Focus.
Each block kept in its own sphere of mental effort.
None of them dropping.
All three remaining in the air.
Just focus.
Fo-
"Miki!"
The three blocks fell to the floor with a clatter.
Miki Saegusa sighed. Her telekinesis was good, but not as good as in her youth. She had to be better. Especially now.
"What is it, Raleigh?" she said.
"Dispatch is prepping for a recovery mission," Raleigh Becket said in slightly accented Japanese. "We'll probably both be on it, so I thought I'd tell you ahead of time."
"Well, I suppose there's no point to continuing now," Miki shrugged as she got up and walked past Raleigh out of her quarters.
Not an apartment. Quarters.
Miki had been glad to give up her apartment to the refugees, and her quarters in the Shatterdome weren't too different from her original drab home.
Even so, it still hurt a bit to know she no longer lived in the place she had spent her last twenty years in.
People hurried and bustled through the halls of the Shatterdome. No one wanted to spend too long in the same place, it seemed.
Miki calmly walked through the crowds, the ever-present hum from their thoughts and desires gnawing at her ears. She didn't focus on a single thought, but instead let them all roll over her.
Raleigh hurried behind her, struggling to keep her in sight. She sighed. The ex-Jaeger pilot was quite fixated on her, but she had no need for friends.
Not when the world had ended.
Miki walked into the Jaeger hanger, filled, like the rest of the Shatterdome, with dozens of people rushing off to their next task. But this room held more than that: it held the Jaegers.
Gargantuan robots, taller than many buildings, Miki had to strain her eyes just to look up at one. A testament to what mankind was capable of, the powerful war machines had killed countless Breach Kaiju in the past.
It'd be more impressive if there was enough power to activate them.
Well, no use dwelling on the past. (a side of her twinged at that, reminding her of- no. no time for that) Miki walked up to the War Clock to find Mitsuo Katagiri giving the briefing.
Miki sighed internally. Every conversation she had with Katagiri was a bit like banging her head against a brick wall, and ended with the same result: a headache.
"Now, all technology we can find is imperative to the survival of Tokyo," he was saying. "And our boys have just found the jackpot!" He projected a hologram. "The Dimension Tide."
There were gasps throughout the Jaeger hanger, Miki among them. Katagiri's hologram showed a large satellite terminating in a flower-like cannon. The Dimension Tide satellite.
Invented in the first year of the new millennium by Hajime Kujo, it fired collapsing matter cores that expanded into black holes which instantly killed the target. Or at least, that was the intention. The Dimension Tide had turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, creating the Meganulon and failing to kill Godzilla- twice!
No, don't think about Godzilla, don't think about Godzilla, think about something safe.
The satellite had proved somewhat effective against Breach Kaiju, however, and its shots gave off massive amounts of energy. There were plans to look into harnessing that before… Gorath. Now it seemed Katagiri wanted to try harnessing that again.
Well, if it meant they could turn the heat higher than "survivable" in the residential district, Miki was more than willing to go on this mission.
Katagiri was still talking. Miki considered listening, and eventually decided there might be some point to what he was saying.
"-Major Kuroki will be taking charge of this mission," he was saying. That was good. Miki liked Sho Kuroki. He had flown the Super-X2 against… he had flown the Super-X2. Good in combat, and a nice person out of uniform.
"Now, the psychic over there-" Katagiri gestured to Miki- "will be accompanying you all. However, while she is skilled in the ranges of telepathy and telekinesis, her precognition skills are noticeably lacking."
That one stung, even if it was true.
"So, to ensure that nothing can go wrong with this absolutely vital operation, we will be sending you with a new asset," Katagiri continued. "Miss Kusanagi? Would you please come forward?"
Miki looked around Mitsuo to see who this Ms. Kusanagi was. It was always good to meet a fellow psychic. She strained and heard light footsteps behind Katagiri, as if from slippers. A short figure framed in shadow slowly came forward, flanked by two soldiers. When Kusanagi hung back, they roughly jostled her forward into clear light.
Any rebuke Miki might have given to the soldiers died on her lips as she beheld Ms. Kusanagi. Standing between them was a small teenage girl wearing a loose-fitting gray jumpsuit and a red-and-black comma-shaped pendant around her neck. "This is Asagi Kusanagi," Katagiri spoke. "She was linked to Gamera at the time of his awakening, and though the turtle may be gone, his spirit lives on, giving her guidance through that orichalcum bead. And she will give that advice to you!"
