It was late afternoon by the time Atlas Destroyer stopped near a rocky plateau close to the city. It's pilots and passengers had all disembarked and now rested on the ledge.
"Thanks for getting me out of there, Mei." Adrian said.
Mei nodded in return. "Why was he trying to kill you anyways?"
"Because I know something he doesn't want me to know. Something he doesn't want anyone to know."
"The kaiju mech?" Mei guessed.
Joel chuckled. "There's no way you've been looking for that thing for THIS long."
Taylor and Hayley were confused.
"Kaiju mech?" Taylor asked.
Adrian decided they were worth trusting and began to explain, "To better understand that, I should give some context. Taylor, you're a cadet; I recognized the logo on your jacket. Why do you think the Precursors sent the kaiju now at this time?"
"Because the earth's climate wasn't suitable enough. It says it in Dr. Geizsler's kaiju history lecture. Well, the one he taught and recorded before he went rogue in the Uprising."
Adrian nodded. "I don't doubt that theory, but I think there was something else too. The Precursors didn't claim the planet then because something was actually fighting back. The Earth has its own kaiju."
The siblings' eyes widened as they took this in. Even Mei and Joel seemed confused.
"Kaiju from Earth?" Taylor asked.
Adrian nodded and continued. "We call them Titans, and they were the planet's original rulers. Giant creatures who could create natural disasters on their own; they almost seem to represent nature's power itself. Sometime after the Uprising, the Titans reemerged from hibernation as the kaiju became more and more common, attacking kaiju and killing them, or driving them back if the kaiju were lucky enough to escape."
"How many are there?" Hayley asked.
"I don't know" Adrian replied, "All I know is that it's only a matter of time before they come here. Something's probably keeping them out, but it won't last long, especially if the King decides to show up."
"They have a king?" Joel asked, "That seems a bit strange for monsters."
"It is, but I think they're smarter than we think they are. They must have some pack mentality in these situations, and all packs have an Alpha. From what I've read, the Titans have two. I haven't been able to learn much, but if what I've read about the Alphas are true…let's just say the kaiju should be very scared."
"Do they have names? These Alphas?" Mei asked.
Adrian nodded. "Kong rules over the territory that they come from, deep inside the Earth, but the one up here on the surface, they call him the King of the Monsters…Godzilla."
They then heard a small gasp and looked to see Boy stumble back, a look of pure horror on his face, as if the very mention of that name instilled fear. Hayley put a comforting arm around him as Adrion brought out the blueprint of the mech and unrolled it for the others to see.
"The mech I've been searching for" he explained, "was inspired by Godzilla, and created to hit just as hard as him, if not harder. It's piloted by Jaeger tech, but the weaponry on this thing makes me think of him as the swiss army knife of mechs."
"Not gonna lie" Taylor said as he studied the blueprint, "That's kinda cool."
Just then, Mei's radio flared with static as Shane's voice tried to call her.
"I'm not answering it" Mei said, her face stern. Adrian picked it up, "Fine, I will then."
He then spoke in the radio. "She's not talking to you."
"Fine." Shane replied, "It's really you I want anyways."
"Try what you want" Adrian said, "I'm not stopping. The kaiju have plagued this place for too long. Godzilla must be restored to the throne."
"Unfortunately, the Sisters don't want that. I say you've got some tough opposition ahead of you."
"Let them come. I'm prepared."
Mei smirked as she overheard this; Adrian wasn't one of the strongest guys around, but he was known for not taking anyone's shit in most cases like this. She admired him for that.
"Sure you are, kid" Shane said over the radio, "Sure you are. Anyways, can you give Mei a message?"
"Fine. Make it quick." Adrian replied.
"Just tell her my radios have a bit of an insurance policy for people like you and her."
Adrian then heard a beeping and instinctively threw the radio just as it exploded. Adrian yelled in pain and grabbed his hand; it was intact, but bits of the radio had stabbed through it. Mei ran over, eyes wide as she saw the damage.
"Are you okay?!" Hayley said as she ran over as well.
"Gah" Adrian grunted, "Why did I forget the damn first aid kit?"
"There's one in the Jaeger" Taylor said, "Hang on!"
A few minutes later, Hayley was wrapping a bandage around Adrian's hand after Mei had pulled out the shrapnel and cleaned it the best she could.
"There" Hayley said as she finished the bandages, "Can you still move it?"
Adrian flexed his fingers, wincing in the pain as he replied, "It hurts like hell, but I think it still works."
"Well, at least there's that." Mei said.
"Do you need anything else?" Hayley asked.
"Just some space" Adrian said as he stood up, "I gotta clear my head."
As he walked further into the cave, Mei looked worried, something Hayley took notice of.
"You two are friends?" she asked.
Mei sighed, "Ever since we were kids. Joel and Adrian were the only ones I could really call friends in Bogan. I can't believe Shane would just kill him right there just because he learned that Earth had its own kaiju. Not to mention what he's done to my head."
Taylor nodded, "He doesn't deserve it, but that's just the world we have to live in. Sometimes, kaiju aren't the only monsters."
Meanwhile, Adrian continued down the cave's tunnel, still holding his damaged hand. Gritting his teeth, he kicked a nearby rock in anger, but stopped as he heard a metallic clang from where it landed, and looked to see doorway with a metal ramp. Curious, he went further down, walking through a series of remarkably empty hallways until he came to a large control room, much like the one he had been to earlier.
"What on earth could be in here?" he asked himself as he walked over to the observational window. Then, his heart froze as he looked out, in the massive hangar outside lay a massive metal form, spikes running down its back, a long tail, and hands with three clawed fingers and a clawed thumb on each hand.
Slowly, Adrian took out the blueprint with his free hand and looked at it; a perfect match.
Adrian then successfully activated one of the consoles and immediately searched for the stats of the mech. The screen pulled up a list of different measurements and power readings, but it was clear the mech was operational. Adrian then looked at the top of the screen and saw what he thought was a very fitting name…
MECHAGODZILLA
Adrian smirked; the others were gonna want to see this, but first he needed to explore a little further…
For those of you who don't know, Dr. Geizsler is better known as Newt from the Pacific Rim movies. More familiar kaiju will appear in the future, but still feel free to tell me your favorite.
Other than that, let me know what you think so far!