There is another little explanation at the bottom of the chapter if anyone cares.

I know my battle scenes are shorter than they probably should be. It's a lot harder to write giant robot/monster battles than I ever thought it would be but I delayed this chapter to work on it and hopefully that made a difference. If not I really do apologize. All reviews help me write future scenes better! (Just saying you should review)

This chapter originally was a fair amount of OC development but then it took on a life of its own so yeah…. That's been pushed to the next chapter.

Thank you to everyone reading this story and reviewing. I never thought it would have this many people who had even a slim interest in it. I honestly expected about five followers when I first started writing it. I blame the fact that its 2 a.m. for the blunt sentimentality. Sorry!

Anyway, did I mention thanks? Because really. Thank you.

And now on to the carnage:

…...

Raleigh rushed into the drivesuit room, past the newly stationed United Nation guards who had arrived overnight. Anyone else would have had to show identification to have access to the locker room but the guards had apparently memorized each the appearance of each of the pilots before they were sent to Hong Kong. For heavily armed guards, they were rather inconspicuous. They wore PPDC navy blue fatigues like everyone else and each carried an M-4 carbine slung across their back and a 9 millimeter at their waist. If you weren't looking carefully, they could almost be mistaken for crew members loitering in the halls.

Mako was watching the main display in the locker room when Raleigh entered and took his place for the drive suit application. He stared at the ceiling listening to the soft buzz of the drills as the crews rushed around them, hurrying to get the pair into their drivesuits and into Green Beast. He silently willed them to go faster, he had been running on the outer deck in the fading sunlight when the alarm went off and was several minutes behind Mako in prep.

It didn't help that they were even more strained for time than usual. This particular attack had been a long time coming. Rifts had been opening in the Atlantic and Indian oceans for several weeks now and it had only been a question of when one of them would spit out a Kaiju, turning the war into a global affair rather than a Pacific region conflict.

A category three was two hundred miles off the coast of India, heading straight for Mumbai and its massive civilian population. The techs couldn't say why the breach didn't open closer to the shore like so many others had, but they were glad all the same. It gave them time to deploy and it gave the population time to brace for the incoming attack.

The two pilots quickly walked to the conn-pod in silence. They were about to be in each other's heads. Speech quickly became redundant. Green Beast seemed to embrace its pilots as the harnesses slid into place and everything fastened in preparation.

"Initiating Neural Drift." Tendo's even voice came over the radio as Mako's fragmented memories rushed through Raleigh's head and his own joined the mix. The combination was no longer so heavy, Mako's featured the years after Pentecost rescued her while his own were mostly of his childhood. They both intentionally shared the best of their memories for the first time since they began drifting together. It was a universal reminder of what could be again.

"Hemispheres holding steady." Tendo interrupted the silence a second time as the Jaeger came to life in a roar of reactor and metal.

"You got our trainees in there?"Raleigh asked mission control as his free hand flew over the internal controls, checking and double checking every system as Mako did the same on her side.

After yesterday's marathon dodge ball game, he and Mako decided to give the new pairs a different view of Jaeger combat that wasn't visible in the sims. The trainees were now under orders to observe all deployments from mission control so they gained a better understanding of how it worked from that side of the crew. If Mako and Raleigh were in a Jaeger, the teams were in mission control, from the time they initiated the Drift to the time the Jaeger returned to bay no matter how long it took. They needed to understand the commitment and energy put into every aspect of the combat from every part of the crew before they saw their own battles.

"Two out of the four. Twins and B-team." Mission control informed the pair. Raleigh felt Mako's amusement at the nickname that had been created for Beryl and Belenko's pairing. He didn't mind it but thought it was cheesy; though it did make it easier for him to yell at the pair during training.

"Make that all four." Tendo announced, breaking Raleigh's concentration on the Drift thoughts. "Other two just came in."

