Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Year 845

The bell tolls rang out into the district of Shinganshina. The birds settling within the bustling branches of the nearby trees squawked and fluttered away. As the bells bounced off each other, the streets below began to fill. A large parade of men on horses stood waiting by Shinganshina's southern gate; the gate itself slowly lifting upward.

Erwin Smith, a squad leader and second in command of humanity's best defense against the titans, the Scouting Legion, sat on horseback in the front just behind their commander, Keith Shadis. His eyes were set in firm determination as he patiently waited for their moment of execution. Just behind him were humanity's strongest, Corporal Levi Ackerman, and the Scouting Legion's science officer and squad leader, Hange Zoe. The two couldn't have looked more opposite.

Hange was smiling broadly, her grip on her reigns ever tensing as she continued to think of all the different titans they'd run into on this expedition. She had only two before and they were accidentally killed by her hand on one of her experiments. To say she was depressed about that was an understatement. She was mortally wounded by her reckless actions and cried for a whole week over the thought of their steaming, decaying bodies left out in the court yard. She vowed from that moment on that she'd never take such a risk ever again on another test subject. And thus her enthusiasm in her work burst forth once more and months later here she was, barely containing herself with all the excitement.

Levi glanced her way, noticing the small squeals she unconsciously let out. His face was phlegmatic as ever, never changing as he looked away and hissed in disdain. Corporal Levi was dubbed Humanity's Strongest on account of his record of solo kills and expertise with the 3DMG. Fortunately for him, humanity didn't realize he was a five foot clean freak. He nearly rolled his eyes at the thought.

Despite the cold, uncaring outer shell that was Levi, he had a wounded heart and bitter past. Friends had died, family was gone, he just couldn't get away from being the last man standing. It hurt him, yes, but he channeled that hurt to fuel his ambitions to freeing mankind from this nightmare. And the one leading him on this path was the man in front of him. Levi would trust Erwin's judgement till the day he died and he would remind the man any chance he got.

Levi glanced upward at the wall as the gate finally reached its point. Shadis' horse was ushered forward as the man shouted out commands to march. In a matter of seconds, the Scouts were rushing out into the unknown land beyond the walls. The horses picked up dirt as they ran along, a dust cloud growing around the formation. The hammer of hooves on solid ground could be heard quite a distance off.  Their green capes wrestled with the wind as they picked up speed

Levi glanced around, his sharp eyes surveying the land.  "Commander..." He called out calmly. He need not say any more as Shadis knew exactly what was on his mind.

"Yes, the area is clear. We will split here. Erwin, give the signal." Shadis replied back. Erwin reached down into his knapsack and pulled out a flare gun and a green stripped flare. He raised his hand high up into the air and pulled the trigger. A soft explosion burst from the gun and up shot a string of green smoke.

The 49th Expedition has begun.

The wind blew softly along the path Mikasa walked. It was a small deer trail they used when out collecting wood within the forests of Wall Maria. Currently, her carrier was full, but her destination wasn't to go home.

An hour ago, Eren and her were resting in a field of flowers under a tree. She had been sitting there beside him looking up at the white fluffy clouds amidst the blue sky. She felt like sleeping, but knew better than to waste time. Upon looking down at Eren, she found him already fast asleep. Against her better judgement, she decided to leave him alone for a bit and go finish collecting fire wood. Unsurprisingly, when she got back, he was gone.

She sighed at the thought of Eren ditching her. It didn't hurt her like it would most other people, it was just annoying. All she wanted was to be with him.

Something caught her eye up ahead and she whisked the thoughts from her mind before straightening her head to look.

Staring right back at her was a young doe, body as stiff as a statue at the sight of her. Mikasa only breathed and it was enough for the deer to dart off, bouncing over twigs and bushes with its white tail raised in alarm. She continued to watch it until she heard a low moan come from behind the trees to her right.

Turning around, she looked up at a seven meter titan kneeling down by the trees a mere twelve feet from her. It had a thin body with little muscle and a slightly bigger head. Rows of teeth sat present without lips to conceal them, the top jaw having a back row slightly higher than the ones in front. His short black hair was barely long enough to conceal any part of his face, let alone his pointed ears and big green eyes that stared down at Mikasa.

She stood there unwavered before finally taking action.

"Eren." She said nonchalantly. "What are you doing?" The boy in question looked off in the direction where the deer had run off to and moaned again. Without lips it was impossible for Eren's titan to talk, so he could only communicate with gestures and grunts. Not very useful for Eren when he had Mikasa talking to him like he was human.

She understood what he was saying, though, and sighed. "No, I mean, you're not supposed to be a titan. Your dad said it was too dangerous."

Ever since the incident when Eren was five, Eren had the ability to "shift", the term Grisha told them was the action of turning into a titan and being able to turn back. He was a shifter too, but neither of them saw him use it. Grisha would get mad at Eren when he shifted into his titan, his mom, Carla, freaking out every time and ordering him to turn back. It was too dangerous to shift inside Wall Maria. The risk of being seen or caught was too great. If the Military Police found out, they'd kill Eren and family and friends alike.
But Eren shifted anyway, under the safety of the forest of course. His excuse was to practice this ability so that he'd one day be able to help out humanity with the titans and explore the world beyond the walls. His mom only told him to get that nonsense out of his head and his father strictly denied the idea. Again, it was too dangerous.

Eren's titan only moaned again, longer than before. His shoulders slumped before he crossed his arms and huffed.

"Come on, we need to get fire wood. If we're gone too long, your mom and dad will get worried or worse, suspicious." She said calmly, her hands still hanging on to the straps of the carrier around her shoulders.

She gestured to said baggage, "Where's yours?" Eren's titan relaxed from his previous motions and pointed off to the left. Mikasa followed his finger.

"Okay, let me go get it. I'll be right back." She announced, trekking onward to find and collect Eren's discarded wood. She had to admit though, it did frighten her when she was suddenly picked up by the carrier and couldn't help but let out a small gasp before turning to look at Eren. The titan had only two fingers on the thing, careful not to crush it and accidentally drop his adopted sister. He placed her in his left palm before beginning to walk to where he left his fire wood.

Mikasa only smiled at him as she relaxed on his hand. Because of his defiance towards Grisha's request to not shift, he had gotten better at hand-eye coordination. He was able to pick her up without hurting her... most of the time. She didn't mind and forgave him every time. Mikasa could see how practicing using his titan was helpful. He'd come a long way since when it first happened. She remembered the story well.

Eren was only five when he, full of curiosity, wondered into the basement. Grisha had been working on something, she could only assume was related to the titans, when Eren ran inside and accidentally pricked himself with one of the syringes...

"EREN!" Grisha yelled with horror in his eyes. The vial in his hand dropped and shattered onto the table below from the sheer shock and fear surging throughout the man. His hands began to shake as he quickly knelt down beside his son, hands stretched out but not touching the boy.

Eren was curled up on the floor holding his arm and shaking. He began crying and screaming, his skin starting to let off steam. He felt strange, sick even. No worse than sick, he felt like he was going to explode, like his body was too small. It sent spasms of pain shooting off through every muscle in his body. It hurt, it hurt really really bad.

"Daddy...!"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Grisha chanted as he scooped up his son and rushed towards the stairs. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe the one day he thought it'd be fine to leave the door unlocked, couldn't believe his son decided to run down in his lab only to smack into one of his shelves and knock over dozens of vials, couldn't believe that on that shelf was one syringe that held the titan formula. And now it was coursing through Eren's body. Any minute he was going to turn into a titan...

Right in the middle of Shinganshina District.

They'd kill his son, they'd kill his wife, they'd kill him! NO! He couldn't let that happen. Eren hadn't turned yet, and that was both reassuring and concerning. He didn't know why. It was always instant. Maybe...

"Daddy!" Eren screamed again right as they got outside. Grisha rushed around the house and burst through the door with Eren in his arms. Carla whipped around from where she was standing doing dishes, eyes full of worry. At the sight, she nearly blacked out.

"Eren?! What happened, why..." Carla stopped breathing at the sudden realization, but mostly at what her husband had said next.

"The titan formula was injected inside Eren."

The night was cold as the autumn leaves started falling from the trees. A black horse drawn carriage darted out from Wall Maria's gate and over the small wooden bridge. Grisha held onto the reigns as if his life depended on it. His wife was beside him holding Eren's spasming form.

"What did you do, Grisha?!" she unwillingly, out of anger, blamed him for this. "How could you not keep the door locked!?" She shouted at him, her face getting red.

"I didn't think he'd run on in at night. He was supposed to be in bed!"

"Don't blame this on me!"

"I'm not!" Grisha hollered back before he steered the horses off into the forest. Any second the situation would go from bad to utterly horrible. He was thanking God the whole time that Eren hadn't turned already. He still didn't know why that was. Was Eren immune...? But that was impossible, you only needed to be human...

Carla's voice was soft when she spoke, but it jolted her husband back to reality.

"Is he going to turn into a titan?" she whispered, her face hidden from view and shadowed over. Grisha didn't answer, the horror on his face was enough. Carla looked up at him and stared daggers, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.

"YOU TELL ME RIGHT NOW HE ISN'T GOING TO TURN INTO A TITAN!!!"

"Carla please, thinking like that isn't going to get us anywhere!" Grisha yelled back. Carla could only stare at him in disbelief. Suddenly Eren's body jerked and steam began pouring out from his skin. Carla screamed from the heat burning her own just as Grisha pulled at the reigns for the horses to stop. The two didn't have time to think before Eren screamed and a white burst of light and steam enveloped them.

Grisha grabbed his wife and jumped off the still moving carriage. The front end was crushed and the horses thrown forwards as the force hit them from behind. They screeched and whined, running off as soon as they were back on their feet.

Grisha and Carla lay motionless on the ground, Grisha's right arm over his wife in protection, their eyes closed from the impact. When they opened them, both grew to full size. Ahead lay a five meter titan with steaming coming off of his body. His head was obscured from sight.

Carla's breathed hitched in her throat as she lay frozen underneath her husband, staring at her baby boy that was now a blood thirsty, man-eating titan. Her eyes were pulled away when Grisha got up.

"Grisha!" She yelled, but only watched as he rushed to their broken carriage and pulled out one of his scalpels from his toolbox. He held it tight in his grip and ran over to Eren's titan.

"No!" She yelled, finally finding herself to move and rush over to him. Her hands gripped his shoulders as his stood with the scalpel shaking and pointed at his hand. His teeth were clenched tight as tears began to fall down.

Both froze when the titan began to move, lifting its head up. Green eyes met the two and it lifted its hand towards them. Grisha's grip on his scalpel tightened and he nearly plunged it into his hand if not for what happened next.

A soft, mournful, high pitch moan escaped the lip-less jaws of the titan. It's hand only extended so far out to them before falling down to the grass. Another moan left its mouth as it tried to get up but only succeeded in tripping over itself and falling back down. It settled there, arm holding its upper body up as it looked longingly at Grisha and Carla. The next moan was one that came with tears.

"Eren...?" Grisha whispered as he took a step toward the titan. Carla stayed where she stood, placing her hands to cover her mouth as she could only stare.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please..." she begged as she watched the titan, her baby boy.

"Eren?" Grisha asked again, now within arm's reach. The titan looked up at him and reached out. Grisha's body tensed, ready even if he was screaming at himself not to do it. The hand wrapped around him and the titan moaned again, but nothing else.  It didn't squeeze him or try to lift him up, just cupped its hand around his body like a precious, broken toy.

Grisha looked deep into the titan's eyes and saw something that made his heart break. It was scared.

"Eren..." Grisha breathed out, his heart beating a million miles a second. "Do―do you recognize me?" He nearly choked on his words when the titan nodded its head.

He was conscious, aware, and not hostile! It was as if he was a shifter instead of a titan, abnormal or not. Grisha released his grip on the scalpel and moved forward, wrapping his arms around Eren's titan's jaw. He heard Carla screech before feeling her presence beside him.

"My boy! My baby boy!" she shouted as fresh tears ran down her cheers like waterfalls. She fell to her knees, still holding onto Eren's titan's face. He moaned again in response, his enormous body beginning to shake.

Grisha moved away and quickly glanced around, listening more than looking due to the darkness.

"Grisha, do something." Carla choked out. "W―we have to change him back. You can change him back, right?" Grisha's eyes met his wife's, his mind working faster than ever. Reason came to him and he inhaled in hope.

"Yes." he breathed out. "Yes, I can." Carla watched him climb up Eren's arm and stand over his nape, scalpel still in hand.

"W―what are you...?" Carla questioned, the fear from before coming back tenfold.

"We have to cut him out." Grisha informed her. "That's the only way."

"But he's... he's a titan! You'll kill him!" She shouted frantically, gripping Eren's face a bit tighter.

"I don't know how, but it's different. Maybe it's because of my gene that Eren's not a regular titan, so he's got to be in there." Grisha held the scalpel above his head, eyes tinted with fear and determination. "We have to cut him out. Eren, I'm sorry, but hold still." he said before plowing the scalpel into the nape. Eren screeched and writhed, making Carla stagger backwards and out of the way. Eren's titan brought down his fist, slamming it onto the ground and causing the earth to shake. Carla fell on her knees, arms stretched out to the ground to steady herself.

"Eren, sweetie, please, your father's trying to help you!" She yelled to him, trying to get him to calm down so the task wouldn't go south. "Grisha?!" she hollered to her husband in question.

"Almost there!" He yelled back, grunting in the process as he tore away another piece of skin. He wasn't cutting deep into the flesh, but rather slicing each layer away. It was when he cut off another chunk that his heart filled up with hope. Eren's shirt became visible to him the moment the piece of flesh was ripped off. He took no time in reaching his hand down and putting his palm to Eren's steaming back.

"Eren, it's me, Daddy." He whispered warmly. The touch sent chills of warm love and Eren's titan calmed nearly immediately before falling unconscious all together. Carla became fearful and rushed over to peer up at Grisha. Her husband was holding onto Eren's torso while the nape began to decay away. The fibers holding Eren in finally weakened and lost their grip, letting Grisha pull him out. He returned to his wife's side and laid his son down on the grass, Eren's head resting on his mother's lap.

She cried in the embrace, her hands gently cupping her child's face as her thumbs rubbed the strange pattern around his eyes and temples. Grisha knelt beside them with one knee, breathing heavily as his mind wandered. The only conclusion he could come to with all that had happened was that he was eternally grateful for their luck at what just transpired.

Mikasa looked up at titan Eren's face. She couldn't image going through such pain, let alone be there to witness it and be powerless to do anything about it. She had already vowed to keep him safe, to keep the boy who saved her both physically and mentally out of death's reach. Now thinking back to that story, it only fueled her passion towards him. She was going to be there for him no matter what. To her, it was her only purpose in life.

The two came upon a tree next to the deer trail. Leaning against it was Eren's wood carrier. Mikasa mentally sighed at how much fire wood Eren actually collected. It wasn't even one fourth of the way full. She glanced up at him and he shrugged his shoulders sheepishly, obviously thinking the same as her. Mikasa could only take it as an apology.

As she jumped down and picked up his carrier, titan Eren glanced over to his right and widened his eyes. There grazing on the grass was another deer, or perhaps the same deer from earlier. Either way, it was a deer and Eren wanted to chase it. He made the action a game, chase any and all deer he found. It worked wonders with his titan's speed and the more he chased deer, the faster and less clumsy he found himself to be.

Mikasa was looking at the poor doe as well and quickly called out to him before he could get any great ideas. Unfortunately for her, Eren did not listen and dashed off in a heartbeat. She sighed again, watching as Eren disappeared after the fleeing deer.

Why does he always leave me?

The bell tolls sounded again the second time in the afternoon. A low roar of murmurs filled the streets of Shinganshina as the citizens looked over at the rising southern gates. The Survey Corps were returning.

Gasps and groans were mixed in with the mutters as the broken soldiers marched slowly into town. Many were wrapped in white gauze, while the rest were met with depression. No one was happy, not even the citizens.

"There goes another fruitless attempt." One merchant groaned.

"Honestly, why do they keep trying. Isn't it obvious, there's no winning against those titans." Another said.

"All they're doing is fattening their bellies. That certainly doesn't help us."

Levi didn't bother looking in their direction. He stopped caring about other opinions a long time ago. Still it would feel good to bop a few heads.

The comments weren't only heard by him though. Up in front was Commander Shadis. For years he had been questioning whether or not he was fit for this role, or fit for any role among the Scouts. If anything were to be his final warning, this was it. The mission was a complete failure; the outposts were in ruins. He had lost over thirty percent of his men out there and brought back over forty percent wounded. His men were dying more than the titans. He was not fit for this job anymore.

"Erwin." He called back solemnly. Said squad leader looked up at him in attention. "I'm resigning this position." He turned around to look at Erwin. "Your next in line. I give command of the Scouts over to you." The news struck Hange and Levi dumb as they both watched in surprise.

"I'll be sending in my resignation as soon as possible." He continued, turning back to peer forward. He sighed, "As my last order, take these men home."

"Will do, sir." Erwin replied.

"Please, you don't have to call me that anymore." That was the last thing he said before galloping forward toward Wall Rose. Left in the dust were the newly appointed Commander Erwin Smith, the now second in command Hange, and Corporal Levi.

"Well, that was sudden." Levi commented dryly. Hange looked away in thought. The day was full of all kinds of disappointment. Their mission to continue with the operation of creating outposts outside the Walls was currently put on halt due to too many casualties. Her attempts to capture a fifteen meter titan was utterly denied when Levi and his squad showed up. They were trying to help, but the titan proved to be too dangerous in Levi's eyes and he killed it without question. She screamed at him for that.
All that precious research she could have done. And now with the expeditions currently on hiatus, it'd be a long time before they'd go out into titan territory again. Now where would she find a valuable test subject?

Hange's wandering mind had made her lose track of her surroundings. She found herself and the others now on a dirt road within Wall Maria. How time flies when you're not paying attention.

The forest sandwiching them was way more peaceful then the bustling streets of the Shinganshina District. Only the birds and the wind fighting with the leaves could be heard. It was... serene.

A rumbling changed all that.

Hange thought she had just imagined it, but when she glanced over at Levi, she knew it was real. Levi felt it too, he and his squad we're either looking around or glancing at each other. Hange looked ahead at Erwin who had the same curious yet fearful expression when he turned his head over to the left.

Suddenly, a deer jumped out in front of Erwin's horse. The man veered to look just as his horse whined and kicked up its front hooves. But that's not what startled them. In was all in slow motion in Hange's eyes. Out from the trees came a seven meter titan. Hange could only guess Commander Erwin and Corporal Levi, as well as his squad and every other Scout behind them, shared the same dumbfounded/petrified look she had on.

The titan looked at them with big, shocked green eyes. No lips were visible as his white teeth were very much apparent and pointed ears stuck out from short, black, messy hair. As soon as his feet touched the ground he lunged forward. His body was right above them, able to soar right over Commander Erwin and Corporal Levi as he attempted (in her quick observation) to avoid running into them. She wasn't so lucky as she had to dive off her horse in order to avoid getting hit. She crashed into the ground around the same time the titan did. On her stomach now, she looked up to watch as the titan rolled back to his feet only to clumsily trip from the speed he was going and crash back-first into the trees.

Everyone was silent and still until Oulo screamed.

"A titan?!"

"What's it doing inside the Walls?!" Gunther shouted out next. Hange didn't care as she continued to stare up at the beauty. It moan while hold the back of its head, seemingly checking to see if it was hurt. With that, it attempted to dodge them from the sudden interaction, and on top of that, made no moves towards them.

Her smile couldn't have been bigger.

Levi jumped from his saddle and shot his wires up at a tree. He zipped towards it, using the momentum to detach from the tree and hook onto the titan's back. A jet stream of smoke poured out from his canisters as he made a mad dash towards the nape, both blades ready.

"Levi no!" Hange screamed, her hands grasping her hair in desperation. Levi cried out as he ferociously tore into the flesh, but it was not the nape that he got. The fingers that were over the vulnerable spot had been sliced clean off with the nape not even touched.

Lucky bastard, Levi thought to himself.

Hange's voice caught in her throat as she witnessed the titan cover his nape and escape death by Levi. It was now screeching loudly and looking at his hands, seeing the steam coming off of the appendages.

It was showing signs of awareness and intelligence.

"I... must... HAVE!" She clawed the dirt around her before bolting upward and dashing back over to her horse. "Erwin!" She was about to ask for a request in capturing the titan, but by the look on his face, she could tell he came to the same conclusion.
Unfortunately, it appeared that the titan realized this as well. The seven meter bolted across the road in front of them and back into the woods from whence it came.

"After it!" Erwin shouted his command. Levi took off into the air via 3DMG with his team while Hange squealed in delight and redirected her horse. "Don't let it out of your sights! Immobilize only!" Erwin shouted after them on. He lifted up his arm and fired a red signal flare.

Miles away, Mikasa was walking in the grass beneath the trees with her carrier strapped to her back and dragging Eren's in her left hand. Her burgundy scarf wrapped securely around her neck swayed gently with the breeze. Her feet stopped suddenly when a loud shot echoed through the valley. Her silver pools grew wide with worry as she gasped at the sight of red smoke rising high into the sky.

"Eren." she whispered fearfully before making a mad dash towards it; her breathes loud and heavy.

"Yahooo!" Hange squealed in excitement as her horse galloped behind the seven meter. The titan moved his now regenerated hand back over his nape. "Oh what a beauty you are! So smart too!" She commented profoundly.

"Tsk," Levi hissed, "Eyes forward, four-eyes!" he shouted at her right before coming in and slicing the back of the titan's knee. He roared and toppled over, falling on his hands and knees to keep himself upright. Hange galloped around to the front of him, eyes glowing with joy.

Eld and Petra came in and started slicing at the titan's arms when he tried to protect his nape again. The one arm became useless and fell limply back down, but the other still moved towards the nape. Levi swung in and with one quick motion, completely cut off the wrist.

Now the thing was vulnerable.

The titan's eyes widened with fear and he fell over onto his back screaming. The Scouts had to cover their ears from the sound. After that, everything was quiet again besides the titan's heavy breathes.

"Tsk, cry baby." Levi commented. The titan's head tilted in his direction as his green eyes looked up at him in the tree. The titan must of heard Hange's horse because he then turned his attention to the female by his head.

"Oh don't you cry, we're not here to kill ya." She cooed at him before hopping off her horse. Oulo gasped at her while Petra cried out a warning from within the safety of the trees.

"Hange-san, get away from there!"

"Don't listen to those bullies." Hange said to the titan while calmly walking over to him, completely ignoring Petra's concerns. "We're just going to relocate you is all. And, I'm sorry, but we can't be having you free to move." Hange was know kneeling down so that they were eye to eye, literally. Her smile faded when she looked deep into his eye and saw something she'd never thought she'd see in a titan.

Innocence―like that of a child.

Suddenly, the rumbling returned causing Hange to blink in surprise. Levi squad stiffened and looked around, feeling the rumbling turn into large foot steps. Levi narrowed his eyes.

Out of the trees burst forth another titan, but this one caused the Scouts to recollect themselves. It was at least seventeen meters tall with a broad torso and a strip of black hair running down his chest. Long black hair covered his pointed ears and his jaw sported a beard. This was definitely unlike any titan Hange, or anyone for that matter, had ever seen. She didn't have time to squeal about it because the titan was lunging for her.

She quickly shot out her wires and soared off just in time to dodge a back-hand swipe from the seventeen meter. Joining Levi and his squad in the trees, which were not at all as tall as this titan was, she stared at the new comer with both glee and worry.
The seven meter would escape soon if they couldn't get back to it. But she was shocked from her worry when the larger one did something that had them all stare with wide eyes.

The titan was standing over the smaller one, arms up in defense with one protecting its own nape. Worst yet, it was staring down at them with threatening silver eyes.

"It―it's protecting the smaller one." Hange stuttered out. "AHHHHAHAHAHA!" Hange squealed before fumbling with her jacket and taking out her notebook. She slammed the thing against Oulo's chest, causing the man to gasp and stagger a bit. "Quickly, draw a picture!" She ordered without looking back at him.

"Wha? Hange-san! Now is not the time!" The man tried to argue with her, but she would hear none of it. She took a step forward, mumbling and groaning in delight as she rubbed her hands together.

"We have to kill it." Everyone looked over to Levi who only stared down the titan. "We have no choice in the matter. We can't let that thing loose in these walls."

"But―Levi―!" Hange began but was interrupted by the Corporal.

"You're lucky I'm even letting you keep the brat down there!" He shouted at her, actually giving her a glance while pointing his sword down at the seven meter beneath the other. He returned his glare up at the Seventeen meter titan.

"We end this, now." His voice dripped with venom as his eyes twinkled with determination against the unknown. The larger titan narrowed his eyes down at him and growled.

"You know what they say, huh ugly?" Levi teased, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall." He jumped off of the tree branch and shot out towards the titan, making a sharp left before the giant hand had a chance to even come close to him. Levi swung around him twice before coming down upon his free arm, cutting deep into the flesh the whole way down. The titan roared in anger and lashed out. Lifting it's left leg up, it brought it down full force onto the trunk of the tree they were once all in. Levi squad was already in the air, but Hange had to quickly zip line to another. The tree toppled over, falling down with half its roots torn out. The seventeen meter picked it up by the base and tore out the rest of the roots, now wielding it like a blade.

"WHAAAAA?!" Hange screamed.

Levi took the challenge head on, using all of his momentum to come down and arch under the tree. He retracted his wires before shooting them out at the titan's face. He pressed down firmly on the triggers to release out all the steam it could, but all he got was a chill running down his spine when he heard the inevitable. His canisters were out.

They had just gotten back from an expedition outside the walls, beaten and bruised. No stock to refuel, no time to rest; there was no way they were prepared for this to happen. Levi ducked away from the hand that nearly grabbed him and zip lined around the titan's head and into the branches of a tree. He didn't have time to rest as the titan's hand came down upon that tree like an ax, tearing the thing clean from the ground and leaving the Corporal diving off to save his life.

"Don't worry, Levi, we got this!" Petra called out as her and Gunther zipped in simultaneously to take out the titan's eyes. The beast turned just in time to see them and veer his head left. All they ended up cutting was the forehead and ear.

They both gasped at their miss and swung around to try a different tactic when one of the hands intercepted Petra's path.

She screamed when it grabbed her.

Levi hissed, watching as Gunther rushed in followed by Eld. Gunther went for the wrist while Eld had gone for the leg to try and topple the dumb thing over. Oulo had joined in and was going for the other leg, heading straight for the back of the knee like Eld.
With three coming in at once, it seemed the titan had little chance of defense.

Wrong.

All of the sudden, the ground shook as the titan jumped and twirled. The cables hooked onto the titan fell off and Eld, Gunther, and Oulo were flying in the air without control. They each righted themselves; fighting inertia as they twisted their bodies to avoid hitting the seventeen meter and sped toward any nearby tree that hadn't been decimated.

Levi growled as he watched the thing lift Petra up to its face. The girl was screaming in her head, but perfectly silent on the outside. Her teeth were clenched tight and her body shook at the thought of what was to come.

"Petra!" Levi shouted. The titan was now staring into Petra's soul, or at least that's what it felt like to her. It's silver eyes seemed to glow with determination, yet there was something else there she thought looked familiar. Something she'd seen before. Her mind flashed back to memories of her dad. He always gave her that look of fear when she'd do something dangerous or when she brought up the idea of joining the Scouts.

It was fear out of love. And she could clearly see it here in this titan's eyes.

Shockingly, the titan let go and Petra found herself falling out of the grip. Quick hands grabbed her and she watched as Levi zip lined them to the safety of the trees.

Everyone stood still within the trees as the seventeen meter stared them down, not making any moves to further put them in harm's way. He just continued to stand over top of the nearly healed seven meter titan below.

"Sir," Came Eld's voice from another tree. "I'm almost out of fuel!"

"Same here!" Gunther announced as well, "What do we do?"

Levi hissed under his breath, "Stand down!" He ordered.

The titan narrowed its eyes, but continued to watch them. After no movement from the Corps, it did something unthinkable in Hange's eyes. The seven meter had now just fully regenerated itself and had rolled over onto his stomach to get up when the seventeen meter titan clamped its jaws down over its nape. It yanked upward, taking the chunk from the nape with it and keeping it in its mouth.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Hange screamed, watching her precious test subject decay with steam bellowing up into the sky.

"It―killed it." Petra observed softly. Levi shared her surprise but kept his eyes on the seventeen meter monster. The thing back away from the steaming body, eyes still piercing each and every one of the Scouts. When it deemed the time right, it turned and ran off.

Levi was more than willing to go after it and finish the job had he more fuel. And he certainly wasn't going to send his squad after that thing, no sir. So it ended with them watching the titan escape into the forest of Wall Maria and Hange crying out for them to go after it.

Levi whipped his head towards her with daggers in his eyes. He zipped down beside her kneeling form on the ground and grabbed her jacket, hauling her up to his face.

"Shut up! I care more about the lives of my squad than I do for your little science projects!" He yelled angrily at her, but Hange wasn't paying attention. Instead, she grabbed his shoulders with her dirty hands and stood up, now getting into his face.

"WHY DID IT EAT HIM?!" Hange shouted, taking a deep breath and shaking Levi. "WHYYYYYYYYYY?!"

Levi steamed and yanked his arms away, "GET OFF ME!" He hollered, watching as Hange fell back down on her butt. She continued to sob as Levi pulled out his handkerchief and began rubbing his hands clean.

"That's disgusting." He commented. His team joined him on the ground watching Hange with sorrowful stares.

Chapter Text

Mikasa breathed heavily as she ran toward the red smoke; her mind racing faster than her feet could ever.  So many scenarios could be happening right now.  Eren could have been captured, his limbs being cut off so that they could pierce his skin with hooks and needles and haul him off to be dissected in some titan experimentation!  Or worse... they didn't even bother to capture him and took him as an immediate threat for being inside the walls and...

Mikasa's eyes widened and she gasped between breathes.

No, they wouldn't!  Please tell me they didn't kill him! she thought frantically.  She was more than willing to shout out his name again, but her better judgement told her the Scouts would be nearby.  If she was caught randomly wondering around this far out, they'd start to ask questions.

A horrifying screech jolted her from her thoughts.  She skid to a halt and listened, fighting the urge to cover her ears.  Not because of the high pitch sound but because of the pain that was filled within it.

"Eren!"  She yelled at the top of her voice, despite her past reasoning not to.  It sounded so far away; by the time it would take her to actually get there on foot, it would be too late.  For the first time in a while she actually felt... scared.

Unconsciously, she grasped her scarf; feeling the fibers with each finger before she pulled it tighter around her neck.  Her fearful, silver eyes narrowed defiantly and she took off again, following the sounds.  There was another roar, but it wasn't Eren's.  Mikasa didn't care, she knew Eren was in danger and he needed her help and that's all she cared to think about.  There was crashing and stomping, more growls and roars, a high pitch scream―sounded like it came from a woman... what the heck was going on?!

The forest became quiet again and it scared Mikasa to death, but she didn't stop running.  She needed to get to Eren, need to stop them from hurting him.  He wasn't a titan, he was a human being, he could just turn into a titan that's all!  There was nothing wrong with that!

The rumbling returned, but this time it felt like it was getting closer.  She stopped once more to study the ground when she glanced up to see a large hand coming right at her.  She cried out in surprise when the titan hand grasped her small body and lifted her up.  Her eyes darted over to the face seventeen meters off the ground.  It spoke before she could.

"Mikasa... shhh... it's me." The titan spoke in a deep, yet high pitch, reverberating voice.  Her eyes widened in recognition and fear escaped her.

"Dr. Jaeger?" she asked and his titan shook his head yes.  Of course it was him, who else would it be?  She knew Dr. Jaeger was a shifter too, but she never saw his titan.  He was big.

Her eyes looked around, "Where's Eren?" she asked, almost fearful of his answer.  But he never did answer, just look down at her indifferently before continuing to walk.  A few minutes past was when he carefully put her down next to his black carriage and waiting horses.

That's right, he was supposed to be coming back from a checkup today, Mikasa remembered, he must of heard Eren's cry and went to go help.  She glanced up at him as he knelt down beside her.  But... if he's here, where's Eren?

Grisha's titan opened his mouth and gently spit out Eren into his hands.  The poor boy was half-conscious and covered in saliva.  As soon as he was out, he began coughing.  Grisha lowered his hand and deposited him on the grass.  Mikasa ran to his side the moment she saw him, kneeling down to help wipe some of the saliva off his face with her jacket.  He looked over at her the moment he caught his breath.

"Mikasa...?"

"Are you okay?" she questioned.  He only looked down from her gaze, the memories of what happened fluttering around in his head.

A hissing sound caught both of their attentions, looking up behind them to see Grisha's titan decaying, the nape bellowing steam before Grisha himself broke out of the skin.  He grunted in his struggles, but nevertheless freed himself in no time.  Sliding down his titan's back, the good doctor jumped off and landed on all fours, grunted again from the impact.  He approached Eren and Mikasa, following the girl's lead in kneeling down beside Eren.

"Can you walk?" he asked calmly.  The absence of anger in his voice or body language kind of scared Eren.

"Yes." He replied embarrassingly.  Grisha took his hand and helped him up, the boy steadying himself on his own two feet.  His father than grabbed a hold of Mikasa's and steered them into the back of the carriage.

"Come, we have to go; quickly now."  He said, taking the reins and ushering the horse to move.  They whinnied and galloped onward, Grisha leading them back onto the dirt road and towards Shinganshina.

Eren sat in the carriage staring down in thought.  He could feel Mikasa's gaze on him, but he never peered up at her.

He couldn't believe what happened.  His idle, his hero, humanity's greatest and strongest nearly killed him.  Corporal Levi...

He was so shocked and scared when he ran into them.  He was glad he didn't actually run into any of them and was quick to roll dodge, even happier to have placed his hand over his nape just in time.  He shuttered at the memory of that feeling.  Levi’s ice cold blades slicing his fingers off, just barely scratching the back of his neck.  It had sent chills up and down his whole body.  He didn’t even see him coming!  He was on his horse and then, boom, he was zipping past him and his fingers were gone!

He remembered seeing that brown hair lady on the dirt looking at him with a big smile.  He didn’t know what she was smiling about because all the others looked petrified of his presence.  She even seemed kind of nice, trying to calm him down after they sliced up his muscles and he couldn’t move.  Said that they weren’t going to kill him, but instead relocate him.  The thought of being taken away even scared him.  They would’ve tied him down and took him deep within the military, far, far away from his parents.  The thought of his mother crying with worry over her lost son… what would his dad have done?

Eren glanced up at the man in question.  He would have done just what Eren witnessed.  Would’ve rushed out to find him and rescue him in titan form.  And that wouldn’t be good for anyone.  It was bad enough his father had to fight off the Scouts, lucky that they came to a stalemate without bloodshed.  Well, mostly.

The thought of his father’s screams when Levi sliced his way down his entire arm… that scared him.  He almost thought for a moment his dad would lose… that they’d kill him… that they’d kill his dad…

He didn’t blame them.  They were just doing what they thought was best.  Best for their lives and the rest of humanity’s.  It’s not their fault, they didn’t run into him.

Eren looked back down at the floor, eyes narrowed in anger.  Stupid deer.  Why did it have to go running towards the Scouts?  No, it wasn’t the deer’s fault, it was his.  He was the one that wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings.  How could he not hear the galloping of horses coming along down the road.  Was he that fixated on the deer?

Speaking of horses…

Eren’s head flung upward when he heard the familiar sound up ahead.  He thought at first it was just theirs, but it sounded much farther away.  Upon peering out of the cot he saw the Scouts positioned up ahead, stopped along the side of the road.  His eyes widened when he saw Corporal Levi talking to Erwin Smith, then suddenly shift to him directly.  He stifled a shiver and hid himself inside the cot.

“Urrrrhhhuhhuuuuuuh.” Hange moaned, her hands covering her face.  She stood among the rest of the Corps as they tried to figure out the situation with the titans.  Currently stopped alongside the dirt road inside Wall Maria, the Survey Corps waited anxiously for Levi and his squad to return with news of the seventeen meter titan.  After Hange and Levi squad got back and informed Erwin of the bad news, Erwin immediately ordered some of the other soldiers with fuller canisters to trade with Levi squad so they could quickly go after it.  Now they were waiting for some sort of message, be it via flare or returning all together.  He hoped it would be the former.

Unfortunately, his hopes were denied as Levi and his squad had returned, swinging down and gracefully landing beside Mike, Hange, and the horses.  Erwin didn’t need to be told if the news was bad or good, their presence said it all.

“Any news?” Erwin asked anyway.

“We found the body.” Levi announced indifferently.  Hange perked up to listen intently, her face coming out from behind her palms.  “The seventeen meter’s dead.”

“WHAAAAA?!” She practically screamed in disbelief.  She couldn’t believe her luck; two precious, invaluable subjects: GONE!  All of the information she could’ve collected from them: GONE!  Even one would have been just fine, but no, both are dead!

“It was killed?” Erwin investigated, peering at Levi sternly.  Levi didn’t flinch, he had no reason to.

“It appears that way.  We couldn’t really tell; the body was already half gone by the time we found it.” He explained further.

“How do you think they even got inside the walls?”  Petra asked in concern.

“You don’t think the walls have been breached, do ya?” Gunther questioned, looking down at Levi.  Said squad leader glanced over at Erwin for an answer, but his attention was soon taken to an approaching horse-drawn carriage.  He noticed a small boy peering out of the cot before he shied away and disappeared back behind its cover.

Levi nodded his head in the carriage’s direction, “We’ve got company.”  At the announcement, Erwin turned around as everyone’s eyes now turned to the newcomers.  Hange glanced up with a new found hope.

She gasped, “Do you think they saw something?!” She exclaimed to Erwin, jumping over beside Oulo and Petra.  Erwin narrowed his eyes at the idea and lifted his hand in motion for them to stop when they got close.  He recognized the man.  He was Dr. Grisha Jaeger.

“Good afternoon, sir.” The doctor smiled warmly while pulling on the reins for the horses to stop.  He rested his hands on his lap, but otherwise kept hold of the reins.  “Do you need something?”

“Yes,” Erwin replied, “If I may ask, where are you coming from?”

Grisha pointed back along the road, “From one of the local farm house.  Monthly check up with the family, why?”

“Have you seen or heard anything out of the ordinary within the last ten minutes?” Erwin probed.  Levi, Mike, and Hange we’re scanning Dr. Jaeger’s reactions to see if anything was amiss.  If he saw or knew something, it was best to get his help in the matter.  They still didn’t know how the seventeen meter died so suddenly.

Grisha frowned at the question, “I saw that red smoke, why, is everything okay?” His question held with great concern and Erwin now knew why.  Glancing behind the man, he could see his two small children no older than ten years old sitting in the cot.  He didn’t want to worry the father.

“No, Doctor.  The situation has been taken care of.  Thank you for your time.” Erwin answered and motion them to go on ahead.  Grisha nodded and clicked his lips for the horses to start trotting.  Erwin, Levi, Mike, Levi squad, and Hange all watched them leave.

“What do you think?” Levi questioned, his eyes still glued to the back of the carriage.  Behind him, Hange started touching Oulo in search for her notebook she unceremoniously dropped in his hands earlier.  He verbally discouraged her from the action.

“I think we don’t have all the variables here.” Erwin replied.

“When do we ever?” Levi commented as a matter of fact.  Their attention was suddenly redirected to Hange behind them.  She was holding her notebook, staring at the page in front of her before glaring at Oulo and shoving the paper in his face.

“What is this?!” She yelled.  “What am I looking at on this piece of paper?!”  Oulo was nearly cross-eyed as he studied the object to her random question.  He had no idea what she was so mad about.

“What are you blind?  It’s blank!” he replied smartly.

“Exactly, Oulo.  It’s blank.  I told you to draw them!  There’s not even stick figures on this paper!  And I would've taken that over nothing!”  She complained before returning the notebook to the inside pocket of her jacket.  She growled in irritation and stomped off, looking for her assistant, Moblit, to record her words as she would recite to him what she found.

Levi sneered at her.  Four-eyed brat, he thought.

Dishes clanked together as Carla moved them around to dry properly.  She then dunked her hands into the hot, soapy water and scrubbed clean the remaining set.  Behind her, the front door opened and stepping inside was Grisha, followed by Eren and Mikasa.  At the sound of their entrance, Carla shook her hands free of water and dried them off on the towel attached to her dress.

“Well, well, well.  Look who’s home a little late.” She said cheerfully, the happiness quite evident in her voice.  Upon looking at her son, her smile faded some at the clear shame he failed to hide in his body language.  “Uh oh,” She announced as she knelt down beside Eren and pulled on his earlobe.

“Eh—Ow, mom!”  Eren complained, reaching up and rubbing the sore appendage.

“What did you do?” She questioned calmly.  Grisha didn’t say anything as he sat his toolkit on the kitchen table.

“Uh, what makes you think I did anything?” Eren replied, attempting to sneak out of his inevitable punishment.

“Your earlobe is red.  That means you have something to hide.”  She answered.  “Mikasa didn’t have to save you again, now did she?”

“Well—um… no.” He said, half-truthfully.

Mikasa suddenly spoke up, “Eren was caught as a titan by the Scouts.”  The room instantly fell quiet save for the short gasp Carla released from her lips.  The woman’s face had nearly drained of color as she stared at Mikasa, begging for her ears to have misheard.

“Mikasa!” Eren grumbled, glaring at her for telling his mom of what happened.  His gaze was soon turned towards his mother’s as she suddenly grasped his shoulders.

“You were a titan?!  We told you not to use your shifting abilities!  You could have been taken, or worse, killed!”

“I—I just wanted to practice, that’s all.  I didn’t mean to run into them!”

“You shouldn’t have been a titan period!”

“Oh so I have to live my life like dad?!  At least I want to do something about these titans!  I’d rather be kidnapped by the Scouts and used as a test subject then live out my life in these walls like cattle!” Eren argued defiantly.

Carla nearly lost it, “DON’T TALK ABOUT YOUR FATHER LIKE THAT!”

“It’s a nightmare, Eren.” Grisha said suddenly, making the other two stop and look at him.  He turned around to look the boy in the eye.  “The outside world and the titans… you really have no idea.”

“Yeah?  Well, it’s gotta be better out there than it is in here!  I’m not stupid, okay!  I know it’s dangerous to be a titan and venture out; I know death lurks around every corner for both human and shifter.  But if no one steps up to do something, how will this nightmare ever end?!”  Grisha’s glasses shine from the light that flickered off them when he bowed his head at Eren’s statement.

“I see,” He replied simply before continuing.  “Well then, you’ll have to excuse me.  I’ve got business with some folks in the interior.  I’ll be back in about a week.”

“Grisha, for heaven’s sake, scold the boy!” Carla begged of him, following him to the door.

“Scold?” Grisha repeated calmly, “Darling please, think this through.  Mere words are not going to persuade him or hold back his curiosity.”  He then placed his hat on his head and turned to look at his son once more.  “Eren, I want you to behave and refrain from using your abilities until I get back.  And when I get back, I’ll let you in on what I have been working on in the cellar.”  He said while taking out his key he kept around his neck.  The metal shimmered in gold as the light touched it, making Eren smile broadly.  Excitement filled him with the idea of finally getting to go down into the cellar and find out what his dad had been keeping so secret this whole time.

“Yes sir, you got it!  I promise not to turn titan all week long!” He agreed happily.

As Grisha walked down the stairs towards his carriage, Eren waved him goodbye.

“Bye dad!  Have a nice trip!” He shouted with a big smile.  His mom looked down at him disappointingly.

“I’m still infuriated with you, young man.” She told him suddenly, causing Eren’s smile to falter.  “You’re grounded for life; I don’t want you using your abilities ever again.”

“What?!  What’s the point of even having them if I can’t use them?!” Eren shouted back at her before taking off down the street.  His mother called out to him with an outstretched arm, but her cries fell on deaf ears.

Mikasa was about to follow him when Carla hastily grabbed her shoulders.

“Mikasa please, you have to protect him!  The boy’s too much of a danger to himself.  Promise me you’ll have his back no matter what.”  Mikasa initially looked shocked, but got over it within the blink of an eye.

“I promise.” She replied honestly.  It was a promise she had already sworn her life upon.  Now it had all the more reason to be kept.

Eren just ran.  He didn’t know exactly where he was going, but he knew it’d be better than staying at home.  The whole thing just made him lose it.  How could his mother not understand?  Armin was right, he could definitely help out the Scouts with his shifting abilities.  Who knows, it may even be able to turn the tides of this whole “war”.  Then they could finally venture outside and see the world.  Endless waters filled with endless salt, fields of sand that stretch for miles over the horizon, deep forests with the most exotic creatures he had ever seen… who wouldn’t want to see that?  To witness it with his very own eyes, to be there in person; reach out and touch it and not feel paper…

And his titan was the ticket.

Armin agreed, he was just as passionate about it as Eren was.  Mikasa didn’t show any oppose to it too.  The three of them against the outside world… that sent goosebumps down his back!

Cynical laughter caused these thoughts to fade as Eren slowed down and looked around.  Stopping out in the opening of an alleyway, he gasped as he saw his best friend being pushed around and shoved into the stone wall by three bullies.  His anger returned full force, fists clenching tight as he jarred his teeth and hollered at them at the top of his voice.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” He yelled right before charging them.  The three boys stopped and looked up, the one throwing the punches halting mid swing.  They all smiled mockingly and cracked their knuckles, more than happy to give another idiot a beating for the day.  They were lacking in their quota recently.

“Oh look, Eren’s coming to join his friend.” The “ring leader” teased.

“Haha, stupid.”

“This is going to be fun!”

Armin opened his eyes and looked up at them.  Eren managed to come in with the first hit at the ring leader before the other two boys tackled him to the ground.  It was all downhill from there and Armin couldn’t just sit there and watch.  He quickly stood up despite the pain and launched himself at one of the boys.

He grunted in his efforts, “Stop it!” he shouted, but the boy only knocked him away.  Armin fell back down to the hard ground nearly face first, his eyes worse than sad as they reopened to see his pathetic failure.

“You’re all weaklings!”  The boy Armin attack shouted back arrogantly.  However, his grin ran when he turned back around and met a fist.  The punch sent him flying to the ground, right beside Armin—who glanced up to see Mikasa standing like a shadow over the souls.  Once the other two looked up from knocking the wind out of Eren, they froze in terror.  In less than half a second, they turned screaming and ran down the alley way.

The boy on the ground next to Armin wasn’t so quickly and flopped like a fish out of water as he bravely took a glance Mikasa’s way only to see her slowly walking towards him.  He screamed at the top of his lungs and—finally—dashed off after his friends, his trousers obviously soaked in the croch.

Eren breathed heavily as he sat up, a hand up at his bleeding lip as he stared daggers after the three bullies.

“Yeah, you better run!”  He yelled at them.  Mikasa offered a hand and Eren took it unconsciously out of habit.  It made Mikasa’s stomach fill with butterflies, but she never showed any signs.  When Eren was up on his feet, his hand went to his arm but his attention diverted off towards Armin.

“Armin!” he called out, rushing over to his still downed friend and reaching out to help him up.  “Are you okay?”

Armin sighed, but smiled anyway, “I am now, thanks.” He replied thankfully, Eren pulling him up to stand. 

“Eren, your lip is bleeding.” Mikasa announced and Eren reached a hand up to touch it.

“It’ll be fine…” As soon as he said this, the swollen skin started to steam.  Once cut open, the skin was now closed and fully healed.  Eren wiped the blood from his skin.

“See?” He said, mostly to Mikasa who seemed the most worried, though her face was completely flat.  Armin secretly wished he could heal like Eren.

The three started walking, not really knowing where they were heading, but glad to be moving all the same.  It was when they were near the market place that Eren bothered asking.

“What did those guys want this time?”  Armin only sighed with a precious smile.

“I was just talking about the outside world and how we couldn’t stay in these walls forever.”  His smile faded when another thought came up, “We’ve lived peacefully without worry of the titans for a hundred years… but how much longer are we going to hold out?  These walls are strong and sturdy; the titans can’t knock them down or break through them.”  He didn’t look them in the eye.

“But everything has its limits; nothing lasts forever.  It’s only a matter of time before we have to face the titans again.  These walls won’t protect us forever.”  Armin looked up at them.  “Sorry, I don’t mean to be a downer.”

“No, Armin, you’re right.” Eren agreed respectfully.  The three of them stopped walking.  “Something needs to be done.  That’s why I’m gonna join the Scouts and use my abilities to fight for humanity.”  He declared with a proud smile.

Armin looked mildly shocked at the statement, “Wha—you mean you’re going ahead with my idea?”

“Of course, Amrin.”  Eren shrugged his shoulders like the idea was no big thing, “I can always count on you for advice and whatnot.  You’ve never steered us wrong.”  Armin looked at them with teary eyes.  His friends had so much faith in him... and what did he have to return the favor?

“But Eren, mom and dad said not to use your abilities anymore.” Mikasa reminded him, not at all flinching when the boy twirled around and glared at her.  Armin looked surprised.

“That’s not going to stop me from doing all that I can!” Eren argued, his anger from before—to which he was happy to have forgotten about—was now back.

“Wait, your folks know about you shifting?”  This was news to Armin.  Eren’s face calmed as both he and Mikasa glanced his way.  Eren looked away and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Yeah—uh, I sort of… um... was a bit clumsy today.” He said, trying to make the memory seem better than it actually was.  Mikasa, obviously, didn’t care.

“He ran into the Scouts in titan form.”  Armin gasped in horror as a small simulation played out in his head.

“B—but you’re not dead…?”

“Of course not.” Eren replied proudly again.  “Aw, you should’ve seen them Armin!  They were amazing!  Zipping around from tree to tree going faster than anything I’ve ever seen before!  It was like they were flying!” Eren retold the tale, though in reality, he wasn’t smiling or filled with excitement during that time.  The fear was too great to think about anything else.

“Wow!” Armin’s eyes were so large, they were twinkling.  Then a thought came to him and his sparkle fell.  “But—how did you escape?”  At the question, Eren’s joy-rush fell too.  He didn’t reply so Mikasa spoke for him.

“Dad came and rescued him.”

“W—wait… your dad shifted?  I didn’t know he still did that?”

“Yeah, I know.  It was a surprise to me too.” Eren informed, thinking back to when he first saw his father’s titan appear.  At first, he was just as confused as the Scouts, but then suddenly had the sense like he knew him.  It even looked a bit like his dad.  It was the beard… the beard definitely gave it all away.

“And he fought the Survey Corps and won?” Armin continued, still captivated by the subject.

“Well, not really.” Eren shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.  “To be honest it ended in a stalemate.”

“Wow, your dad must not have been too happy with you…”

“No kidding considering I’m grounded for life and am not allowed to use my abilities ever again.” Eren droned.

Armin looked down, feeling it was sort of his fault.  He always told Eren it’d be a good idea to practice using with his titan, but that only got him in trouble with his parents.  Despite what they valued in his opinion, it was Eren’s father’s word that should be taken more seriously.  He knew a lot more about the titans than anyone and Armin could tell he had secrets not even his family knew about.

The blonde haired boy glanced up at his friends, “So I guess joining the Scouts are out of the question, huh.”  Mikasa was thinking the same thing, though for entirely different reasons, and watched Eren for his response.

Eren in question had that look again.  His body was tense as his heart burned with fierce determination.  It was a drive few could possess.

“No, I’m joining the Scouts; despite what my parents think.” He replied defiantly before looking down almost in sorrow, “Their just gonna have to get over it.” He whispered.

Armin and Mikasa watched him with concern, silence falling between the three of them.  In fact, the whole area was strangely quiet; one may even go as far to say it was unnatural.  It was as if the wind stopped blowing and the birds stopped chirping.  The next sound they heard was one they’d soon remember for the years to come.  And it was a sound the three were quite familiar with, especially Eren.

He would never forget this day, for it would haunt his dreams and set in stone the turning point of his life.

Chapter Text

Deep in the forests of Wall Rose, Grisha’s carriage rolled along down the road heading south.  The night was nearly pitch black as the new moon hid itself in the night sky.

His mind raced as his thoughts ventured over the possible outcome of his family.  Word of what happened to Shinganshina District and Wall Maria had spread fast across the walls.  Only hours after the tragedy, every person and noble within the inner walls knew what happened.  A sixty meter titan had kicked a hole in the wall and let in all the titans.  Then another titan, fifteen meters, rammed into the gates of Wall Maria and confiscated the whole land.

Grisha suspected shifters…

He clenched his teeth, Bastards!  The lot of them! He yelled in his head, tears falling down his cheeks as he once again wondered about his family.  If they died because of them…

Eren, Carla, Mikasa, please be alright! He begged to himself, bowing his head to better see through the tears.

“The titans have broken through Wall Maria!”

“They’re coming to Wall Rose!”

The citizens shouted as they ran north.  Though the titans weren’t anywhere near the town, the simple thought of the lumbering giants rushing towards their families drove nearly all insane to grasp the security of Wall Sina.  That, and many among them currently were the front lines of the Wall Maria refugees.

Keith Shadis couldn’t help but be washed away by the crowd.  His thoughts were as dark as reality at the moment.  He had given up his position as Commander of the Scouts and now he wasn’t anything anymore; just a regular bystander.  Nothing special.  Never had been, never will be.

“Keith!”  A voice from behind jerked him out of his despair.  His feet shoved themselves into the ground and his body acted as an unmovable object for the citizens around him to now avoid instead of wash down stream with the rest.  He turned around to see his old friend, Dr. Grisha Jaeger, making his way towards him.

“Keith, please!” The man pleaded once the two finally joined each other in company.  “Please, you have to help me find my family!”

“The—they’d be at the shelters.” Keith replied softly, seemingly in shock.  Grisha urged him to direct the way and Keith took no time to move.

The torches were the only sources of light the two had as they rushed towards the shelters.  Everything seemed to have been a blur for both of them as time appeared irrelevant.  It all happened in bits and pieces, nothing in between to tie the length of time together.

“We’ll split up and find them!”  Grisha suggested before running towards the nearest door on his left.  Keith tried the one on the right, his mind wandering to Carla and praying the woman was alright.  He said some nasty things to her the last he saw her and he wanted to apologize, tell her he didn’t mean it.

Some of the sleeping refugees woke at Shadis’ footsteps, watching him with concern as he glanced at each person he walked by.  When none were familiar, he left and closed the door behind him.  Then he froze, seeing Grisha standing outside of a shelter with an unconscious Eren in his hands.

Where’s Carla…? He asked in thought.

Grisha knelt down and laid Eren on the ground, keeping the boy’s head on his arm for support.

“Eren, wake up.” He cooed softly, gently shaking his son until he got a response.  Eren moaned through a hoarse throat.  His eyelids flinching before giving way to the dim light of the torches.  The first face he found was his father’s.

“Dad…?” He greeted weakly.  Then the trauma returned to him and he started shaking, eyes welling up with tears.  “Mother, she—“ Eren closed his eyes and curled in on himself, leaning against Grisha’s coat.  “She got eaten… by the titans…” He bawled.  “I coul—I couldn’t do anything!  I tried!  But it didn’t work!”  Eren was grasping his still wounded hand.  Grisha could see the bloody bite marks on the skin.

Shadis fell to his knees, the memories of the woman he used to love washing over him like a raging storm.  He didn’t know what to do anymore.  Everything was hopeless.  He dared to lift his eyes to Grisha, and when he did, it all came to him in shock.

Grisha was hugging his son’s shivering form, not a single tear falling down his face.  To anyone else, it would seem as if the man simple wasn’t affected by everything that had happened.  But Keith knew him better.  He was, indeed, hurting deeply inside, but he refused to let it overwhelm him.  It was one of the many things that made the man special, something he himself could never be.

“Eren,” Grisha finally spoke, “Come with me.” He ordered while holding his son’s hand and helping him stand up.  “We’re going to take revenge for your mother.” He stated as he led them along toward the forest.

“Wha—Grisha wait… where are you going?” Keith called out to them.

“The woods.  Please, Keith, don’t follow.” Grisha replied softly yet again.

“You’d have the boy take revenge with you?  Why?  Why throw him into this madness?  Why can’t you take revenge for Carla by yourself?”  Keith questioned, the distance between him and the two growing by the second.  “You’re special, Grisha.  I don’t why or how, but you’re one of the special ones.  What if this boy isn’t?  What if you’re throwing a simple bystander into all of this?  What would you do if this boy isn’t who you expected him to be?”

Grisha glanced back at his friend, “This boy is different from you, Keith.”  His glasses shined from the light of the torches before his eyes finally cut through to peer at Shadis.  “He’s my son.  Please don’t get involved.”

That was the last thing Grisha said to him before the two disappeared into the trees.

As he led them away, Eren looked up at his father, eyes still running like facets.  He led them deep into the forest before letting go of Eren’s hand and pulling something out of his pocket.  When he turned to face his son, his eyes were shiny with tears.

He didn’t want to do this…

Eren looked at him with fear as his father pulled out a syringe.

“Eren… son… please trust me.” He said with a shaky voice.

He didn’t want to do this to his son…

“What are you doing?” Eren asked, his voice almost inaudible.

“I’m going to give you something.” His father replied, filling the syringe with a strange liquid from another vial.  Eren backed away holding his arms for protection.

His father continued to explain, “I’m sorry it has to be you, but I trust no one else, not even myself.”  Grisha looked down at Eren, tears now free falling down his cheeks.  “You may be the only one who can use it.  Eren, please hold still.” He pleaded weakly.

“No… what are you doing?  Daddy…?”

“I’m sorry, Eren… please…”

“You’re scaring me!”

“You have to promise me you won’t give up, okay?  Promise me you won’t stop trying!”

“Stop it!  You’ve… you’ve gone crazy!  I don’t understand what you want!”

“Eren, LISTEN to me!  You must learn how to control this!”

He didn’t want to hurt his one and only son…

“I told you I don’t understand!”

“Everyone depends on you!  I depend on you now!  Think of the lives, Eren!  Please!”

“Dad, stop!”  Eren yelled as Grisha grabbed his arm and held the syringe in place.

But Eren was different…

“Mikasa’s life!  Armin’s life!  Everyone’s life depends on you!  You have to learn how to control this power!”

He was special in his own unique way…

“EREN!”

The bells rung loudly overhead, shocking Eren awake.  He gasped vociferously, his breath coming in short.  It took him a while before he was able to collect his focus on the now instead of the “dream” he had about his father and him.

“Eren?”  Mikasa’s voice alerted him to her presence.  “Dr. Jaeger, he’s awake.”  Eren almost gasped again.

“Dad…?” Eren whispered as he looked over at his father.  The man was short of his jacket to which Eren found had been wrapped around he himself.  His father knelt down beside him and looked him in the eye.

