The attack on Titan, it's setting and characters belong to Hajime Isayama, Wit Studio and whoever owns the rest of it.

Reboot 'Abettor' is now up.

Prologue:

Origins

(Age 845)

"I'm home." A red-headed boy called, as he entered a nondescript little shack. Almost immediately, he felt a large hand violently tug at his hair. The child knew that he wasn't a match for the fully grown man, the same man now hoisting him off the ground with a single, callused hand. In fact, Adler Klein was quite used to it.

"You worthless scum of the earth, why 'ave you gotta be so loud!?" Eric's glassy, gray eyes blinked at his son. The struggling child could feel blood beginning to seep into his shirt sleeve after his father had cracked a bottle full of whiskey against it. The alcohol caused the wound to sting, even worse than before.

The boy's first thought was not of fear, rather of annoyance, He's so weird. If I don't shout 'I'm home!' like an idiot, he grills me for being impolite, but when I do talk, look what happens.

"You demon!" Eric Klein roared, slamming his son against the wall. Suddenly, the intoxicated man fell over. Adler knew that at this point, his father was too drunk to function, cognitively. The man curled into a fetal position on the wood floor, sobbing, and muttering nonsensically. For anyone walking into the little shack at that specific point, their first assumption would have been that the blood covered kid had beaten up the grownup.

With a heavy sigh, Adler picked himself up. He glanced at his numbing arm and was surprised that his father hadn't completely broken the appendage, though he knew that it would scar, most vividly.

Glass fragments littered the ground from the bottle that Eric had used on Adler's arm. The boy picked up a large shard, and he observed his reflection. The crimson liquid was smeared all over his face and was slowly dripping into his shirt, gray eyes were thankfully clear.

So, I don't have a concussion.

He halfheartedly tried to imagine the expressions of the arrogant neighborhood kids, who had once tried to bother him about his hair color, or those of his father's obnoxious colleagues, once they saw the state he was in.

Eric Klein, who was supposed to be a proud member of the Garrison Regiment, or what it had declined to, through a slew of administrative weakness in the outskirts of Wall Maria. Most of the soldiers spent their time playing drinking games, placing bets on the fights that occasionally, broke out between the kids of the enclave. They could care less, about who actually showed up to work.

Inadequate as he was, Eric was the only 'family' Adler had left, although he could remember having a mother, once. Bertha Klein had had chestnut colored hair and sky blue eyes, and she was every bit the normal mother you would expect.

Adler's earlier memories were surprisingly, uneventful, although not unhappy. However, the strangest thing about them was a sober Eric, acting like an actual, father.

Obviously, all of that came to an end.

When Adler was six, Bertha Klein had disappeared, and could not to be found. Funeral arrangements were made almost, exclusively by the Wall Church, and they required a body. Thus, Bertha was permanently classified as 'missing' in her profile at the Military Police, who made no further effort to solve the case. Slowly, but surely, she faded into non-existence within the minds of Shiganshina's inhabitants.

Not receiving any form of closure, Eric Klein broke. Rarely, did deaths occur so vaguely in Shiganshina. People often died quietly, through illness, or the more brazen, by the jaws of a Titan.

Young Adler was confused, as to why his mother had suddenly disappeared, so he naturally asked his father. Unfortunately for him, Eric seemed to have decided to put the blame on his son. After months of the boy's hesitant questions, and baleful, silent glares responding to them, Eric returned home drunk and struck Adler, blaming him for his own mother's death.

Eric Klein soon became a heavy drinker.

Over the years, Adler had learned to keep some bandages, and a bottle of disinfectant in a box behind the shack. He picked up the basket full of fruits which he had dropped when his father had attacked him. They were involved in an odd job, which he had undertaken for a neighbor.

Alda Alrick was an old widow whose husband had been a member of the Survey Corps in its early stages. The death toll of which, was higher than that of the other two regiments, combined.

She was the one to find a frightened Adler, hiding in the bushes after Eric's first physical breakdown. Being kind by nature, Alda tried to help him. She was not very effective.

