I've noticed that a ton of fan fictions with original characters either just follow the original story's plot, or are cross-overs, so I decided I'm gonna write my own completely original characters. Although there will be hardly any, some of Attack on Titan's original characters and events will show up eventually, be referenced, or at least acknowledged, and i decided that this story will rely heavily on plot twists, so brace yourself, dear reader.

Enjoy the ride!

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I am paralyzed.

The stale, bitter wind of the Underground whipped through my shoulder-length auburn hair as I climbed the dusty stone staircase that led to my destination. My face was still stained with blood from my nose, and my bad side was aching horribly. Several half-dead-looking strangers stared intently at me and licked their lips.

Not that I really cared.
Nothing matters after all.

I ascended the dirt covered staircase quickly, and soon reached my destination; the balcony of a crooked twelve story building. It probably seems like overkill, but it's the only spot I know of where I won't be beaten and thrown out of, because this building was abandoned years ago.

The world is an emotionless void for me. It contains no substance, and nothing that happens feels "real".

The old crooked building was crumbling and falling apart, even for the Underground's low standard. This was probably why the building was abandoned in the first place; to avoid injuries when the building finally collapsed. [Its the perfect place] I thought as I ran my terribly scarred left hand through my hair, placed my feet half-way off the edge and stared at the drop in front of me. My drop.

I'm trapped and I can't escape.

The drop was incredibly tall, about forty-five meters, and I could see the Underground's grimy rolling landscape from the balcony. District four and six were the most visible because similarly tall buildings blocked my vision into District three, and most of the other Districts were too far away to accurately observe.

District four is my current location, and I could see the silhouette of the mysterious clock-tower that stood towards the district's edge.

The people upstairs had designed this shithole to double as a sewer, so there is a grimy river composed of fifty-percent shit that runs through the floor about a hundred-fifty meters in front of me. At least it's a good place to hide bodies, should MP's come knocking on your door...

Starving animals (they're so thin and deformed I don't know what they are) stalked the street, searching for their next meal, and the worthless freaks starving in the streets were doing the same. They are probably all going to be dead by tomorrow, only to be replaced by another batch of starving freaks.

But not everyone is that worthless here. Some other people that seemed to have a decent shot at survival and were even smoking some new drug some gang was selling. There was even some sort of fight breaking out just outside of the building on my left, and blood had finally started spraying.

"Huh, that's probably what Doc would do to me if he saw what I'm about to do..."

But he's never gonna' see me again.

When the world turns dull and colorless, when nothing holds meaning anymore; what do you do then? What are you supposed to do when you don't care about anything, and no one cares about you? I felt my cheeks slowly curve into a crooked smile as I answered myself.

"You give up"

A fake smile.

A fake emotion.

A fake sentiment

It was all fake.

Like any good puppet, I showed something that looked sincere. "If it looks normal, people will think it's normal" was the idea that I held my entire life, and even now, I was holding on to bits and pieces of that philosophy.

If I give up I won't have to pretend anymore. I won't have to act like I understand what he's saying when I actually don't. I needn't burden myself with other people's opinions and what they'll think about me. I'll finally be free.

Free to live as I am.

...

...

And with those thoughts, I slowly leaned forward. Most people would start to panic about now, but I am different than most people.

I'm too different.

I plunged myself into the embrace of the only person that would accept me for who I truly am; Death.

Although his fingers are cold and lips chilling, he still accepts me.

Accepts me just as I am.

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The year is 829, sixteen years before the fall of Wall Maria and exactly three years since I started living here, and life in the Underground was just as horrible as you'd expect it to be.

When I first opened my eyes, it was already evident. Dawn arrived that morning, and the sun bloomed in the sky, once again gracing the people of the world with its fabulous light. Of course, such luxurious gifts were not meant for the likes of us. We were comparable to a mole or a serpent, beaten away from the rest of the world and forced into the ground.

But regardless of the absence of any morning light, it was still technically the morning and I had slept in a little later than usual. My auburn hair was spread about my head messily, and my green-ish eyes blinked several times as they struggled to focus. The two ragged pink scars that ran across my face created a unique color scheme in the torchlight. One of the scars continued down my neck without showing any signs of slowing, before disappearing beneath the blanket I had wrapped around myself.

