*This chapter has been revised/rewritten for improvement purposes.

All spelling/grammatical errors are my own mistakes. This version has been NOT been beta'd.

All credit of Attack On Titan/Shingeki No Kyojin goes to Hajime Isayama. I ONLY own Alice Arlet, my OC.

Being as calm as I can be, I flew through my home district with my mobility gear at top speed. I can see the innocent running, screaming for their lives. Some even shouted, "Titans!" "Titans are here!" "They're eating us!"

Standing in the middle of Shinganshina, I could see the hole that was made on Wall Maria. Even though I'm a good distance from the wall, I could still see titans of different sizes coming through at a never ending pace.

Hearing more screams near me, I noticed humans trapped in the grips of titans and get eaten. Eyes wide in shock, I immediately made my way towards them and killed as many as I can.

Titans has invaded my home.

Titans are eating these innocent people whom may just be my next door neighbor.

Titans are killing us.

Titans are going to harm my home.

I must protect my home...

"Argh!" With a grunt, I slashed the nape of a titans neck and watched as it fall to the ground. Hot steam started emitting around its corpse.

Panting heavily, I observed my surroundings and eyed the damaged area. Pieces of the outer Wall Maria were piled around this area as well as broken bits of homes. I can even see a giant boulder on top of a squashed up body. All that's left of this particular body was an arm and a puddle of blood. As I observed more of my surroundings, I can see chunks of body parts all over the area.

After giving a moment of silence to the dead bodies I've found, I headed towards my home in hopes of finding Armin.

Armin, please be okay! God, I pray to you that my little brother is alive and well!

Please...

Please let me find my brother.

After killing a couple more titans and feeling the hot blood all over me, I finally reached my home...

Or, what's left of my home.

It was completely destroyed. Just a pile of rubble and rocks everywhere. "Armin!" I shouted my brothers name once again.

Without any hesitation and will to stay calm, I quietly removed some of the rocks and rubble to find any sign of Armin being here. Little brother, where are you? Please don't let me find you underneath these pieces. It'll break me if I find you here. Please don't be under all of this...

My heart stopped.

There, I found a hand sticking out beneath this pile of rubble.

I didn't do anything.

I couldn't do anything.

I couldn't even breath for that second.

There's an arm here and it's a 50-50 chance it may be Armin's.

Could this arm really belong to Armin?

No. It shouldn't.

But what if it really is?

My mind's messing with me right now. It's time to find out if this arm really does belong to Armin...

With that, I took a deep breath and removed a heavy boulder with my shaking hands.

Upon discovering the true owner of this hand, fortunately, it didn't belong to Armin.

Unfortunately, it belonged to a woman. Her lower half of the body was crushed by another gigantic boulder. Her eyes were rolled back and blood foamed out of her mouth. I closed my eyes from the gory sight and left a silent prayer to the woman. "Rest in peace Miss."

I moved away from the body and searched around my broken home once again. I couldn't find any signs of Armin anywhere.

After hearing faint screams at a distance, I knew I had to get away from here. Armin's not here.

Clicking the buttons on my maneuvering device, I landed on a rooftop and looked at my surroundings. More titans has been sighted and they were all scattered everywhere. Seeing that I might be at a disadvantage, I quickly moved away from my home.

If Armin's not here, then where the hell is he?

Is Armin safe at all?

Where are you?

Suddenly, it hit me. I just remembered Armin mentioning that he was going to spend the day with Eren and Mikasa.

With my mind made up, I spun a full 180 and made my way towards the Jaeger residence. Maybe, just maybe Armin might be safe with them. He could be safe with Eren, Mikasa and Carla. I just pray that they are all okay. They just have to...

Everything is not alright.

The Jaeger's home was in a worse shape than my home. Everything was completely destroyed.

I can see Eren and Mikasa frantically digging for something.

"Eren! Mikasa!" I called out to the two kids, immediately noticing that Armin wasn't with them.

"Alice!" Eren called out to me. "Please! Help me save my mom!"

Looking at the boy, his hands were covered in cuts and bruised from moving the pile of rocks and heavy rubble that was on top of an injured Carla. She was trapped underneath the house.

"Carla!" I shouted out to her.

Carla can only be seen by her upper body and only one arm while the other was crushed. She gave me a weak, faint smile and reached her arm out to me. "A-Alice..."

Putting my blades back inside the hilt, I tried my best in helping Eren and Mikasa on digging Carla out of there. I could tell that the two kids were panicking and with that, I continued to stay as calm as I can. "Don't worry Carla. We'll get you out of there. Promise."

