Pacific Rim is copyright to Warner Bros. and Legendary
Sailor Moon is Copyright to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation, licensed by Dic Entertainment, Cloverway, and Viz Media
Chapter 10
Newton is out walking through the streets of Hong Kong. As he is walking, he comes across an intersection where one of the corner posts shows two street signs positioned perpendicular (at a 90° angle) to each other. One sign says 'Fong Road' in both English and Chinese lettering, and the other says 'Tull Street', also in English and Chinese lettering. This was the corner where Darien instructed him to go to. Newton then looks around the vicinity of that corner to look for a symbol that matched the one on the card that Darien gave him.
Newton: Hmm.
He has a black light in his right hand that enables him to find clues that would only be revealed when exposed to UV (Ultraviolet) light, which he shines on the card to see what the symbol he was looking for looked like. The symbol resembles the face of a Chinese dragon. Like an automotive technician trying to diagnose a leak in a car's air conditioning system, he shines the light on a road sign which read "Pedestrian Area All Vehicles Prohibited", again in both English and Chinese lettering. As he scans the sign with his black light, a hidden symbol is revealed that matches the one on his card. Underneath it was an arrow pointing to the left of where he was standing.
Newton: Hello.
He walks up the stairway nearby where the road sign was, and he notices two men in dark red shirts and leather biker jackets along with dark sunglasses standing in front of a doorway with their arms crossed over their chests like a duet of Arabian palace guards. As a way of double checking himself, Newton looks for additional clues with his black light and he finds the same symbol again on a vertical column next to where the two men were standing. He then shows the two men the card that Darien gave him and they let him go inside. Upon entering what resembles an herbs and medicine store, a man standing behind the counter wearing a similar leather jacket to the guards and a white collar shirt with a gray diamond pattern underneath whispers to Newton to get his attention.
Receptionist: Psst. Are you looking for some Kaiju bone powder?
Newton: Some-? Some bone-? Some bone powder? Uh, no, why would I want that?
The man rolls up his right sleeve and shows Newton his well-developed bicep, which bulges as he flexes it.
Receptionist: Muscle supplement. Grr! I take it myself. (winks)
Newton: I see. Uh, no. Thank you. I-I'm looking for Hannibal Chau.
The man signals to the guard standing inside the front door to lock it, which he does.
Receptionist: Come.
He leads Newton over to the shelves full of Kaiju body parts and flips a hidden switch.
Receptionist: You want Chau, huh? Good luck.
The shelves slide apart to reveal a doorway leading to what appears to be a laboratory much like the one Newton and Hermann work in, if not more elaborated. Newton couldn't help but get really excited upon seeing this.
Newton: Oh, wow! Oh wow, this place is heaven!
He points to a large glass tube to his left contain a Kaiju organ of some kind.
Newton: That's-That's a lymph gland from a Category II!
He then notices some lab workers working on what looks like a section of hardened skin.
Newton: And what are you working on here? Is this a cuticle? I-In mint condition?
Finally, he sees another lab worker handling what look like large mites, about the size of a small dog such as a standard dachshund.
Newton: Is that a Kaiju skin parasite? I've never seen one alive before! They-They usually die as soon as a Kaiju falls! I thought you couldn't keep them alive!
Man: (off screen) You can if you soak them in ammonia.
We see a middle-aged man in a dark red suit in black shoes decorated with gold-plated panels on the upper front portion and sporting the same dark sunglasses as those worn by the two guards. He looks just like the man seen on the holographic recording that Darien showed Newton earlier.
Man: (to Newton) What do you want?
Newton: I'm looking for Hannibal Chau. I was told he was here.
The man approaches Newton.
Man: Who wants to know?
Newton: I really can't say.
After a brief pause, the man pulls a butterfly knife with gold plated handles from his pocket and flips it open rather skillfully and then inserts about a half inch of the tip of the blade up Newton's right nostril and pulls up and outwards on it with the dull side of the blade.
Newton: Ah! Ah! Darien Shields sent me!
The man then forcefully pulls the knife out of Newton's nostril, which cause Newton to briefly cringe in discomfort. He then flips his knife closed again and puts it away.
Newton: Oh that's great! That's really great! So I take it your, your Hannibal Chau, right?
Hannibal: You like the name? I took it from my favorite historical character and my second favorite Szechuan restaurant in Brooklyn. Now tell me what you want, before I gut you like a Grumpig and feed you to the skin louse.
Meanwhile, back at the Shatterdome, Amara is clearly not happy with the nearly disastrous mishap that occurred during the test procedures on Gipsy Moon and Gipsy Mini Moon. She, along with Amy, Michelle and the two cats were in Darien's office while Serena and Rini wait in the hallway outside his office. Mina and Hotaru were originally in Darien's office with them, but Mina had to take Hotaru out because Amara's loud ranting became too much for Hotaru's sensitive ears to handle. Mina knew to take Hotaru out of the office when Hotaru started showing visual and audible cues commonly seen among autistic individuals which served as "warning signs" indicating that she was feeling very distressed.
