Disclaimer: I do not own Godzilla or Pacific Rim.

Chapter 3 – G-Force

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PPDC Shatterdome

Hong Kong

Raleigh blinked and rubbed his eyes, yawning as he woke up. Pentecost was seated across from him, resting with his eyes closed.

They'd been on the Sikorsky helicopter out of Tokyo for over ten hours now, and Raleigh was incredibly bored. He hated boredom with a passion, and he was growing increasingly irritable after such a long time in an oversized metal container.

Glancing out of the window, Raleigh sighed in relief as he recognized the familiar skyline of Hong Kong ahead of him.

It's about time, he thought.

After Pentecost had finished his explanation, Raleigh had reluctantly agreed to rejoin the Jaeger Program, and they'd immediately gotten onto a plane headed for Hong Kong. Pentecost had been frustratingly unwilling to answer Raleigh's questions regarding his plan to take down Godzilla, but he had promised to explain once they got to the Shatterdome.

As the helicopter descended towards the landing pad, Raleigh waited with anticipation, wondering subconsciously how exactly Pentecost planned to kill the most powerful Kaiju ever to exist.

"The very first Shatterdome, headquarters of the Jaeger Program," Pentecost called, a faint smile on his face. "Originally opened in April 2015." A smile crossed his face. "An appropriate place to plot a king's downfall, don't you think?"

Raleigh followed Pentecost out of the chopper, noticing a young Japanese woman carrying a red umbrella who had come to greet them. She had short black hair, with bangs that were dyed blue at the tips.

"Raleigh Becket, this is Mako Mori," Pentecost said, smiling at the girl in a friendly way. "One of our best and brightest. She's the one in charge of the Mark III restoration project."

"It's an honor to meet you," Mako said, bowing slightly to Raleigh. She spoke perfect English, with a slight Japanese accent. Turning to Pentecost, she continued, "I imagined him differently," in Japanese.

"Different how?" Raleigh inquired in flawless Japanese. Mako's head snapped around, her eyes wide as she blushed in embarrassment.

Raleigh grinned. Since Japan was one of the PPDC's biggest contributors, a lot of staff and politicians working with the Jaeger Program were Japanese, at least in the bases on this side of the Pacific. As a result, many Rangers, including Raleigh, had learned how to speak fluent Japanese so they could carry out their duties more easily.

After a few seconds, Mako managed to get over her astonishment. "My apologies, Mr. Becket," she said. "I've heard a lot about you."

Raleigh nodded, shaking her hand with a smile. "Thanks, Ms. Mori. Nice to meet you."

"Come on, then," Pentecost called over his shoulder as he started towards the entrance of the base. "We've got a lot to do, and not much time."

Raleigh and Mako followed Pentecost through the large double doors near the helipad and into the Shatterdome itself. The large space was filled with crates, containing a mixture of emergency rations and spare parts for maintenance on the Jaegers.

Pentecost led the way to a cargo elevator, pressing the button to go up. After a few seconds, the doors opened, and they entered the elevator. After going up several floors, the doors opened again, and Pentecost stepped out, Raleigh and Mako following close behind him.

"Welcome to the Shatterdome, Mr. Becket," Pentecost said with a smile.

Raleigh's eyes widened in shock. It had been five years since he'd been in a PPDC Shatterdome, and he'd almost forgotten how huge everything was. The Shatterdome's main hangar, which contained the launch bays for the Jaegers, was a vast open space, the ceiling towering five hundred feet above their heads. Hundreds of technicians and workers were running back and forth, checking the intricate mechanical systems and ensuring that everything was working at top efficiency and that each Jaeger stored there was kept in peak condition.

"Our mission has been organized under the name of Project G-Force," Pentecost explained as he led Raleigh and Mako through the chaos. "It was named after the first organized attempt by the PPDC to take down Godzilla, launched in 2019." He sighed. "I believe you know how that ended."

"Yeah," Raleigh said simply. "I remember."

The first G-Force had consisted of three Jaegers; the Mark III Jaegers Epsilon Hammer and Hurricane Blitz, and the Mark IV Jaeger Nova Sunrise. Their mission had been simple; eliminate Godzilla. Unfortunately, as everyone had expected, the mission failed; all three Jaegers were destroyed. Miraculously, the pilots had all survived, but the mission was deemed a total failure. No organized attempt had been made to kill Godzilla since then.

"Hang on, if the first G-Force failed to stop the First Kaiju, what makes you think we'll have any better luck?" Raleigh asked. "For eight years, no Jaeger's been able to stand up to him; why would we be any different?"

