Contact
Hopkins kept his ASP’s ocular sensors on the sky, autocannon ready to fire as he and his squad advanced towards the first civilian bunker they could reach. “Sanders, range!” Hopkins said, snapping his gun up and letting loose a burst of fire. A moment later, a basic Gyaos tumbled out of the sky into a broken heap, the kaiju screeching in anger for only a moment more before another ASP came up to it and impaled its head with an underslung bayonet.
“Three blocks down Major!” Sanders answered, the pilot’s ASP carrying a back-slung drone control system. Hopkins glanced up, and his HUD picked up the disc shaped drone flying high above the chaos, blissfully ignored by the flocks of ravenous beasts. “We’re almost at the school!” Hopkins nodded, his ASP doing the same with its own sensor housing as he pointed forward.
“Good! Now let’s get our asses moving people, those kids ain’t got forever!” The squad nodded, hustling as best as they could down the narrow streets, taking down what few Gyaos they could as they appeared. Rounding past a collection of ruined houses, they came across their destination, and thankfully, there were still buses parked in the front. “Oh thank fuck,” Hopkins said. “This is a good sign at least. HEY! If there’s anyone in there, I’m Major Hopkins, US Army! We’re here to get you out!” He pointed for a trio of pilots to go and secure the entrance of the school. At the doors, Hopkins could see movement, and a quick look through his sensors confirmed they were human.
“Major, incoming!” a pilot shouted just as a Super Gyaos crashed down on top of her, the sound of crunching metal echoing through the air before it shrieked hungrily. Before anyone could react, the monster’s head lunged down and bit down on the ASP’s chest, teeth tearing through the titanium canopy of the mech’s cockpit before throwing it away. The pilot within barely had time to scream in terror before her body was between the Super Gyaos’ serrated fangs, bone and body armor snapping as it devoured her whole.
“BRING IT DOWN!!” Hopkins ordered, chaingun aimed at the kaiju as he pulled the trigger. He, along with the remaining ASPs opened fire on the Super Gyaos. “MASER, clip the wings!”
An ASP kneeled on the ground, bringing up a large, boxy cannon to bear on the large kaiju. A sharp whine filled the air, and then a thundercrack of power split the air as a lance of microwave amplified light impacted the Super Gyaos’ hardened scales… and then shifted upwards into the softer, more vulnerable tissues of its wing membranes. The monster roared, a lance of sound flailing in the sky for a moment before the Gyaos brought its head down. The sonic lance snapped down, hitting the ground behind the MASER ASP as someone finally got a lucky shot in and blew the kaiju’s brains out.
The MASER ASP started to stand up, only for its hull to spark and creak. And then, it fell apart, its left limbs falling to the ground as the main hull pushed itself up and forward with a crash. Hopkins glanced at his screen, and swore as his display showed not one, but two flattened heartbeats. “Fuck, this is not going well,” he commented in frustration. “Sanders, police that cannon! Evers, Freeman, secure that entrance! Johnson, guard those buses, now! You three, help me move the body out of the way before more Gyaos show up!”
The soldiers got to work, Hopkins and a few others moving the dead Super Gyaos out of the way for the buses to drive past, a single ASP guarding them with its chaingun pointed skyward. Hopkins kept on checking on the civilians piling onto the bus. [Hopkins, stressing over them isn’t going to help them,] Julian said into his ear. [Neither is fucking dwelling on those two.]
“I’m a commander Jule,” Hopkins retorted as he checked his ammo count. “I have to worry.”
[Fine,] Julian said with an electric sigh. [But don’t blame me when you have a mental episode again.]
Hopkins grunted, checking his weapon’s ammunition supply. Seeing that his current magazine was near empty, he reloaded, mechanical wrist flicking the spent drum down to the ground before the next, fresh drum was slapped into the underside of the cannon, a motor driven assembly pulling the rounds into the receiver. He looked around, his ASP’s optics zooming in on some of the chaos further inland from where he could see. Zilla was fighting some mutation or another, and as far as Space Godzilla went, well, he was nowhere to be seen… and thankfully, neither was his attack dog. Long streams of tracer fire and laser bursts lanced through the air, signs of pitched fighting from other survivors letting him know that the city hadn’t been completely totaled yet.
“Sir, civvies are loaded up, ready to extract!” Johnson reported.
Hopkins gave the soldier a thumbs up. “Good to hear!” he said loudly. “Now, let’s get them the fuck out of here. Freeman, Johnson, take point! Fast turtle people!” The ASPs moved, getting into a loose circle around the bus as the yellow vehicle sputtered out some thick smoke from its exhaust before starting to move. A casual look at the smoke’s chemical composition let Hopkins know that the engine needed a tune up, badly before he felt waves of unease and fear lightly batter against his mental walls.
Damn. Poor kids…, Hopkins thought before he took a deep breath. A gentle twitch of his finger, and the children inside the bus were calmed as parents and guardians held them close, words of hope and reassurance calming them as they traveled through the suburban ruins. The convoy rounded a corner, and several of the ASPs looked over to the ruins of downtown San Francisco in the distance. Skyscrapers were already ablaze, kaiju fighting in a manner befitting mythic titans as the humans down below scurried to flee.
“Jesus Christ…”
“Keep it together Martin,” Hopkins ordered. “A few more blocks, that’s all-”
“THE HYPER IS INBOUND!!” Evers shouted, snapping his cannon up and opening fire. Hopkins snapped his gaze up, and swore as the unmistakable form of the Hyper Gyaos flew in, maw open in a furious cry.
“OFF THE ROAD NOW!” he ordered, sprinting to a side alley as the bus drove faster. “EVERS YOU DUMB BASTARD, MOVE!!” Unfortunately for Hopkins, Evers was seemingly deaf to his order, the pilot continuing to pour fire onto the albino. Accelerated flechettes hit the Gyaos’ hide, only to either get deflected, bounce off uselessly, or explode harmless on the scales. The smaller mechs and their ordinance carriers lacked the size and the strength to punch through the hide of a beast on this scale like the towering machines of MOGUERA and Mechagodzilla, and never was it more apparent than now.
The kaiju in question lacked the facial structure and muscles to pull it off, but even Hopkins knew that the Hyper Gyaos was smirking as Evers’ weapon clicked dry. “Oh for fuck’s sake,” Hopkins growled. “Julian.”
[Alpha and Beta locks disengaged, thirty percent,] the AI reported, Hopkins feeling that surge of power rushing through his veins. [Good hunting.]
“Thanks Jule,” Hopkins said, hanging his cannon on a pair of hooks on his back before stepping out of cover. He looked over the situation, his brain processing everything in fractions of a second. Evers in the open, desperately trying to reload. The Hyper Gyaos swooping in, maw open. The back of the Gyaos’ throat glowing as whatever wonky biological bullshit prepared a sonic beam. Hopkins’ mind took the info, processed it, and he decided on a plan.
A flick of his wrist, and a bright, burning violet wall of psychic energy snapped into existence in front of Evers a scant second before the lethal beam of sound slammed into it. The Hyper Gyaos was bewildered at the sudden development, its gaze shifting over to Hopkins. In his free hand, a roiling mass of energy formed, and both kaiju and human locked eyes with each other.