“Eren, are you okay?  You’ve been out for some time.”  Grisha said in a soft voice.  Eren looked at him in shock… was it all just a dream, a nightmare?  It felt so real…

His whole body felt overwhelmingly hot and he placed his hand around his neck for nausea came along with the heat.

“I’m really hot.” He informed them and Grisha responded by resting one of his hands against Eren’s forehead.

“Hmmm, you’ve got a bit of a temperature, but I’m sure it’s nothing.” Grisha concluded.  Mikasa looked at him as he stood.  “They’ll be handing out rations soon.  We best get in line.”

Mikasa helped Eren up even though he didn’t need it and the two of them followed Grisha out of the empty shelter and into the court yard with the other hundred or so refugees.  The sun was brighter than Eren expected, an arm coming up to shield his eyes from its intensity.

“You two wait here, I’m gonna go see what I can do about food.  Okay?”  Grisha said, retaking his jacket from Eren as the boy offered it to him.  Both Eren and Mikasa nodded and Grisha walked off into the crowd toward the handouts.

Grunting and shouting caught both of the kid’s attentions as they turned their gaze to two adults fighting over a loaf of bread.  Eren watched in disappointment.

“Give me that!  That’s mine!”

“Fat chance; you certainly don’t need it since you’ve got enough weight on you as is!”

“It’s been like this all morning.” Mikasa explained.  “Not exactly a dignified existence.  Thing is; the people here have already been dealing with famine even before we showed up.  We’re lucky to even get anything at this point.”

“Hey guys!”  Armin’s voice called out from the crowd.

“Armin?” Eren mumbled, seemingly still a bit out of it from his sleep.

“I see you’re finally awake.  How you feeling?  You really had us worried there.” Armin greeted, smiling at the two.

“Uh, I’m okay.”  Eren replied simply.  His gaze moved down to the three loaves of bread in the boy’s arms.  Armin noticed and perked up cheerfully.

“Oh yeah, my grandpa was able to scrounge a little extra for us.  Here, these are yours.” Armin said while handing them each one loaf.

“That was nice of him.”  Mikasa thanked as she happily received the food.  Eren looked down at it then up at the sneer sent his way.  He saw a Garrison soldier standing behind Armin looking down at them as if they were the scum of the earth eating bread crumbs off the ground.  He looked at them as if they were meaningless livestock.

“What’s his deal?” Eren growled as the man walked away.

“Just ignore it.  There’s not enough food to go around, everyone’s hungry.”  Armin informed him as the three of them watched the soldier return to his colleague’s side and sneered at a group of the adults fighting.

“Good to know our rations are going to feed the animals.  But I guess we gotta beef up the herd, those titans like a little meat on their bones.” The soldier commented.

Eren began to steam—figuratively speaking—his fists balling up as his muscles tensed in anger.  He growled at the man, staring daggers at him before walking over.  Mikasa and Armin looked at him with concern.

“Eren, wait!” Armin called to him, but Eren wasn’t listening.

“…Outa keep you in cages, shove you out to the front lines as a buffer…” the soldier continued, not noticing Eren approaching as he had his eyes closed.  He did, however, notice the strong pain that had been kicked into his shin.

“Ow, damn it!”  The soldier opened his eyes to see the ten-year-old standing in front of him.  “You brat, how dare you!”  The man said before punching Eren in the left cheek while his colleague kicked him down to the ground.  Eren sat up, still searing with anger.  The ramble amongst the crowd hushed as they watched the scene unfold.

“You spineless cowards!”  Eren criticized.  “You—you don’t know what its like!  You’ve seen them!  You’ve seen what they do, yet I bet you never witnessed their horror up close!” He screamed, nearly in tears.  The man looked shocked a bit before he righted himself and advanced towards Eren for another beat down.

“You little piece of—“

“Please, he’s sorry!  He didn’t mean to say those things!” Armin quickly stepped between them, arms open to show he was not a threat.  “We’re all hungry and the heats getting to us.”

“Yeah well, that’s no excuse to act like an animal.”  This got Eren shaking again as he hissed up at the soldier and moved to go for another round.  Armin quickly tried to keep him back by holding onto one of his arms, but it proved to be fruitless.  The fight, however, never happened as another voice rang out.

“Stop!”

Nearly everyone turned to look at Grisha.  The man calmly walked over to the scene.

“Hey, I know you.” The soldier perked up in recognition.  “You’re Dr. Jaeger aren’t you?  You helped out my family once, saved my mother.”  He told him.  Looking down in thought of his attitude towards the respected man.

Grisha simply nodded his head, “I’m sorry about my son.  I’m afraid he’s not taking this all too well.” Grisha said, stepping in between Armin and Eren and the Garrison soldier.

“Yeah, well, join the club.” The soldier replied before he and his colleague walked away.

“Bastards.”  Eren growled yet again.  His father turned around,

“Enough Eren!”  He ordered, taking hold of his hand and pulling him over to the shade behind the pillars on the far side of the court yard.

“We can’t let them treat us this way!”  Eren argued, getting even angrier as his father seemingly didn’t listen to him as he forcefully led him away.  “Why won’t you help me?!  Why don’t you ever want to fight back?!”

“Eren, you must choose your battles wisely!  Picking fights isn’t going to help anyone right now!” Grisha hollered at him before letting go of his hand and falling on his knees.  He looked Eren in the eye, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry about your mother.” He said with a shaky voice and brought Eren into hug him.  The boy wrapped his hands around his neck, holding tight as the memories swept through.

“I tried…” Eren cried into his father’s shoulder, “I tried to help her, but I wasn’t strong enough.  I couldn’t shift, I don’t know why!  I could have helped her, I could have killed that titan and saved her life!  But all I am is a weak monster!”  Mikasa walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.  Grisha leaned him away and placed his forehead to Eren’s.

“Shhh, shh, that’s not it at all.  You did what you could.  Your abilities were different; under such extreme stress, you couldn’t have been able to maintain focus to achieve your goals.  It’s not your fault Eren.”  Grisha reasoned with him.  Armin listened closely in grief, finding it odd that Grisha used the past tense word: were.  Maybe he was overlooking things.

“But we can’t live in the past.  Your mother wouldn’t want that.” Eren watched his father as he spoke to him.  “If anything, she’d want us to keep going, to live.”  Grisha expressed kindly.  He lifted Eren’s hand in which held the loaf of bread Armin gave to him from before and told him to eat.  Eren looked down at the loaf with sad eyes before they narrowed, purpose burning brightly within.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to kill all the titans.  I’m going to avenge mom’s death and free us from this nightmare.”  He promised, now looking up at the three around him.  “But I’m not going to do it with my ability.”  The news came to Mikasa and Armin as a surprise.

“Eren?”  Armin began to questioned, but didn’t get the chance as Eren interrupted with his argument.

“I’m not turning into one of those monsters!  Not ever again!  It never helped; it only caused trouble and pain.”  Eren looked down in thought.  If he hadn’t of ran into the Scouts, then he probably wouldn’t have gotten into that fight with his mom.  Then maybe her last memory with him wouldn’t have been full of such despair.

“No,” He continued, “I’ll defeat the titans as a soldier.”  Eren looked into this father’s eyes.  “Dad, in two years, I’m going to join the cadets and make my way up to the Scouts.”

The four of them stood in silence, Grisha staring down at his son indifferently.  If something was on his mind, Armin thought, he was doing a very good job at showing none of it.

“I’m going with you.”  Mikasa said all of the sudden, causing Eren to gawk at her in shock.

“Mikasa…?  I don’t wan—“

“I’m going too.”  Armin interrupted him.  Eren looked utterly lost.

“What?  No!  Ugh, dammit all!  I don’t want to drag you guys down into my grave.” He argued.

“With me there, that won’t happen.” Mikasa reasoned with him.  Eren figured it was a lost cause to try and convince her to change her mind so he looked to Armin.

“Armin, you don’t really—“

“I’ve always dreamed of exploring the outside world.  It was a dream my parents shared.  That’s not going to happen unless we do something.”  Armin debated.  “Eren, I’m with you all the way.”

Eren was about to try and talk some sense into them before realizing they were just as stubborn as he was.  He slumped his shoulders in defeat and smiled acceptingly at them.  Then they all turned to Grisha who had been strangely quiet the whole conversation.  They awaited his opinion in trepidation.

“Go.”  He announced simply.

“Huh?” Eren questioned in confusion.

“Eren, if you want to help humanity, I’m not going to stop you.”  Grisha said calmly.  It was true, Eren was so much like him.  All he wanted to do was heal people and help those in need.  Eren was the same way except his desires reached further than the walls.

“But I would like you to promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?” Eren asked.

“I want you to promise me you’ll stay alive.”

“Yes sir, I promise!”  Eren answered with glee.  “Come on, Armin!”  Eren invited him as he dashed along down the walkway.

“Uh, okay, but where are we going?”  Armin called out as he rushed to catch up to his all-time best friend.  Mikasa moved to chase after them before a hand rested on her shoulder stopped her.  She turned to look up at Dr. Jaeger.

“Mikasa, promise me you’ll help him keep that promise.”

She looked solemnly at him, “I promise.”  Then she took off after her friends.

In the two years’ span, the seventy percent of the surviving population of Wall Maria had depleted immensely.  To aid in the shortage of food, refugees were sent in loads to plow the barren lands and fields.  But the cold harsh ground yielded nothing.  In the year 846, the remaining refugees old enough to serve in the military were tasked in reclaiming Wall Maria.  Armin’s grandpa, unfortunately, was among the chosen.  Dr. Jaeger was deemed as a necessary asset for the citizens of Wall Rose and was put to work in a nearby hospital.

When the news of the mission returned to Wall Rose, Armin cried.  Of the 250,000 sent, less than 200 made it back… and his grandpa wasn’t among the numbers.  Dr. Jaeger took Armin in as he did Mikasa and continues to look after the three.  After they hit twelve years of age, Eren, Armin, and Mikasa headed out to join the Cadets.

Within the first year of their cadet training, Grisha received an unexpected visit.

Grisha was busying himself by cleaning his medical equipment and wiping down the counters.  Currently, he was taking a white rag to a 1000 mL beaker, standing at the other end of the room with his back to the door.

Out in the waiting room of the small clinic, three new guests arrived through the door.  The receptionist looked up from her log book at them, having to double check to see if her eyes were being truthful.  They were indeed, and she watched as three Survey Corp members approached her desk.

“Good evening,” she greeted, “What can I help you three with?  Do you have an appointment?”

“Not exactly.” Levi commented dryly.  Hange placed her hands down on the counter as Mike only examined the lady from afar.

“We need to see Dr. Jaeger.  Is he in?” Hange asked politely.

“Uh, yes, but… he’s very busy.”  Not really, they just had to say that for crowd control.  If anyone was allowed to just waltz in and see the doctors, it’d be too hectic.  That and, most of the time they really are busy.  “You’d need to schedule an appointment first.” She explained to them.

“We’re not here for a checkup.  We’d actually like to just ask a few questions.  Strictly business.”  Hange persuaded.  The receptionist was getting stares from both Mike and Levi, making her uncomfortable under their gaze.

“Um, let me go get him.” The lady finally let up and exited her chair to disappear around back.  Down the hall, she knocked before opening the door on the far end and peeking through.  Dr. Jaeger was wiping down some of the beakers.

“Dr. Jaeger, I’m sorry to bother you, but you have some visitors.” She informed him from the slightly open door.

Grisha turned to look at her, “Is it an emergency?” He asked in slight concern.

“No.  It’s the Survey Corps.”  Grisha froze at the name but otherwise stayed calm.  “They’ve asked to see you and I don’t think they’re going to leave if you say no.”

He sighed quietly, “Alright.”

Grisha removed his gloves and disposed of them in the trash.  He followed his receptionist out to the lobby where he found two familiar faces and one new one.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Jaeger.  Can I help you with something?” He greeted.

“I sure hope you can.” Hange replied.  “May we speak in private please?”  Grisha motioned for them to follow him and guided the three back to an examination room.  He would have taken them to his office, but it was rather small and the four of them wouldn’t fit.  He let them go in first before entering himself and walking over to the sink to wash him hands.  Levi leaned against the closed door and crossed his arms while Mike stood off to the side and Hange sat on one of the beds.

Levi’s attention turned to his right where there was a crevice between the wall and a scanner.  He placed his pointer and middle finger between and slide it against the scanner.  Bringing the two fingers up to his face, he scanned for any signs of dust.  Surprisingly, none were found.

“Please, Corporal,” Grisha said catching him in his act out of the corner of his eye, “I wouldn’t be much of a doctor if I didn’t keep the place clean.” Grisha said with an upbeat voice.

“Hmmm, well said.”  Levi replied, already liking the doctor.  He moved away from the door and held out his hand; Grisha took it and the two shook.

“Assuming you already know me,” Grisha shook his head yes, “That’s our Science officer and Squad Leader, Hange Zoe,” Levi introduced, pointing back at the overenthusiastic Scout.  “And that’s Mike Zacharius, one of our ranking members and Squad Leader.”

“So what is it that you three were so anxious to see me about?”  Grisha asked looking between Levi and Hange.

“Dr. Jaeger, we have some sensitive information we’d like to discuss with you.” Hange informed.

“Sensitive?” Grisha questioned, keeping cool.

“Yes,” Hange continued, “Nearly three years ago we’ve had two strange encounters within Wall Maria, both happening on the same day.  The first you know about, as it is very well publicized.  The wall break.” Hange explained.

“The second is not publicized and we’d like to keep it that way.”  Levi began, his arms crossed back over his chest.  “If you’d please swear secrecy in the matter…”

“Of course,” Grisha replied and placed a hand in the air and the other over his heart.  “I, Dr. Grisha Jaeger, swear to hereby never reveal verbally or in other forms of communication any and all information discussed in this room.”

“Good,” Hange smiled, “Now if you’d please sign this form to verify your oath.”  Mike handed the man a tablet and pen and Grisha signed on the dotted line.

“Thank you.” Hange said before her eyes suddenly got very serious.  “Doctor, three years ago on our road back from our 49^th expedition we ran into two abnormal titans.” She explained, thinking back to that glorious time.  “The first was a seven meter, the second was seventeen meters.  Now most of what we know of titans consist of the brainless man-eating giants ranging from as little as three meters to fifteen.  Our second titan was two meters higher than our recorded measures, not including the colossal titan.  On top of this, both specimens showed intelligence beyond any acts we witnessed in titans.  Self-awareness, problem solving, even possible human-level understanding as neither attempted to eat or harm any of our subordinates.”

“Dr. Jaeger,” Grisha’s gaze shifted to Levi, “You were the only other person in the area during the time of the encounter.  And you reported that you saw and heard nothing.  Given the distance of travel, you should’ve at least heard the titan screams.” Levi got right down to it.

“Now we’ll ask you again, doctor.  Did you see or hear anything?”  Levi asked, the three of them now staring at the man for his answer.  Grisha bowed his head.

“I was scared for my family.” Grisha began.  “Yes, I heard the titan screams.  I was coming back from a check-up with my son and adopted daughter and heard the screams in the forest.  I freaked.  Titans weren’t supposed to be inside the walls and I didn’t even know how it got there.  I hung back because I saw your flares.  It wasn’t until the forest became quiet that I braved to take to the road again.  When you questioned me, I kept quiet because I thought that would be best.”  He explained, though most of it was true, he was still leaving out a few important details.

“Hmph, you were quite calm when we stopped you.” Levi pointed out.

“Yes, I’m a doctor.  Under stressful situations it’s recommended that we keep calm for the sake of the patient; I apply that to the rest of my life.  Helps me keep a clear head.” Grisha explained perfectly without misgiving.

Levi, Hange, and Mike exchanged looks, seemingly having a quiet conversation without the use of their mouths.  They each nodded their heads before Levi spoke again.

“Alright, we believe your word.  We’d have to follow up with your children, but you’re free to go.”  He announced and Grisha smiled thankfully.

“One more thing, Dr. Jaeger.” Hange chimed.  “We’d like to offer you a proposal.”  This was news to Grisha.  “We are working to better our team and though you are not of the Cadets, we’d still like to offer you a job in the medical department.”

“Really?”  Grisha asked in shock.  “That’s quite an offer.”  He looked back in thought, “My son wants to join you.  He’s determined to put a stop to the titans after his mother…” Grisha didn’t say anything else before he looked Hange in the eye.

“I accept.”

“Excellent!” She squealed suddenly, excited to be working with the famous doctor.  Maybe he would listen to all her rambling about the titans.  “Mike, go ahead and give him the details.”

“You should be moving in in about a week.” Levi informed him.  “Our HQ is temporary at the moment; we’re planning on moving back to the old one in these upcoming years.”

“Thank you for your time, Dr. Jaeger.” Hange thanked and bowed, Levi doing the same before the two exited the room.  Mike stayed to give him all the details.

Outside of the clinic, Hange and Levi got back to talking.

“We should follow up with the brats as soon as possible.” Levi suggested, not even bothering to look at Hange.

“Agreed.  According to our documents, they should both be in the cadet’s classes.”

“Which regiment?”

“104^th Training Corps.”

Chapter Text

Three days earlier

Erwin sat comfortably at his desk as he recorded some of his thoughts on paper.  Plans, scouting formations, classified details, personal inspections, the lot of it.  He was interrupted from his work, however, when a knock rang out from the door.  When he announced for the visitor to come in, he looked up to see Hange approach his desk with an arm full of documents.  She sat the stack of papers down on his desk and saluted traditionally out of respect.

“Sir, my report.” She said, still in her stance.  Erwin cocked an eyebrow and glanced between her and the folders.

“Report?  Report on what?” He asked.

“On the occurrence in Wall Maria two years back, sir.”  She replied, now relaxing in pose.

“Hange, you’ve already given your report on the matter.”  Erwin answered.

“This is an extension of that report.  Erwin, I suggest you read it all very carefully.”  She recommended before returning to her normal behavior.  “It is quite a read, I’m afraid.  You might want to put some time aside in order to read it all.”

“And what exactly is this report about?” Erwin explored further, getting the impression he’d get a monologue in return.  In this case, he was happy to listen to all Hange had to say, it would be very insightful.

“Sir, I think I’ve come upon a very sound theory in regards to the two titans we found, at least sound in my opinion.”  Erwin gave her the notion to continue.  “I have gone over all the data we got from the encounter of the seven meter titan and the seventeen meter titan and it all points to one thing.”  She paused dramatically to see if Erwin was ready.

“I believe those two were human beings inside titan bodies.”  She announced.

“Humans?  That’s quite a leap; you’re sure about this?”  Erwin asked, the news coming up as a pleasantly great surprise.

“I’ve spent the past two years speculating, Erwin, all my research points to it.  For instance, we all noticed the intelligence in the seven meter.  For one thing, he dodged us when we ran into each other, another is that he covered his weak spot and ran away the second he got the chance.  There’s only three reasons for an action like that; one, he was afraid of humans, two, he didn’t want to hurt humans, or three, he knew who we were and therefore knew the danger.  He showed self-awareness when he checked himself after crashing into the trees and problem solving when he rolled on his back to protect his nape when moving was out of the question.  I also believe his scream wasn’t a cry in fear, but a call out for help.”

“And within seconds, the seventeen meter arrived.”  Erwin finished for her, but Hange was far from over.

“Exactly!  And the seventeen meter protected the seven meter and kept us away.”  She proclaimed suddenly.

“But in your report, you said it killed the seven meter the second it had a clean chance of escape.”  Erwin reminded her.  These variables had to match up.

“Yes, but I don’t think it actually killed it.” Hange replied, her voice growing more serious.  “From the back of the head, to the nape of the neck; 1 meter high, ten centimeters across.”

Erwin scanned her face, “The weak spot of any titan.” He answered.

“It is also the same exact size of the average human being.” She concluded.  “And it’s because of this; if they are humans that can shift into titans and control said titan bodies, then that must be where they are connected.”  She continued.  “Erwin, that’s why the seventeen meter bit out the seven meter’s nape; it removed the boy from his titan and escaped before removing himself also from his titan.  That’s also why Levi Squad found the seventeen meter dead deeper in.  If the humans are no longer within or connected to the titan body, then it probably disintegrates—or dies.”

“Hmmm,” Erwin thought deeply on the matter.  This was definitely sound logic, but the evidence was lacking.  They couldn’t make a case even if they wanted to.  It was as Hange said, just a theory… but a really sound theory.

“Now it only begs the question: who exactly were they?”

“The only lead I could find was that the two must have been closely related, or had a strong bond .” She announced, pacing while talking.  “The way the seventeen meter acted towards us—when he arrived, he immediately moved to stand over the seven meter and stayed there.  He didn’t advance on us, he didn’t even hurt us!  He was defensive and hastily left after we no longer posed a threat.  In fact, one would think that the only reason he was there was because the seven meter was in trouble.”

“In your report, you stated Petra had been grabbed, yet the titan made no move to eat or injure her.  He, in fact, let her go?”

“Yes, I asked Petra if she felt any muscle tension, but she said there wasn’t any.  Complete motor control!” Hange’s smile came back as she got on one of her favorite subjects.  “That suggests experience, and with experience comes years!”

“Hange…”

“Who knows how long the seventeen meter was able to shift?!  Can the titan body sustain a human for long periods of time?”

“Hange…?”

“Does the fact that the sun provides energy account to a shifter as well?  Where is the line drawn?  What exactly is the difference between a shifter and a titan, you know besides the obvious of course.”

“Hange.”

“OOOH!  We have to capture them!  All of the tests I could run!  It would solve so many riddles, answer so many questions!  Erwin!” Hange exclaimed as manic as ever before noticing her superior’s shadowed face.  She knew that face, he just figured something out.

“Erwin?”

“Did you find it a coincidence for Dr. Jaeger to have arrived when he did?” He questioned while skimming through the paper work.

 “Dr. Jaeger—“  Hange whispered in thought.  “He’s a well-respected man; a healer.  He saved us from that plagued years back.  And—he had his children with him in the carriage that day, one of them was a boy.”  Her mouth hung open.  “Wait!  You think it’s them?  That actually explains a few things.  But what of the daughter?”  She questioned, hands cupping her elbow and chin.

“Mikasa Ackerman was adopted at age nine.  There’s no official documentation for it, but she was placed under Grisha-san’s care.” Ewrin stated from memory.  He had been looking into Dr. Jaeger and his family ever since seeing them two years ago.  He had only a feeling and mild curiosity.

Hange looked down, “Then the likelihood of her being a shifter is slim to none.  Hmmm, what of the wife?”

“Carla Jaeger?  I wouldn’t know.  She… perished in the wall break.” Erwin recited once more.

“And the boy?”

“Eren Jaeger.” His voice changed a bit, getting a bit chipper.  “I found out earlier today that he had joined the cadets.”

“So, both seem to want to help us.” Hange decided.

“It would appear so.  Hange, I want you to relay our conversation to Levi and Mike and no one else.  I want this matter to be kept between the four of us.” Erwin commanded, closing the folders of Hange’s extended report.

The squad leader saluted respectfully, “Yes sir.”

“I also want you to recruit Dr. Jaeger and interrogate both he and his son.  If possible, question any of his friends or classmates to see if they witnessed anything unusual about Eren.  Dismissed.” 

Present Hour

The three elites made it to the Cadet Training grounds by sunset on horseback.  Hange was steaming in excitement, ready to burst with questions she couldn’t afford to ask yet, but she still stuck by her vow—and promise to Levi—that she wouldn’t go supernova on the subject.  In fact, they weren’t even supposed to bring it up.  Just simple questions about the day of the encounter like they did with Grisha-san.  And just like before, Mike would monitor the body language while Hange and Levi would ask the questions to spark the right reaction.

The horses slowed to a stop by a cabin and series of dorms next to a large field in a more rural area of Wall Rose.  It was almost sun down, the red sun shining beautifully through the treetops far off in the distance.  The three hopped off their horses and trotted evenly over to the door where two soldiers stood guard.

It had certainly been a long time since any of them saw their former commander.  Hopefully the years hadn’t been too hard on him.

It was supper time for the cadets and everyone gathered in the cafeteria.  The usual squabble had bounced between Eren and Jean earlier before Instructor Shadis put them on time out by having them dig their own man holes and then shoved into them to be kept there for a couple of hours.  And let me tell you, those things were so deep it was freezing.

Mikasa bombarded Eren with blankets after he got back, unknowingly making Jean blush in jealously.  Eren was blushing too, but more out of embarrassment as the other cadets in the dorm started giggling.

And now they were all settled down eating supper.  That is until Instructor Shadis appeared in the doorway.  The chatter among the cadets stopped and the room became quiet.

“Cadet Eren Jaeger!  In my office, now!” He ordered before leaving the room.  The chatter picked back up again with questions.  Eren got up from his seat in confusion.  He thought his punishment was already done, what could he possibly be in trouble for this time?

“Ha, what’d you do this time, Eren?” Jean sneered as Eren walked by.  Eren didn’t pay the bastard any attention.  Marco looked at his friend in disappointment.  Those two really should at least try to get along.

Eren followed the Instructor out of the cafeteria and back to his personal cabin.  Shadis held the door open and Eren walked inside, the boy’s attention looking back as the door was closed behind him yet the Instructor was not by his side.  Strange, Eren thought Shadis was going to yell at him again…

His body froze when his gaze met with three others in the room.  He recognized them, well two anyway.  One was that nice, talkative lady that wanted to relocate him after he ran into them two years back.  The other was humanity’s strongest.  Corporal Levi, the man who nearly killed him, but by sheer luck, failed in that task.  Eren didn’t know who the third one was, but the blonde man held an indifferent stare similar to Levi’s.

Eren quickly saluted to the three of them, hoping that the action would cover up any misgivings.  He couldn’t tell, the three were too hard to read, if readable at all.  Still, he was standing in the same room as elite titan killing Scouts!  He didn’t know whether to be terrified or excited.

Eren introduced himself to make the situation less awkward, “Cadet Eren Jaeger.” He announced, still tight in his salute.

Levi held up his hand, “Ease up there, brat.” He replied, causing the astounded teen to relax a bit.  Hange was smiling at him while she sat cross-legged on the edge of the desk.  She hopped off and approached Eren.

“Eren Jaeger, it’s nice to meet you.” She stated before giving Eren her hand to shake.  He took it somewhat hesitantly.  “I’m Hange Zoe.” She replied with a slight chirp to her voice.  “If you could just sit down in that chair there, we’d like to ask you a few questions.” She directed him.

“Uh, sure...” Eren said, sitting down feeling quite uncomfortable under Levi and the other guy’s stares.  “I bet you already know Levi there, pretty much everyone does.”  Levi rolled his eyes at her statement.  Mike suddenly moved from his spot behind Levi and walked over to Eren, leaning forward and taking in a few whiffs.  He then smirked.

“Uh—um…?” Eren staggered out awkwardly, shying away when Mike got close to sniff him.

“Oh, that’s just Mike.” Hange answered nonchalantly.  “He does that; honestly I have no idea why.”

“S—So, what was it that you wanted to ask?” Eren tried to get the conversation moving.  The sooner they were done, the better.  Levi took note of his nervousness.  The kid wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“Oh just a few simple questions to jot some memory.  We’re a bit confused about an occurrence that happened roughly two years ago.  Same day as the wall break, if you can remember.”  Hange ranted.  “We met on the road, you and your father were coming back frommmm…” She hummed, acting as if she couldn’t remember, “Where was it again?”

Eren looked down, his heart racing in his chest.  Why did they want to know?  This didn’t have anything to do with his run-in with them, right?

“Um, I think it was from one of the farms inside Wall Maria.” Eren answered, albeit a bit cautiously.

“Alright and did your father take you out often?” Hange replied, switching to the next question.

“Yes, sometimes.” Eren answered respectfully.  “I’m sorry, what exactly is it that you want to know.”

“We’re just trying to fill in all the gaps.  Only a few more questions.” Hange replied kindly.

“Fill in the gaps of what?” Eren asked, pretending to be curious.

“What, you mean to tell me you don’t remember?”  Levi suddenly joined in.  He remained leaning against Instructor Shadis’ desk with his arms crossed.  His indifferent stare never wavered and his eyes were glued to scan Eren’s face.

“R-remember what?” Eren accidentally stumbled.  He mentally slapped himself, scolding his own person for being so jittery.

Levi raised an eyebrow, “We met two years ago.  A short acquaintance really, but the situation wasn’t something to be forgotten.”

“I—don’t understand.”

“You don’t remember hearing or seeing anything?”  Hange broke the silence.

“N—No…” Eren stuttered yet again in trepidation.

“Really?” Levi answered in obvious doubt, “Huh, that’s certainly not what your father said.”

Eren’s eyes widened, Oh no, they talked to dad?  If our stories don’t align, then they’ll know something’s up.  That is, if they haven’t caught on already.

“Um, I mean I don’t really remember.  A lot happened that day.” He tried to cover up the mistake, but he was pretty sure they all caught it.

“A lot certainly did happen, including two titans showing up inside Wall Maria right as we come back from an expedition, completely exhausted and empty of supplies.” Levi got up from his spot and stood in front of Eren, his shadow looming over him.  “If I hadn’t known any better, I’d say they picked the perfect time to take advantage of our weak defenses.”

Eren could only stare at him in misperception.  What?!  They think I tried to hurt them?  That doesn’t make any sense!  I did nothing to them, let alone hurt anyone.  How could they think I’m an enemy?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about; I didn’t hear or see anything.  I was just coming home with my dad!”  Eren replied desperately, trying ever so hard to not yell out that he wasn’t there to hurt anyone.

Strange enough, Levi calmed down and leaned back from Eren’s face.  “Funny, and here I thought you’d be freaking out about why titans were inside the walls?”  Now Eren really wanted to slap himself.  He couldn’t believe he took the bait and now Levi and Hange were peering down at him like they just caught a prize fish.  He couldn’t do anything else but try to excuse himself.  Even that would give them more hints.

He looked down at his lap in shame, “May I please be excused.  Supper’s almost over and I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

 “Very well.” Levi replied while taking a step back for Eren to have his space.  The boy got up from the chair, eyes averting everyone’s gaze, and walked to the door.  When his hands touched the door handle, Hange called out to him.

“Thank you for your time, Cadet Jaeger.”  Eren regarded her and gave an uncomfortable grin before opening the door and closing it behind him.  He then proceeded to sprint the whole way back to his dorm, burst through the door and quickly close it as quietly as possible.  With his back against the door, he slid down onto his butt and put his head in his arms.

This wasn’t good.

Supper time was over just after the Scouts had finished their talk with Eren.  Mikasa and Armin joined each other in company out on the porch.  They were still waiting for Eren to get back, wondering what Instructor Shadis wanted.  But it was when Mikasa gasped in spotting the Scouts walking out of Shadis’ office that Armin figured out why Eren was called.  He also knew why Mikasa had that look of horror written all over her face.  The two controlled their anxiety though and calmly walked off the porch and over to Shadis who was standing by the Scouts.  Both saluted him when his attention—and unfortunately the attention of the Scouts as well—was turned to them.

“Instructor Shadis, do you know where Eren went?”  Mikasa asked respectfully.  He informed them that Eren was seen heading back to his dorm and the two took off.  Both were thankful the Scouts didn’t bother talking to them, which certainly struck Armin as a surprise.  But he brushed it off, seeing how that wasn’t important at the moment.

When they got back to their dorm, they found Eren sitting on his bed with his head in his hands.  Mikasa rushed up to his side while Armin closed the door for privacy.

“Eren, are you okay?” Mikasa pushed without letting him answer.  “Did they hurt you?  If they hurt you in any way, I swear…”  Eren lifted his head up from the pillow.

“Mikasa, please, just leave me alone.” He cried out in annoyance.

“Just tell me what happened?” Mikasa argued with him, though she was certainly the more level-headed between the two.

“They know, okay!  I messed up again and now they know I can turn into a titan!” He yelled at her in anger.

“Wait, you mean you told them flat out?” Armin questioned, approaching his friend though still keeping his distance.

“No…” Eren looked down, the indignity returning to him.  “They caught me through questioning.  There’s no reason for them to think otherwise.”

“But they don’t have evidence, they can’t do anything by going on pure speculation.” Mikasa reassured him while also reassuring herself.

“I’m not so sure about that.”  Armin disagreed.  “I don’t mean to be that guy, but the Survey Corps does nothing but take risks.”  He informed them despondently, glancing out the window.  “We should tell your father.”

“Great, and here I thought I was actually being helpful for once.  Now I’m just making more problems.” Eren groaned disappointedly.

“That’s not true, Eren.” Armin responded, “There’s just some things we can’t escape.”

Chapter Text

The Scouts kept coming back.  No relative pattern to their visits, they’d just pop up out of nowhere at the Cadet Training grounds and stay there in the background silently watching.  Sometimes it was just Corporal Levi, other times it was Hange-san.  Sometimes it was both with that Mike guy as a tag along.  They’d visit once every other week or be gone for months; either way, it kept Eren on edge.

After he, Mikasa, and Armin had informed Grisha of their interrogation, they received yet another surprise when the news of Grisha’s recruitment reached their ears.  It surprised them even more to find out that Grisha had agreed.  And especially to Eren’s surprise, Grisha wasn’t angry with his performance when the Scouts first came to visit.  He knew they suspected them, after all, it was only a matter of time.  But neither side bothered to take the first step and Dr. Jaeger knew why.

They were waiting for Eren to finish with his Cadet training and graduate.  In the meantime, they would keep an eye on him like they were doing with Grisha—the main reason for his recruitment.  With Grisha being kept at the Scout’s HQ and Eren at the training grounds, the Scouts were able to keep the two apart.  On the night Grisha packed to head out, he told Eren not to visit him anymore for it would be too dangerous for him to appear within the Survey Corps’ HQ.  Eren, sadly though, agreed.

So with every passing month Eren wondered about his father, and with every passing visit, he grew more and more anxious about his own wellbeing.  Nightmares became more frequent and with each one he awoke to not remembering what they were about.  Armin said it may be the result of the stress the situation had put on him.  And he was right.

Another year passed and the three were two-thirds of the way through their training.  Mikasa had helped Eren relieve him of his stress by taking him out on a walk when the Scouts came to visit.  Armin stayed behind to find out exactly what they were doing, but at a safe distance.  It was one particular day that Armin followed Hange-san and Corporal Levi as secretly as he could throughout the compound.  The only thing he got was overhearing some of his classmates asking each other why the Scouts kept coming back and why they were asking strange questions to random people.  Marco was among the random selection that had been questioned and Armin asked him about it.

The black hair, freckled face boy told his friend that they only asked him if anything strange had happened.  Marco had no idea what kind of strange they were looking for.  Sasha went crazy when she found meat in Instructor Shadis’ cellar, did that count as strange?

Armin, though, knew exactly what they were looking for.  He concluded that they were doing reconnaissance missions on Eren.  Stranger still, they never bothered to approach or talk to he or Mikasa.  Either someone had told them of the three’s undying loyalty to each other or the Scouts themselves just figured it out, Armin was now feeling Eren’s stress.

They were all relieved to hear that the Survey Corps were going on another expedition, this time into the loss territory of Wall Maria.  It was also around the time that Instructor Shadis had a little surprise trip for the cadets.  Survival in the wilderness.

The 104^th training cadets were to be split into two groups, both traveling from point A to point B, then meeting up at point C before making the roundabout trip back to point A.  Each group was appointed a scribe tasked with recording everything that happened and sparing no detail.

Group A consisted of Eren, Armin, Marco, Jean, Sasha, Connie, Mina, and Krista; where Marco was the leader and Armin was the scribe.  Group B included Mikasa, Thomas, Reiner, Annie, Bertolt, Ymir, Daz, and Samuel; where Thomas was the leader and Mikasa was the scribe.

The goal was to teach the cadets to stay alert and strong during peaceful times; to keep them ready should a threat suddenly arise.

Both groups left at the crack of dawn and were now traversing the desert.  By late afternoon, the forest was in sight.

During their trip, Eren and Jean had managed to argue only five times.  Marco begged Armin to only record that the two were in and out of a discussion.  Though going against orders, Armin obliged and left out specific detail.

The sun had fallen making group A set up camp in the forest near a small lake.  Two fires were burning as the cadets sat around them in a figure eight pattern.  The two intersecting back to back were Eren and Jean and neither of the two wanted to be anywhere near the other.  However, bitter friendship aside, they were soldiers and tolerated each other no matter the circumstances.

“These rations are horrible.” Jean complained dryly as he looked down at the rectangular lump of protein.

“I’m telling you,” Sasha chimed in from across Jean.  “We should have gone after that lizard!  It would have fed us all and they taste like chicken.  It was going to be delicious!”

“I did want the lizard, but somebody got in my way.” Jean groaned as he gave Eren a sideways glare.  The boy didn’t need to look to know.

“We’re on limited time, Jean.  We already had food, hunting wasn’t a priority.” Eren retorted impassively.

“But chicken!” Sasha still went on before she hid her face in her hands.  Krista and Marco beside her glanced in concern.

“Give it up Sasha,” Jean said sarcastically, “Chasing lizards isn’t sensible.”  A smile crept onto Jean’s face, “Now chasing titans, now that’s another story.” He sneered while pointing at Sasha with his ration.  Eren’s whole frame visibly shook and he clenched his fists to keep himself calm.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eren growled, the ones sitting in front of him now worried, especially Armin.  “If you’re not here to help out humanity then why did you even bother joining the Training Corps?!”  He half-yelled as he stood and faced Jean.  The other teen himself stood as well, albeit more camly.

“I didn’t sign up to throw my life away like you, you big egotistical, suicidal maniac!” Jean retorted, his smile gone.  “Just because you’ve seen a titan doesn’t mean you can go all try-hard on these stupid training courses!”

Eren grabbed Jean’s collar, “Shut the f*** up!”

“Jean!” “Eren!” Both Marco and Armin called out.

“Stop it guys!”  Krista called out as well, but none of their attempts calmed the quarrel in front of them.

“You shut the f*** up!”

“I never liked you from the start, horse face!”

“Don’t call me horse face, you arrogant bastard!”

“You’re not even kind to your mother!  You’re such a jerk!”

“At least I still have a mother!”

The whole forest nearly went silent as everyone gasped and looked at Eren.  The teen’s face was burnt red as his eyes stared at Jean in pure rage.  It was as if time had suddenly stopped and all the memories from that day washed over him.  He seethed and lunged forward, screaming at the top of his lungs while pulling Jean into a choke hold.

“You son of a b****!  If anyone’s a bastard, it’s you!”  Eren screamed, using every inch of energy he had towards Jean.  Said cadet immediately fought back as his oxygen supply was cut off.

“Oh my gosh!” Mina gasped in horror.

“Guys, please!  Calm down!” Marco tried, but got nowhere.

“Let… go… of me!” he managed to growl out in between his efforts of escape.  When he did manage to get an arm, he started punching Eren in the soft spots on his back.  When the two ended up wrestling like that on the ground, Armin got up.

“You two, stop it!” He tried with little faith.  “We’re supposed to be a team, survive together, not kill each other!”

“Tell him that!” Jean snapped before being shoved back down into the dirt by a totally out of control Eren.

“Eren, please stop!  Your father wouldn’t want you to act like this!”  Armin tried again, this getting a response as Eren momentarily eased and looked up at his friend.  He glared daggers back down at Jean before deciding it wasn’t worth it and released his hold of him.  He stood up with balled fists as Jean grasped his neck in sweet relief of air.

“Well maybe next time some idiot won’t open his mouth!” Eren hollered down at Jean.

“You think you’ve proved something?!” Jean commented after a few coughs.

“Jean, no!”  Marco stepped forward and wrapped both his arms around Jean’s shoulders to prevent him from counteracting.  Armin followed suit by stepping in front of Eren and holding him back with his body.

“We really shouldn’t be fighting.” Krista said, standing up as well as she looked at the scene in sorrow.

“Hey, with all of this built up energy, we should go get that lizard!” Sasha suddenly jumped up.

“Really, Sasha?” Marco managed to throw her a glance.  “Now is not the time.”

“It’s not too late!”

“Ugh, forget this.” Eren growled as he shoved himself away from Armin and stomped off into the forest.

“Eren!”  Armin called after him, but didn’t make a move to pursue.

“You got a lot of nerve, Eren!”  Jean yelled out, still being held back by Marco.

“He’s just stressed, Jean.”  Armin attempted to reason with his fellow trainee.  “He’s got a lot on his plate.”

“Heh, you’d think someone so hell bent on his goals like that would be doing just fine.” Jean countered mordantly.  “He’s not the only one with problems in the world, what gives him the right to take it out on others.”

“Uh, to be fair, Jean,” Marco replied nervously, scratching the back of his head. “You did kind of push in over the edge.”

“Oh, don’t start, Marco!”

Eren tramped his way through the brush, mumbling incoherently, until he reached the bank of a small lake.  He stared out at the moonlit water before glaring down at the ground.  A large pebble lay near his feet and he instantly thought of Jean’s head.  He picked it up and threw it out into the water with all his might while letting out an angered cry.  He then proceeded to flop down onto his butt and take easy deep breathes to calm his nerves.

How dare Jean… even go as far as to bring my mom into all of this… He raged inside his head.  His eyes started watering up at the thought of her, so he brought a hand up to wipe away the tears.

He didn’t like crying over her.  She wouldn’t want to see him cry.

He just wished he could’ve done something.  Anything but be a helpless ten year old who wasted his energy that day getting in trouble… instead of following orders that could have very well allowed him to save her.

He promised her he would do everything he could to make it up.  Jean wasn’t going to deter him from defeating the titans.  No one was.

He looked out at the lake, his mind venturing over to the Scouts and his father.  He trusted his father, and loved him dearly.  And he still wanted to become a Scout himself, but… his fear of them was conflicting his feelings toward his all-time dream.  There was just so much they didn’t know.

Would they…?  Now that they knew, would they still except him?  Or better yet, would they still treat him like he was human?

“I am human…” Eren whispered to himself.  “I’m not a monster.”  He closed his eyes and grasped his head.  His emotions jumping all over the place was bringing on a headache.

“Eren…?” A feminine voice called out from behind him.  Eren’s eyes flew open before he turned around to see who it was.

“Are you okay?”  It was Krista.  The blonde cadet was one of the nicest people Eren had ever met, so it shouldn’t have been a shock to him to find her here.  He always found her to be a little creepy, though, her kindness unnatural.  Not that he thought compassion in general was creepy, but the way she specifically acted, it wasn’t real.

He breathed in deeply and sighed.  “Yeah, I’m uh… I’m fine.”  Krista looked down at her feet before gathering her courage to sit down next to Eren on his left.  The two have never really talked together only spent time in each other’s company.  So to say the space between them was a little awkward would be a bit of an understatement.

“I’m sorry about your mom.” Krista apologized, though her voice was a bit weak.

“You don’t have to apologize.” Eren replied, speaking softly along with her unintentionally.

“I know; I just feel sorry for you.  I don’t know what you’ve been through exactly, but I’m pretty sure you’ve seen more than any of us here combined.”  Krista explained herself before continuing.  “In a way, I kind of know how you feel.  The loss of a family member; or a lack thereof for me.”  She curled in on herself in thought before smiling brightly over at Eren.

“I just want you to know you’re not alone.”

Eren gazed at her in astonishment.  Out of all the things he ever heard her say, that right there was genuine.

“Thank you.” He replied.  Eren sincerely felt more at ease with himself after that and unraveled himself to lean out across the ground.  “Krista, can I ask you a question?”  He said all of the sudden.  Krista hummed in question.

“Why do you act?”

This caught her off guard, “I—don’t know what you mean?”

“Well, every time I’ve seen you react to anything, it’s like you put on this fake persona.”  Eren explained before asking the simple, yet complicated, question again.  “Why?”

Krista didn’t really answer, she just blinked and looked down.

“Oh… um—“

Suddenly, the silence within the forest was interrupted when a twig snapped.  The two cadets froze in attentiveness, glancing at each other before taking a look behind them.  They didn’t see anything, or hear anything for that matter.  It was dead quiet again.

Eren moved his gaze over to his right and peered into the dark forest.  He strained his ears to pick up anything, but all he could hear was the water on the lake and some of the frogs along the bank.  He knew if he could concentrate he could pick up sounds normal humans couldn’t thanks to his abilities.  He hadn’t quite figured it all out yet, but now was certainly a good time to start.

Krista watched him in between her scans, she couldn’t pick anything up and figured it might have been a squirrel or something.  But the look on Eren’s face… it was like when a deer sensed danger.  They can’t see or hear it, yet they still home in on its location.

She was so focused on Eren that she didn’t hear the man sneak up behind her.  Only when his hands clasped over her mouth did she realize they were not alone.  She gasped behind the fingers and mumbled loudly as the man lifted her up onto her feet.

Eren whipped his head around only to see a barrel of a shotgun pointed right in his face.  He followed the gun up to the masked face then around to see three others and a forth holding onto Krista.  Only one thing could explain this…

“Don’t move.” The masked assailant ordered in a deep voice.  “You’re going to lead us back to your camp.”

“Like hell I am.” Eren growled before he sprung forward, hand grabbing the barrel of the gun and pushing it upwards.  He and the bandit struggling with the gun made the other three tighten their hold on their weapons.

The man grunted, “Err, let go!” He managed to pull the shotgun back and cause Eren’s grip on it to falter.  He hit him on the head with the barrel before proceeding to aim directly at Eren’s chest.

He then pulled the trigger.

The sound of gunfire and Krista’s scream sent chills down everyone’s spine as they all immediately stopped whatever they were doing or thinking.

“What was that?” Mina questioned in fear for her friends.

“Krista…?”  Marco called out shakenly.

Noises coming from the forest were the only clues before the unthinkable happened.  Within the blink of an eye, the cadets were surrounded.

“Nobody move!” a booming voice called out.  “Make any sudden movements and I swear, your life will end the same as your friend.”  The masked man threatened.

Armin’s heart skipped a beat as his eyes widened in horror.  Eren… he only thought as he kept his tearful eyes glued to the apparent leader.

“Now, I want you all to gather up your 3DM gear.  And make it snappy.”  None of the cadets made a move as they stole fearful glances between each other.

“Did you not hear me?!  GO!”

It was then that the trainees followed his orders and did as instructed.  It only took fifteen minutes before the cadets stood watching as the bandits packed everything away in their carriages, including Krista.

“We don’t plan on ending her life.  We’ll release her en route.” The bandit leader announced.  “But if you come after us, we won’t hesitate to kill her.  You don’t want another cadet dead now, do you?”

And with that, both carriages wheeled off and disappeared around the bend.  And so did Armin, who ran off straight into the woods.

“Armin!” Jean called out before running after him.

Armin ran blindly through the brush, whipping branches out of his face and jumping over roots.  Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay! He thought wildly as he made a mad dash back towards the lake—the area to which the shotgun fire originated.

He sprinted out of the dark forest and into the lighter patch next to the lake before freezing up.  He gasped, eyes growing ever wider.

There on the ground… lay Eren’s steaming form.

“Eren!”  He screamed, running up beside him and falling on his knees.  He could clearly see multiple holes in his shirt where the steam was rising from.  It was a good sign, meaning Eren was still alive enough to heal.

“Eren, can you hear me?” He asked with a shaking voice.  He wanted to check, but he couldn’t just yet.

“Armin?!”  Jean’s voice called out just as the teen himself appeared from the thicket.  He froze in place just like Armin did, but for very different reasons.

Jean stared down at Eren’s steaming body, “Wha—why… is there steaming coming off of him?”  Armin could only stare up at Jean in shock.

“Why is there…” Jean swallowed so his words would come out completely, “Steam, it—it—it’s coming off of him… just like…”

The steam finally stopped and Armin returned his attention to his fallen friend.  The holes were still present in his shirt, if Armin wanted everyone to believe Eren had just been hit in the head, then he’d have to get rid of his upper garments.  When he did remove his bloody shirt and jacket, Jean gasped.

His skin was clean; no signs of any injury.

“Did he just…?”

Armin leaned forward and placed his ear to Eren’s chest, listening intently.  His tensed face relaxed immediately after the warm heartbeats reverberated from underneath Eren’s ribcage.

“Did he just heal himself?” Jean managed to say after so many attempts at speaking.  “What… what are you…?”

Armin stood up, “Jean please, you can’t tell anyone about this!”

“What do you—“ Jean was about to ask when Armin suddenly grabbed his shoulders in a death grip and looked him squarely in the eye.

“I need you to promise me in confidence that you won’t say a word of this to anyone!”

Jean’s eyes shifted back and forth between Eren’s unconscious form and Armin’s shaking one.  He didn’t know what else to do, Armin looked so desperate—sounded so desperate.  He didn’t like Eren all that much, but Armin did nothing to make him hate him.  Armin trusted him right now, how could Jean let him down?

“Y—yeah, I will… I mean, I won’t… tell anyone.  I promise.”  After Jean said this, Armin visible relaxed.  His death grip on Jean’s shoulders—which was starting to hurt—released and slid down to his sides.  Armin walked back over to Eren and knelt down to pick him up.  His skin was scorching to the touch.

“Here,” Jean approached them, “Let me help.”  When he reached down and grabbed Eren’s left arm, he retracted his hand due to the heat.

“Wow, he’s really hot.” Jean remarked before retaking his hold.

“I know.”  Armin all but whispered as the two of them carried him back to the others, each acting as crutches as they dragged him along.

Jean could only assume that that was another thing he had to keep quiet about.  Just what the heck was Eren keeping from all of them?

It wasn’t long before the three made it back to the rest of the cadets.  Though, their entrance with an unconscious Eren wasn’t greeted with happiness, the two were glad to be back.

“He’s alive?” Connie exclaimed as Armin and Jean carefully placed Eren down on the ground.

“Yeah, the men just hit him over the head.  He’ll be fine.”  Armin lied convincingly before giving Jean a pleading glance.

“But I thought they said they killed him?” Marco questioned.  Don’t get him wrong, he was happy no one died, but…

Jean glanced over at Armin before looking at his friends, “They lied, probably to scare us.”

“Jean, are you okay?” Marco asked him, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I really don’t know he thought to himself.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He replied, showing no more signs of shock.

“What do we do?” Sasha whimpered.  “Our equipment is gone, Krista’s been kidnapped, and Eren’s unconscious!  This is the worst assignment ever!”

“We just—we just need to regroup with Thomas’ team.” Marco announced nervously.  “Then we can figure out what to do next.”

“Good idea,” Jean proclaimed, strangely more cool then before.  “Hopefully the other team didn’t have a run in with the bandits like we did.”

“Then its settled.” Marco said.  “Connie, help us carry Eren.”  He asked while kneeling down himself.  Connie nodded and joined Jean’s side.  The four of them intertwined their hands underneath Eren and lifted up, their arms acting as a makeshift bed while Armin cupped his head with one hand.

They would continue to the rendezvous at point C on foot; there, hopefully, they’d be able to think up a plan.

Chapter Text

Mikasa didn’t know why, but she kept feeling uneasy.  It was with every sound that she veered her head in search of its maker.  Most of the time it was either a bird or her fellow cadets.  She could have blamed it on the fact that their equipment had been stolen by what they deduced was bandits, but a larger part of her was convinced it was because of something unknown.  It unnerved her; she would begin to worry for no reason and her heartbeat was strangely fast.  The only thing she could do was to ignore it all.

They were nearly to the rendezvous where they could hook up with alpha team and warn them about the bandits.  All hoped they were having better luck than they were right now.  Unfortunately, though, when the rendezvous was in sight, there was no sign of alpha team.  Now Mikasa was starting to know why she felt the way she did.

“Where’s group A?” Thomas questioned as they stopped within the clearing on horseback.  “Our timing should have been near to exact.”

“Maybe they got held back.” Annie reasoned, “You never know with Jean and Eren on the same team.”

Thomas looked over to Mikasa for reassurance, “What do you think, Mikasa?”  The team’s eyes looked to her, but she didn’t look back.

“We should go find them.” She suggested before she ushered the horse to start moving.

“Wha—but we don’t know where they are.” Thomas tried to reason, but this was Mikasa.

She turned back to them with a glimmer in her eye.  “I do.”  And with that, she was off.

Annie narrowed her eyes but otherwise trotted on after her followed by Reiner and Bertolt.  Thomas seemed to have stumbled in judgement, but chose to follow anyway along with the rest.

“Okay, set him down gently… Connie!  I said gently!” Jean shouted over at the gray haired idiot.

“Sorry, I slipped.”  Connie apologized.  Armin was just thankful he was the one holding Eren’s head and not Connie.  Once they set him down on the ground, they began to stretch their sore muscles.  All except Armin, of course.  He remained by Eren, sitting cross-legged on his left.

“Whew, okay,” Marco sighed in relief of his arms, “How much further till the rendezvous point?”

“Um,” Sasha replied, “We’ve only traveled ten meters.” She announced regrettably.  The boys moaned loudly.

“Geez, it’s going to take forever to get there.” Connie commented wryly.

“Guys, I’m worried about Krista.” Mina proclaimed sadly, her hands held together at her chest.

“She’ll—she’ll be fine.” Marco reasoned, though he himself was doubting it.  “You heard what they said, they’d let her go en route.”

“Yeah,” replied Connie, “Right before they told us Eren was dead.  And here he is, perfectly alive.”

“What do you think they’ll do to her?” Mina asked.

“Probably sell her body to the black market.” Jean answered coldly.

“Jean!?” Marco exclaimed in pure astonishment.  What on earth was wrong with his friend?

“What?!  It’s true.  They’re bandits, they won’t care.” Jean argued before both of them settled down.

“What’s gotten into you?  You’ve been acting weird since you and Armin came back with Eren.”  Marco inquired in concern.  Jean looked at him, his mind fighting over whether or not he should tell them.  But he promised Armin… oh, how could Armin expect him to just keep quiet about something like this?  This was huge!  No normal person was able to just come back perfectly fine from a near point blank to the chest!  Eren may very well be a threat to them all and it’d be his fault for not warning them of the danger.

Jean glanced down at Armin who looked up at him pleadingly.

But Armin’s never shown any signs of aggression.  He’s always helped Mikasa calm Eren down whenever he and him started arguing.  Armin was a kind soul; he wouldn’t help a maniac plot against humanity.  If anything, all three of them were all for humanity as Eren wouldn’t shut up about it.  There would be no other reason for Armin’s plea besides him trying to keep Eren safe.

“I’m just a little shaken is all.  What, can’t a guy be afraid every once in a while.” He replied with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Marco relaxed and smiled a bit, “Yeah, I guess we all are.”

Suddenly, Sasha dropped down to the ground; her eyes closed as her ear was squished up against the dirt.  Everyone looked down at her in surprise.

“Um, Sasha?” Marco questioned.

“Do I want to know?” Jean commented dryly.  It was only seconds later that she perked back up with wide eyes.

“Horses!  Seven or eight of them, heading this way!” She announced with a shout.

“Horses?”  Jean repeated in astonishment.

Connie grabbed his head, “You don’t think it’s the bandits, do you?”

“No,” Marco corrected, “It’s—“

Out from the trees galloped Mikasa and her horse followed by the rest of group B.  The horses skid to a halt in front of the grounded cadets who all had a relief smile on their face.

“You guys!  We found you!” Thomas exclaimed happily.  “Wow, Mikasa, you were right—“ Thomas’ smile faded when he saw the look of dread on Mikasa’s face.  She got off her horse and walked over to Eren’s unconscious form.  The look of Eren… if Thomas didn’t know any better, he’d say he was dead.

“We ran into bandits,” Marco began to explain.  “They stole our equipment, spooked off our horses, kidnapped Krista, and injured Eren.”  The news was dreadful to Mikasa’s ears as she knelt down beside Armin who then leaned into her and whispered something in her ear.  Her eyes only grew in size.

“The bandits stole our equipment too.  We were going to warn you guys, but it looks like we were a bit too late.” Reiner stated.

“What do we do?” Marco asked, looking up at Thomas.

“I don’t—I don’t know, return to Instructor Shadis and inform him of the news?”

“We’re not heading back.”  Came Mikasa’s booming voice.  She stood and turned to look at all of them sternly, her fists balled up.  “We’re going after those bandits.”

“What?” Connie exclaimed, “Are you insane?  We don’t have any of our 3DM gear!”

“I don’t need 3DM gear…” Mikasa replied darkly.

“Um,” Armin stood, “What Mikasa’s trying to say is that we can still get our stuff back without the use of our gear.”

“R—really?” Thomas questioned.

“Wait, you have a plan Armin?” Marco asked expectantly.

“Uh, yes, but it’s kind of a stretch, but if we hurry, we might just be able to pull it off.” Armin further explained, feeling the eyes of his fellow cadets weighing his shoulders.  “W-we just need to get to a high point first.”

Sasha perked up with blinking eyes and a broad smile, “There’s a hill just beyond these trees!  We can make it there on foot in less than ten minutes!”

“Alright then, let’s move everyone!” Jean commanded suddenly, but his words were taken into action.  Marco smiled at him before rushing off to follow Sasha towards the mountain.  Jean looked down in thought, knowing very well how Marco always thought Jean would be a good leader; he even told him so too.

…because you know how it feels to be weak, that’s what makes you such a good leader…

Jean looked up in curiosity when he felt someone’s presence next to him.  He was quite stunned to find Mikasa staring up at him with kind eyes.  His heart started beating fast at her beauty, just being next to her almost caused him to choke on his spit.  Luckily, he made no embarrassing movement and only waited for her to act as that’s what he figured she was here for.

“Thank you.” She said to him in a soft voice.  It felt like silk on his body.  “Thank you for keep this a secret.”  It was then that he realized who she was talking about.  His gaze momentarily ventured to Eren’s—still—unconscious form behind her.

He swallowed, “Y—you’re welcome.” He managed to say and watched as Mikasa returned to Armin’s side to aid in lifting Eren.  Jean flinched and approached them.

“Do you need help?” He asked kindly.

“We got it.” Was Mikasa’s reply.  Jean couldn’t help the blush forming on his cheeks, so he bowed his head and turned away, hoping no one was looking intently at him.

Darn it Eren, why do you get Mikasa’s attention all the time?

The expedition into Wall Maria’s territory was a success for the Scouting Legion.  However, their casualties were higher than ever before.  The mission was to test some new equipment Hange-san came up with in the event that the shifters would resurface in their titan forms.  Of course, only Commander Erwin, Corporal Levi, and Squad leaders Hange and Mike would know of the mission’s true purpose.  Testing the equipment out on regular titans, they were able to successfully capture a ten-meter titan.  Hange wanted to keep it for further experimentation, but disaster struck too early for them and they lost the titan in the escape, as well as forty percent of their men.  Though they were unable to relocate the titan, they did stamp this expedition as a success for their quick and painless capture.  Now all they had to do was prepare and wait.

