Lost… he was lost.

Cherno Alpha reeled with pain – his own damages, and the agony radiating from his Rangers like twin spotlights focused directly into his core. The physical hurt was bad enough, but a deeper pain glowed in his chassis… the familiar ache of loss, of seeing Crimson Typhoon fall under the claws and tail of Otachi.

And yet he clung savagely to the pain, like a drowning man clutching a rope. For the pain at least reminded him that he was still alive.

Blackness… he was surrounded by it, lost in a dark and silent prison. The last thing he had seen was Leatherback's horrifically ugly face looming over his Conn Pod, and the last thing he had heard was the sound of some vital component in his chassis detonating as the Kaiju had grabbed his Conn Pod and brutally twisted it. Somehow, that action had cut off all sight and sound... and all he had known since then was pain, cold, and the suffocating blackness.

Mother… Father… were they okay? Had the attack knocked them out? Had Leatherback's energy field somehow interfered with their drift, shutting down the electrical impulses in their minds as well as those systems in his chassis that still fitfully sputtered with life? Or had something far more terrible happened?

Mama… Papa… are you there? His voice somehow sounded faint, even to him, but it was there, hanging in the drift like the chiming of a bell. Can you hear me?

The faintest glow shone through the drift, and a burst of joy filled his core. They were alive! Sasha and Aleksis lived… barely. They were shadows of their former selves, mere sparks where once their presences had blazed brightly in their shared link, but they were there. And yet they wouldn't respond to him – or couldn't respond. They felt curiously muffled, as if something heavy were pinning them down.

Answer me! he begged. Please! Talk to me! Can you hear me?

For a moment Aleksis' presence seemed to flicker in response, trying to answer. But just as quickly it faded, and their light seemed to dim. Cherno continued to call and reach for them, fighting down the urge to panic. No… he couldn't lose them! He had lost so much already – Eden, Warlock, Nova, Crimson, so many fellow Jaegers… he couldn't lose his Rangers too! If anything happened to Sasha or Aleksis, it would kill him. He couldn't bear the thought of living on without them…

Don't go! Please don't go! I'm… scared… Now more than ever, he wished he were human – the urge to break down and sob had never been so overwhelming. I need you with me, I'm so scared…

He had no sense of the passage of time, and so had no idea how long he hung there, begging, pleading with his Rangers to hold on, to come back to him. But at last, at long last, it happened – first Aleksis, then Sasha flared to life, awakening from whatever had locked them in slumber. Fear, shock, and pain filled the drift, but they lived… and for Cherno, that was enough.

He could reach out to them no longer – his efforts had exhausted him deeply. But they would live… and if his final act in this world was to ensure his Rangers survived, so be it. Jaegers were created to protect humanity, and it was only right that his last action be to save his parents from succumbing to final oblivion. He only wished he could say goodbye…

The deck of the Ao Kuang practically groaned under the combined weight of the two Mark I Jaegers, as well as the components the teams had scavenged from Matador Fury and Solar Prophet. Somehow, Cherno Alpha had managed to convince Coyote Tango to "play dead" and let him haul her aboard the battleship – Tendo had ordered them to take every possible precaution to keep Cherno's sentience a secret, and that, by extension, meant that no one outside the Shatterdome personnel could know that Coyote was alive. Coyote obviously hated taking orders from anyone who wasn't Pentecost, but in the end had complied.

Cherno kept a gentle hand on the Japanese Jaeger's shoulder as he settled in beside her prone body. Another live Jaeger… four of their kind now moved of their own volition. He knew that trying to fit one more self-governing titan into the Shatterdome would have its own set of complications. But for now, all that mattered was that another of their kind had escaped destruction. For now, he would simply be happy that Coyote was alive, if damaged and a bit off-kilter.

A soft pat to one of his interior consoles interrupted his thoughts, and he turned his attention to his Rangers. Papa?

"How fares Coyote"

She's resting, Papa. Her reactor core still functions, but not at full capacity. Her outburst at Oblivion Bay tired her, and she will need to recharge before she can move much.

"Ah… will she cooperate? If she has another outburst, it could sink the ship."

She won't sink the ship. She promised to behave.

Aleksis accepted that – he had utmost faith in his Jaeger. "How is it that we can understand her? We cannot understand Crimson or Gipsy without their Rangers acting as interpreters. Is it because her Rangers are dead?"

