-Chapter 5: A Golden Streak in the Sky-

Somewhere in the alleyways of the Shiganshina District

"Eren slow down!" Shouted Mikasa as her brother continued to run through the streets. However, the boy did not listen as his thoughts were still on the strange man that returned with the scouts.

"I still can't believe it! A person outside the walls living out there, with them! Probably not even scared of those giant freaks! I bet he's seen so much outside the walls too! Ohhhh I gotta tell Ar-" His thoughts were interrupted as he lost his footing, and poor Eren was sent tumbling down, and the firewood he had gathered was sent flying in multiple directions.

"Eren!" Mikasa exclaimed as she picked up her pace to help her brother up, only to smack the back of his head after he dusted himself off.

"Ow! What the heck was that for?!" Eren shouted as he glared at his sister, nursing his now aching head. Mikasa only gave the boy a stern glare in response.

"Watch your step." She said sharply. Their staring contest continued until Eren noticed the scattered sticks around them.

"Aw geez, there's firewood everywhere! Help me Mikasa!" Eren exclaimed as he frantically picked up the sticks. Mikasa only stared at the boy before asking him a simple question.

"Eren…Have your feelings for the Survey Corps changed?" She asked. Eren stopped and gave her a confused look before it turned sterner.

"No…If anything, they're greater than before." He said simply as a determined smile formed on his face. Mikasa was rather surprised by his smile as she had expected a more upset response from him. They stared at one another for another few seconds before the boy turned around to recover the scattered sticks.

"Come on, help me pick these up so we can get home." Eren said. His sister only responding with a mild huff as she helped her sibling. "Not like you got much to begin with..."

"Yeah...WAIT, WHAT? HEY!"

-oOo-

Meanwhile, in the streets of the Shiganshina District,

The Survey Corps had continued on their trek across the district towards their current headquarters near the interior gate, with their newest edition following along. Many of the townsfolk who were not part of the initial welcome party stopped whatever they were doing and gawked at the 7 foot-tall, marked man. Maverick didn't seem to mind the curious and awed looks, for he had long since grown used to such looks. As he caught the eyes of a group of women, he decided to have some fun with the new residents of this walled land.

As he passed them, he puffed out his chest and offered the women one of his charming smiles and a wave, which was met with their squealing voices and blushing faces, as well as one of them fainting on the spot. He chuckled as some of the onlookers quickly rushed to help the awestruck woman.

The scouts who glanced back at the scene were left both surprised and flustered by the man's actions, none more than the senior veterans of the regiment.

"Look at him, walking among us so calm and natural, certainly knows how to handle himself with a crowd, wouldn't you say Erwin?". Hange asked her fellow comrade. Erwin looked to her before offering a small nod in response.

"Indeed, despite his supernatural appearance." He continued to glance at the man, trying his best not to stare directly into his glowing eyes, or at his nether regions. Instead, he focused on the markings that held a faint glow, and the multitude of shapes and swirls that decorated his skin.

"~Supernatural…yes, a perfect word to describe him.~" She said. Erwin merely nodded as the bespectacled woman continued. "So many questions, can't wait to have a word with him, all alone." She continued to stare at the man top to bottom, all with a blushing face and fogged up goggles.

Erwin could only let out a sigh at his comrade's behavior, as he turned to another of his fellow scout veterans. "Miche, anything to add about our new friend?" Erwin asked the tall scout.

Miche Zacharius, a fellow comrade, gifted with an acute sense of smell, merely offered Erwin a sideways glance as he lightly sniffled.

"His smell is something else." Miche told his long-time comrade with a rather flat tone.

"Something else?" Erwin questioned.

"It's something...foreign, it was faint at first cause of all the titans, but it grew stronger as he got closer to our location, then it practically overpowered the titans scent. Like I said, it's something entirely new." Miche then turned forward, saying all he wanted to say. Erwin could only look in surprise as he looked back at the marked man one last time, before turning forward on his horse.

'A foreign scent...Just who are you, Maverick?' The captain was brought out of his stupor as he heard Keith speak towards the regiment.

