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It wasn’t a minotaur. It wasn’t a medusa. It wasn’t a hydra, or a scylla, or a giant. These things are drops in the water in comparison to what we face now, minor problems that all of us would much rather deal with. It was something that didn’t even have a name. My father, an oceanographer and practically the king of the ocean, had no idea what they were. No one did.
The Kaiju hit us when we were completely unprepared.
They came in waves every few months - just one or two in a year, then two in six months, then - well, you get the idea.
That was when the Shatterdomes were created.
And the Jaeger project.
~ Journal Entry Dated X:XX:XX, Ranger Percy Jackson
He stared at her from the end of the bed, his fingers creeping towards the bottoms of her unprotected feet. In the background, he could hear a blaring voice telling him a category two Kaiju had been spotted off of the coast of New York, but the little guy was hardly causing any problems. Percy had a much better idea, and it might end in his death just as much as a battle with a Kaiju.
She muttered in her sleep and he froze, light, sea-green eyes following her blond hair as it slipped across her cheek, but she soon drifted back to dreams. His grin grew to epic proportions as he moved just a little closer, just enough -
and ran his fingers over her feet.
“Percy!” Annabeth shrieked, kicking at his hands long after he had retreated. “What are - ”
The anger drained from her face as she turned to take in the monitor. Percy watched her form a strategy instantaneously in her head. She studied every bit of the monster that was visible from the shaky heli-cams, her eyes wide and focused. Percy was almost grateful for the attack - he wasn’t sure which was scarier: an angry Annabeth or a rampaging Kaiju.
A light bop to the back of his head made him wince. He sheepishly glanced at her, his mouth trying to form an apology and instead gifting her with a mischievous grin.
“I swear, one of these days,” she grumbled and hurried over to their shared dresser. Without thought for the man behind her she started to change into her pilot gear.
“I’m sorry - “
“No you’re not.”
“Well… I can pretend to be?”
She glared at him over her shoulder but the look instantly softened. “You do realize I’ll get you back for that, right?”
Percy gulped. “Not any time soon?”
“No promises.”
Well, when they Drifted together, maybe he’d get a glimpse of what she had in mind.
The Camp Half-Blood Shatterdome, located just north of New York City proper, was abuzz with news and crews and scientists. The place was never quiet, even in the earliest hours of the morning. Percy liked it that way - it kept him energized to know everyone else was working just as hard as the pilots to save the Earth.
“Percy! Annabeth!” He glanced up to find a mechanic, covered from head to toe in splotches of grease, scorches, and dirt and waving a wrench enthusiastically around.
“Hey, Leo,” Annabeth said with a smile. “You’ve got her all ready to go?”
“Yeah - and added a brand new, totally tested Drift aid - not that you really need it, but it adds like five extra points of stability and it’ll be perfect for the two of you since it’ll only help - “
“Breathe,” Percy recommended. Leo took a deep one and let it out before promptly returning to his mile-a-minute dialogue. The three walked together down the hallway towards where their only weapon against the Kaiju stood proudly.
Poseidon’s Wrath stood out against the gray and black design of the dual tone Shatterdome. A myriad of blue paint splashed across the chest, repainted and repaired too many times to really tell what was the original color anymore. On the chest was a trident in gold with a crown carefully balanced on its prongs. Leo puffed his chest out proudly at the sight.
“Considering the state you brought her back in, I think we did a bang-up job,” Leo commented.
“She looks as good as new,” Annabeth agreed. “We’ll try not to smash her up so much this time.”
“Just come back safe and sound so I can tear into you about how you need to take better care of your equipment,” Leo requested. Percy pounded him on the back and separated with Annabeth to continue down the gangplank to their Jeager’s head.
He glanced across the way and waved to the blond man who leaned against the railing. The boy, Jason, waved back and grinned. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted something, but the words were eaten by the sheer size of the dome. Percy shook his head and shrugged.
Jason did a dramatic take of rolling his eyes before he started to jog around on the upper platform. Percy felt a technician fit a spine to his suit just as the blond arrived.
“You guys are on a Category Two? That’s weird,” he said, not even out of breath.
“Well, you and Nico are suiting up too, aren’t you?” Percy asked. Across the way, where Jason had been standing, Zeus’s Shroud stood proudly, its black and gold paintjob brand new. A Mark IV, one of the only ones still in good enough condition to pilot, and a damn fast machine. Percy had to admit to being a little jealous that it could shoot lightning from its hands.
Of course, his Jeager was the only one that could survive undersea combat for any length of time.
“We’re on standby for this mission,” Jason replied. “Marshal Chairon isn’t expecting any more to show up, but you never know. Looks like you guys’ll be solo for now.” He frowned, not looking at all pleased with the idea.
“We’ll be fine.” Percy glanced around, searching for the brown-haired girl that, while less excitable than Leo, was as good of a mechanic. “Is Piper done repairing your Jeager then?”
