A/N: Okay so this story was originally just a one shot that I wrote a few weeks ago, but the plot bunnies kind of just INVADED MY BRAIN and wouldn't stop, so I turned it into a chapter story. A few of the details have been changed, but the overall story is basically still intact. If you did happen to read the one shot, there will be a few scenes the same, but a lot of it is all new, so I hope you guys enjoy Shingeki no Synchroshipping! (that was a bad pun, I know). And also, the first chapter of this is about as harsh as the first episode of SNK (as you should be able to tell from the title) but hey, it's freaking SNK, its expected. Anyway, enough babbling, enjoy!
Chapter 1: Maria Falls
It was a hot and humid afternoon, the sun was still high in the sky and only small clouds were scattered about, giving little relief from the rays of heat. Atem sat at the edge of his town next to his friend Duke, idly chatting about how annoying their families were. It had been as normal as any other day, the boy had woken up to his little sister Anzu whining about something as usual, and after doing his morning chores of collecting wood and water, he had ducked away to go meet his friend. Duke was leaning back on his arms as he dangled his legs over the edge of a high brick wall, looking out over the country side.
"Wouldn't it be awesome to just get out and explore?" he was saying, "I mean, this is the highest point in our town, and I still can't even see the next village from here! I've never even seen past that forest," he pointed over in the distance, and Atem nodded.
"Sometimes I have this dream where I climb over the wall," Atem murmured, his eyes distant as he stared out in the same direction as his ebony haired friend.
Duke's eyes widened as he turned to stare at Atem, "Climb over the wall?! That has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" He exclaimed. Atem turned to look at him, slightly surprised by his outburst. "For one, the only people to ever go outside the walls are the Recon Corps, which is incredibly stupid in itself, and two, the wall is fifty meters high, it's impossible."
"Relax, it's just a dream," Atem said, holding his arms up in defence, "I didn't say I wanted to do it. I'm just curious about the outside world is all."
Duke turned to glare out at the field, "Yeah, well curiosity killed my uncle," he spat. "Going out there is suicide, Atem." He then turned back to his friend, a very serious look in his eyes. "Tell me something," he said. "Are you interested in joining the military?"
Atem was a bit taken back by his sudden questioning, but looked to the side as he thought for a moment. "I don't know, maybe," he shrugged.
Duke narrowed his eyes, "Whatever you do, please, please, don't ever join the Recon Corps. The minute you go outside those walls, you won't come back, I can promise you that." Atem was surprised at how serious Duke was being, for usually he was known to be a light hearted joker all the time. Perhaps this was Duke's way of saying that he cared.
Atem cracked a smile, "Aw, you're just worried I'm going to make a rash decision one day, aren't you?"
Duke ducked his eyes down, "I'm just saying it's a stupid idea," he replied. He then lowered his voice, "And I don't want you to end up like my uncle."
Atem slung an arm over Duke's shoulder, "My, does Duke Devlin have a soft side?" he teased.
Duke tried to push him away, "Cut it out, I was just saying."
"You totally care!" Atem announced, poking his friend's side.
"Shut up! I do not!" Duke retorted, "sharing feelings is for girls," he made a gagging noise. He then stood up from where he was, "Where's a stump I can chop up, I don't feel manly enough." Atem just laughed, looking up at Duke who obviously felt uncomfortable. That was what he had always been like, never really showing how he really felt about anything. Deep down though, Atem knew he did care for his wellbeing, just like any other friend, it just didn't need to be said. Duke held out his hand to help Atem up, and the boy accepted it, allowing Duke to pull him to his feet.
It was then that Duke froze.
Atem stared at his friend in confusion, wondering why he had such an odd look on his face. "What's the matter?" he asked.
"...Don't you hear that?" Duke murmured, turning around to face the village. Atem listened in, and he started to hear something. A dull, pounding noise, growing louder and louder.
"Yeah, I hear it..." Atem replied, his eyebrows creasing in confusion. "But what...?" his sentence trailed off as they walked over to the path that lead into the village, and what they caught sight of made Atem's gut fall straight down to his feet.
