Origin protocol

The sky above R22 was a bruised canvas of black and silver, streaked with electric veins that never touched the ground. The radiation levels in the air shimmered in hues invisible to the naked eye, but Ravager's sensor arrays painted the world with growing unease. Something had changed in R22. Something massive.

Kael stood motionless near the edge of their reinforced temporary camp—built atop the same cliff where the original Unit 404 had once carved out survival. His shadow stretched long in the low light, cast by flickering floodlamps and humming surveillance towers.

Behind him, the others filtered into the command hub one by one.

Tyren arrived first, sweat still streaking his brow from tuning Brawler's hydraulic core. He tossed his jacket aside and glanced at Kael's back.

"You're brooding again," Tyren muttered.

"No," Kael replied, voice heavy. "I'm watching the sky. It's quieter than usual. Too quiet."

Tyren raised an eyebrow. "Even you have to admit that's ominous."

Moments later, Ryssa entered with Ziya, both lugging diagnostic modules and fresh telemetry scans from their latest perimeter run. Ryssa placed the datapads down hard, frustrated, brushing a loose strand of hair from her eyes.

"These Kaiju aren't just evolving… They're organizing."

Kael turned finally, eyes narrowing. "Show me."

Ziya tapped the panel, and three red markers pulsed on the digital projection of R22. A live topographical map rotated slowly, revealing areas they had yet to breach, cloaked in radiation so dense their drones couldn't pass.

"These aren't patrol patterns. These are territorial perimeters," she explained. "Whatever is out there… it's guarding."

Ryssa nodded. "I cross-referenced with heat signatures and environmental scars. We're looking at three command-class Kaiju—each one possibly an origin-type."

Tyren let out a low whistle. "Three Origin Kaiju? At once? You've got to be kidding."

Ziya shook her head. "We have confirmed nests. Each one roughly in a different cardinal zone—east, west, and north. There's a pattern of containment… but it's breaking."

Kael stepped forward and hovered his hand over the eastern region.

"This zone—the crawler's nest. The Kaiju we fought here before was young. We assumed it was a standalone."

He tapped.

"This wasn't a child. It was a soldier."

A pause. No one spoke.

Kael's tone dropped further.

"We were playing checkers. They're playing war."

---

The Three That Rule

The team stayed locked in the command hub for hours. Rations remained untouched on the side table, drinks went warm, but no one noticed.

They named the three entities for reference:

The Colossus – a lumbering behemoth believed to command the western rocky plains, where seismic activity had steadily increased. It was the reason a full unit had vanished last week—an entire squadron crushed into craters.

The Reaper Bat – the north's phantom in the sky, whose sonar-based tracking had disabled Ryssa's long-range drones. Survivors from previous engagements whispered of claws that tore steel and fangs laced with acidic mist.

The Venom Crawler – an eastern terror with six jagged limbs and rows of glassy eyes. It burrowed, infected, and harvested radiation like sustenance.

"These are not just mutations," Ryssa muttered, "they're a bio-engineered caste system."

"And worse," Ziya added, "they're not fighting each other. They're… coexisting."

Tyren stood up. "This planet is a breeding ground. A forge."

Kael's hand clenched against the edge of the console. "Then we douse the fire."

---

Mission 404: Reborn

That night, they stood outside under the trembling stars, the wind howling like the dying ghosts of the squads that never came back. The ground still held the bones of failure.

Kael spoke first.

"We don't have time. The moment the higher-ups realize what's going on, they'll bomb the whole planet and wipe out everything—including us."

Tyren leaned on the armored shoulder of his mecha, Brawler. "Then we beat them to it."

Kael turned toward them—toward the only people he truly trusted now.

"We start with the Venom Crawler. We hunt it. We study it. And we end it."

Ryssa crossed her arms. "What about the others?"

"One at a time," Kael replied. "We'll cripple their chain of command."

Ziya hesitated. "This isn't just dangerous anymore. It's suicide."

Kael looked at her. "Only if we fail."

She stared at him for a moment longer, then nodded. "Fine. But we do it my way. No heroics. We hit and run."

Tyren grinned. "Ziya giving orders? I'm in."

Ryssa remained quiet, but Kael caught the flicker of pride in her eyes. For a moment, their gazes locked, and Kael realized something—she wasn't just fighting for the mission anymore. She was fighting for him.

He looked away.

---

Preparation Before Chaos

The group spent the next 24 hours prepping for the impossible.

Tyren modified Brawler's shielding for acid resistance, adding layered thermal plating.

Ziya coded decoy drones that would emit conflicting heat signals.

Ryssa updated the Ravager's OS to absorb and redirect sonar pulses into reverse feedback—a move that could buy Kael crucial seconds in combat.

Kael, meanwhile, trained alone in silence.

He practiced maneuvering through holographic projection enemies.

He meditated with his eyes closed, calculating.

He stared at old battle footage of the Crawler—and memorized every twitch, every breath, every coil of its grotesque legs.

By morning, Unit 404 wasn't just ready.

They were dangerous.

They had risen from ash once.

They would do it again.