A/N: Hello, .x here. First and foremost I wanted to thank BluePhoenix34 and crankiestnebula, as they were a massive help by giving me the motivation to write this. Second, any and all O.C.'s will be acknowledged and credited to their owner's. Last, but not least, a disclaimer stating I, .x, do not own Shingeki no Kyujin/Attack on Titan or any characters that ARE part of SnK/AoT. They belong to Hajime Isayama, however, any O.C's and anything foreign from the cannon is mine and the respective creator's. That being said, enjoy!

"Listen! It was by God's great wisdom that the walls were built! The walls are his divine work! No one must be allowed to defile the walls!" Pastor Nick preached to the wandering pedestrians, hoping that anyone with an open ear would heed his warnings.

As far as Gage was concerned, Pastor Nick's monotonous words fell on deaf ears. Running a hand through his short unkempt locks, Gage let out a drawn out yawn as he wandered about the streets aimlessly.

A loud commotion broke the silence as he was approaching the park, picking up his stride, Gage quickly made his way to the park's entrance.

"I'm not gonna fight you, you're dirty-"An audible thwack filled the air, effectively cutting off the person mid-sentence.

"Ow!" A boy with ashy-brown hair cried out, rubbing his already swollen cheek.

'A fight…? Is it that Eren kid again?'

Turning the corner, Gage's previous thoughts went down the drain as he took in the form of a small redhead. His face fell as he instantly recognized who it was; it was Gianne, the walking stick of dynamite and his best friend. He looked down at the boy and cringed at the sight, a massive welt consumed nearly half of his horse face.

"I didn't realize you were into animal abuse Gianne." He cast a teasing smirk as he moseyed his way towards the redhead.

A blush crept onto her cheeks as fierce golden eyes met his cool, aquamarine ones. Jean quickly rose to his feet, making a mad dash back to his Uncle's house; desperate to go back home to Trost.

"And you finished it…come, let's see what goodies Mrs. Schwartz baked today!"

Upon hearing this, Gianne's eyes about burst out of her head at the prospect of the having one of Mrs. Schwartz' delectable treats in her hands. She immediately took Gage's hand and raced to the bakery, practically dragging him along the way.

Mrs. Schwartz was renowned throughout Shiganshina for her prowess in baking, whipping up what was often contested to be the best baked goods in the entire kingdom. Just the mention of her name was enough to cause drool to pour from anyone's mouth. Gage had the privilege of working for her; whether it was by getting the supplies she needed, or actually getting to bake himself. So more often than not, he and Gianne often got free treats when the visited.

The two teens sauntered though the residential area, hoping to take a shortcut to the bakery when they collided into two others.

"Hey watch where you're going!" A boy with fierce teal eyes barked out, baring his fangs towards the two.

"Back off douchecanoe! Obviously since you were paying attention why the hell didn't you step aside?" Gianne immediately stepped up to Eren's challenge, reciprocating the same rabid look.

Fearing a clash of the titans, Gage desperately looked over to Eren's companion for help only to see a pair of onyx eyes glaring daggers at Gianne. Seeing that his was the only rational mind left, Gage took Gianne by the hand and dragged her away kicking and screaming. Once they were a considerable distance away, he pinned her to the wall, anger written on his features.

"What the hell was that?"

"I wasn't about to let him pin that shit on us!" Gianne hissed, fury emanating from her golden orbs.

"Do you know how petty that is? It's every bit as our fault as it is theirs!" Gage replied with equal ferocity.

"At least I'm not a door mat! Always needing me to come save the day!"

At this Gage flinched, a crestfallen look formed on his face as he stepped away from her.

Flashback…

A young boy trembled as he was surrounded by the local bullies. Like a game of cat and mouse, they awaited their victim's move. Gage quivered in fear, feeling utterly helpless against these odds.

"Come on cooking mama! Every bit as soft as the cupcakes you bake!" One of the bullies taunted, shoving Gage into another bully.

"Hey watch yourself!" The bully barked as he slugged Gage in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

Laughing, the rest of the bullies jumped in, mercilessly beating their victim to a pulp.

"Weak…" He muttered to himself, a lone tear made its' way down his face.

"Gage, I'm sorry…I didn't mean it like that..." Gianne reached a hand out to comfort her friend.

"Just shut it!" Gage spat out coldly, turning away from her.

"Let's just get our treats and forget this ever happened."

Gage stormed off, not bothering to wait for his companion. Neither saying a word as they trekked on to the bakery, an uncomfortable silence followed them about.

As they neared the end of their journey, a lone bolt of lightning struck the ground. The sound of thunder cackled fiercely, disrupting the once quiet evening.

An unearthly silence filled the streets, everyone still as statues frozen in time. Gianne hesitantly looked to her friend, eyes widening as she took in his expression, fear. Turning to where his gaze was fixated, all bodily functions ceased, unable to pry her eyes away from the sight before her.

A behemoth hand gripped the wall tightly, crushing the top with its' brute strength. Emerging from the shroud of steam, a skinless head scrutinized the town. Its' eyes promising never-ending pain and despair.

