Vengeance… is a funny thing. It can be an excellent motivator, but it can also tear you down in an instant. It can push you to train harder and longer than you ever did before. However, it can also push you to make extremely rash decisions in your quest to exact your revenge on your target. The key, though, is making sure you keep a clear distinction between vengeance and justice. If you lose sight of the difference between the two, the two begin to look the same. You are then no longer caught up in a personal quest for vengeance, but a righteous crusade to bring someone to justice. The inherent danger then, is that now you perceive yourself to have a righteous cause. If your cause is righteous and just, then no action is unjustifiable. You will stop at nothing to achieve your "justice".

- Our Friend's thoughts on vengeance.


Evan "Skip" Reid, now 12 years old, sat staring blankly at the sky. It was a clear day in Shiganshina, just like any other. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and- oh? Skip's ears pricked at the new sound. It sounded like… a fight? Skip's eyes lazily drifted away from the sky, and in the direction of the scuffle. Unsurprisingly, it was a fight between some kids. On one side, a short, blonde kid with a bowl cut was being defended by an angry looking kid with brown hair. What was his name again… Eren? The larger boys seemed to be ganging up on Eren, but Skip wasn't too concerned.

'Wait for it…' Skip thought, as he listened for the soft, but speedy footsteps that heralded disaster for the larger boys. Sure enough, his sharp ears picked up the footsteps of the young oriental girl, red scarf around her neck, as always. He watched as the girl, he was pretty sure Mikasa was her name, beat the living daylights out of the boys dumb enough not to run away, and scare off the slightly smarter ones. As the dust settled, Skip heard noticed behind him, accompanied by the slight clinking that he recognized was only made by ODM gear.

"Well, looks like the situation has already been handled, and I didn't even need to lift a finger," a probably drunken voice slurred next to him.

Skip turned his head to see Hannes, a member of the Garrison Regiment stationed in Shiganshina. The man, as was the case with many among the Garrison, had a penchant for drinking on the job, and this time was no exception. Although he wasn't as drunk as he had sometimes been, Skip could tell Hannes had already had a little too much to drink. Skip turned back to the aftermath of the fight.

"Once she arrived, it became less of a situation, and more of a rout. She tossed those guys like they were empty potato sacks," Skip noted, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Haha! Yeah, Mikasa's a strong one. Sometimes her strength frightens even me," Hannes replied, mirth evident in his voice. Hannes' smile faded slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Skip, nor did the seriousness and concern in the soldier's voice. "Eren there's always getting into fights, even though he can't fight worth a damn. It's gonna get him really hurt one day."

Skip shrugged, "He'll probably have those two to pull him out, he'll be fine."

Skip's words seemed to assuage Hannes' concerns to a degree, since Hannes also shrugged. "Probably. Mikasa is very attached to 'im. She rarely lets him out of her sight. Say, are you friends with 'em?"

"I wouldn't really say we're friends, but we know each other's names."

"Oh, I figured you'd be friends with 'em, considering you hang out here all the time."

"Nah, it looks like they've got something pretty special between the three of them. I don't want to intrude on that."

Hannes looked thoughtfully at the young boy for a moment, and Skip wondered if Hannes wasn't really drunk at all, or if he was so drunk that the fact that he was drunk was completely irrelevant.

"I won't argue with you on whether they have somethin' special between 'em. That much 's true. Still, I think you would be good friends with 'em if you tried," Hannes finally spoke. "Anyways, I 'ought to be going now, seein' that the situation's been handled. Stay safe, Skip!"

Skip watched as the blonde soldier turned, and walked off, before answering, "Thanks Mr. Hannes!"

Deciding that he had been entertained enough, Skip decided to wander off somewhere else. As he passed by the Shiganshina military HQ, he gazed up at the imposing structure, and wondered what the view was like from the top. He wondered what it was like, being able to look down from the HQ on the city. He wondered if you could see over the walls, too. Before that line of thought could go much further, he was shaken from his musings by a cheerful voice to his right.

