Shiganshina District

Eren sighed as he passed through the gate into Shiganshina District, Armin and Mikasa walking on either side of him. The looming archway possessed a huge stone door that could be slid into place to seal off the district if it was ever breached, and while it had never been shut, it still made Eren wary every time he passed underneath it. The three of them were cast in shadow as they went through the opening, and the earthy smell that emanated from the fields behind them quickly vanished. In its place, the stench of human civilization overwhelmed the trio, a sweaty mixture of manure, sawdust, and smoke.

The guard standing watch nodded to them, and as soon as Eren saw the distinctive rose-shaped crest on the lapel of the soldier's brown military jacket, he felt a wave of annoyance surge through him. This happened every time he came across one of them, but he usually managed to keep his mouth shut, having learned the hard way in the past what happens when you question authority figures.

Today, however, he was going to speak his mind.

"Hey!" Eren suddenly said loudly. "Are you ever going to do something besides stand there all day?"

Besides Eren, Mikasa rolled her eyes, and Armin visibly tensed. "This isn't a good idea," Armin mumbled.

"What did you just say to me, you brat?!" The guard reached out and grabbed the front of Eren's shirt, pulling him closer and glaring at him. Eren stared cockily back at the guard, not showing the slightest hint of fear.

"You heard me," he snarked back. "All you Garrison soldiers ever do is patrol the walls, while the Survey Corps actually goes out and tries to claim more land for humanity!"

The soldier raised an eyebrow, and then doubled over in laughter, releasing Eren with a rough shove. The stench of the man's breath hit Eren, and he stepped back in disgust at the smell of booze. An angry look crossed his face, and if it wasn't for Mikasa grabbing his wrist and holding him back, he would've attacked the drunken soldier.

"You shouldn't laugh about the Survey Corps!" Eren cried out hotly as he tried to squirm out of Mikasa's grasp. "They're the ones ready to fight in case of an emergency!"

"Emergency?" The guard seemed incredulous at the notion as he straightened up, failing to suppress another chortle. "Boy, you need to stop taking scary stories so seriously. The walls have stood for over a hundred years, and they ain't about to fall now!"

"But-" Eren tried to continue, but Armin stepped in front of him and bowed to the soldier respectfully, beginning to talk at a rapid pace.

"So sorry to bother you sir," Armin said with an embarrassed grin on his face. "I'll make sure Dr. Jaeger talks some sense into Eren, don't worry!"

"Eh?" The soldier cocked his head, and then a wide grin spread across his face. "Dr. Jaeger? This is the son of Dr. Jaeger I've heard about? Well I'll be damned. Weren't you the kid who was caught a few months back trying to sneak up to the top of the wall?"

Eren tried to hide the guilty look on his face, but it was no use. When the soldier saw it, he burst out into laughter again.

"Let's go," Mikasa said quietly as she started to pull Eren away with her, Armin following quickly behind them.

"But, I was just trying to see the outside world!" Eren cried out indignantly.

"Boy, you're a damn fool!" The soldier waved at the departing children mockingly, an amused smile plastered on his face. "There ain't anything outside the walls besides Titans and more Titans! The sooner you and those fools in the Survey Corps figure that out, the better!"

As the three children pushed their way through the crowds of people thronging the streets of Shiganshina, Eren was uncharacteristacly silent. Mikasa gave Armin a concerned look, and he shrugged his shoulders helplessly. While Eren had been Armin's best friend for a while, their personalities couldn't be more different, and confrontations like the one they had just had were common.

After several minutes of walking in silence, Eren erupted. "I hate those stupid soldiers! All they do is keep the rest of us locked behind these walls like cattle! It makes me sick!" Eren kicked a nearby wall in anger, drawing looks from passing bystanders.

"Eren, they're just doing their jobs," Armin said diplomatically, trying to calm his friend. "And keep it down! We're not supposed to talk about going outside the walls. That's directly from the Military Police in Mitras!"

Eren shook his head furiously and started pacing back and forth. "That's the problem! It's easy for the government to say that stuff like that when they're hidden away in their capital city! They've got three walls surrounding them from the outside world, but most of them have never even gone past Wall Sina!"

