author note: ok this is based on the movie 'pacific rim' u should go see it. this doesnt really follow the movie, but borrows elements. also there are brief, not really descriptive descriptions of injuries later on in this chapter, so if that freaks u out a bit, either skim through or dont read umu. its not that bad but i dont wanna accidentally trigger anyone. not every chapter will have an author's note, but i will include one if theres anything potentially triggering, or if i got a thing 2 say. ill try to update every friday, but if i cant get a chapter of reasonable length out by that deadline i might make you wait a little bit until i can add to it just so the lengths are consistentish. thank u for reading this and please review! (u/w/u*)
"Yo, Jäger pilots of the Hellbound Soldier and Holy Storm, get your asses up and to the docking bay, we got a class 3 kaiju codenamed Nautilus off the coast of San Fran, 300 miles out but closing in as we speak." Charlie's voice echoed over the intercom. Dean turned to give Sam a smirk, as he pushed his tray over to Jo, who shot him a glare.
"Don't die or your mom will never forgive me, got it?" Jo shouted, as the Winchesters began to walk to the docking bay. Dean and Sam looked over their shoulders, and smiled at their friend.
"The only thing dying today is that kaiju," Dean promised, "We'll be fine Jo."
"Yeah, see you in a few hours," Sam added, as they walked through the door. The walk through the hall was quiet. They'd fought kaiju before, but always class 1 or 2, never three. But hey, how different could it be? Dean shook his head, now was not the time to start freaking out. As they turned a corner, they met up with the pilots of the Holy Storm. Castiel Novak and Balthazar Roche. The two of them had been in the game since the whole damn thing started, ten years back. They'd slaughtered tens of kaiju, and worked together like a well-oiled, brutal, ruthless markine. The perfect Jäger pilots. Sam traded a smile and a nod with them, but Dean kept walking, not sparing more than a passing glance. Castiel and Sam were pretty good friends, but Dean barely knew him. Balthazar, though, was a good drinking buddy, especially when Jägers of friends went out into the field, and never came back.
Shaking his head to clear his melancholy thoughts, Dean stepped through the port to the docking bay, grinning as he saw the head of his Jäger, his baby. Sam's too, he guessed, but mostly his. Since he pretty much never drove his actual baby anymore, the Hellbound Soldier quickly became a second best.
"Ready for this, Sammy?" Dean turned a side glance to his younger brother, grin growing as Sam glared at him for the nickname.
"As I'll ever be, Dean. See ya, Cas, Balthazar." Sam replied, turning to speak to the pilots of the Holy Storm.
"Same to you, Sam, and Dean." Castiel nodded. Dean was a bit surprised by his voice. He'd heard it before, but up close, it was way different. Sam was going to mock him for ages for thinking that.
"Yeah, you too." Dean murmured, already heading to the changing rooms to suit up.
Climbing into the head of the Jäger was always a humbling experience, Dean found. He was about to co-pilot a giant robot with his baby brother, and kick some kaiju ass, but still, the thought of being out there, in the field, a tiny human controlling a giant Jäger, was terrifying. Dean was happy to know Sam thought the same thing, but it was a bit embarrassing. They stepped in, and the head of the Jäger descended, locking into the neck and securing.
"Ready, dudes?" Charlie asked over the intercom, typing furiously into the command input. Dean turned to glance at Sam, who was fitting his shoes into the leg controls, and then turned back to the control screen.
"Yup," Dean confirmed, as Sam straightened, resting his arms on the arm controls.
"Ok. Initiating neural handshake in ten...nine...eight..." Charlie began the count down, as Dean and Sam took a deep breath, "seven...six...five...four...three..." Dean and Sam breathed out, closing their eyes, "two...one."
The drift had always happened quickly for them, only a few nanoseconds, as they shared pretty much the same memories. Opening their eyes, they moved their arms in sync, bringing up their clenched fists to the observation window. Charlie sat behind the thick glass, waving and grinning. In one practiced motion, the middle fingers of the Jäger rose, effectively flipping off the entire observation deck. Chuck Shurley grimaced, as he tried not to laugh, like always. The first time they'd done it, Chuck threatened to suspend them from missions, but the laughter of the crew in spite of the apocalyptic situation, and the fact that Chuck knew the Winchester's wouldn't stop, helped their case. Now, it was everyone's favorite part about deploying the Hellbound Soldier. Sam and Dean grinned, as Charlie pressed a few buttons.
"Initiating drop, ready, boys?" she warned, not giving them a chance to respond as she pressed the release button. Dean grimaced as they dropped, feeling his stomach fly into his throat, but fought the urge to panic. They weren't flying, they weren't in the open air, they were in a Jäger. They were invincible. Sam sent Dean a comforting thought.
"Ready to kick some crusty kaiju ass?" Dean grinned, as the Hellbound Soldier hit the ground, jolting to a halt.
"What's this thing named, the Nautilus? We can take out a cephalopod, don't you think?" Sam replied, giving Dean a grin of his own. Behind them, the Holy Storm hit the ground, shaking the Earth briefly, before straightening up. The trek to San Francisco began. It would take them two to four hours, but it would take the kaiju a day to reach land. They had enough time.
Slowly but surely, they waded through the ocean, Dean and Sam stopping for a few minutes to wave at a boat full of refugees from Hawaii. The cheering of the survivors heartened the brothers, and they drew closer to the dead-zone where they would fight the kaiju. The intercom system crackled to life as Balthazar drew up the radio connection.
"Ready for this, Winchesters?" the french pilot sneered. Or, at least, it sounded like he did. There was no video for the intercom, surprisingly.
