Stacker Pentecost leaned back in his chair, feeling the wear in his aging bones as they struggled to move out of the position that they had held for hours.

He had sat in that rickety chair all night, watching the front door, waiting, and now with the first tentative rays of the sun peeking through the windows, he forced himself to give up his vigil.

That door was supposed to open six hours ago. His jaegers were supposed to be home by now. But they weren't. The old house remained swamp in an unfamiliar silence that gnawed at the back of Stacker's head like an irritated ghost.

Tired hands brushed down his suit as he stood up. Usually he'd be asking Tendo to send in the rescue teams, to try and hail them one last time over the comms, but that was in the days where he was master of the shatterdome, with a whole horde of resources in his hands. Tendo wasn't there. The command center wasn't there. The most technologically advanced thing he had was the old dial phone in the kitchen, but even that didn't work anymore after Gipsy had tried to strangle Striker with its cord.

He had overseen enough missions in his day to know when things turned sour. The rescue missions obviously didn't go as planned. Either they got captured, or…

No. He would not accept that as a possibility. His jaegers were strong, immature, but strong. He would have to give them the benefit of the doubt that they were still managing to stay alive. Either way, the OJRP most likely would of discovered them, which meant he'd have to go burn all papers and documents certifying that the operation was approved by the PPDC. It was his mistake to send the kids on the mission, and it would be him, and only him, to pay for it.

The stairs creaked underneath his weight. A ghost of a smile graced his lips as he paused, fondly rubbing the dent in the bannister that Cherno and Gipsy made when they tried to play Titanic by throwing around ice cubes and sliding down the stairs yelling "OH GAWSH WE'RE SINKING! AAAH!"

He passed the bathroom, remembering when Crimson got upset that he couldn't grow facial hair, and Striker tried to make him a beard out of shaving cream and newspaper clippings. When that didn't work he tried to use actual hair, namely by cutting a chunk out of Gipsy's pony tail when she wasn't looking. That's when the phone incident happened.

Then there was Coyote's room. All the nights he had spent in there, reading bedtime stories to a son he didn't even know he had. All the time spent anxiously watching the heart monitor, hoping that he'd survive the night. Was it all for nothing?

Stacker stood in the doorway of his bedroom/office, and sighed heavily. He had first viewed the incident with the hu!jaegers as a job, something to train and correct. But now…it was something much, much different.

They were family, and now they were gone.

With a flick the lighter was in his hands. It was time to destroy all the evidence, and the memories.

That's when the doorbell rang.

Down the stairs and to the door, he glared through the peephole suspiciously. What he saw instantly made him raise a surprised eyebrow.

The door was flung open. "Newt?!"

"Oh thank god I finally found you!" The small man let out a pathetic wheeze, beaming beneath his bruised and dirt smeared face. He had lost his glassed, and whatever was left of his clothes were torn and bloodstained. "You would NOT believe the crap I've been through!"

He promptly collapsed into the Marshal's arms.

"Seriously, you're stranded on a boat with the girl you've been crushing on ever since you were a giant metal kaiju killer," Crimson whispered, "now is the perfect time to be romantic!"

"Oh yeah?" Striker scowled at his friend as he adjusted the rigging on the sails, "thing is, there are two things killing the mood. You, and Cherno."

"Well, we could pretend to take a nap, Coyote looks like he could use some company." The two lowered their heads at the unconscious jaeger lying on the floor of the boat. Striker had found an old blanket and wrapped him in it, and Crimson had taken off his shirt and was letting him use it as a pillow. He was beginning to regret it as each salty spray slapped into his shivering back.

"Ha, no thanks. Cherno would probably roll over and squish him," Striker gave a half-hearted smirk, and Crimson tried his hardest to laugh. It was hard to keep spirits up when you were stuck in the middle of the bay, and one of your friends might be dying right next to your feet.

Crimson tried to change the subject. "So…where did you learn to sail?"

"I remember…well…I remember Herc remembering that Angela loved to sail, even taught him a few things. But she stopped when the kaiju came through, she said they made her hate the ocean," his usually fiery eyes grew distant, "luckily those skills were some of the things I pulled from the drift. If it weren't for me, all of you would be screwed."

"And here I was thinking you left your ego back with Tacit Ronin," Crimson rolled his eyes.

"Hey, we home yet?" Cherno called worried from his place at the rudder. He was shaking like a puppy, with a sympathetic Gipsy by his side.

"It's getting choppy, and the wind sucks," Striker shouted back, "besides, it's the middle of the night and I can't see crap out here! We might have to wait till morning, or else we might accidentally go out to sea."

He could feel Gipsy's frown stab him through the darkness. "Wait till morning?! The Marshal won't like that…"

"Wonder what he'll say when he get back," Cherno mused. "Maybe able to expose OJRP? Finally able to live with pilots?"

'Yeah, that's a thought," Gipsy replied, "what's going to happen when this is all over?"

A silence fell over the group, with nothing but the far off crashing of the waves for company.

Finally, Crimson spoke. "What if they find out how to put us back into our original bodies?"

"…I…I never really thought about that," Gipsy said quietly, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Be able to crush kaiju again? Stomp around and be all big?"

"I DO miss my saw blades," the Chinese jaeger muttered wishfully.

"You guys are stupid. If they give me the choice, I'll turn 'em down." Surprised, they all turned in the direction of Striker. "Yeah, I mean, my original body is cool and all, but I don't know…" his voice grew soft, "I don't feel that attached to it, yah know? I mean, in those days, so little of my experiences and memories were my own, I barely even knew I was alive. But now that I'm like this…with my own memories and actions, thoughts and feelings. If going back into my original form means giving up this freedom, I'm not doing it. "

"Wow, Striker, that is the most deepest thing to ever come out of your thinker-box," the female jaeger said admiringly, causing him to blush proudly.

"You might have point," Cherno agreed, "just think of things you can do as human, but can't do as jaeger. Like cuddle puppies!"

"Or play basketball!" Crimson added

"Or wear sleeves!" Gipsy exclaimed.

"Or hold a girl's hand," it slipped out of his mouth before Striker even knew what was happening. "uh-uh…er…I m-m-mean..shutup!"

Crimson was snickering uncontrollably, as the two others looked on, confused. "Alright, alright. But for once, Striker might have a point. If we can get through tonight, we just might have a totally awesome future ahead of us. Heck, we have to get through tonight. We'll get through tonight, right guys?"

"RIGHT!" The jaegers roared in determination. Nothing could stop them now.

That's when a sneaker wave came in and capsized the boat.

TO BE CONTINUED! Lookout because the finale is fast approaching! As well as some StrikerxGipsy! Also, I just want to say that I love every review you guys posts. Your support warms my heart, and its often what keeps me writing. Here's some internet love to those fine people who reviewed the last chapter, aka bladeninja, Titan Atlas, The Wandering Reader, KeepingThemAtBay, Xahraxs, Tel Nok Shock, KnightPheonix2, the super awesome and totes majestic Winged Pyro, Prophet21, Catmaz, and the intrepid ShepardisaBOSS. :) and as always, read, review, enjoy. :D