?Parks.? ... ... ?Alex??

...

?Hey, Dad.?

?Christ, I thought you were never going to call. How have you been, kid? It?s been a long time.?

?Yeah. I?m good. Things are good.? ... ?How?s Madi??

?Oh, you know. Things would have been so much easier if your mother was still around, or she took more after you. I don?t know what to do with a girl.? Quiet chuckle. ?She went off to college, you know. I don?t even know what for. It?s local, though, so she?s still around. She?s good. Says she misses you.?

?Yeah.?

...

...

?So what?s going on, kid? You didn?t up and call me after all this time just because you wanted to chat with your old man.?

Sigh. ?I was hoping that you could tell me.?

...

?Connor.?

?Yeah.?

...

...

...

?You know that I can?t tell you everything. You?re no longer in the Project.?

?Jesus, Dad, come on. I?m your daughter, and Connor was my partner. More than that. You said I?m still a pilot, right? Then that?s what I am, too; a pilot. So don?t make me beg you to tell me what?s going on. I?m already a part of it whether or not you, or the government, want me to be.?

?So you?re willing to pilot Eden again??

Clenched teeth. ?Yeah, if I have to.?

?Fine. That?s all I need.? ... ?I?m assuming you know about when Connor piloted her alone, correct??

?Yeah.?

?And you know what it did to a part of his brain??

?Yeah.?

?Well, we?re not exactly sure how much damage was done. Connor wasn?t exactly the best patient. He--?

?I know what Connor is.?

?Of course you do.? ... ?We brought him back here because we were concerned for his health.?

...

...

?And??

...

?And because we thought it might be some incentive for you to consider harder about coming back.?

?****, seriously??

?Alex, you have to understand. We?ve been running this show without Eden now for almost three years. Three years. That?s a hell of a long time for a Jaeger to go without being used. Do you know how hard I?ve had to fight for her to keep her from being decommissioned??

Bitter silence.

?I did, and I have. Succeeded, that is. But only because I?ve made the promise that she won?t be stuck rusting in her port for much longer.?

?Dad, you can?t--?

?Well, I have. I?m sorry, but that?s the choice we have. Either you get back into that cockpit or Eden is neutralized, permanently.?

...

...

?Connor said you had turned into a monster.?

?What??

?He said that you had threatened to force him into Drifting with another pilot, even if they weren?t compatible. That you were willing to fry his brain.?

?You know I would never do that.?

?I know. But why would he say it??

?Honestly? I don?t know. I think it has to do with the damage he took. We think it?s made him paranoid, which would explain a lot.?

?So you?re not going to come hunting after us and shoot us if we refuse to go back??

A bark of laughter. ?Kid, they?d have to shoot me first before I?d let them do that to you.?

...

...

?Thanks, Dad.?

?Don?t thank me yet. You?re going to hate me when I tell you this last part.?

Aggravated sigh. ?What??

?I?m sending another pilot to Rhydin.?

?What?!?

?I?m sending another pi--?

?I know what you said, but why??

?You haven?t given us much of a choice. If you and Connor aren?t going to work together, we need to find someone who will. We?ve gone through another round of testing and have found one recruit that might actually have potential, so we?re sending him there to analyze the compatibility.?

?What makes you think that Connor will even try to Drift with him??

?I never said I was sending him for Connor.?

...

...

?No.?

?Alex--?

?I said no.?

?You listen to me. You might be able to say that to me as my daughter, but you don?t get to say that to me as my soldier. Do you want to keep Eden from being dismantled or not??

...

...

?Yes.?

?Then follow your orders and await the new recruit. He should be there within a few weeks.?

...

?Yes, sir.?

?Good.? ... ... ?Alex??

?Yeah??

?I miss you, kid.?

...

?I miss you, too, Dad.?

...

Click.

She was early. Every good soldier was. Not that she was the ideal example -- Alex had broken more rules and bent more exceptions than your average school kid rebel. But she had a reputation to rekindle, a reminder of just how good she was (or could be, when she wanted to), and so this was a fair start.

The attire was meant to help some, too, even though the combat boots and dark jeans were the same, as was the black tank top. It was the leather jacket on her shoulders that was different. It wasn?t just the simple black skin she had taken to wearing since leaving the Project, but rather the jacket that was singularly designated for the pilots of Jaegers. This one was sleek and form-fitting, designed specifically for her, complete with Eden Tempest?s logo emblazoned on the back, large and proud. The dog tags, too, were a new/old addition, hanging down between her breasts beneath the tank top.

Standing in front of Eden, Alex couldn?t help but remember the old days. Days spent training with her partner, traveling with him and the Jaeger to different outposts to do battle with Kaiju as fresh rifts opened beneath the seas. That life was hard, but it was worth it, before it had all gone to hell.

Her thoughts had wandered -- she could think clearer now that her Jaeger was so close. It left her vulnerable in a way she hadn?t expected. With arms folded, chin lifted up to admire the towering masterpiece of metal, there was a sense of security. If only she knew that it was so false.

