I watched Pacific Rim a few weeks ago and totally fell in love with it. If you haven't watch it already - do it. Even if you don't like huge robot thingies attacking aliens coming out of the ocean. It doesn't matter if you're not a fan of mechas or sci-fi: you will love it. (I can tell because that's my case)
This being said, Pudi turned out to be just as obsessed as I am, so we ended up developing that Alternate Universe for out TERA characters. I ended up being really inspired and jumped into this challenge.
I am not used to write actual plot, so I am very uncertain about how this came out. Feedbacks are more than welcome on this one, since I would really like to know if anything is unclear or missing, or anything really. Still, I hope you will enjoy this first part of our dear Princesses' first attempt at establishing a neural handshake~
Characters: Belrathion Dehmar and Ardir Rivaine
Words Count: 1 256
Pacific Rim Crossover - Part One (The First Connection)
No one could ever know how their first Drift would be. Entering someone else's mind and letting them access yours was an experience no one could exactly pinpoint the exact definition. Your heads became one but your bodies stayed apart, and there was no way anyone could exactly explain what would happen. Because everyone was different, no one reacted the same way: the key was the trust you poured into your co-pilot. How much you would let them access what only you could have seen so far.
Belrathion was well aware of the situation. Despite an important visual handicap that made his entire vision blurry, he worked hard, training and studying nights after days, learning anything one could about the Jaeger program. He wasn't the best, far from that: but he had a determination that no one else possessed and it had brought him further than he would have dreamt. At the edge of entering the Jaeger for the first time, he had envisioned any possible outcome and trust he could establish a successful connection with his co-pilot.
Ardir Rivaine was one of the best members in the program. He was a tactician and always knew what to do and when. His strength was beyond expectation - both mentally and physically. As he used to be partnered with the most troublesome pilot Bel could think of, the blond expected him to be able to stay calm in any situation. The reason of their separation was unknown to everyone, but it seemed to be nothing but a question of compatibility: thus, Rivaine had gain a reputation of a strict and difficult co-pilot. Belrathion had doubts when they first met that they could establish a neural handshake at any point, but with time he found out that the dark-haired man wasn't as bad as everyone else thought. Now he could only hope that the feeling was mutual.
As they both stood next to each other, head gear in hand as the spinal clamps were attached to their back, Belrathion started to feel the stress grow on him. He looked over to Rivaine, who didn't even seem to notice him. The older man was staring straight in front of him, this everlasting serious frown wrinkling his forehead. He didn't say a thing and kept completely silent until they were left alone - or so - inside the Jaeger.
"Relax, Dehmar. This isn't going to work if you start over-thinking."
"I-I'm fine," Belrathion's voice broke under the pressure, but he was determined not to admit it. "I got this, don't worry."
He couldn't quite see it, especially with the helmet covering most of their faces, but he would swore that Rivaine was getting a little impatient. "Don't try to hide anything from me. I'm getting inside your head, remember?"
With a nervous nod, Belrathion got into position, working hard not to keep looking back at his partner. Rivaine looked calm, if not somewhat hasty: he was used to control a Jaeger, so wasn't expecting any issues on his part. He knew that if anything went wrong it would entirely be Bel's fault, and in all honesty, he expected it. The boy was barely a man yet and he seemed to be rather anxious about the upcoming events, despite the fact they were only going out as backups. They weren't expected to do much unless something disastrous happened, which hopefully shouldn't be the case considering the two other teams already on the field. This was nothing more to him than a routine exercise.
"Relax, you'll be fine." Rivaine's voice came through the headgear and for a second Belrathion wondered if the connection was already established. He smiled, if not weakly, at the man standing next to him, trying to reassure him. The time was elapsing painfully slowly from the blond's point of view, who greatly apprehended the next few seconds, but when his co-pilot invited him to, he closed his eyes and emptied his mind.
The connection was almost immediate. Years of souvenirs and emotions flowed onto Bel in a fraction of second and suddenly he felt as if he understood the other man more. He tried his best not to get hung on memories too much, but he could understand the coldness and rigidity of Rivaine after a childhood of strict education. He felt annoyed and slightly confused, but he couldn't understand why, his mind focused on a single other thing: he could see.
It was strange. Although his eyes were closed, he could clearly detail any of the souvenirs he just acquired, even things he have never seen before. He kneeled down to let his fingers brush against grass; a familiar feeling, but this time he could see them. Every single little piece of it, shaped like tiny blades pointing up to the sky. Clouds were a lot more strictly cut than he imagined, and he could see them move as they were pushed by a strong wind that Belrathion couldn't feel. The tree trunks were just as rough-looking as they felt, and he found out that he could see the little veins on the leaves that he always enjoyed touching. A smile stretching on his lips, he let himself sink into the beauty of everyday's life.
Rivaine was walking slowly into the area covered in smog, carefully looking around for a familiar face. He knew he was making a mistake - a first timer's mistake - but he was getting a inexplicable feeling of joyfulness and bliss out of being stuck inside his co-pilot's memories. Over that was added a drape of disorientation: he had found himself chasing the rabbit before, like anyone else, but never did it end up so... blurry. He was wondering if perhaps Belrathion was putting some sort of restrain on his mind and it messed up with the visual representation. But he could see not too far away someone who seemed to be sitting at a table. As Ardir walked in closer, the silhouette became slightly clearer, but it only was when he realized it was Belrathion that his figure became crystal clear. He was leaning over the table, seemingly reading something that Rivaine couldn't see the exact words. The latter looked around more closely, trying to see if anyone else was around, but suddenly it struck him: they were in the cafeteria. And once again, everything turned into what he remembered them to be. Everything, except the paper Dehmar was reading.
Footstep reached to Belrathion's ears, pulling him out of his intense study of a caterpillar. A young Ardir Rivaine walked past him as if he wasn't there, settling down on the grass a few meters away. He didn't do anything but stare at the sky, enjoying the breeze that the blond could suddenly feel.
Feeling an immense sentiment of panic, Bel heard familiar voices calling his name.
"Dehmar! Snap out of it! It's just memories, alright?"
The young man hastily removed the helmet on his head, staring blankly in front of him without seeing anything. His vision was blurry once again, to the point he didn't even notice Rivaine walk out of the Jaeger.
"What in hell happened to you both?!"
He understood why everything was so clear all of a sudden. He was stuck inside his co-pilot's memories, and so he remembered them the way he did. Of course everything would be as detailed as Ardir could see them. But that also meant that what the other man saw, whatever it was, had been as blurry as Bel reminded them.
