Attack On Mindcrack
Monday, September 1st, 2014 11:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcrackloveWell, this took me longer than it should have. It wasn’t technically a prompt, but it is an idea from kappa77, so it’s basically written for them. :3 Because apparently Attack on Mindcrack is already a tumblr thing, I just turned it into a fic. .-. So, yeah, here it is. Hope ya like! :3
He didn’t know what exactly had caused him to join the Scout Regiment. He had seen them return from missions many times, seen the covered carts being pulled through the city. He had seen the faces of the soldiers, depressed and devastated as they avoided the eyes of the crowds.
He heard the mutterings of the ones around him. Words of hopelessness, death, failure, some even saying it was all pointless, that they were just throwing lives away.
But he had also seen what they looked like when they came back from a successful expedition. They rode with their heads held high, faces proud and happy. Even the ones in charge of sitting on the body carts managed to smile. And the crowds whistled and whooped, yelling out congratulations and cheering for ones they knew.
But he felt his reason went deeper than that. He had always been naturally curious, of the titans and the world outside the walls. Maybe that was it, he decided. At any rate, he had something he needed to take care of, and his destination was close enough that he could see tiny specks of people. He flew close to the ground, his 3-D Maneuver Gear keeping him from plummeting into the stone below.
He had always loved the feeling of flying, the thrill of having nothing under him to support his weight. He loved the way the wind blew his silver hair into a knotted mess, the way it rushed past his skin as he flew. His mask protected the gusts from stinging his face.
Once he reached the wall, he angled his gear so the strings attached to the small ledge that hung over the top of the wall. He let out a small, light-hearted chuckle as he shot upwards, his one good eye being forced shut. He reached the top within a matter of seconds, bending his knees as he prepared to land on the top of the wall.
Already he could hear the Titans pawing against the wall, likely after the soldiers atop the wall. As he landed, the smack of his boots being hit against the stone caused some of the men to look up. He remembered some of them from his training, but many of them were unfamiliar to him. He heard someone from behind him call his name.
“Etho?” Came the familiar voice. He didn’t need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to. Etho stood there, listening as the footsteps approached. He found that his hands had drifted to his blades, seemingly of their own accord. Another person made his presence aware to Etho as they spoke up.
“Etho, what the hell are you doing here?” The second voice was just as familiar to him as the first. He heard the second man’s footsteps join in with the first, and before he even realized it, his hands had tightened around the handles and in one swift movement he drew them, turned, and had each blade pointed at one of the men, each one only a foot away from them.
The man in front of his left blade was taller than Etho, and by a fair amount, too. He had a stockier build than Etho, and red stains were visible on his white shirt. He bore a confused expression on his face. To his left, the other man stood. He was slightly shorter than the first man, but he still towered over Etho. Being a native Canadian, he had darker features, and he looked rather annoyed.
“Seriously, Etho, what the hell?” The native said, shooting a glare at Etho. He felt eyes watching him, and he quickly returned his blades to their casings, even though he honestly didn’t care. A single scout making a trip to the top of the wall was already unusual, and surely they knew he was there of his own accord, but this was something he needed to do.
“You should know why I’m here, Pause.” He said, keeping his voice low.
“Actually, Etho, I don’t. Would you care to enlighten me?” He said, bitterness and sarcasm coating his voice.
“Pause—” the other man warned, placing a hand on his arm.
“And Beef—” he started, turning towards the larger man “You’re just as guilty as he is.” The man called Beef looked confused, but Pause spoke up before he got the chance.
“Alright Etho, this stops now. What the hell are we guilty of, exactly?” He said, Beef’s hand releasing his arm as he stepped forward, shooting the smaller man a scowl.
“You left me. Both of you, at the last second, just disappeared. I thought you had died, and then I find out a couple days later that you joined the Garrison. We had agreed to join the scouts together, and then you change your mind, and you don’t even say anything to me about it!”
