It's not as awkward as they'd feared. They've shared minds and shared kills and squared off against each other on the fencing mat but Yuna has never felt closer to someone than she does in the moments after they make love. Her skin is still hot and her body sore in all the right ways. It's like she already knows where to kiss and how to touch and as the heat builds inside of her she can feel So-Yi in her mind. No Jaeger. No Kaiju. Just two girls in love and linked by the Drift.
So-Yi is sweet and gentle, the polar opposite of her usual brash behavior. It's Yuna that's possessive, Yuna that pins and bites and claims. She relishes in the intimacy. It's something that she's always understood about herself, while her co-pilot has taken longer to understand how rivalry can turn to friendship and attraction.
If anyone notices they way they stand together after that night, no one comments. They're Jaeger pilots, and its not entirely unexpected, but the pilots have knowing smiles.
So-Yi thinks it. She thinks the words often, just as Yuna does. But she never says them. She doesn't feel as though she has to because if she wants to know then she can see it in the Drift. She doesn't know that those words sometimes need to be said, she just lets herself read them in Yuna's eyes.
Sometimes, they go out together into the city. They pretend for a little while they're just regular people. They dance and they play and they shop. They don't think about Kaiju. Sometimes they fence, the flames of their old rivalry still burning as they trade wins.
And sometimes they just lay in each others' arms, skin to skin, letting their minds drift.
They're lost in each other when the alarms go off. The familiar klaxon that sounds when the Breach opens. Laughing, So-Yi stumbles out of bed. Her skin is flushed, but Yuna already has her game face on. She drops it, a little, to give her co-pilot a secret smile, and then they're running for LOCCENT.
Hirona is trying to make sense of the data. She looks up as the young women come in. "Category Four. They're calling it Razormaw."
So-Yi's smile drops when she sees the readout on the screen. "It's big."
Yuna folds her arms over her chest, ignoring the icey rock inside her stomach. "Where is it headed?"
"We don't know yet. Our last track had it heading for anywhere from Shanghai to Qingdao in China, or the western coast of Korea. Anywhere in the Yellow Sea. We'll know more in a few minutes. Tacit Ronin is already suiting up."
"We'll be ready." So-Yi says, even as she's turning to run to the hangar. Yuna is close on her heals. By the time they've entered the Drift, Razormaw has been confirmed headed for Incheon, just southwest of Seoul.
Their drift is stronger than usual. Yuna reaches over, brushing her fingertips against So-Yi's. Then they lift their arms, Nova Hyperion moving with them as they assume a classic fencer's stance. "Nova Hyperion ready," So-Yi says. They step out of the hanger and wait for the choppers to carry them away.
It's silent inside the Jaeger. This is always the longest part, almost a boring one but it's faster to travel by air than to attempt to walk the whole way. They just have to dangle there, and prepare their minds for battle.
I want to get dinner.
Yuna isn't sure if that was her thought over the drift or So-Yi's. She glances at her co-pilot. "Dinner?"
"Yes." So-Yi's face reddens behind her visor. "Dinner."
"Like a date?" Yuna's voice is hopeful. They rarely talk about their feelings for each other, even when they're on their downtime in the city. They've never called their lunches or shopping or dancing a date before.
"Yes."
"I'd like that."
Then they say nothing more, because they're almost to the drop point. The Jaegers land in the water and take a position three miles off the coast.
Razormaw is gigantic, and aptly named. It's elongated head is filled with thousands of serrated teeth. It's body is thin and wiry and it's quick, surging past Nova Hyperion and crashing into Tactic Ronin. The girls move their Jaeger into position behind the Kaiju, then rush in and grab it. As the monster is ripped off of the other Jaeger, it's mouth takes two-thirds of an arm with it.
With a powerful kick from it's hind legs, the Kaiju breaks free. Nova Hyperion falls hard, and as they push their way back upright they see Razormaw's mouth close around Ronin's Con-Pod. The Jessops screams are abruptly cut off as the Kaiju jerks it's head. The crushed head shoots through the air, just over Hyperion's shoulder.
Rage floods through So-Yi and Yuna just goes with it. They charge, the saber in their Jaeger's arm extending out and locking into place. The Kaiju dives into the water, dashing for land. Ahead of them lays Incheon. The Kaiju makes landfall in the city, maybe eight miles from Seoul.
Hyperion is slower in the water than on land, and the girls quickly make up for the Kaiju's head start, catching it a half-mile into Incheon. The city has over two and a half million people, and the entire area in and around Seoul has ten times that number. It is absolutely the last place the girls want to fight. Yuna prays people are in shelters.
Razormaw roars, it's tail lashing behind it before it rising into the air and above it's head like a scorpion. There's a long, thin barb on the end. The tail suddenly slashes at them. Hyperion dances to one side, parrying the attack. They block another, then riposte off of a third. So-Yi lifts her arm and the Jaeger moves into a killing position.
Kill it, kill it now, for Duc and Kaori!
"Left!"
The Jaeger dodges right as the tail shoots out at lightning speed, then it snaps into them, crushing some of the armor on Hyperion's left side and sending them crashing into an office building. The tail rips into their stomach, the feedback making So-Yi gasp at the pain.
Hyperion grabs the tail and yanks hard, causing the Kaiju to stumble towards them. With another quick motion, they jab with their sword. Razormaw snaps it in half with a bite and twist of it's massive head. Then it's close, it's too close and the only thing they can do is grab it's jaws to try to hold it at bay. Tail freed, Razormaw resumes stabbing and slashing at the Jaeger's exposed chest and torso, it's barb shredding through the armor. Its claws dig into the Jaeger's chest, peeling the armor like an onion. Hyperion's right leg is nearly severed in the chaos.
The girls scream orders and curses in Korean as it takes all their combined strength to slowly pull the creature's jaws apart. Somewhere in the distance a familiar warning horn sounds, but Cherno Alpha will not make it in time. With muscles straining and metal screaming, the Jaeger rips the bottom jaw of the Kaiju off. With the next heartbeat, the girls stab what remains of their Jaeger's sword into the Kaiju's mouth and through it's brain.
Razormaw thrashes as it falls away from the Jaeger. The tail snaps like a whip, smashing into the Con-Pod and Nova Hyperion comes crashing to the ground. It lays shattered and broken, her heart is exposed, a high pitched whine her death rattle.
Consoles spark, and the emergency lighting flickers. So-Yi reaches for her co-pilot, and their hands meet. She crawls closer, pulling Yuna into her arms. Once, years ago, their positions had been reversed. Once, years ago, she'd been so afraid. She pulls off their helmets, and presses her lips against Yuna's bloody scalp. Her breathing is shallow, and she feels like she's floating. Something warm and wet runs down her side.
"So-Yi," Yuna whispers. Her voice trails off. I love you.
She's felt it in the drift so many times. It's been on her lips but she's never said it. Never thought they'd need to, and now it's much too late. So-Yi's eyes close, and she replies, "I know. Yuna?"
"I know." Yuna doesn't have the energy to say anything else. She drinks in So-Yi's scent, and the memories take her to other times and places.
"Yuna?" So-Yi's voice sounds rough and distant. It grows weaker in her throat with every word. "Yunie? Wait...for me. You promised. You promised...we go together. Just a little longer. I'll be just a little longer."
(I always intended this to be a tragedy. After all, all of the Jaegers were destroyed and many pilots were lost. But then I got attached to these girls. So I asked Travis Beacham if they lived, but he's pretty busy so I don't actually expect an answer.
So until we have an official answer, I leave it up to the reader. Maybe, just maybe, they made it. And even if they didn't, we know that they've found each other in the drift. Thank you for reading.)
