Chapter 1: Giants

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Summary: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."


Angel closed the book and yawned, lifting her arms to stretch her muscles. The digital clock indicated it was time to hit the sack. I've done all I can. She lay back, stomach full of butterflies. Restlessness about the coming days' exam kept her tossing and turning. God, how does anyone sleep the night before they're supposed to take the Bar? Horrific scenarios of a giant red zero plagued her mind.

No! I will not fall victim to the fear of the monster! She'd heard many people broke from the fear of the test than the actual test. The Bar was two days long, approximately 6 hours each day. Sleep was important but if ridiculous scenarios about the coming days continued to plague her, she knew she'd be restless the entire night. That was, without a doubt, a recipe for failure.

A distraction was a must and Angel snatched her phone off the table, unplugging the charger cable. Cute videos with babies and dogs did the trick. She cooed at the screen. Half an hour later, closing the browser, she plugged in her headphones and drifted to the soothing sounds of ocean waves.

A cool breeze swept, making her shiver. Dammit, did I leave a window open? She groped blindly for her blanket, shivering in the cold. Grudgingly, she cracked an eyelid. A shriek split from her lips and she jumped out of bed, rushing around in a blind panic and getting ready. She was in the middle of hopping on one leg, trying to pull the sock over her toe when it hit her. "I'm an idiot!" Class did not start at its regular time today. There was plenty of time before she had to be at the university. Angel wanted to slap herself.

Sulkily wandering over to the kitchen, she poured herself a bowl of cereal and grabbed a banana. At least now I won't be late for sure. She chewed her breakfast viciously, preferring annoyance over anxiety. Everything had been ready to go the night before and she grabbed her messenger bag and left early. What if there was an accident and she couldn't make it in on time? Better safe than sorry.

Many of the other test takers felt the same way and were talking nervously amongst one another outside the lecture hall. Selecting a nice empty corner, Angel sat down and pulled out her laptop for a last minute study session. The minutes seemed to fly by and before she knew, it was time. Triple checking to make sure her phone was off—she'd heard stories of people being disqualified when their phones went off—and dropped it in the designated area.

The hall was wide and open, full of dozens of tables seating two people. By the time everyone was seated and ready, there were around a hundred students in attendance. Tapping the table, she waited impatiently for her laptop to boot-up, praying, despite her atheist view, to some foreign deity in the universe that everything went well. Pens and pencils placed neatly besides one another, she waited for the proctor to pass out the test.

The second the woman announced their time began, she was off. Constantly checking the clock, she made sure to be aware of how long she had. Three hours had passed and the proctor called for the break. Angel bit into her sandwich with flayed nerves, trying, but failing, to keep her mind from going over her answers over and over again. She was almost relieved when it was time to start the afternoon session.

Dammit! Angel squirmed in her chair. I'm just going to finish this question and then I'll go. The bathroom break eased her nerves a little. Until she returned to her seat and noticed the clock. Oh fucking hell! Despite her vigilance, time seemed to have escaped her. Finally, when day one was over, she felt an overwhelming amount of relief, which she could see reflected in the faces of her fellow survivors.

Alas it was short lived.

They had one more day to go.

And somehow, the next day felt worse. You'd think it'd be easier considering I know what to expect mentally. The second day, the relief at finally finishing the terrible Bar exam was profound. She couldn't believe she actually did it. Now the torturous wait to see if she'd passed was on.


The light was blinding and the noises were deafening, making her feel physically ill. Angel really hated hangovers. Whimpering and stumbling into the bathroom, she went straight into the tub for her hangover cure: a cold shower. She gasped at the sudden onslaught of icy water and gritted her teeth. Running her hands through her hair, she tried to massage the headache away. It took a few seconds to recognize the weird feeling.

Then she recalled her friends dragging her away to celebrate the 'two month anniversary of taking the Bar.' All she'd wanted to do was curl in her bed and cry about how much she'd sucked, convinced she'd failed. Her friends just wanted an excuse to go out and drink. It's actually not that bad. Angel shook her now short blue hair. My head feels lighter. Maybe I'll keep it this way.

