Petra Ral is a fighter. She fought her way back to Wall Rose, fought to the top of the ranks of the Trainee Squad and fought into her position as a captain in the Stationary Guard. It's been three years since she last set foot outside the Walls, five years since she awakened to a terrible new world with monsters and no memory, and she's perfectly content with life as it is. Problem is, a man named Levi Ackerman just entered the picture, and he's asking questions she isn't quite sure she has the answers to. And in her case, sometimes the truth isn't something that sets you free…

Revival

The ground vibrated beneath her as she ran, covered in blood and sweat and hot tears that poured down her face, creating clean streaks that contrasted into an otherwise haggard and distressed appearance. Her honey colored hair was pasted to her head in thick, greasy strands, and her golden eyes shone with a certain ferocity and determination she'd never known before now. Her body ached and hurt all over, but she kept pushing herself forward anyways, desperate for solace and safety she had yet to discover. She didn't know neither what safety was nor the concept of peace of mind, or even rage, though the feelings were somewhat familiar. But then again, she didn't know much of anything now.

There was a large wall ahead of her, surrounded by pounding giants that chased her and snapped at her like slow, fat, lumbering dogs. She didn't know what they were or why they were so intent on eating her, but she knew what danger was and instinctively knew that allowing herself to get too close to any single one of the creatures meant certain death, and even in short time span she could recall (that being a matter of only three days) she was quite sure she did not yet want to die, and refused to allow herself to do so.

She did not have a clue as to what 'three-dimentional maneuvering gear' was, but she had discovered that she knew how to use it and the action of such came easy to her, almost like second-nature. She also knew that the monsters chasing her couldn't be killed by simply cutting off a limp but by either decapitating entirely or slicing off the nape of the neck. She'd already killed eight in two days via the nape kill (because the blades on her gear weren't sharp enough or large enough to cut off a giant's head), a record she thought, but wasn't quite sure about that either. She went with it. The wall was almost within reach.

There was a small monster on her tail now, and she was surprised how slow it was compared to the others. She was also surprised at how fast she'd become, how skilled and simple it was to just attach herself to the back of a creature and kill it before moving onto the next one. If she wasn't running the risk of dying she might have had fun, swinging from monster to monster like a monkey. But right now there were no tall creatures upon which to climb up and propel off of, so she stuck to darting upon the earth underneath her.

The baby monster swung its fist at her and roared, deafening her ears, and she automatically swung herself around to face it. She had no time for games or distractions- the wall was so close, and there were no other monsters within sight. Already she could see tiny specks of people atop the wall and the gate, peering down at her and shouting unintelligibly. She glared at the monster in front of her as it stopped and stared down at her. She unsheathed her swords and slung them forward as she jettisoned herself towards it with her gear, eyes gleamed maliciously. She landed upon its shoulder with apparent ease, feeling the adrenaline high she'd been on for the past two days starting to wear off extremely quickly. She was starting to get dizzy, and she barely evaded the monster's hand trying to flick her off its shoulder. She positioned herself atop its head, groaning as she held on for dear life.

"Now hold still, or I can't kill you properly!" she shouted at it before plunging her swords deep into the back of its neck. The creature screamed (or at least she considered it to be a scream; could monsters scream?) as she cut into it, blood spurting everywhere and getting all over her ragged clothing as it fell. She felt herself falling too, and without thinking she shot the grappling hooks up into the air and attached them to the top of the wall, hoisting herself up to safety before collapsing. She didn't move, and she finally let herself close her eyes for the first time in three days.

Darkness consumed her, and she welcomed it with open arms even as strange voices echoed around her;

"Who is she?"

"A Survey Corpsmen? How'd she end up out there?"

"I thought the mission was a failure."

"Didn't everyone die?"

"She looks familiar."

"Someone get a medic!"

"Lift her onto the stretcher, get to her the hospital."

"Find Commander Erwin."

"No, not until we have something. Send for Commander Pixis."

"Where did she come from?"

"Outside the Wall? But how?"

"How long's she been out there?"

"Is she still alive?"

"What's her name?"

"Stop, I know her!"

"Well then, who is she?"

"Petra Ral."

End Chapter 1