By the end of Etho’s accusation, he was on the edge of yelling, which was a rare thing for him. He felt even more eyes watching him, but by that point, he couldn’t have cared less.
“Look, we both decided that we weren’t cut out for the scouts, and we knew you wouldn’t have come with us anyways, so we didn’t bother trying to convince you.”
“So you just decided you were better fit for the Garrison at the last moment?” Etho snarled, unfazed by the larger man.
“No, it wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. We had been considering the idea since almost the beginning of training.” At Pause’s remark, Etho’s heart fell. His two best friends, who he had known for most of his life, had kept that kind of information from him for that long of a time? He began to wonder what else they had kept from him.
“But why?” He said, the anger in his voice replaced by dejection and despair.
“You’ve heard the stories, Etho. Just look for yourself. It’s a living hell out there. Nothing but titans.” Pause said flatly, turning to face the outside of the wall. Beef turned with him, staring out into the distance.
“How do you know if those stories are true if you haven’t seen it for yourself?” Etho countered, his tone low.
“I—I don’t. But I’m not going to throw my life away just to find out if they’re true.” Etho didn’t reply, just turned to look out into the distance with Pause. Just look for yourself. It’s a living hell out there. Pause’s words rang through his head. Then the realization hit him.
Is that how everyone here sees the world outside the wall? Just territory of the titans, a place that we shouldn’t trespass in? Sure, he had known for all of his life that it was dangerous out there, but were those around him really that content to just sit a safe distance away from it all, and hope that the need to risk their life never arose?
Etho just couldn’t wrap his mind around it; he had always seen the outside world as fascinating, as a place that needed to be explored. It was an ever-continuing area, there were bound to be so many new and exciting things nobody had seen before. Did nobody else share his curiosity?
The three were silent for a long while, and glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the others had stopped paying attention to them. Eventually, Pause broke the silence.
“Don’t you have a job to get back to?” He said flatly, still facing the outside world. The sun was finally starting to sink, and Etho paused for a moment to take in the view. Then, without warning, he walked to the opposite edge of the wall, leaping down into the town below.
There was a tear in his eye when he jumped.
Should I continue?
He didn’t know what exactly had caused him to join the Scout Regiment. He had seen them return from missions many times, seen the covered carts being pulled through the city. He had seen the faces of the soldiers, depressed and devastated as they avoided the eyes of the crowds.
He heard the mutterings of the ones around him. Words of hopelessness, death, failure, some even saying it was all pointless, that they were just throwing lives away.
But he had also seen what they looked like when they came back from a successful expedition. They rode with their heads held high, faces proud and happy. Even the ones in charge of sitting on the body carts managed to smile. And the crowds whistled and whooped, yelling out congratulations and cheering for ones they knew.
But he felt his reason went deeper than that. He had always been naturally curious, of the titans and the world outside the walls. Maybe that was it, he decided. At any rate, he had something he needed to take care of, and his destination was close enough that he could see tiny specks of people. He flew close to the ground, his 3-D Maneuver Gear keeping him from plummeting into the stone below.
He had always loved the feeling of flying, the thrill of having nothing under him to support his weight. He loved the way the wind blew his silver hair into a knotted mess, the way it rushed past his skin as he flew. His mask protected the gusts from stinging his face.
Once he reached the wall, he angled his gear so the strings attached to the small ledge that hung over the top of the wall. He let out a small, light-hearted chuckle as he shot upwards, his one good eye being forced shut. He reached the top within a matter of seconds, bending his knees as he prepared to land on the top of the wall.
Already he could hear the Titans pawing against the wall, likely after the soldiers atop the wall. As he landed, the smack of his boots being hit against the stone caused some of the men to look up. He remembered some of them from his training, but many of them were unfamiliar to him. He heard someone from behind him call his name.
“Etho?” Came the familiar voice. He didn’t need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to. Etho stood there, listening as the footsteps approached. He found that his hands had drifted to his blades, seemingly of their own accord. Another person made his presence aware to Etho as they spoke up.
