The airlock door opened with a hiss, barely audible over the cursing. Doctor Shafu rubbed his hands together in glee as the prize was revealed; Striker Eureka, strapped down to a metal pallet on wheels by thick bands of steel. They strained, but held fast against the Jaeger's fury.

"Is it my birthday?" Shafu asked, going over and resting his hands on the Jaeger's arm. "By my blessed mothers, how did you do this?"

"Just stay back, doc," one of the guard around the machine gently pushed him away. "This thing is still dangerous. Almost took off my head as we were locking it down."

As if to emphasize his point, Striker bucked, straining against his bonds. The metal groaned, but held.

"I'm sure you have the situation under control," Shafu said, patting the guard on the shoulder. Then he went and knelt beside the captive Jaeger. "And how are you, my metallic friend?"

"Fuck. You." the machine spat, its burning yellow visor glaring at him.

Shafu's eyes widened. "By the gods! They weren't joking about the advanced AI."

"I'm gonna kill you, ya' wanker!"

"Just how did you catch it? This is amazing!"

"EMP," the guard replied.

"Oh no, no, no, no," the Doctor moaned, rubbing the machine's arm. "You can't do that, you might have damaged something."

"You could've told 'em that before they went and hit me, ya' fucker!" Striker looked down at the hand on his arm. "And seriously stop that. Its creepy."

"Not like we had a choice," the guard shrugged. "Lawson's orders... and I like being alive, thank you very much. If one of these things got loose... well, it would be bad, to say the least."

"Ah, yes," the Doctor sighed, rising to his feet. "Still, we'll have to make due, though I do hope nothing was damaged. Please, take him to the lab."

With that, the group continued down the hall, pushing a cursing Jaeger along with them. But as they went on, Shafu noticed the absence of one particular person.

"Sargent?" he asked. "Where is Miss Lawson?"

The guard shrugged. "She had other orders. I think she stayed behind to capture the rest of those metal freaks."

At this Jaeger began to chuckle. "Oh, is that what you think, eh? Well let me tell you something, wankers. She just made the last mistake of her life."

-Linebreak-

Miranda Lawson prided herself on never making mistakes. That being said, how the hell do she allow something like this to happen?

The plan was simple: Lure the Jaegers out one by one and take them out. It was simple. Idiotically simple. So how the hell had the Jaeger gotten word to his friends? Miranda and her team had come equipped with some of the most powerful jamming tech available. Striker shouldn't have been able to get a single word out.

Well, he had; her damn name.

The moment she had presented herself to the other Jaegers and they asked for her name, it was all over. Once they got their hands on her... well, Miranda was surprised she was still alive. That mean only one thing; interrogation.

Her team had tried to rescue her. They hadn't survived more than a minute against the enraged machines.

Yep. As of now this was probably the worst mistake of her life, and posibly her last.

Miranda looked down at her bonds. For all her skill and strength, she couldn't possibly hope to break out of the warped bar of iron wrapped around her wrists. Even if she did, there were still the three metal giants across from her. The three Jaegers glared down at her, their emotionless visors glowing in the dim bedroom. They had carted out the bed to make room for the chair she sat in. For some reason the whole place smelt of smoke and the walls were badly scorched and full of bullet holes.

If this was an interrogation... then the Jaegers were doing a good job so far. Beside the fact that they could kill her with a twitch of their finger, they could show enough restraint to make it long and painful. They weren't gentle dragging her here, wherever here was. Miranda could still feel the bruises caused by the trip.

Now they were just watching her. She had schooled her expression into a grim mask of nothingness, but on the inside she was shaking. How would this turn out. Would they tear her arms out? Crush her chest rib by rib? At least mercs and other criminals always bragged about how they would torture you, then you had time to mentally prepare yourself for what was to come.

But not the Jaegers. They just stared at her, as emotionless as the machines they were. Occasionally they looked at each other, but that was it. The silence was stifling.

At least they got Striker Eureka off Omega. Now her sacrifice might mean something. Either way, no one was coming for her, not with the Jaegers in their way.

-Linebreak-

"I'm jealous."

"Not the time."

"Seriously, if I was human, I'd want to look like that."

Cherno rumbled over the radio.

