XxXxX

I felt… so tired… for such a long time. Memories blurred together in a congested mixture of fuzz and shades. My eyesight was blurry, but my instincts remained intact. Every movement kept me alive. Every kill, meant more time for me to live.

These massive creatures, these titans, where colossal and chased me wherever I went. No matter the place, whether it be deep in the humid jungles, high up on the snowcapped mountains, or across the golden plains, these massive human like creatures continued to follow me endlessly.

The power that once helped me save the world has since developed into a curse that gave me prolonged life. Decaying away as the endless sands of time moved ever forward. When I ask myself 'how long has it been since my friends passed away', my mind only sees blurs. Names passed through my head like water from a waterfall. Their faces long since disappearing from the captions of my mind.

I knew I had close friends when my life first began. I knew that I would have done anything for them, even sacrifice my life if it came to it. I knew that I was betrayed by my rival, and best friend. But as I stated before, their faces, their names, everything about them had been drained from my brain. Why would I forget about the events that had transpired so long ago? An event that I played such a crucial role in shaping? I can't remember what I did, but I know it was important to those close to me and the direction the world was going to take.

Since then I exchanged hands with many people. Some good, some evil. At first I cared of the direction of how the world would be shaped, but slowly I began to remove myself from the eyes of the masses. My name, my image, my message, became that of a myth. A distant memory that eventually pattered out from the populations minds.

Forgotten.

I found love in the distant blurs, and hate in others, but one thing rang true throughout my painful mind.

The emotions and bonds I made with my many friends, and enemies, throughout the ages continued to last. I remember the anger I felt when a friend was killed in front of me. I remember the love I felt when I found someone that cared for me. And the anguish when they died of old age…

The pain and love remained, even if their faces and names did not.

BOOM

They are close, and I must keep moving, lest they finally catch me unprepared.

I slowly rose to my feet and looked down at the fire that blazed away in the middle of the massive forest. The black ink that painted the edges of the fire moved to and fro, dancing with the fire as its embers flowed up into the air.

The bag that was leaning against the massive tree next to me was soon flung over my shoulder and I was on my way once more. Bouncing from tree to tree, using an ancient power stored in my body to empower my legs to move forward, I continued forward, never stopping. At most I would be able to get two to three hours of sleep, and even less to scavenge up a meal, but since the titans' appearance, the animals of the world had begun growing accustomed to the lack of humans. Making them easy prey.

BOOM BOOM

They were getting closer, but I've learned that if I stay at a high enough altitude then all they could do was watch from below and claw at the base of the trees.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw the lumbering figures enter into the clearing where my fire was illuminated. The light played off of their pink skin as a rather large one stepped onto the fire, immediately cutting off the source of light, and blanketing the area in darkness once again.

But I managed to get a good look at the titan before it disappeared into the blackness of the night.

"You know it's impossible to keep running, little one." The massive hulking titan remarked. I turned my back to the massive creature and continued moving. I knew that as long as I had chakra in my body then they would have an incredibly hard time catching me.

But even still…

This particular titan has been chasing me for such a long time, and in the beginning, I knew I was safe as long as the moon was out. But when this one found me, I've had to work harder to stay hidden. Nights once again became my enemy.

"How long as it been since I first found you? One year? Two years? Ten years? I can't really remember the exact time, but your body has not aged one bit! Now why is that?" The titan questioned, his voice echoing throughout the forest. "You truly are a strange human with even stranger abilities!"

In the beginning, I had tried helping some of the humans escape the titan attack, killing hundreds upon hundreds of the massive creatures, but all the humans under my protection perished. Devoured by the massive beasts that continue to hunt me day in and day out.

"Come now, why not sit down and have a chat? I would at least like to hear your voice."

I've never said a word to it, but I could tell that the language it used derived from what the humans had used before they were all killed.

Was I the last human alive? I don't know. I've traveled across this world since the outbreak and everywhere it has been the same. Not a single human remained, but the buildings, and what was inside, continued to sit idly. Decaying as time went on.

Never before had I seen such a genocide, and never one that targeted all of humanity.

"Well I shall see you soon I suppose. If you are going to continue running away like a monkey in the jungle. But you know…" The titan said, making me stop on a branch and look in its direction. Even though I couldn't see it, or its smaller friends that chased me, I could visualize its body behind the trees. "You are getting awfully close to that place."

That place? What was it talking about?

I shook my head and jumped to the next branch. It has done nothing but try and coax me into stopping and talking. Where it would then try to eat me, or let its friends kill me. It has vocalized its anger towards my back many times over, knowing that I had escaped its grasp one too many times.

