Chapter Text
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Chapter Five:
Somehow, without noticing, Storm Razor had stopped being scary. Now it was a comforting, steady presence. A sleeping guardian, waiting to awaken. Minseok pressed his hand against the door when he walked inside, feeling the cold metal thrum underneath his finger tips. Be strong for me, he told her.
Suhwan helped Minseok into his suit, hands shaking. “It’ll be okay Suhwan,” Minseok assured him.
“You two ready?” Sanghyeok called out through the communications system. He must have come from headquarters.
“Ready, sir,” Minhyung reported. Minseok took a long deep breath before nodding as well.
Neural handshake initiating.
Now that Minseok knew what to expect, the drift wasn’t so overwhelming. He saw short flashes of memories, his and Minhyung’s melding together, before it was gone.
Right hemisphere calibrated. Left hemisphere calibrated.
Calibration complete. Drift compatibility, 99 percent.
“We make it look easy,” Minseok said, trying to break the tension. The techs checked their harnesses once more before they left.
The trip out into the open ocean felt surreal. The thick winds were loud inside of the Jaeger. It made it sound like they were in a hurricane. Outside, the night sky was dark, clouds gathering overhead, the only light the lowly hanging moon.
Being carried by the helipads was a weird experience. It was slow and while decently smooth, just moving through the air in such a huge machine at top speeds was jarring.
Sanghyeok was going over the plan with the two Jaegers over the communications system, explaining what they had found out about the Kaiju so far.
“It looks low and fast,” Sanghyeok was saying quickly. “Long barbed tail. Extreme speeds underwater. We haven’t seen a Category 3 in a year. Do not let your guard down.”
Minseok could see Titanic Hydra drop from the helipads further away as they neared their meeting point. He could feel the rush of air as the giant machine hit the water.
“Storm Razor, you are there for back up and back up only. You will hold the fifty-mile line. You will not engage unless instructed.”
The call made sense. It was a bit too dangerous to have two giant robots fighting so close to each other. They could end up hitting each other. But the thought of just having to watch made Minseok nervous.
“They’ll be okay,” Minhyung assured him.
They were checking their settings when Sanghyeok suddenly yelled. “Incoming!”
They watched on the monitors as a large circle appeared on their echolocation system. It was on Titanic Hydra within seconds. A giant, scaled lizard-like creature reared out of the deep water. It had long arms and claws, and had a split tail that had sharp spiked barbs coming out of it. It let out a deep roar, throwing waves crashing into Titanic Hydra’s body.
TailSplitter lunged forward, sharp teeth reaching for the Jaeger’s side. But Titanic Hydra was fast. It lunged to the side, dodging out of the way of its bite and landed a blow to the side of its head. It grabbed onto one of the barbed tails and yanked it to the side, throwing the Kaiju into the water.
Even though they were so far away Minseok could feel the crash of waves against their own mech, and could hear the screeching of metal and Kaiju screams.
Titanic backed up, aiming towards the water. It opened its chest piece and sent three missiles flying toward the Kaiju. TailSplitter roared in pain, thrashing around in the water before disappearing underneath.
“Woo, let’s go!” Minseok cheered, heart hammering in his chest.
“Hydra, coming up on your left!”
Titanic Hydra didn’t turn in time as the Kaiju came flying out of the water. Its whole body rammed into the Jaeger, its massive weight sending them flailing forward. Before Titanic could counter, the Kaiju slid behind it, wrapping its tail around the body of the Jaeger so it couldn’t turn. Ripples of fins came off its face in some godly, inhumane way, splaying to the side as its body began to glow. Its giant maw opened and blue light condensed in its mouth before it let out a piercing scream.
Minseok and Minhyung stumbled, stepping backward so Storm Razor didn’t fall over. The pulsing shock wave echoed throughout the night, buffeting them with waves. Above them inside the cockpit their lights flickered out for a second before coming back.
“What the hell was that?” Minseok gasped, confused.
