The news that not one, not two, but an entire pack of Kaiju were bearing down on Hong Kong had the entire Shatterdome in a frenzy. Mechanics swarmed over the Jaegers, ensuring all of them were in full repair and proper fighting condition. All non-essential personnel were ordered into the Kaiju shelter in the lower levels, though some of them made it quite clear that they didn't want to go. Ilya in particular swore in Russian the entire way, swatting at the hands of the security personnel that were escorting him to the protective sanctuary.
In the LOCCENT the new head technician, a short middle-aged woman whom everyone simply called Bishop, looked up from the readouts. "It's not good, Marshal."
"This ain't the time to be vague, Bishop!" Herc snapped. "How many Kaiju we got?"
"At least ten," she replied.
"Jesus H. Christ," he growled.
"No, make that eleven," she went on, ignoring his oath. "A new one just popped up. One Category 5, three Category 4s, three Category 3s, four Category 2s. Two of the 3s look to be clones of Mutavore and Knifehead, one of the 4s Scunner, one of the 2s Katschei, and another 4 looks like a giant version of Trespasser, but the rest are new creations as best as we can tell."
"You sure that 5 ain't Slattern 2.0?"
"Positive, sir. The body shape is just too different."
"How long 'fore they reach the harbor?"
"Half an hour if their speed stays constant."
He nodded sharply. "Jaegers, get ready to move out! Rossis, get suited up and to your Conn Pod! We're gonna need every Jaeger available for this!"
One readout screen promptly filled with text, mostly English but with Cyrillic and Mandarin characters as well. The Jaegers heeded the call, and would go out to fight, defending humanity as they had always done. It was a shame they'd be short one fighter for this battle, with Brawler still in transit, but since when did disaster ever wait for a convenient moment to strike?
We can handle this, Pops, Striker assured him.
"There's nearly a dozen of the bastards," Herc countered, earning a puzzled look from Bishop before she realized he was conversing with his Jaeger. "No Jaeger's taken on more'n two or three at once, an' even then Slattern an' her cronies nearly killed you. You sure about this?"
We can do this, he insisted. It's what we're made for. Just keep them damn Rossis outta my way an' well be good.
"Will do my best."
Aleksis stared at the readout, jaw clenched, knuckles whitening as his hands balled up into fists. "We should be out there. We should be fighting with our Jaegers, not cowering and hiding while they risk their lives in our steads."
"Calm down, Aleksis," Herc advised. "Yer drivin' me nuts." That wasn't a lie – the sight of the gigantic Ranger rocking from foot to foot reminded him uncomfortably of a bull readying itself for a charge. Or a bear, considering who they were talking about.
"He's right," Raleigh put in. "We've fought alongside our Jaegers for so long. We should be out there with them!"
"They're self-mobile now, Beckett," Herc reminded him. "They don't need us anymore. We go out there, we're as useless as a one-legged racehorse. They can handle this without us."
Aleksis narrowed his eyes. "You are a Ranger, Marshal Hansen. You feel the call to fight, the same as we do. Do not deny it."
Herc glared back, then shook his head. "Yer right. I fought with Striker an' Chuck for a long time, an' it kills me to be lookin' on from the outside while he fights. But there's nothin' we can do. The Jaegers don't need us anymore, like it or not. It's time for 'em to stand on their own."
Aleksis' jaw clamped harder, and for a moment Herc wondered if he was going to be on the receiving end of a Russian roundhouse. But Sasha rested a slim hand on his arm, and his shoulders relaxed slightly. The two of them retreated to watch a screen that showed the waters of Victoria Harbor, where the Jaegers were already moving into position.
Herc turned his own attention to the screen that showed the approaching Kaiju, eight scarlet blots that crawled across the ocean in a loose, ever-shifting formation as they closed in on Hong Kong. No, he didn't like this at all. If being sidelined during Operation Pitfall, Striker taking the blows and sacrificing his body while he could only stand and watch, had been difficult, this was pure torture. Striker was more than just a partner in battle… he was a son. And being forced to stand back and do nothing as he put his life on the line cut him deeply.
Dammit, stop gettin' sappy, he told himself. All children grow up an' find their independence sooner or later. Maybe takin' on Kaiju's a mile off from goin' to college, but it's still his way of strikin' off on his own. Learn to let go.
"Twenty miles and closing in!" Bishop barked.