"Right, Striker. So, how are we going to do this? Break her fingers one by one?"

Another rumble.

"How about her spleen?"

Crimson sighed. "I don't think you can do that."

"Why not?" Gipsy glared at him. "This bitch just stole our resident asshole!"

"That's not what I... ah, forget it." Crimson moaned. "We need her to get him back, and we need to break her without... well, breaking her."

Cherno rumbled again, lightning beginning to crackle from his fists.

"I think she'll explode," Crimson replied dryly, watching Lawson shy away from the powerful Russian. "Those are meant for Kaiju, not water balloons."

They thought in silence for another minute before Crimson snapped his finger. "I got an idea."

-Linebreak-

A scream echoed through the private office. The Illusive Man deftly dropped the volume of the live video feed, taking a drag on his cigaret as he watched the proceedings.

The screens before him showed multiple angles of an operating room. Doctors in white lab coats clustered around a reinforced lab table on which was strapped down the writhing form of Striker Eureka. Bands of solid metal held him down tight, giving no leeway as the Doctors slowly removed his armor plates one by one, revealing the machinery inside.

The Illusive Man took a sip of his whisky, watching with interest as their prize was slowly revealed. Another scream caused him to mute the feed entirely.

Pain.

The machine actually felt pain.

It spoke volumes on the nature of its construction and its central programing. Though why anyone would program a machine to feel pain was beyond him. It was counter productive for an AI, machines of pure thought and mathematics. Or it could just be a side effect of having a physical body.

Questions raced through his mind, each one more complicated than the last. Who made these machines, and why? Could they replicate these machines for their own ends?

The possibilities were endless.

But, without a doubt, the most impressive find by far was the mind. When his people had tried to hack into the Jaeger's processors they were struck dumb. Usually Virtual Intelligences and their more complicated Artificial brethren followed the same format when it came to mental processes. The code and individual files that made up their 'mind,' so to speak, could be summarized into a ball of code, much like a brain. With holograms it was possible for a VI to project its primary programing and lay it bare for all to see. Normally this would be a simple ball of connected files, impulses, and reprogrammed responses. An AI, like the gradually forming Enhanced Defence Intelligence program, was much the same, only it could advance its own code, growing and expanding with each new experience. In short; learning.

But the Jaeger...

Even he had never seen anything like it. It still had programing, but so, so much more. When projected out, it's programing wasn't so much a ball of code... but a human brain. The code had transformed into a close approximation of a human brain, with individual lobes that pulsed with energy.

They were all confused at what this meant, until one man proposed a theory. The machine wasn't thinking like a machine; it was thinking like a human.

It raised more questions than it answered. How did this effect it? Was it so different from other machines that it couldn't function like an AI anymore? And, most importantly, could they use this for the EDI?

He watched the dissection in silence, thinking. The Doctors were making good time. In only an hour they had pried off the thick chest plates and exposed its internal mechanisms. The missile launchers in its chest had given them a scare, but they had pried those out as well before it could use them.

Oh, how the machine had screamed.

But its pain was to their benefit. Already his scientists were examining its servos, learning everything they could about its structure. This would greatly improve the speed and strength the mechs Cerberus deployed and that was only the beginning.

Endless possibilities.

He glanced back as the screams rose in pitch once again. The Doctors were trying to uncover his energy source, prying open its chest to gain access to it core. He took another drag on his cigaret, content to watch the proceedings.

-Linebreak-

"Is that a... Pons-headset?"

Crimson nodded as he gingerly eased the makeshift device out of a drawer. "I've been working on it for while. Medical equipment on the blackmarket is cheap enough that I put it together a few days ago."

"Okay, let me rephrases that: Why do you have a Pons-headset?" Gipsy quirked her head, staring the device in Crimson's hands. "Is that duck tape?"

Crimson shrugged. "I ran out of glue. Had to use something."

"But that's my duck-tape!"

"Why do you even need duck-tape?"

Cherno sighed deeply. He leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms as he rumbled out a question.

"Curiosity, mostly," Crimson replied. "I mean, we already have the tech, literally inside our heads, why not see if we can still use it?"

Cherno rumbled again, curiously.

