God of War

by OhHeyJackTheRipper

After witnessing the death of her family and losing the one person she had left, Ares, a young girl with a talent for getting into trouble, joins the military to avenge her loved ones. However she soon discovers that there's more going on than what the government lets on. M for language, gore and later chapters.

11. Chapter 11 - 5 Years Later

I stood amongst the crowd gathered in the street as the main unit of the Survey Corps rode up to the gate of Trost District. I was in uniform, but without my jacket no one knew I was with them. They were going on another expedition to see how far they could get outside the wall and try to establish an outpost. My team and I were to remain in Trost and continue with our mission. I didn't mind though; our counterparts in the MP were close to uncovering a huge secret and Erwin had wanted us to remain behind to back them up should they need it.

"Look! It's Captain Levi! They say he's like an army by himself!" someone yelled out excitedly. My eyes fell on his stoic face as he rounded the corner on his big black stallion, Goliath, Major Hange Zoe beside him. I smiled as his lips moved, obviously muttering an insult to whomever had called out. His cool grey eyes scanned the crowd and landed on my face. He didn't smile or wave, he didn't have to. This was how we had been for years. He was my senior, I was his subordinate and although we had mutual feelings for each other, we could never act on them. It was military law. Still we had our moments like this one when the world just fell away. We had tried, once, but the secrecy made us both go crazy. In the end we had both decided that being together in that way was just too volatile.

Hange said something that caught his attention and he turned from me to reply. I watched, a smile creeping over my lips, as he gripped the Major's head in his hands and no doubt said something insulting. That was Levi; honest, brash and didn't give a damn what people thought of him. And that was just the way I liked him.

"Be safe." I whispered after Commander Erwin gave the signal and the convoy left in a storm of thundering hooves. I said it every time they went out, but I wasn't worried. He was the strongest man I had ever known. With a sigh I turned to go back to Trost District's Military Academy headquarters when my eyes landed on a strangely familiar face. His blue eyes shone with excitement and determination; it was the determination that caught my memory. He'd been at Shiganshina, I'd seen him the day Wall Maria fell. I was glad to see he'd gotten out alive.

The day progressed slowly just like any other day within Trost. My team, Ezra James, Klaus Lynden, Sora Snow and Red Wallace, were all milling about in town or on the walls as we waited for word from the team within Wall Sina. I stood on the roof of the bell tower, enjoying the sunlight warming my skin. It wasn't often we had days like this and it was as close to a day off as I would ever get. Being First Lieutenant had a lot of paperwork associated with the title. I had been astounded Levi had managed to do all of it and train me every day, but then I had discovered he only slept 2-3 hours so he had plenty of time. I, however, did not.

A huge explosion and massive gust of hot air ripped my happy thoughts to shreds as I clung onto the flag post to keep my balance.

"The hell?" I asked no one as I steadied myself and looked in the direction of the explosion. My breath caught and my eyes widened. A huge head without skin was peering over the outer wall. It was him...The Colossal. I paused just long enough to fully appreciate his size before calling out to the soldiers below, "Raise the alarm!"

The soldier who heard me ran over as I landed from jumping off the roof, "Wh-wha?" He was in shock and everyone around us began to panic. I gripped him by the collar,

"The Colossal is here. Raise the alarm, now!" I said shaking him slightly. He nodded and ran off to do what I'd told him. "You!" I called to a passing soldier, "Ride to Wall Sina and tell Commander Dot Pixis that Trost has been breached and titans are invading."

"But-"

"Do it now! This is not a drill!" I yelled using my leader voice. Like the man before him, the young solider nodded and ran to the stables, stumbling as he went. I strode into the building, checking my gas tanks and blades as I went. My team were already standing and waiting when I found them, each still in their civilian clothes but had their gear on, ready for action.

"Orders, sir?" Sora asked as I looked them over. In five short years we had all turned from terrified rabbits into titan-killing machines, each one of us no longer felt the cold grip of fear. We had all seen death too many times, lost people important to us - we knew how to act in times like this.

