I own nothing. This story is set in an alternate universe. There will be OOC. You have been warned.
While You Were Sleeping
Chapter One: Wakeup Call
"And you're sure the disease is fatal?" Asuka Langely Sohryu asked.
"I'm quite sure," the doctor said. "You have, at most, six years left to live."
"Is there a cure?" Misato Katsuragi asked. Asuka could tell that the older woman was having trouble keeping her voice calm.
"No," the doctor said simply. "At this time there is no cure."
"Is there anything we can do?" Misato asked. She almost sounded like she was begging.
"There is an experimental process that may help," the doctor said. He took a deep breath before continuing. "The process itself has had very little field use, but the theories behind it are sound."
"What is it?" Asuka demanded. This was her life for Christ's sake and the man was dancing around the topic.
"Cryogenic freezing," the doctor said flatly. "Or more like suspended animation. So far it has yielded a one hundred-percent success rate."
"How long were those test subjects frozen?" Asuka pressed.
"We have several rats that have been in suspended animation for around three years and they are still perfectly capably of being brought back to conciseness," the doctor answered. "More recently several humans were frozen."
"How long were they out?" Misato asked.
"Less then a year," the doctor explained. "They were brought around because that was how long their contract was for, not because anything went wrong. Theoretically at least, they could have remained frozen for twice their natural life space."
"How does it work?" Misato asked.
"The process slows down all natural body functions by half," the doctor explained. "It does not completely halt them because that would kill the person."
"So if everything is lengthened like that," Misato began, "Asuka would have twelve years?"
"Correct," the doctor said. "The disease Ms. Sohryu has is become increasingly common and it is being studied right now. A cure is thought to be coming in at least eight years."
"So I'd only age four years?" Asuka asked. The doctor nodded. "What did the subjects say about it?"
"They said that it was like falling into a deep, dreamless sleep," the doctor said. "So far the only down side is the cost. It is extremely expensive."
"That isn't a problem. Just charge it to NERV," Misato said quickly. "So what do you think Asuka?"
"If it lets me live I'll do it," Asuka said.
"I wonder what Shinji will think," Misato said.
"Why would he care?" Asuka asked. "Stupid little boy."
(:Ten Years Later:)
"How are we doing on time?" Asuka heard someone ask. She tried to open her eyes, but everything remained dark. Slowly her eyes began to focus.
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded as she spotted a man sitting next to her bed. She sat up and quickly realized that she was naked under her sheet. "Pervert!" She pulled back her fist and punched the man as hard as she could. It was like punching a wall covered in sandpaper. The man scowled at her and squeezed the cylinder strapped to his throat.
"She's awake," he said dryly. His head tilted slightly as he listened to someone through his earpiece. "Yeah that was her screaming. Affirmative." Asuka ignored him and looked around the room she was in. The only illumination came from a small red-tinted lantern on the table. In the dim illumination she could just make out what was in the rest of the room.
"Oh my God." Her eyes widened as she noticed a row of cryogenic pods up against one wall. One of them was open, but the others were what drew her attention. The clear plastic windows on the front of nine of the ten pods were oblique with a dark, oozing liquid and filled with holes. She quickly realized that the liquid was blood. It looked like someone had taken a gun and shot all the people in their pods through the windows.
"Can you move yet Ms. Sohryu?" the man beside her demanded. Asuka turned to look from the pods to the man.
"Did you kill them?" she demanded.
"The people in the pods?" the man asked.
"Yes them!" Asuka snapped.
"No," the man said. "Now get dressed." The man laid something on the bed and turned around. Asuka carefully got off the bed on the side opposite the man and looked at the clothes. They were gray and white urban camouflage BDUs. She frowned in distaste and quickly began to get dressed.
"Where are we?" Asuka demanded. "Are we still in the Tokyo-2 Hospital?"
"Affirmative," the man said. "Are you dressed?"
"Yeah," Asuka said. "I still need shoes though."
"They're boots at the foot of the bed," the man said. Asuka started forward and cursed as her foot landed in something slippery. For a moment she almost regained her balance and then she tumbled to the floor. "Are you alright?"
"Perfect," Asuka spat. She started to sit up when her eyes fell on a still form lying only inches away. It was a young man with a hole above his right eye and a large portion of the back of his skull missing. Asuka screamed and crawled backwards as fast as she could. She hit something and looked up. The man stared down at her. She had run into his legs.
