Hello everyone!

I'm actually pretty surprised at how many of you liked this; I wasn't expecting so much feedback. But I'm glad you guys are enjoying things so far! :D

But I guess there are a few things that I should explain considering how many times I was asked in reviews. For one thing, NONE of the children that Eren rescued are canon characters. There are reasons for this, but they won't be revealed until later. This means that Mikasa and Armin are still in the Walls, but rest assured, they are alive and well, though since Eren was not part of their childhood, they obviously have different backgrounds now. Again, something I will get into later.

Secondly, Levi and Hanji will play important roles later on in the story. Key word being later. That's why their names have been tagged. The timeline is still relatively similar, meaning that at this point, they have both already joined the Scouting Legion or are in the process of. They are not among the children that Eren rescued and will be adults by the time that they are introduced.

Thirdly, there will be no romantic relationships in this fic. There might be hints of crushes or something along those lines, but nothing outright. This is solely focused on familial relationships.

I think that about covers everything for now...

To my guest reviewers:

RandomGuestGirl: Here is your update! :3

Pink Blood: I updated! Geez, kid, remember to breathe! Oxygen is important! As I explained earlier, none of the kids are canon characters. I have reasons for this, so don't worry, it's not going to be a whole bunch of OCs invading the canon characters' roles.

Tic-Tac: Here's the next part! I hope you like it just as much as the first! :)

Oh, it should also be noted that my update day is Sunday. Any and all updates will be posted on Sunday.

That is all.

Disclaimer: I own all OCs in this and the story, but everything else is not mine.

ONWARD!

Chapter 1

Learn To See Past The Fear

Claire clutched the baby tight to her chest as the titan started walking, leaving the town behind. This strange titan. It hadn't eaten them, any of them.

Why?

She felt her older brother's arm tight around her shoulders, keeping her snugly against him. She could feel his fear, feel his rapid heartbeat against her back. She wonders whose is louder. She's terrified, knows that everyone is terrified. And yet. The titan makes no move to harm any of them. It simply picked them up and carried them away.

Almost as if it was trying to…protect them.

But that couldn't be right. Titans ate humans. No exceptions. They were the reason that humanity had to live behind the Walls. They were the reason Wall Maria just fell.

And yet.

"Franky, what's going to happen to us?" she whispered to her brother.

Franky was silent for a long moment. "I don't know, Claire. I really don't know."

Claire stayed quiet after that. After all, what could she possibly do to make her brother feel better when she couldn't even do that for herself?

The baby in her arms stirred, blinking up at her with innocent blue eyes. Claire envied the baby, envied the blissful ignorance of their situation she could see in the infant's eyes. She wished that she was too young to understand. Maybe it would have been better that way. Maybe she wouldn't feel such crippling helplessness now.

And yet.

There was just something about the situation – about the titan – that seemed…off to her.

There were some stories that the adults told to scare kids about what titans did to the humans they caught. If they weren't eaten right away they were played with. And not in the same way a kid would play with a ball. Claire had had nightmares for weeks after those stories. Her mother had been furious and given those men a good reaming and a warning to watch their mouths or next time they wouldn't be walking away from her. Claire had laughed then and her mother told her not to worry about such silly things because they were safe behind the Walls.

But her mother had been wrong.

They weren't safe behind the Walls.

They had never been safe behind the Walls. It had only been a matter of time before their world came crashing down around their ears.

Her mother had been wrong.

The Church had been wrong.

Everything she had ever been taught had been wrong.

Because when the world was ending around her and her brother, it wasn't the Walls that saved them. It wasn't the Scouting Legion or the Garrison or the Military Police. It was a titan. A titan had saved her and Franky. And not just them, but others as well. The baby in her arms made twenty seven. She had counted as the titan had lifted them up and placed them on its shoulders. There were twenty seven of them total, and from the looks of it, Franky was the oldest. She was one of the oldest in the group too, even though she was only twelve and her brother only fourteen.

Would they have to be in charge now?

Would they have to take care of everyone?

She didn't know how it could work any other way. But she had only ever babysat the two kids next door for an hour or two at most. She didn't know how to take care of twenty odd kids that were all younger than her and she didn't think Franky could either.

But if they wanted to live, she would have to try.

"Hey, what's your name?" she asked the little girl next to her.

The girl sniffed, eyes red and puffy from crying, arms wrapped around a girl much smaller than her. "I'm Lexi," she whispered, "This is Anya."

Claire smiled at them. "My name's Claire," she said, using the soothing voice she always used on little Tommy Heliford whenever he fell and scraped his knee, "And this is my brother, Franky."

Lexi sniffed again, but she was sitting up a little straighter now. "We're cousins," she said, gesturing between Anya and herself.

"That's neat," Claire said, "I don't have any cousins."

"We could be your cousins," Anya said, voice high and soft as she clung to Lexi's arm.

That got a laugh out of Claire. "Would you? That would be cool! Say how old are you?"

"Four," Anya answered shyly.

"Wow, you're so big! What about you, Lexi?"

"I'm nine," the girl said.

"I'm twelve," Claire said with a grin, nudging her brother – who she knew was listening – in the stomach.

"I'm fourteen," Franky said dutifully, though not without a slight glare in Claire's direction.

Anya giggled, though the noise sounded a little strained from all the crying she had done. "You're old."

"I am not!" Franky exclaimed defensively.

Several of the other kids around them giggled and Claire grinned. "What about the rest of you?" she called out, "What're your names and how old are you?"