“Etho, what the hell are you doing here?” The second voice was just as familiar to him as the first. He heard the second man’s footsteps join in with the first, and before he even realized it, his hands had tightened around the handles and in one swift movement he drew them, turned, and had each blade pointed at one of the men, each one only a foot away from them.
The man in front of his left blade was taller than Etho, and by a fair amount, too. He had a stockier build than Etho, and red stains were visible on his white shirt. He bore a confused expression on his face. To his left, the other man stood. He was slightly shorter than the first man, but he still towered over Etho. Being a native Canadian, he had darker features, and he looked rather annoyed.
“Seriously, Etho, what the hell?” The native said, shooting a glare at Etho. He felt eyes watching him, and he quickly returned his blades to their casings, even though he honestly didn’t care. A single scout making a trip to the top of the wall was already unusual, and surely they knew he was there of his own accord, but this was something he needed to do.
“You should know why I’m here, Pause.” He said, keeping his voice low.
“Actually, Etho, I don’t. Would you care to enlighten me?” He said, bitterness and sarcasm coating his voice.
“Pause—” the other man warned, placing a hand on his arm.
“And Beef—” he started, turning towards the larger man “You’re just as guilty as he is.” The man called Beef looked confused, but Pause spoke up before he got the chance.
“Alright Etho, this stops now. What the hell are we guilty of, exactly?” He said, Beef’s hand releasing his arm as he stepped forward, shooting the smaller man a scowl.
“You left me. Both of you, at the last second, just disappeared. I thought you had died, and then I find out a couple days later that you joined the Garrison. We had agreed to join the scouts together, and then you change your mind, and you don’t even say anything to me about it!”
By the end of Etho’s accusation, he was on the edge of yelling, which was a rare thing for him. He felt even more eyes watching him, but by that point, he couldn’t have cared less.
“Look, we both decided that we weren’t cut out for the scouts, and we knew you wouldn’t have come with us anyways, so we didn’t bother trying to convince you.”
“So you just decided you were better fit for the Garrison at the last moment?” Etho snarled, unfazed by the larger man.
“No, it wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. We had been considering the idea since almost the beginning of training.” At Pause’s remark, Etho’s heart fell. His two best friends, who he had known for most of his life, had kept that kind of information from him for that long of a time? He began to wonder what else they had kept from him.
“But why?” He said, the anger in his voice replaced by dejection and despair.
“You’ve heard the stories, Etho. Just look for yourself. It’s a living hell out there. Nothing but titans.” Pause said flatly, turning to face the outside of the wall. Beef turned with him, staring out into the distance.
“How do you know if those stories are true if you haven’t seen it for yourself?” Etho countered, his tone low.
“I—I don’t. But I’m not going to throw my life away just to find out if they’re true.” Etho didn’t reply, just turned to look out into the distance with Pause. Just look for yourself. It’s a living hell out there. Pause’s words rang through his head. Then the realization hit him.
Is that how everyone here sees the world outside the wall? Just territory of the titans, a place that we shouldn’t trespass in? Sure, he had known for all of his life that it was dangerous out there, but were those around him really that content to just sit a safe distance away from it all, and hope that the need to risk their life never arose?
Etho just couldn’t wrap his mind around it; he had always seen the outside world as fascinating, as a place that needed to be explored. It was an ever-continuing area, there were bound to be so many new and exciting things nobody had seen before. Did nobody else share his curiosity?
The three were silent for a long while, and glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the others had stopped paying attention to them. Eventually, Pause broke the silence.
“Don’t you have a job to get back to?” He said flatly, still facing the outside world. The sun was finally starting to sink, and Etho paused for a moment to take in the view. Then, without warning, he walked to the opposite edge of the wall, leaping down into the town below.
There was a tear in his eye when he jumped.
Should I continue?
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SNK X MINDCRCK MAI LIFE IS COMPLETE
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