More news arrived to the Scout’s door as a Training Cadet officer announced for Dr. Jaeger’s presence back at the Cadet Training Grounds on a personal request from Instructor Shadis regarding his son.  Something apparently happened during one of their assignments and Cadet Eren Jaeger was brought back unconscious and had remained is that state ever since.  With three days passing, Dr. Jaeger gave little option for Erwin to deny the request.  The Commander did, however, send Hange and Levi with him.

It was here that the two elite Scouts found themselves in another series of investigations.  Hange was determined to find out what happened while Levi felt that focusing on the other cadets was a waste of time and they should instead keep tabs on the Jaegers.  Hange won the argument, though purely because of the fact Levi couldn’t put up with her insistent whining.  That and he was still under orders from Erwin to investigate any and all possible leads.

Still, he kept his eyes on the window that allowed him a good view of the medical cabin’s front and only door.  He would see everyone who came and left.  His attention, however, was momentarily diverted to their current subject, Armin Arlert.

“I didn’t see how Eren got injured.  I found him unconscious by the lake.” Armin replied to Hange’s question.  He was all in all very surprised the two finally decided to question him and Mikasa.  They had already questioned her before, but ended up finishing too quickly on account of her vague and simple responses.

“So you were the only one who went to look for him?” Hange asked from where she sat on the chair in front of Armin.

“Um…” Armin’s mind skipped ahead to see if replying would cause more harm than good.  When he didn’t see any threat, he went back to collect his thoughts for the answer.  “Well, no.  Jean followed as well.”

“Jean?” Hange asked, implying that she needed a more accurate name.

“Uh, Cadet Jean Kirschtein.” Armin corrected himself, not wanting to be rude or informal in front of the higher ups.

“Alright, I think that’s all.  Thank you for your time, Cadet Arlert.” Hange concluded with a kind smile.  Armin returned the gesture before removing himself from the room.  Once the door was closed, Hange turned back to Levi who was leaning up against the wall with his head towards the window.

“I think I just found another candidate.” She informed lightly.

“Right, you go on ahead.  I’ve got something else to do.” Levi announced nonchalantly.

“Suit yourself.” Hange chimed as she stood.  “But this is a golden opportunity for us to learn something new.  You never know what you can find if you dig deep enough.”

“I think I’ll manage.” Levi replied with an unamused expression.

Jean sat at the lunch table staring at his food whilst playing with it with his fork.  He didn’t look down nor did he look particularly happy.  He just looked like he had something on his mind, something that was bugging him.  And it was.

He argued with himself on whether or not he should pry.  Armin and Mikasa did owe him for keeping all of this a secret.  Getting the 411 would be the perfect repayment option for them…

But that might anger Mikasa and Jean didn’t want to do that.  They obviously didn’t want to talk about it, otherwise Jean would have seen Armin coming to tell him for compensation.

He was in a hole, a dark hole, and he couldn’t shout for help without giving up the secret.

“Hey, Jean.” Marco greeted as he sat down next to his friend, tray in hand.  “Did you see those Scouts?  They’ve come back with the usual questioning.”  Marco informed him, shocking his friend out of his stupor.

“The Scouts?” Jean repeated in question.

“Yeah.  I don’t know why they keep coming back, but it’s got to be for something important, right?”

It all makes sense now… the Scouts must know about Eren, or else why would they keep asking around for any strange phenomenon?  But how much to they know, and when did they find out?  Do Armin and Mikasa know?

“Uh, Jean, hello?” Macro stated whilst waving his hand in front of Jean’s face.

“Huh?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?  You seem distant.  Maybe you should get checked out while Dr. Jaeger is still available.”  Marco suggested out of concern.  Jean cleared his throat and put down his fork.

“You know what, Marco.  That’s a great idea.  Who knows, maybe this is something worth getting checked out, right?  Never hurts to be careful.”  He commented with a crooked smile.  “Besides, can’t be daydreaming if I want to get into the Military Police.  See ya.”  He waved good bye to Marco who looked utterly confused.

When Jean was in the hallway he let his smile fade.  He really needed to get a hold of himself or else he was going to fail miserably at keeping this secret.

“Cadet Jean Kirchstein I presume?” a feminine voice called out in front of him.  Jean lifted his eyes away from the floor boards and up to the smiling, auburn haired Scout.  In his shock, he quickly saluted at the high ranking officer.

“Formalities—shmalities.  Come, I wish to speak with you.” She said rather enthusiastically before turning him around and shoving him along.

“Um, okay…?”  Jean blinked.  Wow, she was a bit strange.  When they rounded the corner, that’s when Hange let go and stopped them.  Jean was pretty sure this wasn’t how other cadets were treated when they got questioned by one of the Scouts.

“Um,” He looked around at the open hall.  “Shouldn’t we be someplace more private?  I heard you guys always did this kind of stuff in secret.” Jean proclaimed.

“Yeah, but it’s not necessary at this point.” Hange replied.

“Okay.” Jean answered awkwardly, still sensing there was more to this than the Scout was letting on.

“I just want to know what happened to Eren Jaeger.  You see, his father is a member of ours.”  Jean blinked, he didn’t know that.  Well, he guessed maybe that’s why Eren wanted to join the Scouts so badly.  “We just want to make sure this event wasn’t from some personal agenda against the Jaegers.”

“Personal agenda?  I had no idea… I mean, I wouldn’t know if it was or wasn’t.  All I know is that Armin and I found Eren knocked out by the lake.  Bandits said they killed him, but I’m assuming that was just to scare us from fighting back.”

“If the bandits just knocked him out, wouldn’t you think he’d be awake by now?” Hange questioned, peering down at Jean as if she was about to confide in him.

“Um, I guess…”

“And they did say that they kill him.” Hange continued, pretending like she was coming to a resolution.

“Yeah, but they’re bandits.  We couldn’t take their word for it.”

“Oh yes, of course, but something just doesn’t add up.” Hange said with her eyes closed in thought before opening them and leaning in towards Jean.  “Jean, are you sure you didn’t see anything strange?  Nothing different about Eren?”

Jean could only stare at Hange as he argued with himself.  This could very well be the opportunity he needed to find out more about Eren.  They clearly knew something, and they were the Scouts, the good guys.  He would be doing wrong for keeping valuable information from them, it was against their code as soldiers.

Jean opened his mouth to speak but only air came out.

He promised Armin.  And on top of that, Mikasa was counting on him.  He could never let her down.

Jean frowned and glanced down at the floor boards before looking Hange in the eye.  “Sorry, I don’t know anything else.”  The Scout sighed and straightened herself.

“Alright.” She announced sadly.  “You’re free to go.”

Jean didn’t bother asking if that was really all she wanted.  He didn’t want to be there anymore.  So, he left and didn’t look back.

Levi made his way over to the medical cabin, his eyes peering around for any sign of that cadet he kept catching coming back here.  Blonde with a small feminine frame.  He caught her walking around in front of the cabin at least five times.  If that wasn’t suspicious, Levi didn’t know what was.

He stopped walking when he spotted her, leaning against a pole off in the distance.  She wasn’t looking up, rather down at the ground with a sad frown as she clutched her arm innocently.

Levi hummed in question before approaching her.  If she was up to something, it didn’t look bad.

“What are you doing here?” Krista looked up from Levi’s sudden appearance.  She didn’t even hear him approach.

“W—wha?”  Levi gestured back at the medical cabin with a nod of his head.

“I’ve seen you approach the door at least five times within the hour.  So I’ll ask again, what are you doing here?” He explained.

“Oh, um,” Krista began, trying to stay calm from Levi’s threatening gaze.  “I just… wanted to ask Dr. Jaeger something.”

“That’s all?  Then why don’t you?”  Krista looked up at him and bit her lip.  Levi easily caught it and raised an eyebrow.

“I… I don’t know if I should.” She paused for a brief moment and took a deep breath, “Corporal, I’ve seen you and the other Scouts coming here time and time again.  I never knew why before, but…” She looked down in shame, “I think I do now.”  Levi kept quiet for her to speak.  Though it didn’t show on his face, he was very much interested in what she had to say.

“I think there’s something wrong with Eren.”  She finally said, “I was there when he got hurt.  But he didn’t get hurt, he was killed!  I saw it with my own eyes, the bandit shot him near point blank in the chest with his shotgun!” She exclaimed, tears threatening to fall down, “No one gets up from that let alone survive.  I don’t know how or why, but Eren should be dead.”  She lifted a finger to wipe away the tears around her eyes.  “I mean, I’m glad he isn’t, but it’s just impossible.”

“Yes, impossible.” Levi repeated, his eyes never leaving Krista’s face.  “What was your name again?”

“Uh, Krista; Cadet Krista Lenz.”

“Okay, Krista.  If I gave you a map, would you be able to mark down the location where this happened?”  Krista nodded in response.

Hange walked out of the main lodge and over towards the medical cabin.  Going over the evidence they got—though very little—she could conclude that something dramatic happened to Eren in the forest next to a lake that made Jean Kirschtein swear secrecy like Armin Arlert and Mikasa Ackerman.  This was a big deal because she asked around and found out that Eren and Jean’s relationship wasn’t even that great.  The two bickered all the time, even fought.  And yet, although the two probably hate each other’s guts, Jean was willing to keep whatever he witnessed a secret.

If she didn’t know any better, it must have been something to do with Jaeger’s titan abilities… something they could definitely use.

She stopped at the foot of the steps leading to the door of the cabin and leaned against one of the posts.  She sighed, beginning to think this whole subtle act was going to be fruitless.

She glanced up to see Levi approach and without even thinking, immediately started venting her frustration.

“We need a new plan!  We’re getting nothing by just asking questions!  I can’t keep coming back here, swallowing the pure excitement I have in the knowledge of their abilities, and act as normal as possible just so we can be discreet in our approach to the situation!”  Hange took a step towards Levi, “We should just act!  They know we know and we know they know!  So what’s the harm in taking the first step!”

“Are you done?” Levi asked in annoyance.  Hange took several deep breathes before fixing herself up.  Man she had been holding that in for a while.

“Yes.”

“Good,” Levi held up with map that was in his hand.  “Because we’ve got to get going.”

Hange had to take a double step backwards.  “Wha—what is that?” she asked, pointing lazily up at the map with a red circle marked next to one of the small lakes.

“It’s a map, four-eyes.  I found out exactly what happened to Jaeger.”  Levi informed her, watching how Hange’s frown became a smile that seemed to never stop growing.

“Eren...”  Grisha’s voice called out.  Eren found himself escaping from his stupor.  “Eren, it’s time to wake up.”

Eren blinked his eyes open and cringed at the change in lighting.  His eyes adjusted quickly, though, and he sat up in bed to gaze at his father in all confusion.

“Dad…?” He said, now looking down at his sheets in search of the memories.  “What happened?”

“You got shot and nearly died.”  Grisha responded rather calmly.  Eren peered up at him in fear.

“What?” He subconsciously clutched his chest.  “I healed from that?”

“Yes,” His father said before picking up a silver tray and holding it down in front for Eren to see.  “Unfortunately, some bullets were still inside of you; I had to surgically remove them.  You’ve fully healed from the operation.”  Eren stared at the tray in astonishment.  His father sat it down on the nightstand and sat next to Eren on the bed.  He cupped his son’s hair and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

“It’s a blessing that you have your abilities.” Grisha’s comment struck Eren the wrong way.

“A blessing?  I turn into a monster!  A giant, killing monster dad!  How is that a blessing?”

“A monster kills without regard or reason.  And last time I checked, you haven’t murdered anyone, Eren.”  Grisha argued with him, though his voice was calmer and his anger in control.  “It is your actions that define who you are.”  Eren looked down, he always hates these talks, but always felt good after them.

“But… mom wouldn’t want this.”  Grisha looked saddened.

“No, your mother wouldn’t, but more than anything else, Eren, she would want you to live.”  He continued to gaze at his son while he stared at his white blankets.

Eren sighed, feeling his father’s stare, and looked off to the left to avoid it.  “I know.”

“Eren, you remember that promise you made, that you wouldn’t ever use your abilities ever again?” Grisha asked, now standing up from the bed.

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m going to have to ask you to break it.”

“What?!”

“Eren, you’re not going to be able to achieve your goals without your titan shifting.”  His father pointed out, glancing out the window by the door and seeing Hange and Levi talking—well he saw Hange’s lips moving, Levi just looked annoyed.

“Oh yeah, a seven meter titan with no exceptional difference to a regular titan is one serious badass.” Eren retorted with crossed arms.  Grisha gave him a sideways smirk, though Eren didn’t see it.

“The great thing about your titan, Eren, is that its adaptable.” His stated with a hint of great pride.

“Yeah, adaptable… because that’s an awesome weapon against titans.” He countered yet again.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.  Grisha walked over and pulled on the handle.  On the other side was Hange and behind her, Levi mounting his horse.

“Good evening, Grisha-san.”  Hange greeted with a wave of her hand and a big enthusiastic smile.  “I hope everything is A-Okay.  You’re looking a little perky today, huh?” She said, tilting her head to look at Eren on the bed behind Grisha.

“Uh… y—yeah.” Eren replied, still uncomfortable in their presence.

“I’m just here to inform you that we will be heading out on an errand.  But, no worries, we should be back before the setting sun.” Hange informed cheerfully.  “You don’t mind relaxing here until then, Dr. Jaeger?”

“Of course not, Hange-san.” Grisha replied with a smile.

“Alright then, tootles!” she waved goodbye and mounted her horse.  Both she and Levi were off in a rush, their horses galloping to speeds over forty miles per hour within ten seconds.  Eren came to stand beside his father at the door, watching the Scouts disappear around the bend of the road.

“I still don’t understand.” He told his father, “Are the Scouts our friends… or not?”

“They’re not the ones I’m worried about.”  Grisha informed whilst turning around and heading back inside.  Eren followed him with his eyes in deep question.

“Then… who are you worried about?” he asked.

“Eren!”  Mikasa’s voice from outside alerted Eren of the impending hug he was about to receive.  And just as he thought, Mikasa rushed inside and pulled Eren into a soft hug.

“I—I’m fine, Mikasa” he told her.  Armin joined her inside and closed the door behind him.

He sighed in relief, “It’s good to see you finally awake.”

“Yeah, you know.  I can’t even remember what happened aside from what dad told me.” Eren responded, glad to have Mikasa off of his shoulders.  He appreciated her, really he did.  He cared deeply for her, she was like a sister.  He just didn’t appreciate her smothering him.

“Yes, um about that.  There’s a bit more to what happened.” Armin informed nervously whilst rubbing his neck.  Both Grisha and Eren’s attention was on him.  “When I went to go find you, uh, Jean kind of… followed.”

“What?” Eren replied dumbfounded.

“He saw you healing, Eren.  He knows somethings up, but he promised to keep it a secret.” Armin finished.

“Promised?  This is Jean!  This is a golden opportunity for him to blackmail me!” Eren exclaimed in frustration.

“He’s not going to blackmail.” Armin quickly waved the notion off.  Grisha approached him.

“You sure about this, Armin?”

“Y—yes, positive.  He won’t talk, I trust Jean.” He replied as confidently as possible.

“Well, I don’t trust him.” Eren growled out.

“Maybe you should give him a chance.” Mikasa told him kindly.  Eren gave her a sideways glare.

“Trust me Eren,” Armin stated, giving off a hint of a gesture towards Mikasa, “He’s not going to say anything.”

Chapter Text

Hange and Levi raced through the forest on horseback, going as fast as they could for being off road and in close quarters.  For anyone else, this would be suicide, but the two elites have been racing through forests while escaping titans for years.  Really, it was like riding a bike.

“So you mean to tell me that Jaeger got shot in the chest, at near point blank, and fully healed from it?!”

“Not a scratch on him.” Levi answered, the two riding side by side.

“So, their abilities extend over to their normal, human forms.” Hange exclaimed, “Much like a titan can heal no matter where you hit it—besides the nape—the Jaeger’s can rejuvenate and continue on like nothing even happened!  That is, assuming all shifters are the same.” Hange preached with glee.

“AAAH, just think about it!  Getting shot in the chest, damaging his heart, his lungs, vital organs, and he’s still alive!  Where’s the limit?!”

“We’re here!” Levi called out as soon as he could get words in.  Both horses whinnied in protest to the pull on the reigns and slowed their speeds until they came to a trot.  The two came out from the tree line and stopped the horses entirely before the small slope down to the bank.  Hange slid off of her saddle and looked around.

“This is the place?” She questioned whilst looking out at the small lake.

“This is it.  If we can take a look around, we may be able to find some evidence.” Levi ordered, even though Hange out ranked him.  He didn’t care and neither did she when she was lost in her own mind.

Levi slid off his saddle as well just as Hange knelt down on the slope to scan the dirt.

“There appears to be some footprints here, but I can’t exactly make out anything else.” Hange informed as she outlined the prints with her finger.  Levi looked over her shoulder, his gaze following the prints over to a bush.  That’s when he saw something.  Walking over to the bush, he reached down and picked up a worn and bloody, pale green shirt with multiple bullet holes in the front.

“Hange…” Levi notified as he turned and held out the garment.  Hange gasped and quickly took the shirt in her hands.  Her smile grew.

“Blood sample!  YES!  Oh… oh, no, wait; it’s been out here for three days, I might not be able to get any DNA.” She exclaimed happily before her excitement faded in realization.

“Either way, its hard evidence that we can use.” Levi commented before picking up another article of clothing, a cadet jacket.  “Erwin would definitely want these.”

“Still, I’ll try and see what I can get out of this.” Hange replied, her smile coming back as she held out the shirt in front of her and scanned it.  “Anything, really, would help shed some light on our little miracle.”

“You found this at the sight of the incident?”  Erwin questioned hopefully as he picked up the bagged, blood stained shirt and cadet uniform jacket from his desk.  Beside it was Levi’s report on his eye witness account.  Leaning against the wall behind Erwin was Mike, who busied himself by looking out the window while still listening in.

“Yes.”  Levi answered back from where he stood in front of Erwin’s desk.

“Can we get any DNA sample from this?”  Erwin asked another, still really hopeful that this was a long awaited breakthrough.

“Hange’s taking care of that as we speak.” Levi responded once again.

“Hmmm, that’s been out for at least three days.” Mike commented.  “You said the boy could heal like any old regular titan?”  Levi nodded his head.  Mike turned his gaze back to the window.

“Then why hasn’t the blood evaporated yet?”

“Excellent question Mike!”  Hange’s voice came from behind Levi as she stood in the doorway.  “Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer to that, but isn’t it fascinating?”  She added while approaching Erwin’s desk and placing down the petri dish she had in her hands.  Within the petri dish was a small sample of Eren’s blood she got from the tattered shirt.

“By all accounts, this should have evaporated within minutes after the shooting.  If not that, then any form of information should have deteriorated.  And yet, here it is!  Still fresh and holding all of its valuable DNA like it never even left the body.”  Hange announced.  The guys all looked at her in astonishment over the news.

“Sir,” Hange placed her hands on the desk, her glasses shinning in the light from the window, “If I may, I would like to run some tests to see what can and cannot affect a shifter.”

“Request granted, I want you to get on that right away.” Erwin replied as he took the petri dish and held it up to examine it.  “Will you be needing this sample back?” he asked.

“No, as long as I may have the shirt.”  Hange answered, hands on hips.  Erwin motioned for the go-ahead and Hange reclaimed her prize before dashing off out of the room and down the hall towards her lab.  She shoved two of her subordinates out of the way as she ran.

Levi closed the door and narrowed his eyes in disapproval of her actions; his attention going back to Erwin.  Like Mike, he was waiting for the man to speak.

“Well?” Levi said.  Erwin pushed himself back and stood from his chair, petri dish still in hand.

“I’m going to pay a visit to Dr. Jaeger.” Erwin announced.  “If you feel the necessity, come.  If not, I wish to speak with him alone.”  And with that, Erwin closed the door behind him and walked down the hall.

It only took a couple minutes before he found himself at the good doctor’s door.  Hopefully he would be here at his designated living quarters and not in his lab, but the odds of that were slim.  Fortunately, they weren’t.

Three knocks and Erwin got an answer of approval.  When the door opened, his eyes met with Dr. Jaeger’s.

“May I come in?” He asked him.  Grisha pushed his glasses up with his middle finger before standing aside and allowing the Commander to enter with a smile.

“What can I do you for?” Grisha asked kindly.

“Hange’s got a project I would like you to help her with.  That is, if your schedule isn’t too tight.” Erwin replied, the petri dish hidden in the inner pocket of his uniform jacket.

“I can save some time.  What’s the project?”  At the question, Erwin reached in and pulled out the sample, holding it up and handing it over to Grisha when he reached for it.  “What is this?”

Erwin looked at him seriously, but Grisha’s eyes never left the dish, “It’s a sample of your son’s blood.”  The statement ran cold through Grisha.  He didn’t look up, though.

“We know, Grisha.” Erwin announced.  “We know you and your son are titan shifters and that it was you who we ran into years ago.”

Grisha cleared his throat, his voice soft.  “Yes, yes you do.  I never once thought this would forever be kept from the Scouts.  You’re the only ones who are actually trying to save humanity.” He replied while handing the sample back to Erwin. 

“How long have you two been able to do this?” Erwin questioned whilst excepting the petri dish and placing it back in his coat pocket.

Grisha sighed, “Me?  Long before Eren was born, I’m sure, but I can’t remember precisely.  Amnesia is a sure thing when you’re a shifter.” Grisha answered him before proceeding to sit down in his chair and offering Erwin the other across from the table.  He accepted it and joined him.

“And what of Eren?”

“Eren’s… different.” Grisha replied, clearly holding back whatever it was that he knew.

“Was he born with it?” Erwin asked.

“No… not entirely.  In order to become a shifter, you must first consume another who already has the ability.  And, in order to do so…”

“You must be a titan.” Erwin finished, realizing it quickly.  Grisha nodded his head.  “Then how is your son different?”

“He never became a titan to begin with.”  Grisha explained.  “It was an accident with him.  I feared the worst when it happened, but then something occurred that I never thought possible.  When Eren turned into a titan, he was conscious; aware.  He recognized me.  It was then that I realized I must have passed the ability down to him.”

“You must understand,” Grisha began, “Eren was not born with the shifting ability, he was born with an immunity to become a titan because of my shifting abilities.”

“If what you’re saying is true,” Erwin responded with a bit of bated breath, “Then Eren will be able to help us regain the land we lost, as well as exterminated the titans from our world.”

“Yes.”  Grisha breathed out in relief of the idea.  “And that is why I believe Eren is safest here in the Scouts.”

“Dr. Jaeger,” Erwin furrowed his eyebrows, “Ever since I’ve met you, you’ve been exceedingly cautious and secretive.  And it hasn’t been because of us.”  He stated before leaning in, “Who else knows of this?”

Grisha looked him in the eye.

“Erwin, you and I have chosen two completely different paths.  I chose to be a father, where you chose to pursue your dreams and your passion.  And though both may be different, both are indeed noble and just.” Erwin listened intently.  “I only ask you to look from a father’s standpoint.  There are somethings that must be left unsaid or else you risk the lives of those closest to you.”  Erwin stared at Grisha with understanding.  His thoughts ventured back to his own father.

“Please forgive me, but I can’t answer your question.” Grisha finished with his gaze dropping down to the table.

“I respect your decision.” Erwin answer back.

One Year Later, Graduation Ceremony

“You’re still joining the Scouts?” Thomas questioned Eren as he, Mikasa, and Armin stood by the wall with their mugs.  “Even after achieving a rank in the top ten?”

To be honest, Eren’s thoughts were more focused on what would happen after he joined them.  His father said he had nothing to fear from the Scouts, they were friends…

It certainly didn’t feel that way.

Eren felt like a mouse being stalked and chased by cats.  He sometimes had dreams about getting cut out of his titan and experimented on or captured to be put in a holding cell and treated like an alien specimen.

He told Mikasa and Armin of those dreams and they said it was because of his paranoia.  Mikasa said it was a good thing that he was alert, but both agreed he needed to calm down.  Lately, he was waking up in cold sweats and a fever.  Where seconds earlier he was above 102 degrees, the thermometer would drop back down to the norm of 98.6.  Though it was abnormal, Eren was anything but normal so it was expected.  Still, it scared his friends and himself as well.

Sometimes during training in the forests with the titan mannequins, Eren would randomly end up getting lightheaded.  His face would pale and his vision would blur, but then everything would go back to normal.  He really did want to go have his father check him out, but with their separation, it was impossible.  This was also another reason why Eren felt differently for the Scouts.

“My goals haven’t changed.” Eren reminded him before taking a sip.  “I’ve wanted to join the Scouts long before I even signed up for the Cadets.  I have my reasons.  I just don’t see myself anyplace else.” Eren explained to him calmly.

Jean, sitting at a table off in the background, grumbled to himself about Eren’s comment.  He ended up with rank six while Eren got rank five, so he wasn’t entirely pleased.  That and, from what he knew about Eren, he wasn’t your everyday soldier.  The kid had a secret that the Scouts were interested in.  What better position for him then to be their test subject.

“But—“ Thomas spouted suddenly, “That’s crazy!  You’ll get yourself killed!”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jean spoke up, the room going quiet while Eren glared over at him.  “It’s not like he can be killed anyway.”  This earned a shocked expression from Armin and a warning glance from Mikasa, but Jean wasn’t paying any attention to them.  In fact, he wasn’t even looking in their direction when he stood and walked over to Thomas.

“What are you talking about?” Thomas questioned him in confusion.  Jean and Eren stood face to face now.

“I’m speaking figuratively, of course.  Don’t read too much into it.” Jean commented dryly.  “But really, the Scouts are nothing but suicidal maniacs, so I think Eren would fit right in.”

“Yeah, and the MP’s are nothing but corrupt bastards who laze around all day with the fat pigs.” Eren mumbled quite coherently from where his lips were posed to drink from his mug.  Jean’s eyebrow twitched.

“It still doesn’t matter!” Thomas exclaimed, though he calmed himself due to the emptiness of sound in the room.  “It’s not like we can beat them.  The Scouts try, but they always come back with less and less members.  They’re just going out there to die.  Why join them to aid in that process?”

“So that’s it.  You’re just gonna give up?!” Eren exclaimed as well.  “Buckle in and take it all lying down?!  I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to die like a coward!” He shouted out into the silent room.  All eyes were on him.  “The titans aren’t a mystery like they were five years ago.  And that’s because people tried!  They went out there, risked their lives, and gained more knowledge about the enemy!  If anything, I really do hope you all pick the other two because I certainly wouldn’t want to recruit soldiers who believe we’re all just walking to our graves!”  Eren yelled.  “Humanity’s future lies outside the walls!  Even if I’m the only one who believes that, there’s still a chance!  I’ll fight them all by myself if I have to!  But I’ll never die without giving it my all!” Eren shouted before taking a deep breath and blinking away some of the tears.  He realized just how hopeless everyone looked at him; their expressions boring anger into his soul.

How could they?!  How could they betray mankind?!

He growled and left the room with Armin and Mikasa quickly pursuing him.  Jean turned his gaze to the ground while others started muttering softly.

“Eren, wait!” Armin called out as he rushed to catch up with his friend.  Eren didn’t stop, though.  He kept his pace with his vexed glare.  He soon found himself outside underneath the cold night sky… good, just what he needed—fresh air.

“Eren?!” Armin called out yet again, his hand now able to reach his friend’s shoulder to pull himself forward.  He was able to stop Eren before he got to the last step of the stairway.  The boy stopped, keeping his head down as Armin peered at him in concern.

“I don’t feel human anymore.” Eren mumbled before falling down onto the step.  Armin sat next to him with perplexity from his statement.

“What do you mean?”

“If being human means I have to be a coward, then forget it.” Eren grumbled without looking up at his friend.

“They’re just scared, Eren.  From their standpoint, it is hopeless.  But I know that’s not true, and so does Mikasa, and your father, and now the Scouts.” Armin reasoned.  “One reason why I joined the Cadets was because I knew you’d be able to do something about all this.  And I couldn’t let you do it alone.”  That caused Eren to look up at him in surprise.  Mikasa took this time to sit down next to him.

“They need you, Eren, even if they don’t know it yet.” She told him, earning his attention.  “If you give up on them, they’ll give up on you.”

“I just…” Eren said, but faded out because he didn’t know what else to say.  “I don’t know anymore.” He concluded.

“Just know this, Eren.” Mikasa said, “No matter what, I’ll always be there for you.”

“Me too.” Armin added quickly after.  Eren glanced between him and her wanting to protest, but found himself giving in.

“Just… don’t die for me, ok?”  He whispered mournfully.  Armin and Mikasa could only look at him with solemn stares as they sat together underneath the cloudless night sky. 

The streets were brought to life the following morning in the city of Trost as Eren, along with Mikasa and Armin, found himself stuffed within the crowd of the bustling town.  They weren’t the only cadets out for a stroll though.  After their graduation the other day, the cadets were assigned different tasks.  Eren was tasked with wall maintenance for the day.  His best guess, the Instructors wanted them to have a taste of each of the three legions before choosing.  Eren didn’t need that though, he already made his choice.

But before Eren ventured up the wall to start his assigned duties, he and his friends decided to grab a bite to eat.  The three were sitting down on a bench in the market place, shaded underneath the roof of an awning.  There were many awnings lining the street in various colors.  It was if the town was celebrating for the five years of peace.

Armin took a bite into his bread, his bowl of soup sitting securely in his lap.  When his eyes wandered out into the crowd, he noticed a familiar short man leaning against a building directly ahead of them.  It was Corporal Levi.  He had his hands crossed over his abdomen with one knee bent as his foot rested flat against the brick vertically.  He was staring right at Armin before he put down his foot, stood up straight, and walked off into the crowd; disappearing completely.

Armin swallowed the bread in his mouth and cleaned towards Eren.

“Um, I don’t want to alarm you, but—“ Armin was about to warn him of the Scouts presence when someone else called out his name.

“Eren!”

Eren smiled at the man, “Mr. Hannes!”  He greeted respectfully.  Hannes was with another Garrison soldier, one Eren remembered was a buddy of his in their stupid drinking games.

“Well looky here.” Hannes commented, “Word on the street is you three graduated yesterday.  I hope standards haven’t plummeted, unless you’re here to tell me you all grew up.” He joked.

“Ha, your one to talk.  Drinking on the job every day.  The Chief of Engineer really should have better priorities then that.” Eren joked back.  Hannes poked him on the forehead.

“Watch it.” He warned playfully.  His cheerful demeanor, however, changed rapidly as a thought was brought to mind.  He wanted to say this to Eren since it happened.  Now would be better than continuing to wait.

“I’m sorry if this is out of the blue, but, I just want you to know your mother’s death still haunts me.”  Eren looked surprised for a split second before returning back to his normal glare.

“Me too, but it wasn’t your fault.”  Hannes look stricken from his reply.  “Things are different now, trust me.”

“I certainly hope so.” Hannes replied gravely.  Eren looked down before setting his food aside and standing up.

“Well, I have to get up to the wall.  I have an assignment that needs to be done.” Eren dismissed himself, waving good-bye to his friends as he walked away.

Fired up and capable make an excellent pair.  Just don’t screw it up by dying kid.  Hannes thought to himself.

Eren had his hand on his forehead as the memories came back to him.  Things were definitely going to be different because he wasn’t weak anymore.  He’d sooner find himself dead before he’d let something like that happen again.

Within his own mind, he accidently shouldered someone walking pass.  He jolted out of his thoughts and twirled around with an apology ready.

“I’m so sorry—“ He began before he realized who it was he was apologizing to.  Hange smiled broadly down at him as she stood in the crowd, the people going around her and Eren.  Eren didn’t bother saying anything else as he just turned back around slowly and started walking again.  He still felt her presence though.  Stealing a peek, he found her following him.

His heart began to race and suddenly the crowd seemed to be squishing him.  He told himself over and over again not to run, to just keep walking and keep looking forward.  His nerves got the better of him, though, and he dashed toward the wall without looking back.  Down the street and around a few bends, Eren was soon at the lift to take him up on top of the wall.  He slowed when it was in sight and—with all his being—calmly walked on board.

“What’s the rush, kid?” One of the Garrison soldiers handling the crank told him, smiling down at the greenhorn.

“Uh, he,”  Eren laughed with a heavy breath.  “I—uh thought I was going to be late.”  He excused his fears.

“Nah, no worries.  You’re right on time.”  Eren turned his head away, the scent of alcohol on the mans’ breath.

Oh great, he’s drunk too…

He attention soon turned to the crowd below as the lift started its climb.  He didn’t see any of the Scouts so he allowed his heart to rest and his breathes to even out.  He couldn’t be tired now; he hadn’t even start his assignment.

At the top of the wall, Connie, Mina, Thomas, and Samuel were busing themselves with the new canons.

“Man, look at these bad boys.  Those titans don’t stand a chance.” Connie commented as he placed the artillery shells down by the cannons.

“Easy there Connie,” Samuel mentioned while loading the muzzle, “You shouldn’t get cocky on the job.”

“I’m so not being cocky!” Connie stood in defense.  “I’m just saying, those titans don’t stand a chance!”

Samuel snorted, “That’s being cocky.”  Mina giggled from behind Connie.  When she opened her eyes, she saw Eren coming to join them.

“Hi, Eren!” She greeted him.  Connie and Samuel took notice, but otherwise continued working.

“Hey Eren, your late.”  Thomas commented jokingly from behind him.  Eren turned for a sideways glance.

“Huh?”

“Haha, just kidding.”  Thomas tap his shoulder before joining the rest.  Mina noticed how pale Eren’s face was and she questioned him on in.

“Eren, your quite pale.  Are you feeling well?”  Eren looked down at his gear.

“You’re not afraid of heights are you?”  Connie asked, ready to tease him about it.

“No.” Eren replied indifferently.  “And I feel fine, so, nothing to worry about.”

“Hey guys!”  Sasha shouted as she ran towards them, her hands holding something hidden inside her jacket.  “I just got back from the chief’s pantry.  Look what I found!”  She then pulled out a bat of ham and held it up for them to see.

“Oh my gosh!” Mina exclaimed.

“Sasha, why would you do that?!”  Thomas exclaimed as well.

“What’s wrong with her?” Samuel whispered to his comrades.

“What isn’t wrong with her?”  Connie answered back.

“You’re gonna get in trouble.” Eren told her.  “They can lock you up for that.”

“Only if you get caught.” She waved him off as she walked over to a box to hide the ham in.  “Just think of the sandwiches we can make!”

Samuel looked down before taking a deep breath.  “You know what, yeah.  I’m gonna have a slice.”

“Yeah, now that’s what I’m talking about.  WHOO HOO!”  Sasha cheered as she closed the box lid.

“Ah screw it.  Count me in.”  Thomas said.

Mina smiled, “Me too!  I’m gonna have one too!”

“You guys are crazy.” Connie commented.  Eren just looked at them before smiling at their bravery.  Everyone was so joyous, so alive today.  And here he was anxious, tired, stressed…

Nothing felt right at the moment.  He couldn’t smile like they could, not now anyway.  Something was—

A bright flash of green illuminated the sky behind them and Eren swore his heart stopped.

—wrong.

Chapter Text

Eren screeched in pain from the heat of the steam as it blew him off the wall and over the edge.  His body flipped right-side-up before he shot out his cables and slid to a stop along the side of the wall.  With his feet planted firmly against the hard rock, he frantically looked left then right for his comrades.  They were all in a similar position except for Samuel who had gone unconscious, but was caught—thank God—by Sasha.  Eren’s wide eyes darted over to Connie as he announced the inevitable.

“They’re gonna get in… they’re gonna get in!”  He shouted while his whole body shook from fear.

The titan popped up out of nowhere.  Just like it did five years ago, the colossal showed his ugly face again and kicked a hole through the wall.  Eren’s eyes were glued to the enormous hole below him as the screams from the citizens of Trost echoed up to his ears.  The memories from before came flooding back to him…

“MOM!” A ten year old Eren screamed as he and Mikasa ran towards Carla who was stuck underneath their demolished house.  “MOM!” He cried again, tripping as he climbed upon the rubble.  He landed on his knees next to her with tears streaming down his red cheeks.

“Are you alright?!  Can you get out?!” he begged for a positive response, but only got his hand grasped tightly in his mother’s soft fingers.  Mikasa was down on her knees beside Eren, working her fingers underneath the building to try and lift it up.  She couldn’t budge it, and even though you knew she never could, something told her she just needed to try.

“Eren… listen to me…” His mother gasped out, her grip on Eren’s hand tightening.  “You need… to run.”

“NO!” Eren cried out, “I’m not leaving you, we can get you out.”  Eren cried, ripping his hand from his mother's and grasping the house as well to help lift it.

“Eren, please, you have to go!” Carla fought.  She turned to Mikasa in desperation.  “Mikasa, please take him and run!”  Mikasa only looked at her with tearing eyes.

I can’t… she thought, I have to at least try this time…

She shook her head to get the nightmares out.

“Mikasa!” Eren screamed, “Pull harder!”

“I am!” she returned the cry in sorrow.  Nothing was budging.

Suddenly, large footfalls shook their small frames; the air settled around them and all the echoing screams from before seemed to have vanished.  Both Eren and Mikasa literally froze in their endeavor and looked down the road behind the house.  A tall, grinning titan was making its way towards them, its eyes set upon the two of them and the house.  Carla didn’t need to see it to know.

“NO!” Eren screamed as he let go of the house and stood up.

“Eren, run!  It’s too late for me, I’m stuck, I can’t move, my legs are broken, please just run!”  His mother begged quickly as the footfalls resonated closer and closer.

“I’m not leaving you!”  Eren yelled back at her in anger before he curled his hands into balls and brought his hand up to his mouth.  “I can get you out…” He all but whispered.

“NO EREN!”  His mother screamed, knowing exactly his intentions.  “They’ll kill you!  Don’t!”  Eren didn’t listen to her as he bit down into the skin.  The pain caused his jaw to tense and his teeth to dig deeper and cause more pain.  He cried out from both his helpless state and the wound, falling down on his knees again.

“It’s… not… working!”  He gasped out in between bites as he clenched his eyes and focused really hard.  But nothing was happening…

“Eren…”  Mikasa whispered as her eyes were set upon the titan nearly standing over them.  “Eren!”  She shouted this time as the titan’s hand stretched out towards them.  She quickly got up and shoved Eren aside, the two of them fall over just out of reach of the titan.

“NO!  DON’T YOU DARE!” Carla screamed up at the titan.  “OVER HERE!  LOOK AT ME!  I’M RIGHT HERE!”  The titan’s eyes followed the sound down to Carla.  The overwhelming courage she once had seconds ago vanished as she looked into the beast’s eyes.

“Carla!”  A voice from down the street called out.  Her eyes met the figure and widened.  “Hannes!  Please, get the children out of here!”  she screamed as the titan looked up from her and back down at Eren and Mikasa.

Hannes breathed heavily as he ran, “No way!  I’m going to save you and get all three of you outa here!”  He brought out both his blades, their silver metal shinning in the sun.

I’m gonna save all three of you!  He shouted in his head, I’m gonna kill this titan and all of us will make it to safety!  The encouraging words rattled around in his head until they were killed instantly upon looking into the titan’s gaze.  Its smile was unnerving and sinister.  And though its gaze only fell upon him for seconds, he still felt its freezing tough against his still body.

“No!” Eren’s voice shocked him out of his stupor, “Don’t touch her!”  The small boy crawled back up towards his mother, practically right underneath the titan.  It stretched out its hand to grab him but clutched thin air as Hannes zip lined across the street and grabbed Eren before it was too late.  He landed next to Mikasa, picked her up unceremoniously and took off.

“I’m sorry Carla!”  He shouted back.

“Don’t be…” she cried out quietly.  The shadow of the titan’s hands came down upon her, but she never looked up at it.  Her gaze was directed at her son who struggled endlessly against Hannes’ hold.  He was still screaming out to her, his hand stretched out.  She stretched out her hand as well.

“Please…” she whispered, “Don’t leave me…” she cried as the titan’s hand obscured her view.

“NOOOOOOO!” Eren screamed as he watched.  He stared in literal shock as Hannes carried him away, his ribcage bumping uncomfortably against the man’s shoulders.

He didn’t know how long he was in that trance, but soon he blinked his eyes free and his mind became clear again.  He clenched his teeth and began elbowing Hannes underneath the shoulder pads.

“Ow, Eren!  Stop that!” Hannes protested, but the kid wasn’t listening to him or just flat out didn’t care.  All he wanted—and Hannes knew why—was to be let go.  Another elbow to the soft spot and Hannes had no choice but to oblige.  He placed Eren down only to find him biting himself, right on his hand at the thumb.

He reached out to stop him, “Eren?!  What are you doing?!  Stop that, you’re hurting yourself!”  He pulled Eren’s hand away so that he wouldn’t hurt himself anymore, but Eren only growled at him and fought.

“Stop, I need to do this!”  Eren protested with a dripple of his own blood coming down the side of his mouth.

“Do what—? Eren, stop!  Look—look at me!”  Hannes fought with him before he managed to grasp the boy’s wrist and pull him in.

“No!  Let go!”

Mikasa freed herself from her own stupor and blinked over at Eren.  The boy was shaking as silent tears continued to fall down his cheeks.

“I was weak!  I’m sorry!”  Hannes blurted out painfully, stopping Eren dead.  “I’m sorry…  I was too weak to save your mother.  I could—I could have done something.  I had the training, the tools,” Hannes swallowed, “the chance to save her, but I didn’t have the courage.”  He bowed his head in shame, his hands still gripping Eren’s wrist.  Thankfully, he stopped trying to fight back.

“But I won’t let her down.  We have to keep moving.” Hannes said as he stood and pulled Eren along.  He stared up at Hannes’ back.  “There’s nothing you can do, Eren.” His voice rang out.

“… You’re just a kid…”

The echo rang through his head as his eyes set in firm determination.

“I’m not a kid anymore.” He hissed before unsheathing his blades.  He retracted his cables and let himself fall before using the momentum to swing across the wall.

“Eren, what are you doing?!”  Connie’s voice called out.

“This is our chance!  We can stop this, here and now!”  Eren hollered as he made his way back up to the top of the wall.  He slid to a halt once he made it on top and stared daggers into the colossal titan’s eyes.

“I’ve waited a long time for this.” He hissed, his hands tightening on the handles of his swords.  “You’re gonna pay for what you’ve done!”

The colossal seemed to be sizing Eren up before Eren saw the gigantic hand emerge from the clouding steam.  He growled and dashed out of the way, the hand too slow to have even gotten close in grabbing him.  He twisted his body and shot out his cable to the arm that moved to grab him.  Being smaller and faster seemed to be his advantage as Eren found himself climbing up the titan’s arm with the idiot moving slowly to counter act.  When another hand moved to grab him, he jumped off and zipped behind him, unhooking his tethers at his highest swing, and firing them straight at the nape.

With his speed, this titan was done for!  Eren smiled victoriously as he reeled in for the kill.  Then his eyes blinked awake and realization hit him.  His thoughts ventured back to the first time the colossal titan appeared alongside the armored… he overheard his father say that the two were no doubt other shifters.  It made sense that’s why Eren didn’t think twice about it.

Then he remembered his first encounter with the Scouts.  Those seconds away from death, feeling the Corporal’s blade slice away his fingers when it should have been the skin of his nape and his own body as well…

It terrified him, so… is this shifter terrified as well?

Eren bit his lip, He should have thought of the consequences before breaking the wall… TWICE! He yelled in his head and continued in his goal to rid the world of this menace.  He roared as the nape came within inches of his blades, but never hit.  Something was pushing him away.  Then he felt the pain and suddenly his surroundings started to fog.

The steam!  It was coming from the shifter, he was using it as a defense!  Eren screamed from the pain, but soon ignored it as his own steam started flowing off his body.  His skin started healing faster than it was being burnt and he reeled himself in closer towards the nape.  He could feel his cables faltering, but he refused to give up.  Not now, he knew, he knew he could do this!

He pushed himself closer and closer, the nape was nearly within reach.  He brought his swords back to strike true, but right as he swung everything vanished.

His silver blades sliced through thin air.  Nothing, nothing stood before him as it did only seconds ago.  The shifter had just vanished.

Eren soon found himself falling and quickly shot his cables up at the wall.  He planted his feet against the rock and slowed to a stop.  Searching around, his eyes darted to and fro, but he couldn’t see any sign of… well anything.  No human, no titan remains, no nothing.  Even the steam was gone too.

“How did he do that so fast?”  Eren wondered to himself as he instantly felt inadequate and worthless.  All those times he had turned into a titan, never before had he been able to evaporate his titan that quick or even escape from it.  Mikasa always had to wait for the skin to deteriorate enough so that she could pull him out.  He could never do it himself.

“Eren?!”  His name was called and he looked up.  It was Thomas.  “Did you do it; did you kill the colossal titan?!”

“No!  He just—disappeared!”  Eren hollered back.  Thomas looked out at the stolen land in confusion.  “He’s gone, just like before.” Eren whispered in defeat.

Hange and Levi rounded the corner in full sprint; the two slowly making their way to the checkpoint where they hid their gear.  The original plan had fallen into madness before it even started, but Erwin always had a backup plan—even a backup plan for the backup plan…

“…In the event that you are unable to retrieve Eren Jeager—” Hange thought back to the meeting they had in Erwin’s office.  She was standing side by side with Levi and Mike in front of his desk as Erwin paced behind it.

“—we will fall back to plan B.  If and when Eren chooses to turn titan, we will use the T.C cannons to restrain the shifter and hold him down.” Erwin announced before halting mid stride and turning to face them.

“What makes you think he’ll even shift?” Levi questioned.  It wasn’t out of doubt, though, more so of curiosity.  “Dr. Jeager made it clear that the brat wasn’t feeling up to the task of becoming a titan anymore.”

“That is true, yes.” Erwin replied, “But Dr. Jeager also said it was only a matter of time before Eren would have to change his mind.  In saying so,” Erwin turned to pace once more.  “It’ll also be only a matter of time before the colossal and armored titan shifters return.”

“So they are shifters…” Hange whispered to herself, earning a sideways glance from Levi.

Hange’s mind reeled back to the present where her thoughts suddenly turned to a possible reasoning.

“Levi.” She exclaimed as she jogged beside the shorter man.  “What if the shifters came back for Eren?  What if they know about his unique abilities?”

“If that’s true then we’ll adapt, but for now, we need to find that brat and get him back to HQ willingly or not.” Levi replied indifferently.  He slowed to a stop when their rendezvous was within reach.  Hidden in an alley was a parked horse-drawn carriage, sitting in the driver’s seat was Mike already geared up with his green cloak hanging over his shoulders and hood hiding his face.  The two threw on their cloaks and wrapped their legs in the straps necessary for manure in their 3DM gear.  The citizens around them were all blurs as they screamed and ran for their lives at the sight of the colossal at the wall.  The dumb titan had already created another hole, so it was only a matter of time before titans started swarming the place.

“We need to get these people out of here.” Mike said as he watched the citizens run.

“Well, they’ve run through the drills before.  As long as they don’t dilly dally, they’ll be fine.” Levi commented as he examined the crowd before turning around and looking up at the rooftops.

“Mike, go help the Garrison troops rally the citizens out of the city.  Levi and I will continue with the mission.” Hange ordered.  Levi shot out his cables and flew off, Hange turned around and followed.  Mike sniffed before jumping out of the seat and walking out into the rushing crowd.

Eren ran alongside Connie and Sasha across the top of the wall.  Samuel’s injury caused Thomas and Mina to stay behind until Eren and them could send soldiers to help carry him away safely.  Right now, however, Eren’s thoughts were towards joining the defense.  He wasn’t going to just sit around and helplessly watch as Trost got destroyed.  He could hear the screaming already, even see a few thirteen meters in between the buildings.  Luckily—if you’d even call it that—there wasn’t as many titans within the city as there had been when Shinganshina was attack, but Eren figured that soon those numbers would multiply the more they wasted time.

Though it took them a while, they finally reached Wall Rose where the Garrison was staging their base of operations.  Eren, Connie, and Sasha slowed to a walk, all three breathing hard from the long run.  They saluted to the nearest captain as Eren proclaimed their predicament.

“Captain, we have a wounded cadet at the other end of the wall.” He informed.  The captain looked to two of his men before nodding his head and peering over at Sasha.

“What’s your name, cadet?” he asked.

Sasha kept her stance proudly, “Sasha Blouse of the 104^th Training Squad, sir!”  The captain turned back to his men.

“Take Cadet Blouse and go retrieve the wounded soldier.  On the double, move!”

“Yes sir!”

“Yes sir!”

The two Garrison soldiers followed Sasha back to where Samuel was laid, leaving Eren and Connie before the captain.  The man approached the two calmly.

“We need every able body out there on defense until word gets out to backup.  I need you two to join up with the others at the tower.  Can I trust you two to aid in the protection of Trost?”

“Yes sir!”

“Yes sir!”  Both Eren and Connie replied.  Although Connie looked terrified, Eren had a look of fierce determination.

I was born ready. He hissed in his mind.  When the captain saluted back, they were dismissed and Eren quickly took off towards the tower in the center of Trost with Connie nervously following.

One of the Garrison soldiers walked up to the captain, “You know they’re gonna die.” He whispered as a matter of fact.  The captain looked pained as he watched the two cadets fly away.

“There’s nothing we can do about it.” He replied mournfully.

“Hurry Armin!  We have to find him!”  Mikasa called back to him as she weaved in and out of the worked up cadets who were shivering nearly as bad as the citizens were.  A few of them were even scrunched up in a ball of fear while others, like Daz, were on their hands and knees puking their guts out.

“Mikasa, slow down.”  Armin grunted, finding it more troublesome to move across the courtyard with all these people bumping into him.  He accidentally ran into a fellow cadet and apologized for his rudeness, but the cadet was too grounded in his own stupor that he didn't even notice him.  It was when the two of them made it into a clearing that Armin was able to regain his concentration.

“Do you think the Scouts got him?”  Mikasa questioned as she studied the bodies in the crowd.  If Eren was to remain true, he’d come here in order to join the defense.  Mikasa knew in her heart he was here somewhere, but with each passing second, her mind couldn’t help but go through the scenarios.  They saw the Scouts earlier, if they did anything to him…

“To be honest, I’m more worried about him going after the colossal titan then the Scouts getting him.” Armin commented as he scratched the back of his head.  His words managed to calm Mikasa’s nerves a little, but that was it.

She turned her head to the left and immediately noticed a familiar face.  “Jean!”  She called out as she rushed over to him.  Armin looked up from the ground and quickly followed her.

The teen himself was slouched against the wall of the courtyard, arms dangling down lifelessly.  His face was shadowed, a look of despair coming across his visible features.

This is just perfect… he thought.  I wanted to join the MP’s so that I wouldn’t have to look at a titan, let alone fight them.  I don’t want to die today…

“Jean!”  At the sound of his name—and the familiarity of the voice—Jean whipped his head up and looked ahead.  Mikasa came up to him, a panicked expression on her face.  Armin was right behind her, but he looked more calm, albeit probably just as worried.

“M—Mikasa…?” He muttered in shock.  Was she worried about him?

“Jean, have you seen Eren?” Mikasa asked as she looked left then right before gazing back into his eyes.

Of course not, she’s worried about that secretive, immortal maniac… he groaned in his thoughts.

“No I haven’t.”  He growled in response and stood up so that he didn’t look too pathetic.  “I heard he was with the Vanguard up on the wall.”

“I know that, but I haven’t been able to—“

“To what?  Find me and smother me like a baby?” Eren’s voice from their left interrupted Mikasa.

“Eren!”  She greeted in relief.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” He retorted irritably as he and Connie walked over to them.

“You’re okay then?” Mikasa asked, still worried.  “The you-know-what didn’t happen with the you-know-who?”  She questioned.

Eren tilted his head, “Huh?”

“Wha?” Connie replied as well.

Armin face palmed, thinking that could have been explained a bit better.

“Riiight.”  Jean commented dryly.  “I’ll just leave you two love birds alone so you can talk about Eren’s funeral service.  That is if they even find a body to bring back.”  Eren glared at him as he passed by and grabbed his arm to stop him in his steps.

“What did you just say?” He growled in warning.

“Oh, shove off!”  Jean pulled his arm away and scowled at Eren.  “Unlike you, who are probably enjoying all of this, the rest of us can actually fear for each other’s lives!”

“What are you saying that I don’t care?!  I’m just more focused on Trost, that’s all!” Eren argued.

“The big picture?!”  Jean taunted with a crocked smile.  “Since when did you ever—“ Eren grabbed a hold of Jean’s collar and slammed him against the wall.

“Shut up, Jean!  I’m not doing this because I like the chaos!  I’m willing to fight because no one else will!  If I’m the only person that has to go out there and show them what’s what, then so be it, but I don’t need to listen to you flapping your mouth on the heart ache of living in this hell like the rest of us!”  Eren yelled in his face.  Jean was stunned.

“If you don’t want to suffer, then help us stop the titans before Trost ends up like Shinganshina!  You won’t die if you keep your head clear and stay focused.  You’ve been training for this for the last three years, now show some backbone and toughen up.”  Eren released his hold on Jean collar and took a step back.  Jean continued to stare, speechless, before he fixed himself and relaxed.

“Fine.” He simply replied and walked off.  Connie glanced between Eren and Jean before following Jean and chasing after his friend.

“Jean!  Wait up!”

“Come on.”  Armin announced, breaking the silence between them.  “You two have to get going, your squad will be waiting for you.”

“Right,” Eren replied, looking away from Jean and down at the floor before meeting his best friend’s eyes.  “You take care, Armin.”  Armin gave him a nod and a smile, watching as the two ran off to catch up with their squad out on the defensive.

Please be careful about the Scouts.  We don’t know what their plans are yet. He begged in his head.  Though, he already had a hunch of what they were doing, he just didn’t have enough evidence—and courage to admit—that he was right.

Chapter Text

Eren planted his feet right at the edge of the tower’s bricks, his eyes peering out over the city at the heads of the titans that walked around carelessly as they scavenged for people.  His eyes were narrowed with hatred towards them, but he was more than thrilled to finally be able to fight back.  Finally, he would be able to slice open their napes and forget about their pitiful existence while rushing to end more of their horrible kind.

“Are we ready to do this?” Mina asked as she studied her comrade’s faces.

Thomas raised his hand, sword firmly grasped within it, “Heck yeah, let’s finally teach these titans a lesson!” He cheered.  The other two raised their hands to cheer along with him, but Eren and Mikasa were the only ones with an air of seriousness.  She watched them with their smiling faces… it was a look she had not worn in a long time.  She turned away to gaze at Eren; it wasn’t a surprise to see his determination shining through, but something else was there, something hidden.  She ran out of time to figure out what, though, when Eren turned around to address the team.

“Okay guys, this is it.  This is the moment we’ve been training for.”  He began, “For so long we’ve hidden within these walls, caged like animals, like sheep hiding from wolves.  Well now, no more!  This time it’s our turn to hunt; to fight back and take back what is ours!  Not just Trost, or Wall Maria, but all of this land!”  He clutched his swords tightly, raising his right hand high into the air.  “Who’s with me?!”

His entire team raised their swords in triumph.

“For humanity!” they cheered before following Eren’s call and rushing off the rooftop.  Eren was about to jump too when Mikasa grabbed his wrist.

“Eren,” She spoke softly, “Don’t be reckless.”  Eren only glared back before yanking his wrist out from her grasp.

“I’m not a kid, and you’re not my mother.” He growled, “Now let’s go.”  Though the words were harsh, she ignored them and rushed off after him.

Eren jumped off the building and flipped down to the ground whilst shooting out his cables.  They planted perfectly and in time for Eren to curve down inches from the ground and shoot up into the sky.  In his flight, he retracted his hooks and shot them out yet again to continue the speed.

He found Mikasa following him closely, which he unbelievably hated.  It wasn’t like her to go at speeds like this, she was fast—the fastest of them all.  Whether she was just trying to conserve or get on his nerves with her overprotectiveness, she was definitely succeeding in both.

“Where are they?” Mina’s voice snapped him back into attentiveness.

“I don’t see any titans!”  Samuel announced as well.  The fact caused Eren to zip his head around in search of any.  The idea of them losing sight and ending up ambushed wasn’t sitting well with any of them and fear began to settle in each of their stomachs—including Mikasa.

Though she didn’t scan the environment in a panic, she did keep her eyes peeled.  And the endeavor paid off.  Just on the left she spotted movement and with only seconds to react, she shouted her finding.

“On the left!” She called out, repositioning her body upright, “Twelve meter on all fours!” Not soon after she announced this, said titan leapt towards them like a puma.

“Pull up!  Pull up!” The order was shouted and all of the cadets squeezed on their hands to allow more steam to push them upwards.

The titan soared right pass them, crashing face first into the clock tower.  Eren took this as the perfect opportunity and twisted his body to safely land on the nearest rooftop.

“Now’s our chance!” He screamed, “Kill it!”  Though the other three were still fairly stunned from their near death, Mikasa dashed forward with loads of steam exiting her exhausts.  She let out a battle cry as her blades came crashing down, slicing clean through the nape and cutting off the perfect size of flesh.  The titan fell to the ground back first, steam rising from his lifeless body as its skin began to deteriorate.

“Oh my God… we killed one.” Thomas muttered dumbfounded, “We actually killed one!”

“Mikasa, you did it!”  Mina cheered with a hand cupping her mouth and the other raised high.

Mikasa herself landed on the same rooftop as Eren, bending her knees in her land before standing up straight and looking down at her blades.  She turned to look over at Mina from across the street and couldn’t help but smile.

This was the hope they were looking for, but it isn't me they should be waiting for.  She thought to herself.  She glanced over at Eren only to find him glaring off into the distance, his attention clearly on the other ten meter coming their way.

“I’ve got this one!”  He shouted before running along the rooftop and zip lining off toward the thing,

“Eren, wait!”  Mikasa called after him.

The titan caught a quick glance of Eren as he dashed towards it, a smile creeping up on its lips as it lifted its' hands to grab him.  Eren was too quick with his gear, though; the boy dodging the grab and spinning around to face the nape.  He shot his cables out and reeled in with a steady aim; the hit causing him to stagger in his fall, but enabling him a view of his work.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t satisfying: the cut was too shallow and he growled in annoyance.

Mikasa sped in and sliced the nape open, her cut much deeper.  The titan screamed and fell face-first into the ground, it’s body following nature’s law.

Eren, still in his fall, quickly twisted his body around and shot off to the roof.  Though his trajectory was a bit low, he still managed to grab hold of the gutters.  Mikasa landed on the rooftop and rushed over to him, giving him a helping hand to lift him up.  He excepted it but soon pushed her away as he shook with anger.

“Shallow, of course.” He growled to himself in disappointment.  Mikasa followed his steps, her lips ready for the words she planned on speaking.  “I’ll never be as good as you.” Eren hissed as he reached the hump of the roof.

