For a better mental image:
The first attack was 2013—it's been 12 years since then. The Kaiju are coming at a slower rate than in canon version, but flux between a single to double appearance. In the year 2025 there is a greater advance in Jaeger technology (up to Mark 6's) but at the same time, there is still no advance in how to close the breach.
It's currently early November.
*The original Jaegers (film) are and will be mentioned frequently but more than likely never getting written in.
The sun was just barely illuminating his picture littered walls at this hour but he was already wide awake—or rather, he had never gone to bed at all. He was too nervous, too excited. Flipping through the water damaged notebook, he barely glanced at the old pictures that had been stapled and taped into the pages. One hour until he would be required to actually leave his room, two hours until the final testing events that he had already passed but was required to watch…three hours until he would receive the orders that would determine the rest of his life.
Something knotted painfully in his stomach and he forced himself to concentrate on the notebook. A different discomfort filled him when he spotted the old postcard, edges brown with age. The Golden Gates were beautiful in memory and photograph. That was the only way he would ever see it again was if he dreamed about it. Shutting the notebook, he leaned back and glanced at the steel plate that distinguished his military issued bunk bed from the rest. A thin copy of his name was scratched onto the plate, Roxas Hart.
He'd gotten crap about the name at first, even now that he was a Ranger and about to become a pilot but no one was too fond of making fun of someone with a short temper and a good roundhouse kick. Above him was some other poor cadet, still in training and obviously not ready considering how quick he fell asleep after a few hours of practice. Two hours of physical training was nothing.
His sister would be in the women's quarters; she was probably still asleep. She slept through her nerves. He stayed up because of them. His bunkmate snored loudly, rolling to his left heavily before sighing back into sleep. Roxas contemplated giving the creaky mattress a good kick but he restrained himself; new recruits couldn't imagine how hard the program was. They came in expecting hell and came out knowing the program was purgatory while the Kaiju were what eventually dragged you to hell. At least, that was what an older Ranger had told him his very first day.
The analog clock blinked forward in time. Sitting up, he closed the notebook and slid it unto the small duffel bag next to his bed. Might was well shower and get some breakfast. There would be nothing to do until the testing events and he didn't want to spend most of that time reminiscing about a hometown he would never see again.
Xion was already waiting for him at the mess hall an empty tray set next to her on the table. She smiled faintly, pushing the metal tray towards him as he approached. "Morning Ranger," she greeted pleasantly, the dark circles under her eyes the only sign of her long night. "Ready to watch the matches?"
"Morning Ranger," he responded back, sitting across from her and staring down at the plate. "I'm not looking forward to it but orders are orders I guess. Are the hash browns any good?"
"As good as you can get out here on this side of the coast. You know how bad farming has gotten with the Kaiju blue spreading and the toxic waste ruining all the crops. And it's not just orders, we should get to know the people we'll be living and fighting with from now on."
"I just don't understand why we need to go if we're already Drift Compatible. We might not even get sent to the same Dome as the others and if we do, we'll have the trip to talk. There's no logical reason for us to be there."
"Maybe they want to know who we'll be compatible with in case of an emergency." Xion began slowly but she cut off as Roxas' gaze snapped towards her.
"Don't talk like that. We're going in this together and we're going to leave together, alright?" He pointed directly at her with the hash brown spoon before piling on a fair serving onto his plate. The few others in the mess hall were seated far from them and while the conversations carried, they were thankfully respecting the privacy of their discussion. "Just don't talk like that. We're going to get our Jaeger, take out a few Kaiju, live through it all, and hope that when we stop piloting, the Kaiju stop coming."
Xion nodded seriously, picking at her bland scrambled eggs. "Where do you think they'll send us?" She asked hesitantly, a smile forming on her features. "I heard they've made a couple of new Mark Six's. I don't know if we'll get them since we're new but it'd be pretty cool to run one of the newer Jaegers."
"I heard rumors that we might get sent to somewhere north but I'm kinda hoping we'll get sent somewhere warm." Roxas shivered at the thought of being stationed in Russia or Alaska. "I'd give anything to be stationed in Australia, even if it's got all those awful bugs and animals."
"I really think those are the least of our problems right now Roxas."
Roxas yawned quietly in the corner, Xion leaning against his shoulder while she watched the fights in silence. They were determining the compatibility of a few candidates, none of which he had ever met. The most interesting was a trio in the corner, but they weren't part of the candidates. They were there practicing—a strange rag tag group but they had some of the best Drift compatibility simulations scores around. If they had one flaw it was that they each had different fighting styles. Roxas turned his attention to the group in the middle of the huge training room.
"She doesn't seem like she would be a prime candidate or an instructor." He whispered, blowing some of Xion's black cropped hair out of his face. He motioned vaguely towards the small blonde in the middle of the room. She paced the mats patiently, barely looking up as she took notes vigorously. "Why is she here?"
"She's neither; she's monitoring the fight Roxas. You would know if you were paying attention." Xion sighed. "We're supposed to be watching."
"That's why you're here," he teased. "Besides, we'll be mind-melding from now on so everything you see about them I'll find out later."
"I don't think that our Marshal would be alright with that. And besides, if he ever asks, he'll be looking for your opinions, not a reiteration of mine."
"I think I would prefer to sleep."
Xion smiled, straightening up as one of the candidates slammed against the floor. "Then you should have slept last night, like I did."
"Not everyone falls asleep as easy as you Xion." Roxas smiled, reaching up to nudge her off his shoulder. The tiny blonde girl called out the score, her gentle voice echoing oddly in the large room. Nothing to be impressed by—they weren't drift compatible, so nothing would be arranged. "How long are these things supposed to last?"
"Until we find one more group who is drift compatible—she'll announce it when there's been a decision." Xion adjusted the collar to her turtleneck, shivering as she curled up closer to her brother. She really hoped they wouldn't be going somewhere cold. "There are other people watching in the corner but she's supposed to make the final decision."
"No offense to her but she really doesn't look all that important." Roxas watched her more closely. She was a tiny thing in the midst of all the Ranger trainees, and looked even younger wrapped in a cream dress with leg warmers and a parka in the same exact color. "I would have thought she was a technician at least, not an instructor."