"I'll explain," Pentecost said calmly. "First of all, this G-Force will have more Jaegers than the original. The original G-Force only had three Jaegers; this one will have five, including the one we're giving you. The Jaegers and their respective pilots were all selected based on their skill, power, and track records. We only have three of them ready for battle at the moment; the one you'll be piloting needs a complete crew, and the fifth is still having its systems tested. But rest assured, when we do go after Godzilla, it'll be with the best fighting force the PPDC has ever deployed. Plus, we've got a secret weapon, something that we've never used before."

"Which would be…?" Raleigh followed.

"You'll find out at the briefing," Pentecost replied. "Right now, you should probably know a basic overview of these three."

Raleigh and Mako followed Pentecost past the first Jaeger. It was a large red unit with digitigrade legs, a head that was basically just a single huge eye, and three arms; a big one on the left side, and two smaller ones on the right. There was an insignia on its left shoulder; a yellow monster that was apparently sticking its tongue out.

"Crimson Typhoon, a Mark IV out of China," Pentecost said, indicating the Jaeger. "Piloted by the Wei clan." He pointed to a trio of young Chinese men with shaved heads, playing a complex-looking game near Crimson's feet. They were passing a basketball to each other in a complicated, intricate pattern, clearly intended to test their reflexes and coordination as well as to make sure that they were in sync with each other.

"Triplets," Pentecost continued. "The only ones we've ever been able to Drift together. They use the Thundercloud formation. Very powerful. In addition, the Jaeger's armor is made of a specially designed alloy that resists acid; that was an addition that proved very helpful when they stopped Hedorah from leveling Seattle. That fight lasted over three hours; the longest battle on record, one for the record books."

They carried on, walking over to the next Jaeger. This one was massive, steel-gray with a cylindrical head that vaguely resembled a tower at a power plant, as well as what appeared to be a pair of jet turbines mounted on its shoulders. This Jaeger's Conn Pod, unlike Crimson's, was concealed within the chest cavity rather than its head, a design meant to add additional security for its pilots. It also had huge, bulky fists, perfect for hand-to-hand combat. There was another insignia, this one a small red star with white wings, on the left side of the head.

"That tank is Cherno Alpha; she's from our base in Vladivostok," Pentecost said. "She's the last Mark I still in active service. Piloted by Aleksis and Sasha Kaidonovsky, a husband-and-wife team. They hold the record for longest sustained neural handshake, over eighteen hours." He indicated a man and a woman sitting in chairs near Cherno's feet, holding hands. They were hooked up to what Raleigh recognized as a miniature neural relay, a kind of miniature drift rig used by rookie Rangers to practice for a real Jaeger, or by veterans practicing their Drift to ensure that it would be as effective as possible in battle. The man, Aleksis, was huge, at least seven feet tall, and heavily muscled, with his face set in an unyielding scowl. Sasha was much shorter and slighter, with full lips that were curved into a seemingly permanent smirk. They both had bleach-blonde hair, and, in Aleksis's case, a bleach-blonde beard.

Continuing down the length of the bay, they paused in front of the third Jaeger. This one was much more sleek than the other two and was painted sky-blue. It had smoothly curved fins on its shoulders, making it similar to a jet fighter; this made it look more advanced and futuristic than Crimson or Cherno. Its insignia, emblazoned on the right side of its chest, was the image of a bulldog chewing on a missile.

"Last, but certainly not least, Striker Eureka," Pentecost said. "The first and last of the Mark Vs. Fastest Jaeger on Earth. She was just transported here from Sydney last night. Piloted by Hercules and Chuck Hansen." He waved towards the two men, seated at the edge of the maintenance bay supervising the technicians working on Striker. Raleigh recognized both of them from the Kaiju Report he'd seen a few hours before. Herc was in his late forties, with short hair and a reddish beard; Chuck had a similar hairstyle, but lacked his father's beard. As Pentecost, Raleigh and Mako walked up to them, Chuck was tossing a tennis ball repeatedly across the floor; each time, it was retrieved by an English bulldog. Once the dog saw the others approaching, though, it came running over and skidded to a halt in front of Mako. She smiled and knelt down, petting the dog as it licked her face.

"Hey, Max!" Herc called as he walked over. "Don't drool over Ms. Mori, you!" Max, the bulldog, immediately noticed and hurried back to its master. Herc grinned, rubbing Max's head as he shrugged to Mako. "He sees a pretty girl, gets all worked up. Every time."

Pentecost gestured to Raleigh. "Herc, this is Raleigh Becket. Five kills with Gipsy Danger. He'll be joining us in G-Force."

Herc smiled, shaking Raleigh's hand. "Nice to see you again, Raleigh. We rode together once, yeah?"

