A/N – So, after seeing the Attack on Titan/Pacific Rim cross-over stories, I felt inspiration to write one myself. It should be noted that this will be the first fanfiction I've ever written outside of the Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra universe, so it should be an interesting ride for not only you readers, but me as well. That said – I hope I don't botch the characters of either universe in this story. I do plan on writing future stories for Attack on Titan, but I am unsure if I will ever write stories for Pacific Rim.

While the characters will obviously be both those of the Attack on Titan universe and of the Pacific Rim universe, the plot is set entirely in the Pacific Rim universe. References to the Attack on Titan universe will be abundant however, and honestly, this will probably focus more on the AoT characters than the canon-Pacific Rim characters themselves.

The prologue I've written is kind of a crash course in the history of the Jaeger Program up to what happens in the beginning of the film. Much of the information about the origins of the Jaeger Program were revealed in the graphic novel, "Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero," and since I didn't know how many people had read that, I thought including a bit of summary here would be helpful. Especially because in this cross-over universe, with some of what I've altered, it will help lay the groundwork for why Eren so desperately wanted to join the Jaeger Program.

Now, according to Travis Beacham, the components in Jaeger names aren't repeated (revealed when asked about the Jaeger Tango Tasmania, which was mentioned in the novelization of the film; since "Tango" was already used in Coyote Tango, Tango Tasmania is not an accurate name). Now, for this story, I felt that Eren's Titan Form, dubbed "Rogue Titan" by fans, was just too good of a Jaeger name to pass up. Unfortunately, the Mark-3 Jaeger, "Shaolin Rogue," already exists. So, I'm just going to *cough* ignore *cough* that little aspect and work my around it. I'm considering using a synonym for "rogue," but the only one I've found even close to being happy with would be "savage," and I'm not sure how I feel about that one.

Also, I will be keeping Eren's last name 'Yeager' for two reasons. One, it is an Anglicized version of 'Jaeger,' which the Shingeki no Kyojin wiki states is "common amongst German migrants in the USA," and Eren is from California in this story. And two, it will help distinguish Eren in conversation and writing from the giant Jaeger mechs.

Anyways, this should be quite a ride! Thanks for checking this story out, I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Pacific Rim belongs to Guillermo del Toro and Travis Beacham; Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) belongs to Hajime Isayama; I own nothing.

Prologue

"We needed a new weapon. The world came together, pooling its resources and throwing aside old rivalries for the sake of the greater good.
To fight monsters, we created monsters of our own. The Jaeger Program was born."

- Raleigh Becket

Sunday, March 24th, 2024 (Jaeger Academy, Kodiak Island, Alaska)

The man standing behind the podium stared out across the sea of hopeful applicants, largely those from the nations of the Pacific Rim, but others had traveled across the world to volunteer. It was not only a chance for some to help humanity in its war for survival, but for many it was a chance to help get a better life. Jaeger pilots were well-cared for and celebrated worldwide for their courage and astonishing abilities; some let it go to their heads like Australia's Chuck Hansen while others were humbled by the experience like Chuck's father, Herc.

Clearing his throat, the blond-haired man leaned forward and tapped the microphone before him. The massive auditorium went silent far quicker than it had in the past. Despite the large number of applicants to the Jaeger Academy this year, the gathered hopefuls were a far cry from the enormous classes of years past. A combination of Jaeger defeats both the year prior and this year had lessened peoples' interest in joining up; in addition, the United Nations had begun moving funds away from the Jaeger Program and more towards the Anti-Kaiju Wall. Rumors abound that if not sometime this year, then the year after the U.N. would withdraw support from the Jaeger Program completely.

The crowd waited with baited breath as the man's blue gaze traveled from one side of the room to the other, seemingly taking in everyone's faces in an instant. Speaking into the microphone, the man began, "I'd like to begin by quoting Marshal Stacker Pentecost – 'This isn't summer camp.' The majority of you in this room probably won't make the first cut. And out of those of you who do manage to survive to the end, only a few will become Jaeger pilots. The rest of you can decide if you want to enlist in other careers with the PPDC or you can return to living like cattle behind the Wall."