"I'm not sure what she does but she must be important so please pay attention." Xion sighed. "Besides, I'm just as small as she is and I'm your co-pilot. Why can't she be just as important?"
"That's not what I meant—"
"We've reached a decision!" called out the young girl in the ring, pressing her tablet into her parka wrapped chest. "Ranger Strife will be reporting to the helipad in thirty, along with all other determined Jaeger pilots. The copter will be leaving with or without Jaeger pilots. All candidates who participated in battle must remain so that the final decision can be announced. Any other Rangers who have not found a co-pilot must remain here until a decision is made. Dismissed."
"She certainly sounds like she's been around these parts for a while, even with the accent," Roxas muttered, wriggling out of Xion's clinging reach. "And you need to start bringing your own jacket; I'm not your personal heater. I told you to buy a parka before ship date. I'm pretty sure that girl is coming on the trip with us and if her parka is any sign of the weather, it'll probably be freezing."
"She could just be a chronically cold person like me, it's not that uncommon." Xion huffed, brushing past him and into the crowd. "But did you catch that accent? She's not from the States, that's for sure. Where do you think she's from?"
"Sounds faintly French," he admitted, toying with a few accents he'd been able to recognize from the last few years. People from all around the world came to train at the smaller domes, so it got easier to pick up the accents with time (on some occasions, learn a new language) but not all of them were so easy. "Maybe she's from Canada? They still speak French in Quebec, right?"
People were swimming around her but even buried under the sea of taller recruits Roxas could still pick out his sister shaking her head in the crowd. "I don't understand why you don't just ask. It's not like guessing it right would get you a prize. I'll see you at the helipad in a twenty, alright? I need to finish packing."
He nodded, fully aware that she had twice the belongings he did and with her meticulous packing skills, she would be a while. "I'll see you there." Roxas glanced at the analog clock drilled over the doorway. He had nothing left to pack; he would just kill time walking the halls at a very slow pace. There was no reason to rush; he would have the entire flight to sleep off the hours he'd missed overnight.
"Hold the copter!"
Roxas scowled, burying his face into his notebook for the second time that morning. As it turned out, it was the girl from that morning who'd announced the pilots. Bundled in her warm parka and overflowing with stacks of files, she clambered onto the helicopter just before the co-pilot shut the door. Breathing a sigh of relief, she smiled brightly at the siblings and remaining Rangers. "Thank you. Forgive me; I got a last minute request to bring a hardcopy of these blueprints with us. I hope I didn't keep everyone waiting too long."
"Not at all," Xion reassured gently, reaching over to take a few of the bulging folders from her. "You are in charge, after all, correct?"
Blushing bright pink to the roots of her golden hair, the girl turned to look at her tablet instead. They jostled against one another as the helicopter took off, masking Xion's elbow shoveling its way into Roxas's side.
He sighed quietly. "Would you like help with those?" he offered weakly, closing his notebook. He much preferred silence during flights; it gave less room for air sickness. Xion on the other hand, smiled. She liked getting to know the people around her during trips. Her only travelling ailments were boredom and hunger.
"Oh no, I'm fine! I need to read most of these before we land anyways." She smiled. "I don't believe we've met? My name is Naminé Rosemont, I'm an analyst and technician in the Shatter domes. I came from Quebec, Canada."
"Roxas and Xion Hart," Roxas mumbled, forcing his eyes to focus on Naminé. "Brother and sister, relocated from what we call nuclear wastelands now."
Naminé went wide eyed, clutching her folders with such strength, the pile bent towards her in a sharp arc. "You're from one of the first Kaiju attack coastlines? What part—how old were you—where were you relocated to?" She shot off like a rocket, her timid voice gaining confidence with each question.
Xion took over, catching Roxas' unhappy expression from the corner of her eye. "We were from San Francisco. We were still pretty young—just kids. We got lucky and escaped most of it since we were further inland but got relocated to Arizona for a few years. We graduated high school, took up Ranger training and here we are."
"You're both still very young, though," Naminé mentioned quietly, clearly deep in thought. "You can't be older than 20."
"She's twenty and I'm twenty-two." Roxas interrupted. "Not that you're one to talk. You look even younger, if I'm not being too rude." He was being rude. Not that it seemed like Naminé cared much about regulations or military formalities.
Naminé laughed. "Not at all; I'm actually older than both of you. I'm twenty-five."
"Bullshit," said one of the other Rangers in the tiny transport before he could stop himself, flushing pink. Roxas recognized him as Strife—the older stern blond who'd been looking for a co-pilot this morning. He was an older recruit, someone who'd either entered the program late or changed branch when the attacks began increasing. His partner, different male with a scar running down between his eyebrows, frowned. "You can't be that old."
Namine only smiled, pardoning the lack of formalities. "It's alright; I know I look pretty young. If it helps, my sister looks older but she's younger than me."
"How old is your sister?" voiced Strife—his first name escaped Roxas at the moment—only to be interrupted by the redheaded girl sitting across from him.
"I'm nineteen," she answered honestly, flashing them a bright smile. The boys sitting on either side of her grinned, the shortest laughing quietly. "Kairi Rosemont. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Roxas recognized them almost immediately as the trio practicing in the gym—Kairi had been the one who'd scored the most points, despite her technique not being the most clean out of the three. Judging by the bruise forming under one of the jawlines next to hers, she was probably a lot quicker and stronger than she first appeared.
"I'm Sora Ishizaki," piped up the brunet beside her, waving widely. "He's Riku Kurata—we were from the West Coast but our parents relocated here in Michigan before the Kaiju attacks."
Riku merely nodded quietly, looking out the window. He didn't seem to care much for their conversation. Xion however, did. "You guys are slated to be Drifting all together, right? Like the Crimson Typhoon? Did you guys know each other before—I thought Kairi and Namine were from Quebec?"
"Our parents are divorced," Kairi admitted calmly. "I moved out to the States with my father when we were really young, around the time Sora and Riku moved up to Michigan. We've been friends ever since then."
