"When's the last time the shaft was replaced?" asked a male Garrison, a question directed at our beloved Sasha Blouse.
"Six days ago, after Operation Clean Up," replied Sasha.
"She checks out," confirmed the female Garry, prompting the dude beside her to call out for the next in line, the endlessly adorable (and short) Krista Lenz of the 42nd Squad. "We're inspecting your gear."
Currently, the soldiers were looking for the culprit who killed the two captured Titans from Operation Clean Up, named Sawney and Bean, a rather clever choice of names, if you ask me. The Trainees were first to be searched, standing in groups of three while waiting.
"So…" muttered a Trainee waiting in line. "We can be punished for killing a Titan too?"
"As strange as it sounds, those were valuable specimens," replied a fellow Trainee.
"Even so, why are they searching us?" asked his possible pal. "Shouldn't they be interrogating that Mika kid, or Eren?"
"Point taken, everyone's exhausted from cleaning up the battlefield until today…" agreed the other dude.
As the two of them discussed trivial matters, our four pals, Mylius, Nac, Mina and Annie, stood on their own. Mylius, Nac and Mina stood silently on their own trio area, with two of the three contemplating what they knew about Mika now, while Annie stood beside Armin and Connie on her own.
"The culprit must've really hated those Titans," piped up Connie, catching Armin's attention.
"Yeah…" agreed Arlert. "But in this case, they pretty much helped the Titans out. Their lust for revenge may have been sated, but mankind will suffer for it."
"Well, I'm an idiot, so I think I get it," muttered Connie. "Before I saw a Titan, I seriously planned to enlist into the Survey Corps. But now, I'm not sure… and today's the day we have to decide, too."
As he said those words, the bald Saitama kid diverted his gaze to Jean and noticed that his fist was clenched tightly, making Connie grimace.
'He's seriously going to do it…"
Hours ago
Standing before a few fire pits in the middle of the night, the soldiers of Trost, or more specifically the Trainees, looked into the blazing yellow embers sadly, flames which were fueled by the corpses of their former comrades.
Among those mourning for the dead were out four friends, though Nac took it the hardest, with two streams of tears flowing down from his eyes. On a normal day, others would consider him weak, but other, stronger Trainees were shedding their tears as well, pained by the loss of those they considered friends.
However, the one who seemed to be taking it the hardest was Jean, who was over by the side.
'Everyone's regretting it,' thought the boy. 'If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have become a soldier. And now that I've burnt ourselves out, it's all I can think of.'
With that thought done, the boy stepped towards the flames. Kneeling down, he picked up a few of the ashes of the burnt bones and looked at them. "Hey, Marco…" muttered Jean, his voice soft and solemn. "I can't tell which of these are your bones anymore…"
'If I hadn't become a soldier, I wouldn't have to worry about who'd die next…" thought Jean, remembering the time the Titan Shifter Eren yelled in the mess hall nearly four weeks ago.
The boy had sprite, he'd give him that. The way he yelled about not wanting to let all the sacrificed souls who lost their lives trying to retake Maria to die in vain.
'I get it… I know we have to fight,' continued Jean's mind. 'But… still… not everyone can be a reckless imbecile like you… Hell, none of us have that… thing which Mika uses…'
Sighing, Jean looked down, deep in despair. But in his flying mind, he seemed to hear something, or someone. And, probably because of the ashy fumes produced by the boney flames, Jean swore he heard Marco's voice.
'You might get mad,' said the voice of his ol' freckled voice, making Jean turn to the side to see none other than Marco, who was probably there just cuz. 'But listen. You're not a strong person, but that means that you can sympathize with the feelings of the weak. Nevertheless, you excel at looking at things objectively (unless it's Mikasa), so you have a clear idea of what needs to be done.'
When the slight hallucination (I'd call it a vision, but that'd be a little much) was done, Jean's eyes got serious as he clenched the ashes in his hand. Standing, he looked into the burning embers given to him by his fallen comrades.
"What… needs to be done…" muttered Jean, voice shaky as he spoke. "Hey, you guys…"
Turning to face him, the Trainees who could hear him gave him their attention and were surprised that Jean looked as traumatized as he did. Hell, Nac forgot about the others for a second and wondered if Jean was sick from the fumes, though only for a second.
"Do you know where you're going to enlist…?" asked Jean, making those who heard him to quirk their brows up. "Well, I do."