"Alright we'll split up here. Our wounded will head towards the interior for care, the rest of us will head back to headquarters. You will join us, as we'll pick up where we left off back in the forest, sound reasonable?" Shadis said as he looked towards their newest arrival. Maverick gave the man an understanding look.

"Of course." He replied. Keith nodded as he trotted his horse forward. Before he followed suit the marked man turned to say his farewells to the young scout and his mother.

"Well, it's been a pleasure meeting both of you, do hope you recover soon Moses." He spoke. Moses offered the man a nod as his mother held her hands together in a form of prayer as she said her thanks to the large man one last time. As the cart left, Maverick realized he was still wearing the scouts' cloak and yelled out to him.

"Oi, still got your cape!" He yelled as he raised the green fabric in his hand.

"Keep it. You still need it more than me!" Moses replied with a small wave. As the cart trailed off Maverick looked down at himself and chuckled, then looked back to the remaining scouts, who were now eyeing him with a multitude of expressions. As he walked forward the group of scouts formed around him in a circular formation, completely surrounding him. If this brought him any nervousness, he didn't show it, as he simply gestured for the commander to lead on. The regiment moved forwards, now in a large circle as if attempting to hide the marked man. He found this rather amusing as he was sure that almost half of the district's population had seen him, no real point in trying to hide him now.

About a couple minutes into their journey, one of the scouts rode closer to Maverick, trying to be inconspicuous about it. He glanced at her as she whistled a tune, trying to sneak a glance through her goggles. Her plan failed almost immediately as the two locked eyes with one another, earning Maverick a surprised "EEP!" from the woman. He gave the scout a disarming smile as he spoke to her.

"Why you trying to act all sneaky like, hmmm?" Maverick asked the woman in a joking manner. This seemed to ease her as she readjusted her googles.

"I figured you would like some friendly company for the remainder of our trip. That's all." She responded. She turned her head to meet the man face-to-face, and to get a better look at his marked features. She noticed that there were smaller symbols around his body, as well as what seemed to be writing of sorts inscribed into the markings themselves. Questions best saved for later, until she could examine him properly.

"Very thoughtful of you miss …." He stopped as if waiting for the woman to finish his sentence. She quickly realized what he trying to do and introduced herself to the warrior proper.

"Oh! It's Hange. Hange Zoë." She replied with an outstretched hand. He took the smaller hand and performed the universal greeting. The moment their hands touched something inside the titan maniac's brain went off, however she didn't let it show as she kept her smile, albeit a bit forced.

"Hange….odd name you got." He spoke. However, the woman didn't seem to hear him as she stared at the hand she shook with. "Oh, was my grip too hard? Sorry." He quickly apologized.

"W-Wha? No, no…it just that-" Her thought was interrupted as a voice spoke.

"Oi, pick up the pace, this isn't social hour." Came the voice of Levi as he looked back to the two with narrowed eyes, well narrower than they usually were.

"Oh joy...another moody one." Maverick spoke in a quite tone. Hange managed to hear what he said and gave a sly smile.

"Pshhh, don't mind him he's always like that." Was her response. "But he's right, I'm sure we'll get better acquainted when we reach HQ, and I do hope we can get along without any problems." She said as she leaned closer to the man's face, her eyes wide like saucers, as if she was trying to psyche the man out. Maverick merely huffed in response.

"Likewise." He said with a smirk. Hange smiled in response, satisfied with his answer, and returned to her spot in the circle. As she did, she looked back to the hand she shook with, more specifically the fingers that touched the man's markings. The moment they touched there was something, a sort of tingly feeling, that sent a jolt down her spine.

"Squad Leader, are you alright?" Moblit asked, concerned as she continued to stare at her hand. "D-Did he crush you hand?" His voice began to rise in panic.

"No, no. Everything's fine Moblit, just a…tingly feeling in my fingers. That's all." She reassured him. She looked forward and saw the scout's headquarters come into view.

