Note: My previous story was a complete fuck up. I might finish, I might not; it'll most likely turn into a crack fic but I think I have something good here. I'll be working on this for now on, and I have no plans on stopping. It is nothing similar to the original manga, so it'd be interesting (I hope).
My childhood wasn't all sunshine and rainbows; yet again, most of ours were not. Living was tough and harsh, and the key to living is to adapt-to become survivors. The population over the first years of the 'plague' decreased dramatically, although slower, death is still visiting these, 'survivors'. There were fights among ourselves: we were... Insane. Mentally damaged by past events. But what I've discovered long ago was the world was cruel, yet beautiful.
Low growls and russles of leathery skin against her bedroom carpet aroused Mikasa from her light slumber. She let out a muffled groan, annoyed by the fact something had woken her up.
The noises stopped.
The young child slid open moist eyes, staring at the blurred image of her ceiling and propped herself up against the wooden frame of her bed. Eyes darted from flowery bed sheets, to the cream paint of her bedroom walls and to her cupboard; trying to locate the source of the disturbance. Her dark grey orbs quickly adjusted to the darkness of her room, the infernal colours of dawn poking through the small gap of her curtains. The only sound that could be heard was Mikasa's light pants. The wooden ends of the bed's frame then shattered from heavy pressure, splints of wood flying across her room. That was when she saw it, the long talons of a creature; pulling itself from it's fours whilst using the broken bed frame as leverage. Mikasa gripped her bedsheets with sweaty palms, panting, and staring at the thing grasping on her bed. Dawn had only made it's appearance seem more menacing, splashes of red and orange lit up it's dark body like a burning ember. It didn't have eyes-not any she could see, but the loss of sight only makes the other senses stronger, right?
The creature scrambled up her bed and snarled, bringing up it's talons to strike the young girl. Mikasa was frozen in fear, eyes wide and choking on her own sobs.
Footsteps...
A lethal claw swiped at her face, and she was fortunate enough it wasn't too deep. The girl closed her eyes and felt hot blood trickle down her cheek, just below her eye, as well as stinging caused by falling tears in her fresh wound.
Snarls... Shouting...
Opening her eyes again, Mikasa saw her father grasping on to the creature's arms and moving it towards her bedroom window and pushed it out. Glass broke, sending sharp shards everywhere and gravity pulled the creature to it's death. It landed with a wet noise which silenced the growls.
"D..dad?" Mr. Ackerman peered through the now broken window, checking if the creature was still alive. Mikasa slowly brought a hand to touch him. "Da-" Her father suddenly jumped back, eyes showing a mixture of shock and fear.
"Mikasa, dear," his usual cheery voice became low with worry, "we need to go." Mikasa looked around the room, hugging close to her father. He picked her up with stiff but gentle arms and let her climb and sit down on his shoulders in a sort of piggy-back ride. Mr. Ackerman made his way downstairs, rushed into the kitchen and swung open the fridge; grabbed a rucksack and stuffed it with the fridge's contents. He then ran towards the front door, but stopped to look at something. Mikasa looked past her father's head and saw a family photo with mum, dad and herself.
It was taken when they were still a whole family. Things looked bright for them, Mikasa's mum was expecting another child, but...
The twelve year old buried her face in her dad's short dirty-blond hair, shedding tears for the second time that day. Mr. Ackerman took the image from it's frame and stuffed it in his coat pocket and left their house for the final time.
Her dad offered her a space in the front seat of the car, she'd normally be thrilled by the opportunity, but she shook her head. That was mom's seat.
Mr. Ackerman found spare clothes in the back of the car and tossed it to her. Mikasa changed while he drove. She saw his face's reflection from the mirror at the top. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration and lips were pressed in a straight line. His hazel eyes had a familiar glint in them ever since mom died; he looked broken... lost... sad. Mikasa's lips formed a line to ask him something, to reassure him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not yet. Not then.
The car stopped in the foresty area of the countryside due to the lack of fuel. Mikasa stepped outside, took a large breath and scanned her surroundings. The sky became dark (she'd been travelling all day) and makeshift tents were bundled up in a close proximity to eachother. There was a partically large one with light shining through, so she peered through the covers. It looked like some sort of weapon storage, she thought. Daggers, knives, bows and arrows and spears were piled up in the middle. Three people were in it; a man with his dark hair slid back who wore a funny hat, a boy with black hair in a weird haircut and...
"Eren?" She barged past the tent's covers and rushed to her best friend. The brunette's face lit up while the other two people in the room looked up to see what was going on.
"Eren!" She lunged forward and hugged Eren and felt him pat her back gently.