"So what, we're using child soldiers now!"
Miki was surprised to hear the voice snap at Katagiri, and was even more surprised to realize it was her own voice.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Katagiri said eventually. "Now, Miss Kusanagi here will be accompanying you, and you will not be-"
"If we need guidance, fine. But why does she have to come with us? Can't she just remain in contact with comms? Why do we have to take a kid out of controlled territory?" Miki probed.
"It is possible that the precognition will not function successfully unless she is in direct danger," said Katagiri. "Now, if we could-"
"Possible?! You're risking a kid's life for a possibility?!"
"YOU WILL BE SILENT!" Katagiri roared. "Do I need to remind you I am your superior?! If you cannot do what needs to be done, return to K-Science!"
Red in the face, Miki turned away. Katagiri turned back to the rest of the soldiers, all business again. "The Dimension Tide is believed to be located inside a ruined warehouse, about half a klick outside of controlled territory. Our sentries have been chased off from the area by massed Meganuloun and Meganula. Your task is to secure the warehouse and then call in a chopper to retrieve the Dimension Tide."
More footsteps sounded behind Katagiri as an affable-looking man in his late forties emerged from an elevator. "Ah, Sub-Marshal," he said. "I trust they're ready?"
"They are, Major Kuroki," said Katagiri.
"Alright, Strike Troopers," said Kuroki. "Let's move out!"
Strike Troopers didn't have anything uniform these days. When a good chunk of the population had to worry about having any clothes or weapons at all, standardizing decreased in importance.
As a result, while they all wore the standard-issue gray shirts, Miki wore yellow rubber rainboots and a scarf. Raleigh carried several guns from various designers and countries. Kuroki wore a G-Force cap.
As the Troopers marched out of the armory, fully equipped, Miki turned to see Asagi Kusanagi emerging in the same state as she entered. "You don't have a weapon!?" Miki whispered to her.
For the first time, Asagi spoke. Her voice was quiet, yet held no hint of fear. "The Sub-Marshal told me I couldn't use weapons. Too much of a liability. He said if he saw me with a gun he'd shoot me."
Appalled, Miki spun and marched to Kuroki. "It's one thing," she told him, "To send a kid on a mission. But sending that kid on a mission without a weapon?! What is wrong with you people?!"
Kuroki sighed grimly. "I don't like it, and neither does Stacker. But Katagiri pulled some strings with the Civilian Recovery Council. He's got some idea that the kid's gonna get possessed by a giant turtle the second we turn our backs, and if we give her any weapon she'll use it on us. That suit she's wearing is designed to inhibit Gamera's influence on her."
"He's a moron," said Miki thickly.
"Yep," Kuroki agreed.
The team walked out of the Shatterdome through the streets of Tokyo. It had been a while since any of them had been in the city, and Miki at least didn't like the feeling.
That ever-present mist permeated through every nook and cranny of Tokyo, making it hard to see too far. Even so, Miki knew what she'd see. Rubble strewn about everywhere. Cracks covering the ground, with the land at times shifted out of proportion, so you had to climb up from pavement to pavement. Once-towering skyscrapers with the top simply cut off. Raggedy-looking children clothed in scraps hurrying back to the barely-even-wrecked apartment complexes before "they" come in the night. A skittering shape in the mist, quickly vanishing before you could get a good look at it.
Well, except Miki didn't need a good look. She only needed the noise of its thoughts to put a round from her pistol between its mandibles.
There was a clicking screech, and a thump as the Meganulon collapsed to the ground. A couple Strike Troopers halted, stunned.
"Keep moving," grunted Raleigh. They hastened to do so.
With Kuroki in the lead, the group eventually stepped beyond controlled territory. You could start to tell, by how the ground was even more uneven, the mist even thicker, the buildings more damaged. One could see it as ominous, but Miki took it as encouragement. It showed that there was something worse than the terrified children hiding in the slums, that they were doing some good.
And they could do more.
After maybe an hour more of marching, Kuroki held up a closed fist. The group instantly halted. "That's the place," he said, gesturing to a large building. It looked to be in remarkably good condition, barely any cracks in the facade or holes in the walls, although the mist did make it a bit difficult to make an accurate judgment.