"We were born ready, Roche," Dean replied, smirking. His legs were getting a little tired from all the walking, but they would be to their destination soon. Sam nodded, and Dean felt him mentally preparing for the battle.
They arrived at the spot the kaiju would reach in anywhere from an hour to a few minutes. Tension was high, and everyone was a little nervous. Normally, only one Jäger would be deployed for a class 3 kaiju, but Nautilus was more of a small class 4, but still just as mean, judging by the sonar scans and analyzation Ash did. As they waited, their unease grew, until finally, they saw it. It was big, about the size of the Jäger they were in, and covered in tentacles and glowing spots.
"Time to kick some ass," Dean mumbled, before shouting, "Back in black! I hit the sack, it's been too long and I'm glad to be back!"
"Dude? Really?" Sam frowned, as Dean continued to sing, ignoring his brother. Dean always sang a different fight song. Last time it was Heat of the Moment, by Asia. Sam could stand to go another lifetime without ever hearing that song again. The kaiju rose out of the water, and flung itself at them. Dean and Sam brought up their right arm, to try and deflect the kaiju's attack, but instead found themselves getting wrapped up in the slimy looking, dark, oozy tentacles of the kaiju.
"Shit, get the fuck off!" Dean growled, as the Holy Storm began to trek in from by the destroyed Golden Gate Bridge, to assist. In less than a second, the right arm of the Hellbound Soldier was ripped off. The Winchesters screamed in pain, feeling as if their own arms had also gotten detached. While they were distracted, the kaiju wrapped it's appendages around the neck of the Jäger, and pulled.
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck!" Dean shouted, as metal began to scream and snap, crushing inwards from the force of the kaiju squeezing the Jäger's head. Then, everything went from bad, to worse. Electricity sparked as a support beam crumpled, and fell onto Sam. The brothers screamed in unison again, as Sam's left arm and leg were crushed under the heavy metal beam. Both of Sam's ankles snapped, as he was smashed into the floor, straining the muscles in his legs and back to the furthest point. Dean, still standing, felt as if he were on the floor with his brother, who was writhing in pain. Just as the Holy Storm reached them, the kaiju finally managed to rip off the Hellbound Soldier's head, and tossed it into the water. Almost immediately, the ocean began to rush into the damaged chamber, the level rising quickly, Sam's blood leeching into it. Dean hurriedly started the emergency disconnect, as he unhooked himself from the Jäger, rushing over to help his brother, who was on the brink of passing out, from both the pain and stress.
Outside, Dean could still vaguely hear the battle, and it seemed like the Holy Storm was winning, judging by the kaiju's screams of pain.
"I'm so sorry, Sammy, fuck, I'm so sorry," Dean hissed frantically to his baby brother, pressing his hands to a wound in his brother's side where the crossbeam had stabbed him. It wasn't that deep, or close to any vital organs, but it was bleeding furiously. Sam choked out a cry of pain, and tried to reach up his right arm to grab Dean's shoulder, but couldn't quite, as it was still wrapped in the Jäger's controls.
"I'sok, Dean, 'M gonna be fine..." Sam promised, making a patting gesture towards his brother. The water was rising faster now, as waves rocked the Jäger's head, making it hard for Dean to keep pressure on his brother's side. One big wave rocked them, and the battle outside went quiet. That was either very good, or very bad. Suddenly, the Hellbound Soldier's head was being lifted up by the Holy Storm, and then jogged about as it began moving very, very fast. Dean lost track of time, trying to keep Sam from passing out, and worrying himself practically sick over his brother.
When they arrived, Dean barely noticed, until about fifteen people were rushing in and lifting the bar off of Sam, unconnecting him from the Jäger's controls, and gently lifting him onto a stretcher. Dean felt like he was in some alternate dimension, as he was escorted with his brother to the medical bay. The rest of the day was surreal, especially when Castiel rushed into the med bay, followed closely by Balthazar, who was surrounded by med staff, Jo, Ellen, and Mary. Dean didn't have much choice as the three women wrapped him in their arms, all shaken and terrified, but what was really off about the whole situation was the look Castiel was giving him. Dean realized they were practically making the same face, and froze, startled. The Novak took a half step towards him, before he took two steps back. Whatever pull Castiel was feeling, Dean felt the exact same thing. It was unsettling and stange, and Dean felt an odd sort of twinge when Castiel turned to leave, leaving Balthazar to get his shattered arm treated. Dean looked, and saw that the Roche's arm was only hanging on my a few tendons. Blood was everywhere, and it was a certain amputation. Dean felt like he wanted to cry, but couldn't bring himself to do more than stare with an empty gaze. The Jäger program had lost two valuable Jägers, and two valuable pilots. Turning his head to glance to where his brother sat, Dean heart skipped a beat. His baby brother looked dead. The only thing reassuring him that, no, he wasn't suddenly alone, was the meager pulse rate on the heart monitor. Sam's back was beyond strained, and would take months to years of physical therapy to fix, if there weren't any underlying issues, along with his legs, and ankles. They were practically busted, the joints popped out and the ankle itself fissured like the seismic plates. If they healed correctly, which would take months, then it would take a long time just for Sam to build up enough muscle to begin to walk again, which he wouldn't be able to do for a long time now.
"I'm so sorry," Tessa, a nurse, and one of the women who worked in the Jäger partner screenings, sighed, "But I have orders to ask you to report to General Shurley's quarters ASAP. He wants you and Castiel to find new copilots as soon as you can, because you're our best pilots, and the kaiju are expected to start appearing on a weekly basis some time in the near future. When you get a chance, please drop by."
Dean could do nothing but nod, as he turned to report to Chuck's office.
He felt numb.