Wow, this story took off pretty quick. Thank you all for your support.

Anyway, standard disclaimer saying that I don't own Pacific Rim or Godzilla. There shall be more rant at the end of the chapter.


Complications

March 26th, 2026

The Shatterdome, Headquarters of the Jaeger Program, Hong Kong

1320 hours

Hercules "Herc" Hansen was angry. It had been his default emotion for some time now, ever since the universe decided to make screwing him over it's new pastime, but now he had reached a new high. The current target of his rage, Representative Adam Madison, seemed completely unaware that there was a problem.

The problem in question was a resurrected Jaeger Program. Hansen had campaigned for nearly six months for the project to be revived, even if it was only temporary, citing that the world should be prepared in case the kaiju returned. Somehow, he succeeded... until Madison decided he wanted more of the stake in the project.

"I really don't understand what you're hoping to achieve. First, you say you'll support me, then you cut my funding, then you ask me to rebuild a semi-obsolete Jaeger as a 'proof-of-concept', and now you want me to scrap my plans for more Mark 5s?" Hansen growled, glaring at the screen that displayed Madison.

"The cost to produce even one Mark 5 is too much for this program." Madison replied. "Now, if you stuck with my original draft of the plan-"

"We'd have several dozen dead pilots on our hands. There is a reason we retired or scrapped the early Mark 1s. Several of my friends died because of the Mark 1s! And now you're telling me that replacing Mark 5s with them-"

"It's a simple calculation of numbers, Mr. Hansen-"

"Marshal Hansen." Madison merely rolled his eyes.

"As I was saying, Marshal, it's simple numbers; your plan called for four Mark 5 Jaegers, a very small number if you hope to combat the army of kaiju you've claimed you've been preparing for. However, for the price of one Mark 5 we could build six Mark 1s, thereby allowing us to defend a wider area as well as have a chance at matching the kaiju in numbers."

"That would make more sense if we were attacked by Category 2 kaiju. Need I remind you about Singapore, when a Category 3 split a Mark 1 in half before it was brought down?"

"To be fair, that Jaeger was supposed to be retired..."

"Or what about the second to last attack on Hong Kong. That city would have been leveled if Crimson Typhoon hadn't killed that Category 4, and that was after the kaiju destroyed a Mark 1 that was practically brand new. Imagine what a Category 5 would do to your little army of Mark 1s. Imagine an army of Category 5 kaiju; do your numbers hold up to that?"

"And I suppose your Mark 5s would do better?"

"Striker Eureka was able to withstand simultaneous attack from a Category 4 and a Category 5. With the right improvements and a properly trained crew, we could hold out against a major onslaught long enough to get more Jaegers out in the field."

"That is, if your kaiju actually show up at all." Madison moved around a little in his seat. "Listen, Hansen, I know that you've been willing to listen to reason-"

"Because I thought that rebuilding Gipsy Danger was one of your better ideas."

"As I was saying, I know you listen to reason, and listen to me when I say that using the Mark 1s is the better option. Looking past the normal expenses, we'd at least have most of the Mark 1s finished in the time it would take half of your Mark 5s. They would be able to act as a buffer against the kaiju until more advanced models are ready." Hansen's glare deepened.

"Representative Madison, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course?"

"Were you one of the ones who okayed the Kaiju Wall?" Madison's façade of calm broke, and he even tugged at his tie a little.

"I... I cannot continue this conversation at this point. Good day." And with that the image disappeared.

"Meddling asshole." Hansen muttered before exiting the communications room, soon joined by Tendo Choi.

"I take it that the meeting with the Representatives did not go so well?" Choi asked.

"'Representative' and no, it did not." Hansen growled in frustration as they rounded the next corner. "Stacker would have gotten a response."

"You're doing a fine job, sir."

"You're kissing my ass, Choi. Stop that before I re-evaluate your usefulness." Choi did not respond at first, instead slowing his pace to put a little more space between himself and Hansen. Hansen did not really mean it; Choi had been with the Jaeger program since the end of the Golden Age, and Hansen needed all the experience he could get if his plan was to gain any traction.

"So... we have no Jaegers?"

"We have one, Choi. Unless we can find some more support, all we'll have is one Jaeger and a few dozen tin cans for the kaiju to snack on."

"That is, if the kaiju come back, sir."

"... Sure." Really, Hansen was running more on paranoia than any solid fact. One year had passed, and not a single kaiju or breach had been spotted. He would have given up the program a long time ago, but deep down nothing seemed alright.

Guess the anticipation never really wears off. He thought.

"Choi, find some way to stall the orders for the Mark 1s until I can straighten things out."

"Yes sir." Choi disappeared down an adjoining hallway. Hansen continued for a bit more before his phone chimed. A quick check, and Hansen found himself in a conversation with one Newt Geiszler.

"Caught you at a bad time?" Newt asked, his voice disoriented due to the walls of the Shatterdome interfering with the signal.

"Newt, there are two things that would make me happy right now, and unless you happen to be an assassin or a kaiju I don't think you'll be of any help."