"Yes, sir," Raleigh replied. "My brother and I worked with you. Six years ago, when you were still in Nova Sunrise."

"Yeah, I remember," Herc said, a faint grin crossing his face. "The two of us against Gorosaurus and Kamacuras in Singapore. Hard fight. That was back before Chuck joined up."

"Herc here is going to be the head of the new G-Force team," Pentecost said, smiling.

"Sounds good," Raleigh said, nodding to Herc. "They couldn't have picked a better man for the job."

Herc nodded. "Well, it seemed appropriate. I was a member of the original G-Force, after all. I'm the only Ranger on this mission who's fought the Jaeger von Jaegers before, so I think I can guide the rest of you lot through it."

"Ms. Mori will escort you to your Jaeger now, Mr. Becket," Pentecost said. "But don't take too long about it; we have a briefing in twenty minutes for all those participating in G-Force. Herc, if you wouldn't mind coming with me, we need to set up a few things."

"Please follow me, Mr. Becket," Mako said as Pentecost and Herc walked off. Raleigh nodded in acceptance and followed her.

As they walked, Raleigh evaluated Mako. She was fairly short, about half a head shorter than he was. She carried herself with a calm, professional manner, but Raleigh could sense something else beneath her unassuming exterior.

This one's more than she appears, he thought.

"So," he began, trying to break the ice. "How about this mission? Taking on the King himself. Crazy, right?"

"This fight's been a long time coming," Mako replied. "Gojira is a murderer. He's killed thousands, and he's always escaped justice. Until he's dead, the world will never truly be free of Kaiju."

Raleigh raised an eyebrow, impressed. Mako was definitely stronger than she seemed. Had to be, to talk about the First Kaiju with no hint of fear.

The remainder of their walk was conducted silently, until they arrived at another set of silding doors. This one led into a repair bay. Walking along the catwalk, they came to a stop at a platform overlooking the hangar. Raleigh's eyes widened in shock as he gazed upon the fourth member of G-Force.

Gipsy Danger.

The last time Raleigh had seen Gipsy, she had been basically torn apart. Half her head was gone, along with her left arm, and there were large burn marks and other signs of damage over the Jaeger's entire body. Now, however, she was completely intact, as if none of that damage had ever been inflicted.

"How?" he whispered.

"Gipsy Danger was actually very lucky, as far as crippled Jaegers go," Mako replied. "As it turned out, of the ones that we had stored for repairs, she was in the most salvageable condition. It was a lengthy process; we had to install a new Conn Pod and a new arm, as well as many other new parts and repaired armor. But we were able to bring her back, better than ever."

"Better how?" Raleigh inquired.

"She's one of a kind now," another voice cut in. Raleigh turned, to see a familiar young man wearing a bow tie and suspenders over his shirt.

"Tendo! Good to see you!" Raleigh called, crossing the distance between them and crushing Tendo Choi in a bear hug. Tendo grinned after they separated, gesturing at Gipsy with one hand.

"We outfitted her with new armor, containing a special type of alloy called reverse carbon-carbon," he explained. "Repels heat, originally designed to protect space shuttles from the heat of reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. That should definitely be useful in a fight with the First Kaiju. We also upgraded her fine motors; she now has hyper-torque drives in every limb, forty engine blocks per muscle strand, and a brand-new fluid synapse system. All supervised and instructed by this little lady." He indicated Mako with a grin, then reached into his pocket, took out a small tin and handed it to Raleigh.

"Metharocin," Tendo explained as Raleigh opened the tin to see several small pills. "A new precaution the science boys cooked up. When you're not in your suit, this'll shield you from any radiation. The fact that Gipsy's still nuclear-powered and the First Kaiju's favorite attack method mean that you'll need it."

Raleigh nodded, taking one of the pills out of the tin and swallowing it. "Thanks," he said, sliding the tin into his pocket.

"One with every meal," Tendo advised. He paused for a moment. "You know, the Drift's going to stir up your memories, man. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Raleigh hesitated for a moment, then glanced up at Gipsy Danger. He could handle piloting a Jaeger, especially if it was Gipsy, and he could handle fighting a Kaiju, even Godzilla. Those things, he could deal with. Letting another person take Yancy's place in his mind? That would be difficult. But he didn't really have another choice.

"I'd better be," he said at last, turning back to face Tendo. "Considering the mission we're on, you're going to need all the Jaegers and pilots you can get."

Tendo nodded. "You're right about that. I've got things I should be doing, so we'll talk later. Good to see you, Raleigh." With a grin, he wandered off into the organized chaos of the repair bay.

Raleigh turned to Mako. "What now?"

