DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.

Date Uploaded: January 6, 2017- Friday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

supboyyyyy93: Why hello there! You're so far the second person to review, so thank you for that! I'm already writing the next chapter when I read your review, makes me happy, thank you again!

Ultimate boredom: Heyya! I know you weren't around the last time but I want you to know that this fic will continue, auright? Regardless of me going MIA, my partner will be there to update this. *chuckles* What I'm trying to say is, we'll try our best to finish this! All chapters are plotted already, all that's left is for us to type! Hope to hear from you again soon! *smiles*

Okay, now back to my A/N chattering. So last time we stopped with lots of mysteries. Yeah I keep piling up mysteries for you guys and nothing gets solved. Sorry about that. Note: Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie are not mentioned to live in the same hometown okay? I hope that doesn't confuse anyone.

So now let's move on to Shiganshina part 2 and let's see what we can figure out!

Read on!

CHAPTER TWENTY: SHIGANSHINA II

Eren was with Ymir, Krista, Reiner, Hanna and Rico. With a Garrison for escort. They were at the northern part of Shiganshina, searching for any signs of life. Not counting the titans as 'signs of life' though. Eren however, was confused as to what to think about his parents.

They could be shifters? Or just mom is.. or dad.. or maybe it's just me who is weird?

"Eren. If you're going to sulk again, I will be forced to plunge this blade," she points her sword to his chest. "in your heart." Ymir threatens when he noticed of Eren's gloomy aura. She started to keep an eye out for him since she doesn't want Krista to babysit him. Krista might fall in love with him.

"Y- Ymir?"

"Don't misunderstand me. I don't care about you." Ymir quickly added while putting her sword back to its case. "In that way. I just don't want to see Krista worrying about you. Since you don't seem to be very good at hiding your sadness."

"Uh yeah. Again, so-"

"And if you say another word that you don't mean, I will plunge both of my swords in your lungs next!"

It's quite ironic that he didn't feel threatened by her words. In fact, it made him feel a bit better.

Maybe I'm just worrying too much. And that makes me out of character.

"Heichou! We found a survivor!" Petra notified her captain.

"A survivor?" Levi was as surprised as Armin was. Who would've thought there'd be a survivor in a place like Shiganshina? It's been years since it's been overrun by titans. And still there's a survivor. What a shocker it was.

"A child in fact." Oluo added.

"What?"

They barricaded themselves in the Guest Hall to rest. And also to ask the kid some questions. Eren sat beside Armin after hearing news that it was their group that found the survivor. Mikasa didn't seem to want to sit with them at that moment. Jean noticed it but did not do anything rash. He knew Eren has something to do with it but he decided to let it go for now.

"What's your name?" Levi asks the kid.

It was a small boy with light brown hair, has scars all over his arms and face but no sign of bite marks. His clothes were old and ragged. But they gave him something to drink and eat before interrogating him.

(This kid is definitely NOT from the anime, okay? You can count him as OC but not necessary important/main)

"Are you here to take me?"

"Yeah, we're here to take you to safety." Hannes assured the boy they were allies.

"I thought everyone was already dead. Where did you guys come from?"

"Well-"

Levi interjects when he noticed that the boy was the one asking them questions instead of them. "Oi quit asking us questions. We're the one in charge of you here. So speak up!"

"Levi, really? He's just a boy!" Hanji however didn't want to force the kid to talk.

"How can a boy like him survive in a hellhole like this? Hmm?" Levi crosses his arms. Indeed Shiganshina was a wreck. So it pretty much begs the question.. how the heck did the boy survive? Alone?

"I'm not from here. I came here looking for some people." the boy responds. He can feel that they were suspicious of him anyway.

"You came here alone?" Armin inquires.

"No. I was with my older brother and his team. We were attacked by titans and I got separated." the boy answered. Armin carefully observed the boy's eyes to see if for some reason he was lying. But he wasn't.

"How long since you got separated from them?" Hannes asked.

"About half and a week ago."

"They're dead." Levi said straight on. There's no point in lying to the boy. "If they're still alive we would've seen them by now. And they would've found you."

Armin and Levi carefully observed the boy's reactions, seeing that he was depressed at the news. Tears didn't pour out from his eyes though. As if he expected it anyways. As if.. he's used to it. People dying.

"Don't worry. You can come home with us. There are plenty of kids there and you can play with them too." Hannes said, trying to nicely invite the boy to join their group.

"Sure, I'd love that!"