"Mom! Alice is here to save you! You'll be okay Mom!" Eren shouted, still panicking.

Looking at Carla, she was extremely pale from the pain she must be enduring right now. I could see that she's putting on a brave face in front of her son and adoptive daughter. Eren has been crying non-stop and is still in a panic shock about his mother's condition. Mikasa on the other hand, her facial expression remained wide eyed in shock and stayed silent.

"Eren, Mikasa. Where's Armin?" I finally asked the two.

Mikasa was the one to finally speak up. "He disappeared when everything started. We don't know where he is."

I stopped what I was doing and stared at the girl. My eyes were wide upon hearing this. "A-Armin's not with you?" I could feel my heart beating rapidly in a panic. If Armin's not with them, THEN WHERE THE HELL IS HE!?

"Alice!"

I turned around to see who it was that called out to me and it was Hannes. He just landed on the ground and ran up towards us. I can clearly tell that he is also in a state of panic just from seeing our situation but remained calm because of the kids.

"Hannes help! Mom's trapped here!" Eren yelled out to him.

Hannes just stood there and stared at us. "Hannes!" I called out to him. "Help!"

He seemed to be in a trance and haven't moved an inch for a good minute. Soon, his jaw dropped and I finally followed his gaze and turned my head. There, at a good distance away, we can clearly see a titan making it's way towards us. By the time it gets here, it'll eat us all.

"Shit!" I yelled. "We need to get you out of here now Carla!"

Eren, Mikasa and I approached a heavy wooden beam and tried to lift it up but to no avail. The beam was too heavy. "Mom! We're almost there! We'll save you in time Mom!" Eren shouted.

I could hear Hannes whipping his blades from behind as I looked up to see the distance between us and the titan. It will reach us within a few minutes. We don't have enough time to save Carla...

"Alice..." Carla called my name quietly as I felt her cold, bloody hands touching mine.

I placed my warm hands on top of hers. "Yes Carla?"

After coughing up some blood, she spoke dryly. "Leave me. Take Eren and Mikasa and go."

"No!" Eren shouted. "I'm not leaving you Mom! We're going to get you out of here and we'll escape together!"

I was lost at words. Carla's telling us to abandon her? "I-I can't do that Carla. Please, we're almost done freeing you. We can save you."

"No. You can't." She said as her voice cracked. "My legs are crushed. I cannot feel anything beneath my waist. It's best to leave me." She lifted her head and made eye contact with me. "Please."

I was lost in her sad eyes. She obviously knows that this is the end for her and I could tell that she is scared.

"Mikasa." Carla called out to the young girl. "Please take good care of Eren like you always do." She gave Mikasa a faint smile as the girl started tearing up.

I just stood there, wide eyed and stared at Carla. This is really happening.

"Hannes!" Carla shouted with all the strength she can. She must've snapped Hannes from his shocked trance. "Please take my children and go!"

Hearing the footsteps behind me, Hannes stood next to me as we stared at our friend. "Carla..." Hannes finally spoke her name.

"Go! Alice! Hannes! TAKE MY CHILDREN AND GO!" She finally screamed with all she can.

Suddenly, we heard a gasp escaped Eren's mouth as Hannes and I turned to see what Eren was staring at. To our shock, the titan that I saw from a distance was just a couple feet away.

"Please. Go now before it's too late." Carla said with a brave face that she's been trying to put up. "I love you...Eren, Mikasa. Alice will take care of you now."

Those were the final words Carla said.

"Let's go Alice!" Hannes shouted as he grabbed Eren and placed him over his shoulder.

"No! Mom! We need to save Mom!" Eren protested as he tried hitting Hannes's back.

Seeing that the titan was approaching us, I pulled out my blades. I can kill it. I can kill this titan and then we'll be able to save Carla and tend to her wounds.

Just as the titan stood right in front of me, behind where Carla is buried, it just stared down at us. This titan was smiling. A smile so wide that it seeped deep into my memory as I shuddered at it's creepiness. I don't know why, but I couldn't kill this titan. There was something about this particular titan that really freaked me out.

I looked down that Carla and she nodded her head, sending a signal once last time, telling me to leave.

Gritting my teeth in anger, I grabbed Mikasa's hand and started running away. Tears started streaming down my face as the four of us ran away as fast as we can.