"Them I killed," he said simply. Asuka turned back and noticed that there were dozens of bodies on the floor. Her eyes fell on the shoulder patch of the nearest man. She immediately recognized it as the UN flag. Her eyes turned back to the man. He was dressed in urban BDUs like her; only he was wearing a bulletproof vest crisscrossed with bandoliers and support harnesses. At first he look old, maybe early forties, but Asuka quickly realized that he was fairly young. He just looked older because of the stubble, blood, and dirt on his face. "Please put the boots on."
"Right." Asuka quickly turned away and grabbed the boots. She nearly threw up as she realized that there was blood staining her hands and the soles of her feet. She quickly pulled the boots on and stood up.
"You carry this," the man said as he handed the lantern to her and un-slung his assault rifle. "Follow me."
(:ii:)
"Did you really kill all those men back there?" Asuka asked as she followed the soldier. The halls were completely dark and the only light came from the lantern that the soldier had given her.
"Affirmative," the soldier answered. Asuka would have expected details from anyone else, but the soldier had stuck to his strict yes-or-not format. Any question not asked in that style was ignored.
"Why?" Asuka asked anyway. She was ignored. "Who do you work for?"
"NERV," the soldier answered, temporarily surprising Asuka. It was the first non-yes-or-no question that he had answered since they had met. 'But why would a NERV soldier kill soldiers from the UN?' she wondered. 'Doesn't NERV work for the UN?'
"Since when did NERV train soldiers?" Asuka asked, trying to start any kind of conversation to break the eerie silence of the apparently abandoned hospital. She was promptly ignored again. The soldier stopped suddenly and Asuka almost walked into him. He pushed open one of the doors lining the hallway and walked inside. Asuka followed him and found herself in the hospital's main stairwell. "We're on the third floor, right?"
"Affirmative," the soldier said. He squeezed the cylinder on his throat. "We're coming down." He quickly started down the stairs and Asuka had to move quickly to catch up.
"Any problems Captain?" someone hissed. Asuka nearly screamed as another soldier stepped out of the darkness and into the light of her lamp.
"No," the first soldier answered. "Come on," he hissed. Asuka turned and noticed that he was halfway down the stairs. She ran after him and almost tripped.
"You're a Captain?" she asked.
"Affirmative," the soldier answered. They reached the next landing.
"Everything's quiet Captain," another soldier said.
"Okay," the Captain said. They reached the bottom of the stairs and the Captain stopped. He tugged something from one of the pouches on his belt and clipped it to his helmet. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was a night vision device. "Turn out that light and put your hand on my shoulder." Asuka did as she was told. In the dark she heard the door leading to the lobby open and they started forward. A moment later the Captain's hand touched hers and they stopped. "How is everything down here Richey?"
"Good sir," a voice answered from the darkness.
"Everything's been quiet," another voice answered.
"Keep it that way," the Captain said coolly. He gripped Asuka's hand again and they began moving. The Captain led her away from the lobby's front and Asuka heard him knocking. Another door opened and Asuka was led inside. A red lantern flared on and Asuka found herself in a small back room with four soldiers, the captain, and a table. "What's happening El Tee?" the Captain asked. The largest soldier sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Bad things," he answered wearily
(:ii:)
Asuka watched as the Captain stared at the map that had been spread across the table. He and the El Tee had spent several minutes talking about how the LZ had been compromised. Apparently that was a very bad thing. "This must be the eighth time," the El Tee growled, his voice barely loud enough for Asuka to hear.
"Tenth," the Captain corrected absently. He circled an area on the map and straightened up. "Well?" The El Tee leaned over the map and whistled.
"That's a long jog through hostile territory," he commented. "You think she can make that in her condition?"
"You might as well ask her," the Captain said absently. He had already gone back to studying his map. The El Tee fixed Asuka in a penetrating glare.
"We have five miles to go to the next landing zone," he said simply. "Can you jog that?"
"I'll be fine," Asuka sneered angrily. Nobody accused her of being weak. "You're just looking got a reason to stop so that you can rest." The El Tee's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Charming as ever Ms. Sohryu."
"What do you mean by that?" Asuka demanded. "Do I know you?"
"Children," the Captain said warningly. "Behave." The El Tee turned and moved to sit next to the Captain and leaned back in his chair.
"What now?"
"We call in the new plan to the Company," the Captain said.
"I really do get the feeling that they want us all to croak," the El Tee growled. "They keep sending us on these damned high risk missions knowing full well that a spy will let the Crusaders know."
"Don't argue with the Company," the Captain said simply. "They pay the bills and we do the work."
"Well a company trying to kill its employees may not be worth working for," El Tee growled.
