Disclaimer : All character in this fic are owned by Hajime Isayama.


Everyone assembled in the courtroom watched as the judge took his seat. A man by the name of Darius Zachary, head of all 3 military branches - The Survey Crops, the Garrison and the Military Police Brigade. His decision would determine the young titan shifter's fate today.

On the left side of the room stood the Military Police along with their commander, Nile Dok. Also standing with them were Wall Cultists, a group of lunatics who worshipped the walls as if they were some kind of deities.

On the other hand, right side of the room was occupied by the members of Survey Corps. Captain Levi and Commander Erwin Smith among them. Mikasa, Armin and surprisingly Jean were also standing along with the scouts. Initially, commander Smith refused Jean's request to attend the trial but relented when Jean pointed out some logical reasons.

After all, he was one of the first persons to see Eren in his titan form as well as the shifter emerging out of the steaming titan's corpse. Also, unlike Mikasa and Armin, his view will not be considered biased by the court.

About 5 minutes later, Eren is escorted into the room by Hange Zoe and Miche Zacharius. He was handcuffed and those cuffs were then attached to the pole that stood in the middle of the room, hindering any movement . All eyes are now on the shifter, almost everyone vary of the boy. After all, it is not every day that you see a person who can transform into the very creature that has pushed mankind to the brink of extinction.

Only ones who are not scared by his presence are commander Smith, captain Levi and Eren's friends, especially Mikasa. Her eyes soften when she looks at Eren, relieved that he is okay. Jean is also relieved that they have not harmed the shifter. Yet.

"Now that everyone is here, this trial shall begin," said Zachary "Cadet Eren Yeager!"

"Yes sir." Eren replied loudly with slight fear in his tone.

"You will be defending yourself in this trial. It will decide whether you are a friend of humanity or its enemy. If you fail to defend yourself, you will be executed. Are the terms clear ?" Zachary questioned. Eren's friends stiffened at his words. What choice did he have ?

"Yes!" Eren said, becoming more nervous by the minute.

"Now I will hear both the sides. Commander Dok, I will hear your side first." said Zachary.

"Thank you sir. I propose that cadet Eren Yeager be put in the custody of Military Police so that we can experiment on him and find out more about titans and how to deal with them. Cadet Yeager will be dissected and all things we learn from his body would help us immensely in our war against titans. He will receive a respectful death and listed as a soldier who died on his duty to mankind." explained commander Dok with an expressionless face.

His explanation caused whispers to erupt in the court room as everyone was considering it as the most suitable course of action. While Jean, Armin and Mikasa were disgusted with the very idea of Eren being used as a lab rat, dissected and then tossed away just because of humans' fear of the unknown. They have known Eren for a long time and although he is brash and short tempered, his allegiance has always been with humanity.

Before anyone could say anything, the wall cultist known as Nick Pastor screamed "This creature is an abomination. A disgrace to the almighty lord. Keeping him inside our sacred walls would be an insult. I say KILL HIM WHERE HE STANDS!"

The lunatics' antics caused heavy commotion inside the courtroom.

"Order! Order," commanded Zachary. When the commotion finally died down a bit, he turned towards Pastor "Next time you will only speak when asked. Such behavior will not be tolerated inside the court," the whispers ceased and the priest looked like he wanted to say more but wisely stayed silent.

"Now, I will hear what the other side has to say about Eren Yeager". Everyone turned to Commander Erwin Smith. His side of case will be an important factor in affecting Zachary's decision.

"Thank you, your honour. My proposal for young Eren Yeager is to be transferred to the Survey Corps under my command. We can utilize his shifting capabilities to fight the titans and he will become a beacon of hope for humanity. The extent of his powers shall be tested by section commander Hange Zoe" proposed Erwin.

Many people now considering the scout commander's words. Having a titan at your side could change the tides of war between humans and titans that has been waging for the last 100 years, with humanity losing every time.

"Would you like to add anything else?" asked Zachary

"No, That's all sir" said commander Erwin.

Zachary was contemplating both sides to decide the best course of action that would help humanity in the war against titans. Finally, he directed his next question towards the shifter "Cadet Yeager, what do you fight for ? what is your aim ?"

Eren was surprised by such a question, but he didn't need to think twice before answering.

"I fight so that we can finally be free from the fear of titans and humans could explore the lands beyond the walls as is our right and my aim is to wipe out all the titans" Eren spoke with the same fire in his eyes that his fellow trainees had seen so many times during his speeches. Zachary was also impressed by his answer as well as his determination, but he had to make sure that he would not be a danger to them.