"Why would they?" Mikasa said bluntly, drawing an incredulous look from Eren. "Behind Wall Sina is the safest place in all of Eldia. Even if Wall Maria was breached, there's still Wall Rose, and Wall Sina is so heavily fortified that the odds of anything getting past it is essentially impossible. That's why there's three walls, after all. It just makes sense that those living inside all three have no desire to leave."

"Besides," Armin said before Eren could start yelling. "Some people do get to leave the walls. The Survey Corps has been making regular expeditions for years, and they've never made it farther than a few kilometers before having to turn back."

"So?" Eren gave Armin a harsh glare, and Armin couldn't help wilting under it. "That's because the royal government hardly gives them any support, and it doesn't seem to bother anybody!"

"It bothered my parents," Armin quietly said. Eren immediately backed off, a contrite expression crossing his face, while Mikasa placed a hand on Armin's shoulder. He continued on, choosing his words carefully. "But when they tried going over the walls themselves, they were eaten by Titans within an hour. That's why wall security is so much tighter now." Armin took a deep breath as he revisited the memory of that fateful day two years before. "I remember when the Garrison came to tell my grandfather. The soldiers who were on top of the wall that day saw my parents die. They looked so uncomfortable with delivering the news."

Silence fell over the three of them as the sounds of the busy city filled the air around them. Armin stared at the ground for several long moments before he was able to gather himself and continue. "I want to leave the walls, Eren. I think everyone does. But we don't for a reason. It's for our own safety. It's not fair, but we just have to accept and go along with it."

Eren let out a sigh, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. But I can't."

Armin nodded, knowing that was the best response he would get. "Yeah, that's alright. Just keep what I said in mind."

Mikasa looked satisfied. She shot Armin a grateful nod and tugged on Eren's shoulder. "We have to get home. Your mom didn't want us out too late."

"Yeah, I need to help my grandfather with dinner," Armin said as he waved goodbye with a half-hearted smile. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you," Eren said glumly as he turned and started off, leaving Mikasa to run after him.

"Eren, you need to control yourself. You weren't being very nice to Armin back there," Mikasa sternly told Eren as they neared the Jaeger home in the center of town. She absentmindedly ran her hands through her hair as she waited for Eren's response.

"I know," Eren said dispiritedly. "I just hate these stupid walls."

"All the same," Mikasa said carefully. "Getting mad won't help anybody. There's plenty of things that aren't right with the world, but we can't control other people. That would be wrong to do."

"So?" Eren stopped walking, staring at Mikasa with a hard expression. Not for the first time, she was taken aback by his intensity.

"I'm just saying," Mikasa continued, a seriousness looming in her tone that was beyond her years. "Life isn't perfect. It can be cruel, but that's not all there is."

A flash of something crossed Eren's gaze, and Mikasa realized she had struck a nerve. Memories briefly flashed in her mind's eye, and she quickly tried to backtrack. "Well, what I mean is-"

"What the hell?!" Eren suddenly shouted, anger spreading across his face, causing Mikasa's heart to drop. "Just because you're fine with things not being fair, doesn't mean I am!"

Hurt filled Mikasa's expression as she turned away from Eren and pulled her scarf up to cover her face, leaving only her eyes exposed. "I've told you before. I'm sorry about what happened," she quietly said.

Eren's expression softened for a second before he shook his head in disgust and took off running for the house as it came into view. Mikasa watched him go, and an empty feeling spread through her. She stood there for several seconds, before finally continuing on, following after Eren.

By the time she had entered the house, Eren had already run up to the roof, clearly not wanting to talk to her. She let out a low sigh, and sat down on a wooden bench next to the table.

"Mikasa? Is everything okay?"

Mikasa turned to face Eren's mother, Carla Jaeger. For a brief moment, it was almost like she was looking at Eren, who had inherited his mother's face. That was, until Carla's long black hair and hazel eyes reminded Mikasa that this wasn't Eren, who could be heard thumping around on the roof.

Mikasa miserably shook her head. "I upset Eren again."

Carla let out an audible sigh and walked over to Mikasa, before kneeling down in front of her. "Mikasa, I know I've told you this before, but you need to stop blaming yourself. You didn't do anything wrong. Eren's just…." Carla trailed off, and pulled Mikasa into a hug, which she gratefully accepted.

"I miss my parents," Mikasa mumbled, a pang of hurt in her voice.

"I know," Carla said quietly.

"Eren Jaeger!"