"You must have a pretty strong bond then." Everyone turned to the stoic scarred male in the corner. This was the first time anyone had heard him talk—at all. He was easily spotted in the halls before, as a returning retired pilot but he hadn't spoken a word to anyone since his arrival. Roxas himself had just assumed the man to be mute. "Not many people can come in and be drift compatible based on a friendship; least of all, three friends. Drifting is where most friends find out that they weren't as close as they first thought. It's usually what causes us to lose so many new recruits."
"We grew up together," Riku said, glancing at the group in feint surprise before looking out the window again. They were flying over some large snowed mountains—Roxas wasn't sure if they were over a different state or entering Canada. "There's really very little we don't know about each other or didn't live through together."
"Must be nice, having such close friends in these times," Strife muttered, unconsciously reaching to touch a pink ribbon knotted tightly around a key ring that hung loosely from his belt loop. A variety of things were attached around the steel key ring, the satin ribbon standing out against the other items.
"You're Cloud, right? Why are you guys in the Jaeger program?" Sora asked naively. Roxas smiled weakly. That was right. He was Cloud, one of the oldest in the Ranger training program. Leaning forward, Sora stretched out in the helicopter without a care in the world. He didn't seem to mind invading possible personal space.
"Sora—"Riku began in a warning tone. Cloud shrugged, waving him off.
"I'm looking for someone," he admitted quietly. "I've been looking for a long time, and this is one of the few ways I can search freely. There are things accessible to a Ranger that isn't to the public. What about you Squall?"
The attention turned to the scar faced male in the other corner of the helicopter. Squall frowned. "Squall Leonhart—please just call me Leon. And I'm also looking for someone."
That was probably the most he would speak the whole ride, Roxas mused. He'd spotted Squall—err, Leon—around before and he was a man of few words. Not that Cloud was much different. Maybe that was why they were Drift Compatible. There were some people who just didn't carry anything into the Drift. He cleared his throat.
"We're in the program because we've got nothing else to fall back on." Roxas stated calmly, closing his eyes to ignore the movement of the flight. The hum of the helicopter was calming. His head was beginning to hurt and the oncoming warning of nausea was swirling in his stomach. "There's really nothing else to it. It's either this or construction, I guess. Not much to work nowadays, you know? What about you three?"
The three friends looked at each other, a silent conversation taking place in a matter of seconds before Kairi spoke. "These boys are like brothers; they don't go anywhere without the each other. I couldn't let them go into Ranger training without me."
The way she spoke, it was obvious that was all she would be disclosing about their personal situation. Naminé on the other hand, smiled. "I would just like to be of some help. I wouldn't be much of a pilot unfortunately, but I am content with running simulations, taking new recruits to the Shatter domes and helping the research divisions with anything they need."
Roxas leaned over and plopped into Xion's backpack covered lap unceremoniously. He groaned quietly and buried his face into the backpack, exhaling deeply. Xion patted him on the head supportively.
"Is he alright?" Naminé asked worriedly.
"He's fine, just sleep deprived and a little airsick. He won't actually get sick, as long as he gets some sleep."
"What kind of pilot gets motion sickness," Riku mumbled into his palm.
"Shuddup. It's not the same," Roxas groaned, turning his head in towards Xion instead.
"Should we stop talking or…"
"He can sleep through anything," Xion assured, gently pushing back his hair soothingly. "You were talking about the research division?"
Roxas blocked them out, letting the sound of the whirling blades and feeling of Xion's soft warm hand over his hair sooth him to sleep. This would probably be the last peaceful sleep he would have in a while; he might as well enjoy it.
"Roxas, wake up. We stopped. We're getting off here."
His vision was blurry as he sat up, barely able to distinguish figures exiting the helicopter. He shivered involuntarily, blinking furiously to clear the sleep from his eyes. Snow was falling quietly all around them, and the sound of zippers being pulled closed filled the small transport. "Where are we?" he mumbled, closing his own jacket in his sleepy stupor.
"On the coast of Canada, right above what's left of Vancouver," Xion whispered. "Naminé told us on the way here; we're getting off with Kairi, Riku, and Sora."
"What about Leon and Cloud ?" he muttered sleepily.
"They'll be stopping to switch helicopters—I think they're being sent up to Alaska. Or Russia. I'm not sure, I didn't ask." Xion nudged him, taking his bag and swinging it over her own backpack as she jumped out of the helicopter. "Hurry up. We get an hour to freshen up and then we need to suit up."
He straightened up almost instantly, jumping out after her. "Wait—suit up? Already?"
"They're four hours behind us, remember? This is oh six hundred for them—good morning again, sunshine." She smiled. "We're getting our Jaeger in an hour."
"A-Are you serious?" Roxas hurried behind her. Even walking, she always managed to stay at least two steps ahead of him. He'd never liked that. She was abnormally quick and nimble for someone so small. "Wait Xion—what's the hurry? Why are we suiting up so early? Was there a breach?"
"No, they just want to test the neural handshake," Xion explained calmly, keeping up her pace towards the dome. The heat from inside was seeping out with the doors wide open for their arrival and she felt grateful for the warmth. The first thing she was going to do after the neural handshake was take a quick leave to buy a thick warm parka. "Come on, I want to be presentable and unpack before we head down."
"Xion, what can you possibly need to do in order to look presentable? Your hair is so short you don't need to brush it all the time and you're still clean from your shower this morning. If anyone needs a hairbrush, it's me."
"You have chronic bedhead, you don't count."
He grinned, nodding towards Riku as he entered the elevator that would take them down to their respective floors. Riku smirked. "So you do smile," he mused. "I thought your face was just permanently stuck at a scowl."
Roxas ignored him. "Are we bunking together?"
"All Jaeger pilots share living quarters with their respective partner—or partners," Naminé sounded off. It looked like her formalities and regulations were only dismissed in private. Now that they were in the Shatter dome, she stood with authority and an air of importance. She was a completely different person in and out of the dome. "You'll all be on the same floor—I apologize about the small room for you three. We only recently got the technology on a three pilot Jaeger, so we aren't quite prepared to have a room that fits three people. You'll have two beds, one bunked and another single. If you need any special arrangements, we will do our best to accommodate you. Any questions?"
"Will you be around?" Roxas asked, noting her bundles and bundles of folders already stacked into her arms again. She nodded.
