AN: So... I kinda jinxed myself. Last chapter, I said that the chapter was finished sooner than I had expected so this time, the chapter came out WAY LATER than I had expected. Now this is due to me being done with forty percent of the chapter, then, out of nowhere, the file decides to get corrupted. Anyway, the chapter is here now at least.

Also, I don't know how I forgot to say this, but this story won't stay thoroughly canon (duh) BUT the story won't really diverge all that much in the early stages.

Special Thanks to Super Comrade, Yui and MDM11 for taking time to review, seriously you guys are one of the main motivators for me to get better and increasing the quality of this story. Here's a new chapter for y'all :)


Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Battle Of Trost

Zipping around, Eren maneuvered around the Colossal Titan's attempts to swat him away; determined to finally end the menace that took his home and mother five years ago, He went for the nape of the behemoth fighting him. 'Come on now! I'm so close!' The driven brunet whispered to himself as he accelerated towards the area of red flesh that would end this. Mimicking what it did with Gustav, The Colossal Titan summoned a storm of steam that blasted Eren. Eren grunted and tried to shield himself to avoid what happened to Gustav; he held on as he knew he very well may not get another chance like this in his lifetime. Quick and decisive, the boy detached his hooks from the flesh of the titan then hastily reattached the hooks to its nape before barreling towards his target. He was too close. "Goooooo!"

Disappeared.

Disappeared without a single trace. 'I missed?!' Eren regained his balance and propped himself on the side of the wall, 'The Colossal Titan disappeared!'

"Eren! Did you beat it?!" He heard Thomas yell from atop the wall.

"No!" He hastily replied though confusion and disappointment characterised his correspondence with him. "He suddenly appeared then he disappeared," Eren explained while scaling the wall with his gear, "I'm sorry. I let him get away."

"What?! We were scared stiff! No need to apologise, Ere-"

"There's no time for that stuff, guys! Mina took Gustav to HQ along with Sasha and Samuel- we've got to link up with them."

"The hell are you rookies doing?! The Colossal Titan Response Operation is already underway. Get back to HQ at once! Anyone who's come into contact with, remember to give a report!"

"YES SIR!" They simultaneously barked out to the Garrison officer.

"We pray for the advance team's success!" Connie loudly proclaimed while Eren looked dead ahead…

Every time Gustav simulated this scenario in his head, he had felt some sort of strong emotion: grief, anger, sadness, worry, panic, anxiety, or just regular old regret. However, he never imagined he'd be resting his head on a concrete pillar and feeling other-worldly boredom after Trost, and potentially all of Wall Rose, had been compromised. Mina was in a similar position right next to him and she was looking forward with a forlorn expression haunting her face; the boy lifted his hand and brought a pack of ice to his face, reminiscing about what the doctor had said when he saw his eyes.


"You're a lucky kid I'll tell you that: if you hadn't squeezed your eyes shut, the steam may have burnt off the corneas and lenses of your eyes."


The blond softly sighed and held the ice pack to face, giving a low hiss when it came into contact with his face.

"Hey… Can I help with that, Gustav?" The petite girl beside him questioned; He didn't see why but maybe she wanted to distract herself from the precarious situation they were in. He handed her the ice and closed his eyes.

'Damn… I would kill for half an hour of sleep… I really shouldn't have stayed up late at night yesterday.' Gustav reflected before feeling the ice pack touch his eye. 'I'll prove it… I'll prove I've gotten braver!' He internally swore; he relaxed his neck and laid his head fully on the beam. If no one came to wake him up, he would be sound asleep in no time. He sighed and tried to not waste any energy for the upcoming battle; there had almost been a mutiny when the operation was announced so it was vital to calm down and not cause any trouble if he didn't want to lose his head.

'Wait…' The blond boy had just noticed that Mina stopped holding the pack of ice against his face. Opening his eyes, he slowly turned his head to her. She was just staring at him as a whole. "Why'd ya stop, Mina?" She still didn't respond for a solid minute thus prompting Gustav to flick her forehead with his thumb. "Mina?"

"Oh… Umm. I w-was just um, i-inspecting your burns. S-sorry…" She meekly breathed out and lowered her head, becoming afflicted with a case of reddening cheeks. This caused the boy to raise an eyebrow.

"Ya sure ya ain't tired from that earlier encounter with that giant, red dickhead?" He genuinely questioned.

"Yes… Maybe… I don't know; it's just that everything spiralled out of control. Who would've guessed that the Colossal Titan would appear today in Trost?"

"Yeah, that is kinda crazy, but I have a feeling the Colossal Titan is too smart: emitting steam to burn me and detach my cables when I went for its eyes is just too smart for a titan. It knew its arms were too slow to swat me away, like it understands humans and itself."

