It's a relatively warm and breezy afternoon in Shiganshina District, a large town where people live, make money, drink wine, work their jobs and have fun. Just on a day when everyone thought it couldn't get any less mundane, a large strike of lightning ruins everyone's peace. Evelyn Jaeger, her younger brother Eren Jaeger, her adoptive young sister Mikasa, and Eren and Mikasa's friend, Armin, all stand together as they watch a large titan, the creatures that continue to threaten their peace, peers over the wall at them.
--- that morning, the year of 845 ---
Evelyn Jaeger picks off the final apple from the tree as she places it in her basket which she holds in front of her as she carries the crate of sticks and wood for the fireplace on her back. Evelyn looks around as she realises her brother Eren is no where to be seen. Evelyn then spots her brother laid in the tall grass near the tree he and his friends always visit. She smiles as she walks over to him.
"Eren, come on. Wake up!" Evelyn says as she softly nudges Eren's side with her foot.
Eren stirs in his sleep as Evelyn spots the tears that start to fall from the corner of his eyes. Eren's eyes open slowly as he takes in the view of the blue sky with white clouds scattered all over, his sister stood over him.
"Oh, Evelyn, when did you get here?" Eren asks as he sits up and stretches his arms out.
"You're so out of it" Evelyn says with a small giggle as she helps Eren up, "did you fall asleep, or something?".
"I wasn't asleep, I just shut my eyes for a minute" Eren says defensively, "I just felt like I had a really long dream or something".
"Come on, let's go get these back to Mother" Evelyn says as Eren puts his crate of wood on his back, "why were you crying?".
"It's nothing" Eren says as they walk back down to the entrance to the Shiganshina District, "just don't tell anyone I was crying".
"I won't" Evelyn says as Eren nods, "but if you're crying without reason, you should get Father to check you out, just in case there's something wrong with your head".
"No way, I can't tell Dad about this" Eren says as he looks down, not long before bumping into a tall man, well built with light ginger hair.
"What were you crying about, Eren?" the man asks as Eren looks up at him, "did Evelyn scold you again?".
"Why would that make me cry, Hannes?" Eren asks as he rolls his eyes.
"You've been drinking again, haven't you?" Evelyn says as she lifts Hannes' arm up to her nose as she sniffs his jacket.
"Have you all been drinking again?" Eren asks as he peers behind Hannes at the table of Garrison soldiers who sit there with bottles of alcohol in their hands.
"Do you want to join us?" Hannes asks as he holds his bottle of alcohol out towards Evelyn.
"No. For one, Eren's a minor and for two, you should be working" Evelyn says as she forces the bottle back towards Hannes.
"We are, we're guarding the gate today" Hannes says proudly, "we spend all day here so eventually, we get thirsty. The fact that what we find to drink is alcohol isn't too big of a problem".
"It is when someone breaks into the district and you're all ass over tits drunk!" Evelyn says as she takes an apple from her basket and she places it in Hannes' hand, "sober up" Evelyn says as she looks over at the other Garrison soldiers, "all of you!".
"Can you fight drunk if you have to?" Eren asks as he looks up at Hannes.
"Why would we when we've got Evelyn around?" Hannes asks as he looks at Evelyn who just frowns at him.
"Evelyn might be strong but she's no corps member" Eren says as he folds his arms, "what happens when a titan breaches the wall and enters the district huh?".
"Oi Eren, don't yell like that!" one of the Garrison soldiers shouts from behind Hannes as he walks over, "the doctor's son is pretty lively today. If the titans ever do breach the walls, we'll do our jobs. You don't need to worry about that though, something like that hasn't happened in over a century".
"My Dad says you're in the most danger when you let your guard down" Eren says as he looks up at the soldier, "that's why Evelyn always keeps her weapons on her, so she can defend herself and me".