Titans.
On the hill they were standing on, the two boys could clearly see the other side of their town, where scores of titans were trampling on houses and wreaking havoc.
And it was on the other side of town where Atem and Duke lived.
"Shit!" Duke exclaimed, fear coursing through him as he lurched forwards at a sprint. Atem stared wide eyed at the scene for a moment, before snapping back and calling out to his friend.
"Wait! Duke!" Atem could feel his heart thumping in his chest as he ran after his friend, instantly worried about his sister. Only being 8 years old, the little girl knew little about the titan threat, and Atem knew that she would be absolutely terrified right now. The two boys sprinted through their town, as what was once a dull pounding became so loud the ground was shaking. Screams were erupting around them as the towns people tried to escape, yet through all of the terror, Duke and Atem found themselves running towards the threat, against the current of people.
"Anzu!" Atem was calling out through the crowd, trying to find his family. They were on the main road of the town, so if they were running, he was sure to pass them. "Mum, Dad!" His eyes desperately searched through the hoards of people, but none of them resembled his family. Duke was also searching for his loved ones, but still neither of them could see who they were looking for.
Still desperately pushing through scores of people, Atem and Duke suddenly caught sight of a titan to their right, pulling someone out of a house just off of the main street. Atem was staring wide eyed as the girl screamed and thrashed around in its grip, as the titan opened its mouth. Duke instantly grabbed Atem's arm and tugged him to the side.
"Don't look!" He warned, "Just keep running, we'll find them," he promised. Breathing raggedly and heart pounding in his chest, Atem pushed forwards, his home now clear in sight. He sprinted up towards the old wooden house, and burst through the front door.
It was empty.
He stared at the space in front of him. Could they have already escaped? Wouldn't he have seen them? A million questions ran through his mind, when a panicked hand landed on his shoulder.
"Atem! We have to get out of here!" Duke shouted. A loud pounding on the ground alerted them to another titan close by, and just as Atem's brain told his legs to move, the wooden structure suddenly collapsed on top of him.
Having been standing in the doorway, Atem was crushed under the hard wood frame, only meters from the large foot that had crushed it. Duke had jumped back in fright, narrowly missing the falling debris. His immediate fear for his friend however, distracted him from the being who had crushed the house.
"Atem!" Duke called out in panic, reaching for his friend. Atem managed to push a beam of wood off of his back, but as soon as he tried to pull himself out, he felt two rusty nails digging into the back of his thigh, painfully ripping the skin open. He let out a wince as Duke grabbed his hand, trying to pull him out some more. Duke pulled on Atem's arm, and managed to move him forwards, but a few of the beams of wood that were on top of his legs moved forwards also, and Atem let out a pained cry.
"My leg," he winced, biting his bottom lip, "Something's digging into my leg." He could feel blood tricking down the back of his thigh, as it burned with pain, and the pounding noise seemed to move around them. Atem's face turned pale when he saw a face loom up in front of them.
"Duke! Behind you!" He shouted, and Duke let go of his hand for a second, to see the titan reaching down for him. Duke was as pale as the walls, as he panicked and grabbed onto Atem's arm again. "No you idiot, get out of here!" Atem yelled at him.
"I'm not leaving you!" Duke yelled back, sweat beading on his forehead as he tried to push off the wood that was on top of Atem. The other boy screamed at his friend to leave, but Duke didn't listen, and Atem could only watch as the large hand moved down to grab at the ebony haired boy. Atem yelled out in protest, grabbing onto Duke's arm in an attempt to keep him on the ground, as deceitful tears stung his eyes. Duke looked surprised at Atem's sudden constriction of his arm, until the titan's fingers wrapped around his torso. Duke turned and looked up at the monster that had hold of him, and Atem knew he had never heard a more terrified scream in his entire life. As Duke was pulled from Atem's grasp, screaming and thrashing around, Atem felt a cold wave of adrenaline overcome him, fueled by dread.
