped with a fucking huge DRILL was a matter of design imperatives? No, we did it because it looked good. More importantly, because the public thought it looked good. Practicality is good and all but sometimes you just gotta convince the masses that's something's badass cause it looks badass." He whipped up his katana, still in its sheath, and tapped it on the table. "You think I carry this thing around because I expect a threat? Hell no, I do it because I've got a reputation to keep, and the best way to do that is to show the other guy how much you don't give a fuck about 'normal.'"

Joanne's voice perked up and said, "The spiky armor, the Solar armor I think it's called? It has a laser saber-style multitool."

Gordon smiled and waved his arm. "And there you go."

Serizawa's face looked caught between anger and utter disbelief, but he kept his peace and quietly leaned back in his chair.

"Getting back on topic, everyone," Stacker said while eyeing his fellows, "I'd like to inquire as to how soon your team could have prototypes ready for us, Doctor."

"Officially, they'll be ready in a little under a month. Knowing Theodore's team? If they're not done NOW and battle-ready, they will be once he knows they're needed, give or take a few days. So expect at least the Solar, Vortex, and Stardust armors by then. Like I said, we're still having issues with the Nebula being safe… But I am so getting one when they are, I'd KILL to shoot lightning from my fingers!" A semi-maniacal laugh came through the speakers, followed by an awkward pause. "Ahem. So, um, why the big push anyway? What's the rush?"

Pentecost's face grew grim as he said, "Have you heard about the attack on Brisbane, doctor? The one caused by Vishnu?"

"Yes, I have. I gotta say, that's really weird. I always heard Vishnu was a quiet Neutral. Do we know why he went off the hinges like that?"

"We do. The truth is that he was forced to attack via telepathic mind control used by members of the terrorist group Red Dawn. We believe the method they used is based on that of… one of your former colleagues."

The other end of the line went deathly silent for a moment, then the doctor's voice came back, cold as ice. "Where are they located? Tell me now and I'll make sure they'll be nothing but rubble and corpses before the troops make landfall."

Stacker let out a sigh and hardened his gaze. "We believe we have located one of their bases in central France, an old, formerly abandoned castle out in the countryside. We're already moving GIGN forces into the area to cordon off any escape routes. What I need from you, ma'am, is to know if your daughter would be up to join the mission to secure the area."

"She's been listening in, same with Sal. Both are ready for a fight. Give us time to rendezvous with the Langoud and you'll have our full might at your back, including all of the experimental tech we've not gotten to share yet. If those bastards think they can get away with shit like this, they've got another thing coming."

The Council heard a faint female voice say 'language' before the doctor started grumbling and rambled on just out of the phone's hearing range.

"That's good to hear, Doctor," Stacker said. "I'll be happy to take you up on your offer. I'm sending along Captain Gondo and his security team, along with Miki and the former Dawn member Taiyou to act as observers for us. They'll be there to make sure we can recover as much actionable intel as we can about this group of fanatics so we can take them out quickly. We're going no holds barred on this, but make sure not to level the area before we can interrogate some of them, alright?"

"We'll try," came another voice, this one clearly Tytanna from the slight growling rasp it carried.

"Make it 'do'," Pentecost ordered. "Good soldiers don't let emotions cloud their judgement or actions, in combat or out."

"I… you're right sir," Tya admitted. "I'll make sure not to fly off the handle. It's just… so wrong what they're doing. I don't get it. Why are they doing this?"

"That's what we hope to find out. But Tya, remember this. If you have to choose between their lives and the lives of our troops… I hope the choice is clear."

The Council could practically hear Tya's smile as she said, "Crystal sir! I'ma go get ready!" Clacks of her clawed feet smacking tile reached them, followed by shouting something indistinct.

"What do you think Ozaki?" Gordon asked. "You think she's cut out for human combat? I don't think most kaiju realize just how brutal our fights can get."

The black-haired hybrid nodded. "She seems to have a good head on her shoulders. A bit young and naive maybe, but that'll change as she gets some experience. And if her trainer is half as good as I think she is… Let's just say neither of them would be my first choice of opponents."

Tachibana rubbed his chin in obvious thought. "I wonder… what will happen when more of Tya's kind of creature are made? A kaijin-like human equal in power to the strongest hybrids, with the potential to grow to kaiju size… Tytanna's people may end up changing humanity forever."

"Or supplanting it," Gordon offered. "We'll have to be careful about how we reveal her to the public. Hell, just the Exos are gonna rock the boat a lot, let alone all the other stuff Monarch and Langoud have under the table."

"The world is changing," Pentecost said. "One way or another these next few weeks are going to shape the face of history to come, both for humanity and for the planet. Great care will have to be taken of course, but I'm sure we can handle any adverse fallout with too much difficulty. But first we must handle the threats that still stand against us. Kaiju or human, it's time for the monsters to stop hiding in the dark. For years now they've been bumping us at every turn."

The Marshall turned and looked out his office window onto the bay below, hands clasped together in front of his face. "It's time for us to bump back."

---

And thus is my writer's block FINALLY conquered! Take that nebulous mental concept that is a representation of my laziness! ... I mean, hey, here's a new chapter for you guys. Like I said last time, it took me a while to figure out what exactly I wanted to do here. I knew I wanted the Vishnu battle to be the highlight, but I had trouble figuring out what to surround it with. Then I had to figure out the characterization of the Mog crew, so I went to Tarb for word on that, but overall I think it came out pretty good. For those of you unaware of who Winters is, he's from the cartoon Zilla series, as is this version of Nick and his friends the Heatseekers. I recommend looking for it, it's surprisingly good for a late nineties cartoon.