"And those of you that don't go back to chewing cud or aren't squashed beneath our heels, you will become humanity's warriors. You will be the legendary defense against forces that seek to eradicate mankind. You will become hunters." The man paused, allowing his words to sink in before ending his address with, "My name is Marshal Erwin Smith. Welcome to Kodiak Island, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Jaeger Academy."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Monday, March 25th, 2024 (Jaeger Academy, Kodiak Island, Alaska)
0800 Hours

The sound of note-taking supplies being prepared echoed throughout the lecture hall. The first of the eight-week trimesters at the Jaeger Academy had officially begun. The first semester consisted of Officer Training – beginning Jaeger Bushido, learning basic combat tactics, general kaiju science and engineering, and perhaps the most boring for many of the trainees – History of the Kaiju War and its battles. It wasn't necessarily boring to many because it was a history class – it was boring because everyone had lived through the whole eleven years of war against the creatures since their initial invasion.

At least the instructor could make the topic tolerable for many, largely thanks to his eccentric nature. "There are certain days throughout human history that will live in infamy," the instructor began, stroking his gray mustache, "One of those in most recent memory would be K-Day – August 10th, 2013. It was the day humanity learned the answer to perhaps our most burning question – are we alone in the universe?"

After pausing to take a drink from his signature circular flask, retired Army Colonel Dot Pixis continued his lecture, "The answer was a violent and resounding 'no,' as chaos itself seemingly laid waste to San Francisco in the form of a massive creature, which rose up from the depths of the Pacific, seemingly out of nowhere." Pixis leaned on his desk, crossing his legs and folding his arms across his chest, returning his flask to the inside of his jacket. "Not even the combined might of the American military and British Royal Air Force could stop the creature. Later named 'Trespasser,' it continued its rampage for six days, destroying not only San Francisco, but also Oakland, Hayward, San Mateo, and San Jose during its thirty-five mile journey."

A digital map appeared behind him, a large red circle appearing on the California coast as a marker of the cities Trespasser attacked. "It took not one, not two, but three nuclear missiles to kill the Kaiju." Shaking his head as silent clips of the attack played next to the map, Pixis added, "And as we mourned the tens of thousands that were lost during the assault, we were naïve enough to think Trespasser was an anomaly."

As the clips changed, a second red dot appeared on the map, this time in the Philippines. "Six months later, on Februrary 5th, 2014, Hundun attack Manila. Yet again, it took a nuclear strike to kill the creature. Then, on June 1st, Kaiceph hit Cabo San Lucas." As the third circle glowed in Mexico and the well-known clip of Kaiceph's body being transported by the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis scrolled behind him, Pixis joked, "Maybe he just wanted to party. Instead he got nuked. Either way he got wasted."

A couple chuckles were heard around the room, "On September 2nd of the same year, Scissure attacked Sydney." The eastern coast of Australia suddenly developed a red dot on the map, "It took two nuclear strikes to kill him." The video transitioned to a clip of the massive construction project in Sydney, "The Sydney-section of the Anti-Kaiju Wall actually runs through the city, dividing off the irradiated section where Scissure was killed."

"For generations, humanity destroyed itself in wars over race and ideology. My father firmly believed that if a powerful, external threat were to appear, such petty wars would stop and humanity would unite against it. I used to think my father naïve . . . and now look where we are. As the Kaiju continued in their attacks, we were forced to set aside old rivalries for the sake of preserving humanity and our accomplishments. While our politicians might not be united with us, looking around this room," Pixis gestured by sweeping an arm outward towards the many students, "more or less, humanity is. And it's about time, if I do say so myself."

The video changed yet again, this time to the end of a famous speech by Marshal Pentecost as he pointed towards an image of Kaiceph, "That's why we're here today. It's the only question that matters - - What will it take to grab this monster by the throat and drag him back to hell?"

"The 2014 Seoul Conference," Pixis stated, "held on September 15th in response to the continued attacks. Two men would have an answer to Pentecost's question – they're the reason the Jaegers exist today; the reason you're all here now. Anyone know who they were?"

A teenager in the middle of the room, with blonde hair and piercing, icy blue eyes raised her hand. At Pixis' nod, she spoke, "Sir, I was under the impression that Dr. Jasper Schoenfeld developed the idea for the Jaegers single-handedly."

Pixis smirked, "Well, Miss Leonhart, I'm afraid you're wrong." Glancing up at the rest of the class he asked, "Does anyone know who his partner was? The man everyone should know but never did?"

