The meeting room had never been this crowded.
Representatives from PPDC facilities across the world filled the enormous conference chamber. Some appeared physically through secure holographic projections, while others had sent senior military officers, scientists, engineers, and Jaeger commanders to represent their respective branches.
For the first time in ten years, humanity was once again sitting around the same table because of one problem.
The Kaiju.
Except this time, humanity wasn't preparing to defend itself.
It was preparing to attack.
At the center of the room stood Shane Buron.
Behind him, a massive holographic display showed the Earth.
Two locations were highlighted.
Sydney.
And the Arctic.
Beside them were four distinct energy signatures.
The room was completely silent.
Shane looked around.
Marshal Pentecost's successor was present.
PPDC commanders from Asia, North America, Europe, Russia, Australia, and South America were watching.
Representatives from the Philippine government and Buron Enterprise were also present.
Even several world leaders had joined the meeting.
Shane took a breath.
"Thank you for attending."
The holographic display changed.
A recording of Raleigh and Mako appeared.
The video was heavily distorted.
But they were unmistakably alive.
Several people around the room reacted immediately.
Murmurs spread throughout the conference.
Shane raised one hand.
The room gradually became quiet.
"Ten years ago, we believed the Breach had been destroyed."
"We were wrong."
The display shifted.
The energy signatures appeared again.
"The recent attack wasn't simply another Kaiju attack."
"It was the result of something much larger."
A scientist beside Shane activated another display.
Four energy spikes appeared.
"These four energy emissions were detected during the incident."
"Two major dimensional events occurred."
"The first occurred in Sydney."
"The second occurred in the Arctic."
A representative from the European PPDC branch leaned forward.
"And you're saying the Arctic event wasn't another attack?"
Shane nodded.
"Correct."
"It was a dimensional event."
He pointed toward the Arctic signature.
"And this energy signature is our opportunity."
The room became quiet.
Shane continued.
"Our research teams have analyzed the residual energy."
"We believe it can be used to establish a controlled dimensional connection."
A scientist from the Philippine research division stepped forward.
"Not permanently."
"Not yet."
"But potentially long enough to create a stable passage."
The holographic display changed.
A theoretical model appeared.
A rotating sphere represented Earth.
Another represented an unknown world.
A narrow bridge connected them.
"The principle is similar to the Breach."
"But instead of waiting for the enemy to open the door..."
Shane finished the sentence.
"...we open it ourselves."
Silence.
Someone finally spoke.
"You want to open a portal."
Shane looked toward the representative.
"Yes."
Another commander immediately responded.
"Into their world?"
"Yes."
"And what happens afterward?"
Shane's expression hardened.
"We eliminate the threat."
---
The Evidence
Shane activated another recording.
The cockpit of the upgraded Jaeger appeared.
The image showed Raleigh and Mako inside their machine.
The two pilots looked exhausted.
But they were alive.
"Our first important discovery comes from this transmission."
Shane pointed toward the Jaeger.
"The upgraded cockpit survived dimensional transfer."
"More importantly, the Jaeger itself remained operational."
Several engineers began whispering.
Shane continued.
"This means the modifications made during the last decade weren't wasted."
"The shielding."
"The environmental sealing."
"The redundant life-support systems."
"The radiation protection."
"All of it worked."
The hologram changed again.
A diagram of the Jaeger's cockpit appeared.
"We designed these systems specifically because we anticipated that a future Kaiju environment could be substantially more dangerous than Earth's."
A scientist added:
"The environmental data from the transmission supports our previous models."
"The atmosphere on the other side is highly biohazardous."
Several people looked concerned.
Shane nodded.
"Which brings us to our second conclusion."
"The environment is dangerous."
"But it is survivable."
He paused.
"At least temporarily."
The recording continued.
Raleigh and Mako's voices were barely audible.
Their message was short.
Their resources were limited.
They had no reliable food supply.
Their water reserves were finite.
Shane looked toward the representatives.
"They are alive."
"But we don't know how long they will remain alive."
"Our current estimate is approximately three weeks."
The room became silent.
Three weeks.
That number changed everything.
---
The Signal
The hologram changed again.
A complex waveform appeared.
"This is the emergency signal they transmitted."
Shane pointed toward it.
"Our scientists have been analyzing it continuously."
"We discovered something."
He looked toward the Philippine research team.
"Using the residual Arctic energy signature as a reference, we can triangulate the dimensional frequency."
The waveform transformed into a three-dimensional mathematical model.
"We estimate that approximately sixty percent of the required dimensional energy structure remains available."
A scientist from Japan leaned forward.
"Sixty percent?"
"Yes."
"That's nowhere near enough."
Shane shook his head.
"Not by itself."
The scientist looked confused.
"Then how?"
Shane turned toward two people seated near the back.
Newt Geiszler.
And Hermann Gottlieb.
Both scientists had been silent throughout the meeting.
Shane looked at them.
"With their research."
Newt slowly raised an eyebrow.
Hermann adjusted his glasses.
Shane continued.
"Their experiments involving Kaiju neural tissue gave us the foundation."
"During the original research, they discovered that the Kaiju brain isn't merely biological tissue."
"It functions as a biological computational network."
"A neural interface capable of interacting with dimensional energy."
Newt nodded slowly.
Shane continued.