'That power, we'd truly be fools to make him an enemy.' She thought as they reached her destination.

-oOo-

Inside the plaza of Survey Corps Headquarters

Survey Corps Headquarters. After the loss of their previous HQ outside Wall Maria this location had been their current/temporary base of operations. A large installation near the interior gate, capable of housing and supporting the general necessities of the scouts. As the group arrived Hange got off her horse to welcome Maverick.

"Well, here we are, SC Headquarters." She said as she approached the large man. Maverick looked around the building, the architecture reminding him of and old college he attended long ago.

"Nice little setup you got here…" he said, inspecting the buildings and the surrounding area with approval. Hange clasped her hands together to get the goliaths' attention.

"Well let's not waste any time, if you'll just follow me…" Hange said with a sly smile, her hands moving in a 'come closer' gesture.

"Hold it." Came the voice of the small statured scout, followed by a much taller blonde scout who chose to stay silent.

"Can't have you going inside with that club. Drop it." He said, as if talking to a misbehaving canine.

Maverick narrowed his eyes for a moment before a mischievous smile formed on his face.

"But of course." He said as he held his hand out, dropping the weapon on its spiked head. As it landed the morning star dug itself into the ground, causing the scouts to drop their jaws at the small crater that formed around the weapon, just how heavy was it? And what kind of strength did this strange man have to lift such a thing?

"W-Well head to my office for now, come on." Keith said as he headed towards the main building, with Maverick and the senior scouts in tow, while trying to process what he just saw.

-oOo-

Outside of the Yeager Household

"Mom, Dad, were home!" Eren shouted as he kicked the door to his home wide open, scaring the daylights out of both his parents. Eren's mother nearly dropped the plate she was cleaning, while his father jumped from his seat nearly dropping his bag. The boy ran inside the house with Mikasa followed shortly after, calmly and carefully closing the door behind her.

"Eren! My goodness what's wrong?!" Carla Yeager exclaimed as she held her hand over her rapidly beating heart, while still holding on to the plate.

"What gotten into you boy?" Grisha Yeager asked as he recovered from his shock. Their son quickly opened a box and dumped all the firewood he had gathered before responding with an excited tone.

"You guys won't believe what we saw today! When we went to go see the scouts-" The boy spoke before being interrupted.

"Eren, we've talked about this before." Carla said in a stern tone. She had spoken at length to the boy about the constant dangers that came with the Survey Corps, of their many failures, of their high death rates, all in an effort to dissuade her child from even thinking of joining their ranks. However, her warnings only seemed to excite and inspire the boy.

"No listen! We saw them come back today with someone new! They found someone living outside the walls!" Eren said. That certainly caught both parents' attention as they stared at their son wide eyed for a few seconds before Carla responded to her child's claims.

"O-Outside the walls?" His mother asked while Eren's father simply stared at the boy, completely frozen stiff.

"Yeah! He looked like he could take on any titan, he even saved one of the scouts!" Eren replied with childish zeal.

"R-Really now?" She replied as questions began to arise in her head. Someone from beyond the walls? This was certainly a surprise, not since her husband had there been any reports of others outside the walls. Was this newcomer from an outside community? Did her Grisha hail from said community? She decided to entertain her son through some further questions, only for her husband to beat her to it.

"What did this man look like exactly Eren? Any discerning features?" Grisha asked.

"Y-yeah, he was really tall, and he had all these tattoos on his body, a-and they were glowing! His eyes too, they were glowing too! A-And he was carrying this giant spiked ball on a stick, it looked really heavy!" Eren said in a rapid pace, surprising his parents a second time with the man's description. Sounded more like a character from one of Eren's story books than an actual human being.

"G-Glowing eyes?" Grisha said as he stared at his son, unsure if his son was really telling the truth.

"It's true, a lot of people gathered at the outer gate saw him too…" Came the quiet confirmation from Mikasa. Both parents raised their brows, surprised that even Mikasa was confirming their sons claims.

"I-I see" Was Gisha's only response as he his retreated into his own thoughts. The only thing on his mind right now being two specific things.

