Forged in Fire, Chapter 20: Nightmares

Mako and Raleigh were back in Gipsy Danger's Conn Pod, gearing up to drop into a fight with yet another Kaiju. This time, they were going into downtown Tokyo to fight a Category III that tipped the scales at 2700 tons.

Raleigh toggled the radio. "Disengaging transport."

Mako flipped the switch, and the eight Jumphawks surged thousands of feet in altitude in mere seconds as the 1980 tons of Jaeger were cut loose. Gipsy slammed to the ground not far from the rampaging Kaiju. Mako hit the rescue horn, grabbing the Kaiju's attention. It roared at them, and Mako answered with another blast from the horn.

The Kaiju charged them, and drove its bladed skull through Gipsy's left shoulder. Mako screamed in agony as electrical discharges coursed through her suit, burning her left arm and shoulder.

Raleigh groaned as the pain blasted through the Drift, and channeled the pain and anger into a single voice command. "PLASMA CANNON!"

The Kaiju twisted its head, tearing off the arm entirely. Mako nearly passed out from the pain. However, she clung to the Drift with everything she had, keeping her awake. She followed Raleigh's moves as he began to fire the plasma cannon…

Suddenly, the Kaiju lashed out with its arm and a claw pierced the Conn Pod on Raleigh's side. Raleigh and Mako stared at it for a moment in fear. No, not again…

Raleigh looked at Mako. "Mako, I love you. Take care of…"

He never finished his sentence, as the Kaiju tore away the Conn Pod hull, dragging him with it.

Mako screamed.

Hong Kong Shatterdome

Raleigh's quarters, Corridor 47B

May 27, 2025

0159

Raleigh awoke to a blood chilling scream from Mako. He was instantly awake, seeking the source her terror. "Mako! What's wrong?"

Mako stopped screaming as she realized she was not in a badly battle-damaged Jaeger. Instead, she was in Raleigh's room. She curled into a ball and began to cry.

Raleigh's mind finally put everything together. Nightmare. One of mine, but she was the one having it. "Mako, it was just a dream." He pulled her into his lap and hugged her.

"You saw it too, right?"

"Yes. I know that nightmare well. It's one of mine that you somehow picked up on. Your mind changed it slightly, though. I've never had it with you in the Conn Pod and us using Jumphawks to drop into Tokyo."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, Mako. We don't control our dreams, and we don't let our nightmares control us." He reached over to his nightstand, pulled open a drawer, and removed a battered old iPod. He booted it up and scrolled through the menu, seeking a particular song. All the while, he held Mako tightly. "Relax, Mako. It's over now."

Mako just buried her face in her knees and cried. "Raleigh… you died. Just like Yancy."

Raleigh found the song, and put one earbud into Mako's right ear, and the other into his right ear. "I know." He hit play.

The song started slowly with only a piano, slowly joined by a bass and a guitar. Then, the vocals came.

"Come on, come on, put your hands into the fire. Explain, explain, as I turn and meet the power…"

Mako slowly relaxed and almost melted into Raleigh's arms as the song continued.

-.-.-

Finally, the music slowly wound down, and Mako smiled sadly.

Raleigh removed the earbuds and turned off the iPod. "I found that song after I lost Yancy. It's been a part of me ever since." He put the iPod away. "Does that help?"

"Yes. Thank you." Mako yawned and pulled the blanket over the two Rangers. She fell asleep moments later, still curled up in Raleigh's lap.

Raleigh waited a few minutes until he was sure Mako was asleep, then slowly shifted until he could lay down. However, sleep proved elusive as his mind raced. He gently toyed with Mako's hair, suddenly missing the blue highlights. Why did our first shared dream have to be that particular nightmare?

Finally, after several minutes of musing, Raleigh drifted off into a fitful, light sleep.

-.-.-

0800

Mako slowly woke, uncurling and stretching like a cat. Raleigh was already awake.

"Glad to see you slept better this time around." Raleigh yawned.

"You didn't?"

"No. I was restless all night, and kept waking up."

Mako's eyes fell.

"Mako, it wasn't your fault I couldn't sleep. It was mine. I kept thinking about the dream."

Mako looked at Raleigh. "What about it?"

"I'm sure you've heard of other Rangers sharing their dreams before."

"Yes."

"It's just odd. That was my nightmare for years, but with me in your spot and Yancy in mine. I haven't had it since our first Drift, though."

Mako's face fell. "It's been a recurring one for me since Hong Kong."

"Mako… why didn't you tell me?"

"I…" She sat up, pulling the blanket around her. How to explain this?

"Mako, it's okay. I want to help." Raleigh laid his arm around Mako's shoulder and pulled her in closer.

"It's… hard to explain."

"Try me."

Mako sighed and gathered her thoughts. "I can't," she finally blurted out.

Raleigh hugged her tightly. "Mako, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Have you ever gotten further than that, though?"

"No."

"And it's always the same?"

"Yes, it is. Why?"

Raleigh thought for a moment. "Let's go see if Tendo has any spare Drive Suits left for the simulator."

Mako looked at Raleigh, surprise and confusion written on her face. "What good will that do?"

"If we can change the outcome of the nightmare, then perhaps it will go away."

"Do you think that will help?"

"It's worth a shot. Besides, I miss the Jaegers. This seems to be the closest we're going to get for the foreseeable future."

Mako hopped out of the bed and stretched some more. "True."

Raleigh pulled his cell phone off its charger and dialed Tendo. "Tendo, my man. I have a favor to ask…"

-.-.-

Gipsy Danger drive suit room

1000

Tendo had pulled through for the two Rangers, drawing up the scenario that Mako and Raleigh had described in record time. Now, it was time to suit up, possibly for the last time. Mako and Raleigh stood beside each other as the techs attached the armor panels to them, just like they did before Operation Pitfall. Slowly, the suits came together, wrapping the pilots in the now-familiar layers of armor and circuitry.