"I mean, I guess Doctor Jaeger is right to some extent" Hannes says as he looks at his fellow soldier, "your Father and Evelyn once saved this entire district from an epidemic. We owe them more than we can pay them, but that has nothing to do with the titans. As a soldier, when you go up the walls to do some repairs, you can sometimes see the titans wandering around the perimeters of the walls. There's nothing to worry about though, since the walls are fifty metres high and titans don't even reach that tall".
"So you mean you're not actually prepared to fight them" Eren says as he looks at the two soldier's in front of him deadpan.
"Nope" Hannes says simply.
"Then you shouldn't call yourself members of the Garrison, nor should you call yourself soldiers" Eren says angrily as he takes a step forward, only for Evelyn to bring him back slightly, "maybe you new name should be the wall repair corps".
"I wouldn't mind that actually" Hannes says as he crouches down to Eren's height, "look Eren, listen to me. If we're fighting the titans, that means things are bad. As long as everyone is laughing at us, calling us lazy drunks, that means everyone within the walls are safe".
"Even if I'm not allowed to leave the walls for the rest of my life, as long as I eat and sleep I'll survive? That means I'm like cattle!" Eren says angrily, "Evelyn has always told me that she believes there's something beyond the walls, a world where we can live harmoniously. She's always told me that it's her dream to discover a place like that, so I'm going to help her achieve that dream. I won't be locked up in here for much longer, trust me!".
"That's a brave little brother you got there Evelyn. He kind of reminds me of you" the other Garrison soldier says as he comes over.
"I raised him well" Evelyn says as she puts a hand on Eren's back, "right Gents, we'll leave you to it. Have fun with your booze and make sure you keep those walls shiny and new".
"Have a good day, Evelyn" the three men say as Evelyn and Eren walk off, more like Eren is dragged off by Evelyn before he can annoy the three soldiers anymore.
"You should stop considering the survey corps" Evelyn says as Eren looks at her, "the only reason you want to join is so you can be free and you can help me achieve my dream and I understand that but being a part of the survey corps is a really dangerous job".
"Are you going to tell me I'm stupid too?" Eren asks as he pouts.
"I would never call you stupid, I'd call you strange" Evelyn says as Eren kicks her leg.
The bells from the tower sound as Eren's face lights up with excitement.
"The survey corps are back, the front gates are opening!" Eren says excitedly as he grabs Evelyn's hand, "we should go look!".
The two make it to the main road from the front gate as they stand on top of some crates to get a better look over the crowd of people watching the corps come in. Eren beams in excitement until he picks up on the sullen mood and his face drops.
"Where's my son?" a woman from the crowd asks as she stands in front of the group of survey corps members as the commander, Commander Erwin Smith steps down from his horse.
"Is this everyone who made it back?" Eren asks quietly as Evelyn looks down.
"Everyone else must have been eaten" someone somewhere in the crowd comments.
"This is what happens when you go outside the walls" another person says as Erwin steps to the front of the group.
"This is Moses' Mother, Commander Erwin" one of the men at the front of the group says as he stands out of the way for Erwin.
"Bring it over" Erwin says as he looks back at one of the other members of the corps as they bow and they bring over a rolled up piece of fabric.
Erwin passes the Mother the piece of fabric as she unravels it to reveal a severed arm. The woman screams as she drops to the ground, a mixture of pain, shock, terror and anguish, flowing through her body.
"God please! I beg of you, please return my son to me!" the woman begs as she looks to the heavens.
"I am sorry for your loss" the member of the survey corps says as he kneels down in front of the woman as Erwin gets back onto his horse.
"Did my son... help?" the woman asks as she looks at the man in front of her, her voice shaking and cracking, "even if he didn't do anything directly, my son's death helped humanity fight back, right?".
"Of course" the man says as he looks down whilst Evelyn watches the scene unfold in front of her eyes, "it was my fault. My own incompetence killed my men".
"What a mess" someone in the crowd says as Evelyn takes off her crate of wood and pops the basket of apples down on the crate next to her.
"Eren, get back home" Evelyn says as she fixes the crate onto Eren's back as she passes him the apples, "I'll be right after you".
