Beast beneath the dust

The heat shimmered across the blackened plains of R22 like a curtain of smoke, the landscape scarred by past battles and silent massacres. Rocks stood like jagged teeth beneath an orange sky, and the ground trembled—not from quakes, but from breathing.

The Origin Kaiju had awoken.

Kael stood on the edge of a ravine, his helmet tucked under his arm, Ravager Mk IV crouched behind him—its new armor reinforced with experimental alloys, its surface still bearing scars from earlier engagements. The beast they were about to face wasn't just another Kaiju. This one was different. Primeval. Feral. Intelligent.

Beside him, Tyren adjusted the interface settings inside Brawler's cockpit. Unlike Kael's sleek Ravager, Brawler was brute force incarnate—designed for shockwave punches and gravitational locks. Together, they weren't just hunters—they were something far more dangerous:

Synchronized.

"Neural sync stable at 84%," Tyren's voice crackled in Kael's comms.

"Keep it above 80. We're going in with no backup," Kael replied, eyes narrowing on the thermal readouts in front of him. "The bastard's close."

From their vantage point, they could see it now—emerging from beneath the charred plains like a mountain uprooting itself. The Kaiju moved with terrifying grace for its size—muscles sliding beneath thick, scale-armored skin that shimmered with a radioactive green hue. Gnarled tusks extended from its mandible-like jaws, and its breath created pockets of warped air, distorting everything around it.

"Alright," Kael muttered. "Let's go say hello."

First Engagement

Ravager's jets flared as Kael launched forward, flanking the Kaiju's left. Simultaneously, Tyren activated Brawler's seismic stabilizers and landed on its right, causing a localized shockwave. Dust clouds exploded in every direction.

Kael fired a burst from Ravager's left arm cannon. The projectile screamed through the air and detonated against the beast's neck—causing it to recoil slightly.

"Minimal damage," Kael muttered.

"Let me try," Tyren grinned.

Brawler leapt high and brought both fists down in a hammer strike aimed directly at the Kaiju's shoulder. The impact sent a booming shockwave that echoed across the desert. The beast stumbled, finally showing signs of pain.

But then it turned.

Its molten eyes glowed as a pulse of electromagnetic energy surged from its chest.

"EMP wave!" Kael shouted. "Engaging shields!"

Too late.

The blast hit them both. Lights flickered. Sensors dropped. Ravager staggered back, systems struggling to reboot. Inside his cockpit, Kael clenched his jaw as heat levels spiked.

"Ravager's core took a hit—sensors offline for three seconds," Kael said. "Tyren?!"

"Brawler's backup is still live. I've got visual. I'm holding aggro," Tyren replied through static.

Brawler slammed into the Kaiju's chest, trying to force it back. But the beast roared, opened its maw—and unleashed a solar beam.

The beam scorched the earth, slicing through a hill and leaving molten rock in its path. Brawler dodged, but a piece of the blast clipped its leg, blowing apart a chunk of external plating.

"Left leg's gone cold!" Tyren grunted. "She's limping!"

"Tag out!" Kael snapped.

Ravager surged forward. Thrusters blazed, and its chainsaw-spear deployed from the back—teeth rotating at blurring speed.

Kael drove it straight into the Kaiju's abdomen, the weapon sawing through outer plating and plunging into blackened flesh. Toxic blood sprayed, burning holes into Ravager's arm like acid.

The Kaiju howled and lashed out with a tentacle-like tail hidden beneath its lower back. The appendage coiled around Ravager and slammed it into a boulder, cracking it in half.

Inside, Kael's HUD was blinking red.

"Structural integrity: 57%."

But Kael's grip tightened. "I'm not done."

Counteroffensive

"On your right!" Tyren yelled.

Kael twisted Ravager just in time to block the Kaiju's tail with his arm shield. Sparks burst everywhere. He reversed the thrusters and fired two micro-missiles into the Kaiju's exposed ribs.

The beast reeled.

Then Brawler jumped again—shoulder-tackling the monster with enough force to send both crashing into the earth.

Kael didn't hesitate. "Now!"

Both mechas leapt simultaneously—one going high, the other low.

Brawler punched the beast's kneecap with enough torque to bend titanium.

Ravager landed on the Kaiju's back—blades spinning—and sawed through the beast's spinal node.

The Kaiju screamed so loudly that Ziya and Ryssa, monitoring from the cave outpost, covered their ears.

"Core damage registered," Kael said. "One more push!"

The Final Blow

The Kaiju flared again—this time emitting radiation pulses that cracked the ground and sent EMP blasts across a kilometer radius.

Ravager went offline. Brawler dropped to one knee.

Kael cursed. "Manual override. We're ending this."

He activated a core surge—dumping all power into the Ravager's spinal drill.

Ravager climbed the Kaiju's back one final time.

"TYREN!"

"FINISH IT!"

The drill ignited in crimson flames—spinning at max velocity.

Kael stabbed it straight into the Kaiju's skull.

The beast roared—and then slumped. Limbs spasming. It twitched once. Then silence.

Aftermath

The battlefield was still.

Brawler was kneeling beside the fallen beast, its left arm hanging by loose wires. Ravager stood atop the Kaiju's back—smoke rising from every vent.

Kael climbed out of his cockpit, his face blackened from heat exposure. His hand trembled slightly.

Tyren joined him.

They stood side by side, staring at the carcass of what had once been a god.

"Still think it was the weakest?" Tyren muttered.

Kael gave a dry chuckle. "I hope so."

A shuttle arrived minutes later. Ryssa jumped down and ran toward Kael, stopping short when she saw the state of his mech.

Ziya walked toward Tyren, eyes wide. "You… you two actually killed it."

"No. We just survived it," Tyren replied.

Kael looked around the battlefield and then up at the sky.

"One down."

"Two more to go."

"And we're just getting started."