Chapter 1
In Between The Lines
Summary: Dr. Yeager, believing he could save humanity, gives Eren the power of Titans before birth. Unpredicted side effects lead to a very different world and a very different Eren. Can he choose between Humans or will he choose the Titans he grew up around? "You can't be in-between. You have to pick one or the other." Smart/Strong Eren! Hybrid Eren!
Disclaimer: I don't own attack on titan, all copyrights go to the creator, whoever that genius may be. So yeah... I don't own it, I wouldn't be writing this story otherwise.
I wanted to expand on the concept of Titans and Titan Shifters. I hope to create a story that builds off existing information on the SNK universe with my own little twist.
XLine BreakX
Grisha Yeager sat in his office, located in the darkness of his basement, practically pulling out his hair. He eyes were fixed on the objects of his consternation.
A small bottle and a hypodermic needle containing a translucent red liquid.
The cup was easy to explain. It contained tea mixed with concentrated sleep inducers, enough to render one unconscious in seconds. They wouldn't remember being drugged.
The needle...was not so easily explained.
What would everyone think of me if they knew what I intend to do?
The sound of a door opening and foots falls shook him from his morbid musings.
"Grisha! I've been calling you for over an hour!" The enchanting voice of his wife and lover was thick with hormonal anger if her swelling stomach was anything to go by.
"Carla..." Grisha whispered breathlessly with tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. He didn't want to do this. He would like nothing more than just to take his wife upstairs and forget this, but he couldn't.
He couldn't for the sake of humanity.
"Grisha...are you ok?"
He shuddered when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and suppressed a flinch when he saw the concern in her eyes.
He managed a weak smile, "Y-yes, I'm fine... Could you taste this tea? I think its a little strong." He hated himself for this. He hated making Carla worry. He hated lying to her face.
She frowned briefly, but it quickly turned into a smile as she took the cup in her hand and took a sip. "Its fine, honey. I don't know why..." He watched both with anticipation and guilt as she began to slowly droop her eyes in her obvious battle to fend off sleep.
"Carla, you look tired. Let's get you to sleep shall we?"
"Yeah, sleep so-." She never finished her sentence as dropped into his arms, indicating that she was now unconscious.
For good measure, he lifted up her eyelids and was somewhat pleased in his work when he saw no pupil dilation.
He picked her up in his arms, holding the capped needle between his teeth and went up the stairs, into their bedroom and gently placed her on the bed. His eyes lingered on her swollen stomach which contained a child-his child, he reminded himself-two months in the making.
Am I really going to do this? There are so many variables-so many things that could go wrong tonight. Is it really worth risking their lives for this? It was experimental at best, their was no other like it.
His eyes hardened as he removed the cap from the needle in his hand. NO! if this serum works it could help prevent the deaths of thousands if the titans were to ever break the wall. This is the best choice for humanity... I'm so sorry Carla.
Taking in a deep breath, Grisha slowly inserted the needle full length into his wife's pregnant belly, taking care to be certain it reached the child inside.
He gently injected the serum, pacing himself with Carla's pained expressions, until none remained. He gently placed a linen foil to cover the needle mark afterwards.
Seeing his worked was completed, Grisha placed the empty syringe on the dresser and dropped limply onto his bed.
The crushing guilt intensified.
XLine BreakX
Looking back on things, Grisha couldn't believe how lucky he was to have Carla.
He'd told her that he had administered a vaccine for a coming plague and she hadn't questioned him even once. The level of faith never cease to amaze.
It was also a great source of grief.
How could he, her husband, lie to her so easily? Betray the trust she gave him? He could barely look her in the eye without flinching anymore.
XLine BreakX
Seven and A Half Months Later...
"I'm sorry your Carla. Theirs... Theirs nothing I can do."
Carla Yaeger stared at the little bundle in her arms and her heart broke. Wrapped in a simple towel, Eren Yaeger, son of Grisha Yaeger and Carla Yaeger, stared back at her.
His skin was dangerously pale and his eyes were neon green, she almost believed they were glowing, but what the focus of her sadness were his obsidian sclera.
"Theres gotta be something we can do! I-I can't lose my baby!" Carla's voice shook with desperation.