"Yeah, you're correct about that. It did the same with Eren. I mean, he tried to go for the nape but it blew him away."

"Huh, what if it's the smartest titan that controls all the others?"

"I don't know about that…" She still had her head laid down but now she raised her eyes to Gustav's. She opened her mouth. Her throat felt very dry and she just couldn't words to tumble out of her mouth, not when Gustav was staring at her like that.

Knowing that there was something she was hiding from him, he stood up and walked away.

"Y'know, I know ya're hidin' somethin', so when ready to spit it out, ya can come and tell me." He informed her in a curt manner before aimlessly walking.

"… That's easier for you to say, you suicidal maniac!"

Oh brother.

Not this again.

Gustav wanted to grab both of the boys he knew for sure were causing the ruckus and smash their heads against one of the concrete pillars. "You want to join the Scouts! You're ready to be titan chow anytime! But I was headed to the interior tomorrow!"

"Calm Dow-"

"Seriously guys? Right here, right now?! Out of literally all the possible situations, ya choose to have one of your brain-dead arguments in the middle of a crisis!?" Gustav admonished.

"Vigo, do you expect me to seriously calm dow-"

"Yes! If ya aren't a suicidal maniac, You should calm down if ya want to survive. Cooler heads always prevail."

"I-I a-agree…" A stern-looking Bertholdt backed Gustav up.

"Yeah, me too." Reiner came into view and put his arm around Bertholdt and Gustav. "C'mon Jean, If you truly hate Eren, you wouldn't want to waste your last moments on an argument with him; however, if you deep down see him as a comrade, you also wouldn't want to waste your last moments on an argument with him. You're wasting your time and energy on something useless either way." Reiner instructed with a brotherly tone.

"F-fine…" Jean pushed before crossing his arms and looking down.

"That's better," Bertholdt remarked with a weak smile, "If I were you, Jean, I would try to make peace with my enemies… Just in case something happens to you or them- it would be better to die in peace."

"Yeah Reiner, go make peace with Ymir, and along the way decide who gets Krista. Matter of fact, how 'bout y'all place a bet: whoever survives this is worthy of being with Krista." Gustav snickered causing everyone to look at him and Reiner to just quietly hum in agreement. "Oh come on, brother. Ya're really makin' it seem like ya've lost all interest in her and ya're just goin' along with our light-hearted remarks to trick us because ya have your eyes on another person, eh?"

Reiner's eyes widened ever so slightly as he quietly and wordlessly gasped. "Heh, I would be lying to you if I said all of what you said was false…" Reiner teased while smirking to Gustav. "Oh, you actually reminded me of something; Sasha wanted to speak to you, Vigo."Reiner announced with a grin. Upon hearing this, Bertholdt picked up on what Reiner was hinting at prompting him to blush and look away while Eren and Jean gave him a look that said 'Go, this is your chance'.

Gustav opened his mouth to jab them with a quip but he instead relented and heavily sighed. Neutral and concentrated, he pushed through the ranks of people ahead of him; soldiers, officers and doctors alike. He reflected upon Reiner's words while trying to get a clue to where Sasha was. He was never really seen as refined, stand-up guy and when he really thought about it; he was seen as just slightly more funny than he was obnoxious, which caused him to go toe to toe with other cadets who either saw him as some uncivilised barbarian from the countryside of the wall that was lost to the titans, or as just some troubled individual who could've barely stood still and gotten through training smoothly.

That was justified. After all, it was written all over him. He almost got kicked out of training for making an assumption, which the blond boy claimed to be a 'total joke', that a commanding officer and a nurse were having an affair. After a cadet who heard the joke snitched on him to the brass, Gustav was dealt a very harsh punishment and even then the corps higher-ups considered kicking him out of training altogether. Gustav clenched his teeth while he reminisced about the fight that followed his punishment's end with the cadet who snitched; the boy didn't even bother to ask what his name was before socking him in the nose. 'Traitors… They're everywhere…' He growled internally. He looked straight past a line of people in front of him and saw an anxious Sasha- something that was strange for Sasha but very normal regardless considering the situation they were in.

"Potato!" He called out to her from a distance that was probably equal to ten metres away. When she had heard the voice, her face suddenly became smoother as she donned a light smile that was still potent enough to crease her eyes. Turning her head, she opened her mouth and tossed him a light-hearted retort.

"Oi, Eyebrows! Look what I have over here!" She giddily responded. Gustav smirked and started closing the distance between them quickly to discuss a private topic away from any prying ears.

"So… Ya willin' to… Do it?"

"No… If we get caught by an officer or a cadet, it'll be curtains for us; I think it'll be better for ya- for both of us, if we slowed down the heists."