"Our orders remain the same. We will observe what happens here until Commander Pixis of the Garrison regiment arrives. Engage only if you have to, however because I don't want a repeat of Shiganshina, if you can try to help out as much as possible without causing risk to the mission." I told them, "Red, I'm giving you the hardest task." Red frowned and cocked his head to the side,

"You mean harder than what I usually do?" he replied. I grinned, "No doubt Erwin has already seen a large group of titans heading our way but he still needs to know what's going on. You're the best rider in the entire military, it's up to you to go and tell him. The Garrison have contingency plans in place, the first of which is already underway. We all know they will fail and Trost will be swarming with titans, so wait until the right moment. We will clear a path towards the gate but after that you're on your own."

"Sounds fun." he replied cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders, "I haven't had a challenge in a while. Not since Elmer got loose anyway." Elmer had been one of Hange's 'pet' titans and had somehow broken free of its restraints, going on a rampage. Thankfully we'd put it down before anyone had a chance to be hurt, Hange's feelings not included. While Red went to the stables to prepare a horse, Sora, Ezra, Klaus and I made our way up to the wall. The Garrison, with their elite team failing, would split everyone into three groups - The vanguard consisting of the most experienced soldiers, the middle guard would be the rookies and finally the rear guard who would make sure everyone evacuated the city safely. The rear guard was just a nice way to keep their best and brightest out of harms way. That was the way things were and it was above my pay grade to question it. Outwardly speaking anyway.

I motioned for them to split into two groups, Ezra and Sora took the right while Klaus and I went left. Down below, titans had broken through the elite team's defense and were making their way through the houses and buildings. There were already too many for us and they were too close together, we had no choice but to wait for the vanguard. I hated having to sit by and watch people senselessly die, but the truth was it made our job much easier. So we waited and watched until Garrison veterans were well into battle. Signalling to Ezra and Sora, we made our attack. Only three titans stood on the path leading to the gate, another had fallen into the pit to the side but was swiping at anything that came close enough. Red was in position waiting for us. Ezra took out the smaller one in the back while Sora and Klaus out the 15-meter in front. More titans were closing in on the gate, Red would only have one chance.

"Now!" I yelled as my blades sliced easily through the last 15-meter. Red didn't hesitate. He kicked his horse into a hard gallop and flew towards the gate. I joined the rest of my team atop the wall and waited for him to emerge out other side. He was like a green and orange streak as he darted around the few titans who paid him any attention, the rest were consumed with getting inside.

"He did it!" Ezra exclaimed excitedly. I smiled at the horizon as I watched Red's fading dot - of course he did. He really was the best rider humanity had. I didn't know how far Erwin had gotten or whether they were already on their way back, but I guessed we had just over an hour or two before they got back. During that time, I hoped that Dot Pixis would have arrived. I turned to my team,

"You all know how this works. Split up and monitor everything. I want to know the exact moment the Armored titan turns up. If you see an abnormal that falls under the same category as those two, follow it and watch everything it does." I told them, "Rendezvous point will be the Garrison HQ in one hour. Move out!"

Twenty minutes into battle, the vanguard had fallen leaving the task up to the middle guard. I was making my way to the back of the city when I saw the boy from Shiganshina. He was sitting inside the mouth of a bearded titan, obviously having just saved his blonde comrade from being devoured. His friend reached to grab him but it was too late, the titan bit and swallowed. The only thing remaining of the boy was his left arm. I tensed, waiting to see what would happen next as the blonde kid screamed. But the titan ignored him completely and walked away.

I was dumbstruck; a titan had just completely ignored a human. There was still so much we didn't know about them, and what just occurred only proved that fact. My gaze shifted back to the kid who just watched his friend die. I knew what that was like; I knew it very well. I had watched my own best friend die in front of me. My heart broke for the boy and before I knew it, I was whizzing towards him.

"C'mon." I grunted as I picked him up without stopping and continued on to a safer, higher place. He was covered in sticky titan saliva, it soaked through my shirt and onto my skin making me feel a little queasy. Ugh. Gross. He didn't make a sound, or move, when I dropped him to the roof I'd stopped at. He was in total shock, his mind and body were no longer working. He would be a sitting target out here if left alone. I groaned, damn me and my kindness.

I stayed with him, killing any titans who thought they could try and eat us until they figured out that leaving us alone would result in them living longer. Finally, a squad came past and stopped on my rooftop. "Hey!" I called to them, "You know this kid?"

