DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ATTACK ON TITAN/ SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.

Date Uploaded: March 22, 2016- Tuesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

Other things you need to take note of; Here, the Titans aren't some giants that goes wild mindlessly Okay some have intelligence, some doesn't. The Titans are humans that turned cannibals. Their origin is unknown (I'll leave that as a mystery for now). Like a zombie apocalypse, if they bit you, you'll end up as one of them anytime soon. Other information about the titans will be further explained in the story. Wall Maria, Sina, Rose are layers of the city of Trost. The Garrison are those in charge of the protection of the walls, keeping the walls and borders secured and looking out for Titans. The Military Police is in charge of the protection of the inner city and enforce balance and order. Survey Corps are the scouts that leave to scavenge supplies, kill Titans and save survivors if encounters one. Shiganshina is a town in Trost where Eren Jaeger lives.

Also, I don't ship anyone.. sort of. I guess I'll see as the story goes. I separated Mikasa and Eren so in case there's a ErenXMikasa shipping, I can comply.

Summary: AU. The world inside the walls of Trost are raided by Titans. Humanity is struggling for survival. Will they be able to overcome the Titans?

PROLOGUE:
In the town of Shiganshina, people lived in lesser fear than other towns. Because unlike other towns, they weren't attacked by Titans for ten straight years. There wasn't any raids or wall assaults. There weren't any Titans coming near the walls. If there were any Titans spotted nearby, that's all there is to it. They're near but not coming.

A rule is established that when a Titan or more are near, they are to keep quiet. As quiet as they can until the coast was clear. But most of the time they'd keep quiet, for safety of not attracting any unwanted attention. Keeping a low profile was their goal. And they survived following those rules.

Among the citizens of Shiganshina is the Grisha Jaeger, his wife Karla Jaeger and his son Eren Jaeger. The Jaeger family are known to have helped many citizens before and now. They are respected and looked upon.

"Eren! Eren!" Armin yelled from afar.

Armin Arlelt, Eren's best friend. The other kids would bully him because he's fragile and his mind was different from others. He'd think differently from others and he's exceptionally smart in a lot of things and even has knowledge of the outside world. Some are jealous of him but some said he was making it up. The outside world is what Eren and Armin had always talked about other than the Titans and their raids.

They want to see the outside world.

"What is it, Armin?" Eren asked after picking up a white shirt from the basket. He was helping his mother hang the launry.

"The Garrison opened the gates! The Survey Corps had arrived with survivors!"

"Really?" Eren's eyes sparked. Karla let out a smile as she took the shirt from Eren's hands.

"Yeah." He nodded. "They've got more kids than adults though."

"More kids? But, the orphanage is already full. They can't accept more kids."

"They're going to be transferred into another town, I suppose." Eren's mother interjected. "They'll be taken into the inner walls and find them a suitable place to live in until they grow."

"But.. that would mean that they'd be separated from their family and friends." Eren stated sadly.

"I'm sure they'll try not to separate those who are siblings."

Eren and Armin had this sad look in their faces. They spaced out for a while, thinking. Karla knew exactly what bothered them.

"I'm sure that's not the case. It's just a rumor I heard anyways." She added.

"I guess so." Eren muttered. "Anyways, Mom, can I go with Armin to meet the new kids?"

"Of course." Eren jumped in joy at her approval. And almost immediately, he and Armin ran towards the direction where Armin came.

"I'll be back before dinner!" he waved at her.

"Be careful!" his mother waved back at him. She watched him disappear from her sight before continuing with her laundry.

The two boys ran a distance before turning into a corner and there they see Hannes. Hannes was a member of the Garrison. He'd slack off at times, going off with his friends and drinking but there are also times that he's very responsible.

"Good morning, Hannes-san!" the boys greeted.

"Ah, Eren, Armin, it's good to see you up early. You two didn't go to school today?" he asked.

"Well.. school let us out early." Eren lied.

"Hannes-san, can we meet the new brought-ins?" Armin asked. Hanes grinned, figuring out why the two boys were present.

"So you skipped classes for this, huh?" he chuckled.

