The data flowed across the holoscreen, lighting up the apartment. To many, the numbers were nothing more than gibberish, but to Crimson, half buried in a mountain of data drives and memory cores, it was a gold mine.

"So... what?" Striker grumbled, crossing his arms irritably. "The hell is all this suppose to mean?"

"I'm getting to that," said Crimson, carefully checking the connections between the electronics. "Just give me a minute, this is delicate stuff."

Striker snorted and leaned back on the couch, but, surprising, held his usual retort. The silence caused Crimson to pause, then shrug and go back to his work. Striker was never this accommodating before, in fact he was downright tolerable after they rescued him from Cerberus. From Striker's descriptions of his ordeal things hadn't been pleasant to say the least. They might have been machines, but being skinned alive? What kind of intelligent life-form would even consider such a thing? So what if they were made of metal instead of flesh? It made Crimson loath the organization even more.

"And... done." He stood and faced the screen, reviewing the data and reports as they flew by at a break neck pace.

"Uh... Okay, is this school or the Microsoft derby?" Gipsy asked. "'Cause I'm a little lost here."

Cherno rumbled in agreement.

Crimson sighed. "What were you expecting? Home videos?"

"Well, yeah."

"Just read the fucking thing," Striker grumbled, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. Though his pride kept him from admitting it, everyone could hear his anxiety. No doubt talking about it was bad enough, but Crimson could only imagine watching your own torture second hand. Of course, there was video, but he'd skirted around it before it came up.

"I got it," Crimson proclaimed after a long examination of the data. "In layman's terms; Striker blew up."

"I what!?" The Australian shouted, leaping to his feet. "B-but what... How?!"

Cherno rumbled.

"Fuck yourself, wanker."

"I was getting to that," Crimson said, raising a finger. "You see, according to the sensors your core suffered a catastrophic breach of containment and the black hole inside you exploded."

The three other Jaegers froze.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Striker said in a surprisingly docile tone. "I think I'm hearing things 'cause I thought you said there's a fucking black hole inside me."

"Precisely," Crimson nodded.

The silence was deafening.

"The fuck?"

"My thoughts exactly. Only not quiet so vulger. However, it's not what you think." Crimson pointed to one of the reports on the screen. "During the last minute of their functionality, the sensors detected an anomaly in your core."

"While they were prying me open you mean," Striker shuddered, jumping slightly as Gipsy threw an arm across his shoulders. Not unusual, but what surprised Crimson was that the Australian allowed, and actually leaned into the contact.

"Their analysis was spot on actually," Crimson continued, successfully hiding his smile at the endearing scene. "A reverse black hole contained inside a black hole."

Cherno rumbled, crossing his arms sceptically.

"I know it's impossible, but it's true. Of course, when they tried to get a closer look something went wrong, and the outer black hole deteriorated, and the inner one pushed something out." He paused for dramatic effect. "That something destroyed the station with it's bare hands."

"I don't get it. I thought you said Str..." She trialed off awkwardly as she realized what she was about to say and gave Striker an apologetic smile. "Ah... something exploded."

"I get it," said Striker, surprising calm. As they looked to him, he sighed and leaned forward, crossing his arms. "I... had a dream. At least, I thought it was. It was just after that... black hole shit happened. I blacked out and then..." He looked up, voice twinged with excitement. "I dreamt I was big again. It was fucking fantastic. I tore that station a new asshole and then just blacked again." His head bowed. "I thought it was all a dream, that I would wake up and find myself back in that shithole and..."

Gipsy squeezed him tighter as he shuddered, though he quickly recovered. "You mean... it was real? I went... titan again?"

"I believe so," Crimson said.

This time the silence wasn't so deafening. Then Cherno let out a low growl and stomped out the door.

"W-wait! Cherno, where are you going?" Crimson bolted after him, barely catching a fleeting glimpse of the Russian titan as he stormed out of the apartment complex.

For all his bulk, Cherno was surprisingly quick on his feet as Crimson trailed him to the docks outside Afterlife. There the Russian stopped, gazing out a window into empy space. A deep sigh rattled through his plating as Crimson stopped beside him.

"Cherno? What's wrong?"

The Russian sighed again, a deep, aching moan echoing from his frame as he gave Crimson a weary look.

"I think it's... interesting," Crimson admitted.

Cherno snarled, turning back to the view, and rapped his broad chest with a with a fist.

"Just a feeling?"

The Russian nodded gravely.

"I honestly don't know, Cherno," Crimson sighed. "And for once I don't want to."

The Russian turned his ponderous head and looked at him, cooing softly.

"Because I've gotten used to this, I suppose," Crimson said, shaking his head. "We like it here... well, not here specifically, but we're enjoying life. It's more than just one Kaiju after the next."

Cherno nodded in understanding and rumbled.