"Yeah, Ya're probably right on that front, it's just that I don't think we''be able to pull this stuff of when we join the Scouts, Hon'."

'… 'Hon'?!' The red-head's eyes slightly widened as her breath momentarily hitched. He had used that word once or twice before and it had always brought her a sense of satisfaction and almost fulfilment. "W-we'll manage… But we should probably focus on what's directly ahead of u-us, y'know, Trost." She reasoned with an empty tone and whilst looking down.

"I know… Sasha…" He began with a hazy and soothing voice before getting closer and holding her shoulders. "Please… Try not to die, I want to tell ya my past as I promised; I won't- I can't, wait until after our first mission as scouts so I'll just tell ya after this whole crisis is over." He muttered intensely with heartfelt emotion dripping from his voice.

Sasha observed how the edges of his eyebrows were raised and how hard lines had appeared all over his face- his face screamed concern. She cupped his cheek before speaking.

"Hey, dontcha worry, Hon', I'll live. On the other hand, make sure ya don't get hurt again." She light-heartedly returned with a goofy smile.

'Damn it… That smile is just… Perfect.' He thought as he saw her radiant expression. "Okay, I won't die if ya don't. Deal?" The red-head chuckled and gave a light punch to his shoulder; the blond boy grinned and slowly nodded up and down. He turned and started strolling towards Eren, who was signalling for him to come from afar to probably get briefed on their squad's assignment. When he was about four or five feet away, he marginally turned his head to her. "Besides, I ain't so sure heaven can handle havin' an adorable angle like in their ranks." The boy confidently stated before promptly turning his back to its original place and resuming his march to Eren; for better or worse, he hadn't witnessed the red-head's reaction.


Sometime had passed and now they were standing on a random rooftop in Trost, staring at the almost-ruined city. Gustav, Mina, Eren, Nack, Armin, Thomas and Milieus had all been assigned to the same squad and since, he was the most intelligent, Armin assumed leadership. However, due to Gustav's high placement in the top ten, he was assigned as the second-in-command to Armin.

Eren was staring at the blue sky whilst reminiscing about what they had learnt about the titans in class during military training.


"Surviving historical documents say nothing about the Titans' origins. We know very little about them. What information we do have comes from reports made by the Survey Corps. There has been no evidence that their intelligence approaches our own. Consequently, attempts to communicate with them have been unsuccessful."

"The Titan body structure differs fundamentally from that of other creatures. They lack sexual organs, and their means of reproduction remains unknown. However, most appear male. They have extremely high body temperatures. And inexplicably, they show no interest in any creatures besides humans. Their sole purpose in life seems to be the consumption of humans."

"But considering they have survived for more than a century in an environment devoid of human life, we can assume they have no need to eat at all. In other words, we believe their goal in feeding isn't to gain sustenance, but simply to kill. As to why they have posed such a threat to humanity, their incredible vitality is the main factor. Humanity has possessed cannon technology since antiquity, but it has proved insufficient. Even decapitated Titans will not die. And while this isn't universally true, they are capable of regenerating their heads within one to two minutes."

"No way..." Thomas gasped in disbelief.

"Just their size is enough of a problem." Franz muttered with disdain.

"Sir, does this mean the Titans are invincible?" Marco inquired with worry blossoming in his mind.

"They are not. There is one way to defeat them.

Target this area.

Severe damage here will prevent regeneration, and the Titan will die. Thus, we use two swords to rend away their flesh. If you can strike that vital spot, you'll kill them before they have time to regenerate."


"Hey, Armin... Isn't this a great chance? If we're successful here, before even joining the Survey Corps, we'll definitely rise quickly through the ranks!" Eren announced to his blond friend with determination shining brightly through his eyes.

"Yeah, no question about it." Armin replied whilst mimicking Eren's optimism.

"Just so you know, a lot of people want to join the Survey Corps this time around." Mina chimed in.

"You beat us to the punch earlier, but not anymore!" Thomas added.

"You think so, Thomas!" Eren playfully countered in a lively manner.

"Yeah, we'll see who can kill more Titans. Okay?"

"Hell yeah! Winner gets a portion of all the losers' rations!" Gustav broke into the conversation with fiery enthusiasm.

"Fine… Just no cheating, alrigh-"

"Team 34, advance! Support the vanguard!" A Garrison officer barked at them.

"Okay, let's go!" Eren yelled, his voice prideful, which elicited a unified war cry from the rest of the squad as the moved out.

The brave cadets zipped above the houses and trees under the clear, blue and sunny sky; they could only hear the huffing of the gas being ejected from their gear, propelling them forward while also lightly scrambling their senses due to its noise.

"Look at all those Titans!" Mina cried in shock as she lay witness to the other soldiers who were steamrolled by the titans.