"I've been assigned to oversee the repairs, additions, and activities that go one with your Jaegers. If you require anything outside of that, I'll be on the research floor. It's one floor above yours." The elevator doors opened. She placed a set of keys in everyone's hands, motioning for them to get off the lift. "Your room number is engraved on the key and you'll find them down the hall and to your right. You'll be right across from each other so get to know one another or not, if you so please. I will see you at oh seven hundred, suited up and ready to go."
The doors closed right as Kairi took the last step off the lift. Giving one last wave at Naminé, she turned to face the rest of the team. "She's so professional around here," she said proudly , wrapping her arms around her friends. "Well, is everyone ready to unlock the rooms we'll be living in for the rest of our lives?"
Sora laughed, beginning their march down the hall. "Why not?"
Roxas stared at them awkwardly, edging closer to his sister. Their enthusiasm for their morbid work was concerning. It was almost like they didn't seem to take their work seriously—er, at least two out of the three didn't seem like that. Riku seemed to read his thoughts.
"We know what we're here for," Riku spoke confidently as they marched past. "Don't mistake their optimism for naivety. We'll see you in the Dome in a bit."
Xion waited until they left to glare up at her brother. "Could you be more obvious? If you don't like them, at least try not to be conspicuous," she sighed.
"It's not that I don't like them," He insisted, taking her hand and leading her down the hall. "I just don't understand where they get the energy or the enthusiasm. I mean, I'm glad we got through the training but I'm still nervous. We're going against skyscraper sized monsters and the only thing protecting us is a suit of metal and wire that we control and can fail at any given moment if we aren't ready. I don't understand how they're going into this so happy."
"Not sure either." Xion shrugged, fingering her set of keys in the palm of her hand. A thick metal door with the number one stamped onto it matched the engraving on their keys. "If more pilots went into the program like that, we'd probably have more going for us."
"Or more broken pilots," Roxas muttered under his breath as she unlocked the door. The heavy door creaked as she pushed it open, revealing the fresh unheated room and its metal furniture. A long desk with two chairs and a steel bunk bed met them, their boots clinking heavily against the metal floor. "Homely."
"Just like old times, huh Roxas?" Xion teased. "It's like we never left the training dome."
He laughed quietly. "Yeah, it's basically the same stuff just shoved into a smaller room."
She tossed her stuff onto the top bunk, making sure to drop his small duffel onto the lower bed. "I'm going to hit the showers," she called out, ripping off her turtleneck sweater and kicking off her boots. "I'll be out in five."
"Did you mean in five minutes or five minutes to seven?"
"Shut up Roxas."
"Do you like her?" Naminé called out from the balcony as the siblings walked onto the catwalk. "A brand new, Mark 6, straight out of the kitchen. She's specialized with dual wielding swords and a state of the art plasma canon. She's all yours after the primary neural handshake."
They didn't answer, staring up that the Jaeger in awe. Naminé laughed. "She's brand new so no one's named her—it's the privilege and honor of the pilots to name their Jaeger after all. I can see you two are already suited up."
Roxas nodded, still stunned into silence. Their Jaeger was thinner than the ones he'd seen on TV before, clearly made for agility and flexibility. Black and silver, the hexagon filled glass that covered the eye surface reflected off a faded grey under the dome lights. Naminé continued as if they were actually verbally participating in the conversation while she stepped down the spiraling staircase.
"She's built to be fast—not as fast as that Jaeger they like to build in Sydney but definitely quick. She might not take much a hit well but if everything syncs up well, then you should be able to dodge everything without a problem. You two did have the best reaction times in the training division. I'd be careful though; she's fast but doesn't carry a lot of weight because of it. If you're going in for a close kill hit without the swords, you'll need to keep a firm hold. She can't handle too much stress."
"Shouldn't we be prepped for that?" Xion asked, snapping out of her reverie.
"We're not too worried for now. Since we're just checking the basics right now, we'll add some reinforcements as time goes on—you both were exceptionally skilled at taking down larger foes in regular combat. We expect no less here in a Jaeger. It'll hold up fine in battle while we work out the final blueprints."
"Yes ma'am," they sounded off together. Roxas had to admit it felt strange, speaking so formally to someone who'd been so casual with them just a few hours ago. Naminé motioned for them to step up into the lift nearby.
"Good luck," she said with a smile, turning back to her tablet.
"Thanks," Roxas mumbled, following Xion into the lift. The doors closed. He let out a sigh of relief. Xion smiled.
"Nervous?"
"Highly."
"I am too."
"Do you really think we're ready for this?" Roxas asked out loud. He honestly hadn't expected to be performing a neural handshake for at least another day. He looked at his sister, who was fidgeting in her matching black and silver suit. The light reflected off the helmet in her hands.
"Probably not," Xion admitted weakly. "But it's about as ready as we'll ever be."
Silence fell between them, the sound of the lift the only noise filling the stuffy room.
"Hey, Roxas?"
"Yeah?"
"…this suit is really uncomfortable."
Roxas burst out laughing, the doors opening and revealing the tech team still at the head of the Jaeger. They stared as they passed by, Roxas laughing like a maniac while they walked into the machine's head. He wasn't entirely sure if it had been that funny or if he was laughing so hard because he was that nervous. With a little help from the crew to plug in, his laugh managed to die down enough for him to speak. "Hey, Xion?"
"Yes Roxas?"
"Why do you think they have the head all the way up here? I don't think that Jaegers are that tall…"
"To do maintenance on it?" Xion shrugged, the cords attached to her wriggling in the air slightly. Sometime while he was laughing, she'd finished placing her helmet on. It looked slightly too large. "I'm not sure, ask the technician."
"I would but they left—"
'This is Naminé Rosemont, sounding in. Roxas and Xion Hart, please copy.'
They exchanged looks, confused. "This is Roxas and Xion Hart, we copy. We are plugged in and ready to go." Roxas sounded off, still lost. Why did they need to signal for a start off? Wasn't Naminé simply supposed to tell them they were to start?
'Copy that! Technician Rosemont to station, I am on the floor and we are ready to commence the drop.'