Finally, they slid their helmets on in perfect synch. Raleigh looked at Mako. "You look good."

"You should look in the mirror, Raleigh."

They walked down the hall to the simulator and strapped in. As the techs bolted them to the motion capture rig, Tendo's voice filtered through their com systems. "Looking sharp, you two."

Raleigh reached up and to his left to toggle the coms. "Tendo, my man. Thanks for this."

Mako reached up and right to toggle her side. "Thank you, Tendo."

"No problem-o, Gipsy. Ready to start?"

"Yes."

"Gipsy Danger, ready for the Big Drop."

Tendo laughed. "Just like old times. Okay, get ready. Neural handshake in ten seconds."

Mako looked at Raleigh. "England. Slow dance."

Raleigh simply nodded.

Mako and Raleigh both relaxed and let the Drift wash over them…

-.-.-

Driftspace

Mako and Raleigh were dancing, actually dancing, in a ballroom in London. They had come to give an interview on BBC, and had stayed for a party being held in their honor. So they had decided to try a slow dance at the party. They moved perfectly together, thanks to the Ghost Drift, and they tuned out all but each other…

-.-.-

Reality reasserted itself, and the Rangers smiled. They looked at each other and nodded. Solid.

Raleigh reached out and toggled the comms. "Ready when you are, Tendo."

Tendo was silent for a moment, trying to understand what had just happened. "You guys do realize that your handshake took less than a second to initiate and stabilize, right? That beats Cherno Alpha's record by nearly half a second!"

Mako toggled her coms. "Yes, Tendo. Now, the simulation?"

"Right. Going in in three, two, one…"

-.-.-

Tokyo

Gispy Danger hung under the Jumphawks as they flew over Tokyo, closing in on the Kaiju rampaging through the city. Below them, Onibaba's skeleton rose above the Boneslums. Ahead of them, a 2700 ton Kaiju smashed through a building.

Raleigh and Mako, now totally comfortable with each other in the Drift, never spoke aloud as they planned their attack.

Mako judged the distance to the Kaiju, the ground, and their speed, and came to a conclusion. We need to keep flying, and cut loose on the go. Gipsy can take it.

Okay. You call it.

"Gispy Danger, disengaging transport… NOW!"

Raleigh toggled the release mechanism, and the Jumphawks hurtled skyward. Mako kept Gipsy steady as they fell to the ground with an earth-shaking impact, bending the Jaeger's legs to absorb the impact. Mako toggled the rescue horn, grabbing the attention of the Kaiju.

As they had expected, the Kaiju took the horn as a challenge and roared at them. Mako toggled the horn again in reply. The Kaiju charged at Gipsy.

Mako and Raleigh smoothly dodged the Kaiju as it tried to impale them with its bladed head.

See, Mako? Already different from the dream.

Mako smiled. Yes, but it's not over yet. "PLASMA CANNON!"

Gipsy's left hand transformed into the barrel of the plasma cannon, glowing with furious energy.

Raleigh let Mako take the lead, and followed along as she pumped two shots into the Kaiju in quick succession. The Kaiju, however, was having none of it, and barreled through a building to escape the Jaeger. Gipsy ran after the Kaiju, left cannon still armed and ready.

Mako swore in in Japanese as the Kaiju nimbly darted out of the line of fire once again, and they continued the chase. He's fast and smart. Scary combination.

Yeah. Let's hope he pulls an Otachi and comes to us.

Raleigh had just finished that thought when the Kaiju burst from a building to Gipsy's right, and attempted to land a blow to the Conn Pod. Mako, however, had already rolled the Jaeger's shoulder to take the blow, which glanced off the shoulder guard and down their back.

I'll hold him!

Okay.

Raleigh grabbed the bladed skull of the Kaiju as Gipsy spun to face their attacker, and Mako angled the plasma cannon towards the Kaiju's neck. Then, she fired. Repeatedly.

The Kaiju screamed after the first shot, but the plasma burned away its vocal chords on the second shot, leaving it mute. The third shot burned halfway through the spine, and the fourth shot decapitated the Kaiju outright. Raleigh heaved the head down the street, and Mako emptied the plasma reservoirs into the carcass. Finally, it ran dry and ceased firing.

Mako smiled as she stowed the plasma cannon. "No pulse."

Raleigh laughed. "LOCCENT, Kaiju intercepted and terminated. End simulation."

Mako and Raleigh smiled as Tokyo disappeared.

Feel better, Mako?

Much. Thank you, Raleigh.

-.-.-

The Drift dissolved, and the Rangers unstrapped from their harnesses. Behind them, the door hissed open, and they made their way out, holding hands.

-.-.-

LOCCENT

1100

"Tendo, this had better be good. I was about to have an important meeting…"

"Sir, Mako and Raleigh wanted to do a simulator run to help Mako get over a recurring nightmare. They just left the suit room and are headed to the mess hall."

"Did it work?"

"Yes. Mako says it should clear up the nightmare."

"Then why did you call me in?"

Tendo replied by playing back the initialization of the neural handshake.

Herc watched the readings and the cameras in the simulator… then gasped as he saw the speed and strength of the Drift. "My God… I've never seen anything like that before."

"Sir, that is the strongest Drift and the fastest handshake on record."

"Even more so than Cherno." Herc didn't even bother with a rhetorical question. This was a statement of fact. "Sad as it sounds, I'm wishing for a Kaiju and a Jaeger now, just to see them in action for real again."

Suddenly, a deep, raspy voice boomed from the back of the room. "I might be able to arrange for the Jaeger…"