I don't know, Papa. Maybe it's because you were in my Conn Pod while she was talking? Or perhaps because she is older, and has been sentient longer. Maybe I'll also learn to talk to others who aren't my Rangers with time.

"That would be wonderful," said Sasha. "We never mind relaying what you have to say, but it would be very convenient if you could talk to Tendo or Bailey directly rather than through an intermediary. Perhaps Coyote can teach you?"

Coyote stirred, and Cherno squeezed her shoulder in warning. The Jaeger stilled, but not before irritation flashed from her core to Cherno's.

You and your Rangers are talking about me. That was the longest sentence she'd managed to string together since they had left the Jaeger graveyard.

We are, Cherno acknowledged. We're just curious about you. Please don't move; the sailors are watching.

Don't care. You move. Why can't I move?

They think my Mama and Papa are piloting me… He racked his mind for a tactful way to put the rest of it. We don't have Rangers available to pretend to pilot you. I'm sorry, but you need to stay "dead" for awhile longer, until we get back to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong… Stacker… Her chassis tensed beneath his hand as she suppressed a tremor. Miss him… miss him so much. Felt him die. Hurt… hurt so much.

Cherno squeezed her shoulder, this time in an attempt to comfort her. I'm sorry.

Lucky Cherno, she went on, ignoring his apology. Have both Rangers. Don't know pain. Lost Tamsin. Cancer. Slow and painful. Then lost Stacker. Quicker… no less painful.

Cherno shuddered. I almost lost them… I could feel them slipping away from me. You're right… I'm lucky. They stayed with me. He rubbed comfortingly at her shoulder. What was Stacker Pentecost to you? Your father, or your brother, or something else?

Father. Tamsin mother… Stacker father. Got sick… were sent away. Tamsin died without saying goodbye. Another tremor. Stacker still visited, though. Even when forbidden. Was there when I awoke… when I moved on my own. Was a wonderful day… almost better than first drift.

When was this?

Two years ago? Three? Hard to remember… hard to track time in Oblivion Bay.

You said Pentecost gave you orders… what sort of orders?

Protect Jaegers… protect Oblivion Bay. Protect our kind. A grim determination radiated from her. Humans destroying our kind. Melting us down, cannibalizing us. Stacker gave command – protect my kind. Others could still be alive… had to give them the chance to truly live.

Cherno's visual sensors moved from Coyote to the horizon as he processed what she said. Did you get that, Mama and Papa?

"We did," Sasha replied. "Pentecost knew all this time… I suspected he might, but he never said anything. Had he shared this information with the PPDC, we could have saved so many others!"

"Or he would have been dismissed as a madman," Aleksis pointed out. "Who would have believed him?"

"He had Coyote as proof," Sasha argued. "With her by his side, he could have convinced them."

"Perhaps he feared she would be destroyed if he came forward," Aleksis defended. "Sasha, the past is past. We cannot change what Pentecost chose to do… we can only move forward from here. Let us focus on saving the Jaegers we have now."

Sasha sighed but didn't press the issue further. Cherno, for his part, couldn't help feeling a stab of resentment toward the former Marshal. Despite all that he had done for the Jaeger program and the world at large, he had kept vital information from the world, information that could have saved the Jaeger program and kept more of his kind alive. Even if he had kept silent, he could have at least worked to rescue more Jaegers from Oblivion Bay, and perhaps reunite them with their Rangers if they still lived…

"Cherno," Aleksis murmured. "Pentecost did everything he could. He brought Gipsy back, and saved you, Crimson, and Striker from being decommissioned. And I'm sure he would have done more if he had the money and resources. Do not be angry with him. To have saved four of your kind is something to honor him for."

Cherno thrummed in reply. He still didn't fully understand concepts like money, but he knew the lack of it had been an obstacle for the Hong Kong Shatterdome since day one. He didn't like that it had likely cost them the ability to save more Jaegers, but he supposed he could accept it… or at least lay the blame on that instead of on Pentecost's shoulders.

"Cherno… ask Coyote how she was able to navigate Oblivion Bay without sight or sound. To be able to find her way around, escape detection, and build memorials for her comrades without those senses is… incredible."

Cherno relayed the question, and a smug purr rose from Coyote's engines. For the first time since their initial encounter, she seemed pleased.

Echolocation, she replied. Can't see or hear… but can feel. Created vibrations, and read the returning waves. Could sense obstacles. Could also feel intruders. Very sensitive to vibrations. Constructed memorials by touch. First ones clumsy… but got better.

