I have a poll on my profile page asking a question I really want to have answered. I'm trying to get as many answers as I can, and very few people visit my profile. I've gotten literally one answer in a week, and that's sad. Please answer, and be honest about it.


I only own my OC's!


Shatterdome Part 4

Raleigh steps into the cafeteria with his tray, only for everyone to glare at him. He sighs before walking over to sit on the side of the platform facing Gipsy Danger, only to find Mako sitting there. They eat for a moment before Raleigh sighs. "I'm sorry. I should've warned you. First Drifts are rough. But you weren't just tapping into my memories you were tapping into my brother's too. When Yancy was taken, we were still connected. I felt his fear, his pain, his helplessness…" He sighs. "…and then…he was gone."

"I felt it. I know."

"You know, you live in someone else's head for so long…the hardest part to deal with…

I step up behind them with my tray. "Is the silence." I smile down at them weakly. "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Go ahead." He turns back to Mako. "To let someone else in,

to really connect…you have to trust them. And today the Drift was strong."

"Sheyenne, how would you know what he was going to say?"

"I've…seen…the bots, after bonds broke, Mako. It…it wasn't pretty…"

She nods, turning to look at Gipsy's reactor, and changes the subject. "Her heart. When's the last time you saw it?"

"Not in a long time."


Alone

I wait until they leave before turning to stare up at Gipsy, thinking back sadly to the days when we still had gestalts. "You weren't telling the whole truth."

"I did." I sigh. "Well, as much as they needed to hear. Some of it's still…secret."

"I saw your past…when you were inside me. You had it hard, but you still fight for good."

"Raleigh lost his brother."

"I lost his brother…Starlight."

I look down. "Please…please don't call me that…I can't…"

"It was his name for you, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"Who were the giants?"

"They're called gestalts, or combiner t-teams." I take a deep breath, and let it out shakily. "They were Superion and…and Defensor. First Aid…was a part of them…" I sigh sadly. "Gips… Please, don't make me talk about this…about them…"

"I'm sorry…"

"You're fine. You didn't know." I sigh softly. "You didn't know…how close I was to them…Gips…I was all but a part of Defensor. The only thing missing was the spark bond, so I didn't feel it physically when they died—like you and Rals did with Yancy—but…but I still feel it, emotionally…"

"Like you did with Ratchet?"

"Yeah…" I sigh heavily. "I became a Ranger after we lost them, Gips. I'd gone into it solely for medicine—to be a field medic—but…but I went…crazy…after they died, and I became just the mech I was mourning—the one who had come back, then disappeared…their brawler…their right arm…" I sigh heavily. "Blades…" I turn away so as to not fall off the platform as I pull my knees to my chest and bury my face into them, trying not to cry. "Oh, Blades."

"Hey, hey. It's all right."

"No it's not. They're all gone. All but me and Bee!"

"You know that's not true. What about—"

I pop my head up. "Sigma." I turn to Gipsy. "The drift was still active, when I ran inside."

"Only with me. Raleigh and Mako were separated."

"So they don't know."

"No. Who is Sigma?"

"Rescue team. Optimus said Heatwave…Chase…Boulder…"

"Blades?"

"Could be a different one. They're on an island, out of the war zone."

"You need to see. Shey, it could be him."

"And it might not. I'm almost sure there was more than one "Blades" on Cybertron, Gips."

"Almost isn't exact."

"Good point." I stand with a sigh. "Guess I'm going to Griffin Rock when this is all over."


command center

Tendo is walking up to the computers with four cups of coffee and two donuts, when the AI starts speaking.

Movement in the Breach. Double event. Two signatures. Dilation indicator, Category 4.


Raleigh slips through the crowd in front of Tendo. "Excuse me."

"Breach was exposed at 2300 hours. We have two signatures, both Category 4s. Code names: Otachi and Leatherback. They'll reach Hong Kong within the hour."

Stacker steps up to address the teams. "Evacuate the city. Shut down the bridges. I want every single civilian in a refuge right now. Crimson Typhoon… Chemo Alpha… I want you to frontline the harbor. Stay on the miracle mile. Striker, I want you to stay back, look after the coastline. We cannot afford to lose you, so only engage as a final option."

"Yes, sir!"

He turns to Raleigh and Mako. "You two. You stay put. Let's go!"


"Loccent, Striker's got the ball and we're on the roll."

"Loccent near positions and awaiting your orders."

"Remain in the miracle mile. Engage at your discretion."