“Embrace the Void,” Hopkins intoned, sending the ball of energy flying forward. In a heartbeat, it connected to the Hyper Gyaos. And then, a split second later, Hopkins’ psyche played havoc with the kaiju’s.
The Hyper Gyaos stumbled, and then fell to the ground, screaming in pain as its mind was assaulted by… something. Up was down, up was not up, up no longer existed, it didn’t exist, yet it did exist, there was something in its head why was it there whatwasitsayinggetitoutgetitoutGetItOutGETOUTGETOUTGET-!
YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE VOID!!
Suddenly, the Hyper Gyaos saw. It saw itself as a monster, it saw itself as prey, it saw monsters that devoured stars, it saw so much, seeing too much to process, it hurt to see, hurt to see images, words, words on white, a two legger against the white, it hurtithurtithurtmakeitstopmakeitstopMAKEITSTOP!!
Hopkins severed the connection, shaking his head clear, the depressingly familiar stabbing pain of a mind fray coupled with his own empathic abilities nearly sending him to his knees as the Hyper Gyaos stood up shakily, fleeing as the kaiju bled from the corners of its eyes.
[Gabriel, I’m going to take over while you recover,] Julian said. Hopkins grunted, shaking his head.
“No, I got this,” he told him. “It’s just a little pain. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” Almost as an afterthought, he wiped away at his own eyes, rubbing away the blood as he stomped just as shakily, if not more so that the departing kaiju, over to Evers. A metal hand gripped the other soldier’s shoulder as Hopkins growled, keeping the pair on a private channel. “You EVER do something that stupid again, and I will make damn sure that you will wish that kaiju had eaten you!” he hissed. “You will NOT jeopardize the mission, your teammates, or those civilians, am I clear?”
Evers looked at Hopkins, trembling and nodding. “Y-Y-Yes s-sir,” the soldier answered. “It… it won’t happen again.”
“Good.” Hopkins cut the link off and looked back at the scattered ASPs. “Come on people, let’s move! That bus still needs escort, and I am NOT leaving them hanging!”
“SIR YES SIR!” the soldiers shouted, rushing back into position as they continued their evacuation efforts. As they moved, Hopkins kept his eyes on the sky, and his ears on the main GDF command line. And… it sadly wasn’t a pleasant listening experience.
“Hunter Five Actual to Command, we’re getting overrun here!”
“-questing Tomahawks on grid fife-six-alpha-!”
“-Black, Code Black! Bunker Twelve is Code Black, we are pulling out, AO is too-!”
Hopkins shook his head, the objective in sight. Waiting beside the USS Hornet was the hovercraft that they had arrived on, already somewhat full of evacuees. The squad of ASPs dispersed, spreading out and providing coverage as the bus rolled up to the hovercraft, Hopkins stopping and looking into the bay. Already, several guided missile destroyers were attacked, a depressingly large number of them sunk or in the process of sinking. “Christ, what a mess,” Hopkins muttered as he walked to the hovercraft, a ‘small’ crate sitting on the ground sliding open and revealing a small cache of additional ammo and gear.
[You said it, not me,] Julian said. [Also, I’d grab some more ammo, and a larger missile pod. Judging by the chatter I’m hearing, well, heavy hitters are coming in.]
“Thanks Julian.” Hopkins reached out and grabbed a few extra drums of ammunition, checking them just to be sure they were what he needed. M792 HEI-T, 25x137mm. Yup. Sliding the drums into their designated racks, Hopkins turned around and waited only a couple of seconds for the crate to slide on a new missile pod onto the movable armature on the back of his ASP. A quick glance at the screen showed that the ordinance went through the diagnostics and shake down in less time than it took to blink. “We ready?”
[Absolutely meat bag,] Julian replied. [Next stop, Bunker Two in Coast Guard Station Alameda!] Hopkins nodded. Hopefully, all the other groups in the city were having better luck than he in their evacuations.
[][][]
Oakland Civic Center
“TAKE COVER!”
Private Gabriel Monnot ducked behind what was left of a wall as a Gyaos crashed to the ground, its jaws snapping and snarling as an ASP opened fire on its belly and killed it. The nineteen year old, barely trained soldier peeked around the debris and saw the ASP moving about, its attention directed to the rest of his platoon on the other side of the road. “Gyaos down, let’s move it people!” The platoon hustled over to where Gabe was, the private looking over the twenty or so fellow soldiers.
Gabe clutched his laser rifle tighter in his hands as the platoon sergeant, covered in dirt and a bit of blood slid into cover beside him. “Command, this is Vanguard Five-Bravo, we’re en route to Bunker Five at the Oakland Civic Center, how copy, over?” Staff Sergeant Nerosa shouted into her radio.
Gabe could hear Command’s reply over the din of the chaos. “Ten-Three Five-Bravo. What is your status, over?”
Nerosa barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Status? For fuck’s sake, we’ve got Gyaos flying up our asses, our El-Tee is KIA, and we’re down to half strength! We need reinforcements, over!”
“Copy that Five-Bravo, but unfortunately, your AO is too hot for immediate support,” Command said over the radio, just as the ASP took a thundering step back, cannon raised.
“SUPER INCOMING!!” the pilot shouted. The soldiers looked up in panic as the kaiju in question swooped in, maw open wide as it landed. Gabe poked his head over the other side of the rubble he was beside and took aim.
“Private, the fuck you doing?!” Nerosa yelled.
Gabe pointed at the Gyaos’ eyes. “Giving that pilot a good shot Sarge!” he shouted back before opening fire, the rifle kicking back into his shoulder as flashes of red light lanced out and struck the Super Gyaos in the eye. The kaiju barely even blinked, shaking its head as it seemed to leer at the ASP about to open fire on it.
“...ah fuck, ALL UNITS, FOCUS FIRE! AIM FOR THE EYES!” Nerosa shouted, raising her own rifle and adding her own firepower to it. In seconds, well over a dozen laser beams flashed through the air, striking the Super Gyaos, this time making it reel back in annoyance before a sharp whirr filled the air, a thunderclap snapping the air before the Super Gyaos’ head was sent snapping to the side, a massive burn on its left eye. Screeching in anger now, the monster sent a sonic beam in the direction of the soldier with the Maser rifle before the ASP finally opened fire, autocannon rounds pelting it in the side.
“Shit, we need a fucking bigger gun man!” shouted out a soldier from Gabe’s left. He glanced over and saw Peters, a guy he had gone through Basic with, fumbling for a new battery for his laser rifle. Gabe looked back over and saw that the Super Gyaos was glaring at the ASP, bullets still ricocheting off its hardened hide. Then he saw that the monster’s remaining eye was narrowed, focused on the small mech unit.
Gabe shook his head as he slung his rifle back and pulled a pair of simple, almost seemingly useless flash bangs off his chest, and off the chest of the platoon’s radioman. “This is gonna suck,” he muttered before breaking cover, racing towards the Super Gyaos. Servos attached to his joints let the exoskeleton clad soldier zoom in close, even as the ASP stopped firing.