Shakily, Kirstein gripped his wrist, trying to stop it from shaking in fear as he forced himself to say the name. Behind him, Connie stopped his weeping and stared at Jean in surprise.
"I… I… I'm… enlisting in the Survey Corps!" exclaimed Jean, his words sounding forced.
Back to reality
'I guess he is…' thought Connie as the flashback ended. Closing his eyes, Springer diverted his gaze to Annie.
"What about you, Annie?" he asked, though he didn't get any response. "Annie?"
Curiously, both Armin and Connie slightly turned their heads over to face Annie, and they saw that she wasn't even acknowledging them. In fact, her gaze was directed towards her two friends. Mina in particular.
The blonde seem worried about her, and it was easy to see why. The two were relatively close in terms of friendship, and the look on her face would make anyone who considered her a friend feel bad.
'It has gotta be something related to Mika…' thought Armin as Mina got her gear checked up. 'The four of them are friends after all…'
Hours later
After several hours of checking their gear, the Trainees of Trost now stood in the administration center (I dunno what it's called… gimme a hand ples? :3), the place where their future roles in the military would be chosen.
In the far side of the center stood, as usual, our three friends. Mylius was with Tom and Carly (remember them?), whom he got rather acquainted with after the Struggle for Trost.
Anyhoo, while the trio spoke between each other, our main trio stood on their own, with Annie leaning against the wall, Nac standing and Mina sitting and hugging her knees, silent and pondering, all because of one revelation.
After a long while of silence, Nac finally broke it. "... what do you think he's doing?" he asked blandly, a rare thing for him. "Mika…"
"I don't know," replied Mina, not looking at her friend as she hugged her knees tighter, her eyes uncharacteristically devoid of life. After she replied, the trio went silent again, before Mina piped up. "What would Mika want us to do?"
"What do you mean?" asked Nac.
"Do you think Mika would want us to join the Survey Corps?" asked Mina. "Or something else?"
When she asked, Nac diverted his attention up to the sky, the place where their longtime friend came from. "Knowing Mika, I'd say that he'd want us to join the Garrison, or in your case," said Nac, turning to Annie. "The MPB. Mika always did want us to stay safe… and out of danger."
"Yeah, but should we be listening to him?" asked Mina, standing up. "I mean, Mika has always wanted us to stay safe, but what about his safety? For all we know, that… Barbatos thing can malfunction at any time. If it does, who'll keep him safe?"
"... the Survey Corps?" said Nac.
"I doubt he'll share anything on the Barbatos with them," said Mina, crossing her arms. "Besides, Mika's the one who kept us safe during the Trainee days. I think it's time to return the favor."
"Does that mean that you're…" muttered Annie, sounding a tiny bit baffled.
"Yeah… I'm joining the Survey Corps!" announced Mina, raising her fist into the air. "If Mika's gonna risk his life for us… then I'll do the same!"
Blinking at her in surprise, Nac felt his eyes water a little. Closing them, the boy nodded. He did owe Mika after all… but was he willing to put his life on the line to repay him? Gritting his teeth, the teen felt the answer come to him instantly.
If he joined the Survey Corps, he would have a chance to possibly retake Maria and avenge those who fell trying to do so. At the chance of dying, of course. But Mika was willing to risk his life for him, Hell he could have abandoned them but he instead chose to stay to help, so what would stop him from doing the same?
"I… I'm with you, Mina," said Nac, opening his eyes with the faintest hint of a smile. "I wanna keep an eye on that kid."
"Well, what about you, Ann?" asked Mina, turning to her blonde headed friend.
"... I'm sorry, you two…," apologised Annie, and both Mina and Nac realized where she was going before she even said it. "But I'm heading for the Military Police Brigade…"
When she said that, both Mina and Nac looked down sadly, primarily Nac as he really wanted to have the old gang back together when they went out. But still, he could understand. Annie was in the top 10, after all. So why waste this chance?
"We understand, Annie," he said with a sad smile as he laid his hand on her shoulder. "Good luck in the Brigade…"
"Thanks…" replied Ann before a Garrison walked up.
"Everyone!" exclaimed the Garry, making everyone look at him. "Gather in front of the stage!"
A couple of hours later
Looking up into the sky, Mina saw that the sun had set, leaving behind the beautiful celestial being (hehehe…) called the moon. Smiling up at the beautiful orb, Mina was only brought out of that trance when Nac nudged her.
"Look alive, Mina…" suggested Nac as a man walked up on stage. And before he even got on, they knew who he was. The blonde hair and Trademarked Eyebrows of Freedom were an obvious answer. Over by the sidelines were Hanji, Mike and three others.
