~This first chapter has been revised/re-written for improvement purposes.~

My apologies for any grammar or spelling errors you've come across.

All credit goes to Hajime Isayama for creating such a wonderful Anime!

Hope ya'll enjoy reading!

"Live! Live! Please be alive!"

I shouted while performing chest compression to a fallen soldier that was attacked by a titan.

We, the Survey Corps, were out on an expedition outside of the walls. This just so happened to be my very first expedition outside the Walls since I joined the Scout Regiment about three months ago. I was just a cadet at the time, graduated as Number One and decided to join the Survey Corps instead of the Military Police. Surprisingly, Commander Erwin has placed me under Captain Levi's Special Operations Squad due to the fact that he was impressed with my skills. It was such an honor to be placed in this squad. Being surrounded by my squad, I'm practically the youngest being only Twenty years old. According to my squad mates, they all claimed that I'm a prodigy like Captain Levi.

"Don't die on me dammit!" I yelled once more as I applied more chest compression on the soldier's chest.

Unfortunately, I wasn't getting any response from him and I just kept adding pressure onto his bloody chest.

"Arlet." Levi called out as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "He's dead. You can stop now."

My name is Alice Arlet and this is the first time someone has died in my arms.

"I'm so sorry." Were the words I could muster up as tears streamed down my face and I saluted towards the corpse.

I could feel my hands trembling and my heart pounding endlessly. This is how it feels when you lose a fellow soldier in battle. How awful.

"You did good Arlet. All we can do is to stay alive. No matter what."

I stood up and faced my Captain. Levi Ackerman. The short, black haired, intimidating Captain whom the entire squad respects. Despite the fact that I've only met him three months ago, I've actually fallen in love with him.

I don't even care if he doesn't return my feelings. I'm content just being around him and being his loyal squad member. Just having him around always motivates me to work harder and do the best I can to protect humanity.

"Heichou! Alice!" Petra called out as she landed from her mobility gear and stood next to us. "Commander Erwin gave the sign to retreat."

Levi and I gazed at the sky and noticed the blue flare. I could hear him click his tongue in annoyance. "Tch. We didn't even make it that far."

He was right. We just left Wall Maria about two hours ago and yet, many soldiers have either died or faced critical injuries.

"Where's everyone else?" I questioned Petra.

"Right here." A voiced called from behind.

Levi, Petra and I turned around to see Eld, Gunther and Bozado walking towards us. They regrouped with us as we all watched the blue smoke fade into the sky.

"Pft. Can't believe we're turning back this early." Bozado complained as he crossed his arms.

"No complaints." Eld said sternly. "We do whatever it is we're told."

Bozado tried to click his tongue but ended up biting it. "Ouch!"

"Oi. Gather up your horses. We're leave with Commander Erwin." Captain Levi said as he started walking ahead.

"Yes sir!" We all shouted and did as we were told.

Once we entered the gates of Wall Maria, we walked through the District of Shinganshina and all eyes were on us Scout Regiments. They were the look of happiness and pride I thought we would get, each citizen were giving us the look of sadness, disappointment and anger. There were even loud whispers among the crowds and they were not words of praises.

I couldn't help but to frown at the sight of the citizens. They shouldn't give us those looks. They don't even know what it looks like outside those walls. It's tough being out there. I learned it the hard way.

"Don't frown Alice." Petra said, walking her with horse beside me. "We tried our best and it's just an outcome that we have to face."

I looked at Petra, a frown still shown on my face. "I'm just a bit discouraged from this expedition. I guess I'm just overwhelmed."

"Hey, cheer up kiddo." Gunther said as he, Eld and Bozado joined the conversation. "It's best to ignore what they say."

"Yeah." Bozado chimed in. "They usually say a lot of selfish. Can't say I blame them."

I turned towards Eld, he stayed silent. and only just looked at me. My attention went back at the disappointing faces. I lowered my head and let out a heavy sigh. They're right. I shouldn't let this get to me. I joined the Survey Corps to save humanity. Even if it means being able to protect the most selfish people out there.

"Thanks guys." I said quietly, raising my head and giving a slight smile towards them. I'm grateful to consider my comrades as 'friends'. Even after knowing them for a such a short period of time. I'm glad that I bonded with them pretty well.

I looked back at the crowd and made eye contact with a certain young brother of mine who always gives me a welcoming smile. He stood in the crowd with his two best friends, a young boy named Eren and his adoptive sister, Mikasa, whom are also a family friend of mine.

As I looked at my litter brother, Armin, he gave me a warm smile and waved. I couldn't help but to wave back at him while Mikasa and Eren watched the Survey Corps walk past them.

"Is that your little brother?" I heard Petra ask.

"Yeah. His name is Armin."