"Actually, Mr. Becket, you have a briefing to attend in about ten minutes," Mako replied.

Raleigh grinned. "Lead on, then, Ms. Mori."

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The briefing room was fairly large, about the size of a high school gymnasium. There were a few rows of chairs placed in front of a rolled-down screen sheet and a projector mounted on a trolley. Raleigh eyed it speculatively, considering how much the Jaeger Program's financial support had obviously dwindled since he'd left.

Since he'd been a few minutes early in arriving at the room, Raleigh was the first person there. He seated himself in the front row, glancing idly around and waiting for someone else to show up. Over the next ten minutes, the other crews entered; first the Wei triplets, then the Kaidonovskys, and finally the Hansens.

Then, surprisingly, someone else entered. Two men, both of them Japanese in appearance, walked into the room with a casual grace to their movements. To Raleigh's surprise, he recognized one of them instantly.

"Ozaki?" Raleigh called, standing up.

The other man turned, a grin lighting up his face as his eyes fell on Raleigh. "No way… I don't believe it!"

Raleigh laughed, stepping forward and hugging the other man briefly. "It's been a long time, man!"

Shinichi Ozaki grinned back at him, following Raleigh over to the seats and sitting down next to him. "Raleigh Becket! It's been way too long, my friend! What brings you back to the PPDC? And in G-Force, no less?"

"The Marshall tracked me down and told me about the mission," Raleigh replied, smirking wryly. "Naturally, I jumped at the chance."

"No kidding, right?" Ozaki replied with a chuckle.

"Who's your friend?" Raleigh asked.

The other soldier, now sitting on the other side of Ozaki, extended his hand. "Katsunori Kazama. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Raleigh replied, shaking his hand.

Kazama eyed Raleigh critically. "So you're the one who fought off a cat-five by yourself, huh?" A grin flickered across his face. "Nice work."

"Thanks," Raleigh acknowledged, a puzzled expression forming on his face as he realized something. "Wait, I only saw four Jaegers, counting Gipsy, during the tour the Marshall gave me. What Jaeger are you two piloting?"

Kazama shared a grin with Ozaki. "Let's just say… it's one of a kind."

"You'll probably get to see it after the briefing," Ozaki explained.

They turned as footsteps sounded through the room. Marshall Pentecost entered, followed by five others. Two of them, a young man in his twenties with tousled brown hair and glasses and an older man with a bowl haircut and a cane, seemed to be in the middle of an argument. They were followed by two young Japanese women: one was very petite with short dark hair, and the other was slightly taller with shoulder-length brown hair. Finally, another young man entered, this one with a mess of curly brown hair and a serious expression on his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Pentecost began. "Rangers. Thank you all for coming. I want to take this moment to officially welcome you all to G-Force, and to thank each one of you for volunteering for this mission. Your participation is, in itself, a testament to your courage. Now, let's begin. First, I'd like to introduce the scientific team that will be advising G-Force."

Pentecost gestured to the two men who had been arguing, who had managed to regain some semblance of calm and were basically ignoring each other. "From right here at our Hong Kong base, we have Drs. Newton Geiszler and Hermann Gottlieb."

The younger man with glasses, Dr. Geiszler, stepped forward. "Just call me Newt," he said. "Only my mother calls me Doctor." While he grinned at the joke, no one else did. Clearly sensing that his attempt at humor had fallen flat, Newt quickly withdrew to stand next to Gottlieb.

"Next, we have Miss Miki Saegusa, from the Tokyo Shatterdome," Pentecost said, indicating the shorter Japanese woman with a military haircut. The young woman had a strangely calm expression on her face as she glanced across the group of pilots. When her gaze fell upon Raleigh, he noticed that it was strangely penetrating, as if she was studying them in addition to seeing them, somehow viewing them on a deeper level. It was an odd feeling, but it disappeared as soon as she looked away.

"Next, Miss Miyuki Otonashi, from the PPDC Kaiju Research Institute in Osaka." The other Japanese woman smiled in a friendly way as she looked around. Raleigh sensed a shift in Ozaki's focus from where he sat beside the Japanese pilot, and smirked to himself.

"And finally, Dr. Jacob Karkov, from our Vladistovok Shatterdome. He's an expert on Kaiju, especially the First Kaiju, so he'll be very helpful to have along." The young man with curly hair smiled, raising a hand in greeting.

"Now, let's get started, shall we?" Pentecost said, retaking his position in front of the projection screen. A brief squabble between Newt and Gottlieb ensued over control of the projector, but Newt eventually rolled his eyes and groaned after a few seconds, admitting defeat. He walked over and switched off the lights, while Gottlieb hit a few buttons on the computer, activating the projector.

