Chapter 2: Out of the Past, Into the Future
In the Trost District within Wall Rose, a soldier gets carried away by a large crowd of refugees running through the district in a panicked manner. He had heard news of Wall Maria broken down by two large figures and a supposedly "Armored" Titan. Despite hearing the loud screams of the people, the soldier manages to hear someone call out his name nearby.
"Keith ! KEITH ! Over here !" the voice cried out.
He turned to see Grisha, who was also in a panicked state. Before they could do anything else, another soldier runs up to Keith and says to him, "Sir, Shiganshina has been destroyed by some sort of creature. If Trost is taken down, we'll receive more casualties than we currently possess."
Just as the soldier left, Grisha said to Keith, "The shelter ! My family might be in the shelter. Help me find them, Keith."
"Alright, Grisha. I'll cover this side of the district. I'll let you know when I find them."
Keith and Grisha went their separate ways, both determined to find Eren, Mikasa, and Carla. While Keith had checked most of the shelters and failed, Grisha manages to find Hannes supervising at one of the shelters. Keith arrives just shortly afterwards and listens in on their conversation.
"Grisha !" Hannes cried out happily, "Thank goodness, I was worried that I wasn't able to find you in this damn crowd."
"Well, at least I found you. Do you happen to know where my family is ?" Grisha asked.
"Yeah, I just learned that they arrived at the nearest hospital. I was on my way over to make sure they're okay."
"Hospital ? Why are they in a hospital ?! What happened to them, Hannes ?!"
Keith tried to calm Grisha down and asked Hannes, "Do you think you can explain on the way about what happened ?"
Hannes nodded and led the two men to the hospital where Eren, Mikasa, and Carla resided for the time being. Hannes explained to both of them about how Carla's legs were crushed and how the massive creature had helped her out of her destroyed house, which surprised both Grisha and Keith. When they all arrived at the hospital, the three men hurried to Carla's room, where Eren and Mikasa were right by her side sleeping. All three of the men were relieved that Carla was safe along with the children.
Grisha turned to Hannes and said to him, "Thank you so much for saving my family. I'm in your debt."
"Let's just call it even," Hannes replied, placing his hand on Grisha's shoulder, "You saved my wife years ago. Now I've repaid my debt by saving Carla for you. Take care, all of you. I must return to help the others."
Hannes left Grisha and Keith alone, happily knowing that he had helped save lives. Grisha walked into the room with Keith standing by the doorway, watching the doctor reunite with his family. Grisha walks up to Eren, who was on Carla's right side of the bed, and slightly wakes him up. Eren slowly opens his eyes to see his father and lets out tears of joy. He immediately hugs Grisha and accidentally wakes both Carla and Mikasa, who had the same reactions as Eren.
"Dad !" Eren cried out, "I can't believe you found us."
"Well, Hannes helped me out. If not for him, I never would have known where to go."
Grisha turned to see Carla, who was smiling weakly, and placed his hand on her cheek. She did the same thing, but moved his face closer to hers and kissed him on his cheek. Keith continued to watch the happy family reunion, yet to be seen by any of them. Although he was happy that Carla was safe and sound, Keith was somewhat jealous of Grisha since he was unable to experience this kind of event with her. Seeing that the Jaeger family was busy in their own personal business, Keith decides to leave and return with the rest of his troops in the Survey Corps.
In the meantime, Grisha confers with the doctors at the hospital on what to do with Carla's injuries. Because her legs were badly crushed from being trapped under heavy wreckage from their house, it was decided to have Carla's legs amputated since it would not heal properly and it would greatly prevent infection. Grisha worked alongside the doctors and successfully amputated his wife's legs without removing the entire limbs. Eren and Mikasa waited during the whole process outside of the hospital, eventually meeting up with Armin in one of the shelters. The three children explored a bit of Trost, listening in on the rumors about the creature that helped the injured. Most of the people were highly suspicious, while some were extremely grateful for such luck to arrive in a desperate time.