"Echolocation… like dolphins!" exclamied Sasha.

"All this explains so much about the 'haunting' of Oblivion Bay," said Aleksis with a chuckle. "The screaming was simply Coyote finding her way around. And the moving of Jaeger parts was her doing as well."

That made sense to Cherno. He'd used a similar trick in trying to distract Crimson from attacking the LOCCENT when he'd first awakened, only in reverse. He hadn't realized that Jaegers could be that sensitive to vibrations, but then, he'd never had time to focus and hone that ability. Coyote had spent years fine-tuning her own sense of touch, if only out of sheer necessity.

You have sight and sound? she asked, curiosity coloring her tone. Lucky… want to know for myself. No Rangers… no more link to sight and sound. Miss it more than I realized.

Cherno patted her shoulder. When we get back to the Shatterdome, Tendo and the technicians will get you sight and hearing. They've helped me and Crimson, and are now helping Gipsy. I'm sure they'll help you too.

Crimson… I don't know that name. Gipsy… was in Oblivion Bay. Kept crying for her Rangers. Didn't stay long… thought she was melted down. She… she lives? She moves?

Yes! She's badly damaged, but we're hoping to repair her. I'm sorry that we had to take parts from other Jaegers to fix her… but I think Matador and Solar would have wanted it.

Coyote pondered his statement a moment. Want to meet the others.

You will. When we get back to Hong Kong, you will. I promise you that. Gipsy will be happy to see you, I'm sure… and Crimson will be excited to meet another Mark I.

He almost said something about Mustang, but checked himself. How could he explain the new Jaeger to Coyote when even he wasn't sure what to think about the Mark VI? Powerful and swift Mustang Omega might be, but he remained as curiously lifeless as ever. Was there some sort of fundamental design flaw that kept the black Jaeger from developing his own sentience? Or was it something else entirely?

When the Kaidonovskys had left the Shatterdome, Gipsy Danger had been a lifeless-looking wreck, caked in dirt and Precursor slime, mangled almost beyond recognition. In the few days they had been gone, however, she looked markedly improved. Ripped wiring had been capped and sealed, ragged plating had been trimmed smooth and prepped for replacement parts and armor, and the broken glass of her Conn Pod had been restored. The thick tissue that had bound her remaining parts together was gone as well, a thorough cleaning leaving her shining under the hangar lights. She still looked small and incomplete with three missing limbs, but the cleanup and repair had done wonders to restore her.

At the moment Gipsy lay propped against a wall, doubtless with the aid of Crimson, and her attention was focused on a projection screen that had been set up in her hangar. Aleksis sternly reminded himself not to laugh once he caught sight of what was on the screen. It wasn't his business what anyone liked to watch in their spare time, he told himself, and if Cherno Alpha could have developed a liking for Disney movies on his own, then who was he to judge if Gipsy happened to like…

"What's up with the Sailor Moon marathon anyhow?" demanded Lexie, stepping up at that moment. "I thought we were a military base, not a drive-in theater." The young Ranger looked to be fresh off a training run in Mustang's Conn Pod, still in her drive suit and her dreadlocks contained by what looked like a swim cap to fit in the helmet.

"It's for Gipsy," Mako explained. "Once we installed her visual and audio sensors, we set it up for her. It helped keep her calm during the rest of her cleanup and repairs. She enjoys it."

Lexie snorted. "You'd think a giant robot would like something a little more awesome than a magic girl show. Like Transformers, or Gundam or Escaflowne if it HAD to be an anime."

Mako frowned, but seemed to decide that it was best to be silent if you couldn't be polite. Instead she turned her attention to Aleksis. "Marshal Hansen gave us the news. Coyote… she is alive?"

Aleksis nodded. "She returned with us. She is… strange. Years of isolation were not kind to her."

"Oh god, another one?" Lexie rolled her eyes. "Christ, what is up with the Jaeger zombie plague all of a sudden?"

"They're not zombies," Mako told her, the slightest tremor in her voice as she fought to maintain her calm. "They are alive, as much as you and I are. And they should be treated with the same respect you feel you deserve."

Lexie either missed the veiled insult or just decided to ignore it. "It's freaky is what it is. Not natural. I mean, we've been piloting Mustang for a few months now, and we haven't gotten any psychic messages or anything."

"Perhaps you simply choose not to hear them," Aleksis suggested.