Another blond teenager, this one with a bowl-cut at the front of the class, raised his hand, his bright blue eyes shining. "Dr. Grisha Yeager?" Pixis noted the brunet boy beside the answering teen fidget at the name's mention.

The old man smiled, "Correct, Mr. Arlert." As the names and photos of both scientists appeared on the screen behind him, he asked, "Might I inquire as to how you know, while almost everyone outside of the Pan Pacific Defense Corps does not?"

The boy went silent as all but two pairs of eyes turned to look at him, which did not go unnoticed by Pixis. The boy stuttered, "I-I just did a lot of research into the subject. I found it interesting how they developed the idea."

The instructor mulled the response over for a few moments – the boy certain Pixis would see through his lie. While Pixis in fact knew the truth and the reason the teen had lied, he chose to respect the teen's answer – but did not let him off easy. "Alright, Mr. Arlert, since you found the idea so fascinating, why don't you explain it to the class?"

Armin Arlert smiled, both in relief and excitement over explaining the scientists' eureka moment. "During a family visit to the Schoenfeld's, Scissure attacked Sydney. While the adults could only watch the television in horror, Dr. Yeager saw his son and Dr. Schoenfeld's son playing with toys, making a toy monster battle a toy robot." He paused to draw a quick breath, "Yeager explained his idea to Schoenfeld, who, eager for publicity, took the idea to the Seoul Conference alone. Despite the seeming absurdity of constructing giant humanoid mechs to fight the Kaiju, Schoenfeld felt such constructs would have all the strength of a nuclear attack, but none of the destructive fall-out." Armin sighed, "Dr. Yeager never received any direct credit for his idea, although Schoenfeld gave the name 'Jaeger,' or German for 'hunter,' to the mechs." The instructor noticed the brunet sitting next to Armin seemed to grow increasingly agitated at the mention of Dr. Schoenfeld's actions.

Pixis appeared impressed, "Well, Mr. Arlert, it seems you know quite a bit." He gestured to his side, "Would you like to take over the class?"

"Uh, no, I-I couldn't, sir," Armin stuttered, shaking his head rapidly.

"Darn!" Pixis responded, a smile playing on his lips, "I'm getting too old for this – I was hoping I had found my successor." Armin chuckled uncertainly at the instructor's words. "Anyways, you're correct. Jasper Schoenfeld was a well-known scientist who had received bad publicity years prior for an affair with a student of his – he hoped proposing the idea for the Jaegers would help him back into the limelight." Sipping on his flask once again, he added, "It certainly did and he now lives quite comfortably in Big Sur, California after developing the Prototype Jaeger with his former lover, and developer of the pilot-Jaeger neural interface, Dr. Caitlin Lightcap." Gesturing towards Armin, he said, "Someone besides Mr. Arlert, tell me about the development of the first Jaeger and the complications surrounding it."

Continuing the streak of blond students raising their hands, Pixis pointed to the bulky man in the back with short hair and golden eyes. "Brawler Yukon was the first Mark-1 Jaeger, sir. U.S.A.F. Captain Adam Casey suffered a seizure attempting to pilot it alone, leading to his death. Lieutenant Sergio D'onofrio would have suffered the same fate if Dr. Lightcap had not joined him in the Drift."

"Correct, Mr. Braun." Spreading his arms wide, Pixis stated, "Thus, the solution to controlling the Jaegers was born. . ." Footage of Jaegers under construction flashed across the screen, "The connection developed as a result of their Drift led not only to their marriage, but Sergio and Caitlin D'onofrio became two of the greatest Jaeger pilots to ever live. Their first kill was the Kaiju Karloff when it attacked Vancouver on April 23rd, 2015."

A rather tall, black-haired man with green eyes raised his hand from beside Reiner Braun, sweating nervously, "Is that why all Jaegers require at least two pilots, sir?"

"It is indeed, Mr. Hoover. Each Jaeger typically requires a pilot to control each hemisphere of the 'brain' and to share the massive neural load. There have been exceptions – the Wei Tang triplets, Cheung, Hu, and Jin – pilot the Chinese Jaeger, Crimson Typhoon. While two of the brothers control the Jaeger's basic movements, the third acts as a 'gunner,' controlling Typhoon's weapons and third arm." Crossing his arms across his chest once again, Pixis continued, "Then there is the opposite case. In two separate occasions, two separate Jaegers have been piloted single-handedly. The first incident was the result of one pilot being rendered unconscious; the second was when one pilot was killed. The fact both pilots survived the strain of not only piloting a Jaeger, but fighting a Kaiju alone is extraordinary."