Saying "I lay almost completely undressed in Doc Meyer's bed" would be true, however it would give the wrong impression. You see, I and Doc have always had a very complex relationship, and it would take a while to explain the whole backstory, so let's just say that, to an outsider I'm his adopted daughter, to him I'm a test subject and a guinea pig, and to his son I'm practically his slave.

Every so often, Doc will test some new drugs or medicines or whatever's on me, and usually I've no say in it. As a matter of fact, not only do I have no idea what he's injecting into me, but he also drugs me to sleep beforehand, so I don't even have the option to resist. I'd randomly just drop to the floor unconscious after eating or drinking something, and wake up in his bed, suffering from whatever side effects the drugs have.

This time, however, I feel far worse than usual. An awful and sticky taste is stuck to the back of my mouth, and my stomach feels like it's churning enough to make me vomit until I lose consciousness again. My scarred legs are shaking uncontrollably, and my head is spinning like a top. My vision is so impaired that I can only see pulsing flashes of a white light, all the while my ears are being suppressed by an awful ringing noise.

Unable to move without vomiting or losing consciousness, I give up on leaving, and choose to sleep a little longer.

The room I was in was in complete shambles and an extremely thick layer of dust covered the entire room. A crooked painting of an alluring yet unhealthily thin woman hung on the wall beside me, and the bricks that made up the room's walls were visibly decaying. Thin and dirty blankets cover the entire floor, and old clothes also lay strewn about the room. Just as I made a mental note to myself to clean this room when I have the chance and start to drift back to sleep, someone struts through the open door with a water filled pail in his hand.

It is Doctor Albus Meyer, owner of this building and my current guardian in a way. His short black hair lay neatly slicked back, and his wrinkle covered face carries a unique sense of charm with it. His small brown eyes have a visible lust for knowledge, and large frame overshadows all of his other features immediately.

Even outside the Underground, being overweight is so uncommon it is thought that only nobles can even be it. Doc, however, is uniquely built and, although not overweight parse, he is still above average. This makes him stand out wherever he goes, and it makes him a constant target for robbers that mistake him for a noble or wealthy man.

I have no idea how he manages to maintain this amount of body fat even when there is no food even available in the Underground, and he never gives a direct answer, so we just gave up asking.

"Ya finally awake yet, Shorty? Eh?"

"I'm a-"

The large man approached me while bellowing out this inquiry, his raspy voice piercing into my skull like a handful of nails. He then, interrupting my reply, flopped himself down beside me and yanked off my blanket, flinging it at the wall.

"Let's just get this over with, missy"

He apparently didn't care for my answer at all, because he slammed down the bucket he was holding, and immediately started pulling off whatever clothes I had on left, revealing my massive collection of old wounds.

Doc whipped out an old handkerchief from his pocket and plunged it into the bucket, which housed an arsenal of muddy water. He then started to wash my entire body with the cloth, paying special attention to each individual scar. Although this situation wasn't exactly a normal occurrence, randomly doing something like this did sound exactly like Albus, so I quickly excepted the situation.

Plus, he brought one of his hands behind my head, wrapping his wrist around my nape. Although he was using this gesture for the purpose of raising and supporting my head as he washed, I saw it as a threat. With his palm wrapped around my neck, he could easily reach both my great vein and throat if I tried to resist him.

But there was no real reason for me to want to resist him, or for him to want to hurt me, so this was probably me just being superstitious again.

Although my entire body was covered in awful and painful looking scars, one scar in particular always seemed to get all the attention. Doc called it "Big'n"(for obvious reasons) and checked the wound regularly.

It started at about the middle of my left cheek and traveled down to my neck and onto my collarbone. It then runs down my collar and covers the entire left side of my breast, runs all the way down my entire left side, passes my hip and wraps around my thigh before finally ending at my calf.

It is the widest at my side, where it's larger than my entire palm just on the front (it also covers my side and reaches my back too). It is swirling with deformed pink flesh twisted in abnormal directions. Doc says that this wound is incredibly dangerous, and if I'm not careful, can cause internal bleeding.

Other than the huge one, my entire body is tattered in ragged scars, the most notable being a slightly curved one just above my right eyebrow and a large on that wraps distortedly around my left wrist.

