AN: Because I want to I'm going to save all the rangers! If you have a problem with that please let me know. This might also become awkward Louhi/Chuck to tie in with that, I'll have to see. Thanks to FirstbornTheFallen, Saeadame, knightphoenix2, DaCloak, FiveLeggedTango, evadine and STRIKER EUREKA.


It was two hours after a deeply in thought Raleigh had left that Marshall Pentecost and his second in command, Herc, turned up. By this point, of course, Hermann had almost finished his equation and Newt was elbow deep in corrosive Kaiju intestines, and as they waited patiently Hermann rounded off the last of his complex algorithms and hurried down the ladder to speak with them.

"At the start the Kaiju attacks were spread out," He started hurriedly, telling them what he had discovered although there were obvious signs that they didn't understand most of what he said. Catching a glimpse of Newt pulling a face he summarised for them instead. "Look, in four days we could see a Kaiju coming every few hours until they are arriving every four minutes. Marshall, in just seven days we could witness a double event."

"Mr Gottlieb, I'm going to drop a 2400 thermonuclear bomb, I need more than a prediction." Pentecost calmly reminded him.

"Well you've got a problem there," Newt smoothly cut in, "Because he can't give you more than a prediction." He threw the entrails he was holding onto the small table nearby and not surprisingly they slid off onto the floor. Hermann knocked them away from his side of the room with a quiet threat in German.

"Numbers do not lie." He continued obstinately to the two officers. "Politics and poetry, promises, those are lies. Numbers are as close as we get to the handwriting of god." An incredulous but thankfully quiet 'what?' from Newt behind him made him snap his next sentence. "Will you be quiet! There will a double event, and shortly there after three, and then four-"

"And then we're dead." Pentecost, still impossibly calm, interrupted him. "I get it."

"Well this is were the good news comes in." He declared, missing the shared glances of Herc and Pentecost behind him. "This is our universe, this is theirs, and this is the throat. The Breach." He was drawing on the hologram table as he spoke. "We know it's atomic in nature. I predict that with the increase of Kaiju traffic the Breach will be forced to stabilise, allowing us to drop the bomb through...and collapse the structure."

It was at times like these that Newt remembered his lab partner wasn't just a scientist- he was a world class hunter. Although he still spoke like a Victorian with most of what he said, he was laying out a strategy like a pro, and his mouth firmed the word 'bomb' easily. Like most times when Newt got freaked out- being reminded he constantly shared space with a killer definitely counted- he got smarmy.

"Now that's brilliant and all, but I wouldn't wanna go in there with that limited amount of information."

"Newton don't embarrass yourself." Hermann rolled his eyes but he kept talking.

"Just hear me out. Give me a second, please. Why do we judge the Kaiju on the category system? Because they are all so different. You see what I'm saying, like one looks like a shark, like a fish-"

"Doctor Geizsler..." Pentecost sternly interrupted.

"My point is I don't think they're different at all. These are some samples I collected..." He skirted around them and pulled out two trays with two identical slabs of purple Kaiju flesh. "This one was harvested in Sydney," he told them, pointing to one then another, "And this was harvested in Manila... 6 years ago." This caught their interest and their gazes visibly sharpened. "They're clones."

"And this is the point he goes completely crazy." Hermann muttered into their ears.

"There is so much more to these alien monsters that we don't understand." Newt continued more quietly. "And we've only scratched the surface. This is a piece of a Kauji's brain. Now its damaged, but its still alive somehow."

"Like vampires' are." Herc murmured.

"Er, yeah." For a second an unreadable expression flitted across Newt's face before he got back on track. "Now I think I can tap into its brain using Drift tech and find out what it knows."

"No!" Hermann instantly yelled. He somehow didn't blush under the weight of their combined stares. "The neural load would override any brain, let alone a human's." He tried to reason with him. "You'd be killed, and we'd be down a scientist." And a friend, but he couldn't bring himself to say that because for the first time in the ten years he's known Newt, the man's face had darkened terribly.

"You know what? Fuck you. You hunters think you're the best and that you're so pure and in the right but you never stop and think about other people! I'm stronger than you know and if this can save people then I'm gonna do it!" There was a startled silence.

"Do not Drift with a Kaiju, Geizsler. That is a direct order." Pentecost eventually ordered. Newt scowled at him, but kept his mouth firmly shut as he gave a minute nod and turned his back on them. "Doctor Gottlieb, I'd like your data on my desk asap." He gently informed the stock still man. He and Herc shared troubled gazes, then turned and left.

A stiff silence reigned for a few minutes.

"Doctor Geizsler, I-" Hermann was cut off by a feral snarl in his direction before Newt stormed out, leaving him blinking in astonishment once more.

"There is yours." Mako gestured at the Jaeger and he ground to a halt as he saw Gipsy Danger in all her former glory, surrounded by the harsh spitting of blowtorches and the low whirring of machinery.

"Oh my god. Look at her. Gypsy Danger- god, so beautiful. She looks like new." He commented.

"Better than new. She now has a double core nuclear reactor. She is one of a kind now."

"She always was." He murmured under his breath, eyes still held captive by the Jaeger in front of him.

"How'd you like your ride Becket?" An excited voice called out from behind.

"Tendo!" Raleigh cried, shucking his bag to embrace the man in a crushing hug. "Its good to see you buddy." He added as he pulled away.

"It's good to see you too brother." The Hunter Tech warmly responded. "Its just like old times."