“Get back into cover, now!”
Gabe ignored the pilot, jumping on top of a car before taking a leap of faith… and landing on the Super Gyaos’ head. The kaiju shrieked, shaking its head wildly as Gabe hung on stubbornly. “Fuckfuckfuckfuck, what the FUCK WAS I THINKING?!?” Gabe shouted to himself as he stuck the flash bang’s arming pin onto a scale and pulled. The ring slid out, the spoon flying off as Gabe looked over to the kaiju’s ear. “Oh fuck me this is gonna hurt like a biiiiiii-!”
The Super Gyaos whipped its head to the side, flinging Gabe off… but not before he tossed the grenades into the monster’s ear. It was by sheer luck that Gabe didn’t land on any hard debris, merely landing on top of an already ruined car, his exoskeleton taking most of the impact for him. The Super Gyaos took one step towards Gabe, and then it’s ear seemingly exploded, a near deafening BANG coming from within its ear as the grenades finally went off. The kaiju screamed in agony as its eardrum was likely completely ruptured, the ASP stomping in close. Gabe looked at the ASP deployed an underbarrel bayonet, stabbing the monster where the Maser rifle had hit before opening fire.
The Super Gyaos’ head was seemingly split open as the rail accelerated 25mm rounds exploded, the kaiju letting off a death rattle. And yet… it still seemingly wasn’t enough, as the Super’s wing snapped out, slamming into the ASP’s chest and sending it flying backwards to skid on the ruined asphalt. “Maser, finish it off!” Nerosa yelled, and on cue, the rifleman holding up the bulky, almost brick shaped energy rifle and pulling the trigger. One thundercrack later, and the Super Gyaos was finally, definitively, and most certainly dead. The entire platoon, or what was left of it, looked up at the sky warily for any intruding Gyaos.
Gabe groaned as he sat up, a medic rushing over to his side. “Okay kid, how many fingers am I holding up?” he asked, holding up three fingers as he shone a light in Gabe’s eyes.
“Three fingers, and please get that light out of my fucking face!” Gabe retorted. The medic nodded, looking to Nerosa as she walked over.
“Kid’s fine Staff Sergeant,” he said. The sergeant grunted, glaring at Gabe. Her arms were crossed, and Gabe had to wonder just why in the hell she was pissed off at him.
“That was a fucking retarded thing you just did Private.” Gabe gulped, nodding slowly.
“Yes Staff Sergeant.”
“Any bullshit reason why you thought that was a good idea?” She pointed over her shoulder at the downed ASP.
Gabe glanced at the ASP, it’s hatch open up as another medic pulled the pilot out. “We needed the ASP intact Staff Sergeant,” he said, looking the Staff Sergeant in the eye. “I figured, any amount of time with it distracted and unable to attack was worth the pilot getting a kill shot in.”
“Yeah, and now, we have an injured pilot who can’t cover our asses, thanks to your fuck up!” Nerosa suddenly shouted in his face. Gabe flinched, even as the platoon radioman came running to them. “What the fuck is it Wolfe?”
“Sarge, Command’s asking us to hurry the fuck up, we got heavy hitters coming in, this whole place is gonna be ground zero in a few minutes!” The platoon sergeant pointed to the pilot.
“Yeah, well, we ain’t got enough fucking support now that our pilot is down!” Gabe looked at the ASP, standing up and walking towards it as Nerosa and radioman bickered. The ASP was, despite the massive dent in it’s chest armor, still reasonably intact, the joints clear of debris and the ocular systems were still clearly functioning from what Gabe could see. Plus, it still had enough ammo to get through at least a couple more Gyaos.
“Heh, like the bucket of bolts kid?” Gabe looked over and saw the pilot looking at him from where the medic was treating them, an amused smile on her face. Gabe pointed at the ASP.
“That’s an M12, right?” he asked. “The hull’s a lot more curved than the M9.” The pilot chuckled.
“You know your ASPs.”
Gabe looked at the mech longingly. “Spent some time in simulators, got a Class One rating in high school,” he admitted. The pilot whistled, then hissed as the medic dabbed at her face with a cloth.
“Impressive kid. What’s your rating now?”
“...Class Two. Three, but only from simulation work.”
“How many hours?”
Gabe grimaced. “...a few.” The pilot gave him a dry look. “...okay, a few hundred, but come on, they didn’t exactly have an actual M9 to practice with and actually get certified on where I graduated high school!”
The pilot held up her hand, even as Nerosa started to head towards them. “Wait a sec, you… how in the fuck are you not a pilot now?!” she asked. “If you’re a borderline Three right outta high school, then why the hell aren’t you going through ASP training now?” She shook her head, hissing in pain. “You know what, fuck it. You know the basic controls to an M9?” Gabe nodded. “Good. Get in.”
“Wait, what?” Nerosa asked as she came up. “What the hell is going on?”
“You got a new pilot,” the pilot said, pointing at Gabe. “Kid’s got a Class Three rating, which is close enough at the moment.”
“He’s an infantryman, he can’t drive a fucking mech!” the Staff Sergeant protested.
“Too bad, you need an ASP, and the Private’s the closest you’ve got to a healthy pilot,” the pilot shot back. Gabe glanced at her helmet, finally catching the pilot’s last name. Gonzalez. “Now, let’s stop bitching about it, alright? We got a dead Super, but we both know those things are gonna swarm that body soon enough.” Nerosa pursed her lips, and then pointed to the ASP.
“Private, get your ass in the mech, start it up.”
“Yes Staff Sergeant!” Gabe called out, rushing to the cockpit of the mech and getting in. He set his laser rifle into a slot by the seat, obviously for the pilot’s firearm of choice as he fully sat in the seat and closed the hatch. “Okay, let’s see here,” he muttered, looking over the controls. “Aux, power breakers, aaand… aha, hatch control!” He flipped the switch, and the mech shuddered, as the hatch slid shut as Gabe went through a combat readiness check.
“Okay, computer on,” he said, flipping another switch, streams of data rapidly scrolling across the screen in front of him as he continued. “Okay, uh, let’s see here, uh, main power on, Waldo online…” He slid his hands into the motion control armature of the ASP, the thin metal limbs locking onto the exterior of his own exoskeleton. “Oxygen supply is green, power flow rate is… steady, comms online…” Gabe paused in the midst of flipping switches, making sure his feet were in place before continuing. “Okay, now, motion control is…” He thumbed a button on the console in front of him, and suddenly, Gabe grunted as the ASP shifted control to him.
“Fuckfuckfuckfuck!” he swore, feeling like he was suddenly wearing a bomb disposal suit as he slowly moved, the ASP doing the same. The ASP soon began to stand, finally doing so with only a slight wobble. “Okay, okay Gabe, you got this, you got this. ASP motion response is… good for now. Okay, now, tracking is good, targeting is…” Gabe looked around the screen, data and targeting information bombarding his eyes. “Green. Armor integrity is holding, thrusters are hot, weapons are live, ammunition is good… okay Staff Sergeant, I think I got this.”
“You think?”