Herc nodded once and reached down, finding Max and kneading the loose skin over his shoulders. The Jaegers were assembling; now all they could do was put their trust in the titanic mecha they had inadvertently given life, and hope they were enough to protect a city… and a world.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Cherno couldn't help but think that it was a shame such a beautiful day had to be spoiled by a Kaiju attack. The sky was a brilliant, almost metallic blue, with only a smattering of clouds on the horizon to mar it. Sunlight glittered on the ocean's surface, and gentle breakers foamed over the rocky shore behind him. Even the city looked unusually serene today… serene if you ignored the discordant wail of the Kaiju alarms, their atonal cries echoing from the buildings and muffling the usual hum of traffic.
Crimson "nudged" him lightly. Don't space off now, Cherno.
I'm not spacing off. I'm ready.
I just don't want any of us caught off guard. The Kaiju outnumber us almost two-to-one. We can't afford mistakes.
Tell that to the bloody wetbacks, Striker huffed. When're they gonna get their blasted zombie Jaeger out here anyhow?
They're coming, Gipsy assured him, and gestured toward the Shatterdome. A cluster of Jumphawks drifted close, the staccato thunder of their rotors filling the air as they lowered Mustang Omega into position. Cables detached with a snap, and the black Jaeger landed heavily between Coyote and Crimson, legs braced to steady itself and keep its balance.
Get it away from me, growled Coyote. It's unnatural.
Just ignore it as best you can, Crimson advised. Let the Rossis do their thing, and we'll do ours.
Don't call him an "it," Cherno protested. Remember what Lightcap said – Mustang could become sentient someday. He deserves respect too.
Crimson turned to regard Cherno, and his words were hard as he spoke. It's difficult to respect a Jaeger who tried to kill you. Or Rangers who would disrespect not only us, but their own Jaeger, so badly.
Enough yappin', everyone, Striker snapped. Here they come!
Up ahead, the ocean seethed like a boiling cauldron, a churning mass of flesh and water that glowed a lurid blue with alien bioluminescence. As the Jaegers watched a familiar head broke the surface – a hideous, yellow-veined affair with a fanged crescent of a mouth reminiscent of a shark's. Its snout jutted out in a saber-like point, and wickedly clawed forelimbs spread wide in a wrestler's stance. It threw its head back and delivered a deep, ululating roar that carried easily across the mile or so that separated mecha and monster.
Knifehead. A shudder passed through Crimson's frame. Category 3, destroyed off the coast of Anchorage, Alaska, though at the loss of a Ranger. Largest Category 3 on record… and is it me or does this one look bigger?
Cherno "nudged" Crimson firmly to get him to shut up, his gaze moving to Gipsy. This was the Kaiju that had felled her in combat, sending her to Oblivion Bay and killing one of her Rangers while disgracing the other. Would facing this beast again, the one that had caused her so much pain and humiliation, terrify her as facing Otachi had terrified him?
The blue Jaeger just stared as Knifehead swung its massive head back and forth, saber-muzzle striking the water and sending up white sheets of spray. She seemed transfixed at the sight, frozen in either fear or amazement, unable to look away…
Striker's hand found hers, clasping it tightly and squeezing. She shook her Conn Pod and turned to face him, and the Mark V gave her a reassuring nod. Returning the gesture, she transmitted a message to every Jaeger's readout.
KNIFEHEAD IS MINE.
"You sure, Gipsy?" Raleigh asked from the LOCCENT. "You don't have to do this…"
YES I DO, she replied, and she raised her hands and made a show of cracking her knuckles. I HAVE A BROTHER TO AVENGE.
Silence. Then Raleigh replied in a voice thick with emotion "Give that sonofabitch a few punches for me, girl."
SHE WILL, Striker assured him. IN THE MEANTIME, I'LL TAKE THE MUTAVORE KNOCKOFF. BASTARD SHOULD HAVE STAYED DEAD THE FIRST TIME.
"Are you tin freaks going to call dibs on all the Kaiju?" demanded Lexie. "Seriously…"
The only thing that saved Lexie from having five Jaegers and the LOCCENT snap at her at once was the ocean exploding with the force of titanic bodies erupting from it. A chorus of horrifying roars filled the air until it shook with rage, and the mass of alien flesh formed a wall of gray hide and blue luminescence that blocked the horizon. Cherno spotted Mutavore almost instantly, the sweeping twin projections on its back jutting up like stunted wings. Scunner, with its demonic bull-like head and twin sets of arms, and Trespasser, with its high-ridged snout and yellow-veined body, were also easy to pick out. The others… if they were clones of any Kaiju that had already surfaced, he didn't recognize them right away…
Then a sleek feline form shouldered its way past Scunner and prowled closer, its belly dragging in the water, its scissor-clawed tail sweeping back and forth. Cherno felt his engine stutter in sudden recognition. The double-set of yellow eyes, the fanged maw, the spiny ridge down its back… this was the Kaiju that had taken down Eden Assassin, killing his Rangers and piercing his core, ending his life before he could know the joy of true sentience…
You really are Katschei the Deathless, he thought, anger roiling in his core.