"I-I'm sorry, but the chances of him living passed three are almost zero. I couldn't find anything..." Grisha's fists were clenched and his expression twisted with self loathing as he locked eyes with Carla's desperate ones.
'This is my fault! I thought introducing the serum would help him and now he's dying!'
From the moment of his birth, Eren's body conflicted against itself. As the family doctor, Grisha learned only one thing; Eren's life was going to end soon, very soon. He realized that the two different gene types were having a negative effect on Eren, his immune system was attacking itself, he was circulating an unidentified blood type and the white blood cells weren't recognizing it. Eren's body would remain weak and feeble until he passed on.
The black sclera he was born with was a unique side effect, Eren's vision and senses were superior to that of humans. Ironically enough he'd never be able to leave his room.
He pulled Carla and his son into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Carla."
She locked eyes with his and pulled her husband into a kiss. "Its okay baby, it isn't your fault."
As she sobbed into the crook of his neck, she didn't notice him flinch.
Yes, it really is...
XLine BreakX
"Gahh!"
Jolting in his bed a six year old boy started breathing heavily due to the burning heat in his body. He looked out the window as he calmed himself. This had been happening rather frequently lately, he couldn't sleep, he had also been a lot less hungry in the past week. He understood what was happening to him. He knew his body wasn't born right, that going out of his room was dangerous most of the time. The sudden changes his body experienced were his body fighting itself up until recently.
His sickness was strange, as there would be jumps and drops in his health. On his best day, he could actually go outside if he wanted to, and see the beautiful world outside of the room he was in most of the time he got sick. On his worst days however, he rarely stayed conscious.
Going outside was a bittersweet experience at best. He could taste fresh air, feel the grass beneath his feet and the sun on his skin.
The problem were the people. His eyes served as a stigma amongst his peers. Everyone thought he was a demon, especially the Wallists. Apparently he was a "Evil Spawn" here to destroy the wall.
Eren snorted at the thought. People were ignorant.
Recently, his health dropped so low that the tears thought gone reappeared in his mother's eyes, and he started to have unexplainable seizures in which he thought his time had come.
He spared his hands a glance as he flexed them. Even when he was able to move his was weak.
But now...
He was more then healthy. It was disconcerting to see his body suddenly grow and he only got stronger every morning he suffered from a strange heat surge.
Much of what was happening puzzled him. Having been confined in his room for nearly his entire life, he had more time to develop his mind where his body lacked. His parents had bought several books ranging from biology to physics at his request and had surprised both his parents at how quickly he absorbed knowledge. Being chronically ill, it was only natural he was driven to understand just what was wrong and that was the problem; he still didn't understand what was wrong with him!
Everything about him defied what should be possible! He remembered when he'd seen a bird at his window and tried to reach for it, only to slip and hit the floor shoulder first. He remembered the fear when steam seeped out his arm before dissipating, leaving his arm in perfect condition. He'd been lucky no one saw him. His dad was out on call and his mother was at the market. After that he'd practically drowned himself in biology books trying to understand how that was possible, his mother didn't heal like that when she cut her finger cooking.
He learned that healing was determined by mitosis, the process of cell division. The only case where healing was instantaneous were Titans; the bane of humanity.
"Daddy, what do you know about Titans."
He remembered asking his father about Titans. He'd never seen him so serious.
"Their monsters, Eren. They kill people. They can heal entire limbs in less then a minute. I've even seen them regrow their own heads, Eren."
His jaw clenched, the wisps of steam healing his bitten tongue, pale skin, and black sclera made for a terrifying visage.
"I am not a monster."
Yet, he looked the part-even healed just like one.
He was different from everyone else.
Everything about Eren pointed towards him being a freak, an abomination. Alone in a world filled with normal humans.
"Different could also mean better."
Getting out of bed he grabbed a candle that was on his nightstand and maneuvered his way out of the pitch black room. Opening and closing his door quietly he began his slow descent down the stairs.
His room was one of two that were located steps away from the stairs on the second floor. The other belonged to his younger brother Cain, whom was five years younger than him at the age of five.
He pondered briefly how his family would react if they knew.