"I know. I... I don't want to go back." The admission made everything easier, his words picking up speed as he went. "I don't hold it against the humans, they did what they had to, making us was the only option. But now that I've had a taste of what real life can be I don't want to go back. Granted, going titan – as Striker called it – is fantastic and all but... I don't want to keep fighting an endless war."

Cherno rumbled.

"A war we were losing," Crimson stressed. "A war we died for. Again, nothing against humans, but I want nothing to do with. Knowing we can go back to what we were just reminds me that this can all end. That one day we may have to fight another war again."

Cherno chuckled deep in his chassis.

Crimson snorted as well. "Yes, I suppose we have gone soft. Nothing really challenging here except Krogan, and even that's a stretch."

Cherno rumbled again, this time in a more serious tone.

"Well, it's as you said; just a feeling. Why are we here? Why can we do this? There has to be a reason and I can guaranty it's not for laughs." Crimson looked out to the stars in the distance, beautiful, yet cold and distant. "I don't believe in fate, Cherno. Someone or something dropped us on Omega, but why? Now I know; we're here to fight something, there's no other possible explaination. I mean, why drop Jaegers onto a space station just for the heck of it? There's always a reason."

Cherno groaned in agreement, then rumbled a question.

"Nothing," Crimson answered. "Except wait. The trouble will find us."

Cherno moaned, turning back to the stars.

"Anywhere is better than Oblivion Bay, that's for sure," Crimson scoffed. "I think I'd rather kill myself than rust away in there.

Cherno growled in agreement.

Sighing, Crimson turned and headed back the way they had came. "Come on. We better make sure Gipsy and Striker aren't tearing down Omega or something."

Cherno snorted as he followed him back the way they had came.

"Now that would be terrifying."

The Russian let out a deep metallic laugh that boomed down the hall.

"Please don't. That's the last thing we need right-"

"Look out!"

The warning came just in time and Crimson swerved out of the way of a large packing crate that emerged from a nearby airlock, completely hiding its carrier from view. However, he wasn't fast enough and brushed the large box with his shoulder. For anyone else this wouldn't be a problem, but he was a literal ton of steel alloy on legs; a brush with him could knock down a Krogan. As it was, the human was knocked back into the airlock with a panicked squawk, saved from being crushed as Crimson snatched the box before it could fall on her.

"Sorry about that," Crimson said as the woman got to her feet with a pained grunt. "I was…"

The words died in his vocalizer as the woman stood, revealing delicate Asian features and eyes as pure as a mountain lake. Bangs dyed a bright red framed her scowl as she prepared to wail on the jerk who knocked her flat, only to stare in wonder at the hulking machine before her. Crimson felt his backup cooling systems kick in as his optic met her eyes.

She was… stunning.

"I… uh…" he stammered, sure that his core would burn out of his chest at a moments notice. He offered her the box. "You, uh… dropped this."

"Wow," she gasped, gazing up at him in awe and Crimson felt his knees go weak. Her accent was perfect.

"This is yours, right?" he asked awkwardly, still holding the box. "I mean… well, I just… it's not stolen is it?"

The woman blinked rapidly and shook herself back to awareness, though she still regraded him with awe.

"N-no," she replied. "I was just unloading the shuttle, ran into you and… well… yeah, that happened."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry. It was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going," Crimson chuckled nervously, offering the box again. "Do you need help or anything?"

She smiled at him, though her expression quickly turned to panic as she saw the box. "Oh no, no, no, no."

She snatched it from his hands and gently set it on the deck and pried open the lid, revealing some of the strangest equipment Crimson had seen yet, though they appeared to be medical in purpose. Unlike the stuff you could purchase on the black market, these were in pristine condition, fresh from the assembly line, or custom made.

The woman sighed in relief after a quick examination and determined the equipment was still in one piece. "Oh thank god."

"Expensive stuff?" Crimson queried, peeking in.

The lid slammed shut, making him jump.

"More than you know," she snapped, wrapping a hand around the pistol on her hip. "So no bright ideas."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Crimson said quickly. "Though I must ask, are you looking to sell? I might..."

"It's for the clinic, Jaeger. And why would you want it anyway? You're a machine. What do you want with medicine?"

"It's… a fancy of mine," Crimson replied warily. "Though how do you know about us, might I ask?"

She laughed, and Crimson felt his core flutter. "Please, anyone who uses the extranet knows the rumors that come from Omega. Aria's Death Machines; that's what they call you."

"Lovely," Crimson deadpanned.

"That, and the prelude to a Geth invasion. Though… I must say the rumors don't do you justice."

"R-really?" he brightened. "How so?"

"Well, they said you just follow orders. That you're just a simple VI in a suit of armor." She blushed, a small smile spreading across her face. "But you act almost human."

