Anchorage, Alaska February 29th, 2020
Zeus Godric woke to wailing sirens and his younger brother hitting his head.
"Get out, Sid," he said, waving a hand at his manic-looking brother.
"Oh my God, get up," Poseidon moaned, whacking his brother's head once more for good measure. "Don't you hear the damn sirens?!"
"You heard Athena," Zeus groaned, throwing his legs over the side of the bunk. "We can't do anything until they send a replacement for Argo."
He looked down at his brother, but Poseidon was holding a small picture in his hands, smiling softly down at it. Zeus knew exactly what picture it was.
"They don't care," Poseidon shrugged, placing the photo down on the bench and turning back to face Zeus. "Biggest Cat 3 they've ever seen."
"Why are you enjoying this?" Zeus cried, gesturing to the huge grin plastered across his brother's face.
"I'm not," Poseidon smirked, running a hand through his hair. Zeus couldn't help but notice that his wedding ring was missing.
"Hey kid," Zeus said, reaching up to touch his brother's cheek. "Don't get cocky."
Then he slapped him before walking out the door.
"Well that was just rude," Poseidon said in shock, turning to chase after his brother.
They headed to the Drivesuit room, but there was an empty suit to Zeus's left as he stepped into his own.
They felt so important, like gods, as they made their way to their jaeger.
Argo Blue stood in the centre of the Shatterdome, towering over everything in her midst. She was one of the few nuclear out there, but no matter what people said about her, the Godric brothers loved her more than anything.
The two men stepped into Argo, taking their places; Zeus in the middle and Poseidon to his right. They ignored the left side.
"So what's the plan here?" Zeus asked, speaking into the coms.
"Mornin' to you, too," Grover Underwood's voice cracked through.
"Good morning," Zeus sneered.
"How'd that date go last night?" Poseidon asked, fixing the straps on his chest.
"She loved me," Grover sighed. "Her boyfriend- not so much."
"She'll dump his ass, don't you worry," Poseidon said sympathetically, pulling a face at his brother.
"Engage drop, Mr Underwood," another voice called over the coms. "Morning gentlemen."
"Engaging drop, ma'am."
"Athena," Zeus said, immediately standing up straighter as the AI kicked in. "So, how are we going to handle this?"
"We've modified Argo enough that you should be able to cope just the two of you, alright?" she said. "At worst, you get a migraine afterwards."
"You sure about that?" Poseidon said, raising an eyebrow. He seemed proud of himself when they heard Athena groan.
"Do you think I'd send you out there if I wasn't?" she snapped.
"You don't want me to answer that," Poseidon smirked, pushing a button above him.
"Sid, cut it," Zeus warned his younger brother who just shrugged at him. "Athena, if you're sure about this-"
"I'd never put you in danger, Zeus, you know that," she replied, her voice suddenly very sincere. "No matter how much I want some of you to die on a regular basis."
"Why is everyone being so rude today?" Poseidon cried, his voice breaking as his eyes widened.
Zeus smirked at his brother, but felt a sudden dread in the pit of his stomach. Poseidon was always so confident, so charming and just the right amount of arrogant. Yet looking at him right then, Zeus could see the fear and terror in the back of his manic green eyes. He thought back to the photo Poseidon had left behind in the dorm, thought about their wives sitting at home worrying, thought about his own children and their mother.
He stopped, shocked when he suddenly thought of the little boy back home who may never get to know his father.
Looking once more at his baby brother, he realised he couldn't let that happen.
"Prepare for neural handshake, gents," said another voice. Zeus smiled when at the sound of Chiron's voice. "Starting in 15 seconds."
"Ready to get in my head, kid?" Zeus sighed, looking to his right.
"I have a permanent residence there, bro," Poseidon winked, his eyes wild with excitement and fear.
"Pilot-to-pilot connection," the AI called. "Protocol sequence."
Zeus saw Poseidon brace himself, his feet separating to balance himself. Zeus preferred to stare straight ahead and tense himself, something he was good at.
"Neural handshake initiated."
The Drift was an experience quite unlike any other, Zeus thought.
It was ingenious Jaeger tech, developed by Athena herself many years ago, based on DARPA jet fighter neural systems. The two pilots mind-melded with the body of the machine to become one entity.
There was always a flash of light first. That bright, terrifying, white light which made him think of death, before he saw his brother's life flash before his eyes.
In order to become one, they had to share their memories. Zeus saw the usual images of their dad screaming when they were kids, saw Hestia's first birthday. He saw the first time his brother had met her, saw the day he had been told he was marrying his wife. He felt his brother's regrets, but that was nothing new.