"Good enough. Cutting communications. Hail us fifteen minutes from assault position." Raleigh cut off the automatic communication system as soon as Tendo confirmed, giving the pair in the conn-pod privacy from the multitude of people working in mission control. Green Beast was soon attached to its support helicopters by the usual web of cables, leaving the pilots with little to do other than monitor the systems for the time being.

"What do you…?"

"Did you review the Kaiju specification details yet?" Mako interrupted Raleigh as he tried to bring up the other Jaeger pilots while they had complete privacy.

"Not really. I was focused on getting Green Beast in the air as soon as possible. Mumbai has none of the bunkers or Kaiju defense features that Pacific coast cities do. We couldn't afford to review it in base. I was about to." Raleigh admitted, adding the information he knew Mako already understood.

"I scanned it while they were bolting the suits on. The satellite imagery shows a lot of physical similarities to Knifehead. Tendo and Newt think it could even be a clone considering your reports of the factory like conditions beyond the original breach."

Yancy's fear and pain overrode every memory for a split second at her words and were followed quickly by blind panic. It was several seconds before Raleigh managed to regain control and crush all the loose emotions. Anger and determination took their place, burning out every trace of worry or fear. He wasn't going to lose to a fucking Kaiju no matter what it looked like and he sure as hell wasn't going to let the Kaiju hurt Mako, much less the innocent city and its people.

Raleigh knew Mako had felt it all with him but still voiced his thoughts. "Doesn't matter if it's a clone, a brother, or a long lost cousin. We kill Kaiju regardless of how ugly they are or who they look like and we'll kill this one like all the ones that came before it."

Mako nodded once. Raleigh could feel her determination and pride through the drift and he grinned.

Now that that was all settled, Raleigh and Mako spent the remainder of the flight talking about inconsequential things. They spent most of the time comparing notes on the new pairs and the recent updates to the Jaeger designs. Mako wanted to tweak several of the training regimens for the individual pairs and took pains to explain exactly why to her partner.

By the time the communication system clicked back on and Tendo interrupted, they had devolved to arguing about the fact that Raleigh's favorite chunky sweaters kept mysteriously migrating to Mako's room.

"You two are fifteen minutes out. We have confirmation that the Category three is as close to a clone of Knifehead as our satellite scans can tell. It's been given the designation 'Cākū'"

"We'll have to keep the attacks low. If we let the Kaiju's head get under any attack, the bladed ridge can rip off either arm or slice through the reactor." Raleigh spoke from memory of what he would have done differently if he could go back in time. He kept the statement simple for mission ops, knowing Mako could get his extended thoughts through the Drift. Part of him wanted to laugh at the irony of having finally defeated his personal demons only to have one literally rise from the dead. He clamped down on the impulse and let out a steadying breath. It was time to learn from history.

"Prepare for Jaeger deployment." Tendo's voice betrayed his slight worry though only those who had known him for years like Raleigh or Herc could tell. He had seen the aftermath of the initial Knifehead attack and the memories of having to watch that battle still gave him nightmares. The LOCCENT Officer now found himself back in the exact same position and he hated it.

"Good to go." Raleigh told mission control before being notified that the Kaiju was just within the city and they were being dropped only a few thousand yards away from the creature. Raleigh couldn't have asked for anything better to help them get a quick kill.

He glanced at Mako as the cables snapped back to the helicopters. "Ready?"

"Never anything less." Her words faded as the Jaeger landed in with a earth shaking thud; the pilots were in motion even as the Jaeger stilled from the fall. They took advantage of the close attack proximity and rushed the Kaiju before it could fully register the Jaeger or its position.

Buildings shook with each of Green Beast's foot falls as the Jaeger came up behind the Kaiju who was halfway through a warehouse. Mako and Raleigh's combined fists caught Cākū as it turned, impacting below the jaw line and snapping the creature back and into the side of another building.

The Kaiju's massive ridged nose sliced through the glass and steel of the building as the creature stumbled, the inherent destruction caused by such a simple action reminding the Jaeger pilots how dangerous this style of Kaiju was.

