A/N: And we are BACK! I know, I've been offline for a long time. And even before that, I wasn't regular in terms of updates and the like. But, hopefully, this time will be different.

Warning here and now, this introductory chapter is probably going to be boring as hell. So if you bore easy and my writing doesn't capture your interest, this is your chance to leave.

... No? Alright then. Hope that means you're in for the long haul.

First things first, I'd like to say thank you to Crod42 for rekindling the creativity in my head. I had a lot of ideas, but next to no intentions of ever penning them down, until he inspired me to make this. Please go check out his story, A Blacksmiths Tale, over on his profile

Second, with the recent updates to the manga, this will be NOTHING like the last story I had planned. It will be much different, and hopefully much more believable.

And last, I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin. This story is going to be based on the information we know at the time, but is ultimately AU

Four months. Four long, brutal, God forsaken months of nonstop bare knuckled fighting, pick pocketing, and hand crushing/leg breaking it had taken him. But finally, he did it. John had obtained enough to finally get into the Interior. He could finally find her. And put to rest the rumors of the destruction she had caused.

First step was securing himself, which is where the Ehrmich district came in. He fought, stole and earned enough money to get into the Inner wall, where no one would suspect a Shifter to hide. It was during this time that he heard about the beast titan and the consumption of the Colossal titan, which made him escalate his plans, moving faster and harder. Next came learning her location. A few drinks with the Scout regiment and a few bribes to some of the cleaner dirty MPs accomplished that. Third, a way to get her out. He knew about her abilities thanks to a friend, so the crystal wasn't an issue. And finally, to get in and out of there with his identity intact.

While subtly was not his strong suit, knocking people out was, whether through punching or choking. And that was really all it took was quick and fast movements on his part, and weak jaws and lungs on the parts of the guards he sneaked past. He had taken the hood, the outfit, and the ODM Gear (he didn't know how to use it, but he was always a quick study) off the poor, unsuspecting soldier. Using this disguise, he got close to the guards at the stables before subduing them and taking two horses (one for escape, the other for another plan), moving as fast as he possibly could.

The middle two steps took a good two weeks to accomplish. But finally, here he was, watching from a distance the fortress where the soldiers were holding her. Now it came time for the final step, which was arguably the hardest. While Wall Maria had yet to be fully taken back by the Scout Regiment, they didn't need all of their troops in the field. But at the same time, not so many were back after the two month excursion as to make this impossibly difficult. It was more of a skeleton crew at the moment, with most of the commanding officers, NCOs, and the two shifters among their numbers out in the field.

He watched from a distance as the small patrol proceeded back on their assigned route after a quick break to rest their feet, relieve themselves, and talk a bit. Once they were on their way, rifles at the ready and ODM Gear fully stocked, he began his approach. There were a few sentries up top, but they were enraptured in their conversation. And even if they weren't, to them it just looked like another Scout soldier with his hood up on what was admittedly a cold night. Once inside, he stuck to side corridors and closets to avoid anyone and everyone. He didn't know anything about the place, just that the stairs had to be somewhere. Finally, after searching, he found them.

Unfortunate part was, there was a group of three soldiers that were standing/sitting guard. And despite the fact they seemed to have camaraderie with one another and were laughing, each one had the look of a soldier who was more than ready to kill if they needed to. Each was armed with a rifle and a freshly restocked ODM Gear. While it wouldn't provide an advantage in the narrow halls of the fort, the swords could cut him limb from limb in seconds. He just took a deep breath and had to think about it for a moment. Then, he came up with an idea. He just hoped no one was in the kitchen...

~X-x-x-x-X~

Franz chuckled in a combination of pity and humor as Adelbert finished a particularly horrible joke about a turtle getting mugged by a snail when he noticed someone walking down the hall towards them. He 'tsst'ed to Adelbert and Ivan to look, prompting them to get their rifles ready as the figure got closer.

When they saw it was just a kid in a scout uniform and cloak carrying a silver tray with steaming cups of what smelled like coffee, they lowered their weapons. Franz grunted as he looked the black haired, green eyed kid up and down. "Haven't seen you before." He said suspiciously. "Why the hood kid? And who the hell are you?"

The kid gulped. "So-sorry sir, its just cold tonight.. I-I'm new here, sir. Name of Johnny. I j-just transferred here from the Garrison. Yo-you see, my father is a Captain in the garrison and he pulled some str-"

"I don't need to hear your life story, cadet." Franz growled out, though Adelbert made an indication with his hands, out of sight of the kid, to calm down. He huffed. "Why would you transfer here, of all places? You suicidal?"