What surprised him were the recent images which surfaced. Now, he saw Poseidon's goodbyes- to their mother and sister, to his wife and child (both of whom didn't really seem all that bothered), and then his real goodbye. He saw her and the boy, felt the crack as the door shut between them.
He was pulled out of his brother's memories, breathless and feeling strange.
"Neural handshake…" Grover's voice came through. "…strong and holding, guys."
"Centre hemisphere is calibrating," Zeus said, checking his display.
"Right hemisphere calibrating," Poseidon answered.
They both paused, awaiting the final response, but sighed when they realised it would never come.
"Gentlemen," Chiron said sternly. "You are to hold the miracle mile off Anchorage. Copy?"
"Copy that, sir," Zeus replied, casting a glance at his brother.
"Sir," Poseidon said, pointing to the radar in front of him. "There's a civilian vessel in the Gulf, though-"
"You are protecting a city of over two million people, Mr Godric," the Marshall sighed. "You will not be risking their lives for the sake of another ten."
Poseidon clenched his jaw, an eyebrow slightly raised as he glared at the coms.
"Am I clear?" came a stern question.
"Yes, sir," Zeus sighed, turning off the coms for the moment. "That's cold."
"You know what I'm thinking," Poseidon said, after a beat, a smile playing on his lips.
"I'm in your brain, moron."
"Well then," he grinned. "Let's go fishing."
"Hey, kid," Zeus said, his voice low. "We're gonna talk about all that when we get back."
"Talk about what, Z," his brother said, his face falling. "There's nothing I can do about it, is there?"
"There has to be something," Zeus said, staring back at him, stormy-blue meeting sea-green. "We need to talk about it either way, Sid."
Focus on this, first.
"Here we go!" Zeus cried, pushing aside the matter for now.
"C'mon, bro!"
The sea was stormy and choppy as they began their march out. The radar picked up the boat easily enough, a tiny speck as the blob of the Titan fast approached.
It happened fast, Argo's arm reaching down and scooping the fishing boat out of the water.
"Ship secure."
The Titan appeared on the horizon, a terrifying shark-like creature with fluorescent yellow stripes and a sharp point on its head. It screamed, sounding like some horrifying nightmare.
Yet the brothers didn't back down.
"Adjust the torque," Zeus told his brother, his voice strong and steady.
"On it," Poseidon said, already working on the task.
"Torque locked," the AI confirmed.
They grunted in unison, and somewhere in the back of his head he heard Poseidon contemplating how odd piloting felt with just the two of them.
"Focus, Sid," he growled, glaring at the Titan as it raced towards them, arms outreached.
Shoot him, then.
The released two shots into the beast before it could hurt them. It screeched again as it fell into the uneasy sea, disappearing beneath the waves.
"Discharge reading, sir," Grover's voice calls. "Plasma cannon in the shallow shelves… seven miles off the coastal line, sir."
"Argo," Chiron said, his voice heavy with anger. "What the hell is going on?"
"Job's done, sir," Poseidon smirked. "Just bagged our fifth kill."
"You disobeyed a direct order!"
"True, sir," Zeus said calmly. "Although we intercepted the Titan and saved everyone."
"Just get back to your post," the Marshall snarled.
"Yes, sir," Poseidon smiled as they both began to turn.
"Titan signature rising!" Grover cried over the coms. "That thing's still alive, sir!"
"We're still getting a signature!" Chiron barked. "Just grab the boat and get out of there right now, you copy? Grab the boat and get out of there now!"
The two brothers grunted, curses and sounds of disbelief flying through their heads.
"Take it, Zee!" Poseidon cried, both of them throwing the left of the jaeger at the monster as it emerged from the water, screaming louder than ever.
It ran at them, it jagged head pointing straight towards them. They held up their hands against the oncoming attack, prepared to fight this battle.
Darkness fell across Zeus' eyes for a moment, suddenly unable to keep control of so much of their jaeger.
ZEUS!
"Left arm has gone cold!" Grover's voice called out in panic.
"It went through the damn hull!" Poseidon cried in outrage, wincing at the sudden pain in his left arm. "Zee, c'mon, you can't do that to me!"
"I know!" Zeus yelled, moving with his brother. "It's just too much without him!"
"I know, Zee," Poseidon yelled back, looking at his brother with foggy eyes. "But you need to listen to me! You need to-"
Poseidon's speech turned into screams of terror as the Titan's huge claws ripped him out from the hull.
"NO!" Zeus yelled, reaching for his younger brother.
Poseidon screamed, his eyes wide and terrified as he stared at his brother for help.
Zeus screamed again, but it all faded away into nothing but pain and terror.
"Second discharge fried the coms, sir. I'm not getting any signals."
"No signatures at all?"
"None, sir. What do we do now?"