drear | god, he called for rain

[ it takes him a second to respond, but he sounds the same is before, if slightly bothered. ]

I'm fine. Focus on your own fight.

[ michi's already coming at him again, and he grapples for the stub of its tail, taking hold with an audible crunch so that he can hold it in place as he aims with the plasma cannon. the bolt goes clear through the kaiju's neck, sending up a flurry of debris and kaiju gore so thick he can't see through it.

but it's dead, and that's what's important. he turns his attention back to fuyumine, already preparing to fire again. ]

[If that's what Rammsteiner is saying, Naoto will believe him, hacking away at the newest kaiju as quickly and efficiently as she can. She tries to strike at a new area with each new attack, her blade barely drawing blood in some parts and cutting deeper in others.

If she stops to think about it, it's a bit hopeless, like trying to stop the tide with a toy bucket, but she's determined.

Then her sword gets implanted deep between the juncture of the kaiju's back leg and hip. She glances up just in time to see Rammsteiner disposing of Michi, and she lets out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding.]

Aim for the joints.

[ he watches michi until it falls, using searchlights to pierce through the shadows and dust to make sure that it's dead. ]

—got it.

[ heine leaves the corpse and starts circling around to get a better angle on the big kaiju, watching as it roars in rage and starts to lash out again. ]

[It's easier, two on one, but this monster has an astonishing range of motion and has a quickness that is unexpected despite its size.

Naoto started to steel herself for an extended battle when she hears the newest intel from headquarters. She nearly scoffs, half tempted just to find the carcasses of the already defeated kaiju. It might be easier than trying to take this one out and use it.

Still, the rift only opening for creatures with kaiju DNA made sense, in a terrifying sort of way.]

Think he's big enough for the both of us?

[As far as she's concerned, they're both going through the rift.]

[ huh. that... makes things kind of more difficult. but it isn't like they haven't done things others called impossible in the past. heine switches one cannon to a grabbing hand, edging around to the kaiju's other side. ]

If he isn't... [ well. ] ...we'll deal with that later.

Let's get this over with.

[ the kaiju stirs, its mass forcing its way through the water. heine angles around, preparing the blades on his jaeger's hand to dig in. ]

I'll get its tail.

[ detailed planning: not his strong point. ]

[Naoto can't say that her plans are any better, and really, when fighting a monster, the battlefield can change no matter how much of a home advantage they have.

She grits her teeth, squaring her shoulders, sword drawn.]

I'll keep it distracted.

[By that she means dancing around it's maw, slicing at what she can.

They've been chosen for this mission because they work well together, their fighting styles complimentary, but even Naoto is a bit surprised that neither of them die in this fight, when the kaiju finally stops struggling.

She grabs one part of the corpse, looking into the rift, trepidation skittering across her skin.]

What do you think is down there?

[Not that it mattered, they'd see soon enough.]

[ cerberus' left arm is badly damaged and he's slowly running out of power, but it's over. or—it's almost over. whether or not they make it back from that rift in their world, it'll be over soon. ]

More alien assholes, probably.

[ he picks up another appendage of the kaiju and holds on tight to it, taking a last step towards the rift. ]

...that won't be around for much longer, if this works.

Come on. [ they can destroy them—all of them, this way. it doesn't register as a problem to heine that they might not make it back. ]

[It's almost enough to get a small smile out of her, that answer, and she only shakes her in amusement.]

Right.

[Once she's sure that they both have a tight enough hold on the corpse, she jumps. Every sensor and screen is going crazy around here, her vision awash with color as she looks around the inside of the rift.

It's only when they're safely on the other side that she lets go of the corpse, manually setting off the nuclear load with a bit of difficulty.]

See you back on the other side.

[Like there's no doubt that their tiny escape pods will get them back through the rift.]

[ he follows suit, taking a few electronic records for later investigation on his jaeger as directed just before he sets off the payload.

it's over, he thinks, and when she says 'the other side', it takes him a second to pull himself away. heine starts disengaging to the escape pod. ]

Right.