Eren winced at the sound of his mother's voice as he heard her open the door to the roof.

"Yeah, Mom?" Eren called out, knowing there was no point in avoiding the scolding he was about to get. He cried out when he suddenly felt a harsh tug on his ear.

"Ow!" Eren yelped as his mother dragged him over the stone wall encircling the roof and forced him to sit down, kneeling in front of him to be at eye-level.

"You know you upset Mikasa, right?"

Eren avoided his mother's gaze, looking out over Shiganshina, wishing he was anywhere else.

"Don't ignore me, Eren. You're not an idiot, so stop acting like one."

Eren groaned in exasperation. "Fine, I upset Mikasa! I didn't mean to, but she keeps annoying me!"

Carla let out a groan, and turned away from Eren. "You need to stop this," Carla said as she rubbed her forehead. "Mikasa already feels guilty enough for what happened a year ago. When we agreed to take her in, your father and I promised that she'd be welcome here, and so far, you seem to keep pushing her away. Is that really how you want to spend your life?"

Eren looked at the ground as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "No…. but she treats me like I'm stupid for wanting to leave the walls! Why doesn't she understand that we need to do more? The way I see it, those who are satisfied with living like caged birds are the real fools!"

Carla reached out and lightly smacked the back of Eren's head. "What was that for?!" He yelped. It hadn't really hurt, but it was enough to get his attention. He stared up at his mother, who stood with her hands on her hips and a disapproving expression on her face.

"Listen, Eren. I know you don't like the situation we live in. But the walls keep us safe. Have you ever thought about how we would all feel if you were to actually sneak outside the walls and got yourself eaten?"

Eren couldn't meet Carla's gaze.

"Exactly," Carla said as she knelt in front of Eren, bringing herself down to his eye level. It took a moment, but he eventually met her firm, but kind gaze. "There's nothing wrong with the way we live. It seems like you want to be more than just another person, but what's so wrong with simply living your life? Why do you need to be special? The way I see it, you're already special, just for being born into this world. Isn't that enough?"

"Honey, I'm home!"

Dr. Grisha Jaeger hung his hat on the wall and shrugged off his jacket. It had been a long day, what with the population of Shiganshina suffering from another bout of influenza that was making the rounds.

"How were things today?" It was Carla, who came up to him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Stressful. Fortunately, it's nowhere near as bad as it was a decade ago."

"Well that's a relief," Carla said with a smile. "I still remember how bad it was. But then again, if I hadn't come to you for one of your fancy shots, then we never would've met."

"Ah, yes," Grisha said with a smirk. "Then we wouldn't have Eren running around causing trouble either."

"Speaking of said son of yours, he upset Mikasa again. Something about the walls..." Carla's voice was hesitant, like she was asking an unspoken question.

Grisha frowned, but he understood what she meant. "Don't worry, I'll talk to him. He's been lashing out a lot recently, so maybe I can get to the bottom of it."

Carla looked pensive for a moment, before she forced a chuckle, lightly tugging on one of Grisha's strands of long dark hair. "Too bad you only have one son. If you had two, they'd probably get in all sorts of trouble together."

Grisha shook his head as he wryly smiled. "Still don't know how I convinced you to marry me."

Carla let out a laugh. "It certainly wasn't for your looks. You could try wearing less dorky glasses, and maybe shaving for once."

"Ah, but where's the fun in that?" Grisha gave Carla a quick kiss before calling up the stairs. "Eren! Let's go for a walk!"

Grisha casually whistled as the park came into view. Really more of a grove of trees, Eren had always loved climbing the squat oak trees and pretending he was a soldier in the Survey Corps that he looked up to so much. Getting access to constant stories from Armin, whose grandfather was a bookstore clerk, had filled his young mind with a longing to join the Scouts who went beyond the walls and flew around with their signature gas-powered ODM gear. Grisha had to admit that he understood Eren's passion, but that didn't mean he was comfortable with it.

"Why are we going to the park?" Eren suddenly asked.

Grisha chuckled. "Because you're in trouble, that's why."

Eren looked up at his father in confusion. "But I like going to the park."

"Oh! I'm sorry, we'll go somewhere else then," Grisha said as he turned around, waiting for Eren to protest.

"You're messing with me again, aren't you," Eren whined. When the trees came into view, he ran for it, leaving Grisha to snort at the sight of a flock of birds taking off in annoyance as Eren noisily began to clamber up the branches.