His mother probably wouldn't even care. After all, she hadn't been even slightly fazed by his eyes and skin. She was always their for him when he needed it, but she always had this look in his eyes that annoyed him. Pity, like he would break if she held him to tight.
Dad would want to study it. He shuddered uneasily. His dad felt like a stranger to him. He always avoided him and whenever he was lucky enough to talk to him he always flinched and excused himself. If he was honest with himself he knew next to nothing about him.
Cain was only a child, the only member of his family he totally got along with. Even as a weakened cripple, Cain looked up to him like a hero whenever he helped him learn a new word.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs he went to the still red coals in the fire place and re-lit the wick of his candle. He then proceeded to go to the wash room, where once inside his candle sticks light illuminated the room revealing a tub of water with a pump spout right next to it.
Washing his face with a handful of water, Eren looked into rippling reflection of himself.
He was nearly as pale as the moon. His eyes were completely black with the exception of his neon green irises. Black hair matted his head, thankfully it had never been greasy.
Sighing Eren grabbed the candle and walked out of the washroom. He paused when he saw something that surprised him.
The basement door was open, all the locks undone.
That never happens... Dad always keeps that door locked.
Curiosity piqued, he opened the door completely and took the first step into the darkness of the basement.
"Ugh..." He gagged as an indescribable stench assaulted his nose; it reeked of stale air and decay. Eren was baffled how no one else had smelled this before, but wagered it had been a long walk down.
He immediately noticed body parts floating in jars, blood splattered the floor, a simple desk littered with documents, and a cold metal table at the center.
His father was in the room but his back was to him. He was leaning over some books and jars as he filled a syringe.
He decided to check the desk first.
Placing the candle on the desk mantle, Eren looked over looked over the documents until he saw a black journal labeled 'Newborn Project'. Picking the journal up gently, he skimmed the pages until he spotted something that made him uncomfortable.
It was a picture of him as a baby. He noticed the paper was littered with dry spots caused by tears when he saw
"It was a failure! A complete and utter failure! Giving the Titan Serum early on didn't help Eren, it twisted his DNA! I thought giving him the Titan Serum earlier would give him time to adjust, but he wasn't ready for it and now I've ruined his feature. I'm a failure of a father..."
Eren dropped the journal on the desk, his eyes wide. Shivering, he looked at his left arm, which was pale and muscular. Suddenly everything made sense. His parents' behavior, the pitying looks, the guilt they had shown when he talked to them, the isolation. They had known! Everyone had known! EVERYONE HAD KNOWN THAT HE WAS A HALF-BREED MONSTER AND NOBODY TOLD HIM!
Eren had to get out of here, or he would go insane. Already the urge to smash things was getting unbearable. He ran out of the basement, grabbing his jacket and scarf from the hanger.
Eren didn't care what else his parents had to say, he needed to be alone right now.
XLine BreakX
Eren was storming away. He had no goal in mind, he just had to get away. Fortunately, the guards watching this area had were always either drunk or unconscious. He was safe from their eyes, and seeing that it wasn't even 5:00 AMyet, the streets were practically deserted.
Eren left the main streets, where a few early risers, like bakers, were already up and about, and instead went into the darker alleys, where he was alone.
"I'm a fucking experiment and nobody tells me! Now it all makes sense. Why would they waste time talking to me, I'm not their real son. Why teach me, it's not like I'll be alive that long. Why bother caring for me in anything, it's not like he'll ever be anything! Let me read, it's not like I'll ever be able to perform anything!" Steam escaped from Eren's mouth where his teeth began to change, sharpening into canines perfect for ripping through flesh and bone.
He jerked as a pulse of heat spread throughout his entire body. Wisps of steam hissed through the pores of his skin as he entered a rage induced metamorphosis. His muscles tightened and enlarged, bones toughened and grew.
Contrary to belief, Eren was feeling relieved instead of pained. His body felt lighter, yet stronger in many ways. By the time the steam dissipated he felt like he'd just taken a hot bath.
He stood up shakily and noticed his pants still fit, nor had his scarf torn. He stretched uneasily when he saw how much bigger he was and turned to a window.
No way...
