Chapter 7

I spent the next few hours wandering around the castle, introducing myself to the other soldiers, explaining with Erwin's help that I was a person who had the same power as Eren, but for a much longer time and with more experience. I gave the excuse that my Titan form had only recently run out of energy, and was forced to turn back. I was about to go have a look around, when Eren came up to me. It took a lot of nerve for me not to fanboy right then and there.

"Hey, uh...Daniel? Can...can you teach me to use my Titan form better?" He looked at me with an almost pleading expression.

"O-of course!" I replied, fumbling over my words. "I'll make sure you're the best you can be." I slapped him on the back, trying to be more buddy-buddy with him. It took a lot of self control to not fanboy right then and there. "I'll have to ask Hanji first, but the promise of watching two Titan shifters duke it out should be more than enough to get a 'yes' from her."

His eyes widened. "Wait, duke it out?"

"Of course. How else are you going to learn to fight better?"

Eren gulped and I gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry about it! Come on!"

I lead Eren around until I found Hanji. Out back with her test subjects, of course. Poor old Sonny and Bean.

"Hey Hanji!"

She spun around with wide eyes. God, I'm never gonna get used to that. She's just so...weird.

"Wanna see me and Eren fight in our Titan forms?"

Childlike glee appeared in her eyes, before she stopped herself and it disappeared.

"Why?" She asked.

"So I can teach Eren to better control his Titan form. I'll let you waaaaatch…" I taunted her. The glee in her eyes returned and she straight up tackled me. Theeeere's the Hanji I remember.

"When are we going?! I need to get my notebook!"

"Now, actually."

"NOW?!" Eren and Hanji both yelled.

And there go my ears again. Will this ever stop? Probably not. Will it become the running joke with me? Most likely. This does not bode well for my eardrums.

After Hanji frantically running around, she grabbed her notebook and we rode out into the barren field not too far from the base. I never thought riding horses would be nice. I did once when I was little, but that was just a pony ride. No, these were fully trained warhorses. We hopped off, and Hanji ran a good distance away from us.

"Okay you two!" She hollered from a distance. "Transform already!"

"Um…" Eren looked from her to me with a confused look. "Okay." He bit his hand. Yeesh, that's painful just to look at! How the hell does he bite through his hand like that?! Oh god now there's blood everywhere, aw man, this is just a mess! Why can't you use a knife or ring like the others?!

"WHY WON'T IT WORK?!" Eren screamed in pain. "WHYYYYY?!?!"

I had to tell him something… "Eren." I called. "You gotta concentrate. Think back to the boulder. You had a goal. You had the will. The determination. You bit your hand. You have a goal now. Fight me. FIGHT ME!" I yelled and bit my own hand an-OOOOOWWWW FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!

BOOM!

Whoo...what happened…?

I'm...tall. Really tall. Again. I guess the transformation was successful. My first successful Titan shift. Neato.

This is definitely different from my other Titan form. I seemed to be missing a lot of skin on my chest, legs, and arms. Can't tell if I'm missing any facial skin for obvious reasons. My muscles from my other Titan form seem to have carried over. Sweet. I guess this is what I look like as the Athletic Titan.

Down at my feet, I saw Eren. He looked kinda scared. Good. If I can get him scared enough, he might transform. I squatted down near him with a big, toothy grin. I raised my fist back…

Come on, please let this work.

And thrust it towards him.

BOOM!

Lightning. There we go.

Out of the dust came a flying fist, aimed straight toward my face. Not being one with the best of reflexes, I took it like a champ. Or I would at least like to think I did.

I got sent flying back, skidding across the ground. When I propped myself up, I saw and heard an angry Titan Eren.

I got up and locked eyes with him, his eyes full of unbridled anger and fury. Then I clapped.

I applauded him.

His expression of rage quickly faded back into one of confusion and bewilderment. His eyes widened, probably realizing what I had provoked him to do.

I don't know why, but I felt proud of him. I just wanted to run over and give him a bear hug while babbling like a madman. Nice job Eren!

