Nothing. There is nothing—no trees, no ocean—just nothing but rocks and mountains. The land was dark orange; nothing could ever thrive in this place. On one of those mountains, there was a large gate, and what led inside was a secret underground base. It was pitch black, and everything was completely in place beside the built-up dust and cobwebs. In one of the other rooms, there were two people lying still in their pods; they were in a cryo-state, both a male and a female.

Silence fell in this room other than the roaches and rats scurrying around. One of those rats came onto the control panel searching for food. As the rat began scurrying carefully one paw at a time locating where the food smell is coming from. It accidentally pressed the emergency power button. The light came on as the power began to hum, the rat scurried away. The pods began to hiss as the hatch slowly opened, as fog rushed out and spread onto the ground. More and more fog slept through as both hatches were fully open. The male that wore pajamas was the first to awaken as he stretched out his arms and let out a yawn.

'Oh, je suis fatigué/(Oh, I'm tired)' The man spoke; he had a French accent, and his name was Ezekiel Petrov, a lead scientist and designer for the jaeger. (He is voiced by A.J. LoCascio, the voice of Gambit from X-men'97.)

He had a slender build, standing around 5'10, and dark brown hair that was slightly wavy. As he began to step out of the pod almost subconsciously, he quickly pulled back his feet remembering that stasis units when open always leave a cold floor in front of him, putting on his slippers in the pod, with the image of an atom placed on the sole with each slipper proceeds to walk out. He walks to the bathroom, then turns on the lights, grabs his tooth brush, puts toothpaste on it, then proceeds to brush his teeth. As he begins to brush his teeth, he notices something wrong with the bathroom mirror. He drags his finger on that mirror and realizes it has built up some dust. Wiping away the dust on his finger with his robe, Ezekiel pressed a button that was on the left side of the light switch. The button made a buzzing sound before it stopped, as Ezekiel continued to brush his teeth. He heard the familiar sound of a rocket blast coming closer to the front door. Ezekiel walked over and opened the door, he saw Codsworth, the robot butler, was there hovering at the opening. Codsworth for the first time in a long time seeing that he changed very little from the awakening of his stasis pod to the time he first built him.

Codsworth was outfitted with a sleek metallic torso serving a double function as his head and body attached to the torso were three visual sensors in a stalk-like protrusion. Underneath the torso were three metallic tentacles segmented with various tools, for various tasks. But there was something wrong with him; instead of his sleek metallic torso, he had dulled and rusted all over his metal body becoming a far cry of its original self.

'Codsworth?' He asked, spitting out the paste in the sink, putting back his toothbrush in his pajama pockets.

'As I live and breathe, it's you! It's really you!' Codsworth yelled joyfully.

'Yeah, Codsworth, it's me; what happened to you?' Ezekiel questioned.

'Well, what's happened when you haven't been checked for the past 100 years would do that to you, I'm afraid' Codsworth let out a small chuckle, but Ezekiel was caught off guard.

'I'm sorry, what?! You said 100 years!' He said in disbelief.

'Well, give or take another 36 years; when you and Misses went to sleep, you haven't awoken until right now. Speaking of her, where is your better half?' The sudden realization that she wasn't here frightened Ezekiel.

'Excuse me, Codsworth, I need to check on something...Vorona!' He yelled, passing by Codsworth, accidentally hitting the wall before running back to the hibernation chambers. Once there, he saw that not only his pod was open but also that of his wife, Vorona Petrov. Ezekiel ran over to her pod and saw that, to his relief, she was still breathing. Vorona Petrov was the assistant and wife of Ezekiel Petrov. She was 5'5 with blonde hair that was neatly warped into a bun; she was also wearing pajamas. Ezekiel then shook her shoulder.

'Mi amor/(My love) wake up!' Vorona just groans and turns to her side.

'5 more minutes...' She groaned. But he didn't let her; instead, he sat her up and began to shake her violently, which fully awakened her.

'Ok, ok, I'm up. What do you want?' She asked in a Russian accent.

'Something wrong happened with our hibernation chamber during our sleep?!' He yelled.

'That can't be, because we're still alive'

'We have been asleep for a century!' The words that came out of his mouth shocked her, and at first she didn't believe him; she simply shook her head.