"Or maybe we just lucked out and got a normal Jaeger and not a freak of nature." And with that, Lexie strode off, leaving Mako and Aleksis to gape at her in angry shock.

Gipsy gave a soft whine, and Mako turned quickly toward her with a reassuring expression. "No, Gipsy, you did nothing wrong. We don't have to turn off the show. She just has an attitude."

"I have other words for it besides 'attitude,'" Raleigh grumbled. "Geez, if I were Mustang, I'd be playing dead just so I didn't have to deal with her."

Before the conversation could continue down that route, Cherno stepped up, carrying Matador Fury's copper-red limbs. He set these down in front of Gipsy like an offering, then stepped back. Her Conn Pod tilted down to regard them, and a soft keen issued from her chassis.

She can't believe we would do this for her, Cherno explained. She is grateful, though. She wants to be able to walk again, and help defend the world again. A burst of amusement. She is also very upset that after all she did to close the Breach, we still have a Kaiju problem. She's determined to get back on her feet and fix it.

At that, Aleksis couldn't help but smile. Even in her broken state, Gipsy was still eager to return to action. And if she, despite all she had suffered at the hands of the Precursors, could overcome her trauma and pledge herself to fight the monsters of the Breach once again… then perhaps Cherno could learn to overcome his own fears, and face the Kaiju once more.

Gipsy's keening intensified as Coyote approached, Crimson holding the Mark I's arm to guide her and ground crews clearing the path before her. She limped on her broken foot and moved with a hesitant shuffle, but somehow she managed to carry herself with a dignified air. Crimson, for his part, hummed with pleasure, and Aleksis didn't need Cherno's translation to know that the Mark IV considered it a great honor to assist a legend.

Coyote drew to a halt beside Gipsy, and with Crimson's aid she knelt by her side. Her hand reached out, bumping clumsily against the blue Jaeger's torso until it managed to find her shoulder. She squeezed gently, emitting a low croon of greeting. Gipsy keened again, her voice finding harmony with Coyote's, and she raised her hand to rest it on the elder Jaeger's.

Coyote says well done, Cherno translated. Gipsy performed well at the Breach… and Pentecost would be proud of what she'd done. She also says to take good care of Mako.

Aleksis nodded. He never doubted that Gipsy would neglect Mako, any more than she would neglect Raleigh. But Pentecost had been protective of his adopted daughter, and it was only natural that Coyote would have inherited that same drive to guard and protect her, if only to keep some small part of her Ranger alive.

When he chanced a glance at Mako, he was startled to see her openly weeping, despite the smile on her face. The young Ranger had always kept her emotions tightly sealed away, and seeing her express her joy and lingering grief so openly, while not as big a shock as seeing Coyote walk under her own power, was still unusual.

"Will you be all right?" he asked.

She nodded and raised her hands to dash the tears away. "The PPDC should see this. How could they bear to destroy the Jaegers after… this?"

He nodded in agreement. After seeing the metallic titans not only move on their own, but express joy and grief and fear as readily as any human, how could anyone call for their destruction? Yet he knew that a display of emotion wouldn't be enough to convince some… and that the battle to save as many of the Jaegers as they could was far from over.

Mako.

The voice flowed through her mind as easily as Gipsy's, yet it didn't belong to the Mark III. It was somehow darker than Gipsy's, rougher and brassier, as if time had ravaged it somehow. And yet there was a familiar flavor to it, an inflection to the words that she had once heard before in Pentecost's voice…

Mako shook her head and looked up from the connection she was soldering in Gipsy's leg. Coyote hadn't left the blue Jaeger's side since her arrival, hovering over her like a fretful parent at the bedside of a sick child. She hadn't even stirred when the technicians had entered her Conn Pod to install the sensors that would grant her sight and sound, only keened her approval when said sensors were finally activated. Gipsy had basked in the attention, simply awed to be in the presence of a legend.

She hadn't expected the Mark I to make contact – all other Jaegers had only communicated through their Rangers. Yet Coyote had the ability, and had been able to converse with the Kaidonovskys and even exchanged a few words with Hercules, though to Tendo she remained curiously silent. What granted her that ability, and could she teach it to the others?

Mako.

Mako set her tools down. "I hear you, Coyote."

The gray Jaeger nodded slowly. Stacker spoke highly of you.

Her heart squeezed painfully at that. "He did?"

Stacker had faith in you. Said you were angry, but smart and strong. Feared for you… loved you. Called you daughter.

Her eyes burned with tears, and she struggled to hold them back. "Thank you."