"The vanguard's been totally routed!" Thomas proclaimed for all the other cadets to here. His eyes were firmly glued to the carnage as he lost his attention regarding everything else in a gradual way.

"What are they doing? Did they get their asses kicked after all their boasting!?" Enunciated Nack with a clearly condescending attitude.

'I never thought this would be easy, but not like this!' Eren thought. "An Abnormal! Stop!" The boy yelled out to everyone at the top of his lungs.

"Huh?" That was all it took.

Everyone swerved out of the way and head to a slanted rooftop away from the jumping abnormal. The cadets were shocked in place and silently wondered if one of them hadn't made it. Mina, Nack and Milieus were standing deathly still on the roof, Armin was crouching and Eren was daggling from on the edge of the structure with his eyes keenly observing the tower where the Abnormal attacked; Gustav zipped to his comrades and tumbled onto the roof right next to Armin before rapidly standing up and dusting himself. He turned his head to the tower just in time to see the Abnormal rear its ugly head.

Thomas was in between its maws.

The soldiers were like statues. Inert and frozen. Thomas mouthed something to them but they were too far away to hear. The blond cadet reached his hand out to them in a final act to call for help right before he was swallowed. The desperation on his face. His last expression. It was all too much for Eren to handle.

"How dare you?!" The brunet thundered.

"Eren!" Armin cried out for his childhood friend. Eren leapt off of the edge of the roof but before he was able use his gear, Gustav grasped him by the shirt.

"Oi, Eren! Don't disobey Armin's order, okay? We're fresh outta trainin' and we gotta deal with an Abnormal- we have to formulate a plan."

"No! We have to avenge Thomas! If we don't kill that bastard, it's gonna get away!" The shorter brunet vehemently protested as he started to struggle against Gustav's grip; memories of the titan that stole his mother from him began to flash before his eyes- he wouldn't let that happen again.

"I know, Eren. We'll think of a plan then we'll tail, I promise." Gustav assured whilst relaxing his grip on his shirt. Like clockwork, the brunet's muscles started to relax and cool. 'pheww… That was… too close, I guess.' Gustav expressed inwardly. Sighing, Gustav faced his comrades before speaking up. "We sure as hell ain't goin' to let it get away. So, We'll divide ourselves into teams: Milieus and Eren handle the nape; Mina and Armin handle the arms; and Nack and I will handle the legs. Okay!" The blond teen heartily announced.

Right after Gustav concluded his plan, Eren leaped off of the rooftop and darted towards the Abnormal in a hasty manner.

'I'll avenge Thomas!' Eren mentally declared while the momentum slowly built up- he was like a tea kettle that was about explode if it wasn't poured out.

"Wait, Eren. WATCH OUT!" Armin screamed as he saw a dwarf titan that Eren had failed to notice. It jumped. Eren's leg was gone. Eren completely lost his balance and was thrown onto a rooftop where he was grated against the hard slate.

"EREN!" Mina, Nack and Gustav simultaneously cried when they saw their determined and capable friend get shot down so easily.

"Nack watch out!" Gustav instructed out of the top of his lungs; he was able to pull Nack away in the nick of time from the accelerating giant hand of a titan that had went under their collective radar the dark-haired cadet almost lost his balance but fortunately for him, he was able to regain control over his mobility, though he lost sight of where Armin and Eren were. Not everyone was lucky. Gustav had collided with the chimney of a low house and fell on the hard ground.

"GUSTAV!" Milieus and Nack made their way towards him.

"Guys… I-I'm o-okay…" Gustav shakily reassured previous to his eyes widening. "We-we have to get Eren! A titan had bitten off his leg! I don't think Armin take out that titan all by himself- he needs help." Gustav spoke with hard lines of stress visible on his face; Mina joined them with high spirits. Prior to her reaching him, a titan had grabbed her cables and grounded her curtly.

"Mina! Milieus yelled.

"Milieus, you go help Armin, Nack and I will save Mina." The blond teen barked abruptly. They made their way with haste to each of their respective assignments with both anxiety and determination plaguing their hearts and minds.

Gustav glided through the air, Nack perpendicular to him. Gustav observed how the titan had pick up Mina and prepared to grind her with its huge teeth.

'No! That won't happen!' The boy gassed himself up before accelerating towards it. He was so close now. He hooked its nape and struck it as hard as possible.

Thump.

The titan collapsed after its nape had been swiped; Nack had chopped of its fingers, freeing Mina. Gustav stared at the hunk of flesh that had landed next to him.

'My first titan kill…' Gustav gasped under his breath, his empty tone betraying the pride currently flowing through his veins. He admired his handiwork for a few momen- 'No, This isn't the time- we have to go and help Milieus and Armin!' The boy set aside his pride momentarily before going to check up on Nack and Mina. "Guys, are ya alright?"