"Guys, keep your eyes open. These Category 4s are the biggest we've ever seen, both in size and weight.

"Cherno Alpha reaching target zone. Disengaging transport."

"Cherno Alpha in position. Miracle mile. Chemo Alpha holding the coastline. Beacon is on."


with newt

Newt and Hannibal are watching the Kaiju cultists as they move toward the coast to worship the approaching beasts. "Look at them. They believe the Kaiju were sent from heaven. That the gods are expressing their displeasure with our behavior. The silly bastards."

"And what do you believe?"

"Well, I believe that Kaiju bone powder is 500 bucks a pound. What do you want?"

"I need to access a Kaiju brain. Completely intact."

"No, no. The skull plate is so dense that by the time you drill into it… The brain's rotted away."

"But I'm talking about the secondary brain. Now we both know that the Kaiju are so large they need two brains to move around, like a dinosaur. I want to get my hands on that."

"Mm." He turns to glare at Newt. "What the hell do you want

a secondary brain for, anyway? I mean, every part of the Kaiju sells. Cartilage, spleen, liver. Even the crap! One cubic meter of crap has enough phosphorous in it to fertilize a whole field! But the brain… Too much ammonia." He huffs. "So, what's the deal, little fella?"

"Well, that's classified. So I couldn't tell you. Even if I wanted to."

"Mm."

"But it is pretty cool. So might tell you." He thinks for about a second. "I'm gonna tell you. I figured out how to Drift with a Kaiju."

"Are you funning me, son?"

"It's fascinating how their minds work. Every single Kaiju his mind's connected. The species has, like… Like a hive mind."

"Holy jeez. You've gone and done it, haven't you?"

"I did it a little bit, yeah."

"You goddamn moron."


Shatterdome

Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon are in trouble, and Striker Eureka can only watch as the two start to fall.

"Loccent! Typhoon and Alpha are in trouble. We're moving in!"

"You are to hold your ground. Do not engage. We need you to carry that bomb. Do you copy?"

"Jesus, we can't just sit here and watch them die. Come on! Screw this. Loccent, we're moving in now!"

"We've been hit with some type of acid!"

"Come on!"

Aleksis is panicking over the comm. "Hull has been compromised. We need backup immediately!"

"Just hold on, Chemo! We're on our way!"

"Our power move! Yeah!"

Sasha and Aleksis gasp and try to scream as their conn pod fills with water, and they drown. Tendo sighs sadly. "We just lost Chemo, sir."

As they watch, Crimson's pilots become crushed, and get impaled by the thing's tail.

"Engaging air missiles!" The kaiju they're attacking employs a natural EMP, shutting Striker Eureka down and shocking the two connected to him."

Gottlieb steps over. "What's going on? What happened?"

"The blast. It jumbled all the Jaegers' electrical circuits. What the hell was that?"

"I've never seen that before."


FIELD

"Loccent!"


Shatterdome

Gottlieb sighs. "They're adapting. This isn't a defense mechanism, it's a weapon!"

Stacker turns to Tendo. "Get me Striker."

"Nothing, sir. The Mark 5's digital's fried. It'll take me two hours to reroute the auxiliary."

Stacker's starting to get upset. "All the Jaegers, they're digital!"

Raleigh steps up, with me and Mako behind him, my earlier sadness long past in the face of adversity. "Not all of them, marshal. Gipsy's analog. Nuclear."


hong kong city

"We got two Kaijus. We gotta get out. This way."

Newt pushes his way to the workers. "Hang on a second. Excuse me. What's going on?"

Hannibal scowls. "There are two goddamn Kaiju headed straight for Hong Kong City."

"No, that's not possible. There's never been two before."

"Well, maybe that's because nobody ever Drifted with one before, eh? Genius! When Jaeger pilots Drift, it's a two-way street. A bridge, right? It sets up a connection. Both ways! "A hive mentality," you said! Maybe those Kaiju are trying to find you."

"Well, what're we gonna do?"

"I'm gonna wait out this shitstorm in my own private Kaiju bunker. But you are going to a public refuge. I tried it once." Hannibal flips his eye patch up, revealing a scar. "Once. Now get the hell out of here."

His workers cock their guns and aim at him, causing him to back away. The alarms wail, and you can hear the kaijus' calls as they near the city. "Move! Move! I'm a doctor! I'm a doctor! Okay, hold on. Let me in. Okay, I'm a doctor. Okay, let me in, I'm a doctor."


Field

Herc sighs, flipping the switches to no avail. "There's no emergency power."