Everyone turned to look at Asagi Kusanagi.
"Okay, kid," Kuroki began, "We have twelve available entrances to this warehouse. We need you to find the one with the least amount of bugs nearby so we can get to the Tide with as little resistance as possible."
Her fingers trembling, Asagi clutched her pendant to her chest. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey," said Raleigh Becket. "It'll be alright if you fail."
Miki nodded stoically. "Just remember to focus."
No longer trembling, Asagi closed her eyes and began to hum a strange melody. It sounded quite similar to certain islander songs, especially the ones Miki had heard the Cosmos sing.
The jumpsuit began to heat up. Asagi opened her eyes and motioned to the building. "That first entrance has several Meganulon nearby, but after them it's an almost entirely clear path through the warehouse. Several entrances on the left have been buried under debris, and the right side of the building is nothing but Meganulon. I would suggest this entrance."
"Suggestion accepted," said Kuroki. "Alright, everyone, get ready for a fight! Better the devil you know!"
He drew a Howa Type 89 assault rifle, as did several other soldiers. Miki took out her pistol, and Raleigh shouldered an AK47. "Stay close to me," Miki hissed to Asagi.
Slowly, the group approached the door. Kuroki would have liked to open with a grenade or two, but unfortunately they were in short supply. So instead, he simply kicked in the door.
The Meganulon were on them almost instantly, springing out with their pincers ready and mandibles bared. Maddening chirps filled the air as the huge dragonfly larvae poured out of the warehouse upon the group.
Their cries were suddenly silenced by the singing of gunshots. Kuroki fired first, squeezing the trigger at the door. The first Meganulon collapsed immediately, green blood pooling out of the holes the bullets had left. Several more rushed to the sides, taking little more than flesh wounds.
The kaijin surrounded the group, around a dozen or so of them. It seemed to last hours, but it was really only a few seconds before they sprang.
One came at Miki, lunging out with its barbed legs to try to pin her down. She jumped back to avoid the first strike, lining up a clear shot with her pistol, and fired straight into its eye at point-blank range. It fell back, screaming, as she followed up with a shot through the carapace into the heart. Sensing its thoughts, she realized it would be dead in seconds. No need to make sure. Her own thoughts were interrupted by Asagi's scream. Another Meganulon had circled behind Miki and was trying to rip into her with its mandibles. The girl was desperately trying to hold them apart, but they were quickly closing around her stomach. Squeezing the trigger, Miki fired at its antennae. In a green spray, the feelers vanished from its head. The Meganulon screeched in rage and turned on her. Miki took aim at its eye, but never needed to fire.
In a cacophony of lead, Raleigh blasted the Meganulon attacking Miki into oblivion with his AK47. Smirking, he kicked away a Meganulon that lunged for him before finishing it off with two headshots from his sidearm. More Meganulon began climbing up the warehouse wall, hoping to jump down and kill them from above. Raleigh aimed the AK47 and simply emptied the clip in their direction. No time for precise aiming- not in combat. The kaijin on the wall fell in a few seconds as another sprang for Raleigh. He slammed the AK47 into its head, ejecting the empty clip as he did so. A few sidearm shots finished off that Meganulon.
Asagi's eyes widened. "Duck!" she shouted to a soldier as he finished off a Meganulon Raleigh had shot. The man did so just before another creature lunged at his head from behind. Rolling out of the way, he stabbed it in the neck with his combat knife. It collapsed as the gunfire died down and the last of the Meganulon fell.
"Everyone all right?" said Kuroki.
"Bit winded, but the most we've got is some scratches from their teeth," said Miki.
"Alright," said Kuroki. "Asagi? Any more bugs in there?"
Asagi clutched her pendant and closed her eyes for a second, before opening them. "No. No, there's no more."
"Good," said Kuroki. "Alright, everyone- we're going in."
The warehouse was cold and damp. Everything was, but this place was more unfamiliar. Boxes and pieces of boxes were scattered haphazardly through the place. Water saturated the floor, condensed out of the ever-present mist. And everywhere could be heard the skittering and chirping of Meganulon.
"Lovely place," said Raleigh dryly. "We sure the bugs didn't just eat the Tide?"