"There aren't much kids that we got to know." Eren said, scratching his cheek lightly. "Plus we want to see if there's anyone we recognize."

"As if there's one." He highly doubts it.

"Please." The two begged.

"Alright fine. They're at the Guest Hall. The Survey Corps left them as soon as they got here. It was as if they were in a hurry."

"Do you think there's more?" Eren asked. "More survivors out there? That's why the Survey Corps were on a rush?"

Hannes thought about the words he'd say. Answering the boy's question will forever be a mark in him. He'll remember it well, so he had to answer well.

"Well.." he started. "..probably. We never know until we're out there. But for now, we can just be good citizens. Go back home after this okay? The Garrison will have more work to do. Especially concerning those brought-ins."

"Yes sir!" the two agreed to his terms. Of course he didn't have a choice but to comply.

He led them to the Guest Hall located near the walls. It's similar to an evacuation center. It's where all the survivors were taken for shelter and hopefully, recover from their trauma. They've been outside the walls, and for all they know, their experience was far worse than others. They've seen deaths, blood and the Titans. Some wouldn't speak. Some wouldn't move. Some were still shaking in fear. Some couldn't get over the trauma. Some were all of the above.

The Guest Hall was guarded by a few Garrisons until the Military escorts have arrived. When they entered, Eren and Armin saw the number of kids crying in corners and on the floor. There were a few adults, mostly women, very few men. There are also villagers from their town that came by to help them recover.

"T..This is.." Eren didn't know how to describe it. He's seen people suffer before. From a disease. But suffer from Titans.. it's a different story.

"Eren." The boy felt a palm on his shoulder and he looked up at Hannes. "The world is full sufferings. Not just our town. All these people.. none of them deserved this yet it still happened to them."

"But why?"

Not even Hannes could answer it. He kept silent as he observed the crowd before him.

"Eren, do you still want to talk to them? It's okay if we leave now." Armin said. He's worried of Eren and scared of the crowd. He's afraid that someday it will happen to him. Happen to them.

"These people.. they need our help." Eren told his blonde friend.

"But what can we do?"

"We can try and make them smile again."

"After everything that happened to them?" Armin asked.

"Humanity must not lose hope. And we can start with bringing smiles on their faces."

"You're right." He nodded in agreement. "But how do we start?"

"Uh.. I'm not quite sure about that." Eren said sheepishly and Armin sighed.

"Let's see what I can come up with."

The boys ran towards a certain room and Hannes smiled at them. He doesn't have a son or a family but he knows how it feels to have one. Because he treats these boys as his son. He treats everyone in the town as his family. Someone he needs and swore to protect.

Armin stood in the center later on. He was carrying a ball with him. All of the kids stared at him in wonder. Probably having one question in their mind. 'What is he holding?' for some 'What is he doing?'. Deep inside he was nervous. Getting too much attention is not one of the things that he wants to do. But he gulped all those fears and did what he had to do.

The ball bounced and he dribbled it. He tried doing tricks and it accidentally bounced off, rolling towards a certain child he stared at the ball in wonder.

"Oh sorry about that." Armin said as he approached the child.

"Can I.. can I play with you?" the boy asked as he looked up at Armin.

"Sure." Armin saw the bright smile in the boy's face and looks down on the ball. Armin gladly picked it up and handed it to him. He noticed the rest of the kids' attention were locked on them, also having the urge to ask them if they could join. "Do you guys want to come and play too?"

He wasn't sure if they would say yes.

He wasn't sure if they would just forget everything in an instance.

He wasn't sure if it was easy to overcome their fears.

But in his surprise.. one child stood up from a corner.

"I want to play!" he announced. And everyone exchanged looks, as if waiting for others to say the same before they come and join. Until another child approached Armin.

"Me too!"

"I want to try too!"

"Please let me try!"

When the kids were all up and ready to play. The adults and villagers present couldn't help but smile in delight. It hurts to see children suffer for something they are innocent about. But now that they're happy again, it's a pleasing sight.

Armin played with the kids along with Eren, everyone was laughing and having fun. The ball was the entire key to everything.

Armin got tired and let the kids play out on their own. He sat in a corner, panting. And that was when he noticed there was one blonde who wasn't mingling with the others. One small blonde who was at the corner.