[ there's a rush of mechanical clicking, the whoosh of the pod doors closing properly around him, and before he knows it there's a sensation of falling in his stomach following the ripples of the explosion. funny, because he's not falling anymore but being pushed through meters and meters of ocean water. it's hard to see or even think straight.

when the pressure stabilizes he's looking up at the stormy sky. the clouds are clearing; he takes a slow, deep breath as the voice from mission control makes contact again through the static. for a long time he doesn't reply, just lies there in the escape pod staring through the tiny window. ]

[Honestly, Naoto didn't think they would succeed. It doesn't sink in right away as she sits up in her pod, her hair whipping around her face, the air heavy with the scent of a storm. She's sure that headquarters is in a frenzy, trying to get in touch with them ( because she's sure they both survived, there's no way she could make it back and Rammsteiner wouldn't ), but she waits patiently, quietly.

Even though she didn't have any doubts, it's still a relief when she spots the other pod. Feeling a bit silly and apprehensive, she paddles her own over, the two pods bumping gently together. She reaches out, knocking politely on it, as if they're back at headquarters and she's knocking on his undecorated door.]

[ he hears the knock. it echoes weirdly through the contained space, and he struggles not to roll her eyes. there's no need to be polite, really. they've been through enough.

all the same, it takes him another moment to disengage the airseal and trigger the opening mechanism. heine sits up, looking around for a moment before his gaze fixes on her. he's got nothing to say, but for the first time he really looks at her. it's over, but it hasn't sunk in yet.

the transmission comes back to life, made unclear by the waves slapping against the side of his pod. still, he doesn't respond. ] Mission control to Cerberus... status, pilot?

[For once, communication to their base is the furthest concern from her mind, and her face is awash with relief when Heine emerges safely from his pod, his expression still as disgruntled as ever. It's starting to sink in then, that somehow they managed to complete their mission and that somehow they both made it out alive. It was a scenario she had scarcely entertained.

She's sure their pods will be picked up soon, so she doesn't bother with the radio, instead a small smile blooming on her face.]

Guess you'll have to think about what you want to do seriously, now.

[ heine swipes a hand over his face before realizing that the glove of the jaeger suit isn't exactly conducive towards cleaning the sweat away in the first place. ]

So will you.

[ if he sounds grumpy, it's because he is, in addition to being incredibly... relieved. yes, that's the word for it. it's an unfamiliar feeling. ]

So what's your plan? [ after all the publicity and shit that's bound to come after... closing the rift. (they did it. they really--) ]

[Part of the reason perhaps she had been so interested in what Rammsteiner was going to do after all of this was it might give her some direction. Right now, the world had opened up to her, as expansive and peaceful as the seas. The possibilities were enough to engulf her, if she let them.]

Tie up odds and ends.

[There was her family to see. She wanted to see her sister's face, what expression she might have now that her spare had stepped out of her shadow. She wanted to see her father's face. She wanted to see the people she had left behind at her old base.

And then... She turned her gaze back to her fellow Jaeger pilot, shrugging slightly.]

Go out to eat somewhere that isn't the mess hall.

[ heine nods minutely. he understands that, at least, the desire to finally take the opportunity to make decisions now that their imminent death isn't so imminent anymore.

but... that second idea. ]

I guess they'll shut it down soon.

[ that's his reason for agreeing. ]

[There's a small moment of silence Naoto will give out of respect to the mess hall. She might not have been fond of the cuisine but it had done it's job reasonably well, so she couldn't really complain.]

I'll miss it.

[Not just the mess hall but everything. There was a sense of community on the base, everything might not work perfectly but everyone knew their roles. Now she wasn't so sure.]

[ it's true that the food was nothing to cheer about, but it was food. and heine hasn't been off-base for more than a week or two at a time for the last seven or eight years. ]

...yeah. [ an even more grudging pause. ] Me too.

[ finally, he punches a button inside the escape pod, replying curtly to the now-panicking mission control transmission. ]

You think we're going to have to do publicity tours again?

[ because he really doesn't want to. they're a huge pain, and he really just wants to lie down and sleep. ]

[While the admission isn't a surprising one, what is was the fact that Rammsteiner would willingly say so. She shot him a look that was half-amused half-curious as he replied to mission control, settling a bit in her pod.