"Nice job Eren!"

We all froze.

Did...did I just speak? In...my Titan form?

"So um...I think I can speak in my Titan form now? Huh. That's new."

"Are you sure you're an experienced shifter?" I heard Hanji sarcastically call to us.

"Oh god dammit, ask Erwin! He'll fill you in!" I retorted.

Eren had been looking back and forth between us for a while now. Guess I should talk to him.

"Okay Eren. I'm going to teach you how to fight. Put up your dukes!"

Eren and I both took fighting stances.

"Now, the first step to fighting as a Titan is to know your weaknesses and weak points!" I instructed. "Your nape is your vital area. An attack gets through your nape, it's game over."

Titan Eren raised an eyebrow. Right. They don't know that phrase.

"Er, it means you're done. You lose. You're dead. Someone attacks that weak spot, you can kiss your ass goodbye. Protect it as much as possible when on the defensive." I covered my nape with my right hand as an example. "Personally, I use my weaker hand to cover my nape. I'm a lefty, so my right isn't as strong. You should work on both arms to make yourself as flexible in combat as possible." Eren put his left hand over his nape. Guess he's a righty.

"I should probably mention, this is a tactic for when you're on the defensive. Let's focus on offense since you're going to be fighting mindless titans for the most part." I dropped my right hand and brought it back up to my other. "As you are keenly aware already, the nape is the weak point. Now, how would you go about destroying it?"

Titan Eren let out a sort of grumble/groan. Right. He can't talk. He seemed to realize this and stopped after a second.

"Rhetorical question. I'll tell you how: punch, kick, and bite the shit out of it."

Eren's eyes lit up. Kinda terrifying to see his Titan form with that open jawline like a smile.

"Are you aware that your Titan form has an exposed jawline? Like, not gums, no lips or anything. It's like your teeth ARE the lips. Kinda creepy. Anyway, your teeth are very sharp. Since titans have a very large bite force, your mouth is just as dangerous as a punch or kick. Come over here, give it a try." I held out my Titan's arm.

Eren stomped his way over and leaned in to bite my arm. And now for trial by fire. I think that's what this is…?

I punched Eren in the face and sent him flying back.

"You think I'm just going to let you bite me?! YOU ARE WRONG, GOOD SIR!"

Eren stared at me then narrowed his eyes. The flesh at the back of his cheeks twisted upward into what I assume is a smile. A creepy smile. Eren stood back up, cracked his knuckles, and took his fighting stance again.

Yeeeess...now he gets it.

"EN GARDE, FUCKBOY!"

I charged at him and threw a right hook at him. He blocked it with both his arms and threw a hook right back at me. Again, like a champ, I took it straight to the face. I think he might have cracked something. I may not feel pain in this form, but that does not mean I don't feel things at all. And ho boy, if I could feel pain, I'd be hurting just from that.

We exchanged blows for a bit, both of us leaving sizeable impacts on each other. It was actually pretty fun.

I rushed back at him and threw another hook.

He was about to pull the same counter as the first, but I hopped to the side and planted a fist in HIS face this time. I managed to knock a few Titan teeth out of their sockets which to be honest, I did not expect to happen.

I may be a Titan, but man, I am not strong. The fact that I'm managing to actually do damage is...jarring. It gives a sort of power high, knowing you can do something like that.

Eren spun around from the hit, but quickly recovered. The stance he took this time was...different.

Wait…

He stood with one leg bent, standing on the ball of his foot.

No. No fucking way is he doing this.

I rushed at him again, readying a gut punch.

Eren shot a hand forward, crossing over to the left side of my head. His left leg sweeped under me.

That was Annie's fighting style!

I was pushed down, pinned by Eren at the throat.

"Time! Time out!"

Immediately, his grip slacked.

I slowly picked myself up, feeling the strain on my Titan body.

"That...that was Annie's kick. You cheeky bastard."

Titan Eren 'smiled' again.