A freckled, black-haired boy raised his arm, "Sir? How did those pilots manage to control a Jaeger alone while Captain Casey died from the neural overload?"

"An excellent question, Mr. Bott." Shrugging, Pixis replied, "We don't really know."

"That's helpful," the brunet beside Marco mumbled.

Ignoring him, Pixis once again resumed his lecture. "After the D'onofrios' first drift and successful demonstration of Brawler Yukon's abilities, the Defense Corps ordered the production of the first Jaegers. Their successful battle against Karloff only months later supported the PPDC's decision." A line-up of five Jaegers appeared on the digital screen behind him, "The first Jaegers, the Mark-1's," Pixis pointed towards the first in the line-up, "were all constructed here and started rolling out in 2015, taking fourteen months to build. The Mark-2's in 2016, the Mark-3's in 2017, and so on, until the first and only Mark-5 Jaeger, Strike Eureka, was constructed in 2019, at an estimated cost of over a hundred billion American dollars."

Each Jaeger's blueprints appeared briefly on the screen, many glowing red with the word 'Destroyed' appearing across it, "Casualties have always been a part of the Jaeger program – Captain Casey's death was but the first in what continues to be a long line of deaths and injuries, both physical and emotional, suffered by the numerous Rangers."

"Aren't Jaegers only supposed to be as good as their pilots, though?" The brunet beside Marco Bott spoke up once again.

Pixis addressed the French-German teen, his tone strained, "Mr. Kirschtein, are you implying that we have lost so many Jaegers simply because they were piloted by poor Rangers?"

Jean Kirschtein nodded, "If they were any good, they'd still be alive, am I right?"

The bald man walked up to the European teen's desk, placed his hands on either side of it, and leaned down until his face was only inches away from the brunet's. "And just how many Kaiju have you fought, Mr. Kirschtein?" The teen opened his mouth to retort, only to close it and look away. "That's what I thought." Returning to his spot at the front of the room, he raised his voice, "I don't ever want to hear any of you ever speak about a Ranger with disrespect. Yes, sometimes the fame goes to their heads, but many have killed at least one Kaiju, if not more. I sure as hell can't say the same for any of you." Downing another shot of alcohol from his flask, the man's gaze traveled to a girl near Armin, "It's not always inexperience or hotheadedness that kills the pilots – though those have happened – sometimes it's simply up to chance."

The mangled remains of a Jaeger and Kaiju appeared on the screen, "Take the battle between Gipsy Danger and Knifehead for example. Brothers Yancy and Raleigh Becket had killed four Kaiju on previous missions – their downfall was not inexperience. It was a combination of both overconfidence and the Kaiju's increasing resilience to Jaeger attacks."

"Going against Marshal Pentecost's orders to hold the Miracle Mile off Anchorage, Gipsy Danger rescued the fishing vessel Saltchuck at the 7-mile line. While the Beckets did successfully intercept Knifehead, they believed the three plasma-cannon blasts fired into its abdomen had killed it." Removing his flask once again, Pixis took his longest swig yet, emptying it of its precious alcohol. "Previous Category III Kaiju were easily killed with two or three blasts from a Plasmacaster, so the Beckets had every right to assume they had made a successful kill. However, they were overconfident and did not confirm if their attack was lethal. At the time of its emergence, Knifehead was the biggest Category III Kaiju we had encountered – its size allowed it to attack the Jaeger a second time despite its injuries." Pixis stared at Jean, "After Knifehead tore off Gipsy's left arm, Yancy Becket was killed by being literally ripped out of Gipsy's Conn-Pod, leaving Raleigh to fight the Kaiju alone." Jean's eyes widened at the man's words, "Raleigh managed to not only overcharge the remaining Plasmacaster and kill Knifehead, but he also piloted the Jaeger back to shore."

"The physical and emotional injuries Raleigh suffered that day forced him to leave the Jaeger Program. He had literally felt his brother die. No one stopped him from leaving – he had suffered enough and felt he would never be able to Drift with anyone again, as he shared his deepest emotional bond with Yancy." Returning to his gaze to the dark-haired girl near Armin, he added, "It wasn't the first time we lost a Jaeger and its crew because of a Category III attack and it wasn't the last." Glancing at the clock, he clapped his hands together, his serious demeanor gone in a flash, "Well, that does it for today! Have fun with Commander Shadis!"