"What kid?" a short stupid looking boy with an almost shaved head turned to me, "Oh, Armin. Yeah we know him, why? Where's the rest of his squad?"

"Good. You can take care of him." I told them before heading towards the Garrison HQ to rendezvous with my team. Our hour had almost passed and I had spent it with an invalid. However, I had picked up a rather interesting piece of information. Why had he been completely ignored gnawed at my mind as I ran.

"Damn..." I muttered seeing the collection of titans surrounding the bell tower. No wonder the signal to retreat hadn't been sounded; they were under heavy attack. Ezra, Klaus and Sora landed on the roof beside me.

"Should we fight?" Ezra asked me. I shook my head, we were good but we weren't that good. Not to mention there was probably more smaller ones inside. If we were to engage them here, we would die. I couldn't risk our lives like that as much as I wanted to help. While I was debating our next move, a group of soldiers rushed past us and flew into the building. They must have been desperate for gas. Immediately I checked my own tanks and found them to be just under half. Thank god.

"We should retreat over the wall." I told them as I turned away to look for a clear path, "Pixis should be here soon. Once he arrives, we can resupply and- What are you looking at?" I looked back in the direction that my team were all staring in, wide eyed and slack jawed.

"What?" I asked again, still no one answered. At least none of my team did. An earth shattering roar, animalistic and full of rage, drew my attention to a 15-meter titan as it rampaged against its own kind. I'm sure my face mirrored everyone else now. This was...this was insane. Titans fighting titans was completely unheard of! We watched in shock horror as this abnormal easily overpowered his foes, and as I watched I realized that his technique greatly mirrored the one they used for hand-to-hand combat at the academy. It was flawless, despite the fact he was a titan.

"Can someone please explain what I'm seeing right now?" Ezra asked, his voice shook with an emotion I couldn't pinpoint. Fear and awe mixed together perhaps. No one answered; none of us could answer it. Soon the rest of the titans didn't even care about us or those inside the building. Their focus was solely on the rogue. Titans fighting titans.

An idea began forming in my mind. A wild, crazy idea. This abnormal, this rogue titan could be more than useful to humanity. Of course it was also entirely possible that he would shift his attention to us once he'd fulfilled his desire to destroy his own kind, but the possibility of fighting fire with fire was too valuable to just let go. This could be our chance.

Sinking back into my soldier mode, I jumped the short distance across to the next lot of roofs and ran closer to observe the action. The abnormal 15-metre titan was physically different from all the others I had seen. He was in perfect proportion and heavily muscled with wild brown hair reaching his neck. His ears were elongated and he had no lips, a frightening figure but there was something almost human about him. I watched in silent awe as he fought the ever increasing number of titans. My hand clenched around the grip of my 3DMG as I fought against everything we had been taught. I knew it was wrong to just let him fight alone, I felt it twist inside me. It was a similar to the feeling I had while watching the refugees march out of the gates to their deaths.

A low roar brought me back to the present and I looked over to where the abnormal was being swarmed by titans. He'd collapsed part of a building with his body while they tore into him.

"Should we help?" Klaus asked as he, Sora and Ezra joined me. I shook my head despite wanting to. We would be more than able to get rid of few titans, but we didn't have the gas. If I only had just under half, the others would have less than that. No gas meant death. "What do we do then?"

I looked up to the sky, "Pixis should be arriving soon. Retreat over the wall and-" I was interrupted by a furious, ground shaking roar that sent chills down my spine. The abnormal was pulling away from the group trying to eat him, losing his arms in the process, just to attack a lone titan passing by. For the first time in a long time I felt the cold grip of fear on my soul as his teeth sank deeply into the titan's neck. He went straight for the weak spot...how? What the hell is he? I thought as I watched him swing the limp titan around, successfully taking out the last two. He'd used all his remaining strength in this last attack and fell to the ground in a steaming heap.

"Well there goes Hange's Christmas present." Ezra sighed turning away from the scene. I squinted, there was something amongst the smoke. It was small against the enormity of the titan body and hard to see but it was there. As the flesh disintegrated, the object became clearer and more defined. I swore under my breath, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was him! The boy from Shiganshina. The one I saw die.

