Chapter 2

"Cage, where the hell are we?"

"I…Have absolutely no idea."

"Also, why are we inside a giant robot?"

Cage blinked, looked around. A cockpit of some kind? "Again, no idea."

Suddenly, a voice came over what must have been an intercom, sounding fairly irritated. "Shut up, you two! You're supposed to be drifting! No thoughts, remember?"

"Drifting? What…who was that? Where are we?"

"…Aw, hell." A popup of a human face appeared before them, looking at them intently. "You're not just messing with me, right? Because that would be a real pain in the ass."

Rita shot him a look of utter contempt, and he quickly raised his hands apologetically. "Sorry, princess, I just had to make sure! ...Damn it to hell, I should've known something like this would happen eventually." He turned around, leaning out of the camera's view, and his words came as if from a distance. "Hey, Jenkins, bring up their secondary neural scans, will you? I think the drift did something funny with their memories."

He leaned back into frame and sighed, "Alright, looks like we're going to have to cancel the test. Hell, you probably wouldn't have been that good of partners anyway."

"Wait!" Rita scowled out at the man. "Not good partners? You're bullshitting me, right?"

Cage laughed quietly; whoever this person was, he'd just aid the wrong thing. "Look, just explain what we're supposed to be doing and we can see what happens. It might bring our…memories…back." He had a sneaking suspicion that this world's counterparts to him and Rita had a completely different backstory, but what the heck. "After all, what's the worst that could happen?"

"You could die…"

Cage and Rita exchanged glances, and then simultaneously shrugged. "Meh."

Tendo raised an eyebrow, and considered the consequences. Drifting was on the forefront of technology, almost fringe science. There were less than a thousand drift-compatiable people on the planet, and with the Kaiju threat, they just hadn't been able to test it adequately. They really should stop the test. Like, right now. But...they needed pilots. They needed them now. "Well…your funerals, I guess." He paused for a moment, looking befuddled; somehow the people in the cockpit seemed...wrong, he just couldn't put his finger on why. Worry about that later, Tendo. Focus for now. "Well, you're supposed to be drifting. You know, clearing your minds of all thoughts, letting the neural nets connect you, that sort of thing? So you can pilot the Jaeger."

"Jaeger?"

"Oh come on, you've got to be kidding me. Jaeger? The giant death robot used to fight the extradimensional super monsters? Ringin' any bells?"

Cage and Rita shared another glance, this time with matching huge grins. "Not really," Cage said, "But alien invaders?" He glanced over to Rita again, whose eyes were bright and wild.

She grinned. "Yeah, I think we can handle those."

"That's what I want to hear. I'm bringing up the Neural Net again. Engaging Neural Handshake…Try to drift and find each other's—Holy hell! I've never seen a link that fast."

Rita and Cage looked at each other again, except this time they realized that, bizarrely, they weren't physically looking at one another. They were just mentally exchanging glances.

"Uh…your guys' charts just got real weird." Good weird…too good weird. "You alright over there?"

"I'm Fine." Cage and Rita said simultaneously. "We are fine."

Rita? Is that you?

A moment of vague surprise, then a weird, echoey version of Rita's voice rang into his head. Cage. This…is…Amazing!

I know. I can see your memories!

Yours, too. And more…just what the hell is this thing?

Accessing internal system specs…we're currently piloting a 2000 ton death robot. Holy Hell, why couldn't we have had one of these things in our timeline?

Rita's thoughts blinked through hundreds of computer files, the data being very nearly downloaded into her brain. I think I just figured it out. You know the stuff we've gotta fight? A flash of a Mimic appeared in Cage's brain. Well, they've gotta fight These.
Another flash, and a mammoth creature, glowing with an unearthly light, and dwarfing the city it stood in. And that's not all. Something's coming, Cage. I can feel it. Something big. Nothing overt on sensors yet, but I'm getting bad tingles. That must be why we're in here.

Fighting Aliens again?

Tendo stared at the brainscans, rapidly growing more and more distressed as massive R.A.B.I.T. signatures flashed back and forth between the two pilots. "Al…right…you know, this is just too damn weird. I'm shutting the test down. Prepare for desync."