Usually she thought time just flew by. They were already half way into the year. Now though, time seemed to move slowly. As if taunting her. Just one more week. I've survived two months, I just have one more week left to go. The closer she got to the date of her results, the more impatient she became.


Angel had just arrived back from her dentist appointment, stopping to grab her mail, when she saw it. She immediately felt light headed. Without preamble, she tore open the package in her apartment hallway. Holy shit. Holy Shit! A wide grin bloomed across her face. I did it! Her hands shook in excitement as she practically skipped to her apartment door.

"Thor! I'm home!"

Thor, her 2'3" 102 lbs Doberman Pinscher, the love of her life, barked happily and jumped into his mistress' open arms. "I'm happy to see you too, buddy." She lavished him with kisses. The week of the Bar, she'd left him with her parents, wanting to devote her attention fully to the exam. It didn't mean that they didn't have video calls every night. According to her parents, he looked forward to her calls even more than they did.

Angel pulled out her phone while scratching Thor. The answering machine beeped on the other end. She was too excited, she needed to say it right now. "Hey Mom, Dad! I passed! I passed the Bar!" She began babbling in excitement. Afterwards, she called her friends and promised to buy them all drinks.

That night, she was too excited to sleep and played with Thor to his heart's content.


Angel got up early the next morning because for once, reality was too good for her to sleep it away.

Thunder cackled outside the window and rain came down lightly. Dressing in warmer clothes, she grabbed her bag and an umbrella. The blue hair had been fun the short while it lasted, but it was time to change it back to her natural color. She wanted to look professional after all. The rain came down harder and she began regretting her decision to leave her toasty apartment. Too late now. She was closer to the salon than she was to her building.

"Aren't you glad I made you wear your rain jacket?" She asked Thor. Overhead, dark grey clouds completely blocked out the sun. Angel decided to take a shortcut through the park. She was almost through when the incessant splatter of rain ceased. Bright yellow beams of sunlight broke through the thick blanket of clouds.

Angel closed her umbrella and observed Thor curiously. "What's up, buddy?" He was standing straight, ears twitching, then sniffing around. She was immediately on guard. Reaching into her bag, she curled her fingers around the stun gun. Thor obviously sensed something and she trusted his instincts. The Doberman was observing their surroundings and she did the same.

Hey, the trees...they're different. Angel straightened. Come to think of it, this place seems...wrong. She'd never seen this part of the park before. "This isn't the park." It looked like a forest. Too lost in her thoughts, she hadn't ever realized the change in environment, mind only focusing on finding the potential assailant hidden between the trees. The sheer height of the trees was astounding. How did I miss this? They reminded her of a park she'd visited with her parents, known for having one of the tallest tree species in the world.

"Where the hell are we?"

Goosebumps broke out across her skin. Then she understood what was needling her. It was gone. The sounds and smells of the city. Ironically, the quiet was incredibly loud. Angel held out her hand. Even the temperature, the climate, felt different somehow. "Okay, this is really, really weird."

Now her voice sounded odd, too. A given considering the surreal situation she found herself in. Thor let out a whine. Angel focused her attention back on him. "I'm not dreaming, right?" Vibrations shook the ground as the sound of thundering footsteps shattered the quiet.

Ground shaking.

Loud footsteps.

Monster.

Hide.

Propelled by instincts, she ducked behind a thick tree. Thor followed obediently. Angel was grateful for the wide girth, easily hiding the two of them. Her heart was beating powerfully against her ribcage. Wide brown eyes peaked around the corner.

Her heart skipped a beat.

What the actually fuck is THAT?!

The giant stood fifty yards before her, naked, an eerily empty look in his—no, its, it had no genitalia—its eyes. Angel could only watch, frozen in terror, as it disappeared between the large trees. Trees, which if used to compare, proved that the giant had to be at least five times her height. That thing's huge!

Angel whipped her head around. There could be more of those things out there. The coppery taste of pennies filled her mouth. Focus! Inhaling and exhaling deeply, she tried to get her nerves to relax. Thor, sensing her distress, licked her hand. The effect was almost immediate. Angel physically shook her limbs, an exercise she did to literally shake off the nerves and anxiety.