"How? How the hell is that possible?" I asked no one as a cadet ran towards the steaming body and embraced the boy.

"Is that...a kid?" Klaus asked his voice mirroring my own in it's disbelief. This was impossible...it defied all logic! I had watched him die. I had seen him with my own eyes in the mouth of a titan, outstretching his arm to his- His arm! The boy had both his arms! I shook my head and took off towards the place he had met his doom, or so it seemed.

"Ares, what's going on?" Sora asked as the three of them followed me. I landed on the roof and scanned the area. Rubble, bodies and gore covered the ground but I finally managed to spot what I was looking for. I jumped down, ripping the fabric of a poor soul's uniform as I went.

"That's gross." Ezra commented as I wrapped up the left arm. I didn't know why he had managed to regenerate, or why the arm itself was still in one piece but I wasn't going to waste the opportunity. I stood and handed the packaged arm to Ezra.

"Take this to headquarters. Hange's going to have a field day with this." I told him as he cautiously took it from me.

"Why? It's just an arm."

"I watched that kid die. I saw the fear on his face as he reached for his friend and I saw the titan bite off his left arm." I told him. Ezra frowned, "But he had two arms."

"Exactly." I replied. We were wasting time. If we had seen what happened, others would have too which means there would be a lot of fear running wild. The man currently in charge of the Garrison, Captain Kitts Woerman, was the perfect example of making stupid decisions while terrified. As we ascended over the wall I prayed for Dot Pixis to arrive soon.

There was two things I was certain of at this point. The first being that that kid, Eren Jaeger, hadn't just been inside the titan, he was the titan. That much was obvious from his fighting style and even the physical appearance of the titan itself, and his hatred for their kind. The second fact, and the most important one was that we, humanity, needed him. Of course there were implications with both facts and unknown factors, like whether he could control it, how long it could last and how he could do it in the first place, but those questions we could answer later. Provided he lived long enough.

"What's going on?" I opened my eyes and saw a tall, bald elderly gentleman standing in front of a group of flustered officers. Dot Pixis certainly had a commanding presence. He stood straight, hands folded neatly behind his back and waited for an answer that didn't begin with 'um'. I was happy to oblige.

"My pleasure." I spoke up from my leaning place against some crates. His gold eyes flicked to my face and he raised a fine grey eyebrow.

"Ares Valentin, eh? Can't say I'm surprised you're here." he greeted me, silencing the other officers. I smiled, I'd always liked the old man. He was just so unconventional. We walked together in silence until we were far enough away from prying ears.

"I suppose it was you who sent that messenger." he said, "Tell me everything."

"It's almost exactly like 5 years ago. The Colossal titan appeared, kicked in the outer wall and all the others." I told him.

"The contingency plans failed I take it?" he asked although he didn't actually require an answer. I nodded, "Of course they did. The whole elite team was hinged on the Survey Corps' inclusion but they left earlier this morning on an expedition. I sent my best rider after them as soon as I could, however they're still about an hour away." I stopped walking and grabbed his arm. "There's something else you need to know."

Dot Pixis frowned as he stared curiously down at me. I didn't often include him in my reports but when I did, it was never good news. He motioned for us to be left alone.

"Tell me." he ordered once everyone had left, "Was it the Armored titan?" I shook my head,

"No. He hasn't shown up. But there was another abnormal, at least that's what we all thought. A 15-metre was attacking and killing it's own kind, completely ignoring us." I told him. Pixis' eyebrows shot up dramatically and he put a hand on his shiny head,

"This is serious. Where is it now?" he asked already grasping the gravity of the situation.

"Gone. That's the best way I can describe it. There was a boy; a cadet named Eren Jaeger from Shiganshina, he was inside it."

"Inside it how?"

"Controlling it, although whether he knew what he was doing or not, I don't know. Point is, I personally saw him get eaten yet there he was right inside the weak point of the abnormal titan. Alive. I don't know how it's possible, but we need him. There's only one problem..." I trailed off. Pixis sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose already knowing where I was going with it,

"Woerman. Alright Valentin, I'll support you in this so how do you suggest we approach it? I can't very well say that we're just going on a whim, it will cause a riot." he said returning to his calm, level-headed demeanor. I pursed my lips and began pacing back and forth, voicing my thoughts,

"Telling them we have no idea what he is would be a huge mistake. It would cause unnecessary panic and lack of faith in us. However, for the time being, Woerman will listen to you. If you tell him to stand down, he will. I'll have a plan in place by then."