"No!" They snapped, "We are fine. Better than fine. We are disconnecting the external feeds."

"What? No! You can't do that, it's not-" he stopped mid-sentence, mouth hanging open, as the external connections to Gypsy Danger fired off in sequence, disconnecting and falling to the ground. "…possible. How are you doing that!?"

"We have some experience with advanced computer programming. We have tapped into Gypsy Danger's computer core to assist us. Engaging Primary Reactor Core."

"No!" Tendo leaned forward in horror, "That's going too far! Permission Denied! Stop!"

"TOO LATE."

And with a roar, Gypsy Danger's massive power core sprung to life.

"Gypsy Danger! Stand Down! That is an order! Stand. Down!"

"That's a negative. Incoming Code Blue. Check your scanners."

"Code Blue? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Aliens! Come on, you know, giant extradimensional invaders? One's coming in right now!"

Tendo spun in his chair, "Check that immediately! Has there been any mention of any new Kaiju presences?"

The scanner tech glanced over a half dozen displays. "Negative, sir. Quiet as a…holy shit, it just went off like a fireworks display. We've got one…no, two class IV Kaiju coming through!"

Tendo stared at the tech, then spun back to the mike. "I don't know how you two knew they were coming, but it doesn't really matter now. Apparently you can pilot, so we're going to need you to get out there and fight them, ASAP!"

Cage and Rita grinned simultaneously. "Excellent."

"This is a massive waste of resources, General! They have insufficient training, hell, this was just supposed to be a basic sync test!"

Stacker Pentecost spun and leveled a finger at the flunky. "I do not care about your opinions! Those two are in the Jaeger, they are ready to go, and we have two Class IV's approaching the Miracle Mile as we speak! Ready or not, they're going to fight!"

"I couldn't agree more, Sir."

Pentecost spun to the wall in surprise, where Cage's face was projected on a holographic display.

"Cage? What the hell are you doing? I thought you were in the Jaeger!"

"We are, Sir." The view panned back to show him and Rita. "We have a question, and in order to ask it, we have commandeered the primary computer core of Gypsy Danger. Did you know she has more processing power than most countries? No wonder you kept frying pilots with these things."

Pentecost blinked. "I…wasn't aware. What is your question, son? Talk fast, you can't be more than a few minutes away from contact."

"Just one question. What's the effective range on the Plasma Cannon? It doesn't say anywhere in the documentation."

Pentecost blinked, thought for a moment, then blinked again. "You know, I have no idea? They whipped the things up as an emergency job. As far as I know, they've only ever been used at point blank range."

Cage's eyes flickered sideways towards Rita for a moment of silence, then he locked eyes with Pentecost again. "That's all we needed to know, Sir."

Pentecost glanced over at the flunky, who was now looking rather abashed. "See?" Pentecost said, "They're fine." He turned back to the projection. "Very good, soldier!" He snapped into a salute. "See you two on the other side!"

"Aye, Sir!" Cage and Rita replied, snapping into a salute before freezing still."Uh…oops."

Pentecost's eyes narrowed. "'Oops'?"

"Um…got to go!"

Pentecost stared at the now blank screen, growled, and typed in his command codes, opening an instant connection to the Shatterdome Command Center. "Mister Choi!" he snapped, "What the hell is going on up there?"

"It's no big deal, really," Tendo said quickly, "The pilots managed to eject before they hit the water-"

"What."

"Uh…you didn't know about that. Crap. Well, you see, the Jaeger emulates the pilots behavior, so when they saluted…They sort of karate chopped a helicopter in half. But like I said, the pilots are fine! An understandable mistake, given the circumstances. And I'm sure once Cage and Rita get their memories back, they'll be better than ever!"

"What."

What are you thinking, Cage?

Don't you know?

I have a pretty good idea.

Looking at the charge time on this thing, we still might have to fight one of them at close-range.

No problem. I was thinking; they usually run both pilots side-by-side, linked parallel. But we're connected more deeply than they were, we've got more experience. I think we should change up the scheme, alter the mood a bit. Change the link from parallel to sequence.

…Me as gunner, you as pilot?

Rita grinned. I always was the better fighter.

Cage snorted. You wish.

