R22 had never truly slept.
Even in its eerie silence and dim eternal twilight, there was always something stirring beneath the surface—watching, stalking.
But this night felt different.
There was no fog. No wind. Not even the usual tremors of shifting terrain.
Kael stood outside the base perimeter, arms crossed, Ravager's hulking form crouched nearby in sleep-mode, his helmet clutched loosely under his arm. Tyren was on the opposite side, running a routine systems check on Brawler.
Inside the mobile base, the Siren Squad was finally calm. Misha sat in silence, stealing glances toward Kael whenever she thought no one noticed. Ziya laid awake, replaying the battle in her mind. Ryssa, in her quarters, quietly reviewed energy signatures from the Kaiju carcass analysis. Everything looked... normal.
Too normal.
---
The Sky Screams
It began with a single tremor—violent and sudden.
Then came the sound.
A piercing, unnatural shriek echoed through the air like glass being ripped apart.
Kael's head snapped up. His hand instinctively reached for his comm.
"Everyone—up. Now."
Tyren's voice immediately followed. "We've got movement. West perimeter, and fast."
The sky above shimmered as a massive shadow descended—a winged monster, its silhouette blotting out the dim moonlight. Its wingspan was enormous, and it moved with impossible speed for its size.
At the same moment, the ground behind the camp exploded. From the earth emerged a hulking gorilla-like Kaiju, its eyes glowing with molten orange rage, knuckles like meteor hammers pounding the rocks flat.
"Two targets!" Kael shouted, already sprinting for Ravager. "Aerial and ground class—prepare for immediate engagement!"
Chaos broke loose.
Alarms blared. Lights flickered. The Siren Squad scrambled to their mechas in disoriented panic.
---
The Descent of Doom
The bat-like Kaiju swooped low and fast, unleashing a high-frequency shriek that cracked glass and shook bones.
Ziya screamed and fell to her knees, clutching her helmet. Misha's mecha cockpit failed to seal on time. Sparks burst from her console as the sonic wave hit her system.
Brawler surged forward—Tyren's hands flying across controls.
He intercepted the gorilla Kaiju, driving his mech into its chest. The two titans collided like avalanches. The Kaiju roared and grabbed Brawler's arm, twisting the shoulder servo until it snapped.
"Damn it—left arm's offline!" Tyren growled, gritting his teeth.
Ravager launched into motion.
Kael boosted upward, catching the bat Kaiju mid-flight, driving both his plasma blades into its wing. The beast shrieked again, this time in pain, but retaliated by slamming Kael into the cliff wall.
Cracks spread like lightning across the stone.
"Ravager's armor integrity dropping!" Kael spat, blood dripping from his mouth inside the cockpit.
---
Desperate Measures
Tyren was now on the defensive. The gorilla Kaiju hammered Brawler, relentless and savage.
Each punch shook the ground. Debris scattered. One of the Siren Squad's mobile shelters was crushed like paper.
Ryssa shouted from her comms, trying to organize everyone—but it was clear.
They were losing.
Kael leapt back into the air, catching the bat Kaiju by the throat mid-swoop and crashed it into the ground, triggering a localized explosion of radiation-charged dust.
The Kaiju screeched, thrashing beneath him.
He activated Ravager's shock pulse cannon—firing directly into the beast's face. One eye burst in a disgusting splash of fluid and bone. But before he could follow through—
The gorilla Kaiju threw Brawler like a missile, slamming it into Ravager's side.
The two mechas collided and tumbled violently across the battlefield.
---
Pushed to the Edge
Tyren coughed up blood.
"I think… I cracked a rib," he mumbled, wiping his mouth.
Kael didn't respond. His focus was absolute.
Inside Ravager, he silently began rerouting power. Systems sparked. Warnings flashed red across every screen. He disabled all auxiliary modules, and poured every ounce of power into one thing: core propulsion.
He whispered to himself, "One more time."
The bat Kaiju took to the sky, limping but still lethal. Kael narrowed his eyes.
"Tyren—distract the ape. I'll finish this one."
Tyren didn't argue.
Brawler slammed both fists into the gorilla's chest again, activating a shock grenade launcher embedded in its remaining arm. The gorilla roared as explosives ripped across its midsection.
Kael, meanwhile, soared upward.
The bat Kaiju came for him.
Head-on.
Their paths collided mid-air in a flash of fire and steel. Kael drove both of Ravager's swords into the Kaiju's chest—then overloaded the thrusters mid-impact.
The sky exploded.
Both Kael and the Kaiju came crashing down like fallen stars.
Dust.
Silence.
Then movement.
Kael emerged from the rubble. Burned. Bleeding. Ravager barely standing. But the bat Kaiju lay dead behind him, wings torn, chest caved in.
Tyren was still locked in a brawl with the gorilla. His mecha now missing both arms, barely holding on.
Kael didn't hesitate.
He dragged his damaged mech forward, each step shaking and sparking.
He activated Ravager's core blade, a blade forged with irradiated Kaiju bone—a last resort weapon.
The moment the gorilla turned toward him—
Kael sliced upward, from groin to chest.
The Kaiju stopped.
Twitched.
And fell.
---
Aftermath
The battlefield was silent again. Just the whir of damaged engines. The hiss of leaking fuel. The wind howling eerily over the ruins of their midnight ambush.
Ryssa arrived in her mecha moments later with the rest of the squad.
She gasped at the destruction.
Two dead Kaiju. Two nearly destroyed mechas. A shattered
camp.
Kael stood beside Ravager, his face covered in blood, breathing heavily.
Tyren slumped in his cockpit, barely conscious but alive.
No one dared speak.