He was at least five feet tall, his skin was still pale, his eyes were the same with the exception of his pupil being slightly narrower. His hair was longer, just barely grazing his shoulders. He gasped when he saw his teeth, all set and sharpened like canines, his tongue was elongated as well.
He felt his stomach drop.
No one will except me now.
... But then again, was he ever accepted in the first place? His parents were lying pricks who experimented on their kids and everyone else thought he was some demonic freak.
He glanced at his reflection. Not that they were wrong...
His eyes hardened as he came to a decision that would change his life.
"I need to leave The Walls."
XLine BreakX
Outside Walk Maria, Eren stood before the border of the forest with clenched fists.
He'd discarded his old pants for a pair of baggy black pants and shirt. He replaced his old scarf with a black one, he didn't need any reminders of his family. He also carried a large backpack packed with stuff he'd stolen only minutes ago. Some clothes, a pack of hunting knives, a flint, a few pieces of bread, and a large assortment of books on what he thought would help (gardening, hunting, woodwork, etc...).
he was surprised how strong he was, he had torn doors right of their hinges like it was nothing and the pack on his back weighed practically nothing.
No use in putting it off any longer.
With a deep breath Eren took his first step into the wild...
...and vanished from the world.
XLine BreakX
Nine Years Later...
Breathing in the cool forest air, Eren couldn't help but to smile. He was free, alone to do whatever he pleased. No teacher to watch over him, no parents watching his every move, no glares or sneers from frivolous humans.
Completely free.
Standing at 6'5" with a lean, muscular build and a feral aura, fifteen year old Eren (He'd abandoned his last name) had retained his pale skin. His eyes were black with bright green irises and his pupils were slightly narrowed. Elf-like ears were mostly covered by his unkept black hair, which now reached his shoulders. The only clothing he actually wore were a pair of worn baggy black pants, he no longer required a shirt anymore.
Clawed fingers clenched excitedly as he wandered around the forest. Without any real thought Eren just began running as fast as he could.
Trees passed him in a messy blur as he let himself go, and the wind blew across his face just as it does during the bright morning sun.
It was so surreal, how light he felt. How good the wind felt brushing through his hair.
Running through the forest with absolute freedom Eren happily started laughing. He couldn't help himself to laugh when he was having such a great time.
He slowed down pace as he picked up the scent of oak.
This is the place.
He went over to some branches on the ground. Picking up the branches, Eren decided that they were in fact the oak branches he wanted. So he put his backpack on the floor and started piling up as many branches as he could find.
Weaving around every oak tree he could find Eren picked up all the loose branches and dumped them in a large pile and dropped a length of rope next to it. He wanted to do something first.
Climb the biggest tree in the forest.
It was natural at this point. All he had to do was reach the first branch, which was about three maybe four meters high, and then it was a straight shot up all the other branches to the top.
A second, that's all it took for Eren to sprint to the tree. Using his momentum Eren jumped onto the trunk and ran another five steps before landing feet first on top of the first branch. But he didn't stop there, he couldn't stop there, he kept climbing up the tree in a flurry of grapples, jumps, and scrambling through the thick leafy clusters of branches.
The blur of motion cleared and Eren found himself on the very last branch of the large oak tree. The forest floor was about twenty meters below him, and the tree line around him was three meters below.
A sea of green that went on seemingly forever in the northern direction, and was cut off by the wall in the southern direction, surrounded Eren. Eren took in the site around him as he absorbed the warmth of the sun, which gave him a pleasant tingling sensation.
He learned, with time, that he no longer needed to eat nearly as much as a human would. Simply sitting in the sun could sustain him for entire days. Though he did still eat, he only ever needs it every couple of weeks. He assumed he, and by proxy Titans, fed off the sun like plants; the more he was exposed to it, the more energy he absorbed.
His hair whipped with the wind when suddenly it hit him. The mixture of copper and salt that always burned his nose.
Blood
A lot if the scent was anything to go by.
His eyes glinted with curiosity as he jumped down.
Eren pulled at the heat inside his chest and his world burst in a white explosion of heat and steam.
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The Scouting Legion - a division of the military - is in charge of the exploration and the eventual reclamation of human territory from Titan-infested land.
