Chapter Text
The Kaiju roared.
The sound rattled every window for blocks.
Inside Wolf, Chan gripped the controls.
"Everyone, spread out!"
Wolf moved first.
Titan followed.
Phoenix shot upward.
Hydra disappeared beneath the water.
The Kaiju charged.
"Chan!" Seungmin's voice came through the communications system. "Its energy output is still increasing."
"How much?"
"Twenty percent since the evolution."
Changbin groaned.
"That's not good."
"No," Seungmin replied. "It isn't."
Titan raised both arms.
"Then let's make sure it doesn't get any closer."
Changbin charged.
Hyunjin immediately adjusted their trajectory.
"Left!"
Titan shifted.
The Kaiju's claw slammed into its shoulder.
**BOOM.**
Titan staggered.
Changbin grunted.
"That hurt."
Hyunjin checked the damage.
"Armor's holding."
"Then we're fine."
"That's not what I said."
---
Phoenix circled overhead.
Han watched the Kaiju's movements.
"Felix."
"Yeah?"
"Can you get above it?"
"Already there."
Phoenix climbed higher.
The Kaiju looked up.
Han smiled.
"Perfect."
Phoenix folded its wings.
"Han..."
"I know."
They dove.
"NOW!"
Phoenix opened fire.
A concentrated burst slammed into the Kaiju's back.
The creature staggered.
Han grinned.
"Got it!"
Then the Kaiju disappeared.
Felix's eyes widened.
"Where did it go?"
Seungmin's voice came through.
"Behind you!"
Phoenix spun.
The Kaiju had jumped.
It was already in the air.
"Move!"
Phoenix barely escaped.
The Kaiju's claws scraped across Phoenix's wing.
Warning lights flashed.
### **LEFT WING: STRUCTURAL DAMAGE**
Han's smile disappeared.
"Okay."
Felix steadied the Mecha.
"That was close."
"Too close."
---
Wolf charged from below.
Chan didn't hesitate.
"Wolf!"
The Mecha leapt.
Its claws struck the Kaiju's side.
The creature crashed back onto the highway.
Chan landed.
"Now!"
Titan charged.
The impact sent the Kaiju sliding backward.
Hydra surfaced.
Seungmin looked at the data.
"Its chest."
I.N looked at the target.
"There's a weak point?"
"Not exactly."
"Then what?"
"The armor is thinner there."
Chan heard them.
"Can we hit it?"
Seungmin hesitated.
"If we coordinate."
Chan smiled.
"Then let's coordinate."
---
For the first time, all four pairs moved together.
Wolf distracted the Kaiju.
Titan attacked from the front.
Hydra struck from the water.
Phoenix attacked from above.
The Kaiju couldn't focus on all four.
It stumbled.
Changbin laughed.
"That's it!"
Hyunjin shouted:
"Again!"
Titan hit it.
Hydra fired.
Phoenix dove.
Wolf struck.
The Kaiju fell.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Han breathed heavily.
"Did we just win?"
Seungmin looked at his readings.
"...No."
Han groaned.
"Why did I ask?"
The Kaiju began moving.
Its body shook.
Then the armor opened.
A pulse of energy spread across the battlefield.
Seungmin's sensors screamed.
"BACK!"
The shockwave hit.
Wolf was thrown into a building.
Titan crashed through a concrete barrier.
Hydra was pushed underwater.
Phoenix spun through the air.
"FELIX!"
"I'm okay!"
Phoenix's engines sputtered.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure!"
Han checked the systems.
"Phoenix isn't."
A warning flashed.
### **FLIGHT STABILIZER: 41%**
Felix swallowed.
"We can still fly."
"Can we?"
"We have to."
---
The command center watched in silence.
One of the technicians looked at the screen.
"They're still fighting."
Dr. Kang crossed her arms.
"They shouldn't be."
"Should we pull them out?"
She looked at the evacuation map.
Thousands of civilians were still moving through the designated evacuation zone.
The Kaiju was between them and safety.
Dr. Kang's expression hardened.
"Not yet."
---
Wolf pulled itself from the rubble.
Chan's breathing was uneven.
"Lee Know?"
"I'm here."
"You okay?"
"Bruised."
"Anything broken?"
"No."
Chan exhaled.
"Good."
Lee Know looked at the damage report.
"Wolf's front armor is damaged."
"How bad?"
"Twenty percent."
Chan looked toward the Kaiju.
"We can work with that."
---
Titan stood again.
Changbin groaned.
"How much damage?"
Hyunjin checked.
"Right shoulder armor. Chest plating."
"Anything critical?"
"No."
Changbin smiled.
"Then we're still standing."
Hyunjin looked at him.
"You're enjoying this."
"A little."
"We're being attacked by a giant monster."
"I know."
"And you're enjoying it."
"We're winning."
