"Pilot? Pilot, are you with me? Pilot? Pilooooooooooooot. You're still breathing, so you aren't dead." RP-3900 spoke, crouching within the impact crater, a massive metallic hand outstretched, prodding the limp body of his new pilot. It had been several minutes since his reawakening and things were not going as he had planned. After yet another long prod of poking the child's face, the titan backed off, resting its arm upon the bend of its knee, optic sweeping from the new acting pilot to his previous one, the rate of decomposition indicating they both had been stuck here far longer than what should have been given the automated distress signal, though, with his skeletal nature, automated systems would have shaved that off to conserve power when the overgrowth shaded over the inlaid solar array across his hull plating.
"You know, you're a real ass for leaving me like this? No help, no idea where we are, and certainly not prepared to deal with a child...oh who am I kidding? I'm talking to a corpse. You'd at least laugh at that, though." He muttered, shifting his free hand away from the arc blade impaled into the earth to form a fist, carefully bumping the cold steel against the dead bone, pulling back in a mock explosion as a mechanical sigh rumbled through the speaker system. "It was a pleasure dropping with you Lieutenant, and I wish you passed peacefully after whatever happened," Rp-3900 stated, gazing around the forest once more, scanning through the memory banks prior to their final drop into the woods he crouched within. Yet, all that was retrievable was scrambled static and the last audio recording of the previous mission, "Fold"—the last word of his previous pilot. Any cursory information regarding the word came to dead ends. All that he could piece together was the rerouted flight aboard the MSC Allac Mores and the subsequent drop to his current location with a mortally injured pilot onboard, with the events in the middle blurred to static and the aforementioned word.
However, breaking the data stream analysis, Rp-3900 looked back towards his acting pilot. The boy slowly started to come around as he groaned, his organic optics fluttering open and moving his limbs under himself. "Where am I? That was...a dream, right?" The boy muttered, rubbing his eyes before freezing completely as the titan shifted, snapping branches of a nearby tree and scattering them to the boy's right.
"There was no dream pilot. However, I would like to know where I have landed." The giant machine said, watching the boy snap its attention towards him, and visible stress levels appeared on his face, more so when he began scrambling back till slamming into the hefty trunk of an oak. "Y-you! W-what are you!? Did...oh my god, did you eat that man!? Is that what happens to Titan meals!?" The boy yelled, frantically jabbing a shaking hand toward the corpse of Lt. Day King. Optic blinking, the titan shifted itself to face the body once more before turning back to stare at his pilot.
"Negative, Pilot Day King succumbed to blood loss due to multiple puncture wounds of various munitions. I did not 'eat them'. However, during combat operations, uninformed personnel may presume such a notion of a titan. However, members of the Frontier Militia do not endorse the consumption of human flesh." RP stated, shifting into a standing position and gripping the blade. Mathew watched in shock as the sword was ripped free from the ground, gleaming against the sunlight beaming through the open canopy as the 'titan' attached it to a portion of its rear torso.
"S-so, you're a titan?" Matthew stuttered, limbs shaking as the things glowing 'eye' stared down upon him. "Indeed, I am RP-3900, a Ronin Prime class titan of the Frontier Militia's 6th Militia Fleet. However, my previous pilot often referred to me as 'Reaper.' If you wish to do so, I do not mind pilot." 'Reaper' said, shifting over to the young boy, the ground rumbling under its steps with trees rustled around it, casting more branches to the ground around them. Staring up at the 'Titan,' Mathew felt his limbs start coming back under his control, yet he did not scamper and run as his mind told him to. Instead, he slowly got to his feet, shaky as they may be, and stared into the thing's eye's soft glow.
"Um, you keep calling me pilot? Why can I understand you now? This is...I have no idea what you're talking about." He said, gulping softly as the metal humanoid's eye 'blinked,' dimming for a second before lighting up again, the lack of any head making it hard for the boy to read its intentions, only watching with bated breath before it suddenly opened its torso again, brilliant lights shimmering from within the space as it placed a hand in the form of a step for the boy.