Presently, they have been laying down supplies from the Wall Rose Trost District to Wall Maria Shiganshina District in preparation to seal the breach and reclaim Wall Maria.
They were led by their Commander, Erwin Smith. Standing six feet, his blond hair combed to the side, and his blue almost grey eyes were stoic and grim. He cared about all of his men, but he was willing to sacrifice them for the future of mankind.
Erwin leads the formation back to Wall Rose at Trost. They are almost out of supplies for this expedition, so they need to go back. It has been three and a half years since Wall Maria was breached, consequently losing all of the progress they had made outside of it. Now they have to retake the whole area between the two walls is they ever want to scout out there again. Though that will probably take a couple decades.
Erwin has seen more of the world than anyone inside the military, and yet from the legends he has heard, that isn't much at all. Flaming water? Saltwater? Frozen Earth? Lakes that cover most of the world? All he has seen are forests and the occasional lake. However little he has seen, he still wants to share it with the rest of humanity. He wants to save it from despair, from annihilation, from the Titans. He will do whatever it takes to make sure humanity will be safe outside the walls.
He is broken from his train of thought when Mike Zakarius rode up to him and sighed. "The fourth squads been cut off."
Mike Zakarius was a strange man. He has a habit of sniffing anyone he meets for the first time. Then... smirking for some reason. He does have a really acute sense of smell, able to smell Titans and other things from miles away. He had an apathetic look on his face and lazily half-lidded eyes. His hair was dirty blonde, and a light mustache and goatee. Erwin, amongst many others, considered him to be the third strongest man in the Legion, just under Levi.
Erwin grimaced, "Can we afford reinforcements?"
Zakarius shook his head with a tired look in his eye. "No, too many Titans to take on. Even for us. From what retreating riders saw most of them are either dead or just about."
Erwin's jaw clenched and he glanced to the western wing of their formation.
Hanji...
His grip tightened around his reigns before he pulled out his smoke flare gun, aiming it to the right and fires. A red smoke flare is expelled alerting the formation to retreat-they couldn't handle a Titan ambush, especially without the western wing. Follow up flares from the rest of the formation show their understanding as he tugged the reigns of the horse to the right.
What will I tell Levi?
He had to make the hard choices. Not the right ones. He just sentenced dozens of lives to death.
Such is the burden of leadership...
XLine BreakX
Hanji smiled despite the steaming blood on her face. She hooked on to the tree branch next to her and turned to get the perfect angle to slice open the nape of the 10-meter Deviants neck. As she drew near, it ducked. Hanji sailed past over head and landed gracefully on a trees surface.
Hanji frowned at the titan, "Hold still! This'll only hurt for a second!" she scolded as it the fifteen meter Titan was a child. As she readied her blades for a second attack, the Deviant tried to slap her down.
In an impressing display of acrobatics, she back flipped and retreated a few feet. The Deviant reached out and snagged the wire as she went to retreat; causing Hanji to jerk violently.
The Deviant raised the woman up, hanging upside down by her wire, until she was leveled with his eyes.
"Oh, so you're going to eat me big fella?" She asked as she fixed her glasses, seemingly oblivious of her impending death. Suddenly a large fist impacted the Deviants skull, shattering it on impact.
XLine BreakX
Moments Ago...
Eren frowned within the confines of flesh incasing him.
Changing had always been natural to him, like having an extra skin. He didn't know how it happened at first, he simply woke up a giant, a terrifying experience honestly.
Apparently, he had a sort of core he could feel inside him, he'd taken to calling it his "Inner Flame". The "Inner Flame" allowed him to tap into another form, where he was no longer hindered by human genes. It was stunning to see how he could generate an entire Titan, let alone control it from within the nape of its neck.
Ah, the possibilities...
Closing his eyes, he shook his head and took a deep breath.
Their was so much blood.
He hadn't had trouble finding the humans, the trail and mutilated bodies had seen to that.
He didn't hate humans per say, he just disliked them. The only human he truly loved in this world was his brother.
Hisses of steam escaped his lips as his gargantuan form sped up. He picked up the sounds of shouting and zeroed in on it.