"Yeah, thank you Gustav… I would've been a snack if it weren't for you." Mina sincerely thanked.

"Okay, we have to go to where Armin was right now: they could be in danger." The blond boy reasoned.

Milieus had arrived to a scene that could only be describe as hopeless. A hysteric, crying Armin. A severed arm which Milieus concluded was Eren's. And a giant, bearded titan. He was too late.

"Armin! Get away from it!" Milieus scolded the short blond boy. "Armin!" The boy screamed. 'Why isn't he responding?!' The silver-haired teen thought with frustration and fear. Anxious and uncertain, Milieus angled himself towards the helpless boy, preparing to swoop in and snatch Armin. He flung himself and accelerated towards the blond whilst trying to position his body as far as he could from the bearded titan. Grabbing him by the arm, Milieus bolted away with Armin. The blond screamed hysterically and his eyes turned into waterfalls- he couldn't bear it.

"EREEEEN! W-WHY!" The blond cried out, almost begging. Milieus steadied himself mentally and soldiered on. The titan stared blankly at them; a lethargic, uncanny smile stuck to its monstrous face. Milieus briefly looked back at the titan to reaffirm its position, but the loss of concentration on the path ahead of him caused Armin's head, which had been stuck out to the side, to get smashed against a chimney. The sound produced tore Milieus' gaze away from the titan and to his friend.

"Armin!" Gasped Milieus as the sound of the collision that coincided with the blond boy's silence; Milieus inspected him curtly before resuming his journey- though a lot quicker now since blood was dripping from his forehead. At least he wasn't screaming now. His eyes drifted from one area to another, searching for any remaining Garrison stronghold in the city- Gustav, Mina and Nack would have to navigate and make their way to one themselves alone. He cursed himself for abandoning his comrades so easily but it was necessary: Armin was a very smart soldier and with him Humanity had a larger chance to recapture trost. If that was even a possibility now.

Nack paced anxiously between two concrete podiums with his mind drowning in thought: there were a lot of unknown variable.

"Any sign of Eren, Armin or Milieus, Gustav?" Nack called out, trying to feign an ounce of confidence though his voice was haunted by the spectre of fear.

"No… But, we have to get movin'. Otherwise we'll be in a titan's damn stomach." Gustav bitterly responded as he eagerly scouted their surrounding from atop a rooftop.

"Yeah, but we have to wait at least five minutes more: what if they had gotten stuck or ran out of supplies and were just now beginning to head over here?" Mina reasoned with knitted eyebrows triggering a sigh from the blond on the roof.

"I doubt Milieus can even pinpoint the place where ya got grabbed. He was so fixated on reachin' Armin and Eren." The blond weakily countered. This caused Mina to look at the ground with a forlorn expression etched on her face. "But we'll still wait for five more minutes. After that, we'll relocate and hopefully reach HQ; I think that IS the best solution." He reassured. Being the second-in-command was sure as hell tough; he wasn't as smart as Armin nor as selfless as Marco which were the two most suitable for this role. But he had try. What if he had natural talent? It would surely be beneficial to find out now- in Humanity's time of need.

"Either way, we have to prepare to face titans because we're practically sitting ducks out here." Nack warned before finally ceasing his aimless and unnecessary movement to sit down on a dusty, old crate.

The eerie silence was a bit too much. Mina internally knew that something went horribly wrong; not even four minutes had passed since Gustav announced when they'll move out and yet it felt like days had passed since then. 'We'll make it… We'll make it out alive, hopefully.' Mina was sweating bullets. The train harbouring the severity of their situation had finally arrived at its destination. They had lost Thomas and maybe even Armin, Eren and Milieus. Mina's knees had started to weaken; she wondered what Gustav felt. What Nack thought. It was irritatingly obvious that Nack was anxious concerned out of his mind and that Gustav was rapidly shuffling through available plans- anything to get them out of here. Gustav closed his eyes for one second, imagining what would happen if Trost well and truly fell. It was an industrial town and so a hit to Humanity's economy was certain; but what was the fate of the refugees this time? He shivered at the thought of another 'Reclamation Mission.' He shook his head free of those nasty thoughts. If he had doubts, then he had already failed his duty as a soldier. He rested his head against the cold, hard surface of the roof.

'I'll never buckle or yield, I'll serve the Scouts and protect my friends and I'll thank the commander for his help before I die…'


(Year: 846)

It was a cold day at the Ulmarni noble estate; the snow that fell bit and tore the flower petals in the lush, well-maintained gardens perpendicular to the house. Mediocre marble statues where rare and far between but not outright non-existant: the Ulmarnis where a small, but somewhat influential Wall Rose noble family. However, they were still nowhere near as wealthy or influential or sizeable as even the most average of the Sinan elite. But that still didn't prohibit admiring the result of hardwork and innovation, and the effect it had on people and their bloodlines.

