The Plasma Cannon Began Charging

It was three o'clock in the afternoon.

Raleigh had changed into a black pilot suit that fit him like black armor and stood inside Gipsy Danger's head-shaped cockpit.

With practiced movements, he lowered the connection rig fitted with a spinal clamp and waited for his partner.

Soon, he heard the sound of pilot-suit boots crossing the floor. He knew his partner had arrived.

"My left arm was injured before, so I took the right side," he said without turning around, standing beside the connection rig on the right side of the cockpit.

"I know."

A familiar voice rang out.

Raleigh raised an eyebrow and looked beside him.

His partner had just reached the connection rig on the left. It was Mako Mori, wearing the same combat suit as him.

"Looks like he really called it," Raleigh said with a smile, remembering the bet he had made with Natsuki before entering the cockpit.

"Mr. Natsuki?"

"Yeah."

"He figured out a while ago that we'd become partners."

Hearing this, Mako Mori nodded thoughtfully.

The command center at Shatterdome Base.

Surrounded by monitors and holographic smart terminals, Marshal Stacker watched Gipsy Danger in the Jaeger bay, his gaze flickering.

Once he saw on the monitor that Raleigh and Mako Mori were both ready, he nodded to Cai Tiantong.

Understanding his signal, Cai Tiantong spoke into the microphone on the console before him. "Both pilots are in position. Connecting the cockpit to the Jaeger now."

Most of the people throughout the base were watching this test.

Soon, Gipsy Danger's head-shaped cockpit was lowered from above and attached to the body.

"Both pilots' vital signs are normal."

"Gipsy Danger's reactor is online. Preparing to initiate the Drift connection... three... two... one!"

The instant the Drift connection activated, Raleigh and Mako Mori both sharpened their focus inside the cockpit.

"Don't get lost in the memories. Stay focused," Raleigh reminded her.

Mako Mori nodded silently.

Then the images before both of them began to flicker.

Their minds connected, and their past experiences flashed before their eyes, from infancy to childhood... from childhood to adulthood... fortunately, they did not truly relive each other's lives during this stage. They merely skimmed through them.

Focus... Mako... focus...

This was Mako Mori's first time Drifting with someone else, after all. Even though she knew what would happen next, she could not help feeling nervous. Just then, she heard Raleigh's voice soothing her.

Soon, they passed through the memories and returned to reality.

"Connection successful. Gipsy Danger's left neural hemisphere calibration complete."

"Gipsy Danger's right neural hemisphere calibration complete."

The Jaeger's system delivered its notifications in a mechanical female voice.

"Gipsy Danger, activate."

Then.

Under the eyes of everyone in the command center, Gipsy Danger slowly raised his arms and performed movements to test their flexibility.

"They did it." Seeing this, Cai Tiantong turned to Marshal Stacker, joy filling his heart.

Raleigh was an old friend of his, and seeing that old friend activate a Jaeger again made him truly happy.

"Yes, they did." Marshal Stacker nodded.

He, too, breathed a sigh of relief.

The two pilots had made it through the stage where things were most likely to go wrong. All they had to do now was follow the procedure and put the Jaeger through a few movements. Making it this far proved they were fully qualified to pilot a Jaeger.

Inside the Jaeger bay, Gipsy Danger performed each movement as instructed.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

"It's a pretty amazing feeling, isn't it?" Raleigh said to Mako Mori, completely at ease in the cockpit.

It's... amazing, yes.

Without opening her mouth, Mako Mori had already answered Raleigh in her mind.

Their minds were connected now, each sharing the other's every thought. They did not even need words to communicate.

Experiencing that feeling firsthand really was incredible.

"My old buddy performs even better after the repairs than he did back then." As Raleigh controlled Gipsy Danger, feeling the gears turn inside the body and hearing the engine roar within the reactor, his blood seemed to boil.

Even after all these years, returning to the cockpit was still addictive.

He felt as though this enormous Jaeger was his own body, able to perform any movement he could imagine.

You're welcome.

Raleigh had just been about to thank Mako Mori for repairing this Jaeger, but before he could say it, she had already answered him in his mind.

She really is a wonderful girl...

How wonderful?

"Uh, you can ignore that one."

I can ignore it?

"Okay, you can't."

"Seriously, you're doing so much better than I imagined," Raleigh said with a smile. "Now... you're the best partner I could ask for."

Raleigh meant it.

He had thought he would never be able to Drift with anyone again, but as it turned out, there really was someone in this world who suited him this well.

Maybe this was fate.

It really is fate. A scene from the past surfaced in Mako Mori's mind.

"Wait, we'd met before?" Raleigh sensed it too.

Their first meeting had not been yesterday.

Years ago, she had already seen him, though he had not seen her.

Back then, the Beckett brothers had been notorious troublemakers at the Jaeger Academy. Despite their excellent grades, they often broke the rules, and having to reprimand them frequently gave Marshal Stacker headaches.

What gave Marshal Stacker even worse headaches was that, for some reason, his daughter often sneaked off to watch them train.

"So you'd seen me back then. But why don't I remember?" Raleigh could not recall ever seeing this girl before.

Because I hid well, Mako Mori answered in his mind.

"Ha."

Life at the academy was another unforgettable memory.

Back then, he and his brother...

My brother...

My brother...

Wait... no...

Suddenly, Raleigh found it hard to breathe and instinctively turned his head.

He saw a figure wearing a white pilot suit, the figure most familiar to him.

His brother, Yancy Beckett, had his mouth open, as though he was saying something.

The next second.

Bang!

A terrifying giant beast tore through the Jaeger's cockpit with the sharp blade on its head, opened its bloody maw, and clamped its jaws around Yancy Beckett. It ripped him out of the cockpit and swallowed him...

No!!!

A warning suddenly appeared on the screen in the command center.

"Damn it, Raleigh's connection broke! No, both their connections broke!" Seeing this, Cai Tiantong immediately stood and called to the two pilots over the comms.

"What happened?!"

The instant the Drift connection broke, the experienced Raleigh returned to reality, shaking off the effects of his brother's death.

But when he turned to look at Mako Mori...

"I'm all right, but Mako...!"

"Calm down!"

"Mako, listen to me. Take a deep breath, then calm yourself down."

"Don't let the memories trap you."

At that moment, Mako Mori was already trapped in her memories.

She felt as though she had returned to her childhood, standing amid Tokyo's ruins. She looked up and saw a giant beast blotting out the sky.

"No!"

She instinctively raised her hand to protect herself.

Their Drift connection had broken, but the Jaeger's control system was still connected.

As she moved...

"Gipsy Danger, Plasma Cannon charging initiated." The system's cold, mechanical female voice rang out from within Gipsy Danger.