But what if this place was real? If it actually existed?

I shook my head again, trying not to get my hopes up. My imagination was getting the best of me. The talking titan never said what this place was, or if it was friendly towards me.

Still… it's not like I had anywhere else to go. I might as well look around the area before moving on.

XxXxX

It has been two weeks since I began my search for this place that the titan 'accidently' slipped from its mouth, and all I've seen is more titans. This area in particular seems be far more dense with the hulking creatures than anywhere else that I've been. During all of my travels, this area is clearly the victor in numbers.

This fact only pushed me further. There was something here, but what was it? I couldn't even begin to understand why it let that information slip. Did he do it on purpose? Or was it an accident?

He had to do it on purpose. It was smart. Intelligent to a certain degree. It has shown its cunning many times before. Was this just another trap? A ploy to keep me in the area? Maybe, but I have to take that risk.

I stopped on top of a rather large tree and took in my surroundings, and there in the distance was a massive wall. It was gray, and extremely large. Larger than any tree nearby.

'A wall?' I thought before jumping out into the field and began making my way towards the wall. It took me about an hour from my position on the tree branch to make it to the side of the wall, and I had to avoid a few titans along the way, but here it was. 'It's massive! Larger than any titan I've seen up to this point!'

I moved my hands across it, just to make sure it was real. But then a thought ran through my head. Who made this wall, and why was it unmanned? It wasn't made by titans, that much could be deduced. They neither have homes, nor a reason to erect such massive defenses.

Defense.

It must be humans! A wall of this magnitude must have been their last desperate attempt to avoid extinction, but that still didn't explain why it was unmanned. Surely no mindless titan could breach such a massive wall on its own.

I looked up the massive construct, and began gauging how much chakra would be needed to make it up its side. Quite a lot was my ending conclusion.

I looked around me, and found that a few titans had found out where I was. I nodded my head and began running up the side of the wall. The titans that saw me earlier where standing beneath me, staring at me with those strange faces. Waiting to see if I'd fall back down to them.

I would not.

I shot past the crest of the wall and landed onto the top of the wall with a silent 'thud'. I looked back and forth to see if there was anyone on the wall. I was solemnly disappointed as I picked myself up from my kneeling position.

It was almost immediately clear to me that no life had been to the tops of these walls in years. Abandoned equipment strayed across the top of the wall, left in probably a mix of fear and terror. Was this wall abandoned? If so, why? No titan could have scaled this massive structure. Was it breached somehow?

I looked out across the massive swath of land that lay within the massive walls. The walls must be extremely long if they continued on past my eyesight. I walked over to the ledge that faced towards the inside of the wall and looked over the edge.

More titans.

Somehow they had managed to get inside the walls, but how? I suppose it doesn't really matter. They are here, and inside the wall, which means any hope of human civilization was gone along with the titans.

What now? Surely any prospect of human civilization had disappeared along with the arrival of their predators.

I rubbed the back of neck and began walking across the top of the wall. Which direction did I arrive here from? South… east? Yes, the southeast. I sighed heavily as I made my way across the top of the wall towards the southern end of the wall. Why was I even still here? Clearly all humans here had been killed, but I reserved some small amount of hope.

What if there was more to the wall than what met the eye? I looked up into the sky and saw that it was going to become night soon, which meant less titan activity. But did I even have to worry about them reaching me all the way up here?

I checked my chakra reserves. Plenty.

So, with plenty of chakra, I pushed on towards the southern edge of the wall. If anything, this was a fascinating site. This wall must have been abandoned only years before my arrival. Meaning this was probably the last bastion of hope for all of human kind.

'Which would also mean that I'm the last human in existence…'

No. I couldn't believe that. Even if the humans here where wiped out then I'm sure there was another hold out of humans… right?

That's what I kept telling myself all these years, at least…

XxXxX

'So that's how they got in.'

It's been about five hours since I began walking the crest of the wall until finally I came across something. A city that has had its gates smashed in on both the inside and the outside. No normal titan could have done this. I scanned out across the city, searching for any source of life, but, as expected, there was none.

I now stood on the inside wall and directly over the hole that had been blown inwards towards the heartland.

'What a shame…'

I turned towards the heartland behind the walls. I knew that if I continued towards the center then I would come in contact with more titans, but I have to investigate. If there was even the smallest chance that there was any survivors then I have to take that chance.

XxXxX

"Man! This job is so boring!" A young man exclaimed as he carried a box across the top an enormous wall.