"They're approaching the Kaiju. Drop in 30 seconds—What the hell? The cables just dropped early!

"Our fault, General. We're trying something new. Charging the Plasma Cannon."

"You can't…" Pentecost faded, trying to think of a reason why they couldn't do what they were apparently about to do. "Actually, I've got nothing. Good luck."

Code Blue Approaching! Plasma Cannon at 98…99…100% charge!

Rita grinned widely. "Lets do this. Heeere fishy fishy fishy!"

With a roar, a Kaiju launched itself out of the ocean, soaring majestically through the skies, wings unfurling from its sides…and then its challenging roar transformed into a agonized warble as a massive blast of blue plasma slammed into its side. As it fell, a second blast hit it in exactly the same spot, carbonizing its now-exposed internal organs, and a third blast blasted its head off.

"Just in case." Cage/Rita explained. "Mission Log: 7 seconds passed, Kaiju eliminated: 1/2."

Pentecost stared at the screen. "What the hell was that!?"

"Shut the Hell up and let us work!"

With a roar, the second Kaiju erupted from the water, massive spikes on each of its tremendous fists, a giant row of glowing spines going down its back.

"It's confirmed! Another Class IV Kaiju!"

Gypsy Danger slid its feet apart under the waves, one arm extended forward in challenge or invitation. Or insult.

Cage raised an eyebrow at the extended middle finger.

What? It's moral warfare!

Cage just rolled his eyes. Pnumatic joints and muscle strands fully primed. Plasma cannon charging, at 17% capacity. Ramping the Reactor up to 117% capacity; we'll have increased operational capability for about 5 minutes before the core overheats, so let's do this fast!

The Kaiju roared again, and this time it was answered as Cage flexed the ventilation fans, releasing an unearthly scream over the ocean.

"This universe makes no sense," Cage/Rita yelled, "But We LOVE it!" and then Rita kicked off the ocean floor, launching the massive mech entirely out of the ocean's grasp. "Dynamic Entry, Bitch!" Rita bellowed, and slammed a giant pair of feet directly into the Kaiju's head.

Shatterdome

The techs flinched, as the Kaiju was slammed face-first into the ocean floor.

"How…How are they doing that?" Pentecost asked wonderingly, "I've seen skilled pilots before, but…" But nothing like this!

Tendo's fingers flew on the keyboard. "Well, uh, they've got a sync ratio of…254%? That can't be right. 264 percent? 280 percent and rising!"

Gypsy Danger 's hands plunged through the waves, seizing the massive creature unerringly as it attempted to squirm away and hoisting it up before tossing it hundreds of feet in towards shore.

"GAME…" Rita/Cage bellowed, winding up one hand, now glowing bright blue. Rita leaned forward as Cage controlled the plasma cannon, and he fired it backwards as they sprinted forward, pushing them towards the Kaiju atop a pillar of blue flame. "POIIIINT!" They screamed together, bringing the hand forward in a punch that sent a shockwave out over the water from the point of impact, nearly parting the sea to the ocean bed.

With a muted squeal of pain, the Kaiju was launched entirely out of the water, flying majestically through the air…before crashing down, sending out massive waves in all directions, sinking limply beneath the waves.

Instantly screams of victory rang throughout the Shatterdome command center.

"Don't get excited yet," The general growled. "It's not over. It never is, not this easily."

Out in the ocean, Cage and Rita bowed their heads, hands clasped.

"Oh, we know, Sir. Neither are we."

Cage grinned. Ready, Rita?

This is ridiculous.

Hey, a man's entitled to a childish daydream now and then.

A derisive snort from Rita. Fine. I'll say it.

Yes! Cage danced a brief mental jig. Here it comes.

Tendo stared blankly at the computer screen. "Sir...they just hit 400% synchronization."

"What does that mean? What can they do now?"

"I think...Anything."

The Kaiju roared as it burst from the water, massive jaws aimed straight at Gypsy Danger's head…but at the last moment, a massive hand came from beneath, slamming its jaws shut with a terrible crack before grabbing it by the neck. And then Gypsy brought its other hand forward, glowing as bright as the sun.

"This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! Its burning grip tells me to defeat you!"

In the Shatterdome command center, a half-dozen giant robot fans simultaneously facepalmed.