“It’s not about being good; it’s about doing the best you can.” Mikasa told him, coming around so that the two were face to face.

“Yeah,” Eren retorted his hands spread out in annoyance, “Because ‘doing the best you can’ can really help keep you alive.”

“I’m sorry to say this, Eren, but you being a soldier isn’t helping any one.”  And before Eren could comment, she quickly finished, “It’s the other thing that’ll turn the tides.”

Eren scowled at her, but otherwise kept most his anger in check.  “I already told you, I’m not breaking my promise.”  He hissed quietly.  “I refuse to turn into one of those things again.”

“Even if someone’s life is on the line?” She countered.  Eren didn’t say anything, he just glared at her until he brought up the courage to whisper his thoughts.

“Someone’s life was on the line, and I still failed.” He expressed with a squeak due to his tight throat.  He looked away and blinked his eyes, willing the tears to go away before they even came.  Mikasa bowed her head in respect.

“Hey, you two gonna quit talking or do we have to do all the work?” Thomas shouted from the air.  He was within midflight with his attention pulled away from where he was going.  Unfortunately, this caused him to miss the crawling titan down below the buildings.

Eren turned around to reply to Thomas, to say that he was sorry for wasting precious time, but when the sight of that titan—jumping up from the ground with its mouth wide open—came into view only inches from Thomas, his body froze.

Thomas only saw his doom for a split second before the teeth came down upon him, biting off the upper half of his body and letting the rest fall to the ground.  Eren and Mikasa stood staring at the horror they couldn’t believe had happened.

“THOMAS!!!” Eren screamed as he staggered down the small slope of the roof.  Mikasa ran just behind him, sliding down more gracefully then Eren.  The boy stopped at the edge with his arms stretched out for balance.  He looked down at what was left of Thomas’ corpse before peering up at the titan who was standing and casually walking off.

“NO!” He screamed with all his heart, “YOU GET BACK HERE YOU BASTARD!”  He moved to chase after the devil, but Mikasa pulled him back away from the edge, her eyes fixated on something else coming their way.

“Eren, look out!”  She warned as they both nearly evaded the mouth of another ten meter.  The thing bit down on the edge of the roof instead of Eren’s body, the force of its pounce causing the two cadets to fall back on their butts.  Eren’s rage for Thomas’ life disappeared as he realized how close he himself was in joining his fellow comrade.  He could feel Mikasa’s hand pull on his shirt as she skid further away from the nearing titan, urging him to do the same.  The titan lifted its hand up and reached out to grab them, but thanks to Mikasa—yet again—they were out of reach.

The two soon got back on their feet and ran across the roof, the ten meter’s eyes following them all the way.  Screams met their ears as more of their teammates were devoured around them.  Samuel got grabbed by a large hand, his lower half crushed in its force.  Mina’s panicked screams made Eren turn his attention to her and witness her being grabbed and shoved into a titan’s mouth.  Her eyes sent pleas of mercy as she watched her impending death approach only for her vision to be crushed by two rows of teeth crunching down upon her head.

Eren turned away…

Everyone was dying; hopes and dreams crushed like their bodies now.  All those speeches… and for what?  To get their hopes up so their inevitable deaths wouldn’t scare them until it actually knocked on the door?  And he promised to help, to fight back and beat the titans.  Looking around at his friends now, he could only see the titans winning.  Everyone was dead…

The roof suddenly shattered as a large fist slammed down next to him and Mikasa.  Tiles flew into the air along with the two cadets, some of which clashed with the Oriental’s canisters and breaking one open.

They came crashing down onto the unforgiving street, both tumbling as they slowly skid to a halt.  Mikasa cracked her eyes open and willed her arms to pushed herself up.  Ahead stood the titan, fist still embedded into the rooftop they were once on.  More tiles fell to the ground as the hand was lifted away, eyes fixated on Eren and her.

She gasped and whipped her head around.  “Eren!  Get up!”  She ordered, moving quickly to stand and aid him.  Said boy was on his knees before he lifted his head to look up at the approaching titan—a dark brown haired brute with clenched teeth and a big belly.  It was kneeling down at them, its hand stretched out for another grab.

“No!”  He heard Mikasa scream and felt her let go of his arm as she stood in front of him.  She had both hands on a single blade, the other apparently broken—most likely from the fall.  “You will not hurt him!”  Through it all, she still stood up in defiance to these monsters.  She never let him down.  She never let anyone down.

Eren clenched his eyes as he remembered their adventures as kids.  She’d always end up helping him with nearly everything.  He hated it so much, it always felt like a competition he’d never win.  She was good at everything, and all he could do was talk the talk…

And…

"Why can't you be a man for once?"  His mother complained as she pulled on his ear.  "Mikasa always has to come in and save you.  You're the man, Eren, you're supposed to be saving her.  Just once, show me you can step up and protect your family."

Eren opened his eyes and peered into Mikasa’s back.

She was right, dad was right... you were right. He thought as his eyes narrowed with tenacity.  He stood up from he knelt position and shoved Mikasa aside causing her to take a mental step backwards.  A thousand questions were running through her head, he could see that, but he didn’t care.

“Stand back.” He hissed, but not towards her.

"Eren," His father’s voice rang out in his head as the memory resurfaced, “you remember that promise you made; that you would never use your powers again?"

“Yes."

“Well, I'm gonna have to ask you to break it."

…

“EREN!" His father screamed his name through another memory that rose.  The titan’s hand was looming ever closer as Eren’s hand climbed up to his teeth.

“No!  What are you doing?  You're scaring me!"

“You have to promise me you won't give up, okay?!"

“Stop it... !"

“... You must learn how to control this!

Everyone is depending on you... Mikasa... Armin... everyone...

You must learn to control this power!"

Eren’s breath hitched when his teeth dug deep into his skin.  A flash of light shot out from the sky and struck the ground where he was standing.  The sudden strike blinded Mikasa before she found herself thrown back.

The next thing she knew was that her ears were ringing from a loud thundering boom and a harsh landing as she was shoved into the side of a building.  A small, but deep, cut formed on her left cheek from the collision.  She gasped from the temperate pain and willed her sight to make out what was happening before she crashed onto the ground.  All she could see was steam.

The ground came at her hard, her side taking most of the damage before her body was thrown all over as she slid to a stop once again.

“That was different.” She said, looking back over to where the titan was.  Her eyes enlarged into disks at the sight and she gasped.

A large fist had emerged from the cloud of steam and collided with the titan’s jaw.  The force from the blow knocked the titan off its feet and far away from her and its attacker.  Standing before her, fifteen meters high, was a lean, muscular titan with long, black hair that could easily cover the lipless, serrated teeth and green eyes.  The tips of his elfish ears were the only thing to poke out from underneath the locks covering them.

“Eren…?” She whispered in wonder.

The fifteen meter made a high pitch, gurgling roar at the ten meter before running towards it and slamming his foot down upon the neck, over and over and over and over.

Mikasa didn’t even move as she watched him utterly destroy the titan as a… fifteen… meter… titan…

“How…?” She found herself whispering again.  Fifteen meters? She pondered in her head.  From the look of him, he seemed extremely fit, no fat whatsoever; but fifteen meters?  It took him five years to grow two meters!  Even that was amazing because titan shifters’ titans didn’t grow at all!

Eren’s Titan let out another roar as he finished pounding the other’s face into the ground.  The scream proved to be too loud for Mikasa so her palms quickly covered her ears.  She kept her eyes on him though, breathing deeply as she watched him slowly return from his ravenous state.  It was as if reason was coming back to him, like he was just realizing the world around him.  His shoulders visibly relaxed before his body pivoted and faced her.  Green eyes met with deep silvers and the ground trembled as he took the steps to decrease their distance.

“Eren?” Mikasa questioned, standing up on her two feet and taking a few steps back.  She didn’t know why she felt nervous, it was him.

Eren’s Titan knelt before her, his face coming closer for a better examination.  His body completely blocked the sun and left Mikasa within his shadow.  Without the glare from it she was able to see his face perfectly.  A deep moan escaped from his mouth as his head tilted slightly to the left.

He was worried for her, she recognized that sound.  She sighed in relief and smiled, “I’m okay.  But you—“ She almost couldn’t find her words, “You look different.”

Eren’s Titan’s eyes darted to and fro across his body before landing back on Mikasa.  Apparently he had no idea about it either, or at least, that’s what she got from the gesture.  It was always easier for Armin and her to understand Eren through his titan’s body language after being around him for years, but that was over five years ago.  She was a bit rusty.

“Eren, how—“ she was about to ask when a familiar scream echoed their way.  It was Armin’s and both of them knew.  Eren’s Titan whipped his head around as he stood, eyes wide in attentiveness before he growled and ran off toward the screams.

“Wait!”  Mikasa shouted after him, her hands flying down to her handles.  They didn’t respond causing alarm to strike her gut.  Sensing something wrong, she looked over her equipment and found the hole in the side of her left canister.  No use for those anymore.

Instead, she decided to rely solely on her cables.  Though not very effective with speed, she was still able to get off the ground and move faster than on foot; and she knew Eren’s Titan had gotten a lot faster because she was losing him fast.

Eren sprinted down the street towards the screams that belonged to his best friend.  He could see the titan up ahead across a few buildings that were in his way, so he decided to jump the roofs to make up for time.  He landed yards away from the beast, watching as the thing held its hand over its mouth with Armin dangling from its grasp.  A fire burned within him and he lunged with a guttural roar.

Grabbing the titan’s wrist, he snapped it before ripping the arm off completely.  The grip on Armin fell fully and the boy was left flying backwards behind Titan Eren.  Thankfully, Mikasa was able to keep up just enough for her to manage in catching him before crashing the two onto a nearby roof.

Armin grunted from the landing, but recovered soon after.  He looked up to witness Titan Eren grabbing the back of the titan’s head and repeatedly slam its face into the side of the building across from them.  With each hit, Eren roar with anger, anger that was very quickly channeled to brutally beat the titan to a pulp.  And with each hit, Armin flinched from feeling the force he through the tile he was laying on.  When there was nothing left to recognize, Eren allowed the body to fall to the ground before planting his foot down upon its nape, ending it all together.

Armin watched as the fifteen meter lifted his head up and glanced around, more than likely looking for another victim while still in such a primal state.  He recognized the lipless jaw, elfish ears, and green eyes, but everything else was different.

“Eren…?” He asked out loud with his voice a bit raw from his previous screams.  “You’re fifteen meters.” He commented in surprise.

“Armin, are you okay?” Mikasa asked as she too got back on her feet.

“I’m... fine.” He managed to reply in his slight stupor, his attention never leaving Titan Eren.  “How did he…?”

“I don’t know.  He just shifted and was like that.” Mikasa answered him.

“I know; I saw the lightning!”  Armin exclaimed, “It came crashing down from the sky and struck the ground where I’m assuming you two were.  That’s why I came this way, I thought it might have been Eren, but I’ve never seen him shift like that before.”  Mikasa could only look at him in agreement, the two of them stealing another look Eren’s way.  A small, seven meter came running towards him, but Eren didn’t bother to move into a defensive stance.  When the titan was close enough, Eren jerked his leg up before throwing it into its belly; kicking it hundreds of yards away.  The little thing went flying to the south, in the direction Armin came from.

A thought crossed the blonde’s mind and he looked down and swallowed, “The depo’s been overrun.” He announced suddenly.

Mikasa looked at him in shock.  Not only her, but Eren’s Titan’s too glanced his way.

“What?”

“I got out alive, but… I don’t know about the others.  I was going to go get some help when I saw the lightning.” He said in great sorrow, though his eyes held more guilt.

“Titans are inside the tower?” Mikasa questioned.

“Not just inside, they’re all over.” He informed her, looking into her eyes now.  “We can’t even get near the tower!  We can’t restock our blades or refill our canisters!” He exclaimed with an arm stretched wide.

Mikasa looked down at her equipment.  “Mine’s broken.” She said solemnly.

“What?!” Armin took a step back.  “How did that happen?”

“A titan attacked us on a rooftop, then Eren shifted and saved us.” She said, looking out at Titan Eren who listened in on their conversation.  Armin’s eyes widened in realization.  He desperately wanted to smack himself for not thinking of it sooner, how could he not?

“Eren!” He called out suddenly, causing Titan Eren’s head to flinch and focus solely on him.  “You can help!  I have a plan, but it’s risky.”

Titan Eren nodded his head, any plan of yours is a plan of mine, Armin.  I trust you completely. He thought.  Armin seemed to have gotten the message.

“I need you to take care of all the titans surrounding the depo.  If you can distract them out there, no more will get in and we can safely take care of the ones that are already inside.”  He proclaimed.

“You have a plan for that too?” Mikasa asked.

“I do… but, again, it’s risky.”

“Then it’s settled.” She said before taking a few steps toward the edge and closer to Eren’s Titan.  “I’ll clear the path so you can focus all your strength to those at the depo.”

Titan Eren bowed his head I determination, finally…

“Mikasa, wait!” Armin called out as he approached her side.  He began to unfasten his straps.

“What are you doing?”

“You can’t get very far with broken equipment.  Take mine, it’s not damaged.” He told her.

“What about you?  You can’t stay here.”  She argued.

“I’m not.” He replied with a look in his eye.  He stole a glance at Eren and the Titan Shifter knew exactly what he was planning.

Armin moved his body with the rhythm of Titan Eren’s footsteps, his cables hooked into the skin to secure his ride on top of the left shoulder.  Ahead of them was Mikasa, her steam bellowing away as she sped in for another easy kill.  The titan fell fast, allowing the pathway to once again become clear.

“Eren!” Armin called out for his friend’s attention.  He got his reply when Titan Eren glanced at him sideways.  “I don’t know if you know, but the Scouts are in the city.  They couldn’t have missed that light show so they’ll come looking.  We can’t allow to give them a reason to hurt you, just defend yourself; don’t attack.  They must know by now how valuable you are, so now is the time to show them they can trust you.”

A deep coo escaped from Titan Eren’s throat in response to Armin’s statement.

Yeah, I got it, but I still don’t trust them.  Dad said they were friends, but it just doesn’t feel like it.

The sound of cables shooting out was caught by his right ear and Titan Eren turned his head to examine his surroundings.  However, he didn’t see any humans, and he had good eye sight as a titan.

Okay, I definitely heard 3DM gear, and it wasn’t Mikasa’s.

“Eren?  What’s wrong?”  Armin questioned, noticing Titan Eren’s sudden watchfulness.

Another sound of 3DMG reached his ears and he turned his head to his left to check.  Still nothing.  Armin followed his lead and looked off to his left as well, but he didn’t see or hear anything.  He looked back up at Eren in worry.

“Mikasa!”  A voice from up ahead alerted all three to another’s presence.  It was Connie; he came in just after Mikasa downed another titan.  Her eyes widened at his unexpected presence, but otherwise played along.  Armin knew as well, for he quickly jumped off Eren’s shoulder and onto a roof.  Eren began to slow, frantically wondering how he was supposed to act to not lead Connie on.  Then a titan showed up in front of Connie and Mikasa and he took the opportunity.

“Connie, look out!”  She warned as if she had no control of the situation.  Connie needn’t be told twice as he was already flying clear of the two.  He landed on the rooftop Mikasa was one, his eyes watching the two titans face off.  The muscular one that seemed to have been chasing Mikasa raised its arms in a defensive stance.  The other fifteen meter roared in response and charged towards the leaner one.  It only swung its fist into the fifteen meter’s jaw and soon the head was flying off pass the three and into the window of a building far away.

The victor straightened himself and blinked some kind of clear eyelid sideways while looking down at the fallen corpse.  He stepped on the nape and soon the fifteen meter was steaming in decomposition.

Connie stared in awestruck at the lean, mean, titan killing machine in both fear and wonderment.  Then it occurred to him that no other targets were nearby, which meant they were going to be next.

“Oh great,” he breathed out in fear, “It’s going to come after us next!”

Mikasa looked his way and quickly made to correct him.  “No its not.”

“You don’t know that?!”

“Yes, I do.  I don’t know why, but he’s only after other titans.  He hasn’t bothered with me or Armin ever since we found him.” She informed him.

“Armin?  Where is he?” Connie asked, looking around to see if he could find the guy.  Luckily, Armin landed on the roof—albeit a bit hard—near them.

“Here.” He reported.

“Dude, you okay?” Connie exclaimed as he rushed to his side along with Mikasa who was playing along.

“Yeah, but my gear got broken.” He said shamefully.

“What?” It was Mikasa’s turn to exclaim.

“How did that happen?”  Connie asked.

“I uh,” Armin scratched the back of his neck, “Accidentally skimmed the side of a building, almost ran into it too.  Hehehe, clumsy me.”

“Tsk, good job.” Connie retorted, believing the story one hundred percent.

“I can still use my gear, so we should really get going.” Armin ushered them.  “We’re trying to lead the big guy to the depo so he can take care of all the titans that’ve overrun the place.  Then we can repair, restock, and refill.”

“Uh, I don’t think you need to worry about that anymore.”  Connie informed, his eyes focused on something behind them.  Mikasa and Armin turned to look.  “It looks like he’s already heading there.”

Eren spotted two titans at a hole in the upper wall, mostly likely having made it themselves.  He pushed himself to run faster, gearing up for a good push to knock them clear.  Once at the tower, he jumped up at the wall, pushed off, and slammed his fist into the one’s cheek sending it flying while also sending the other next to it off into the sky as well.  They both landed on their backs, feet up as they skid across the ground.

Eren hollered in triumph and rage before turning his attention to an oncoming twelve meter.  He caught its arm with his own, locking it in and pulling back to flip the titan over his shoulder and slam into the ground.  Five began to surround him, so he got into his defensive stance and his nictitating membrane (translucent third eyelid) covered over his eyes in protection.

I’ve waited a long time for this. He remarked enjoyably in his head.

Chapter Text

The windows shattered as Mikasa, Connie, and Armin crashed through them and onto the tower floor, shocking and startling everyone that had taken refugee there.

Jean nearly jumped out of his skin when the three arrived.  He was happy to see them alive, let alone unharmed, but was even more so with Mikasa.  Rumor had it that she had been killed by a titan, and the news devastated him.  He figured it was because she was saving Eren, which made him steam and plan to attack the idiot if he ever saw his face again.  But as most rumors are, it wasn’t true.

“Mikasa?” he called out in shock.  “You guys are okay?”  She looked over at him in question to her name being called.  “I thought…” He faded off in his statement, too embarrassed to continue.

Something was still wrong, though; he could sense it.  Looking around, he didn’t see any sign of the immortal maniac; and him being nowhere near Mikasa was as unnatural as a cadet going up against a titan without his/her gear.

“Of course we’re alright!” Connie cheered with a big smile.  “Couldn’t have gotten here without our newest friend!  Lookie out there, that big hunk of beauty is our ticket to win!” Connie said whilst pointing his finger at the gaping hole in the far wall.  Two titans had slammed their faces into the side of the tower because of the scent of human flesh dwelling within.  Too many people had camped there and that was the result of the action, even if the action itself was reasonably harmless.  Then something happened Jean never thought possible.  In the midst of his hopelessness the titans had been smacked away…

By another titan.

The teen was speechless when the large fifteen meter had charged in, and from the look of every other cadet, including Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt—who seemed to be more overwhelmed than dumbfounded—they all thought the same thing too.

What was this world coming to?  Were they really that hopeless?

“A titan?  You want to use a titan to defeat other titans?” He said slowly because he still couldn’t believe what they were planning.

“He’s not a titan.” Mikasa said as she stood, “At least not like others.  He doesn’t go after people, just fights his own kind.”  It felt like poison to say Eren and titans were one of the same.  There couldn’t have been a more wrong statement, but she had to say it in order for them to remain oblivious.

“What?”

“Really?”

“A titan fighting other titans?”  The murmurs went through the crowd of surviving and petrified cadets.

“We can use him, train him to fight alongside us.”  She spoke loudly over the crowd.  Though there needn’t be much training, she still spoke truthfully.  More practice for Eren was better for them all.  “Armin has a plan and that titan is executing it as we speak.”

“Yeah, Armin, tell them!”  Connie motivated with a punch in the blonde’s arm.  Armin grunted from the sudden pain and rubbed his arm.

“Uh, yeah I do.  We led the fifteen meter here so he could take care of all the titans surrounding this building.  While he’s distracting all the others outside, we’ll be able to deal with the ones down below.”

Marco looked impressed, “You mean you have a plan for that too?”

“Yeah,” Armin stood and walked over to him, “I figured the Military Police had to have some kind of weapons stashed here, so maybe we could use them.”

“Hey!”  One of the cadets shouted out as she and another carried a crate full of guns out into the crowd.  “Look what we found in one of the rooms!”

“Perfect!”  Marco applauded, “Armin you’re a genius!”

“Uh heh, it’s nothing, really.” Armin replied in slight embarrassment.

“Alright, let’s get those loaded—“ Jean didn’t bother to listen to the rest of what Marco and Armin had planned for his mind was at the hole.  Though he couldn’t see what was out there, he could definitely hear the fighting; more importantly, he could here that rogue fifteen meter.

Mikasa was walking pass him when he whispered something that made her stop.

“Where’s Eren?”

She looked at him from the side before glancing away, “He’s busy.”

“Doing what, exactly?”  He asked another, his eyes staring at the gaping hole while his mind put the puzzle pieces together.

“Does it matter?” she responded with a calm voice.

“No, apparently it doesn’t.” He said, allowing her to leave.  “Makes sense now.” He whispered to himself before turning to join with the others.

Eren’s third eyelids blinked before he turned and caught the fist of his fourteen meter attacker.  The titan screeched while Eren pulled it forward and twisted around to throw the monster into the side of the buildings.

He couldn’t help but smile underneath it all.  Fighting was so much easier now with his new titan form.  He was bigger, faster, stronger, eye sight was spot on, and to top it off, the world didn’t seem surreal.  Often times when he was younger, his world as a titan felt like a dream—a livid dream, but a dream nonetheless.  He’d find himself loosing focus or blacking out; he’d feel tired or weak.  It was why he choose to shift more so that he wouldn’t feel that way anymore.  But now, he didn’t feel it at all and he loved it.  Now he was a force to be reckoned with and the titans didn’t stand a chance!

Two smaller ones ran up to him; their height and speed making them look like children in Titan Eren’s eyes.  He simply kicked them away as he did before, gearing up for another brawl against a larger one.  So far he slaughtered twenty titans total.  His soon-to-be-number-twenty-one was backed into a wall as Titan Eren slammed his right fist into its chest.  The titan managed to grab a hold of his other arm, but Eren rotated his arm within the grasp, twirled around, and threw the thing onto the ground.  Another fourteen meter rushed at him and Eren grabbed its face with one hand and sent the thing down into the ground as the other.  He was about to finish the two off when something tackled him from behind.

He screeched in pain as nails dug into the flesh at his nape.  His hand swung up in a frantic to grab the titan on his back, but the thing was squirming.  He managed a grip, finally, and pulled it off by throwing it over his head.  One hand covered over his steaming nape as he hissed angrily at the thirteen meter abnormal.

It was down on all fours, limbs obviously bent the wrong way for it to move correctly in such a position.  It hissed back at him before launching at his midsection.  The force of the blow pushed Titan Eren back up against a building, his hand still covering his nape protectively.  The other came up to hold the jaw of the abnormal in which was gnashing and gnawing thin air in attempt to reach his face.

Out of the blue, gas hissed from metal canisters and the glimmer of silver blades came into Eren’s view.  Within a second, the nape of the abnormal was cut clean open.  Titan Eren’s eyes widened when he spotted a green fluttering cape marked with the wings of freedom.

The abnormal fell to the ground in a heap of steam, allowing Eren a better look at his surroundings.  On the roof of the building across from him was the kind, yet crazy, burnet lady he met many times before.  He always found her alongside the Corporal, so he knew the other was close by.  And he was.

Levi launched up from the other side of the building Eren was leaning against, terrifying Eren in the process.  With his back to him, the Corporal would have him killed in less than a second, nape covered or not.  He flinched away when the man darted forward, prepared to feel the edges of his blades slice his skin again, but it never came.  He heard the jeer of steam fly by his ear and it was only then that he dared to look and see what was going on.  Levi completely ignored him and flew down towards the two still alive near the ground.  They were up on their knees when the Corporal twirled and performed a double kill, ridding the area of the remaining titans.

It was quiet now, and through the streams of vapor, Eren could see Levi land on the building he was still leaning on.  Walking slowly over to him with blades in each hand, Eren shivered underneath the skin and got away from the building.  He stopped out in the middle of the street with his back away from the two elites.  This way, he’d at least have a moment of warning.

“Ah, I’d recognize those green eyes and serrated teeth anywhere.” Hange said with glee in her tone.  “You’ve certainly grown since we last met like this.”  She clasped her hands together and squealed, “How exciting!  I never realized how much you could adapt.”

Though she seemed pretty enthusiastic now, earlier she was enthralled.  The moment they saw the flash of green light channel down from the sky, she shook with pure joy.  It had to of been Eren, which meant he turned into a titan.  Just what she wanted.

They followed the light and found a lean, fifteen meter behemoth covered head to toe in muscle with pointed ears and a lipless jaw with serrated teeth.  If that wasn’t a dead giveaway, Hange didn’t know what was.  They both knew that was Eren’s titan, the boy looked exactly like he did before except it appeared his titan form grew like his human form.

Another thing that caught their attention was Eren’s female Asian friend, Cadet Mikasa Ackerman, kneeling down on the ground near Eren’s Titan.  Certainly Miss Ackerman and Mr. Arlert knew of their friend’s abilities, it wasn’t a mystery even when they first found the three at the Training Camp.

They followed the two when Titan Eren rushed to saved his friend, his feats in action were making Hange’s body tingle all over.  It was such a joy for her to watch him, every movement, every sound; if only she could touch it!

They continued to follow and listen in, Eren showing a great sense of awareness and intelligence while being a titan.  And when she grew more excited for her newest experiment, Levi grew more uncomfortable with Eren’s increasing danger levels.  If their plan was to go accordingly, then Levi’s life wasn’t the only one on the line.  And any threat against his team was going to be dealt with harshly.

Eren kept his eyes on the two, darting them back and forth between Hange on the right and Levi on the left.  Hange didn’t have her swords out and acted relaxed more so than Levi who was the complete opposite.  So Eren kept most of his attention on the Corporal while listening to what Hange was saying.

“Military training definitely did a number on you.” She commented with a finger on her chin, “Tell me, how good are your eyes?  Can you speak?!” she asked with anticipation.  Eren only narrowed his eyes and backed up a step, his hand tightening over top his nape.  Even if his father said they were friends, he still didn’t trust them.  They were giving him mixed signals.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.  Don’t run, we’re friends.  We won’t hurt you.”  She reassured him with open arms.

“Enough of that, four-eyes, he’s not stupid.”  Levi stated as he stared daggers up at Titan Eren.  Eren glared back and huffed out a puff of steam.

“If you’re going to give me a fight, you better make it a good one, brat.”  Levi commented as he started walking towards Titan Eren.

What are you doing? Eren thought in panic, Stay back!  His titan growled while backing away from the approaching Corporal.  He took one last glimpse of the short man before veering around to make a run for it.  As soon as he did, Levi and Hange gave chase.

Steam bellowed from the ducts as the two Scouts flew through the air, zipping pass buildings as they kept up with Eren’s new found speed.  Eren let his hand drop from his nape in knowing they wanted him alive; the free arm allowing him to run faster.

Levi came in close, shooting out his cables to hook onto Eren’s left shoulder before he dashed towards him with both blades ready.  Feeling the cables, Eren darted to the right and continued to run down that street leaving Levi to have only cut off a few strands of his hair.

Hange kept up with him, being able to make the turn sharper then Levi due to her proximity.  She screamed in joy as she flipped in the air, her cables keeping her stable.  She shot them out to attach to Eren’s leg and swung in for a slice at his ankles.  She managed to cut a few layers, but once again, Eren felt the hooks on his skin and turned just in time.

What are they doing?  Why are they missing all of the sudden?  I can’t be that good in evading them.

Suddenly, Levi came out of nowhere on his right and sliced at his face again causing Eren to whip his head away and turn left.  His eyes widened in realization.

They’re leading me… Oh yeah, well two can play that game.

When Levi came in on his left Eren twirled around and swiped at him.  Of course, Levi was too fast to catch—or hit for that matter—and used his steam to propel himself out of reach.  Eren took this opportunity to completely turn around, almost running into Hange in the process.

“Whoa!” She spouted as she veered to the right to avoid getting hit.

“He knows what we’re doing!”  Levi yelled as he continued to chase Eren.  “Revert to plan B!”

Hange reached into her coat and pulled out a flare gun.  Holding the gun straight up, she fired a green flare high up into the sky.

The gunfire caught Eren’s attention, Uh oh, that can’t be good.  He thought as he looked behind him.  When he pulled his attention back to the road ahead, two Scouts were flying straight for his eyes.  He noticed these two, well, remembered them anyway.  They were Petra and Oluo.

In a second’s reaction, Titan Eren performed a limbo and Petra and Oulo flew right over with surprised expressions.  When he straightened his back, he found himself near a small park—a perfect opening that’ll give him room away from the Scouts.

If they don’t have anything for their 3DMG to hook onto, they can’t pursue. He reasoned, quickly heading for the grassy area.  Another green flare shot up into the sky as soon as his feet touched the grass…

“Our points of interest are here and here.”  Erwin stated as he fingered Wall Rose and a small park in the Trost District.  The map was laid out on a round table in which Erwin, Hange, Levi, and his squad were standing around; the underlings patiently listened to Erwin’s plans.

“Hange and Levi will team up to initiate plan A:  lead Eren Jaeger to point A so that we may secure him against Wall Rose.  If Eren discovers the plan, we will switch to site B.  Hange,”  She looked up at him when he called her name, “You will release a green flare when this happens, passing along the information for Levi Squad to come out of hiding and aid in the capture.

With more soldiers to worry about, Eren will become panicked and search for a place that we cannot follow.  This park serves that purpose; open area, our 3DM gear will have no use.  It is in this spot that Eren will fall into the cables of our long range Titan Capturing cannons, immobilizing him so that we may transport him into Wall Rose.”

“What if he struggles, or at least tries to.  With that distance, some of the cables may not hold, even if they are long ranged.”  Levi asked.

“If that happens, we will use two of the regular cannons to blow off his arms and, if necessary, his legs as well.  But that is precisely why he must be standing directly in the center of this park; to allow all the wires a direct hit.  The cannons will not be fired unless this happens, so it is up to you six to get him there as quickly as possible.  Use whatever tactics you deem necessary, but by all means do not hit the nape.”

Eren slowed down as he reached the grass, turning around to see if the Scouts were crazy enough to join him.  Just as he figured, they veered, and started circling him around the park.  Two more Eren recognized from five years ago joined in making it a total of six Scouts circling him like vultures.  With them being in front and behind him, he covered his nape with his left hand.  Green eyes darting to and fro as he tried to keep watch over all of them.

Levi came in, hooking onto Eren’s skin for support as he swiped at his feet.  Eren swung his hand out to bat him away whilst taking a step back to avoid injuring his muscles.  The Corporal returned to the circle just as soon as another took his place and swung at his face.  Eren was forced to take another couple steps backwards…

It was an action that cost him dearly.

Within his stride, time slowed in his eyes.  As his heel was coming down upon the grass his eyes caught a glimmer of metal from within the windows of the surrounding houses.  Realization came to him too late and all he could do was move his other hand up to protect his nape when a shout echoed out into the sky.

“FIRE!!!”

The thundering sound of a thousand canons plummeted the air around Eren, wire after wire shot out of the windows and embedded in his Titan’s skin.  A thousand attached to him and a thousand more.  Within seconds, he couldn’t move his arms, couldn’t pivot his hips or twitch his legs.  He was completely immobilized and at the mercy of the Scouts.  And thus, he cried out in frustration.

From the crackling canons came smoke as they died down into silence.  More numbers then Eren could count came out of hiding to look upon his vulnerable form, one of which he recognized almost immediately.  Commander Erwin Smith, the leader of the Scout Regiment, stood tall upon the building of his right.  He stared at Eren with respect before turning to the blonde on his left—Mike.

“Have the canons moved in place, and prepare for the second round.”  He ordered and Mike nodded his head in affirmation.

Hange stood with Levi and his squad on the opposite side of the park.  She was dancing and squealing from the success, happy to know that she’d soon be able to perform all of the experiments she planned for the past four years.  Of course, they weren’t deadly or fatal tests, she wasn’t going to kill the fifteen year old cadet or put him through torture.  She was sensible and compassionate.

Oluo shrieked in fear when Hange got too close to him and quickly rushed behind Levi for protection.  No one was paying him any mind, or Hange for that matter, but rather keeping their attentions on Titan Eren.

“We’re not hurting him, are we?” Petra asked in concern.

“Nah, I’m sure he’s fine.”  Gunther replied to her, calming her worries.  “He’s a titan right now, remember, they can’t feel pain.  It’s the nape you have to worry about.”  He reminded whilst tapping the back of his own neck.

Erwin kept a watchful eye on Titan Eren, thinking heavily on the next phase of his plan to recruit the young shifter with the approval of the Central Council.  Due to the current events, however, he figured the court herring would take place under military law only, and that would work in Erwin’s favor more so then going straight to the King.  The next phase of the plan was the most important and critical point.  It would be the result of Eren’s survival or demise.  If things did not play out accordingly, they could lose everything.

“Two twelve meters coming from the south!”  A soldier announced hastily, alerting the area of the impending threat quickly approaching the park.  The Scouts turned their heads to see the two large titans running toward their location.  Levi growled before he launched himself off of the rooftop and down the street in which the thin twelve meter was approaching.  Petra and Erd took on the other plump titan.

“At least the majority of them are well preoccupied.”  Mike commented, making Erwin glance back up at Wall Rose where the Garrison was stationed.  A large number of them clustered in the corner, distracting hundreds of titans to their location as the monsters clawed up at the wall in a fruitless attempt at reaching them.  On top of the gate further down was Dot Pixis, the Commander of the Garrison, and a few of his most trust men and women.

Erwin remembered their conversation earlier in the year well, for it was Commander Pixis that was among the few he entrusted the secret to…

“I must admit,” Pixis said while he pulled out his canister of alcohol and poured a good bit in a glass.  He sat down in front of Erwin with the glass in his hand, the two of them alone in a private study.  “I never expected us to even meet face to face again.  Some would consider this suspicious considering our paths would likely never cross.”  He took a sip of his brandy.

“We’re good friends.  There’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to talk to each other.” Erwin stated confidently.  Pixis raised his glass and laughed.

“That’s true, that’s true.  Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

“Not so much as talk, but rather confess.” Pixis halted mid swallow and looked up at Erwin.  He finished what was in his mouth and smiled again.

“Oh, ho, ho, Erwin Smith’s finally joined the real fight, huh?”

“Not that at all.”

“Oh, well, it was fun to entertain the thought while it lived.”  Pixis replied and placed his glass down on the end table next to him.  “So what is this confession you’d like to share?”

“We have a means to put an end to the titans and rid them from this world.”  Pixis was studying him closely now, the news coming through as though it were from his own dreams.

Pixis cleared his throat and closed his eyes, “You mean to tell me, you’ve finally found a method of effectively killing titans?”  Such whimsical thinking, could it be real?

“In a sense, yes.  We’d also be able to uncover more about our otherwise veiled enemies.  The only problem is that his life would be on the line.”

“Hmmm?”  Pixis repeated, implying he caught the noun.  “He?”

“Yes.  Five years ago, while coming back from an expedition outside the walls, we ran into a titan inside the walls.” Pixis processed every word to its core, placing his hand on his chin as he listened intently.  “This titan possessed high levels of intelligence, attentiveness, problem solving, and had a means to grow and better its own physical form.  We attempted to capture this titan and failed, but now that we know more about him, we can re-capture him and recruit him into our ranks.”

Pixis stared at the ground in thought.  Erwin studied his face for a while longer before continuing.

“There is more I haven’t told you.”  Erwin informed, earning a quiescent glance from Pixis, “This titan isn’t a titan, he’s a shifter; someone that can turn into a titan at will.  He was just a ten year old boy when we first ran into each other, but over the years, my men have kept their eyes on him.  He’s been residing within the Training Camps, growing and learning to become a soldier—we believe to join the Scouts.  In that decision alone, its imperative that we take this golden opportunity so that he may fight by our side.  Because I believe there is no other way around this, we either ally with him or die.”

The room was left in an air of silence as both men studied the other.  Finally, it was Pixis who broke the peace.

“Hmmm, this is… rather impressive.” He said, his mind at a loss for the appropriate words to use for such a finding. “What is this boy’s name?”

Erwin leaned back and relaxed in his chair.  “That is to remain undisclosed.”

“I see, understandable.”  Pixis copied Erwin’s movement and relaxed in his chair as well.  “I will keep your secret until given reason to break it, however, you must promise me that I’ll get to see this boy’s “shifting” abilities in person.  If what you’re saying is true, it’s unbelievable.”

“That can be arranged if you are willing to help in the political sense.  Though the idea itself is a miracle, the people will no doubt become scared of him and wish for his immediate demise.” Erwin reasoned.

“That, and the MP’s will most likely try to dissect him in some fruitless adventure for more knowledge before killing him off.”  Pixis added with a disdainful smirk toward the mention of the other regiment.  He returned to his silence before standing up from his chair, his glass back in his hand.  “Very well, Erwin, I accept your proposal.”  Erwin stood from his seat as well and shook Pixis’ free hand.

“If you believe this is our last chance at survival, I’m with you 100% of the way.”

The sound of steam returned Erwin to the present.  Steam began to rise up from the injection points of the cables, the boy apparently trying to see if he could escape.  The belief was made correct when he then attempted to move, but was only met with the resistant creak of the canons securely connected to the ground and wall of the houses.

Titan Eren growled when his efforts failed, Oh, come on!  There has to be a way out of this!  A small weight suddenly landed on his head.

“You’re not getting out of it, brat, so I suggest you stay put and shut up.” Levi told him.  Eren relaxed in defeat and closed his eyes, his titan doing the same.  His heart was racing faster than ever and he felt weak from the fight in protecting the tower.  He only wished Mikasa and Armin were alright, that they were able to defeat the titans inside.

“We did it!” the cadets cheered as the last titan fell to Mikasa’s blades.  “We cleared the tower!”

“We’re going to survive this!  We really are!”  The cadets sang as they refilled their canisters and restocked their blades.  Armin replaced his broken pair with new ones before refilling them to the brim.  Not like he was going to use all of it, but it never hurt to be prepared.

“MIKASA!  THANK YOU!” Sasha cried as she knelt down in front of said oriental whom had just saved her life.  “MY LIFE IS IN YOUR DEPT!”

“Stop it.” Mikasa replied dryly.  “We aren’t gonna get anywhere with you acting like that.” She said as she helped Sasha up from the floor.  “Now go, we need a soldier, not a cry baby.”

“Yes sir!  I mean, ma’am.”  Sasha saluted before darting off to get the supplies she desperately needed.

Soon the cadets were flying out into the battle field with Mikasa going straight for the wall to find Eren.  Armin had just finished with his straps when he looked up to find her standing there.

“Mikasa?” He asked before he zip lined up to her.  “What’s wrong—“ He said before his words caught in this throat.  Looking out in the street, the ever decaying bodies of the twenty or more titans Eren slew were laying on the ground around the depo, but that was all.  No sign of Eren’s Titan anywhere.

“Armin…” Mikasa announced with a shiver as she lifted her finger to point out at the horizon of the city.  Armin followed her gesture and saw what she was staring at in horror.  A lot of steam was coming up from the northern end of Trost; within it they could make out a fifteen meter titan.

Mikasa’s heart skipped a beat at the thought of Eren being in immediate danger.  He could be overwhelmed with dozens of titans tearing at him, he could be dying!

Her body shook with anticipation to move and it didn’t take long for her to react, neither did it Armin, as the two of them jumped off the edge at once to make their way across Trost.  They could hear the shouts of their friends calling after them, but they didn’t care.  They needed to find Eren, and fast.  The one thing that kept bugging Armin was this simple fact:  where were the Scouts?

When the park came into clear view, Mikasa notably gasped, a shiver running down her spine.  Her mind wavered as it tried to cope with the damage her heart was enduring.  At the sight of Eren in figurative chains, like some sort of monster they all knew he wasn’t, her will snapped.  Friendly or not, the Scouts were going to pay for this.

“LET HIM GO!” She screamed as she rocketed down towards their commander, swords pulled out as she readied herself.

Levi veered his head in the direction of the screams and shot off to intercept the assailant.  When Mikasa landed on the roof near Erwin and Mike, the two turned around in finding her presence a surprise.  Mikasa ran towards them and Mike pulled out his blades, but he didn’t get a chance to act as Levi beat him to it.

Jumping out in front of her, Levi crisscrossed his blades with hers when she attempted to counter against his sudden appearance.  The two shoved the other away before getting in their stances again.

“TRAITORS!”  Mikasa yelled as she glared daggers into Levi’s skull.

“The only traitor here will be you if you act.  Don’t do it.”  Levi warned with sincerity, pointing his left sword at Mikasa as the other rested by his side.

“MIKASA!”  Armin yelled as he rushed to her side.  “Stop! It’ll only make things worse!”  Armin reasoned as he grabbed a hold of her arm and tried to pull her back from her aggressive stance.  “Grisha would’ve never allowed this if he didn’t approve of it.”  He whispered to her, making her look him in the eye for guarantee.  “Please, don’t.” he begged one last time.  She looked up at Eren in regret, allowing her shoulders to slouch and her grip on her swords to lighten.

I'm sorry, she apologized mentally while holding back the tears that threatened to cascade down her soft cheeks.

Armin looked up at him as well, his mind racing for ways of freeing him without becoming humanity’s enemy.  Right now, the only thing they could do was allow the Scouts to continue with whatever they planned and hope for the best.  If anything, all he wanted was for Eren to get out of this alive.

Chapter Text

Silver blades cut clean through the nape of a fourteen meter.  It fell face first into the dirt at the edge of the park, just meters from Eren’s Titan.

“That was a little too close.” Erd commented as Gunther dropped down beside him.  He had a few spots of titan blood on his cheek that were steaming away; hot to the touch, but luckily it didn’t burn him.

“We can’t let any more titans get this far in!”  Hange commanded, shouting over to the Scouts across the street.  “Expand the perimeter!” She ordered with a wave of her sword.  Her soldiers saluted her before darting off further away.  Unfortunately, with the expanding radius, men were stretched thin, thus making the situation riskier.  Time was not on their side; they needed to do something and fast.

She gazed up from her post down in the city to where Commander Erwin had retreated atop Wall Rose with Levi to meet with Commander Pixis and Commander Dok to discuss the Rogue Titan’s fate.  In fact, most of the remaining forces that survived Trost had retreat there as well, including the cadets that took back the city’s supply tower.  The only ones lingering within the area were the Scout soldiers looking after Titan Eren.  And those numbers were dwindling the longer they stayed.

One could assume Eren’s titan was starting to attract those that were distracted by the corner wall.  If the lot of them ventured over to the park, the situation may become disastrous.  They could lose a great deal of men, and lose Eren Jaeger all together.

Jean stared down at the immobilized rogue with trepidation in the fact that he knew who it really was.  It never occurred to him that Eren had such power, even after finding out the idiot could escape death by healing.  In the manner itself, he should have seen the signs, they were all there pointing to one explanation.

The thing was, he did know; realized it almost immediately, just couldn’t believe the truth and ended up hiding it away from even himself until this day.  Eren could turn into a fifteen meter titan at will and he was down there in chains in the most dangerous zone behind these walls.  What exactly were the Scouts planning?  He knew now all this time they were waiting for the right moment to capture him, but was that moment really now?  It wasn’t like he was fond of the bastard, but he was smart enough to see the advantages Eren would give them, even if he didn’t like the idea of humanity being so helpless that they needed one of the enemies to aid them.

Jean took a minute to relinquish his eyes from the sore landscape that Trost had become.  He turned his head to examine his comrades, and to his surprise, found a few with similar expressions as his own.  Christa was sitting amongst the circle of tired cadets with the same realization coming to her as it did him.  Jean’s eyes widened when he remembered that she was there when Eren got shot those years ago.  She witnessed his death and saw the aftermath of his resurrection.  Perhaps just as he did, she denied the clear truth to continue on with peace of mind.  Now there was no way to deny it; she knew and looked afraid to admit it.

Marco wasn’t so obvious, but his actions told Jean he had a hunch.  Marco was always good at coming to the truth, even when it seemed so ridiculous and farfetched.  So it didn’t surprise him when the questions came at Armin and Mikasa.  ‘Where’s Eren?’ and, ‘aren’t you worried about him?’ were a few he asked over and over again.  It was an attempt to see if either of the two would give in and tell him.  They never took the bait and remained silent.  Marco didn’t need them to, their silence was enough.  He knew as well.

Annie appeared calm—as usual—but what struck Jean as odd was the fact that she kept glancing out at Titan Eren; Reiner and Bertolt as well, though not as often.  They were the first to address the idea of releasing the Rogue Titan from his bindings, but Mikasa shot them down with a glare as Armin explained the treasonous act of going against the Scouts.  If anything, going against the Scouts would get them killed and Mikasa didn’t like the idea of Eren left all by himself in the hands of the people that would probably use him as a lab rat.  So, they all decided to sit idly by as the commanders fought with each other a walk away.

“My men continue to die the longer we stand here and argue about it.  If we just let the rogue go, we can—“ Erwin’s opinion was quickly shot down by Commander Nile Dok.

“An intelligent, fifteen meter killing machine, and you want to let it go?”  Dok argued with a chuckle.  “Sure it may help us kill all those titans, but what about afterwards?!  When it has nothing left to kill, it’ll attack us.”

“He is as you said, intelligent.  Such a response would be suicide and he has yet to even show an interest in hurting humans.” Erwin countered.

“It’s a cornered animal, Erwin, don’t underestimate it.” Dok responded with a glare.

“You mean like the cornered animal that he was when we chased him all the way to the park?”  Levi retorted.  “He had more than enough chances to attack us then and yet he remained defensive.”

“I’m not here to listen to your opinions, Corporal.” The Commander hissed irritably.

“It’s not an opinion.”  Levi retorted again.

“We’d be killing a valuable ally.” Erwin quickly said before Dok got into a one-on-one fight with Levi.

“We’d be killing an unimaginable threat to the human race!”  He nearly yelled out in exasperation.  With a hand, he massaged his forehead and turned to face Commander Dot Pixis for his opinion.  He might as well see what the old drunkard thought about the situation.

“Pixis, what’s your say on this?”

“I think we should let it go, help us take back the city.” Dot Pixis responded.  He had both his hands cupped and relaxed behind his back with two of his best soldiers standing next to him, Ian Dietrich and Rico Brzenska.

“Ugh, you bast—“ Dok grumbled, “Are you drunk again?”

“Actually no, surprisingly, I am quite sober.”  Pixis replied nonchalantly with a small chuckle.  Dok gave him a sideways glare.

“You asked for my opinion, Commander, and I gave it.” Commander Pixis continued, “Unlike you, I’ve seen this titan in action and have yet to see it hurt anyone save the twenty or so titans it efficiently took down.  In fact, if I’m not mistaken, those cadets that were running around with the thing would provide you with no less of an accurate judgement call.”

Dok turned his attention to the cadets in question and scowled at them.  If they thought he was going to rely on the judgement of children, then they were gravely mistaken.  Witnesses or not, he’d leave their accounts to the court herring this was undoubtedly moving towards.  For now, however, the only thing for him to do was to play along and see where things went.  Downhill, in his opinion, but it be on Erwin’s head.

His eyes returned to said Commander, “Fine.” He gave in with a stubborn tone.  “But my men are staying out of it.”  He claimed with a pointed finger at Erwin’s chest.  “I won’t have them dying over some fruitless effort to take back a lost cause.”  He left them with his soldiers following.

“You do have a plan for a course of action, right?” Commander Pixis asked as he studied Erwin’s face.  Erwin looked like he was about to say something before looking off to the side as if in thought.  Suddenly, a small voice from behind he and Levi spoke up.

“Uh, actually…” both Scouts turned around to find Cadets Armin Arlert and Mikasa Ackerman.  Mikasa was standing tall beside Armin who appeared intimidated by their presence.  He swallowed his fear and continued to speak.  “I have a plan.”

“You do?” Pixis asked in high hopes.  Erwin and Levi remained quiet, but otherwise gave the notion for the boy to air his idea.

Armin looked at each of their faces before eyeing Trost, “There’s a boulder on the far side of the city that’s big enough to plug up the hole in the gate.”  At the statement, the two commanders turned around to see the boulder the cadet was talking about.  Levi, however, kept his eyes on Armin.

“The Rogue Titan should be able to lift it and carry it over to the gate.  Unfortunately,” Armin paused with nervousness for the following statement, “he would be in a closer proximity to the horde being distracted by the corner.  The majority of them may disregard the troops up on the wall and go after him instead.  He’d be defenseless in his task of transporting the boulder.  Which means, we’ll have to defend him.”

“Defending him is not an issue, at least for my team.” Levi commented, “What I’m worried about is if he can lift the boulder; it’s three times his size and weighs even more than that.”

“He can do it.” Mikasa replied indifferently.  Levi studied her.

“And you’re sure he’ll listen to you?”  Pixis asked.

Armin looked up at him, “I don’t see why he wouldn’t.  He listened to me before.” He explained in confidence.  There really wouldn’t be any reason for Eren to ignore him save for the possibility that he wasn’t in the right state of mind.  And for the years Armin has run around with Eren as his smaller titan, they’ve never had an issue with the shifter’s awareness.

“Armin,” Erwin announced suddenly, causing the blonde boy to bring all his attention toward the commander.  “I’m putting you in charge of direct communication with the titan; Squad Leader Hange Zoe will be assisting you.”  Armin took a mental step back.  They just met and already the commander was entrusting him completely.  Was it his innocent nature that granted him favor among the elites or did they believe he was their best shot at getting Eren to cooperate with the plan?

“Levi,” Erwin continued; Levi glancing at him in question.  “You and your squad will lead the defense.”  He informed before looking at Commander Pixis.  “Pixis, I hope you have some men you’ll be able to spare.  We’re going to need all the able bodies we can find.”

“Ah, now that you mention it,” Pixis responded casually, “Most of my men will probably need some words of encouragement before they decide to help out.”  He told them.  A smile formed on his lips and he shoved Ian and Rico forward, their expressions mirroring the other in surprise and fear.  “But these two are ready to give their hearts to humanity.”

“Uh—“ Ian only managed to stutter as he looked like a deer in the headlights.

Rico turned around to face her commander, “Sir?”

“They’re all yours, Commander.” Pixis waved goodbye as he walked away with his tin of ale in hand.

“He’s not serious, is he?” Rico growled as she clenched her fist.

Levi glared at her back, “If you can’t handle a titan, then stay up here on the wall.”

Rico turned around to counter, “I can handle myself just fine, thank you!”

“Then stop whining and get your head in the game.” Levi growled back before jumping off the edge of the wall and propelling himself toward the park.

“The rest of you need to regroup with Squad Leader Hange.”  Erwin commanded while turning his attention back to Armin and Mikasa.  “Waste no time, hurry!”  Both of them saluted in response.

“Yes sir!”

“Yes sir!”  And just like that, they too were off to rejoin with Eren.

“Go with them,” Erwin ordered Ian and Rico, “you’ll be a part of the defense as well.”

“Yes sir.”

“Yes sir.”  They replied, albeit not as devotedly as Mikasa and Armin.

“Five more are coming from the left!”  One of the scouts holding the perimeter shouted.

“We’re going to get breached!”

“Hold your positions!  Don’t let them through!”

One of the Scouts were screaming as he fought against the hold of the titan bringing him up to its mouth.  A battle cry echoed over to him before Petra’s blades sliced through the fingers.  The soldier quickly rushed away from the titan and onto a roof where he knelt down to breath evenly.  Petra landed next to him.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine… thanks to you…” He managed to gasp out.  He looked up at her gratefully, “Thank you.”

Petra nodded before turning her attention to the three approaching them.

“Three more!” she shouted.

“Where are they coming from?!” Another soldier questioned.

“They must be coming from the corner!”  The soldier Petra saved replied.

“There’s not enough people to attract them here though!”

“The Rogue Titan,” Petra breathed out, “They have to be coming for him.”

The soldier down at her feet stood up finally, “But, he’s a titan, why would they go after their own kind.”

Petra didn’t know the answer to that, but she did know that Eren wasn’t a titan, at least not fully.  Their team and the inner four were the only ones that knew—save for Commander Pixis who knew to an extent—of Eren and his abilities.  The rest of the soldiers were only told about the mission to capture a valuable abnormal with human-like intelligence.

“Don’t try to understand a titan when we know so little about them!”  Petra argued with him.  “Get your head back in the game!”  She ordered before moving to dash off the roof when something ahead stopped her.

The three titans that were coming their way suddenly fell into piles of smoke and flesh.  Emerging from the debris was Corporal Levi.

“Corporal!”  Petra shouted for his attention.  He soon landed next to them before wiping his shoulder free of titan blood.

“The plan’s a go.  We’re releasing him.”  Levi informed. “Petra, I want you to find the rest of the team and get back to the park.”

“Yes sir!”  She replied in earnest before doing exactly as she was commanded.  Levi addressed to the rest of the soldiers within earshot.

“Keep the titans back!  Don’t let any of them near the Rogue Titan!” He ordered before rushing off to the park.

Eren’s Titan screamed again as he struggled against the wires holding him still.  The soldiers in the buildings beside the cannons gasped as the roots in the walls and flooring started to creak and crack.  One of the females threw her head out the window and shouted out to Hange.

“Squad Leader!  The cannons can’t hold out much longer!”

Hange growled in response as her glasses reflected Titan Eren’s image.

Come on Eren, you keep this up and we’ll have to blow your arms and legs off!

“Hange-san!”  Moblit called out from beside her.  “What should we do?”  Hange took a deep breath, the very thought hurting her more than the action itself.  Eren wasn’t going to stop struggling to get free, not while the screams of the dying Scouts reached his ears.

“Prepare the defensive cannons.”  She commanded in defeat.

“WAIT!”  Armin called out as he and Mikasa streamed towards them.  Once Armin’s feet touched the rooftop, he ran to Hange.  “We have orders from Commander Erwin to let the titan go!”

At the sound of Armin’s voice, Eren’s Titan visibly calmed down and the pressure against the cables ceased.

Hange gasped happily at the news, “Truly?  Halt the cannons!  Do not fire!” She ordered to the soldiers preparing said cannons.  They looked up at her in surprise, but otherwise ceased what they were doing.

“I have a plan to use Er—eh, the Rogue Titan to plug up the hole in Trost’s gate.” Armin told them.  “If we succeed, we would take back Trost.”  The news came at a shock to everyone, except Hange.  For once, they’d actually win against the titans?

“Kid’s right.” Levi voiced as soon as he and his team dropped down.  “Four eyes, Erwin has instructed you and Cadet Arlert to be in charge of the big brat.  The rest of us are to defend him, so I suggest you—“ Levi didn’t get to finish as Hange quickly rushed to the edge of the roof and shouted down at the soldiers in the buildings.

“Release the connectors and loosen the wires!”  She ordered before beaming up at Titan Eren.  “This big beautiful is being set free!”  The soldiers looked at one another with nervousness, but obeyed the order and loosened the cables.  The hooks unfastened from each other and the wires slid across the floor before falling out of the windows altogether.

As soon as the tension relinquished, Eren tested the bonds by straightening his back and uncovering one hand from his nape.  When all of the wires fell from the buildings and hung limply from his titan’s skin, he began to pull the ends out of him.  His skin steamed from each reopen wound, but soon he was clean and fully healed.

Suddenly, he darted to the right and jumped up to the rooftop with the fewest Scouts.  Those near him quickly ran away as he pulled himself up and slid off on the other end.  The ground shook as he landed in the street, his body straightening as he peered out at the horizon.  Four titans were heading his way and Eren’s Titan growled, his nictitating membrane closing over his eyes once more.

Armin’s voice caught in his throat as he had to suppress the urge to call out Eren’s name, “No!  Don’t go after them, we need you to head to the boulder!”  He shouted out as he, Mikasa, Squad Leader Hange, and Levi’s Squad, ran along the roof where Eren had made his escape.  Said titan shifter turned in question with an arguing hiss.

Armin didn’t know exactly what he was saying, but he knew Eren didn’t like others getting hurt because of him.  Undoubtedly, he’d want to kill any and all titans he saw within the city if it meant keeping more people alive.

“Please,” Armin begged, “The titans will continue to get in unless we plug up the hole.”  He reasoned.  Hange watched the two closely, finding it increasingly intriguing at how proficient Armin was at reading their shifter friend.

Titan Eren gazed out at the titans on the horizon before huffing out steam and peering back at Armin with his full attention.  Armin breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now the plan is as follows, there’s a boulder on the other side of the city near the gate.  You’re going to have to lift it up and carry it to the gate so you can plug up the hole.”  As Armin explained the plan, Eren looked for said boulder, finding it almost immediately and blinking in nervousness.

That's a huge boulder, I don’t know if I can lift it.

“We’ll deal with any titans that come near, you just focus on getting the boulder to Trost’s gate.  Ok?”

Eren blinked his third eyelids away and nodded his head in affirmation.  The group looked surprised at his response, save for Levi, who didn’t change his expression at all, and Mikasa and Armin, for obvious reasons.  Hange narrowed her eyes as she studied Eren’s face, having noticed the movement from his eyes.  However, she didn’t get to entertain the scientific advancement as Titan Eren started for the boulder.

With him on the move, the group followed and a green flare was cast high into the sky.

Within seconds they found themselves up against a small titan.  It took all of Eren’s willpower to ignore the thing and quickly dart left down an alleyway.  Mikasa went straight for its eyes and landed the hit with little effort.  Levi swung around and finished the thing off before catching up with the rest of the group.

They were getting closer to the boulder now, and closer to the horde of distracted titans at the corner of the wall.  As soon as Eren’s footsteps could be felt, a large group on the outer end of the horde turned toward the approaching Scouts.  They walked away from the humans up above and began making their way to Eren.

“I still can’t believe we have to protect this greenhorn.”  Oluo complained of the idea.  “If anything, he should be able to—“ his sentence was chopped off as his tongue got caught in between his teeth.  Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he grunted from the pain, but as usual, everyone just ignored him.

“Corporal!”  Petra called out, “They’re coming!  The number of soldiers up there aren’t keeping them entertained enough.”

Levi scowled at the situation, “Just keep the titans off the brat!  Work in pairs of two!”  Levi ordered before darting off on his own.  He worked better alone, no one to worry about getting killed.