"Will you shut your mouth already Connie?! This is the second day we've been up here and all you've done is complain!" Another soldier shouted in passing.

"But there's nothing to do! We've cleaned up everything! Every cannon, every rail, even the wall itself! This area is spotless! You know this to be true!" The bald headed soldier replied and anger. "All we've done is transport cargo from one side of the wall to the other! I swear I've moved the same box at least four times now!"

"Our main job is watch for titans. This busy work is only to keep us awake." A third young man explained calmly.

"I know that Eren, but it's still annoying…" Connie mumbled as he continued walking. Eren sighed and looked out over the vast fields, south of the wall. Lands long lost to the titan horde that streamed into the hole in Wall Maria, made by the Colossal Titan, and the Armored Titan.

Eren watched as Connie walked away, clearly still agitated at them being the ones having to complete all the busy work. He sighed and began scrubbing the side of the massive barrel. The grey clouds, at the very least, gave them some reprieve from the scorching sun that would normally blanket them with its radiating rays.

"Looks like it's about to rain…" Eren said to himself as he glanced up at the gray clouds. The distant boom of thunder promised to bring blessed rain to the farmers, but only served to make their lives far more miserable.

"It does, and I'm already hungry!" A female voice shouted from the other side of the cannon.

Another boom echoed out across dark sky, it must have been about… what, eleven in the morning?

"Sasha please, you just had a snack like thirty minutes ago, and lunch is just around the corner. You can survive until then." Eren said with an agitated expression.

"But I can't. I'm so hungry!" Sasha exclaimed. Eren's eye twitched slightly as Sasha grabbed her stomach and began rolling on the ground.

'Why'd they pair me with her of all people…' Eren thought before yet another boom rang out, but this one closer than the last.

Eren stood up and walked over to a wooden locker that was bolted into the wall. He unlocked said locker and removed two wool trench coats from inside. "Sasha!"

The girl looked over at the black haired boy just in time to see a brown boat slamming her in the face.

"Put that on. It's about to rain."

"Did you have to throw it at me so hard…" Sasha grumbled as she put on the coat along with her partner. "Are we about done here?"

Eren sighed and shook his head. "Sasha, we are to clean all of the cannons on this section of the wall."

Sasha's eyes widen in realization. "But that means we are only half way through!"

The young adult nodded before looking at the wall that surrounded Trost. "This is one of the most important parts of Wall Rose, and it's our job to clean the artillery on top of it. Don't take this lightly."

Sasha pouted and returned to cleaning the massive artillery piece. "You're no fun."

"Your definition of 'fun' is eating all day." Eren replied as he walked over to the cannon.

True to his words rain began to fall on the pair. The water falling from the sky was not very heavy, but still enough to quickly soak anyone unlucky enough not to have on a wool coat.

"It's beginning to come down hard." Sasha said as she pulled the hood over her head, Eren following suit soon after.

"Yeah, we can't really clean the artillery if it begins to pick up anymore." Eren said as he stood up. "Sasha, go report to the commander. See if he wants us to continue cleaning, or wait until the rain lets up."

"Why should I do it?" Sasha asked in annoyance.

"Do you want to stand up here and get wet?" Eren asked, but this still didn't get through to her. His eye twitched slightly. "Or get a snack…"

Sasha immediately perked up when she heard the word 'snack'.

"I'll be right back!" Sasha shouted in delight before disappearing from sight. Eren sighed and looked out across the fields in front of the wall. So far everyone's just been doing simple jobs such as this, but others, like Mikasa, where beginning to come into the spotlight of the high officials. They saw how strong she was. How powerful she was.

Eren sighed again and looked down at his hands. 'I've come so far, and here I am. Fifth in my class. Any normal soldier would be proud, but…' he thought as the soaked soldier clenched his hands into fists. 'I'm not. There's still so much to learn. Like-.'

BOOM

Eren jutted his head upwards in the direction of the loud noise, expecting to see a lightning strike hit nearby, but there was nothing in the sky. He then looked down towards the ground, and saw something horrifying.

A man, wearing a black cloak that went down to his shins burst out of the trees about ten miles away from the gate. He was running at an extremely fast speed, faster than anyone he's ever seen.

'Is that a… human? What's he doing outside of the walls?' Eren thought, but his thoughts ended there when three titans, about nine meters tall, exploded out of the brush behind him. 'Shit, shit, shit! What do I do?!'

Eren looked down at his gear. He could go down and try to save the poor guy, but could he fight against three titans? Once he was down there then his 3D Maneuver gear would be helpless, because they were now entering a valley that had no trees within it.