'No, no, that can't be right; this has to be a joke, right? An April fools joke!?' She said,

'I'm afraid, Miss, that this isn't a joke' A voice said, The two turned in that direction and saw Codsworth floating into the room.

'Codsworth? Is that you? What happened?' Vorona asked.

'Well, time takes a toll on everyone, even me.' This shocks her even more.

'So this isn't a joke; all the people we knew...Our friends and family there, their—are all gone' Vorona began to curl up her head onto her knees and started to cry. Ezekiel put his arm around her shoulder and held her tightly.

'There, there, it's going to be alright; we'll get through this' Vorona lifted her head and looked at him; tears soaked her eyes.

'How?! Everyone we had or once knew is now gone!' words choking through the tears trying to bury her face into his chest, but he lifted up her chin.

'Mon précieux/(My precious), we shouldn't grieve for those we lost; we should be happy for the people we have, like you and me'

'But everyone is gone' Vorona responded sorrowfully.

'That's why I'm here; I'm here to help you; we can get through this together' Ezekiel promised. As the words registered into Vorona's mind, she responded in kind but not with words but with a kiss. A kiss that first sealed their marriage together now begins to mark a new horizon that both will take together whatever the perils may be; Codsworth seeing the couples make anew their vows for each other began floating away, closing the door behind him, leaving the two to have their moment. Faintly sobbing all the while.

'Family is such a precious thing' Pulling a tissue from a dusty tissue box with one of his metallic tentacles wiping away the dust from his three visors.

1 hour timeskip

Ezekiel then walks into the main laboratory, and while he walks, he puts on his lab coat. He was now fully clothed, wearing a black dress shirt with dark brown trousers that were held up by suspenders. He also wore dark brown boots that lace up to just below his knees, and he also wore a loose-fitting white tie. Ezekiel then sat on a table and began to turn on his computer. As he did, he heard the sound of a cup being placed beside me. He looked to his left and saw Codsworth placing a cup.

'A cup of coffee to boost things up a bit, don't you agree, sir?' Ezekiel smiled, picked up the cup, and started to drink before stopping.

'Oh Codsworth, what would we do without you?' Ezekiel asked.

'I believed you would survive plenty without me, sir; if I may ask, what are you doing?'

'I am checking what we have—supplies, power, and what's out there since the 100 years have passed'

'Well, power is at 65 and dropping slowly, and there's enough ration to last us for 8 months at best.' A voice said, They turn to see Vorona walking with a clipboard in hand; she was also wearing her lab coat with a sleeveless white top, and around her neck was a red choker. She also untied her bun and let it drop loosely around her shoulder; her long hair covered the right side of her eye. Ezekiel then smiles.

'Ah, it's good to see that you're up, Mrs. Petrov' Codsworth said, and Vorona nodded towards the machine.

'Thank you, Codsworth; anyway, there's still something I don't get' She said this, which made Ezekiel raise an eyebrow.

'And that is?' He asked.

'Who awakens us from our pods?' To which Ezekiel just shrugs.

'Life has its way' Then the notification came on his computer; this caught his attention.

'Hold on now, what's this?' He then began to type on his computer. Vorona walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

'What is it?'

'It appears that we have Jaeger on our hanger.'

'Wait, we have a Jaeger; which one is it?' She asked. Ezekiel then pulls out an image of Cherno Alpha.

'It is one of the Mk.1 models, the Cherno Alpha' Vorona, rather than the raise and eyebrow.

'Huh, wonder why it's here and not with Kaidonovsky's?' She asked.

'Let's see then...Oh, my God' Ezekiel said.

'What is it?' She asked.

'Their KIA/(Kill in Action)' Vorona was shocked by this and covered her mouth with her hand.

'Oh my god, those poor souls, but wait, why is their Jaeger here?' She asked.

'Well, let's see...' He continued to type on his computer.

'Oh, it's so tragic for a couple dying young' Codsworth began to make crying noises before pulling a tissue out of his hand and beginning to wipe his three visors. That is when a ding came from the computer, and Ezekiel found an article about Cherno Alpha.

'I found it' Ezekiel said.

'Well, then what does it say?' She asked.