The room went dark for a moment, until the projector lit up, producing an image on the screen. The image was a satellite reading of the South Pacific Ocean.

"Two months ago," Pentecost said, indicating the screen, "the Japanese research vessel Kongo-Maru was on a mission in the South Pacific, mapping the ocean floor in that area. They found something they weren't expecting." He nodded to Gottlieb, who tapped a button, shifting to the next slide.

A new image came up, this one showing a view of the ocean floor. The thermal image was clear; while most of the ocean floor was varying shades of blue or purple, showing very low temperatures, in one particular spot was a mass of reddish-yellow light with a core that glowed pure white. Pentecost nodded, and Gottlieb switched to the next slide, this one zoomed in even further. In this image, the glowing object was clearly visible and defined; it was massive, resting on the bottom of the ocean and losing very little heat, despite the chilling cold around it. The most notable feature of the object, by far, was the row of huge, orange-yellow spiked plates that ran down its back.

"After the initial discovery, the Kongo-Maru stayed in the area for several days, taking further analyses to confirm the Kaiju's identity." Pentecost paused momentarily, then continued. "There's no doubt. It's him. Godzilla."

Several of the other pilots stiffened or shivered consciously at the mention of the First Kaiju's name. Raleigh felt a chill run down his spine.

"The Kongo-Maru's still there, keeping tabs on him; as far as we can tell, he hasn't made any sign of waking up. As of last night, he's still sleeping like a baby. We've spent every minute we could since that report setting up this team, preparing everything we could get our hands on, in an effort to put an end to Godzilla's reign of terror once and for all. We've managed to modify your Jaegers for this fight, as Dr. Gottlieb can tell us."

Gottlieb stepped forward, gesturing to Karkov to take his place at the projector. Karkov nodded and hurried to the task, while Newt stood back, folding his arms sourly.

"Dr. Karkov, if you would?" Gottlieb asked. Karkov nodded, hitting the button that switched to the next slide, this one showing a slab of some kind of gray metal.

"This," Gottlieb said, a note of satisfaction in his voice, "is the new armor we're currently installing on each of your Jaegers. It contains a high percentage of a substance called reverse carbon-carbon, or RCC, which is designed to withstand intense heat. In fact, this is the same material that is used to shield a space shuttle during its reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. As a result, it should be highly effective at shielding against Godzilla's most dangerous weapons, his atomic ray."

"And we're sure this new armor will work?" Kazama called out.

"Absolutely," Gottlieb said, his voice certain as he turned to the rest of the Rangers. "I performed all of the necessary calculations myself, and everything checks out. If nothing else, my dear Rangers, have faith in the numbers. Numbers do not lie, my friends. Politics, poetry, promises? Those are lies. Numbers, however… numbers are as close as we get to the handwriting of God."

Newt snorted loudly, then suppressed a laugh. Gottlieb's head snapped around, and he shot his fellow scientist a glare.

"While Dr. Gottlieb was responsible for helping to improve the Jaegers so that they could better fight Godzilla, the task of analyzing our foe in detail was assigned to Dr. Geiszler," Pentecost continued, indicating Newt with one hand.

"Awesome! My turn!" Newt said, earning another glare from Gottlieb. The younger scientist stepped forward and started tapping keys, bringing up a video on the screen.

"Okay, this video is from July 2017, in Sydney, Australia," Newt said. "The first time Godzilla had been seen since the first one was killed in 1954." He hit a button, and activated the video.

It had obviously been filmed from a news helicopter circling the city, but it was instantly recognizable. There were already three figures in the city. Two of them were Jaegers: a Mark III named Delta Wave that was vaguely reminiscent of Cherno Alpha in its large, bulky design, and Jet Jaguar, a much more lightly armored, faster model that looked almost exactly like a human. Jet Jaguar was a Mark I, and, interestingly enough, it was also the very first Jaeger ever deployed. It had been meant to be more of a prototype, but it had been launched here as backup, considered to be a preferable alternative to sending Delta Wave out alone.

The Kaiju they were fighting was a brute, codenamed King Caesar. It was more humanoid than most of the other Kaiju that came through the breach, with two legs and only two arms, plus a short tail. Its body was covered in brown fur, it had clawed fingers and dagger-like teeth, and its eyes glowed red.

As the video opened up, the two Jaegers were facing off against King Caesar near Sydney Harbor, when suddenly the water in the bay began to swirl in an unusual pattern. What looked like a bulge in the water began to form, moving swiftly towards the shore. Just before reaching shore, the bulge in the water rose sharply and then collapsed, water pouring off of a massive body as the newly revealed creature emerged from the bay.