Doc finished washing my body surprisingly quickly and lifted my head towards his own.

"Shorty, who fuck'n gave ya permission ta sleep in, eh?!"

"It was technically your drugs that knocked me out..."

As Doc began scrubbing my face, he spat out this question, hoping to intimidate me. I, however responded emotionlessly. Rubbing his nose at my reply, Doc growled under his breath.

"Oh yeah, this brat's got no feelin's... Hey Shorty, Carter says he wants ta' see ya, so once'r ready get goi'n or imma' beat'cha to death, got it?"

After I nodded at his order and threat, Doc finished scrubbing my face, and laid me back onto the floor. After setting me down, Doc picked up and tossed me a set of clothes, at which I tilted my head.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doi'n what?"

As Meyer quickly made his way to the room's exit (he obviously didn't like being here for some reason), I finally voiced my confusion. Albus still wanted to leave just as quickly as he had appeared, but after not understanding my question, curiosity got the best of him. Doc turned his head to me and voiced his own.

"Umm, it's just that, you don't usually do stuff like this, and getting that water alone should be far more than enough..."

Water that wasn't immediately fatal to drink was to the Underground as gold is to the average peasant within Wall Rose. Securing enough water that's clean enough to act as a substitute bath would take a considerable amount of effort, and considerate isn't a word that describes Doc.

But Meyer didn't just secure the water, he personally washed me, and retrieved my outfit. Such kindness appearing out of nowhere can only have one explanation...

"Don't tell me you... how much time do I have left?"

"Ehh?! I get the feel'n you're jump'n ta some hasty conclusions!"

His reaction was somewhat reassuring, but I was never worried in the first place. Even if his experiments on me caused me to contract a terminal illness, it wouldn't bother me too much. Doc quickly regained his composure and tapped his finger on his forehead.

"Seriously, if I didn't know any better, I'd think ya just sass'd me... Guess you're at that age now..."

He continued to mock me, but I simply rolled my eyes, still wishing for a direct answer. Seeing my expression, Doc sighed and finally answered. Somewhat

"C'mon Shorty, just laugh for once, jeez. Anyways, don't get the wrong idea'rs here. It was Carter and Lusbel that got the water and washed your clothes, I just decided I didn't like being the only one not doin' anything for ya, plus why would I skip an opportunity ta wash a girls naked body?"

"Are you perhaps a lolicon?"

"Seriously, quit fuck'n sass'n me!"

Doc stomped his foot angrily. Apparently, he took my question as a joke and thought I was mocking him. Truthfully, I just was curious because Carter had told me once that Doc's old wife was fourteen when they started dating, meaning there was already over a decade and a half between their ages then. And in addition, I had no idea why he took me in in the first place. If he saw me in a sexual light it would explain several of my questions...

But more importantly, why would Carter and Lusbel help me like that? They have to have some sort of reason to do this...

"I already told ya, Shorty! Carter wants ta see ya, so hurry up! If ya keep my son waiting one more minute..."

Meyer yelled at me from the opened door before leaving the room, once again not waiting for my answer. Doc's personality can be a handful to deal with, but after being stuck with him for three years, you'll get used to it.

I wonder what those two are planning... I thought as I pulled my freshly washed shirt and trousers on. My curiosity pushed me into action, so I finished dressing at incredible speed. After my outfit was completely donned, I quickly pulled my hair into a messy ponytail, before turning to the room's exit.

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"Hey, Ria!"

The exact second I walked into the lobby my attention was called. I tilted my expressionless face toward the all-too familiar voice that was calling me.

Lusbel Emerson, a young boy who's twelve years old (a year older than me), approached me with evident excitement. He wore a broad smile, one that happened to show his missing teeth, on his fair, dirt covered face. His messy brown hair flopped about his head as he came running toward me.

I always thought of Lusbel as awkward and indifferent, and I still have no idea why he follows me and Carter around all the time, or why he was so eccentric and outgoing. Carter said that having someone that's always positive around could be beneficial, and that heroes always come in groups of three anyway, so I had no choice but to accept his annoying presence as another part of my life. Also, "Ria", the false name he gave me, seems incredibly fraud, and I'd never associate myself with it.