Coyote hummed in reply. Miss him… felt his death. Sudden, like the sun exploding. Not slow like Tamsin.

"He died a warrior," Mako whispered. "I didn't want to lose him, but… better a warrior than on a sickbed. He would have wanted it that way."

To die a Ranger, Coyote agreed. Even in the Conn Pod of another Jaeger… She looked away, and though Mako couldn't feel her emotions like she could feel Gipsy's, she had a feeling as to what was troubling her.

"You're jealous?" she asked. "That he piloted Striker Eureka instead of you?"

Not jealous… Coyote's chassis heaved as if she were sighing. Fine. Little jealous. Should have fought the final fight with him. Wish I had. But… had my duties. Couldn't abandon Oblivion Bay. And too many questions if decommissioned Jaeger showed up in Hong Kong. Just… wish I had said goodbye.

Mako cupped her face in her hands, a sob finally breaking free. Gods, she missed Pentecost. He would never replace her family, but he had been a father figure and teacher to her, taking her under his wing and giving her the chance to exact justice for her slain parents. His death had left a hole in her heart that would never fully close. And though her bond with him had been nowhere near as close as Coyote's drift, she felt she knew some measure of the Jaeger's pain.

Coyote's presence nudged at her mind. We have each other now. We are sisters. Not by blood, but by drift. Through Stacker, we are family.

And me, Gipsy chimed in. Mako is like a sister to me. I… I guess that makes us sisters too, Coyote?

Coyote growled softly, and for a moment Mako thought she would reject the idea of a younger Jaeger trying to steal her new family away. But in the end the Mark I nodded. Yes… sisters. The three of us.

Gipsy raised her hand, the copper-red alloy of Matador's armor clashing with her slate-blue chassis. Coyote hesitated, then raised her own hand to rest it on Gipsy's, as if to seal the deal. Mako raised her own hand in a symbolic gesture, mirroring the two Jaegers. They were family now… a most unlikely family, but a family nonetheless. They would stand together in the face of whatever else this world or the Anteverse chose to throw their way.

Gipsy lowered her hand. Watch the show with me, Coyote? I'm still waiting for them to finish with my legs.

Coyote's engines snorted at that. Cartoons? Silly. Waste of time.

Not silly! They're fun! And Usagi's adorable, even if she's kind of clumsy and not that smart. And there's a Mako in this show too, though she's not much like our Mako…

Mako let the two Jaegers talk as she climbed down from Gipsy's leg to fetch another set of tools. Coyote would settle in well here. Now to finish repairing Gipsy… and explain to Raleigh that Coyote had latched onto her as another family member. She didn't think he would object too much, even if Coyote was a bit more cantankerous than the Mark III…

"They seem to be getting along well."

She turned at the sound of that unfamiliar voice. A woman was gazing up at Gipsy and Coyote, a wry smile on her face as she watched the two Jaegers interact. Slender but by no means insubstantial, she wore her long blond hair in a ponytail, and wire-rimmed glasses framed her eyes. There was something familiar about her, but Mako couldn't place it – it was as if she recognized a face that should be famous but couldn't put a name to it or recall what magazine or movie she'd seen it in.

"I recognize Coyote Tango," she went on, pointing up at the gray Jaeger. "The other one's Gipsy Danger, right? I only ever saw pictures of her. And I could have sworn she didn't have a red arm. Fashion statement or just spare parts?"

"Who are you?" Mako demanded, frowning. Who was this woman to come in and immediately start criticizing the Jaegers? For the record, why had Tendo let her in? Wasn't there a strict rule about visitors to the Shatterdome right now? If news of the Jaegers' sentience leaked out and reached the PPDC…

"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners?" The woman laughed and extended a hand. "Sorry. I forget social niceties sometimes. Guess it's still the awkward scientist in me."

"Scientist?" That jogged Mako's memory a little. There was something significant about this woman… something that had to do with the Jaeger program…

"Yes, I'm a scientist… or was at one point." She lowered her hand once it became obvious Mako wasn't going to shake it. "And if you're worried about your cover being blown here, don't worry. Tendo has me sworn to secrecy. In fact, he asked me to come here and help you with the Jaegers."

"And what help did he tell you we needed?" she asked warily.

"Understanding what they're becoming," she replied. "My name is Dr. Caitlin Lightcap, Jaeger program scientist and Ranger to Brawler Yukon. And it looks like we have a lot to discuss."