Eric had ample protection, from being a Garrison soldier. Not many people were keen on joining a seemingly, unnecessary organization full of intoxicated idiots, so the MP was not keen to interfere with them, and were always delaying the investigation.

Moreover, in enclaves like Shiganshina, child abuse was not really uncommon, and was rarely, ever taken seriously.

Adler's father did not work, consistently. He'd not show up to work, several times a week. All he ever got was a halfhearted talking to and a small fine. Eric spent most of his salary in pubs, rarely did he spend anything on his only son.

Luckily, there were a number of empathetic people in the neighborhood giving Adler odd jobs to do, like collecting firewood, picking fruits, or cleaning furnaces. Adler was very handily paid for his efforts, to the extent that had suspected them to be familiar with the exact nature of his situation, but just not knowing how to help.

Alda was one of his many, 'customers'.

Adler knocked on the widow's front door. Upon answering, her striking golden eyes immediately landed on the messy patchwork on the boy's arm and forehead. He quickly handed her the basket of freshly picked fruits. He was glad that none of them were damaged by Eric's latest tantrum.

The elderly lady gently pulled on Adler's arm, prompting him to follow her inside. Alda knelt to his level and inspected the bandages. "Goodness, Adler! I thought I taught you how to dress a wound. Not to get it infected!" Her tone removed all of the bites from her words.

Alda had indeed, taught her surrogate grandson of sorts to tend to his injuries, after she had found herself unable to help the boy. At the time, she would have held the entire royal family hostage, if she had to, but Adler had insisted that he would be fine, and would come to her whenever he needed help.

"Sorry." Adler hissed as she removed the bandages. "But I felt a little dizzy, so it isn't surprising that I messed up the bandages." He slowly, added, "It isn't infected though, right?"

"No, no." Alda muttered, she sighed, and regarded the boy with a resigned look, "Whenever that fool threatens you, why don't you ever fight back?" She met his gray eyes, "Judging from the tales of you regularly, fighting off groups of bigger boys, I know that you could give a tipsy Eric, a run for his money."

In the years following his mother's death, Adler had often been forced to spend nights outside, by his irate father. The crime was less frequent in Shiganshina than in the inner city, but a little kid was an easy target for the Stohess' underground, human trafficking market.

Fortunately, Adler had seemed to have a gift for fighting. After the first few attacks, he was able to defend himself against fully grown men, if need be, by underhanded tactics.

"I don't know." Adler uttered, diverting his eyes, "Maybe, because I shouldn't have to."

Finally done with the bandages, one under the boy's hairline and another on his forearm, Alda dropped a number of coins on his hand.

Money did not grow on trees, and Adler stared at the unusually large amount, mostly because there were still two days left before he was to be paid. ". . ."

"I know." Alda regarded his confused face with open fondness, "Indulge an old lady and take it. You need it, and it's the least I can do."

The boy's lips curled upwards in a rare, real smile. "Thank you."

He thanked her again before he left.

After walking some distance, Adler heard some muffled shouts in a narrow alley.

Armin Arlert lay on the ground, arms raised in an effort to shield his head from the kicks of the three, larger boys.

The biggest one, who was also the leader Adler recognized to be Haufner, raised his fist to unleash another haymaker, but he found it gripped in a slightly smaller hand.

"Huh?" He met the redhead's unimpressed gaze. With some effort, he tried to yank his first free, but the younger boy soon let it go making Haufner stumble and nearly fall over.

"Stop being an idiot." Adler used such a casual tone, that Haufner did a double take.

"Oh, look!" He jeered, after finally regaining his composure, "It's flower-head!" The other two laughed with him.

The redhead just fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Adler." Armin gave his friend a look that told him to leave, clearly not wanting to see him get hurt. Adler noticed a book laying on the ground. Recognizing the cover, he realized the cause of conflict.

His piercing eyes met Hafner's, "Leave, now."

The teen took a step back, then seemingly appeared to remember that his adversary was a helpless nine years old.

He towered over Adler, and spat with contempt, "That freak deserved it."

"Yes," Armin's blue eyes responded with shock, but Adler continued, "classifying someone smarter than you as a 'freak' might just make sense to you, but it stops here." The blonde gave him a thankful, and somewhat sheepish look.