Amara: Rini can't control her Sync, and Serena went out of phase first!
Michelle: We all know what happened.
Amara: We can't afford any more mistakes! The Kaiju are evolving, they keep kicking our asses! Serena's a has-been. Rini's a rookie. I don't want them protecting Mercury's bomb run!
Amara opens the door and storms out of Darien's office.
Darien: You need to watch your tone Ms. Tenoh.
Amy: Yes and now is really not the time to be picky Amara. This is a very big mission and we're going to need all the help we can get.
Michelle stands just outside the doorway.
Michelle: Hey, stay there. Give us a moment.
She goes back in and closes the door behind her. From outside Darien's office, Amara then proceeds to berate both Serena and Rini.
Amara: You two are an Arceus-damn disgrace! You're going to get us all killed and here's the thing Serena: I want Amy to come back from this mission, because she and everyone else here quite like their lives.
She then lightly flicks Serena on the forehead.
Amara: So why don't you just do us all a favor and disappear? It's the only thing you're good at.
Rini gets a little upset with Amara and tries to stand up for Serena.
Rini: Stop! Now!
But Serena holds out her left hand to stop Rini from advancing, with a concerned expression on her face.
Serena: Rini.
She then turns back to Amara with a light scowl on her face.
Amara: Yeah that's right. You just hold back your miniature look-alike.
Amara then looks over at Rini.
Amara: One of your bitches needs a leash.
Now Serena can normally take insults directed at her all day, much more so than in her "Sailor Moon" days. But if someone insults or even harms someone that she cares about, she will still lose it. Something Amara is quickly reminded of the hard way when Serena quickly throws a few fast and powerful jabs at her face, catching Amara off guard in the process.
Amara: Ohh!
Amara then tries to fight back, and throws a left cross at Serena, which she instantly rolls with like any UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fighter would.
Serena: Ugh!
Thanks to this technique, she immediately recovers and hits Amara in the right side of her face with her right elbow. Then with her right leg, Serena kicks Amara in her left knee, knocking her down onto one knee before throwing a right-handed cross at Amara's mouth, causing her to spit out blood and saliva in the process. Some people witnessing this cringed when they saw this. Amara rubs her left fingers across her lips and see the blood on them, and then looks up at Serena.
Serena: Apologize to her.
Amara: Says you!
She gets back on her feet, then tries to throw a right handed cross, which Serena ducks. Serena then throws a series of jabs at Amara's face. The first jab she throws stuns Amara in the process, as indicated by several stars circling around her head as Serena throws a total of twelve jabs, before Amara recovers. Amara then pulls back her left fist and opens her mouth as she lets out a grunt, but Serena immediately throws another jab at her mouth. This causes the belt buckle on Amara's pants to come undone, allowing them to slip down low enough to reveal a pierced navel with an amber jewel along with a pair of navy blue panties with a white Uranus symbol on them. Amara exclaims in shock upon realizing this and she frantically tries to pull them back up and re-secure her belt buckle, all while Serena throws a series of hooks at her midriff. After throwing a total of twelve hooks, Amara then deflects Serena's onslaught of blows. She growls angrily and tries to punch Serena again. But each time she did, Serena is quick to intercept with a right jab to the face, then a right hook to the midriff, and a left jab to the face. With each of these punches, a small star briefly appears above Serena's head. Serena then proceeds to throw an uppercut, and as she does, she builds up energy in her right fist, as shown by blue and yellow stars that start out big, and then shrink to about the size of her fist. As Amara sees this, her eyes get really wide and her irises shrink to about a third their original size as an expression of shock comes across her face. Serena's uppercut connects with Amara's lower jaw and Serena spins a full turn as she follows through with it. Amara screams loudly in pain as she cradles her lower jaw with her right hand. She then scowls at Serena once more.
Serena: I said, apologize to her.
Amara then spins counter-clockwise a full turn and throws a right handed cross, which Serena intercepts with her left forearm before taking her right and slapping Amara in her right cheek, causing Amara to let out a brief exclamation in pain. Serena then uses the same trick Rini used on her earlier, and grabs hold of Amara's left arm and twists herself around it, flipping Amara over in the process. A small crack is heard and Amara exclaims in pain once again. Hotaru who was witnessing the fight from start to finish, was silently cheering Serena on. Serena had learned from experience to use her small frame to her advantage against taller, stronger opponents. This is why Amara could never seem to gain the upper hand against her despite being the tallest and strongest of the Sailor Scouts. At that point, Amy and Michelle rush out of Darien's office to see what was going on.
Amy: Hey, hey! Enough!
Michelle: What's going on?
As they step outside, they see Amara and Serena on the floor with Serena wrapped around Amara's left arm.
Michelle: On your feet, both of you!
Serena and Amara get back up with Amara hissing in pain as she puts her right hand over her left shoulder.
Darien: Serena, Rini, into my office.
Amara then tries to confront Serena one last time.
Amara: No, we're not through here!
Michelle is very quick to stop her however.
Michelle: Hey! This is over! You're a ranger for crying out loud! Why don't you start acting like one?!