And there he was.

Raleigh sucked in a breath as he saw the image on the screen.

Godzilla. The King of the Monsters. A gigantic creature with coal-gray, scaled skin, a wide, barrel-like chest, muscular arms, pillar-like legs, a long, thick tail, and three rows of bone-like, spiky dorsal plates running down his back. His orange eyes, burning with wrath, and his roar, a sound almost like metal tearing, and loud enough to break glass. It was said that when Jaeger pilots wanted to scare each other, they told stories about Godzilla. Since he'd defeated a total of nine Jaegers in the eight years since his return, seven of which had been completely destroyed, his reputation was well-deserved.

And Raleigh had signed up to fight him. Perhaps agreeing to become a Ranger again hadn't been such a good idea.

As the video continued, Godzilla emerged from the harbor, stepping out onto land and moving towards the two Jaegers and their Kaiju opponent. As Godzilla approached them, Jet Jaguar and Delta Wave actually backed away, their pilots apparently stunned by the sight of the First Kaiju. King Caesar, however, turned and bellowed a challenge, unafraid. Godzilla let out a deep rumbling growl, totally unmoved by the other Kaiju's challenge.

Rushing forward, King Caesar leaped into the air, intending to land on top of Godzilla. It was useless, of course; Godzilla spun sideways, with a speed that belied his immense size, and King Caesar's jump missed completely.

Unfortunately for King Caesar, however, Godzilla had decided to strike back rather than simply evade, and his massive tail came swinging around, whipping through the air like an enormous baseball bat and swatting King Caesar out of the air. The smaller Kaiju flew backwards, stunned by the impact, and slammed into a large building, which caved in and collapsed on top of it.

Turning to face the collapsed building, Godzilla snarled, the bony plates on his back glowing with blue light. His mouth also glowed blue, and then he opened his jaws and spat out a stream of blue-white radioactive fire. The beam struck the collapsed building where King Caesar had just landed, igniting a massive explosion. From within the inferno, King Caesar let out one bellow of agony, which was drowned out by the sounds of further explosions. After about ten seconds, Godzilla lowered his head, his atomic ray flickering off. After watching the flames that were now King Caesar's funeral pyre for a moment, he turned his attention to the two Jaegers standing nearby.

Despite having seen Godzilla just annihilate King Caesar in about ten seconds, the Jaeger pilots stupidly decided to attempt an attack; Delta Wave charged, aiming to take Godzilla head-on, while Jet Jaguar circled around from the side, trying to get behind him. Godzilla roared angrily, lumbering forward, and collided with Delta Wave with thunderous force. The two titans locked arms and began pushing forward, each one trying with all of their might to overpower the other. Delta Wave was losing, up until its pilots came up with a clever strategy; it swung its leg sideways in a roundhouse kick that knocked Godzilla off balance, just as Jet Jaguar rushed in from behind and launched its own attack, tackling Godzilla and dragging the First Kaiju off his feet.

As Godzilla hit the ground, Jet Jaguar and Delta Wave lunged simultaneously, raining down blows on the King of the Monsters. However, this only lasted for about twenty seconds, until Godzilla's entire body suddenly started to glow bright blue. An instant later, there was a blinding flash of light, and the image cut out.

A moment after that, the video picked up again, this time using a different camera on another helicopter. The camera focused in on a thick cloud of smoke, clearly rising from the spot where Godzilla and the two Jaegers had been.

After a long, tense moment, Godzilla emerged slowly from the smoke and waded into the bay, heading back out to sea. The helicopter moved inland, heading for the spot where Delta Wave and Jet Jaguar had been, but all that could be seen was smoke, fire and shattered wreckage. Then, slowly, the smoke cleared, and the effects of the battle could be seen. Delta Wave was still there, but it lay sprawled on its back and was completely motionless, sparks flying from its body. Jet Jaguar was in even worse shape; both of its arms were gone, and the lower half of its body was shattered and broken.

"As you might have imagined, the first battle between Godzilla and a Jaeger did not go well," Newt said. "He was actually at a disadvantage there for a minute, but that only lasted until he used his nuclear pulse to disable both Delta Wave and Jet Jaguar."

Newt continued talking, switching to the next slide. "Now, over the next two years after that, Godzilla appeared a couple more times; each appearance resulted in more death and destruction, and we still didn't have any idea how to stop him. That led to the creation of the original G-Force, a strike team of three Jaegers whose mission was to eliminate Godzilla."

