Pacific Rim
Romaani watches the screen, frowning at the images shown of the fight in Namibia. She winces when the Kaiju breaks through the wall, scattering the bricks over the people below. She perks up a little when she sees a Jaeger follow it through the gap, blasting the creature through the back.
'Good old, Behati.' Raleigh mutters, sitting in behind her and scratching her back. Their dinner is perched on his knee as he settles in to watch the new with the other workers. 'Who's she with again?'
'That Sudanese guy, Tayeb, remember?' The coyote says, turning her head to snatch some bacon off his plate. 'We worked with them in Cameroon.'
'Oh, yeah. Teen prodigies weren't they? Yancy hated working with them.'
The others around them go quiet, Romaani twisting her neck to glare at Raleigh. To his credit, his own face has fallen, lost in painful memories of his brother death, not all of them his own. Romaani whines, the emotions hitting her hard, and shuffles to lie next to him, head resting on his shoes. Her own mind goes to the wild-dog that would curl up with her in the drift, as close physically as their men were mentally.
'I miss them. I miss everything, even fighting.'
Raleigh's eyes flick to the screen as another Kaiju appears behind the African Jaeger, taking them by surprise. Romaani shudders against him, tail falling limp.
'I'm sorry Ro, but I definitely don't miss the fighting. We are not going back.'
Mako doesn't know what is stranger; the second mind wrapped completely around hers or the fact that Vaara is sat barely a foot from Raleigh and edging closer each minute. Romaani seems torn between Mako and her dæmon, stuck halfway between them with her ears flat to her head.
'Alright! Time!'
Mako shudders as she is pulled out of the drift. Vaara, remembering himself, scurries ack to her, jumping over the coyote to reach her. Since Mako's failed piloting of a Jaeger, they've been doing practice drops so it doesn't happen again. Raleigh almost stops but Romaani is obviously distressed so Mako waves him on, sitting down against the simulator wall, Vaara resting on his haunches beside her.
'I think that went well.' The wolf mutters in Japanese, ignoring the confused looks some of the tech workers send them. 'For one, we didn't kill anyone.'
Mako nudges him with her shoulder, smiling gently. 'Maybe father will let us try agin with a real one soon.'
They sigh in unison as the room empties. They are all too used to being in this room, although normally people aren't wary of them when they practice. Vaara stretches slightly, lying down and rolling over, paws dangling in the air.
'We'll pilot a Jaeger, Mako. I know we will.'
Mako just scratches his stomach, smiling to herself as his tongue lolls out. She doesn't need to say anything because they both know he's right. They will be a Ranger one day. They just will.
It is very rare for their to be a silence in the LOCCENT, rare that enough of the technicians have stopped speaking to focus on one thing. But, then again, it's also incredibly rare that they get a new Marshall, especially one with such a huge dæmon.
Isä watches the dæmons around her with mild interest, smiling to herself when they catch her looking and scurry back to their humans. Stacker is working with Choi and glares at her every time she scares one of the smaller dæmons but the bear just shrugs, resting her head on the ground to watch the technicians work and her little girl play.
Mako collides with Stacker's legs, babbling about one of the scientists and how he was mean. The Marshall picks her up easily, comforting her while still talking to Choi, with the practiced ease of a parent. Vaara has latched onto Isä's arm, mimicking her form and whining. The bear rolls her eyes at Stacker and nudges the smaller bear with her nose, trying to calm him down. Stacker is rocking from side to side, still talking as the motion manages to lull Mako into a sleep. The girl isn't a baby but she is still fresh from a trauma so she needs as much comfort as he can give her.
Isä smiles as the room grows even quieter, the technicians allowing Mako to sleep soundly. Stacker winks and kisses her forehead. They make pretty good parents, no matter what people say.
Tuuletin hit the ground, breathing deeply as Newt starts the drift. Kaijus have no dæmon so the squid has nothing to link with, only emptiness and the pain Newt was feeling. Newt himself had fallen too but he had managed to get himself into a chair as the memories hit him while his soul writhed around on the ground.
'Newton! Newton, what have you done?!'
The pain washed away as Gottleib appears, pulling the headset off Newt and shaking him wildly. Tiede scuttles over to her, one tiny claw resting on Tuuletin's tentacles. Hermann scoops her up hastily, limping out of the room with a promise to return. The squid begins to pull herself towards Newt, whining at each movement until she is able to rest her tentacles on his leg. He takes a deep breath, leaning forward in the seat to lift her onto his lap, slumping once he has managed it.
'Don't do that again.' Tuuletin manages to say through laboured breaths.
'Might have to.' Newt says back. 'After what we discovered, we'll have to find out more stuff.'
Make someone else do it.' She says, as they hear someone marching down the corridor to their lab. 'Please, Newt, please don't make me go through at again. I can't do it.'
Newt nods weakly, beginning to shake as he holds his dæmon close to his chest. They wanted to know why they were being attacked, why the Kaiju were fighting them.
They don't really want to know anymore.
'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.'
Tiede sighs as her man limps along, clinging tight to the hand holding his cane. 'If it's so stupid, why are we going to help?'