"I'll admit. You got me good. Nice one. I think that's enough for today. We'll just wait till our Titans run out of strength."

Eren and I flopped down onto the grass. I thought to myself, letting my mind wander for a while. Then it occurred to me.

He used Annie's moves.

A pang of guilt struck me. I was wondering when I'd feel guilty for killing Annie. Now is not when I expected. The fact that I killed another human being...It's disturbing. She was serving her country. She had a family back home. Her one goal was to see her father again.

And I took that away from her. And I took her away from him.

Knowing Eren, he'll want to go blab to Annie about how he used her kick. She'd give a small huff of approval, walk away, and make a small smirk. She'd be secretly proud.

But now she can't. Because she's dead. Because of me.

I know she was gonna kill a bunch of people, but god damn I still feel guilty about it.

After we emerged from our Titan forms, Eren and I just talked for a bit. Hanji was drooling over all the data she had gathered. What data that was, I don't know. I'm going to have to peek at her notes when she's not looking.

Why when she's not looking? I don't want to be lectured till 4 in the morning, thanks.

The rest of the day was uneventful. I mostly spent it talking to the other scouts. It was a pretty cool experience to meet these beloved characters in person! Well...almost all of them.

Out of the corner of my eye every so often, I saw Reiner and Bertholdt shooting glares my way. Welp. I guess now's a good time as ever. I stuck my hands in my pockets and walked past them.

"Walk with me."

As soon as I said that, I heard feet shuffling behind me. I led them to their room in the barracks, led them in, and shut the door.

"So, Daniel is it?" Reiner smiled and crossed his legs on his bed. "Nice to meet ya. What's on your mind?"

I frowned and pulled up a chair from the room's desk.

"Cut the crap, man. Don't think I haven't noticed the glares you two give me."

Both their expressions turned sour.

"Let me clear this up right now. I know why you two don't like me. I knew about Annie."

Bertholdt gritted his teeth and glared harder at me.

"First, I want to formally apologize that it had to come to that."

Both of them looked at me in surprise. Guess they didn't expect an apology.

"Second, I know who you two are. More specifically, what you are and where you came from."

Their eyes grew even wider.

"And I'm here with a proposition." I fought the urge to show a smirk.

"Why should we listen to you?!" Bertholdt grabbed my collar, pulling me close to his face.

"Because I can offer you a way out of this nightmare. A way out of Marley's grip. A way to right the wrongs of the past and bring the world together. No more hatred. No more war. No more persecution. And most importantly, gain your freedom."

Reiner gulped and looked back and forth between me and Bertholdt. Bertholdt's grip loosened and I pulled myself back into the chair.

"Now. Are you willing to listen to me?"

The two looked between each other and nodded. Wow, that was easy.

"Good. This makes things a million times easier. You must have some questions yourselves, hm?"

"...Why did you kill Annie?" Bertholdt squeaked out.

"I had woken up in the middle of the night. I smelled you too out and about. Apparently I can smell shifters. I crept around until I saw you two talking with her overheard your choice to kill me. Thanks for that by the way."

They started sweating.

"I tiptoed back to my resting place, laid back down, and just basically just ate her. Now I hold her Titan power."

"That...that's horrible." Bertholdt sputtered.

"Oh quit your bitching," I waved a hand at him. "That's nothing compared to what you two did. You guys are traitors to humanity and- oh that reminds me."

"What?"

"I may or may not have told Erwin that the armored and colossal titans are among the scouts." I tapped my fingers together. "Now before you get all uppety, I assure you that I did not tell them who."

Reiner grumbled. "So what are you going to do, turn us in?"

"No. You're going to confess right to their faces. No one else has to know. It will never leave the room."

"Well, we have no choice now. Fine. We'll confess. This better work, or you're a dead man."

"Right, right. Well, I must be off. Toodles!"

I pushed the chair back into the desk and waved goodbye. I opened the door and…

Erwin. And…Levi.

"How long have you two been standing there?"