Roxas felt his heart drop to his stomach. What drop? No one ever mentioned a drop. Xion looked at him with what felt like laughter and worry. "I thought we were attached to the body already!" Roxas hissed, listening to Naminé finish clearing a few things with the station. "I thought that was why we took the elevator!"
"I guess not," Xion said nervously.
'Commence drop in three-two-one—'
Roxas fought the urge to make a noise, closing his eyes as the Jaeger head began dropping, the cables and wheels that prevented it from freefalling squealing as they went down. It felt like he'd fallen off the side of a plane, even strapped into the suit and the machine. Xion squeaked loudly beside him, eyes wide in surprise. It was over sooner than he expected, but it didn't reduce the turmoil in his stomach when the head connected with the rest of the Jaeger, the inside of the machine swinging and swaying as it rotated and locked into place.
'Roxas—is everything alright in there? We're reading higher than normal elevations in your heart rate.'
"I think I might puke," Roxas muttered weakly, eyes still closed as he concentrated breathing deep through his nose. Vertigo was not his friend.
"I would have to agree with you there," Xion mumbled back. "Not the most fun carnival ride but I would really have to advise against throwing up on your first day and in your helmet."
'Agreed. Can you reorient yourself Roxas?'
"Give me a moment," Roxas called back, taking one last deep breath. The world was beginning to stop swaying. "Alright. I think I'm good. What's next?"
'Are you sure you'll be alright because we can wait. Remember that all your current thoughts and sensations are going to be shared with that neural handshake and the last thing we want is two Rangers yaking into their helmets—'
"Please continue with the protocols."
'One moment then—is Cerberus online?'
Roxas glanced over at Xion, who in turn shrugged just as a familiar voice crackled through the transmission feed. 'This is Cerberus, and we're ready to go!' sounded off Sora, painfully cheerful even through the crackling feed.
Xion grinned. "Sora, is that really you?" She asked, finger still holding down the button that allowed their microphones to share conversations. "Did you guys name your Jaeger already?"
'Hi Xion—Sora was horrible with military name regulations it seemed—Riku came up with the names, isn't it great? Cerberus is our main name but if I get to be in charge of the decisions, it's Mirage Cerberus. If Kairi is in charge then it's Crowned Cerberus and if Riku is in control we're Nightmare Cerberus! I think the triple name is a good idea, don't you?'
'Sora, Kairi was the one who came up with the other halves; don't give me all the credit.'
'I don't mind—we all share the Jaeger anyways.'
Sora ignored them. 'Have you guys named your Jaeger yet?'
"Not yet," Roxas answered back. He glanced at Xion, who shrugged in return. "I think we'll just pick one after the neural handshake."
'Let us know when you pick one!' Kairi interjected—there were annoyed sounds coming from the background. The microphone caught some of the argument between the other two boys before Kairi turned to enter their conversation.
'Sora it's none of our business to ask questions like that—
'But we're going to be piloting around the same area, we should get to know each other more—'
'Sora has a point Riku, there's nothing wrong with being a little amicable.'
'It's not being amicable that's the problem—'
Naminé cleared her throat, the sound booming through their intercoms. 'We're ready to start the neural handshake. Remember to keep a clear mind and try not to take control or else we're at risk of losing the connection all together, alright? Don't get lost in the memories. Starting neural handshake in five-four-three-two—'
Roxas felt himself go rigid for a moment—the process was only about a minute long but with the blur of memories that was flooding through his mind, it felt like an hour. Beside him, Xion stood in a moment of shock too, eyes wide as they shared every living moment. Memories that Roxas had considered forgotten—thoughts Xion had shunned to the back of her mind—moments that they'd never shared—came thundering back between them all at once.
When he'd fallen down the rocky beach at the age of six—their mother had thought he was going to die from all the blood he'd been spilling on that grey cold sand. Head wounds always bled more than other wounds. The first time she'd gone to school, tiny among all the older kids but she held strong because he held her hand all the way to class. When they'd been playing outside on their bicycles and crashed into each other, the feeling of their parents comforting hands—Roxas wasn't sure if this was his memory, her memory, or a shared one. Their thoughts were so intertwined at this point that he wasn't exactly sure these were his thoughts to begin with.
He took a deep breath and Xion could feel his chest rise in return, the air filling his lungs and leave them feeling alive. He could feel every beat of her heart, each pump that created the stream of warm blood in her—everything that made up their composition they could equally feel. Somewhere beyond the veil of emotions, they heard a familiar voice speak through the intercom.
'Cerberus is online, neural handshake holding steady at 90%. Prime levels for a three-pilot team; as for Rangers Hart—'
Reaching up in a synchronized movement, they pressed the microphone to send their feed directly and only to Naminé. In the same manner, they spoke in terrifying harmony. Roxas felt the name roll off his tongue. He'd forgotten the name—the word that was still printed on the torn out poem in this notebook; their mother's favorite poem. A brief memory flitted through their melded minds, a soft voice whispering to them in bed, leaving behind a sore heartbeat. They weren't sure how Naminé heard, considering the word had almost been whispered in the end.
"Aubade."
Naminé seemed to understand immediately. 'Aubade is online, neural handshake fluxing but holding above 60%. Waiting for stabilization.'
Roxas shuddered, feeling Xion's discomfort as if it were his own. She was uncomfortable with how they shared everything—thoughts were one thing, she hadn't expected it meant emotions too. His thoughts flooded hers instantly, a feeling of empathy and comfort brushing away her fears almost immediately. His main concern was that she wasn't permanently in a mental shock, that she weren't stuck within the memories. They let go of the feed button.
"You want to take the lead?" he asked, despite knowing she would know what he was going to ask before he even opened his mouth to speak.
She nodded. It was strange, like being able to see an echo instead of just hear it. Relaxing and rolling her shoulders, she took a defensive stance, forearms obscuring her face and fists rolled inwards ready to deal out a blow if necessary. Beside her, Roxas mimicked the stance, feeling out the tensions in their muscles. She always took the defensive postures first, he mused. A flicker of irritation fleeted from her mind and through his, annoyed with his amusement. There was nothing wrong with being defensive, if he didn't like it then he should have taken control. An open invitation, Roxas considered, but didn't chance it. If they didn't lose the connection all together then, Xion would be annoyed the rest of the afternoon.