Not only am I completely emotionless, but I also have no memories beyond three years ago, and the source of my amnesia is the same incident that caused most of my scar's, and my lack of emotions.

Because of my amnesia, I have no idea what my real name was, so Lusbel took it upon himself to give me one. Without my discretion.

Identity is really important to me, so I had simply wanted to just not have a name because any name that they'd give me would make me feel like a fake. Wearing a name that's not my real one is like pretending I'm someone I'm not, is the way I saw it. Of course, Lusbel simply didn't give a damn.

"You're late, Ria! Carter just left!"

"Huh?"

"Flynn and Lili came in and whispered something in his ear, then he told me to tell you that he'd be right back, and I said, "where are you going?" And he said, "you'll find out later" and then gave me one of those "wait and see" winks, then he ran out the hospital with Flynn, and Lili said she'd stay here, and I told her-"

"That's enough, old sport. Shorty, you look like you're gonna' die of boredom"

Thankfully, Doc rescued me from the hell that is one of Lusbel's rants. The doctor was sitting at his splinter coated desk, pouring a blue medicine into a thin, slightly cracked, glass vial. Doc was wearing the cracked spectacles that Casper once had hid in his left shoe, hoping no one would put them on.

If I remember correctly, Lusbel had been the one that found them, and had spent the next thirty minutes role playing as Doc. I have no idea how someone like him even survives here in the Underground.

"Anyway, happy Somewhat-Birthday!"

"Oh, that's what this is about..." I mumble to myself

The "Somewhat-Birthday" was the name of the day Carter found me bleeding and suffering from complete amnesia in a muddy gutter and Doc nursed me back to life. That was three years ago, and ever since then I've been living here at the Sanctuary, the safest hospital in all of the Underground.

"Didn't I ask you guys not to celebrate that anymore?" I inquired, quietly

"Well, everyone has to have a birthday, and since you can't remember your real one, I have to give you one! It's the same thing as your name, Ria!"

"Didn't I ask you to stop calling me that, too?"

"Nope!"

"Can you at least hesitate before you say such an obvious lie?" I asked emotionlessly

"Well, when you tell yourself the same thing over and over and over again, you eventually will start believing that it's true, no matter how abstract it might be! Once that happens, you can say whatever you want without it fazing you! That's what I did!"

"You do realize that you just admitted it's a lie, right?"

"Nope!"

"... "

"Sport! Keep it up and Shorty might feel her first emotion! Of course, it'll be anger, and she'd probably kill you, but still!"

"Please don't encourage him" I warned in an almost robotic tone.

Turning away from the annoying Lusbel, I made my way toward Lili, a young six-year-old girl with short black hair.

Lili was quietly sketching on a piece of withered paper but seemed to be confused about something. Seeing her chewing on the end of her pen, I approached her to see what the source of her confusion was.

"What's up?"

I asked as I gently took a seat beside her.

"Huh?! O-oh, it's you, sissy. See? I'm drawing a family on the surface, but..."

Lili suddenly dropped her voice almost to a whisper, as if she were ashamed of something.

"... I forgot what the clouds and sun look like"

"Oh..."

I gave her a fake smile, hoping for her to relax, and then gave her my answer.

"That's alright! I've never even seen the sun or the clouds, so I don't know for sure... But I think the sun looks like a big white circle, and the clouds look like the poofs of smoke Doc breaths out when he smokes"

"O-okay, thanks"

So not even seeing a little girl smile with genuine gratitude would spark any form of feelings in me, huh...

Seated beside Lili, I helped her with her sketches for the next few minutes, in which we both discussed what we each thought it would be like to live on the surface. Lili even said that Flynn, her older brother, had told her that there are mountains made completely out of gold.

We were a few minutes into our discussion when he finally came running back, panting as he struggled to catch his breath.

Carter Meyer.

Oddly, Flynn wasn't with him anymore.

"H-hey, sorry I'm late, h-huh..."

I tilted my head curiously at the panting boy with messy grey hair.

"Don't worry about it. Why did you leave in the f- No, never mind. What did you want to see me about?"

"Yeah Carter!" interrupted Lusbel, "What did ya run off to do too? You can't keep hid'n these mysterious stuff from us, so fess up! What were ya doin'? Wherecha' go? Why isn't Flynn with ya anymore? Why'd ya say ya want'd ta see Ria, but then run off before she could reach ya?"