The kid looked down. It was obvious he was nervous, since the tray was shaking. But it wasn't Franz' job to care. It was his job to make sure no suspicious persons got to the prisoner below. And he took his job seriously. "Answer me, kid!"

The boy jumped, taking a deep breath. "I knew Petra Ral from when I was younger, Sir." He answered. Franz looked to the other two, exchanging a look of sorrow from hearing their friends name, and for bringing up the loss in the kids mind. "After hearing what happened to her, I asked my father to transfer me here."

Franz sighed, leaning his rifle against the wall. "Sorry, kid... Can't be too careful." He took one of the cups and sniffed it. "Coffee, eh? Awfully nice of you."

Johnny nodded. "Yes sir! I was told to bring it to you so you could last until you're relieved!" He said, sounding excited

Franz nodded and took a sip while Adelbert and Ivan picked up their cups. He promptly spit it out, wiping his tongue off. "That's disgusting! What did you put in this?!"

"What I was told to sir!" Johnny said, holding the tray in front of himself protectively as the other two tasted it to see what was so bad about it, since it smelled fine. "Cream! Sugar! Honey, in your case!" He then muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?" Franz said, blinking. All of a sudden his eyes felt heavy, and he wasn't the only one, Adelbert shaking his head trying to stay awake and Ivan yawning loudly.

"I said, and a bit of sticklewart." Johnny replied, smirking as he dropped the tray. Franz' eyes widened in realization and he took a swing at him, but was slow and easily dodged. He landed on the ground with a 'thump', the other two following suit right on top of him. John smirked, shaking his head. "Sorry, boys. Just be glad it didn't come to blows. Then you'd have a REAL headache tomorrow." He told them as he went down the stairs

~X-x-x-x-X~

He moved along the wall, hugging it as he progressed through the tunnel slowly. He had found a few rooms so far, but they mainly had rations or weapons and supplies. And while he did find some dried meat reserved for the officers (he put that in his knapsack), none of it was useful to him and was definitely not what he was looking for. It felt like he'd been searching for an hour (really, it was only a few minutes) before he found the room. He took a peek, letting out a breath of relief at what he saw.

There she was. Frozen in crystal, immune to the effects of time and any damage they wanted to inflict. She looked beautiful to him, and despite the circumstance, he couldn't help but admire her form and beauty. There wasn't enough time for that, though, as he took a deep breath and prepared himself. There were two guards inside the door and two more soldiers studying her and taking notes, probably for their commander, Hange. Each one was armed, though only the two guards had rifles.

He leaned back into cover, back to the wall as he took a second to think this through. He ran through each plan in his head: running in would result in getting shot in the back. Attempting to fight one of the two guards would not only give the other soldiers time to react, but would again result in him getting shot. The only option he saw was to take the guns out of play and get to the two soldiers before they had a chance to alert the others or kill him. But most of all, she needed to be safe. One stray bullet could be bad.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around the corner and walked in the door, stopping with his hands up when the two guards noticed him and aimed their weapons. The one on the right, who appeared to be the older of the two, is the one who asked him, "Who are you? Why are you down here?"

John coughed slightly and mumbled something unintelligible to the two guards, causing the older one to lean in, taking his gun off of John. "What did you say?" He asked.

John smirked. "I said, Why do you want your nose broken?" He asked, bringing his elbow straight up and shattering the guards nose. He followed with a chop to the jaw to knock him out before moving around the back of him and kicking him into the second guard. The left guard, being smaller, was effectively pinned, unable to get his partner off of him. He picked up the rifle the man dropped and threw it (stock first) like a spear into the closest soldier, smacking him in the head and forcing it back into the crystal with a 'thunk'. He'd definitely feel that in the morning, John thought.

Unfortunately, by this point, the fourth soldier had drawn her swords by this point and was running towards him. He matched her speed, heading directly at her before ducking under the horizontal swing and slid behind her. To her credit, she was quick, turning and swinging at him. But he was quicker, jumping back a fair distance and drawing her closer to the crystal. He dodged about two more swipes, his cloak and clothes taking some cuts before he ducked under a horizontal slash that caused her to hit her blades against the crystal. While they didn't break, the shock was enough to her her arms and stop her advance, which gave him time to slide in under her arms and move around behind her, putting her in a sleeper hold. Ten seconds later, after she dropped her blades and tried to reach back at his head, she went limp and he immediately dropped her so he didn't kill her.