Raleigh slowly walked through the cafeteria, looking for somewhere to sit and attempting to ignore the curious and downright hostile looks he was getting.

"Raleigh!" At hearing his name called in a friendly Australian accent his head snaked around and he saw Herc descending a set of stairs with two trays in hand. He offered an amiable smile and got given the tray in response, being steered along by the Australian Ranger. "Come sit with us." Raleigh attempted to put up at least a token resistance but the man was amazingly strong and he soon found himself pushed into a seat opposite the cocky Chuck as Herc dropped down next to him. "We're in an open port which means potatoes, sweet peas, beans, decent meatloaf." Herc was explaining, before asking someone for the potatoes and doling a load onto his plate as Raleigh gratefully dug in, enjoying the unusual calibre of the meal. "This is my son Chuck, he's my co-pilot now." He absentmindedly introduced.

"He's more my co-pilot, isn't that right?" Herc didn't respond and with a smirk he turned his attention to Raleigh. "So you're the guy eh? The one running defence for me in that old rust bucket of yours."

"That's the plan." Raleigh nodded neutrally.

"So...when was the last time you jockeyed Ray?" There was a teasing edge to that smirk, Raleigh decided, that he wasn't going to fall prey to.

"Five years ago." He carefully answered.

"What've you been doing for five years? Something pretty important I reckon."

"I was in construction."

"Oh, great!" Raleigh waited for the insult, and wasn't disappointed. "That's really useful- we get into a fight you can build your way out of it, eh Ray?"

"It's Raleigh." Whoops, broke that promise.

"Whatever. Look, you're Pentecost's big idea. My old man seems to like ya, but it's pilots like you that brought the Jaeger program down. To me, you're dead weight." He made a point of getting in Raleigh's face as he stood. "And if you get in the way, I'll drop you like a bag of Kaiju shit." Then he was marching off, Max trotting at his heels.

"You can blame me for that one." Herc said apologetically. "Lost his mother to a were when he was young. I raised him on my own- smart kid, but I don't know whether to hug him or give him a kick up the ass." Raleigh raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth but a vaguely familiar voice from the side came before him.

"All due respect sir, I think the latter." Raleigh blinked at Vick. Was the guy a mindreader or something? Did those exist too? "Because of the combined drain of her healing the brawlers and freezing the ones outside, Louhi probably won't wake up for at least six hours." He frostily informed them. "I don't know if you know this but she does a quarter of the heavy lifting and is the only one who can keep everything properly organised, so it is doubtful all the Jaegers will we at full capacity in time for Operation Pitfall." His gaze shifted to Raleigh. "Becket. A pleasure to actually meet you. I will be watching your fights with your candidates later. Good day." He nodded and moved to leave.

"Vick." Herc caught his attention and was subjected to a cold stare. "Chuck didn't cause the second fight."

"Maybe not directly, but he stirred it up with his actions earlier." He frankly reminded them, before pretty much disappearing. Herc sighed next to him.

"Ignore him. He's normally such a sedate vamp, but Louhi is one of his best friends and her fainting like that really shook him." Raleigh almost fell off his stool.

"He was a vampire?!"

"Yep."

Vick couldn't stop a small burst of admiration spurt in his chest as he watched Raleigh take down Hunter after Hunter in just a few moves. Hunters may start out as normal humans, but a life of hunting stronger, faster beings did weird things to them. Their instincts became razor sharp and they gained an intimate understanding of human and monster biology pretty quick. Those that didn't- closed casket funeral. They became much stronger and faster than normal humans, and often a degree smarter, able to fight and talk their way out of dangerous situations. Normally, a Hunter would trounce a human like Raleigh. Everyone but he seemed to know that. And it didn't stop him winning.

"Four points to two." Mako declared. Raleigh faced her angrily.

"Okay, what?" He demanded. "You don't like them? I thought you selected them personally.

"Excuse me?"

"Everytime I finish you make this little gesture, like you're critical of their performance."

"It's not theirs. It's yours." She hotly explained. "You could have taken down all of them two moves earlier."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"Okay, can we step this up a bit?" He asked. Vick shifted his grip on the beams above in interest. "Why don't we give her a try?" As Mako looked at Pentecost beseechingly Vick felt a grin spread across his face. This'd be interesting, especially with her oddly rustic scent and the fact she has the much feared Hunter Stacker Pentecost as her father.

"No." He firmly denied. "Stick to the list- they must be Drift and physically compatible."

"But I am!" She protested.

"What's the matter? Don't think your brightest can cut it in the ring with me?" Vick winced at his choice of words, especially when after a silent exchange Mako padded shoeless into the Kwoon, took her staff and readied herself.

Raleigh was on the floor in seconds. As they circled again, Vick watched carefully for what he had thought he'd seen- a sweep of the arms known only to one group of people he knew of. Who in hell had Mako been training with? There. Again, Raleigh was on the floor, with his leg held by Mako's staff.

"Enough!" The Marshall called. "I have seen what I need to see."

"Me too," Raleigh gasped out as he stumbled to his feet amidst applause. "She's my co-pilot." She stared at him in joyous disbelief.

"That's not going to work." Pentecost's voice shattered the happy moment.

"Why not?" Raleigh blurted in surprise.

"Because I said so. Report to me in two hours, and I will tell you who your co-pilot is."

Everyone filed out, until he was left to stare at a darkly smirking Chuck and the back of one upset Mako Mori. He didn't hesitate to chase after her.