"Which one cough* do you want me to answer? I can only keep track of so many questions after all..."

"All of 'em!"

Ignoring Lusbel's stubborn persistence's, Carter, still panting, turned back toward me

"A-actually, I- cough* I wanted to give you something for your birthday..."

Seeing that I still was wearing a look of confusion, Carter gestured for me to step outside the hospital. I looked toward Doc, indirectly asking him for permission, and he rolled his eyes, as if to say "whatever".

With Meyer's "permission", I rose to my feet and walked over to Carter on the other side of the lobby. Before heading out, though, I pulled a black trench coat over my shoulders and stuffed my ponytail into a black derby hat. These disguises kept the freaks in the alleys from instantly seeing that I'm female.

You can never be too cautious here.

After my quick preparations were made, I followed after Carter, who had already walked out the front door. As I made my way outside, I heard Lusbel start to follow after me, only to be stopped by Doc.

"Let the kids have their time alone together..." I heard him say as I just as the door closed behind me.

Doc's being oddly considerate today for some reason... I thought as I turned down the narrow street.

Carter's pace was somewhat slow, so I caught up to him fairly quickly, and soon the two of us were walking down the murky streets of the Underground together.

"Carter, where are we heade-"

"Shhhh..."

My inquiry was interrupted by Carter placing his finger to my lip. These interruptions must be a family thing.

"Just follow me"

At such a confident statement, there was no questioning whether or not I should trust him at this point.

So, when Carter took my scarred left hand into his own, quickened his pace, and started careening down side roads and into alleys, I followed his lead.

Ignoring the odd looks and glares from the large population of freaks all over the town, we both knew better than anyone it was just a matter of time before some hoodlum tries to assault us. This was the Underground after all, and such incidents were almost impossible to avoid. But we didn't care.

Just as Doc said, this was our time, and no thug was going to take that away. And so, the two of us raced down the streets of the Underground hand in hand.

To me there was only Carter, the boy who was leading me forward, and to Carter, there was only me, the girl he was leading to a place he alone knew.

Turning down a small dimly lit road in District three, we raced up a small flight of stone stairs in an abandoned apartment before arriving at our destination.

The room we finally reached was terribly shabby. As I took off my black derby hat, I was seriously contemplating on questioning why Carter even bothered dragging me out here. Carter, ignoring my obvious confusion, made his way across the shambles that was the room's floor and pulled two blinds apart, revealing the landscape through a shattered window.

From the shattered glass the entire Underground was visible, the building's dark silhouettes illuminated by the orange and red light of torches. The shadows danced on the cave's ceiling, and the flames that cast those shadows danced in a similar manner within their respective torches.

I could see the twenty-six pillars that supported the Underground's roof, each one with a unique ragged surface that was perfectly paired with the dancing shadows, and each branching out toward the ceiling and creating a multitude of stalactites.

At this scene, Carter smiled in awe, clearly taken by the landscape.

"Isn't it beautiful?" He asked, pointing outside the window

"..."

Part of me wanted to mindlessly nod my head at his comment, but although I could be called many things, I definitely wasn't a liar.

To me, it wasn't a magnificent view, it was simply the Underground, a massive collection of trash, shit, and pain that no one wanted. There was nothing special about the scene, and I definitely wasn't moved. But something did make me feel slightly uneasy.

To me it looked like simple houses and buildings in a cave, illuminated by torchlight.

But to him, it was something else entirely. He was moved by what he saw; what he saw was inspiration.

"What do you see out there that moves you like this, Carter?"

"..."

"To me, it's just the Underground, but to you..."

"..."

"What is it you see?"

I turned toward Carter, who's eyes were brimming with tears from the apparently glorious scene in front of him. My expression was still blank as I stated my reason for asking him;

"Because I want to see it, too"

"..."

Silence.

There was a long pause of anxious silence, but Carter still refused to break his gaze from the scene.

Time seemed to slow down, but he eventually, finally, spoke.

"You said that you just see the Underground, right?" he asked, still gazing out the window

"..."

Now it was my turn to remain silent.

"Well," he explained

"That's what I see too. It's just the Underground"

"Then why are you so-"

"But that's not all I see"

"...?"