Xion huffed loudly beside him, clearly still following all his thoughts.
'Neural handshake officially stable at 89%; preparing to run all other simulations.' Naminé brought up a screen to their Jaeger, a complete interface of their machine from an outside view with a few key things glowing bright orange. 'Aubade and Cerberus—the image on your screen should have vital areas we need to test. Think of it like a physical at the clinic , only with a thirty story robot. You can go in any order, as long as they're all tested. Once that's over, we'll disconnect you to finish running last minute diagnostics on your Jaegers.'
Roxas exchanged an amused glance with his sister, who smiled upon comprehending what he was about to do. Pressing one of the many buttons below their screen, he released the defensive short bladed swords. Between the two of them, they began testing the gears that allowed basic wrist, elbow, and shoulder movement. Then moving the core, all while testing the weapons disposable to them—Xion's favorite by far were the defensive blades that slid out by their wrists. They could block attacks and immediately be used for a retaliation. Roxas preferred the longer twin blades they had attached onto the back of the Aubade. They weren't allowed to use them quite yet, since they were still in the dome, but he was very sure he would like them when the time came to finally use them.
Thankfully, there wasn't much they could try out in the domes alone due to the space and amount of people who wandered around by Aubade's feet. The entire testing process still took up to four hours, and by the time they were out, the corridor to the mess hall was all but flooded with people.
"I'm starving!" Sora cried out, Riku and Kairi laughing as they trailed behind him. They were completely in step with each other, almost rehearsed.
"I want some coffee," Xion admitted, feeling out the foreign craving. "That really strong awful coffee you like Roxas."
Roxas gave her an odd look. There was emptiness in his mind where she'd taken root in a few minutes ago—like cake mix that was missing a vital ingredient. Sitting at the table, he immediately passed her a hot plate filled with scalloped potatoes which she took from him so quickly; it was almost like she'd known he would pass it to her. It must be that connection, Roxas thought to himself. There was talk in the training floors before; how once you drifted with someone they never really completely left your mind. How sometimes partners couldn't quite leave with just their own thoughts in their heads, like the wires were temporarily crossed.
The Cerberus trio seemed to be having that exact problem right now, finishing each other's sentences and juggling plates over each other like a choreographed dance. Their tech team, seated across from them while they double checked numbers on their tablets, occasionally cast the trio odd glances before resuming their technical tasks. Someone cracked a joke and all three pilots laughed—Roxas felt uncomfortable watching. It was like watching a three way mirror reflection but with different people on each glass. Someone said something beside him, and he wasn't entirely aware that it wasn't just a passing thought until Xion shook him.
"Back to work after we eat," he stated quickly, before Xion could open her mouth. She smiled shakily. Obviously she found their post-drift experience as disorienting as he did.
The leader of their tech team smiled across the table. "Oh good, you were listening. We're taking you out to the field after this—not that there's a kaiju alert or anything but we'd like to make sure everything is up to operational standards. It's one thing to test the connections but we'd like to be absolutely sure everything is in mint condition."
Roxas nodded, scarfing down his scalloped potatoes regardless of how fresh off the fire they were. Piloting worked up an appetite in just the trial run; he couldn't imagine how starving he would be after the actual test.
Roxas was still awake around midnight, listening to the occasional person march past their quarters and down the hall. Xion hung her arm over the bunk bed, waving her king of hearts. He shook his head. "Go fish," he muttered. "Hey Xion, are you tired yet?"
"No. Are you?"
"My brain is too wired to sleep." He sighed, holding up the pack of cards for her to pick from. "I'm also too sore to relax."
Xion snickered, pulling up a card and adding it to her hand. "I thought that sleep helps relax sore muscles."
"Yeah but that only works if you can relax enough to get some sleep."
"We should really take advantage of the sleep we get now, huh?"
"Probably," he admitted apathetically. "I mean we can never tell when we'll get a kaiju alert, or how many will come through. It's been a while since we've had two come through. Got a jack?"
"Go fish." Xion rolled onto her back, cradling her cards to her chest. She tugged her thick blanket up to her shoulders, shivering. She still needed to go buy that jacket. "I hope that means the breach isn't able to pass more than one of them."
"Or it means that they're waiting until we let our guard down to strike back even harder," Roxas muttered darkly, staring at his hand intensely.
"Did you say something?"
"Yeah—it's your turn."
The alarm went off at around 5am—an hour before they would normally be slotted to wake up at. Naminé's voice boomed over the intercom in the dome at full volume, an urgency outlining her formal speak.
'Kaiju alert; closing in 10 minutes north of the dome and 100 miles away from the Miracle Mile fast. All crews report on deck. Technicians are to have Jaegers at 100% functionality in 10 minutes. Ranger teams Cerberus and Aubade; suit up and report to launch bays immediately. I repeat—report to your respective stations immediately.'
Xion and Roxas leapt out of bed almost instantaneously, almost landing on top of each other in the rush to get up. "Morning sunshine," Xion teased, running to her small drawer and pulling out her clothes. "You look lovely today."
"Shuddup…," he mumbled back sleepily, padding over and reaching over her to grab his own clothes. "You're a sight for sore eyes yourself."
"I can't hear you; I'm too busy getting ready to pilot a Jaeger."
Roxas groaned, tossing back his shirt into the corner. "Is it absolutely necessary for us to wear all these layers beneath our suit? I mean really look—"He yanked at the thin cream t-shirt and wiggled the pants in his hands. "We need to wear all our regular clothes underneath the equivalent of a wetsuit, then the sealed shell, and finally the armored drivesuit which basically locks us into place. That's not even taking into account the stupid 'thinking caps' we're supposed to wear in order to sync with our Jaeger and each other. If I could just suit up in my underwear I would be ok with that because at least then I wouldn't be burning up under four layers of clothes!"
"Roxas, get dressed. We're kind of on a schedule, you know?" Xion crammed on her long sleeve shirt one handed while she turned to search for their boots under their bed. "Hurry up. Kaiju don't wait for anything."
"I'm going, I'm going," he grumbled, throwing a bundle of his socks at her back. Straightening up to put on her shoes, she smacked him with the heel of her boot. "Hey Xion?"