Studying the forest with the looming trees, she came to a decision. She would trust her instincts, Angel looked down at the Doberman, which were to trust his instincts. "Thor, you've got to find us a way out." She knelt before him, staring into his shiny eyes. "Find a way out of the forest, buddy. Find people. C'mon."

Thor barked in response and began sniffing around. Angel followed him, eyeing their surroundings warily. It wasn't long before another one of the giants appeared. This one had longer hair and was slightly shorter. She hid instantaneously, waving wildly to Thor. Placing a finger on her lips, she shushed him quietly.

"That's trouble, Thor," she pointed to the naked monstrosity. "We have to avoid them. They're very bad! Cattivo! Okay, Thor?" He barked and she nodded. She had full faith in him. He'd never let her down before. It'll be fine. Dobermans are very intelligent.

Thor surveyed the forest and began leading his mistress out of the maze of trees. A few more giants were spotted but they managed to avoid being seen. She packed up her umbrella and switched it out for her stun gun, thumb on the black button, ready to flick to charge, and index finger on the red switch to trigger the volts. Ideally she'd rather avoid using it. Realistically Angel knew their luck wouldn't hold, sooner or later, they'd run into a giant that was too close to hide from.

Of course that's when one spotted them.

Maybe it's friendly?

Then it opened its arms, reaching out like a zombie, mouth wide open to show its big white teeth.

Or not.

"Run!"

Thor took off and she ran after him, happy that she'd opted for her favorite sturdy high-tops instead of the platform ankle boots. As an avid runner, she was able to keep up with the Doberman's pace. With a head start, they were able to stay ahead of their stalker. Just when she thought they might make it, two more emerged from their right. "Seriously?!" She let loose a few choice curse words. Thor barked ahead of her.

The trees were becoming shorter. We're almost out! Suddenly a horrible thought occurred to her, making her sick to her stomach. At least in the forest they could duck out of sight and hide. Outside the dense forest they were sitting ducks. It was then she saw the colorful smoke, coming from the left. What? Is that...are those...smoke signals? Flares! Which meant humans. Or so she hoped.

Thor lead her towards their direction and she decided to trust him. She chanced a glance over her shoulder and nearly fell over. Shit! She couldn't believe she almost turned into one of those characters she screamed at, the ones that knew they were being chased by a psycho serial killer and weren't mindful of their surroundings, tripping and getting caught because they were too busy trying to see their stalker instead of focusing solely on escaping and not face-planting.

Almost there! Angel's legs were starting to burn. The giants had gained ground on them despite the duo's head start, their long legs making up the distance quickly. When the two finally broke through the thicket, coming before a wide field full of vibrant green grass, her brown eyes instantly narrowed in on the caravan. It was the only way to describe the people on horses and the carts. She slowed to a stop, wincing when her messenger bag, which had been flying behind as she ran, struck her.

This is insane. She watched as one of the humans with some contraption on his waist used one of the few trees scattered around to slice the vertebrae on the back of a giant's neck. A million thoughts ran through her head in the span of a second. Am I in a coma? Am I dead? Is this a schizophrenic break of some sort? She was certainly in the right age group. Except Schizophrenia didn't run in her family.

To say she was utterly freaked was putting it mildly. It's like some PCP induced psychosis! She couldn't think of any other explanation. But I don't do drugs! So where did these hallucinations come from? All thoughts were halted when Thor grabbed her jacket sleeve and began tugging. The sense of danger, which had pushed her confusion at the situation in the back of her mind because survival came first, reappeared.

The ground shook as her chasers closed in. Angel broke out in a run. "Thor, run! Get their attention!" The Doberman took off, head dipping instinctively to become more aerodynamic and gaining speed, barking like crazy. Though it appeared some of the caravan people had already seen her. Angel was very grateful that she'd landed here—wherever here was—on her way to the salon instead of from there.

The shocking blue hair stood out like a sore thumb.