"Very well. I trust you, Valentin, so don't make me regret it." Pixis said sternly, "Let's go save the children."

I escorted Dot Pixis and his entourage to where Captain Woerman was holding Jaeger and his friends hostage all the while trying to think of something to tell the other soldiers until this mess was over. We reached the gathering just as Captain Woerman was about to give the order to fire the cannons again. Commander Pixis stopped him before his orders could be carried out, thankfully, and I nodded to my team who were hidden in position ready to rescue the children should they need it. It was a miracle they had managed to survive the first shot, but I had a feeling Jaeger had something to do with it.

"Can't you see this boy's heartfelt salute? Let's at least hear the kids out, yes?" Pixis was saying calmly. My eyes shifted from my team to the blonde boy standing in the middle of the courtyard with his fist over his heart. He was certainly different from the lump of flesh I had picked up earlier.

"You three!" Commander Pixis ordered, "Come with me." The blonde boy glanced nervously back at his two friends kneeling on the ground behind him, then after a nod from Jaeger, rushed back to help him to his feet.

"Tell your people to help with the wounded and resupplying those who can still fight then join me on the wall with these three." the old man ordered me. I nodded and signaled Ezra, Klaus and Sora to come down from their hiding spot. As I did though, I caught a glimpse of four people making a hasty retreat. I could only see their backs, but I had a feeling they were the ones who saw the same thing we did. Despite him having turned into a Titan, they were still worried about their friend. Such stupid loyalty.

"Orders?" Sora asked me when I faced them again.

"Go help out where you can with the others and try to keep their morale up. Everyone's tired but we're not finished fighting yet. There's titans still in Trost and if we don't get the hole sealed up soon, we're going to have another Shiganshina on our hands. Erwin's on his way, we just have to hold out until they get here. In the meantime, we're taking orders from Commander Pixis provided they don't conflict with our standing orders. Be ready." I told them before going to join the Commander and the three children on the wall. Eren was still on his knees by the time I reached them, the other two stood by his side while Pixis looked them over. I took to leaning against some wooden crates filled with supplies for the time being and watching the disgusting humanoid creatures amble between buildings.

"...So visiting this cellar should clear everything up?" Pixis asked summing up everything Eren had just told him in one simple sentence. I raised an eyebrow and glanced down at this boy; so this was Grisha Jaeger's son after all.

"Yes sir." Eren replied weakly before adding in a softer voice, "Well...at least I think so." I scoffed and turned back to watch the titans claw at the wall in an attempt to get to us. I felt eyes glaring at me so I slid my gaze in their direction; sure enough the oriental girl who was with Eren was glaring hot daggers at me. Mikasa Ackerman. She finished top of her class and had a skill set that was astounding. But her attitude needed serious adjustment.

"Hm..." Pixis hummed thoughtfully, "For the moment there's no way to validate all of the claims you've made. For now I'll just catalogue them in here." His golden eyes shifted to me,

"I expect the same from you, Lieutenant." he said with polite sternness, although he really didn't have to. I gave him a look that told him so and he smiled before addressing the children again, "With that said, I can usually tell the difference between the impetuous and the sincere which is why I personally guarantee your safety. And the pretty lady standing over there by those crates will make sure of that." I blinked at Pixis completely shocked beneath my calm exterior. Who the hell did he think he was, making wild promises like that?! I had enough shit to deal with without babysitting a titan-boy and his two buddies, one of which I had already spent more than enough quality time with, on top of that. Still there was a time and a place to argue with the Commander, and now certainly wasn't it. Having full knowledge of that, Dot Pixis launched into his next point of concern.

Moving his attention to the blonde boy who had remembered how to be a functioning member of humanity he said, "You're cadet Armin Arlert, correct?" Instinctively the boy formed a salute when he replied, "Yes sir."

"You mentioned a plan to harness this so called Titan Ability, and then utilize your friend's power to retake the city. Do you believe it could work or were you grasping at straws to try and save your hides?"