"True," the Captain allowed. "Fieldy?"
"Sir?" one of the other three soldiers in the room asked.
"Get me an uplink," the Captain ordered smoothly. "They're going to want to know where to pick us up."
"Yes sir," the soldier answered as he lifted a heavy-looking, but compact radio backpack.
"Tell the rest of the men about the new plan," the Captain added. The El Tee nodded and squeezed the cylinder on his throat before he began to speak.
"You know," Asuka began, moving to stand in front of the table where the Captain was sitting. "You have yet to tell me just what the hell is going on."
"Do you have any idea what's going on?" the Captain asked as he placed his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers in front of his face.
"No," Asuka answered simply. She was suddenly struck by severe case of déjà vu.
"Good," the Captain said. "You'll stay that way until I am ordered to tell you otherwise." Asuka's face curled into a scowl.
"Asshole."
"Just figured that out?" the Captain asked.
"We have the Company's acknowledgement sir," the radio operator said. The Captain nodded tiredly.
"Not like they would have a better plan, eh sir?" another soldier said. He was another youngish man with but he had a dull red cross on the side of his helmet.
"Shut up Doc," the Captain said. "Let's get ready to pull up our stakes and get the hell out of Dodge."
(:ii:)
Asuka watched as the soldiers began to pack. In addition to the five soldiers who were in the backroom, four more had come in. The Captain had pulled a young female soldier aside and had designated her as Asuka's guardian. "Try this." Asuka took the helmet that she was being offered and pulled in on. "Is it better then the last time?" the woman asked.
"A lot," Asuka said as she buckled the chinstrap. "Thanks."
"No problem," the woman said. "Can I ask you something?"
"I guess," Asuka said as she buckled the side straps of her heavy bulletproof vest.
"Who are you?" the woman asked rather bluntly as she bowed down to inspect the buckles on Asuka's vest. "You must be someone really important if the Company's sending us to find you."
"I'm Asuka Langely Sohryu," Asuka said proudly. "I'm the Second Child."
"The Eva pilot?" the woman asked in surprise. "No wonder Commander Fuyutsuki sent us."
"What happened to Commander Ikari?" Asuka asked.
"Gendo Ikari attempted to betray NERV and humanity," the woman said. "He was executed. As a matter of fact it was Captain who fire the shot."
"Oh," Asuka said quietly. "Why is everyone so surprised that you were sent to find me?" Asuka asked, trying to change the subject.
"We're the NERV First Special Forces Unit, Operation Detachment Genesis," the woman explained. "We're pretty much all mercenaries though. Most of us have extensive backgrounds in covert operations."
"That's enough information Hamilton," the Captain said warningly.
"Sorry sir," the woman said, looking slightly ashamed.
"Asshole," Asuka growled. The Captain showed absolutely no sign of hearing her. "So what's your name?"
"I'm Lance Corporal Jessica Hamilton," the woman said as she shook Asuka's hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Show her how to use a pistol and a set of NVGs," the Captain added from where he was sitting.
"Yes sir," Jessica said quickly. Asuka thought it was rather obvious that she had a crush on the Captain. "Here." Asuka took the black goggles and stared at them questioningly. "They fit on this little rail," Jessica said as she pushed the large goggles on Asuka's helmet back and tugged down a small folding rail. She slid the night vision goggles on easily. "Then you just have to flick the switch here."
"Like this?" Asuka began.
"No," Jessica said quickly. "You'll blind yourself." Asuka's hand quickly moved away from the switch and Jessica took the goggles off. "Have you ever used a pistol before?"
"I've used a few in Germany," Asuka said. "I had combat training there."
"Well these pistols are pretty easy to figure out," Jessica said as she held out a small black pistol. "It's a Type-45 TACOM. There are eight rounds in each clip."
"It's a H&K USP45 Compact Tactical," Asuka said as she took the pistol. "I was trained with these."
"Oh," Jessica said. "Good. We actually call it a Tactical Compact so we can use the cool TACOM acronym." She reached into a pouch on her belt and fished out two clips. Asuka took them and tucked them into the pouch on her belt. She also slid the pistol into the holster on her right hip.
"Everyone ready?" the Captain asked as he stood up. There was a mumble of agreement and the Captain squeezed the cylinder on his throat. "Pierce? Any Crusaders around?"
"Crusaders?" Asuka whispered.
"The bad guys," Jessica explained.
"Good," the Captain said, obviously having gotten a positive answer. "Get down here. We're moving out."
(:ii:)
"How are you doing?" Jessica asked as she continued to jog by Asuka's side.