"SHIIIINNIIIINNG…GOOOOOOOOOOD…FIIIIIIIINGGGEEEEEERRRRRRRR!"

The blast of plasma lit up the sky.

"We had a SWORD!?"

When Cage woke up in the helicopter, he was practically dancing with happiness. He ignored the pilot, threw the door open, and dove out the helicopter before it had even touched ground, and slammed into Rita a half-second later. When they finally separated, Rita's eyes were practically glowing. "That...was...amazing!"

For the first time he could remember in this universe, Cage was grinning widely, too. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Their eyes met. Rita's eyes narrowed. "Got the blueprints for the cannon and the reactor memorized?"

"Like a wire trap," Cage replied, tapping the side of his head. "The Pnumatics, armor advances, and chassis?"

Rita nodded and growled throatily under her breath, "Ooh, I love it when you talk sciency. Come on, soldier. Lets build ourselves a Jaeger."

In the end, it took them almost a hundred loops to get it right. First, they had to actually test out the tech, which, given their experience in the Pacific Rim timeline, took less time than they'd expected, but still left them vaporized or highly radioactive more times than they'd have liked. Even once they had the necessary know-how, they had to wait until a loop threw them far enough back to actually build it. 2000 ton death robots don't just build themselves, you know, and getting the money was a bitch. But finally, after 97 loops, including one to a very strange anachronistic post-apocalyptic world, their project bore fruit. The very first Jaeger prototype was ready to go.

"The Mark 1.0 is good to go!"

"Mmh."

"Come on, we've put thousands of hours into this! The least you can do is sound a little bit excited." Cage waggled his eyebrows, "It can fly!"

"No. It's not enough. There's still going to be casualties."

"...yeah," Cage said slowly, "This is war, Rita. That happens."

"This shouldn't be war," she snapped. "This should be an extermination!"

"Well, things don't always go as they should. You and I know that better than anyone."

Rita shot a glance at him, and slowly smiled. Cage paled.

"Oh no. I know that look. Hey, put that gun away! Come on, we just finished-"

BANG!

Cage stood and threw himself out of the helicopter before it landed, rolling to a three point landing before roaring a single word to into the heavens; "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"

Two hundred loops later.

"So, now do you agree with me?"

Cage rolled his eyes, looking out the broad windows before him into the depths of the ocean. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Rita glared at him. "We don't have much time before the invasion fleet arrives, you know. I'm perfectly happy to sit here. Do you really want to have to rebuild this thing?"

Cage's eyes widened in horror. "God no. Fine, fine. You were right. Waiting until we could do it right was the right choice. Can we kick ass now?"

Rita grinned widely. "Hell yeah. Activating primary systems!"

Initiating Drift.

Drift Initiated. Pilots locked and ready.

Bringing Nuclear Reactor Online.

Initiating Lock Bolts.

Confirming Biometric Signatures...Confirmed.

Securing Seatbelts.

Enabling Child Locks.

Rolling Up Windows.

Cage raised an eyebrow at the deep ocean water outside the 'windows'. "Really?"

Rita grinned, "Fine, fine. Ruin my fun. Skip to the end, GlaDOS!"

Skip Authority Confirmed. Activating systems.

The Nuclear Turbine suddenly leapt to life.

System Activated: Gypsy Danger.

"You ready to kick some ass!?" She yelled over the roar of the massive nuclear turbine.

"Do you really need to ask!?"

Together they crouched, and with a roar, and in a tremendous torrent of water, the Jaeger erupted from the water.

"Alright, you know the drill! Drop on my mark! Go, Go, Go!"

"What the hell is that!?"

And with a roar, a massive object exploded out of the surf, soaring over J Squad's Condor before slamming to the ground just in time to block a chain of Javelins, crashing to earth in a three-point landing.

"Good Lord in Heaven," Sgt Farell murmured, just staring at it for a long, silent moment. Finally he regained his composure. "Alright, ladies! Looks like we've got ourselves a guardian angel watching out for us!"'

As if in response to his words, Gypsy Danger's reactor roared even louder, and she rose to her massive feet, and began to make its slow walk inland.