Glass and stone rained down on the streets of Mumbai which had thankfully been successfully deserted by its citizens. The roads and sidewalks were still filled with abandoned cars and vendor stalls, a testament to how quickly the civilians had evacuated. Debris from the Kaiju's ongoing rampage added to the congestion, creating a layer of unstable metal and stone that the Rangers had to factor into every attack. If Green Beast lost its footing, Cākū would be on them before the Jaeger even finished falling.

Raleigh grabbed cars and a portion of a fallen stone façade and flung it at the Kaiju as it pulled itself from the ruined building, giving him and Mako more time to analyze it and decide on a course of attack. The creature swatted one flying SUV from the air, sending it into the thirtieth floor of a nearby building.

Cākū bellowed. The sound shook every window for blocks as it rushed the Jaeger. The pilots shifted the Jaeger back a step and pivoted as the creature rushed them. Using its momentum Mako let it slide by and punched the heavily armored side of the Kaiju as it grazed the Jaeger, sending it into the pavement.

A single one of Cākū's shorter arms lashed out as it fell, its claws catching in Green Beast's lower plating and slicing through to the wiring beneath. Mako and Raleigh staggered as they tried to disengage while the Kaiju fought to pull the Jaeger down with it. Sparks flew as wiring snapped and Raleigh over corrected, sending Green Beast backwards into the side of a building. Mortar dust and glass shards filled the air as the conn-pod shook with the impact and the pilots were thrown back in their harnesses.

Raleigh could feel deep bruises beginning to form along his spine due to force of the hit and the spike of pain in the Drift told hem Mako had been hurt too. They were getting nowhere, getting close to the Kaiju meant getting torn up while their blows were doing almost nothing to its heavy armor.

"I've got an idea." Mako's calm voice reached Raleigh's ears as images flashed through his mind.

"Got it." He pulled a fist back and punched Cākū as the Kaiju lunged at the Jaeger, going for a low strike that would drive the bony ridge into Green Beast's chest and reactor. He successfully knocked the creature away, giving them a split second of breathing room as the Kaiju seemed to reconsider its attack.

Mako worked furiously on her display, channeling all available power into the spin blade. Raleigh heard it crank up with a furious roar that got louder with every passing second as it picked up speed.

"Ready." Mako told him calmly, bracing for the next attack. As Cākū dove at them, claws outstretched, Raleigh used his first blow to force the Kaiju attack upwards. The tip of the Kaiju's ridge sliced into Green Beast's chest, dangerously close to the reactor, setting off warning lights and flashing red notifications on the displays.

As metal split, Raleigh grabbed the creature just below its jaw and held it in place. The Kaiju fought the grip, claws sliced through wires on the arm as it struggled and Raleigh heard something snap. Tremors ran up his arm and he bit back a yell.

More warnings flashed, joining the first. Raleigh lost a portion of control in Green Beast's arm, the hand worked but the elbow joint was non-responsive. Muscles burned. He struggled to maintain the hold on Cākū long enough to give Mako the window she needed. "Any time!" Raleigh snapped as his co-pilot drew back the spin blade.

More warnings flashed on the opposite side of the conn-pod, indicating overheating in the spin blade, the weaker cauterizing unit was putting out every ounce of power Mako could manage in a desperate hope that it would be enough to cut through the heavier armor on Cākū.

The shrieking blade went though the bony armor of the Kaiju's ridge and struck cartilage, it seemed to stall for a moment and Mako cursed. The systems rallied as Tendo redirected power flow from the reactor and the blade cut though and punched out the top, severing two thirds of the ridge from the creature's head; effectively disarming it.

Cākū shook in Raleigh's weakening grip as a torrent of blue blood drenched the Jaeger and road, too much for the failing cauterizing system to handle. Mako drew back and slashed the spin blade across the Kaiju's immobile face as it roared and finally pulled free of Raleigh's hold. Neon blue coated its face and Raleigh thought it was now missing an eye.