"What an adorable kid." She complimented while I chuckled at her comment.

Armin's the only family I got. Our parents died a long time ago from natural causes and Armin lived with our Grandma when I attended the academy. Unfortunately, Grandma had passed on due to old age when I graduated from the academy. Now, Armin and I only have each other left. Eren's parents were good friends with mine and they always had their doors open for the two of us to come by whenever we're lonely. I will be forever grateful to Carla and Grisha Jaeger. Same goes for Eren and Mikasa. They always protect Armin from bullies whenever I'm not around and I'm blessed to have caring people in our lives.

Back at the stables near headquarters, my comrades and I were unsaddling our horses while the other soldiers were carrying corpses out of the wagon to prepare for the memorials.

"We keep losing soldiers." Gunther said sadly.

"I know." Petra replied quietly.

I let out a heavy sigh and petted my horses nose. "You did good Artemis." I lightly kissed Artemis's nose as she neighed quietly.

We all continued to put our things away in silence as the thought of the fallen soldier came across my mind. Being outside the Walls for the first time was the most intimidating thing I've been through, despite the intense training back at the academy. We were travelling through flat grounds which gave a disadvantage to our devices. Unfortunately, some of us were attacked by titans and I tried my best to save them.

"Alice." Eld called out to me as I turned to him. "This was your first expedition. I know it's not easy but it's something you'll have to get use to. This is what you signed up for and it's what we're going to be doing for a living. All I can say is to be prepared and don't die on us. You are in the Special Operations Squad after all."

I continued to look at Eld and gave out a slight frown. Guess I got lectured for feeling so down by Eld.

"A little harsh ain't it Eld?" Bozado said as he blew raspberries with his tongue and proceeded to bite it.

"Hm?" Eld looked at Bozado in confusion.

"You're so mean Eld!" Petra shouted.

"Eh?" He proceed to look at Petra in confusion. "How am I mean?"

"It is her first expedition after all. Give the kid the break." Gunther said.

"Hey!" I shouted. "I'm not a kid."

Gunther let out a slight chuckled and patted my head. "Sorry about that kiddo." I stuck my tongue out at him as he let out another chuckle.

Eld cleared his throat and then looked at me. "I didn't mean to be harsh on you Alice."

I turned my frown into a smile and accepted Eld's apology. "Don't worry about it Eld. I'll be more cautious on our next expedition."

"You know, on Olou and Petra's first expedition, they peed their pants." He said, looking at our two mortified friends.

My eyes grew wide as I stared at them as well. "You guys peed yourselves!?" I couldn't help but to laugh at Elds' comment. Gunther chimed in on the laughter as well as Eld while Bozado and Petra kept their mortified look on their faces.

"S-Shut up Eld!" Bozado said as his face turned red.

"No fair! You didn't have to tell Alice about that!" Petra yelled as she lightly slapped Eld's shoulder.

The three of us continued laughing for another minute until we were approached by Captain Levi.

"Oi. What's all the ruckus about?" Levi said, eyeing the five of us.

We all quickly shut our mouths and saluted towards our Captain. "N-Nothing Levi! We were just joking around." I said, smiling towards him. Levi just eyed me for a couple seconds which made my cheeks feel hot and heart thumping like crazy. "All of you, go home. Get some rest." Was all Levi said and then he left the stables.

"Yes sir!" The five of us saluted towards Levi once more and then lowered our arms.

"I guess it's time I see my father. Farewell guys." Petra said as she headed out.

"I should go check on my wife. See how she's feeling." Eld said.

"Be sure to say hi to her from all of us." Gunther said.

"Make sure she's eating and taking good care of herself. I wouldn't want anything bad happen to your unborn child." I added with a smile.

Eld nodded his head and then headed out.

"Let's go Olou. Time to see our families." Gunther said as he swung an arm around Bozado and started dragging the man out.

"Ugh. You're troublesome." Bozado said as the two left the stables.

I finished brushing Artemis's nose and placed all my belongings away. "See you later Artemis." I said while locking up the stables.

Walking through my hometown of Shinganshina District, I see young children running around and adults having normal conversations. I smiled at the sight of our citizens. These are the people I'm fighting for. I will do whatever I can to ensure that humanity will not be wiped out by titans.

"Oh? That you Alice?"

Just up ahead in a quiet alley, there was a Garrison Regiment squad hanging around. Most likely drinking while on duty again. The person that called out to me is actually the Captain of this specific squad, Hannes. He's actually a good friend of mine since I met him during my academy days.

"Hello Hannes." I greeted the drunkard as the two of us approached each other.

"It's so great to see you Alice." He slurred his words and was walking a bit wobbly.