“Right, Petra, you’re with me!”  Erd commanded.  “Gunther and Oluo, take the right side!  The Garrison should join up shortly!”  He turned around the face those that were behind him.  “Stay focused and alert!  We mustn’t let anything happen to the Rogue Titan!”  The Scouts nodded in affirmation and separated.  Petra went with Erd to control the left side while Gunther and Oluo protected the right.  Armin, Mikasa, and Hange continued to follow Eren to the boulder, landing on a nearby slanted roof as the shifter slowed to stand before it.

Eren studied the rock; it wasn’t as tall as him, but its girth was tremendous.  Putting into account of its weight, he seriously doubted his ability to lift and carry it all the way to the gate.

He furrowed his eyebrows in determination.  If he couldn’t do this, then they’d lose Trost and everyone would have died for nothing.  He was tired of that; people dying in vain, losing their lives for no greater achievement then to be rid of this cursed world.  And now he had the chance to actually make a difference, to give humanity one victory, just one, over the many they lost.  This is what he wanted, to help; to aid the Scouts in any endeavor.  He didn’t care how big this boulder was, it was going to move!

His titan placed both hands underneath and pulled up.  The boulder budged, if only a little, before bettering Eren’s strength and falling back down.  Titan Eren hissed in annoyance as he tried a different approach.  He placed his back against it and used his legs to push it out of its nest.  Still it didn’t move.

Errr, move you stupid thing!  Eren let go and turned to face it.  He proceeded to pound his fist on it and roar loudly in anger before sliding down onto his knees as a great wave of fatigue hit him.

Ugh, I feel so weak.  Armin, I can’t move it… not like this… He moaned, feeling his eyelids get heavy.

Hange looked stricken, “He can’t lift it.”

“No, I’m sure he can.  He’s just tired.” Armin reasoned, giving Hange a little faith.  “He’s never remained as a titan for this long before.”

Hange glanced at him, intrigue by the news, “Really?”

“Eren!”  Mikasa shouted, “You have to get up!  We need you!” she cried out in desperation.  Titan Eren fell back against the boulder and rested his head on it as his eyes fought to stay apart.

I just feel tired… he thought as he gazed up into the blue sky.  The sun shined brilliantly down upon them.

Wait… Eren thought as a memory came back to him.

“The greatest thing about your titan, Eren,” His father’s voice echoed in his head, “Is that it can adapt.”

“…Thankfully, titans aren’t active during the night.”  His instructor’s voice overtook his dad’s, “A titan can absorb sunlight to gain the energy it needs to move around, but once the sun goes down, they’re little more than sleeping babies…”

Eren’s eyes widened.

Absorb sunlight…

He closed his eyes and focused on the heat touching his titan’s skin.  He felt its warmth grow and the more he thought about it, the hotter he became.  His breathes became even and his mind thought of only one thing:  take in the energy.

“Eren!”  Mikasa tried once more to get his attention.

“It’s no use.” Hange said regrettably.  “I’m gonna have to call it.”  She raised her flare gun and shot off a red flare.  “We need to think of an alternative and fast.”

“But… “ Armin replied sadly, “There’s no other way…”

Suddenly, a rumbling drove their attention to a titan climbing the same roof they were on.  Thing was, it wasn’t looking at them, but rather Titan Eren.

“How did that get through?!”  Hange exclaimed just as Mikasa clenched her swords and ran at it in a fury.  With its attention on Eren, Mikasa easily swung around the back and cut open its nape.  It lay flat upon the roof as its victor stood on its back.  Mikasa’s body quivered at the sight before her.

More titans then she could count had left the corner and were coming for Eren.  Fortunately, they didn’t get very far as the Scouts took them out, but the numbers kept growing and they were getting overwhelmed.  She saw Commander Erwin in the fight along with the Garrison… everyone was here and yet it still wasn’t enough people.

She looked back at Armin in desperation, her number one thought being to forget the plan and get Eren to safety.  Armin closed his eyes and tapped his temples, willing himself to think up another plan, another course of action that didn’t lead to Trost’s downfall.

While Armin was preoccupied inside his mind, Hange watched Eren.  She noticed a slight golden glow about his skin and took a few steps closer to see if she could get a better view.  Titan Eren was as relaxed as could be, his skin catching a hue of yellow as he laid against the rock.  Hange remembered him gazing up at the sky and turned her eyes to see what he might have been looking at.  They only thing she could see was the sun.

A smile formed on her lips.

“Oh,” she shook in excitement.  “I don’t believe it.  Is he…?” she lightly tapped Armin’s arm while still gawking at Titan Eren.  Armin opened his eyes and looked at Hange before following her gaze.  He saw it too: the golden glow in his skin.

He—he couldn’t do that before…

Levi landed vertically against the wall of the church’s bell tower.  Below him were several decaying titans he had just slain, but his attention wasn’t on them.  A shot had echoed across the landscape and rising high into the sky was red smoke.  He grimaced at the news; something went wrong or the brat had failed to lift the boulder.  Most likely the second on account that he questioned its removal since it was mentioned.  They knew nothing of Eren’s limits, and, based on recent events, knew nothing of his powers.  Levi wasn’t above taking risks, but all these lives… for once he just wanted to believe they died for something.

A block away, Erwin landed on a slanted rooftop and looked up at the signal.  The two elite Garrison soldiers that accompanied him, Ian and Rico, peered up at it too and Rico growled.

“I knew we couldn’t trust him.”  She whispered to herself, but it was loud enough for Ian to hear.  He glanced her way just as she addressed him.  “Ian, we have to call off our men.  This plan was a fluke the moment it was thought up.”

“No,” Erwin intercepted quickly as he approached the two, though, the distance was not far.  “We stick to the plan; you leave and you’ll be killing our only chance of survival.”

“We trusted a titan we have absolutely no knowledge about!  You expect me to jump at the chance of false hope?” Rico argued, albeit respectfully.  She knew darn well who she was talking to.

“Problems arise in every course of action, but that doesn’t mean the whole plan falls apart.” Erwin responded calmly.  “You may not be used to these dangers; to seeing nearly all of your comrades die before you, and that’s what separates us.  But neither of us have ever seen a glimpse of victory, not once, not against the titans.” Erwin continued, “I understand your fear, we all feel it, but that shouldn’t stop you from pursuing a future where this fear is no longer present.”

Rico relaxed a bit, “If you’re talking about me having given up all hope in humanity, your wrong.  I just don’t see why we should put all our trust in this titan.”

“Open your eyes, Rico.” Ian debated, “Can’t you see there’s more to this then we know?”

“Of course I do, Ian.” She retorted.  “But I’m not going to blindly march forward into my grave!”

“Does it matter?!” Ian half-yelled back.  “Does it really matter at this point?  Humanity has to rely on a damn titan for survival, that’s how weak we are!  And frankly, I just don’t care anymore.  If it means we can win, if it means I can live to see tomorrow, then I’ll take it.”  Rico took a step back, clearly shocked at his response.  She breathed in and looked off to the left as she thought about what he said.  She breathed out as she blinked her eyes back to see his.

“Right, so my team will continue to maintain the east side.”  She said, giving his words a chance.  “We’ll keep the titans off the rogue for as long as we still live.”  She glanced at Erwin, “I really do hope you’ve found us a savior, Commander.”  And with that, she left the two to rejoin with her men.

Ian looked at Erwin, “You can be sure the west side will be clear, but there’s still the titans coming in from the hole.”

“We’ll handle that.”  Erwin replied.

“Right, Commander,” Ian said before slapping his right fist against his chest as his left crossed behind his back, “For humanity.”

Erwin watched him leave to rejoin with his team.  The situation was indeed grave, but it’d only get worse unless they don’t act quick.  The red signal flare was a distress call from Hange-san more than likely.  That meant the plan had gone belly up, or worse…

“We can’t sit here and do nothing.” Jean said as he peered out into the city.  The red smoke was beginning to dissipate in the air now, and still they didn’t move.  “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going down there to help.”

“What?” Connie exclaimed.  “Jean, are you crazy?!  You’ll die!”

“Yeah, well, at least I won’t die as a coward!”  He yelled back before stepping down from his anger.  Oh great, he thought, I'm starting to sound like Eren now. 

“Look, that rogue protected the depo while we were busy taking care of the titans inside.  How is it not right to do the same for him?  I don’t like the large son of a b****, but if he’s our best hope in winning this, then darn it I am not going to be one of those fools who stood aside and watched without giving a little to the cause!”

Marco suddenly stood up, “You’re right.  We’d be dead if the rogue didn’t intervene.” Marco agreed before turning to his friends.  “We won’t even have to kill any, just distract them.  If we can keep them away from the rogue, then we win!”

“Wait,” Sasha stated, “That’s all we have to do?”

“You mean be bait?!  Fat chance, man!” Connie exclaimed as he threw is arms up.  “I’ve had enough of titans for one day.  I never want to see another one ever again!”

“You’re never going to see another day unless we do something, Connie!”  Jean argued with him.

Connie looked down and moaned before standing up, “Fine, let’s go be bait for some titans.”

“Finally,” Reiner commented as both he and Bertolt stood as well, “I was hoping you guys would tag along; didn’t want us to be the only ones.”  Annie got up from her spot quietly and said nothing, but the look on her face told them of her promise to help.

“You weren’t gonna go, stop lying to yourself, Reiner.”  Connie remarked.

“Yes I was.”  Reiner exclaimed back.

“Enough talk, guys, let’s go!”  Jean ordered, jumping off of the base of the wall and falling down toward the houses below.  He shot out his cables and flipped to soar in the streets.

“I told you!”  Marco’s voice called out from his left and he looked to find Marco flying beside him.  “I told you you were a leader.”

“You can brag about it after we survive this, Marco.” Jean hollered back.  Marco gave him a smirk.

“Right, see you on the other side!”  He replied, making a sharp left as soon as they were within their grounds.

“We better live through this, man!”  Connie exclaimed as he stayed with Jean.  “If I die, it’ll be on your head!”  Jean rolled his eyes, about to retort some smart remark when he saw the titan jumping right towards them.

“Connie, look out!”  He shouted as he dodged.  Connie gasped as the open mouth inched closer to him.  Just as it was about to swallow him, Annie landed on its head and used her momentum to shove the thing down far enough for Connie soar over.  She proceeded to leap off its head and join them before the titan had a chance to turn on her.

“Oh my gosh, Annie, thank you!”  Connie praised as his body shook from the initial fear he just experienced.

“Keep your eyes forward and you won’t die.” She stated indifferently.

“Yeah, I’ll do that!”  Connie promise in appreciation for her deed.

Suddenly, their attentions were drawn to a sound.  All three gasped and landed on top of a building to seek out its origins.  Jean’s eyes couldn’t have widened any further.

“I don’t believe it…” He whispered.

…

Levi looked up from his team as soon as he felt the trembles.  They too gasped at the sight that wasn’t far from their location.

“I stand corrected.”  Levi commented.

…

Ian and Rico’s team saw it as well and froze in their work as they watched the smoke bellow up into the sky.

…

Erwin looked on in determination as the boulder suddenly appeared above the buildings and began to move, steam rising up from all around it.

“He did it!”  Hange’s voice screamed cheerfully as she rushed towards Erwin via 3DMG.  “He absorbed the sunlight to gain enough energy to lift the boulder!!!”  She exclaimed with a bit of drool dripping from the side of her mouth.  “We’re going to win this!  We’re going to take back Trost!”

At the words, Erwin quickly raised his flare gun and fired it.  Green smoke surged into the sky, and, soon after, his orders.

“DEFEND HIM!”  He screamed, “GIVE YOUR HEARTS TO HUMANITY AND DEFEND THE ROGUE TITAN AT ALL COSTS!”

Eren’s steps fell heavily against the cemented ground as he steadily made his way toward the gate.  The rock rested upon his shoulder as his arms held it up from crushing his Titan’s bones.  He could feel the weight of it against him and groaned from the pressure.

“Keep going Eren!” Armin’s voice came at him from a distance, sounding small and far to him.  “You can do it!  Just keep going!”

Armin ran alongside Titan Eren on the buildings that connected along the street and shouted words of encouragement to aid him.  Ahead were several titans and down on the ground below them were four soldiers chasing after them trying to get their attention.  They must have said something because two suddenly stopped and started chasing them, but the third kept going for Eren.

“Mikasa!”  Armin shouted and the Asian appeared out of nowhere.  One twirl and the titan was down, Mikasa’s speed pushing it to fall on its side and into an alley; right out of Eren’s path.

“Fight Eren!”  She called out to him.  Those words were the same he said to her when they first met.  It was the word that sparked the drive she always had.  He was almost there; the gate was right there…

A titan emerged from the hole and hissed up at Titan Eren.  Armin gasped from where he was at, running on the ground now in order to stay by Eren’s side after they’ve cleared the buildings.  “Eren!”  He shouted as his Titan stopped and backed away as the abnormal made to grab him.

Mikasa ran as fast as she could in order to get a clear shot of its nape when a shouted rung out from above.

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!”  Rico screamed as she came down upon its nape.  It screeched from the slice, but the cut wasn’t deep enough to kill it.  Mikasa came around from the side and cried out in a fury as she finished it off.  It fell off to the side and the path to the hole was clear.

Armin took a deep breath, his heart skipping a beat, “GOOOOOOO!!!!!” He screamed.  Eren’s Titan matched his cry with a cry of his own when he threw the boulder into the hole.  It crashed into the Wall and planted itself deep within, an inch of movement denied for any who tried.

Rico fell down on his knees and started weeping.  “We… won…” she breathed out and raised her flare gun.  A yellow powder rose up from it.

“All your deaths were worth something…”  she cried, “You didn’t die in vain.”

…

“That’s yellow smoke, Commander!”  One of Pixis’ soldiers announced as she scanned the area through a spyglass.

“They did it.” another said in shock.  “We won.”

…

Jean looked up into the sky and almost broke down in joy.

“I don’t believe it.” Connie gasped.  “We won?”

…

“We did it!”  Hange exclaimed, “AH, I knew from day one he was different!”  Erwin watched her dance around with a smile.

“Yes,” he replied softly.  “This day belongs to humanity.” He said as he gazed up at the gate far away.  Something occurred to him, and his smile dropped.  He glanced back at Wall Rose before starting towards Trost’s gate.

“Hange, quickly.”  He said, said scientist coming out of her happy moment and following him in question.

…

Eren’s Titan fell down on his hands and knees, a weak moan escaping his mouth.  Steam was still rising from his skin and his arms looked like they were about to give at any moment.

“Eren!”  Mikasa screamed as she ran over to his face.  Now underneath where he was hunched over, she peered up in worry and called out his name once again.

Rico gasped, “Wh—what are you doing?!  Get away from him!” she shrieked in fear for the cadet’s safety.

Titan Eren let out another tired moan before falling over on his left side and laying there still, his eyes close.  Mikasa ran around to his back and hooked her wires into his skin to reel up to his nape.

“What are you doing?!”  Rico cried out again, “You’ll kill it!”  she rushed to stop Mikasa.

“Hold on, Eren!  I’ll get you out of there!” Mikasa said as she carefully aimed her sword.  Rico was about to stop her when Armin intercepted with outstretched arms.

“No don’t!  We need to get him out!”

“Get who out?!  That’s a—“ Rico was about to finish when she looked up.  Her argument fell when she saw a boy within the skin Mikasa was tearing away.  “—human???”

Mikasa hissed, “He’s really hot!  Armin, I need your help!”  Armin took one last look at Rico and decided she wouldn’t do anything that would jeopardizing their work, so he quickly reeled up beside Mikasa and grabbed a hold of Eren’s arm, but accidently touched the raw muscle.

“Ouch!”  He cried out as his hand instantly retracted.

“Be careful.”  Mikasa told him as she continued to cut away the flesh binding Eren.  She hissed again when the heat burned her skin.

“That—he’s… he’s human…” Rico stuttered as she watched the boy, Eren they called him, slowly get freed from the rogue’s nape.  Mikasa cut away one final ligament and Armin pulled.  The two fell out of the nape and down on the ground hard beside his now rotting titan corpse.  The fall hurt Armin and he groaned from the pain, but otherwise kept hold of his unconscious friend.

A shadow was cast over them suddenly and Armin looked up to see a hungry thirteen meter looming above.

“Armin!” Mikasa shouted, ready to defend her friends before the titan screeched in pain and fell.  Left there in the air in his highest arch was Corporal Levi.  He landed down on the titan’s back and joined by his side was his team.  They closed the gap but didn’t approach Armin and Eren directly.

Mikasa dropped down beside Armin and glared at Levi, who only looked back unamused.

“Is he okay?” Erd asked in concern.  No one was able to answer him, however as he and Gunther both got shoved out of the way as Hange came through, Erwin not far behind her.

“Move aside!”  She warned as she rushed towards Eren, but ended up slowing down with a huge smile plastered on her face.  She looked like a kid who just got their Easter basket of chocolate goodies.  Drool began to drip from the corners of her mouth again as she saw the incised skin on Eren’s temples.  It was the only part of his body, that she could see, that had such a pattern and she concluded it was the control point between host and titan body.

“Can I touch?” she asked in a small voice.  “Please?”  Armin looked perplexed and moved his mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

Unexpectedly, the sound of cocked rifles hit their ears and they all turned around, excitement and concerns fading.  Erwin faced Commander Nile Dok as he and his men surrounded them with aimed weapons.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Levi muttered to himself as he glared at the soldiers out of the corner of his eyes.  They all looked positively scared out of their mind at the sight of Eren, but Nile kept his eyes on Erwin.

“Get out of the way, Erwin.” Dok ordered with a shaking voice.

“You’re not killing him, Nile.” Erwin replied defiantly.

“You knew about this, didn’t you?!” Dok yelled back in both anger and fear.

“Yes.”

Dok looked like he wanted to punch him, “Dammit, Erwin!  Stand aside or I’ll shoot you myself!”

“No.”

Dok really didn’t have a reply to that.  His threats were getting them nowhere.

“Stand aside.” He said now more softly.  “We won’t kill him, but we’re taking him in.  The court ruling will decide of which faction will keep him and do as they see fit.”

“Then he is to be held within neutral territory.” Erwin compromised.

“As you wish, Commander, now step aside.”  Erwin did so, and Nile motioned for two of his men to go.  They relaxed their firearms and replaced them on the back holsters.  The two walked over to Armin and took hold of each of Eren’s arms.  Lifting up, they dragged him away.

“No!  You can’t let them take him!”  Mikasa protested, but Hange kept her back.

“I don’t like the idea any more than you do, but right now, Eren can’t afford us going primal.  We’d never get custody of him.”  Mikasa saw the logic, but still, it felt inhuman for her to just watch.

“Why don’t you guys make yourselves useful and clean up Trost of these remaining titans.”  Commander Dok shouted back as he and his men carried Eren off.  Everyone glared at his smart remark and a few rolled their eyes.  “I’m sure you’ve been looking forward to spending some time with the beasts, Squad Leader Hange-san.  It should be a blast for you.”

“I will kill him in his sleep.” She replied softly.

Chapter Text

The Battle of Trost was the first victory humanity has seen in over a hundred years.  It was the first battle they had won against the titans, but the casualties were too high for any form of celebration.  Though the survivors of the Garrison and Scouting Regiment were indeed grateful and ecstatic in their victory, the dark understanding of their world would not allow a little sunlight.

Eren Jaeger’s abilities as a titan shifter was discovered by the Military Police and the boy was immediately taken under lock and key in one of the few neutral locations within the Walls:  the Court House, where his trial was to be held.

Due to the nature of the situation, Eren’s trial was under military command; and as the head of the three military divisions, Darius Zackly was appointed as judge.  However, Eren had not awakened from his sleep when the trial was commenced three days after the battle, so the witnesses of his actions were called in to testify as the Commanders of each Regiment debated for their claim of the shifter.

Commander Dot Pixis, leader of the Garrison Regiment, claimed to have no interest in keeping Eren Jaeger, but stated with thorough reasoning that the shifter would be a better asset if kept alive.  Although the Commander was keeping a promise, he himself agreed on the notion and had no doubts the benefits Eren would be to humanity.  Eren had proven himself to Pixis when he plugged up the hole in Trost’s gate, the drunkard need not more proof.

Commander Nile Dok, leader of the Military Police, appointed Eren Jaeger too dangerous to be kept alive.  However, they saw the promising knowledge they could acquire from the boy and suggested a thorough medical examination of his body before his sentenced death.  The commander stated that the risk of keeping him as a benefit to humanity would cost them too much, as it was proven in the Battle of Trost.  Eren was a titan, and thus, should be dealt with accordingly as they have done with the rest of his kind.

Commander Erwin Smith, leader of the Scouting Regiment, had proclaimed their knowledge of the boy’s abilities for five years and explained their encounter with him on that faithful day—leaving out Grisha’s involvement, of course.  The news came as a shock to all, and Zackly threatened to disband the Scouting Regiment for such a decision despite the validations.  However, with the result of Trost, the Scouts were pardoned and given the opportunity to air their claims.  Commander Erwin stated that Eren was to be recruited into their ranks and used as a defense against the titans in order to reclaim Wall Maria and its bordering cities.  He instated his chief Science Officer, Hange Zoe, to be in charge of exploring and understanding Eren’s powers, while Corporal Levi Ackerman was appointed responsible for Eren altogether.  Should anything happen that makes Eren go rogue, Levi will be more than capable to end him.

Zackly had called upon a few of the cadets that witnessed Eren’s prowess in battle, Mikasa Ackerman being the first.  Mikasa explained that Eren had saved her life when he turned into a titan and also saved Armin who had very nearly became chow.  Upon being called, Armin declared the statement to be true; Eren saved him from death when he was about to be devoured.  He continued to explain that Eren had indeed been fully conscious over his abilities for Armin was able to talk to him and together they planned to take back the supply depo.  Without Eren’s interference, the supply tower would have been lost and the lives that were present within the court room would have died on that day…

“Objection!”  Dok called out suddenly.  Zackly turned to him for him to proceed.  “Their claims are untrustworthy considering their connection to Jaeger.  We have no idea how long they’ve even known about his abilities.”

Zackly looked at Mikasa, “Miss Ackerman, care to answer that question?  How long have you known of Eren Jaeger’s shifting abilities?”  Mikasa stared right into Commander Dok’s eyes before looking down.

“Don’t lie, it’ll only make things worse.”  Armin whispered to her in despair.

She took in a breath, “Six years.”  Murmurs resonated in the court room.

“And Mr. Arlert?  How long have you known?” Zackly asked.

“Ten years.”  At his answer the room’s roar strengthened.  Zackly picked up his gavel and slammed it repeatedly on his desk.

“Order!  Order in the court!” Zackly shouted over the roar of the military personnel, “Be quiet, all of you.”  Zackly relaxed his hand and rested the gavel back down on his desk.  He faced Armin again.

“Mr. Arlert, how old are you?”

“Fifteen, sir.”  Armin stopped himself from looking away, he knew where Commander Zackly was going with it.

“And would you say you are the same age as Eren Jaeger?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That would mean Eren was five when he had these shifting abilities, is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Zackly shifted his attention to Commander Dok.  “Commander, has there been any reports of unusual activities in Wall Maria within those ten years?”

Dok looked stunned, “N-No, sir.”

“There hasn’t been any uncanny deaths or disappearances, no sightings or complaints?”

“No, sir.” Dok responded, seemingly regrettably.  Zackly turned back to Armin.

“Mr. Arlert, how many times would you say Eren Jaeger shifted during this time span?”

Armin held back a smile, “About once every week, sir.”

“Ten years, and no report of any disturbance of this level Commander?”

“That is correct.” Dok replied with gritted teeth.  “Sir, if I may—“

“No you may not.”  Zackly interrupted him as he gathered up his papers and shuffled them neatly in one pile.  “This quart is adjourned until tomorrow.”

In the hopes of Eren’s reawakening, Zackly put off the ruling for another day.  Unfortunately, Eren remained unconscious and Zackly began the meeting the next day in private with only the three commanders.  During this time, Grisha requested that Hange check in on Eren, the Doctor feeling a sense of fear for his son as Military Police were placed as guards for his cell.  Hange eagerly agreed and was accompanied by Moblit as they ventured down to the Court House basement.  Two guards awaited them at Eren’s cell, both sporting a non-nonsense attitude as they glared at their arrivals.

“Eren Jaeger is not to receive any visits.” The one on the left announced.

“I bet that rule doesn’t apply to your own commander, huh?” Hange retorted as she placed her hands on her hips.  She peered into the cell, the flutter of the torch light not reaching inside all too well, but she could still make out Eren’s form.  His wrists were clasped in iron and metal chains ran down the side of the bed before flowing up to the ceiling where they were wielded in.  They were kind enough to give him a blanket, but she nearly screamed when she saw the tray of food and water sitting down on the floor by the door.  Eren had been unconscious the whole time and the food and water hadn’t been touched.  She glared at the guards.

“Have you even been feeding him?!  It’s been three days!” She exclaimed.

“We’re not force feeding him.  If he doesn’t wake, then he doesn’t eat.”  The guard on the right remarked.

“He’ll die!”  Hange yelled in their faces.  “The court hasn’t ruled yet, if he dies in your care, you two will be punished severely and I don’t care which faction you come from!”  She threatened before get up close in their faces.  “Now move aside and let me in so I can prevent your untimely deaths.”

The guards looked stricken and glanced at one another before the one of the right brought out his keys and unlocked the cell door.  Hange and Moblit entered and the door was closed and locked behind them.  She didn’t care and proceeded to kneel down to pick up the tray and carry it over to Eren.

Up close she could see him more clearly, and it didn’t look good.  His skin was pale as beads of sweat dotted his face lightly.  He was incredibly hot and Hange could only assume it was because he caught a fever—in which would lead to serious dehydration.

She turned to Moblit, “Moblit, write down these symptoms and give them to the doctor.”  She requested, emphasizing on the word ‘doctor’ in asking for Grisha.  “Eren needs some medicine.”  Moblit nodded his head and brought out his notebook he learned to keep on him whenever Hange needed him to record important information.  He flipped through until he found a blank page and began scribbling all of the symptoms Hange said.  When she was finished, he stood and rushed out.

Hange took the cup of water and sat Eren up.  She poured a small amount into his mouth and tilted his chin back so that his reflexes would kick in.  She repeated the process until the cup was empty.

Moblit came back over after some time with two syringes.  One was a small dose of medicine for the fever and the other was a supplement of vitamins and fiber.  When they were done, the guards forced the two out of the cell and threatened Hange should they ever see her there again.

It was on the fifth day that Commander Darius Zackly announced his decision on Eren Jaeger’s fate.  To live or die, Zackly decided the boy would be beneficial in the hands of the Scouting Legion.  In their lack of results with their missions outside the walls, Erwin was given another chance to show the Scouts’ truth worth.  If they did not make any progress with Eren, or should any of the rules he was bound to be broken, the boy was to be placed under the care of the Military Police and his fate left in their hands.

It was also on this day that Eren finally woke.

Eyelids slowly opened to reveal green eyes which, in the current lighting, looked blue.  He moaned at the throbbing sensation within his head and moved his left hand to his forehead.  The foreign weight on his wrists alerted him to the shackles and he examined them in confusion.  He lifted his other hand and found them bound the same way.  The metal chains ran down along the side of the bed before snaking up to the ceiling where they were connected.  His eyes flowed down to the cell door in front of the end of his bed and he noted two guards on the other side.  They were MP’s, the unicorn symbol was on their jackets.

Eren leaned forward and sat up, peering out at the guards in question, “Where am I?”  Only one of the guards bothered to look his way, but neither of them spoke a word.  Eren swallowed, his throat feeling dry.

“I’m hungry.” He tried again, his stomach growling in response as well.  The guard that looked at him the first time he spoke up looked again and he sported a dark glare in his eyes.

“There’s food on the floor.”  He replied, gesturing to the tray’s spot with his eyes before looking away again.  His tone held annoyance and he acted like he was superior then him.

Eren looked to where the guard had directed him and he found the tray.  It had an empty cup with one chunk of bread he guessed was already stale.  He rolled over and planted his feet down on the cold floor; with how hot he felt, he didn’t care of the temperature.

He reached his right hand out to grab the bread when his wrist suddenly got pulled back.  The length of the chain had been met and his hand could not extend any further.  A sigh escaped his lips before he stood up and used his left to reach for the bread.

At the sound of his chains rattling both guards peered into his cell, their hands hovering over their blades.  Eren didn’t look up, rather returned to his bed with bread in hand and began eating it.

“I liked him better when he was asleep.” The guard on the left commented as he sneered back at Eren.

“Don’t talk, just ignore it.”  The guard on the right replied.  Eren looked up at them, the small piece of bread having been devoured.  The thought never crossed his mind since he woke up, how long has it been since he fell unconscious?  The last thing he remembered was the boulder and then…

“W—what happened to Trost?” he asked in a soft tone, his throat still parched.

“Be quiet.”  The guard on the left growled.

“They didn’t all die, did they?”

“I said shut up!  You monster.”  The guard hollered back.

Eren could only look at him, but I'm not a monster…

The echoes of metal creaking down the hall resonated before the footsteps.  Soon enough, Eren saw a face he recognized, and felt more at ease with.

“Hey!  We told you if we ever see you here again—“ The guard started before Hange nearly spat at him.

“Shut your face!”  she yelled back before holding up a piece of paper.  “And get out of the way.” She warned.

Eren couldn’t read what was on the parchment, but he figured it was some kind of legal documentation because the guards moved aside and unlocked his cell door.  Hange took the keys from the one’s hand and unlocked his cuffs.

“Hi, Eren.” She sang in a kind voice.  “Hope your stay here wasn’t too uncomfortable.  Glad your awake, by the way.  How are you feeling?”

“Huh?”  Eren managed to reply, all the questions she was throwing at him, he couldn’t think up any answers.

“Never mind.  Come, come, we have much to do.” She told him, helping him up out of the bed and leading him out of the cell.  He found two other Scouts waiting for him outside the cell.  One was Mike, the guy they introduced to him when he was interrogated at the Training Grounds.  The other he didn’t know or recognize.

It wasn’t until they got out of the basement and into the sunlit hallway that Hange started talking to him again.

“I do hope you remember us.  Your father said something about amnesia happening a lot with shifters, so what exactly do you remember?”

“Um,” Eren looked down in thought, the sunlight from the window hurting his eyes a bit.  “I remember Trost, the battle, you guys letting me go and… the boulder.  Did I do it?” He asked, looking up at her in desperate need for the answer.  “Did I plug up the hole?”

“Yes, Trost was saved thanks to you.  We took care of the remaining titans and its citizens are out to start their lives all over again.  Not exactly a happy ending with all casualties, but we won.”  She stopped in front of a door and hovered her hand over its knob.

“Now I think it’s time for you to meet someone.  He’s been very worried about you.” She stated before opening the door.  It was a common waiting room with Commander Erwin and Levi occupying it alongside his father.  They all turned to the doorway when Hange opened it and his father gasped in relief when he saw Eren.

“Eren…” he said as he rushed over to him, knelt down, and hugged him.  Eren felt a wave of joy wash over him and he wrapped his arms around his father in return.

“See Grisha,” Hange commented as she let Moblit and Mike pass her.  “I told you the plan would work.”

“That doesn’t change the way I feel about it, Hange-san.” His father replied as he broke away from Eren.  He looked him in the eyes as he felt his forehead.  “Are you okay?  Hange said you had a fever the other day.”

“I feel fine.” Eren replied, “But I am kind of thirsty.”  Grisha smiled at him and stood, allowing Eren to go ahead and sit down on the couch while his dad pulled over a tray of soup and a large glass of water.  He then sat down on Eren’s right.

“We almost lost you there.”  Erwin announced.  “The trial went better than expected, but there were many strings we had to pull and many terms we had to agree with in order to keep you.  One being you placed under Levi’s charge.”  Levi walked over and plopped down on the couch next to Eren.  The shifter flinched at his sudden presence and closer proximity.

Levi rested his arms up on the couch and crossed his legs, “So, Eren, you don’t resent me for nearly killing you five years ago, do you?”  Eren visibly relaxed and looked down.

“No sir.  I’ve always realized you were just doing your job and due to the situation at the time, it was perfectly reasonable.”

Levi tilted his head in appreciation, “Good.”

“Still,” Hange countered, “Your quick response time has cost me too many valuable test subjects.”  Eren looked between her and Levi, confused and little worried.

“Oh, give it a rest.  You’d be dead if it wasn’t for me.”

“I’d be further along in my research if it wasn’t for you.”

Levi leaned in closer to Eren as he gestured at Hange, “You see this?  This is what you’re going to have to deal with.  You might want to prepare yourself.”  Eren looked at him in question.

“I would never hurt Eren.  Not like those sleazy, uncaring Military Police who’d rather dissect him.”  At Hange’s statement, Eren stiffened.

What is she talking about? He thought.

“But don’t you worry about them, Eren.” Hange said kindly to him, “I can call you Eren, right?”

“Uh, yeah, I don’t mind.”  Erwin walked over and took Hange’s place in front of him.

“Then it’s settled.  Eren,” Erwin held out his hand for him to shake as he smiled warmly, “Welcome to the Scouts.  It’s an honor to finally meet you in person.”  Eren beamed and quickly shook Commander Erwin’s hand.

“Yes, sir!” He replied in merriment.  “I won’t let you down, I promise!”

“We’ll be heading to our old headquarters, a castle built back centuries ago inside Wall Rose.” Levi informed Eren and his squad as they trotted toward said destination on horseback.  It was midday and the sky was fairly clear.

“The castle is secluded and the surrounding area is open with few trees and plenty of fields; perfect spot for Hange and you to play around without the locals freaking out.”  Levi said to Eren.

Eren looked back, having to turn his body some due to his hood being up.  They all had their hoods up so as to protect Eren.  The Scouts wanted to be extremely cautious for his protection.

“What about my friends?” He asked the Corporal who only looked ahead.

“What about them?”

“I mean, aren’t they coming too?” Eren rephrased his question.

“They’ll have to wait for the assigning process coming up in a few weeks.  If they chose to join the Survey Corps, then they’ll be there.” Levi replied casually.

“We haven’t had too many numbers join recently with the rate of casualties.” Erd commented, “Hey, Eren, do you know how many of your friends will join?”

“I know Mikasa and Armin will, nothing would deter them.” He replied, whispering the last part to himself before continuing to answer his superior.  “But I’m not so sure about the others, not after Trost.” He finished sadly, looking down at the mane of his horse.

“Ah, who needs ‘em.” Oluo blurted out.  “I say if they can’t handle a few titans then they’d be better off joining the Military Police.” He steered his horse closer to Eren to get in his face.  “Listen up, greenhorn, as long as you’re here you’re to follow orders to the letter.  If I even sense that you’re up to no good, don’t think I won’t—“ Oluo’s threat failed when his tongue fell between his teeth again.

“AHHHAHAHHHHAHH!”  He moaned as his tongue began to bleed.

“Serves him right.” Petra remarked quietly.

“We’re here.” Gunther announced as the trees around them gave way to open fields and a nice view of the castle.

“Wow.” Eren observed.  The castle was huge and indeed old by the design of it.  A lot of vines had climbed up the side of its cobblestone walls, but all the windows seemed intact.  Large, durable, and plenty of open space for him to safely shift.  Just what the Scouts needed.

“We’re gonna need a lot of hours to clean this place up.” Gunther said.  “There’s probably moss growing on the moss.”  Levi groaned at the thought before addressing his team.

“Oluo, Gunther, you two take care of the outside, get those windows cleaned.  Petra, I want you, Erd, and Eren with me cleaning the inside.  We have until the dusk before Erwin and the rest show up.  And I want this place spotless before then.”

“Yes sir.”  They all responded.  They steered their horses to the back barn and tied them up before getting to work.  Eren had just climbed off his saddle when Levi called him out.

“Eren, hang back a moment.  We have to talk about your contract.” Levi said whilst pulling off his hood and taking out a tablet.

“Uh, my contract, sir?”

“Yes, the terms we agreed upon in order to keep you.  It’d be impossible for you to follow them if you didn’t know them.” Levi replied matter-of-factly.

“Oh, of course, sir.”

“As you may already know, you are not to shift under any circumstances unless we give you the go-ahead.  This includes your sessions with Hange.

If you ever venture outside castle grounds, it is required that you wear your cloak; makes it harder for others to spot you.

We are to know of your exact location at all hours of the day, so you are to have a guard with you at all times and are not to wander unsupervised.  The only guards assigned to you are myself, my team, and Squad Leader Hange; anyone else is insufficient.

Your quarters are in the basement, for security purposes, and if you ever wish to visit your dear old dad, you will do so under my consent.”  Levi looked up from the tablet to gaze at Eren.  Of course there were more, many more in fact, but those weren’t as essential to Eren’s know-how.

“Do you understand these terms?”

“Yes, sir, I understand completely.”  Eren replied before looking down.  It wasn’t exactly living in freedom, but then again, who really was nowadays?

“Good, then I expect no trouble from you.”

“Sir,” Eren asked, “May I ask a question?”

“Hmmm?” Levi hummed in response.

“Why do I need permission to see my father?”  At Eren’s question, Levi closed the tablet and looked him in the eye.

“That rule wasn’t part of the agreed terms.  In fact, the Military Police don’t even know that your father shares your abilities.  This is for the sake of security and, as long as I know where you are, I don’t think a guard is necessary for some one on one time with your dad.”

Eren smiled, “Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t thank me.  Now get to work.”

The bonfire crackled and swayed every which way as the blaze burned away the skin and bones of the corpses piled within.  The cadets stood around it, keeping their distance so as not to get burned or catch a whiff of the cooking bodies.  When the wind started to blow, any who were standing within the path quickly moved before their noise caught the smell.  But Jean refused to move and sat the closest to the fire as he stared down at his hand, within it a tooth.  It was Marco’s, at least he thought it was, kind of hard to tell what with all the bodies.

Marco was found dead, sliced in half and laid up against the side of a building as if placed there in mourning.  No one knew how he died, no one saw anything.  He was to be a great man and yet he died in silence, exiting this world without anyone even knowing.  How could someone die such a lonely dead?

Jean was responsible, and if not, it didn’t change the fact of how he felt.  He led his friends out there, led Marco to his death.  The last thing he said to him was that he’d see him on the other side.  Well, that wasn’t going to happen.  If he hadn’t of convinced them to go, then maybe Marco would still be alive.

“You’re a good leader, Jean.” Marco’s voice spoke out of the fire and Jean looked up, the memory taking shape within the flames.  “And it’s not because you’re strong, it’s because you’re weak.  And you know how it feels.”

Is this what leadership really is?  Jean asked himself.  To send people to their deaths?  Why is this world so cruel?

He looked out at his friends, all had their heads bowed in respect.  His eyes ventured over to Mikasa who was fondling her scarf, her eyes gazing into the fire yet he could tell her mind was elsewhere.  He didn’t need to guess about what, or rather who.  The news didn’t come as a surprise to her or Armin.  Jean already knew it too, but the others, it hit them like rocks.  After the trial, word spread about Eren; about how he was the Rogue Titan that saved Trost, about how he was a shifter—someone that could turn into a titan at will and control the body with a conscious mind.  At first, Connie was in denial, but a few words from Jean and the kid was frozen in realization.  Sasha was the same way.

Christa seemed to look guilty of something and that guilt was obviously felt by Ymir who won’t stop asking her if she was alright.  Ymir herself didn’t seem too bothered by the fact, but then again, she never really gave off that much emotion to begin with except if it involved Christa.

Annie was the same way, undisturbed yet rather… intrigued?  Weird, Jean would think, Reiner and Bertolt were kind of the same way, except they seemed more excited about it.

The news spread everywhere and people were talking about it in the streets.  They would hear mixed feelings about him, some saying he was a monster too dangerous to stay around while others believed him to be some sort of god.  The lot of them figured those people were from the Wall Cult.

They would hear of Eren nearly everywhere they went, making it even harder to stop thinking about it.

“It really is true about Eren?” The memory from two days ago emerged.  “About his shifting?” Connie asked, looking around the table they sat at in the café to eat.

Jean stopped mid bite of his burger and glared sideways at him, “We already went over this, Connie.  It's not rumored, it’s true.”

“Yeah, well, it all sounds pretty fake to me.”

“Well, it’s not.”

“How do you know?” Connie challenged.

“Because I do, I’ve always known,” Jean remarked.  “Ever since the fiasco with the bandits, it was pretty clear of what he was.”

“Dude, what are you talking about?” Connie asked in confusion, “Nothing happened with them, save for—“

“Eren didn’t get knocked out, he was shot in the chest.  He should have died that day, but he didn’t because he used his titan healing abilities and resurrected himself.”  Jean blurted out, the act bringing relief from the long years.  “And I watched it happen.”

Connie and Sasha looked surprised, as did Christa and Reiner and Bertolt.

“WHAT?  Dude, why didn’t you say anything?  Why did you lie and say he just got knocked out?”

“Don’t look at me for answers, I was just keeping the secret for Armin,” Jean replied whilst glancing at the blonde across from him.  Said cadet sighed and looked down at his food, preparing for the questions to be blown his way.

“Yeah, Armin, what gives with all the cloak and dagger?” Sasha asked.

“Eren’s been our friend for years; we understand him and trust him.  The same can’t be said for you or anyone else that live behind these Walls.  And in living in this fear, with what we experience, I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do.  It’s not wrong to see Eren as a threat or to view him as a monster, but that’s not what he is; he’s just different.” Armin explained calmly.  “If anyone knew, they’d kill him, or take him in to be experimented on.  What kind of kid wants to be used and treated as a guinea pig?  To be taken from his home, from his family and friends?”

“Yeah, that’s… that’s kind of harsh to go through.”  Connie replied, seeing everything clearly when it all got put into perspective.

“I wouldn’t want that,”  Sasha mumbled, thinking about the limit on the food she’d be given if such a scenario occurred.

“How did he get his powers?” Reiner asked all of the sudden.  Armin and Mikasa looked up at him, but it was Mikasa that answered.

“It was an accident when he was five.”

“What kind of freak accident did he get into that gave him the abilities to turn into a titan?”  Ymir exclaimed.

"I don’t know the details,” Mikasa replied softly.

Apparently, no one did, save probably the Scouts.  Right now, they held most of the information and the position of power to execute said information accordingly.

Jean shoved the memory away, forcing himself back to the present.  He always planned to join the MP’s, always wanted to live a comfortable life in the interior, so why was he having seconds thoughts about it now?  Even Marco wished for the same thing, except his goals weren’t of greed.

But they won.  Trost was taken back from those monsters and it was all thanks to Eren and the Scouts.  Jean really didn’t want to see another titan again, but he relished that feeling of victory more than anything in the world, including his mom’s omelets.

So it all came down to two choices, live comfortably in ignorance, or fight to win a war that may or may not lead to your brutal demise.

I really want to taste that feeling again, and maybe—just maybe—if I taste it enough times, I won’t ever have to see another titan again.

Chapter Text

It was late in the evening when Eren found himself relaxing at the dinner table with his teammates.  The Scouts had officially moved in to the new headquarters and from what he heard, Hange, the one in charge of all the titan experiments, was busier than ever with plans ready to be executed.  Apparently she was making a ruckus off in the east wing; Oluo got mixed up in it, but he didn’t say what happened.

With the free time that he had, Eren found out more about his colleagues by interacting with all of them.  Of course, Levi wasn’t the person you’d expect him to be; he was actually a rogue when it came to listening to the higher ups.  Apparently, he didn’t even chose to join the Scouts, Erwin dragged him in with him kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs.  Eren always thought him to be the obedient type with the way he acted under order from Erwin, but apparently there was more to the Corporal then what he let on.  Even that tid-bit of knowledge wasn’t as shocking to Eren as the fact that Levi was a major clean freak.  Every time Eren didn’t clean a room efficiently enough, Levi would make him re-do it all over again, even three times over.

With everything that happened within the past few days, he learned two things, two very important things about Levi.  One was always treat him with respect, and two—this one was in thanks to Petra—if you make him a cup of black tea, you’ll stay on his good side forever.

Now he’d be lying if he said that Oluo was similar to Levi.  Petra always went on about how the jerk would act like him and then flirt with her.  Then he’d bite his own tongue and Petra would laugh at him or scorn him in saying it was karma.  You could tell those two didn’t get along too well, at least on the friendship scale.  Oluo was the snarky one, always the first to try and act superior over Eren and earn respect from him.  Petra was the kind one, she liked to talk to Eren and treated him as any other human.  Eren didn’t know too much about Erd or Gunther, but they were both quiet and obedient.  They held that superior act over Eren as well, but solely on the fact that they were more experienced fighters and they were his superiors.

He heard quite a bit about Hange, and could easily agree with her enthusiasm towards titans as he experienced this firsthand, but had yet to actually spend time with her.  Wasn’t she the one that was in charge of the titan projects?  Didn’t that include him?  Why hasn’t he met her yet?  He was half afraid of the answer to that—from the way his teammates were talking, she was some kind of mad scientist.

“Everyone’s pretty much settled in.”  Levi was saying while Eren daydreamed.  The shifter came out of his torpor and started listening in.  “Apparently, Four-eyes’ plans aren’t enough to please Zackly, so Erwin’s busy coming up with something else.” Levi said before sipping his cup of tea.  He sat at the end of the table, his back to the door.  Vertically on his right sat Gunther and Oluo, on his left sat Petra then Erd.  Eren sat directly across from him on the other side.

“Do you know what he’s planning?” Gunther asked him. 

“No,” Levi replied casually, “And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

“Well, at least we can continue forth with the experiments.” Petra settled, “It’s definitely more reasonable then dissection.”

“Yeah, Eren, we’ll finally be able to figure you out.” Erd commented, everyone now looking his way.  Eren looked down from all the attention.

“Yeah.” He answered solemnly.

“How is it that you turn into a titan anyway?  Is it just by thinking about it, or…?” Gunther asked.

“No, I bite my hand.” Eren corrected before looking up at their faces.  Apparently his answer struck them dumb.  “My dad says you have to have a goal in mind before you can shift.” He explained further, “Once you do, then any kind of blood-drawn injury can bring about the change.  But…” Eren looked off in thought, “I never really had to do that.  Whenever I want to shift, I just bite my hand and go off and do what I want.”

“Like chase deer?” Oluo commented, his head resting on the palm of his hand.  Eren looked down at his hands again, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Yeah, I was just trying to better my maneuverability.”

“Well, you didn’t kill us when we ran into each other, that’s progress.” Petra pointed out.

Levi leaned forward so as to rest his arms on the table, “And four-eyes is here to help you better your shifting abilities.  Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee her being gentle, what with the so many years she had to wait.” He said before taking another sip.  His eyes still met with Eren’s, “She might end up killing you like she did the last four.”

“W-what are you talking about?!” Eren exclaimed in fear.  Suddenly, there was a large bang on the door behind Levi, the sound of pained grunts coming from the other side.  Petra quickly unbarred the door and opened it to reveal Hange standing on the other side.

“Hiya Levi Squad.” She greeted with a cheery smile and a wave of her hand.

“Speak of the devil.” Levi mumbled to himself before taking another sip.  Hange walked casually past them all as she made her way to Eren’s side.

“Hello, Eren.  As I’m sure you already know, I’ll be in charge of your experiments.  Oh, we’re going to have so much fun!  I’ve had years to plan it all out!” She greeted with her usual banter.

“Uh,” Eren stuttered, “experiments?” he asked, scared to know the truth, but Hange waved the idea away.

“Oh, don’t you worry, its nothing dangerous.  It’s just tests to see the extent of your abilities and discover your limits.” She explained proudly before resting her hands on her hips.  “We start tomorrow!  What time will you be free?”

“Oh,” Eren relaxed, the idea wasn’t bad at all.  “Um, I actually don’t have a say in my free time, Levi’s in charge of it.  I can’t agree without his consent.”

Hange looked over at Levi, “Levi!  What’s Eren’s schedule for tomorrow?”

Levi blinked at her apathetically, “Cleaning the barn.”

“Then it’s settled, as soon as your done with that, we’ll meet out in the court yard.”  Hange

“Okay… what exactly will we be doing?” Eren asked out of concern of the so called experiment.

“Hmmm?” Hange’s response couldn’t have been quicker, it caused Eren to do a double take.  He heard Petra gasp while Gunther tried to shush him.

“Shut up kid.” Oluo hissed in response as well.

Eren looked between them before focusing on Hange again, “I’m just curious is all.”

“Ahhhh, I knew I saw that within those eyes.” Hange said with a clown’s face.  She took his hand in hers and sat down in the chair next to him at the corner.  “Let me tell you a little bit about my past.”  At this sentence, Levi suddenly stood up and walked out the room, his four subordinates following.  Eren watched them leave in confusion before his attention was pulled back to Hange-san.

“I was just like you, full of rage against the titans, hating them with every fiber of my being.  But it wasn’t until my first kill that all of that changed.  I had managed to cut off a titan’s head and, with pride and joy, kicked it.  But the head weighted nearly nothing and flew across the street.  With such a size, it shouldn’t have even moved; even a human head weighs more than any other part of the body.  How could such a large object weigh so little?  And then I began to look at the other facts, about how titans could regenerate their limbs and how only the nape was their ticket to death.  Instead of hating them like everyone else, I vowed to see them in a different perspective and learn more about them through eyes unclouded by fear or judgment.  Doing so may be futile, but if history has taught me anything, it’s that hatred towards them has gotten us nowhere.

So I convinced Erwin to start capturing titans for experiments so that we may be able to learn more about them.  I did indeed have at least four other titans before you, but, unfortunately, because of my impatience and carelessness I ended up accidentally killing them.”  Eren looked at her with sympathy.  Everything she was telling him, her words were honest and true.

“The thing is, I’ve had this theory for a long time, but haven’t the courage to even speak it.  You’d be the first one, Eren.” Hange confided in him.  “It’s horrible to even think, and may be farfetched, but after finding you and your father, it only makes the theory sounder.”

She looked up at him, her arms resting on the table as she leaned in.  “I think titans used to be humans.”  Eren gasped at her with wide eyes, but otherwise didn’t say anything.

“I know, seems so unreal, right?  But it all makes sense.  The nape is the exact same length as that of a human body, that’s how I figured out you and your father were those titans we ran into along that road.  The fact that you’re still human whilst controlling your titan bodies… why not be it the same for titans?  And the sheer number of them, endless right?  How many people were in the world before this madness started?  Where did the titans come from?  And why do they only seem interested in killing people, they don’t eat us for food, they have no digestive track.  They just kill us for the sake of killing.”

Hange glanced down at her hands, “Your father told me about the incident when you were five.  How, despite everything, you remained conscious and aware; you turned into a titan, but you didn’t act like one.  You acted like a shifter.”  She looked up at him now, seeing she had his full attention.  “He said it was because of your gene, the fact that you are his son.  His abilities must have been passed down to you when you were conceived, which means… you are a natural born titan shifter.”

Eren looked down in thought.  It did all make sense, everything she was telling him.  It appeared that the Scouts were full of odd balls, odd balls ready to think outside the box and change the course of history.  They fought for freedom, for knowledge, for a revolution to this nightmare.  And he was one of them now, an odd ball… a natural born shifter.  Some one that could change things, shift the course of war in their favor.  And if he learned how to master his abilities, the dream of seeing the world he and Armin shared would come true.  They’d finally be able to see the ocean.

Eren’s eyes quickly zipped up to Hange, “Hange-san, I want to know everything!” he exclaimed seriously.

“Wha…?” Hange asked, stunned by his response.  No one bothered to entertain her thoughts, no one but Grisha that is.  Must run in the family.

“Everything you know about the titans, all about your experiments, your theory’s, your experiences, I want to know everything.”  Eren claimed again.

“Really?  Okay then!”  Hange breathed out in between her internal fits of joy.  “I’ll tell you everything I know in great detail!  I won’t leave a single thing out!”  She then took hold of his hand again, “Eren, you and I are going to get along just fine.”

The morning sun peeked its head up from behind the mountain as the minutes ticked by.  Eren remained where he had been the whole night, his head lolled to the side as he stared up at the ceiling.  His eyes were surrounded by dark circles from the lack of sleep and a bit of drool was falling down from the corner of his mouth as it hung open.

Hange was as perky as ever as she continued to talk, waving her hands about as she went.

“Hange-san.” Eren groaned, “I think it’s morning, I can hear the birds.”

“Hmmm?” She stopped her monologue and glanced out the thin window.  “Ah, well would you look at that, so it is.  Wow, time flies when you’re caught up in talking.  Well, I suppose you should go get some sleep before you start your chores for the day.  Remember, as soon as you’re done, meet up with me in the court yard.  If I don’t see you by mid-afternoon, I’m going to send Levi after ya.”

“Uh huh.” Eren replied as he slowly blinked his eyes, which was quite difficult considering they didn’t want to open back up as soon as he closed them.

“I’ll escort you to your chambers since you’re not allowed to wander unguarded.” Hange said as she stood from her chair and pushed it back it.

“Uh huh…”  Eren replied again, unable to move from his spot.

“Ooh, you don’t look so good.  Guess you never pulled an all-nighter, huh?” Hange observed as she leaned over to check Eren.

“No, dad never let me.”

“Probably for the best, sorry.”  She apologies before lifting his arm and wrapping it around her shoulder.  “Come on, the sooner we get to your chambers, the sooner you can sleep.”  It was too late, Eren was already asleep.  Hange sighed and began dragging his body back down to the basement, the guards giving her a few odd looks as she passed by.

Eren only got a few hours of sleep, though, as Levi came in midmorning and woke him up saying the barn needed to be cleaned.  It didn’t surprise the Corporal to see Eren force himself up and sluggishly walk out of his cell.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left him alone with her.” He commented nonchalantly as he watched Eren leave.  As soon as the boy reached the top of the stairs, he saw Erd and Oluo waiting for him.  Then it was off to the barn.

An hour in and Eren already knew he couldn’t last much longer without more sleep.  He was raking the hay and distributing it evenly throughout the stables when he stopped and clutched at his throat.  He tried to swallow the dryness away, but it didn’t work.  No point in getting dehydrated.

He leaned the rake against the wall and picked up the pale filled with food for the horses.  One in particular near the big open door looked at him as he approached and Eren sat the bucket down in front of the horse for it to chow down.  He smiled and pet its hair before walking over to Erd and Oluo resting by the dried up well.  Oluo was asleep, his back leaning against the stone, but Erd was wide awake.

“Um, can I get a glass of water?  I’m a little thirsty.” He asked Erd.

“Sure,” Erd replied, his arms crossed over his chest. “Oluo can get it for—“ he looked down at the man in question before frowning and punching him in the face.

“Ow!”

“Get up, you slacker!  You have no reason to be sleeping.” Erd complained.  “Eren was the one that stayed up all night with Hange, not you.”

“Alright, alright, what do you want.” Oluo asked while rubbing the sore part of his face.

“Go get Eren some water.” Erd ordered as he returned to his relaxed position against the well.  Eren could tell Oluo wanted to complain about why he had to do it, but the man settled for keeping his mouth shut—for once—and left for the well on the other side of the grounds.  He did hear him grumbling something about babysitting, though.

“You can sit down and relax for a bit, Eren.” Erd invited with a friendly tone, “I know we’re expected to be on our toes at all times, but you need your energy more than anything else.  Besides,” Erd glanced over at him as he took a spot next to him, “don’t you have that session with Hange-san later on today?”

“Yeah, but, I’ll be alright.” Eren replied faintly as he took Erd’s offer and gladly rested against the well beside him.  He closed his eyes, the strain on them subsiding.  Three hours of sleep was killing him and all he wanted in life at the moment was to lay down on his bed and just pass out.  He clearly learned his lesson today, and that was never to let Hange go on an epic monologue.

“If you say so.” Erd commented as he shrugged his shoulders.

The sun was popping in and out from behind the clouds as they rolled by.  The sunlight would shine down upon the two before a casted shadow moved in to take it away.  It was during this time that Eren really felt the heat of the sun, but its temperature was of no issue with him as he could feel his body temp rising.  In fact, it actually felt kind of good, not the burning, but the heat of the sunlight hitting his skin.  With each passing second he found himself feeling better and better and his eyelids didn’t feel so heavy anymore.

Then he opened his eyes and looked up, that warmth he felt dipping down to mirror his body temperature.  The sun… he wasn’t feeling tired anymore.  He looked down at his hand in surprise;

Did I just… absorb the sunlight again? He asked himself.  When Erd turned his head back from where he was looking out for Oluo, Eren quickly dropped his hand and acted natural.

“What the heck is taking him so long?” He groaned out in annoyance.

“Uh, you know, I’m not feeling all that tired anymore.  Must of just… needed to get out into the sunlight.” Eren said nervously as he stood up and placed a hand on the back of his neck.  “I’m okay with getting back to work now.”

“You’re sure?”  Erd asked and got a nod in response.  He sighed, “Alright then.  I advise you still take that water off of Oluo when he gets back.  Otherwise, he’ll start complaining.”

“Yes sir.”

Later that afternoon

“Okay, Eren,” Hange announced as she casually paced back and forth in front of the young shifter.  The two were in the court yard along with nearly every other available Scout as security.  They, however, weren’t on the ground like Eren and Hange.  The court yard was to act as a small cage for Eren’s titan while the Scouts stood safely upon the cobblestone roof.  Moblit and Grisha were standing near Levi and his squad; Moblit’s hands ready for any and all notes Hange spoke out loud.  They all waited patiently for the session to begin.

“The first thing I wanted to cover in our session today was a thorough examination of your titan body.” She stopped directly in front of Eren and took in a big breath of fresh air before pulling her glasses down onto her nose.  “Now, due to your innate abilities with the titan power, I understand you feel as natural about it as you do your own body, so I encourage you to act as freely as possible.”  She chuckled as she placed her hands on her hips, “Of course, no aggressive advances.”

“Understood.” Eren replied.

“Well then, let’s get started shall we.” Hange announced before looking up at Levi and giving him a cheeky smile and a thumbs up.  She shot out her cables and zip lined up onto the roof, landing right beside Moblit and Grisha.  She turned and anxiously waited for her titan to appear.

Eren looked up at his father, a seemingly nervous expression on his face.  Grisha nodded softly and gave him an encouraging smile.  Eren’s hand lifted up to his mouth, but hesitated while deep in thought.

This feels weird.  I always got grounded whenever dad would catch me shifting.  I guess I just never thought I’d see the day when he’d actually want me to.

He looked around at the soldiers, that feeling of being a monster coming back to him as they all looked down in silence.  He never really knew if they all thought the same thing: that he was a monster.  Of course, he knew his dad didn’t look at him like that and Hange-san understood his powers enough to know he was as human as humanly possible.  It was Levi that was so skeptical of him, at least, that’s what he read from the man.  Then again, Levi always kept his true feelings to himself.