"Well hiyah, Skip! I was wondering whether I was going to see you today."

The corners of Skip's mouth tugged upwards into a smile, as he turned to the owner of the voice. Amelia Schäfer, or Lia, as Skip called her, was a 16 year old member of the Garrison, having recently completed her training. She had babysat Skip when he was younger, and they had become friends as Skip got older, despite the age difference. She was really the only person Skip really considered a friend in Shiganshina. After she left to join the Cadet Corps, the two frequently exchanged letters, with Lia telling stories about her time in training, and Skip writing to her about the strange, unusual, or otherwise amusing goings on in Shiganshina. After graduating, Lia joined the Garrison Regiment, and was assigned to Shiganshina. Now, she and Skip would often see each other near the HQ, and frequently chatted.

"I haven't seen you for a few days, Skip. How's life been?"

Skip shrugged, a common gesture to see from him, "Busy. Dad has more or less drafted me to help with organizing messages and stuff for the Courier Service, so I've been doing work."

"I see. Well, I'm on break right now, and if you don't have anything too pressing, I was thinking we could go get something to eat," Lia suggested.

Skip's smile grew, "Sure! I haven't eaten lunch yet today, so I wouldn't mind finding something to eat."

The two set off into town, passing by various colorful stalls selling various items, some useful, some not. Eventually, the pair settled on the Spicy Ramen shop that they had frequented before Lia joined the military. Skip chuckled at the memory of when Lia first brought him here. She had ordered him a bowl of the spiciest Ramen, but had opted not to mention that fact to him. When he took a bite, his face immediately went beet red, and he scrambled for something to relieve the burning sensation. Eventually, Lia relented and got him something a little more mild, but needless to say Skip didn't speak to her for the rest of the day.

"What are you chuckling about," Lia asked.

"Oh, just the first time you took me here, and just about lit my tongue on fire."

"Heh, that memory still sometimes comes up to me at times. Makes me chuckle a little, too."

The friends then sat down, and ordered their respective meals. As they waited, they discussed the happenings, or lack thereof in Shiganshina, and what they had been up to for the last few days. This conversation carried on even after they received their meals, and by the time they finished, they had just about recounted everything that had happened to them in the last few days. Afterwards, the two began the trek back to the Garrison HQ, but as they approached one of the many plazas in Shiganshina, a loud sound, accompanied a bright flash of light from the vicinity of the outer gate caused them to pause. Their eyes immediately snapped to the direction of the disturbance, before they both froze in shock and terror. On top of the wall, a few meters to the right of the gate, rested a massive, red hand. Their terror was only amplified, however, by the appearance of a massive, skinless head that rose over the wall, and peered down into the city. For a moment, everything went still. The city had also grown silent, waiting in horrified anticipation to see what the titanic beast would do next.

"Th- The wall is fifty meters tall! That t- titan has to be at least sixty! I've n- never seen a titan that tall," Lia stuttered, making no attempt to hide the fear evident in her voice. Skip, meanwhile, couldn't even speak. They were then promptly shocked out of their frightened paralysis by a deafening crash, the source of which became apparent all too quickly. Large chunks of masonry had been flung skywards from the direction of the gate, one of which was on course to hit them. Reacting quickly, Lia grabbed Skip, and used her ODM gear to grapple out of the path of the falling debris. Realizing exactly what this meant, Lia set Skip down on the ground, and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Evan, I need you to do exactly as I say. You need to run for the inner gate as fast as you can, and get on to one of the riverboats. It will take you upriver to Trost. Do you understand?"

Lia's use of his real name jarred Skip out of his unresponsive state, and he nodded. Then, a thought struck Skip, who nearly began to panic; "What about my parents, they're further in the city, closer to the gate, can you go see if they're alright?"