Eren, on the other hand, was quite curious how human history had never discovered a creature of that magnitude. He always listened to Armin about other things beyond the walls like the big body of water greater than a lake, but never anything like what they had encountered. Despite the creature's size dwarfing the Titans, it seemed more passive towards humans than expected and even took the time to help those in need.
Had a creature like this always existed, or has it just appeared only when humanity was in danger ?
Are there others just like it, or are they just as aggressive towards humans like the Titans ?
Eren kept these thoughts to himself and continued on hanging out with Mikasa and Armin. They returned to the hospital just as Carla's operation was completed. Grisha suggested to the children that she needed to rest for a while and requested them to look after her until he returns.
"Dad ? You're leaving again ?" Eren asked.
Mikasa said to him, "He's probably going to help other patients, Eren. He is a doctor after all."
"Actually, I was looking for a place for all of us to stay," Grisha answered, "We may have lost our home forever, but we have to find a new one eventually. Until your mother gets better, I will look into finding a new place for us to settle."
Eren and Mikasa understood the situation and stayed by Carla's side once more. Grisha left the hospital and wandered the streets in a cautious manner. Since night had arrived, Grisha focused more on the dark areas of the district. Even the slightest noises caught his attention, but he quickly refocused on his errand. Grisha reaches an alleyway where he comes upon a brick wall. He removes a single brick where a small syringe and a rolled-up paper was apparent. Grisha removes these items, stores them in his pocket, and makes his way back to the hospital.
Keith walked up to the hospital entrance, holding a small bouquet of flowers for Carla's health. He hesitated going in because he wasn't sure whether it was an appropriate thing to do. After thinking about it for a bit, Keith decided that it was not worth it. He threw the flowers away and walked down the streets, feeling the sense of emptiness in his heart. However, Keith looks over to see Grisha hurrying back to the hospital. He hid from Grisha's sight and watched as the doctor surveyed his surroundings before heading in. Keith, intent on finding out what Grisha was up to, followed him.
Carla was sleeping soundly in her hospital bed, feeling a sense of peace and quiet. However, she felt something was off and slowly opened her eyes to see Grisha standing over Eren. Carla still felt exhausted, which prevented her from hearing what her husband was saying to Eren. Her eyes became heavy, forcing her to close them and return to sleep. For what seemed like a couple of seconds, Carla fully woke up and saw that Eren was gone. Mikasa was still by her side, but she was more concerned about where her son was during this time of night. Suddenly, the room door opened and Keith appeared holding Eren in his arms.
"Keith ?" Carla said as she startled the soldier, "What are you doing with Eren ?"
"Oh, I was just…helping him home after Grisha took him out for a walk."
"At this time of night ? Where did Grisha go then ?"
Keith hesitated for a bit and answered, "I'm afraid he won't be back for a while. He was called to help out with other injured civilians. Some of the injuries are supposedly serious, so I recommended Grisha to help them out."
Keith proceeded to place Eren down by Carla, who understood how busy her husband can get and decided to wait for him.
"Thank you for bringing my son home, Keith. I really appreciate it," Carla said with sincere gratitude.
Keith nodded and left them room, only to stop and think about the day he first saw her with Eren as an infant. He went back to her with his head down and hesitantly said, "Carla… I want to apologize."
"Hmm ? What for, Keith ?"
"For my rudeness back then, when I saw you holding Eren for the first time. I didn't mean to lash out on you like that. I'm very sorry for that."
Carla tried to process what he said and replied, "Keith, I'm not special. I may never know the accomplishments that great people may have achieved, but I know for a fact that they could never amount to the things I care about in life."
Keith looked up at Carla in a surprised manner. He acted rudely to her in the past, even considering her a worthless person that did not understand his idea of what being special was. However, Carla agreed to his statement, even stating that she herself was not peculiar in any way.
