Here we go! Tear the World down revised.
I do not own attack on titan
I do plan on updating at least once a week, please enjoy and leave a review even if it's just to critique, I'd love to know how to make this more enjoyable if I can.
Tear the World Down
Ch.1
Victoria greeted the scouts arriving through the door with a warm smile and a wink of her violet eye. She knew each one of them by name. Derrick, Sam, Warren, and Erich. They greeted her cheerfully, Derrick placing a suggestive hand on her shoulder and gave her a dimpled grin. After rolling her eyes at him she passed them their usual coffees and turned away to bring them breakfast when she heard some kind of confrontation right outside her door.
"I do not eat sweets Hange," She heard a man's voice growl.
"C'mon Captain it won't kill ya! You owe me for the research I gave you," It was a woman's voice, the owner of which then appeared a moment later half dragging said captain behind her by the tell-tale scouts' cape. The men at the table hushed, murmuring amongst themselves while eyeing the captain.
"This is ridiculous," The captain hissed. The woman glowered at him and suddenly reached for a pastry laying innocently on the counter and shoved it in his mouth.
"MRF!" The captain chewed begrudgingly. It was still warm and almost burned his tongue with its flaky, buttery crust and warm apple filling. The cinnamon made his senses tingle and it was the best god-damned thing he'd ever eaten. But he'd kill himself before letting anyone know it. So he swallowed with a shrug. "It's alright."
Victoria shook her head at Zoe-another usual patron. "What are you up to now Hange?" She placed a hand on her hip, scolding her playfully.
"Oh Victoria, you make me sound like a troublemaker," The section commander blushed.
The captain glared at his companion, "Because you are," he turned his gaze to Victoria. He gave her a forward look over that almost made her blush too. She was even shorter than himself, with wavy dark hair that reached halfway down her back even while in a ponytail. Her skin looked as smooth as porcelain with curvy hips and the top of her shirt was slightly unbuttoned to reveal a bit of cleavage. He sensed she was not as fragile as her appearance suggested.
Victoria folded her arms over her chest, "Like what you see captain?" she purred.
"Hmph," he turned and found himself a seat, crossing his legs, oozing arrogance and impatience. "Could you just grab us some tea, so we can get out of here,"
Politeness was obviously not his forte.
Victoria's POV
Of course I knew who he was as soon as he stepped through the door. Dad had recently been reassigned to squad Levi, but he conveniently left out how severe the man was. I felt like he was judging my every move.
After I bring Levi and Hange their drinks I go back to rolling out dough in the kitchen. The entryway is large enough to see customers from my work table but what I see unnerves me. I can FEEL the heat of his stare, or perhaps that's just my own embarrassment. I'm used to customers watching, curious, wondering, maybe even infatuated. But though his eyes looked bored, it felt intense and I couldn't fathom why. I brushed the danishes with butter and tossed them in our oven. I went back to wipe the flour off my table but I felt so awkward. I looked up at him and his eyes bore into me as he held his cup with his hand over it instead of holding the handle. My face felt so hot and then I heard a clatter. For fuck's sake. I had pushed my rolling pin onto the floor like a klutz.
I heard my mother come down the stairs. "Good morning sweetie, I heard something fall, everything ok?"
I laughed like a goof. God that's embarrassing. "Yeah, I guess the heat's gotten to me."
My mother smiled, "Take a break, I'll get started on the sourdough." She was a sweet woman, about my height, but she had cut her hair to shoulder height-claimed the ovens made it too hot to bear. Guess vanity got the better of me.
I removed my apron and walked out to talk to my long-time customers. They looked so cheerful today, it made me just as happy. I hoped this peace lasted forever. I felt a surge of gratitude.
Derrick Muller was the burliest of the five scouts. The muscles in his body flexed with every movement. He was all brawn and no brains sadly. He had thick, curly brown hair and a surprisingly charming dimpled smile and pearly white teeth. Most girls in town fawned over him wherever he went.
I sauntered over to the small titan determined to take my mind off that humiliation I had suffered in the kitchen.
"Hey there sweet cheeks," he said with a wink, attempting to put his arm around my waist. I smacked him playfully with my kitchen towel, a bit of flour now dusting the shoulder of his cape. He laughed, "Aww c'mon. Hey, when ya gonna accept my marriage proposal?"
"Maybe when you learn to at least read properly. And stop flirting with your reflection. I'd hate the competition" I retort cattily. His friends guffawed at my jab, though they were assuredly as dimwitted.