'Erwin Smith…' thought Mina as the commander of the Survey/Recon (for the sake of simplicity, I'll call it Survey from here on out). And after he cleared his throat, Erwin got straight to business.
"I am Erwin Smith," he introduced, standing tall and proud before his fellow soldiers. "The commander of the Survey Corps. Today, you shall decide on where you will enlist as a soldier of the Walls. And to be blunt, I am here to recruit soldiers willing to join the Survey Corps.
"I'm sure the latest Titan attack has made you fear the Titans and recognize the limits of your strength. However, through the battle, mankind has made unprecedented progress in its struggle. The keys were Eren Jaeger and Mikazuki Augus.
"Eren's willingness to risk his life for mankind and Mikazuki's eagerness to throw away his own life to keep every one of you safe signifies their unquestionable allegiance to us. Furthermore, not only did both of them allow us to stop the Titans, but Eren has also provided us a way to unveil the Titans' mystery!"
And that statement made many in the crowd flinch in shock.
"In the basement of his home within the Shiganshina District lies the secret of the Titans, unknown even to him," continued Erwin. "If we can just reach that basement, we might find a clue that will aid us i overthrowing the Titans' century long rule!"
When that paragraph left his lips, many Trainees gasped in shock, surprised that Eren meant that much.
"But to end that," continued Erwin, again. "The recapture of Wall Maria is crucial. In other words, our goal has not changed. But now that Trost District's gate is unusable…"
As he said that, Mike and a Female Survey Corp (which may be Petra… it's pretty hard to tell) held up a map of the Walls to help emphasise Erwin's point.
"...we will have to go around from the Karanese District in the East."
And admittedly, Mina did feel the hairs on her back stand up when she heard the name of the District she used to live in.
"The military route we spent four years to prepare has been rendered useless," continued Erwin. "During those four years, we lost more than 60% of our men. 60% in four years… it is an absurd figure.
"Those of you who join us will participate in an expedition a month from now, in which the mortality rate is predicted to be less than twenty-five. Most of you will likely die in the next four years… even with the help of our new assets. However, if you manage to survive, you will be an Elite soldier who can be relied upon when faced with overwhelming odds."
With the dead rate announced, Erwin closed his eyes to let the gravity of the situation sink into his subjects. And after a good minute, he opened them.
"If you are still willing to endanger your lives with us, remain here," he instructed. "Please, ask yourselves… are you capable of offering your lives to mankind?!"
And that sudden volume shift caused many who haven't felt the gravity of the situation feel it intensely.
"Those who wish to enlist elsewhere may leave…" finished Erwin as a Survey Corp approached Erwin from the side.
"Commander…" he said, sounding a little fearful. And who wouldn't? Erwin's Survey Corp Commando for a reason, after all. "Don't you think you went too far? You might have scared them off…"
And at his word, several Trainees turned on their heels to leave. Among them was Annie, who spared Mina and Nac one last look, one which told them to reconsider. But the look she got in return made her flinch.
It was an expression which told her what they intended to do. And with one final nod, Annie went on her way.
As the masses evacuated the area, double timed might I add, the few who stood their ground had dark looks on their faces.
Glancing at her friend, Mina gave Nac a look which told him that he could leave as well, but he simply shook his head and gave her a look which told her that he was standing his ground.
'We already know…' thought Mina. 'Where we're gonna go…'
And finally, after only a few minutes, the area was filled with less than 10% of the Trainees who survived the Struggle for Trost. Among them, Nac recognised Mylius, Tom, Reiner, Bertolt, Connie, Sasha, and Ymir. Though they were the ones he saw. There could very well be much more.
"Would you die if given the order to?" asked Erwin bluntly.
"We…" began a Trainee, making some glance at him. "We don't want to die!"
"I see…" muttered Erwin, finally smiling, if only for a second. "I like your expressions. Now then, I accept all of you that remain as new Survey Corp soldiers! This will be a true salute!
"Offer your lives!"
With those words said, Erwin moved his fist to his head, and the other would-be Corps mirroed the motion.
"Sir!"
Though after that, several of them were quickly regretting this decision.
"You have all done a good job suppressing your fear," congratulated Erwin. "Every one of you is a brave soldier.
"You have my deepest respect."
Ah yes… this took a while. If you don't know… ah who cares. I basically edited this chapter. That's all. See you in the next one.