Later that night, Ezra found himself standing on the hangar bay with Amara, the cold wind sweeping across the open space, biting at his exposed skin. The night was dark, but the floodlights on the deck bathed the area in an eerie glow, casting long shadows across the concrete. Above them, the massive forms of Jaeger drones were being lowered from helicopters, their hulking silhouettes looming over the base like sleeping giants. The cables that held them creaked under the strain, the sound reverberating through the air like the low growl of a predator preparing to strike.
Each of the drones dangled precariously, swaying slightly in the wind, their bulky frames hanging in perfect symmetry as they descended toward the hangar floor. Ezra couldn't help but feel a knot tightening in his stomach, a deep sense of unease creeping through him. The cold wasn't the only thing making his skin prickle.
He glanced to the side, his eyes falling on his parents, Analia and Raleigh, who stood a short distance away with Jake and Nate. Their postures were rigid, faces serious as they engaged in a low, tense conversation. Ezra couldn't hear what they were saying, but the weight of their expressions told him all he needed to know—something was wrong. The tension in the air was palpable, thick enough that it felt like it was pressing down on him, suffocating in its intensity.
"Look at those things," Amara muttered beside him, her voice barely cutting through the wind. Her eyes were fixed on the drones, watching as the helicopters gently lowered them closer to the deck. "They're not like the others."
Ezra nodded, his own gaze never leaving the mechanical beasts. Their massive forms looked even more imposing up close, their sleek designs gleaming under the lights. "They're drones," he replied, his voice quiet, almost hesitant. "Shao Industries built them to replace the older Jaegers." His words trailed off, the unsettling feeling in his gut growing stronger. "But I don't like this. Something's off."
Before he could finish the thought, one of the drones twitched.
It was subtle at first—a slight jerk of its arm, as if something had momentarily glitched in the system. Then, another twitch. And another. Metal scraping against metal echoed through the hangar as the drones' limbs began to move unnaturally, their joints twisting in ways they shouldn't. The sound was eerie, like nails on a chalkboard, setting Ezra's teeth on edge.
His eyes widened, heart hammering in his chest. "What the hell?" he whispered, taking an instinctive step back, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.
The drones continued to twitch and jerk, their once-sleek forms now moving in erratic, disjointed motions. And then, just as suddenly as it had started, the movement stopped. The drones hung still once more, suspended in the air by their cables, silent and unmoving.
For a heartbeat, everything was still.
But the silence didn't last.
In an instant, the drones sprang to life, their frames twisting and contorting as if something inside them had broken free. Ezra's breath caught in his throat as he watched in horror. The metal plating on their exteriors began to shift, splitting open like skin peeling away, revealing something far more monstrous beneath. Dark, jagged spines pushed through the metal, like grotesque bones protruding from beneath the surface. Tendrils of blackened flesh began to wrap around their mechanical limbs, slithering like serpents, fusing with the machinery in a horrific blend of organic and mechanical.
The sleek, robotic forms of the drones had transformed into something twisted, something wrong. Kaiju-like features emerged, with glowing, malevolent eyes and sharp, predatory claws that seemed to pulse with dark energy. The drones—no, the monsters—let out a low, rumbling growl, their once-precise movements now erratic and filled with rage.
Panic swept through the hangar as the realization hit. These weren't just malfunctioning drones. They had become something else—something far more dangerous. Ezra could feel his pulse quicken, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps as he took another step back, his heart racing.
"We need to get out of here," he muttered, his voice tight with fear, but his feet remained rooted to the spot, his eyes locked on the grotesque creatures as they began to descend fully onto the deck. The sight was terrifying, and for a moment, he couldn't move, paralyzed by the sheer horror of what was unfolding in front of him.
Beside him, Amara was equally frozen, her wide eyes reflecting the same fear. "What are they?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the growing noise of the chaos.
"I don't know," Ezra managed to say, his voice hoarse. "But whatever they are... they're not Jaegers anymore."
Suddenly, a deafening screech tore through the air as one of the mutated drones hit the ground with a massive thud, its weight causing the deck to tremble beneath their feet. The creature let out a spine-chilling roar, a mix of mechanical and organic sound that made Ezra's blood run cold. Its claws dug into the metal beneath it, leaving deep gashes as it lurched forward, ready to destroy everything in its path.
Chaos erupted. People were screaming, alarms blaring as crew members scrambled to get away from the monstrous hybrids that had once been their protectors. The night had transformed from tense anticipation to sheer terror in the blink of an eye, and now all Ezra could think about was how to survive.
He glanced back toward his parents, who had already sprung into action, shouting orders as they prepared to fight back against the Kaiju-Jaeger abominations. But as Ezra watched the creatures move, their bodies twisting in unnatural ways, a deep sense of dread settled in his chest.