What? Crimson jerked his Conn Pod toward him, radiating confusion.
I'll tell you later, he replied. But I'm taking down Katschei. I owe an old friend that much.
Crimson nodded.
"Y'all stand back, you hear?" Lance ordered. "Don't get in Mustang's way."
DON'T WORRY, Coyote replied, not bothering to hide her disgust in any way. THE LAST THING WE WANT TO DO IS INTERFERE WITH YOUR FOOLISHNESS.
"Enough snarking!" Herc ordered. "Just keep those buggers from making landfall! Hong Kong's depending on you!"
Bishop's voice piped up at that moment. "Code names for Category 2s: Katschei 2.0, Razorback, Kali, Wendigo. Code names for Category 3s, Mutavore 2.0, Knifehead 2.0, Ironside. Code names for Category 4s, Scunner 2.0, Mega-Trespasser, Staghead. The Category 5 is sticking close to the ocean floor, we can't get a good scan of it yet."
"Mega-Trespasser, seriously?" demanded Lance. "Are we in an anime all of a sudden?"
"Oh, hush," Bishop snapped.
The ten Kaiju stilled, their restless shifting and tail-lashing coming to a halt as they formed a living wall across the mouth of Victoria Harbor. The Jaegers fanned out in loose formation, Mustang Omega at the fore, the others flanking it on either side. Blades slid out, cannons and missiles hummed with power, joints creaked as they tensed for a punch or a leap. An unsettling calm fell upon the battlefield, interrupted by the occasional snort or hiss from the Kaiju and the never-ending wail of the city's sirens.
Was it Cherno's imagination, or were those hideous creatures grinning at them? There was something profoundly disturbing at how still they were, as if the Kaiju knew something they didn't…
They're just… standing there, Crimson worried. They usually attack right away. What are they waiting for?
Then we make the first move, Coyote snarled, and stepped forward… only for Gipsy's arm to bar the way.
No! It could be a trap! The Precursors must be planning something…
"Oh, screw this," Lexie snapped, and Mustang surged forward, blades out, shoulders lowered like a linebacker plowing through an opposing team.
MUSTANG, STOP! Cherno took a few steps toward the Mark VI, knowing he was too slow to stop it but desperate to try…
The sea boiled again, and a titanic form burst from the water behind the other Kaiju. A massive, low-slung body emerged, a body that might have towered a good fifty meters over Scunner had it stood upright. Its head reared up over the heads of its fellows, a head reminiscent of an alligator's with a dangling throat pouch. Two sets of short, hook-clawed arms were held close against its chest and belly, and three spade-tipped tails churned the water behind it. Its back bore what at first looked like leathery overlapping scales, but as Cherno watched he swore he could see the "scales" twitching and pulsing, as if they had lives of their own.
"Dibs on the big one!" Lance shouted as Mustang charged, shoving the lanky multi-armed Kaiju that must have been Kali aside. Kali stumbled into Scunner, but made no move to retaliate to the blow. Cherno had never seen a non-aggressive Kaiju before, and seeing Kali so calm disturbed him.
MUSTANG, GET BACK HERE, Coyote ordered. THIS IS SOME KIND OF TRAP-
The Category 5 opened its maw – a maw that split four ways, the alien throat glowing an eerie blue. And with a wild, terrible howl, all hell broke loose.
Mustang stumbled back at the force of the scream, arm-blades flailing. Before it could right itself, it was buffeted on all sides by leathery wings. The "scales" on the massive Kaiju's back were peeling away and going airborne, revealing themselves as creatures the size of a light airplane. Bat-winged and spider-faced monstrosities clogged the air, battering the Jaegers on all sides.
Bloody Oblivion! Striker swore, swiping an arm through the air to shoo the creatures away.
"What the buggin' hell are those things?" demanded Herc. "Now Kaiju have fleas or somethin'?"
"Some sort of weaponized parasite," Bishop realized. "Category 5 Kaiju now code-named Armada. Recommendation that it be taken down first-"
It was at that moment that the other Kaiju charged, screaming their rage and battle-lust, plowing through the cloud of flying creatures and knocking Mustang flat. They slammed into the other Jaegers, claws tearing, jaws snapping in the hope of catching a limb or Conn Pod in their pulverizing grip. The squeal of talons and fangs on steel tore the air, and the thud of metal on flesh and flesh on metal boomed like thunder. Where there had once been an unsettling calm, bedlam reigned.