"Duke!" he called out desperately, grabbing onto a wooden pole that was still in tact, and pulling himself forwards. The rusty nails embedded in his thigh ripped down his leg, and he winced in pain as he felt dampness on his cheek, but still determined to pull himself out. Biting his lip so hard that he could taste blood, Atem pulled himself forwards once more, crying out in agony as the nails ripped apart the back of his leg. Finally, he was out from under the wood, bar the one that was digging into him, and he collapsed onto his stomach, breathing raggedly as he reached a shaking hand behind him to pull the wood off of him, wincing as the nails tore from his flesh. Tears were now flowing freely from the young boy's eyes as he finally pulled himself to his knees and looked back up at the titan in front of him, just as its teeth chomped down on his best friend.
"No!" Atem cried out. He stared up in horror as Duke's blood ran down the titan's jaw, and no matter how much Atem wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to move. The back of his thigh was pulsing in agony, his head pounding as fast as his heart, and he felt like his chest was constricted so much he couldn't breathe.
Atem was vaguely aware of the sound of someone calling out in the distance, and his eyes focused on a soldier from the Garrison, apparently calling out to everyone to evacuate. Atem didn't feel like he was in his own body anymore, he felt like he was just watching himself sit there on his knees, staring at nothing. He saw himself let out a bitter laugh. Too late, idiot.
He seemed to snap back to reality when a different soldier ran up to him, apparently having noticed him kneeling on the ground.
"Come on kid, you heard the man, let's go!" he shouted, grabbing Atem under his arm and pulling him up. The titan was now reaching down to grab hold of the boy after finishing his friend, but the soldier, now carrying Atem under his arm, lurched up into the air with his maneuver gear, narrowly dodging the titan's grasp. Atem was aware of wind flowing past him, as he stared blankly, aware that tears were still running off of his chin. A feeling of nausea had built up in his stomach in the last minute, and the rapid movements the soldier was making as he dodged titans, swinging through the town, wasn't helping. It was a rough ride for the shell shocked boy, and if he hadn't have just witnessed his best friend get chomped to pieces by a titan, he may have actually enjoyed the ride.
Finally the soldier landed back on the ground, where all the towns people were evacuating, trying to get a spot on the ships heading inwards to wall Rose. When the soldier let him go, Atem was too exhausted and shell shocked to stand up, and he fell down to his knees once more, wincing at the pain in the back of his thigh. He could feel his nausea swelling around in his gut, and his eyes suddenly flew wide as he expelled the contents of his stomach onto the ground. The people standing around him jumped back, cursing at him and voicing their disgust, but he barely heard them through the sound of his heart pounding in his head.
He had barely realised that the soldier was still standing next to him. Atem lifted his head up, and was surprised when he saw that the tall man was wearing a green cloak. The wings of freedom were flowing in the wind, and Atem found himself staring up at the man in awe. The recon corps were back already?! And a small group of them were helping the town evacuate, he realised, looking around at the other soldiers wearing green cloaks. Atem looked up at his savior once more. He was very tall, sporting dark brown hair and hard blue eyes that could slice a man in half.
"Who-who are you?" Atem choked out.
The man turned and looked down at the boy, sitting on his hands and knees, blood spilling down the back of his leg, and a pool of vomit in front of him. "Seto," he answered. "I'm Captain Seto Kaiba."
...
Yusei sat and stared around at the scores of people flooding the courtyard. He was trying not to watch them all, but he could barely look away. Everyone had the same look of dread on their faces, so empty and lifeless. He guessed that was what to expect when you're forced to flee your home at a minute's notice. All of these people now had nowhere else to go, including himself and his family. All because wall Maria had fallen, and titans had invaded the villages on the south. Luckily for Yusei, his family had lived in a village quite close to wall Rose, and so they had gotten the message to evacuate much before the titans would have reached them. Yusei was now huddled with his family as he watched more refugees flood in from the various ships all arriving from the south. And with each ship that arrived, the people looked more and more shell shocked. It was the one that had just arrived though, that made his stomach churn. The first people to step off looked like they had just taken a trip down to hell and back. Their faces were twisted with dread and horror, and Yusei could only imagine what sort of terrible things hid behind those drooped eyelids. He bit his lip and tried to turn away from the people, but all he could hear were their strained sobs amidst a painful silence. He numbly nodded to his father who was asking if he were alright, before he took one last look over at the people flooding from the ship.
