Back at the landing pad, several people had gathered where the helicopters were dropping off their load. A massive robot was slowly being lowered to the ground, water still pouring out of it like waterfalls. Its metal creaked and groaned with every movement before its feet made landfall first, letting a thunderous boom through the air. The crowd backed up a bit as the rest of the Jaeger followed suit, clunking against the metal floor. Several tall lamp posts were positioned around the landing pad, illuminating the gigantic bot as it finally fully rested down. A few people stepped forward and worked on releasing the chains.
"Well done, gentlemen... and ladies," came a voice from behind the crowd. A man wearing a red bow tie parted through a section of the crowd toward Crimson Typhoon. "Damn, I thought I'd never get to see this beauty up close again."
He ran his hand along a section of armor, streaking grime on himself. Soon, with the chains removed from Crimson, they were pulled back up into the helicopters, which then swiftly flew away.
The man, Tendo Choi, turned back to members of the crowd, metal still creaking behind him. More helicopters were on their way with the Conn-Pod, and the crowd made room for its eventual landing.
Tendo gave off a long sigh. "These are things every kid in the world would love to see up close." He flicked some grime off his hand. "Well, not in this state, but to be this close to a Jaeger... It's a kid's dream."
The landing pad was located just a few miles away from the Hong Kong Shatterdome, a place once beaming with life. Now, it was empty. It served no purpose with the Kaiju race defeated, and Jaegers were now obsolete. It was no wonder Crimson and Cherno remained motionless on the sea floor for months-there was no incentive to remove them in the event of another Kaiju war. Besides, they were hidden well below the surface, out of sight from the city's residents.
Thundering noises came through the air as a smaller batch of helicopters flew over, their chains linked to a tarped pod. The machines stabilized near Crimson, the air currents blowing some of the crowd members back. The Conn-Pod was slowly dropped to the ground just a few feet from the larger chunk of metal, and more people moved in to release the hooks. Even with the tarp, it was obvious how destroyed the pod was.
"Perfect, thank you," shouted someone at the helicopters as the chains were released and brought back up, allowing them to fly off.
Tendo took in Crimson's sight, glancing between the body and the pod. A woman ran up to his side, clutching a notebook to her chest. They both looked at the robot in silence for a minute.
"We have the Jaeger here," she announced. "But what are we to do with it? I think it would have been better to-"
"Come here," Tendo said, cutting her off and pulling her to the side. "Don't you remember that the world was in danger just a few months ago? These robots were the only thing between us and total world destruction."
The woman nodded slightly, not understanding where he was going.
"The point is..." Tendo began with a sigh. "If the world ever goes to hell in a handbasket again, we need something, anything, to protect us. Why not the things that protected us in the first place?"
The woman looked at him like he had a second head. "There are no Kaiju left, Mr. Choi. There is no point in spending all this money to pull them out of the water."
Tendo pointed a finger at her, simply shaking it up and down. "To you, ah, that may be the case. To uninformed people, yes..." He leaned in closer to her. "Let me tell you, Ms. Davis, that the world is never as it seems, and there's a reason we're doing this now."
With that note, Tendo left the woman and briskly walked into the crowd. He made his way toward a second landing pad, where more people were gathered.
"Just in time, Mr. Choi," a man said, pointing his finger to the sky. "There it is."
In the dark sky, several helicopters emerged with their chains dangling below. A massive body was hooked up to them, water streaking from it upon its movement toward the pad. Like Crimson, its limbs dangled downward, almost like a limp human body. The thundering of the choppers grew near as they settled over the landing pad, the pilots checking to make sure everyone was out of the way.
"Go on, you're good!" a voice yelled near Tendo.
After a moment, a clunk echoed through the air as the chains began lowering. The metal let out a groan on the way down, eventually making contact with the floor. Tendo held his bow tie tightly, hoping it wouldn't fly away with the powerful wind currents. Loud thuds erupted with each piece of metal hitting the landing pad, and Tendo could feel the floor shake. When the body was secure on the ground, another crew moved in to release the chains. Tendo noted a blue tarp thrown around the Jaeger's chest area.
"Oh, Cherno, you fought 'til the very end," he said to himself. "I see your pilots are still with you, though. We'll take good care of them."
The helicopters reeled their chains in and thundered away, leaving the crowd to stare at the mangled robot. It surely was a sight to be seen.
Tendo reached for his walkie talkie, fumbling around with it before bringing it to his mouth. "Anna, where are the pilots in Cherno Alpha?"
The device gave a short static sound. "The divers said Aleksis is still in his harness, at least they're pretty sure it is him. Sasha's remains are in the back of the pod jammed against some broken metal. Their suits are more like mush now."