"Do you really think we could fit a whole person through a hole that's about the same size as a cell right now? As we are, our cockpits are far too small fit anything inside. Well, maybe a fly... or a flea."

"But how is that suppose to help us?" Gipsy demanded as she glared at him, chest heaving."The bitch still has Striker, we don't where, and you're here playing science!"

Cherno reached out and gripped Gipsy by the shoulder, rumbling softly.

Gipsy's shoulders sagged. "I know," she said in a defeated tone. "I'm just worried, that's all."

He groaned comfortingly, then looked back to Crimson with a rumble.

"I thought it was obvious," Crimson said, surprised. "Yes the Pons system was used to connect pilots in the Drift, but think about it. Two minds connecting, sharing thoughts to pilot one giant mecha. Its basically technology induced telepathy."

"Ooooh." Gipsy nodded slowly, visor brightening. "I get it now. Go inside her head and tear the info out, Brain-jack style."

Cherno looked at her funnily and rumbled.

"Nah. X-Com. Raleigh loved number two. Resist and bite the alien bastards and all that crap.

"It's not-" Crimson's shoulders sagged and he sighed. "I don't suppose it matters where the idea came from, we just need it to work."

Cherno rumbled again, his question obvious.

"But don't you get it yet? We don't need Drift tech, its already inside us. The real difficulty is connecting it to something outside of our bodies, which is where this thing comes in." Crimson held up a modified toilet plunger connected to the Ponns headset via a bundle of wires. "It took me some time, but I found a way to connect this... uh, Neural Interface Device, yes, this NID, I found a way to link it to the Drift tech inside my body. In short, we use it to access Miss Lawson's memories and find our missing friend."

Gipsy stared at him in disbelief. "Okay," she said slowly. "I think I got most of that. But I'm still trying to get over the fact that a toilet plunger is going to help us save Striker."

"Its an NID!" Crimson snapped.

"Its a toilet plunger!"

Cherno stepped between them, rumbling.

"Oh yes," Crimson nodded. "Trust me, it'll work."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Gipsy cried, grabbing Crimson's arm and dragging him back to the bedroom. "Let's go!"

-Linebreak-

Miranda had no clue what was going on. She had been expecting a violent death, instead she was treated to the sight of the red one sticking a toilet plunger to his head.

"Now, Miss Lawson," he crowed, looking utterly ridiculous with the plunger sticking up from his head like an antenna. "We want our friend back, and you're going to help us."

"And why would I do that?" she drawled, trying to buy time as she figured out just what the hell they were planning.

"Because otherwise you might become a vegetable." He sat on a chair that was placed directly in front of her. "You can either tell us where he is or we can do this the hard way."

"And that's the way where we fry your brain," the blue one standing beside her snarled.

She was shushed by the green one, standing directly behind Miranda with a firm grip on her shoulders, keeping her in place. But the damage was already done.

"Electrocution?" Miranda chuckled, even as her jut plummeted. This was going to hurt. "Surely you can be more creative."

She wasn't trying to make it worse, honest. But what else could she do? Taunting them was the fastest way to get her killed without spilling any secrets.

The red one, Crimson Typhoon if she remembered correctly, blinked. "Not exactly, no."

Miranda nodded towards his head. "And a toilet plunger is a part of this? Going to flush me or something?"

"See? I told you it looks stupid."

"Gipsy, please!"

Gipsy. Yes, Gipsy Danger. The names were starting to come back for all the good they would do her.

Crimson sighed and leaned in. "Look, Lawson, I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't tell us where you took Striker then that limits our options quiet a bit."

Miranda frowned. "Is that suppose to scare me?"

"No, but the fact that this is untested technology should."

"I'm sure the plunger has been perfected over the centuries."

"Ooh! Burn!"

"Gipsy!"

They seemed to switch to internal communications, furiously gesturing at each other in silence. The green one, Cherno, only let out a deep sigh. Normally, Miranda could have used this kind of confusion to her advantage, but even if she tried, Cherno would crush her like an egg. Or would he? They needed her alive, and they had the strength to do just that. Would Cherno even feel it if she struggled?

"This is the NID!" Crimson shouted at last, throwing up his arms. "Not a plunger! Not a stick! An N! I! D!"