“It’s an M12 Sarge, they don’t exactly cover these in Class Three certification,” Gabe commented, walking over to the dead Super and picking up the fallen chaingun. The moment the ASP’s hand closed around the handle, Gabe saw an ammo count flicker into existence in the corner of his HUD. Gabe gulped at the sight of only twenty-three rounds out of roughly fifty in the drum remaining. Suddenly, a warning flashed across his screen, making Gabe look up in alarm. “Shit! Gyaos!”
The cannon snapped up into place as the platoon ran for cover, a trio of lesser, basic Gyaos swooping in, having finally caught wind of their fallen brethren’s blood. Gabe took aim at the lead kaiju, and pulled the trigger. It was… odd, feeling the rail augmented autocannon kick in the mech’s hands and then feel it rattling his body at the same time. But after long hours of practice, Gabe shook it off and focused, sending a long burst into the Gyaos and perforating it with hypersonic cannon shells. The monster dropped out of the sky, blood trailing from its wounds for only a few short seconds before it’s twin brethren decided that attacking the tiny humans wasn’t worth it, not when there was an already weakened, and bleeding meal right in front of them.
The ASP looked at the platoon as the three Gyaos began to fight amongst each other. “Come on, let’s go, now!” Gabe shouted, waving them forward. “I’ve got you covered!”
Nerosa shook her head as the soldiers moved forward, Gabe reloading his chaingun as the giant robot stomped alongside them. “Christ, let’s hope this kid doesn’t get us killed!” she muttered. The group raced up the street, Gabe’s cannon keeping them covered as they reached the bunker they needed to evacuate. “Alright, Monnot, eyes up, we’re getting these people the hell out of here!”
“Yes Staff Sergeant!” Gabe shouted back, hoisting his cannon up and checking his sensors. So far, nothing was swooping down to attack them, which was good, because he still wasn’t sure what all the controls in the M12 actually did. He only had an at best passable knowledge of the M9, of which the M12 was derived from. Gabe glanced down, looking at the civilians piling out of the underground BART station that served as an emergency kaiju bunker.
An alarm suddenly went off in the cockpit, and Gabe immediately snapped his gaze upwards and swore. “SHIT! Everyone, move, we’ve got multiple bandits inbound!” he shouted, aiming his cannon and opening fire. His HUD was oh so helpfully keeping track of the number of Gyaos swarming down towards him, and Gabe was forced to stay his ground as the kaiju kept coming closer and closer with each wingbeat and bullet.
Fifty coming down. A burst of fire reducing his ammo from fifty to thirty-six. The number of Gyaos dropped to forty-eight, now forty-one as several became distracted in eating their fallen in midair. Another burst. Thirty-six to twenty even. The computer was urging him to reload as the swarm’s numbers continued to dwindle. Forty-one to thirty-three, no, thirty-two, Christ, they were tearing into each other as Gabe finally took a step back. One final burst before he turned and ran, his gun clicking dry as the ammo counter read 00.
The empty ammo drum hit the ground with a hollow clank as Gabe reached to his shoulder to grab a fresh drum, the swarm hitting the ground as they simply broke into a vicious, cannibalistic melee with teeth and claws tearing into each other’s flesh. Almost as an afterthought, Gabe thumbed a switch on the edge of the barrel to the autocannon, an infrared targeting laser alighting one of the Gyaos. A light red circle hovered over one, shifting to orange, then yellow, and then white as a sharp continuous tone rang in his ears.
Gabe pulled the trigger.
From over his shoulder, a missile pod poked up from behind him and a single missile flew out, engine roaring as it zoomed into the swarm. While the missile itself was, comparatively speaking, tiny against a Gyaos, the fact was that the munition was also stuffed with enough advanced explosives to send even a Xilian fighter craft reeling was more than a tad more impressive. So, it came as little surprise that when the missile flew into the swarm, and then exploded, everything within a few dozen yards became covered with a thick coat of blood and gore, and stunning the remaining Gyaos from the point blank concussive blast.
“ShitshitshitshitSHIT!” Gabe swore, runnin after the platoon. The Gyaos were dead, sure, but close to fifty dead Gyaos was still a near literal siren call for the blood drinking monsters, and he, and the rest of the platoon, had been lucky in taking out that Super. He was decidedly NOT looking forward to trying his luck with a second. Ahead of him, the platoon ran, every single one of them stopping at least once to let the civilians, and their fellow soldiers, pass by before resuming their rush to their designated extraction point. Gabe blinked, his eyes moving to an on screen tab that pulled up more tags on screen.
There! Three blocks away was the Oakland Police Department, where with luck a few transports could get the civilians out, and maybe, just maybe, he and his platoon too. It must have been on Nerosa’s mind too as she pointed to it. “Come on everyone, three more blocks, let’s move it!” The gaggle of civilians started to run faster, men and women almost trampling over each other to reach safety, parents trying to run with children in their arms. Gabe turned to look back at the remnants of the swarm he had shot, seeing them still feasting on each other down by the station.
A shadow darkened his view. Gabe turned, looking, and froze as a giant white… thing came swooping down angrily, landing on top of Interstate 880 and screeching to the sky. “Oh, you have got to be kidding,” Gabe muttered in terror as the Hyper Gyaos looked down, the platoon shouting in terror as they opened fire on the monster. The various laser blasts did absolutely nothing but annoy the kaiju, the albino shrieking as it started to climb down to the ground itself. “Oh no, oh FUCK NO!!” Gabe cried out, aiming his cannon at the massive Gyaos and opening fire.
Much like the lasers, his autocannon’s rounds didn’t do anything to it, exploding uselessly or getting deflected from it’s heavily armored front. Yet, somehow, THAT was enough for the Hyper Gyaos to snap its head towards him. Gabe saw the monster’s eyes briefly widen, and then narrow in what was unmistakably pure hatred as it ignored the soldiers at the police station, stomping towards him instead. “Oh shit… oh SHIT!” Gabe started back pedaling, letting loose only a few more shells before simply turning tail and running, the Hyper Gyaos roaring as it gave chase.
Gabe fled up the road for two blocks before jinking to the right, dashing down 9th Street just in time for the Hyper Gyaos to catch up… and then completely overshoot him as it tried to bite down. “JESUS CHRIST!” Gabe heard the Hyper stumble into a building, concrete crumbling to dust as the kaiju righted itself. He chuckled, almost relieved that he had lost it, if only briefly before something HUGE crashed into the ground in front of him. The impact tremor sent the ASP to its knees, Gabe struggling to get the machine under control as he looked up at what the hell had just crashed in front of him.
“...there’s no fucking way my luck is this bad.”
Growling, the satanic looking kaiju better known to the public as Destroyah stood back up, roaring a challenge at whatever kaiju had knocked it to the ground, ignoring the frozen stiff mech barely meters away from it. Watching it get up and leave, Gabe let out a sigh of relief. At least, until he heard a bone chilling series of chirps behind him. “...you’re right behind me, aren’t you?”
