Hello everybody, my name is Jack and today I am starting this new story called, To You in 1000 Years. This is a futuristic AU take on the Attack on titan series, complete with robotic Titans, upgraded gear and cities galore. This first chapter will be setting up and intorducing you all to the world so if it's a bit plain, don't worry that will pick up next chapter. Anyway, enjoy!
Steam, smoke and ash bellowed from behind the dirty metallic wall. People from all over stood witness, staring wide eyed and terrified as something began to emerge from the cloud of deceit.
"That day, the human race remembered…"
A hand, coated in silver, burst through the veil and gripped onto Maria with enough force to bring a skyscraper to its knees with a single blow.
"The terror of being dominated by them…"
Next emerged the face of Satan himself. Rugged and rough, like the muscle hidden behind a humans skin. Two bright orbs of red burned through everything around it and stared deep into the souls of those who witnessed it. A mismatched formation of steel teeth formed into a Cheshire-like-grin on its face.
"And the shame of being held captive in a bird cage…"
"Eren."
No response.
"Eren."
Again, nothing.
"Eren!"
After forcibly moving him, Mikasa got a response from her friend. His eyes shot open and let their emerald clad iris' look at the world. The young girl thought that if she had the chance, she would look at those orbs forever, but she had more important matters at hand during that moment. "Eren, you've been asleep for a few hours now, think that you could actually help."
The boy slowly began to turn his head towards the monotone voice, glancing up at the large collection of scrap metal in a bag on her back. To think, in this world it was a daily chore for two 10 years olds to collect scrap metal to give to the army, what a world.
Glancing behind her, Eren began to try and get his barings. He and Mikasa had been sent out by his mom to collect some metal from the local junk yard because the monthly collection was due and was apparently going to be a lot more than usual. Looking around, he saw many dirty, rusted robots and automatons lying on the ground in heaps, all broken beyond repair and many with limbs on the opposite side of the yard.
Pushing himself off of the hill of steel he had been lying on, Mikasa handed him a bag, before pausing and pulling his chin so his eyes could meet hers.
"Eren, you're crying."
"Wha-'Moving his hands to meet his eyes, he noted the large abundance of wetness round his eyes. After snapping out of his trance, he vigorously rubbed his eyes clean of any tears. "I wasn't crying Mikasa, it was just dust from the robots that got into my eye, let's go." He stumbled over each vowel and syllable trying to escape the subject and get home before any complaint or suggestion could be made.
"Maybe we should ask your dad to give you a check-up."
"I don't need a check-up, Mikasa." Today was going to be a long day.
"For the last time, I am fine Mikasa!" Eren quietly shouted at his friend. Since leaving the junkyard 10 minutes ago, she had been trying to suggest remedies to help his 'illness' that had caused him to cry. Looking forwards, Eren sighed in relief to notice the Shiganshina Garrison Outpost not far ahead.
Bringing their feet to a stop in front of the outpost, they waved at the operator in the booth, who smiled back, before lifting the heavy steel doors high above, letting them slide into their caskets for the two children to pass through. When they entered, Eren couldn't help but wonder at all the technology inside keeping the gates power alive, which were buzzing away inside Eren's ears. As they walked up the stairs with the fruits of their labour… fruits of Mikasa's labour, Eren tilted his head to look out of the window, eyes set on the enormous 50 metre slab ofsteel that was known as Wall Maria, giant blue flares of electricity buzzing on the side facing the Giant's Wasteland to keep out any of the Titans.
Subconsciously, Eren's fingernails dug into the skin of his palms trying to supress his rage towards those monsters. Those walking heaps of useless machinery, hides as tough as the hardest steel and only killable by pulling the wires out from the napes of their steel coted necks. Problem is, this can only be accomplished by metal harder than it and frankly, the world was running low on that. Basic steel was used in every day appliances while the steel needed from the killing of Titans was an alloy harder than Titan skin so they only use it in assets useful to the army: in the weapons used by the soldiers.
Coming to the end of the outpost, Eren stopped looking out of the window, and instead towards the 5 soldiers sitting down at the end of the outpost. Strapped to their waists were the revolutionary 3D Manoeuvre Gear, or 3DMG for short; spherical sheets of thin metal containing steel wires that could hook onto almost any surface, allowing for easy traversal. Different coloured display were viewable to the army members that shot out of the device on holograms, such has how much wire was left and the durability of said wires. Hooked up to these devices were the weapons that the army loved so much, the blades. Curved plates made from the strongest of steel and the only thing capable of killing the Titans head on. Each of the two blades had section that could be popped off if they got too dull and the wires shot from the 3DMG were fired from two triggers on the handle. Extra blades were stored on a carrier on the solders backs and they were trained in how to use them properly. The army used swords instead of guns due to the cleaner cuts and definite kills compared to the more random effects of a gun.
The soldiers were all trained to be the best, the first and last lines of defence. However, what stood before him now, was the complete opposite. Drunkards, lazy drunkards wielding weapons that could kill Titans. Gritting his teeth, he had almost forgotten about Mikasa, who was trying to get him to calm down since the stairs.