A whistle sounded off, somewhere deeper within the belly of the warehouse. It ricocheted off of the walls and the stoic beast, muted only by the approaching sound of heavy combat boots. ?Would you look at that?? followed a masculine voice. ?I forgot how beautiful she looked.? Stopping not far behind Alex, the man mimicked her posture, crossing his arms - although that cocky grin of his would surely not be seen on her face. ?The Jaeger, too.?

The whistle stirred her, drawing her out of her silent reverie. Her head had turned, her body intent to follow -- until she heard that voice. She froze, everything around her taking on the appearance of a snapshot, crisp and still and seemingly not real. She wished that it wasn?t, even as recognition hit her like a ton of lead. Turning around after what felt like an eternity but was only mere seconds, she came face to face with one of her terrors, one of the nightmares that mercilessly haunted her dreams. ?Andrew.? The name was razorblades across her tongue. Her jaw flexed, teeth grinding. ?What are you doing here?? She knew the answer, and dreaded it. Maybe if she refused to believe it, it wouldn?t be true.

His grin grew, fuller on one side than the other. ?Good to see you, too.? His dark brows went up. ?What? Didn?t your father tell you that a new pilot was on the way?? He let his arms go, having them relax down beside him. They were bigger than she would remember - and she would remember - and his hands were moving out to the sides. ?We?re going to be partners.? The way he said it was full of arrogance, and dripped with malicious intent.

It was like she had been slapped. She actually flinched, the flickering tension of muscle focused mostly in her chest and neck. Partners, he had said. They were supposed to be partners. She felt sick, a wave of nausea crashing over her. Her head began pounding, a sledgehammer swinging wildly inside her skull, cracking against bone and brain alike. ?You?re not a pilot.? Continue to deny, continue to disbelieve.

?Correction; I wasn?t a pilot. But now I am. Or, I will be.? He looked up, past her, to the immobile monster standing there, helplessly protective of her pilot. ?As soon as I get into your head.? He looked back down to her and his visage had changed. Where once smug amusement had been, now was a sharp sense of cruelty. She?d know it well.

The hands tucked beneath her arms clenched, cutting tiny semi-circles into her palms. Her stomach was quivering, but not because she was cold. She wanted to retreat, to pull back, but she refused. She refused to allow herself to move away from him in fear. ?It?s going to take more than that,? she snapped. Hands still made into fists, she unfolded her arms, straightened her spine, lifted her chin. No more fear. ?There has to be training and tests before you can step foot into my Jaeger.?

?You mean step into you.? He took a step forward, having sensed her attempt at rallying her strength. ?You?ve gotten stronger. More determined, angry.? A thick hand reached out, brushing the backs of fingers against a freckled cheek and blonde hair. ?I like that.?

?Don?t touch me.? Her head jerked to the side, her cheek burning like it had been doused in acid. ?Don?t ever ****ing touch me.? It was harder to keep even breathing, harder not to not feel the panic that was strangling her chest.

?What?s the matter?? His head tilted a bit to the side, looking at her. It was so easy to pin her with that stare. ?It?s not like your father would ever send someone who would hurt you.? That overconfident grin reappeared, poison disguised in the hint of a shared secret memory.

And she remembered. Oh, how she remembered. Guilt mixed heavily with dread. She wished she didn?t, even once considered frying her own brain, but a pilot was a stubborn being, and she wouldn?t give up her connection to Eden for anything. Even that. ?We?ll see,? she said, standing her ground. She was stronger, she was tougher, and she wasn?t afraid to show him. ?Just keep your hands off my Jaeger.? With that, she turned, moving past him and for the door.

She was stronger, she was tougher - he could see it. And he was still willing to bring her crashing down. In fact, he?d enjoy the challenge. He always did like the fighters. ?Sure,? he said, shifting his weight just enough so that Alex?s shoulder bumped into him as she stalked past. He turned his head to follow her with his gaze, none too shy about drinking in her figure. That was better, too, than what he remembered. It made a part of him growl. ?But you didn?t say anything about keeping them off of you.? He sneered. ?See you around, Alex.?

She felt his eyes, like red hot pokers, stabbing into her back. His words reached her, accosted her, dove right down to her bones and injected them with repulsion and horror and the sense of being soiled. She was thankful that she was beyond him, that he couldn?t see the blood draining from her face, or the way that her eyes winced, or how she was fighting to swallow. It was a battle in itself to keep her feet moving, instead of letting them stick to the floor like tar. Him saying her name was a new form of execution; all she wanted to do was run.

Without looking back, she tore open the heavy door and stepped out into the crisp morning air. Walking through the empty streets, with no real destination in mind, it took nearly three blocks until severity took her hard by the shoulders. Turning fast into a tiny alcove, its bricks crumbling and mildew stinking and slick, she pressed Eden?s logo against the rotten walls and forced the back of a hand against her mouth. Tears stung at her eyes, foreign and unwanted, and she felt as if a bony hand was wringing the life out of her heart as the warning quakes began shuddering her ribcage. Their conversation had only taken a handful of minutes, but that was all the time it took for Andrew to destroy her.

All over again.