A/N: So I recently caught up with AOT and by god is it freaking amazing! So amazing I decided to rewatch season 1. And of course I ended up binge reading a bunch of fanfics on the site to continue my fix for all things AOT. As I did, I got an idea for this story. I don't think it's been done before where but I might be wrong. If so, definitely let me know so I can go read their work. I'm actually not too sure how I want to go about this but if enough people like the idea too then I will try my best to finish the story and do it in a way that makes sense and doesn't just follow canon. In any case, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

"talking"

'thoughts'

Fires danced all around him as he lay dying on the battlefield. As the young child stared blankly up at the blackened skies, he began to slowly lift his hand up to the sky. He reached desperately for someone, anyone to save him from this hell.

Because if there was a place called hell, this had to be it. The terrified screams of the living and dying, the rivers of blood that ran down the once pristine streets, and to the desperate pleas for mercy or death. All of it belonged in a place called hell and this had to be it. That was the conclusion the young boy came to as he bled out on the edge of a crater.

Oh God please, please why?

Someone help me please!

I don't want to die!

Why?!

Momma! Please!

Tears ran down his dirt and blood caked cheeks as he focused on his trembling hand that was still raised.

'Someone, anyone please save me.' Was all he could think as the fires raged ever harder. His lips parted as he made an effort to cry but nothing but a small croak came out as his strength rapidly left him. He closed his eyes as he found no more strength to keep his hand up. And without another sound, he let his arm drop.

"I gotcha!"

His eyes snapped open as he felt someone grab his hand. An older soldier looked down on him with…..was that happiness? The soldier was crying as he smiled down at him.

Why was he so happy?

Was it because of him?

"Thank God, I found you. Thank you, thank you, thank you…." The soldier mumbled before he locked eyes with the dying child. "You're not dying today son, I won't let you. Now, come on."

The words barely reached the half conscious child but even with half his focus, he could only think of one thing. How? How was that soldier able to smile? How was he thankful in this hell?

The child felt himself get picked up as he passed out for the last time. His final thoughts resonated within his broken mind. 'I wonder if I can smile like that?'

His eyes snapped open as he woke from his slumber. He pushed himself up with a small groan. It was that dream again. Even now, 10 years later, the memory stuck to him like glue. But like always he pushed the memory back and soldiered on.

He glanced over at the clock.

0530, Monday

'Well I got an extra 30 minutes of sleep.' He mused to himself as he got himself ready for the big day. Today was finally the day he would take his position as the new Overseer. He felt giddy at the thought. It was exciting to be the youngest Overseer, although there were only a handful before him. It was also a great honor to be able to step foot in another world, one vastly different from his own.

A large smile was plastered on his face as he donned his clothes. On a normal day, he would've worn his uniform but not today, today he wore a plain white t-shirt and pants, signifying his newfound position. Afterwards he quickly made his bed and organized everything in his room. After all, he wouldn't step foot back in this world for a while.

With an excited hop to his step, he began his short walk to the medical department. The gray and white walls seemed to blend together as he quickly made his way to his destination. Unfortunately, most of the department was still closed with the exception of a few early risers. He would have to wait some more before his doctor came in. His tapping feet seemed to get faster as the minutes rolled by.

"Ah! You're early Chief."

He snapped his head over to the jovial voice. His doctor was slowly walking towards him. As always, he kept his blonde hair in a nice high and tight with a clean shaven face. His blue eyes stared back at him in amusement. "Doc! Yeah I guess I'm a little early." He rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just excited."

"As you should be." The doctor chuckled as he opened his door. "Come in, let's get this done Chief."

With a nod he followed behind the doctor and into the white room. He involuntarily sniffed the room. It smelt sterile, as it always did. His eye caught the large mirror on the wall.

He was smiling, but it never seemed to reach his hazel eyes.

"After this you can finally start growing your hair out."