"Eren!"
Turing his attention back to the girl, he noticed that she attracted the attention of everyone there.
"Sorry, what Mikasa?"
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"For the last time…"
As he was about to speak, a tall, blond haired man wandered up to them, his drink affecting his mind.
"Eren! Are you *hic* treating Mikasa well?" Eren glared at the drunk solder, angry with his position of power, while the girl simply stood back with a flushed face.
"Yes, I am, Hannes. Are you treating your position as a solder well?" The angry 10 year old shot back at the man, who simply let out a laugh at what the boy was saying.
"Eren, of course *hic* I am. A solder has always got *hic* to be on guard." Gritting his teeth, Eren took several steps towards Hannes.
"Then why the fuck are you drunk!?"
"Eren!" Mikasa drew the young boy's attention, as she knows that his Mom wouldn't tolerate this kind of language.
"Mikasa, you know I'm right! These guys aren't soldiers, they are just a disgrace! I mean, what if the Titans attack and break through the wall? All we've got to defend us are a group of lazy, good-for-nothing drunks!" Eren's outburst drew the group even more attention, causing Hannes fellow Garrison members to walk over to the young boy.
"Break through the wall? Nothing's happened for over 100 years, and nothing ever will!"
"And even if they do *hic* we'll tear them down into scrap!"
"Yea, you know nothing kid! What, do you think that we are going to risk our lives fighting them Titans and being all stuck up like the Recon Corps?"
Hannes watched his friends with mild discomfort; they were talking to a child the way that they would talk to each other. Although he was slightly… over the limit, the adult side of his brain took hold.
"Hey, hey. Lay off the kid. Now, hurry along Eren, Mikasa." He offered them a small smile, which he received from neither of them. Instead, he got a scowl and silence. Grabbing hold of Mikasa's grey cardigan, Eren began to drag the girl and their work load back to his house, with said female wrapping herself deeper into her red scarf. As they stumbled off into the distance, Hannes watched them walk off when a sudden revelation came to his mind.
'He doesn't want to join the Survey Corps does he?'
The two children had been walking in silence for some time, Mikasa having given up on trying to figure out what was up with Eren. As they were nearing their home, the bells from the church began to sing, sending their songs across the sky. Almost immediately, Eren's eye brows started to rise.
"The Survey is back? They weren't meant to get back until tomorrow." Turning back to Mikasa, she let out a small sigh before nodding. Grabbing her hand so that she wouldn't get lost, Eren began to run back down the hill, his trainers muddying in the process. They weaved in and out of sky scrapers, the towering masses of concrete peering over them and they could see people in the windows, looking out hoping to see the ones returning. Rushing over to a box behind the crowd, the two children hopped onto the box to try and attempt to see what was going on.
And what they saw didn't surprise them.
Bodies, tens of tens of them being lifted in, weapons sprawled out on a separate cart entirely as to not let the metal go to waste while blood covered hundreds of once white sheets. Soldiers had limbs missing, eyes missing, Hell, even some of them were just corpses with no heads at all. As they were coming in, Eren gazed at the man in front of the assault of the wounded. His jacket was midnight black and fell down to his waist like every other uniform but his was without a single drop of anything on it and the hood attached to it was up. He had a white shirt underneath, and even that was clean. His grey shorts? Clean. His black leggings? Clean. His boots? Clean. It looked like he hadn't gone into battle at all.
Anger rose through Eren's form as he heard all those around him begin to mutter.
"Another load, dead."
"What are these precious collections going towards? So we can give the Titans more metal to build upon?"
"These sessions of killing are pointless… we're just wasting our time!"
Gritting his teeth and raising his fist, he prepared to hit a bystander but Mikasa grabbed the hand before any motion could be performed.
"Eren." Her voice was controlling, but soothing and made him lower his hand. With a steely resolve towards the growling crowd, he turned to look at the leader once more. However, this time, their eyes met. Emerald clashed with sky. Both pairs held such honour yet such sadness in their eyes but before Eren could divulge any further, he was gone while the rest of the group lagged behind. Faintly, he could hear two voices, a man and a woman, with the latter screaming about her child and where he was but even Eren, who practically worshipped the Corps, knew where he was; he was nothing but a bloody mess in a Titans 'stomach.'
Slipping off the box, Eren began to drag Mikasa once more, back to their home, ignoring the cries of agony that they could hear behind them. To be honest, they had heard it too much to be shocked. Every expedition this would happen and over time, they grew accustomed to it. However, it didn't make it any easier for Eren, who wanted to join the Corps with every fibre of his being. He wanted to join in order to free the world from the Titans, to make them pay for sealing them in this box known as the Walls. Smiling to himself, he reminisced about those times where he and Mikasa would sit with their friend Armin and they would all read books about life beyond the walls, about how people lived without technology, without restraint. About how nature thrived and blossomed without being covered by machinery, about how the trees grew to size of the walls and how animals lived in complete harmony with the land. About a mystical thing called the Ocean, about how it was the largest thing on Earth, about how it was so blue and beautiful that even the Old Sky would be jealous. He wanted to see it all, so he would fight the Titans in order to make it so, he would fight so that he and Mikasa and Armin could see the Ocean, could see the trees that grew to the size of the walls, so they could see the Old Sky. He would fight so that they could see it all.