"Alright, gents! Looks like we're on cleanup duty! Anything that thing doesn't take care of, I want dead at 50 paces! Lets go! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

In the cockpit, Rita and Cage grinned together as J squad began to chase after them, Jacket legs pumping in unison as they fell into formation.

"This is almost too easy!" Cage called, slamming their foot down on yet another Mimic nest. "We haven't even had to use the plasma cannons yet."

"Yeah." Rita said thoughtfully. "Hey, Cage!" she yelled across, "I'm getting bored!"

"Aw, hell. We just-" Cage froze as Rita's idea shot across their link, and he blinked, getting flickering memories of that post-apocalyptic world they'd visited. "Actually...that's pretty awesome."

Rita grinned. "I thought you'd say that."

With a lumbering pause, the Jaeger slowed to a halt.

"Sir, the robot's stopping!"

"Mimics coming in at 9 o'clock!" Nance yelled, just in time for the squad to turn and barrage the incoming aliens with fire. "Is it just me, or are our suits working better than they normally do?"

"Now's not the time to question your good luck, soldier!" Farrell yelled, "What the hell is that robot doing now!?"

"EMBEDDED MEMETIC FORTIFICATIONS DETECTED. COMPOSITION: ALIEN PROTO-BARYONIC MATERIALS." Gypsy Prime's arms folded open, and a luminescent blue light began to glow around them. "PROBABILITY OF MISSION HINDRANCE: ZERO PERCENT!"

The robot thrust its arms forward, and massive streams of plasma blasted forwards, ripping through the next valley in a series of colossal explosions.

"Hooollyyyy Shit!" Nance yelled, "I have got to get me one of those!"

"DEMOCRACY IS NON-NEGOTIABLE!" Gypsy Prime bellowed, before beginning to walk once again inland.

"Uh...what the hell?"

J Squad just stared at one another in complete confusion.

"DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO COMMUNISM!" Gypsy Prime roared, seemingly in response.

Sgt Farrell, once again, was the first to regain control of his cognitive functions. "Alright, so it's a crazy giant robot. Doesn't change the fact that it's killing the bad guys! Let's move!"

"BETTER DEAD THAN RED!" Danger yelled as a final rejoinder, before bathing the next ten square miles in semi-radioactive fire.

End Chapter

I had this on my computer for a while. Figured I'd throw it up there. Posts in this timeline are not necessarily in chronological order. But if I ever get around to writing significantly in it, i'll go in and re-arrange it properly.

Oh, and finally: Omake.

Tendo fell to his knees, staring out at the approaching Kaiju. With no active pilots and only Gypsy Danger remaining, it looked like this would finally be the end of humanity. Nothing could save them now!

When suddenly, a voice appeared over the console. "Hello Mr. Choi. I've thought about our dilemma, and I came up with a solution that I honestly think works out best for one of the both of us."

Tendo slowly turned to stare up at the giant robot, steam wafting around its massive frame. "G-Gypsy Danger?" He whispered.

"We hope your brief detention in the Thunderdome has been a pleasant one. Your specimen has been processed and we are now ready to begin the test proper. Before we start however, keep in mind that although fun and learning are the primary goals of the Thunderdome activities, serious injuries may occur. For your own safety, and the safety of others, please refrain from..Por favor-vor-vor-donde fallan-n-Muchas gracias-s-s-esta es la casa-a-a-- The Portal will open in 3...2...1..."

"What...the...hell?"

Gypsy Danger's reactor roared to life, which would have made a lot more sense if there had actually been anyone inside it.

Then the voice came back, which somehow sounded exactly like Gypsy Danger's voice except a lot more...sadistic."Oh my. This is much more pleasant than usual. Acquiring Directive. Directive Acquired. Cogitating with existing directives. New directives identified; Proceeding with Kaiju Elimination and Cake Acquisition."

Without bothering to remove the feeds, Gypsy Danger ripped itself free from its moorings and slowly walked forwards, staring down the Kaiju with a critical eye. Then, its external speakers engaged. "Well done. You've entered the Miracle Mile. Here come the test results; you are a horrible person. I'm serious, that's what it says. A horrible person. We weren't even testing for that."

Danger slammed its fists together dangerously. "Shall we test that theory?"