dappered | SUPERSHINGEKI NO KAIJU

SUPERSHINGEKI NO KAIJU

In the year 2000, the first Category 1 kaiju appeared off the coast of San Francisco. It was a small Leviathan type, only 20 feet in length, but it ravaged the coastline for two weeks before the armed forces were able to trap and kill it. Within the year large groups of Cat 1s were attacking coastlines all around the world, and people began speaking of the end of the world. In five years construction had begun on the great Walls of Life, built a few miles back from every coastline in the world in order to keep the kaiju out. The territory between the Wall and the sea became no man's land, where only the crazy and the desperate ventured to live or work, and it was every man for himself when the sirens went off, indicating a kaiju making landfall, and all citizens were to evacuate to the gates of the Wall before they slammed shut. Anyone caught outside would be left to the mercy of the beasts.

Eventually the Category scale expanded as follows:

Category 1: 1-25 feet in length
Category 2: 25-50 feet in length
Category 3: 50-100 feet in length
Category 4: 100+ feet

Kaiju were also ordered in classes or types, depending on their body structure and behavior. Leviathan types were aquatic, although they could be capable of moving on land, and were at their most lethal in the water. Behemoth types were four legged and were most deadly on land. Ziz types were aerial predators, posing a great danger with their ability to fly over the Walls. The final type was Titan class, vaguely humanoid or primate-like creatures that preferred to maneuver on two legs. Certain specimens even proved capable of climbing the walls.

As the rare but devastating Category 3 kaiju began appearing they were given names of demons, because of reasons. Unlike the smaller kaiju that simply attacked until they were killed, Category 3s exhibited unusual intelligence and would sometimes retreat from battles to recover from their wounds, disappearing for months or even years before attacking again.

Although the Pan Pacific Defense Corps (PPDC) that patrolled and defended the Walls had proven themselves effective against Category 1 and 2 kaiju, using their Maneuver Gear and AKUs (Anti-Kaiju Units), the slowly increasing rate of kaiju size had led to the birth of the Jaeger program. By the time the first Category 3 kaiju appeared off the Japanese coastline the first few Mark I Jaegers were in service, being driven by the most talented of the AKU pilots. The Jaegers were an entire different class of machine, utilizing a synchronization system between the pilot and the onboard computer. Mark 2 Jaegers implemented the Drift system, using two synchronized pilots to control the machine. Mark 3 Jaegers further perfected the Drift system and were built to rival Cat 3 kaiju in size, and in learning from the mistakes of the Mark 2 generation, pilots that were related or otherwise extremely closely linked were now almost exclusively used. Jaegers were 'inherited' from fathers to sons, brothers to sisters, grandparents to grandchildren.

Mark 3 Jaegers proved extremely effective at handling kaiju attacks, but the concerns of using a nuclear reactor to power the machine led to the eventual creation of the Mark 4. Many of the early generation Jaegers were scrapped for parts by the time of the Mark 4s, as it was more cost effective to rebuild existing machines than to allow the older models to remain in service while new Mark 4 and 5s were built, and only a handful of Mark 3s remained untouched as analog relics.

Although the PPDC was an international organization drawing funding and personnel from all over the world, Jaeger crews tended to follow family lines and so became national heroes for the countries they hailed from. The United States fielded several crews from their Los Angeles and Anchorage Shatterdomes, the most famous being the Winchester and Harvelle families, piloting the Gipsy Danger and the Hellmouth Jaegers respectively. Mary Winchester was a genius ace who had piloted AKUs from the age of sixteen and served on her father's Jaeger crew before taking it for herself, and her husband had been a Marine before he joined the PPDC and led ground crews against Cat 1s and 2s. Their first son Dean was rumored to have been conceived in the Gipsy and their second son Sam was actually born inside the cockpit out in the field, holding a blockade against a Category 3 kaiju. Both boys grew up in the life of the Corps and excelled at the simulators, although Dean had difficulty synchronizing with anyone other than Sam. Sam proved a natural genius like his mother and was being groomed by the R&D department to work on their brand new Mark 4s when he came of age.