Eren nods as Evelyn slips through the crowd and she walks over to the woman.
"Let's get you inside, we can talk there" Evelyn says as she helps the woman stand up.
The woman nods as Evelyn helps her walk away as she gives Erwin a weak smile before they go inside the pub over the road just as Eren steps off his crate.
"It's like all of a our taxes go to fattening up the soldiers rather than making a difference" Eren hears a man nearby him say.
Eren grabs a bit of wood from his crate and raises his arm as he goes to hit the man when his wrist is grabbed and he's pulled away.
"Who are you? What are you going?" Eren asks as he's thrown against a stone wall, as he looks and he sees Mikasa, "Mikasa, what was that for? The wood's gone everywhere now".
"Do you still want to join the survey corps?" Mikasa asks worriedly.
"Help me pick these up" Eren says as he starts to place the wood back into the crates.
"There isn't enough to bother" Mikasa says as she starts to help him.
Eren and Mikasa make it back to their house as they walk through the door, announcing their arrival.
"Evelyn, when did you get home?" Eren asks as Evelyn walks out of the basement.
"A few minutes ago" Evelyn says as she places the tray of dirty plates and cups near the sink, "which means you stayed out a bit later to watch the survey corps members".
"I can't believe you worked hard for a change" Carla, Eren and Evelyn's Mother says as she walks over to Eren as he tips the wood into the crate for firewood.
"I did" Eren says as Evelyn snorts whilst she cleans the dishes.
"Your ears are red, you're lying" Carla says as she pulls on Eren's ear, "Evelyn did everything!".
Grisha, Eren and Evelyn's Father stands up from the table as Evelyn comes over and places some food for the road in his bag for him.
"Are you going somewhere?" Eren asks as he looks at his Father.
"I'm going inland to see some patients" Grisha says as he closes his bag, "I'll probably be gone for a few days so Evelyn, you'll have to go treat the survey corps members".
"Evelyn, can I go with you?" Eren asks as he looks at his older sister who puts away the dry dishes.
"You can't" Evelyn says with a small smile as she turns to face him, "they just lost some valuable allies. They're not going to want an excitable nine year old running around the place asking questions, are they?".
"Eren still wants to join the survey corps" Mikasa says to everyone as she looks down.
"Mikasa, why would you say that?" Eren asks as he slams his fist down on the table.
"What are you thinking?" Carla asks as she comes over to Eren and she grabs his shoulders, "do you know how many people have died outside of the walls?".
"I do!" Eren shouts back as Evelyn sucks air in through her teeth, a way for her to remind Eren not to be disrespectful to their parents.
"In that case-" Carla begins to say.
"Why do you want to go outside of the walls?" Grisha asks as he looks down at his son.
"I want to know what it's like out there" Eren says softly, "I don't want to live the rest of my life locked inside of the walls. If no one carries on their work, all of the casualties from the survey corps would have been in vain".
"I see" Grisha says calmly as Evelyn looks outside of the window with a soft smile, "my ship is waiting so I'll be going now".
"Wait, you need to talk to Eren" Carla says worriedly as Evelyn comes over.
"Human curiosity isn't something you can restrain with a lecture" Grisha says as he puts his hand on, "when I come back, I'll show you what I've kept downstairs in the basement all of these years. You understand the only other person who has been down there is your older sister, right?".
"I can't wait" Eren says excitedly with a smile.
"I'll be home in time to help you with dinner, Mother" Evelyn says as she grabs her own bag and coat.
"Don't rush, I have Mikasa and Eren to help me" Carla says as she hugs Evelyn.
Evelyn and Grisha leave as they make it to the entrance of Wall Sina as Grisha passes the man his ticket for the boat ride.
"Goodbye Father" Evelyn says as Grisha hugs her tightly.
"Look after your Mother, Eren and Mikasa for me whilst I'm gone" Grisha says as he looks at Evelyn as she nods, "from now on, when I got on jobs like these, I want you to have the key to the basement. That way if anything happens to me, you can access the basement".