"I'm fine," Asuka panted as she tried to ignore the burning in her chest and legs. She had a feeling that even with the quick pace the squad was moving at she was slowing them down.
They had been jogging for almost twenty minutes and they probably could have covered more ground, but they were being careful to stay in the shadows. "How much further is it to the landing zone?"
"We're about halfway there," Jessica answered. "Just stay behind Richey. He's one of our SAW-men."
"SAW?" Asuka puffed.
"Squad Automatic Weapon," Jessica answered. "It's a light machinegun."
"You wouldn't think its so light if you had to carry it," the man in front of Asuka growled. Suddenly Jessica grabbed Asuka's vest and forced her against the wall they had been running next to.
"What?" Asuka began in bewilderment, but Jessica's hand clapped over her lips tightly. Out of the greenish haze down the road a massive pickup truck came into sight through Asuka's NVGs. She watched in amazement as it drove past the small group of soldiers and disappeared around the corner. "What was that?"
"A Ford F-350 with a fucking Ma Deuce on the back," the SAW-man hissed.
"Don't worry," Jessica said cheerfully. "They shoot as bad as they look." The soldiers began to stand and Asuka followed their example. "We better get going before something bad happens," Jessica said. There was a muffled crack and Asuka looked around for the source of the noise.
"Did you hear that?" she asked, turning to glance at Jessica. "Jessica?" There was a small black hole in the center of her NVG-illuminated helmet. For a second Jessica just stood there and then she fell straight back without a twitch,
(:ii:)
"Jessica!"
"Move!" Asuka felt something jerk her sharply, almost throwing her at an open door. The SAW-man grabbed her by the front of her vest and pushed her in. The Captain staggered in a moment later dragging Jessica. "Doc!" The man with the red cross on his helmet quickly hurried to kneel beside Jessica. He peeled off one of his gloves and pressed his fingers against her neck. After a second his face fell, but he quickly moved on to the next wounded soldier. Asuka carefully pulled off Jessica's NVGs and closed her friend's wide eyes. Suddenly a low thunderous rumble replaced the pops of the soldiers' assault rifles.
"It's the fucking Ma Deuce!" one of the soldiers bellowed. Asuka could only watch in shock as bullets punched through the building's brick front. The Captain shoved her roughly to the ground and threw himself at one ofthe building's two shattered windows. He raised his assault rifle and emptied the clip out the window. He pulled a gray cylinder from his vest.
"Cover your eyes!" he tossed the grenade out the window and Asuka shoved his face into her arms in an attempt to shield herself from the blinding light. "Alright," the Captain's calm voice said over the occasional shots from the sniper at the window. Asuka looked up and pulled off her NVGs. There was enough light from the fire outside to the window to see in. "What's our count Doc?"
"Two dead," the man said. "Hamilton and Ryan. Three more are wounded, one seriously."
"Shit." There was a long pause before anyone spoke again. Suddenly Asuka felt someone rest a hand on her shoulder. The Captain kneeled beside her and glanced at Jessica's body for a moment. "Loosing a friend is always hard," he said finally. "But I'm down three soldiers and I need all the help I can get." He pried Jessica's assault rifle out of her grip and offered it to Asuka. She stared at it and her eyes widened momentarily when she saw blood on the rifle's grip. The Captain must have noticed because his gloved hand quickly wiped it away.
"I'll do it," Asuka said as she cautiously took the rifle.
"Alright," the Captain said. "Its set on two-round burst. That means it will fire two bullets every time you pull the trigger. It will kick some, but just aim it and squeeze the trigger."
"Okay," Asuka said quietly.
"So what's the plan?" the El Tee asked.
"I'm going to call the Company," the Captain said. "Let's see if we can bring a few H-Jets down on their positions."
"They'd have to destroy the entire building across the street," the sniper called as he fired again.
"They can do that," the Captain said. "Fieldy? Get me a link."
"I'm on it," the radio operator said.
"We'll also need a medivac," the medic said. "These guys can't make it far in the shape they're in." The Captain nodded in agreement and took the offered radio handset.
(:ii:)
Asuka looked around the front of the building. She, the Captain, the radio operator, and one of the SAW-men had stayed in the front room while the rest of the team waited by the backdoor for the medivac. "Sir," he radio operator called. "The H-Jets are in place and awaiting orders."
"Okay," the Captain said. "You done yet Richey?" The young SAW-man nodded and patted the claymore mine he had just set.
"As soon as that door opens this little baby will blow those assholes a new one!" he yelled over the gunshots from the building across the street.