As mighty as the roar of thunder, an explosion resonated as the titan kicked wall. The force of the shock hurled those nearby into the sky, meeting their demise as they fell. Chunks of the wall were propelled like cannonballs, smashing their way through people and building's alike. Blood curdling screams echoed through the ravaged town as people ran about aimlessly.

"H-he…made a hole in the wall…" A young boy with blonde hair spoke out shakily, his companions frozen in place.

"The titans are inside!"

"Gage! Snap out of it!" Gianne desperately screamed towards her friend, the shock still evident on his face.

Seeing no other alternative, Gianne slapped Gage's face. Snapping out of his trance, Gage felt a stinging sensation on his cheek and glanced at her.

"We need to get to the boats, it's our only chance!"

The ground beneath them shook vigorously, Gage barely catching Gianne as she fell forward. As the earth finally settled, the sight ahead of them left them in awe and paralyzed with fear. Before them was the manifestation of all their struggles and sorrow, before them, was death.

"N-no…n-no way…." Gage quivered, unable to move under the titan's ravenous gaze.

The titan reached out for the two, savoring the meal to come. As its' large hand was about to snatch them up, Gianne pushed Gage out of the way; unfortunately, the titan had her in its' grasp.

"NO! LET HER GO!" Gage screamed, tears poured down his face as he charged towards the titan.

As he blindly ran towards the titan, a cloaked figured with 3D maneuvering gear swooped in and caught him mid-stride.

"GIAAAAAAAAAANNNNEEE!"

Launching them up to the highest building, the cloaked figure landed and slammed Gage on his back. Gage's back tensed as the air escaped his lungs, clutching the cloth of his shirt in a vain attempt to breathe.

"Are you selfish or are you stupid?!" His savior viciously barked at him.

"She sacrifices herself to save your dumbass and you turn around and almost waste her efforts!"

Gage cringed, tears poured from his eyes as he took in those words. It was his fault that he was weak, that he was unable to act, it was his fault that Gianne is dead. He violently wept as he thought about Gianne; she was all he had left in this world and it was thanks to his cowardice that she was dead.

The cloaked figure watched on in sympathy as the boy before her cried. She remembered being in his shoes when she lost all of her squad members. Her green eyes dampened at these thoughts but she had to be strong for him now. Taking a knee beside him, she tenderly wiped his tears away.

"My name is Danika. Danika Horton."

"I'm Gage Butler…" Propping himself up with an arm, he wiped the remaining tears away.

As he rose to his feet, he noticed the Survey Corps. emblem on her cloak.

"You're in the Survey Corps.?"

"Yeah, I was on leave then this shit happens…" She let out a sigh.

"Look Gage…nobody could've prepared for this, and nobody deserved to die."

Her green eyes searched his aquamarine, carefully thinking her next words.

"I know the pain of losing loved ones, but we can't dwell on it during times like these. And it's okay to fear…"

"But it's what we do with that fear that decides who we are. We can stand up to our fears and know courage, or we can fall to our fears like cowards."

She looked once more into his eyes, the beginnings of a fire sparked fiercely.

"Come on, we have to get you to the boats before it's too late." She offered him a warm smile.

Nodding slightly, Gage took her hand as she took off.

x.x.x.x

Landing at the port, Danika, guided Gage through the rampant crowd. As she approached the Garrison troops, the snapped a crisp salute to her due to her status of being in the Survey Corps.

"Ma'am, Private Meier reports as ordered!"

"Private Meier, do we have any more room aboard?" Danika casually quizzed the young private.

Looking down Danika's side, he took sight of Gage. A frown instantly formed as he returned his eye contact with Danika.

"Ma'am, we cannot just allow-"Before he could finish his statement, Danika slugged him in the mouth.

"I see asking is going to get me nowhere, so let's try this again." She grabbed Private Meier by his bangs, pulling him up to meet her glare.

"Get. Him. On. Board." Dropping the Private, Danika turned towards Gage and ruffled his brunette locks.

"Go on, he won't give you trouble."

"Thank you…" Gage pulled her into one last hug as he boarded the ship.

Once he boarded, Gage analyzed all the faces he could find. Most were grim and broken faces he didn't recognize. Trekking further through the frail survivors, he spotted one familiar face portside. Eren! As he approached the boy, he stopped upon seeing the crazed look on his face.

"I'll exterminate them! Every single one of them!"

Eren declared, his hands gripping the rails tightly. Tears streamed down his face, anger and hatred emanating from his very soul.

No Eren…we'll do this together. For Gianne! Gage turned away from Eren and settled in the empty space next to another young boy.

"So you and Eren are planning on killing the titans?" The kid asked, turning to face Gage.

"How would you know?" Gage threw a questioning glance.

"While Eren over there was barking like a mad dog, you were listening intently."

"Don't worry, so long as you two save me some, I'm in. The name's Antonio." Introducing himself, Antonio held out his hand.

"My name is Gage."

A/N: I wanted to acknowledge the following author's/readers who submitted their O.C.'s

BluePhoenix34-Gianne Starken

Crankiestnebula- Antonio Rodrigues

Hilinarema- Danika Horton

Once again, thanks to the following! Please read and review!