The young soldier clenched his hands as he watched the titans chasing after the poor man in both sorrow, and anger. 'No, I will help him.' Eren quickly rushed over to another box that was also bolted to the ground and opened it up. Quickly grabbing a flare gun out of the box, he loaded a red flare into the gun and proceeded to fire it up into the air.

'Lets go.' Eren thought as he jumped off the edge of the wall.

XxXxX

It has been about two weeks since I entered into the area inside the massive wall, and I have done nothing but fight, and fight, and fight. The number of titans that where around me where staggering. I haven't been able to sleep for more than a couple minutes, and my chakra supplies were beginning to dwindle.

I looked over my shoulder and saw three titans chasing after me, a mixture of smiles and frowns on their faces. I frowned at the sight before looking forward. Another wall lay before me, looming over the area like a guardian. I pushed some more chakra into my legs and jumped off the last tree that was nearest to the wall. The rain landing against my cloak and rolling down its side.

There was a jut in the wall like the one before, meaning there was a city that lay within, but unlike the first, its gate had yet to be smashed in.

My spirits began to rise once again when I saw a stream of red smoke fly up from the top of the wall. A flare!

I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the titans where still chasing after me. 'Do I have enough chakra left…?'

'I will have to defend myself until they send support. Or if they are going to send support.' I thought as I stopped in the center of the valley, preparing to fight.

XxXxX

"What is he doing?!" Eren exclaimed as he flew down the side of the wall. Did this guy really expect to fight these things without 3D maneuver gear?!

The titans grew closer to the cloaked man, but he stood his ground. "Wait! Please, don't do this!"

But Eren knew that his words weren't going to reach him.

Two chains fell from the man's cloak where his arms normally are. Long double bladed hooks could be seen on the ends of each chain. The cloaked figure swiftly dashed towards the three titans, hooks dangling behind him. The first titan, and smallest one at that, brought down its hand onto the man, but the man nimbly jumped to the side.

He quickly jumped onto the back of the titans hand, but the said titan quickly brought his hand up and threw him up into the air. The cloaked shade swiftly began spinning in the air, twirling the chains around him. The hooks sliced into the back of the titans' neck, killing it instantly, but one of the other titans watched and reached out towards him.

The cloaked man was just about to be grabbed when he suddenly shot to the side, and away from the grasp of the second largest titan. Eren watched as the hooks had embedded itself into the jaw of the largest titan on the other side of the center one in the same motion that had killed the first titan. He began swinging in front of the large mammoth and was quickly found flying over the back of the large ones' neck. The hooks quickly sliced a chunk of flesh out of the back of its neck, killing this one as well, but suddenly a hand grabbed him from midair.

"NO!" Eren shouted as he landed onto the ground in front of the wall and began running towards the titan that grasped the cloaked man. He ran as fast as he could towards them, but it was going to be too late. The titan opened its mouth and placed his neck between its teeth. And then clasped down.

Eren slowed his run to a mere walk before falling to his knees. "No…"

But then the cloaked body exploded into smoke. Disappearing from the titans' hand, Eren then saw the cloaked man in midair behind the titan, hooks coming down upon its neck. A loud slicing sound could be heard from behind the titan before it fell forwards and onto the ground in front of Eren, its head landing mere feet in front of the shocked soldier.

The black cloaked man landed onto the wet grass next to the dead titan, his hooks and chains following soon after. The rain continued to fall as the he began walking towards Eren, hook and chain being dragged behind him in the wet grass.

He stared at the cloaked figure that now stopped in front of him. Eren couldn't see his eyes, due to the positioning of the hood, but his mouth showed nothing but indifference. Like there was never any titans there in the first place.

'How strong is this guy…?' Eren thought as he continued to stare into the dark section underneath the hood.

Suddenly, noise could be heard behind him. Boots splashing against the wet grass.

"Halt! Stay where you are!" A stern voice shouted. The sound of blades could be heard exiting their sheaths. Eren looked to his side to see Garrison soldiers, with their flower insignia etched onto their brown coats.

The man didn't move, simply staring back at the line of soldiers that had drawn their swords against him.

"State your name!" The lead soldier shouted, clearly scared at what they had just witnessed.

The man remained quiet, his mouth never wavering from its closed position.

"I repeat! State your name before we have to use lethal force!" The soldier shouted. There are at least ten Garrison soldiers standing next to Eren, dual swords drawn and ready.

"Wait!" Eren shouted before running in between them and the cloaked man.

"What are you doing?! Stand down Eren Jeager!" The lead soldier shouted.