His attention snapped back to the doctor. He was standing in front of him with a pad as he quickly typed in whatever information he was putting down. "Yeah, finally." He sighed as he ran a hand over his shaved head. Without another word, he stripped out of his clothes until he stood in front of the older man as naked as the day he was born. He wasn't at all bothered in doing so, such was life in the military. He stood relaxed as the doctor examined him from head to toe, asking a bunch of questions as he did.

"Do you feel anything different since your last visit?"

"I feel the same as the last visit doc. Amazing what these little guys can do." He smoothly replied as he continued to stare dead on at the wall.

"Yes, thankfully those 'little guys' are great at healing the internal damage from that mess you were involved in….how's your breathing?"

"Great!" He chirped. "Is this what it feels like to have a functioning pair of lungs?" He joked with a smirk.

The doctor chuckled. "Indeed and it still amazes me you were able to get this far with such conditions. They aren't lying when they say you are a once in a century freak of nature Chief and you'll only be stronger and faster with your phase 1 augmentation."

He shrugged at the compliment. "I only did what I thought I needed to do, guess I'm just built for this kind of stuff."

"Understatement of the century." The doctor chuckled. "Well everything seems to check out on my end, you are the picture of perfect health." He messed with his tablet for several moments longer as the young soldier began putting his clothes on. "I'll have everything sent over now for you."

"Thank you." He said as he raised his hands above his head to stretch. "It's about time I get ready for the final brief. Thank you, for everything Doc." He graciously bowed his head at the medical officer.

"You are very welcome, Chief Alphonse. Next time I see you will probably be for your phase 2 augmentation so in the meantime, take care of yourself."

"Will do! I'll see you then Doc!" He smiled and waved as he exited the room and quickly made his way towards the briefing room. As he practically ran through the halls, a number of enlisted personnel and civilian workers gave him a slew of encouraging words and farewells.

It felt nice to be acknowledged. When I arrived, I was the first to arrive in the room. All the lights were off and everything was quiet in the small space. Reaching over, he flipped the lights on. He was momentarily blinded by the white lights before his vision returned. The room was simple in its layout. There was a large board that ran across the whole front wall and there were a number of long row of tables with chairs for any occupants.

Today though, only one seat would be filled.

With a large smile, he picked the first row and sat in the middle. He plopped down with a sigh and propped his elbows on the table as he waited for the brief to start.

He had to wait over an hour before someone entered.

It wasn't as if the person in question was late, he had just been incredibly early.

Without a moment of hesitation he stood up and snapped to a salute. He only dropped his salute when the officer returned the gesture in kind.

"Good morning General Victus!" He greeted him with a chipper tone. He watched as the older general shut the door behind him.

"Good morning Chief. I see you are in good spirits." The general commented with a smirk as he stood in front of the room. "Go ahead, sit son."

He nodded. "Yes sir." He watched as the general took off his cover and laid his hat on a small stand. "You look well sir."

The general in question laughed at the comment but there was no malice in it. "Thank you son, I've been trying my best these days. I'm getting quite old, you know." He chuckled and ran a wrinkled hand through his thin white hair. "But today is not about me, it's about you, so let's get to it."

He adopted a more serious expression as he sat a little straighter and waited for the general to continue.

"Today is the day where you begin your role as the Overseer of Eden Prime. For the longest time, we humans thought space was the final frontier but two decades ago we found through sheer accident, our answer to our next step of our expansion. It was not space but another world, untainted by pollution, overpopulation and wars. Ever since then we have quietly bided our time, waiting for a chance and ability to make our move, all the while having key personnel on the other side to ensure a steady stream of information."

He nodded at the short history lesson. He knew this already, him and those in the base were the only ones that did.

"2 years ago, we lost all of our Overseers in a catastrophic and unforeseen event and as of now, our information of current events over there is completely unknown and that is where you will come in. Infiltrate and establish a connection between our two worlds and maintain it. You are the youngest we have ever attempted to send over…..and also the most talented. While I do not agree with sending someone so young, I know you're more than capable for this mission. Considering your abilities, this should be relatively simple for you."