The young boy had been her best friend from the early days as well as Armin, and she was grateful she found him. Memories came in to her mind of all three of them playing in the woods; Armin showing her and Eren about the world outside their country. The island they lived on seemed to be a tiny speck in caparison to neighbouring countries.
"Mikasa... I thought you didn't make it." Mikasa came back to reality.
"What? Why?" So many more questions were stuck on the tip of her tongue.
"That's why we moved. Both my parents and Grandad Arlert agreed to move here - it's safer here. Mom begged your dad to come but I think he was too-"
"Distraught." Mikasa interrupted.
"Mikasa," Eren's eyes were clouded with tears, "I'm sorry." His voice was hoarse. The young girl broke the embrace and smiled at the boy.
"Don't. It's in the past, I've moved on. What's important is that we're all here safe now."
"Oh."
"Say, is Armin here?" Eren had mentioned that Armin's granddad had agreed to come with the Yeagers so she was curious to know is where-abouts.
"He is actually. I'll show you!" The brunette grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the tent. He greeted Mikasa's father who was nearby and ran to what was supposedly Armin's tent. He peeked through. "Armin?"
"Wha-?"
Eren released Mikasa from his grasp and went inside, pulling a groggy and sleep-hazed Armin out. He soon noticed Mikasa's presence and embraced her, with Eren joining soon after. The sound of a bell rung through the campsite and the brunette's face instantly wore a huge grin. "The Survey Corps is back!" He looked behind to see the young girl wearing a confused look. He motioned for his two friends to follow.
They climbed over empty crates to peer over the crowd. "Who are the Survey Corps?" She asked.
"Only the best."
"They're a group of soldiers who go on expeditions. They fight nearby titans and gather up food and resources." Armin chirped.
Eren slammed one fist against his chest and another on his back, wearing a proud expression. "I'm training to be one of them!" Mikasa frowned and fiddled with his dark brown hair, braiding a loose tuft. She took a small elastic band from her pocket and tied it up, even though she didn't need to - his messy mane was like wire. "Are they the ones who encounter the most titans? Please Eren, I don't want you to get hurt."
A faint blush formed on Eren's cheeks and he let his bangs cover his face to hide it. "It's too late," the young boy spat bitterly, "I can't back out now. Damn it Mikasa, it's want I want to do. We're like cattle, cramped up together and when the titans feel like it, they pick a few out and eat us. Infact, we're no different. I'd rather die out there," Eren pointed to the distance, "Helping people, keeping us live than stay here and do nothing like a military pig." The green fire in his eyes calmed down, sparring his friends from it's raging wrath. "After all, the right choice isn't the easiest choice - isn't it? Isn't it what you'd want to do?"
Eren and Mikasa were complete opposites. She had always wanted a calm life, going through a normal childhood and even raise children of her own one day. The brunette since day one had been intrigued by war; he'd always imagine what it would be like if he was a world war solider, part of the royal navy or army. He'd ask Armin to play 'armies' or 'war'.
The only topic he had a passion for was history; he loved the grisly details of what happened and was keen to learn.
What Eren wanted was something Mikasa dreaded, she'd avoid it as much as possible, but she couldn't escape the fact that they were indeed like cattle. She wouldn't have a normal life, so what was the point in hoping for one? The young girl looked down to the floor, fixing her eyes on it,
"Yes."
"Armin?" Eren looked at the short blonde.
"Yes." He mirrored.
"Great. I've been meaning to ask you guys if you'd like t-"
"Titans! Evacuate!" A tall man with blonde hair and large dark eyebrows called out, alerting all the people of the campsite. A large titan burst out the clearing, snapping at nearby people like a rabid dog. Eren grabbed two thick sticks close to him and charged at the beast, intending to stab the titan through it's nape. Mikasa saw her father grab Eren swiftly and he murmured in her ear to tell her to climb on his back. Mr Ackerman held the two boys with one in each arm and meandered around titans to reach the stream of fleeing evacuees. Mikasa swung back her head to see where they were going to: a medium-sized building with sturdy walls. It was coated in metals that could not be broken by the teeth or claws of titans, and would make a safe temporary resort.
Her father scrambled up desperately, but didn't make it that far due to the heavy burden of the three children. His breathing became heavy and his movements slow; it wasn't too soon before he collapsed on the floor, panting.
Hannes, Eren's neighbour passed by and shooed the young boy and Armin to keep moving and ran to help a nearby child, not seeing Mikasa since she was behind her father. "But what about M-" Eren was soon hushed and he continued to shove the two boys up, ignoring their fists thumbing against him to turn around. She climbed off from Mr. Ackerman's back and tried to pull him up, muscles aching, but she was young, weak - she couldn't move him, not one inch.