"This man just took down three titans, and you draw your swords against him?! What are you thinking?!" Eren shouted. He was roughly the same height, if not a bit taller, then he. How old was this mysterious man?

The other men shuffled a bit, as if coming to their senses.

"Why would you ever draw your swords against another human?! He's on our side!" Eren shouted before pointing to the dead titans on the ground. "Isn't this proof enough?!"

The lead soldier looked to his comrades, who also looked puzzled. Each of them having an internal fight of their own. Eren gritted his teeth. Lightning shot across the sky, followed by the loud boom of the thunder.

"Whether he's a friend or foe can be discussed at a later date. First, let's get him up the wall before more titans arrive." One of the more cool headed soldiers said. The leader nodded.

"Good idea. You two." He said before pointing towards two of the larger men. "Detain him. Eren, follow me. Command's going to want to hear about this…"

The two men walked past Eren and grabbed onto the cloaked arms of the shaded man. He never put up a fight as he walked with the eleven soldiers towards a wooden carriage that had been lowered for them, his hooks following along behind him. They all stepped onto the elevator before it began slowly rising up towards the top.

As they rose, Eren looked over to the cloaked man that had killed three titans with ease. Most of his body was covered by the black cloak, even his arms were covered, but he was wearing black cargo pants with black boots. The man had tannish skin with whisker marks on his cheeks. He wore a grey backpack, most likely to carry only the essentials. The chains still lay to his side, but upon closer examination, Eren noticed that the tips of the hooks where like any normal hook, except sharpened to a fine point like the tip of a spear, but the inside and outside edges where all bladed.

The man in question began moving his arms underneath the cloak. The two men holding him watched as the chains began to slowly move back underneath the veil of the black cloak. Once done his legs began to waver, and he moved to sit down onto the floor of the carriage.

"Hey! Did I say you could sit?" The lead soldier asked. The man looked over at him before nodding and standing back up, but his feet where wavering. Was he tired?

The wooden carriage stopped at the top of the wall. Once at the top, Eren noticed that a large group of Garrison troops where on the wall. Some manning the cannons. Others running up and down the wall. But most where staring at the black cloaked man, who stepped off the carriage with us in tow. The only thing holding this man upright at this point was the two large soldiers.

Sasha was standing off to the side, looking at me with concern blazing within her eyes. Connie was also there with a similar look on his face.

"Was this the reason for the red flare?" An older man asked as he approached us. Kitts Woerman was his name, and acting commander of the Trost Garrison Brigade.

All the soldiers, including Eren, stood straight and slammed their fists against chest.

"Yes sir!" All eleven soldiers exclaimed in unison. The cloaked never moved, but simply stared on underneath the veil of his hood.

"And who, may I ask, is this man?" Kitts asked as he stepped up to the silent figure, who continued to do just that.

"His name is still unknown at the moment, sir!" The lead soldier shouted. Kitts glanced at the soldier who responded before returning his stare back to the man.

"Now, let me ask you personally, boy… what's your name?" Kitts asked, an evil look on his face. "Lest I throw you over the side so our friends can have a snack."

The man looked over his shoulder then back to Kitts. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Kitts blinked a couple of times before sticking his pinky into his ear. "Did you say something? I didn't hear you."

The man lifted his hands out in front of him and pretended like he was writing something down on a piece of paper. Only his hands where seen, but even those where covered by black fingerless gloves.

"What, do you need some paper or something? Can't talk or something?!" Kitts shouted, clearly agitated by the lack of responses he was getting from the mysterious figure.

The man nodded his head before pointing towards his throat.

"Is there something wrong with his voice?" One of the soldiers detaining him asked aloud.

"Must be, or maybe he can't understand our language?" One of the other soldiers stated.

"Quiet!" Kitts exclaimed, making everyone stand at attention. "Bring him to the HQ, and call for Commander Pixis immediately. He's going to want to talk to him."

"Yes sir!" The ten Garrison soldiers said as they began escorting the man away. Eren remained standing in place, saluting the officer.

"And you, Eren was it?" Kitts asked.

"Yes sir!" Eren replied.

"Report to the HQ as soon as your shift has ended. Dismissed." Kitts said before striding away.

Eren let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. Sasha and Connie quickly ran up to Eren and began looking him up and down.

"Are you okay?" Connie finally asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." Eren said as he sat down.

"So… what happened? By the time we arrived back here everything was already over." Sasha said as she looked to her side. Watching the ten soldiers, plus Kitts and the cloaked man, walk away. "When I saw the red flare rising up where you were stationed, I feared the worst."