Looking back, I could see the freaky smiling titan picking Carla off from the ground. Carla was struggling in freeing herself from the titans grip but with it's other hand, it twisted her body and broke her in half. I gasped in utter shock as more tears streamed down my face. The titan then opened its mouth and took a big bite. Carla's blood rained around the titan as some of her innards hanged off from the titan's mouth.

I'm so sorry Carla.

I'm sorry I couldn't save you in time.

Tears kept streaming down my face as I realized just how pathetic was I back there. I could've killed the titan and I was a coward for running away.

Eren was still hung around Hannes's back and I knew he witnessed what I just saw. Same goes for Mikasa. She was looking back as well.

"Hannes!" I called out to him as we stopped running. "Take Mikasa with you." I pushed Mikasa towards him as I pulled out my blades. Tears were still streaming down my face.

"Where are you going Alice!?" Hannes yelled.

"I'm going to find Armin." I answered. "Please. Take Mikasa and Eren to Trost District. Their safety is your top priority now."

Without letting Hannes speak, I immediately pushed the button on my blades as the swung around the neighborhood.

I couldn't save Carla. Armin's missing. Just what is happening to me now. Armin, where are you? It's too soon to assume that my little brother is dead. It just is.

Travelling around the district with as little gas as possible, I killed more titans and avoided those that came in groups.

"Alice!" I heard Petra calling out to me.

I stopped my movement and was soon greeted by my squad along with Captain Levi. I could feel Levi studying my face and I quickly looked away before he could see the dry tears.

"Any luck in finding your brother?" Eld asked.

I shook my head silently. "No. I can't."

"Maybe he headed to Trost on his own. Your brother is a smart kid after all." Gunther said, trying to reassure me.

"I hope so." I said quietly. Armin's the only family I have.

"Let's go. They're coming." Levi said as more titans started swarming the area.

We all took off and surveyed the area for signs of Armin or stranded civilians. All we've found were just continuous dead bodies around the district and wrecked up homes.

After what seemed like hours, a Garrison soldier approached us. "I have a report for Alice Arlet!"

"That is me." I said as we saluted each other. "What is the report?"

"Captain Hannes brought news of your brother. He has found Armin Arlet and he is safe with him within Trost District." Answered the soldier.

A sense of relief of my brother's safety was lifted off my chest as I felt tears forming in my eyes. "Thank the heavens."

After that, red flares were seen around the Shinganshina District, signaling all soldiers to retreat within the inner wall.

"What now?" Bozado asked.

"We retreat." Levi answered. "Arlet."

"Yes Heichou?" I looked at Levi.

"Go to your brother. We'll handle things here." He said, nodding his head at his decision.

Without any hesitations, I saluted towards my squad and headed towards Trost District. What was once my home is not gone. Now, all we have to do is survive.

Walking through the shelters that were set up for the evacuated citizens, I finally found the one where the kids were staying out. There, I see my brother with Eren, Mikasa and Hannes.

"Sis!" Armin called out when he saw me.

"Armin!" I yelled out to him with arms wide open. We ran towards each other and I hugged him as if I haven't seen him in years. "Thank goodness you're alive!" My voice cracked as some tears streamed down my cheeks. "I thought I lost you. Where were you this whole time?"

He let's go of me and spoke. "I went home to find you but I didn't see you. Instead, I went on the evacuation boats and made my way here. That's when I found Hannes later on."

I patted his head and faintly smiled at him. "You're a smart kid Armin."

We then looked at Eren and Armin frowned. I guess they told him the news of Carla's passing. Eren had a look of disgust and anger all over his face. "Eren..." I reached my hand out, attempting to pat his shoulder.

"Don't talk to me." Eren said to me coldly as he brushed my hand away.

"There's no use talking to this kid right now." Hannes said. I assume he has already tried talking to Eren. "He's pretty pissed at the two of us right now."

I frowned upon this. I can't blame the kid. We had no choice but to abandon his mother there. "Eren." I said his name once again. "I'm really sorry about Carla. I had no choice but to respect her wishes." I slowly placed my hand on his shoulder.

Eren's eyes narrowed angrily as he slapped my hand away. "SHUT UP!"

My eyes widened in shock at Eren's sudden attitude. "E-Eren?"

"MY MOM DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU COULD'VE SAVED HER BUT YOU DIDN'T. YOU STUPID SOLDIERS ARE COWARDS!" People around us were starting to stare as I continued to stare at Eren wide eyed. "HOW CAN YOU EVEN CALL YOURSELF A SOLDIER ALICE!?"

I couldn't help but to gasp at his last sentence. Eren was right. I was a coward for not killing that titan. That is going to haunt me.