"Well, the killing part I can't really help, but giant monsters on the other hand..." Hansen stopped.

"What is it?"

"Either it's a sign that we're all gonna die in a few weeks, or someone made Christmas come a little earlier than-"

"Just get to the point!"

"We found an egg." Hansen almost dropped the phone in shock, no small feat for the ex-Jaeger pilot. He composed himself before speaking again.

"An egg?"

"Yup. Nice big kaiju-sized egg. Apparently it's been sitting on some island in the Marianas for the past few months."

"And the, uh... mother?"

"Nowhere to be found. Either it's hiding really good, or the egg has been out there even longer than we thought."

"I see..." Hansen looked around for a moment. "Where is it now?"

"On it's way to Japan. I wanted a chance to get a closer look at it somewhere where an angry mother kaiju won't come and eat me before I get a chance to run away. If you want, you can fly up here and take a look for yourself."

"No. That won't be necessary." Hansen noticed that he was sweating. He hadn't sweat since Striker Eureka's first mission. "Listen, Newt, can you give me all the information that you have on the egg, as well as any pictures of the thing?"

"You'll have to wait until next week, when it arrives, but yeah I'll get you some pictures. Why?"

"I think I need to have a word with a certain representative..."

March 27th, 2026

Seattle, United States of America

0312 hours

A little girl walks through the street, scared, alone. Her crying goes unanswered, for there is no one left to comfort her. Her face is flecked with dust, her knees scraped. In her hand is a red shoe, glossy as the day her father had given them to her.

He is dead. They are all dead. All she can do is cry, cry and search for someone to help her.

There is a screech overhead. Fighter jets, F-22s. They are gone as soon as they arrive, and once again she is alone. but not for long, for there is a roar, deep and menacing. It is here; the monster that killed her parents, her friends, everyone. She dares not look around, dares not face it.

She runs, and it follows.

She is small, her steps tiny compared to the monster. It gains on her, smashing through buildings and over cars in pursuit of her. It's roars drown out her cries, and she can only stumble through the rubble to try and escape.

She stumbles again, and the world goes black.

Mako gasped before snapping her head up, panting as she looked around the room of the apartment. Her clothes and sheets were soaked with sweat, and her entire body ached as her adrenalin died down. She let out a small cry of anguish before burying her face in her hands, brushing the sweat off her face.

It's over... she reminded herself. They are all dead. It is over. Mako composed herself and eased herself out of bed, careful to not disturb Raleigh as he slept. She stepped away and removed her sweaty clothing, using her shirt as an improvised towel to dry her legs and back. That task completed, she found a fresh pair of sleeping clothes and redressed herself before returning to bed.

For a few minutes she lay there, staring up at the ceiling. Images of the attack on Tokyo, her first fight in Hong Kong, the Breach, all of them played over and over in her mind, each one just as bad at the one before. She shifted around a little trying to find a comfortable spot to sleep, but she found none.

Until her hand brushed up against Raleigh's back.

New memories flooded her mind. Not just her own memories, but his as well, the different misadventures and good times he had before the arrival of the kaiju. Others soon came into view, such as the funeral for Marshal Pentecost and Chuck Hansen, the hero's welcome the two received when they arrived in Hong Kong after destroying the Breach, the first time they had a chance to really be alone.

Mako smiled. These were the memories she wanted; not ones of destruction, but ones of hope.

She scooted closer, pressing her body up against Raleigh's before laying her arm across his torso. He shifted a little, but this allowed her to get closer to him. Mako rested her chin against Raleigh's scarred shoulder, closing her eyes and allowing happy memories to lull her to sleep.

...

The next morning, Mako awoke and found herself alone. This was nothing new; Raleigh always woke up early, and most of the time he was able to step out and leave her undisturbed. She lay motionless for a few moments, listening for any sound that would indicate where he was.

A few heavy footsteps. A small bang. He's in the kitchen.

Mako yawned and sat up, stretching out her arms before getting out of bed. She quickly crossed over to the door and entered the main room of the apartment, finding Raleigh seated with his back to her, a small cup of coffee resting on the table next to him. "Morning."

"Hmm?" Raleigh turned towards her. "Oh, morning. I didn't hear you get up."

"Maybe I decided to be sneaky today." she smirked before taking a seat across from Raleigh. "Did you sleep well?"

"Fine. Had some weird dreams, though."

"Oh?" Mako leaned forward a little. "Care to tell me about them?"

"Mako, it's really not all that-"

"Please, Raleigh. If something is bothering you, I can help."

"Uh... they really weren't all that bad. I had a dream that a giant teddy bear was beating me over the head with a straw." Mako blinked a few times before leaning back.

"... You're joking."

"Really wish I was."

"Oh..." she drummed her fingers on the table a few times before continuing. "I suppose that is for the better."

"How so?"

"Strange dreams instead of nightmares; you are getting better." Raleigh smiled and took a sip from his coffee.

"I guess so." there was a pause. "So, any plans for today?"

"Well, I did see a small gym nearby; I was thinking about joining so I could stay in shape."