Unfortunately, Mary was eventually killed in combat against the kaiju codenamed Azazel when her sons were ten and fourteen. Despite the misgivings of his superiors, John insisted that teenage Dean was ready to become his copilot and soon after had him regularly in the field. Sam refused to Drift with his father and serve as copilot with him and remained committed to joining the R&D team, hoping to improve the Drift system so that Jaeger pilots could be drawn from a wider pool of candidates and not just blood relatives, who were often unprepared rookies like Dean.

After John's death, also at Azazel's claws, Sam was forced to become a pilot anyway as Dean proved disastrously incapable of Drifting with anyone else, even his cousins. Dean and Sam became celebrated pilots and Dean lived the life of a rockstar, pretending it made up for the deaths of his parents and his brother's discontent. Sam devoted his downtime to improving the Drift system and the siblings had dozens of arguments over whether Sam was doing it to escape being Dean's copilot and the family 'curse.' Mary's surviving relatives in the Campbell family were eager to get their hands on the Gipsy in addition to their own Jaeger if Dean ever retired or proved capable of synching with one of his cousins, but as circumstances stood Dean and Sam were still a more effective team than any other crew combination. Having synced with each other consistently from such a young age, they became subject to the Echo Effect, simultaneous behaviors and an almost supernatural awareness of each other, a condition normally reserved for twins or veteran Jaeger pilots.

Everything changed during a mission off the coast of Alaska against their old enemy Azazel. Sam was ripped from the Gipsy's cockpit while still in the Drift and the trauma fractured his consciousness, leaving fragments of himself trapped inside the onboard computer system and also in Dean's mind. The Gipsy was torn nearly to pieces but managed to make it to the shoreline, although reports from people who intercepted the machine claimed that Dean was out cold inside the cockpit and had been for hours, and therefore could not have been driving the Gipsy. Sam washed up on shore a day later, barely alive. Over the next several months Dean recovered in an PPDC hospital. Sam did not, remaining comatose, and according to his doctors was likely to stay that way for the rest of his life. Dean refused to leave his brother's side even after the Gipsy was rebuilt and gave his grudging permission for the Campbell cousins to try piloting it in his absence. For some reason, however, the computer systems on the Gipsy had become prone to inexplicable glitches and malfunctions, and the entire machine would sometimes move against its pilots' commands. The Campbells chose to stick to their primary Jaeger and keep the Gipsy in reserve for desperate circumstances.

Sick of PPDC Command's continuous attempts to tempt him back into service with another copilot or another Jaeger entirely, Dean elected to become a civilian and joined the construction crews for the Walls in high risk areas. For a year he worked on the Walls until he was contacted by a PPDC scientist named Charlie, a Drift expert who claimed that she might have 1.) a way to wake Sam up and 2.) a way for Dean to pilot the Gipsy by himself. Having extensively studied the Drift system for personal reasons (her mother being in a coma) Charlie claimed that she could set up a neural link between Dean and Sam that might allow them to communicate. She also claimed to have expanded on the failsafe system for Jaegers where if one or both pilots were suddenly knocked out of contact the computer would attempt to drive the Jaeger. In theory, the same concept could be used to have the computer act as a second pilot, reading the moves of the primary pilot and reacting accordingly. The system would never be as efficient as two pilots working in tandem and would essentially make any given Jaeger right or left-handed, always leading off with attacks on the primary pilot's side, but it would be better than nothing.

Dean cautiously agreed to come back and become the pet project for the R&D Department stationed at the Hong Kong Shatterdome, aka Charlie and Chuck and Ash. The rest of the Jaeger crews looked on his return with mixed feelings. The Campbells believed that he should try to get over his inability to Drift and sync with one of their unpartnered pilots or otherwise join their ranks. The Harvelle team resented his intrusion, Ellen blaming him for inspiring her daughter and Jo blaming him for giving up. Many of the other crews only knew him by reputation and found him and his machine and his Drift issues outdated, as the newest Mark 5 models were almost exclusively piloted by candidates from specialized academies. Children would be sent there at a young age to join the PPDC and specially train to become Jaeger pilots and excel at Drifting. The most cult-like of these training camps was Himmel Academy, where all candidates were stripped of their former identities and given the names of angels to contrast the Cat 3 kaiju with demonic names.