Hermann stops briefly, glaring down at her before continuing to limp through the rubble. The helicopters have more important things to be getting on with so had dropped him as close to Newton as possible then flown off, leaving him to make his own way to the scientist. Tiede wraps her tail around his wrist as he picks up speed, scared she's going to fall off.
'Newton, idiotic as he is, needs our help. I can't just abandon him to his own moronic tendencies.'
The salamander shakes her head, yelling as she spots the Kaiju body in the distance. Hermann picks up his speed, wincing as his leg flares up in pain. His dæmon pats his hand with her claw, the pain affecting her as well.
'You can't stop now, Herm. We have to keep going.'
The scientist nods, continuing through the pain and making it to Newt's side, picking up the phone as he gets there. Tiede looks up, worried, as he takes the call. 'Two signatures? Two?'
Tiede looks down at Tuuletin, confused as the two rant at each other about who is right and who is wrong. Tiede slides down the cane to reach the squid, head tilted. 'You alright?'
'We're drifting again. I can't drift on my own.'
Tiede looks up as her man speaks. 'You won't.'
Chuck stares at his father, not really knowing what to do, what to say. His dæmon stands behind his leg, awkwardly nudging her nose towards the pit-bull next to his dad's side. Iskijä shuffles closer to Chuck's leg, looking up at him in his drift suit, about to go on what could be their last mission.
But his dad isn't going with him.
Max starts barking and Iskijä moves forward, the Rottweiler pressing noses with the bulldog. Sainsen moves behind Herc, sitting herself behind Max and staring at the bigger dog, obviously wanting to comfort her daughter-dæmon. Iskijä looks up at Sainsen for a second, muscles moving as if to embrace the other dæmon before she flinches, rushing back to her human and hiding between his legs.
Chuck sighs and bends down, first comforting his dæmon then saying goodbye to Max. He's already began to cry but this, fussing his dog for possibly the last time, is getting to much for him. Iskijä presses against his legs as he stands, nodding to his father and turning around, heading towards the elevator. Iskijä trots between his legs as he walks away from their father, both of them focusing on not looking back.
'Stacker! That's my son you've got there.' Herc shouts from behind him, voice choking. 'My son.'
Chuck squares his shoulders as the elevators move, his dæmon glaring up at Stacker's bear. He is his father's son and they are going to make him proud, whatever it takes.
'Did you get it? Did ya, dad?!'
Herc smiles as his son rushes through the crowd to reach him, new puppy cradled in his arms. Iskijä is flying above them, flying at Sainsen as soon as the pit-bull is finished talking to Scott's dæmon. Herc's brother laughs, walking into the crowd as Herc ruffles Charles' hair and takes the dog from the ten year old.
'Course I did, Charlie. Did you ever doubt me?'
The boy laughs, squirming as his dad tickles under his armpits. One day, they will drift and every little secret will come spilling out, all of Herc's guilt for not saving his wife but, for now, they are just father and son, celebrating another victory.
Charlie?' Sainsen says, softly pushing Iskijä away as the younger dæmon shifts to a wildcat. 'Why don't you go play?'
Charlie nods, taking Max from his dad and running back through the crowd, Iskijä jumping on his back as a monkey. Scott bumps Herc's shoulder, following his nephew with a shout. Herc sits down next to Sainsen, wrapping an arm around her neck.
'Another successful drop, Sain.'
She smiles, leaning on his shoulder. 'That's 10 now, this is getting easy. We need a challenge.'
He snorts, smacking her head lightly. 'Don't push our luck. We've only had category two's so far. It could get much worse.'
Sainsen shrugs, stretching before shaking out and standing. 'Whatever, Hercules. We'll still beat them. Now, let's go find Stacker.'
Herc laughs, reentering the party.
Alexander Harris looks out over Hong Kong, scowling at the ocean where he can see the Jaeger and Kaiju battling it out. He rolls his eyes and heads back to his shelter, his own personal one because he refuses to trust a public one again.
'What's happening Chau?' His dæmon says, already sitting on the bed as he shuts the door behind him.
'Just another Kaiju fight, nothing to worry about.' Hannibal shrugs, holding a hand out for her to jump onto. 'And I thought you didn't like that name.'
Markkinat frowns, scurrying up his arm to reach his shoulder. The rat settles there as he sits on the bed, waiting out the attack. 'I don't like any alias, you know that. Just because this is the best one doesn't mean I actually like it.'
He snorts, tugging slightly on her tail. 'Like yours is any better. Since when do you speak Finnish?'
She bites his ear, which only causes him to laugh more. 'I can use google. Like you thought up 'Hannibal' all by yourself.'
The grin fades from both their faces as the ground shakes, the scream of a Kaiju echoing through the entire city. Hannibal lays down and scowls at the ceiling, good eye boring into the dingy metal as they hear the groan of metal moving through the streets.
'Bloody Jaegers.' Markkinat hisses, pressing herself closer to him. Hannibal doesn't say anything, just staring. The Jaegers may win every battle but they are losing the war.