Cherno himself felt a body crushing against him on either side – Scunner and the bony-armored, appropriately-named Ironside, the two of them trying to squeeze his internals into scrap. He pounded ineffectually at the horny hide pressed against his front, but it was like trying to beat a mountain into submission. Pain lanced through his reactor tower as Scunner thrust a horn through the metal, neck tendons straining as he tried to rip it open.
"Cherno, get the hell out of there! Go for the-" Herc's advice abruptly cut to static.
MARSHAL! Cherno tried to reply, but no answer came. Somehow, whether through the Kaiju themselves or the interference of the cult, they had been cut off from the LOCCENT. They were on their own.
His chassis groaned in protest, threatening to buckle from the force of two Kaiju bodies squeezing against it. He continued to pummel Ironside, but the Kaiju just opened its mouth in a deadly grin, piggish yellow eyes glinting from within deep eye sockets.
Go for the what? he thought desperately. What was he going to say? Where do I hit him? He's got armor everywhere… except...
He drew one fist back, activated his Tesla coils, and put all his strength behind the blow. Ironside screamed as he took an electricity-laced punch to the eye socket, staggering back. Cherno and Scunner stumbled forward, but Cherno recovered quickly and lashed backwards with another fist, feeling the horned Kaiju's jaw crack under the blow.
Ironside shook his head, cyan blood streaming down from his injured eye. He lowered his head and charged forward with a hooting bellow, but Cherno just barely managed to sidestep the monster. It impacted against Scunner, who was still trying to regain his balance, and both Kaiju went down in a screaming heap.
Cherno allowed himself a chuckle… only for a sudden weight on his shoulders and reactor tower to make him stagger. Katschei had pounced, and was now doing his level best to chew through his chassis and get to his internals.
Cherno caught nightmare flashes of the rest of the battlefield as he writhed, struggling to throw the Kaiju off. Crimson was struggling to fend off Knifehead and Kali, saws whirling, but his attackers were slowly backing him toward shore. Gipsy was locked in a deadly embrace with the enlarged clone of Trespasser, unaware that Scunner was edging closer, ready to attack from behind. Striker tried to lunge forward to stop the horned Kaiju, only for the prong-horned, uncharacteristically sleek form of Staghead to bar his way. Coyote bellowed in rage as she faced down three Kaiju at once, her fists slamming into Mutavore and Razorback and Ironside again and again, but it was obvious she was fighting a losing battle.
Mustang still hadn't risen, and Cherno wondered if the Kaiju's first charge hadn't crushed it beyond repair. Then he had no more time to wonder – claws dug into his shoulders, and even as he tried to pry them out the horrific form of Wendigo circled around to face him. Bulbous-eyed and hunch-backed, with wide jaws that dripped with acidic slaver, it stalked in for the kill.
Shatterdomes had come under attack before, but it had always been by individual Kaiju. Never before had the Jaeger program faced an assault like this – not one titanic monster, but over a hundred smaller ones that were no less deadly for their size. The same slate-gray of their Kaiju hosts, with membranous wings veined in blue and multiple eyes set in screeching spider-like faces, they poured into the Jaeger bay through the open doors, swooping down to snatch up crew members and technicians who didn't make it to cover in time.
Bishop gave a yell of shock as over a dozen of the monsters crashed against the windows of the LOCCENT, beating at the reinforced glass with wings and claws and mandibles. Cracks webbed the transparent barrier with every blow, spreading rapidly even as those inside watched.
"Bloody hell!" Chuck cursed. "They got an air force now!"
"Please tell me you have guns in here!" Raleigh shouted.
"Never needed 'em before!" Herc retorted. "What good are guns against Kaiju?"
Glass exploded inward as one of the creatures finally broke into the LOCCENT. Sasha didn't even stop to think – she grabbed the nearest chair and raised it over her head, heaving it at the beast wriggling its way in. It screeched as the chair impacted against it, crushing it against the console. Bright blue ichor sprayed out as it flailed wildly, then went limp.
"They're fragile," she noted grimly, feeling a burst of satisfaction temper her horror. "Not nearly as tough as Kaiju."
"Yeah, but they make up for that in numbers," Raleigh pointed out. "How are we supposed to fight this?"