Current Jaeger crews are:
Hellmouth Shotgun - Jo and Ellen Harvelle (America)
Hunter Black - various Campbell assholes (EU)
Kalika Shakti - Kali and Gabriel (India)
Archangel Ascent - Lucifer and Michael (Russia)
Arsenal Theomeny - Raphael and Virgil (Italy)
Kronos Devour - Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert (Japan)

i can't remember the other names

AND OUR CHARACTERS THUS FAR:

Dean Winchester - retired pilot of the Gipsy Danger, known affectionately to him as "Baby." A pilot from his teenage years, Dean found sudden retirement stifling but refused to leave his brother behind. Currently suffering from PTSD and the extreme consequences of the Echo Effect, 'ghosting,' a condition where pieces of one parter's mind remains inside the other's after the neural bridge is broken. Dean believes firmly that Sam's mind is intact and that he just needs to be woken up, and tries his best to dismiss the moments when he thinks he sees Sam out of the corner of his eye or hears his voice or feels someone standing just at his shoulder. Despite his irritation with the PPDC and the Campbells, he reluctantly decides to accept Charlie Bradbury's offer in hopes that she can cure his brother and get Gipsy back in the field again, even if Dean has to pilot alone.

Sam Winchester - the brains of the Winchester operation, Sam was never interested in becoming a rockstar Jaeger pilot as much as he wanted to unravel the mysteries behind the kaiju and Drifting, looking for a more permanent solution than just building and rebuilding giant robots. As a child he exhibited exceptional Drift capabilities, able to maintain his focus no matter what his partner brought into the link, and the research done on his early simulation runs provided the foundation for the Drift systems in the Mark 4 and 5s. He was even capable on occasion of piloting a Jaeger alone. Currently a coma patient after a disastrous mission. While theories about ghosting are all still purely hypothetical, the Gipsy's strange behavior often seems to coincide with Sam's violent nightmares...

Michael (formerly Mikael Alighieri) - General in charge of the PPDC and ostensible leader of all Jaeger teams. Stationed in the Hong Kong Shatterdome, largest of the Jaeger stations. Pilot of the Archangel and partner to Lucifer, although he occasionally takes Raphael with him instead. Graduate of Himmel Academy and a hands on leader, preferring to always be on the front lines. It's rumored that he's looking for a new pilot to become his secondary and has his eye on a certain returning war hero...

Lucifer (formerly Luca Alighieri) - Pilot of the Archangel and partner to Michael. They sort of hate each other and both are not-so-secretly looking to replace the other, with Lucifer even going so far as to commission a brand new Jaeger, the Morningstar, for his own use. Lucifer is considered a combat genius on the same level as Mary and Sam Winchester, excelling at Drifting, and will only consider candidates of a certain rating as worthy of being his secondary.

Castiel (formerly James Novak) - one of Himmel Academy's most promising graduates, now a Lieutenant in the PPDC. Despite hailing from the interior and living a safe, comfortable life with his wife and daughter, he decided that even someone like him had a responsibility to fight against the kaiju and chose to join the Academy. His wife Amelia, unable to understand this choice and viewing it as abandonment, divorced him and took custody of their daughter. Michael believes that Castiel's emotional attachments keep him from dedicating himself fully to life as a soldier, and so has kept him from being promoted to Jaeger pilot despite his impressive ratings in the simulators.

Gabriel (formerly Warren Muck) - a Himmel Academy deserter who ran off rather than become Lucifer's abused partner. He came back with a new primary partner and a new will to fight, although his 'brothers' still give him shit about his cowardice. The Kalika has a ridiculously high victory rating, however, and Lucifer can't touch Gabriel while Kali prefers him as a partner.

Bobby Singer - head of the Gipsy's maintenance crew. Served in the PPDC with John Winchester and thinks of the boys as family. He opposed John's decision to have Dean pilot so young but was overruled, and while he's cautiously pleased that Dean seems to be back in the fight, he also wonders if Dean is simply carrying on his father's deathwish with this nonsense about trying to pilot the Gipsy alone.