She continued, "I love my family, Keith. I love my husband, my son, and even Mikasa here. If being an ordinary person means loving my family so much that I rather put my life before theirs, then I'm not special at all. I understand your idea of being different from the majority of the people by doing great things and accomplishing goals that no one else ever has the courage to do so, but isnt' it important to have people you care about to be by your side ? Does doing great things matter if you know that no one cares in the slightest about what you do ? You work so hard fighting outside of the Walls and I can't imagine how it must feel with the people treating you with disrespect every time you return back home."
As Keith listened to Carla's words, he realized how wrong he was about his ideals. He focused so much about leaving an impact on society that he never considered the feelings of the people that cared for him. Keith had always thought that people like Carla could never understand his reasons for living, but it was actually the opposite. Seeing how much Carla cares for her family and that they are her reasons for living, Keith realizes that being special is nothing if you don't have anyone to share your accomplishments with. That's why he believed Erwin was a better commander because he actually cared more about his soldiers' safety rather than reaching their goal.
"I see. You're so much different than before, Carla," Keith remarked as he started leaving the room, "I should visit you more often, so that I can change just as much as you."
"Maybe even better," Carla said with a smile.
"Yeah, maybe."
Keith finally departs, having found a new reason to live. Carla then looks to her side and notices a rolled paper. She picks it up and reads it, only to find out that it was a deed to a house located within Wall Rose with no signature. A small note was stuck to the corner of the deed, which Carla read with curiosity.
Dear Carla,
When I heard Shiganshina was destroyed, I was saddened to know that we have lost our home forever. That is why I decided to ensure that you and the children are safe in this new house that was recently gifted to me from one of my patients. It's close by, so you won't have to travel far from the hospital when you get released. Just sign the deed and Hannes will handle the rest when he comes over.
Your dearest love,
Grisha
Carla didn't know how to react to this message from Grisha. She felt happy that Grisha secured a place for them, but felt worried because the note implies that he will be gone for a lot longer than expected. Carla wasn't sure if she was going to wait weeks, months, or quite possibly years.
Carla placed both of the papers down on the table next to her and looked towards the children until she noticed something on Eren's neck. She reached for the shining object and removed it from his neck. Until closer inspection, Carla realizes that it was the key to Grisha's secret basement. Shocked to see an item valuable to her husband in the hands of Eren, Carla could do nothing except thinking of the inevitable.
"He might never return," she thought to herself.
Carla could not think of any reason why Grisha would do such a thing, but it left her heartbroken. She was not sure what to tell Eren and Mikasa once they had woken up, so she decided to keep quiet about it for the time being. Carla looked at the key once more and placed it away as a memento of Grisha. Despite having doubts that her husband may be gone for good, Carla held high hope that he may return back to his family one day.
One and a half years later
Once Carla was released from the hospital, she led Eren and Mikasa to the house that Grisha got for them. Once Hannes helped make the deed official, the Jaeger family settled in. Eren and Mikasa spent most of their time caring for Carla with Armin visiting from time to time. When an operation to retake Wall Maria commenced during the year 846, many lives were lost and Armin's grandfather had passed away as a result. From then on, he moved in with the Jaeger family until news of recruitment for the Cadet Corps was announced.
"We definitely gotta join, you guys," Eren declared while helping set up dinner.
Mikasa argued, "You know we can't, Eren. Especially when we have to look after mom."
"But this is our chance to fight against the Titans and retake our home."
Eren turned to Armin and asked, "What about you ? Don't you want to take this opportunity to see the outside world ?"
"Well…" Armin scratched his head. "As much as I want to, Eren, Mikasa's right. We're the only ones who can look after your mom now. Without your dad here, there's no point in us leaving her alone."
"Not to mention that it's dangerous out there," Carla said as she moved herself outside of her room in a wheelchair, "Even after you saw what happened that day, you still want to be so stubborn."
"Dad would have agreed with me. If he was here, he'd…"
"Well he's not !" Carla argued, nearly shedding tears. "You think I want you out there in the world, constantly worrying about your well-being and wondering when you'll ever get back ! What happens when you're gone and I'll never get to see you again ?!"