Before she could answer, two more of the creatures forced their way through the broken window. Aleksis, Raleigh, and Chuck grabbed chairs, while Herc ducked behind a terminal and emerged carrying a fire ax. It wasn't much against an army of winged monsters, but hopefully it would be enough to hold them back until a better solution presented itself.
"Bishop, hit the panic button!" Herc ordered. "Then get the hell outta here!"
She opened a panel on the console and struck the button – the alarm that would bring the Chinese military to the Shattertome – then turned to bolt. The rest of the technicians made to follow, but claws snatched two of the stragglers, and they screamed as they were carried out the shattered window.
"Mako, get out of here!" Raleigh shouted.
"I'm not leaving you!" she insisted, striding forward with a fire extinguisher in both hands.
Sasha chanced a glance at the Wei Tang brothers. Of the three of them, two were finally free of their wheelchairs but still shaky on their feet. Nonetheless, all three of them looked determined to hold their ground, ready to fight the flying creatures off with their fists if need be. She only hoped it wouldn't come to that…
Another glass panel shattered, and a blast of foul breath hit her face. Blindly she swung, and the chair in her arms impacted against something that flew back with a sickening crack. To her left, Aleksis roared as he flung his own chair at a cluster of the winged beasts, then reached out and grabbed another around the neck, crushing its throat bare-handed. On her right, Mako blasted one in the face, and it fell thrashing as it struggled to clear its eyes with its claws, only to succeed in bloodying its nightmare of a face.
Claws ripped down Sasha's back, and she screamed and jammed her fist into a hideous yellow eye. Over and over she struck with both fists and her improvised weapon, but it seemed that for every creature she took down, two more replaced it.
Mama! Cherno's voice rang in her mind, frantic with pain and terror. Papa! What's going on?
Don't worry about us! she urged. This is our fight… focus on yours. We'll be all right! A lie and they both knew it… but neither of them was in much position to help the other. All any of them could do was keep fighting, and try their hardest to survive.
Beneath the LOCCENT, in a sleek amber-tinted Conn Pod that had never properly rested on a Jaeger's shoulders, the Rossi twins flailed in their harnesses, struggling to right their fallen mecha. Completely oblivious to the wings and claws battering their pod, they filled their stationary cockpit with angry shouts and swearing.
"God-frakking-dammit!" Lance howled, writhing against the controls. "I think that ugly one just stepped on Mustang!"
"They're all the ugly ones, moron!" Lexie retorted. "Just get this crate on its feet! Goddammit, where's the freaks when you need 'em? We could use a hand here!"
"Oh, so they're useless freaks until we need 'em?"
"Shut up and get this bucket of bolts up!"
Miles away, Mustang's joints groaned as it struggled to push itself upright again. A massive foot landed on its shoulder, flattening it again, and alarms sounded in its distant Conn Pod as crush damage registered.
LEFT ARM INOPERABLE. REDUCED POWER TO LEFT MISSILE LAUNCHERS.
Lexie turned the air blue with a string of invective that would have made a prison inmate blush. "Freaking useless piece of scrap! Can't this thing do anything right?"
Something tickled their minds in the back of the drift… a burst of emotion not their own. It was faint, but noticeable, and reminded Lance almost of the sort of plaintive whine a young puppy would make when scolded for wetting the carpet. His gut clenched as a storm of emotions rolled through his own mind – shock, guilt, sympathy, the sudden desire to spill out an apology…
"Lance, snap out of it!" Lexie shrieked. "We've got to get up before we get trampled!"
"Lexie, don't tell me you didn't feel that!" he shouted. "That was Mustang! Did you feel that?"
"You're gonna feel my boot up your ass if you don't help me!"
"Lexie, for Christ's sake, Mustang's alive!"
"Not you too! Shut up, this isn't the time for-"
The glass in Mustang Omega's Conn Pod had never been properly reinforced – seeing as said Conn Pod was never intended to actually see battle, what was the point? That proved a costly mistake as a winged Kaiju parasite smashed through the glass, showering the bickering Rangers with transparent shrapnel. It wrenched through the broken glass, heedless of the shards tearing strips out of its own hide, and lunged at them with blue-tinged venom dripping from its mandibles.
In the Jaeger bay, the ground crews could only stare in horror as the creatures swarmed the Conn Pod, shattering glass and forcing their way inside. Splitting screams rang through the air, followed by ugly rending sounds as the Rossis, trapped by their control harnesses, fell to the onslaught.
In Victoria Harbor, Mustang Omega shuddered once, then fell back to the sea floor, limp and unresponsive.