Cherno let out another deep sigh and rumbled softly.

Crimson instantly deflated. "Well, I... suppose I could streamline it a bit."

Cherno rumbled again.

"Right, sorry."

From behind his back he pulled a strange headset device, and cradled it gently in his hands. He stared intently at her, his voice even. "Alright, Lawson, I'll give it to you straight. This might kill you. It will most definitely hurt, but there is the small chance that you will die... or wish you were dead." He said it almost like an after thought. "In fact you have a higher possibility of becoming a vegetable then death by Striker, when he finds you."

Miranda stared at the headset, her brow arched sceptically.

"It's untested," Crimson continued. "But I'm sure I'll be fascinated by the results, no matter the outcome. The only real danger is to yourself. So I'm giving you one last chance; tell us where our friends is, and we will let you go."

Miranda met his gaze evenly. "Or what? You'll try to read my mind? You do realize how ridiculous that sounds, right?"

Crimson blinked. "What?"

Miranda stared incredulously at him for a moment then snorted. "Really?You really think you can read my mind with that thing?"

"Would I be threatening you if I couldn't?"

Miranda's smirk remained plastered on her face even as her mind raced. What was he getting at? What was his angle? Could he really do it?

"So, will you tell us?" Crimson asked.

Miranda clamped her mouth shut.

"No? Alright. Gipsy, Cherno, hold her steady, she might buck a bit."

Metallic hands gripped her shoulders and held her down as Crimson gently eased the headset over her head.

"So how is this gonna work, anyway?" Gipsy asked aloud. "I mean, we don't have a LOCCENT to initiate the Drift."

Crimson sighed. "Gipsy, please keep it on internal comms. As for your question, well..." He leaned back, settling himself into a comfortable position. "It's all a matter of thought."

The headset began to hum, vibrating against her skull. Real worry began to tug at Miranda's gut. Just what was going on? They couldn't possibly read her mind, could they? No, this would just shock her into oblivion until she gave them what she wanted.

Then came the strangest sensation. Her vision tunnelled, her mind felt like it was flowing into the back of her skull and...

...water gushed around her ankles. The sonar ping was close, but with the ambient noise it was impossible to pin down.

Her three arms flexed in eager anticipation. Inside the conpod, the Wei triplets guided her actions with practised ease. Her metallic body was fresh from maintenance and ready for a fight. She could feel every joint straining against the forces of gravity and inertia as she moved through the ocean towards the miracle mile.

Suddenly, motion sensors flared.

"Movement on the right!" The voice came from inside the conpod, from one of her pilots. "Three o'clock!"

Miranda stopped dead and looked, scanning the ocean. Nothing. She turned away and the water exploded out as a monstrous form surfaced. She turned, only to catch a barbed tail in her midsection, sending her flying over the water and splashing down hundreds of meters away. She shook her head and rose to her full height, engines powering up as...

...the door silently opened, and Miranda peeked in. The room was empty, save for the crib in the far corner, and she allowed herself a sigh of relief. She was right to have payed off the nurse. For all her caring nature the woman was only here for the money involved. It made Miranda sick just thinking about it.

Miranda hurried over the crib and gently gathered up the tiny form inside. She pause for a moment, staring at the pale face wrapped in layers of blankets. Oriana was beautiful, yet there was something disturbing about seeing herself as an infant. And that's what Oriana was; a clone, just like her. They were identical; the baby was everything Miranda was, only more susceptible to their father.

No. He wasn't their father. Not anymore.

"I won't let this happen to you," Miranda swore softly, cradling her sister as she ran from the room. "I won't let him get to you. I promise."

She had a shuttle waiting for them. In a few hours they would far out of his reach, far enough that...

...Thundercloud Formation!"

There was no divide as all four of them moved in perfect sync, settling into the stance they'd practised hundreds of times before. Her fingers twisted in their sockets, becoming the lethal buzzsaws that spun faster and faster.

The Kajiu before them roared, closing in for the kill.

Miranda struck, slashing at its throat as she moved her three arms in perfect tandem. Blue blood splashed into the ocean as she deep into its hide again and again, mere paper cuts on a creature this size. Then she saw an opening and drove her saw into its exposed throat. It caught the blow easily, crushing the weapon as it strained against her. The jets on Miranda's back flared as she jumped, flipping...