Everyone was speechless. Mikasa and Armin were worried about Carla getting stressed out, while Eren was in a mix between anger and guilt. Carla moved herself over to Eren and held his hands, slowly letting out her tears.
"Your father is gone and I don't know if he'll ever come back. I don't want the same thing to happen to you. So please, don't go."
Before Eren could answer, there was a sudden knock on the door that startled everyone. Mikasa went over to open the door and the person that knocked was revealed to be Keith Shadis, who was now bald and sporting a different uniform.
"Sorry to disturb you all, but I came by to see Carla," Keith said as Carla moved over to him.
"Keith, I had no idea you were coming over."
"I was on my way home, but I wanted to come by and let you know that I was retiring from the Scouts."
Everyone was quite surprised at the news, especially Carla. It was common knowledge that the commander of the Survey Corps would often die and the command would go to the second one in charge, but Keith was the first to actually step down. Although they were relieved that nothing bad had happened to him, they did wonder what caused him to retire in the first place.
"Since you took your time to come here, why don't you join us, Keith ?" Carla offered, "We could keep on discussing this during dinner if you'd like."
Keith agreed and helped Eren, Mikasa, and Armin set up the dinner table. Once they started, Keith noticed that the atmosphere felt gloomy and looked to see Eren with a dismal expression.
Carla proceeded to ask, "So, Keith...What are you going to do now that you're retiring ?"
"Honestly, I'm actually deciding to be an instructor for the Cadet Corps," Keith explained as he ate his food, "Speaking of which, I was wondering if you three are going to join."
Everyone stopped eating for a moment, thinking back to what happened earlier. Keith was a bit confused until Carla said to him, "No, they won't be joining. It's too risky for them out there, Keith."
"Oh, I was hoping that I could train them enough that they could apply for the Brigade or the Military Police rather than..."
"No ! They're not joining at all. Not the Scouts. Not the Police. None of them. I want them here and that's it."
Keith silenced himself after accidentally making Carla snap at him. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin kept quiet and continued eating their dinner. Once everyone had finished, Carla escorted Keith out of the house while the others cleaned everything up.
At the door, Keith turned to Carla and said, "I apologize for the dinner. I didn't mean to offend you or anything."
"It's fine," Carla replied, "You have to understand that they're all I have left, Keith. With Grisha gone, I can't afford to lose Armin, Mikasa, or even Eren."
"And if they're gone, there's no one left to care for you. I get it."
Keith suddenly kneeled in front of Carla, surprising her, and insisted, "I must ask you this. Could you give Eren the chance to fight for his home, his people, and especially for you ?"
Carla wanted to argue back, but she decided to keep listening to see where Keith was going with this.
"I will undeniably do my best to train your children so that they are capable of defending themselves and you from any threat. I know you will be alone, but I can arrange someone to look after you while Eren, Mikasa, and Armin complete their training."
"B-but Keith, what about Eren ? He'll most likely join the Survey Corps and you know how they never make it back with everyone."
Keith held her hands and looked her in the eyes, "Believe me when I say this, Carla. The Survey Corps is in better hands. I stepped down to allow my right hand person take over because he already proved to be a far superior commander than I'll ever be. With his leadership, I guarantee you that he will always look after the safety of his soldiers."
He proceeded to stand up, "That is, if you allow your son the chance to fight for something bigger than himself. If you allow him to fight for you and everyone he cares for."
Keith then walks away, leaving Carla speechless. The former Survey Corp commander felt his heart skip a beat, for that was probably the hardest thing he's ever done. No matter what happened, Keith was confident in his words and hoped that Carla would consider his advice. He continued walking down the streets and left into the cold night.
Once everyone was done cleaning up the table, Carla called Eren to her room. Mikasa and Armin decide to eavesdrop on their conversation outside of the room, wondering what was going to happen.
Eren began the conversation, "Mom, there's no reason for you to lecture me right now. Especially when you need to get some rest."