"Gotten tired of sparring?"

"Well, no... I just wanted to branch out a little." Raleigh nodded. "And you? What plans do you have?"

"I was going to look around, see if there's anyone hiring." he looked over at her. "I mean, I can't really go through life with no other skills besides 'Jaeger pilot', can I?" Mako smiled.

"I suppose not." The two sat in silence for a few moments, Mako watching Raleigh as he finished his coffee. They made eye contact for a brief instant, Mako giving Raleigh another smile before he stood up.

"I should probably get ready," he said. "No one will take me seriously if I go out looking like this."

"I might."

"Well, yeah, but you're... you." Mako shrugged.

"Never stopped you before, has it?"

"... No." Raleigh set his cup down and headed for the bathroom, Mako's eyes watching his every move. Part of her wanted to ask if she could join him, but her rational side told her that would result in neither one of them achieving anything... well, anything important.

She closed her eyes and leaned back, allowing more pleasant memories to drift into her mind.

March 28th, 2026

Pan Pacific Research Facility, Tokyo

1709 hours

"And he actually convinced you to move the damn thing?" Representative Madison spat. "Doctor Kroeger, I was unaware that you had given up control of the research."

"All due respect, sir," Kroeger replied. "I did try to convince him otherwise, but Geiszler is... persuasive."

"Persuasive is not a good enough answer, doctor. Do you know what would happen if word got out that we had found and moved a kaiju egg? People will panic, and where would that leave me?"

"You're the representative, you tell me." Madison was about to launch into another tirade, but Kroeger cut him off. "Listen, Geiszler may be persuasive, but he is not the kind of person to let something like this just leak out. He'll keep quiet."

"Are you sure?"

"I obviously haven't told you about that contraption he brought in from Hong Kong."

"Spare me the details." Madison shifted again. "I've had enough trouble dealing with Hansen and his insistence on using Mark 5s. Just focus on your part, and I shall contact you if any new developments arise."

"Yes sir." With that, the message ended. Kroeger took a moment to compose himself before turning and re-entering the lab, greeted by the sound of Gottlieb and Geiszler arguing.

"I still don't see why you had to bring that here." Gottlieb said, pointing at the pile of garbage that was Geiszler's Kaiju Neural Bridge.

"I'm thinking ahead here." Newt said before ducking behind the Neural Bridge. "I have a theory: being as this kaiju is in an egg, it might have a mental signature similar to a bird or a normal lizard. Now, if we can successfully imprint on the baby kaiju, it might just let us to a few experiments with it."

"Or it could eat us and destroy this entire facility." Newt shrugged.

"This is science; we need to take a few risks."

"If I might ask," Kroeger said. "What exactly is this for, then?"

"Ah, that's the best part." Newt's smile got even wider. "Gottlieb and I are the only one to have ever Drifted with a kaiju-"

"Which almost got us killed." Gottlieb muttered.

"But even then we were dealing with a mind that was slowly dying due to... well, decomposing. Anyway, with this new kaiju we can get a perfect Drift without having to worry about nasty decomposition. Do you have any idea what we could learn Drifting with a non-dying, friendly kaiju? The entire field of Genetics could be turned on it's head with just a few Drifts."

"If the kaiju's a baby, won't it's mind be blank?" Kroeger asked.

"Not really. The kaiju we Drifted with in Hong Kong had memories of it's mother's time on the other side of the Breach, so it's likely that this one might as well."

"And how are you going to configure your machine so it doesn't fry your brain, again?" Gottlieb asked.

"I actually have a budget this time; the Chinese are lending me the devices they recovered when they salvaged Crimson Typhoon and Cherno Alpha, and I have a better idea of what I'm doing this time." Newt's smile dropped away. "Although I'd have to make a harness big enough for a baby kaiju's head..."

"You're crazy." Gottlieb said before returning to his side of the room.

"You're just figuring that out now?" Newt's smile returned as Gottlieb shook his head.

"Well, he does have a point." Kroeger said, stepping closer while Newt began to tinker with the Neural Bridge. "Do you really think that moving the egg was the best idea?"

"Better than having to ship all this equipment down to the Marianas, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, but... suppose the mother comes looking for it, what then?" Newt froze, and Kroeger could see a small bead of sweat run down his temple.

"Well... I don't think it's around, seeing as you guys managed to set up a camp around the site for a month."

"Certain animals will sometimes leave their babies while searching for food; who's to say that this kaiju isn't like the others."

"Have you heard of boats disappearing or cities being destroyed?"

"Well... other than the standard odd phenomenon, no."

"Well, there's your answer; unless the kaiju's been feeding on fish or something else then it's probably not there."

"And if you're wrong?" another bead of sweat.

"... We'll just have to hope the Jaeger Program is back up and running before then."


Slower chapter, I know, but this is a fanfiction, not a Michael Bay movie; there has to be plot between action.

Next chapter will have Godzilla find out about the egg being stolen... you can probably guess what happens afterwards.

Still don't own Pacific Rim or Godzilla. Favorites and reviews are appreciated, and if I screwed something up please let me know.