He then went over to the other guard, who finally managed to get his partner off of him, to pin him by his chest with his foot and delivering a harsh, downward punch right to his jaw, knocking him out. Shaking his hands and dusting himself off, he let out a sigh of relief. "Coulda gone worse." He muttered.

He approached the crystal and took out one of the blades from his stolen ODM Gear before climbing up onto the crystal. He positioned the tip of the blade near her head and took a breath to steady himself. Too far, and he'd kill her. Closing his eyes for a few seconds, he opened his eyes and, focusing on that one spot, he reared back and stabbed downward with both hands, the blade penetrating the crystal enough that it started to crack.

He withdrew the blade and kicked off the crystal, landing a few feet away as the cracks began spider webbing, moving throughout and all around the gigantic crystal before finally it came crumbling down, the girl inside crumpling like a rag doll. Putting the blade away, he walked through the discarded shards and knelt down next to her. He dusted her off and lifted her gently in his arms. He tapped her face, which elicited a tired, sore groan from her, but didn't wake her. That was enough for him to breathe a sigh of relief. She was alive.

He picked her up in his arms and pulled her close to his chest. "Don't worry, Annie... I'll get you out of here..." He whispered to her before turning and walking out the door.

And of course there was going to be an alarm. It was a fortress, it was the army, and nothing was ever this easy. He had finally mounted the horse with her wrapped in his stolen cloak in front of him, leaning back into his chest, when he heard shouting and then the bell in the tower ringing. He growled and snapped the reins hard, kicking the horse with his boot so it would get going, and quickly. Not quick enough, though, since he heard a whistling noise and a loud pop as an illumination flare was launched. Once it lit up his hiding spot, it wasn't long before gunshots were heard and bullets came whizzing past him as he made his escape. He covered Annie with his body, her protection during the escape the imperative that guided his actions. He headed south, where he had a contingency set up in case he got noticed. He just hoped he could make it there in time.

~X-x-x-x-X~

Klaus spotted the horse up ahead. He waved his torch to let the ones behind him know they were getting close, which meant they were to follow his lead in putting their horses into a full on sprint, quickly closing the distance on the much slower horse, enough that he could swap the torch to his other hands and grabbing the reigns to stop it. Klaus hopped off his horse and took out a sword with his free hand, pointing it at the rider on the horse. "Alright. Far enough, interloper. Time to get off and give us the prisoner." He was trying to take it easy and avoid spooking the rider or the Female Titan. And since he went through the trouble of breaking her out, he was probably one of them. They couldn't deal with a sudden shift here and now. Not dealing with her, or worse, both of them.

When no response, not even a movement, was seen or heard, Klaus growled and indicated for the others to get ready, which they did, all drawing their weapons loudly and dramatically. "You hear that? I have an entire platoon of angry soldiers out here, ready to cut into you and the traitor at any moment. So, get off the horse and put your hands up." He said, nudging the cloak with his blade. But it felt... off. Not like poking a living being with a super sharp blade. It felt like poking a sack of potatoes. And there was no response or movement, yet again.

Now he was getting suspicious. He put his sword away, but motioned for the others to be ready just in case. He slowly approached the figure on the horse before grabbing the cloak and throwing it off, staring dumbfounded at what he saw: a rucksack and a saddle bag, positioned to look like the low riding prone intruder they had seen. No trace of him or the prisoner he had broken out. They hadnt detected anyone on the way to that point and everyone, aside from those still at the base, was out here. This meant one thing: they had been played.

~X-x-x-x-X~

John could not help but keep smirking as he rode towards Ehrmich, his pursuers far behind them. His ploy had worked so much better than he expected, the soldiers riding right past his hiding spot to chase the decoy he had sent out. He was honestly worried at first, afraid they'd find him or that they wouldn't believe the decoy was him. But fortune smiled upon him, which meant he could begin the hour and a half long ride back. Annie hadnt waken up during that entire incident, which he was thankful for, but also worried him. It meant she was extremely tired after her ordeal. And despite the fact she still breathed, if she didn't wake up soon, it could be bad.

It only took a little over an hour to finally get to the wall. And judging by the lack of armed response waiting for him, his ploy had worked, at least for now. He found a spot close enough to his home that didn't have as many guards up top. Ditching the horse, the Scout cloak, and the military jacket, he found some flat, open ground by the wall and got ready. He had never used the omnidirectional maneuvering gear before, so this would certainly a new experience to say the very least.