He felt his lips twitch at the compliment but otherwise kept his face devoid of emotions as he listened closely.

"But that doesn't mean you should underestimate this world, far from it! Use your head, your body and whatever means to survive and maintain your position. These titans are unrelenting monsters that will stop at nothing to kill you, play it safe and play it smart, understand son?"

"Yes sir!"

"That being said." The general scowled. "You had free reign on the mission and were given ample resources to plan your stay. We could've gotten you any paperwork for whatever job or cover you needed and yet you chose to be a soldier, specifically the Scouts….explain son." He demanded.

He took a deep breath and kept his composure. "I believe this is the best way to really understand what is going on in that world, there is something unnatural about these people and their circumstances. The more I look into it, the more I see blanks that raise even more questions. If we are to make any moves on Eden Prime then we must know the whys, the whats, and the hows to accomplish our mission there. To that end, I believe joining the Scouts will be the best instead of staying within the walls."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Is that right?"

"Yes sir." He nodded.

"Mmmm I see." The general tossed him a small folder. "You chose the most dangerous path, Chief but I can see the potential. Very well, if that is how you want to process then I will allow it. Just don't go off playing soldier for the wrong team, keep in mind why you are there and it isn't to be a hero. And remember getting back isn't as easy as getting there. Once you are there, you're essentially stuck. You understand?"

"I understand sir." He nodded.

The general stared at him for a while, silently judging him. "Hmm I'm sure you will do fine although I do find it worrying how we lost all of our Overseers a couple years ago, keep your head down until you figure out what's going on over there."

"Perhaps that's why I was chosen sir?" He added with an even tone. He didn't want to come across as boastful to the older man. "The previous Overseers were just regular field agents, if these titans are as dangerous as they are then maybe it is the right decision to have someone skilled enough in the Project to handle it."

The general gave him a wry smile. "Who knows? Either way I'm sure it won't take you long to get a foothold there. Do you have any concerns or questions before you get ready for the jump?"

"No sir."

"Good. Now go, I expect detailed updates every two weeks Chief." The general snapped him a salute. "Make your country proud son."

He stood up and returned the gesture with a determined expression. "Yes sir!" He made an about face and marched out of the room and towards his final destination. He only had to walk a few rooms down to get his equipment for the mission.

Unlike the briefing room, the room he entered was bustling with people as various other agents got ready for whatever they were assigned. He ignored the looks he got and marched right up to the quartermaster. "I'm here for Eden Prime."

"I know. I got everything ready. Here." The quartermaster handed him a small bundle of clothes and a simple bracelet. The bracelet had a plain silver rectangular face held together by an equally simple looking brown strap. "Clothes and your communications bracelet. Take good care of the bracelet, it's your only way of communicating with our world."

He looked down at the bracelet before putting it on his right wrist and tightening it down. Without a word he stripped down from his plain white clothes and put on the bundle that was given to him. It was a brown shirt, brown pants and a tan colored light jacket and shoes. The clothes fit him perfectly, if a bit drab.

"Now, the bracelet is already calibrated to your biometrics, you only need to put your finger over the face of the bracelet to activate it. Just talk into it and it will do the rest." The quartermaster explained with a soft tone. "Good luck out there kid and come back in one piece, you're our pride and joy around here."

He smiled at the man. "Thanks, I'll be back before you know it." He gave the quartermaster a parting nod before he left. He reached down and placed a finger on the silver bracelet and felt it vibrate slightly. He raised his right wrist up to his mouth. "This is Chief Alphonse, can anyone hear me? I'm heading to the chamber."