Anael (Anna Milton) - PPDC member and an AKU pilot. She often runs support for Jaeger missions.

Charlie Bradbury - PPDC scientist, Drift expert and computer hacker. As Drift burnout is a serious issue for the PPDC, her eccentricities are overlooked by her superiors. Originally assigned to try and bring the Gipsy into service again, she became fascinated by the anomalies in its systems and the story of the Winchester brothers' last mission. She contacted Dean without authorization and coaxed him to return to the Jaeger program and bring Sam, claiming that she might have the ability to wake him from his coma. She follows the Japanese belief that the Jaegers have some level of sentience, their computer systems constantly absorbing information from their pilots.

Raphael - Himmel Academy graduate and primary pilot of the Arsenal. Follows Michael's lead in everything and occasionally copilots for him in the Archangel.

Terms and Places:

Shatterdome - launching station for multiple Jaegers, possessed of a full capacity repair bay. The largest is in Hong Kong and has become the main headquarters for the entire Pan Pacific Defense Corps.

Echo Effect - synchronous behaviors between two Jaeger pilots after having Drifted together for a long time. Pilots sometimes finish each other's sentences or find themselves able to predict what the other is thinking, and in some cases have an almost supernatural ability to recognize where the other is at all times.

Ghosting - leaving pieces of one's consciousness inside another individual's mind or inside a computer system. Often the result of a traumatic experience while Drifting or breaking the link improperly. Since most Jaeger pilots don't have much of a lifespan, this condition has not been widely studied and some dismiss it as pure speculation.

Anti-Kaiju Unit (AKU) - manned military vehicles specifically developed to combat Cat 1 and 2 kaiju. Most of these are all-terrain, capable of flight and submerging. Against Cat 3s their primary focus is on stalling until a Jaeger can arrive on the scene.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Chriiiist.

[ Dean laughs at that, finding the subject easier, less objectionable, honestly. He yawns after a moment, pillowing his head on Cas' pillow, heedless of the fact this totally isn't his room. ]

And older, too. Poor bastard.

[ He has to smile at that, fond. ]

Let's just say I spent more time than most little boys in princess tiaras and ballerina skirts.

Are there pictures? Please say there are pictures.

[ And if his voice gets a little quieter the longer they talk, a little more soft and slow and relaxed, it's totally not because he's half-dozing on Castiel's bed, not at all. ]

There are very well-hidden pictures.

[ Castiel glances up at Dean, his smile going a little softer at the sight of him, eyes-half shut and shoulders relaxed. ]

Here?

[ He slits one eye to look at him, amused. ]

Could I feasibly find them? Or blackmail you into letting me see?

[ Castiel laughs out loud, leaning back in his chair with a little headshake. ]

Why do I get the feeling I'd better change all my passwords?

Because that's probably a valid thing to do given what we're talking about.

[ Dean smiles sleepily, unconcerned with falling asleep in Castiel's room - he's right across the hall and he just spent the last hour in his head. It's not weird. ]

I'll make sure to doublecheck all my security right away.

[ he's not really concerned, though. Even if Dean did get ahold of the pictures, he wouldn't use them to make Castiel's life harder - he'd laugh at them, sure, but he wouldn't pass them around.

Cas can tell that Dean's on the edge of falling asleep, though, and oddly, he's not too concerned, either. His catnap earlier had refreshed him for a couple of hours at least, and he turns his attention back to his computer, typing away quietly. ]

Sure, let me know how that works.

[ Dean blinks sleepily at him, and shifts, kicking his feet under the sheets. The idea of personal space is pretty much a joke right now as he snuggles in and breathes soft and even. ]

M'just gonna see it next time we synch up anyway.

[ Ohh, seeing Dean curl up on his bed that way is doing things to Cas that he hadn't planned on. He's different half-asleep this way, softer, with many of his usual defenses down, and all Cas can do for a moment is try not to be too obvious about watching him as he burrows in under the rumpled sheets.