This was a beautifully normal thing. Flirting with Derrick, a tempting catch but I never wanted to take the chance. The fear of heartache was too great and he was known for being a womanizer. I was careful not to be too foolish but sometimes I was weak, particularly the day we had shared a drunken kiss not really so long ago. Though my mother hoped I would settle down soon, always nagging about grandbabies. I wanted more though, I wanted to see what was outside of our little world. More than just being barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen while my husband goes on adventures and goofs around with his friends flirting with other women while I'm chasing a little one. There had to be more…
His bright eyes met mine, "That's alright, I like a challenge," he smirked. Oh Derrick, keep dreaming you simple man. My heart ached for something more.
Life went on as normal, but now there was a short- I mean, small…er…difference. Every single morning I saw Captain short stack, who wanted only a cup of black tea. He was so adamant about not being here the first time it befuddled me. I tried to make conversation with him once. It was a short lived one. The third day he came in I brought him his cup and hesitated just a moment too long.
"….yes?" He asked impatiently, drumming his fingers on the table.
I smiled anxiously. "My father just joined your squad. His name is Jake Lehman. Um…." I waited for some type of response but received none. "Are there any upcoming expeditions planned or anything? Keep an eye on my dad for me, he's so selfless it worries me," I laughed a little, "But anyway if you ever-,"
"Please…Stop talking." He said with a grimace.
"Wha-," I clenched my teeth at his rudeness. I was trying to be polite but I guess I didn't have to worry about that with him, "Fine! You're haircut looks stupid and so is the way you hold your cup!" I was seething and stomped my way back into the kitchen. But despite my little outburst he still returned day after day, occasionally with Hange tagging along. He was an enigma to me. When I told my father about his regular patronage he simply scratched his beard and shrugged. Damn him and his enigmaness.
A day came when the scouts were going beyond the walls again, my mother's face stoic this time when father broke the news to her the day before. It was still dark when I heard shuffling from my parent's room, the sound of my father getting ready. I quietly dressed and snuck down the stairs and ran outside, waiting by his horse. He chuckled at the sight of me, "What're you doing?"
"I just want to ride with you to the gate." I reply softly. A part of me wanted to join the scouts with him, but he always refused the notion. Sometimes very harshly. How different is it from living inside these walls, I wondered. Of course, the older I got the more I wondered.
We met up with the rest of the scouts making their way through Shiganshina district, my father falling in seamlessly with his squad, timing perfect. The sun had fully risen now. I almost didn't realize I was clinging to him even tighter. Slowly the gate opened and there was a huge breeze of what I would now call fresh air. I saw beyond the walls and it was nothing like I'd ever seen before. It was fucking beautiful.
"Are you going to be alright walking all the way home?"
"Yea…Dad, I'm going to join the scout regiment." I stated matter of factly. But he pivoted around in the saddle and grabbed me, swinging me down onto the path.
"I love you Victoria."
For the first time since my arrival with him, Levi turned and looked at me. It was an odd sort of look as if he too had once dreamed of going beyond the walls that suddenly felt overwhelmingly stifling.
One day I would fly.
There was always a nervousness in the air whenever they left, a tension that made my head hurt. And sometimes they would be gone for days. What if one day they headed out those gates, and no one at all ever returned?
I tried not to think about it as I lazily meandered through Shiganshina taking in the sights and the lives of the people here. I sat on the edge of a stone bridge overlooking a shallow stream, dreaming of things beyond the walls. Life with no titans, a life with no walls. Eventually I find myself in front of a bar. Hm. Must have been fate. Well, I don't want to be disobey lady fate. So I step inside.
The beer was cheaper and lower in quality than what I was used to, but fuck it. There was something inside me weighing me down.
"Did you see the survey corps heading out again?" My ears caught the conversation of two middle aged men sitting close by. I shouldn't listen in. Don't be nosy I tell myself, but-
The other man scoffed, "Sure I did. Maybe if we're lucky our taxes will go down once they become nothing but titan food. What a waste of money."
I slammed my mug on the table no longer able to contain myself. "Hey asshole, wanna say that to my face, you fucking coward? Those men risk life and limb to try and keep us safe!"
They both stood and crossed their arms, snickering. "Alright, I'm sorry. Sorry that we're wasting precious resources feeding them and keeping them alive."
I move faster than I ever thought possible, swinging my bar stool up into the man's face, wood splinters flying from the broken furniture. His friend's jaw drops. The one I hit doubled over, "You bitch!"