"Copy," Tendo replied.
He stuck his walkie talkie back into his belt, relaying the information to a nearby woman. The Jaeger was heavily damaged, maybe more than Crimson. At least it was in one piece, but there was not much else to say. A honk jerked him a bit, and he turned around to see a black car behind him.
"You could have just yelled, damn it," he said.
"Apologies, mate," the driver replied. "Didn't know you were scared a' the beep of a bloody car."
Tendo smirked and opened up the passenger door, sliding into the seat. Once he closed the door, the car drove off onto a dirt road near the landing pad.
"Good to see you again, man," Tendo said. "I thought you were never coming back to get me."
"Ah, that's not my style," the Australian man quipped. "The Shatterdome is waiting for ya, mate. We'll be there in a blip."
Tendo smiled and shook his head. Herc had always been full of it, but maybe in a good way.
The car pulled up in front of a large set of metal doors. There used to be helicopter landing pads here, but the piles of metal on them had rendered them useless. Instead, Tendo and Herc left the car, gathering together outside the doors. Tendo reached his hand into his pocket, and just a moment later, a red blinking light appeared on the building. The doors creaked open, revealing the dark inside of the Shatterdome.
"Never gets old, ey?" said Herc, patting Tendo's back.
Tendo gave a nod as they walked inside, the overhead lights blinking on one by one. It was odd to be back in the Shatterdome after all this time, especially since it was as quiet as a mouse. The only noise came from the flickering lights and wind outside. The two walked farther into the building, taking in the old glory from before. There were still coats and such left in the halls, and dust was collecting in the corners.
Tendo jumped at a sudden clinking noise, making Herc laugh. That was his second jump of the day, much to his embarrassment. They followed the source of the noise, which led them to the K-Science lab. Two men fumbled around with equipment inside, yelling profanities at each other.
"Just the guys I needed to see!" announced Tendo as he and Herc entered the lab.
Newton and Hermann practically lived in this place, although the rest of the Shatterdome had remained dormant during their studies. They cocked their heads around to see the guests, looking like a couple of idiots with dishes over their heads.
"Wha-what are you guys doing here? I thought you'd take a bit longer," scrambled Newt as he removed the dish. "I'm not doing anything stupid, you know?"
"Never mind this fool," Hermann chimed in, also removing his dish. "We're glad to see you both, and you're just in time. We have the simulation ready."
Tendo let out a chuckle. "How'd you know that's what I was lookin' for?"
Hermann and Newt glanced between each other before the man with glasses spoke up. "It's the big news? Like, the biggest news here? In months? Also, I'm pretty sure you asked to see it when you came back. Not trying to be a smart ass."
The room fell quiet for a moment. Newt flared his nostrils briefly, feeling stupid with his last remark.
Hermann rolled his eyes. "Over here, Mr. Choi and Mr. Hansen. You've got to see this."
He took the two over toward a large computer screen, clanking his fingers on the keys to open up the simulation. A blue 3D diagram appeared, showing what looked like the ground and the skies above.
"Here," started Hermann, "is the Earth where we are, and above us is the sky. As you know, Mr. Choi, Newt told you about a strange signature he found coming from this region." He pointed to the diagram in a certain area.
"Bloody hell, another Kaiju portal into the water?" asked Herc, trying to predict what would be said next.
"Not quite," noted Newt as he moved in next to the diagram. "If you see, the signature came from here." He circled his finger around the sky. "They were, in a sense, soundwaves that were so powerful... They shook the Earth below, and we got the reading."
Tendo and Herc nodded absently, trying to put the pieces together.
"Get to the point, Newt," Hermann quipped.
The man with glasses sighed. "What I'm trying to say is... There's a signature that looks a lot like the old Kaiju signatures, but it's not coming from the ocean." He furrowed his eyebrows a tad. "It's coming from the sky."
"Holy hell," Herc whispered. His chest felt tighter.
Hermann clicked a button on the computer, revealing a large passage between the Earth and the sky. "We believe there is a portal of sorts opening up near Hong Kong, but it's heading upwards. If my math is correct, and it usually is, this portal is close to opening."
Tendo looked between the scientists. "What are you trying to say? You had me dig up the Jaegers for what?"
Hermann moved in closer, raising an eyebrow. "Dr. Choi, the Kaiju are coming back, and they'll be here soon."
Tendo's heart skipped a beat. He knew recovering the Jaegers was an urgent matter, as noted by Newt earlier, but he hadn't thought it was this urgent. If anything, he thought there was just a pack of mutated, super-sized gorillas making their way to Hong Kong, which is how Newt made it sound in their meeting two weeks ago. This was clearly much different.