I tilted my head my head curiously at him, and he finally turned to face me, and with a broad smile on his grimy face he states

"I see our home"

"..."

His explanation didn't answer my curiosity, but merely made it grow. Understanding this, Carter continued his explanation.

"This cave may be full of the most disgusting, vile, and atrocious beings in existence, but it's still our home"

"..."

"Life in this stink hole definitely isn't easy, but it still brought us together. The cruelty of this place is what caused our lines to cross three years ago, right? If it wasn't for my mom's cruel attitude, I honestly might not even had noticed you in that gutter, let alone done anything, and if you had never been in the gutter, who knows where I'd be right now..."

"I guess so..." I answered robotically

"Plus, when I am seeing the entire city like this, I don't think about its cruelty at all, because all I can see is the place that shaped you and me to the way we are right now"

Carter once again took my scar covered left hand into his own...

"These aren't just any buildings" he said pointing out the window with his other hand, "These are the buildings that make up the Underground City, the place that raised you and me"

With a smile on his face, Carter looked me square in the eye...

"This is our home, Ria"

"Please don't start calling me that too"

I puffed out my cheeks making a pouting face, and Carter smiled at his own teasing. Returning to the subject at hand, I turned toward the window and gazed at the landscape, hoping for something to change...

"…"

Based on Carter's words, the reason for our different perspectives might just be the way we were looking at it. I was simply looking at it for what it is; just the Underground. But he, on the other hand, saw something more than just the Underground; he saw our past, he saw our present, and he saw the place that we, no matter where we run, will always call home.

Because this is the Underground that raised us and brought us together.

"Anything?" He asked hopefully, but in reply, I simply looked to my feet and,

"...I'm sorry"

"..."

"...I see"

"..."

Silence once again returned, bringing its unbearable misery with it.

"..."

Until Carter shattered it.

"Anyways, here's the real reason I brought you here"

"Eh? You mean the view wasn't it?"

"Don't be silly, Ria. Why would I just show you something you can see at any elevated place here?"

"Please stop calling me that"

Carter rolled his eyes, another "family tradition" for the Meyer's.

"Anyway, here you go"

The grey-haired boy pulled my arm and placed something like a small box in my palm. Upon closer examination, it was a small box. A small, circular, metal box.

"W-what is it?" I asked as I examined the letter-less box that gave no clue to its purpose.

"Here, let me show you..." He said, snatching the box back from my hands.

Twisting the top and bottom of the box caused it to open, revealing several different shades of tan.

"It's a cosmetic" he said handing the box back to me "I thought you could use it to hide your scars if you ever felt like you wanted to..."

"Thank you"

Although I said thanks, my tone and facial expressions apparently didn't align, so it came off as unnatural. It was simply another thing you had to constantly stress over when you're emotionless.

"Huuuuh..." sighed Carter "What am I gonna' do with you... I mean, you need to earnestly smile at least once in your life"

"I'm not so sure that worrying about that's necessar- Eh?!"

Carter suddenly grabbed hold of both my cheeks and lifted them up into a "smile"

"There ya go! You've got this!"

"Pleashh shtooop!"

I managed to yank away from his grabby fingers and then put on a show of fake tears. In reply, Carter just rubbed his nose.

"Fine, you don't have to do it now"

I tearfully rubbed my red cheeks and then glared at my attacker, but for some reason his expression was solemn and serious. Seeing that look of determination in his eyes, I couldn't help but quit joking around.

"Hey, Ally?" He asked quizzically

"Ally" was the nick-name that Carter had imposed on me. Unlike Lusbel's "Ria", Carter only called me Ally when we were alone so that no one else would start using it, giving it an aura of formality and unique identity. Plus "Ally" was short for alias, so, unlike "Ria", it didn't feel like I was pretending that I am someone I'm not.

"Yeah Carter?"

"Promise me that one day you'll smile. A real, sincere smile, okay?"

"U-um, I-I promise, Carter"

Perhaps realizing that he had just destroyed the atmosphere, or maybe because he felt literal relief from my stuttering reply, or perhaps both, Carter gave a heavy sigh of relief.

"C'mon Ally" Carter said, looking toward me

"Let's go home"

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