What a sick joke.

In reality, despite their relatively modest wealth, they were able to 'hire' a small army of unemployed and desperate Wall Maria refugees to build this estate. The fact the completed building this tiny summer home in around seven months was due to the policies and unforgiving quotas set up and enforced by the Ulmarnis. They were sent back to the streets they came from without a second word.

All but one.

Strangely, the family had found a Marian orphan from the country side drifting in the streets of the district of Utopia. Them being "kind and charitable good Samaritans", they offered to take the boy in as their own.

Lies. Lies. Lies.

He now stood on the dirt, wearily shovelling the soil around. He loved the vegetation and trees; it was the only thing which made toiling for the fat swine who were his 'owners' quasi-bearable. He had been gullible to accept their offer. So gullible. The head of the family, Cravel Ulmarni, was harsh, solemn and widowed- his wife had died two years before the fall; his only son and heir was the worst when it came to treatment. The boy, whose name was Hamlo, enjoyed using Gustav as a punching bag, an outlet for all his pent-up emotion; the boy was three years his senior and was constantly coddled and protected by his father. Gustav couldn't fight back in this situation: pushing against them would only make things worse.

'I sure as hell didn't surrender- and I ain't gonna do that anytime soon.' He motivated himself. He had been ordered to dig a hole in the ground so that the hole may be transformed into a new miniature pond- a foolish and delusional task to assign to a child. 'I don't think I've seen people as incompetent as they are…' The pondered while narrowing his eyes.

"Hey! Shithead! Over here you bastard!" A boy called out to him as he tossed a couple of rocks in his general direction. Gustav sighed as he dropped the shovel to heed the call of his captor. "I need you to go buy me five kilograms of meat, boy." Gustav's jaw dropped to the core of the earth when he heard that statement.

'Five WHOLE kilograms?! He can't be serious.' The boy thought intensely whether this was at test or not. Thinking that the boy was plotting something devious, Gustav asked him a simple question. "Does your father know, sir?" The profoundly basic question prompted the smug expression plastered on his face to vaporise and be substituted with narrowed eyes and a much more serious look.

"Listen here boy- and listen very well. You're here to follow orders and nothing more. If you resist, I'll make sure you can never even think of doing so ever again, okay?!" The older boy whispered with an edged voice oozing with disgust.

'Heh, looks like I hit a nerve…' the blond boy congratulated himself whilst maintaining eye contact with the older boy's infuriated brown eyes. He nodded in a simple manner and extended his hand. The older boy didn't break eye contact and slowly pulled the money out of his pocket and place it in Gustav's extended hand. The blond boy started to walk away but was stopped by the voice of Hamlo.

"After you get me what I want, you can go worship and drool all over the walls as much you fucking please…" Hamlo yelled before chuckling at his own words. "Damn filthy peasants…"

Weary yet disciplined, Erwin cut his way through the grove; crushing crunchy leaves underfoot and swatting away any branches that got into his way. The meeting to decide whether or not a Scouting Mission should be conducted in the far north to attempt the construction of a safe route leading all the way to the fallen Hermina district of the north side of Wall Maria was a deadlock; many other high ranking scouts saw the whole meeting as just a waste of time since the Royal Government was still shaken up from the fall of Wall Maria to execute a plan like that. Erwin had argued for the opposite: "If the Humanity's government is still shaken up and desperate, I firmly believe that a mission to attempt to secure a portion of our northern lands is a, for lack of a better word, a no-brainer. Our data proves that the north is Titan-barren but not completely abandoned by our enemies; However, it is still the safest and quickest swathe of land to reclaim." He remembered that same distinct look that the nobles and officials had borne when they had collectively realised that the plan would require their "Assistance." The other scouts who came to discuss the mission had long left but Erwin had insisted on staying behind pestering the nobles as much as possible; whether by capitalising on their selfishness, guilt or their desire to just rid themselves of him.

Alas. They had succeeded. They cited that: "It would be incompetent and rather draining to open up a second front with humanity's enemies," one bearded noble had reasoned with a self-righteous reassuring tone. Sadly, what that noble said was totally reasonable and valid from an outside perspective and one needed to understand the nuance of the situation to truly and fairly decide.

'Just another day in the Survey Corps…' Erwin sighed before quickening his pace. The tall man then bumped into a blond-haired child carrying a sizeable bag.

"I-I am sorry sir, I truly didn't-" The boy paused abruptly as the words were caught in his throat; he absent-mindedly and faintly pointed towards the coat of arms. A proud but small grin graced the commander's face as he had easily picked up on what triggered that response and crouched down to properly face the child.