...an interesting proposal." The Illusive Man took a drag on his cigaret, his face revealing nothing as he studied the girl before him. "However, I have my doubts."

Fear shot through Miranda.

"A father is a very influential backer of ours," he continued. "If he was to learn Cerberus was harbouring you two we might loose his support."

"Not exactly," Miranda said quickly, desperate for any chance she had. It was a miracle she was able to keep her voice calm. "He's already abandoned me as a lost cause."

The man merely stared at her. "Explain."

"I was... created to take over my father's company, as you already know. But when I became to liberal with my life he abandoned me and started over."

"With your sister." It wasn't a question.

Miranda swallowed and nodded. "Yes. He won't care what I do, so long as he has Oriana."

"But he doesn't."

Miranda allowed a hint of pride to enter her voice. "So far as he knows Oriana is being held for ransom by a rouge group somewhere out in the traverse."

"I see." He took another drag, face impassive. "And you are offering your services for secrecy."

"Yes," Miranda nodded eagerly. "I've already found a good family for her, all I need now is that the transfer goes undetected."

"It certainly speaks of your resourcefulness," the Illusive Man mused. He thought about it for a long minute, then the smallest of smirks crossed his face. "Welcome to Cerberus, Miss Lawson. We're glad to have your skill set...

...the mace like tail knocked down Cherno Alpha, sending him tumbling back into the water. The Triplets were shouting obscenities at the creature as Miranda closed in, saws raised high.

She never saw the tail until it was too late.

The pincher at the end clamped down on the conpod and squeezed. Miranda let out a metallic scream as her head was slowly crushed. She could hear the Weis screaming along with her, their cries of terror filling her audios.

The conpod was giving in, collapsing as the monster tore her head from her shoulders.

I don't to die...

There was a pop...

"...I have a new mission for you." The Illusive Man was as callus as ever, but Miranda had learned to deal with it during her years with the organization. "It involves these... Jaegers on Omega. The mission details will be on your shuttle. Good Luck."

The vision abruptly ceased and Miranda toppled to the floor as everything went black.

-Linebreak-

"Pop it open. Easy. Easy... Easy..."

Though he had never used industrial pliers in surgery, Doctor Shafu was open to new experiences. However, if he had known they were this effective he'd have used them much earlier in his career. As it was they were pretty effective with his current subject.

"Ready on three." He tightened his grip on the pliers. "One, two, three."

He pulled and the component popped out, eliciting a scream from the machine.

"Log it as... Chest Missile Component D3." Shafu dropped the part in a bag proffered by an assistant. He listened to the muted cries for a moment and sighed. "And we are we sure these headphones can't go any higher?"

"I don't know, sir," his assistant said. "I can check."

Shafu continued to gripe. "They are noise cancelling headphones, but I'm still hearing noise. I'd like to keep my hearing, thank you very much. No thanks to you, Mr Striker."

The Doctor leaned over the Jaeger. Now stripped bare of all its plating, he was finally able to appreciate the marvel of technology. There were servos to be sure, but none of the usual hallmarks of robotics that he had come to expect. Its frame was a network of struts and supports, reminiscent of old truss bridges back on Earth. Strands of what appeared to be metallic muscle supported each joint. There dozens – no, hundreds of other components aside, but they were so small he needed a microscope to view them properly.

It was all so fascinating. Even more intriguing was the blue gas that seeped from the mech's innards. Vacuums were keeping the mist under control, but it evaporated each time before they got a sample. No matter, they would figure it out later. For now the mystery of the mech's power awaited them. They had removed the missile launchers from the chest cavity and now their prize was waiting at the bottom.

He had to give the machine credit though, he hadn't believed it would remain online as he stripped it piece by piece.

"You truly are a fascinating piece of work, Mr Striker." He smiled cheerfully at the head. Though it lacked any eyes or other optical equipment, he believed it saw through the golden visor. A pity that they had torn it out.

Its neck creaked it glared at him.

"Fuck... you..." It was little more than a tortured gasp. "Go... to hell... you fucking... fucking..."