Mako knocked the severed cartilage aside, clearing room for the next attack as Raleigh struggled to regain full control of the left hemisphere arm. His hand twitched along with Green Beast's and he could control the shoulder but everything in-between was locked in a ridged line.

"Tendo!" Raleigh yelled for answers as he and Mako watched the wounded Kaiju hit a building with its panicked and blind movements, taking half of it down in a storm of metal, wood, and glass.

He could hear the tech cursing. "The main support in Beast's forearm shattered and has jammed the elbow mechanism. The wiring system is intact so the hand is functional but there's nothing I can do to give restore full motion."

"Fuck." Raleigh glanced at Mako but before either could form a plan, Cākū roared and came at them. Running out of options, Raleigh twisted the Jaeger, putting the damaged half in front and made a fist before thrusting the malfunctioning arm straight at the Kaiju's chest.

Somehow the wounded creature failed to avoid the desperate attack, maybe due to its damaged vision, and took the hit straight on.

As it staggered backwards, Mako swung forward and slashed the spin blade across the Kaiju's throat and reversed, repeating the motion. The combined cuts were deep enough that the monster was partially beheaded, muscle and tendons split as what was left of its head fell back. The Kaiju shook once as blood spurted out from the wounds in a bright river. Cākū toppled forward, forcing to Raleigh and Mako to pull back to avoid being tackled. It hit the pavement with a sickening thud and lay still as blue blood began to pool among the cars and buildings.

"Tendo?" Raleigh tried to keep the desperation from his voice. He was almost positive the Kaiju was dead but if it somehow wasn't, he wasn't sure the Jaeger could manage much more.

"Confirmed Kill. Cākū is dead. Thank god." Tendo muttered the last two words but they still came through the comm system clearly. Mako let out a desperate half laugh and lowered her guard.

Raleigh immediately began detaching from the harness system, carefully moving around his arm which was shaking uncontrollably from the exertion and system damage. He cursed as an electrical shock ran through the drivesuit. Hearing him, Mako quickly cut the drift. Both pilots felt the connection sever with a severe snap as she disengaged her harness, coming over to help him. A quick cut like that would hit them in a few hours but they didn't have energy to focus on that now.

"You need to be more careful. You're running out of arms." His co-pilot told him with a slight grin as Raleigh was slowly freed.

There were several minutes of silence as the pair waited for mission control to give them orders. Herc Hansen was the one to finally break the silence. "Rangers we're going to air lift you from the top of Green Beast's conn-pod. The damage readings we're getting are serious and we don't want to carry you back to base in the Jaeger. We may half to use an aircraft carrier for the Jaeger since Angel and Tendo aren't sure if the body can take being airlifted. Use the hatch and make your way up as soon as possible and we'll see you back at base soon."

"Roger that." Raleigh said after a moment before he removed his helmet. Every motion hurt. He could feel the bruises forming throughout his body already and didn't like the idea of a long flight back to Hong Kong.

Following Mako out the escape hatch, moving slowly due to his shoulder, Raleigh let out a breath at the destruction around them. Sun light filtered through the dust clouds rising from the destruction to show them the extent of their surroundings. At least ten square blocks had been leveled. Building sized piles of debris and a handful of free standing walls remained. Cars, trucks, and buses were scattered throughout and everything seemed covered in a layer of Kaiju blood. Cākū's body lay among it all seemingly in a neon blue lake. Raleigh didn't even want to image the decontamination efforts and clean up it would require to salvage this relatively small portion of the city. The only bright side was that it could have been much worse.

Mako threaded her fingers through his and they stood together in silence on top of Green Beast gazing on the destruction as the thudding of helicopter blades approached.

A few minutes later a pair of harnesses descended along with a rescue specialist to make sure they were safely strapped in. By the time Raleigh was pulled into the body of the helicopter alongside his co-pilot he could feel exhaustion washing over him.