'Well, it read, "Although the pilots were KIA, the Jaeger received sum damage to minimal damage"'

'What could damage Cherno Alpha? It's parasitically a walking tank' Ezekiel then began to scroll down the article.

'Well, according to this Cherno Alpha cockpit, there was damage to a kaiju that spit out acid and was overwhelmed when the two kaiju started to attack it at once, causing it to crash to the ground and causing the pilots to drown' Vorona was horrified by this and covered her mouth again in shock, then stopped reading the article.

'Well, I've got some good news and some bad news'

'Some good news would be nice' she asked.

'Well, the good news is that we could fix Cherno Alphas if we pull apart this and don't deal with Kaiju anymore' Vorona then breathes a sigh of relief and soon realizes something.

'Then what's the bad news?'

'Well, we don't know what's outside; it could be normal or it could be a wasteland full of radioactivity, and we're the only ones here' Vorona thought for a moment before realizing.

'Then that means...'

'We're the only ones that could possibly pilot Cherno Alpha' Ezekiel said, finishing her sentence. Vorona let out a deep sigh before taking a deep breath.

'Alright, one problem at a time; let's deal with the outside.' Ezekiel then stood up from his chair.

'Alright then'

1 hour timeskip

The two wore hazmat suits preparing to go to the outside world, on each of their belts is a walkie talkie for communication not to each other but to Codsworth. Once they were fully secure, Ezekiel pulled out his walkie talkie pressing the button to talk to Codsworth.

'Alright Codsworth when I give the word open the gates' letting go of the button as he finished his request.

'Yes sir'

'On there is one more thing I have to say...' Ezekiel pressing the button again.

'And that would be?' He asked.

'Codsworth if we don't make it out of this I just want you to know that you'll always be family to us' As he let go of the button he could hear the sounds of crying.

'Thank you so much sir, that really means something to me'

'No problem Codsworth' Ezekiel then looks over to Vorona.

'Ready to face the world Mi amor/(My love)' Vorona smiles back.

'Of course my love' Ezekiel holding his walkie talkie then pressed the button.

'Alright Codsworth open the gate'

'Right away sir' He said, the alarm began to ring out as the room began to flash red. As the gate slowly opened, light seemed to seep through the small opening blinding them for a moment, Ezekiel then held on to Vorona hand and her to his. For a few moments, nothing happened Codsworth called from the walkie talkie.

'Sir, are you alright?' He asked, Vorona spoke through the walkie talkie.

'Yea, yea, Codsworth we're fine, it's that we're taking it back a bit...' Trying to reorient herself.

'On that good, what do you see? I can't see it from up here' A moment of silence followed after that question, what can one say if they see nothing but rock and mountains.

Soon Ezekiel let go of her hand and began to take off his gas mask. Vorona saw this and tried to stop him but at that point it was already too late, once his mask was fully off she was expecting him to die instantly from either radiation or poisonous air but nothing happened. Ezekiel then took a deep breath in. A deep breath out.

'There's no radiation, that's goo-OW!' His words were interrupted when Vorona hit him in the head.

'Hey! what was that for!' As he looked up he saw that she had also taken off the mask, tears ran down her face as he lips quiver.

'You jerk! You could have died!' Ezekiel just smiled and began to hug her gently while she playfully punched him.

'Your a jerk, you know that' This made Ezekiel chuckle a bit.

'Yea, but I'm your jerk' This also made Vorona chuckle a bit.

'Yes you are'

After a thorough shower, Vorona and Ezekiel didn't waste any time and started to repair Cherno Alpha. Both never stopped, with the only respite they had was Codsworth insisting on taking the recommended sleep in which the two relented. After eight months, scheduling, elbow grease, and a lot of coffee later, Cherno Alpha was fully repaired and operational to full working capacity. As the Jaeger engine core hummed across the facility. The two began to admire their work with sanctification. Feeling the weight lift off from her shoulders Vorona sat her head against Ezekiel's shoulder.

'She a beauty ain't see' Vorona said and Ezekiel nodded.

'Do you think there's any people left out there?'

'Rather find nothing then thinking there might be someone out there' He responded. After a moment of silence Ezekiel spoke again.

'Ready to pilot?' He asked, Vorona nodded.