Without even realising it, he had begun to hold onto the young girl's hand and had dragged her the whole way home while he ranted and raved in his head. Finally reaching their house, a small double story house hidden between the concrete giants, Eren let go of her hand and turned to check on her only to see her face half way into her scarf so that only her unique grey eyes could be seen. Chuckling, he turned back to his door and opened it.
Upon stepping inside, he could hear the banging and clashing of out a sigh, Eren started to walk towards the kitchen, where he found his mother and father. His mother was unemployed but his father was a doctor and was one of the best one in all of Shiganshina. Walking up to the table in the middle of the room, Eren knocked on the wood a few times, thinking about how his parents preferred wooden furniture to more modern means. The knocks he got alerted his parents, who both turned to him. A smile fell across his mother's face as she came to greet the two.
"Hello you two! How was the collecting?"
"It went good… I think." Eren muttered the last bit under his breath as he deposited the metal Mikasa had collected into a box, along with Mikasa's own load of metal. However, his mom heard.
"What was that Eren? You didn't make Mikasa do all the work did you?" A very amused tone rolled off her tongue. Eren's face started to burn as he put the last of his metal in the box. Glancing at Mikasa, he could see her still hidden underneath her scarf but he had known her long enough to know that she was smirking under the cloth. His mother began to walk over to her child before pinching his cheek with a smile. "Silly boy. Get ready at the table, dinners nearly ready."
After that traumatic event, Eren quickly went to his room to grab a piece of paper and some pens; that speech that he had had in his head on the way back really sparked his imagination. Coming back to the table, he smiled at his father before taking his seat next to Mikasa. Before his mother could lay the table, he started drawing. It started off simple at first, but then he continued ahead. As he did, he didn't hear his mother begin to hand out the food to each of the family members. When his mother reached his place at the table, she glanced down o be met with the crude sketch of the Survey Corps logo. Rather confused with her discovery, she asked her child a question.
"Eren, what is this?"
Looking up at his mother with a shocked expression, his words collapsed into a jumble of incoherent words and phrases, knowing what his mother would say if he told her. Glancing over at Mikasa with a red face, he sighed before nodding to her. Turning towards each other, the young girl and Carla had a miniature stand off before the oriental girl spoke.
"Eren wants to join the Survey Corps."
Matching the shocked expression of her son a few seconds earlier, she was drawn into an over-protective rage.
"Eren! What are you thinking? Do you have any idea how many people have died outside the walls?" Eren knew that it could come to this if she had ever found out. He knew that it would come down to a shouting match but he kept himself calm for the time being.
"Y-Yeah. I know."
"Then Eren, why do you want to go out there?" Emerald eyes met brown, slowly rising anger met disappointment.
"I want to know what the outside world is like!" The short outburst made Carla stumble back slightly. "I don't want to live my entire life in ignorance inside the walls! Plus if no one else is willing to take their place, then the lives of all who've died will be for nothing!" Throwing his hands to the table, he made every piece of metal or ceramics shake. Before Carla could attack with her own remark, Eren's father stood up.
"I see. My train's about to leave, I better get going." Starting to walk towards the door, he ruffled Eren's hair and stood in front of his wife.
"Hold on dear! Talk some sense into Eren!" Glancing at not only her husband, but also at Mikasa, she noticed both of them being quite neutral in the debate. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Grisha started to speak.
"Carla, words can't hold back human curiosity." Turning towards his son, he reached into his pocket before lifting out a key. "Eren, when I get back, I'll show you what I have been keeping in the basement this whole time."
Smiling up at his father with new found enthusiasm, Eren began to bounce excitedly. "R-Really!?"
After a few more words were talked between the adult and Eren gushed to Mikasa about the basement, even though she knew just as much as him already, Eren's father took off, walking towards the station while the three waved him off.
"Take care!" Eren yelled.
"Just forget it." Carla spoke in a low voice, drawing the attention of the two children in her company. "Joining the Scout Regiment is a stupid idea!"
"Stupid?! People who don't mind living like livestock are the stupid ones, if you ask me!" Taking off into a sprint, he grabbed Mikasa's hand, knowing that she would be coming no matter what. Running up the side walk, he blocked almost all sound out while the young girl turned back to see Eren's mother shouting at her.
"Mikasa! Look after that reckless boy! Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid!" A sigh left her mouth as she continued to run with Eren through the labyrinth of concrete pillars towards their destination.
Armin.
Thank you for reading my story. Now, as you can see, some stuff turned out differently, such as Eren and Mikasa being a bit closer and things like this will be featuring in this series, but nothing major.. yet. However, this is an EreMika story later so enjoy that. Hope you enjoyed! Next time, the Titans attack! And other stuff, probably. See you then!
-Jack