"Was it you who fired that flare?" Connie asked.

"Yeah, it was me. The reason I did it was because…" Eren said as he looked at the retreating form of the mysterious man. "He was out there all by himself with three titans chasing him."

"Wait, wait, wait, he was outside the wall? How is he even alive?" Connie asked.

"I don't know, but one thing's for sure…" Eren said as his eyes suddenly narrowed. "He's strong, and I mean really strong."

"So the three dead titans down there…" Sasha said as her eyes widened in shock.

"I sure as hell didn't kill them." Eren replied before standing and walking away. Almost every soldier that was on the wall where all silent with wide eyes. What they had just witnessed was not only beautiful, but terrifying. A single man, a single human, just took down three titans by himself, without any 3D maneuver gear.

Who was this man? And how did he disappear into smoke like that?

XxXxX

I sat in a dimly lit room inside a large castle at the center of a large city. A large window, nearly the size of the entire wall, sat to my left. A single reinforced door was in front of me, locked so I couldn't escape. Two wooden chairs, the one I sat in as well as another on the other side of a matching wooden table, where the only furniture in the room, save the hay that one could call a bed. Outside the window was a massive city, with people walking to and fro.

People, actual people! A single tear appeared underneath my eye as I looked out across the city. I walked over to the window, and watched as the rain fell down upon the town.

For so long I've wandered… no, for so long I've ran. Ran away from these things that have stopped at nothing to catch me. I remember watching as all the humans where hunted down and killed by the earliest titans. And when I realized that I could not defeat this new enemy, I ran. Retreated to the furthest reaches of the world in hopes that they would not find me, but in time they did.

They always did…

The door slowly creaked open to reveal a bald man that looked aged. His piercing eyes settling onto the being that look not a year old than twenty.

"So you must the 'outsider' that everyone is talking about. Did you have a good sleep?" The man asked as he walked into the room, and closing the door behind him. He took off his rain coat and placed it onto the back of the wooden chair before sitting down into said chair. I had fallen asleep for at least five hours, which was much needed, but only awoke when a soldier woke me up. "Please, take a seat."

I looked down at the chair before doing what he asked. He looked like a friendly enough person.

"My name is Commander Pixis, and I'm the leader of the Southern Garrison forces." Pixis said as he pulled out a note pad and pen. He then placed them onto the table after saying, "I heard you had a speech problem."

I looked at the pen and paper with curious eyes.

"You know you can take that cloak off. It must be irritating to wear it all the time."

I then looked down at my person then back up to him. He sighed, realizing that I wasn't going to say anything, or take of my cloak.

"So tell me, where did you come from?"

I grabbed the notepad, and pen, then began writing onto the parchment. Pixis watched as I scribbled down words onto the.

After a few moments of me writing on the notepad, I handed it back to him for the older looking man to read.

"'You are from the outside and believed that all humans have been killed by the massive creatures.' So you are from outside the walls. Tell me, where were you born?" Pixis asked. He must believe that I must have been born somewhere within the larger wall.

I retrieved the notepad and wrote down something else.

"'Not within the walls.'" Pixis looked at the notepad, then back up at me, then back at the notepad. "You can't be serious."

I nodded my head. "If you weren't born within Wall Maria then does that mean there are other humans out there?"

After another set of scribbles Pixis read my words carefully. "'No, they are all dead. This was the first human civilization I've found.' I see, so everyone else is dead. You must be pretty stealthy if you were able to last so long on your own out there." Pixis said as I removed my hood from my head. He frowned when he saw my face.

To Pixis, he saw a young man that has lost everything, many times over. My eyes where dull and lifeless along with my facial features. 'I suppose living out in the wilderness with Titans constantly on your heels would do that to you.'

"I'm glad we were able to get you in here in time, but I've got reports saying that you managed to take down three titans. Is this true?" Pixis asked, curious about this part greatly.

"…" I raised my cloak and revealed my arms, which were wrapped in thick chains with a hook tied to the end of each chain, but both of the hooks where grappled underneath one of the chains. This was done because I didn't want my hooks dangling from my forearms all the time. The chain continued to wrap up my arm until coming to a stop mid bicep. Underneath was black leather, so that the chains wouldn't rub my arms raw.

"Interesting weapons you have there, but how did you managed to do it without 3D maneuver gear?" Pixis asked. I sighed and looked up into the air. Revealing what I truly was would be hassle. He wouldn't believe me even if I told him the truth. I began scribbling down another sentence. I really needed to get my voice back.

