Jean I

When Eren fell, Jean once again felt that overwhelming feeling that none of them were going to leave Trost alive. Though Mikasa had managed to tear Eren from his mangled Titan corpse before the other Titans could reach him, the effort had probably only prolonged his death. A cruel choice, Jean couldn't help but think.

"Jean!" Armin's voice sounded off from his left. A string of curses involuntarily flew from his mouth as he barely managed to maneuvered around a meaty, outstretched Titan hand.

Before even a breath of relief could escape his lips, he felt a tug on his 3DM Gear-more specifically, his cable- and careened straight into the window of one of the passing houses.

Glass showered the wooden floorboards, as Jean tumbled into the home.

"Damn it." He hissed as he struggled to rise to his feet, bits of broken glass digging into his palms.

A shadow fell across the broken window frame.

Jean froze, as he stared into the humanoid face of the Titan he had failed to avoid. Rage and irritation at being so easily caught overwhelmed any fear he felt.

"What?" He snarled, unsheathing his blades as he stood. "You wanna piece of me, you bastard?"

The only reply was whistling of metal on metal, and a spinning flash of silver, and then the Titan's face disappeared from view as he crumbled to the ground

A shadow gracefully slid through the window. A dark, short shadow.

"You brat." Came the predictable words from Captain Levi; Humanity's Strongest Soldier, his squad leader, and a general clean freak.

"What's got you so distracted, that you have failed to notice that your fellow soldiers need your help defending the breach?" The loathing in Levi's eyes- likely from his incompetence to pay attention- was not unexpected.

"Permission to speak, sir?" Jean said, meeting Levi's gaze the best he could. Levi, looked at him, shadows covering his eyes. He continued, taking that as good as a sign as any.

"With Eren out of commission and the numbers that are getting through that hole, I honestly don't know how we'll manage to pull this off." His voice was growing louder and louder. "We need help!"

Levi was unwavered.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Kirstein, help is not coming. We are on our own." Levi gazed back out the broken window. "The inner rings have already written this place off." Of course.

Jean glared at the ground, thinking back to how much he wanted to be part of the Military Police in the inner rings. What jokes.

"Who's there?" A small voice called out curiously from deeper within the house.

Jean's head snapped up, and he looked over his shoulder into the darkness, flabbergasted. Without looking at Levi, he walked further into the house.

"Oh dear, what happened to you?" The words came from a young girl who sat next to a roaring fireplace, dutifully tending the flames with a poker. Her expression was calm; concern flickering in her warm, ancient, amber eyes. Levi strode up next to him.

"Damn." He muttered as he caught sight of the child. "A civilian. I thought Commander Pixis had his men evacuate them all."

"So, what are we going to do?" Jean scratched the back of his head and looked up at the ceiling, stumped. "We can't exactly carry her back on our 3DM Gear..." Could we? Jean spun around and told Levi his idea.

The girl was still watching the two without a bit of distress, as if she was unaware
of the man-eating Titans on the loose outside her home. Where's her parents? Jean thought of his mother- his wonderful, kind mother. How destroyed she would have been losing him. How terrified he would have been being separated from her, alone, surrounded by Titans.

"It's worth a try." Jean said firmly, when Levi's silence had became almost uncomfortable. As if he was waiting for him to make a choice. He walked over to the little girl and held out a hand.

"Kid, come with us if you want to live."

(Pilot Chapter Guys. Let me know what you think!)

Also this chapter goes out to my old friend Aconite's Nightmare!