"Eren..." Mikasa quietly called out to him.

"Oi!" Hannes yelled. "There was nothing Alice can do! Your mother wanted to ensure safety on you and Mikasa! That was her final wish!"

Still in shock, I stood there and stared at Eren as streams of tears fell down my face. I felt horrible. I too am disgusted in myself. How will Grisha react when he finds out?

"Eren..." After saying the boys name, I kneel to his level and wrapped my arms around him and Mikasa. I pulled the two closer to me and hugged them as tightly as I can. With my voice all cracked and choked up, I spoke to them. "I'm so sorry! I'm truly sorry that we couldn't save her! But I made a promise to her that I will look after the two of you." I squeezed them tighter to ensure them under my safety. "That's a promise I will not break."

As tears continued to stream down my face, I could feel Eren's body shake. He must be in tears as well. Mikasa remained as silent as she was but I could tell that she was trying her best not to cry.

"Hannes." I called out to my friend as I let go to the kids.

"Yes Alice?"

"Can you help me find a temporary home for Eren, Mikasa and Armin?"

"What about you Sis?" Armin asked, look of worry written all over his face.

I gave my brother a faint smile and pat his head. "Don't worry about me Armin. I've got work with the Survey Corps so I'll be around there most of the time. My top priority is to make sure the three of you are safe under my arms."

"But..." Armin started speaking but trailed off for a brief second. "Where will you live if you're not staying with us?"

I moved my hand away and placed a finger under my chin, pondering on where I could stay.

"I have a place for her." A voice answered from behind.

We all turned heads and watched as Captain Levi walked towards the five the us. Hannes and I immediately saluted towards him while the kids just stared at him.

"Captain Levi." I greeted him.

Levi nodded his head as Hannes and I resumed our position.

"Y-You're Levi Heichou..." Eren said quietly, probably gawking at the fact that the Special Operations Squad leader is standing right in front of him.

Levi stood there and eyed the boy. "Oi. Little Brat." He spoke towards Eren. "You should be thankful that Alice saved you."

I could tell that I was starting to blush. Why is Levi telling Eren this?

"W-What?" A confused Eren said, staring at my Squad leader.

"You mother's death is something we should all remember about." Levi spoke again. His facial expression then changed to one of his annoyed glares. "But that doesn't give you the right to be mad at her or the other soldier."

I could hear Hannes clearing his throat. Probably embarrassed at the fact that Levi is defending him and doesn't know his name.

Looking at Eren, he lowered his head and stared at the ground in anger. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. "I hate those titans..." Was all he could say.

I looked back at Levi and he seemed to be impressed with Eren's sense of anger. What is he thinking right now?

"Join the military."

My eyes widened in shock when I heard those words escape Levi's mouth. "H-Hold on Levi!" I said, taking a step forward. "T-They're still young..." It's too dangerous for them to join the military.

Levi ignored my concern and continued to look at Eren. "If you join the military, you can avenge your mothers death. Judging by the look in your eyes, you must hate those filthy beings to death. Am I right?"

Armin and Mikasa's eyes were glued towards Eren while Hannes stood there, unsure of what to do. I on the other wanted to protest about this but the look on Eren's face prevented me from speaking. He had the eyes of an avenger. Eren's face remained angry and determined after hearing Levi's comment. With tears streaming silently down his face, he lifted his right arm over his chest and looked at my Captain.

"I will join the military. I will destroy every one of those titans and avenge my mother's death!"

"Good." Levi said as he turned around and looked at Hannes. "You."

Hannes blinked in confusion and stared back at Levi. "Me?"

"Go find them a new home already." He said, glaring at my friend. He then faced towards me and made eye contact with me.

I could tell I was blushing and I quickly shook my head to hide it. "Y-Yes Levi?"

"Come with me."

He then started walking away as I saluted towards Hannes and the kids. "I'll be back." I smiled and followed after Levi. Looking back, Hannes said something towards the kids and they followed him somewhere.

I followed Levi back towards headquarters and we made our way outside of Commander Erwin's office.

"We need to speak to Erwin first before I take you to your new home." Levi said as he knocked on the door.

I silently nodded my head as Levi opened the door and we entered the room. There, we could see Erwin standing in front of his window, looking outside.

"Maria is gone." Erwin said. His attention still facing towards the window.

"Yes. It is." I reluctantly answered. "The damage on the wall is huge. There were countless titans entering the district."

"Is your brother safe?" He asked, turning around, meeting my gaze.