Amara grunts in angers as she breaks free of Michelle's grasp and scowls at her before walking off. Hotaru then gives a firm nod with a light scowl on her face as well.
Hotaru: (muttering) Serves her right that loud-mouthed bitch.
Mina: (scolding) Hotaru, there's no need for that kind of language.
Hotaru: B-But-
She is cut off when Mina holds up her left index finger and dons a light scowl on her face as if to say "That's enough." Hotaru immediately behaves herself.
Hotaru: (sheepishly) Yes, Mina.
Mina then takes Hotaru into Darien's office, where Serena explains what happened leading up to the mishap.
Serena: I went out of phase first. It was my fault this all happened.
Luna: True. But the important thing is that nobody was hurt. Plus you haven't Synced with a Jaeger suit in over five years, so naturally you would be a bit rusty so to speak.
Hotaru: Um, how can Serena be rusty if she's not made of iron or steel?
Mina: She means that because Serena hadn't performed a Sync procedure for so long that she is a bit out of practice, just like with any given sports if one hasn't played them for so long.
Because Hotaru is autistic, she often times interprets idiomatic expressions in a literal sense. When she was growing up, some of her Special Education teachers took some time to teach about some of these idiomatic expressions and their meanings.
Darien: Not only that, it was Rini's first time ever Syncing with her Jaeger suit as well. First time Syncing is always going be rough. She'll learn to have a better grasp of her memories and thoughts, but until then we'll have to put Rini on the sidelines for the time being.
Rini is visibly disappointed with hearing this, but she understands why Darien made that decision, though that did not necessarily mean she agrees with it. She then stands up from her chair.
Rini: Permission to be dismissed, sir?
Darien: Permission granted Rini.
Rini then walks out of the room with her head dipped down in disappointment.
Serena: Luna, Darien, do suppose we're being overly desperate?
Darien: I suppose that's a possibility. We are only human after all.
Luna: Come to think of it Serena, when you succeeded in defeating Knifehead, even against impossible odds, that to me was a clear reminder of why I chose you to be the leader of the Sailor Scouts.
Serena: I appreciate you thinking that Luna, although Mina probably deserves credit too. Since she was actually in on the Jaeger Program long before I was, just like when she was a Sailor Scout long before I was.
Suddenly she remembers something.
Serena: There was something else too. I happen to see Rini's memories when our Jaeger suits were connected, and saw that Mina was fighting a Kaiju in Tokyo as Coyote Venus.
Darien: Did you now?
Luna: Ah yes, I remember that fight as well.
Now in Rini's memory, we hear Onibaba screech loudly out of view from where she and Hotaru were hiding. Then a flash of blue light fills the background and the Kaiju falls backwards, dead. The young Rini and Hotaru then come out of their hiding spot and notice Coyote Venus searching the ruins of the city to see if she could find any survivors. Coyote Venus seems to be out of luck with finding survivors, and then she notices Rini and Hotaru. She then approaches the two girls, taking great care not to accidentally step on them with her giant feet and kneels down.
Coyote Venus: Hey, you two. You alright down there?
Young Rini: Yeah, we're okay, thanks to you.
Coyote Venus does remember that Rini is in fact from the future, but if she recalls, Hotaru was living with her dad for some time now after Sailor Saturn defeated Pharaoh 90.
Coyote Venus: So Hotaru, where's your daddy?
Hotaru doesn't speak. She simply lowers her head with a saddened look on her face.
Coyote Venus: Did the Kaiju get him?
Hotaru looks up at her and nods slowly.
Coyote Venus: I see.
Out of pity, she then decides to offer a helping hand to the two young girls.
Coyote Venus: Tell you what. How about I take you two back to the Shatterdome with me? I can either carry you two in my hand or you can ride on my shoulders.
Now even though Hotaru's father taught her not to talk to strangers, she does clearly recognize that Coyote Venus is in fact Mina, so she knows that the Jaeger suited giantess can be trusted and accepts her offer.
Young Hotaru: Okay.
Coyote Venus: Alright then.
She then lowers her left hand down onto the ground in front of Rini and Hotaru, with her palm facing upwards.
Coyote Venus: Hop on.
Rini and Hotaru jump onto the giant hand that lay before them and Coyote Venus carefully lifts her hand up in front of her right shoulder, where the two of them hop off her hand and onto her shoulder.
Young Hotaru: Whee! This is fun!
Coyote Venus: Hold on tightly now, I'd hate for either of you to fall.
Now that Rini and Hotaru were safely on her shoulder, Coyote Venus starts making her way out of the city ruins. This is where the memory ends.
Luna: That too was also clear reminder of a certain quality that you, Mina and all the other Sailor Scouts shared in common.
Serena: And what might that be?
Artemis: That all of you were willing to the fight to the bitter end and never gave up easily even when it seemed that all hope was lost. There's also compassion, selflessly helping others in times of need, like when Mina rescued Rini and Hotaru, then later took it upon herself to adopt Hotaru and raised her as her own.
End of Chapter