“Eren?  Is there something wrong?” Hange’s voice woke him from his thoughts.

“No I’m—“ he whisked the earlier thoughts away.  Never before had he cared about what others thought of him, why start now?  The one thing that was going to change their minds of his loyalty was action, and that’s exactly what he was going to give them.

“—I’m ready.” He said more confidently before sinking his teeth down upon his skin and drawing blood.  Not even a second later, a bright flash of light channeled down from the sky and struck the court yard.  The explosion sent waves of steam out over the roof and the Scouts steadied themselves while protecting their eyes from the blinding light.

Erwin turned around in his chair at the sudden burst of sound before standing to gaze out his window, his office having a perfect view of the court yard.

Hange quickly removed her hands out of view and gasped in joy as the steam faded away to reveal Eren’s fifteen meter Titan standing in the middle of the court yard.  He was examining his hand before redirecting his attention to them.

Eren smiled—however, his Titan didn’t show any sign of the expression—and walked over to them, his height just so for the rooftop to meet him mid-way of his chest.

“Yes!  Haha!  Finally!” Hange cheered before rushing to the edge.  “Eren! Can you hear us clearly?  How far can you see?  Oh, yeah, that’s right, you can’t speak—yes or no questions Hange.”  She ranted.

Titan Eren grasped the edge of the roof and leaned in, this action causing Levi’s squad to tense and take a few steps back along with every other soldier within the area except the obvious three being Levi, Hange, and Grisha.  With the proximity of his face within reach of the Scouts, Hange took no time in reaching her hand out and touching his chin, feeling the skin in depth and logging every characteristic it held.  For one, it was hot, but not burning to the touch as she had seen from Armin and Mikasa in Trost.  She theorized that it had to of been just the raw muscle that posed dangerous and thus turned around to face Moblit with drool dripping from her open mouth.

“Are you getting all of this?” She asked with a slow, yet overwhelmed, tempo.

“Every word, Commander.”  Moblit replied, feeling a bit awkward from the orgasm she seemed to have been experiencing.

“Fifteen meters tall again, seems to be your new height.” She commented after glancing down at the court yard in comparison to Eren’s Titan.  “Your titan body seems to be made mostly out of muscle, definitely an improvement from your seven meter.  I wonder why that is, about the changes I mean.  Grisha!”  She shouted out to the Doctor behind her.  “You said Eren wasn’t technically a titan shifter before, right?”

“Yes, but he is now.” Grisha responded casually.

“Do you suppose military training is the cause?”

“I believe a disciplined mind can invoke such changes, but I don’t think his military training is the direct reason behind his progress.” Grisha explained before beginning to walk up to Hange and his son.  “Our titans are an extension of ourselves; they match our looks, if even only the slightest.  It’s the same for our abilities too.  I don’t know what all Eren can do, but his Titan is a fast learner and very adaptable.”

Eren couldn’t disagree with him on that.  He had no idea he could absorb sunlight to regenerate energy and yet it felt like he already knew how to do it.

“I see.” Was Hange response as she held a hand to her chin in thought.  “Apparently, some of those features are an extension of you as well, doctor.  You both have the same elongated and pointed ears, not human-like at all.  Why is that?”

Grisha bowed his head a little and smiled, “I honestly have no idea.”

“Interesting.” Hange noted before turning away from Grisha and back to Titan Eren.  “He also has another feature that humans don’t.  I saw it earlier in battle, but hadn’t the time to look into it further, obviously.” She stated with shrugged shoulder.  “Eren, can you blink for me.”

Eren blinked his eyes at Hange’s request and witnessed her freak when she saw a glimmer appear from the corner of his tear ducts.

“Ah ha!  Eren, blink again, but not your eyelids.”  She asked once more, more impatient then before.  Eren scrunched up his face in confusion before realizing what the scientist was asking for.  He blinked again, but instead of his eyelids moving down to obscure his eyesight, his translucent third eyelids moved outward and covered his eyes completely.

“There!  See, nictitating membranes!” She announced excitedly and Erd spoke out in question.

“Nica-what?”

“Nictitating membrane,” Grisha corrected.  “It’s a translucent third eyelid mostly found in reptiles, fish, and birds of prey.”

“So his titan is built to be a hunter.” Levi concluded.  “Good, we can use that.”

“Beautiful.” Hange complimented before she shot out her hooks to imbed into Eren’s cheeks and reeled herself up to get closer.  Titan Eren jerked his head back due to her proximity to his eye, but the action did nothing to alleviate the uncomfortable feeling.

Moblit, however, was definitely feeling uneasy about his commander’s proximity as his grip on his pen tightened and his teeth clenched together.  She had done this many times before and it almost always brought her close to death.

“Hold still,” Hange encouraged as she gently tapped her finger against the membrane.  “Squishy, moist…” Hange listed off as she rubbed her two fingers together in determining the likeness of the moisture.  It was then that she noticed a peculiar shine.

She gasped, “Reflective light… do you have night vision?!”

Moblit moaned, “Hange-san, get down from there.”

“Shut up, it’s perfectly safe!” She yelled back at him.  “Are you getting this down?”

“Of course, but please, you can’t be risking your life like this.” He begged.  Eren felt nervous at his concern and glanced around to see nearly every soldier glaring at him; daring him to turn rogue.  They were ready, but they weren’t ready for what happened next, not even Hange.

She gasped when two of Eren’s fingers squeezed her hips while the other hand removed her cables from his skin.  Just this small act alone caused all blades to become unsheathed, even Levi’s.  Hange’s hands grabbed at his fingers in shock, but fear wasn’t present.  She only looked up at him in wonderment as Eren gently brought her back down onto the rooftop.

“Remarkable motor skills!”  She exclaimed just as Eren released his hold on her and retracted his hand away.  “Look at that, didn’t even hurt me!”

“Maybe we should be done for the day, huh?” Moblit insisted, but as always, Hange was too excited for her own good.

“Nonsense, we’re continuing on with the next experiment.” She announced before facing Grisha.  “Grisha, with your permission, I’d like to examine Eren’s nape.”

Huh…? Eren thought in slight panic.

“Excuse me?” Grisha replied in a more serious tone.

“Please, his titan body is all well and good, but the juicy bits are in the nape!”  She begged with her hands clasped together.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but the last time you tried that you killed those titans.” Grisha stated firmly.

“No, no, no, I won’t be the one cutting, you and Levi will.”  Hange reasoned.

“Even so, the nape is the most sensitive area of his body.  You could hurt him.”

“You don’t trust us, Doctor?” Levi questioned as he suddenly appeared between the two.  “We’ll need to cut him out by the end of the day either way.  Better to learn now then later when the time is inconvenient.  Besides, he can heal.  If any limbs get cut off he’ll just grow them back lizard style.”

Grisha didn’t say anything, but instead resulted to just glare at Levi.  Hange soon stole his attention when she took a step closer to him.

“I won’t hurt him; all I want is to see him while he’s connected to the titan body.” She bargained.  Grisha looked down in thought before looking back up at Hange and Levi.

“You’re wrong, Corporal.  He won’t be able to heal from any fatal wounds accidentally inflicted upon him.  His body is already busy with creating and maintaining his titan form, healing his actual self will take longer; if you cut a major artery he could bleed to death.” Grisha explained before sighing in defeat.

“That being said, I ask you to be careful.”

Three knocks resonated from the door of Erwin’s office.  The man himself glanced away from the window to call in whoever was on the other side.  It opened to reveal Mike, who walked in and closed the door behind him.

“Been watching the whole time?” Mike questioned as he approached the Commander.

“Yes.”  He said before stepping away from the window and sitting back down in his chair, attention drawn to his plans for the coming months.  Mike took his place by the window, watching as Hange and Levi rested on Titan Eren’s shoulders with the shifter beginning to sit down.

“Maybe soon he’ll be able to roam around without walls.” Mike commented, gesturing outside at Titan Eren.  He then chuckled, “Don’t we all.”  With no response from Erwin, Mike glanced over at the papers sprawled out on his desk.

“What are your plans for that anyway?”

Erwin sighed, leaning back in his chair, “Eren’s the key, I know that.  It’s just the how and why that eludes me.”  He brought his hands up to meet his chin, elbows resting on the arms of his chair.  “Grisha knows it, but he won’t speak.”

“He has his reasons.  The man doesn’t like to risk other’s lives like we do.” Mike said while giving Erwin a sideways glance.

Erwin narrowed his eyes, “He’s afraid… what could be so terrifying that would make him keep silent of the secret to escaping this nightmare?”

“Well, it’s as you said.  We just don’t have all the variables.” Mike reminded.

Erwin smiled and turned to face him, “You always had a sharp mind.”

Mike inhaled through his nose, “Not as sharp as yours.”

Chapter Text

Previously…

“Grisha, with your permission, I’d like to examine Eren’s nape.” Hange announced before facing Grisha.

Huh…? Eren thought in slight panic.

“Excuse me?” Grisha replied in a serious tone.

“You don’t trust us, Doctor?” Levi questioned.

“I won’t hurt him; all I want is to see him while he’s connected to the titan body.” She bargained.  Grisha looked down in thought before looking back up at Hange and Levi.

“Just… please be careful.”

Levi bent his knees as his feet touched down upon Eren’s skin, his left hand holding onto his Titan’s shoulder muscles for better balance as the shifter was in the process of kneeling down.

“Hold still, brat.” He commented dryly before being able to stand in comfortable balance.  “The less you move, the easier it’ll be on all of us.”

Titan Eren turned his head as far to the left as possible to watch Levi with careful eyes.  He trusted them, and they seemed to trust him since they were calmly walking on his shoulders, but the idea of being cut out never sat well with him—for obvious reasons.  It hurt, it always hurt before when Mikasa would need to help him out which happened ninety percent of the time.  He figured after a while he’d build up a tolerance to the pain, but such a thing never occurred.  It was the same each time, his skin would feel like it was burning and, at times, a sharp pain would erupt in the back of his head.  He remembered considering going to his father to talk about it in curiosity—and slight worry—but at the time such a decision would bring about punishment and so Eren kept quiet, only telling Mikasa and Armin.

A moaned escaped his Titan’s jaw and Levi gave him a sideways glance, but didn’t say anything.  Hange reeled herself up to the base of Eren’s head and perched there with her cables holding her up.  Eren bowed his head so his nape was clear, allowing his father to move from his palm and onto his shoulder with the other two.  He made sure not to tilt up considering his dad didn’t have 3DM gear to save himself from a terrible fall—even if the man would just rapidly heal back to full health.  He didn’t even seem nervous.  In fact, he seemed more calm about it all than any other Scout, including Levi.

“You ready Eren?” Came Hange’s voice.

I’m ready… He thought, his Titan giving a gentle nod.

“Alright.  Now we originally planned to get you out by cutting around your torso; your limbs, unfortunately, being chopped off in the process.” She explained casually before gesturing to Grisha, “But, Grisha here has given us another way, one, apparently, you’re familiar with; we’re going to cut off the layer of skin that covers you.”  She smiled down at his nape even though Eren would have no way of seeing it.  “Levi, if you will.”

Eren swallowed and prepared himself for the burning sensation that never ceased to follow.  He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth as he heard the muffled sound of Levi unsheathing his blades.  He didn’t remember much of what happened after that, but it seemed like minutes before he felt something strange.  It wasn’t pain, not the pain he was expecting nor any pain for that matter.  It was the feeling of another’s hand on his back—and something told him it was his father.  Apparently they had already finished cutting through the skin and he didn’t even know it—didn’t feel a thing.

It was weird, he could see through his titan’s eyes, but all other senses were blurred.  It was as if his brain couldn’t decide which body to use.  He felt himself drifting, almost like his conscious was flying to and fro between himself and the titan body.  He heard mumbling, but that was it.  What came next was an even stranger sensation.  His Titan’s vision started to get fuzzy from the bottom up before fading out into blackness.  Then a burst of red and orange dots filled his view, the colors pulsating before his vision started to clear up.

Someone was in front of him, he could tell by their peach-colored skin and brown hair.  But his vision didn’t clear up any further than that and his hearing was still murky.  The person in front of him was talking; they waved a hand back and forth in his line of sight.  They were doing something, then he heard a high pitch scream and the person in front of him reeled back.

He couldn’t tell of the exact time it took before he felt hands on him again, but it felt like ages.  One of the hands touched the middle of his back and suddenly his mind screamed.  An image sparked into focus and he found himself looking down at his hand that was connected to his titan body… only, this was impossible because his vision still wasn’t clear.  The clothes were different, too, he didn’t remember owning or wearing anything remarkably close to what he was wearing.  He felt different, like he wasn’t even there and was just watching from above.  Was this a memory of his?  He knew he had memory problems, but this didn’t feel right.

His view moved up to stare at a man that was trapped within his titan’s grasp.

“Uri, what are you doing?”  He heard someone ask.  Eren wanted to look around, but it would seem he wasn’t in control.

“I’m sorry.”  He heard himself say, the man trapped before him gazing deep into his eyes.  “For all that I’ve done to your people.  Please, forgive me.”  Next thing he knew his face was in the grass, hands out in front of him.  Was he bowing?

Wait, this isn’t me… He thought.  These aren’t my memories… what’s going on?!

The man that was once trapped looked shocked as he was released and placed back down on the ground.

“He tried to kill you, why are you letting him go?” That voice spoke out again.

The vision blinked in and out of focus as he felt another presence worm its way through.  Eren attempted to fight it, to keep focusing on the vision before him, to figure out what all of this meant.  He didn’t know why, but it felt important; whatever he was looking at felt important.  Pain started to gnaw at his skull the more he tried to think.

“Eren?!”  He heard as a distant shout.  The pain burst into an unbearable experience.  He tried to scream, but nothing came out, it was all dead silence in a tunnel of blurry memories.  One voice did, however, manage to scream out into the void.

“EREN!  You have to learn to control this power!” He heard his father yell before blackness encompassed all.

Eren woke in the late hours of the following day, his green eyes blinking open to the candle-lite hospital room.  He figured that’s where he was because he was wearing white garments, under white sheets, and the air smelt of fresh flowers and sterile counter tops.

“He’s awake.” Levi’s voice called out from his left, causing Eren to turn his head lazily over to look at him.  He was relaxing on a couch—legs crossed—with a cup of tea in his right hand, but Levi made no move to take any sips; he just studied Eren like an owl perched in a tree at night.

“Feel any better?” He asked him, eyes still not leaving his weary frame.  The shifter chose to break eye contact and lifted himself up to scoot back and lean against his pillow.

“Um…” Eren ended up mumbling before speaking clearly, “I think so.”

It was then that his father and Hange came into the room, his dad going straight to his bedside while Hange stood off next to Levi, her right hand wrapped in gauze.

Grisha placed his hands on Eren’s temples and pressed firmly.  “Does that hurt?”  He asked as he touched all around the side of Eren’s forehead with both his middle and ring finger.

“No.” Eren replied tiredly and a bit confused.  “I don’t understand—“

“Easy, hold still.” Grisha directed softly.  “Your skin got torn a bit when we pulled you out and it wasn’t healing as fast as it should have been.”  He explained.  “But it looks to have fully healed now.”

“What do you remember of yesterday, Eren?” Hange questioned, walking over to stand by the bedside as Grisha checked him over.  His eyes followed her over before blinking off to look at his dad, then Levi, and then her again.

“I remember your examinations.” He answered, his voice still soft.

“So you don’t remember when we cut you out of your Titan’s nape?”  She asked again and Eren shook his head no, quickly regretting the action as his temples suddenly started throbbing.  Grisha retracted his hands in fear that he might have helped caused the discomfort, but Eren dismissed the idea as he stated, “Shouldn’t have done that.”

The room remained quiet until Eren spoke up again.  “What happened with the examination?”

 “Well, we were successful in getting to you without bodily harm.  In fact, we were able to cut off the ligaments that connected your eyesight and I had high hopes of communicating with you, but it appeared that, even though your eyes were open and looking at me, you still remained insensate.

It wasn’t until Levi and I began to pull you out that you gasped and cried out in pain.  You started crying and whispered ‘forgive me’.  Grisha attempted to calm you down, but it only resulted in you screaming your head off before passing out.” Hange explained.

Eren looked down at his lap.  “I—I don’t remember any of that.” He replied before looking up at Hange and noticing the gauze on her hand.  “What happened to your hand?”

“Hmm?”  Hange glanced down at the appendage before bringing it up for a quick massage, “Oh, I just got carried away… wanted to get a closer look at that raw muscle strapping you in.  Burned myself real bad.” She chuckled buoyantly.

“Sorry,” apologized Eren meekly.

“It’s not your fault.”  Hange reassured him, “But, since we’re apologizing, I think a certain someone should apologize as well?” Hange said while turning back to stare at Levi, Grisha doing the same, and soon Eren found himself watching the Corporal in confusion.

“Right… “ Levi said as his eyes looked to the left.  “Well, apparently when I placed my hand on your back it caused that emotional outburst.” He explained, looking back at Eren and tilting his head down.  “I am sorry for any pain you experienced.”

“Wait, you did that?” Eren questioned in surprise. “How?”

“I’ve done a similar thing with you when you first shifted, Eren.” Grisha started explaining, “With direct contact, as in, palm on spine, a certain level of communication can be sent.  However, I’ve only been able to do that with Eren; he’s a shifter, as I am, and he’s my son…”

“So, you can do this because of the psychological connection between you two.” Hange deduced quickly.  “Very interesting…”

Oh, I really need to watch these two for interactions… so many secrets to learn! She hummed in her mind.

“We’ll ponder on it later; Erwin is expecting a report.” Levi pipped up before Hange to go through another monologue.  “You can rant on about it to him.”

Hange turned to him, “Right, better to just tell him, can’t exactly write a report with this.” She gestured to her raised hand with a small laugh.  “In the meantime,” she announced, turning to face Eren now, “you should rest.  My experiments will not suffer because of this small set back, and you’ll need to regain your strength in full for my next set of tests.”

“Yes ma’am.” Eren responded respectfully, learning his lesson from last time to not bother her for more info.  And with that, Hange took her leave to make her final report.

Eren felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up from his lap.

“Are you hungry?”  Grisha asked him even though it may have been rhetorical.

Eren cracked a smile, “Only a lot.”  His dad returned the gesture and stood.

“I’ll be back with some food then.”  Eren’s eyes watched his back, his mind arguing on whether or not to ask.  The feud ended quickly.

“Dad—“ Eren called after him, stopping Grisha before he got out the door.  Said doctor turned to gaze questioningly at his son with a raised eyebrow.  Eren bowed his head, his eyes venturing off to the side—second guessing himself—but he sighed and continued forth.

“Did it—when you shifted, did you feel any pain?”

Grisha furrowed his eyebrows and blinked.  He glanced over at Levi who only continued to stare at Eren seemingly distant and content, and now sipping his tea.  He wasn’t going to leave, didn’t want to and wasn’t allowed on account that he was under orders to keep watch of Eren at all times.

So, if they were going to talk about this, they’d just have to ignore Levi’s presence because this was as private as they were going to get.

“It hurts you?” He questioned as he sat back down next to him, trying to bring the right answers out of his son so he could confirm his suspicions.

“I’m not saying it doesn't, I mean, I can tolerate it—it’s nothing to worry about.”  Eren quickly elaborated as his eyes flickered from him lap to Levi’s face.  “It used to hurt, but only when somebody would cut me out.” Eren replied, looking up at neither his father or Levi now.

“But it doesn’t hurt now?”

“I can’t exactly remember much of what happened from Trost and my memory from the experiment is still foggy, but I don’t think I felt pain—at least I don’t remember it like I normally would.”

Grisha raised his head and smiled, “Perks to being a shifter.  Pain is almost nonexistent, unfortunately for the years before, you weren’t technically a shifter and your abilities were beyond my comprehension.  If pain was present during the extraction, it may have been because of your mesh.  I think you were more absorbed into your titan body then what was safe.  That’s probably why it hurt when you were cut out.”

“So, why is it different now?” Eren asked, now allowing himself to look up at his father.  Grisha held a distant stare, but otherwise answered with a defeated sigh.

“I don’t know.”  His mind wandered off to the secrets he kept before his gaze focused on Levi.  The man wasn’t staring at his son anymore, he was staring at him.  If Levi didn’t know what was up before, then he certainly did now.  Grisha kept finding similarities between he and the shorter man, one of which was the fact that they were protective of their family.  He could see the pain and loss hidden in those silver eyes, something he too felt when thinking about Carla.  Levi didn’t say anything about his suspicions, and Grisha doubted he would anytime soon.  The man kept those kinds of things to himself.

“Either way, you should focus more on honing your abilities than wonder why they are.” He finished before standing up.  “If you’re still hungry…” he need not say more.

“Yes please.” Eren replied with faint smile.  His dad was right.  Instead of worrying about the how, he should be practicing his power to help humanity.  It was his goal from the very start and he’d be damned to venture far from that path.

Levi’s eyes followed Grisha as he passed him by.  His face showed nothing and that was the way he liked it.  He let his actions speak for him and, when necessary, he’d let his words speak for his actions.

He sipped his tea before whispering, “Good man.”  The door closed, leaving Levi alone with Eren.  He continued, “Your father isn’t as bad of a man as I originally thought him to be.”

Eren furrowed his eyebrows at the rather unusually friendly comment.

“I just pegged him to be the psycho, mad scientist sh** four-eyes seems to favor.” His voice echoed out from inside his cup.  “But there’s apparently more there than meets the eye.” He looked up at Eren, “Something that seems to run in the family.  You two are like us after all.”

It was true, nearly everyone that joined the Scouts had some form of oddity that made regular life among the ‘normal’ folk a living hell.  The Scouts were nothing less than a bunch of odd balls and history making men grouped together to form an unstoppable force.  But Eren couldn’t help but wonder if that, still, was enough to battle the world outside.

One could only hope.

Chapter Text

A single horse drawn carriage pulled by four rode along the dirt trail through the forest that surrounded the Scout’s Headquarters.  Such a ruckus it made, the beating of the hooves overpowering the calm winds and singing birds that nestled within the trees.

The sun shined brightly yet again on this day.

“I don’t quite know why, but it says here that Commander Pixis will be visiting, sir.” One of the soldiers announced as he walked alongside Commander Erwin, the two of them crossing the halls surrounding the courtyard.

“Does it say why?” Erwin asked although he had his suspicions.

“Only that he’s making sure you’re, “keeping a promise”.”  The soldier looked up in confusion when Erwin smiled.

“Ah, that.  Prepare a room for him, I doubt he’ll only be here for just the day.” Erwin ordered.  His soldier saluted him respectfully before turning round and heading back to where they came from.

The carriage screeched to a halt as the reigns were pulled.  The horses huffed and kicked their hooves against the ground, one shaking free its knotted mane.

The door to the carriage opened to reveal Commander Dot Pixis of the Garrison Legion and his second in command, Rico Brzenska, step out.  Rico squinted from the blinding light that was the sun as the two of them made their way toward the waiting Scouts and their Commander.  She was happy he had gotten the message in time for her carrier was sent out later then she had liked.  But they weren’t here for Commander Erwin, they were here for another.

“Commander Pixis, it’s good to see you again.” Ewrin greeted with a friendly smile.

“A bit secluded, but I’d think it’s perfect for a man who holds so many secrets.”  Pixis commented as he glanced around.  He breathed in deep, “Peaceful.  We rarely get that.” He smiled and took Erwin’s hand to shake it.  “It’s good to meet an old friend once more.  Tell me,” he said as the three of them started walking, “what exactly have you been up to?”

Erwin understood as he read between the lines.  “If you’re wondering about Eren, I intend to hold up my part of the bargain.  As to what we’ve been doing for the last few weeks, well, let’s just say we’ve been making progress.”

“I sure hope so, since you undoubtedly won the rights with a slippery tongue.” Someone retorted from inside the carriage.  All eyes wandered back to see who and Pixis held regret on his face.

Erwin narrowed his eyes in displeasure, but his tone told only of surprise.  “Commander Dok, I wasn’t expecting your arrival.”

“I’m only here to make sure you’re holding up to the agreement.” Said Nile as he adjusted his jacket and walked toward the other two commanders.

“Check ins aren’t necessary, Nile.” Erwin reminded him.  “Zackely never saw your presence here as a requirement.”

“Neither did he for Pixis, and yet the man shows up.” Dok pointed out, making the air between the three awkward.  Erwin and Pixis shared a look.  Pixis cleared his throat.

“I’m here for completely different reasons.”

“I’m sure you are.” Nile responded hypercritically.  “Now, where’s the boy.”

“Training.” Replied Erwin simply.

Heavy footfalls pounded against the earth as the group darted through the forest on a small trail.  Levi, his squad, and Hange were all on horseback as Eren’s Titan chased after them.  The exercise today was to test Eren’s speed and stamina capacity.  So far he was holding up and able to keep with their pace even when their horses were running near their top speed.  An hour in and Eren was just now feeling the fatigue, his titan slowing down to running a few meters behind.

“Come on Eren, if you can’t keep pace with the horses outside the walls, then you might as well forget about shifting period!” Levi shouted back at the fifteen meter.  Titan Eren blinked at him, but otherwise sped up a bit to close the gap.

It had been at least a week ago since the tests started and already it seemed like everybody had warmed up to him.  It was a good feeling, one he experienced rarely.  Levi squad didn’t flinch around him anymore, they instead started to yell and nitpick about every little thing he would do in titan form.  Like, if he adjusted his stance and took just one step off to the left, they’d turn and shout about not walking away.  Especially Oluo…

“Where do you think you’re going, greenhorn?!”

“What do you think you’re doing, greenhorn?!”

“Greenhorn, we are talking to you!  Can you even hear us?!”

Honestly, he could hear them perfectly, he just has absolutely NO means of efficiently replying back besides roaring in their faces.  And Levi didn’t appreciate that at all.

“We really need to come up with a way of communicating with Eren while he’s in titan form.” Hange pandered out loud.  “I was thinking something along the lines of drawings or markings.”

Oluo rolled his eyes and answered back, “How about a nod for ‘yes’ and a shake for ‘no’ because when we’re out there giving him orders, the only answer I expect to see is ‘yes sir’.”

Strange, the only questions you seem to give me are open ended ones… Eren retorted in his head before he realized that he just sassed his superior behind his back and scolded himself for doing so.

“Eren’s senses are heightened as a titan!”  Hange countered.  “Compared to a human, he’s able to hear and see things ten times better.  Proficient communication is key; without it we’d be wasting time playing charades.  Although it is rather fun...”

“But he can’t speak.” Petra pointed out obviously, “No amount of attempts will allow him to form proper English.  We’ve already tried that.  Drawing in the dirt will take too long.”

“Erwin already has a man for that job.” Levi announced.  “Armin Arlert has been communicating with Eren’s Titan since day one.  If anyone’s able to efficiently understand all his grunts and moans, it’s that brat.”

Titan Eren’s head perked up at the sound of his friend’s name.

“Tsk, oh well.” Hange sighed, “I guess I’ll just have to rely on other means of figuring out what’s going on in that brain of yours.”  She said while looking back at the shifter.  “How about a game of charades?!”

Eren let out a gurgling moan.

“I will take that as a yes!” Hange replied joyfully.

Armin’s in charge of communication with me?  But he hasn’t even joined the Scouts yet.  Speaking of which, isn’t the assigning tonight? Eren thought.  As his mind wandered, his titan began slowing down.  Now he was a few more meters behind the horses.

“Eren!  Keep up!”  Levi warned him.  He didn’t even need to look back to know the brat was lagging behind.  His footsteps said it all.

“Perhaps he’s depleted his stamina.” Hange analyzed.  However, Eren’s speed picked up and he was once more tailing the horses. 

“Or he’s being lazy…” Oluo growled lowly under his breath.  Even that couldn’t prevent Eren from hearing him and the boy scowled at his comment.

The trail they were on circled the castle, the many trees keeping it from view most of the time.  But at the north end of the curve, the trail broke free from behind the thickest part of the forest and the castle was able to be seen.  It was here that Eren noticed something strange—different he would correct.  He could see more soldiers out in the field than what was normal.  As his attention was called away, his titan once again slowed down, this time, to a complete halt.

“What’s he doing?” Hange mused on.

“Oi!”  Levi screamed in annoyance, quickly turning his horse around and trotting back.  The others did the same.

Titan Eren stood still facing them while his head was turned toward the castle, eyes narrowed in concentration.  Levi’s horse trotted up next to him.

“If you ever disobey a direct order ever again, I’ll kill you myself!  Do you understand me, brat?” Levi steamed with a deadly glare.  Eren’s titan seemed to have understood it perfectly as he visibly looked terrified and quickly nodded in response.

“Good.  Now what is it that you’re looking at?”  Levi asked, more calm now than just seconds before.  Eren answered him again by raising his left arm and pointing directly at the castle.

Within minutes the six of them were out in the open fields, the horses trotting alongside the walking fifteen mete.  It was easier now for them to see what Eren saw, and so stopped at the climax of the hill.

“What’s going on?” Petra questioned.

“We have guests.” Levi pointed out, although a bit dejectedly.  “That’s odd, I wasn’t told.”

“Who on earth would visit us?”  Gunther pondered.

“I have a feeling, and I don’t like it.” Levi answered before kicking the side of his horse to continue on.

Of course with Titan Eren’s height, the group of soldiers spotted the elites just as they were appearing from the trees and, unfortunately, so did Commander Dok.

“What… is it doing… OUTSIDE?!” Nile steamed as he gestured with an open palm at Titan Eren; the three of them, and Rico, standing out amongst the guards.

“He.” Erwin corrected.

“I don’t care!  HE could have very well killed us all within the blink of an eye.  What makes you think he won’t turn on you the moment the opportunity arises, which, in this case, happens a lot considering he’s as free to wander as the rest of your soldiers!”  Everyone else gave him a disapproving glance.

“Eren has proven on more than one occasion his allegiance lies with us.” Explained Erwin calmly.  “Many opportunities have arisen, yes, all of which I purposely planned for.  And he hasn’t taken up a single one.”

“It’s called a lie, Commander.” Nile hissed out through clenched teeth.

“Call if what you may, but where you see a threat, I see an invaluable ally.” Erwin responded, still standing tall and stern.

Nile pinched the brim in his nose and sighed, “Please tell me that Corporal of yours is at least watching him.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Levi’s voice answered back.  Nile looked up to see Levi on horseback trotting up to him, his Squad, Hange, and Titan Eren behind him.  The distance Eren was to the MP Commander made him tense and step back as the booming footsteps got even closer.

“Oh no,” Hange groaned out loud, “what’s he doing here?”

Erd clutched his forehead, “And the headache begins.”

“Corporal Levi,” Nile started, seemingly regaining his composure and walking up to Levi’s mount, “has there been any signs of disobedience with the titan?  Any hints of betrayal?” Nile questioned him.

“No.” was his unamused reply.  “And I think you’re looking in the wrong place.  You might want to check your own regiment for that.”  Nile growled at him while Pixis burst out laughing.  Eren couldn’t help but smile, his titan turning his head to stifle what he guessed would have been a chuckle.

“I resent that.” Was Nile’s only response.

“Give it up, Nile,” stated Pixis as he passed by said Commander and Levi, “The boy’s as loyal and reliable as any other soldier.  It’s high time you start treating him like a human rather than a titan you deem him so worthy to be.”

Commander Dok rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

“Now back to what I came here for…”  He stopped in front of Levi’s squad and took out his canister to take a sip, looking up at the fifteen meter titan shifter whose head blocked the blinding sun.

“So you’re the hero of Trost I never officially got to meet.  I have to say, you are a lot taller than I originally thought.”  He smiled and closed his eyes in remembrance, “Guess it’s different when your viewpoint is on top of the wall.”  Eren smiled as well and remedied the situation by crossing his legs and sitting down.  Of course, Levi Squad had to get out of the way to give him more room.  The ground shook right as his butt planted itself on the grass, shocking Dok out of his previous anger—which was now replaced with fear.  Levi watched him in silence as he took a few shaky steps back.

“Ah,” Pixis chuckled, “Much better!” he exclaimed cheerfully.  “So, are you able to speak at all, or must I wait until after you shift back?”

“Sadly, no.”  Hange was the one to reply.  “Mostly due to the formation of his mouth; we actually have no idea if it is possible for a titan to talk like we do.”

Dad does.  Eren replied suddenly in his head.  He blinked a few times at his response because he really had no idea if his dad could actually speak as a titan.  Weird, it just felt like the answer was yes.

“You’d figure it was since they can do just about everything else besides…. A few things.” Pixis chuckled out yet again.

Hange nodded, “Mmm, quite.  BUT, we have been exploring new ways of communication.” She pointed out.  “In fact, that is exactly what our next experiment is about.  Would you like to join us?”

“Of course, it’ll be quite interesting to see a titan do something other than lumber around and eat people.” Replied Pixis positively.  He turned to address Rico.  “Come along, Rico.”

Rico froze in place and smiled sheepishly, “Uh—heh hi… I, uh rather not.”

“Still afraid of titans I see.”  Levi commented.

“I’m not afraid, just… cautious.”  Rico growled back.

“Worry not, Eren’s perfectly safe!  He won’t hurt you.”  Hange reassured her while helping Pixis up onto the back of her saddle.  Petra came around beside Rico and offered her a hand as well.  Rico sighed, but otherwise took the offer and was lifted up onto the saddle.  As the horses trotted off, Titan Eren stood back up and followed.  Levi gave Nile one last glance before following his squad.

Erwin caught the look and shared his suspicions.  “So tell me exactly why you’re here, Nile.” He asked as the two of them watched the group grow smaller the farther they got.  Nile gave him a sideways glance.

“I’d rather speak about it in private.” Dok stated, glancing around at the soldiers that, he knew, were pretending to be ignoring them.

Erwin gestured him onward before the two of them walked back to the castle main gate.

All nine journeyed off into the forest again, now in search of a stream where a fresh patch of dirt could better be found.  As they were riding along, Rico kept her eyes forward, but concentrated her ears on the reverberating footsteps behind them.  It wasn’t that she was scared, no of course not.  She didn’t join the Garrison because she was scared of titans—in fact, she was downright terrified of them, everyone was—she joined so that she’d never have to witness them up close.  So was the case with a lot of Garrison troopers.  And here they were on horseback riding along carelessly as a fifteen meter titan trailed behind them.  She never thought she’d see the day when a titan could follow them without getting everyone’s nerves on edge.  Levi squad was as calm as calm could be, she observed.  Hange even more so, but Levi was the one she couldn’t read.  Rico guessed that was the case all the time.  Even Pixis, her Commander, was calmer than her, but that may have just been out of the trust he shared with Commander Erwin Smith and his sheer curiosity of Eren himself.  That or the liquor, but she was sure it was because of his interest.  Wouldn’t stop wondering about the kid ever since the victory at Trost.

Victory…

A word they never got to use when dealing with titans.  And now they could.  Trost was their first victory, and they owed it all to Eren.  Maybe it was time Rico put a little faith in the shifter after all.

She inhaled deeply before exhaling, “So, exactly how good is his hearing?”

“Oh remarkably so!” Hange replied quickly.  “All of his senses are!  I estimate an eighty percent increase compared to his human form.  Of course, even then it’s enhanced, just not as much.”

“Right.” She breathed out softly, looking back to see if Eren heard that.  Her test worked as Titan Eren looked down at her questioningly—or at least that’s what she figured.

And it was so that his hearing was exceptional, just as Hange proclaimed, when he suddenly called out to them before stopping.  The horses were ordered to stop as well as all eyes turned to him in question.  Said shifter appeared still with his eyes closed and frame quiet.  Eren knew he heard the familiar rush of water off in the distance and quickly shouted for the others to stop.  With their attentions on him now, he listened again for the source and found it far off to his right.

“What is it, Eren?” asked Hange.  She was met with a gesture to follow as Eren waved his hand before walking off.  In no time, they found a fresh water stream.

“Good job.  This place is perfect!”  Hange congratulated with open arms.

“Hmm,” Levi glanced around, “Scout around, we’re further out than we’d like.” He commanded with a throw of his arm.

“Yes sir!”  his squad replied before splitting up in all different directions to create a perimeter.  Of course, Petra let Rico off before she rode away.

Hange hopped off of her horse and let Commander Pixis take the reigns as she wandered around for a good spot for Eren to draw.  It didn’t take too long for her to find it.

“Over here, Eren, we’ll use this patch for your canvas.” She directed.  Titan Eren ducked under the trees as he made his way over and moved a few branches out of his face before kneeling down.  Levi tied up his horse around the tree next to Pixis and hook shot his way up to perch on a high branch.

“Alright, this test will be a simple one.” Hange started as she searched her bag attached to her horse and pulled out a stack of cards.  “What I have here are a series of words, shapes, and some small mathematics.” She announced while approaching Titan Eren who watched her closely.  “All you have to do is draw them.”  Eren replied with a nod.

Hange hook shot her way up to the same tree Levi was in.  Just as she landed Erd returned.

“The perimeter is clear, sir.” He announced up to his Corporal.

“Keep watch, we don’t need any unwanted visitors.”  Levi ordered.  Erd dipped his head in affirmation.  When he disappeared back into the brush, Levi gave Hange the go-ahead. 

“Alright,” she announced, turning her attention back to Eren with a broad smile.  “First word is Tree.”  She flipped the card over for said shifter to see.  His eyes narrowed in concentration on the card before moving down to the dirt bellow him.  He repeated the word in his head and willed himself to finger paint it into the mud.  And he did… manage.  His handwriting was terrible, but you could definitely make out the word.

“Good start.” Hange encouraged.  “Handwriting is a bit poor, but there’s plenty of room for improvement.”  She placed the card on the bottom and held out the second.

“Next word is piano.”  Titan Eren spelled out the with better results this time, albeit even a little.

“Horse… Good, your titan learns quickly.” She praised, seeing how his handwriting improved nearly twice as much.  “Let’s try a more difficult one.  How ‘bout handkerchief.”  It took him a bit longer to create the word, but Eren got it.

“Excellent, next word is sword.”  Eren wrote it perfectly.

“And sister.”

This time, he accidently wrote out Mikasa, but quickly realized his mistake and wrote sister underneath it.  Levi raised an eyebrow at that as Eren moaned apologetically.

“No, no, no.  That gives me an idea.  How about we change the rules around.  Instead of writing it out, you answer with the first thing that pops into your head.  Got it?  Okay,” Hange looked down at her cards, dismissing them completely.  She had an idea on how to figure out Eren’s true feelings in all that was happening.

“Father.”

Eren wrote Grisha.

“Friend?”

Eren wrote Armin.

“Training.”

Eren wrote necessary.

“Titan.”

Eren wrote enemy.  She smiled at that one.

“Human.”

Eren paused as he heard the word.  He didn’t even have an answer to it, but his titan picked up on the subconscious signals and wrote out the word me.  Hange’s smiled fell and she watched Eren in sympathy.

Titan Eren was staring at the simple two letter word that seemed to hold all the truth about him than anyone could know.

When Hange felt it was okay, she called out the next word, wall.  Eren wrote prison, then started moaning before hiding his face with both hands.

“Okay, okay, let’s move on to mathematics.” Hange exclaimed reassuringly, seeing Eren’s obvious stress.  She held out a card again.  “2 + 2 = what?”

Titan Eren removed his hands from his face and glanced at the card.  The number 4 was drawn in the dirt.

“Good, 8 + 6 = …?”

Eren wrote out 14.

“12 x 3”

Eren wrote 36.

“Square root of nine.”

Eren wrote 3.

“Awesome, now onto shapes.  We’ll go back to drawing them out.  The first one’s a circle.”

Eren looked away from her and traced his finger to form a circle.  A little lumpy, but a circle nonetheless.

“How about an octagon.”

Eren drew an octagon, however, it looked a lot like his circle.

“Almost, what about a square.”

Eren got this one perfectly.

“Triangle.”  Hange’s smile faded yet again when Titan Eren remained staring at the card.  He looked frozen in place, eyes glued to the shape on the parchment.  “Eren?”  She asked, but received no response.

Levi narrowed his eyes, “Oi, brat.  We’re talking to you.”

“Eren?  Are you okay?”  Seconds after, his eyes blinked and his attention drifted down to the dirt.  His green eyes were glazed over and his movements were slow.  He appeared distant, and that was not a good sign for the Scouts.  If Eren was no longer in control, the worst could happen at any moment.

The sound of metal scrapping against metal was heard as Levi unsheathed his blades and held them firmly at his side.  Rico back up a few steps, but Pixis stayed where he was—Hange doing the same before moving closer.

“Can you hear us?” she asked again, a little giddy with from the potential results this could give them.  Titan Eren didn’t respawned, didn’t even bother to look up at them before clearing away all the previous drawings.

He began to draw a triangle… that turned into a pyramid… with a few smaller ones around it… of which then got a series of three-dimensional lines branching downward.  It looked like a maze or a labyrinth underneath with what looked like chambers varying in size.

“What’s he drawing?” Rico asked curiously.  No one bothered to answer as they were intently watching him.  Hange looked to and fro from Titan Eren and his drawing.

Eren finished it all off with a circle around the furthest chamber south and proceeded to stare down at it, body seemingly frozen again.  It was certainly more detailed then the others and in 3D which was astounding to everyone present.

“Eren, do you know what that is?” Hange questioned him, but Eren only turned and started drawing something else.  It was an open rectangle with humans standing inside.  They were spread apart at arms width, their fingers barely touching each other.  A gate was drawn in between two of them at the base and more detail was put onto the rectangle.  Titan Eren then proceeded to write the word wall underneath it before drawing out a circle with another inside and a third inside that.

“Is that what I think it is?” Pixis whispered loudly.

“Are those…?  Why is there...?”  Hange babbled as she stared in shock at the drawing.  Suddenly, steam sprung up from Titan Eren’s nape.

“Wha—?!”  Hange exclaimed, quickly following Levi’s lead and rushing over.  They landed on the back of his titan’s neck just as Eren himself was clawing his way out with heavy breathes escaping his lips.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”  Hange quickly grabbed a hold of his arm so that he wouldn’t fall off while Levi sliced at the tissue to ease his struggles.

“I can’t, I can’t…!  Please… it’s too much!”  Eren cried out, clutching his head as soon as his hands were completely free.  Even so, he fought within their grasp as they moved him off of the disintegrating titan body.  The markings on his temples were, yet again, carved in heat.  Steam rose from his skin and his eyes remained shut.  They never opened since his departure from the titan body, and would remain as so for the upcoming hours.

Levi and Hange glanced at each other in shock.  This was certainly news to them.

Chapter Text

“I didn’t just come here to check on the boy, you were right about that.”  Commander Nile Dok admitted willingly as he accepted the glass from Erwin before he too sat down.  The Study was quiet and private, Erwin picking the room for such a conversation they were having.

“There are other reasons for my visit and it concerns more than just my Regiment.”  He paused for a moment, analyzing the glass of water in his hands.  His eyes ventured back up to his long-time colleague when he was finished in his distraction.  “There has been some… rumors about your recruitments as of late.”

Erwin hummed in question, “And what rumors have you heard exactly?”

“Doctor Grisha Jaeger,” Nile’s voice became stern, “he has not been seen or heard from for quite some time.  Most think he’s passed on, but I overheard that you invited him into your ranks a few years back and here he still remains.”

Erwin glanced away, “Yes, Grisha-san is alive and well.”

“Why did you recruit him?  He has no military background and will offer little to your long-time goals.”

“Because of our exploits of retaking land stolen by the titans, it is inevitable that the Scouts are met with decreasing numbers.  If we don’t die, we come back with a few new scars.

Grisha Jaeger made quite a name for himself during the time of the plague; his experience and advanced methods in medicine are rare, and it was a relief we could not afford to pass up.”

“And although such reasons would be more than accepting, your results tell us otherwise.” Nile projected with a snarky tone.  “The last expedition you led killed over fifty percent of your men.”

“Grisha was not present within that party, Nile.  And the details of that expedition are confidential; unless Zackly himself told you, I am to assume you stole it from a carrier.”

“Yes I did,” admitted once more, “I ordered my men to intercept one of the carriers.  None of the Regiments are to withhold such information Erwin, my actions are backed by the King and his council.  So tell me…” Nile looked him dead in the eye, “Why would you risk so many of your men’s lives for a test in order to learn how to effectively capture a titan shifter alive?”

“It was a test on our equipment we were planning to use to capture Eren should he have turned titan.  The results you already know.”  Erwin stood and walked over to the door, preparing to open it, “Nile, if this is another one of your attempts at claiming Eren for your dissection session, I highly suggest you stop because not only will I fight against it, you’d be making a grave mistake.”

Nile stood as well, “I’m not hearing another one of your ‘hope of humanity’ talks.  The only way you could have known those cannons would work on a shifter is if you personally tested it on one beforehand or had inside knowledge.” He narrowed his eyes, “How much does Grisha know about shifters, Erwin?  Or better yet, is he one of them?”

Erwin looked tired as he held the door open, “This is not an interrogation Nile, I have no reason to answer you and I must request that you leave the premises immediately.  Your carriage will be outside waiting.”

“Fine, have it your way.  Don’t think I’m done here, though.  Once Commander Zackly hears of my findings, I’ll be back with an arrest warrant to take Grisha-san in for questioning.”  Nile retorted as he walked toward the open door.  He stopped in the doorway, “I do hope you bring him back alive from the expedition you’ve planned.  Just remember what happens if you fail, Erwin.” Was his final words before Commander Dok showed himself out.

Hange ran at full speed down the hall.  She neither bothered to warn oncoming guards or slow her pace because what she held was too important to wait to be recorded in a report.  She needed to get to Erwin, he needed to know about the impossible that had just transpired.  A soldier informed her that he and Commander Dok had walked back to his private study, and so now her destination was just up ahead.

Walking towards her, with his gaze to the ground, was said Commander.  He looked irritated and lost in thought.  Hange knew that feeling quite well, and wanted—so badly—to loose herself over it all, but a clear head was necessary for the moment.

“Get out of the way!”  She shouted impatiently, nearly shouldering him off balance.  The Commander stepped out of the way just in time; clutching the wall feverishly with his expression from earlier holding fast.

He stuttered in anger and glared at her back, “Excuse you!”

But Hange ignored him and continued on her way before coming upon the study’s door.  Her body just about rammed into it as she struggled with the door knob for a moment before twisting it loose and using her shoulder to plow into the room.  Her sudden entrance startled Erwin, though the evidence was barely noticeable.

“ERWIN!” She exclaimed with deep breaths.  “You have to see this!  Something amazing just happened!”

“Calm down,” He encouraged her.  “Take a seat and—“

“No, no, no!  There’s no time for seats, this is important—”  She argued back before grabbing the door behind her and, with one quick swing, slammed it shut.

“—And private.”  She finished, unfazed by the loud noise.  She held up one of the papers that was gripped tightly in her left hand, “This is what Eren’s titan drew in the dirt during our experiment today.  It’s not as accurate; rather crude in my opinion—I was rushed to recreate it—but nonetheless, it’s the same thing.”  Erwin took the paper from her and analyzed the drawing sketched on it.  His brows creased together in concentration.

“It was just a simple test of his responsiveness and accuracy toward fundamental knowledge.” She informed him; now pacing, “And it was going so well, I was getting such wonderful results…” Pausing for a breath, she continued.  “Until I asked him to draw a triangle.  He drew me that.” Hange pointed down at the paper.

“This is some sort of pyramid with… underground tunnels?” Erwin concluded, glancing up at Hange only once in his examination.

“A labyrinth of some kind, yes.  But it was all in 3D, it was amazing!”  she exclaimed, dumbfounded.

“Why is there a circle here?” He questioned.

“He did that after he was done.”

“Some sort of importance with this area?”

“It’s the only explanation I could conclude with.” The two of them went back and forth.  “Unfortunately, I didn’t ask him to elaborate or explain it.  His titan was acting… distant, hypnotized even.  I wanted to make sure he was still aware of himself, so I continued onto the next card.  It was a rectangle and… he drew this in response.“  Hange unraveled the second more slowly and held it up to him with great care.  Erwin stared at the paper, his body straightening.  He took it from Hange and blinked, his mind in a daze.

“This is…”

“The walls, yes.  Sir—he drew titans inside the walls.”

“Who knows of this?”

“Only the ones present at the time; Levi, Commander Pixis, and Rico Brz… Brz—whatever her last name is.”

“And Grisha?  What did he make of this?”

“Levi’s questioning him as we speak—“

“Done questioning, he knows nothing.” Levi interrupted from behind as he opened the door and closed it behind him, leaning against it for security.  “Also, your voice is loud when you get overexcited, I suggest you cool off before continuing with this sensitive subject.”

“Nothing?!” Hange exclaimed louder than ever before and Levi gestured her to tone it down.  She did as she continued, “He doesn’t know how or why?  That can’t be, he’s our only lead other than Eren and he probably won’t even remember what happened if it’s like before.”

“I’m not going to pretend he’s upfront all the time, but he was sincere.” Levi replied with a bowed head, “And I don’t think he’s the only one keeping the secrets.  This clearly says something about Eren; there’s obviously more to his unique abilities then what we’ve been led to believe.”

“What of Eren, anyway?  How is he?” Erwin asked.

“Unconscious, as expected.” Levi informed, crossing his arms over his chest. “He’s resting in his cell in the basement.  My team is watching over him; Grisha’s probably there now.”

“We need to look into this!” Hange urged, turning her gaze away from Levi and back to Erwin.  “If this is true, then—“

“This is the second time it’s happened within two weeks.” Levi interrupted her.  “I don’t know about you, but I see a pattern starting to form and it’s beginning to go downhill.  The first I thought was just an unpleasant misfortune—“

“Misfortune?”  Hange interrupted him boldly, “We have discovered more about the titans in a two weeks’ time than we have over the last one hundred years!  Granted, these past two episodes are worrisome, but the knowledge we could gain from these misfortunes could very well be our key to defeating the titans!”

“It could also harm Eren or hinder his capabilities in battle, both of which I highly disapprove of.” Levi argued back, stepping away from the door to approach Hange.

“This is certainly a longer rest than before; a pattern is starting to show…” Erwin held his hand to his chin, “I have to stand with Levi on this, Hange.  Eren is too essential for us to take lightly.  If he were to develop an emotional break or mental illness as a result of these experiments, it could sign our death warrants.”

“I understand, sir.  I truly don’t want anything bad to befall upon Eren, but knowledge about the titans, knowledge about our enemies has been the one thing keeping us from winning.”  She would never go to such lengths if it meant harming Eren, and, although she too saw the pattern take shape, she wanted to deny it for the sake of figuring out what the boy kept underneath it all.

An idea popped into her head and she grasped at it, “Think of Eren as Pandora’s box, we’ve all heard of that adorable little story.”

Levi turned and glared at her, “You mean the one were the box held all the evil in the world and when the girl was foolish enough to open it, all hell broke loose?”

“Uh, yes… that’s the one…. May I use another analogy?” she asked Erwin sheepishly, her hand scratching the back of her neck.

“I understand were you’re coming from Hange and I couldn’t agree more with your viewpoint.  Knowledge is essential to this war, but Eren is even more so.”  Erwin looked down in reminisce.  “There was a saying my father used to tell me often.  ‘You can’t teach a higher education to a five year old.  They are most certainly not ready.’  I believe this is the same.”  He returned his attention to them. “Hange, I want your plans stamped with my approval before you execute anymore tests.”

Her shoulders slumped, “Yes, sir.”

“If he shows any signs of abnormality, as with the last two occurrences, you will stop the experiment entirely and wait three days before continuing on with another.  Any tests that give us these abnormal results will be recorded and shelved for us to explore on a later date.”

“Yes, sir.” “Yes, sir.” Both Hange and Levi replied in unison.

“Despite our usual tendencies, the loss of Eren is a risk we cannot afford to make.  Too much is at stake here, and even though I know time is not on our side, we must take it slow if need be.”  Erwin walked over to them.

“That being said, we have our 57^th expedition coming up at the end of this month.  Since Zackly requires more proof of Eren’s loyalties, I’ve devised a plan that will test him beyond the safety of our walls.  Hange,” Said Squad Leader looked directly at him, “You’ve read over the details, if there are any experiments that could aid Eren in this task, I ask that you execute them within this time frame.”

Her smile reappeared, “Say no more, I have the perfect test for our shifter.”

“Good, I also want you to be present during the recruitment assigning; Levi, I would like two of your team members to be there as well.  You and the rest will remain here in accordance with Eren’s contract.”

“Petra and Erd will more than likely be joining you.  Those two have a thing for public appearances.” Levi replied casually.

“Then it’s settled.  Once the sun begins to set, we’ll head out to the rendezvous.  Keep an eye on Eren, if he wakes before we get back, Levi, I want you to question him on the drawings.

If anyone can figure out what they truly mean, it’s Eren himself.”

A pebble was thrown against a metal trash can, its hit echoing inside the empty space.  Another followed, and a third soon after.  The thrower, Connie, was slumped on the ground against the brick wall of the court yard.  Joined beside him was Sasha; Armin and Annie to her right.  Relaxing in front of them was Ymir and Christa, and Bertolt and Reiner.

Connie didn’t bother to make an effort in his menial game, it was evident on his face that his mind was elsewhere.  And why wouldn’t it be for in only a matter of minutes he’d have to choose his future.  They all did.

As another was sloppily thrown against the trash can, Ymir glanced back at him and cocked her head in disgrace.  “Your aim is as bad as your thought process.” She commented rather rudely.

The rocks stopped being thrown, “That’s just mean.” Connie only replied as he rested his hands on the cement in defeat.  He sighed to himself and looked up at the sky.  The others around him didn’t bother to say anything as they too were deep in thought.

“I still don’t know what to choose.” Connie announced.

Ymir still held fast to her glare, “You only have a minute, just choose one and go with it.”

“Says you, even you don’t know what you want.” Connie retorted in defense.

“So what?”

“It’s a pretty important decision.” Armin reasoned.  “It might be best that you all take the time to think about it.”

“Not like you have to think about it.” Annie replied.  Armin glanced at her in question, “The Scouts probably saved you and Mikasa a spot.”

“Hmf, undoubtedly.” Reiner agreed, his arms crossed over his chest.

Armin looked down in embarrassment, “Either way, we were going to join no matter what.”

It was until now that Jean walked over, his presence catching everyone’s attention.  “So have we all decided yet?” he asked.

“Not really.”  Connie groaned, “Are you still deadest on joining them?”

“Damn right I am.”  Jean answered back, a hand on his hip.  “And it’s not a decision I was forced into.  I made this choice all on my own.  The same goes for you.”  He said, directing toward Connie and Sasha.

Sasha moaned, her face cringing, “But I never want to see a titan ever again.  Aren’t you afraid of them?”

“Huh?  Of course I am.  That’s one of the reasons why I’m joining the Scouts.  If we don’t want to see titans ever again, we’re going to have to work hard at thinning out the herd.”

Connie sighed again, “You’re starting to sound like Eren now.”

“Oh god, not that.” Jean groaned with a roll of his eyes.

“Speaking of Eren, has anyone heard of him lately?” Reiner spoke up once more.  The gazes shifted to him.  “He’s pretty much disappeared since the Scouts took him.  You don’t think he’s undergoing some insidious experiment right now, right?”

“What? No, I don’t think so.” Armin was quick to respond.  “I’ve been with Hange Zoe, she doesn’t seem like the kind of person to go that far.”

“Just curious, no harm wondering.” Reiner defended.

“Dude, did you just become Mikasa?” Connie inquired before, suddenly, one of the officers shouted for all to fall in line.

They all glanced at each other before heading in.

The fires crackled and swayed about within their lamp posts, the lot of them lined up around the stage to give light to the ones present.  It was early into the night, but the sky was as dark as a new moon.

Commander Erwin Smith stood alone out on the stage, the rest of his men—including Hange, Mike, Petra, and Erd—hidden behind the walls far back.  They stood patiently, as did the crowd, for Erwin to give his speech.

“Good evening,” He began humbly.  “I am Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps; otherwise known as the Scouting Legion.  Tonight is the night you all choose your Regiment.

I’m going to cut to the chase for you.  The Scouts need you, we need all the warm bodies we can get.  But I’m not going to gloss over any of the details.  Yes, the Survey Corps is the highest rating in casualties and it is expected that most of you will die.”

Fearful murmurs scatter across the crowd.

“Expected, not guaranteed.” This hushed the chatter.  “Until recently, our efforts to exploit and defeat the titans has proven futile.  That is until we found a new form of hope.  I’m talking about Eren Jaeger.  Most of you, if not all, have already had your fill of the rumors amongst the civilians.  They are quite true.

Eren is what we call a shifter: a being willingly capable of transforming into a titan while remaining conscious and aware of themselves and their surroundings.  Unfortunately, he is not the only one in this world, but he is extremely different, if not, then the only one of his kind.”

The murmurs started up again.  Erwin glanced around before continuing.

“Eren didn’t get these abilities by what we would call ‘normal’ means.  He was born with it.”  The murmurs rose in level, but remained contained.  Mikasa and Armin stared at Erwin with wide eyes, fear gripping their hearts of such sensitive information being publicized.

Bertolt and Reiner shared a similar look, but their faces held utter surprise and great disbelief.

“What?”  Reiner whispered out.

“Technically speaking, he’s a natural born shifter and holds powers we have yet to scratch the surface of.  But one thing is clear.  He most certainly can help us take back Wall Maria and stop the titan incursion once and for all.  If you question his loyalties, don’t.  He’s proven on more than one occasion he’s sided himself with humanity.  Trost is a prime example.

This is the reason why we’ve worked on protecting his life.  And it’s also the reason why we need more men to aid us in this.  If you are here to join the Scouts, you’ll be giving up your life to protect Eren.  Not your colleagues, your Squad Leaders, or my life is to be held above his.

I will tell you this, death will be around every corner.  I estimate over a third of you will die within the next four years.  Those who survive will be amongst the most capable soldiers alive.

Now having heard this dismal state of affairs, whoever so wishes to put their life on the line and join us remain here.  But first ask yourself; can you give your heart, can you give everything for humanity?!”

The crowd, though alive with chatter before, now grew silent with gasps of fear.

“That is all.”

Hange looked at him in shock, the others growing worrisome for the recruits.

“Does he want us to have new recruits or what?” Erd commented shakenly to those around him.

“Those wanting to join other Regiments are dismissed.”  Erwin finished.

The cadets glanced at each other, the whispers starting back up. Movement was quickly seen as each began to file out, Annie included, though she was one of the first.  Bertolt watched in sorrow, all of them did, as cadet after cadet left their spot and walked away.  The full crowd grew smaller and smaller, the tension among the few standing still growing stronger.

Connie clenched his fists and closed his eyes, I just wanted to join the MPs, make mom proud.  Can I really do this?

