Chapter 23: Pacific Rim, Part 8

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Chapter 23

Sirens and screams filled the streets as civilians ran for the nearest shelter, hearing the roar of the Kaiju in the harbor. Oobleck was among them, climbing over abandoned cars and vaulting barriers to get to the entrance. As he neared, he ensured his admittance by yelling that he was a doctor, though not mentioning his field. It was enough for the guards, since they let him through. He made it inside the vault along with about 100 other people. The guards closed the heavy metal doors and activated the locks, sealing them in. The room was cramped with how many people were crowded in, but it at least had lighting, plumbing and air filtration, so they could survive for at least a day inside.

"Ren..." Nora said, gripping onto the arm of her definitely-not-boyfriend.

Ren put his hand on hers, knowing what she was thinking. He was flashing back to the that day as well, the day they first met and the day his whole world came crashing down.

Out in the harbor, Leatherback circled the deactivated Ember Celica. Inside the useless Jaeger, Tai and Yang tried to figure out what the actual fuck was going on.

"There's no emergency power." Tai said.

"We gotta bail." Yang said.

"I'm gonna try something else." Tai said, detaching his harness.

"No," Yang yelled as he started to move about the cockpit, "Don't disengage!"

On cue, Leatherback tapped the cockpit on the side of the head.

Inside, sparks flew, Yang was jossled in her harness and Tai was thrown against the wall. He cried out in agony as he fell to the floor.

"Oh, that's not gonna feel great." Tai said, remembering when he dislocated his own shoulder during a spar with Qrow during Beacon. Thank the Gods for Aura or he would have been out of action for months.

"My arm!" he cried.

Yang ran over to him. "Come on. Get up old man."

"Don't! Call me that!" Tai yelled, pushing the pain down. He managed to right himself with a grunt.

"Seriously, I'm only in my thirties." Tai whined.

"Face it buddy, we're the old men now." Qrow said. "Then again, in my case I use that to my advantage." Summer gave him a quizzical look. "There are more than a few cute girls out there with a thing for older men. Ain't that right, Ice Queen Sr?" he winked at Winter, earning him a slap upside the head from Summer.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rose." Winter said with a smug grin.

"He's right outside. We gotta get outta here now!"

"We're not going anywhere!" Tai said angrily, walking over to a set of boxes on the wall of the cockpit. "You and I are the only thing standing between that ugly bastard and a city of two million people." He tapped each box once with the side of his fist. They opened to reveal a pair of guns within each. "Now we have a choice here: we either sit and wait, or we take these flare guns and do something really stupid." He glared at Yang, who soon began to smirk as she put the pieces together.

"Uh oh, I know that look." Ruby said.

"We all know that look, Ruby." Blake said with just as much worry, "That's Yang's 'let's do something crazy' look." Yang denied nothing, thus proving their point.

Air hissed as the hatch at the top of Ember Celica's head opened and Yang climbed out with a grunt, flare guns in hand. Tai followed, holding his injured arm close.

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