Armin looked genuinely shocked for a moment before lowering his gaze, I could see him trying to figure out what he wanted to say on his face. This boy, it was obvious that he had trouble believing in his own worth and seeing his friend die after saving his life probably had helped in that factor, resulting in him turning into a human vegetable. However after hearing his story and listening to the end of his speech he'd given earlier, he had far more potential than he realized.

"Well...Both, Commander." he said sounding more sure of himself than he looked, "I was going to suggest that Eren, using his strength as a titan, could lift that giant boulder. We could use it to block off the wrecked gate." Just when I had thought the kid had grown some balls, he shifted right back to his second-guessing self.

"That was the best idea I could come up with on the spot. I-I just wanted to make everyone see how Eren's ability might provide a solution to the problem we all face." he finished. I closed my eyes and sighed, honestly it was better than the plan I'd thought of. However it did put Eren back out amongst the titans and there were still variables with his whole changing into a titan that we didn't know about. Glancing over at Commander Pixis, I found that although he had considered these things as well, it really was our best and, realistically, our only option. Turning his back on the four of us, Pixis sighed deeply.

"Granted, I was pretty desperate to survive!" Armin added after seeing how the Commander responded. I half smiled, it was too late to try and talk the old bear out of this idea now that he had it in his mind.

"Desperate to survive, huh? That's as credible a reason as any, son." Pixis said before taking a swig of whatever liquor he'd brought with him this time and crouching down before Eren, "What do you say, cadet Jaeger? That hole, do you think you could plug it up?"

Eren paled at the question, no doubt he hadn't expected Commander Pixis to actually consider his friend's plan let alone have so much trust in him. "Well I...I don't know..." he said honestly. I realized then that Eren knew almost as much as we did about his new abilities, "It's possible, but at the moment I don't understand my power anymore than you do. It's just I sort of feel irresponsible giving you an answer, 'cause I don't really know."

"Ah yes, of course, my apologies. I asked you the wrong question. Are you willing to, cadet Jaeger, or not?" Pixis clarified with a sly gleam in his eye. I folded my arms over my chest and waited, waited for the answer I knew would come. Eren was afraid of his new power, but I could see he was more afraid of having a repeat of Shiganshina and Wall Maria. I knew, even if he was scared, he was say yes. Suddenly, that look of determination I had seen him where a few times before rose to the surface once again;

"I'll do it." he said, "I'll do it! I don't know if I can seal that hole but I'll do it." Pixis straightened and turned his gaze to me. He didn't have to say anything, I already knew. Pushing off the crates and walked over to stand beside him.

"Well, Lieutenant?" he asked me, meaning what I had thought of to tell the masses below.

"Tell them he's the product of secret experiments conducted in the hope of raising humanities chances against the titans." I told him, "That covers our asses if he messes up. Besides, who's to say he isn't anyway?"

Dot Pixis chuckled and stroked his silver mustache thoughtfully, "Experiments, eh? Good thinking, Lieutenant." he said as he walked with me over to the edge of the wall, Eren getting to his feet and following behind us. "While all this is happening, what will you be doing?"

"Considering you're the highest ranking officer here, I suppose anything you order me to, unless it comes into conflict with my standing orders." I replied tactfully. Again Pixis laughed; basically I had just told him that so long as he doesn't order me into battle against the titans, risking my previous orders of observation, I had to do what he told me.

"I think I've given you enough orders today, Lieutenant, and it seems to me that you're quite capable of running your own show and keeping everyone else in line." he said, "However I would ask that you keep a special eye on Jaeger."

"No need, sir. Keeping him in as many pieces as possible is my top priority."

"Good. Now then..." I stepped back as the Commander cleared his throat in preparation to announce the plan. I listened as he spoke but my mind was already going through the many possibilities of anything and everything that could go wrong. If Eren couldn't control the titan or something equally as bad occurred, we couldn't risk just killing him. He was too important even if he was a danger. That being said, I certainly wasn't going to risk more human lives by letting him just run rampant. And what if he failed? There's no way we would be able to continue the plan without him. We would have to give up Trost until we could think of a new plan. There were so many things hinged on the hope that this boy would be able complete his mission - God help us if he couldn't...