"Yep, pretty much," Grisha called out smugly as he walked up to the trunk, knowing he had won. His expression then turned serious. "You are in trouble, though, and I figured I'd meet you halfway. C'mon, help me up."

Eren looked surprised to see his father reaching up and grabbing a branch to pull himself up. "Uh, dad, what are you doing?"

"Climbing the tree, obviously. Come on, we'll chat at the top," Grisha said with a grin.

As Eren watched the sky turn orange from the sunset, he slowly began to open up to his father. Surrounded by the branches and leaves of trees, which he had always loved, he was considerably calmer than normal.

"I know Mikasa isn't trying to annoy me," Eren admitted. But she's always telling me off, acting like she's my older sister, but she's not! It gets on my nerves, especially when she tries to boss me around!"

Grisha shook his head in amusement. "By bossing you around, do you mean her suggesting you not start fights? At the rate you're going, the Garrison will lock you up for disturbing the peace."

"Well, she does do that, but that's not the point!" Eren replied defensively. He did know that wherever he went, conflict seemed to follow, so he wasn't going to even try to defend himself on that. "It just frustrates me. Out of nowhere, Mikasa just shows up and is always coming everywhere with Armin and I, and he always sides with her!"

"That's because Armin is a rational thinker, and Mikasa is serious and matter-of-fact, so of course they get along," Grisha responded patiently. "Besides them, do you have any other friends?"

"Well, no…." Eren began, only to be cut off by his father.

"Exactly. You're always intentionally saying provocative things, so it makes sense that you scare most people away. Mikasa's a good person, like Armin, and they're both willing to put up with you despite that, because they can look past your faults and see your loyalty and determination. You should be more thankful for them."

Eren knew his father was right. He was grateful for his friends, especially since most of the other kids in Shiganshina disliked him. With Armin and Mikasa, he had found people who were willing to listen to him, even if he did sometimes sound a bit crazy.

"I guess so," Eren conceded. "I'd be willing to do anything for them."

"Then you need to show them that," Grisha said. "Otherwise, they won't know how you really feel."

Armin's body slammed against the side of the building and he slid to the ground, tucking his head under his arms in an attempt to block the blows. It was the same group of kids that always seemed to end up picking on him. Usually, they would leave him alone when Eren and Mikasa were around, but he was by himself today, leaving him completely exposed.

"Useless little Armin! You're lucky the walls exist, otherwise, you'd have died a long time ago!" As the other kids sneered at him, Armin groaned in exasperation. He felt the usual feelings of hurt start to make their way to the surface, but he swallowed bravely and stood his ground.

"You're wrong," Armin said with a sudden surge of conviction. "There's an entire world out there, and someday, humanity will explore all of it!"

"What?! You're a heretic!" Armin suddenly found himself picked up by the back of his neck and face to face with the leader of the group, whose malicious glare reminded Armin of the drawings of Titans he had seen. Cruel, and frightening.

"The world's a rough place," the bully sneered. "You're a bright-faced little kid who thinks everything will work out in the end. Someday, you'll end up trusting the wrong person, and you'll be dead in an alleyway!"

Armin wanted to cower in fear, but he prided himself on never backing down. "Don't you guys have anything better to do than threaten someone who dares to dream?" Just as he braced himself for another assault, he was suddenly dropped to the ground.

"Hey look, it's Eren!"

"Oh good, another one-"

"Wait, is that Mikasa with him?"

"Shit! Let's get out of here!"

Before he knew it, Armin found himself being pulled to his feet by his friends. "You okay?" Mikasa asked while she glared at the retreating bullies.

"Yeah, thanks guys," Armin said gratefully. Eren was already running after bullies, yelling at them to come back and fight, which brought a smile to Armin's face.

"It's fine, Eren, let them go," Armin called out. "They're not worth it."

"I know," Eren growled as he stomped back to his friends. "Doesn't mean I don't want to kick their asses for attacking my friend. Look at them, running away from me like that. Pathetic!"

"Actually, I think they were running away from Mikasa," Armin corrected with a chuckle. "But thanks anyway. You guys always have my back. I really appreciate it."

Mikasa gave Armin a warm smile while Eren stepped forward and slapped a comforting hand on Armin's shoulder. "You're our friend. We'll always be here for you."