"Yes Roxas?" she asked, exasperatedly.
He chewed the inside of his lip, turning around instead. "I'll meet you on the launch bay. I need to use the bathroom first."
"You're not five; I didn't need to know that." She whined back. Taking a seat on his bed, she began lacing up her boots. She hesitated. "Besides, we came here together. We're getting in there together. I don't mind if we're just a bit behind schedule. I'm sure that if anything happens Sora, Kairi, and Riku will get to the Miracle mile stretch without a problem. I'm going to get our stuff ready. It's the big day, after all. "
"Thanks," he mumbled, closing the bathroom door behind him. A horrid chill filled his stomach but he ignored it. They would be fine. There would be two Jaegers out and there were two perfectly adequate teams piloting them. Everything would be fine.
' Prepare for the drop,' Naminé sounded off, the static crackling between her words. Roxas had his eyes closed, the neural connection erasing all form of motion sickness. He was grateful he couldn't feel the usual turmoil in his gut—especially with the gusts of wind that were causing the Jaeger to sway while they were transported out bay. He barely felt the impact as they landed halfway out on the continental shelf, watching as Cerberus flew past them.
'We have one Kaiju coming in close, codename is Deathmaw. We've got another Kaiju coming in but we keep losing them, codename: Stealth Sneak. Keep an eye out for Stealth—it came through the breach but we lost them along the reef. It's too quick for our radar. Can either of you see it on your screens?'
"One second—"Xion reached forward, rapidly pressing a combination of keys and pulling up the radar on their black and green screen. One Kaiju marker was blinking on the screen consistently but another marker was sporadically blinking from one spot to another as if the radar couldn't focus on its location. "That's a negative Naminé; we can't lock onto its location either. How about you guys?"
'We have nothing useful on our screens either. I guess we're going in blind with this one.'
'Cerberus your prime objective is to protect the Miracle mile at all costs while we bringing in other Jaegers from the Northern Canadian domes. Aubade, you're on watch—if anything slips through that perimeter, you are to engage and hold them back at all costs. Deathmaw is ranging at a Category 3 but we're pegging on Stealth Sneak being a Category 4. Do not let your guard down. I will keep you posted as we get more information.'
The static whistled and cracked as the voices switched. 'Roger that Ms. Rosemont,' Riku sounded off stiffly. 'Miracle Mile will be secured.'
The siblings smiled at each other encouragingly, bracing their legs into the sand as they recalled Naminé's advice. The Aubade could deal harsh enough blows…it just couldn't take the hits too well. "Do you think it would be a bad time to ask she meant we'll get pulverized or if we'll get sent flying?" Xion joked.
Roxas looked at her, in mock horror. "You mean you didn't ask already?"
They watched as the water erupted a few miles out in front of them, Cerberus catching Deathmaw by its open jaw and forcing it to lock in place. It was an adequate name, considering the Kaiju was ninety percent jaw—the amount of strain on the pilots to hold that mouth open must have been astounding. Its stubby legs waved uselessly in the air, unable to reach forward enough to pry away from Cerberus's grip.
"Need back up?"
'No, we've got this,' Kairi answered breathlessly. 'Just keep an eye out for Stealth Sneak while our hands are full.'
'I'm really glad that the only sensory receptors we get to keep are the ones that cause pain.' Sora called out loudly, cheerful despite the strain in his voice.
'Sora, do you actually enjoy feeling like you're trying to prevent two blue whales from colliding?' Riku grunted. 'Because then I'm not entirely sure you understand the point of those neural pathways.'
Kairi made an agreeing noise in the back of her throat. 'Sora we're kinda busy right now'
'—can you please concentrate because I can actually feel the connection slipping.'
Naminé sounded off something that sounded like an agreement from the statement, Sora sighing in response. 'I will, I will—but you said—'
'Oh my god—Kairi step in. We're kicking you off station Sora. I'm giving Kairi full control and making you back-up from now on.'
'No you aren't. I'm drifted with you Riku, I know you're not really going to kick me offline.'
'Try me.'
Roxas pressed the comm share button. "I'm just curious—how do you three get anything done?"
Kairi sighed heavily from somewhere inside the Jaeger, the mecha twisting suddenly to slam the Deathmaw onto its side. The wind knocked out of its burly shape, the Kaiju laid half out of water in shock. A thick metal sword shot out Cerberus's arm, gleaming orange against the deep blue ocean. 'Boys, is it really the appropriate time for this—really? Let's just get this over with please; it's a little early to be arguing.'
Cerberus reared back its arm, preparing itself to spear the Kaiju through the eye when Naminé's voice erupted from the screen with an urgency he hadn't yet heard. Something was jamming the feed.
'Cerberus ABORT—we have Stealth Sneak on radar—closing in fast—less than—ABORT—'
'We can't hear you Naminé—'Someone pounded on the Cerberus's comm feed. The Jaeger was still posed stiff in the air. Beyond the noise of static, Sora whispered something urgently in the background. Riku returned to the communication feed. 'Naminé, do you copy—SHIT—'
Aubade tensed, legs positioning to run straight for the shelf as Cerberus hit the floor hard. Only a glimpse of a jagged tail gave away what hit its hull only moments before. Chunks of glass flew up into the air, sparkling yellow as they fell back into the ocean. Something sank deep in their chest. The glass that protected the cockpit was shattered and steam was coming from the area they'd fallen. The water churned and something sharp and fast sped away from the scene, disappearing under the angry waters. Cerberus was struggling to stand up, a leg shaking under the weight and an arm dropped limp at its side. Water was draining out of the shattered cockpit like a waterfall.
Roxas pressed the feed button. "Hold on Cerberus, we're coming to back you up—"
Deathmaw struggled to rise up, blue Kaiju blood gushing from the side of its mouth and foot where Cerberus barely managed to scratch it before going down. It shook its head like a dog, the blood flinging in the air like fluorescent sea foam next to the colossal waves.
'DO NOT ENGAGE STEALTH SNEAK OR APPROACH CERBERUS, I REPEAT—DO NOT ENGAGE OR APPROACH.' Naminé was all but screaming into the radio, Roxas wincing under the noise. 'We're working on damage control from our point. Any assistance may jeopardize mission and place Rangers in immediate danger.'