There was no response from the device. He narrowed his eyes at the silver object, was it broken? It certainly wouldn't surprise him if it was, such things were par for the course for military equipment. Or maybe, it was just one way. If so, no one had bothered to explain that to him. If he was able to send messages over then why wouldn't they be able to send anything over? He filed the question to the back of his mind as he made his way to his place of departure. He stood in front of a plain unmarked door. His heart beat ever so much faster as he was at the precipice, finally he could carry out his mission. He mustered his guts and pushed the door open.

This room was a stark contrast to everything else. The gray and white walls and rooms were replaced by a blue hue that hung in the room from the open chamber and the row of computers that stood before it.

And unlike everyone else that were in military uniforms, these people were wearing lab coats. A person standing in the middle of the room turned at the sound of the door being opened.

"Good to finally see you Chief, we got your message earlier. Everything is set, you're all that's left."

He spared the man a single glance before walking in. "Good to know the bracelet works, is there any reason why I can't hear anything from it? How am I supposed to get any orders or updates from here?"

The scientist shrugged. "It's merely the limits of our technology, you can send reports over via speech but we have no way of interacting with you. As for everything else, I believe it has been drilled into you by now, this is your mission. You were given the guidelines and the mission objective as the Overseer, how you go about it is entirely up to you."

His lips pursed together at the thought. "I see…and how would I know when to return?"

"It's entirely up to you."

"And how would we coordinate my return?"

The man sighed at his question. "Should be obvious by now Chief, you tell us and we will make it happen. Just give us enough time to set it up and be at the exact spot you land in and you shouldn't have any problems getting back."

He held back a sarcastic response and just nodded along. "Understood." Without another word he began walking to the open chamber. When he stepped inside he found a cold piar of blue eyes staring back at him.

"May the gods protect you Chief."

There was a hiss as the door began to close and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. 'I'm sure I'm the last person they want to protect.' He thought morbidly as the door shut closed with a thunk. The once white walls of the tight chamber turned an eerie shade of blue as he heard the machine rumble to life. A myriad of sounds rushed his ears as he stood as motionless as possible.

As bright white spots of light dotted his vision and the sounds and screeches reached their zenith, a singular thought echoed in his mind.

'Here goes nothing!' He thought as he closed his eyes.

And suddenly the loud rumbles, hums and screeches of machinery were replaced by silence. He slowly opened his eyes and had to blink at his bright surroundings.

Off in the distance he could hear some sort of birds chirping and his vision slowly came back to him. When his eyes finally filtered out the white blots, he stood in awe at the scene in front of him.

It was an endless sea of rolling grasslands and hills.

No city skyline to break up the natural scenery. No bustle of modern day life.

He breathed in a large lungful of air.

It was so clean. It felt rejuvenating just to breathe here. He looked behind him to find a single tree. It stood alone on top of this small hill and looked to have burn marks on it. He made sure to remember how it looked and where he was at.

He looked around some more and found a forest of giant trees behind him and then the target of his mission in the other direction. A massive wall was the only structure as far as his eyes could see. It was the only sign of life anywhere.

"So that's what it looks like." He quietly mused to himself as he began walking towards the structure. It might have been a minute before he found his first trouble.

A titan.

His eyes widened as he saw the lumbering beast. It stood roughly 15 meters tall with a disfigured body and head that resembled a vague shape of a human. It was nake but there was no genitalia to speak of.

It was certainly a male though. That much he could deduce from his spot. It had to be over a few hundred meters away and was also moving in the same direction as he was.

Shaking himself out of his shock he began to quietly stalk the mindless monster, his heart pounding all the while. With no weapons to speak of, fighting was absolutely out of the question. It would be smart to keep his distance and trail the disgusting creature.

But his curiosity got the better of him as he decided to move closer.

He wanted a closer look at the damn thing. He broke out into a slow jog as he quietly closed the gap but as he seemingly closed the gap, he felt as if he was missing something entirely. It was only after he was only a few dozen meters behind the thing did he realize his folly.

Despite how big it was, it was lumbering forward at a snail's pace. So slow that he had closed the distance between him and the monster within a few moments. He mentally cursed his mistake and slowed down to a slow and deliberate walk.