Newt tapped another key, bringing up another video; this one showed Godzilla facing off against the first G-Force on an island in the South Pacific. "Okay, so the first G-Force, Nova Sunrise, Epsilon Hammer, and Hurricane Blitz, were chosen for the mission because they had complimentary skills and abilities; Nova Sunrise was a heavy hitter and powerful in hand-to-hand combat, Epsilon Hammer was good with long-range weapons, and Hurricane Blitz was lightly armored but much faster and more agile than the other two. That combination worked very well together; unfortunately, against an enemy like Godzilla, it wasn't enough."

Newt tapped a key, activating the video. Godzilla was grappling with Nova Sunrise, while Epsilon Hammer stood back arming its missile launchers. Hurricane Blitz rushed in from behind, deploying a pair of wicked-looking curved blades from its left arm. Pivoting, however, Godzilla spun, dragging Nova with him, and shoved outwards, slamming Nova into Hurricane and sending both Jaegers staggering backwards. He promptly turned to face Epsilon, just as it launches the missiles. A dozen missiles struck Godzilla simultaneously and detonated in a massive explosion. Epsilon moved closer, arming a plasma cannon in its right arm, but was caught off-guard when blue light flashed within the smoke. A moment later, Godzilla's signature blast of blue-white fire shot out of the smoke and struck Epsilon on the left leg. The knee joint was blown apart by the power behind the beam, and Epsilon toppled, out of the fight.

A few seconds later, Nova Sunrise and Hurricane Blitz came thundering back to help, but Godzilla was ready for them by then. He waited until they were almost upon him, then suddenly whirled 360 degrees. His massive tail crashed against Hurricane's chest, knocking the Jaeger backwards and off its feet, but missed the slower Nova. Pivoting, he fired a blast of radioactive fire that struck Hurricane dead-on. The Jaeger's torso exploded, blown apart from the inside, and it went limp.

With both Epsilon and Hurricane down, Nova Sunrise went on a furious, all-out assault, pounding on Godzilla with everything it had. After a few long minutes, it managed to wrap its right arm around Godzilla's neck, pinning him awkwardly against its side as it hammered powerful blows onto his back and neck. For a moment, it actually seemed like Nova was winning.

Then Godzilla's spines flashed blue, and he lifted his head slightly just as his mouth glowed with the same light. The pilots of Nova clearly realized it, because Nova began to pull back and let go… too late.

Godzilla opened his mouth, and unleashed his radioactive fire directly into Nova's chest. The energy that was released was enough to blow a hole completely through the Jaeger's torso. Nova staggered, wavered on its feet, and then fell backwards. It crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom, and did not move again. Godzilla looked around, surveying the destruction he had wrought, and then let out a deafening roar of triumph. The video ended, and Raleigh noticed that Herc slumped slightly in his chair. He'd been piloting Nova Sunrise during that battle.

"Basically, Godzilla won by separating the Jaegers, forcing them to function separately instead of as a united front," Newt said. "He took out Epsilon first to neutralize its long-range weapons, then took out Hurricane next since it was lightly armored and more vulnerable, before taking on Nova with his full force."

Turning back to the front, Newt glanced over to Pentecost, then continued. "There are two important things we can learn from this battle," he announced. "The first is that the idea of having a team of specialized Jaegers who compliment each other in battle is fine in theory, but doesn't really work in practice. The Jaegers worked well as a team, but not well enough to fight Godzilla one-on-one. Once he'd taken out Epsilon and Hurricane, Nova Sunrise was left at a serious disadvantage. To overcome that problem, the new G-Force consists of Jaegers who can work well together, but are also each good enough to stand up to Godzilla on their own if he manages to split up the team."

"The other matter that is noticeable in this video," an accented voice pointed out, "is Godzilla's intelligence."

All eyes turned to Dr. Jacob Karkov, who had just stepped forward. He glanced around in surprise. "What? Don't tell me nobody noticed!" He turned to Newt. "Could you rewind, please?"

Newt nodded, tapping several keys and scrolling back through the video, until Karkov called out, "Stop!" Pausing the video at the point where Godzilla spun and used his tail to swat King Caesar out of the air, Newt nodded. Karkov smiled in thanks, then walked over to the screen, indicating the picture of Godzilla. "Now, when King Caesar was about to attack him, Godzilla did not do what you might expect. If he was at the same level of intelligence as one of the Kaiju who come through the Breach, he would simply have braced himself and taken the attack head-on. Instead, he was smart enough to counter in the most efficient way possible, which inflicted a significant amount of damage to King Caesar without risking any damage to Godzilla himself.