“Headquarters, come in.” Minhyung was pressing buttons on the control panel, trying to get in contact. “Headquarters, come in!”
Minseok glanced at the cameras, but they had all turned off. He looked through the visor, trying to spot Titanic, but the Jaeger had also gone dark.
“Whatever that was it completely shut down all communications.” Minhyung sounded worried.
“I don’t see Titanic Hydra,” Minseok said, anxiety creeping into his voice.
“The shock wave might have shut down their power.” Minhyung said grimly.
Minseok stared at him in shock. He had never heard of a Kaiju doing something like that. It was some kind of electromagnetic shock. They were learning, adapting to them. The thought sent a chill down his spine. “What about us then? How are we still active?” He glanced at his hand, testing his movements, but Storm Razor responded easily.
“Storm is analog, nuclear. Doesn’t rely on a digital power source.”
Minseok stared into the dark ocean, wishing he could see what was going on. There was silence but he couldn’t tell if Hyunjoon and Doran were alright. “Minhyung …”
“I know,” Minhyung said. He didn't need to say anything. Steadily they began to walk forward, heading for the other Jaeger.
Once they had got closer Minseok was relieved to see that Titanic Hydra still standing. It had completely gone dark but the Kaiju was nowhere to be seen.
“Maybe we can get to Hyunjoon and Doran-“
“MINSEOK LEFT!”
Storm Razor spun around just in time as TailSplitter launched itself out of the water, claws hooking onto them and long teeth going for their arm.
They grabbed it by the neck, holding it back. Fighting in a Jaeger was like wearing weights on your whole body. Everything was slower, heavier, more unsteady. Minseok’s muscles screamed in pain as they held back the Kaiju.
It hooked its tail around their leg, teeth changing direction to try to clamp onto their visor.
Minseok had never seen a Kaiju up close before. TailSplitter was terrifying, a thing of nightmares. It’s huge, beady fish-like eyes darted around, trying to see inside of them. Hundreds of teeth as sharp as knives clapped down on air, trying to latch onto them. The scraping of claws against metal assaulted his ears, waves threatening to push them over.
TailSplitter’s tail came from the corner of their eye, slamming against the side of their head. The movement loosened their grip and the Kaiju ripped itself free from their grip, slipping back into the water.
They dodged again as the Kaiju launched itself at them. It was incredibly fast in the water, but seemed slowed once it was above the surface. Together Minseok and Minhyung pulled back Storm Razors arm and punched it in the side of the body as it flew by. The creature roared in pain, crashing into the ocean. They jumped onto it, punching it again, once, twice.
Claws slammed into their side, the screaming of ripping metal tearing through their ears. Then its teeth landed in their shoulder, yanking their arm forward at an odd angle.
Pain erupted in Minseok’s shoulder, making him lightheaded for a moment. They braced themselves and dug their feet into the ground as the Kaiju tried to pull them into the water.
“Plasma cannon!” Minhyung yelled. Together they activated the right arm plasma cannon, the machinery whirling as the nuclear reactor began warming up. They reached out and locked the Kaiju’s left arm underneath their own, pinning it against their body.
Plasma cannon loading. Ready.
“Fire!”
Bright blue light erupted from their right arm, blasting a huge hole through the Kaiju’s side. Its arm flew off, chunks of flesh and blue blood exploding into the air.
TailSplitter screamed in pain, flailing. Before they could finish it off its tail came flying from the side again, crashing into their left leg. Minseok heard Minhyung scream as their leg was ripped off. They teetered. They were falling!
They reached forward, grabbing onto the Kaiju to keep them steady. It continued to slam its barbed tail into them, trying to hack more of their suit apart.
“Fuck!” Minseok yelled. Alarms were going off everywhere.
Left leg malfunctioning. Internal equilibrium is unstable.
“Left plasma cannon!” Minhyung yelled, grimacing in pain. Minseok was already loading it.