Making sure Annie was held close to him in a comfortable manner for both of them and in a way she wouldnt be injured, his used his free hand to aim and fire the grappling wire into the wall. It hit his target near the top of the wall, but he wasnt prepared for the speed at which the fan spun and retracted the wire into the gear. He hit the wall hard, impacting it on his side with an audible 'crunch'. He groaned loudly, making sure Annie was safe before he planted his feet on the wall and stood, using the wire for support. He pressed on his ribs, groaning as pain shot through his chest. He had to guess he broke about five ribs. And from the swelling in his cheek, probably his cheek bone too. That didn't matter to him, though. They'd be healed soon enough.

Now, this next part was crucial. Taking a deep breath, he detached the hook and jumped outward before firing the hook over the wall. It anchored successfully in the top, and this time John was ready, landing on his feet and bending his knees to absorb the impact (something he had learned while repelling) and walked slowly up the wall, making sure to keep Annie secured the entire way. Once on top, he detached the line and knelt on the ground, the pain in his ribs catching up with him. Forcing himself to stand up, he moved to the other side of the wall quickly and looked down.

His home was only a few blocks from here, which meant he had estimated the spot correctly. But now came the part he REALLY wasnt going to like. He turned around and shot his hook into the top of the wall. From there, he approached it like one would repelling during rock climbing, slowly walking backwards before he jumped down onto the vertical wall face. From there, he jumped back and down a few times, stopping when he got about 10 meters from the ground. Positioning Annie on top of him, he took a deep breath and, using his boot knife, cut the straps that were holding him in. This cause the gear to move upwards to the top of the wall, and him to fall a good 33 feet to the cobblestone street.

It didn't feel good, to say the least. The fall was bad enough, but the fall WITH someone on top of him made it painful enough that he literally could not make a single noise, laying on the ground and breathing heavily, resisting the urge to scream in agony when he felt air reenter his lungs. It took a few minutes before he could finally move, but move he did, rolling Annie off of him ungracefully so he could roll onto his stomach and push himself up. That second part took the most work, and even when he stood he couldn't stay that way, falling to his knees. Using the wall, he stood up and took a few moments to collect himself before taking a deep breath and continuing with his objective. Safety was only a walk away.

Picking her up and putting her over his shoulder, he walked (more like limped, due to the fractured femur he had to deal with) through the back alleys and the side streets to avoid running into anyone. The trip was relatively quick (considering the fact he was dealing with more broken ribs and a lot of impact fractures from the fall) and since it was at night, no one really noticed the two figures stalking towards the ground floor of a nice looking townhouse and kicking the door open then closed behind them.

He took her to the spare bedroom, which he had set up with a bed and a nightstand with oil lamp. Not much, but he didn't know what she'd want, if anything, so he went with the basics. Using his free hand to pull the covers off the top, he laid her down gently on her side. He couldn't help but smile at how peaceful she looked, pulling the blanket over her and rubbing her shoulder softly before standing up with a groan, going out, and closing the door. He went to the pantry, depositing the meat he had brought and taking the strongest bottle of liquor he had. Sitting at the table, he yanked the cork out with his teeth and proceeded to take a rather long swig. He'd need a bit of it to get through the pain tonight...

A/N: Well, hope that was good. This took about three drafts before I got it right, so hope it was enjoyable. I put it two months ahead of the retaking of Wall Maria so that tactically speaking, some of the soldiers would still be out in the field and story speaking, I could incorporate cannon up until the point it becomes impossible.

As for the ride back, the horses have a top speed of 50 mph and a constant speed of 22 mph. Since Annie was in a crystal and I doubt they wanted to drag her that far, I assumed that they took her to a base that was close to Stohess where she was captured. As for why it took over an hour, he rode south towards Rose at top speed for a bit before heading back to Sina.

Enough of the math lesson, though! There are some foreshadowing remarks and not so subtle clues as to what the not so secret secret of what is so special about John actually is. Suspicions will be confirmed in the next chapter, promise. Its probably obvious, but this is just to clarify

Also, I have two pictures I wanted to use for this story. Trying to get permission to use them, so bear with me for now. Tell me what you think of the first one when I put it up.

That is it for me for now, so I thank you for sticking with it, and hope to see you more in the future!