The two were now inside of the Cherno Alpha cockpit, each of them wearing their pilot suits. Beginning the startup sequence of the Jager, Diagnostics reconfigured, Sensors online, Waypoints marked, Engine core reaching at optimal levels, Automated Assistant online, Safety clamps disengaged. They were ready to pilot. Codsworth calls in from the speaker.

'Sir, are you sure this is safe?' He asked.

'40% sure, as long as we don't chase the rabbit' Ezekiel responded

'Sir, 40% is very low' Codsworth rebuttal.

'We'll be fine, Codsworth' Vorona responded playfully. Ezekiel, look over to Vorona.

'Ready to drift?' He asked.

'Please, after you, age before beauty' Ezekiel chuckled a bit before closing his eyes and took a deep breath. A female AI spoke.

'Neural handshake...initiate' The two felt a short, shocking pain right before they drifted into each other's memory.

First up was Vorona. Opening her eyes, she began to look around, and guessing from the posters on the wall and the small bed, it appeared that she was in a child's bedroom. Then sounds were coming outside the child room, along with the sound of crying. Slowly, Vorona approaches the door, turns the door knob, and slowly opens it. Peaking through the door and into the hallway, she saw a large man wearing a white tank top. The man was holding on to something while hitting it. But it was when he threw it towards the door that she soon realized it was a young Ezekiel, and this must have been his room. Young Ezekiel had a black eye, a bloody nose, and bruises all over. Vorona could tell who it was. Ezekiel Farther, a drunk failed plasterer, took out his anger upon his son. Vorona wishes she could do something to ease his pain. But Vorona knew that this was his memory, and although it pained her to see him hurt, she knew that this pain was what built him up to be the man that she loved, then to her surprise someone pulled her into something.

Then it was Ezekiel's turn. The first thing he heard was the sound of the wind blowing against his suit. Opening his eyes, he saw the destruction of an unknown city. Buildings were in shambles; pieces of them were scattered all over the floor; cars were either destroyed or flipped over. Ezekiel then heard the sound of crying not too far from here, and it sounded like a child. Running past and avoiding the rubble, he soon spots a young blond child wandering around, crying out for her mother; farther away, the child was missing her shoe, bleeding out from her head and arms. Ezekiel soon realized that this girl was Vorona, and suddenly his focus was interrupted by a bellowing roar. He knew what that was.

'Kaiju' He whispered.

The Kaiju appear out of the smoke. The Kaiju name was Vodyanoy; named after a water monster from Russian folklore. It looks like a "puffed-up" version of a toad. The Kaiju eyes met her, and it let out a bellowing croak before slowly charging forward, squeezing between buildings and tipping them over along the way. The young Vorona cried before turning away, beginning to run for her life. As she did, Ezekiel ran after her keeping a consistent pace until she turned towards an alleyway. The two then realized it was a dead end. Young Vorona looked around desperately, finding somewhere to hide, but both of them could hear the Vodyanoy coming close, leaving her with no time to think it through, so she just hid behind a dumpster and curled herself into a ball.

The Vodyanoy stopped where Vorona was opening its mouth, a long glowing tongue floated out of its mouth and into the alley, with other smaller tongues protruding out of it. Each tongue began to feel around the alleyway searching for the young girl as if it had a mind of its own. As the tongues grew closer to her, she slowly backed away until she reached a wall, stopping her from moving. It was about to touch her when it suddenly stopped, and the sounds of multiple propellers could be heard. Vodyanoy retreated with his tongue and looked up. The two and the Kaiju look up to see multiple helicopters carrying a Jaeger and place it just a few miles away. The Kaiju let out another bellowing croak before charging at the Jaeger. Ezekiel couldn't see anything further as he was suddenly pulled by something. Both of them open their eyes and look around. The two soon realize they are back in the Cherno Alpha cockpit. The two then hear Codsworth's voice.

'Sir, sir, are you their sir?' He asked.

'Yea, yea, we're fine' Ezekiel responded, making Codsworth breathe a sigh of relief.

'Oh, thank God, when you didn't respond, I was a bit worried' While Codsworth spoke, the two realized they were in sync with Cherno Alpha.

'Alright, Codsworth, open the gate; when you're done, rush back and get inside the Jaeger' Vorona said.

'Right away, miss' He responded.

Word count 3300
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