He quietly analyzed its sluggish and unpredictable movements. The way it moved looked as if it was drunk as it swayed side to side.

There was a moment however, where the titan's head turned ever so slightly to the side. It was just enough for him to see the giant human eyes.

And for it to notice him.

In an instant he froze as he saw the titan turn around. As it did, he finally got a good long look at its face. It's face was stuck in a smug and toothy grin. At this distance he could see the dried up blood in its teeth.

He could genuinely say this was the first time he had frozen up in front of an enemy. Killing a human was infinitely less intimidating than this. And yet, the moment passed in a fraction of a moment.

His body moved on its own accord without much thought as his instincts took over. He bent his knees and broke out into a sprint as he moved directly towards the monster.

It was standing between him and the giant hole in the wall.

The monster moved in slow motion to his eyes. He could see both arms coming down to catch him. With a grunt he leaped forward and rolled between the titans legs. He didn't slow down nor did he take a chance to look back as he made a mad dash for the hole.

After all, if that thing was moving towards this hole then….

His eyes narrowed as the destroyed town came into view, along with its lumbering inhuman habitants. The architect of the city reminded him of some of cities he heard of long ago back home but he had no chance to admire the town as he quickly got the attention of all moving beings within his line of sight.

None of which were friendly.

"Tsk!" He clicked his tongue as he realized he needed to move. Looking down the street, it suddenly felt more claustrophobic to even stand here. He glanced at the roofs of the buildings and quickly made a break for it.

He jumped over a large hand and darted into an alleyway. To his luck, he found a stack of boxes just high enough for him to get on the roofs of the buildings. With a grunt, he pulled himself up and away from the grasp of another titan that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"For something so apparently slow, they're a sneaky bunch." He mused as he stared out at the infested city. Off on the other end he found another hole. "I guess that's my exit." Without another moment he leaped from house to house at breakneck speed.

As he ran along the rooftops he found a titan that seemed to just stand there in the street, not paying attention to anything. A gut feeling told him that there was something wrong with that thing, more so than the others. Unfortunately, that titan was directly on the path he was on.

When he got a little closer it leaped at him with open jaws. Pushing all of his strength in his legs, he leaped as high as he could and twisted his body over the head of the titan. He landed on the other side of the roof with a thud on his knees and hands and immediately resumed his mad dash.

He took the chance to take a quick glance and regretted it immediately.

There was a small horde of them chasing him.

'Time to get a little serious. Let's see just how much faster I really am.' He thought as he jumped across. He gritted his teeth and braced his legs and pushed forward. The world seemed to blur around him as he blitzed through the town.

"Holy fuck!" He exclaimed as he found himself launched farther than what he expected. Looking back, he had to have jumped over three whole houses. With a confident smirk he jumped back down the street and changed tactics.

He'd just burn them in raw speed.

In no time at all he ran into the breach and to the other side. As he did, he took note of the destroyed cannons. He chose to follow the rather well used road and continued to run. At a certain point he had to come across someone.

Eventually he slowed down to a walk as he realized there were no titans chasing after him anymore. He had long ran out of the towns and into what he assumed was the countryside.

There were no signs of life anywhere but he did see a ton of dried blood spots. A sinking feeling settled in his gut.

"Did everyone die or something? What the hell happened back there?" He asked himself as he walked along the road. He shook his head and broke out into a run at a steady pace. Walking would get him nowhere, he needed answers and fast.

He ran for what seemed like hours before he got his first sign of life.

A singular red flare over the treeline. Followed by a number of green.

He turned towards the flares. Not a few moments later more flares began popping up but the location seemed to change with every one.

Whoever that was, they were moving at a decent pace and it was only shot at finding anyone so he chose to run along what he predicted was their path. Hopefully, he was running parallel to them and eventually got into a visual range. As of now, a large forest of trees were blocking his view.

