Sorry for the delay, as well as a short update!

I'm not very experienced with battle scenes.

Hope you guys enjoy!

It was on them before he could blink. As tall as their Jaeger, probably twice the weight, the kaiju was big and spiny and dinosaur-like. Black spikes lined its spine, and its skin glimmered with a blue hue.

Daryl would have taken more notes on the thing's appearance had it not slammed into them as it jettisoned from the sea. Black claws swiped at their Conn-Pod, the contact making a metallic screeching sound that threatened to give him an instant headache.

He grimaced. Red lights signaled an attack warning.

No shit, Cherokee. It's attacking us right the fuck now.

He thought he heard Carol chuckle beside him.

But she was too busy gasping at the jolt the monster had given their Jaeger, he thought, to possibly find anything in this situation funny.

"Daryl—"

"Brace, dammit! Brace now!"

Black Bone screamed at them, barreling forward and attempting to knock Cherokee Rose off her feet.

Oh my God. Okay, okay. You can do this.

He looked at her as her voice whispered in his head. Together they reached forward, grabbing the kaiju by the shoulders and steadying themselves against its weight. It struggled in their grasp, and then headbutted them.

Something cracked.

Another warning blared.

"Son of a bitch. Carol, hold tight. Don't let it go!"

I won't.

He surged forward with his right arm, the Jaeger sensing the movement and following with its own. He felt when it made contact. His knuckles were instantly bruised. Biting back a howl of curses Daryl reared back, dove in again to land another blow to the kaiju's snout. Carol had it by one arm, pulling it in so that Daryl could knock it back again.

A whining roar told him he was hurting the damn thing.

"S'right. Headbutt us again, asshole."

Another punch and the kaiju staggered back, tearing out of Carol's grasp.

"It's dizzy as hell, Daryl. Let's keep the upper hand, here."

When you'd start using words like "hell"?

She smiled at him.

Raised her arm as he raised his. The computerized voice on the Conn-Pod came to life as they activated their weapon.

Bolt Harpoon, deployed.

He wanted to sneer outright as the bolt was fired from Cherokee's right wrist. One end chained to their Jaeger, its point embedded into Black Bone's chest, eliciting a godawful howl of pain. Carol jerked back, prompted him to follow the movement. The kaiju came stumbling back into their space, and to Daryl's surprise, it was Carol who released a hot, vengeful breath just before slamming their Conn-Pod against the monster's thick skull.

His headache pounded to life.

"Goddammit, woman, warn me before you do shit like that!"

He watched her reach up, the Jaeger rig following her movements as she held her own head.

"Sorry. Besides, if you'd been paying attention you would have known. Drift connection, remember?"

Smartass.

She grinned at him and blinked back at the HUD as Black Bone tried to fight its way up from the ocean, the harpoon still lodged in its chest.

With a flick of the wrist Daryl called the bolt back, felt Carol raise her hand to grab a horn sticking up from the kaiju's neck. She jerked it upward, let Daryl coax her right arm up with his own.

"Let's kill this bastard."

He squeezed his fist. Released the bolt into Black Bone's skull, dead between the eyes. A moan, deep and guttural, rumbled out into the waves as thick, blue blood spewed out onto their Jaeger, spilling into the sea at their feet.

It fell. They stepped back as waves rose with the weight of its body.

Blinking against their shared headache Daryl looked over at his partner, found her chest heaving from the adrenaline. "We did it. Daryl, we did it."

He shrugged against his own elation. Or was it hers? God, she hadn't felt this alive since the girl died, and he knew it.

He felt it.

"Wasn't that hard. Don't know what all the fuss is about."

"Rangers, confirm kill, confirm kill."

Daryl jerked his head at her. Let her answer for them.

"That's a confirmed kill, Mr. Choi, Black Bone is down."

Pentecost's voice broke over static,

"Well done, you two. RTB."

They turned away from the bright blue gore below them, followed their HUD to lead to lead them back home.

"10-4, Marshall. Returning to base."

He felt his lips quirk at the even confidence in her voice.

About time.