"'Training?' Hmm…" Pixis stared into my blue eyes for what seemed like a century. Contemplating if I was telling the truth or not. He leaned back into his chair and chuckled. "You know, you should try playing chess sometime because I can't tell if you're telling the truth or not."

'You don't have to believe me. Nor do I care if you do or not. I'm just happy to find other humans that are still alive.' I wrote down. Pixis looked at the notepad before sighing.

"I suppose you're right. What I believe doesn't really matter when it comes to the hard facts. You killed three titans, and that's all there is to it." Pixis said as he snapped his fingers. In walked a soldier holding a tray of food. It looked to be a bowl of warm potato soup, loaf of bread, and a glass of water. The soldier set it down in front of me before turning and exiting the room, closing the door behind him. "Please, eat. You must be starving."

I nodded my head and began digging into the food, and it was glorious.

"When was the last time you ate?" Pixis asked. 'Four days.'

He shook his head with a frown adoring his features. "I'm sorry son. Must have been tough out there."

'You have no idea.' I wrote down when I narrowed my eyes. Pixis nodded before snapping his fingers again. Another soldier entered the room with a chess set. He placed it down on the edge of the table, and picked up the now empty tray of food.

"How about we play a couple games while we let that food of yours rest? I love playing against new opponents, especially if they're good ones." Pixis said with a glint in his eye. I could tell this man was a master at the game, but I've picked up the game way back in the day. I could use a good opponent to scrub off the rust with.

"And also, if you'd let me, I'd like to tell you about the history of our quaint little kingdom."

XxXxX

"Eren!" A voice shouted to the soaked soldier walking through the streets of Trost. Eren looked over his shoulder to see a blond haired boy running towards him. He stopped in front of him, breathing heavily. "Eren, did you see the red flare?! Where were you?"

"What do you mean Armin?" Eren asked.

"Why weren't you in formation? Everyone was there expect for you, Connie, and Sasha! What happened?!" Armin asked.

"I was the one that shot the flare." Eren said with a deadpanned expression. Armin looked horrified.

"So you where the one that-?!" Armin began to say.

"Yes, I was." Eren responded before turning and beginning to walk away.

"Hey! Wait up!" Armin exclaimed before running up and settling into a walk next to his friend. "So what was it about? You got everyone in the unit worried that the Colossal Titan had returned."

Eren sighed and looked at his friend.

'Do not speak a word of this to anyone. This information is classified until further notice. Do you understand?' Kitts said in a threatening tone.

The words rang his head, forcing him to take a vow of silence on the matter. "Sorry, but I was ordered not to speak of it to anyone."

"Oh… I see." Armin said, a little downtrodden by the lack of information.

"Where's Mikasa? I figured she'd be coming with you." Eren said as he looked around.

"She was called to a meeting with a few of the high officials." Armin said, getting a nod from Eren.

"Mikasa was the best of our class. It's no wonder that they called her after I shot the flare." Eren replied.

"But she really wanted to come! Once we found out that the flare came from the section of the wall that you were stationed at, she tried to pull every trick in the book to come find you! It's just that-." Armin tried to explain.

"Orders are orders. Don't worry, I understand." Eren replied with a far off look in his eyes.

'Does he even care? No, he cares, there's just something else going on. Whatever happened up on the wall must have gotten him thinking.' Armin thought. "Where are you headed off to now? Shouldn't you report back to-?"

"I've been ordered to report to Central HQ." Eren replied, cutting off Armin while pointing towards the castle at the center of the city.

"Why would they need you to report there? Wouldn't you have already given your report to the field Sargent?" Armin asked.

"I don't know." Eren replied. The blond boy puckered out his lips at the lack of attention he was getting from his childhood friend.

"Well it's my turn to clean the mess's dishes." Armin said with a loud groan.

"Heh, have fun with that. I'll see you later on tonight." Eren replied as he waved over his shoulder.

"Later!" Armin replied before running off.

Eren looked up into the sky and sighed. 'This rain was never going to let up, was it?'

XxXxX

"Eren Yaeger?" A female soldier questioned with a clipboard. She was wearing glasses and had gray hair.

"Yes ma'am." Eren replied with a salute.

"Follow me please. Commander Pixis is waiting." The female soldier replied.

'Commander Pixis? What's he doing here?' Eren thought. The young soldier followed the officer until they reached a door at the end of a long hallway. Two soldiers stood on either side of the door at full attention.

"Through here." The officer said, opening the door for Eren. He nodded to her in respect and entered through the doorway.