He spun around, cannon going up just as the Hyper Gyaos slammed its head into his side, lifting the ASP off the ground and flying into the air. Gabe grunted painfully from the sudden acceleration, vision spinning as the ASP itself spun in the air. “Thrus...ters…!” he gasped out, flexing his shoulder blades. On the back of the ASP, a series of nozzles flared to life, massive gouts of flame halting the sudden spinning as it began to simply fall to the ground. “SHIT! OKAY OKAY, UH, RIGHT UP, AND THEN BURN OFF SPEED…!” Gabe yelled in a panic, working the controls as best as he could.
The Hyper Gyaos would have smirked had it been able to when it flung the annoying machine into the air. After all, most things the humans made weren’t made to fly. Then it snarled, enraged as the machine arrested its spin, righting itself as flames erupted from its backside. The Hyper Gyaos made its decision. This machine… this thing had to die now.
Gabe on the other hand had to listen to the ASP’s computer constantly whining about the ‘altitude warning’ as the ASP’s thrusters went full burn, a gauge on the side showing that they were almost overheating. “Come on, COME ON!” Gabe begged, hoping that the ASP’s computer wouldn’t automatically cut the thrusters off. He was still going far too fast, and if he hit the ground with the mech’s legs, well, he’d be fu-
Aha! Dash forward!
Moments before impact, Gabe hit the thrusters once more, sending the ASP into a roll… but unlike when it got flung up into the air by the Hyper Gyaos, this time, the roll was controlled. And because of that, when Gabe finally did hit the ground, the ASP’s chassis was only slightly more dented than before as it literally rolled on the ground before standing back up, intact, and with its pilot alive. Gabe was ecstatic. “HOLY SHIT, THAT WAS AWESOME! DID ANYBODY SEE THAT?!”
A giant shadow overtook him, robbing Gabe of his cheer. He groaned, turning around to see the Hyper Gyaos glaring at him. “...anyone BESIDES you?”
The Hyper Gyaos roared, making Gabe flinch as it lunged forward, snapping the ASP up in its jaws, massive, person sized fangs tearing through the hull as sparks and alarms went off in the cockpit. Gabe looked frantically around, even as his screen flickered dangerously, trying to find a way to survive. He looked between his legs at the ejection handle. Then he looked to where the engine controls were.
In moments, Gabe was rocketing out of the top of the ASP, it’s topside access hatch blow open as the Hyper Gyaos continued to crunch down on the ruined mech. The soldier clutched his harness as the Gyaos finally took note of him flying off, and spread its wings to give chase. And then the ASP exploded, sending the monster stepping back, more in surprise than any actual pain. Still, it gave Gabe precious seconds to get away… mostly by crashing through a building’s skylight and into a bookshelf.
Gabe laid there for several moments, glass falling from the ceiling as his exoskeleton whirred in protest with every movement.
“....ow….”
[][][]
Two hours. It had taken two, damn hours for most of the San Francisco Bay area to be turned to rubble, and Hopkins was in a foul mood as he took point himself, the remnants of Bravo-Three-One close behind him. Behind them, a small group of civilians tried to keep pace on foot, frantically looking up to the sky as more and more kaiju seemed to pile into the bay area. A Gyaos swooped down, hoping to grab a civilian and fly off, but a withering hail of gunfire tore it, rather than the civilians, to shreds.
“Kuso, they are getting more daring sir!” shouted Sergeant Hatake, ushering the civilians into a mostly intact building. “I do not know how long we can hold out!”
Hopkins nodded, eyes flicking over to his HUD’s map. “Not much longer,” he commented, even as Julian highlighted their extraction zone. “But we only need to get them to the beach. We’re at… Grand and Clinton. We take Grand straight down, hang a right on Shoreline. Boats can pick them up from there.” Hatake nodded as he reloaded his autocannon.
“Understood,” the Sergeant said. The ground shook, and the pair looked over to see Zilla stand back up, shaking his head clear as he roared at a Mutation they couldn’t see from where they stood. “I believe now would be a good time to move.”
“Agreed. Alright everyone, let’s haul ass, now!” Hopkins shouted, waving the group forward. The mixed group of civilians and mechs headed down the street, blasts of energy flying over their heads as kaiju fought. A glance up showed Mothra and Rodan engaging in a dogfight with what looked like Hokmuto, as whatever Gyaos were previously in the air, their numbers had been seriously depleted over the course of the battle. A few minutes of frantic running later, and they were finally able to see the bay… which was half on fire as multiple ships were ablaze, heavily armored hulls no match against the kaiju in the city. And even from where Hopkins stood, it was clear that the city of San Francisco itself was damn near completely totalled. “Well fuck…”
Suddenly, Hopkins’ radio hissed, laced heavily with static. “Old Dog, this is Sergeant Barnes of Three-Six, over!”
“Sergeant, report, over!”
“Major, Three-Six is stuck at the bunker at Fruitvale, we can’t exfil!” the sergeant on the other side of the radio called out. “Civvies are dead, and I’m down to Smith, Hargrove, and- CHRIST, NO! CASPER, GET DOWN!!” Hopkins heard cannon fire through the radio, and he glanced at the map.
“Julian!”
[We can’t!] the AI told him. [They’re too far, and we wouldn’t have enough ordinance anyway!] Hopkins swore, furious before Barnes’ shout came to a complete halt.
“Oh no… oh fuck no…” Hopkins looked behind them, seeing several gigantic forms all over Oakland, but the one that grabbed his attention was the blood red form of Destroyah. Suddenly, Hopkins wasn’t in Alameda. Suddenly, it was night time, he was grieving anew, the roars of a father literally burning in rage, and that thing was opening its mouth-
“SERGEANT BARNES, HAUL ASS, NOW!” Hopkins shouted, starting to run towards Destroyah before it’s mouth opened fully. And then, a torrent of Micro-Oxygen billowed out, Barnes’ screams of terror quickly cut off as her radio was destroyed. “NO! FUCK!”
Hatake swore beside him. “Major, we will grieve them later!” he said, grabbing the shoulder of Hopkins’ ASP. “But these civilians come first!” Hopkins paused, taking several breaths to calm himself as Julian kept the ASP steady.
“...you’re right. Alright, Sergeant, let’s get these people out of here, now!”
“Hai!” Hatake quickly waved the ASPs forward, the civilians following close behind as Hopkins held the rear. The group raced up the street, and a glance over his shoulder let Hopkins see the burning blue flares signaling an evacuation zone. In the middle of the park, a hovercraft waited, a fireteam of GDF Marines guarding the ramp as the group approached it. One of them, presumably the team leader, approached Hopkins, hand tapping their throat mic.
“Sir, we just got orders from up top, all GDF units are to pull out as best they can!” Hopkins went over to a resupply crate, grabbing more ammo as he looked down at the Marine.
“On whose orders Corporal?”
“Marshal Pentecost sir!”
...well shit, that did change things. “Julian?”
[Connecting you to the chief meat bag in charge,] Julian commented dryly. [Here’s hoping he has SOME sense… for a lowly meat bag.] It took only a moment for Julian to connect the ASP’s communication systems to the GDF BattleNet, and from there, piggyback to the Shatterdome all the way down in Los Angeles. In the corner of his HUD, Hopkins saw a window pop up, the lean figure of Pentecost standing serene in the middle of the chaos of the Shatterdome’s control room.