The moment I smelled the stench of alcohol, I quickly pinched my nose and fanned the air with my hand. "Hannes! You reek of alcohol!" He responded by giving me his drunk smile and I shook my head. "You're drunk as well." I moved my hand from my nose and held my hands to my hip. "You know Hannes, we're not supposed to drink while on duty."

"Sorry Alice!" Hannes spoke as he took a sip from his beverage. "We're just taking a little break you know."

I let out a heavy sigh and lightly poked Hannes' head in which he immediately fell to the ground. "What would you do if Eren, Mikasa or Armin saw you like this again? Don't you think you're going to end up being a bad influence to the kiddos?"

"I know! I know!" Hannes said as he held his arms up in defeat. His face was completely red and I could still smell the stench of alcohol from the ground. In the end, I helped Hannes up as he struggled to maintain his balance. Suddenly, the two of us were approached by Hannes' comrades.

"Hannes!" One of them called out to the drunk Captain. "This yer girlfriend?"

"She's cute neh?" Another guy said as he leaned in a bit to take a closer look at my face.

I pinched my nose again due to the overwhelming smell of alcohol and tried my best to back away.

"Hey! Do you wanna go out with me little Miss?" A third guy asked as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

I placed my palm to my forehead and sighed. "Sorry guys. I'm not interested."

"Why not? You already got a man or something?" Said the first guy.

I felt my cheeks getting hot for a brief second since the thought of Levi came across my mind. "N-No...I don't..."

The third guy removed his hand from my shoulder and sipped his beverage. "Then why not? I won't bite."

"Oi! I had dibs on her first!" Shouted the second soldier. Eventually, the three men began bickering with each other until Hannes stepped forward and stood in between me and the three men.

"That's enough!" Hannes shouted. "Stay away from Alice!"

All of us stood there and stared at Hannes, wide eyed. "C-Captain?" One of them spoke quietly.

"She is off limits! Alice is not to be messed with! Do I make myself clear!?"

His comrades nodded their heads, apologized to me in unison and ran back to their spots in the quiet alley. Even though Hannes can be a complete goof and drunk, he is pretty protective of me. Same goes for the kids, he looks after the three of them as well which definitely takes off the stress and worry I have on them. Especially for Armin's sake.

"Thanks Hannes." I said with a smile as he turned to face towards me.

"Remember Alice, I always got your back. Same motto when I saw you as a mere cadet." He spoke with a wide grin on his face.

My eyebrow twitched at the smell of alcohol from his breath but I managed to ignore it and returned the grin with a wider smile. "Well, I gotta head home. Armin's probably waiting for me."

"Okay Alice. Oh and welcome back from your first expedition. You're a brave kid." Hannes said as he saluted.

I returned the salute and waved goodbye at my good friend.

"I'm home Armin!" I shouted as I entered my home and was greeted with a vacant home. "Armin?" I checked through each room and our small backyard but Armin was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he went to Eren's home after seeing us return from our expedition. I guess I should change to my normal clothes and head over to the Jaeger residence. With that, I changed my clothes and made my way towards Eren's home.

Once I arrived there, I could distinctly hear laughter coming from inside. Among those laughter, I could hear Armin's as well. There you are little brother.

I lightly knocked on the door and was greeted by Grisha. "Hello Grisha." I greeted him with a smile.

"Hello Alice." He said with a warm smile. "Come inside. I'm sure you already had a feeling Armin was here."

"I figured since I came home to an empty household." I jokingly said as Grisha stepped aside and I entered the home.

I walked towards the dining table to see Armin, Eren and Mikasa having their little discussion. "I'm home guys." I greeted the three of them with a grin.

"Sis!" Armin shouted in excitement. "Welcome home!" He hopped off his seat as I pulled him to a hug.

"How's my little brother doing?" I said while ruffling his hair. "Good." He answered.

"Oh my. It's good to see you Alice." Carla said, coming out from the kitchen. "Would you like to help me cook?"

"Sure!" I said in joy and assisted Carla for dinner.

Once everything was prepared, we all gathered around the table and had our meals. Carla, Grisha and I were mainly the ones talking while the kids were listening in on our conversations. As soon as our laughter died down, Eren asked a question that I knew he'd ask.

"So Alice, how was your expedition? What does it look like outside the Walls? Did you see what those titans look like?" He asked with such enthusiasm.

Grisha cleared his throat to stop Eren from asking more questions. "Now Eren, let's not bother Alice about her job. She's probably overwhelmed and tired after today."

"Oh don't worry about it Grisha. I don't mind answering Eren's questions." I said, giving Eren a reassuring smile. "You know Eren, today was my first time going on an expedition since I joined the Survey Corps. Being outside the Walls was a bit intimidating and it was pretty scary. The point of our expedition today was to seek life outside the Walls."