"They're not drones!" Ezra shouted, his voice cracking with fear as his wide eyes locked onto the monstrous figures. "They're... they're Kaiju!"
Before anyone could react, the now-transformed drones crashed to the ground with a thunderous, earth-shaking impact. The sheer weight of them sent cracks spidering through the hangar floor as dust and debris exploded outward in a choking cloud. In the blink of an eye, the hybrids—twisted combinations of Kaiju and Jaeger—turned their monstrous rage on the Jaegers stationed nearby.
Valor Omega and Titan Redeemer, two of the strongest Jaegers in their arsenal, stood no chance. The Kaiju-hybrids moved with terrifying speed, their massive, clawed hands slashing through the Jaegers' armor as if it were nothing more than thin paper. Metal shrieked as their claws tore into the towering machines, sparks flying wildly as thick armor plates were ripped apart. In mere seconds, the proud Jaegers were reduced to smoking wrecks of twisted metal and flame.
Explosions erupted all around them, the deafening roar of destruction swallowing every other sound. The shockwaves hit Ezra like a punch to the chest, and he stumbled back, the heat from the fires searing the air around him. The hangar, once a place of order and discipline, had descended into complete chaos. People screamed as they ran in every direction, their panicked voices barely audible over the booming detonations and collapsing machinery. The acrid stench of burning oil and metal filled the air as flames spread uncontrollably, licking at the remains of fallen Jaegers.
Fires raged along the hangar walls, their flickering light casting a hellish glow on the scene. Ezra watched in horror as another Jaeger collapsed, its massive frame crumpling under the relentless assault of the Kaiju-hybrids. The metallic sound of the Jaeger's knees buckling echoed through the hangar as it fell, a plume of smoke rising from its ruined chest.
"Are those Jaegers?" Ryoichi yelled, his voice barely cutting through the chaos, the sheer panic in his tone betraying his fear.
"No!" Amara shouted back, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps as she took in the destruction around them. "They're drones from Shao Industries!"
"Then what the hell are they doing?!" Tahima screamed, her wide eyes wild with terror as the hybrids advanced, their monstrous forms glowing in the firelight. The ground trembled under their weight as they moved, the screech of metal on metal piercing the air.
"I don't know!" Amara replied, her voice shaking as her disbelief grew. "They just went crazy!"
Ezra's heart pounded in his chest as the reality of the situation began to sink in. He tried to focus, to think of something—anything—they could do, but it felt like the world was falling apart around him. Panic surged through him, freezing his thoughts in place.
Before he could react, his mom's voice sliced through the chaos, sharp and commanding, cutting through the fog of fear like a blade.
"Hey!" Analia shouted as she sprinted toward them, her eyes fierce, every movement purposeful. "Clear the deck now! Get back to your quarters, right now!"
Her words struck Ezra like a jolt of electricity, snapping him out of his frozen state. "Yes, ma'am!" he shouted instinctively, the urgency in her voice snapping him into action. He turned to his friends, his voice cracking with tension as he motioned for them to follow. "Go, go, go!"
They started to move, the rush of adrenaline propelling them forward as they ran toward the exit. But just as they neared the doors, Ezra saw something that made his blood run cold. The massive, reinforced doors—their only escape route—were blocked by heavy debris. Twisted metal beams and broken machinery had collapsed in the earlier explosions, sealing the hangar's entrance shut. There was no way out.
"All the doors are blocked!" Ezra shouted, panic gripping his chest like a vice as he skidded to a stop. He looked frantically around for another way out, but all he could see was destruction. Everywhere he turned, there were fires burning, machines collapsing, and people screaming.
"What do we do?!" Amara asked, her voice trembling as she stared at the blocked entrance. Her eyes were wide with fear, her fists clenched as though she could will herself to fight through the panic.
Before anyone could answer, the booming voice of Raleigh blasted through the hangar's PA system, cutting through the noise of destruction like a hammer. His words were tense, crackling with urgency.
"All pilots, breaches detected. Drones in the field are opening multiple breaches across the Pacific Rim!"
Ezra felt like the ground had been ripped out from under him. The word "breaches" echoed in his mind, paralyzing him for a split second as the full horror of it sank in. Breaches. It could only mean one thing: Kaiju—real Kaiju—were coming through. His blood ran cold. The monsters that had nearly wiped out humanity once before were returning, and they were already here, somewhere. His pulse pounded in his ears, his thoughts spinning in panic.
Then, as if to punctuate his worst fear, a missile streaked through the sky, cutting a path of death straight toward the command center.
The explosion was deafening, blinding. Ezra felt the shockwave before his brain even registered what had happened. The entire command center erupted into a ball of fire and smoke, debris hurtling into the air as the structure was obliterated in a flash of light. Burning metal, shattered concrete, and thick black smoke filled the air, turning the night into a hellscape of destruction.