Lia nodded, "Yeah, I'll go make sure they're alright and get them moving towards the boats. Now go!"

Letting his instincts take over, Skip sprinted towards the inner gate as fast as he could, desperately trying to navigate through the throngs of other people attempting to flee the doomed city. When his mind took over again, he realized he was already beyond the inner gate.

"Evan! There you are, thank god you're alright!"

Skip's ears pricked up, and he turned to see his parents, unharmed, running over to him.

His father urgently tugged on his arm, "We have to get out of here, hurry!"

Another resounding crash emanated from behind Skip, and he watched as his parents turned around to see the source of the noise. His parent's eyes widened with fear, and his father quickly pushed Skip away from him. Not a second later, a large boulder crashed down on where Skip's parents were standing. He closed his eyes for a second, dazed, before opening them again, and seeing the boulder. His parents… were crushed. They were dead. He was ripped from his dazed and shocked thoughts by another familiar voice.

"Evan! Are you alright?"

Skip turned to see Lia sprinting over to where he was sitting on the ground. When she reached him, she shook his shoulder, but got no response. She followed his vacant gaze, and saw the legs sticking out from under the boulder, and the blood seeping out. Lia fought back tears of her own, as she crouched down next to Skip. She took his hands, and said, "We have to go now Evan, there's nothing we can do for them here. The only thing you can do for them now is to keep living. They wouldn't want you to die here."

Skip turned to meet Lia's gaze, and she had to work harder to hold back her tears. While his eyes weren't always bright and shining, like many of the kids his age, she could see behind the indifferent, passive exterior. She could see the glint of mischief whenever he thought of some shenanigans to amuse himself, she could see the contentment on the warm summer days when they would just relax in the fields behind Wall Maria, and she could see the excitement and curiosity whenever she told him about what she saw of the outside world from atop the wall. Now though, all she could see was a hollow, empty, vacant stare. He did seem to register her words though, as he nodded, stood up, and stiffly ran alongside her to the boat. What she didn't notice, however, was the glance he cast back behind him, at the 15 meter hole in the inner gate. At the armored beast that had plowed straight through it. Its red eyes glaring at everything in front of it. Its jaw unhinging, and releasing a jet of steam so hot that it looked to be glowing. Skip watched, and Skip remembered.


As Skip and Lia continued making their way towards the river, Lia noticed that the last boat was too full to take them. They would be turned back for sure. The boat in front of it, however, was a different story. Although the boat was relatively crowded, there was still space for a landing zone if Lia carried out the plan that was forming in her head. As she approached the boat, she spotted Hannes, leaning against an outer railing, looking inwards. She put her plan into motion.

"Hannes!"

"Huh?" Hannes turned as he heard Lia's voice shouting at him from the riverbank, "Wait, Schäfer? What are you doing with that kid down there? It's not safe out here anymore!"

"I know! The last boat was full, so I decided to see if I could hop onto any of the earlier boats!"

"Wait… you mean you're going to…" Hannes trailed off as he put together the pieces of Lia's plan. The kid. The boat. The ODM gear. 'Oh boy. I hope she knows what she's doing,' Hannes thought as he turned to the people behind him. "Alright folks, I need you to move away so we can clear a landing zone!"

Lia and Skip continued to keep pace with the boat as it made its way upriver. Lia threw a glance over her shoulder at the hole in Wall Maria's inner gate. The first regular titans had begun to saunter through the breach, and the people who were left behind were starting to flee. She turned back to the boat when she again heard Hannes' voice shouting down at her.

"Alright, we've got a landing zone cleared for you. It's not ideal, but it should be enough!"

Lia nodded at him, "Thank you Hannes, just a second!" She then kneeled down to Skip's level, "Skip, I need you to hang on tight, okay?"