I don’t want to see another titan… Sasha whined painfully in her head, her face scrunched up in anguish.  They’re scary…

I already made my decision, I can’t second guess myself now… Jean told himself, holding on to the confidence he had minutes ago.

But despite their fears, they remained and soon Erwin was left with the remaining cadets.

“I ask you, if you were ordered to die, would you do it?”

“We don’t want to die, sir!”  one of the cadets responded back respectfully.  Erwin bowed his head and smiled.

“Of course.  As fair as any answer.  Let us hope that you don’t, then.”  He let his smile linger before pushing it aside to address the cadets a final time.

“Those of you who stayed, you are now one of us.  Allow me to welcome you to the Scouting Regiment.  This is a genuine salute soldiers.” He stated before placing his right fist over his heart and hiding the other behind his back.  “Together we give our hearts!”

“Sir!”  The cadets shouted in response, mirroring the famous salute as well.  Armin took in a breath and looked around.  A smile formed on his otherwise strained face.

“Everyone… is here.”

Jean just kept his gaze down, “I can’t believe I went through with this… joining the Scouts.”

“This is scary; I don’t want to be here.” Sasha wept softly.

“Ah, screw it.” Connie chuckled to himself.  “If you can’t be ‘em, join them.”

Christa looked up at Ymir and smiled.

“Where you go, I go.” Was Ymir’s only response.

Bertolt and Reiner shared a looked before both nodded their heads.  They all came this far, and they weren’t about to give up now.

“Those of you standing here have worked through your fear.  You have proven yourselves courageous. Each one of you has my respect.  Unfortunately, I cannot end on a good note.  Now that you are officially Scouts, you will be given a brief summary of our plans for the upcoming month.” Erwin turned only slightly to wave Petra, Erd and Hange forward with the map.

“Eren’s worth is still under doubt by most of the Commands in the Central City.  The upcoming expedition is to cement their opinions in favor of him.  Since the gate at Trost has been rendered inaccessible, we’ll be forced to stage future operations from the Karanes District further east. Thus the battalion route we’ve spent the last four years establishing has become completely useless to us.  This said, we’ll be journeying out in complete reliance on my titan evasive formation.  This will help us—“

“SIR!” Erwin was suddenly interrupted by one of his soldiers.  Having run nearly all the way, he was largely out of breath and doubled over to rest against his knees.  All eyes were one him, including the new recruits.

“Sir,” he greeted more properly as he saluted with a shaking fist. “The castle, our headquarters… we’ve been attacked!”

Horses ran wildly through the dark forest, the soaked ground sending up waves of mud as the battalion of Scouts, with the newest only minutes behind, rushed back to their headquarters.  They could easily hear the alarms blaring from atop the lookout towers only two minutes out.  When they got there, the traces of death greeted them.

A few soldiers lay dead in the grass outside the gate, others rushing around fully armed and ready.  Inside was worse as bodies lay almost in piles down the main hall.  They followed the carnage in trepidation until they came across the stairway to the basement.

“GUNTHER!” both Petra and Erd screamed, but soon they too fell silent.  Resting against the wall next to the stairs was Gunther’s decapitated body, his head resting a few feet away from his feet.

Petra found it within herself to rush downstairs.  It wasn’t until she reached the bottom that her breath caught in her throat.

Laying against the wall as well was Oluo, his right arm having been cut off with a deep gash trailing across his chest.  He was alive, but barely.

Erwin, Hange, Erd and Petra rushed to him, the last kneeling down beside him and covering her mouth.

“Oluo…” Petra cried as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

Oluo weakly coughed up the blood pooling in his lungs, his eyes wandering up to Erwin.  “Sir…” he managed.  He moved his amputated arm up for a salute, “A sssssingle… assailant…” he breathed in shakenly.  “Th—e… they took us… by surprise…” He paused between the spasms of pain, “They… were different… struck them a few times… but they healed… just like Eren…”

Erwin kneeled down as well, “Ease up soldier, you did well.”

“I’m… sorry…” was his last breath before his body went still and his arm fell to his lap.

“Oluo… rest now, old friend.” Erd whispered mournfully before bowing his head.  Hange looked down the hall before she left the group in a hurry.  Just ahead was Eren’s cell.  When she came upon its door, she found the lock broken and the door slightly ajar.  Pushing on it was a test of this fact.  And what was worse, the cell was empty.

Erwin looked to her as she came back, noticing the fear in her eyes.

“Eren’s not in his cell.”

Chapter Text

The night was as quiet as the sky was dark.  Except for your chirping katydids, the fields around the Scouts’ headquarters were still and sound asleep.

Though still just as quiet, the halls of the castle were patrolled with guards grouped in threes.  Outside, the sentries paced back and forth from the top of their towers as a few others walked along the corridors connecting the courtyard.  None expected much to happen, nothing ever did when stationed behind the walls, but ever since Eren Jaeger was brought in, Erwin demanded more postings in larger numbers.  Not entirely do-able when your numbers reach no higher than three hundred men.

Where most everyone lived above ground, it was Captain Levi and his team that spent most of their time underground in the basement.  At the moment, he, Gunther and Oluo was relaxing at the dining table just outside the hallway leading to Eren’s chambers.

Oluo let slip a yawn but did nothing to suppress it.  They all were tired and with their minds fixated on the recent events, sleep was undoubtedly going to be hard to catch.

“I still don’t understand what happened.” Gunther declared as he rested his chin upon his hands, his elbows on the table.  As usual, Levi sat at the far end, sitting sideways in his chair with an arm wrapped around the back of it.  The Oriental watched his subordinate, ready to respond should he ask.  “How could Eren know there are titans within the walls?  There haven’t been any reports of an excavation on the walls ever.”

“Careful,” Oluo warned while leaning back in his seat directly across from his comrade.  “You keep saying things like that and it’ll all come true.”

Gunther removed his chin from his hands and looked over at Levi, “What do you think, Captain?”

“About what?”

“I mean, what do you think about Eren and his powers.  You think he’s faking this or that his imagination just got the better of him?”

Levi narrowed his eyes at the brick wall.  Back during the first incident, when he accidently touched Eren’s back, he felt a pain suddenly blossom in the forefront of his head.  That headache lasted the rest of the day.  For one thing, Levi hardly ever got headaches, and when he did, they came on slowly.  This was sudden and happened right as he touched Eren.

Only an idiot couldn’t connect the dots, “This is real, Eren’s not faking anything.  We can’t go around and deny what we don’t know.  Our jobs as Scouts is to figure out the enemy, not dismiss possibly crucial information.” Levi glanced down at his teacup and the pitcher sitting beside it.  He checked its contents and grimaced upon finding it nearly empty.

“Hmmm, I’m going to go get some more.  I’ll be back.” He said while taking his leave with the pitcher in hand.  Gunther looked down at the table, thinking over Levi’s words.  He never led them astray, trust was absolute.  So why did he feel like he didn’t want what the Captain was saying to be true?

Once more, Oluo yawned before having to rub the sleep out of his eyes.  He resulted to resting his arms on the table afterward, “When are they coming back?  I want Petra and Erd to take over so I can go catch some sleep.”

“You’re lucky you can sleep,” Gunther replied dryly.

“I told you, stop thinking about it.  Out of sight, out of mind.”

“Easy for you to say.” Gunther retorted, “If I was as lazy, sleep would most certainly come swiftly.”

“Hey, I’m anything but lazy.  I’ve just got a cool attitude, you know.  Nothing surprises me, and I’m always one step ahead.”

“Oh please,” Gunther rolled his eyes, “don’t start pretending you’re the Captain again.”

“Nothing to brag about, really.  It’s just who I am.  Can’t help it.” Oluo continued with a smirk and a small chuckle.  Gunther groaned in response to his banter before a sudden thud caught his attention.  His half drooping eyes shot straight up and he looked toward the stairs—where the sound originated from.

“What was that?” he inquired guardedly, now standing from his chair.

“What was what?”

“There was a noise coming from upstairs,”  Gunther announced, keeping his eyes to the staircase.

Oluo dismissed his suspicions with a wave of his hand, “It’s probably the Captain coming back.”

“That quick?  The kitchen’s further than that.”  Gunther disputed him.

“Then it’s a guard.  Look, if you’re so bent on finding out, go ahead and check.  You’ve got the energy.” Oluo suggested lazily.  Gunther didn’t give him a second look and walked over to the bottom of the steps.

“Hello?”  He called up, but as expected, was met with silence.  He blinked and took the steps one at a time.  When he got to the top, he glanced down the hall to his right.

“Anyone here?” he called out again.  That’s when he heard the footsteps and turned to the left only to see the swift silver edge of a blade.

Oluo drummed his fingers against the table as he waited for his comrade to return.  He closed his eyes and smiled when he heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Hmph, so tell me.  It was the guard wasn’t it.”  When no response was given, he opened his eyes and looked over to where his friend would have been.  His body went stiff at the sight; a being wearing the Regiment’s green cape—hood covering all features of their face—and held in their hands a pair of bloody swords.

Oluo jumped out of his seat, the action causing his chair to tip and fall over.  “Who the heck are you?”

His only answer was a menacing approach.

Eren’s eyes opened slowly to find himself lying comfortably on his side, head half buried in his pillow.  The ghosting pain of a former headache allowed him to realize something bad happened again during the experiment.  But as before, he didn’t remember.  Strange enough, he felt peaceful, like the dream he couldn’t remember having was one of enjoyment rather than the occasional nightmare.  Despite the difference, one thing didn’t change as he still woke up as hot as ever, his damp collar proving that fact.

Mumbled voices made their way down to the door of his cell and he glanced at it curiously.  He removed the covers from himself and whirled his feet around the side of the bed in order to stand up.  The floor was cold and it was pleasant against his hot skin, but his attention was toward the noises outside his room.

“Hello?” He barely spoke above a whisper, knowing full well no one could have possibly heard it.  He swallowed and cleared his voice, attempting to get its full power back when a scream let out down the hall.  He blinked and bolted to his feet, a shiver running down his spine.  More muffled voices, more yelling, more screaming… what was going on?!

Footsteps ran toward his door and he watched as a shadow filled the crack underneath.  The handle was tested, but proved locked, and whoever was on the other side obviously didn’t have the key as they attempted to break the lock.  Eren’s eyes widened in panic, he didn’t understand what was happening, but from the noise outside it was definitely bad.  The sound of the lock breaking in two met his ears and his eyes glued to the door as it opened.  His body jerked in preparation to rush the man until, that is, he saw who it was.

“Eren?!” A Scout called in, his face contorted in fear as a line of blood ran down his cheek from a head wound.  “Come quickly, we need to get you out of here!” he urged while splitting his attention on him and the hallway.

“Wha—what is going on?”  Eren asked whilst his wrist was grabbed and he was pulled away by the Scout.

“Don’t talk just move!”  The Scout commanded as he led Eren down the hall and into the dining area just next to the stairs.

Eren’s voice caught in his throat and his eyes grew to the size of saucers.  A few guards lay on the ground, soaked in the pool of their own blood.  But it was Oluo that received the outcry.

“OLUO!”  Eren exclaimed as he found the man resting against the brick wall, a large gash running across his chest and his right hand cut off.  The man seemed dead, but Eren could hear the labored breaths coming from him.

“OLUO!” Eren tried to get free from the Scout’s grip, but the guy fought to keep him.  “No, stop!  He’s still alive!  We need to help him!” Eren screamed as he pulled to get closer to his friend, his hand reaching out to Oluo.

“It’s too late, we have to keep moving!”  The Scout argued as he pulled Eren closer to the steps.

“No, it’s not!  He’s alive!  We can help him!  Please!”  But Eren’s pleas were met with deaf ears.

“We can’t!” The Scout shouted back at him.  “The only life that matters here is yours and you’re in terrible danger!”

“I don’t even know what’s going on!”

“Oluo fought to protect you, and he succeeded.  Don’t let his death amount to nothing!” The soldier cried out as he fought the tears back.

Eren retreated from his anger and let the man’s words take hold as he stared up at him.  The Scout pulled on him once more and the two climbed the stairs.  Once at the top, the soldier let go of Eren’s wrist.

“Okay, I’m going to check at the end of the hall to make sure they’re gone.  If I don’t see anyone, I’ll wave you down, but if I start screaming, run and hide.” The Scout command before backing away from Eren.  “Do you understand?”

Eren nodded in response, but his eyes were glossed over and far from the Scout standing beside him.  He was staring down at the floor, next to his feet where Gunther’s decapitated form rested.  The soldier didn’t bother to look, he already knew.  And in order to keep his head, he chose not to dwell on it.  He understood Eren’s silence, though, and took it as a yes before heading down the hall to check the intersection.

Gunther… Eren whimpered in his mind, Decapitation is one of the few—if not—the only way to kill a shifter.  Why?  Why would you use it on him?  He doesn’t deserve that…

Eren’s eyes wandered up from the corpse of his superior and onto the Scout.  The man had his back to the wall as he peered around the corner.

“No…” He whispered, “No one else can die for me…”  He said in raising his voice.  His feet started moving toward the Scout and soon he found himself running.  The soldier didn’t see him coming, he was too focused on something down the hall at the intersection.  He looked troubled and Eren feared the worse.  He was about to shout out for him to come back when his father’s face rounded the corner.

“They’re coming, you have to—“  Grisha urged before he saw Eren standing not five feet behind the soldier.  “Eren?!” he gasped in fear.

At the announcement of his name, the Scout swung his head back and stared at the boy in anger for disobeying his orders, but shook it off quickly due to the news.

“Dr. Jaeger, you and your son need to escape.” He exclaimed as Grisha ran over to Eren and pulled him along.  “I’ll hold the assailant off long enough for you two to get to the barn out back.“

“That’s too dangerous!” Grisha replied quickly, his steps halting for him to speak to the soldier now behind him.  Eren glanced between the two in confusion. “Whoever this is, they’re smart.  Escaping on the horses is too predictable, they’d more than likely ambush us there.”

“We can’t afford to take this time to discuss it, you have to escape, quickly!” the soldier argued.

“They’re here to take Eren, getting him out in the opening is what they want!” Grisha growled back.  The news caused Eren to gasp and looked up at his dad.

Who’s here?!  What’s going on?!  Is this real or is it all just a dream?

“I know of a place where we’ll be safe.  Commander Erwin and Corporal Levi are the only other two who know of it.” Grisha informed just as he was backing up to start running again.

“Go, then; hurry!” the soldier urged.  “I’ll try to hold them off so they can’t follow.”

“God’s speed,” Grisha replied before escorting Eren straight on down the hall.  The shadow of the Scout bounced off the wall behind them as he took the other route.

“Wait…!” Eren called out while pulling on his father’s arm to stop him.  “Dad, Oluo is still alive!  You can save him!”  Grisha grimaced at Eren’s pleas, but he didn’t stop.  Looking back, he watched painfully as the tears ran down his son’s cheeks.  Eren never cared for his own safety, but when it came to others… it was one of the things he shared with him.  His eyes looked down the hall; he seemed to be considering the idea, but…

“Eren… I can’t…”  He replied shamefully.

“Yes, you can!  You’re a doctor, that’s what you do!” Eren hollered back as he yanked his hand free from his father.  Grisha stopped running as Eren did.

“Eren, trust me; I would if the situation was different, but right now, it’s too dangerous to remain here!”

Eren’s voice was no higher than a whisper as he met his dad’s gaze, “But… you have to do something.”

Grisha closed his eyes to retort when a pain filled scream echoed from down the hall.  Both shifters gasped and looked behind them.  Back at the intersection, from where the soldier disappeared, emerged a hooded figure equipped with their 3DMG and blades in both hands.  Steam was rising from their skin as the wounds healed and soon their gaze turned toward them.

Eren gasped as he stared at the imposter.  He saw the smile form on their lips whilst beginning to walk toward them.

“Eren…” Grisha whispered as he pushed him back before shouting the words, “RUN!”

As soon as they turned, the mysterious assailant bolted after them, matching their speed before steadily decreasing the distance between them.

“WHO ARE THEY?!”  Eren shouted back at his dad, attempting to look, but failing as he nearly tripped over himself.

“DON’T LOOK, JUST RUN!” Grisha hollered at him.

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND, WHAT DO THEY WANT?!” Eren yelled back, his heart beating faster than his feet were moving.  The person behind them was clearly catching up.

Despite what he said earlier, Grisha did look back.  The attacker was quick, just like he assumed, but what surprised him was the short, feminine figure.  Whoever they were, they were female, so that meant she wasn’t the Colossal or Armored titan.  But that didn’t mean she didn’t know them.

“THEY WANT YOU, EREN, KEEP RUNNING!” He shouted as he returned his attention ahead of him.  “Down this hall!”  “Turn left!” He directed, his brain running through every possible way of losing the rogue shifter so they wouldn’t find their intended hiding spot.  The closer they got, the less time he had.

“THEY’RE CATCHING UP!” Eren exclaimed just before the attacker shot out their cables and used the walls to sling forward.  The gas expelled from the canisters and the assailant flew toward them in a heartbeat.

“EREN!” Grisha screamed before grabbing his son and pushing him down onto the floor, using himself as a shield against the blades that swung at them.  Eren grunted from the pain, his face meeting the floor in no time.  His dad’s body fell on top of him soon after and the two found themselves sliding to a stop just as the attacker landed beside them.

Eren fixed the position of his arm before looking back at his father down by his feet.  He was still awake, but his right hand was missing up to the elbow.  Steam flowed out of the wound and Eren quickly turned his attention to their attacker.

They seemed genuinely surprised, taking a step back before tightening their grip on their blades.  Despite the angle, Eren still couldn’t make out any facial features save the slightly open mouth.  He could only assume their eyes were as wide as his right now.

Grisha grunted as he crawled in front of Eren before forcing him—and himself—to get up.  Both were breathing hard from the run, Grisha even more so from his injuries, but nothing was heard from the assailant.  Eren almost thought them to be inhuman.

His dad pushed Eren up against the wall and stood in front of him with his stubbed arm held out in front.  Clearly, all could see the healing taking place, and the attacker frowned deeply at him.

“Stay back!”  Grisha hissed at the other shifter, showing his as proof of his capabilities.  “Don’t test me.”

Eren saw their lips move, as if to say something, but didn’t.  He looked back and forth between the attacker and his dad before he saw it…

Someone was approaching the assailant from behind.  And when Grisha saw it as well, his eyes grew.  Unfortunately, the act alerted the enemy just in time to dodge the attack.

Popping into their peripheral vision was Levi equipped with blades in both hands.  With a crisscross of their swords, Levi’s attack was blocked, but the shifter was kicked off balance soon after.

“Corporal?!”  Eren exclaimed.

“Get out of here, now!”  Levi yelled before adjusting his wrists and cracking his neck and shoulders.  Grisha didn’t hesitate in following the order as he grabbed Eren’s arm and ran off toward the place in mind.

As they ran off, the rogue shifter’s eyes landed on Eren, but Levi brought them back to him as he began walking toward her.

“Eyes on me, brat.  You want Eren, you’re gonna have to go through me first.” He threatened.  She gave him a sneer before twirling her blades into position and rushing him.

Levi kept low and on the defensive, searching for an opening in which he could strike.  The assailant was throwing all her power into her swings, but Levi felt the weak attempts for what they were.  She was small and quick, like him.  She didn’t fight with brute strength, she fought with agility and aimed to deceive.  If an attacker would come at her with all their power, Levi knew she’d more than likely be able to dodge and throw it all back at them.

He would know, that’s how he fought… sometimes.  So, instead of falling into the obvious trap, Levi did the opposite.  As the next swing came at him Levi roll dodged backward.  With the greater distance between them, he flipped his sword around before throwing it at her.  Shocked, she dodged to the left, and again, dodged to the right as the other was thrown.

She looked up from where the swords lay behind her and narrowed her eyes at the now unarmed Corporal.  He glared at her with a deep scowl as he got into a defensive position.  She threw her arms back and charged him.

It came to him in slow motion.  Levi ducked under the swing of her blade and grabbed her arm just below the elbow.  He pivoted his feet to slip around her and pulled her arm over and behind her back.  Her grip on her sword was forgotten when Levi pulled hard, hearing the pop in her shoulder as the tension relinquished with a devastating tear.

Suddenly, she was left staggering forward after Levi let go.  And instead of turning around to face him again, she rocketed off with the use of her 3DMG.

“Where are you going?!  Get back here; I’m not done with you!”  Levi shouted before giving chase.

The pitter patter of feet echoed down the hall as a Scout rushed toward the stairs that led up to the bell tower.  He skipped two at a time before settling at the top for a quick breath.  The sentries established within the tower looked at him in curiosity and concern.

“Sound the alarm…” the Scout inhaled deeply, “There’s an intruder within the castle… *gasp* many men have already died…!”

“Oh sh**!” One of the guards exclaimed before he gripped the rope with a firm hand and tugged down hard.  The bells high above them rang loud and proud.

One of the soldiers among the multitude positioned outside looked up at the sentry tower as the bells sounded the alarm.  It was a good sign, with all the death hopefully now they could catch this killer where ever they might be.

“Quickly men, we must surround the perimeter before the assassin escapes!”  Ness commanded as he too wrestled with his 3DM gear.  “Get to the horses, make sure they’re—“ his command was cut off when another soldier shouted out from the barn.

“NO, THEY’RE ESCAPING BY HORSE!”  The barn doors burst open to release said assassin on horseback.  The assailant rushed to pass the soldier before any could draw their blades and dashed off toward the dark forest.

“They’re getting away!” another Scout shouted.  Ness’s eyes widened when he realized which horse the assassin had stolen.

“That’s MY horse!” he screamed.  He ran after the enemy but didn’t get far before another figure galloped past him in chasing the assassin.

“Corporal Levi?!”  One of his soldiers from behind shouted out in astonishment.

“You can’t!” Ness called out to him, “You have no gear!”  His warnings were met with deaf ears, however.

Levi gripped the reigns tightly as he weaved in and out of the trees.  The forest was darker than ever, no moon available to help guide him, but his instincts took over and he rode through the forest as if it was clear as day.

He relied almost solely on his hearing in order to follow the female shifter, but soon he couldn’t pick anything up and slowed to stop amongst the trees.  He looked around, his ears picking up nearly every sound you could imagine.  The wind was soft within the canopy of leaves above him, the air cool against his skin.  He could taste the mildew on the grass beneath him and hear the skittering of the katydids as they hopped away in fright.  Everything was quiet, too quiet…

Levi felt another presence and stiffened his body.  The bushes ahead of him began to move and he nearly jumped at the entrance of the figure.

Ness’s stolen horse stomped out of the bush in protest.  Now having an empty saddle, the horse jumped and kicked about as if the ghost of the shifter was still there trying to force her away again.  After settling down, she trotted up next to Levi who grabbed a hold of her reigns.

With the assailant gone and the horse she stole having returned, Levi could only guess the shifter moved to a faster method of transportation: 3DMG.  If that was the case, then she was long gone.

He sighed before leading the horses back to the castle.

Everything was a mess, Erwin so helplessly observed.  In getting information out of his soldiers, they knew it was a single assailant that caused the devastation.  Their goal in all of this remained unclear to them, but more and more started to side with Erwin in thinking it was to capture Eren.  The last they saw of the intruder was when they were fleeing into the forest on horseback, with Levi giving chase.

Right now, he stood beside Hange as a soldier walked up to him and saluted, “Sir, Commander Pixis and guest are safely secured within their chambers.”

“Good work.” Erwin commented softly, “Any news on Eren?”

“None sir.” The Scout replied.  Mike approached Erwin and caught his attention.

He held a grim expression, “Thirteen bodies so far, and that’s not including the ones down in the basement.” He informed.  Erwin frowned and looked away.  Gunther and Oluo would surely be mourned, but with Eren’s whereabouts still a mystery, their focus could not be hindered.

“All of this will be for nothing if we lose Eren.  Mike,” Erwin ordered as he looked the soldier in the eyes, “I want you to gather your squad and search the perimeter for any signs of Eren.  Hange,” He turned back around to face her.  “Take your squad and search the castle—“

“The Corporal’s returned!”  One of the Scouts from behind suddenly shouted out.  Erwin, Hange, and Mike quickly turned their attention to Levi as he guided both his and the formerly stolen horse back to them.  As he let go of the reigns, Charlotte instantly trotted to Ness who greeted her with the utmost relief.

“Levi, what news?” Erwin questioned.

“She got away.  Likely switched to her 3DMG before I could catch up.”  Levi replied indifferently as he slid off the saddle.

“She?” Erwin requested clarification.

Levi gave him a nod, “Most definitely.  Couldn’t see her face, though.”

Erwin looked down in thought as Hange spoke up, “What about Eren, she didn’t take him did she?”

Levi perked up, “No.  Eren was with Grisha when I found them.  If he’s smart, then he would have taken him to that hidden room.”

Erwin studied him, “Grisha doesn’t know about that room… “

“He does because I told him about it on the off chance something like this would happen.” Levi corrected respectfully.  “If anywhere, you’ll find them there.”

“Good.” Erwin commended.  “Levi I want you to help with the cleanup.  Your team needs you right now.”  Levi didn’t reply, he only looked away.  “Hange and Mike, with me.  I know where to find Eren.”  He invited and the two fell into step with him as they jogged back through the castle halls.

“I don’t understand,” Hange pipped up.  “What room would be so hidden that no one in the Regiment would know of it besides you and Levi?”

“Before we moved in, I was reading up about the history of the castle.  It was built long ago by a Merchant Lord who always kept his earnings locked in his family’s sacred heirloom.  When he built the castle, he instructed the laborers to put in a secret crawl space in one of the studies.  He then proceeded to kill all those who know about its construction to keep his treasure safely hidden.”  Erwin explained, “Even though I found out about the rumor, it was Levi that actually found the room itself.”  They stopped before the door to his private study.

“Your private study?  How convenient.”  Hange comment.  Once inside, Mike closed the door behind them and stood by it.  Erwin approached one of the bookshelves, and Hange watched curiously as he searched for the right book.

It was a deep, velvet purple with scratched out, gold letters on its spine.  And when Erwin pulled it, a click resonated behind the bookcase.  Their Commander pushed on one side to twist it counterclockwise, allowing the hidden crawl space behind it to appear.

Hange peered into the small, dark room to find the faces of both Grisha and Eren.  Eren looked depressed and Grisha was missing his right hand, but other than that, they appeared ok.

“Are you guys alright?” She asked them as they crawled out of the crawl space.

“We’re fine, nothing time won’t heal,”  Grisha replied before glancing down at Eren.  Said shifter only scowled at the floor, making sure to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room.  His father frowned at the display.

“What happened to the girl?”  He then replied.

“She escaped,”  Erwin responded and Eren’s glare only intensified.  “Stole one of our horses before reverting to her 3DMG.”

“Of course…” Grisha whispered disappointedly.

“Did you manage to get a look at her?” Hange questioned him.  “We know she’s a shifter like you two, do you know of anyone else?”  Eren lost his glare and looked up at his father.

Grisha took the time to think before replying, “No, but she’s definitely friends with those who broke into Wall Maria.”

“How can you tell?” Hange asked in, truly curious.

Grisha looked at her, a faint glimmer of pain shining in his eye, “Because you’re looking at the only shifters who’d ally themselves with you.”

The fire burned through the flesh like it would a stockpile of dry leaves.  The spurs of the flames danced across the gloom faces of Petra and Erd as they sat in the grass, minds deep in thought.

Levi stood on the opposite side of the fire, watching the flames bounce about with a phlegmatic stare.  He looked down at his hand of which held the two badges belonging to Gunther and Oluo.  He closed his fingers over them and held on tight before securing them away in his pocket.  His gaze wandered up to the fire again and there he remained…

Right beside his team.  As he promised he would be.

Chapter Text

With the brand new day came work and preparations. Despite the recent events, the 57th Expedition would commence within a month's time and all soldiers of the Scouting Regiment, including the new recruits, were expected to go. However, before classes could begin on the finer details of the mission, a mandatory checkup on gear and equipment was called forth in the courtyard. It seemed the only ones labeled as 'not necessary' were the new recruits and the higher ups within the Regiment. Even the cadets who chose other Regiments were required a checkup due to their presence from the night before.

"Next!" A Scouting soldier called forth and Annie placed her equipment down on the table in front of her. She stood back with her arms down at her side, holding an apathetic gaze as she watched the soldier look over the equipment for any signs of usage.

Over at the far end of the courtyard, just shy of the large archway entrance stood the new recruits. They talked among themselves as they watched the checkups progress in waiting for their assigned Squad Leader to give them the tour.

"This is nuts." Jean groaned out, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Tell me about it." Connie agreed, "I knew the Scouts had the highest casualties, but this is insane."

"Why aren't we getting checked out?" Sasha asked in worry. "I—I don't want to get blamed for something I didn't do!"

Armin looked over at her and gave her a comforting smile, "Don't worry, we have alibis. We were with the Commander when it all happened, they know we didn't do it."

"Yeah, and they don't seem to want to take a chance with anyone else too." Reiner commented, "Look over there, even our fellow cadets from last night are under suspicions." He pointed out. Bertolt was already looking in that general area, his eyes watching Annie with heartfelt concern.

"They're right to be." Mikasa's commented was met with questionable stares. "I wouldn't trust anyone after what happened last night." She added.

"Hmph," Reiner gave her a sideways look over. "Always there to protect Eren, huh?"

"He's family; family's all I got," Mikasa replied as she moved her hand to grasp the soft fabric of her scarf secured around her neck.

"H—Hey, look on the bright side. I overheard we'll be able to help with the experiments once we're done here." Armin reassured her but noticed the strange look he got from Reiner and Bertolt.

"Really?" Ymir responded with doubt, her hands placed on her hips. "I wonder why that is."

Christa beamed up at him, "It's because we're his friends, he can trust us."

"Uh, yeah, something like that," Armin replied honestly as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Recruits, fall in!" Squad Leader Ness shouted from behind and the recruits straightened in attention.

"Sir!" they responded respectfully as they gathered around Ness just outside the courtyard. Ness stood beside another Scout, one of his men in his squad, the man holding a pile of folded capes imprinted with the Wings of Freedom.

"As official Scouts, I give you all your Scouting Legion uniforms. Congratulations, you are all officially members of the Recon Corps." Ness expressed with a smile. Each of the recruits grabbed their uniform and threw it on, their green capes fluttering back before resting over their shoulders.

"Wear it with honor, you all deserve it."

"Sir, yes sir!" The recruits replied in unison as they all saluted their commanding officer.

"At ease." Ness requested with a soft chuckle before addressing them once more. "A tour will be given within the hour. Afterward, you'll be assigned your duties." He announced looking at each and every one of them before landing on Armin. "Armin Arlert, Commander Erwin has appointed you as Head of Communications when dealing with Eren in titan form. Despite our efforts, we haven't gotten much progress with him on that."

"Y—yes sir!" Armin responded before a small smile grew on his face.

"Mikasa Ackerman," Ness turned his attention to said Scout. "Commander Erwin has asked to see you as soon as you are able. Now with the tour being withheld until later, if you'd like, you may see him now."

"Yes sir, I'll see him right away," Mikasa replied with a bit of urgency. Ness nodded and looked to his friend standing beside him.

"Kyle, can you show her to Erwin's study?"

"Yes sir," Kyle replied before motioning Mikasa to follow.

"The rest of you can mingle for a while. Explore a bit, if you're interested. There's some food in the mess hall…" Mikasa listened in until she was out of reach. She let her mind wander as her footfalls kept pace with Kyle's. Of course, her thoughts ventured to Eren and the night before—of how close they were to losing him… if that was the case.

For some odd reason, and she couldn't put the feeling behind her, the act of infiltrating the Scout's headquarters alone was downright stupid. Even if the majority of the elite and higher ups, not including Corporal Levi, were away, the sheer numbers would have eventually overwhelmed the assailant. Such is the case nearly every time people venture outside the walls and remain for too long. Was it overconfidence, or was it something else entirely? Mikasa couldn't help but wonder if the reason for the break-in truly was to capture Eren. If not, it was all very convincing.

A series of knocks on a wooden door called her from her thoughts and Mikasa reassessed her surroundings. Apparently, they were up on the third floor, based on her memories of climbing three separate set of stairs. The corridors were lit with torches and candle fire, but the majority of light came from the windows. The view of the courtyard would have been perfect if she was standing in front of said windows, but they were behind her and her attention was centered at the door in front of Kyle.

More light met her eyes as Kyle turned the knob and walked in. He greeted the two Commanders with a salute and Mikasa did the same. Seated in the middle of the library were Commanders Erwin and Pixis. You could tell they were engrossed in their previous conversation because the emotions were still held on their faces. Erwin seemed troubled while Commander Pixis appeared to be skeptical.

"Thank you, Kyle. You may leave." Erwin acknowledged and waited until Kyle left before addressing Mikasa. "Mikasa Ackerman I presume." He asked as he stood from his chair.

"Yes sir, I understand you wanted to see me?" Mikasa replied as she relaxed her arms down to her side. He stood in front of her, also holding a calm pose.

"Yes. As it is, we only have four guards assigned to Eren. Even though these numbers are still acceptable in concern of the contract, I feel we may need more support." Erwin explained. Mikasa blinked at the news as he continued, "I understand you were top of your class throughout the training courses, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you've had your fair share of experience with Eren while he's in titan form?"

"Yes, when we were kids, I always helped get him out of his titan. I was the only one he could depend upon." She answered, desperate to show him she was indeed as dependable as he thought.

"That's good." Erwin replied with a kind smile, "It may be early, but I've already been having thoughts about it. Miss Ackerman, I'd like to assign you as a personal guard for Eren, effective immediately. In accordance with the contract with Commander Zackly, you, Levi, Hange, Petra, and Erd are the only ones appointed as his guard. Not one of you is to let him out of your sight without another assigned guard present with him. Do you think you can handle that?" Erwin asked, but he didn't need an answer to know.

Mikasa gasped happily, "Yes sir! You can count on me."

"Good, report to Levi then, he'll be your commanding officer. He'll inform you of the other rules bound to Eren's contract."

"Yes, sir." She saluted again before exiting the room. She closed the door quietly and stood behind it to take it all in. Only hours into joining the Scouts, she and Armin were already given special assignments to help and protect Eren.

She closed her eyes and thought back to the time when she drew her blade on Commander Erwin when she considered them a threat and offered every ounce of her strength into killing them. Was she so blinded by her fear that she couldn't see they too offered them every strength to help. Given the time and circumstances, it wasn't entirely wrong.

Regardless, they trusted her. It was only fair she trusted them too.

Another load of hay was piled into the carriage by Eren. He shuffled the last straws together before shoving his fork into it and throwing it back behind him. With the job complete, he took in a breath of relief and wiped his forehead clean of any sweat accumulating on his skin. A strand of hay fell from his hair and Eren blinked at it before shaking his head free of any that remained. He was picking out the last straw as he approached Erd.

"We're all set back here, sir." He informed him, his voice soft and nearly devoid of emotion. Right as he glanced away, he noticed the crowd of people gathered in the courtyard. He knew they were doing checks to get a lead on who was responsible for the attack, but he no idea this was how many people they suspected. His eyes grew in pleasant surprise as he also took notice to Armin standing near the archway, and with him, the rest of his friends from the 104th Trainee Squad.

A small smile made its way onto his cheeks, "Armin?" he gasped before turning around and running toward Levi who was grooming the mane of his horse.

"Captain!" He called out before saluting respectfully. "May I go see my friends? They're right over there." He said as he pointed back at the archway. Levi looked at them before giving Eren a simple nod and Eren darted off in a rush.

"Guys!" Eren called out just as he neared them. Armin straightened at his voice and turned around to find his childhood friend.

"Eren!" He greeted with a big smile as the two fist pumped.

"I can't believe it, you all joined the Scouts!" Eren exclaimed happily as he saw the signature Wings of Freedom badges.

"Yeah man, we're not cowards. We can handle anything dished out to us." Connie replied proudly with a hand on his hip.

Bertolt glanced down at him, "But Connie, you were crying after the ceremony." He reminded, half-conscious of the fact it was embarrassing for his friend.

Connie gasped in panic, "No I wasn't! That was Sasha!" He shifted the blame as he pointed at said archer.

"Hey!" She defended angrily.

"I told you they would change their minds. You just needed to give them time." Armin whispered to Eren.

"Even Jean?" Eren said as he looked at his 'rival'.

Jean looked away, "Yeah well, for what it's worth, you were right about the Scouts… for once." Eren looked shocked.

"First attempt at an apology, give him some time." Ymir criticized delightfully before she earned a glare from Jean.

"I—I don't understand," Eren began, "You all wanted to join the Military Police, why join the Scouts?"

Reiner stepped forward, "Because of what you did at Trost. You always told us we needed to make a stand, so here we are." Reiner placed his fist over his heart, "I'm here to help you Eren. If you can help us take back our land, I'm with you all the way. My only wish is to return to my village, and I believe you can help make that a reality."

"On one condition." Jean interrupted as he approached Eren. "You have to promise us you won't fail. Because if you fail, we all fail. We're not all here for you, some of us just want this nightmare to end and get on with our lives the way we want to. So can you do it? Can you take back Wall Maria and stop all of this?"

"Uh, y—yes, I can," Eren replied hesitantly, taken back by his attitude.

"Because if you can't I'm walking out of here right now!" Jean shouted at him.

"I will!" Eren shouted back. "I'm not abandoning everything I stand for because the future looks grim. You're a fool if you think I'd just lay down and die without giving everything I have!"

"Alright then, that's all I wanted to hear," Jean replied, his voice lowering dramatically. Eren relaxed, but only slightly.

Armin looked at his friend in worry, "Jean…?"

"Recruits, fall in, the tour begins in ten minutes!" Ness ordered from afar. They all glanced at the two before deciding it was best to leave them be, as was always the right choice when it came to Eren and Jean. Armin stayed, however.

"It's nothing," Jean replied to Armin, "I just wanted to be sure. If I am to die for this, I don't want it to be in vain." And with that, he moved on to join up with Ness. Armin sent a friendly see-ya-soon wave before following suit.

As Eren watched them leave, a thought came to mind as he counted off his friends. "H—hey, Jean." He called out softly. "Where's Marco?"

Jean didn't turn around nor bother to slow his steps, "He's dead." Was all that he replied.

Eren looked down at the ground, a lump forming in his throat as he thought back to his Cadet years. He stood alone under the archway, deep in thought as he held the tears back. The pain from last night came back to him, but he was happy to have experienced that small moment of gratification. He only wished it could have lasted a bit longer.

"Hi, Eren." A voice called out from behind him. Eren was brought out of his thoughts in recognizing the speaker. He turned and found Annie approaching him from the crowd.

"Annie?" He greeted pleasantly, yet surprised all the same. "You're still here?"

She nodded, "I just wanted to apologize." She said while holding her arm innocently.

"Huh, apologize for what?" He asked in confusion.

"All your speeches from before, they were… inspiring." She confessed before looking off in the distance. "But, despite it all, my decision to join the Military Police hasn't changed." Her eyes avoided his.

"Ok… what gives, Annie? It's not like you're hurting me or anything."

"No, not you." She replied with a thousand-yard stare. "I just wanted you to know I'm still your friend, but I will do what I have to do." Eren watched in sorrow. He had never seen this side of her, granted he always knew she was a fake, a pretender, but this was completely out of character for her.

"I—I don't understand, what are you—?"

"Oi, Eren!" Levi called out to the two and Eren's gaze turned to him in surprise.

"Corporal Levi—!"

"What's going on over here. You are not one of the new recruits." Levi questioned as he analyzed Annie.

"Uh, no—she's a friend, a cadet from my Trainee Squad. We were just—"

"I was just saying goodbye." She answered for him before simply turning from Levi's glare and walking away. Eren's eyes followed her and it was Levi who brought him back again.

"You said you were just going to say hi to your friends." He reminded him grimly.

"I—I did!" Eren replied quickly, "Annie just came up to me to say goodbye."

"Anyone other than the recruits and your Commanders is not to be trusted. You realize the second you're gone this whole castle will be on red alert trying to find you. We don't need another incident, brat."

Eren closed his eyes in remembrance and bowed his head in respect. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Don't let it happen again," Levi warned with a narrow glare. "Hange's expecting you within the hour. Since you're not exactly doing anything, I suggest you follow up with her now. Petra and Erd will take you there while I show Ackerman around the complex." He said as he turned away.

Eren perked up, "Huh? You mean Mikasa?"

"Yes."

"But, she's—"

"—A newly appointed guard for you. Erwin handpicked her himself. She's bound by the rules as we are. I doubt she'll have any trouble, all things considered."

"Already, sir? Isn't it a little early for a replacement?" Eren started roughly. Levi turned only slightly to glare at him.

"No one is replacing anyone. Now get moving, Four-eyes doesn't have much patience with her experiments." Eren kept his head down as he returned to Petra and Erd who then escorted him outside the castle walls.

When they were out of sight, Levi reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the two badges. He analyzed their sewing and ran his thumb over the blue and white wings. He returned them only after he paid his respects.

"Good afternoon, you sure took your time to get here." Hange greeted as she stopped her impatient foot tapping. "I was about to send Moblit out to find ya."

The three of them hopped off their horses as they arrived at the rendezvous: a large field near an empty well. Surprisingly enough, there were only three people there: Hange, Moblit, and Grisha. Eren glanced around curiously as he walked up to his father and Hange.

"I don't understand, there's only three of you here." He questioned Hange-san.

"That's right." She replied happily.

"But… don't I need guards?"

"At the moment, only your assigned guardians are trusted to be here. And I don't think we'll have much trouble." Hange reassured him before looking back at Petra and Erd. "Where's Levi?"

Erd responded, "He's with Mikasa, giving her the details."

"Ah, of course. They can join us later, for now, we begin." She announced gleefully as she clapped her hands together. "This experiment will be one of endurance, among other tests such as communication and functionality, but mostly endurance." She explained. "Essentially, you have one goal, Eren, remain as a titan for as long as you can."

"Remain as a titan?" Eren repeated in concern, "Isn't that dangerous." He asked looking to his father.

"Supposedly, yes." Grisha replied, "As shifters, our titans are only as energized as we are; that is why we sleep after exerting our energy in creating and using our titan bodies. But you're different, Eren, your energy can be returned by any possible means while still within titan form. Having been born with the gene has allowed you to gain some advantages over other shifters. It could be possible that you are able to remain in titan form for days or even weeks."

"And THAT will be extremely useful outside the Walls. This test is to see if that is true." Hange concluded with her hands resting on her hips. "Should any sign of dehumanization occur we will stop the experiment if not, it goes on until you collapse of exhaustion. So, are you ready?" She asked eagerly.

"I'm ready." He answered indifferently. Sure he was ready, but he didn't feel right at the moment.

Oluo and Gunther had only been killed last night and everyone was already acting like it happened months ago. It was like no one cared that they died. He was angry, but at who, he didn't know; he was just angry. Angry about what happened, angry that someone would kill all those people just to get to him, angry that he was responsible for Oluo and Gunther's deaths, angry that within hours everything was back to normal; the list went on. But he couldn't direct that anger to anyone, not even himself.

"Eren? Are you alright," Hange asked while walking up to him. He avoided her gaze as he continued to stare at the grass, "You look a little… depressed. Do you want to talk about it?" It sounded like she knew what was going on inside, but Eren brushed her off.

"I'm fine." He said in an assuring tone. "Where should I…?"

Hange stood up straight and directed him over to the well with her finger. Eren nodded in understanding before making his way over. He hid his emotions pretty well, for anyone that didn't know too much about him they'd have thought he was alright—maybe just a bit tired—but Hange had been studying him for weeks now, and she knew depression when she saw it. Perhaps it was time to talk to Erwin about a therapist for Eren.

"He'll be fine," Grisha said suddenly as if reading her thoughts. She studied his face curiously before returning her attention to Eren.

Grisha knew Eren blamed himself for what happened, a curse his son was born with. If ever he had a wish, it was so that no one ever died for him. Unfortunately, this world was cruel and so often reminded them all of their inevitable fate. Eren had been ignoring it, thinking only about helping the Scouts to take back the Walls and journey outside into the world he was first shown through the pages of a book. And now the world had given him a wake-up call, a harsh lesson he was sure Eren would have to learn over and over again.

Eren glanced back at the Scouts as he approached the well, giving Hange a thumbs-up to inform her he was ready to begin and received a similar gesture in response. He dropped his hand down to his chest and stared at it in thought.

I can still shift, I just can't be thinking about them otherwise I might mess up. He sighed and closed his eyes, easier said than done. It's all I've been able to think about. I can't just ignore it…

What would you do, Armin? Mikasa? His mind reeled to his friend's smiling faces and their stories of their tragic pasts. They kept going, despite the pain. Like mom wanted me to do. I can't let her down, I can't let them down. He balled his hand into a fist and looked up at his father and the Scouts.

Hange sighed in agitation, "Ugh, he's hesitating again."

"Give him a moment. He'll shift soon enough." Grisha reassured yet again, still as calm as ever.

Two horses trotted down the trail surrounding the castle, the beating of their hooves echoing one another.

As Mikasa rode nearly side by side with Corporal Levi, she kept her gaze out at the horizon where Levi said Eren would be. By this time, she figured he would have shifted into a titan by now, but neither of them had seen the spark in the sky or the loud, rumbling boom that followed. And that didn't sit well with Mikasa.

Levi's tour of the place was rather quick, though, and for the beginning of the ride, he discussed with her the details of Eren's contract. Given that they were early, perhaps she was just being paranoid. It wouldn't be the first and she could admit that.

Ahead on the road, and through the trees, a loud crackling of green lightning struck the ground and momentarily lit up the sky brighter than what the sun was already providing. Mikasa eyed the horizon in anticipation and Levi noticed.

"We're almost there." He informed her without looking back.

"Wooohoooohoohoooooo!" Hange screamed in delight as she rushed over to Titan Eren, the smoke clearing from his body to reveal his true fifteen-meter height. "Oh, I never get tired of seeing that!"

Petra quickly called out to her as they neared, "Commander!" Hange stopped just before Eren with a big smile on her face, the other four now close behind her.

"Oh, that's right. The checklist." She said as she reached into her jacket and pulled out her notebook. A pen found its way in her hand and she stared at the paper while speaking loud and clear for Eren to hear.

"Alright, Eren. Can you hear us?" She stole a peek at him for an answer and Titan Eren nodded his head, kneeling down so that the distance between them wasn't too awkward for his height.

"Good, can you see us?"

Another nod.

"Are you aware of your surroundings?"

Again, the same response.

"And out of numbers one through three, where are we? One: Trost District, two: a forest within titan territory, or three: the old headquarters of the Recon Corp."

The shifter held out his hand to have only three fingers standing up.

"Alright, he's fine." She announced before throwing her notebook carelessly behind her. She giggled to herself and clapped her hands together in excitement. "Let's get started shall we."

Chapter Text

“I have to say, Commander, this may be one of your more creative ideas yet.” Pixis complimented as he and Erwin strolled along the castle’s wall walk. “Exactly how many of my men will you need for this expedition?”

“Not a lot,” Erwin replied. “We don’t want too many soldiers on top of the wall, but we do need the titans distracted enough for Eren to perform his part accordingly.” He explained, “Rest assured the Garrison will not be aiding in the fight, I only need you and your men to remain on top of the wall.”

“Yes, of course. It is what my men do best.” He remarked with a drunken smirk. Erwin could smell the alcohol on the man’s breath, but he knew Pixis wasn’t a lightweight.

“And your presence will be highly appreciated. Another witness would surely help in persuading Commander Zackly.” Erwin suggested.

“Ah, hehe.” Pixis chuckled before taking a gulp from his canister. “It’s not so much as persuading Zackly as it is shutting up Niles and the fat pigs in the inner wall. But I’ll be there, you have my word. Wouldn’t want to miss it for the world.”

Just as he said this, a bright flash of light erupted from beyond the trees making all heads in the area turn in that direction. Pixis examined the sky for only a second before returning his attention to the lip of his canister, “Besides, you still have a promise to keep.”

Erwin looked at his friend before bowing his head, “Of course.” He replied with a gentle smile. Pixis gave him a nod in return as the two continued their walk.

“Whoa,” Sasha commented as they all looked to the sky, “Was that Eren shifting?”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Ness reassured them. “You’ll see that every time Eren turns titan. Right now, he’s undergoing an experiment for the expedition. I’m sure they’ll have you join in to help out one of these days.” He explained as he ushered them along in order to complete the tour. As soon as they were done, Ness was gonna treat himself to a nice cup of tea.

“Neat,” Connie said, “It’ll be the only time a titan doesn’t try to eat me.”

“He’s not a titan, Connie, he’s a shifter,” Reiner reported.

“Sorry, shifter. Is that like slander for him or something?”

“Probably.”

Armin tuned them out, waiting for only a second longer before he began walking with the others. He kept his gaze on the horizon, his mind reeling back to Eren in Trost and then to what Commander Erwin had said the night before. He announced it to everyone that Eren was a natural born shifter. It was something that Grisha had told them, but even now, hearing it twice from two different individuals…

Something wasn’t entirely true about that statement. In all actuality, Grisha was a doctor and Eren’s dad. He had known him for far longer than Armin did, but Armin had sensed something off about Eren over the years he had spent running around with him in titan form. It was a passing thought, one that he chose to forget because of how ridiculous it was. Now after all that has happened, it came back to him.

He didn’t know why, but the thought of Eren having gained his immunity to the mindlessness of a titan all because of the fact that his father already had the shifting ability seemed too… easy.

Maybe it was partially true, but Eren’s abilities didn’t seem to be made real thanks to heredity. For one, Grisha said that shifter’s titans could not grow—you get what you get—and yet Eren’s titan form grew and matured as he did. If Eren got his abilities because of heredity, why could he do something his father couldn’t, or any other shifter—supposedly—for that matter? It got him thinking that there might have been more to it than just the science.

Armin shook his head and cleared his thoughts. Something like that didn’t exactly have a whole lot of proof to back it up, so he decided it was better to keep it in the back of his mind for now.

He kept his eyes on the floor as they entered the castle and stopped in the mess hall. Ness began handing out the chores and his friends began moaning and complaining about the mundane tasks. That was when Ness turned to him and called for his attention.

“Sir!” Armin replied.

“Arlert, now that your Head of Titan Communications, you might want to report to Hange Zoe for instructions. As I’ve said earlier, Eren is undergoing an experiment now. You’ll find them down the forest trail on the east side. They’ll be in the field.” He directed.

“Yes, sir!” He saluted and headed out.

The ground broke open as the roots of a tree were torn away from the dirt. Titan Eren growled in annoyance from the resistance as he pulled and yanked at it. Apparently, this was part of his “test”; they didn’t say why or what these trees were going to be used for, but he hoped it wasn’t just menial labor.

“Keep it going, Eren, you’re doing great!” Hange called out from behind. She, along with his father, Petra, Erd and Moblit, were positioned on the hillside in the field several meters away from him. Eren resisted the urge to groan, but he did appreciate what Hange was doing for him. It was something to vent his frustration out on. He didn’t know if she had planned this ahead of time or just came up with the idea on the spot, but he had to hand it to her, this was definitely better than a therapist.

“He’s got a good pile set up over there,” She examined as she glanced over at said pile of uprooted trees lying a distance from Eren. “A few more and we should be good. Then we can get on to the fun stuff.”

Erd glanced her way, “Uh, can you tell me again why we’re turning the kid into Paul Bunyan?”

“Wait and see,” Hange replied with a smirk before she marked her tablet with another tally as Eren successfully ripped out the tree he was fighting with.

A set of beating hooves reached their ears and their attention was turned away from Eren and to Levi and Mikasa riding in.

“Greetings!” Hange waved her hand high in the air, “Beautiful afternoon!”

Levi just hummed in response as he stepped down off his saddle. Mikasa remained on her horse a bit longer as she assessed the scene before her. Eren seemed to be alright, working as usual. She glanced over at Grisha, his hand on his forehead. She noticed the bags under his eyes—probably didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night given the number of injured soldiers. Levi’s squad seemed okay and Hange had a genuine chirp in her voice with Moblit taking notes alongside her—as always. Everything appeared to be fine, so she allowed herself to relax and follow Levi’s lead in sliding off her horse.

“They still haven’t found abnormalities with any of the 3DM gear,” Levi informed Hange as he walked up to stand beside her. He spoke soft enough for his words to escape Titan Eren’s ears but loud enough to let the rest of them hear.

She sighed, “Of course not.” She said as she closed her eyes, “Couldn’t make it that easy for us, now could they.”

“That aside, we still have no way of identifying the assailant,” Levi inexplicably narrowed his eyes as he watched Eren twist out another tree, “but I may have a feeling of who it might be.”

Hange perked up and looked at him, “Huh?”

He eyed her from the side, still noticing the glances he got from the others as well, “Don’t look too much into it. It’s just a hunch but think about it. When I was talking with Grisha last night,” he gestured over to said doctor, “about the rogue shifter, he told me as soon as the girl saw them, she gave chase.”

“Y—eah, but—“

“How could she have known what Eren looked like? Unless someone had trained with him during the years of the 104^th trainee squad, they wouldn’t have had any idea if it was Eren or not.”

Hange gasped and Levi returned his attention to titan Eren just as she pivoted her body to face him, “Are you saying she knew Eren personally?”

“That’s crazy—” Mikasa chimed in cautiously, her sincerity falling as Hange and Levi looked at her, “but…”

“It makes sense.” Grisha finished for her, his eyes not looking at anyone.

“All I’m saying is it’s a valid explanation.” Levi said, continuing to examine both Grisha and Mikasa for a split second before focusing on Hange once more, “Don’t go too crazy over it; just keep it in the back of your mind.”

“Levi, this is a serious accusation! One that could very well be true!” Hange argued her reasoning.

“Yes, and we’ve already invited some of those same trainees into our regiment. Should any of them be allied to this shifter, we don’t want them to know of our suspicions.”

“Right, right.” They let the conversation fall into silence before that silence was broken by Hange’s chuckles.

Levi gave her a sideways glance, “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing, just… well at the beginning there, you kind of sounded like me.”

His eyes expanded only a little before narrowing twice as much, “Say something like that again and so help me...”

Hange cleared her throat before calling out, “Alright, Eren. I think that’ll be enough trees for now.” She turned toward her teammates, “We’ll get someone out here to cut off all those branches and then we can have him build that house.”

“Now, she tells us.” Erd retorted. Petra glanced at him and gave him a meek smile.

Eren turned his head over to peer at them before tossing the tree into the pile. His titan blinked a few times upon seeing Mikasa and Levi having joined the group but otherwise left it go. It just surprised him at how focused he was on the task. Beating all of his anger into the trees felt good, but continuing on like this, like everything was normal again, didn’t feel right. He understood the reasons, but…

His emotions kept getting in the way.

He sighed mentally, turning to walk towards the Scouts as they began to retreat to the picnic table. Mikasa was talking with Petra and Erd, he assumed they were introducing themselves, but he didn’t pay any mind to what they were saying; choosing it’d be better to keep his eyes away from everyone else’s.

At this rate, he thought, I won’t be of any use to them if I can’t control my feelings. No… He closed his half-lidded eyes, it’s not about control, it’s about letting go. That’s what Mikasa used to tell me…

A nine-year-old Eren knocked on the door to his bedroom before peering inside to find Mikasa putting on her coat. She held a blank stare on the floor, that is until Eren arrived and then life returned to her all of a sudden.

“Hey, are you ready?” he asked softly, waiting for his moment to say what he wanted to say next.

“Yeah, almost done.” She responded with a small smile, leaning over to pick up her scarf from the bed and wrapping it around her neck.

Eren glanced away, feeling a bit awkward, “Dad’s getting the carriage ready. We’re gonna go to the court house to see someone about adoption papers.” He sighed out of boredom, “I don’t know anything about that stuff so I don’t know how long it’ll take.”

“Thank you,” Mikasa said suddenly causing Eren to look up at her. Her eyes were sparkling as she watched him. “For everything.”

He shrugged his shoulders and looked down again, feeling now was as good of a time as any to say it.

“Look, I just want you to know…” He cleared his throat, “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

Mikasa grasped her scarf, “You don’t need to worry about me. You’ve already done everything I could’ve asked for.” She walked over to him, “Besides, I’m over what happened.”

Eren looked up at her again, this time shocked, “Already? It’s only been like two weeks.”

Mikasa smiled and bowed her head, “Yes, but I can’t continue to dwell on it. I understand what happened and there’s nothing I can do to change it. The only thing to do now is to let it go and move on.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s what my dad taught me.”

She was always so strong, Eren thought to himself. Having been reunited with his friends was actually helping him cope. He figured he’d be alright with it being just him and his dad and the Scouts, but now… the thought of Armin and Mikasa joining them made him feel complete. It made the pain fade away. Their presence alone made him stop and think, and calculate, and restrain his more primal desires. They made him feel less of a monster and more human, and without them—Eren thought—he wouldn’t be him.

I understand I can’t save everyone, his mind remembered his mother, that this world is cruel, that people will die no matter what. I realize the danger that lurks ahead, but I don’t care. Living behind these walls is not paradise. Being caged is not freedom.

He stole another glance at Mikasa, But at what cost will freedom take? He worried for them. Just like Gunther and Oulo, he didn’t want them—of all people—to die for him.

Narrowing his eyes, Even if I can’t save everyone, he thought, I’ll make sure I at least save you two. That I promise you.

At the end of the thought, a familiar sound reached his titan’s ears. His head cocked in its direction before he turned entirely towards the dirt path leading from the Scout’s headquarters. A smile appeared on his face and a delighted coo sounded from his throat as he found Armin riding in. His announcement making the Scout’s attentions veer back to him just as he lifted up his arm and waved.

Armin looked out at him and smiled, letting out a chuckle before waving back.

“Armin!” Hange greeted just as she did with Levi and Mikasa. “So good to finally meet you officially. I realize we worked together in Trost, but we never got properly introduced.” She said as she approached him and held out her hand, “I’m Hange Zoe.”

Armin released his hand from his horse’s saddle and leaned down to shake hers. “Uh, Armin Arlert.” Eren took this time to sit down next to the picnic table while Armin dismounted his horse.

“You already know Mikasa and Grisha,” She continued as she gestured to each body, “That’s Moblit Berner, my assistant, Petra Ral and Erd Jinn. And, of course, Levi.” She finished, clasping her hands together in excitement. “Now that we’ve got all of the formalities out of the way, let’s—“

“Let’s get down to business.” Levi interrupted her, taking the reigns as he saw fit. “I assume you already know the conditions here.” Armin straightened and gave him an affirmative nod. “Petra, Erd, Mikasa and myself are Eren’s guardians. Four-eyes is the head of research here and you are now head of communications with Eren in titan form, so you’ll be working close together. That doesn’t mean you outrank us, brat. Orders are still orders, but your job is to alleviate any and all complications with Eren’s communicative skills.”