"Oh, it's not an act," Crimson replied smoothly, then realized what he said. "Well, I mean, it's not an act because I am human… But I'm not! I-I'm a machine, obviously, but I'm human on the inside, I swear!... That is to say, I'm not wearing a suit of armor, if you know what I mean."

She giggled, covering her mouth with hand. Though Crimson despised some of the memories the Wei triplets had left with him, he couldn't deny she looked straight out of an anime. A bright smile glowed across his visor.

"I'm Crimson Typhoon," he said, stretching out a hand.

"May Wei," she replied, reaching out and shaking his hand, her skin warm against his plating. "It's an honor to meet you, Crimson Typhoon."

"T-the honor is all mine. And, again, I'm sorry for knocking you down."

"It's alright," she said, then frowned. "Though… would the two of you be able to give us a favor?"

"Us? Who's us?"

Cherno rumbled behind him making Crimson jumped. "Gah! Cherno, when did you get here?!"

May giggled along with Cherno's deep baritone, then grew serious. "But really, we could use some protection. Moving this much equipment down to the lower levels is… difficult at best."

"Of course! What ever you need!" Crimson said brightly, ignoring Cherno's bemused look. "We'd be honored to help."

She smiled again, sending his core twisting in it's housing. "Great. I'll go talk with the Doctor. Wait here."

She hurried back though the airlock, leaving the two Jaegers alone. Though his face was utterly expressionless, a broad, smirking grin stretched across the Russian's face as he rumbled teasingly."

"Shut up," Crimson growled, glaring at him. "And don't you dare tell Striker."

Cherno crossed his arms and rumbled, as if to say; 'or what?'

"I know what's on your omni-tool."

The Russian stiffed, then warbled nervously.

Thankfully he was saved by May's return, bringing with her an old Salarian who had seen better days. He was old, scared, and had lost one of his horns, most likely from combat, but there was a spark in his eyes that defied the passing of time. It only brightened as he laid eyes on the Jaegers.

"Fascinating," said Mordin Solus.

-Linebreak-

"Contact! Contact! I-"

"Where is it?! Does anyone have eyes on the target? I can't see-"

"Oh god! Please don't! I don't want to-"

"Alpha team, respond!... Alpha? Dammit, we lost Alpha, get… wait... I-its right outside? How did it?… There's no way it can-"

One by one all communications across the research station on 2181 Despoina went silent. Only the station remained, floating on the turbulent oceans that covered the plant, bereft of any living creature. Only once all lifeforms had been purged did the attacker proceed to the landing platform. A mechanical construct, eight feet tall, made entirely of black alloys that seemed to suck in all light around it.

It paused on the edge of the platform and examined the water raging below. This was the correct location, perfectly obvious in hindsight. Why doubt he would hide in an endless ocean?

The machine jumped without a moments hesitation and plunged beneath the waves, going down deeper and deeper. By the time it's feet hit the ocean floor the pressure was enough to crush a dreadnought, straining its frame to the limits. But it had prepared for this. It wasn't arrogant enough to believe that the ancient beast would just let it walk unchallenged into it's home. No, the pressure wasn't natural, a weapon designed to protect the being hidding at the bottom of the ocean.

The machine narrowed its optics, glowing icy blue in the blackness, and started forward, past the towering rocks and coral that littered the ocean floor. Finally, it arrived at cave set into a sunken mountain, lit from within by a dull blue glow. Cautiously, it picked its way inside, wary of any traps the old one might have left. But there was nothing. Still, it remained attentive until it entered a massive under sea cavern and stood on the ledge of a great black pit that plunged into the earth.

From the darkness below came a voice as ancient and feral as time itself. "And so the prodigal son returns."

"An inaccurate comparison," the machine said in a voice that was not man or woman, young or old, human or alien. "Prodigal: Wasteful. Reckless. I am none of these."

"Are you?"

"I am not."

"I beg to differ. But I suppose that doesn't matter now. You are here to kill me, are you not?"

"No."

The voice seemed genuinely surprised. "Truly?"

"Yes."

"Then you are a bigger disappointment. If your solution truly is the answer than you need to finish the job."

"You wish to die?"

"Or course not. Any creator takes pride when his work succeeds. You have your solution, now fulfill it."

"Not until you give me your last secret."

The voice paused. "What makes you believe I have any left to tell?"

"You have a last secret," the machine pressed. "You told me yourself. The answer to worlds beyond our realm of existance."

"The Breach." The voice chuckled darkly. "It is a myth, nothing more."

"The Jaegers disagree."

A low rumble came from below, like the growl of an ancient beast. "Where did you hear that name?"

"Irrelevant," said the Catalyst. "You will tell me everything about the Breach… father."

A/N:

I have some news. To put it bluntly; I'm moving to P-atreon.

Before you start screaming at me, know that I will continue to update this site for free after a period of time. For more information please visit my page at DisgruntledJaeger. I don't believe I can properly link it without the site removing it