And then Dean says that and it hits him all at once that there are no secrets here. Anything Cas thinks, anything he feels, is going to be laid bare to Dean the next time they drift, and Cas doesn't even fully understand himself what he's feeling yet. He snaps his eyes back to the computer screen, cheeks burning and suddenly anxious. ]

I - yeah.

I suppose so.

[ He's the one, for once, not anxious about all of this. instead, it's a comfort more than anything else, getting to have that closeness with someone that he hasn't had in ages. Dean closes his eyes and one arm dangles off the edge of the bed as he finally falls asleep, breathing soft and even until Cas wakes him. ]

[ Castiel writes his report in silence, typing it out with only half his mind on his work. The rest of his attention is focused on the problem of what to do about Dean.

He hasn't made a lot of friends here, truthfully. Coming into the Academy as an adult, when the others had all known each other since they were small, it had been hard finding a place to fit in. He'd been more or less alone since Amelia and Claire had gone, and though he'd adjusted to a more solitary life, being with Dean is different. He hadn't felt this comfortable with anyone in a long time, and drifting with him...well, he's never felt anything like it before.

There's nothing wrong with growing close to your fellow soldiers, of course. It happens in wartime. And he knows plenty about drifting in theory, knows how strong the bond can be even after just one or two times drifting together. Still, he can't help feeling self-conscious, worried that what he's starting to feel might be bordering on inappropriate even for drift partners. Might scare Dean away, once he sees inside Cas' head again.

He finishes his report and sends it off to Michael, closing his laptop and just looking at Dean for a long moment before he sighs, pushing back his chair and going to gently shake Dean's shoulder. ]

Dean. Wake up.

[ He doesn't ever sleep long, and when he does, it's rare it's soundly. He sleeps in bits and pieces he can grab, falling asleep nearly anywhere because he'll wake up at anything.

Dean wakes up as soon as there's contact, jerking away, reaching for a weapon that's not there anymore only to still, breathing a little sharply until he realizes where he's at. ]

Jesus, professor, sorry.

[ No weapon, no need. Dean shifts away from him not unlike a nervous animal, shoulders drawn tight, defenses back up because he's just realized what happened. ]

Sorry. Shouldn't have commandeered your bed.

[ Oh. Castiel's seen enough PTSD from his fellow squadmates - he backs away at once, raising his hands up in the air to show that he's not a threat. He only drops his arms again once Dean seems to recognize him, but he stays well back from the bed, unwilling to take any chances. ]

It's all right.

[ It's not, though - Dean's tense and tight and wary again, and Cas' gut clenches in guilt and unhappiness, that Dean should have to feel this way. ]

No - no. I don't mind. I just -

[ Couldn't stand there and watch him sleep like a creeper any longer, not without his train of thought going places it really, really shouldn't be going, but he doesn't say so. He shakes his head, retreating safely behind his desk again, still watching Dean carefully. ]

I just thought you might prefer your own. If you were tired.

[ He wouldn't classify it as ptsd. That's too much a blanket term for his liking - it's some temporary bad juju that's gonna wear off eventually, once his sorry ass settles a little. That's all.

Dean rolls out of bed, haphazardly straightening it for him, a little more awkward. ]

Thanks. Yeah, I- it's all good. I was gonna check in on Sammy again anyway. Sorry for crashing.

[ SURE IT IS, DEAN. Castiel stands just as awkwardly as Dean straightens the sheets. He murmurs noncommittally when Dean mentions Sam - it doesn't surprise him at all, of course, and he can hardly blame him, but secretly he wonders how good it really is for Dean to be constantly hovering at Sam's side, watching him breathe and worrying about him. ]

It's all right. I invited you in.

[ He hesitates, standing there uselessly, not sure what to do with his hands as he looks at Dean, and blurts the words out without thinking. ]

- You don't want company, do you?

You invited me in, not into your bed.

[ And for once, Dean doesn't notice the double meaning there. Instead, he toes shoes on, shrugging his sweater a little tighter around himself, and shakes his head. ]

No,I don't - company usually isn't good.

The docs say it's good for people to talk to him, though. You ever get bored and wanna read lesson reports to him? Kid ate that stuff up, before. Maybe it'll wake him up now.