"Were you able to find something?" Carla asked.

Sadly, I shook my head and stared at the wooden table as images of our fallen soldiers came into mind. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to get much done. Majority of us were ambushed by titans and we lost a good number of soldiers."

"Did you kill any titans?" Eren asked, passion clearly seen in his eyes.

"Yeah. I did." Was the only thing I could muster up.

"Were you terrified to see those titans up close Sis? It is your first expedition after all..." Armin said quietly, lowering his head.

I looked at my younger brother and gave him a warm smile. "Yeah. Pretty terrifying but in the end, I had to be brave. My goal is protect every one of you no matter what. That's what I signed up for you know."

"Oh man!" Eren shouted in excitement. "I can't wait to join the Survey Corps! I want to be a part of the Special Operations Squad! Just like you Alice."

"Eh? My squad?" I questioned him.

Eren nodded his head. "Yes! It's so awesome!"

I couldn't help but to smile at Eren. It's good to see someone like him be so determined at such a young age. I guess it's sort of a good thing that we were able to be some kind of inspiration to others. Looking at Mikasa, she remained silent the entire conversation.

I remember the day Grisha and Carla adopted her. Such a tragedy for her parents to be murdered for stupid reasons. Poor girl. At least Mikasa is safe with a wonderful family now.

"What about you Mikasa?" I spoke to the young girl. "Anything in particular you want to do?"

She looked at me with a surprised look but soon dug her face into her red scarf. "N-Not really. I'll go wherever Eren goes."

"I see."

Grisha sat up from his seat and picked up his briefcase. "That reminds me. I'll be going away for a business trip tomorrow."

"Really?" Carla said, surprised to hear this sudden news from her husband. "Where will you be going darling?"

"A small village within Wall Rose. I received word that there was a disease spreading around and they're seeking my help." Grisha answered as he packed some medicine with his other belongings.

I looked at Carla. She seemed sad at first but then nodded her head in understanding. Grisha has been going on more business trips recently. I do wonder what else he does. Sometimes it seems like he's hiding something from Carla and the kids. Too bad it's not my business to ask.

"Well, I think it's time Armin and I head home. It's getting late." I said as I gathered the empty plates and placed them into the sink.

"So soon Alice?" A disappointed Eren asked. He probably wanted to hear more about my expedition.

"Sorry kiddo. I need to get my beauty rest." I said jokingly with a smile.

"Thank you for coming over you two." Carla said as she gave Armin and I her kind smile.

"T-Thank you for having us here." Armin said shyly.

We waved at Eren, Mikasa and Carla while Grisha walked us to the door. "Stay safe on your way home now." Grisha said.

"You have a safe business trip Grisha. I hope everyone in that village will be okay." I said, looking at the doctor.

Grisha had a strange look on his face but he tried to cover it with a smile. "Yeah. I'll be safe. Goodbye."

With that Armin and I left the Jaeger residence and started walking home.

Grisha had an odd expression on his face when I mentioned the village he was visiting tomorrow. It seemed like there might be more to it than just a disease spreading around. If only I can know what Grisha is really doing.

"Sis?" Armin interrupted my train of thought.

"Yes Armin?"

I looked at my brother and noticed that he had a sad look on his face. "Did something happen today?" I asked him.

"Sort of." He answered with a frown.

I stopped walking and kneel in front of Armin. "Spit it out Armin. What happened today?" Making eye contact with him, Armin finally caved in and let out a sigh.

"I got bullied again."

I frowned slightly when I heard that. "Was it from the same guys?"

"Yeah. Mikasa and Eren came to rescue me again." Armin said, sounding disappointed.

I placed my hands on his cheeks and lightly pinched them. "Why the long face huh? Your friends came to your rescue."

"I can't defend myself Sis. Eren and Mikasa are always there whenever I'm in trouble." Armin said, letting out his frustration at himself. "I want to be stronger so that I can handle my own problems. I want to be strong like you Alice. That's why, I decided to join the military as well. I want to become a strong soldier and make you proud of me."

My eyes widened in shock after hearing this from Armin. "What? Are you sure Armin? It's really dangerous out there if you ever join the Scout Regiment." I moved my hands away and stood back up with my hands to my hips. "You can join the Garrison or Military Police. It's safer and you'll still be a strong soldier."

Armin shook his head and gave me a fierce look. "No. I want to be where you are Sis. This is something I want and I will not give up on that."

A smile grew across my face as I patted his head. "This is something I'd never expect to hear from you little brother. You should know that I'm always proud of you no matter what Armin." I placed my hand on his shoulder and gave him a slight nudge for us to continue walking. "Now, let's go home. I have to give my Captain a written report in the morning."

"Okay."