"Oh man! You truly are good, aren't you?!" Pixis exclaimed in delight.

Sitting in the room was Commander Pixis and the black cloaked man, except only this time his hood was down, revealing his upper portion of his face. He had blue eyes and blonde hair that went down to his jaw line. Three whiskers adorned both of his cheeks, giving him a fox like impression. But his eyes held no life, and his face mirrored his eyes. It's like he saw only death and the coldness of reality.

He looked up at me and blinked those emotionless eyes. 'What was he thinking right now?'

"Eren Yaeger of the 104th Trainee Division, reporting as requested!" Eren recited, saluting the Commander of the Southern Garrison forces.

"Ah, Eren Yaeger. Good to meet you." The older man replied as he stood up from his chair. "You must be the young man that fired off that flare."

"Yes sir I was."

"Hmm… And was he the reason you fired it?" Pixis asked while pointing towards the stoic man sitting at the table.

"Yes sir."

"I see. Well, do you mind explaining to me what exactly happened?" Pixis pushed as he sat down in the chair.

"Of course. I was with Sasha Blouse cleaning the artillery on the southern end of the wall when it began to rain. Sasha went back to our field commander to see if we were to continue cleaning the cannons. That's when I saw this man," Eren then pointed to the cloaked man, "running away from three titans. I noticed that I was the only one around and decided that I would need help if we were going to save him. So, I fired a flare calling for help and moved to assist, but by the time I got there…"

"He had already taken care of them." Pixis finished. Eren nodded his head, knowing full well that he must have gotten reports from some of other soldiers as well.

"Well your story matches those of the others as well." Pixis said as he leaned back into his chair.

"Permission to speak?" Eren asked.

"Go ahead."

"What are you doing here? Weren't you at a conference that was days away?"

"I was, but I left the conference early because it had nothing to do with me. My subordinates that I left can handle anything that comes up." Pixis explained as he waved it off. He then turned to the silent man with a questionable look in his eyes. "Now there is what do with you…"

The man tilted his head to side, confused at the comment.

"What do you want to do? You've probably been on the run ever since you've been born, so it's understandable if you'd want to take it easy. Trust me, you've earned it." Pixis explained. "Or you could join military and help fight against our mortal enemy. We could really use your talent with those hooks of yours."

The man looked down at the table in quiet contemplation. Pixis and Eren stared at the man. If he were to join the military, then humanity would have another tool in their fight against the titans. He began writing something onto the notepad, but stopped halfway when Pixis spoke up once more.

"Just so you know, no matter what you choose, you may be drafted into the military because of your combat skills." Pixis explained, a small amount of grief in his eyes. "Humanity lost Wall Maria five years ago, as I've told you before during out games of chess, and ever since we have been desperately seeking strong men to fill in the ranks."

The man sighed and ripped the piece of paper from the notepad. He proceeded to crumple up the paper and throw it to the ground. He then wrote another sentence onto the paper.

'Then I suppose it doesn't matter what I want, does it?'

Pixis frowned at the sentence. This boy has been through so much, and Pixis knew that, even if he wanted to remove himself from the fighting, he would be dragged back into the fighting by the central government eventually.

"I suppose it doesn't…" Pixis replied. "Tell you what, take a couple of days and rest on it. I know you must be tired from your fight. We'll get you a better room than this one. A room with an actual bed."

Pixis stood up and put on his coat. "I'll come back within the next two to three days. I'll try and talk to some people about the chance of your release into civilian life, but its chances are slim." He walked to the door and cracked it open. A few words were said to the gray haired women outside the room before the commander turned to the two occupants of the room. "Eren, you are to escort… him if he ever wishes to leave the confines of the HQ, but you two are not to leave Trost under any circumstances."

"Yes sir!" Eren said with a salute. Pixis then turned to the silent man with a look of embarrassment.

"During our time together I neglected to ask for your name." Pixis said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I was so enthused in our game of chess that I completely forgot to ask."

The young man tried to open his mouth but only a hoarse rasp came out. He tried again and the same thing happened until finally he found his vocal cords.

"N-Na…" The man began to say before coughing.

"Take your time son. Don't push yourself too hard." Pixis said. The man nodded before clearing his throat.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

XxXxX

A/N: So this is something that has been on my mind for a while, but only recently did I try to write it down. In all honesty I'm using this story to try and remove some of my writers block on some of my others. I'm working on Ancient Blood, trust me, but right now let me remove some of this mind numbing writers block with something fresh.

Well I hope you all like my new story, and don't bash on it too hard. xD

And, as always, thanks for reading my story! :D