The fucker was quicker than I thought and he grabbed me by the throat, lifting me into the air. Nobody bother to help, damn scum. The other man punched me in the gut, which felt just wonderful. I kicked out but I was too short. Another blow landed on my temple and the world went horribly dark.
When I awoke sometime later I realized I had been placed beside a couple of crates. And the sun was beginning to set. I was dazed and had the worst headache in the world. My thoughts went immediately to my mother who I knew had to be worried sick now. "Shit." I hissed, grasping my head.
I slowly stood up, dusting off my pants and made my way back to the center of town. There were three kids that caught my attention. A dark haired girl with a red scarf, a blonde boy with bright blue eyes, and another kid I recognized to be Dr. Yeager's son, Eren. The doctor came to visit us every once in a while, but my father was always extremely vague when I asked how he had met him.
Suddenly I noticed how oddly silent it was. Time had come to a standstill. There was a booming sound like thunder and when I looked at the sky there was black smoke rising from the ground right outside the wall. And then the whole world shook and came crashing down around us as we saw what had to be a titan looming over the wall, looking down at us. Fear clenched my heart with a death grip and I felt so helpless and tiny.
It all happened so fast as we were all thrown from the impact and stone debris flying by and I could hear the screams around me, swallowing me.
I was slammed against a building and I blinked rapidly to clear my vision. Not everyone had survived whatever had just happened. There were bodies trapped under huge debris. One man's face taken clear off from a large stone.
More rumbling came from the gate and I felt my heart lurch into my mouth.
They were coming.
I don't know what had happened, I was moving only subconsciously, my feet pounding against the cobblestones. But there were many others also running for their lives and the crowd eventually slowed with people trying to push past each other. If only I had gone straight home, I'd be safe in wall Maria. But that titan was so enormous, surely we were all doomed. I had to reach my mother, and keep on running.
I dared to look behind me, "Dear God!" I cried, a huge titan was running straight where we were. I leapt out of the path and decided to run in between the buildings for the next road. I wasn't in the worst shape but I was by no means ready for all of this havoc. But I had to survive, and I was determined to make it home.
It was quite a ways away and by now those from the garrison regiment were attempting to help evacuate people. My lungs burned now, adrenaline steadily wearing off but I knew if I stopped it was over. The screams were getting farther and farther behind me. The gate to wall Maria finally came into view before me and I picked up the pace, willing my burning legs to go farther.
As I get closer to the gate I begin to recognize faces. Faces who came smiling into our shop. Oh, and there's the witch who constantly came in just to find something to complain about, now running for dear life. If she survived I wondered if she would still be just as irate. Y'know, if the shop and our home were still standing by the end of the day.
FOCUS!
I practically flung myself through the gate. I could hear panicked soldiers arguing about shutting them, but there was plenty of time I thought. I brought my pace down to a jog. By now obviously residents of Maria were fleeing, taking the boats to wall Rose. I wondered if my mother had already abandoned our home. I hoped so, but dammit how would I know for sure?
I heard the familiar sound of stone walls crashing down and when I looked behind me I saw a titan almost more terrifying than the first one. There were still people waiting for the boats that had just left. Shit. The one that had crashed through the gates of Maria vanished in a screen of smoke. Some people were taking their chances diving into the deep river.
Nothing else could be done, so I just continue to run. A couple of slow, lumbering titans appear through the opening. I wasn't sure I could make it all the way to wall Rose by foot.
I heard the sound of whirring steel and turned my head. Green capes came into sight like a beacon of hope, wings of freedom holding the monsters at bay so we could escape. And to top it off, it was my father's squad, returning to save us. I beamed with pride when I found my father, flying through the air running them through like butter. I stayed waiting for the boats after all, wanting to make sure my dad made it out of there alive.
Finally, one of the boats returned and we all frantically boarded and I run to the side so I could continue to watch. Another creepy one materialized through the gate, jaws hanging open as it ran. It was such an ugly, stupid thing….
It was headed for Levi as he easily took down another of the beasts and I could hear my father yell, "Captain!" at the top of his lungs. Could the captain really not have noticed the creature? I screamed for him as it dawned on me what was happening and the jaws of the that monster snapped shut around my father, swallowing him whole as he had just enough time to shove Levi out of the way. I screamed and screamed reaching out for him as if I could save him from the titan's belly.
The boat sailed away, leaving the carnage, and my father, behind.