*Author's Note*
Hey guys, welcome to my own Attack on Titan fanfiction, Assault on Titan! Assault is the same storyline as Attack, but in present day. There will be some changes to the story line and this will follow the manga more than the anime, but will include the 104th Trainee Arc as well. There, of course, will be differences, considering this involves a modern time where we have aircraft and helicopters and tanks, but I have plans for dealing with said measures as far as the Titans go. I always had a feeling I would write this. Everytime I watched the anime or read the manga, the thought always came to me. What if this all happened in present day? I finally succumbed to my urges and produced this. Follow and fave if you like Attack On Titan and if you like modern warfare type stuff.
01
To You, In Present Day: The Fall of Shinganshina, Part 1
Eren Jaeger sighed as he got up from his bed and stared at the alarm clock, the digital arms reading 0830. He rubbed his eyes and stared out his window, seeing the same sight everyone else saw when they looked east, hell, they saw it if they looked any direction. A big ass concrete wall that extended seventy meters tall, made of two feet of steel in between three feet of concrete. Nothing could bring down Wall Maria. Not a volley of Hellfire missiles from the Apaches, a bunker buster from the F-15s, or even a 150mm shell from the Abrams tanks.
Nothing could get through. They were safe from the Titans. Since ancient times, they had been at war with them, and the only thing that kept humanity alive were three walls and six different military units assigned to keep the walls secure.
Those units were the Rotor Wing Force, which consisted of AH-64D Apache Longbows and AH-1Z Super Cobras, the Air Force, which were F-15E Strike Eagles and A-10C Warthogs, the Armored Corps, which housed M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks, the Military Police, an infantry force in charge of protecting the king and other political figures, the Cavalry Regiment, which were MH-60 Black Hawks and LAV-25s and the troops used with the Hawks and LAVs, and the Garrison Force, which were the defenses lining each wall.
All six of these units had a single enemy: the Titans. The Titans seemed to be giant people whose only goal was to eat humans, but as far as military intelligence could find, they had no true reason to eat people. Their only true goal in eating people was killing them. It puzzled everyone, and several believed the Titans were created by humans as a weapon. Those ideas were shot down quickly, but that same question always arose at every discussion the military had about the Titans: "Did we do this?"
Most of the forces only operated to deal with Titans that had massed outside the walls and needed to be cleared out, but the Cavalry Regiment was the only force that went outside the walls and established outposts. So far, no operations had been successful and they had sustained heavy casualties on every operation so far.
Despite their losses, the Cavalry Regiment was Eren Jaeger's dream. He hadn't told his parents or his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman yet, but he planned to today. He had been weak throughout most of his life, so he was hoping the hardcore training the Cavalry Regiment gave him would change him into a strong and professional soldier.
Eren changed out of his pajamas and met with his family downstairs.
His mother had a look of anxiety across her face as she glanced at her son before returning to her stove. "Good morning, Eren."
His father was reading a newspaper at the kitchen table while Mikasa stared out the window, avoiding Eren's gaze as much as possible. The entire mood of the sunshine yellow kitchen was stern and awkward. Eren decided to change that, "Good morning. What's with all of you today?"
Eren's father put down his newspaper and cleared his throat, holding up what looked like a brochure. "Your mother is a little on edge about this."
The first thought to go through Eren's head was oh shit, not my manga stash! But, as he looked at the brochure more, he realized he was in deeper water than explaining his new found love for art. The brochure was his enlistment application to the military, and it was completely filled out by Eren the night before. Eren sighed, "Yes. I was going to tell you guys about that later today. I just needed to-"
His mother slammed a bowl onto the ground, "No. You aren't joining. Forget about it."
Eren gritted his teeth and prepared to speak, but his father interrupted him, "Carla, he's 10. He still has two more years before he sends in the finalization papers. Plenty of time to change his mind if he wants to." He smiled at Eren. "I personally have no problem with you wanting to enlist. Unfortunately, I have to leave for Mitras in Wall Sina today, so I will talk with you about your decision when I get back." He kissed Eren on the head and gave Mikasa and Carla a hug as he opened the door to their house. "Eren." He pulled a key from a lanyard out from his neck, "I'll also show you what's in the basement when I get back too. Goodbye!"
With that, Dr. Grisha Jaeger vanished into the streets of Shinganshina. Carla Jaeger glared at Eren. "I don't care what your father says, you are NOT joining the military."
Eren gritted his teeth and yelled, "It's not your choice! It's mine! You can't control what I do!" Eren snatched the enlistment letter out of her hand and ran out the door. He knew Shinganshina well enough that he could run off and come back home quite easily. He made a left turn, followed by another left then a right.
He came across a blonde haired kid being beat up by three others. The blonde kid was Eren's best friend, Armin Arlert. He was like Eren, weak and wanting to prove himself. But, unlike Eren, he was incredibly smart and often theorized about the Titans and their origins. He, like Eren, also believed the walls were just a way for humanity to survive. The two of them wanted humanity to thrive, which to them meant going outside the walls. He was the only one to know of Eren's interests in the military, specifically the Cavalry Regiment.
Eren charged at the bullies, screaming, "Hey get off of him!"
The bullies seemed intimidated by him as they let go of Armin and fled. Eren caught up with his friend and checked on his wounds. He had a black eye and several bruises across his face, but that looked like it was it. Eren sighed, "Looks like they were afraid of me, huh?"
Armin gave a small laugh and pointed behind him, "Not you."
Eren looked back and noticed Mikasa standing there. He rolled his eyes and went back to tending his friend, "Was this about the wall again?"
Armin nodded, "Yeah. People seem to think that this is living."
Eren nodded, "This isn't living. We're being penned in like livestock, a perfect target for the Titans. This is survival. Humanity is meant to flourish, not be couped up inside some walls."
Mikasa spoke next, "Eren... If you join the military, I'll join with you."
Armin patted his friend on the back, "So will I."
Eren laughed lightly, "You guys mean it? You'll really help me out?
Armin smiled, "Of course. We're friends, right?"
Mikasa sat next to the pair, "And we're family."
A loud boom echoed through the Shinganshina district, followed by a bolt of... lightning? But it was the middle of the day, with not a cloud in sight. Emerging from the bolt of lightning came a hand. A giant red and white hand, as if it didn't have any skin on it. Next came a face, made of purely bone and muscle. The entire figure stood at least twenty meters taller than Wall Maria.
Eren looked upon the colossal sight with both fear and amazement. "Titans..."