"Combined with the data collected by our scientists over the past decade, we've been able to reconstruct part of the mechanism."
Hermann finally spoke.
"We believe a Kaiju brain can act as a biological interface between dimensions."
Several people stared at him.
"But we don't have one."
Shane nodded.
"Exactly."
The room became quiet again.
"That is our only major problem."
"We don't have the biological component required to establish the connection."
Newt crossed his arms.
"Which means..."
Shane looked directly at him.
"...we need a Kaiju brain."
---
The Decision
Nobody spoke.
For several seconds, the only sound in the room was the hum of the equipment.
Everyone understood the implication.
Humanity had spent decades trying to stop the Kaiju.
Now they needed one of their brains to invade their world.
The irony wasn't lost on anyone.
A representative from the United States finally spoke.
"If we do this..."
Shane looked at him.
"There may be no going back."
"Correct."
"We could accidentally destabilize the dimensional boundary."
"Correct."
"We could open a permanent connection."
"Possibly."
"We could expose Earth to another invasion."
Shane stared directly at him.
"Which is why we cannot fail."
The representative leaned back.
Shane continued.
"We have two choices."
"Wait."
"And hope they never find a way back."
He pointed toward the image of Raleigh and Mako.
"Or we go through that door ourselves."
Nobody interrupted.
"We spent decades defending ourselves."
"We built Jaegers."
"We trained pilots."
"We rebuilt cities."
"We developed weapons."
"We enhanced our technology."
"And now we finally have a chance to end the war on our terms."
His voice became stronger.
"The Beckets are alive."
"They're trapped."
"And we have approximately three weeks to reach them."
He looked around the room.
"So I am asking every nation represented here."
"Every PPDC branch."
"Every scientist."
"Every engineer."
"And every person willing to help."
Shane placed both hands on the table.
"Help us make this possible."
A long silence followed.
Then a representative from Australia stood.
"You have our support."
Another stood.
"Japan agrees."
Another.
"Russia."
"United States."
"China."
"South Korea."
"Germany."
"France."
"United Kingdom."
One after another.
The representatives agreed.
The world had made its decision.
Shane slowly looked around the room.
Then nodded.
"Thank you."
---
Operation: Other Side
Within hours, the entire planet entered a new phase of mobilization.
The Philippine Spartan Program received its largest expansion since its creation.
The first generation of enhanced soldiers had been successful.
Now the program would be pushed to its maximum authorized implementation.
Training facilities opened around the clock.
Medical teams worked continuously.
Military academies increased their capacity.
The objective was no longer simply to defend individual countries.
It was to create a force capable of operating inside an alien environment.
---
The Jaegers were upgraded.
Armor was reinforced.
Life-support systems were expanded.
Environmental filtration systems were redesigned.
Radiation shielding was strengthened.
Neural interfaces received additional safeguards.
Emergency extraction systems were added.
And most importantly—
Every Jaeger received enhanced dimensional navigation systems.
Rajah underwent one of the largest modifications.
Shane personally reviewed almost every change.
The machine that had once been designed as a single-pilot experiment had now become something much more advanced.
A machine designed to survive somewhere humanity had never been.
---
The World Learns the Truth
The PPDC initially considered keeping the operation classified.
But that decision didn't last.
Eventually, the truth was released.
Humanity wasn't waiting anymore.
Humanity was preparing to cross into the Kaiju world.
The announcement spread across the planet.
News stations interrupted regular programming.
Governments held emergency briefings.
People gathered in public squares.
Some were terrified.
Others were furious.
Others simply cried.
But one emotion became dominant.
Hope.
For the first time in history, humanity wasn't waiting for monsters to appear.
Humanity was going to them.
---
In the Philippines, churches filled.
People gathered in plazas.
Families held hands.
Mass prayer ceremonies were organized across cities and towns.
Some prayed for the pilots.
Some prayed for Raleigh and Mako.
Others prayed for the soldiers who would never return.
A priest standing before thousands of people raised his hands.
"Let us pray for those who will carry the hopes of humanity."
The crowd bowed their heads.
"May they return safely."
"May they find those who are lost."
"And may humanity find peace."
---
In Sydney, similar scenes unfolded.
In Tokyo.
Manila.
New York.
London.
Paris.
Seoul.
Moscow.
Everywhere.
Humanity prayed.
Not because it was helpless.
But because everyone understood what was at stake.
This wasn't another defensive operation.
This wasn't another Kaiju attack.
This was something different.
A war humanity had chosen to enter.
---
Late that night, Shane stood alone inside the Philippine PPDC hangar.
Rajah towered above him.
The Jaeger had changed dramatically over the past decade.
But Shane still recognized it.
His partner.
His machine.
His friend.
He placed his hand against the enormous metal foot.
"Looks like we're going somewhere new."
Rajah's systems powered on.
The familiar hum echoed throughout the hangar.
Shane looked toward the massive machine.
"Let's bring them home."
He paused.
Then looked toward the holographic display showing the dimensional coordinates.
The Kaiju world.
A place humanity had only ever imagined.
Now—
They were going there.
Shane slowly clenched his fist.
"This is the final war."
His eyes hardened.
"Either we end them..."
"...or they end us."
Above him, Rajah's reactor began to glow.
And for the first time since the original Breach opened—
Humanity wasn't waiting for the Kaiju.
Humanity was coming for them.