"I believe an introductory course is required. As acting pilot, despite your age, you should be aware of the current status of my operations and the tasks you will be called upon for. Please embark pilot and bring the helmet with you." It said, leaving the boy to stumble to his feet, shooting a glance to the forest beyond, back to where he came from, uncertainty bouncing around in his mind before his weighed odds won him over, and he snagged the helmet before slowly crawling his way inside.
"I hope you aren't lying about eating me," Mathew muttered, settling into the seat before slipping the helmet over his head. Its sheer size left it to rest upon one shoulder, slanting the x-shaped visor a more slanted t as the titan closed up before the screens lit with the symbol resembling a metal skull without the jaw. Though, this fact bugged him more than it should as if it wasn't the first time he had seen it. Besides the point, the visor within the helmet lit up and showed everything blocked by the structure, leaving him to watch as a video began to play, with a tall, short-haired woman front and center.
"Greetings pilot. My name is Commander Briggs, and welcome to the Marauder core. I'm sure you know this by now, but I'll remind you just in case. The IMC, Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, has been put on an even playing field since Demeter. You'll be deployed with your fellows within the Militia to keep those bastards off our worlds. I know you have what it takes, pilot. Good luck and good hunting, welcome to the core." Briggs states, clutching her fist close to her chest just as a massive rumble shook the camera. Dirt flew over her head as a large red mechanical being like the one he sat in stood, its optic glowing brightly, readying the weapon it held within its massive hands.
However, the thing stood behind Briggs before the screen went a dark green, and the logo of the Militia once again showed before going dark as Reaper opened itself up for him to disembark.
"That is your new mission pilot. Until command dictates my transfer to another qualified pilot, you are classified as my acting pilot and will undertake measures to ensure the continued prosperity against IMC aggression." The titan said as Mathew stumbled out, landing with a soft grunt before looking back up at Reaper. "Um, sure? But I've never heard of the IMC, the Militia, or anything like you. I've only heard stories about Titans." He said, pulling the helmet free and holding it against his chest, still shrinking back when Reaper closed himself up again, his glowing eye watching his pilot.
"Most worrying, considering that the IMC and Militia are at war throughout all known human space. The existence of the IMC predates the Militia and human jump-drive technology and, thus industry. Atmospheric scans also conclude a lack of modern known artificial particulates within the air. Several errors were detected within the scanning. Conclusion, based upon intel, I am presently within unknown human territory." Reaper stated as its body shifted back to a full standing position as it looked out. Mathew also followed its gaze, staring out at the massive slab of stone that kept the dangers of the beyond out, the wall. "Additional scams complete, I am certainly not within known human space, for a structure like this would be known within my databanks. Information is required for future mission parameters. Per my previous request, pilot, where have I landed?"
Glancing back up at the mechanical titan, Mathew looked in the direction he had run through the night before, worry bubbling within his gut as he spoke. "Well, we're within the bounds of Wall Maria near the Shiganshina district entrance. It's, like, a couple of miles south of here. From what I've heard, it's meant to lure in the Titans." He said, pointing in the rough direction, the titan following his pilot's gesture, the vague outline of a gate system barely visible over the sprawling housing that covered most of the mechanism.
"Understood, civilization nearby. However, your use of the words 'titans' and 'lure' confuse me. You stated previously that you knew not of my existence. What are these 'titans'?" Reaper stated, moving one of its massive hands in a mock human gesture that Mathew was perplexed by for something that was a machine, a word that he caught within his mind as out of place, yet there were enough issues at hand than whatever this thing had done to form their 'link.' "W-well, I've only heard stories from my old man when I was young, more like cautionary tales about overeating or you'd be too slow to outrun a titan, or if you talk to strangers, a titan will come and get you." He said, running his thumbs over the surface of his helmet. Reaper sat there for a long while, the breeze rustling branches against his hull, optic centered upon the boy.