"Go back with the others!" the Captain yelled. The SAW-man picked up his light machinegun and quickly moved towards the back of the building. The Captain pulled a small, boxy device off of his vest. "Tell them I'm using an infrared strobe to mark the target!" The radio operator nodded and quickly relayed the message. The Captain stood up and hurled the device out the window.
"They have acquired the target and they are beginning their attack run!" the radio operator yelled. Asuka watched in amazement as two massive, black VTOLs swept in low and slow and began firing. The building across the street was reduced to rubble in seconds under the hail of high-powered machineguns and rockets.
"Let's go!" the Captain yelled. Asuka nodded and pulled on her NVGs as she jogged through the small building to join the other soldiers.
"The medivac is here!" someone yelled as a third VTOL swept in low. The soldiers immediately began to file out through the broken door. Captain shoved Asuka out into the night. He ran next to her carrying Jessica's body.
"Look out!" Asuka pivoted and brought up her assault rifle. To her shock a young teenager stumbled out of the darkness. He was cradling a massive assault weapon in his frail arms. The Captain muscled her aside and fired. The powerful rounds from his large rifle hit the young boy and sent him tumbling backwards in a spray of blood. Asuka was pulled onto the VTOL by one of the crew chiefs and the Captain was similarly helped. The door gunner had brought his large three-barreled weapon to bear and was firing at the people swarming the roof of the building that the soldiers had been hiding in. Asuka glanced down and saw that only the El Tee was lumbered towards them with an injured soldier slung over his shoulder. Suddenly he pitched over and sprawled across the ground.
"They're dead!" the door gunner yelled.
"Hold it!" the Captain bellowed, the VTOL was already ascending. "Fuckers!" Suddenly he simply disappeared. Asuka shoved her way to the open door and saw the Captain hobbling towards the El Tee's body.
"Get back there!" she screamed as she aimed her assault rifle at the pilots. The Captain had saved her life and she wasn't going to watch him die.
"What the fuck are you doing!" the first door gunner yelled as he started to draw a pistol from his vest. Asuka never even saw the medic move. One moment the crew chief was standing and the next he was lying on the floor of the VTOL clutching his bleeding face. The medic stood over him and slid a pair of brass knuckles into his vest.
"You heard the woman!" he yelled as he brought his pistol around to aim at the downed crew chief. The VTOL began descending almost instantaneously. Asuka turned and saw the Captain still crouched over the two bodies. His assault rifle, probably empty by then, was slung over his shoulder and he was firing at the approaching enemies with his pistol. The radio operator took the door gun's controls and opened fire. The medic dropped out of the VTOL and moved to help the Captain. He grabbed one of the downed soldiers and the Captain began dragging the El Tee's body. The last crew chief grabbed the body and someone dragged the Captain in as another soldier slammed the side door.
"Doc!" someone yelled. "Get over here. The Captain is seriously fucked up!"
(:ii:)
Asuka watched as the Captain kneeled down next to the El Tee. The medic finally managed to cover the hole in the larger man's chest and he grinned weakly at the Captain. "You don't look the good Touji," the Captain said. Asuka stared at the man in shock. He was definitely the largest of the three stooges.
"And you look like shit," Touji shot back. "Shit full of holes."
"You're in bad shape," the medic agreed. "I should really. . ."
"Give me a minute," the Captain interrupted. Touji chuckled and gasped in pain. He took a deep shuddering breath and stared at the Captain.
"Listen to me," he said slowly. "Take care of Hikari."
"Don't worry," the Captain said. "You'll be there to do it. Just hold on."
"You never lied to us before," Touji said. "Don't start now." The Captain's head lowered. "You have to take care of her. You hear me Shinji?"
"Of course," the Captain answered.
"I always was a little jealous that you were with Hikari," the larger man said. "I guess I should have opened my big mouth sooner, eh?"
"Really," the Captain said with an annoyed shake of his head. "Just hold on a little longer." Suddenly Touji's body seemed to slump and his head fell to the ground. "Touji! God damn you Suzuhara wake up!"
"Its no use," the medic said tiredly. "He's been shot in the lungs. I'm amazed he could still talk." Shinji reached out and slowly closed the larger man's eyes. "Now its your turn sir," the medic said as he began to unfasten Shinji's bandoliers and his vest to reveal his blood-stained BDU blouse. He looked up and Asuka stared at his cobalt blue eyes.
"Hi Shinji."
"Hello Asuka."
End
(:ii:)
Author's notes. Just tidying up a little.