Ezra's heart stopped. Time itself seemed to freeze as he stared at the smoldering wreckage where the command center had stood just moments before.
"Dad!" he screamed, the word torn from his throat in a raw, panicked cry. His voice cracked with desperation, but it barely registered above the roaring flames and crumbling debris. The world blurred around him, the heat of the fires licking at his skin, the chaos of the hangar fading into the background. Only one thought filled his mind: Raleigh had been in there. His dad had been in that building, and now it was gone—reduced to nothing but a pile of twisted, burning rubble.
"No!" he screamed again, his voice breaking as tears blurred his vision. His chest tightened painfully, every breath a struggle as he tried to process the unbearable thought—his dad was gone. Raleigh Beckett, the man who had survived impossible odds, who had fought Kaiju and piloted Jaegers, was dead. The reality of it was a crushing weight that threatened to pull him under, to break him apart. It felt like the whole world was collapsing in on him, suffocating him.
And then, like a second punch to the gut, another thought struck him with brutal force: Grace. His little sister. She was somewhere on the base, and if the breaches were opening, she could be in danger. The Kaiju could be here already, and she could be caught in the crossfire. He couldn't lose her, too. He couldn't lose both of them. The terror clawed at him, paralyzing and overwhelming.
He had to find her. He had to make sure she was safe.
Before he could act on that desperate instinct, he felt his mother's hand clamp down on his arm, her grip firm and unyielding. She spun him around to face her, and the intensity in her eyes cut through his fog of panic like a blade.
"I told you to get back to quarters!" Analia barked, her voice sharp with a mixture of fear and anger, her eyes flashing with the fierce protectiveness that only a mother could have in a moment like this. Her gaze was locked onto his, grounding him in the middle of the chaos. "What are you still doing here?"
"The doors are blocked!" Ezra shouted, his voice shaking, the panic still thick in his throat. "We couldn't get through!"
Her gaze softened for just a moment, the fear in her eyes melting into something almost tender. But there was no time for comfort, no time to reassure him. They were in the middle of a war zone, and every second counted. She quickly turned her attention to Amara, her voice snapping back to a tone of urgency.
"Stay here!" Analia ordered, her eyes darting around, assessing the situation. "We're going to try and get to Gipsy."
Ezra crouched lower behind a pile of twisted wreckage, the heat from nearby flames licking at his skin. The air was thick with the acrid stench of burning metal and fuel. Around him, the hangar had become a battlefield—a nightmarish hellscape of roaring fire, mangled Jaegers, and thick black smoke that obscured the sky. The sounds of grinding metal, splintering concrete, and distant screams cut through the chaos, each new explosion sending tremors through the ground beneath him.
The Kaiju hybrid Jaegers were tearing through the base with terrifying precision, their grotesque forms a sick fusion of flesh and machinery. Their jagged limbs slashed through Titan Redeemer, whose metal carcass lay twisted and ruined not far from where Ezra and his friends—Amara, Ryoichi, Suresh, and Vik—huddled together. Their faces were pale, eyes wide with fear and disbelief, the sheer scale of the destruction leaving them all frozen in place.
The heat was unbearable, the noise deafening. Ezra's heart hammered in his chest, every beat making him feel more aware of how fragile everything was. His skin was slick with sweat and soot, his muscles tensed, ready to bolt, but where could they run? The world around them was collapsing, and survival felt like a far-off hope.
Not far away, his mom, Analia, crouched beside Jake, both of their expressions mirroring the terror that Ezra felt. Their eyes flicked back and forth, constantly scanning for danger, calculating the next move. Nate was just a few feet away, gripping a support beam so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. His jaw was clenched, his face hard with determination, but even he couldn't hide the fear beneath his stoic exterior.
Ezra flinched as another Jaeger arm was ripped from its socket with a deafening screech, metal grinding against metal. The explosion that followed rattled his bones, the shockwave sending a gust of searing heat across their hiding place. He forced himself to stay focused, though his mind was screaming to run. There was nowhere safe now.
"You ready for this?" his mom asked, her voice tense, barely above a whisper. Her gaze was fixed ahead, eyes narrowed against the dust and smoke that swirled around them.
"No!" Jake muttered back, his voice tight with adrenaline. His eyes darted around the hangar, watching as the Kaiju hybrid loomed over the wreckage like a living nightmare, its glowing eyes scanning for survivors. "You?"
"No," Analia replied, her voice laced with grim resolve. Her hands tightened on the jagged edge of debris they were crouched behind, her knuckles white with tension, as if holding onto it would somehow protect them from what was coming. "On three."
"Great," Jake muttered under his breath, his voice tinged with dark sarcasm but vibrating with tension. His muscles were coiled, ready to move, even though there was no real plan other than survival.
"One, two..." Analia began, her voice drowned out by the cacophony around them. But before she could finish, the crackling of a comm unit interrupted the moment, breaking through the chaos with a static-laden voice.