“Major Hopkins,” Pentecost addressed him, clasping his hands behind his back as he looked at the pilot. “I would ask how you got through, but…”
“Not the time and place, yeah,” Hopkins said, nodding. “The hell is this order to pull out Marshal, we still got people in the AO to grab!”
Pentecost shook his head. “Not anymore Major. The Council has authorized the use of… they will use the Dimension Tide Orbital System.” Pentecost at least looked ashamed as Hopkins froze in place, with even Julian unable to bring up a smartass remark. “The Council… believes that with Space Godzilla and Destroyah in the area, that we can eliminate the Mutation leadership in one fell blow.”
“I’m sorry, WHAT?!?”
Everyone froze in momentary terror as a wave of pure rage washed over them as Hopkins continued. “Marshal, you can NOT fire that system! The situation down here is too hot, we have friendlies down here, danger close wouldn’t even BEGIN to cover this shit!”
“I have my orders Major,” Pentecost shot back coolly. Hopkins held himself back as the other man continued. “The attack will happen, and I unfortunately do not have the clearance to call it off.”
“With all due respect Marshal,” Hopkins said, looking back to where Oakland roughly was, “That’s bullshit, and you know it. How many are left?”
Pentecost paused, his eyes looking at something off screen. “...all assets in San Francisco proper have been pulled out,” he said finally. “Northern forces have pulled out, and you’re among the last in the Oakland-Alameda area to be pulled out. The only location in dire straits is… Bunker Eight, MacArthur Station. There are still civilians trapped there, with multiple mobile infantry and armor elements.”
Julian pulled up the map for Hopkins, who quickly gave it a glance. “That’s a shithole,” he muttered, seeing the tags for the kaiju near the area; Godzilla was closer to Berkeley, Mothra and Rodan still airborne, Zilla tussling with Destoryah… and Space Godzilla advancing to Godzilla’s position. “...It’ll be close.”
“Hopkins?”
“Give me ten minutes Marshal, ten damn minutes,” Hopkins said, watching as his troops walked into the transport. “Give me ten minutes to try and clear a path for them.”
Pentecost looked at him sternly. “Major, I am NOT throwing away a vital, strategic asset, just because you think you can sneak them out.”
“Sir… please. You saw what I could… what I CAN do back in the Coalition Conflict.” A heavy silence hung between the two men as Pentecost briefly considered the request.
“...do not make me regret this… Major. You have twenty minutes to get to the station and assist however you can.”
“Understood sir,” Hopkins said, nodding. “Consider it done.”
Pentecost nodded, cutting the feed as Julian finally spoke up. [You realize that’s a one way trip, right?]
“And the last twenty years hasn’t?” Hopkins reloaded his rifle, even as Hatake’s ASP walked over to him.
“Major, what is it?” Hatake asked.
“We’ve got stranded at MacArthur Station,” Hopkins told him. “Pentecost has given me twenty minutes to punch a hole for them to get out.” Hatake looked in the direction of the fighting kaiju.
“...Major, with respect, it will take more than you to assist any survivors,” the Japanese pilot commented, hefting his autocannon. “You will need help.” Hopkins looked over Hatake’s shoulder, and saw the remaining members stepping off, all of them grabbing additional ammunition.
“You know, chances are you are all gonna die a very horrible, painful death, right?” Hopkins pointed out.
To the side, Private Bailey gave his superior officer a ‘polite’ gesture with a solitary finger. “With respect sir, we’re the fucking Pale Horsemen!” he declared proudly. “And where we ride, Hell fucking runs in fear from us!” Hopkins smirked in amusement. Each of his soldiers was just radiating confidence, conviction… hope.
“...Whatever else happens tonight, know that I’m proud of you rebellious little fuckheads,” Hopkins told them. “But we are going at one speed, and that’s my speed. If you can’t keep up, then head back for extraction. I want you alive more than I need another gun. Clear?”
“CLEAR!”
“Good! Now fall in!” Hopkins started running, dashing down the streets as the rest of the squad followed him. “Okay Julian, best route?” Without verbally answering, the AI highlighted a route for them to follow. “Thank you much, you jumped up chess program.”
[Yeeeeah, fuck you too.]
The ASPs rushed through the streets, taking potshots at Gyaos when they could, the injured kaiju swiftly set upon by their uninjured brethren. And thankfully, due to the lack of traffic, it didn’t take long for them to come across their destination. Mostly due to the large number of Stryker IFVs, Humvees, and a few light MASER tanks firing away at any kaiju that came close. Plus, much to Hopkins’ astonishment, there were still a few ASPs firing away as well, most of them close to running out of ammo… though, that wasn’t much of an issue from the sight of a resupply crate close by. A glance at the IFFs on his HUD let Hopkins know who was in charge.
“First Sergeant Clarke!” Hopkins shouted, firing a burst into a diving Gyaos, bringing it crashing down into a building. In front of him, an ASP yanked its rifle out of a small Gyaos, shaking the blood off the bayonet before looking at him.
“Who the fu- what the hell, sir, what the shit are you doing here?!” the senior Sergeant shouted, waving her forces back.
“Trying to get you out of here!” Hopkins looked at the bunker’s entrance, frowning at the comically small number of transport trucks. “How many do you have left Sergeant?”
Clarke huffed. “Practically jackshit sir!” she reported. “Got a few Humvees, about ten Strykers, and what you see in terms of ASPs and MASERs! We had a Heavy MASER, but it got taken out by the Hyper about half an hour ago!”
“Survivors?” Hopkins took aim, firing a burst and forcing a Super Gyaos away… where a blazing Uranium Ray from Rodan intercepted and bisected it, neatly slicing the monster in half and sealing it’s fatal injury.
“Just the driver!” Clarke continued. “But we did yank the main gun out, got the thing over there with the generator attached, barely!” Hopkins nodded.
“Copy. Number of survivors?”
“In bunker… about fifty, along with about a whole company and a half of infantry, and half of them are wounded.” Hopkins nodded, looking at the current assets.
“Julian, we don’t have enough to evac everyone, do we?”
[...you REALLY want me to answer that?] Julian sighed. [Fine, look. We got ten Strykers, passenger space nine. We have roughly twelve Humvees, and from the look of them, they can each hold maybe… seven, eight people.]
“Still leaves us with well over thirty unable to get out in time.” Hopkins took a deep breath. “Dammit…” He looked to Clarke. “Sergeant, I want you to get the wounded into the Strykers, put an ASP on a pair leaving! Let’s pack the civvies into the Humvees, and we’ll see about just making a run for it!” Clarke looked at the escalating kaiju fighting and nodded.
“Copy that sir, we-,” she started to say before an ASP pointed down the road.
“We got a foot mobile!” they shouted, firing their weapon down the street, plasma bursts flying down and likely hitting a Gyaos. Hopkins and Clarke headed to the entrance of the street, adding their firepower as a single infantryman came sprinting down the road, jumping and sliding over ruined cars as they ran for the bunker.
The infantryman passed by, and Hopkins felt something… familiar from the soldier. Shaking it off, Hopkins shot the Gyaos in the head and pointed to Clarke. “Sergeant, now!”