"Well anyway, who are you looking for here? This place is a mess." Eren took his turn to ask.

"I don't know their names. And I'm honestly not sure if they are living here." the little one replied sadly.

He doesn't know who he's looking for? That's rather odd.

Levi was beginning to suspect the kid even more. Who risks their life to search for someone they don't know who and not even certain with their location. Armin knew that feeling. In fact, majority of the ones present was suspicious of the boy.

"That's just illogical! How do you expect to find someone you don't know!" Jean snaps.

"I don't. I'm just tagging along with my brother. He's the one with this mission, not me."

"You didn't inquire of any details about this mission?" Levi asks, annoyed at how much the boy leaves them more questions than answers. Armin however caught something from the boy.

"I'm not allowed to know anything until the right age."

"Listen.. you said it's your brother's mission. Who are you people? And where did you come from?" Armin asks.

The kid didn't answer, as if he failed to cover up on that one. Levi can see the fear in his eyes now and sense that the boy was more afraid than ever.

"I.. I.."

"It's okay. We won't hurt you. We just want to help. We can take you home if you want." Armin must've made the wrong approach so he is trying to keep it with good terms with their only lead on discovering more answers.

"..."

Giving them the silent treatment wasn't a smart move at all. Because he just started to piss Levi off. Levi stomped towards the boy to give him a good beating but Armin blocked his path and took the hit instead. Eren and the others were surprised at the turn of events. They boy takes a step back from Armin and was now wary of everyone.

"Armin!" Eren and Mikasa screams and ran towards him.

"Levi!" Hanji yells. "I'm still in charge you know!"

"Well this pathetic brat is just messing with us! He's not telling us anything and probably filling our heads with lies!" Levi exclaims in anger.

"Armin.."

"I'm okay." Armin says and smiles. Although his bruised cheek said otherwise. "Where's the kid?"

They all turned to the boy who was at the corner. Fearing to ever come near them. But Armin knew what that paranoia is like. He knew someone like that. If I'm right.. if this kid has any sort of connection at all with her.. then..

"Tell me.. one of these people that you're looking for.. is she a blonde with blue eyes?" Armin asks.

Eren and the others kept silent but they were curious as to where Armin was leading the conversation. The boy looks down a bit, guilty of what happened to Armin.

"H- How did you know?" he says when he faced Armin again.

"This girl's name is Annie. Does it ring a bell?"

"Y- Yes. I remember hearing that name before." the boy replied. But very cautious of Levi's actions. "Do you know where to find her?"

"Why are you looking for her?" Krista asks all of the sudden, cutting what Armin had to say.

"She never came home." the boy replied sadly.

"Are you telling me, she lives in your hometown? Where is that?! Who is she? And her friends? What are they?!" Armin had no idea what's going on but this boy could be the answer to all his questions.

"HEICHOU!" cried one of the Survey guards. "We're under-!"

They didn't have to say since suddenly the doors and walls of the Guest Hall banged from the outside.

"What's that sound?" asked Krista as she steps back from the walls and windows. Ymir was right behind her.

"Titans. They're here." the soldiers reported.

The titans outside were trying to break through the doors and walls and windows. It wouldn't be anything serious but how can they escape if they're surrounded by a thick number of titans outside!

"There's no way out, heichou! We're surrounded!" reported one of the Survey.

"They got us stranded here." Eld reports.

"Darn it." Levi cursed under his breath. But then he glances at the boy that was sitting beside Krista who was calming him down. "YOU! You CALLED for them didn't you?!" Levi yells at the boy.

Krista was startled and scared but pulls the boy behind her to face Levi with trembling legs.

"Levi, we've been through this. The boy has nothing to do with this." Hanji tells him as she went in between him and Krista. "We saw how the Female Titan did it. She had to actually 'cry' to call for titans. And if this boy is really a shifter, all his scars would've healed by now!"

"Then how the hell is it possible that all these titans are surrounding us?!"

"For now we have no explanation for it! Our goal here is to get out of here alive!"

Levi and Hanji have mutual respect for each other on each of their specialties. They have differences, lots of them, but it never gets in the way... until now. Ymir saw Levi holding his sword and was asserting the situation seeing Krista protecting the boy. Eren saw the look in Ymir's eyes.

"Don't."

"Who does he think he is?"

"Captain Levi sometimes does stuff like this. But I'm sure that he'd never hurt anyone without a good reason." Eren says, based on his experience with the captain. "Krista isn't doing anything wrong. Just leave it at that."

After saying so, Eren went back to breaking the ceiling.