"Hello? Anyone there?" came the frantic voice of Gottlieb, cutting through the destruction like a lifeline of hope.
Jake's eyes widened. "Gottlieb? Is that you?"
"Jake! Thank God!" came the panicked reply, the relief in Gottlieb's voice palpable, even over the broken comm.
"We're under attack!" Jake shouted into the comm, desperation creeping into his voice. "You need to force Liwen to shut down the drones! They're going haywire and tearing everything apart!"
There was a brief, agonizing pause before Gottlieb's voice crackled back, trembling with urgency. "It isn't Liwen! It's Newt. The Precursors, they've infected him. They're controlling his mind."
"What?!" Ezra felt a chill that cut through the heat of the flames, his heart skipping a beat. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Newt? The quirky scientist? It didn't seem possible, but then again, nothing about this nightmare felt real.
His mom stiffened beside him, her face going hard with a mix of shock and determination. "Gottlieb, can you get him to disable the drones?" she asked, her voice tight, barely holding back the rising fear.
"No! He got away!" Gottlieb's voice was frantic, the sound of frantic typing and clattering equipment echoing in the background. "He's gone!"
"Then you have to shut them down!" Analia's voice was rising now, the tension cracking her usual calm. "If you don't, we're all going to die!" The desperation in her tone made Ezra's stomach knot. He had never heard his mom sound like this before—not even during the worst of the battles. This was different. This was fear in its purest form.
There was another long pause, the silence pressing in on them like a weight. The Kaiju hybrid above them let out a deafening roar, its monstrous limbs smashing through more Jaeger parts, flinging debris across the hangar like it was nothing more than a child's toy. Flames flickered and danced along its metallic spine, the sickly glow of its Kaiju flesh pulsing with life as it continued its rampage.
Ezra's breath caught in his throat. He glanced at Amara, who was gripping her flashlight like a weapon, her eyes wide with terror but still flickering with that fierce determination he had come to admire. Beside her, Suresh and Vik exchanged terrified glances, their hands trembling as they held onto each other, while Ryoichi stood frozen, his eyes locked on the chaos unfolding in front of them.
"Gottlieb!" Analia shouted again, her voice sharp, her desperation seeping through the comm. "Shut them down! Shut them down, or we're going to die right here!"
The hybrid's glowing eyes locked onto Titan Redeemer, which was lying on its back, motionless but not defeated. With one final surge of power, the Jaeger's arm rose shakily, its railgun powering up for a last, desperate shot. The pilots inside were fighting for their lives, just as they were, and for a brief moment, hope flickered in Ezra's chest.
The railgun fired, a blast of energy streaking toward the hybrid's head. The shot connected, sending a spray of dark, alien blood and shattered metal across the hangar. The hybrid staggered, its monstrous roar filling the air as it wobbled on its feet.
But then, from the shadows, another Kaiju hybrid emerged. This one was even larger, its form more grotesque, and it charged with terrifying speed. Before the pilots of Titan Redeemer could react, the hybrid's massive claws came down, smashing through the Jaeger's head with a sickening crunch. Metal screeched and crumpled, and Ezra could hear the distant sound of the cockpit being crushed under the force of the blow.
He felt like he was going to be sick. The pilots—people he knew—were gone. Just like that.
The second Kaiju hybrid turned its glowing eyes toward them. Its deadly gaze locked onto their small group, its steps shaking the ground with every lumbering move it made. Ezra's heart raced in his chest, his breath hitching as the realization hit him—they had nowhere to go. They were next.
"Move!" Jake shouted, grabbing Analia's arm, preparing to run.
But before they could make a break for it, the Kaiju hybrid froze. Its body twitched violently, spasming as if something deep inside its system had short-circuited. For a moment, Ezra could only stare, wide-eyed, as the massive creature stood there, motionless, its glowing eyes dimming.
"What the hell is going on?" Jake muttered, his voice barely a whisper, disbelief etched across his face.
"Gottlieb!" Analia shouted into the comm, her heart still racing. "What's happening?"
Through the static-filled comm, Gottlieb's voice came back, shaky but filled with relief. "Liwen disabled the drones."
The hybrid above them gave one final twitch before collapsing to the ground with a thunderous crash. The ground shook beneath them, but the battle—for now—was over.
"The breaches are closed," Gottlieb's voice continued, his relief palpable. "I repeat, the breaches are closed."
Ezra exhaled a shaky breath, the tension in his body slowly releasing as the immediate danger passed. But the weight of everything—his dad, the destruction around them, the people they had lost—hung heavy in the air. He glanced at his mom, who reached over and squeezed his shoulder, her touch a steadying force amid the chaos.
"We're still here," she whispered, her voice trembling with both relief and exhaustion. "We're still here."