"I'm Nico," said a boy with black hair and equally black eyes.

The girl sitting next to him looked almost identical. "I'm Alice."

"We're ten," they said in unison.

Some of the younger kids clapped.

"Mag'c!" one cried, "Do again!"

"Only if," Nico started.

"You tell us your name first," Alice finished.

"My name is Jamie Caras," he said as if reciting something he had been taught, "And I'm…" he paused and looked down at his fingers, "Dis many!" he exclaimed proudly, holding three fingers up.

"Impressive," Nico said, "Don't you think so Alice?"

"Yes, very impressive," Alice said.

"Nice to meet you, Jamie," they said in unison, causing the boy to erupt into another fit of giggles.

Claire smiled as all of the kids started trading name and ages and then talking to each other, the grim silence vanishing under childish chatter.

"We're the oldest," Franky murmured in her ear.

"I know," she whispered back, the weight settling heavy on her shoulders

Franky took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "How are we supposed to take care of twenty five kids?"

She shrugged. "One step at a time, I guess," she answered, "Mom always told new mothers that there was no guide to parenting."

"Is that what we are now?" her brother grumbled.

Claire just shrugged again. "If we are, we might as well name the baby," she said looking down at the bundle in her arms.

"How old is it?" Franky asked, "It can't be older than one, it's still so tiny."

"Babies aren't 'it's!" Claire said indignantly.

"Well how are we supposed to know?"

She rolled her eyes. "Mom was right; boys are dumb."

"Oi!"

She ignored him, carefully unwrapping the baby so she could get to the diaper and take a quick peek. "Baby's a girl," she announced.

Franky was silent a moment. "Emma?"

Claire blinked. "Emma…"

A tiny gurgle from her arms stopped them both. They both peered down into a tiny smiling face.

"I think she likes it," Franky said with a grin.

"Emma it is then," Claire said with a grin of her own.

She stretched her arms in an attempt to work the cramps out of them. Emma might be tiny, but she got heavy after a while. So Claire had passed her off to Franky, who was an awkward boy about the whole thing, but took her without complaint.

Claire knew her brother. And she knew that look on his face. He was thinking just as much, if not more than, as her about what was going to happen now.

She didn't know how long that had been walking, or rather, how long the titan had been walking. But they were long out of Shiganshina and well into the forest now and the sky was steadily growing darker. She leaned back against the titan's neck and idly played with its long, dark hair. And she wondered.

The other kids were growing restless, but were still too confused and scared to say anything. One of the girls, Willow, who was only nine, had started singing, encouraging the others to clap out a beat for her. One of the older boys, James, who was eleven, had been snatched up as he was leaving his music lesson and had a violin with him that he started playing. It was fascinating for them because most of them had never seen a violin before let alone heard one played. It was a nice distraction. For now at least.

They would have to figure something out soon.

Glancing up, Claire saw the titan's ear. And she wondered.

Carefully, she stood, tightly gripping the hair in her hands.

"Hey," she said softly, right into the titan's ear.

The titan paused, very briefly, turning ever so slightly to look at her from the corner of its eyes. For a moment, Claire was caught up in the all-consuming terror of being under a titan's gaze. Her body locked up and her breathing all but stopped. But then nothing happened. And the titan turned away from her.

Gradually, she relaxed.

Feeling a little more confident, she decided to try again.

"Can you understand us?" she asked.

This time, the titan did not turn to look at her. For a moment, she thought it was all just a trick of her mind and that the stress was getting to her, but then, the titan's head dipped in a shallow nod. Her grip tightened on its hair as a thrill that was equal parts fear and excitement shot through her.

"Are…are you going to eat us?"

The titan made an odd sound that sounded dangerously close to a scoff before shaking its head.

"How come?" she couldn't help but ask even as some of the fear in her gut eased.

The titan just huffed, almost as if it was offended.

"Sorry," she said, "But you're not like other titans. The others would have eaten us."

She felt it turn and this time, when its eyes landed on her, she didn't freeze. The titan's gaze was heavy though and she could see the sadness and pain hiding in those bright green eyes.

"Sorry," she whispered, reaching out and patting its ear, "I didn't mean to make you sad."

There was a soft hum that vibrated throughout her entire body and the green eyes softened.

"What's going to happen now?"

The titan shook its head again.

"You don't know, huh?" she sighed, "Me neither. We don't have the Wall to protect us anymore."

The titan huffed again and she could have sworn there was a flash of anger in its eyes.

She blinked. "You'll protect us?" she asked, surprised.

A nod.

"Does that mean you'll stay with us?"

Another nod.

"Promise?"

A nod again.

Claire grinned and she had no idea why. It was ridiculous, the thought of a titan protecting a group of human children. The very idea was laughable. And yet here they were and Claire was growing less afraid by the minute.

"So you take care of us and we'll take care of you, deal?"

The titan huffed in what could have been laughter, but nodded anyway.

Claire nodded, looking the titan in the eye. "It's a promise then," she said, determined, and then softly, she whispered, "Thank you."

Here endeth the second chapter. Next chapter is basically going to be moments with the kids interacting with Eren and each other and forming a family. That might be the next two chapters actually, I haven't decided yet. I'll put up small profiles of the kids in the next chapter too.

Also, let it be noted that I will be alternating through various character POVs. Sometimes it will be Eren, sometimes the kids, and sometimes the Scouting Legion (once they get introduced).

Tell me what you think!

Until next time,

~Elri