As the other trainees filed out of the lecture hall, Pixis walked up towards Armin and the two teens beside him, the easily-agitated brunet and silent raven-haired girl. "Mr. Arlert, Mr. Yeager, Miss Ackerman," he nodded towards each one of them in turn, "Welcome to the Jaeger Academy."

Armin beamed, "Thank you, sir!"

Eren Yeager turned his emerald gaze towards the older man, appearing almost annoyed, "How did you know who we were?"

Pixis chuckled, "You're my students and the potential future saviors of humanity – I take it upon myself to know everyone who comes here." He paused, looking at each of them in turn once again, "Plus, I also had the opportunity to meet your parents and grandparents – remarkable people, each and every one of them."

The three different reactions Pixis received to his words told him everything he had heard and expected about the three teenagers before him. Armin smiled proudly, Eren's brow furrowed as he glanced to the side, and Mikasa simply pulled the scarlet scarf wrapped around her neck higher, covering the lower half of her face.

Sighing, Pixis decided that because two of the three were not feeling comfortable discussing their relatives, or discussing anything at all, he'd let them go. "Well, I don't want to keep you here. Keith has never been easy on the new recruits – especially if I've kept them late." He smiled, "I'll see you all tomorrow." As Pixis grabbed his flask to refill it, the three teens dashed out of the room, heading towards the Kwoon Combat Room. As the three friends hurried across the Academy complex, their minds wandered to the events that had brought them to their current situation and what their futures with the Jaeger Program might be, if any.

A/N - I plan on having a short chapter of backstory each for Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, as well as really short backstories for the other characters from the Attack on Titan universe, either combined into a chapter of their own or interspersed throughout the story. After the major backstories for the AoT trio are written, the rest of the story will move in a largely linear direction, with flashbacks being rather short parts of this story.

*Updated info in next chapter.* - There will probably be a number of side-relationships in this story, pretty much entirely amongst the AoT characters, but there might be a side-romance between an AoT character and a Pacific Rim character. The major romance of this story will be between Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman, so rejoice Eremika fans! As for the relationship between Raleigh Becket and Mako Mori, I like what happened in Pacific Rim with the two sharing a platonic relationship; there aren't enough platonic relationships between leads in films (or television, *remembers the love triangle in The Legend of Korra and its complications*, *shudders while simply wishing for solid friendships between main characters and not all romance*) these days, so it was refreshing to see the male and female leads not in an awkward romance just because they were the leads. So, yeah, expect Raleigh and Mako to just be friends. Of course, with the proposed sequel to Pacific Rim, Raleigh and Mako might build on their friendship and become romantically involved (if they're in the sequel) - as long as it builds up their platonic relationship first and is done well, I wouldn't mind it, but for now, I'm rather content with them just staying friends.

*Updated info in next chapter.* - On Raleigh and Mako, as well as most of the Pacific Rim characters, they will have roles in this story, but they won't be introduced formally for probably several chapters. As I said at the top, this story will focus largely on the AoT characters (mainly members of the 104th and the Recon/Survey Corps or Scouting Legion or whatever the hell it's called) acting in the Pacific Rim-universe.

Also, I know in Pacific Rim, during the opening prologue, the following line is heard, "six days and thirty-five miles later, three cities were destroyed," but I'm going with writer Travis Beacham's word over the movie. In the film, the three cities Trespasser supposedly destroyed were San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento before being killed in Oakland. However, Sacramento is roughly double that distance, as well as the fact Trespasser would've had to have doubled back in order to be killed in Oakland. "Didn't go to Sacramento. Went from SF to Oakland, down to Hayward, back across to San Mateo, then down to San Jose," said Travis Beacham, in response to a tumblr ask about Trespasser's path of destruction. The distance from San Francisco to San Jose fits more closely with the "thirty-five miles" and I assume Trespasser was actually brought down in San Jose rather than Oakland. So that's that, in case anyone was wondering.

Well, I know this was kind of a slow start to this story, but I hope if you've made it to the end, you've enjoyed the prologue! Thank you so much for reading! Please review if you have time (especially since this is my first story outside of my main fandom, I'd like to know what everyone thought)!