Glowing eyes

Glowing tattoos

While he was lost in his own thoughts, the conversation between the mother and son got a bit more heated as Mikasa let it slip that Eren wanted to join the Survey Corps.

"Absolutely not Eren! Haven't you listened to everything I said about the Scouts?!" Carla exclaimed with a panicked expression, as if her worst fears had come to life.

"Y-Yeah I know, but didn't you hear what I said? The scouts found someone out there! They made progress! Maybe next time they'll find more, maybe even an entire group of people taking the fight to the titans!" Eren said back, only causing his mother to sigh in exasperation.

"Yes, they found someone Eren, only one! Out of all the expeditions they've done throughout the years, all they have to show for it is one single outsider! How many more people will have to be eaten, hmmm? Do you think all those who've died are happy about it?!" Carla questioned.

"Yes! It means that humanity hasn't been completely wiped out. It means that their deaths weren't in vain!" Eren shouted as the room went silent. It was at that moment that Grisha spoke to his son.

"Eren...why are you so adamant about going outside the walls, despite knowing the dangers?" His father asked him. Eren looked at his father with mild surprise, before he hardened his face and gave his father a clear answer.

"I'm not stupid, I know it dangerous out there, I've always known. But it has to be better out there than wasting our lives cooped up in these walls! The people living here are ignorant of what's going on outside. How long can this life go on before the titans finally decide to bust down the walls and end humanity! Were like caged animals just sitting here, getting nice and fat, ready to be slaughtered!" Eren spoke with zeal as he continued on uninterrupted.

"That man the scouts found? He's proof! Proof that there are others out there in the world who haven't given in to the titans, who are still fighting on! That should be an example of what all of humanity should be doing, fighting on, despite the odds!" As Eren finished his little speech Grisha simply gave his son an intrigued look.

"Hmmm…I see…" Grisha said simply, not offering any rebuttal, before he stood from his chair and grabbed his bag of medical necessities.

"Well, I've got to get going, the boats are going to be leaving soon, and I'd rather not keep my patients waiting." He said as he made his way to the front door, only to be stopped at the door by Carlas' voice.

"Honey wait! Please talk some sense into the boy!" Carla exclaimed, hoping that her husband would set the boy straight.

"Come now Carla, the boy has a fire lit inside him. Anything I say won't matter, you can't hold back an inquisitive mind…especially a child's." His father said in a slightly joking manner, a rare thing for him to do. Eren puffed his cheeks as they blushed, while Mikasa gave a soft giggle as the tension somewhat lifted in the household. Grisha looked to his son as he took something out of his person.

"Say Eren, when I get home today, why don't I show you what I've been keeping in the basement." He said as he took out a key wrapped around his neck. Eren's eyes immediately lit as the key reflected in the light.

"R-Really, you mean it?" Eren asked with his childlike wonderment.

"Mhmm, but you've got to be on your best behavior while I'm gone, can you do that?" His father asked.

Eren head nodded up and down rapidly and puffed out his chest. "Yes sir!" He replied.

"Good." Was all that Grisha said as he waved his family goodbye and set off towards the boats that would carry him towards the interior. As soon as she saw her husband leave, Carla turned to her son.

"Eren, I won't let yo- hey, w-where are you going?!" Before she could get the last word Eren took off, running towards the town.

"Gotta go find Armin, gotta tell him about the giant glowing man, I'll see you later!" Was the boys reply as he continued to run. Carla could only look on as she and Mikasa watched Eren's figure disappear into an alleyway.

'That boy will be the death of me.' She thought, she crouched down to Mikasa to speak with the young girl at eye level. "Mikasa, trouble will find that boy wherever he goes, promise me that you'll watch his back, can you do that sweetheart." She said in a sweet voice.

Mikasa, aware to the subtle manipulation, still gave her mother figure a determined nod and ran off after the boy.