Armin stumbled a bit, “Yes sir. I understand where I stand; I only wish to help.”

“Good.”

Hange placed her hands on her hips and glared at Levi, “Are you done now?”

“Yes.”

“Alright then, as I was saying. We haven’t had much progress with Eren in the matter speaking. Since Eren’s titan doesn’t have lips, we’ve tried some nonverbal techniques.” She crossed her arms, “Let’s just say things didn’t work out as planned.”

Armin perked up and smiled, “Well, it’s not just his lips, Eren’s tongue is angular too so forming any kind of word is impossible for him.” He looked up at his friend, “You were right to approach it in that way, though, but it’s not about reading his mind, it’s about reading his body. Especially his eyes.”

“His eyes?” she questioned, stunned that the idea hadn’t hit her earlier. She turned back to look up at titan Eren as everyone else did, but he wasn’t looking at them, he kept his eyes on Armin.

Armin nodded again, “Mhmm. You see, the speed at which he blinks, and whether or not he’s looking at you, are signs to help you indicate what he may be feeling or thinking.

If Eren’s looking at you, especially when you’re speaking, you’ve got his full attention. If he’s blinking rapidly then that means he’s pondering or realizing something. If he’s blinking slowly, then he’s passive, calm, and or tired. When he doesn’t blink at all is when he’s attentive and alert—“

Hange gasped and snapped her fingers, “And when he utilizes his third eyelids.”

“Exactly.”

“Huh,” Levi said, “Never take your eye off the prey, is that it?”

Armin continued, “Eren pretty much just acts like Eren whether in titan form or not; it’s really all about knowing him and understanding his behavior.”

“Is that so.” Levi questioned him with a raised eyebrow, “Well then, something like that takes time and patience. I don’t personally think we’ll become that acquainted by the time of the expedition, but it was still worth a shot. You’ll just have to continue to act as our translator until then.”

“Oh, y—yes sir.”

Levi continued, “In the meantime, Hange continue on with the experiment.”

“Of course, but where are you going?”

“I’m going to go speak with Erwin about that thing I mentioned earlier.” He replied whilst mounting his horse. He took the reins before finishing his train of thought, “Don’t wait up for me. I’ll meet with you again come nightfall.”

“Kay, goodbye, have a nice trip, see ya later!” Hange joked as she waved her arm back and forth, earning a sharp glare from Leve before he rode off. She then quickly retracted her arm and jumped into Armin’s personal space.

“Now, teach me how to read his body!”

Rico hopped into the carriage and sat down before proceeding to glance back out to her Commander in question as he stopped before Erwin to say his final goodbyes.

“Well, good luck out there, Commander,” Pixis said as he presented his palm to Erwin and the man took it. “And take good care of that shifter for us. This world knows we need him.” With a confident nod from Erwin, Pixis hopped into the carriage alongside Rico and the wheels began to turn with Erwin waving them off.

“Erwin.” A voice spoke out from behind and said Commander turned to find Levi waiting patiently for his attention.

“Levi? I thought you’d be out with Hange during the experiment.” Erwin commented as he turned to face him.

“I was, but there’s been something on my mind lately.” He glanced around to see if any of the new recruits were within sight and when he found that to be false, Erwin spoke his mind.

“Is it about last night?” he asked and Levi only peered up at him from the side.

“Yes. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to go someplace private to discuss this.”

Erwin closed the door of his study and locked it. He allowed his subordinate and friend to rest against the back of a chair before beginning.

“Now then, what’s been on your mind?” he asked in all interest.

“You mean besides the obvious?” Levi replied boldly, but Erwin knew him very well. “One of the recruits is a rogue, working alongside the female we encountered last night.”

“You found proof?”

“No, all of the 3DM gear checked out, but things have never been that easy for us.” He bowed his head and closed his eyes, “I discussed this with Hange and she agrees, but I told her to keep it on the down low.” He opened his eyes to gaze at the floor board. “Grisha agrees with me also.” Now he looked up at Erwin, “And it’s because of him that I feel positive of my suspicions.”

Erwin held fast to every word, giving him a nod to continue.

“When the assailant finally found them, she gave chase immediately. Now, with all the news about Eren going around like freshly cut meat, it’s not a surprise that our enemies know of him—if they did not before. But Eren isn’t famous and is face is a mystery to even the highest of nobles. It would have been impossible for the female to have known it was Eren unless she had met him before or witnessed his transformation in Trost.”

“And the only reasonable explanation for that is the Cadet Training grounds.” Erwin finished for him, earning a hum of agreement from Levi. “What of Grisha? What did he think?”

“Like I said, he agrees, but…” Levi closed his eyes again and crossed his arms over his chest, “That was something else I wanted to discuss with you.” He began, “He’s not telling us the truth, hasn’t from the start. And even if it’s only half a lie, a lie is a lie.” Levi glared at him now, anger mixed in with his words, but he kept his cool.

“He’s keeping the truth about Eren from us and somehow the enemy has already figured it out to the point that they’d send in one of their own to test and dwindle our numbers. I’m not saying they know just as much as we do, but at this rate, everything we have figured out will be pointless.”

Erwin looked down at the floor in thought as Levi continued, “He’s becoming dangerous, Erwin.”

“It’s not him who is becoming dangerous,” Erwin whispered back, his eyes still on the floor. “He’s afraid.”

Levi blinked, “Afraid of what?”

He looked up at him now, eye to eye, “He’s afraid of Eren.” Now it was Levi’s turn to listen as Erwin dropped the gaze and walked over to his desk. “You are right in saying Grisha’s lying to us, but I don’t think he intends that. For a father, this war is seen a bit differently than what you or I view it as; many would do anything for their children. Even go as far as stretch the truth…

Or leave out one crucial detail.” His hand swiped away a piece of paper to reveal Eren’s drawing of the Walls. “Grisha isn’t an idiot, but whether he did it by accident or on purpose out of guilt, heredity could not have allowed Eren to receive some of his abilities if it was impossible for his father to have them to begin with.”

A moment of silence fell between them until Levi interrupted it, “Do you think he lied about the story when Eren was five?”

Erwin sighed and shook his head no, “I just don’t think that’s all there is to it. Eren is much more unique than what we’ve been lead to believe.” Levi looked at him curiously before moving his eyes down to stare at the drawing. “Every aspect of his power is painting a bigger picture we can’t see. Grisha knows some of it, at least, but he can’t tell us; his fear prevents him.

I trust him when he said Eren was our only hope and I continue to believe that. And whether or not the enemy knows it as well, our plans will not change.” He walked over to the window and glanced out into the courtyard. “Everything is riding on this expedition. If we fail then the Military Police take custody of Eren.” Erwin lowered his gaze when he remembered Nile’s terms with Grisha, but he remained calm and turned back to Levi as collective as ever.

“We can’t let that happen, Levi.”

Said Corporal stared at him, his face unreadable—as always—but soon it fell and he nodded in affirmation.

“It won’t, sir. You have my trust 'til the bitter end. And believe me when I say this:

Nothing will happen to Eren.”

Chapter Text

The night had begun to fall upon them quickly. Over the course of the day, since Eren shifted, Hange had him uprooting trees, running around the castle grounds with them on horseback and mimicking all kinds of poses his friends could come up with. Mikasa even went as far as to stand on her hands upside down and Eren even copied that.

She had him undergo another thorough examination of his titan body, measuring his limbs, the length of his ears—and asking him again why they were elfish—she even measured his tongue and got his saliva all over her when it was all said and done.

After the measurements, Hange poked and prodded at his eyes, testing the nictitating membranes again and putting a magnifying glass to the clear skin. She said it shined a green hue, but didn't know why and later seemed excited to theorize that Eren's titan might have had night vision. He didn't know if that was true or not, he never shifted at night, but the eye examination was the most irritating of them all because his titan's eyes seemed to be the only part of his body that was sensitive—other than the nape of course. Now he understood why those regular titans always cried out when the Scouts would cut into their eyes.

Now that the sun had set they were attempting to transport him over the castle wall and into the courtyard for safe keeping until morning. Hange was hoping he'd be able to sleep while in titan form and thus didn't want Eren exposed or vulnerable while in dreamland.

"Hurry up, Eren." Hange exclaimed, ushering him to climb up on top of the castle wall, "You wait any longer and you won't be able to see where you're going. Unless of course, you do have night vision, in which case… that would be amazing." She nearly drooled as she clasped her hands together and smiled, her face getting all red. It was hard to see it, though.

She, Moblit, Armin, and Eren's guardians were stationed on the wall walk trying to get titan Eren to climb over. Along with his guardians, nearly a half of the Scouts were positioned on top of the wall walk, including Mike, to keep watch over him during the night. His father had been called away to aid with the injured again, so Eren figured it was likely he wasn't going to be joining them anytime soon.

He placed his hands on the wall and moaned, giving Hange a look of concern.

Why are we doing this when I'm a titan? Wouldn't it be easier if I just stayed outside the courtyard? They could still watch me from the wall walk.

"Yeah, I'm with Eren on this, Hange-san." Armin spoke up for his friend. "What if the wall collapses?"

"Nonsense, these bricks have been reinforced over the years. And besides, we don't even know how heavy he really is since his titan just forms from thin air. Heck if I could kick a severed head with ease, I think the weight of a full body won't do much harm to a reinforced wall.

But if it does, don't worry. Anyone who was housed below us has been vacated and forewarned that they may or may not lose their rooms."

Well… Eren began, but his worry faded when Mikasa intervened.

"You can do it, Eren. You've done this before in Trost." She encouraged him, standing closer to the edge than anyone else.

Titan Eren lifted up his head, That was an abandoned building that—I guess was in worse condition then the castle…

He looked down at the wall again before giving them all a firm nod. With this sign, his friends moved further apart to give him more room. Shifting his weight to his hands, he lifted himself up to the point where he could get his knee on the wall. The structure creaked in protest but didn't budge. With a firmer grip, he quickly brought up the second knee, sat down and swung his legs around to catapult off; landing inside the courtyard with little damage done to the castle.

"See! I told ya it'll be okay. Nice dismount, by the way." Hange complimented before jetting off to join Eren in the courtyard, his friends and guardians too.

Levi walked casually down the hallway, his shoes making no sound as they repeatedly hit the wooden floor.

"Does anyone know anything about the expedition yet?" Sasha asked with a shaky voice, her words reaching out into the hallway. Levi stopped mid stride right before he was about to pass the doorway to the mess hall, where the recruits were. He backed up a bit and tilted his head closer to the wall, staying out of sight as he listened in.

"They'll probably tell us whenever they're ready," Reiner replied confidently before taking a sip of his cup. He sat right across from Sasha and Jean as the three of them waited to return to their rooms.

Sasha sighed and placed her chin down on the table, "Right." A moment of silence passed and she glanced at Jean, who was only staring at the wall with his head in palm and elbow on the table, then at Reiner who seemed to be busying himself with the small plate of food in front of him. Surprisingly enough, Sasha wasn't hungry, otherwise, she would have joined him in the feast.

"It's a shame we might lose our rooms tonight, it's like we just got them." She said, trying to make small talk.

Jean didn't bother to look at her, "If we do, blame Eren, it'll be his fault." He replied with a monotone voice.

"You think stuff like this will happen often here?" Sasha asked again.

Levi narrowed his eyes.

"Possibly," Reiner replied this time, swallowing his food before continuing. "They really should give Eren a break though. Can't imagine how hard it must be to be constantly shifting all the time."

Jean gave him a sideways glance, "How would you know if it was hard or not? Armin told us he used to do this sort of stuff all the time when he was a kid."

"Really?" Reiner questioned in astonishment.

Jean looked away in thought, "Can only get better at it if ya keep practicing, right? But it's Eren we're talking about, so who knows."

Sasha chuckled at his sarcasm, but her joyful smile quickly fell when a rumbling shook the entire castle, followed by another shake.

Gasping, "What was that?" she exclaimed as they all peered up at the ceiling, their gazes away from the doorway. Levi used this opportunity to slip by undetected to the other side.

"That was either Eren climbing over the wall or our rooms caving in on top of each other." Jean retorted.

"Oh, I vote for the first one, please," Sasha replied.

Levi gave them one last look-over before turning around and continuing on. If the rumbling was anything, it meant he had to regroup with Hange and his team.

The torches were lit around the perimeter of the courtyard, making the area glow a vibrant sepia. Eren watched the fires dance as he sat comfortably with one knee raised and an arm resting on it. He kept his eyes on the burning torches for the longest time before his attention was drawn down to his guardians who were building a small campfire near him. Verbal moans of curiosity were about to come out of his mouth before Hange called up to him, once again redirecting his attention.

"Ok, Eren." Hange began, notebook in hand, as she walked over to their favorite titan shifter. "It has been nearly ten hours since you shifted earlier today, which is your record length of being in titan form to date." She announced proudly, "How do you feel?"

Actually, I feel pretty good. Eren answered in thought as his titan gave Hange a thumbs-up. But what are you guys doing? What's with the campfire and the sleeping rolls? He questioned—knowing very well no one could hear him—as Petra and Erd came back with said sleeping bags.

"Good," Hange replied as she jotted down his response and adjusted her glasses. "Now, throughout the entire day, you've only needed to energize once via sunlight. Very Impressive." She complimented with a smile, noting that his eyes were bouncing between her and his comrades.

"I bet you're wondering why all of this is being set up?" Titan Eren now looked at her, and her only, as he bobbed his head up and down. "Well, we want to see if you can sleep whilst in titan form," she said before closing her eyes and placing a hand on her hip. "And we can't just leave you alone out here in the courtyard, now can we." Her previous posture vanished as she beamed up at him and clasped her hands together, "So think of it all as just one big slumber party!"

It's better than a jail cell at least, Eren commented as his titan glanced around the castle walls where all the other Scouts were posted. Some of them were sitting down, others stood; half were watching him and the rest were keeping their eyes on the outside world.

"But don't worry, Eren, you stay up as long as you can; there's no rush. If you feel tired, don't fight it." Hange informed him before folding her legs in and plopping down on her mat next to the campfire.

Right on cue, Erd walked over with a torch and lit it, joining Hange on his own mat next to hers and Moblit on her left.

"I hope you've saved a spot for me," Levi said as he walked up to the group.

"Ah, just in time." Hange greeted without turning around. "You wanna join us by the campfire or does your sleep cycle tell you otherwise?"

"It's nothing for you to be concerned about," Levi replied indifferently before accepting the sleep roll from Petra; the two of them joining the rest.

"Um, if I may…" Armin began politely, he and Mikasa sitting across from the elites right next to titan Eren. "What exactly will we be doing for the night?"

"Telling stories, of course! Your stories, to be exact." Hange replied, pointing both her index fingers at him and Mikasa. "You two have known Eren for years and had knowledge of his powers nearly the whole time. So, tell me, Armin, how did you and Eren become friends? Was it because of his titan shifting?"

Armin smiled and looked down at his hands. "Actually no. Eren and I have been friends for as long as we can remember. We met one day thanks to the local bullies…"

Eren closed his eyes, bringing the memories up. Armin had just gotten himself beaten up by two jerk heads who thought they ran that side of town. Eren heard the commotion but felt too timid to intervene. Back then, he was afraid of his powers being seen, especially his healing since he didn't know how to control it. He watched from afar as Armin was left alone to wallow in his pain, silently crying into his knees, face hidden.

That sight was the worst thing Eren had seen back then, and it hurt him even more that he was just as much of a coward as the kid ahead of him.

"Hey," He remembered saying, Armin's tear soaked face popping out from the shadows of his lap. "Why didn't you fight back?"

Armin gave him the most innocent look before bowing his head and whispering back, "I didn't fight back because there was no reason to."

"I think getting your butt handed to ya is reason enough."

"If I did that, then I would have lost."

That statement had struck something within him and still to this day he didn't understand it. If you don't fight back, then what good does it do to have people walk all over you? He never actually asked Armin about it since then, but he wanted to. Because of that and so many other reasons, he saw Armin as a wise and valuable friend. He spoke like an old man who already experienced life and discovered all of its deep, hidden secrets. He trusted him to no end and knew he always would.

"You said before that you knew of his abilities for ten years." Petra asked, "That means you met around the time Eren got his shifting powers. Did you know about it?"

"Well, it took him awhile to tell me." Armin chuckled, "Eren was kind of timid like me back then, believe it or not. He didn't exactly know how to control or focus his abilities and his parents forbade him from ever using them."

He narrowed his eyes in remembrance, "For the longest time, I never knew of the story of how he came to acquire his shifting power, and I didn't care. I just knew Eren was different, rightfully so, and I wanted to help him see that. I didn't want him to think he was a monster because he wasn't. I kept encouraging him to shift because he was presented with this power for a reason."

Armin thought back to that ridiculous idea of his and contemplated hard on whether or not he should mention it. Unfortunately, he second guessed himself and instead looked up at them and smiled innocently, "Just as we are all born with unique gifts, I always thought Eren's was just a bit more special."

Mikasa smiled at that too, hiding her face further into her scarf. Eren was a miracle to her and, in her opinion, she could never do anything that was enough to repay him. It was the small things about him that made her smile—on the inside—that made him as human as they came…

Outskirts of the Cadet Training Grounds…

"Eren, just relax," Mikasa suggested as she watched him stress out over the Scout's constant visits. They had come back again for the umpteenth time and Armin was scouting for them to see what they were up to. In the meantime, Mikasa had taken Eren out for a walk to help clear his head. "Being stressed isn't helping you with the courses."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Eren replied, one hand on the trunk of a tree as the other covered his eyes. "But I can't help it, Mikasa. They know now and they keep torturing me about it with each visit. I mean, if they want to capture me, I just wish they'd get it over with because I can't take this anymore!"

"That won't happen, I promise you. Just sit down and relax." She said again and placed her hand on his shoulder, leading him down to the ground. She knelt there beside him, hands on her lap, as Eren rested his back against the tree and sighed.

For the silence that followed, all she could hear were the chirping birds in the trees and the deep breaths Eren took. A soft wind blew against her skin and the sun came out from behind a cloud, shining down through the space between the leaves above them. She continued to watch him, his face relaxing with each passing minute. She smiled at him and closed her eyes as well. The forest always brought them peace and comfort and she was happy to share this moment with him.

A rustling only Eren could have heard sounded behind them and said boy opened his eyes to it. He first looked over at Mikasa in question, but then heard it again and turned around to peer behind the tree. His movement alerted Mikasa and she opened her eyes to find him standing up, curiosity written all over his face.

"What's wrong?"

"I heard something." He told her as he examined the ground behind the tree.

She stood to join him, "Like what?"

Eren's search was short as he found what he was looking for. He gasped silently to himself and knelt down as a soft chirp resounded from a fallen baby bird. The small bird blinked its bulging eyes at him and tilted its head.

"It's a baby bird." He announced. Mikasa walked around him to see it for herself. Her gaze then went to the sky as she searched the tree above them for a nest.

"You think it fell out of its nest?"

"Or got shoved out. Looks to be a runt." He cupped his hands around the little guy, but it chirped in protest and bounced away from him, or at least tried to; it didn't get very far. "Easy little guy, I'm not gonna hurt ya."

"Careful, don't use your hands. The mother won't want it if she smells your scent." She reminded him.

Eren furrowed his eyebrows, "Right," and took off his jacket. He covered the bird with it, despite its continuing objections, and gently picked it up, keeping it covered so it wouldn't hop out of his hands. "Did you find the nest?"

Mikasa only raised her arm to point at a far branch high up in the tree. Eren shot out one of his cables and used it to climb the oak. Mikasa watched as he struggled a bit with having to work with one cable and one free hand.

"Eren, is this really necessary? It may be as you said; if it got shoved out, it'll just happen again. Nature's like that: only the strong survive."

"Little guys deserve second chances." Was all he said as he focused on his balance.

She remembered just looking at him with a fond expression. Throughout her childhood, she had watched prey be eaten by predator. The fate of an animal was determined by its strength and will to survive. Out there, if you fell behind you were dead. But Eren rebelled against that philosophy and was determined to change the course of life. In a larger perspective, it was like humanity was that tiny, baby bird and Eren was there to help them get back on their feet and try again.

He believed in second chances; it was something he had given her when they first met. It was one of those little things that defined who he was and one of the many proofs that he wasn't a monster.

This mindset was one of the many things that had glued them all together. Armin and Eren were her life and she knew they felt the same way too.

"I see," Hange said, looking down in thought—catching Moblit noting all of it down in her peripheral. "It's no wonder Eren trusts you so much."

"So, what about you?" Levi asked this time, looking directly at Mikasa. She perked up in question and met him eye to eye. "You're more attached to the bastard than anyone else. What's your story?"

Titan Eren let out a concerned moan and shook his head no. The Scouts looked up at him, confused, as Armin watched Mikasa with a sad look. The oriental in question just kept her head down and stared at the ground until she moved her head up to peer into Eren's eyes.

You don't have to.

She closed her eyes, the pleasant memories being replaced by the harsher ones. It was like a dark rain cloud blocked the sun in her mind…

"Ow!" Mikasa cried as her mom held fast to her arm before she could instinctively pull it away.

"I know sweetie, I'm almost done just don't move." She told her in the gentlest voice she could muster.

"It hurts."

"Almost done, you're doing great. You're such a strong girl." She encouraged as she finished up and removed the needle from her skin. "There, see; that wasn't so bad, now was it? Just remember not to touch it, or let anyone else touch it, okay?"

Mikasa retracted her right forearm to her chest and gave her mom an honest smile, nodding her head yes while the tears still fell down her cheeks. Her mother smiled back and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Look." She said as she rolled up her sleeve and showed her her own forearm. A tattoo of a circle with a connecting letter A in the middle was printed on the inside of her arm. "We match."

Mikasa looked down at it and held out hers as well. The same tattoo was printed on her forearm now and she smiled.

"It's a proud family tradition passed down for thousands of years. It's a sign of our lineage and a testament that we will never forget. Someday, when you're older and have children of your own, you'll be able to pass this symbol along to them too." Her mother told her as she started bandaging the tender skin.

"Mommy, how would I get children?" Mikasa asked innocently, but her mother just smiled at her and turned around to her dad.

"Well, I'm not quite sure but maybe your father does."

Mikasa turned to him as well, intent to listen to every word. Her father only smiled and blushed before clearing his throat.

"You know what, Dr. Jaeger is coming today, why don't you ask him. He'll be able to tell ya." A resonating knock on the front door alerted them to the new presence and Mikasa's father turned around in question.

"That was quick." He commented as he approached the door and twisted the knob. "Good evening Dr. Jaeger." He greeted.

On the other side of the door stood said Doctor with a kind smile on his face, a small, nine-year-old Eren hiding behind him with an indifferent expression.

"I hope I'm not too early." He greeted back.

"There you go, your all good. You've been keeping healthy, haven't you?" Grisha said as he finished up and replaced some of his equipment into his tool bag. Mikasa smiled at him and nodded. When he dropped eye contact, Mikasa stole another glance over at his son, Eren, who was sitting across from them at the dining table. She wanted to compliment him on his scarf, she liked that color of red, but nothing really came out.

When he looked up at her, she smiled and quickly looked away. This was the first time she had been with another boy her age. There weren't many kids around the area and the only one she had contact with was a girl a year younger than her.

He didn't return the gesture—and if he did, she didn't see it—and instead looked down at his lap awkwardly.

Mikasa's eyes suddenly lit up in remembrance and she met Grisha's glance, "Dr. Jaeger. Can you tell me where babies come from?" Grisha seemed taken back by her question and peered over at her parents for suggestions. They only smiled at him, Mikasa's mom motioning him to go ahead. Eren watched them as well.

"Well, I still think you're a little too young to know that answer," Grisha replied, albeit a bit hesitant in the initial response. "Maybe when you're older." He stood and went to grab his hat—getting ready to go—when Mikasa's parents stopped him.

"Oh, are you leaving already?" Mikasa's mom asked, "Why don't you stay for dinner. It's the least we can do for your service."

"Please, Mrs. Ackerman, you don't have to. I understand your situation, I couldn't—"

"We're not asking you for a favor. Please join us." Mikasa's dad chimed in. "I just caught a deer the other night and my wife has it cooking as we speak." Grisha looked about ready to argue further when Mr. Ackerman continued, "Just this one time."

"Well…" He said, glancing down at Eren who watched him for an answer. "I guess your mother wouldn't mind a day of rest from cooking." He joked, "Sure, we'll stay for the evening."

"Thank you." Mrs. Ackerman replied. "Mikasa, why don't you and Eren go play outside while the food is prepared."

"Ok." She said and got up from her chair, Eren too. Their parents watched them leave and soon, after the back door closed, she was alone with Eren. The two of them stood on the back porch for several seconds of silence, but it felt like forever for her. She had never been a host before.

"Do you want to see the cliffside?" She asked politely, keeping her eyes on Eren, but not staring to make him feel uncomfortable. "It's really pretty to look at during the sunset hour, you can see everything."

Eren watched her and shrugged his shoulders in agreement, "Sure."

Mikasa smiled and lead him down the beaten path. They didn't get very far from the house when Eren spoke again.

"Why did you want to know where babies came from?" He asked out of the blue. Mikasa grasped her sore arm and looked down.

"Because my mom said one day when I grow up, I'd be able to pass along our family tradition to my kids."

"What family tradition?"

She stopped on the trail, as did Eren, and removed the bandages, showing him the tattoo on the inside of her forearm. Eren gawked at it.

"My mom has it too and so did her father and her father's mother. She said it's a sign that we haven't forgotten."

"Forgotten what?"

"Our past." Was all Mikasa responded with. Though, she didn't exactly know what it was about their past that they didn't forget and therefore found it odd as to why her mother never told her.

"Looks painful," Eren commented as he reached out and touched the red skin.

"Ow!" Mikasa screamed and quickly retracted her arm back to safety. That is until the pain suddenly stopped and a weird hissing sound emerged from her arm. She held it out again, visible to both of them, and watched as the black ink began to evaporate off her skin. It looked like a fire was burning it to ash and the ash gently floated away with the wind.

"Um…" Eren said as he watched the phenomenon. Mikasa didn't say anything as she touched the skin herself, no pain relaying a message back. Her tone wasn't red anymore and the tattoo had completely vanished.

"It's gone." She stated, her gaze drifting up to Eren now. "What did you do?"

"I… I…" Was all Eren could get out as he kept his hands away from her and stepped back nervously. Mikasa only stared at him as if she was seeing him for the first time and for a moment, she felt like there was nothing else in the world except the two of them.

Until her mother's scream reached their ears.

The previous occurrence immediately left their minds as their bodies stiffened at the blood-curdling cry. Both of them peered back at the cabin and ran for it. Eren was ahead of her, but she kept up with him as the back door was shoved open and the two of them staggered to a halt just inside.

Lying on the floor in a bloody mess was her father and mother. Her father was against the counter, eyes open as blood trickled down from his mouth and flowed out of his gut. Her mother suffered worse as her neck had been nearly sliced in half. And Grisha…

Grisha had been shot more than once as he lay with them on the floor.

"Mommy, Daddy…?" Mikasa whispered as she stared in shock.

"Dad?!" Eren nearly screamed.

Three guys stood before them, one holding an ax and another holding a knife. The third held a shotgun and was standing over top of Eren's father with smoke rising from the barrel. The two's entrance had ceased their previous bickering and the man with the gun stepped forward, its tip now aimed at them.

"You two, don't move." He warned with a low voice.

Eren seethed through his teeth and spun around to grab hold of Mikasa's wrist. "RUN!" He yelled as he started, pulling Mikasa along as the girl was hardly with it. He bolted outside with her and they ran as fast as they could down the path she was showing him earlier.

The men shouted at them and gave chase, two chasing them through the back door while the third oddly went for the front.

"Wait… my mom and dad…" Mikasa managed to choke out as Eren dragged her through the forest along the trail.

"Don't look back just keep running!" Eren yelled back.

It wasn't until they reached the edge of the cliff that they skid to a halt and turned around; two of the guys present behind them and coming fast. Eren pulled Mikasa along and shoved her into a nearby tree, ushering her to climb up.

"Hurry! Get up there!" He screamed as he helped boost her. Mikasa climbed to the nearest branch and stayed there, looking down as Eren began reaching out for a grip before he was grabbed by the waist and pulled back down.

Eren screamed as he was tossed into the dirt; his scarf having been ripped from his neck and thrown away. The short man kicked his stomach before proceeding to try and pin him.

"You little runt, hold still!" He hissed as Eren threw a few punches and kicks. "Hold still or I'll gut ya!"

"Take him alive, he'll give us the money we lost from the mother." The taller one with the ax said. "I know a few guys in the interior who are interested in feisty little boys."

"What does it look like I'm trying to do!" The other guy yelled as he continued to struggle with Eren, "We would have had a better profit if you hadn't of killed her!" He now was able to pin Eren against him and began lifting him off of the ground to escort him away.

The taller man sneered at his partner, "She went crazy, ok? Besides, we never planned on that doctor being there either, but you had no qualms with killing him."

"Grown men don't make us a profit, but at least he had a kid with him." The other replied in bits as Eren continued to give him a hard time.

The taller guy eyed Mikasa in the tree and plunged his weapon into its bark. "Now, don't you go making this hard for us. Are ya gonna come down from there or am I gonna have to go up and get you myself?"

She peered down at him, shaking, her eyes darting over to Eren who began screaming in protest and kicking wildly into the air as the guy started dragging him away, or attempting to anyway.

"Fight! Mikasa! You… have to… fight!"

"Shut up…! OUCH!" The man hollered as he went to slam his large hand over as Eren's mouth before the boy sunk his teeth deep into his thumb, making the man let go.

Eren staggered forward and brought his hand up to this mouth, but before he could bite down, the guy was on him again with the knife in hand. He grabbed Eren by his collar and yanked him back into his outstretched arms. One arm folded over him and held his wrists while the other hand held the knife up to his neck. He whispered threats into his ear no one else could hear and smiled crookedly afterward as Eren began shaking. But what he thought was fear coming from him was actually a bubbling rage unlike anything else. Without thinking, Eren clenched his teeth and quickly bit down on his tongue, drawing blood, and finally, that spark of power erupted from within him.

Mikasa gasped and her eyes widened as steam engulfed Eren before flesh began to mold around him. The man screamed in pain from the heat and was thrown back as his body disappeared within the nape of the neck of a seven-meter titan which now stood towering above them.

Both men stared shocked and petrified as a loud, guttural roar erupted from his titan's jaws. His eyes quickly found the guy he had been fighting with and backhanded him into a tree, the man screaming as he flew and crying out as his back snapped in two from the impact.

The man by the tree shrieked and made a run for it before Eren's fists came down on his back, breaking all of his rib bones and then some as he was slammed into the ground. Titan Eren then grabbed him by the ankle and hurled off the cliffside with a ravenous shriek.

The second guy could only watch as Eren returned his gaze upon him; his body only able to quiver in fear as he galloped toward him. He snatched him up in his hands and began squeezing him into a bloody pulp as his screams of fear and pain echoed throughout the forest. Blood gushed out of his mouth as he choked on his last cry, but Eren continued to crush him within his hands with an unearthly snarl.

Suddenly, one of Eren's eyes were shot out. His titan screeched and released the corpse, a hand reaching up to cover his eye. Another shot rang out and bullets pierced his torso, then another set hitting his legs and he tumbled back only to fall to the ground.

"You. Monster." The third guy hissed as he held his shotgun in an iron grip. "You killed my men!" He roared as he fired again and again and again with titan Eren falling back and away from him, keeping his back clear of his range to protect that which mattered most.

"Just DIE!" He yelled as he fired yet again, effectively hitting Eren's face.

His titan's screams shook Mikasa from her stupor. She blinked and peered down at the trunk of the tree, the shimmer of the ax's metal head catching her eye.

Jumping off of the tree, she took hold of its handle and yanked the weapon out from its place. The guy was just ahead of her, taking a step closer and closer to Eren as he fired. Her hands shook as fear engulfed her mind and the weight of the weapon began to take its toll.

"I can't do this… I can't—"

Eren's words echoed inside her skull and suddenly her hands didn't shake anymore. The ax became weightless to her and her frightened eyes narrowed in a savage determination. She held it with both hands and ran. Her strength uncanny, speed involuntary, and her roar as voracious as titan Eren's…

And the man saw it all too late as the ax sliced clean through his throat, decapitating him.

The forest became quiet again with nothing but the sound of titan Eren's deep breaths. When his vision returned, all he saw was Mikasa standing over his fallen form. Gasping, he quickly ducked and rolled away from her in fear of judgment; residing to keep his distance and study her darkened face while the sun set behind her. She was clutching something to her chest and began walking towards him with it. He recoiled a little but stopped when she held out his red scarf and presented it to him.

He stared at her for what seemed like forever before reaching out and carefully taking the scarf from her tiny hands. She dropped her gaze and closed her eyes, Eren now able to see her shaking form as a cool wind blew between them.

Mikasa was about to wrap her arms around herself before the warmth of a fabric was Christmas-treed around her head. She opened her eyes just as Eren finished, the end flopping over top of her head. He never said anything, but she already knew that by that action he wanted her to keep it. It was in his eyes, his big green eyes.

"Eren!" Grisha's voice rang out as said doctor appeared from the brush. He gaped at the scene before him: the men dead on the ground, Mikasa staring up at his son who was currently a titan. His call made Eren jump and turn to face him shamefully. He blinked between his father and Mikasa who was only gawking at him. He didn't know what to do.

Grisha sighed and pulled out his scalpel, "Hold still." He said defeatedly.

Mikasa opened her eyes and met Eren's again; those same green eyes staring right back at her and once more, she knew exactly what he was thinking. Her hand instinctively grasped her scarf as she looked at the Scouts.

"I met Eren when I was nine." She said with a low, but firm voice. "It was the day I lost my parents… and also the day Eren saved me by using his titan shifting. I owe him my life; if it wasn't for him… I'm not quite sure what would have happened to me."

"Wow, now I feel like shit for asking," Levi commented, indeed feeling a bit uncomfortable. The feeling subsided, however, when Petra placed her hand on top of his.

Mikasa gave him a sympathetic nod, "It's okay, you didn't know." She kept her head bowed, "But the same went for me as it did Armin, in regards to my opinion of him. I never once thought of Eren as something other than human; he was just different."

Eren couldn't help but smile at her. He truly did feel a special connection to her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was exactly. She was his sister, to a point, but they never acted like siblings. They acted like age old friends, but Eren knew she meant more to him than that. He definitely loved her, but he felt it more platonic than romantic. And he felt this way about her ever since they met…

His eyes widened.

That tattoo… He remembered. That's right, she once had a tattoo on her arm, then I touched it and it vanished. Tattoos don't do that and I don't think I have the power to do that either. What the heck happened then?

He stole a glance at her. Does she remember it too? Is there a connection there?

"I'm sorry for what happened to you two, but if I may ask," Hange probed cautiously, her voice taking a dive in volume. "What exactly did Eren do as a titan that saved you?"

"Yeah," Petra agreed, following Hange's lead in keeping her voice down. "Nile Dok never said anything about any strange occurrences over the years Eren was using his abilities."

Mikasa looked away from them now, "My family was attacked by bandits when Eren and his dad came over for a checkup… I don't really want to talk about it."

"And you don't have to," Hange quickly approved, shaking her hands out in front of her, "I'm just saying if anything bad happened, and no one from the Military Police knows about it yet, it could spell disaster for us."

"You were attacked by bandits?" Levi asked as he prepared to say the elephant in the room. "What exactly are they now?" A long silence was left between them as a shadow grew over Mikasa's face.

"Dead." She finally answered.

Levi and Hange looked at each other, "Eren," Hange said as she turned her attention to him, "Did you…?" but she never finished. She didn't have to.

His ears visibly pulled back and his eyes darted away from their stares. Mikasa quickly looked up at them, the shadow gone from her now, "He didn't do it alone."

"Was Grisha present?" Levi continued to explore.

"He arrived afterward."

Hange furrowed her eyebrows, "But he never reported it in." she concluded. "If Nile finds out about this—!"

"He doesn't have to if no one says anything." Levi interrupted her. "As far as we know, no one knows about this and it's going to stay that way."

"Right." Hange agreed wholeheartedly. "That being said, though, I still need to talk to Grisha about this. At least get a little more insight on the matter. I'll notify Erwin as well, not exactly in anyone's best interest if he remains in the dark." She announced as she stood and waved them goodbye. "I'll be back shortly, don't wait up."

The rest of them were left to the silence between them as no one made any unnecessary eye contact. Levi waited only a bit longer before he finally decided to end the night.

"Well then, I think now's a better time than any to get some sleep. Oi, brat, you'd better get into a more comfortable position than that. We actually want you to try and fall asleep."

R—right. Eren thought as he adjusted his position to lay down on his back. He wrapped an arm around his stomach and kept his eyes upon the night sky as he heard his friends climb into their sleeping bags.

He let his mind wander over their conversation one last time before deciding to just watch the stars. There seemed to be more of them now than he ever saw before, and it was beautiful.

He sighed, and closed his eyes, willing to let sleep take him. But his body didn't feel tired, nor his mind or his eyes as they then opened again on their own.

A seemingly endless number of stars dotted the night sky now as Eren peered up into its dark abyss. The moon shined bright, as full as it could be, amidst the stars; ruling the sky as the dominate light. The horizon stretched on forever around him, the sky looking like a fishbowl of glitter, as he drifted his attention down to the earth.

A boulder was beneath his feet with thousands of others littering the flat field he, as a human, found himself in. On a higher surface, he could see everything; feel everything. He felt the shift of the sand underneath the rocks, saw the ripples venture across the calm surface of the water, heard the leaves rustling in the wind even though there were no trees visible to him. A cool wind came his way, fluttering his green cape and allowing the wings of freedom to shimmer in the moonlight behind him.

He continued to stare into space; mind dazed, eyes unfocused. A sudden voice calling out snapped him from his torpor and he blinked a few times to clear his vision.

"Help!" the voice cried out; a male, desperate and afraid he sounded. "Help please!" He passed a rock and another, his shadow the only thing Eren could see of him before the two finally reached a clear view of each other. The man turned to him instinctively, having sensed his presence, and gasped.

"Please! I need your help!" He cried as he ran over to him. Eren gaped at him before jumping down from the rock.

"What's wrong, are you okay?" He asked just as the man skid to a halt before him and fell down on his knees. The gesture made Eren feel uncomfortable.

"Please, you can help her! My daughter… she's dying!" He pleaded with clasped hands, but no tears fell down his cheeks.

"Your daughter?"

"You can heal, right?"

Eren blinked, "I—I can heal, yes… but—"

The man then grabbed Eren's hand, almost yanking him down to his level, and peered deep into his eyes, "Please heal her."

"I—"

"You can, they said you can. You must help her, she's all I have!" His voice seemed desperate, but now, Eren could hear it. He wasn't crying for a reason.

"I sorry… I can't—"

"But you must!" The man persisted, anger becoming evident in his tone. Eren slipped his hand out of the man's grip and shook his head, taking a few steps back to allow space to come between them.

The man looked at him in disgust. He stood slowly and lifted a shaking hand, pointing at Eren, "You…" He said, "You're evil. That's what you are! You are a demon!"

I am not who you think I am. The thought came to Eren out of nowhere, but he himself never spoke.

Suddenly, a knife was pulled from behind him and he tilted the blade to face Eren, his face red with rage. "You're nothing but a demon!" The man yelled before rushing him with all intent to kill.

Eren only stared, shocked and confused, before flinching away when the man got close; moving his hand up in hopes of blocking him. But the knife never touched his skin as its owner was suddenly crushed by a large fist that came down upon him from above. Having been near feet from his body, the collision caused him to stagger back. And as quickly as it was over, another hand emerged from nowhere and grabbed him, his entire person snatched from the ground and raised up.

Below him, blood splattered the earth and stained the rocks; a mangled corpse was all that was left of the man he met and knew nothing about. Turning his gaze, as he was lifted up, Eren found himself peering into the eyes of his father's titan. He wanted to say the words he was thinking, but his lips wouldn't move; his body wouldn't respond. He could only stare in trepidation as the skin suddenly began to shift and the form changed to a more familiar one:

His own, with green eyes changing to blue and back when his titan blinked his third eyelids.

A gasp finally escaped his mouth as Eren's eyes burst open. A shiver was sent all throughout his body as his heart beat a million miles per second. But he wasn't within anyone's grasp, he was tied in flesh, securely attached to his titan in the nape. He realized this for a split second before his consciousness was turned over to his titan and like before, his titan's eyes burst open in response.

He was still lying there on the ground, face to the stars, his body nearly paralyzed from sleep. Everything was quiet around him, his friends in a slumber as he once was.

I… He said as he peered up at the dark sky.

That felt so real. I can still remember it… Was that a dream or…

Was that a memory?

Chapter Text

A knock on his door alerted Grisha to the waiting person on the other side.

“Come in!” He called out, keeping his eyes glued to the microscope as he adjusted the lens.

“Grisha?” He heard someone say, “It’s me, Hange.” He lifted his attention from his work, recognizing her voice instantly.

“Oh hey.” He greeted, “How’s Eren doing? Is everything okay?”

Hange closed the door behind her and took a quick sweep of the room to make sure they were alone. It seemed every one of her conversations as of late was to be kept private. “Yeah, everything’s fine. He’s holding up better than expected.” She reassured him, remaining to stand next to the door as Grisha remained seated. “I actually came here to talk to you about something else, though.”

“If it’s about that project we’ve been working on for the past few years, I’ve finally finished the formula.” He replied as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out one of his notebooks. “Here. I’ve checked it over twice, but we should still test it first before applying it to any real circumstances.” He said as he brought it over to her.

“Yes, and hopefully it won’t have to come to that,” She told him in accepting the notebook. Her face lowered as she looked at him earnestly, “but that’s not what I came here to talk to you about.”

He furrowed his eyebrows in sensing her seriousness all of the sudden, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s about Mikasa… and her family.” Upon hearing this, Grisha’s eyes drifted to the floor and he returned to his chair at his desk. They remained there in silence before Grisha finally spoke up, his eyes staring at the wood.

“Did you…” he hesitated, “force her to tell you?”

“No,” Hange answered as honest as ever, “she told us all that she wanted to.”

“What do you know, then?”

“About the bandits,” Hange sighed as she took a few steps away from the door, “and that you and Eren were there for a check-up when her parents got killed.” She explained with a few arm motions, “We also know that Mikasa and Eren took care of said bandits on their own with Eren using his shifting abilities.” She watched him carefully, her face softened.

She continued, “Don’t get me wrong, I have no qualms with them killing bandits—in fact, no one would care, really—but the fact that Eren killed them as a titan at such a young age…” She explained, noting how Grisha too nodded his head in understanding. He placed his glasses on the table and cupped his head in his hand.

“Grisha, you never reported it in. Nile doesn’t know about it and if he somehow does find out, they’ll take him. There’d be little we as the Survey Corp could do.” A silence fell between them as Grisha thought long and hard about his response.

“I didn’t report it in because I couldn’t.” He said, finally gazing up at her, “How was I to explain the mangled corpse and another missing? Not to mention my own “death” when those bastards shot me.” He told her, looking down at his lap now, “Believe me, I wanted to report it in, but I couldn’t.”

“What did you do?”

He sighed, “I gave the Ackermans a proper funeral and burned the bodies I could find. I set the house on fire hoping it would look like an accident for anyone that found it.

Truth be told, I didn’t worry too much about the Military Police finding out. Even if they did know what happened, I didn’t think they’d bother. The Ackermans were heavily discriminated against; Mrs. Ackerman especially because of her bloodline.”

“Well,” she said, “You did what you could.”

“What are you guys going to do?”

She only shrugged, “Nothing we really can do besides keep it a secret, even though it doesn’t feel right to.” Hange said as she walked over and plopped down into his one-seater sofa. “I mean, all of it was in self-defense; any reasonable person can see that. But Nile…”

He smiled at her, “Heh, he’s just trying to do his job and protect the people inside these walls.” He said while rubbing his temples.

“Yeah well, he needs to relax and be a little more open-minded. I mean before, I could easily ignore him, but now he’s just insufferable.” She said with her more quirky side beginning to show again.

“I must admit though, I kind of wish I was there to have witnessed it all.” This earned a curious glance from him, “I mean, thinking about it now, it really was lucky for Eren to have gotten his abilities from you.” Hange said without looking at Grisha, her chin in the crevice of her fingers. Said doctor’s kind gaze instantly dropped at hearing those words and looked away.

Hange continued, “Who knows what might have happened if he didn’t have that power to protect himself and Mikasa...

Oh well, thank God for heredity, right? What a wonderful thing it is.” She finished with a look that told him to ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’. When he didn’t return her gaze, she frowned at him before covering it up with another smile and getting up off the couch.

“But anyway, thanks again for the notes.” She gestured to the notebook in her hands. “I’ll get my science team on this right away and hopefully we can test it sometime soon.” She informed him as she made her way to the door.

“Hange-san…” Grisha called out just as she grabbed the doorknob.

“Hmmm?” Anticipation was written all over her face.

Grisha’s lips parted to speak, but no words made their way out. He fought with himself internally but only ended up bowing his head, sending her a message of shame as he closed his eyes. As the silence grew between them, Hange grew impatient and decided to make the move for him.

“Grisha,” She let his name hold its value, “Eren didn’t get his abilities because of heredity, did he?”

Seconds ticked by before he shook his head with a soft, “No.”

“Why lie to us then?”

“I wasn’t lying!” His tone turned desperate, uncharacteristically so. “It’s true that he got his abilities from me, but heredity wasn’t the proper term to use for it…?” he struggled with his words, “I don’t know! He did get his powers from me—no, no, he took them from me and I don’t understand how!”

“What?” She asked with underlining concern. Her hand fell away from the doorknob and she positioned herself to face her colleague.

Grisha growled and stood from his chair to pace the room, “This is why I didn’t bother because it’s ridiculous and unbelievable and impossible. I can’t even explain it to myself, how do you expect me to explain it to you?!”

“Just calm down, we only want the truth. The more we can understand Eren’s power, the better we can help him control it.”

His glasses reflected the lights in the room, hiding his eyes, “That’s just it, it’s not something you can just put behind scientific reasoning.” She watched him closely, “I’ve tried that, you know: the heredity, but that failed too. If you want the truth, you won’t find it by any scientific means.

It all sounds absurd, I know, but believe me when I say that his power isn’t something we can fully understand. On the surface, perhaps, but underneath…

Don’t venture there, Hange. He’s not like the rest of us, he’s not a normal titan shifter.”

“Wha—do—do you mean to tell me that you’ve seen something we haven’t?!” she exclaimed in suspense.

Grisha only stood there frozen in place, his eyes caught in a thousand-yard stare as he relived the memories of that night…

“Eren… son… please, trust me.” He said with a shaky voice.

“What are you doing?” Eren asked, his voice almost inaudible. He watched his father fill the syringe with a strange liquid from another vial.

“I’m going to give you something,” Grisha replied, but Eren backed away holding his arms for protection. “I’m sorry it has to be you, but I trust no one else with this, not even myself.” He began to explain, “I can’t do this Eren; you may be the only one able to use it. Please, hold still.” He pleaded as the tears also began to fall down his own cheeks.

“No…” Eren kept backing away as Grisha came near him, “What are you doing? Daddy… I don’t like you like this…”

“I’m sorry, Eren. Please, don’t be scared. I’m sure you won’t remember any of this, and it’ll happen very quickly.”

“You’re scaring me!” Eren yelled as his father was finally able to grab hold of his arm.

“You have to promise me you won’t give up, that you won’t stop trying!”

“No! Stop it! Don’t do that! Why are you like this?!”

“Eren, LISTEN to me! You have to learn how to control this power! Everyone depends on you now! Mikasa, Armin, the Scouts, everyone is depending on you!”

“Dad, stop!” Eren yelled as the syringe was held in place against his skin, but before his father was able to inject the liquid into him, something inside of him came to life.

A spark was lit and Eren’s body burst forth steam. The force of the steam threw Grisha back, knocking the syringe from his hands.

“EREN!” He yelled as he fell, collapsing on the ground with a pained grunt. The syringe crashed against a tree and broke in two, the liquid inside dissipating into thin air.

The white fog surrounded him now and the trees around him disappeared as it got thicker. As Grisha stood up, he noticed how the fog did not cover him but flowed around him. It did not touch him.

“Eren…?” He called out shakenly as he tried to peer into the dense fog ahead. But he couldn’t see anything, that is until two large, green, glowing eyes opened up within the mist. He gasped and staggered backward, falling down onto his butt as the impossibly large eyes stared right back at him. They closed once more and turned blue when they opened to see him again.

“We do not do it this way anymore… father.” Grisha was too stunned for words.

“Hold still.” The disembodied voice said as the mist began to move in. Grisha ended up being enveloped in the fog and breathed it in. His throat began to burn and soon his whole body followed before the pain moved to his back.

He screamed as steam began to rise from his skin as if an injury was healing. And as the steam left him, he felt his own breath being pulled out as well. Just when he thought he might collapse from lack of oxygen, the last of the mist left him. His lungs were able to function once more and his body was free from the tension and pain. Nonetheless, he fell down onto his hands and knees, panting.

A bright light emitted in front of him, but his eyes were glued to the ground.

“Thank you.”

The mist around him began to fade and the forest became clear once again. He only looked up when all he could hear was his own breaths.

Eren was lying unconscious on the ground ahead of him. His instinct kicked in and fear clouded his mind as he rushed over to him.

“Eren…? Eren!” He called for him to wake, lifting him up into his arms. Eren breathed but was limp and unresponsive. His temples were burned with the titan’s mark and his skin was as hot as an oven.

Grisha sat there staring down at him in bewilderment. A million questions rushed through his mind, but the one thing that stood out the most to him was the fact that they were gone.

The memories from the Founding Titan power… were gone.

“He’s not one of the nine…” Grisha whispered just as a droplet of blood began to drip from his nose. Hange was about to say something just as he wiped it away before proceeding to clutch his head. “I don’t feel well…”

“Hey, hey, hey?!” Hange called out as she sprung forward to catch him as his balance wavered. She helped him sit back down in his chair. “Your forehead’s hot; you may have a fever.” She examined. “Hang on, let me go get some help.”

“Hange… wait…” he whispered weakly as she returned to the door.

“Just hold that thought, I’ll be right back. And don’t you dare move!” she warned him before rushing out.

“But… he still has a name… his titan; like the rest…” he mumbled even though Hange was long gone now. “I remember now… he told me. His titan…’s the Atl… The At…” his voice failed and he closed his eyes to better focus on his breathing.

The night was still and quiet save for the crackling fire and the hollow breaths of Eren’s titan. Levi enjoyed the peace as he poked the cinders below the burning wood, his eyes flickering up at his sleeping comrades and their shifter.

Remarkably so, Eren had managed to fall asleep quite quickly. If Hange were here watching him now, he’d guess she’d be up on his chest analyzing his heartbeat or something weird like that. She’d probably be saying how cool it was that he was laying on his back as if it was some instinct to protect his nape or how interesting it was that he never moved possibly due to sleep paralysis in order to protect the humans around him. He could practically hear her making all those points now.

Oddly enough, Hange had been gone nearly the entire night and Levi was beginning to wonder if she had stopped to go to the bathroom on the way back and fell in the toilet.

It wasn’t until he heard the sound of footprints behind him that he turned his attention away from said shifter. A soldier approached him, at first in a hurry, but eased his pace when he came closer to them. He knelt down beside Levi and whispered something in his ear.

Levi’s eyes grew as the information was passed and he moved to stand on his feet in an instant. His gaze lifted up to the wall walk where Mike too was watching the forms below. When their eyes met, Levi motioned him down.

Though her back was to them and her eyes were set on Eren, Mikasa heard the soft chatter going on behind her. She couldn’t make anything out, but it sounded urgent. She stopped playing and turned over to sit up just in time to see the soldier and Mike run off.

Levi glanced over at her as he returned to his seat by the fire, “You can return to staring at him.” He told her nonchalantly.

“What’s going on?” she questioned, ignoring his previous comment.

“It’s nothing to worry about.”

Mikasa narrowed her eyes at his secrecy and continued to watch him, waiting for the answer she asked for. Levi sighed without looking up, “The only thing you need to worry about is that brat over there.”

Mikasa turned to Eren in question. She couldn’t agree more with that statement, but still, if something was up she wanted to know about it. Regardless, she listened and laid back down.

The night moved on as such with the morning coming quickly. Hange’s absence was noticed by Eren and his friends the following afternoon when Levi started their daily running exercise without her. Any questions that popped up though were dismissed by him and his subordinates in saying she was dealing with other matters for now. For the rest of that day, Eren’s experiment was overseen by Levi and Moblit.

On the third day of Eren’s experiment, Hange returned with a bit more perk in her attitude than usual, but the nature of her absence was still kept under the table and would remain so. With her return, however, they were able to proceed with the experiment as originally planned.

With all the running exercises, Eren’s speed had increased exponentially with him now able to outrun the horses. And with the third day coming to a close, they chose to use this time of rest for another test Hange had prepared. With all the logs he had uprooted days earlier, Eren was now given the opportunity to build what he could out of them, in which case, he built a log cabin. Remarkably so, Eren’s titan had shown great motor skills as the cabin he built was structurally sound and was used as their camp for that night.

The following day, Eren’s stamina took a turn downhill as he didn’t wake up until later on into the afternoon and had little interest in moving around. Most of his time was spent absorbing the sunlight even though he wasn’t exhausting his body. When the Scouts got him moving again, though, his speed had decreased quite rapidly as he was unable to keep up with the horse, eventually falling too far behind and stopping altogether.

His eyes were nearly always kept half-lidded and his posture was sluggish with his steps becoming unstable at certain times. Later on into the evening, Eren’s titan began to breathe deeply and at a faster pace than what was considered healthy. Upon examining him, Hange found his titan body to be considerably hot and she concluded that he was overheating. Mikasa argued with her that the experiment be done with, but Eren seemed to have calmed down as his breathing helped cool him off.

The fifth and final day of Eren’s experiment turned out to be worse than the last. Eren, for lack of a better word, became extremely ornery. He did not move from his spot, he did not listen to their commands, he even yelled back at Levi when Levi yelled at him. He didn’t like anyone touching him, He didn’t like anyone coming near him, he was constantly moaning and groaning and screaming, and when they tried reasoning with him or to help him he only growled and gave them a death glare.

Levi and Mikasa actually became fearful that he would attack them, but he never did and that night they ended the experiment.

Eren slept for three days afterward with only waking up when hungry, thirsty, or when duty called. During these periods of consciousness, Eren was overall unresponsive or uninterested in any of their questions. Often times he wouldn’t answer Hange at all, but when he did, his responses were quick with one-word answers being yes, no, or eh. More times than not, Eren flat out ignored their presence altogether. It made Hange second guess herself that he was really conscious, and she hypothesized that he was more than likely sleep-walking or as Levi coined it, on ‘auto-pilot’.

During this time, since Hange returned to Eren’s experiment days earlier, Grisha had developed a slight fever and was bed-ridden for one day. He was looked after by the other doctors and was questioned by Erwin and Mike during his periods of consciousness. But Grisha couldn’t remember much of his talk with Hange and Erwin was left with the information only the eccentric scientist was able to provide.

When Grisha recovered from his lapse in health he spent most of his time tending to Eren in his cell. And it was during this time that Hange finally informed the group of what went down several days earlier.

“…Not one of the nine?” Armin repeated what Hange had told them. He and Mikasa were dumbfounded, they all were as they sat around the table down in the cellar.

“You’re telling me that there are nine shifters altogether?” Levi questioned, a bit irritated at this information they were receiving. Hange confirmed this with a head nod. “Did he say anything else on this matter?”

“No,” she replied, “He said Eren’s not like the rest of them, that he’s not a normal titan shifter.”

“That he’s not one of the nine,” Petra repeated once more for emphasis.

“Precisely.”

“He could be indicating that there can only ever be nine,” Erd added, “which explains why he was so confused as to why Eren has the ability in the first place. Made him try to reason it with logic to keep his sanity in check.”

“The heredity theory, yes.” Hange agreed with him.

“Still doesn’t help us understand him. If anything, he’s more of a threat now.” Levi commented dryly.

“Disregarding the last day of the experiment, Eren has shown remarkable consideration of us as a titan.” Hange chimed in again. “He’s always aware of himself and those around him, thinks highly of you two,” she gestured to Mikasa and Armin, “he listens to us, accepts our help and is even curious about his own being as I am.”

“So, if anything…” Erd began but drifted off in thought. However, Levi picked up where he left off.

“If anything, it means Eren’s hidden power is just what we were hoping for.”

“So,” Petra began a bit hesitantly, “Is this a good or a bad thing?”

Levi closed his eyes, “Not sure,” he then looked over at Mikasa and Armin, “What do you two make out of all of this?”

Armin kept his head down, his hands on his lap and his arms tight against his body, “What worries me the most about what Grisha said was how we shouldn’t delve deeper into his power than what was on the surface. That we wouldn’t be able to understand it, even if we tried.

People already fear him, see him as a monster. I’m just not so sure what they’d think of him if they found this out.” They all watched him with worry in their eyes, “Would we even have a chance to protect him anymore? It’s already hard enough.”

“Grisha’s afraid, but are you?” Levi asked again.

Before Armin could reply, Mikasa answered, “I’m not.” She said with the fiercest of confidence.

Armin looked at her in admiration before answering himself, “No, I’m not afraid. But Grisha may be able to understand this more than we can. He is a shifter after all.”

“But he can’t remember much of anything. Broken memories and all.” Petra reminded them.

Armin looked down at his lap again, his shoulders coming up to cover more of his neck. Levi took notice of his uncomfortable posture.

“Is there something you’re not telling us, Arlert?” All eyes turned to him once again. And even though he felt the pressure, he took a deep breath and met their gazes.

“When we were growing up, I always… sensed that there was something different about Eren. Even when I first met him…

You know when you meet someone and instantly you just know they’re a good, responsible person; someone you can trust? Well, it was kind of like that with Eren. When I first learned of his shifting abilities, I don’t know why, but I felt hopeful. And when Grisha told us it was because of heredity, deep down, I doubted him. But I listened and believed him because he was older than me, he was Eren’s father, and he knew Eren more than I did.

And hearing it again during our induction ceremony, it reminded me of that doubt.”

“And now that sense of doubt has been proven correct.” Levi finished for him. “Essentially, what all of this comes down to is if we can continue to trust Eren or not.” Levi examined the room and all of their faces. “Since I am the one responsible for the decision to keep him alive, I’d like to know what you guys think. Those of you who trust Eren and his capabilities, raise your hand.”

Mikasa immediately raised her hand with Armin following soon after. Hange was a close third, followed by Petra and Erd.

“Hmmm,” He bowed his head in thought, eyes closed, “Alright, it’s settled then.”