"Hey." He tried to start a conversation. "Don't you want to play?" but the girl only glanced at him, not responding at all. "I'm Armin." He thought maybe getting to know each other by name is the first step of friendship. The girl stared her blue eyes at him, still not saying anything. "Are you not into these things?" still.. there was silence. He sighed. Maybe she's one of those who have been through too much and chose not to mingle with others to sulk. He decided to just share stories about himself. He looked back at the children who are still playing. "I'm honestly not into it too. They say I'm too fragile to join and play sports. So I would usually just sit at home and read books."

"That must be really boring."

His eyes shot back to the blonde. She spoke! He must've got her attention somehow. It was a good start. He decided to keep going.

"Not entirely. I mean- I love to read books." He told her.

"Why?" the girl asked. A hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"II learn from it. It tells me things that I don't know about." He explained in veneration.

"Not everything in books are reliable." The girl countered. "Some of it are lies created by humans. Since we live in a cruel world filled with enemies we can't beat, flocking us like herds in a prison, humans created an illusion for themselves."

Armin kept silent for a while. The girl before him had her own beliefs. She was different from others just as he was different. It felt relieving that he wasn't alone.

"M- Must be right." He stuttered. "But one of the books I read is made by my grandfather. I'm sure it's all based on his experience and adventures. He's been through the outside world."

"He must've created an illusion of his own then."

"What are you saying? My grandfather would never lie." He was glad that someone was different like he is, but she was something else. There some something in her that makes her stand out from the others and without even anyone noticing her presence.

"Just because he's your grandfather, doesn't mean he wouldn't lie. In the real world—the outside world, those who are close to you are the ones that lie to you."

"What are you saying?"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Visiting hours was up. Hannes and the rest of the Garrison had clashed pots and spatulas to catch everyone's attention.

"Visiting hours are over! Everyone out! It's time to go!" the Garrison would say repeatedly.

Armin stared at them before looking back at the girl. He was still wondering.. what have she been through that she was able to think like this? That she turned out to be this way? She was a mystery that Armin was so intrigued about.

"You should go." The girl told him. She knew that Armin had more to say.

"Will I ever see you again?" was all that matters right now.

"I don't really have anywhere to go, do I?"

"I- I guess so."

"Armin!" Eren called out. He was looking for his friend. "Armin, come on let's go!"

"Your cue." The girl told him and he forces a smile.

"Y- Yeah." He got to his feet but still his eyes were locked on the girl's. "What's your name?"

Stare.

"Armin, let's go!" Eren said, arriving at the scene. "Hannes will escort us home."

"Right."

Eren noticed that there was something going on between Armin and the girl. It was as if they've talked about something serious before they came.

"Hey there." Eren greeted. "I didn't see you play earlier. Didn't want to sweat on a game?"

"Not interested in playing one." She replied.

"Any friends around?"

"They're not here."

"Are they still alive?"

"I hope so."

Armin noticed that every time Eren tries to strike up a conversation, she'd end it with a period. Like she doesn't want to talk about it. And she'd also answer vaguely. Like everything about her is kept a secret. Why so?

"You boys, come on, it's time to go." Hannes said when he found them. "These kids have to rest too."

"Will they still be here by tomorrow?" Armin asked. Hannes noticed that something was up with Armin that moment.

"Yeah."

"Let's just go back tomorrow." Eren told him. Armin nodded and left with Hannes.

He turned back to the girl, to see her one more time.

Who was she? He forgot to ask. He smiled at her before turning away and exited the hall. The girl remained emotionless about the matter and sighed. She looked down on the floor, her fists tightening in anger.

"I will kill you.. all of you." She muttered to herself.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

How is it? I hope it's great. I tried not to make the prologue short but it ended up that way. So yeah..

So guys, for those who knows me, welcome the newest fic in the family! My very first Attack on Titan/Shingeki No Kyojin fic! I hope you guys enjoy just as you you enjoyed the others just as I enjoyed writing! If we convert that in a mathematical equation it'll be like a=b=c. *laughs* No need for mathematical equations.

See you in the next chapter!