Chapter 1: Change

"I already told you Ember, you can't become a Jaeger pilot! It's too dangerous! If you really wanna become one, go sleep on the roof!" my dad shouted at me once again when I suggested that I went to Ninjago city to train to be a Jaeger pilot. I rolled my eyes and groaned.

"Cmon dad, when will you let me start fending for myself? This is dangerous, that is dangerous, everything in this goddamn world is dangerous!" I protested, hoping to get a positive response this time.

"Enough! Go to bed!" and my dad slammed the door behind him. I silently cursed at him from the other side and turned on the television.

"We are at the scene of Ninjago City, where Titan Grave takes its tenth Kaiju kill! The Kaiju broke through the coastal wall in less than an hour, and people are starting to question about the decomissioning of the Jaeger program."

"Wait what?! They're gonna shut down the Jaeger program?" I exclaimed in shock.

The pilots of Titan Grave, which by now I knew as Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, appeared on the screen.

"Ninjago City's lucky we were still here to protect it. Titan Grave was supposed to be shut down today," Anakin said, folding his arms.

"I still don't think they should shut down the Jaeger program, Master. Its been quite effective for a while now," Ahsoka said.

"Titan Grave is the last Jaeger standing, apart from another Jaeger being rebuilt near Jamanakai village, called Striker Phoenix, which was half-destroyed in a battle 5 years ago. They say that someone's looking for a co-pilot for Striker, trials are at the Jaeger site. You could head there now and try your luck for a chance to save the world!"

I switched off the tv. I knew my parents would never let me go, but I already knew what to do.

"Mom, Dad, I'm gonna go get some groceries!" I shouted as I left the house. The reporter said that trials were near the Jaeger site, and the Jaeger site was near Jamanakai village. Luckily for me, I lived in Jamanakai village.

As I headed towards the Jaeger site, my heart pounded rapidly, I couldn't believe that I would see another Jaeger in person again.

When I reached, I was in awe of the size of Striker Phoenix. Haven't seen a Jaeger of that size before.

"Are you looking to join the Jaeger program?" I suddenly heard a voice behind me. I whipped around, only to see an old looking dude standing behind me.

"Uhh...yes..."I replied, uncertain.

The old dude motioned for me to follow him, so I did so. He led me up some stairs, and into the head of Striker.

"Our last candidate," the old man said to the other dude in the comm-pod. He looked about my age, 15 years old.

"What if she ain't drift compatible with me, like all the others?" the guy in the comm-pod on my right said.

The old man sighed.

"We're about to find out."

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked.

"It's Kai. And don't get too comfortable. I don't think someone like you will be drift compatible with me," Kai replied.

The old man helped me suit up into some really cool armour stuff, I saw that Kai was wearing it too.

"Aight, let's do this," Kai said.

We both put out helmets on and I heard something like a "Initiate drift sequence".

And then I stepped into my memories, mixed with another person's one, I assumed it was Kai's. Images of my life flashed through my mind, occasionally switching to Kai's. It stopped, and I felt good.

"We're gonna take you through some simple motions, to see whether your connection is strong," I heard the old man say from a speaker. He must have been downstairs.

"Raise your left arm."

Kai and I did, I felt Striker's arm move in sync with me and Kai.

"Raise your right arm."

Same thing happened.

"Okay, you can put them down. Now try walking a few steps."

It felt weird, moving in sync with a person I didn't even know, and making some big-ass robot move with me. The few steps felt like I was walking on a table, steady but uncertain whether I would fall.

"Okay, stop. We are done."

Kai and I took off our helmets, and I saw Kai's expression of surprise.

The old man came back up to the comm pod.

"So she's drift compatible with me?" Kai asked immediately.

The old man nodded, smiling, then he turned to me.

"What's your name?"

"Ember," I replied.

"Alright, Ember. We're heading to Ninjago City tomorrow to train. Since you're drift compatible with Kai, you will come with us."

"WAIT WHAT?!" I exclaimed. I didn't think it was possible.

"Go back home and pack your things, meet back here at 7 am sharp."

I nodded and ran down the stairs back to my house, trying to conceal my excitement. Along the way, I bought some groceries to support the lie I had told my parents, and as I stepped into the house, they immediately interrogated me on where I was.

"Relax, relax, I was just trying to choose the best food," I said.

I had 3 siblings, all younger than me. The oldest out of them was a 14 year old boy, never adventurous, always wanted to stay at home. Then there was a 10 year old girl and a 8 year old boy who always enjoyed playing their video games, and were always oblivious to the world around them.

It was my turn to make dinner tonight, but I was too distracted by the fact that my boring life was gonna change that I may had accidentally cracked some egg shells into the eggs. After dinner and a scolding from my parents of my bad cooking, I went to my room and packed my bag. I didn't have much things in there anyways. A flashlight, a watch, my phone, some money, and some snacks.

That night, I told my parents that I was going to Ninjago City to study, and that I wouldn't be back until a few years later. They were apprehensive at first, but after some aggressive negotiations, I managed to convince them.

So at 6.30 in the morning, I woke up and went to the Jaeger site. I found Kai standing by the entrance, crossing his arms.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" I snapped.

"Listen kid, you may be drift compatible with me, but that doesn't mean the training will go easy on ya. We're fighting monsters in the real world, not in your pretty little village where everything is perfect. So whatever you do, just follow my lead and listen to orders," Kai warned. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't call me kid. It's Ember to you."

At 7 am, some helicopters came to bring Striker Phoenix out. The old man, Kai and I went into a truck where Kai drove us to Ninjago City.

During the journey, I had a huge grin plastered on my face.

My life was gonna change.