Chuck huffs. "We gotta bail."

"I'm gonna try something else." Herc detaches and steps around to the flare guns.

"No! Don't disengage!"

The kaiju slams into them, causing Herc to slam into the wall, hard. "My arm!"

He falls, causing Chuck to help him up. "Come on! Get on your feet, old man!"

"Don't call me that!"

Chuck starts to panic. "He's right outside. We gotta get out of here now!"

"We're not going anywhere! Now you and I are the only thing standing between that ugly bastard and a city of 10 million people. Now we have a choice here. We either sit and wait or we take these flare guns and do something really stupid."


The two climb out of the top of Striker Eureka with two of the flare guns. "How's your arm?"

"Ah, just give me the gun." Herc takes the gun in his good arm and aims up at the beast with his son. "Hey, you!"

The hit it in one of it's four eyes, causing it to roar in anger and pain. "I think we just pissed it off!"

"All right, Mako. Get ready, this is for real!"

The two notice Gipsy being flown in. "Yeah!"

"Come on, Gipsy! Kick his ass!"

"Come on! Let's do this! Together!"

"Elbow rocket!"

Elbow rocket engaged.

Raleigh's calling the shots. "Now!" The kaiju—Leatherback—slams Gipsy back onto the port, until they wind up stepping on a semi. "Hang on, Mako!

"Plasma cannon, now!"

Plasma cannon engaged.

They fire several rounds of plasma at the beast. "Empty the clip! Empty the clip!" They groan, and turn to walk away before glancing back. "Wait. I think this guy's dead. But let's check for a pulse."

"Okay." They empty the other clip into the beast. "No pulse."


shelter

The people in the shelter are talking fearfully as they crowd together underground. As the kaiju gets closer, they fall quiet, and listen to the beast above-ground, and screams in the distance.

It stops above them, and everyone gasps in fear. "He stopped right above us." Newt starts to panic. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. This isn't a refuge. This is a buffet line!" Everyone gasps at another thump. "He knows I'm here. He knows I'm here!"

A woman turns to him. "Shh. He knows we're all here."

"No, you don't understand, he's trying to get me! He knows I'm here!" She speaks their language, causing people to back away from him. "What was she saying?" He looks up. "I gotta get out of here! Let me out of here!" They knock off his glasses in their panic. "Oh, come on! Those were expensive glasses." He starts patting around on the ground, searching for them. "This is the worst." The Kaiju—Otachi—tears through the ground and into the bunker. Gipsy pulls it out before beating it with the boat several times. Otachi takes the boat and throws it away.

Torque engaged.

"I can't pinpoint it. It's moving quick. Keep your eyes open. Choppers, do you have a visual? Over."

Otachi appears, cuts into their back, and wraps her tail around Gipsy's arm before trying to clasp at the conn pod. "Come on!"

"I'll hold it! Vent the coolant on the left flank!"

Coolant venting.

Mako nods. "Venting coolant."

The two then rip out her tongue, causing her to fly the two into the air.

Atmosphere loss in progress.

"Temperature's dropping! We're losing oxygen! Both plasma cannons are shot. We're out of options, Mako."

Mako shakes her head. They still have one option—a chain sword.

Sword deployment.

They solidify the sword, and cut through Otachi from neck to legs, killing her mid-flight.

Altitude actuation off-balance. 50,000 feet to ground contact.


Shatterdome

"Look, there!"

"Shit."

"Sheyenne?"

"They gotta do something, or they're dead."


Gipsy danger

Altitude loss critical. 40,000 feet.

"Gipsy, listen to me! Loosen all the shock absorbers, use your gyroscope as balance and ball up! It's your only chance!"

20,000 feet.


Shatterdome

"It's not their only option, Stacker. There's always another way."

"They could die otherwise. You just said that."

"Raleigh's too stubborn to die, and I think Mako is too."


gipsy danger

"Fuel purge! Now!" They release some of the fuel, which pushes them higher and gives them a few more seconds to think.

Impact alert.

"We're coming in too fast. We're coming in too fast! Brace for it, Mako!" They hit hard, sending up a large cloud and setting off several car alarms as they come to a stop several yards away. "Mako, talk to me. Mako, you okay?"

She nods, smiling and laughing. "You?"

He nods, laughing with her.


shatterdome

Stacker turns to Gottlieb as I laugh for the first time since Ratchet died. "Go to Dr. Geiszler now!"

"Yes, sir!"

Stacker turns to Tendo. "I want the two remaining Jaegers back to 100 percent functionality."