His eyes caught sight of a boy. Around his age he assumed, with wild tri coloured hair that was in a mess, and intriguing crimson eyes. The boy looked like he had seen both a ghost and an angel at the same time. His vacant eyes told of pain and loss, whereas he had an almost hopeful air to him. Something he saw must have terrified him, while maybe something else had happened to level it out almost. Perhaps the boy had narrowly escaped a grim fate and was grateful for it. Yusei wasn't sure, but he couldn't help but stare as the boy limped through the crowd, carefully holding his leg as he appeared to be looking for someone. Yusei then noticed the blood running down the back of his thigh, half dry and half fresh, and he assumed that this must have been the villagers from close to wall Maria, who were unable to escape before they were invaded by the titans. That would explain the distraught expressions on all of their faces, and Yusei could feel nausea swirling around in his stomach.
The boy continued to limp around, as he called out for his parents and a girl named Anzu, but the people ignored him, and nobody answered his calls. He must have been split from his family somehow, Yusei thought with sympathy. Finally, a lady recognised the boy, and Yusei sighed happily when the woman ran up to the boy, embracing him tightly. He could just barely make out the words she was saying.
"Oh, Atem! Thank god you're okay!" she said, pulling back from the boy. "Oh dear, what on earth happened to you?" she had noticed his injury, and instantly set to work on ripping off part of her skirt to use as a bandage for him. Atem only stared numbly at her as she did so, and Yusei was confused that he didn't look as happy as he should have if he had found his mother. The woman stared to carefully wrap the bandage around his leg, as he stared down at her, biting his lip and wincing every few seconds.
Finally, he spoke up. "Fiona, where are my parents?" he asked suddenly. "And Anzu?"
The woman froze. A moment passed, and Atem's eyes slowly grew wide with realisation. Fiona then slowly continued to wrap the bandage around his leg, and Yusei was straining to hear any more. The crowds of people had become too loud to make out what she started to say, but the horrified look of dread on Atem's face certainly plucked at Yusei's heartstrings. Still, with all of the chatter and commotion going on around him, Yusei could only stare over at the boy, who had shamelessly started to cry, his mouth hanging open in disbelief as the woman pulled him into her arms, patting his head soothingly. He had then pulled away from her, screaming that he didn't need her sympathy, and stormed off into the crowd, out of sight.
"Yusei!" his mother suddenly caught his attention after calling his name numerous times. "We should leave this area, I don't want you seeing this." She tugged on his arm and he stood up slowly, looking over his shoulder at the woman who was still standing where she was before, silent tears running down her cheeks. That's when he stopped walking, turning back to face forwards. His mother looked back at him in confusion, wondering why he had stopped. "Yusei, what's the matter?" she asked.
He looked up at her, a new purpose shining in his eyes. "I want to apply for Military training," he said.
She raised her eyebrows in surprise, "But why? Why now? You said you were fine going off to work instead of joining the military," she said, obviously not fond of the idea.
Yusei took one glance over his shoulder, before continuing, "I don't want to always be helpless, mother. I want to be able to help all these people, and maybe if I was part of the military, I could do something worth while. I want to be a hero."
Aaaaand there's chapter one! This sort of just sets up the plot and explains the reasons for everything later on in the story. Seriously though, I am sooo pumped for writing this story! As I said before, I TRIED to keep it a one shot, but I JUST COULDN'T. IT WOULDN'T LET ME LEAVE IT LIKE THAT. So yeah, if you're a tumblr user by the way I have posted a few spoilers for later chapters in the synchroshipping tag, if you're interested, but if you get confused you'll just have to wait xD
Anyway, hope you guys love this story as much as I love writing it, because SYNCHRO BBYS KILLING TITANS YES. (I'm so not sorry).
Let me know what you think!
PharaohsThrone :)