Roxas ground his teeth together, releasing the button. Xion glanced at him, tight frown marring her features. "She's right—if they're at critical levels, we'll only be putting them in danger if we approach. It'll be drawing two Kaiju to a severely damaged Jaeger."
He sighed. "Well…I guess we're on our own until back up arrives."
She nodded, rolling her shoulders in sync with him, tensing in the sand. Deathmaw had managed to find its feet and was heading straight for them, webbed stunted legs and blood dribbling giving it the appearance of an incredibly demonic giant bulldog —without the adoring factor of a pet. Roxas reached forward and pressed the button that released the twin blades which were locked under the Jaegers wrists. "Ready Xion?"
"Ready."
The collision wasn't something they could have expected, considering they'd never been hit by something equivalent to a 30 foot story brick building. They skidded across the shore, kicking up sand and water as they fought to hold back the angry Kaiju—they were getting far too close to shore and it hit land, it would only be a matter of time before it reached the nearest town.
Even when Xion extended her right arm in coordination with Roxas and jammed the right twin blade under Deathmaw's shoulder, the impact was tremor worthy. They winced and then Roxas shoveled the second blade towards the Kaiju's eye, gauging it out in one swing.
They cringed under the intensity of its roar, ignoring the urge to cover their ears and keeping hold of the monstrosity as well as they could.
"Readying to strike the next eye," Xion shouted over the pained shrieks, feeling the burn in their hand as the corrosive Kaiju blood began burning through the twisted wires under their metal armor. Roxas felt the burning too but it was probably worse for her—she was the one controlling the right arm after all. The pain receptors were useful in battle because they helped you react faster—but it was hard to keep fighting when you felt like your hand was on fire. He nodded, readying the next strike when Deathmaw managed to twist sideways hard enough to clamp down its mighty jaws onto the right wrist.
They screamed in unison, their Jaeger following their motions as they collapsed down onto one knee. Xion took momentary control, tugging their arm in blind pain but the jaw locked and the teeth sunk deeper into their mechanical wrist. Roxas ground his teeth in silence, forcing the connection and straining their remaining left arm up. Without another moment's hesitation, they shoved it through the Kaiju's lower jaw. It shuddered as the blade scraped though its thick neck, making awful guttural choking noises as the entire lower jaw was sliced clean off. Taking no breaks or chance for retaliation, they proceeded to shear off the rest of its head.
Arm dropping to Aubade's side, they watched in exhaustion as the Kaiju carcass collapsed into the ocean. Its corrosive blood was sprayed all over them, their right mechanical wrist completely unresponsive regardless of their efforts. Reaching up, Roxas felt his chest heave tiredly as he pressed the comm button. "This is Aubade to Control Center and Cerberus…we'll need a cleanup crew out here soon…Deathmaw is down…"
'This is Cerberus to Aubade, congrats on the first kill,' Riku answered breathlessly. His voice was shaky and pained. 'Our systems are still on repair so be on alert, we've lost Stealth Sneak again and it's still too fast to track underwater. Naminé, we're still suffering some malfunctions. How long until we can get some back up?'
'This is Central Command to all active Jaegers. This is off record and a personal note—Riku, you are in no condition to be piloting. Disconnect from the drift and leave the piloting to Sora and Kairi. Prepare for immediate return to the Shatterdome for medical aid.
Back up is on the way. Aubade, you will have to handle the situation as you are the quickest Jaeger on deck—'
'I can't Naminé—controls are jammed and have to be manually overridden. Currently overriding them—'Riku made a low wounded noise and someone muttered something in the background. 'Guys—Guys, I can do that—guys—"
'Riku, take a break.' Kairi mumbled into the comm, taking over communications. 'Is back up far?'
'Back up is around five to ten minutes away—I suggest rerouting more oxygen to the boys Kairi. There's not much we can at the station with manual overrides. Aubade, how are you holding up?'
"We're ok, nothing to report aside from a mangled Jaeger wrist, right Xion?"
No response. Roxas was suddenly eerily aware of how there really wasn't any neural response from her, despite knowing she was still connected. It felt like a horribly calm was settling through her mind, like the world was shrinking and all the noises were suddenly very far away. "We're ok, right?" He repeated weakly, something knotting in his throat.
'Xion falling out of alignment—Roxas, you need to reel her back in now—'
He couldn't hear her well, something was blocking his senses. There was blood in his vision, red spots everywhere and her—his—their breathing was erratic and there was a pressure on their chest. Somewhere beyond the haze, he heard Naminé speak urgently into their Jaegers. 'Both out of alignment—we've lost coherent contact. Roxas—Roxas, can you hear me?'
Roxas focused all his energy into breathing deeply. Hold. Reach up to press the button again. Exhale and inhale again. Speak.
"L-Loud and clear…I think we're—I mean Xion—Xion's in shock—I'm in—I can't breathe—arm is burning—right arm is not responding anymore—"
'All vitals are at critical rates—we need to shut you down right now—'
"But Stealth Sneak—"
'Back up Jaegers will handle the situation; watch each other's backs—'
Riku had somehow taken control of the Jaeger again; Cerberus's left leg dragging behind it weakly. 'Roxas, it's on your flank closing in fast—brace for it!'
Roxas heard Xion wheeze beside him, feeling the whistle and shaking in his own chest like he'd been the one trying to catch his breath. He almost didn't notice when the nightmare of the sea exploded out and into their side, dragging them underwater. Water was flooding into the systems, warning signs illuminating every available screen as he struggled to focus on pressing the ejection buttons for both of them. Somewhere beside him, he heard Xion mutter inaudibly something before falling silent once more.
He would never be too sure if the darkness came as the Kaiju clawed its way through Aubade's head, as he was pushed up into the emergency escape pods, or if he had completely dreamed the events entirely.
*It was mentioned that Roxas suffers from motion sickness. Roxas experiences motion sickness like a person who has car sickness as a passenger but doesn't experience it when driving. That being said, he isn't particularly fond of heights but doesn't have a phobia. Just doesn't like the height or the feeling of sudden unexpected movement.