It let loose another scream as someone probed a needle in the hollow space behind the visor. To the Doctor's surprise the machine was literally empty headed, but why would anyone design the head to be hallow?

Questions for another day.

He glanced at the real time scanner feed projected on the wall.

"So according to our scans, this machine powered by a micro black hole." He looked around at his colleges assembled around the table. The scans didn't lie, no matter how ludicrous the results. The equipment used was far more advanced than any cargo scanner available to the public, enough to put faith in the results. "Therefore we will proceed with extreme caution. We don't want to risk loosing whatever containment it has. We'll start with the microscope."

Working together, they lowered the tool from the ceiling. On screen the black hole should have been huge, but in reality it was less than an inch in diameter. Doctor Shafu could actually see the part that contained the singularity, looking for all the world like the nuclear reactors of old. To think that such power could be contained by something so small was... well, it was unheard of, even in theory.

The microscope was just another scanner capable of deep penetration down to the microscopic scale. They weren't just going to rush in and – heaven forbid – cut it open. That was just asking for trouble. No, they were going to take as many scans as it took to do it right.

As the device lowered into place, Doctor Shafu watched the reading on the wall. The black hole was as the name suggested; completely black... except...

"What's that in the center?"

"I don't know, Doctor," his assistant said. She tapped her omni-tool and image magnified, revealing a single blue spot in the darkness. As he looked closer, Shafu noticed the thin veins of blue stretching out from the spot.

"Is that... the gas?" He gaped at his assistant. "This is real, right? Something inside a black hole."

As he watched, her face paled. "I.. don't know. I'm reading this... as a reverse singularity, pushing out."

"A reverc-" the Doctor spluttered. "What?!"

"I'm just... telling you what it says," the assistant protested weakly. "The forces appear to be constant against each other, neither one pulling ahead."

"So a black hole inside of a black hole." the Doctor stared at the screen. "This... should be impossible"

"Also..." She swallowed nervously. "I'm picking up something else. The reverse singularity, its... pushing out a radio signal."

Every eye in the room turned to her. Doctor Shafu could only blink in surprise. "But... I though you said the two were at odds with each other. Nothing should be able to get in or out."

"But I'm getting something." She paused. "Do you want me to play it?"

An audio file? After a moments hesitation, Doctor Shafu nodded. At the assistant's command, an eerie mechanical voice rang throughout the lab on an endless loop.

"Ready to activate the Jaeger. Ready to activate the Jaeger. Ready-"

"Activate the Jaeger?" Shafu wondered aloud, looking down at the twitching Striker. "But its already active, and quite vocal too."

"What should we do now, Doctor."

Doctor Shafu thought about it for a long moment. This opened up endless possibilities. Forget infinite energy, communication though a black hole? It was a scientist's wet dream.

"Signal it back," he said at last. As she hesitated, the Doctor pointed at the microscope. "That thing can use radio waves, yes? Then sign 'YES' in binary, it should understand that."

"Are we... sure that's a good idea."

"It's the best we have." he smiled at her. "Do it."

She nodded and carried out his orders.

The last few seconds of Doctor Shafu's life were spend in fascination. The instant his assistant sent the command the transmission cut out, then things tumbled down hill. The outer black hole disintegrated on screen and the internal one pulsed bright. The mech on the table stiffened, screaming madly. Then there was a blinding flash.

The station exploded outward, sending wreckage tumbling into space.

A/N:

Finally, the long waited continuation of Team Jaeger. It is not dead, IT LIVES ON! And I plan to keep it that way with my new mentality on writing. How? 600 hundred words a day, that's all it takes. Originally I would just write when the inspiration struck and ride that out, hoping to get the chapter done then and there. It didn't work, and I would languish on chapter for maybe months on end. Now I'm going at it slow but steady. 600 hundreds words a day on whatever I chose and I'll get it done. I found that keeping the goal small by steady is a lot better than just hurry, hurry, hurry. So, updates will be slow, but they will be there.

Also, how does the last segment compare with the rest of it? I've been working on improving my writing, and here I primary focused on keeping the active voice. Does it show? Does it sound a lot better than the rest? Please let me know, I love your guy's feedback. So please, drop a review, follow, favorite, and I'll catch you next time.