Eventually, the metallic titan spoke in a low tone. "Your parents do not seem like good people pilot." He said, getting a nod from the boy. "Yeah, they sold me for food when they ran out of money. Not everyone out here is fortunate enough to get jobs or food. But there must be some truth to the stories if the walls exist. They are said to be as tall as buildings and go around eating people, and that's why we live behind the walls." Mathew said, glancing back towards the behemoth structure, scanning the top as if it was possible to see the men and women who must be patrolling its length.
"Understood, pilot, then may I suggest making contact with military personnel of this nation? Our duty is to protect the people, and if these 'titans' threaten your people, then-. The titan spoke before getting cut off by his pilot's rigid stance upon the mention of the military. "Pilot, I sense an issue with this suggestion. Is there an issue with this course of action?" He said as the child sheepishly turned to face Reaper with a slight nod. "Y-yeah, I'm... wanted by the military police n-not that I did anything bad! W-well, besides stealing some food here and there." Mathew said, glancing up at the titan as he expected a hostile response, yet the metallic machine tilted its torso in a mock nod.
"You were sold and forced to live independently after a presumed escape. Necessary actions to survive are while law-breaking, understandable for one in your situation pilot. If this is the situation we find ourselves in, then actions must be taken to ensure protocol three." He said it was more a statement than a suggestion as the titan shifted, stepping free from the crater as it passed by Mathew, knocking aside and snapping several branches, large and small as it moved through the dense foliage. "W-wait! Where are you going!" Mathew yelled, scrambling after his titan, leaving behind the body of his predecessor as he pushed through the trampled underbrush and over the large branches now scattering the forest floor.
"Determining our route to a safe location to begin training and basecamp. To ensure your safety, you shall begin pilot training courses to prepare yourself for potential conflict from this 'military' that may come for you, or these 'titans,' both adversaries sharing similar qualities to foes Lt. King and I have faced in our past." He said, turning his back to the wall as he scanned the environment. The dense forest from which he had removed himself sat just a mile from the settlement where his new pilot seemingly originated. With the previously located gate and its required military occupation, given the strategic importance of such a structure within a walled-off community, only one option laid before the titan as his scans completed.
"We shall embark deeper into the forest, several miles if not tens to ensure solitude until your skills have improved to fend within civilization. Does this course of action agree with you, pilot?" Reaper said, turning back to face the child as he climbed over a downed tree, panting as he gazed up at the titan, backlit by the sun's rays shining off its metallic armor. Mathew grew a sense of wonder as he stared at it, like an angel sent from the heavens. Even from his earliest memories, his life had been nothing but pain and sorrow, street life, a miserable upbringing, and being sold off; it had left nothing but a disdain for whatever gods existed within this wretched world. So, it did take much for him to nod his head without hesitation.
"It's better than scrounging around for food every day. But, what about Lt. King?" He said, looking back to where the body lay within the forest. Reaper's optic shifted between the boy and his predecessor before moving back through the path he created. "He shall be given his honors in a proper burial; his equipment is far too valuable to be left behind. We shall leave immediately so as not to draw the possible attention of local forces." He said, Mathew sighing as he followed after the titan once more, his legs still sore from the day before, pleaded to cease as he climbed and waded through the underbrush again, his eyes laid bare to the titan opening itself once more, and gingerly with much care, scooped up the corpse of Day, gently placing it within his interior. The hatch closed with a low hydraulic hiss he now began to pick up upon, turning back to Mathew with an outstretched hand for him to climb upon.
"Are you ready pilot?" He said, his hand curling into a seat of sorts. For reasons his heart only knew deep down, Mathew looked back at how he had found this place from his old life, the days of skirring like a rat through the streets. A soft frown formed as he thought about it before his gaze fell upon the titan before him, one not of the stories he had clung to out of fear. Not a monster of flesh, but a savior of metal, and, with his frown fleeting, he stepped forth, climbing upon the palm of his new companion, as the two set out into the early morn to see what would be waiting for them, together.