"Our instruments detected the distinct radiation the Tide generates," said Kuroki.
"And we're walking towards that radiation?" someone yelled.
"It's harmless, although I wouldn't put a microwave anywhere in here."
"Aw, but what about my pizza?" Raleigh joked.
There were laughs from most of the soldiers. Even the corners of Asagi's mouth turned upwards into what could be called a rather hesitant smile.
Miki remained silent.
Asagi looked over to the psychic. She seemed nice enough, if quiet, although she wasn't one to judge on that front. But she knew that face. That was the face that you held to hide all the fear behind, the one where you tried to hide everything from your past inside. Asagi saw that face every time she looked in the mirror. Miki…was like her.
Her smile became a bit less hesitant-
Danger! Hurt you! Kill you! Kill all gathered here!
Asagi's suit began to heat up and she quickly shut out Gamera's voice before it could get worse. "Gamera says there's danger!" she spoke up.
The soldiers immediately swiveled outwards, aiming their guns in all directions. "I can't detect any Meganulon close by," said Miki.
"Can you ask him to elaborate?" said Kuroki.
The suit had calmed down now… one question. One question couldn't hurt.
Holding the talisman and closing her eyes, she thought, Gamera, what is the danger?
Nest is unstable. Falls on you soon.
Asagi gasped. The whole building?
No. Just this area. Falls-
He was cut off as her suit began growing warmer still. She had to remember not to talk to him too much. It just came naturally now. "This room's going to collapse," she said. "We need to move!"
"WE NEED TO MOVE!" Kuroki yelled.
Everyone moved.
They ran for the door, but as they did so, one soldier stomped on a fallen metal bar. It struck the wall and a crack began to run over it. The room trembled and chunks began to fall over the doorway. Asagi stumbled and fell behind. Her suit wouldn't stop heating up.
No… no… I'm not talking to him anymore… I'm doing what you want… Why isn't that enough?
The chunks of rubble became larger and larger-
One was heading for her.
She had to get up.
Why couldn't she get up?
The rubble plummeted towards her, big enough to crush a car. "No!" shouted Miki.
Focus…
Miki seized the chunk of rubble in a telekinetic grip. Held it in place, above Asagi. Almost instantly, her brain went taught with strain. It was too much… too big… she couldn't hold it…
Raleigh rushed over and pulled Asagi out of the way. With a cry of effort, Miki finally released the rubble.
We saved her… she thought.
Then she looked around. The door was completely blocked off by a pile of rubble, and they were the only ones in the room.
They were trapped.
"You all right?" Raleigh said to Asagi.
Finally, the suit had apparently decided that Asagi had learned her lesson. "I'm… okay… one minute."
Asagi crawled to a large puddle of water and began splashing it on her red face.
Raleigh took out a radio. "Hello? Major? Do you read us? Over."
"I read you. Over." came the staticky reply.
"Can you see any way to get us out? Over."
"It all seems balanced on one big rock. If we take it out, we could-"
"Negative." Mitsuo Katagiri's voice came over the radio. "The Tide takes top priority over all else. Continue on your way. Over."
Asagi paled at the sound of his voice. Raleigh held the radio, stunned- he had no idea the radios were still linked to the Shatterdome.
"Sir, they are in a very dangerous place. There may be another collapse, and that's saying nothing of the Meganulon-"
"If you must risk the mission for soldiers, you will not risk it for a psychic, a washed-up ex-Jaeger-pilot, and a kaiju priestess. That is an order. Am. I. Clear? Over."
Kuroki glared at the radio like he wanted to shoot the Dimension Tide at it. "Crystal, sir. Miki, Raleigh, Asagi- after we've got the Tide, we'll be back for you. Over."
Raleigh stared at the radio for a second, then shook his head and said "Understood, Major. Over and out."
He turned back to Miki and Asagi. Asagi bit her lip. Miki seemed unfazed, as if she expected this. Raleigh shrugged and sat on a large piece of rubble.
"Well," he said. "I know what we can do to pass the time. We can tell war stories."
Asagi, at least, looked a bit intrigued. Anything to take her mind off their current predicament. Miki shrugged and sat down. Not like she had anything better to do.
"I'll start," said Raleigh, "And have I got some stories to tell…"