"And do you think that you can control your titan powers ? Because from the reports I have got, when you shifted into your titan form, the first thing you did was attack Mikasa Ackerman" Stated Zachary. At this, Eren's as well as Jean's eyes widened.

Jean took his eyes off Eren, looking at to Mikasa and confirm what Zachary said. However, Mikasa was busy glaring at Rico Brzenska for including that little incident in her report.

"What? Was I suppose to leave such an important detail in my official report?"whispered Rico defending herself. Jean could understand Rico's reasoning, but it didn't mean that he liked it. This could create a big problem for them.

"Is this true Ms. Ackerman ?" questioned Zachary

"Yes sir," said Mikasa. However she was not done" But he has also saved me and countless others when Trost was attacked." She pleaded to the court.

"Yes sir, it is true. If not for Eren, all of my squad mates would have died in breach of Trost district. He single handedly killed more than 20 titans and gave us a chance to retreat" this voice, surprisingly, was Jean's. Armin, Eren and Mikasa were shocked that he would say something like that, given his history with the shifter. Mikasa looked at him and he could see that she was grateful for his words. That alone was enough to make him happier than ever.

Zachary was considering the words of both the witnesses and just before he came to a decision, commander Dok interjected" Your honour. I would like to present a very disturbing event related to both Mr. Yeager and Ms. Ackerman's past," Zachary gave him a nod to continue "When cadet Yeager and cadet Ackerman were 9 years old, they murdered 3 grown men. This puts a question on their mental stability and emotional intelligence."

Jean was really shocked to hear this. He always knew there was some kind of dark past associated with Mikasa that led to her excluding herself socially. But he never expected that she had to kill someone at such a young age. Jean looked at her to see her reaction, but her eyes looked hollow. Bringing up such an event must have reopened some wounds.

He could never understand what she went through, but he would never judge her for her past. From what he has seen, she is a compassionate woman who deeply cares for others. Even if ninety percent of the time that care is directed towards Eren.

Court once again erupted into chaos, but this time people were openly questioning not just Eren's stability but Mikasa's too. Someone even went as far as to question if Mikasa was even human. This truly made Jean's blood boil but he calmed himself, getting riled up and acting on impulse would not help them is this situation

Jean noticed that there was a glint in Eren's eyes. One that he knew too well.

Eren was going to say something very stupid.

Jean was repeating only one thing in his mind - Please don't screw up. Please don't screw up, Please don't screw up.

But as always, his luck didn't hold.

"How dare you cowards drag her into this. You have no right to judge her! You hide behind these walls, living your ignorant lives, just waiting for titans to eat you-" before Eren could continue his rant, a foot slammed onto his face with such an impact, that it sent a tooth flying out his mouth. The foot belonged to none other than captain Levi of the Survey Corps, also dubbed as 'Humanity's strongest soldier'. The beating that came after that was one that Jean would not forget anytime soon.

Mikasa watched in horror as Eren was being beaten to a pulp. She prepared to jump over the rails to help Eren from this sadist but she felt a firm hand on her shoulder that kept her from going there. She looked back and saw that Jean was the one who had stopped her from saving the young shifter. She glared at him but he returned her glare with a calm gaze.

"This is important for ensuring Eren's survival. If you try to help him now, it will only make it worse for him" He whispered calmly but his tone was firm. Mikasa contemplated his words and relaxed. However, it was still very difficult to watch Eren suffer like this and swore that she will make the short captain pay for what he is doing to her adoptive brother.

Finally, as Levi had finished beating Eren commander Erwin turned towards Zachary" As you can see sir, Captain Levi is more than enough to control Eren if he does go berserk. Even kill him if the need arises. I again request you to put Cadet Yeager under captain Levi's command. We will soon set out for its 57th Exterior scouting mission, you can decide cadet Yeager's fate depending on the result of the mission"

There was silence in the court room as General Zachary considered commander Erwin's offer. Keeping in mind that Eren was the reason for humanity's first victory against mankind and the trust that his fellow trainees had for him, General of all three military regiments decided to give the shifter a chance to prove himself.

Thus, the day's events ended with Eren put under the close watch of Survey Corps. They will train him, study his powers and control him if the need arises.

Section Commander Hange Zoe, or as Eren liked to call her 'The crazy scientist lady' was literally salivating at the thought of being able to study him. Especially after seeing him re-grow the tooth that Levi's kick had broken off.

"Things are going to be very interesting." Thought Jean with a sweatdrop


I'm sorry if the initial chapters are a little short and boring. Just trying to set up the base for future character development and hope that you will like the upcoming chapters.

See ya guys later