Hyunjin looked toward the battlefield.
They weren't.
But they could.
Maybe.
---
Hydra surfaced.
Seungmin looked at I.N.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Your arm?"
"Just bruised."
Seungmin nodded.
Hydra's systems flickered.
"Seungmin."
"I see it."
One of Hydra's sensor arrays had gone offline.
"We've lost one head."
I.N looked at the three displays.
"Can we still track it?"
"Yes."
"Then we're fine."
Seungmin smiled.
"That's what Chan said."
"Maybe he's rubbing off on us."
---
Phoenix descended.
Its damaged wing struggled to stay level.
Han looked at Felix.
"Let's land."
Felix nodded.
Phoenix touched down.
Han looked at the Kaiju.
It was getting closer.
"How many civilians?"
Seungmin answered.
"Evacuation is almost complete."
"Almost?"
"Four minutes."
Chan heard them.
"Then we hold for four minutes."
Changbin laughed.
"That's our leader."
Hyunjin sighed.
"Of course it is."
---
The Kaiju charged.
Titan stepped forward.
Changbin shouted:
"COME ON!"
The Kaiju slammed into Titan.
Titan's feet dug into the pavement.
Changbin yelled.
Hyunjin grabbed the secondary controls.
"Hold!"
Titan's armor groaned.
"Still holding!"
The Kaiju pushed harder.
Titan's systems flashed.
### **STRUCTURAL STRESS: 71%**
Hyunjin gritted his teeth.
"Changbin!"
"I know!"
Wolf rushed in.
Chan struck the Kaiju's side.
It turned.
Phoenix fired.
Hydra attacked from the water.
The Kaiju stumbled.
Titan finally broke free.
Changbin dropped to one knee.
"That thing is strong."
Hyunjin breathed heavily.
"Very."
Chan's voice came through.
"Everyone okay?"
One by one:
"Yeah."
"Good."
"Fine."
"We're alive."
Chan smiled.
"Then let's finish this."
---
The Kaiju roared.
Then something strange happened.
Its body stopped.
Seungmin stared at the readings.
"Wait."
"What?" Chan asked.
"The energy is dropping."
Everyone paused.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
The Kaiju's armor began glowing.
A massive pulse formed in its chest.
Seungmin's eyes widened.
"That's not good."
"What's happening?"
"It's charging something."
"How long?"
Seungmin checked.
"Twenty seconds."
Chan looked toward the evacuation zone.
"Can it hit the city?"
Seungmin's voice was quiet.
"If the blast is what I think it is..."
"Can it?"
"Yes."
Chan didn't hesitate.
"Everyone."
The others waited.
"We stop that blast."
Changbin's voice came through.
"How?"
Chan looked at Wolf's damaged armor.
Then Titan.
Phoenix.
Hydra.
They weren't ready.
They weren't experienced.
They barely knew what they were doing.
But they were there.
"Together."
---
Wolf moved first.
Titan followed.
Hydra rose from the water.
Phoenix pushed its damaged engines to maximum.
Four Mechas formed a line between the Kaiju and the city.
The Kaiju's chest opened.
Energy gathered.
Chan tightened his grip.
"Hold."
The others prepared.
"Hold..."
The energy reached its limit.
"NOW!"
All four Mechas attacked.
Wolf struck the Kaiju's legs.
Titan slammed into its chest.
Hydra fired directly into its exposed armor.
Phoenix descended from above.
The combined assault hit the Kaiju at the exact moment it released its blast.
The energy exploded.
The world went white.
For several seconds, nobody could see.
Then the light faded.
Smoke covered the battlefield.
The Kaiju was on the ground.
It wasn't moving.
Han's voice came through.
"Did we..."
Seungmin checked the sensors.
"Yes."
Everyone waited.
"The Kaiju is down."
Silence.
Then Changbin shouted:
"WE DID IT!"
Han laughed.
Felix cheered.
I.N started laughing.
Even Lee Know smiled.
Chan leaned back.
They had done it.
Their first real mission.
They had protected the evacuation zone.
They had fought an evolved Kaiju.
And somehow...
They had survived.
Then Dr. Kang's voice came through the communications system.
"Stray Kids."
The boys froze.
"Yes?"
"Don't celebrate yet."
Chan frowned.
"Why?"
A pause.
"Because the Kaiju wasn't supposed to be able to evolve."
The laughter disappeared.
Dr. Kang continued.
"And someone needs to explain why its energy signature matches a Kaiju we encountered six months ago."
Seungmin looked at his screen.
The data was still scrolling.
His expression changed.
"Chan."
"What?"
"I think there's something else."
"What?"
Seungmin zoomed in.
Buried underneath the Kaiju's energy signature was another signal.
Small.
Artificial.
Deliberate.
"Someone was controlling it."
Nobody spoke.
The first mission was over.
But the mystery had just begun.