"If you could move anywhere inside of Eldia, where would you go?" Armin asked as the three of them made their way to the Southern Canal, which ran all the way through the center of Eldia to the district at the north end of Wall Maria. Staring into the clear water, Mikasa watched as fish lazily swam by, going about their lives without a care in the world.

"I know that there are forests to the north, between here and Trost," Eren responded as he picked up a rock and tried to skip it across the canal. It sank into the water with a splash, not bouncing even once. Mikasa hid her smile behind her scarf.

"I've seen drawings of those!" Armin said brightly. "The trees there are over a hundred meters tall; twice as tall as the walls! Can you imagine?"

"Wow!" Eren said, clearly impressed. Mikasa thought about mentioning that she had actually seen the Giant Trees, but decided against it. It was a memory from a couple of years ago, when her parents had taken her there.

Armin picked up a rock of his own, and prepared to throw it into the canal. "It's better if you use flat rocks, and throw them at an angle. Here, watch!" Armin threw it, but instead of landing with a splash like Eren's, it knifed cleanly into the water and sunk to the bottom with barely a sound.

Mikasa let out a small chuckle while Armin groaned, drowned out by the sound of Eren's laughter. "Well, in theory, that's how it works."

Mikasa calmly picked up a rock, and after a moment of deliberation, threw it into the canal. It caught the surface of the water just right and cleanly skipped across the surface, making it nearly halfway across.

Eren's eyes widened, and he turned to Mikasa with newfound respect. "Wow, that was actually pretty cool," he admitted. Armin chuckled at his surprised tone.

"Seems like I'm the brains, Mikasa's the skill, and you're….well…." Armin trailed off with a smirk, leaving Eren sputtering as Mikasa smirked.

"Hey, I can do stuff!" Eren protested. "I can-"

The three children were startled by a bright flash of light, followed swiftly by a thunderclap. The ground shook for a moment, throwing all three children off their feet. Armin threw his hands over his ears while Eren grabbed Mikasa and drew her to him while he looked around wildly.

"It came from outside the wall," Mikasa said as she pointed to a trail of smoke coming from the south, just beyond the gate that led to the outside world. Her eyes widened as a loud, mammalian roar emanated from the smoke's position.

"What the….what's that?" Armin wondered aloud nervously. Eren let go of Mikasa and started walking forward silently, as if he couldn't control himself.

Mikasa reached out and grabbed onto his arm, holding him back. "No, don't get closer!" Her voice was filled with sudden dread, like she knew something terrible was about to happen.

Around Shiganshina, all eyes were trained on the pillar of smoke, and everyone froze when a large head slowly appeared over the wall. Covered in brown hair, its bright, intelligent eyes surveyed the city, giving Mikasa the feeling of an animal about to be led to the slaughterhouse.

"Impossible!" Armin cried in horror. "It's tall enough to look over the wall, so its height has to be at least sixty meters!"

Suddenly, two bony tusks smashed through the gate, sending chunks of solid stone flying across Shiganshina. Mikasa grabbed Eren and Armin without thinking, throwing the three of them to the ground as a shockwave swept across them. Screams filled the air, followed by the sound of large pieces of debris explosively impacting across the city.

When the three of them finally opened their eyes, Mikasa let out an audible gasp. Two large hands, equipped with backward curving claws, were grasping the top of the wall. The massive monster lifted itself up, fully revealing its dense upper body. Completely covered in brown hair, it possessed a large nose and muscular front legs. It was unlike anything anyone had ever seen, and it let out a trumpeting roar that echoed across the city, sounding once and for all that everything was about to change. Humanity's fragile hold on peace was shattered in an instant, leaving in its place only the terrible reality of subjugation.

Author's Note

And Behemoth becomes the second monster to appear, taking the place of the Colossal Titan. I hope I did the scene justice!

Thanks to everyone for embracing the story so far; I seriously appreciate it. Also, in order to avoid confusion, since the monsters in the Monsterverse are called Titans in their films, I'll refer to Godzilla and the other kaiju as Alpha Titans, while the normal man-eating Titans will either be called Pure Titans or just Titans. What's the connection between the Alpha Titans and the Pure Titans in this crossover universe? Only time will tell….

Until next week!

-AlphaBeta17 (5/2/2021)