“Copy! DeWitt, Byers, get those civilians into the fucking Humvees, now!”
Down below, and having just stopped by the entrance of the bunker, Private Gabriel Monnot was panting, sucking down deep breaths as people swarmed out from underground, a few of them soldiers. One such soldier in uniform almost passed him, stopped, and then had to do a double take out of sheer bewilderment. “Private Monnot?” Nerosa asked, grabbing Gabe by the shoulder. “What are you, no, why, no… HOW?!”
Gabe shrugged, looking up to her. “No idea Sergeant,” he answered. “Got lucky I guess.”
“Fucker, you got a motherfucking guardian angel watching over you!” Nerosa told him. “You got five minutes to rest your ass and resupply, and then you’re staying here!” Gabe blinked.
“Wait, what?!”
“Gotta give the flying bastards something to focus on instead of the convoy!” Nerosa shouted before turning to direct the flood of evacuees out of the bunker. Gabe simply stood there, gaping at the Staff Sergeant in horror as the ground shook violently, a kaiju of some sort crashing to the ground nearby.
“There is no fucking way my luck is this bad,” he muttered to himself, heading over to a supply crate guarded by a few other soldiers. “No fucking way…”
“You too huh kid?” one of the guards asked, a Corporal judging by the additional stripe. Gabe nodded nervously.
“Yeah. You?”
The Corporal shrugged. “Could be worse,” he commented. “Anyway, grab a few batteries kid. Won’t do much, but, hey, better than nothing.” Gabe nodded, reaching into the crate and grabbing a few extra batteries to his rifle before the civilians began to shout in panic. Spinning in place, Gabe paled as he saw a swarm of Gyaos approaching… with a single, white shape in their midst.
“Fuck! It’s the Hyper!”
Every single available soldier acted, weapons rising up and opening fire into the oncoming horde as cannon shells and lasers flew through the air. Gabe himself ran into cover, firing his rifle blindly to the sky as the Gyaos swiftly approached. “Shit shit Shit Shit SHIT!” he swore frantically, the rifle suddenly beeping as it’s battery went dry. “OH SONUVA-!” Gabe quickly reloaded, tossing the spent battery away as he slammed the fresh one into the receiver, looking up and seeing the Gyaos, and more terrifyingly, the Hyper Gyaos, nearly upon the station.
He looked to the side, seeing a pack of explosives up on a support strut for the overpass. Shoot it, a voice in his head said. Slow it…
“Everyone, away from the pillar!” Gabe shouted, pointing to it before aiming. The Corporal followed his line of sight and swore.
“OUTTA THE WAY ASSHOLES!” he barked, aiming as well before the pair opened fire. The laser blasts connected to the explosives, detonating them with a deafening boom. Most of the flock recoiled in pain from the concussive blast, the Hyper ignoring it as it proceeded to try and dive under the overpass… only for hundreds of tons of rubble and abandoned vehicle to land directly on top of her head. The massive albino Gyaos screeched in alarm, its upper body momentarily pinned.
Hopkins looked at the spectacle and whistled. “Holy fuck, that actually worked?” he asked himself, looking to where Gabe was hiding, the younger soldier seeming to be equally surprised. “Christ, kid’s got better eyes than I do.”
[Oi, meatbag, FOCUS!] Julian nearly shouted in his ear. [Vehicles are almost full!] Hopkins looked over and saw that the AI was on the money with his assessment. All but three of the Humvees were piled high with civilians, while only three Strykers remained that didn’t carry any wounded.
“Right, got it.” Hopkins shifted his attention to Clarke, the Sergeant bringing a Gyaos down in a stream of fire. “Sergeant! Get your ASPs together, get these people out of here, now!”
“Yes sir!” Clarke pointed to several of her pilots, each of them running to the convoy to provide cover fire for them. “And I suppose we hole up here like the Alamo?”
“First Sergeant, Davy Crockett didn’t have any Goddamn autocannons, and he wasn’t fighting fucking kaiju!” Hopkins shot back as he took a step back. “ALRIGHT YOU ASSHOLES! BACKS TO THE WALL, EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT!” ASP, armored vehicles, and infantry alike opened fire, drawing the ire of even more Gyaos as the convoy took off. Hopkins reloaded his cannon, a light MASER tank firing charged blasts out of its barrel and taking down a Super in short order.
The Hyper Gyaos got up from the rubble, shaking its head in sheer irritation, just in time for Raiga to slam into its side and send the two of them catapulting to the ground blocks away. “Holy fuck!” Gabe swore, reloading his rifle again as he backed away from the jaws of a quickly dying Gyaos, the barely three meter high monstrosity getting riddled with laser fire.
“It’s just a fucking Gyaos Private!” Nerosa shouted to him, reloading her rifle. “We got-!”
A gust of wind pushed Gabe to the ground as one moment, Nerosa was there, and the next, the bloody stump of her arm fell to the ground, rifle clattering on the asphalt as a Gyaos flew back into the sky, biting down and swallowing its prize.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” Gabe was panicking, scurrying backwards in terror until his back hit a wall. He clutched his rifle tight, hyperventilating as an ASP back stepped closer to him. He closed his eyes, begging for the madness to end when a sudden wave of calm entered him. “What the-?” he mumbled, looking up and seeing the ASP look down at him.
“You alright there kid?” the pilot inside asked. Gabe shook his head.
“Not really!”
The pilot chuckled, pointing their cannon behind them one handed and fired. A second later, a Gyaos crashed down to the ground, impaling itself on exposed rebar. “Don’t worry kid, been there myself. But you can do this, you ain’t survived this shithole this long to die now.”
“You… you think so?”
“Son, consider this a standing order. I am ordering you to not fucking die without my express permission, or God’s, whoever gets off their lazy ass first,” the pilot said. “Now… on your feet soldier!”
Gabe nodded, and slowly rose to his feet. He was still fucking terrified, but somehow… hearing the pilot tell him that he was going to survive this, it… it felt like it was an undeniable truth. The ASP’s optics housing nodded, and then turned away, only to get hit with a full body tackle by a four meter high Gyaos. “FUCK!” Gabe swore, pulling his rifle up, only to watch in fascination as the ASP pulled the Gyaos off, throw it to the ground, and literally curb stomp its arrow shaped head into a fine paste. “...holy shit that’s metal….”
“Focus kid!” the pilot told him. “Now, get your ass over to that firing line, now!”
“Yes sir!” Gabe shouted, sprinting to where a few more infantrymen were holed up, taking potshots at the monsters. Hopkins watched the soldier leave before shaking his head.
“Christ, that was… different,” he muttered, ignoring Julian’s cynical scoff. “Julian, status?”
[Currently, we got about a hundred and thirty-] Julian paused as a Super Gyaos passed by, firing off it’s sonic laser before continuing, [Well, a hundred and sixteen people left, yourself included. Three MBT-98’s are left, as well as a trio of both Strykers and Humvees. All told, any stragglers we may have IF we survive this can hitch a ride on the tanks.] Another earth-trembling stomp shook the ground, and Julian sighed. [Of course, I should mention that we’re right between Godzilla and Space Godzilla… as well as Mothra, Anguirus, Destroyah, Zilla, and apparently Raiga. Plus at least a hundred still remaining Gyaos.]