"You want to join the scouts, right?" The tall man began first with a simple question that was answered with a meek nod. "How old are you?" The boy looked at the ground and then to the commander before standing up and dusting himself.

"Almost Thirteen- my birthday is the fifth of August, sir." He scolded himself immediately. Was he an idiot? He had just provided an unknown soldier vital information. What if-

"You work for a noble, correct?" The tall man surmised. It was clear to the boy that this soldier was sharp and quite intelligent. Maybe he wasn't just any scout.

"Yes…" The tall man's grin vanished and was replaced with a serious look harbouring years of experience.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Gustav." The boy replied instantly.

"Gustav… Be honest. Are you free?"

Gustav stayed deathly quiet and still. Not an inch moved, not a letter uttered. He couldn't say yes and he couldn't say no. "Your clothes are rural-looking and torn and you're shackled to noble. You are a Wall Maria Refugee." The man stated in an authoritative manner.

"Yes." The boy blankly replied. He rubbed his eyes and steeled himself. "B-but sir, I want to take back my h-home, and I don't want to serve those bad people forever." The boy gushed with tears steadily pouring out of his eyes. Erwin's expression softened but it then immediately hardened; he gently grabbed the boy's shoulder steadied him.

"No, they are NOT bad people- you cannot decide that. They are bad in their treatment and in everything else towards you but maybe they are decent human beings to other people- and unfortunately some people need them to make a living. The thing is, there are no good people; there are no bad people either: a killer may do so to avenge a loved one or out of a need for retribution and a thief may steal to feed his family. Whether we like it or not, even our personal rivals are important to us and those around us, one way or another." Advised the commander with a voice of a higher volume and sharpness but with a clear intent to guide Gustav. The man then donned a smile before speaking again. "But still, do not surrender; capitalise on their incompetence and work with your own shrewdness. Do not interrupt them when they're making mistake and secretly plot for your escape when the time is right."

The boy then donned the brightest smile he had since arriving at this district a year ago and wiped away his tears.

"Yes, I'll do that sir, I promise!" His determination increasing with every letter uttered. The commander then grabbed the boy's hand.

"Now, where exactly is the estate?" The commander asked while looking around and inhaling the wonderful scent of the greenery.

"That way." The boy firmly stated shortly after pointing at the general direction of the estate.

"Oh good, I was going that way anyway." Erwin lightly remarked before giving the boy a knowing look and a wink. The boy giggled and started walking next to the commander. "My name is Erwin Smith, thirteenth commander of the Survey Corps."

'I knew he wasn't a normal scout!' The boy congratulated himself for his awareness. The walk home wasn't nearly as boring as the walk to the butcher; Gustav and commander kept talking about their lives- Erwin apparently had only assumed leadership of the regiment only a year prior. Their conversation had been light-hearted until the commander questioned the boy about what he did in his spare time.

"So, Gustav, what do you do in your free time?" Inquired the commander.

"I train."

"For what?"

The commander had once again caught him off-guard with his questions.

'What exactly am I trainin' for?' The boy echoed the question once again in his head as he tried to think of any reason that not only was valid, but was also truthful. "I train in memory of my father- and my family in general. He used to train my siblings and I for somethin' and I don't know what that somethin' is."

'Hmmm… The boy seems to get more interesting as I talk to him.' The commander thought of what the boy had stated. Nevertheless, it was very clear the boy needed some sort of guidance as he was probably drifting through his young life. He remembered another figure who had a somewhat similar case to this boy right here- a person who was wasting his life and potential to help humanity. 'Most people only need a push in the right direction, but children only need a nudge.' Erwin recalled when his father had told him that.

His father. An intelligent man that dedicated his heart to educate ad guide the youth- even if there were some that problematic and hard to control. He never betrayed nor ceased his pursuit of knowledge. And that caused his "disappearance".

The commander gazed at the boy, awaiting his response, if there even was one. It was unnecessary- incompetent even, to delay his return to HQ just because he wanted to have a chat with a local boy that intrigued him, but this was probably no normal boy. 'Yet another victim of the Royal Government's corruption and selfishness,' mused the blond man.

"I think I train in memory of my family; the family I lost in just a single day- the day of the fall," the boy perked up again with his eyes set forward, "But I don't think I lost all my family."

The boy's last statement gave rise to a unique suspicion within Erwin; a suspicion that would only fester if not put to rest.

"And, who do you think has… Survived the fall of Wall Maria?" The commander lightly pressed the boy for information. But, the boy seemed to intensely debate disclosing anymore private information to a total stranger. At the end, the boy sighed before answering.