Plasma cannon dysfunction.
“Shit shit shit!” Minseok cursed. The Kaiju reared forward, large teeth snapping as it tried to rip into them. They reached up, catching it by the mouth, struggling to keep it at bay. Their stump of a leg hovered in the air as they dug their other leg into the sand to try to keep stable.
“Clear up our right hand!” Minhyung grunted. Over the neural bridge Minseok could feel Minhyung’s pain echoing in his head. For a second he closed his mind, trying to keep his pain to himself, but Minseok forced the connection between them open again. There was no way Minhyung was going to do this alone.
Minhyung pressed a few buttons on the command panel, clenching his jaw. “Brace yourself!”
Sword deployment activated.
A series of metal panels loosened from their right hand, pieces interlocking together. As one they swung their right hand. The newly connected blade stabbed straight through the Kaiju’s head, erupting from the other side.
TailSplitter let out one last blood curdling scream, blood and guts flying into the air and splattering against their vision. Minseok saw its giant eyes roll up into its head.
With the sudden weight gone they began tipping forward, unable to catch themselves without their left leg to stabilize.
Storm Razor toppled into the water, crashing waves slamming against them. They landed hard on their left side, the force cracking the visor in front of them and sending small pieces of glass shattering against them and metal flying as internal parts of the cockpit came loose.
Minseok felt himself thrown from his harness, launched across the cockpit. His back slammed against the wall and pain erupted across his body, his vision going momentarily white.
“Minseok!” He could hear Minhyung screaming his name, but he felt miles away. His ears were ringing and he couldn’t feel his left side.
Suddenly his helmet was ripped off his head and he began gasping for air, feeling his lungs fill with fresh oxygen. The pieces started to connect and with a jolt he remembered where he was.
Alarms were blaring in his ears, red lights flashing overhead. He could see water spilling into the cockpit, the sound of glass panes cracking. Storm Razor had collapsed. They were underwater.
Low oxygen alert.
Minseok tried to breathe, but the air was too thin.
“Minseok, can you hear me?” Minhyung was kneeling above him, shaking him.
“‘M fine,” Minseok mumbled, trying to stop the world from spinning.
Minhyung began to drag him. Minseok could hear him struggling, he might have broken his leg. He wanted to tell him to stop, that he was alright, but he felt so light headed he kept drifting in and out.
Minseok cried out in pain as Minhyung forced him back into the pilot rig. Grimacing, Minseok tried to smile. “We did good, huh,” he said, huffing in pain as Minhyung began to lock him into the harness. Belatedly he realized he was in the right side. When he looked over to the left he realized his rig was in pieces.
Minhyung touched his face, eyes intense, sweat falling down his brow, lips quivering. He smiled his soft, kind, lovely smile and brushed a piece of hair out of Minseok’s face. “You were amazing,” he said softly. The red alarm lights cast a terrifying glow on him. He reached up and unhooked his helmet and placed it on Minseok’s head. Almost immediately Minseok perked up at the sudden oxygen filling his lungs.
“Minhyung?” Minseok asked, blinking blearily. He reached for him but Minhyung had already stepped to the side, pressing some buttons. It took him a moment to realize that he was activating the emergency escape pod. Water was nearly at his hip now. “What are you doing?”
Sudden understanding hit him like truck. He jumped forward, trying to reach him. “Minhyung!” He screamed, clawing at his harness. No. No! He was not leaving him behind! “Minhyung!” He screamed as his harness lifted into the air, the pod closing around him and encasing him in darkness.
The last thing Minseok saw was Minhyung staring up at him, water pouring into the cockpit, Minseoks broken harness behind him.
Minseok was still screaming when his pod broke the surface of the water. Struggling weakly, he shoved the lid off, dragging himself out as his body screamed in pain.