“Great,” Hopkins said dryly as the two Godzilla’s roared at each other. “Welp, looks like Pipsqueak’s in a bit of a bind.” Hopkins aimed his cannon at Space Godzilla’s face, a quick tap at his controls adjusting the power on the cannon’s shots. “All units, fire on Space Godzilla, on my mark.” Every remaining soldier aimed their weapons at the kaiju in question, and Hopkins was about to give the order when his cockpit alarms went off screaming.
‘WARNING! WARNING! DIMENSION TIDE IS NOW ACTIVE! EVACUATE THE AREA OF OPERATIONS IMMEDIATELY!’
This time, Julian needed no prompting as Pentecost’s visage popped up in Hopkins’ HUD. “MARSHAL! DO NOT FIRE, REPEAT, DO NOT FIRE THE SYSTEM AT THIS TIME!” Hopkins yelled, just as he pulled the trigger. Magnetically accelerated rounds, along with lasers and missiles, flew out to intercept the now charging kaiju. “WE ARE WITHIN THE BLAST RADIUS, DANGER CLOSE, I SAY AGAIN, DANGER CLOSE, OVER!”
“Ma-r, y- are not co- -ough, say again, ov-!” Pentecost said, his screen dissolving to static as the cockpit warnings continued.
‘DIMENSION TIDE ORBITAL SYSTEM ONLINE! TRACKING TARGET… TARGET IS LOCKED! FIRING MAIN CANNON IN TEN, NINE, EIGHT-!’
“ALL UNITS, BRACE YOURSELVES!” Hopkins yelled, slinging his rifle onto his back and flexing his hands, psionic energy flowing through him as the countdown continued in his ear.
‘-FOUR, THREE, TWO-!’
The two Godzillas were now charging at each other, now barely even body lengths apart from each other. Hopkins pushed his hands out, a massive bubble of psychic energy forming around the survivors with a blazing purple-white glow.
‘-ONE. FIRING MAIN CANNON.’
For a moment, it seemed as though nothing had happened. And yet, as the humans quickly realized, despite the roars of the brawling kaiju, the sounds that should have been there… weren’t. No sound, and then, suddenly, from the sky...
BLACKNESS.
A gargantuan orb of pure black descended, ringed with light as it descended upon the chaos. The kaiju were the first to go, their forms swallowed up by the darkness due to either sheer size, or altitude in the case of the flyers. Then it came upon them, and Hopkins felt as though his brain was being torn asunder again as he was aware of Julian yelling in panic, the AI trying to tell him something…
But the psychic quickly lost consciousness, the shield dropping barely a second later, but by then, they had already past the event horizon, they were already deep inside the lightless depths. And for a brief second, mass didn’t exist, only energy. In the next, energy didn’t exist, only mass.
And in the next second, they were out.
[][][]
Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Her Most Holy and Benevolent Radiance, Empress Daybreaker, sighed as she stepped off the train. On the one hoof, today was when the preparations for the Tenth Centennial Summer Sun Celebration was supposed to start, and that she should be relaxing… but the scrolls from the Restricted section of the Empress’ library did say that the Mare in the Moon was supposed to return soon if not stopped. “Twi, do you really need this much ink and parchment?” Spike asked, the young dragon clearly struggling to hold up the sheer mountain of office supplies in his claws. “It’s only a few days, you DON’T need to take THAT many notes!”
“Spike, you know how important this is!” Twilight reprimanded. “After all, if the Mare in the Moon does appear, then we need to document it for Empress Daybreaker!” A rumble of thunder echoed in the sky above them, and the pair looked up to see dozens of lines fly out a tear in the sky, most of them falling to the Everfree Forest, though one of them flew straight to Canterlot, landing somewhere in the vicinity of the castle. “...and that.”
“Oh Faust, not MORE notes!”
“Spike! Language!”
Spike glowered at her. “Twi, there’s nopony who’s going to care, except maybe her,” he said, pointing behind Twilight. The lavender unicorn turned around and spotted the pony in question, a buttercream colored earth pony who yelped upon being spotted. Twilight gulped, several levels of anxiety rising to the surface as she approached.
“Hi, umm, sorry to bother you, but, do you know where I can find Gov-”
“Shh!” the other mare hissed, rushing over and planting a hoof over Twilight’s mouth. “We can’t speak here! Come with me if you don’t want the Legionnaires to beat you!” Without being given much choice, Twilight was dragged into a nearby building, Spike dashing after her after simply dropping her note taking supplies.
In light of this, the Canterlot born and bred pony only had one thing to say.
“W’ah?”
[][][]
Once upon a time, in the land of Equestria, two sisters ruled the land; the eldest raised the sun at dawn, and the younger the moon at dusk. All was good in Equestria, until one day, the younger sister, jealous of her elder’s power, sought to overthrow her, and plunge the lands of Equestria into an eternal night. One that day, the Holy Empress Daybreaker cast the traitor into the moon, sealing her away. To ensure that the moon had no power, she created a second sun, the land blessed by constant light. To this day, rebels and cultists fight against the Empress, seeking to bring the cast out sister back from her prison.
What neither counted on were the kaiju.
Or the Pale Horsemen who followed.
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At least Hopkins watches the show. Pretty cool alternate universe.
Holy shit! That was an amazing first reworked chapter. We get our first serious look at our main human cast as well as an idea of some of the major characters in this fic, Hopkins and Mannot especially it seems. I think it'll definitely be intriguing to see just what the long term affects of Hopkins' Event Horizon esque mind flay will have on Hyper Gyaos, or Irys as she'll be named down the line.
First proper chapter and holy cow was this a ride! The dialogue is as snappy as ever and each description does well to communicate the absolute dread fighting in such a hazardous environment would entail. Hopkins is once again shown to be an absolutely badass leader that still has a heart of gold that's rare to see in military focused stories like this from my experience. There's also a very nice flow to each scene, both with fight scenes and calmer moments, that makes visualizing each moment rather easy. Not only that, but the balancing between the pure badassery of Hopkins and Monnot and the sheer horror of having so many Gyaos and two of The Mutations' leaders fighting in the middle of a once grand (I mean, it's San Francisco so it isn't really that grand) metropolis. I can practically feel the same energy given off by the HALO Jump scene from Godzilla 2014 while watching this and it's chilling. However, there are a couple of faults, though they're really just down to my personal preference. The main flaw for me is the overabundance of cursing, with "fucks" being spewed about as often as Maser shots throughout the chapter. There's also the question of how Zilla and Raiga will fit into coming chapters and, if they weren't caught in the blast of the DT, how they managed to escape while the Bridge 6 and the Horsemen didn't. However, I can understand why the cursing would be so prevalent and can also understand if Raiga and Zilla don't appear later since there are already quite a few characters in this story. There also seems to be a coloring error when the DT first fires up where more text than usual is red. Overall, a very solid chapter and I can't wait to see how the Pale Horsemen deal with the hellscape that is Daybreaker's Equestria, and how odd it will be to actually be able to talk with the very Kaiju they fought.