"Yes, sir!"


Hong Kong City

"We're gonna harvest the skin, the talons and the wing. Germans are gonna go nuts for that stuff. Let me see that map." Hannibal points to a place on a map someone else is holding in front of him. "Here is where the Kaiju fell, here's where we concentrate our efforts."

"We'll get it, boss."

"Right."

"Hey!"

Hannibal stops in his tracks. "Okay."

"Guess who's back, you one-eyed bitch?" He pauses. "And you owe me a Kaiju brain."


shatterdome

The crowd cheers as Raleigh and Mako step in. Herc steps over to them with a smile. "Raleigh! My kid'd never admit it, but he's grateful. We both are."

Stacker steps into the room. "Mr. Becket! Miss Mori! In all of my years fighting, I've never seen anything like that. Well done. Proud of you. Proud of us all." He sighs. "But, as harsh as it sounds, there is no time to celebrate. We lost two crews. No time to grieve. Reset that clock." Mako touches her nose as the crowd starts murmuring. Stacker is bleeding. He touches his nose, sees the blood, and pulls out his handkerchief before holding it over his nose. "Reset the clock."


Hong Kong city

"I still can't believe what you did to me. I mean, I could have been eaten."

Hannibal scoffs. "Well, that was definitely the plan. Lucky for you, that didn't become necessary, huh?"

"Thank you so much, you're so kind. I really appreciate all of this. But now do you mind telling me, exactly what is taking so long, for your workers to get that brain?"

"Well, they pump the cavity full of CO2, just like in any other laparoscopic surgery."

"Okay, yes, obviously." He nods. "The CO2's gonna delay the acidic reaction, yes."

"And it allows us to harvest. But our boys need oxygen pumped into their suits. They move slow." He holds up a radio. "What's going on in there, boys?"

"We've reach the upper pelvic area. Unh. Moving to the 25th vertebra. Shit. Even through the suit, boss, it smells like dead catfish in here." They reach the secondary brain, to find it ruined. "Boss. The secondary brain is damage."

"Aw."

"It's ruin."

"Bitch! How could they screw that up?"

"Wait. Wait."

"What was that?" Newt grabs the radio from Hannibal. "Did he say "wait"? Why wait?"

Hannibal turns to him. "Do you hear that?"

He freezes. "It's like a heartbeat." He gapes. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God, this can't be." Hannibal reaches for his radio. "Hold on a second."

"Hey! Let me have that!"

"Shh, shh! Listen, listen! Listen to this." The two listen to what is unmistakably a heartbeat. "It's pregnant."


inside Kaiju

The fetus opens it's eyes, causing the men in suits to scream and run out, the fetus following them, umbilical cord following behind it, only to choke on it and fall. "No, no! Please."

"I knew it." Hannibal throws his knife into the fetus. "Unh. Gone. His lungs weren't fully formed. Umbilical cord tied around his neck. No way he could survive outside the womb for more than a minute. One look, that's all I needed. I knew he wouldn't make it." He pulls his knife out and wipes it off. "Ugly little bastard. Anyway, I would—" The fetus—er, baby—comes alive again and eats Hannibal head-first before passing out again.


shatterdome bathroom

Stacker steps into the bathroom to clean up, Raleigh following. "How sick are you?" He sighs. "And why didn't you tell me?"

"Uh… What's to tell?" He sighs. "You know, them Mark 1s, we scraped them bad boys together in 14 months. Last thing we were thinking about was radiation shielding. I ran nearly a dozen missions. I stayed under the medical radar for a while but the last time I jockeyed was in Tokyo. I finished the fight solo, but for three hours, I burned. They warned me if I ever stepped foot into a Jaeger again, the toll would be too much." He turns to Raleigh. "You and I are the only two that ever ran solo combat. That's why I brought you here."

Raleigh steps over to me. "Did you know Stacker was sick?"

"Radiation sickness, severe." I sigh heavily. "Yeah. Where do you think he gets his meds, you moron?" I shake my head. "The bots have around 14 rads after going into space, so I saw it a lot with the soldiers, especially in those first few years. Aid and I—we had a method we used to handle it. Primus, I wish he was here… I can't do this alone…"

"Shey…"

"Don't, Rals. I'm fine."

"But you just…" He sighs. "You sound like I felt, right after I lost Yancy."

"No bonds means no risk of death. I'm fine." I storm away, but not before flinging the plastic wrench at him, nailing him on the head.

"You're not fine."