The expression is gone however, at the thought of having to do publicity tours. She's a reticent person by nature, and being paraded around and patted on the back was more of a punishment than a pleasure.]

I'm sure a higher up would be happy to do all the talking.

[And taking the credit as well, but she would rather be a prop than a mouth piece.]

[ heine has to agree with that, but honestly, if it meant he wouldn't have to talk, he'd be glad to have someone else take the spotlight. he's... tired. he doesn't want to have to do with this anymore, but at the same time, he doesn't know what else he can do.

the noise of chopper blades overhead catches his attention, though, and ladders are thrown down. at this point mission control is cheering for them, congratulating them. ]

...here's our ride.

[ heine just wants to sleep. ]

[The next hours passed by in a blur. Naoto could only vaguely remember clambering up the ladder into the helicopter, making her statement to one or two officials before she nodded off and they let her go to her room. Of course as soon as she was awake she was questioned again, shuttled to the one quiet room in the base since it seemed the rest of the place was exploding into a celebratory party.

Once they were sure she had nothing else to add, that's when they started talking about the publicity tours and the rounds they'd have to make. At least for that portion they seemed to think it was okay to have her and Rammsteiner in the same room.]

Do you think they would be open to pretending someone else had done this?

[The words were tired and haggard. She was sure someone like Badou perhaps would be eager for the spotlight, or someone as dependable as Mihai would be a better choice.]

[ heine goes through a similar experience, sleeping for a good thirteen hours before climbing out of bed to sneak into the back room of the kitchen to get something to eat. he's just about to try slipping away again when he gets dragged back into prep for the talks and publicity.

by the time he and fuyumine meet again, he looks mildly more well-rested, but no less testy than usual. ]

Probably, but they've got video. Hard to pull a cover-up of that size.

[ he shrugs, slouching back in his chair. other officials and the man who ran the resistance effort are talking on the other side of the table, but the general consensus is that the pilots should be left to their own devices for at least a little while. ]

...think they'd be open to us not being here? [ he sighs, resting an elbow on the table. at least for a little while, he'd like to be away from this. ]

[It was a pipe dream anyway, but Naoto couldn't help but sigh. There was always the possibility that they could still argue their case, but it would be a losing battle. Right now, unfortunately Naoto was too tired to even consider it. Her usually impeccable posture was slouched a little, her attention prone to wandering.]

They should be.

[Considering they had managed to complete their mission and possibly have saved the world, getting a bit of breath of fresh air wasn't asking for much.

She pushed out of her chair, ignoring the looks that got, tilting her head to the side.]

Hungry?

[ heine's gaze is drifting and unfocusing. there's nothing much to pay attention to, honestly. the question from fuyumine, though, is arresting. ]

...yeah. [ he gets up as well, shoving his hands into the pockets of his fatigues. ] We'll be back, so don't wait for my input on the new merchandise.

[ because he really doesn't care about it. heine starts walking towards the exit, shoving back a few unruly strands of hair. already he's moving more quickly, back straightening at the prospect of being out and about again. ]

[The prospect of there being action figures of them, of having their unsmiling faces stamped on lunchboxes or t-shirts, of having statues of them and their jaegers popping up all over the world almost makes her laugh, the thought so strange. She half expects that she's dreaming or they never made it back from the mission. None of this seems real, underneath layers of tediousness.]

How long do you think they could be avoided?

[She jerked her head back towards the room full of people deciding their fate, their tour schedules, their financial futures. Honestly Naoto would be fine just receiving the stipend she has now and settling somewhere quiet. She has an urge to walk out the door and keep walking.]

At least until they start calling. [ pauses. ] Maybe an hour after that.

They'll find us if it's really important. [ an unspoken "whatever". they reach the elevator and take it down; there few people still in the shatterdome at this time of night, now that they're free to travel without fear of kaiju.

it's so foreign to him, the idea that kaiju simply don't exist anymore. or won't exist, at least, for them. heine puts his hands into the pockets of his fatigues to keep from fidgeting and glances at fuyumine for a second. ]

...it's humid out there. [ he says after a second, in lieu of anything actually substantial. ]

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timeskip to a bit after return?

sounds good to me o/

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