He eventually reached a clearing and spotted a Deviant holding up a human.
A second later his fist was lodged on its face.
Hanji's body exploded in pain when she was sent careening into the ground below. Her spine shunted against a tree violently. She bit back a scream when she tried to move. Definitely broke something... She looked towards her attacker and her heart stopped.
W-what...?
Hanji's eyes widened in awe at the sight before her. 15-meter Eren, composed of Titan stared down at his latest victim. Eren's appearance was altered drastically. No longer was he made of skin with easily-noticeable veins that pumped blood throughout his body. He was now completely comprised of exposed muscle and bone.
His teeth were longer and more jagged. They could easily penetrate a nape without requiring too much effort from the jaws. The face of his skull could be seen with streams of flesh layered across it. The flesh shaped itself around his eyes, which were pure green.
The Deviants nape was crushed under Eren's heel with little effort, its body was already evaporating at a rapid pace.
"W-what?" Hanji began, leaning back against the tree. "It knows the weak spot?"
Hanji looked at the muscular titan in confusion and awe; the entire time it had been proving itself to be several legues ahead of it's brethren! It was a Deviant unlike any she had ever seen, she couldn't let an opportunity like this slip out her fingers!
"Hey! Why aren't you going to eat me? Do I not look tasty?" She called out to Eren's back. Eren looked around quickly to make sure that there weren't any titans in the area when he heard the woman shouting at him. Was she insane? Why didn't she just get out of here before titans showed up.
Eren looked back at Hanji; causing her to take a step back. Her 3D maneuver gear had been slightly damaged by the Deviant yanking it and she wouldn't be able to repair it in time to get away. She was actually starting to wonder if getting his attention after was a good idea.
He stared.
A human. A female to be exact.
But they were so tiny. Eren knew that meant they were young. So young.
She pressed herself against a tree, straightening her bloody back and trembling with pain, curious, awed eyes locked onto him despite her decrepit state. Eren felt something in him ache at the sight.
Carefully, he reached out and wrapped a hand around her. She shifted in his hands and winced when his hand moved the wrong way.
When she was lying flat in his hand, he stood and continued on. He felt them trembling against his skin, and he knew she would need medical attention soon, she would not survive long without it.
Hanji looked at the hand carrying her in surprise and puzzlement before looking back up at Eren's piercing green eyes. "You won't eat me will you?"
Eren shook his head no causing Hanji's jaw to drop. "You understand me?! Oh that's simply amazing!" she squealed excitedly,
"Calm." Hanji froze in her rant, to shocked that a titan had actually spoken to even think to jump around or to shoot off questions.
"Wha-what was that?" She asked as she turned her wide eyes to her newest friend and savior.
"Sleep." Eren sighed, a good bout of steam accompanied it. Talking in a body without the right vocal cords was difficult.
Hanji was too stunned to speak, so she nodded her head mutely and soon enough, the darkness of sleep claimed her.
Looking at the little human in his, Eren had the feeling any sense of peace in his life had just ended.
It was fun while it lasted...
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Okay so I'm going to explain a couple of things so were on track.
1. Eren IS NOT A TITAN SHIFTER! I decided that the "Titan Serum" which creates Titan Shifters replaces a small portion (about 7%) of their DNA because they've mostly developed. So when Eren was injected whilst he was still developing early on in the womb, the serum had a lot more room to integrate itself, it replaced about 45-50% of his DNA. So not only is he more proficient in Shifter abilities, he gains several Titan traits amalgamated with human ones, hence the superior senses and physical capability. I haven't given what he is a name yet, but he is essentially a perfect hybrid in between Human and Titan.
2. I know the ages are going to be off with Mikasa, so I decided that Eren was born two years earlier then the Canon and Cain was born when Eren was supposed to.
3. Him being that smart does make a fair amount of sense. If you had nothing to do but sit in bed for your whole life and had augmented memory, you'd be intelligent to. That, coupled with his ridiculous level of drive can create a genius.
4. Eren will leave. It's an inevitable result of circumstance and an obviously important part of this story. I won't reveal anymore for now, but the story gets into gear with this decision.
If you have any questions, just IM me and I'll post a response in next chapters footnotes.