He ripped the helmet off his head, coughing as his lungs were exposed to fresh air. Everything hurt, and he was sure he had a couple broken ribs and a concussion. But the pain was merely an echo in his head, incomparable to the panic in his chest. His eyes darted across the ocean water, mind whirling. How long had Minhyung been under the water? How much oxygen was left? Minhyung didn’t have a helmet. And the water was rising so fast. Would he be able to get the rig working?
Suddenly a pod broke the surface about twenty feet away. Minseok launched himself into the water, doing his best to swim to the other pod and ignore his injuries. He pulled himself onto the pod, soaking wet and shaking, and hit the release button. The top flew off.
Minhyung was laying inside, not moving, no helmet. His vitals weren’t showing, but the pod had to be dysfunctional after all that. He had to be breathing. He hadn’t been down for too long.
“Minhyung, Minhyung,” Minseok repeated like a mantra, reaching down into the pod. He unhooked him, pulling him out and into his arms. He pressed his head to his chest, trying to listen for his breathing.
“Minhyung please, god no, please don’t leave me please don’t.” Minseok cried, pressing his face into his chest. He couldn’t feel him moving. Couldn’t hear his breathing. There wasn’t a heartbeat.
No, it wasn’t fair! Not like this! He hadn’t even told him how he felt. Hadn’t thanked him for everything. There were so many things he wanted to tell him. Wanted to experience together. Fuck, come back to him! “Please don’t leave me. I can’t do this without you. Please breathe.”
And then miraculously, like some kind of gift from god, he felt Minhyung shift in his arms, hand coming up to weakly grasp his. “You’re holding me so tight I can’t breathe,” he gasped out. He sounded god awful but Minseok didn’t care. He was alive!
Minseok broke into tears then, like a dam breaking. He helped Minhyung sit up, hands shaking.
Minhyung’s left leg was clearly broken, but he still forced a smile onto his face. Kind, ever considerate Minhyung.
Minseok suddenly hit him in the chest, only feeling slightly guilty when Minhyung winced. He probably had broken ribs too, but Minseok didn’t care. He was alive. “Lee Minhyung! Don’t you EVER leave me behind again! Or I’ll kill you!”
Minhyung chuckled, grabbing his hands so he couldn’t hit him anymore. He pulled Minseok to his chest, enveloping him in a warm hug that warmed his soaked to the bone body. Minseok could feel his laugh rumble through his chest.
“I promise,” Minhyung said. “I’m sorry.”
Minseok sobbed into his chest, the stress bleeding out of him. He felt the sudden whirl of waves and buffer of air and he looked up, suddenly scared there was another Kaiju, but it was a series of helipads flying past them. Good god, they were both alive and they were going to be saved. It was a miracle.
Minhyung breathed a long sigh of relief, strong calloused, familiar hands still clutching onto him. They both stared at the hepipads circling around them, preparing to come rescue them.
“When you were ripped from the drift,” Minhyung said suddenly, barely audible over the sound of chopping waves. “I thought I had lost you.”
Minseok couldn’t imagine. The sudden disruption of the drift would probably haunt him for a long time.
“Minseok, I can’t do this with anyone else. I need you.” Minhyung cupped his head in his hand, tilting his face towards him so they were looking into each other's eyes. His eyes were earnest, like deep pools Minseok could get lost in. His eyes had a tinge of gold in them. How had he never noticed? He wanted to know everything about him.
Minseok smiled, heart warm even though he was shaking from the cold. He turned to burn this moment, this feeling, into his mind. “I’m not going anywhere Minhyung. It’s me and you against the world.”
Minhyung leaned forward, one hand cupping his cheek and the other wrapped around his back, pulling him closer. Soft lips connected, setting his heart on fire. Minseok’s head went light again, sparks flying behind his closed eyes. When they separated the kiss left Minseok’s lips tingling, his hands still buried in Minhyung’s shirt. Hearts beating as one. The ecstasy of the feeling was enough to make him forget any pain his body was putting him through. He could stay in this moment forever.
“The world doesn’t stand a chance.”
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