"Next, there's the fact that he knew exactly what to do in order to guarantee victory against G-Force." Karkov nodded to Newt, who fast-forwarded it to the point where Godzilla was facing Nova Sunrise and Hurricane Blitz. "As Dr. Geiszler pointed out, the only reason that Godzilla was able to win so easily was because he was able to separate the three Jaegers comprising G-Force, taking them out separately. But if you look closely, it's obvious that he did that deliberately, knowing that he could reduce the threat and take his enemies down more easily if he followed this method. He formed a plan, and then carried it out; that's undeniable proof that the First Kaiju has much more intelligence than it would appear. This makes him doubly dangerous. The ability to create and carry out complex strategies and plans is restricted to only a few creatures in the world today: dolphins and whales; great apes such as gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans; and, of course, humans. No reptile has ever been intelligent enough to do things like this; they don't have the brain space or intelligence for abstract concepts such as planning."

Karkov pointed to the image of Godzilla on the screen. "With one exception; this reptile. Godzilla is, without a doubt, the single most intelligent reptile the world has ever seen. He can think and plan; he may even be self-aware."

Chuck Hansen sighed. "Okay, so the lizard's smart. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal, Ranger Hansen," Pentecost cut in, "is that this is not a mindless killing machine that we're dealing with here. Godzilla is not just stronger than any Kaiju that has come through the Breach; he's as intelligent and cunning as he is powerful. He can think, plan, and strategize just as well as anyone in this room. Do not underestimate him, in mind or in body. Now, then." He straightened up. "Thank you for that presentation, Doctors. Now, if you'll follow me, we have something I'd like to show you."

"Told you," Ozaki murmured to Raleigh, a grin on his face. Kazama smirked as well.

"Now, as many of you know, there are a total of five Jaegers involved in the new G-Force," Pentecost continued. "But some of you have asked me when exactly you will be able to see the fifth Jaeger that will be accompanying Crimson Typhoon, Cherno Alpha, Striker Eureka and Gipsy Danger on your mission. That time, ladies and gentlemen, has come. It's time to meet the final member of the G-Force team, and our secret weapon against Godzilla."

"All right!" Kazama said enthusiastically with a chuckle. Ozaki rolled his eyes, but Raleigh sat forward, focusing on Pentecost with an intrigued expression on his face. He'd been curious about this mysterious fifth Jaeger that Ozaki and Kazama were piloting, but now he was even more intrigued.

"If you'll follow me, I think you'll find this most instructive," Pentecost said, a smile flickering across his face.

"Wait, you're still not going to tell us what it is?" Chuck Hansen asked incredulously.

"It will be better if I show you," Pentecost said. "It's hard to explain without seeing it."

"Well, can you at least tell us what the bloody thing's called?" Chuck demanded.

Pentecost smiled as he gestured for the Rangers and scientists to follow him. "The code name of our fifth Jaeger, Mr. Hansen, is Silver Dragon."

.

AN: And here we are again. Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I've been very busy with schoolwork and haven't had much time to write, but I managed to get this chapter finished.

Once again, I tremendously appreciate all of the reviews you guys have sent in! Shoutouts to alkkhes, SupernalGodzilla, JohnsFist, onyx95, redneck 141, Prototron MJ Tornada, Mister. Enigma, SoulReaperCrewe, Blackholelord, Totong, Wyvernsaurus, Gojirahkiin, and Gojiran1954 for reviewing! You guys are aweseome! Thanks so much for all the feedback, I really appreciate it!

I hope you all enjoyed the appearances from other Godzilla characters in this chapter. I knew I wanted to include Ozaki and Kazama as Jaeger pilots, and Miyuki as a scientist; they're some of my favorite characters from the Godzilla movies. Miki Saegusa fits the same category; including her in the story has been part of my plan all along, especially since people have been asking if I'm going to include her. Hopefully this will answer your questions; I know she doesn't do much in this chapter, but she'll be featured much more prominently next chapter.

Also, just because I know someone's going to ask me about this; the character of Dr. Jacob Karkov is an OC that I've created for this story. He's a young scientist from Russia, primarily a biologist, and an expert on Kaiju, particularly Godzilla. His character will play an important role later on in the story, so I decided to introduce him here. For those of you wondering what he looks like, he basically looks like Anton Yelchin, who plays Chekov in the new version of Star Trek.

Another end-of-chapter question for all of you, which I'm sure all of you are already wondering about; what do you think the fifth Jaeger of G-Force, "Silver Dragon", actually is, and why does Pentecost seem to think it's their "secret weapon" against Godzilla? I'm just curious to see what you think; don't worry, we'll find out for sure next chapter.

As always, I appreciate reviews and feedback that may help me improve my work, so if anyone has a question or comment about this chapter or the story so far, please review! (No hate, please).

Stay tuned, I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can finish it. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and Happy Holidays!

See you all next time!