“We’re still having a little bit of trouble with the left side,” Jason admitted. He carefully lifted his arm, and Percy spotted the sluggish response. “Nico’s in better shape, so he’ll take that side if it comes down to it.”
“You guys be careful,” Percy warned.
“You too. Don’t worry - Frank and Hazel will be above you in a chopper. They wanted to gather what they could from this Kaiju, since it shouldn’t be too hard to beat.”
“Great. More Kaiju groupies. Like we need ‘em.”
“You know they can hear us through the coms, right?” Annabeth called from where she was mounting up. Percy swore.
Jason elbowed him in the side. “Good hunting.”
As the blond backed away, Percy got himself into the rigging. Here was where he felt like a natural - the equipment responded with a mere thought. And there was no one else he would rather Drift with.
“Hey you two - I hear you guys aren’t too happy with us coming along,” Hazel’s voice crackled over the speaker. “Try not to destroy all of this one, okay?”
“We’d really appreciate it.” Percy couldn’t tell if Frank was amused or serious.
“Fine, fine, we’ll give you its skull as a wedding present.”
“The skull’s not really all that useful. Now a spine - “
“Alright, fine! You can have it!” Percy called back.
They laughed together, and Percy listened to the ring in Annabeth’s. It never failed to calm his nervous heart to hear her.
“You two ready?” Hazel called.
“Always,” Percy and Annabeth answered in unison.
“I hate it when you guys talk at the same time,” Frank muttered.
“Neural handshake in five - four - three - two - one - “
He saw her life, snippets of her childhood, her father holding her hand, her mother disappearing one night, her siblings on Christmas, her smile in the light of the sun, her first vision of a Kaiju -
And he saw his own life, memories like shards of glass trickling through his fingers, shared and raw and theirs but still individualistic. He grasped her to him, accepted her, and she accepted him, the perfect bond of trust, love, and pure, simple compatibility.
Percy briefly lurched, but a glance at the instruments told him he and Annabeth were holding fine. He knew the instant she smiled, just like she knew when he chuckled. They were literally in each others’ heads.
“Drift sequence complete. Ready to launch Jeager.”
It wasn’t long before Percy and Annabeth were trudging through the ocean’s waters, their radar picking up the Category 2. Onibaba was its name, and Percy could see the giant claw protruding from the water. His hands tightened on his control handles, his eyes wide and taking in every sight ahead of them.
“Be careful of that claw!” Frank called over the speaker. “From the looks of it, it can crush almost anything!”
“We got this,” Percy promised.
And they went to work.
A trident slid from its holster along their Jeager’s arm and was soon clutched tightly in their hands. The Kaiju roared and charged. Its claw sliced through the air more quickly than Percy thought it could move, but they managed to dodge back just in time. He slammed the trident into the side of the claw, cutting at the exoskeleton without much luck.
“It looks like a crab,” Annabeth said, though Percy heard her words before they came out of her mouth. “Maybe it’s weak to everything a crab is.”
“So we rip its belly open?” Percy suggested as the Kaiju got a lucky hit in on their Jeager’s arm.
“Precisely.”
They dualed, claw against trident, until the Kaiju managed to shove its claw into the workings of their Jeager’s leg. Percy and Annabeth shouted, their voices the cry of their machine, but they refused to fall. Staggering, they whipped their trident around and managed to get it under the carapace of the Kaiju. It flailed, trying to back away, but the points were stuck between its armored hide-plates, and the more it moved, the more it tore itself to pieces.
“Release the Kraken!” Percy shouted. He felt Annabeth’s immediate response - a long, exasperated sigh - but it was lost in the maelstrom of fight fight win win running through their minds.
Annabeth flipped the switch. Their trident’s head began to spin, the prongs slicing through the plates like a knife through butter - if the knife was a blender and the butter had been melted. The Kaiju didn’t stand a chance. Its wails pierced through the armor of the Jeager, its thrashing nearly throwing Poseidon’s Wrath into the water.
Percy panted for breath as the monster eventually stilled, its dead body sinking partially into the water. Kaiju Blue stained the water a sickening, bright color that made his eyes hurt. They put away the trident and reached down to grasp its head.
Shouts of victory echoed over their loudspeaker and Percy took a second to share a smile with Annabeth.
“Poseidon’s Wrath,” a new voice cut in, and Annabeth snapped to attention, “return to the Shatterdome. I have a new mission for you and Zeus’s Shroud.”
“Yes, Marshal!” Annabeth responded. Percy sighed and said, “Alright, we’re on our way back. One dead Kaiju comin’ right up.”
As they walked through the water, Percy smiled and let Annabeth’s eyes see for them both so he could shut his briefly. Behind them, the body of Onibaba dragged silently, parting the water as much as a Jeager’s leg.