A group of riders was coming towards her. The relief nearly sent her tumbling. Angel didn't need to look back to know how close the giants were. She could almost feel them closing in on her from behind. Trees! Go to the trees! Her mind screamed and she swiftly made an immediate turn to the left, adding a few feet distance between her and the monsters.

As planned, the uniformed humans swarmed the giants. What she hadn't anticipated was another giant, much smaller compared to its brethren, still towering over a regular human, to come from behind a lone tree nearby. Angel removed her messenger bag and swung it around, hoping against all odds to scare the thing. It didn't care and grabbed her.

Fortunately, she didn't have her insides squeezed out of her like she'd feared. The grip was tight and she squirmed. Thor growled viciously and tried to bite it. The thing wasn't bothered and ignored the Doberman, for which she was grateful. Instead, she flicked the switch and drove the stun gun into the bare vulnerable flesh. Angel felt the effect immediately, the grip loosened and she removed her finger from the trigger, unwilling to use up all the juice.

She didn't even register the pain at coming in contact with the ground, adrenaline rushing through her veins. The giant was frozen, limbs twitching, face twisted into an expression of pain and discomfort. Take that, bastard! She thought giddily.

Taking advantage of the paralysis, one of the flyers killed it, cutting off a chunk of flesh from the nape. Thor once again pulled her out of her stupor. She followed his gaze and grabbed her messenger bag. A cart had pulled up while she'd been distracted. Thor launched himself into it, startling the man for a brief second.

Angel grabbed his hand and he pulled her up. Before the cart could get moving, she quickly flicked the stun gun off, not wanting to accidentally press the trigger and shock herself or Thor or their savior. Wrapping her arms around his muscular body, ignoring the wet yellow jacket, she hugged him, watching the humongous forest get smaller as they raced away. The other two people in the cart stared openly at her with wide eyes.

Now that there was no immediate threat to her life, she finally began wondering what had happened. What is this place? Who are these people? What the hell is going on here?

Thor whined and licked her face. Angel smiled warily, at least she wasn't alone. The cart joined the rest of the caravan, and everyone joined in sneaking peeks at her. Something about their expressions was odd—aside from the obvious. Angel kept her eyes focused on her dog.

She heard someone yelling about stopping, but giants were swarming around them, forcing them to keep going. Finally Angel straightened up and turned around to see where they were heading. A massive wall depicting a woman loomed ahead.

Angel recognized the group that had come to her rescue, forming a crescent shape around her cart. She figured she should thank them, but somehow couldn't bring herself to speak yet, far too unsure. Thor whined and nudged her. Angel smiled and removed the wet jacket that was annoying him. Folding it neatly, she placed it in the zip lock bag she'd brought with her. My phone! She pulled out the rectangular object.

No signal.

"Fucking of course."

The people around her jerked in surprise. She could swear she heard the two in the cart muttering with each other about 'can understand her' or something. Why would they think I don't speak English? Thor stared behind her, ears twitching. At his barking, she turned and realized they'd reached the gigantic gate.

Angel watched the caravan enter the community. Where— No, maybe the better question was when was she? Except it couldn't be the past. She was no history buff but she was sure if crazy naked giants and machines that allowed people to swing around like Spiderman existed she'd know. This just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

Had she fallen into an alternate universe or world or something of the like?

Angel felt ridiculous just thinking that.

Not that she could come up with a better explanation.

When the cart carrying her and Thor entered, the populace noticed her and dropped whatever they were holding. Whispered broke out and they all pointed at her. Some looked awed, some shocked, some hopeful, some confused, and some were even afraid.

Men were dressed similarly in simple pants and shirts. Women were in blouses and long skirts. The colors were dominantly black, white, and brown, and a few muted shades of brighter colors. Aside from the machines the uniformed people wore, there wasn't a hint of technology anywhere.

The street they were passing through was dusty and surrounded by stalls. Merchants were selling everything from fruits and vegetables to fish to jewelry to clothes to household tools. She noticed some houses, white brick with dark triangular roofs.

Angel caressed Thor, who was studying his new environment excitedly, and said. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."


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