She screamed, the acknowledgement of not being able to save her father crushing her. A small titan scrambled up the hill and knawed at Mr Ackerman's limbs, tearing flesh out and swallowing it. He cried, screamed in agony but others were focussed on their own lives. Mikasa let out a small whimper, and the titan lifted up it's head and opened it's gruesome maw to take in her scent.
It had found a possible female host, to spawn more demons into the world.
They were sadistic creatures, killing for the sole purpose of ripping through flesh, taking pleasure in seeing hosts suffer whilst barely alive.
The young girl was paralyzed in fear, she couldn't move, the titan wiggled it's haunches to prepare for a big spring and leapt; screaming it's victory.
Mikasa saw a flash of silver and the titan was dead, it's nape streaming blood and it's body evaporating. A boy her age pulled a handkerchief from the side pocket of his tattered jeans and wiped the mess of the blades he held. They where long and thin, having a rectangular shape with cropped tips. As he wiped the blades bent as though they were made of thick flexible plastic.
He turned around so she could see his face, and she recognised him as the young boy in the tent. Mikasa felt her face crinkle and tears threatening to fall.
"Please," she croaked, voice hoarse, "help him." She pointed to her trembling father but the boy just shook his head, looking down at his leather boots. The young girl brought a fist to hit sense into him but her father's laugh interrupted her.
"I'm a lost cause, there's nothing you can do for me." His tone was sour and bitter, a major contrast from it's previous glory. He pointed to the boy next to her. "The young lad already knows, I'm not going to make it. Save yourselves."
Mikasa wiped away her tears. "Not without you." A titan caught their scents and stalked closer to the trio, snarling.
"Mikasa, come here." Her father beckoned and took the photo from his pocket. "Take this," he took her small hands within his own larger ones and gave her the photograph, "Now go, kiddo." The boy next to her slung her over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes and ran off. "No! Please, we need to-" The titan pounced on her father, finishing him off and sent gore flying. Mikasa put a hand to her mouth as she felt her gag reflex trigger and the ravenette below her turned his head and glared. "Brat, if you vomit on me you'll receive an ass whooping you'd never forget."
"You could've saved him." Mikasa's voice soured up, tone bitter and vile. He sighed.
"No. I couldn't."
He stopped briefly so Mikasa could get down and handed her a small pocket knife, it's blade glimmered from the moonlight.
"Just in case."
The journey up was awkward, silent yet uneventful - the titans gave up on the survivors to feast on the ones below. It was Mikasa's new companion that broke the silence.
"You're Mikasa, right? That brat Eren has been blabbering on about you. It was mop top's idea for me to even give a shit about you."
The young girl gave him a cold, hard glare and kicked a small stone in his general direction.
"Some potty mouth you've got there."
"Oh, I say all the bad words." He kicked the stone back.
"So what about you," Mikasa asked, "what's your name?"
"Levi."
She'd heard that name before, and she pouted for a few seconds before answering.
"Like in the Bible?"
"Probably. Like the hell I'd know."
Mikasa didn't reply, instead she focussed her eyes apon the distance. There stood a metal house, all cubic shaped and decorated with small scratches caused by titans. Her mood increased and she let off a smile.
"We're close. This area is normally littered with titan spawnlings, they get attracted to our scent, so be on high alert."
The pair soon made it to 'Paradis', as Levi called it, and was immediately welcomed. They both had part of their rations and Mikasa reunited with Armin and Eren again, this time with Levi stuck to her side. It was called a night, and only Eren, Levi and herself was awake. She couldn't sleep, not with the burden of both her parents being dead weighing her down. She let out a whimper and Eren questioned her, offering comfort. "I'm cold," her words came out choked with sadness, "I have nobody left. I have no where to go." Eren unravelled the crimson scarf around his neck and prepared to offer it to Mikasa, but Levi already had his arm wrapped around her - offering her his warmth. Eren stopped himself from screaming and attacking Levi right there, he stayed calm, but the previous admiration and respect he had for the ravenette vanished.
Eren had found a spot next to Armin and fell asleep, drooling and snoring, and Mikasa snuggled against Levi's body. It was warm, and although he referred to her as a 'brat' he never shoed her away. The young girl didn't mind, as comfort was all she needed.
To clear confusion this story was heavily based off Alien. Shit's going down, I promise. It also takes place in the UK, as it is hard for me to write about places I haven't seen or been to, eg. America. Plus it is rather similar to the real Paradis island. Please review. Likin' or favouritin' is cool too. Pls? No?
:(
Also, "Fuck you Levi. Fuck you." - Eren.
Eren has beef with Levi. (Insert beef picture here)