Raleigh half listened to Mako as she exchanged words with the rescue specialist and the pilots. They were being taken to an airstrip and would be flown in a C-130 back to the Hong Kong Shatterdome. Green Beast would eventually follow her pilots though no one seemed sure exactly how the Jaeger would return home.

…...

A few hours later, Raleigh was jittery as the few crew members still up pried him from the sweaty and banged up drivesuit. He managed to hold himself together long enough to reach mission control with Mako, despite their overwhelming desire to just collapse. Both Rangers were proud to see all four teams waiting. They had obeyed him and Mako to the letter, waiting from deployment to return despite the longer than expected hours.

He kept it simple. "Dismissed." The eight Rangers left immediately, all tired from the long hours of observing.

"They're getting better. " Hansen said with a tired but appreciative look as soon as the doors closed. The Marshall, Tendo, and Nikki were the only other people left in mission control. Without a Jaeger to return to its bay, the crews were dismissed immediately after the battle.

"How bad is it?" Raleigh collapsed into the nearest chair, as Mako copied him a moment later.

"Bad." Tendo kept it simple as he leaned back in his seat and loosened his tie and collar.

Nikki and the Marshall were both leaning against the nearest wall in their leather jackets, arms crossed. Herc was in his Striker Eureka jacket and Nikki wore hers with the array of Jaeger patches. The similarities between the two were hilarious for some reason and the exhausted part of Raleigh that had no concept of boundaries started to laugh. It had been a long day and his shoulder was killing him. He rested his elbows on the control system in front of him and rested his head on his hands.

Herc raised a single eyebrow as Nikki and Tendo both rolled their eyes.

Mako put a hand on her partner's shoulder, steadying him while trying to keep her own exhaustion and rolling emotions under control. They were both feeling the delayed effects of the drift hangover coming on. "What are our options?"

"We're going to have to ship Beast back on a military carrier. The damage to the chest plating and wiring is extensive enough that we can't risk and extended lift of the Jaeger. The entire thing could split. Add all the damage to the left hemisphere system and various other wounds, Green Beast is completely out of commission. I honestly think I can have Gipsy Danger complete before the repairs on Green Beast would be done." Nikki informed the group quickly.

"I'm not going to complain." Raleigh muttered from his hands before relaxing slightly as Mako began rubbing his arm.

"That sounds good. We would feel better back in Gipsy." His co-pilot told the trio.

Raleigh looked up in time to see the Marshall nod. "Then that's the plan. Mori, Becket. Go to bed. I don't want to see either of you until you're completely coherent again. We don't have a functioning Jaeger at the moment so you can sleep through an alarm. We're back to weapon defenses for the time being."

Raleigh stood when Mako pulled on his arm and the pair made their way slowly to his room. There wasn't a conscious decision not to split up; they were both acting on their instinct of wanting the security of their partner after such a rough fight.

…...

Bolded text is very happy people are giving into its demands and requests more. NOW! OBEY!

Completely unnecessary Author's notes with my personal opinion no one will actually read:

To answer recent review about why plasma cannons on a coastal wall wouldn't work as a defense:

I think it's still a question of mobility in defense and for this particular idea, expense. In almost every fight in the movie a single blast from a plasma cannon is not enough to take down a Kaiju. If the cannon was stationary, it would get in a single hit, be destroyed, and the now wounded and angry Kaiju would be free to terrorize. If you consider how expensive the Jaegers and their weapons are, plasma cannons must expensive in their own right. On a coastal wall they would have be stationed at least every mile, if not closer, which means thousand of cannons plus thousands of their power sources. I think it would get real expensive real fast especially every time they failed. Also, Jaegers are still more awesome and therefore a better solution. Just my personal thoughts on the matter, feel free to ignore or disregard!

And another review mentioned satellite lasers:

I honestly don't think a laser no matter how badass could take out a giant killer monster. Just saying.