I let out a sigh, relieved once again that my brother was safe along with Eren and Mikasa. "Yes. He is. Thank you for asking Commander."

"That's good. I'm sorry about your home."

I shook my head respectively. "It's not a big problem Commander. There's no need to worry about me."

"Do you have anywhere to stay?" Erwin asked, seemingly concerned for my well-being.

I shook my head again. "That, I'm not really sure." I looked at Levi who remained quiet the entire time. "Levi mentioned something earlier that he has somewhere for me to stay."

Commander Erwin turned his attention towards Levi as he slowly nodded his head. "Levi?"

"I have a vacant room in my building. She'll be staying at the one next to mine." Levi answered.

I looked at my Captain, wide eyed at what he just said. He's making me live in a vacant room next to his!? I'm going to be living with Levi?

"A spare room in your building?" Erwin questioned.

"Yes." He answered. "No one uses it. Alice would be the perfect person to live there."

"Eh!?" A slight shriek escaped my lips as I felt my face getting hot and red.

Erwin looked at me, then at Levi. At first, he seemed as if he was confused at my sudden shriek but then remained his stoic expression. "I see. Take Alice to her new home. We are holding a meeting tonight. So go and get some rest."

With that, Levi and I saluted towards our Commander and escorted ourselves out of Headquarters.

"This is your room." Levi said as he whipped out a key and unlocked the door.

The building wasn't too far from Headquarters which makes travelling a lot easier. Knowing that my new room is right next to Levi's my heart thumped faster as I entered the vicinity.

The room was too small or big. It was just the right size for one person, exactly as how Levi mentioned earlier. There was a decent sized window with a nice view of the inner Wall Sina. There was also a bookshelf filled with books on the military, titans, and more. Near the window, there was a small couch and a queen sized bed.

"This room is really nice Levi." I said, smiling towards my squad leader with a hint of blush across my cheeks.

Levi fixed up the ascot on his collar, trying not to acknowledge the smile I've just given him. "You're just lucky that I never bothered to rent out this room to anyone. It'll be hassle if they make this place filthy."

Putting my hands behind my back, I decided to ask him a question. "What made you decide to let me have this room?"

His eyes met mine and he just stared at me for a long minute. I wanted to look away but I couldn't. I was lost in his dull blue eyes and I couldn't help but to blush tremendously.

"That's because you're not a filthy person. I know that you're a very responsible person. That's why I'm willing to give you this room, rent-free." He answered bluntly.

A wide grin flashed across my face as feelings of joy filled up my chest. "T-Thank you very much Levi Heichou!" I shouted while saluting towards him. "I really appreciate you doing this for me."

"Don't mention it." Levi said as he tossed me the key. "You deserve to be happy."

My cheeks got hot in no time. Did Levi just said that I deserve to be happy? Why would he say that?

"I-I see..." I whispered, feeling a bit shy from his kind words.

Levi continued to stare at me but then diverted his eyes towards a door that's next to the bookshelf. "By the way." He started speaking. "I forgot to mention one important thing about living in this room."

"And what's the important thing?" I asked.

He placed his hand on the doorknob and opened it. Inside was a plain bathroom, spotless clean from top to bottom. Just across from the bathroom was yet another door. I wonder where that door leads to.

"This bathroom is linked to my room as well. We'll be sharing the same bathroom."

My head started spinning after I heard Levi say that. We're going to share bathrooms!? Me. Levi. Same bathroom.

"W-What? R-Really? W-We have to share the r-restroom?..." I stuttered.

Levi let out a sigh and spoke sarcastically. "Don't worry I don't take long showers and I won't hog up all the hot water."

I violently shook my head and waved my hands around. "I-I'm sorry Levi. I didn't mean to offend you!" I lowered my head and bowed towards him. "I was just caught off guard when you mentioned that we have to share the restroom. It's no big deal for me sir!"

I'm not sure if I heard it right, but I could've sworn I heard a slight chuckle coming from Levi. I lifted my head to look at him but all I saw was his stoic expression. All I did was smile at him sheepishly. "Once again, thank you Captain. I really appreciate it." Just then, a yawned escaped from me and I let it out.

"You should get some rest. You've been through a rough morning." Levi spoke. "Take a quick nap and I'll let you know when we're headed for our meeting tonight."

With that, Levi entered his room through the bathroom door and locked it. I did the same and plopped down on my new bed. The mattress was extremely comfortable and I can just sink into it without any problem.

As I continue to lay on the bed, I let my heavy set eyes fall and allowed sleep to take over.