Eren, Ymir and the other Surveys and Garrisons climbed up to the ceiling to make a hole in the Guest Hall roof. There might be a better chance for them to escape. Armin on the other hand was trying to construct a new plan.

"Anything yet?" Jean asks him.

"No."

"Well anytime now. I don't think this place would hold." Jean notifies Armin in case he's not aware. The building wasn't going to crack anytime soon. But they can't wait for that time. They have to get out of there or the number of titans might increase.

"Alright Jean, I got one!" Armin exclaims. His got this look again.

Jean sighed.

"That took faster than I thought." he says. When Bertholdt told me to annoy him to help him come up with something.. I thought it was a joke. I guess it works.

"Jean, call on Eren. We got some work to do."

Meanwhile, Reiner and Bertholdt were trying to keep one of the windows closed by covering it with the set of old cabinets in the Guest Hall.

Levi, Eld, Oluo and Mike came to help.

"Are you sure there's nothing you know that can help our situation right now?" Hanji tried to ask the boy again.

"I don't know anything okay? About this- this Female Titan and all that! All I can tell you is that this Annie person carries the burden of her father. She and the others. Her friends. They all carry their father's burdens!"

"Carry their father's... burden?"

BANG! CRACK! CRACK!

Hanji looks up to see Eren's titan form making a hole big enough for people to fit in up the ceiling. Looks like Arlert was able to come up with something. He's impressively fast at coming up with something.

One by one they climbed up using their 3DMG with Petra taking the kid with her up the roof.

"Okay, now what?" Jean asks Armin when half of them were already on the roof.

"You and Eren be the bait. Lead them away from us so we can escape."

"Oh very nice, Armin." Jean says sarcastically. Eren however nods since he's a titan he can't really speak. He grabs Jean to follow him and Eren makes a commotion in the center of the group of titans surrounding them. Eren punches a titan here and there, catching their attention. But now Eren wasn't sure how to get out of there. Jean rolled his eyes and knew what his role was.

Jean swings himself to cut the titans' limbs and head so Eren can get enough space to jump and run. Mikasa and the others who were available followed Jean's lead to help Eren. When Eren could move, he punches his way out of the crowd and runs an opposite direction to follow Armin's plan. Jean, Mikasa, Reiner, Rico, Mike and a few other Surveys came with them to back Eren up.

They will ump from roof to roof using their 3DMG to make sure Eren doesn't get eaten down there.

Not the whole pack of titans went after Eren but at least the mass of titans lessened. Levi pats Armin's back but quickly stopped it before Armin can see who did it.

"What's next?"

"We get out of here." Armin says.

The soldiers swings their 3DMG to hurry and get out of harm's way. Armin watched the soldiers swing around with their 3DMG but noticed the there was no sign of the kid with Petra.

"Hey, where's the boy?" Armin asked.

"Huh? Bertholdt took him. He said you want to talk to him."

"Bertholdt?"

Petra noticed something was up with Armin's question. Armin knew it might cause any misunderstanding so he quickly masked it with a fake smile. Petra already saw through it though.

"Uh yeah Bertholdt! I remember now! Thanks Petra!" Armin ran back to the hole remembering Bertholdt haven't left yet but before he can even jump, Bertholdt had just climbed up. "Bertholdt? Where is he?"

"Where is who?" he asked innocently.

"What did you do to him?"

"Do to who, Armin?"

"You know who I'm talking about!"

Armin was caught off guard when he was pulled by someone from behind and Armin and the boy lost balance, slipping from the roof towards the end, Armin was glad to have Krista catch his hand before he could fall. The kid however had a terrible fate as he fell on the number of titans below.

"The boy.."

"I'm sorry Armin." Krista apologized that she wasn't able to save the boy too.

At the end of their expedition, Hanji made her reports and Armin made his special report.

"Well? What did you discover?" Erwin asked.

"Annie.. she has two more friends who I believe is also a shifter."

"Hmm? Any idea who they are?"

Armin remembered how odd Bertholdt has been acting recently but kept quiet about it. "No. Not yet."

"We can always look into it some other time. Anything else though? I heard from Hanji that your group found a survivor. A boy."

"Yes. But he fell to his death on our escape." Armin reported sadly. But deep inside he lied again. He can remember clearly that the boy was pulling Armin back then. Why? So he can be pushed to death?

"Such a shame. We could've taken some information from him."

"Yeah. A shame."

"You did well on your performance, Armin. I look forward into working with you as part of my inner council."