-oOo-

Canals, Shiganshina District

After saving the young Armin from some local town bullies and making sure he was alright, the trio went to a more peaceful local, that being the canal system in the district. There Eren began to tell the young blonde about the afternoon events, of the scouts return, and of the discovery they made that was becoming the talk of the town. That being of the man from beyond the walls. This seemed to brighten up the boy's mood as if the harassment he had received earlier didn't happen at all, as he fired off a barrage of questions as Eren tried his best to answer them.

"W-What did he look like?"

"He was really big and tall, muscles and all, and he had all these glowing tattoos around his body!"

"G-Glowing?"

"Yeah glowing, his eyes too, they were glowing too!"

"A-are you serious Eren, you're not just pulling my leg, are you?"

"I'm serious! A lot of people were there too. Oh, you should have seen the weapon he was holding."

"What was it?"

"A big spikey ball on a stick, it looked really heavy, but he was carrying it with one hand easy."

"Spikey ball, on a stick? Oh, you mean like a mace?"

"Mace?"

"A weapon from the old days. I read about it in one of my books."

"A mace huh? Sounds pretty tough, bet he's smashed hundreds of titans with that thing."

Mikasa looked on unable to get a word in, she didn't mind however as she let the boys enjoy their rare moment of joy.

"Do you think he knows about what lies out there?" Armin suddenly asked. "Hmmm, about what?" Eren asked.

"About the rivers of fire, the oceans of salt, the frozen tundras, or the hills of sand?" Armin stared of into space lost in his own thoughts. He was soon brought out of his funk when he was nudged on his shoulder, pain from the previous events returning.

"S-Sorry but you kinda spaced out." Eren said. "Anyways, I don't know, maybe? I didn't get to talk to him cause he was following the Scouts."

"Hmmm kinda wonder how the government will react to him." Armin muttered.

"What do you mean?" Eren asked the small blonde.

"I mean, government policy says that having an interest in the outside is considered taboo, how do you think they'll feel about someone from the outside coming in, especially with how you said he looked."

"You saying they might get rid of him? Throw him out?!" Eren's voice grew louder.

"Maybe, they might see him as a bad omen and push to kick him out, keep the peace as long as possible. I mean we've been at peace for 100 years, why rock the boat you know." As they continued their conversation, they didn't notice the wind suddenly stopping, as if time suddenly stopped, until…

*KRRRRACK*

*BOOOOM*

Suddenly without any warning, a golden streak of lightning shot down, followed by a deafening and thunderous explosion, lifting the trio up a few feet into the air. After their rough decent the trio quickly recuperated themselves and questioned what just occurred.

"The hell was that, an earthquake?" Eren looked around and quickly noticed a group of people gathered around and pointing at something, something near the outer wall. He also heard a distinct clanging sound, turning around he saw a shop sign rattling around as the wind picked up. As he looked on, he noticed Armin going towards the people.

"Come on let's go and check it out!" Eren and Mikasa followed their friend as he raced towards the gathered townsfolk. They soon saw Armin looking up towards the wall, his eyes widening and his face turning white.

"Armin w-what's wrong, what are you looking at?" Eren reluctantly asked, as he began to dread the answer. As he turned to look his fears were confirmed.

Smoke and steam began to rise high above the outer wall, as if something went off.

A large red hand reached out to grab the top of the wall, cracks forming around the fingers as they sunk in.

It revealed itself as it rose high above the wall to show its gruesome face. A face with no skin, only muscle and bone.

It looked down upon the people of Shiganshina with sunken and uncaring eyes.

It was a titan, quite possibly the largest in known history.

"I-Impossible that wall is over 50 meters tall!" Armin shouted in disbelief, tears forming in his eyes. Silence followed for what seemed like minutes, until suddenly the outer gate was blown open and ruble and debris went flying in all directions towards the district and its inhabitants.

On this day humanity was reminded...

Of the terror...

Of living under them...

Of the shame...

Of being kept like cattle...

Ready for the slaughter...

AN: Here we are at the pivotal moment of this story. The breach of Shiganshina. How will our hero react in the face of this chaos? Will he run or will he fight? I think you all know the answer, I certainly do.