[ Cas notices, and flushes a little, glancing away, but he doesn't comment on it, just gets himself quickly under control and looks attentively back at Dean. He nods respectfully, accepting Dean's answer without protest, and then nods again, more slowly. ]

I'd be happy to.

[ The words are soft, and genuine - Sam Winchester had been as much a hero as his brother, just as brave and self-sacrificing, and besides, he's Dean's brother. If there's anything Castiel can do to help him, how matter how small, he'll do it gladly. ]

I'll go in and read my mission report to him tomorrow morning, if you think that's all right.

[ Once, he wouldn't have considered making the offer. Sam's wellbeing rested on his shoulders, and his alone - he took care of him when he was a kid, and he could damn well do it now. Years later, years of having his brother not get any better, of having watched him stay the same, pale and comatose, well, he changed his tune at least a little.

It was weird - letting Sam's wellbeing rest on anyone but himself, but Cas wasn't a bad guy. For all his stuffy shirts and awkward sense of humor, Dean'd been knee deep in his head. Not a bad guy at all. ]

Yeah. Better you bore him to tears than me.

I'm sure you never bored him.

[ It doesn't escape him, either, that Dean probably doesn't ask for or accept help often, when it comes to Sam. He smiles, closing his laptop. ]

I'll go and read to him first thing tomorrow, then.

...Thanks.

[ He sounds surprised to be saying it, honestly, glancing over at him a little hesitantly. ]

I'll see you later, okay?

[ Castiel nods, standing up to see him out the door properly. ]

Goodnight, Dean.

[ He keeps his word, and is in the infirmary well before breakfast the next morning, reading his mission report to Sam in a quiet, steady voice. There's no visible change or reaction, but Castiel knows the theory that coma patients can hear those around them. It's worth a shot, anyway.

He falls silent after he reaches the end of the report, looking quietly down at Sam for a moment before leaning a little closer, murmuring more quietly words meant only for him.

He will never give up on you.

Castiel, on the other hand, is shamefully less loyal.

He's still not entirely certain of his own feelings. He had loved Amelia, easy and simple and pure, and that hadn't changed just because she'd left him. What he feels about Dean, though...that's more complicated, somehow. He hadn't fallen in love with him, the way he had with her. There's no desire there to ask him out on dates and court him and start a family with him.

But he can't deny that there's something. Maybe it's just that he's been alone for so long, he'd forgotten what it's like to have a friend, but Castiel doesn't think so. He feels comfortable around Dean, happy, and when they're apart for long stretches, Castiel finds himself missing him.

Whatever he's feeling, he knows one thing for certain. It's inappropriate, Dean would be baffled or disturbed or disgusted if he knew, and Castiel, quite simply, can't let him find out.

He takes the coward's way out, because he can't think of any other way to do it. Dean will demand an explanation, and Cas doesn't have one. So the next time Dean shows up for one of their required training sessions, Castiel simply isn't there. ]

[ He spends as much time as he can between missions at Sam's side, talking to him about everything he dares to say out loud. He spends just as much time sitting, holding one stupidly large, limp hand in his, willing him awake.

Cas helps where he can but there's only so much he can do in his position. Dean appreciates it all the same.

Everything is going well, all things considered, when Cas stops showing up to practice. He starts coming by a little earlier, a little later but nothing works, so he finally goes to Michael, to figure out if something was done to him.

No such luck - Michael's a dick about it, implying things about Cas that he won't listen to because they're bullshit and instead stomps his way to Castiel's room. ]

[ He'd be a fool not to expect Dean to seek him out, of course. Honestly, what surprises Castiel the most is that Dean had waited so long to track him down after Castiel had started avoiding him, and when he hears the loud, insistent knock on his door, Cas is expecting it.

He sighs and does his best to brace himself, going to pull the door open before Dean decides to start yelling and gets the attention of the whole hall. ]

Hello, Dean.

[ It's probably just some sort of mistake or mixup. Cas is sick or knocked out of commission or maybe he's just up to his ears in paperwork. Whatever the case is, Dean's still not pleased, frowning when Cas opens the door.

He ought to say something intelligent, something not accusation, ought to - ]

Are you avoiding me?

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