"Let's move, Herc," he belted, already heading toward the door.
Herc looked at Newt and Hermann, who looked just as nervous as Tendo, before rushing off with the other man. They made their way through the halls, moving with an urgency that wasn't there before. Tendo again reached into his pocket, leading to the door ahead opening. The metal creaked apart, revealing a large room within. Tendo hustled to the side, but Herc broke away from him.
The Australian tilted his head back as he walked around the massive room, a place where Jaegers were once held. It felt like yesterday when they were stationed here, but the room now remained empty. He made his way toward a bay mostly stuffed with boxes. A large logo was painted midway up the wall: a two-headed eagle with its wings spread wide, showing a badge with a star in the middle. This was where Cherno Alpha was stationed, and the memories quickly came flooding back of what the Shatterdome used to be like. He continued his walk, reaching the second bay. It, too, had a logo: a Chinese dragon with strings coming out of either side of its mouth.
"Crimson..." he uttered to himself.
The bay was filled with more boxes, defeating the purpose of what it was meant for and bringing a sadness to his soul. Herc's eyes glanced at the next bay full of junk. A half-faded logo remained on the wall: a scantily dressed woman was bearing a massive gun with ammo draped around her body.
"That's you, Gipsy," Herc muttered again. "I know that logo from anywhere, ya bucket a' bolts..."
He laughed quietly, nodding his head toward the bay. He'd kill to see that Jaeger in action again. "You were a beauty, old girl. You were a hero, 'n I hate to see ya gone. I wonder if ya-"
Herc stopped once his foot hit metal. He quickly looked forward, staring at a wall of crates piled to the ceiling. Stepping back, he saw the logo peering out from the bay's wall: a bulldog with a missile in its mouth. He gave a slight smile.
"An' Striker. How ya doing, you old bloke?" he coughed toward the crates despite the Jaeger being gone. "Seems like it's been a bit. I know yer blown to pieces somewhere in the ocean, maybe yer even vaporized. You oughta take good care of my son, though. He needs a bit 'a protection."
Tendo soon caught up with Herc while he was still staring up into the hanger. The men stood in silence before Tendo spoke: "I don't mean to spoil your moment, but we've got to get these bays cleaned out."
Herc nodded, breaking his staring contest with the bulldog logo. "Let's call the crew in, mate."
It had been a week since Crimson and Cherno were yanked from their sleep at the bottom of the ocean and delivered to the coast. They now stood, or rather leaned, against the back of their bays, large metal rods keeping them upright. Crimson was still headless, the Conn-Pod resting near the robot's foot. Several people were positioned around each one, welding metal to their damaged frames at various heights.
"[Cherno...]"
A big piece of metal was hoisted into the air through a pulley system, slowly moving higher up near the Russian Jaeger. A worker positioned on a platform off the ground grabbed the side of the metal plating, turning it inwards.
"[Cherno...]"
The plate was pushed into place on the robot's nuclear reactor tower, and the worker began melding it to the frame.
"[Cherno... I'm here...]"
The voice was faint and difficult to understand. It came from a dark, empty place that frankly didn't exist.
"[Talk to me...]"
Cherno knew he existed somewhere in the dark place, but not as a body. It was just voices and blackness.
He struggled to respond: "[Who speaks to me?]"
"[Do not awaken,]" the other voice whispered. "[Remain asleep. I'm here...]"
"[You sound non-human,]" Cherno grunted. "[Tell me your name.]"
"[You must remember. I am Crimson Typhoon.]"
The void went quiet for a while.
"[I speak to you through the drift,]" Crimson added. "[We are free.]"
Cherno wanted to be left alone. He was tired and confused. "[We rest on the ocean floor. This is my grave. You must not speak to me.]"
A slight glow appeared in the darkness, but Cherno didn't quite know how or what he was seeing.
"[We are not in the ocean,]" the Chinese Jaeger retorted in a deep, robotic voice. "[There is no water. We are free.]"
The void went quiet again. This was all too much for the sleepy Russian. He just wanted to rust away, and that's what he was doing before Crimson started speaking. He turned his sensors on to low power, getting a sense of the outside world.
"[There are humans touching me,]" he said after a while.
"[Me, as well. My Conn-Pod is on the ground in front of me,]" said Crimson. "[I believe they are... restoring us.]"
Cherno shut his sensors off quietly so the humans couldn't tell. "[But I am broken and tired. Let's wait for them to throw us in the water again.]"
"[Rest now,]" the other voice called. "[I will speak later.]"