"There was this girl that lived far away but still frequently visited us, though she stopped visiting for four whole years. But she returned. She always did. She was our… Cousin? I'm sure wasn't a First Cousin of ours; I think we were Third or even Forth cousins. She always liked us little kids but she spent most of her time with my eldest brother."

'… This has gotten too interesting,' Erwin now knew this was a very sensitive situation. Inside the walls, family was an, obviously, very important thing; however, it was exceedingly rare for distant relatives to maintain contact even though the lived 'far away' from each other. Erwin had to be careful: this is a strange story that may be important and he cannot lose the trust of this boy at such a pivotal moment. Asking for names would put all of his effort to extract information in jeopardy so he opted for a safer question. "How did your family die?" Being direct was good but one could not afford to be so blunt with such a topic- with a child no less.

"I don't really know… My mother was murdered by regular people during the fall but my father was above the age of sixteen so he was eligible for the 'Reclamation Mission'. I doubt he would've survived that. My sister… She wanted to become a doctor and since she was an apprentice to a doctor in Wall Maria that went missin', she probably died too. My youngest brother was always sickly; I doubt even the most desperate of land owner or whatever they're called would not have employed him as a farmhand. He probably died alone." The boy concluded with a shattered, hollow voice and tears streaming silently down his face.

Erwin noticed many things: the vitrol in the boy's voice when mentioning the reclamation mission; the sadness when mentioning his the fate of his younger brother; his guilt when he described his mother's murder and the overall despair he felt over the fate of his family. He left out what became of his eldest brother but seeing his immediate response upon remembering the fate of his family, Erwin would have to cease his extraction of information. He grasped the boy by his shoulder and fashioned a small, comforting smile.

"Hey, now… You need to calm down, what's in the past is in the past. But. You cannot abandon nor forget their deaths- as if they were meaningless. You have to find a purpose, to make them proud."

They were many things learnt; Erwin hadn't anticipated that a chat with a poor, rural errand boy could reveal so much. But something intrigued him the most when the boy was describing the fate of his family.

Who in his right mind would attempt to murder someone specific in a remote area during the fall of the Wall? The boy said he was from the north so news about the breach would've certainly reached them narrowly before the titans did. 'This wasn't a coincidence…'


Alert and focused, Nack stood on a pill that jutted out of the ground near the centre of the place Mina had gotten grabbed in; he looked around the tiny square-like area they were in and tried to count the number of titans.

'Four… Five… Seven.' He inhaled sharply before averting his sight towards his comrades: Mina was pacing around the perimeter of the place they were in and Gustav… 'Is Gustav asleep?' Nack briefly questioned his sanity but made sure he wasn't imagining things when he saw the blond boy's chest gently rising and falling and his eyes gently closed. 'Did he fall asleep while standing?!' The boy was utterly confused by his mannerisms in such a situation. Jumping down from the pillar, he darted towards the sleeping boy to wake him up. "Oi! Gustav! This isn't the time for a nap and I'm sure that's clear!" Nack scolded while shaking his body.

"I didn't sleep, I was just restin'; I'm up now so there ain't no need for some useless noise." He said with an eerily casual tone. "How much time has passed since I told y'all that we'll head out after five?" A look of shock came upon Nack's face as he looked down to his feet with cold sweat matting his cheek.

"I… Forgot."

Gustav almost lost all semblance of composure: he wanted to scream at Nack. But he couldn't. Armin, Eren and Milieus were gone and now he was the de facto leader of this squad- this was on him as much as it was on them. Sighing, he forced himself to stand straight.

"Mina, Nack. We'll move out now, okay?" He loudly announced for his comrades to hear.

"O-okay. Ready when you are." Mina responded from below. Nack looked wearily at Gustav and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, we can't delay it any longer." Nack stated, exhausted. Mina scaled the building and now stood beside the two boys.

"Well, we gonna head out or what?" Mina said with a fraction of her enthusiasm briefly returning.

"Whatever happens, I'm glad I served with y'all… But I know for sure we ain't goin' die- not with me at the helm of this squad." The blond breathed with a chuckle, reciprocating her enthusiasm.

"Yeah sure, keep up that level of arrogance and the titans will have another nice piece of meat to snack on." Nack teased. Shortly after, they launched themselves to nearby rooftop; they moved with great speed and had just passed by their fifth house thus far. Gustav was at the front while Mina and Nack tailed him, keeping up their pace. But. He surprisingly hit the brakes.

"What's he doing?" Mina whispered but it was still loud enough for Nack to hear; he looked at her with his eyes conveying that same bewilderment she was experiencing. They caught up and landed next to him. Mina almost dropped her blades. Nack's breath caught.

"Guys… I think the HQ is overrun."

AN: Yeah, this chapter contains the earliest obvious divergence from canon- Mina, Milieus and Nack survive for now and I also may have changed who Reiner's current crush is ;)