Skip nodded vacantly again, holding on to her tightly. Lia then took a deep breath, and fired her anchors into the side of the boat. The reels started to pull her in, and she used a little bit of her remaining gas to push them up and over the railing, and a little more to slow their approach. The pair landed on the boat with a thud, with Hannes coming over to them. As he helped them up, Lia spoke, "Thank you Hannes. If it weren't for you, I don't think we would've made it to Wall Rose alive."

"I'm just doing my duty, or trying to, at least. Say, where are Skip's parents?"

Lia didn't speak, prompting Hannes to look at Skip. After taking one look at Skip's empty stare, he immediately understood.

"Oh… I'm sorry."

Before Hannes could say anything else, though, another Garrison soldier called his name, and he had to go help break up a scuffle. Skip, meanwhile, sank down to a sitting position, his back against the rails, knees pulled up to his chest, with his head resting on them. Lia slid down into a similar position against the wall opposite of him, and they stayed like that for a few minutes. Skip was then brought back to reality by a voice. He lifted his head up, and turned to the source of the voice. He saw the three kids from earlier. The brown haired kid was gripping the railings tightly, with rage evident on his face.

"I'm gonna put a stop to this... I'm gonna kill them all... every last one of them!," the brown haired kid growled.

Skip thought about all that he had lost to the titans. His home, his old life… his family. He felt something bubble up inside of him. Was it…anger? Skip looked down at his hands. They were shaking. Yes… shaking with fury. When he raised his head once more, Lia saw something in his eyes that she had never seen before. Rage. At that moment, Skip made himself a promise. 'I will kill the Armored Titan… Even if it's the last thing I do!'


Echo's MegaNote: And that's a wrap on the "real" chapter 1, if you will. Clocking in at just over 2,700 words, this is probably one of the larger chapters I'll write until we hit the 104th Cadet Corps arc. I do apologize for the amount of exposition here, but I did need to lay the groundwork for two OCs, both of which are pretty important to the story. Anyways, looking forward: as it stands, I have about 3 more chapters planned until we reach the 104th, primarily to do with what our man Skip was up to from 845- 847. Yeah, more background stuff. Sorry, but the characters and events of those chapters will become relevant again, particularly during the Cadet Corps arc, and the Royal Government arc, when that one comes to pass. That's right, I'm thinking that far ahead. As I noted in my last message, this story will take inspiration from the game Attack on Titan 2, such as the journal, as well as using the story of AoT2 as a very rough framework/ guideline. That, of course, means that once we get past the Clash of the Titans arc, we'll really be off-roading. As of 5/13/2022, I have chapter 3 written, awaiting a revision sweep, chapter 4- 30's major events planned out (which takes us up to the beginning of the Trost Recovery Operation), and a general direction I intend to go all the way up to the end of the Royal Government arc. Considering the sheer number of chapters that is, it's very likely that I may combine, shorten, or entirely throw out planned chapters. Like, seriously, I have a google doc that's 7 pages long with the outline, and chapters 7- 23 are all stuff from the 104th arc. I may also just transfer some of those chapters to be their own sperate one or two chapter stories, just to keep the main story moving along. You know, shorter side stories that aren't completely critical to the plot, but are still nice to read, that sort of thing. Anyways, since I know it'll come up eventually: pairings. I've decided on a couple of pairings thanks to my penchant for planning pretty far ahead. One point that cropped up in my head as I was writing that I wanted to address now is that Skip and Lia's relationship is, and will remain, a best friends/ sibling relationship. Lia also fills in sort of a guardian role following the fall of Wall Maria. I have ideas for what to do regarding their relationships with others, but I have their relationship solidified in my mind.

One last thing. Pay attention to the last names of most of the OC characters surrounding Skip. In keeping with AoT's general naming conventions for Paradis' people, they are all Germanic in origin. Knowing the Germanic roots of those last names will help you understand either their relationship to our man Skip, or perhaps about their talents, beliefs, or other aspects of the characters.

Up Next: Skip meets the mailman.

On Deck: Skip meets the crazy sword people.