"I'm not giving a lecture, Eren. I'm giving you my blessing."
"Huh ?"
"Eren, do you love your family ?"
"...Y-yes."
Carla went up to Eren, who kneeled to her level, and placed her hands on his shoulder.
"Then promise me that you'll fight to survive for me. For Mikasa. For Armin. And for your father."
"W-wait, mom. What are you saying ?"
Carla began tearing up and continued, "I'm saying that I shouldn't hold you back. That I shouldn't keep on protecting you on my own, especially when I'm in this condition. I want you to get stronger, however you can, so that you can protect me and everyone else."
Eren couldn't believe the words coming out of his mother. He kept thinking about what had changed her mind so suddenly, but decided to continue on.
"What about you ? Aren't you worried about being alone if I'm gone ?"
"I'm more worried about not giving you a chance. A chance for you to fight for our home back and to fight for the sake of your family."
"Mom, I…"
"Eren, promise me that you'll bring Mikasa and Armin along with you. If you're going to go, then I want you to be with the people who care about you, so that you all can look after each other."
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Eren didn't know what to say. All he could do was stutter his words, trying to find the right things to say to her.
"It's alright, Eren. I love you, and if you really want to leave the Walls one day, then all I ask is to still be a part of your life no matter what happens."
"O-of c-c-course, mom ! You'll always be a part of my life !" Eren cried out with tears running down his face. "I promise you ! I'll fight for you always."
Carla moved in to hug Eren and slowly cried herself, "I know you will, Eren."
"Thank you so much, mom. I'll fight my hardest and make it back to you, I assure you."
Mikasa and Armin cried as they heard the whole thing, accidentally revealing themselves. Eren exited the room and hugged his friends, proclaiming that they'll do their best in the Cadet Corps. Carla smiled at the sight of the three friends and wished for them the best of luck. The next day, Eren and the others went to apply for the 104th Cadet Corps that will commence their training in a few months.
In the meantime, Keith Shadis reads the list of upcoming trainees and notices Eren's name. He figures out that Carla must have allowed her son to join and smiled, knowing that she took his advice. Keith also sends a letter to someone he knows in the Krolva District to look after Carla when Eren and the others depart for Cadet training.
Back at the Jaeger house, Eren prepares to sleep for the night. As he lays in bed, he reminisces about the time when he, Mikasa, and Armin talked about the outside world back in Shiganshina. The dream of leaving the Walls was going to be a reality for them and he was going to make sure that nothing was going to block his path. Just as he closed his eyes to sleep, Eren smiled happily.
"Stop that," a deep voice cried out and startled Eren, who opened his eyes and sat up on his bed. He looked around for the source of the voice and waited for it to come back.
"I'll smash you to bits," the voice continued.
Eren wasn't sure if he got too excited about Carla letting him join the Cadets that his mind started playing games on him. He resumed waiting for the voice to return in order to get a hint at who was speaking.
A few minutes passed and the voice had yet to come back. Eren shrugged it off and went back to sleep, hoping that whatever he heard would be gone by the morning.
Somewhere within Wall Maria, the creature, Godzilla, was scouted by the Survey Corps. It was seen laying down on the ground as Titans roamed around its body. Erwin Smith, the commander of the Survey Corps, took note of Godzilla's size and any other noticeable features. He feared continuing the expedition at the moment as more Titans continued entering from the breach at Wall Maria and ordered his troops to retreat, unaware that Godzilla had sensed their presence for a while.
Because I made Carla survive, I wanted her character to be flushed out a bit more. I'm not sure what you all think of it, but I believed that I didn't add much to her character in the original "Attack on Godzilla." Also, I appreciate the request of the Skullcrawlers/Gyaos, Justin D. I believe I have a general idea on how to utilize those kaijus to fit with this story, but I'm afraid they will be part of the story a bit later than expected. Other than that, I post the next chapter either tomorrow or the day after. I promise.