Adler felt a large hand grip his hair, he shook off the unpleasant memory of earlier that day and twisted it. He wrenched Haufner's arm until the teenager was crying out in pain, the two other teens broke out of their shock and tried to intervene. One pulled Adler off of their leader, before the boy slipped out of his grip, while the other swung for his face, but the redhead sidestepped it and kicked him in the gut.

"Hey, stop it!" Someone shouted out, and Adler from received a hit to his arm while his attention was diverted.

"Oh, it's Yeager!" Haufner sneered, "Bring it on!"

"Wait." One of his friends exclaimed, "Mikasa's with him, run!"

The three quickly ran off, and Adler saw a teal eyed boy with a red scarf-clad girl running towards them. He easily recognized them and helped Armin to his feet.

He tried not to show the pain in his arm, as asked Armin,

"You okay?"

The blonde nodded, moving to pick up his book.

"I bet, you can't say that for yourself" Eren Yeager taunted him, prompting Adler to halfheartedly, punch him in the shoulder.

"Shut up, Eren."

"Eren, don't give Adler such a hard time," Mikasa chastised her adoptive brother.

Eren pretended that he hadn't heard her, "Seriously, you got it handed to you." He pointed at himself, "But one look at me, and they went running."

Adler scoffed, "Quit it. We all know it was Mikasa."

All of this was in a good-natured way, which is why Adler considered these three to be his only friends.

Adler had met Eren Yeager two years prior. Once, when Eric had been told that his salary had been cut in half after he no-showed work for an entire month, he had taken all of his anger out on his son, beaten him until the boy passed out. As if trying to hide a mess, Eric then deposited Adler on a street before returning to the pub.

Grisha Yeager had been passing by, he was somewhat of a celebrity in Shiganshina, after saving its entire population from a deadly plague. The doctor took the injured boy home and treated his injuries. When asked about them, Adler stated that he had been bullied. Grisha had seemed skeptical but eventually accepted the reasoning.

The redhead had soon, been introduced to the doctor's son. The two grew closer, and Adler eventually met Armin through Eren. He even helped Mikasa to feel at home when the Ackermans were murdered. Though, she never really opened up to him.

The quartet had occupied a place next to the public water fountain, which was also a water supply for some people.

"About those idiots," Adler started, but Eren cut him off with a glare, "You don't think it's obvious."

"They caught me going on about the outside world, and how our future lies there." The blonde responded after a pause.

"Why does everyone look down on those who want to leave the Walls, one day?" Eren gritted his teeth.

"They're afraid that they'll lose, what fleeting sense of security they still have." Armin glanced at his book, "I may not agree with that sentiment, but I can see where they're coming from." He added.

Adler sighed, " I heard, that the government has forbidden any study of the outside world."

"They're our lives. We can risk them if we want." Eren was as brazen as ever.

"I won't let you." Mikasa smoothly interjected.

"I can't believe you sold me out!" He suddenly shouted.

"I never agreed to help."

Adler arched an eyebrow at the two, "What exactly happened?"

"She told my parents, is what happened!"

"Wait, your folks know about the Scouts?" Armin asked.

Eren sighed, "Yeah. They're less than pleased."

"Oh, however, will you survive?" The redhead murmured, not intending for anyone to hear him. Adler had always been envious of Eren's family. As sick of a thought as it was, even Mikasa had seemed to be luckier than him, in that regard. She went from having a pair of loving parents to another with the addition of three good friends, while Adler had lost his mother and was with Eric.

The boy was suddenly, very aware of three gazes drilling holes into him.

"What?"

Eren's teal eyes were incensed, "What happened to your arm?"

Gray eyes widened, and Adler's hands automatically moved to cover the bandages with his shirt sleeve, but Eren cut off any reply he may have been trying to manage,

"Don't even try to say, that those guys did it. I saw it, they could barely land a hit on you."

The complement flew over his head, and Adler diverted hits eyes, "I guess I must have tripped, or something."

The blonde sighed. "Adler, we know about your dad."

After a moment, Adler regarded him calmly, "What are you talking about?"