What he didn't expect was for them to be much, much closer than he anticipated.

As soon as he reached the end of the treeline, he saw them.

A large number of humans were riding on horses and they were coming right towards him. Another miscalculation on his part, he never expected the unknowns would be moving perpendicular to him.

And now he found them barely a few hundred meters away.

"Commander Erwin! I see someone by the main road!"

He bit his lips as the words registered in his head. 'Shit, they really speak the same language as us. What are the odds?' But he shoved the thought down and focused on making himself scarce. In no way would he not come off as someone suspicious in what he assumed was titan territory.

Without another thought he turned and ran as fast as he could.

"Hey! Stop right there!"

"After him!"

He could hear the horses gallop as they picked up speed to close in on him. He wasn't all that worried though, he was reasonably sure he could outpace them. That was until a grapple hook embedded itself into his shoulder.

His eyes widened as he felt the hot sting of being stabbed but he had no chance to rip out the intrusion as he heard the rapidly closing sounds of a wire zipping. Looking up he found a knee slamming into his chest. He stumbled back at the blow and glared at the perpetrator.

It was a short, black haired man with a bored expression as he held a sword in his hand and along with it, the source of the grapple hook that was still in my shoulder.

"I believe you were told to stop." He blandly said. "And I'd relax if I were you." The black haired man flicked his sword off to the side. "See?"

He looked around him and found himself rapidly getting encircled. "Tsk." He could only click his tongue in annoyance. Not even a day into his mission and everything was going to hell. He had to find a way out but even then, these people knew his face by now. How long would he last before they eventually found him? It wouldn't be hard either with his bald head and blood all over his shoulder and chest.

"Hey, he clicks his tongue like you Levi. Is he your long lost family or something?"

"Shut up, Hange."

He glanced at the woman in question. She looked at him with nothing more than sheer curiosity unlike some of her comrades who looked angrier for whatever reason. He turned his attention to the short stack who decided to impale him with a mild expression of annoyance. "What, you don't remember me brother Levi? How could you forget your little brother?" He sarcastically commented as he ripped the hook out from his shoulder.

He could hear some of them gasp at the brash action but ignored it for the most part. "Thanks for impaling me with that thing." With a frown he threw the bloodied hook back at Levi, who was just looking at his wound with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey you mind telling us how you're regenerating like a titan?" His voice turned darker as he questioned him.

All of the sudden the air around him turned tense as the soldiers drew their swords on him.

He slowly raised his hands over his head in surrender to ensure that no one got antsy and tried to kill him. While he was confident in his own abilities, he wasn't so sure he could fight everyone off and still manage to evade capture. In fact, he considered himself captured already, now he just had to figure out how to navigate his mission from this point onwards.

These people think they are the last people left on their planet and while I truly don't know if that is the case here on Eden Prime, I have reason enough to believe there may be pockets of survivors or perhaps entire nations that have survived. Humanity as whole is one thing, that is they are resilient and resourceful. That is the end of my report after being with these people for the first couple weeks.

The memory of the report echoed in his mind and a plan slowly began forming in his head. He kept his face neutral as he looked at each soldier in their eyes.

They were scared. Well, most of them were, the blonde haired guy that he assumed was the commander along with Levi and especially Hange looked merely interested at the debacle.

"Oh do please explain how you're regenerating like a titan! Are you some sort of titan turned human?" Hange gasped as she seemed to come to some sort of realization. "Or maybe you're a human with titan powers? Perhaps titans are really humans? Or-"

"Or maybe I'm from beyond the walls?" He added with a small smirk, satisfied at the shocked expressions on everyone's face. He pulled the coat and shirt aside to show a naked shoulder with no hint of injury before straightening himself out and bowing with a hand over his heart. "Not how I wanted to introduce myself but my name is Alphonse." He looked up and gave the black haired shorty a toothy grin.

"And I am here to say, you are not alone in this fight."