"Please don't speak like that, Father" Evelyn says as she furrows her brows, "the titans can't knock down the walls. Nothing bad will happen".
"I love you" Grisha says as he holds her hand, giving it a squeeze, giving her a soft smile.
"I love you too" Evelyn says as she watches her Father get on the boat.
Evelyn waves goodbye to her Father as she watches him disappear into the next wall. Evelyn makes it to the wounded survey corps members as she starts to treat everyone. Evelyn finishes bandaging Erwin's bruised torso when the ground shakes, there's a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning from outside.
"What's going on?" Erwin asks as he tries to look outside.
"I'll go see what's going on, you wait here" Evelyn says as she gets up and she runs outside.
Evelyn watches a large titan taller than the wall peers over, looking at everyone down below. She looks around and she spots Armin, Eren and Mikasa across the street from her.
"Are you guys okay?" Evelyn asks as she runs over to them.
"Is a titan?" Armin asks as Evelyn grabs the three of them and she runs back inside to the survey corps members.
"Everyone, what I assume to be a 55 metre titan is at the wall" Evelyn says as Erwin gives her a look of disbelief as everyone runs out as well.
"Evelyn, start evacuating the citizens" Erwin says as Evelyn nods.
"Everyone! Make you way towards Wall Rose in an orderly fashion. Bring your children and leave any pets and belongings at home!" Evelyn shouts as everyone starts to run away from the wall.
Evelyn grabs Mikasa and Eren's hands as Eren grabs Armin's hand and they all start to run away. There is a loud crash from behind them as Evelyn turns and sees rubble heading straight for them.
"Everyone get down!" Evelyn yells as she covers the three children, a smaller piece of stone hitting her head.
"Evelyn!" Eren shouts as Evelyn's head starts to bleed.
"I'm fine, we need to keep going!" Evelyn says as she helps the three of them stand up.
They continue to run when Eren spots a large boulder near their house as he stops. He starts to run in the direction of his house as he breaks free from Evelyn's grip.
"Eren!" Evelyn shouts as Hannes comes over.
"Get Eren and Carla and bring them to the boats" Hannes says as he takes Armin and Mikasa.
Evelyn nods as Hannes goes away, Evelyn running after Eren. She makes it to her house where she sees Eren holding Carla's hands as he tries to pulls her out from underneath what's left of their house. Evelyn runs over as she starts to move the rubble, tears falling from her eyes. Evelyn looks behind the house and sees a titan heading straight for them. Evelyn then sees flashes of a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes in her mind as she shakes her head.
"Evelyn, come on. Hurry up!" Eren says as he starts to panic.
"The titans are inside, aren't they?" Carla says as she looks at Evelyn who nods whilst she and Eren try to move her out from underneath the rubble, "take Eren and run for me, Evelyn".
"We want to run Mum so hurry up and get out!" Eren shouts as he cries even more.
"My legs were crushed" Carla says as Evelyn falls to the ground and she stops trying, "even if you did free me, I wouldn't be able to run".
"Evelyn can carry you!" Eren says as he complains as well.
"Why do you never listen to me?" Carla snaps as Eren looks at her, "please listen to me, one last time. If you don't go, all three of us are going to die!".
Evelyn yells as she grabs Eren and pulls his away from their Mother as she starts to run away.
"Wait, what're you doing?" Eren asks in confusion.
"Thank you" Evelyn hears Carla say softly.
"Mum's still back there" Eren says as tears still fall from his and Evelyn's eyes.
"Evelyn, Eren, I love you!" Carla shouts one last time, "you've got to survive for me!".
Eren watches as the titan makes it to their Mother as it roots through the rubble and it picks her up, holding her towards its mouth.
"Eren, don't look!" Evelyn says as Eren puts his head into Evelyn's neck, "hands over your ears".
Eren does as Evelyn says as Evelyn hears her Mother screaming and begging. Evelyn ignores it as she hears a crunch as the screaming stops. Evelyn looks down and breaks down as she keeps on running.