"Cut the crap." Eren had had enough. The brunette grabbed his friend by the shirt, and ground out, "Do you honestly believe, that you've been able to hide it from us, after all the years that we've known each other? We know, that that bastard beats you!"

They were beginning to attract attention, but Eren continued regardless, "Why don't you do anything? Why don't you let us do anything!?"

"Just tell us the truth, Adler," Mikasa spoke in a softer tone, her onyx eyes analyzing him.

Gray eyes met teal, as the redhead used a tone that left no room for argument,

"it does not concern you."

Eren had looked less than pleased, but a strong wind stole the words from his mouth. There was a bang, and the ground lurched, flinging the four several feet off the ground.

Adler heard a splash and fell on his injured elbow, emitting a pained gasp. Someone quickly pulled him to his feet.

"Are you hurt?" Armin asked.

The redhead shook his head, he noticed that Eren and Mikasa had also found their feet, and also appeared uninjured.

"An explosion?" Armin asked.

Someone shouted, and a crowd followed in its direction. The quartet joined it and once in an open area, they witnessed a sight that would forever haunt their dreams.

An enormous, crimson palm gripped the top of Wall Maria, its immense strength causing cracks to appear in the rocks near the top of the towering structure.

"It can't be! The the-that wall is fifty meters high!" Someone shouted.

"It's one of them." Eren's voice was small, so unlike its usual self.

A skeletal face, dwarfing the already massive hand, peered over the lip.

"A Titan."

The creature leaned forward, then the ground shook with far more force than before, as debris went flying and people struggled to fight the powerful tempest winds that had threatened to blow them away.

Armin's blue eyes were unnerved, "It kicked a hole inside!"

The crowd panicked.

"Eren, we have to-"

But the brunette was already staggering away, then he sprinted. Mikasa quickly followed him.

"Eren!?" The blonde felt a hand on his shoulder.

"He's probably, checking on his mother," Adler said. His eyes refocused as he suddenly remembered something.

"Armin, I need to check on something." He began to move away.

"But Adl-"

Armin's call was drowned out by the chaos of the massive crowd, and Adler's form faded away. The blonde stood frozen, terrified by whatever fate may await him. Then, the intelligence for which he had been known persevered.

Adler had faith in his friend. He hadn't wanted to leave him alone, but he needed to see that all of the people in his neighborhood were safe. They had given him food, shelter, and protection, even before the boy had met the others when he thought he was all alone with his father.

Especially, Alda Alrick. He needed to make sure that she was safe.

He quickly spotted the elderly woman and ran towards her. Alda grasped the boy's shoulders, "What are you doing here!?" She screeched.

"I needed to see, that they were safe!"

Alda stared at the boy for a moment, she subsequently grabbed his hand and made both of them run. She was slowing down, fast. No Titan seemed to be near, and the two had made it through several blocks before Adler tripped.

A hand was gripping Adler's foot. From beneath the rubble, Eric Klein eyed his son with pure malice. "There's no way in Hell that I am dying before you, demon!"

Alda did not notice a lumbering figure behind her. The boy watched in helplessness, as his surrogate grandmother was seized in a giant palm. She was not even given the chance to scream and was instantly crushed, the Titan lifted her body towards its mouth, biting down with indifference.

As crimson liquid trained above him, Adler noticed someone trying to yank him away from his father.

"No! Hannes, let me kill him!" The man wailed.

"He's your son, Eric! Let go!" The Garrison soldier was finally successful and pulled the boy away. Adler distantly, noticed that Eren and Mikasa were also there.

Hannes gave Adler a pointed look, and after a moment, the boy nodded. The four of them ran towards the moat, where the escape boats were located. Through the haze, Adler noticed a kid who stood motionless. Behind him, a Titan was engaged with a lady with a pitchfork on top of a house. The creature's arm suddenly swung backward.

Adler had moved without thinking. He pushed the child out of way, instead, he was mauled by the giant appendage. Pain flared in his small frame, he felt himself being thrown into the air, he heard someone shouting his name, and felt a wetness too thin to be blood, before giving in to the unconsciousness.