Chapter 20 - The story of a boy

17 years ago on a cold winter month, a boy was born. His good-looking, auburn haired mother was an aristocrat who fell in love with a young, humble dressmaker hired by her family. Despite the strong opposition of her parents, the girl ran off from her home, abandoned the life of abundant riches, and settled down with the man of her dreams. She could never step foot again in the city deep within Wall Sina, where she grew up, engaging her afternoons playing polo with her well-achieved cousins, attending social gatherings with the elegant neighbors. Love can blind, sweep a person out of their common judgment. The girl, always being treated like a delicate pearl by her rich parents, was shocked by the harsh reality, but learned to endure and adapt the lifestyle of an ordinary civilian. After a silent mental conflict, she decided that she did not regret her choice, and finally took off and folded away the last memento of her former status: a fancy dress trimmed with sophisticated embroidery. The couple lived happily despite lacking material wealth. Shortly after, the man resumed his frequent travels to inland to rendez-vous with his clients. Deep inside, he always felt sorry for not be able to provide his wife a decent life, compared to the lifestyle she had led in her past. He worked day and night; his hands were covered with little bruises with every new dress he fabricated. More wrinkles crept under his eyes from the heavy workloads. As the financial situation finally improved, the family opened a middle-class tailor boutique. The man never traveled again and stayed to tend his pregnant wife.

The baby boy inherited his father's golden hair; his face resembled his mother's. Fearless, bright and well cultivated in front of the adults, he was the talk of the neighborhood since his toddler days. Being obstinate often gained him a good discipline. Getting into a fight with the neighbor's kid over a quarrel was also common. However, the boy does demonstrate his noble side when a cause is in accord with his own judgment. He showed great care and pure childish love to his friend Freya over the years as they grew up together. Around this time period, under the influence of Armin Alert, a belief was deeply entrenched inside of him: to conquer the land beyond the walls.

In year 845, the boy, 12 at the time, tightly grasped Freya's arm to help her escape the doom brought by the Colossal Titan and got fatally crushed by a fallen lumber. His name was Maximilian.

In his dying moments, his blurry vision distinguished Freya's silhouette being brought to a Titan's mouth. Strangely, knowing his time will be over soon, Maximilian felt peaceful. He never got to see his friend being rescued by a Survey Corps soldier. Some time after loosing consciousness, a hand tapped his cheek.

"Oi, brat. Can you hear me?" Levi put his index finger under the boy's nose and felt a trace of warmth, although slowly fading. "Oh? He's still alive."

"You over there!" He called.

"Yes sir!" A soldier answered.

"Take him to safety, the brat still got a bit of life in him."

"Right away, sir!"

A week later, Levi and his squad passed by the hospital within Wall Rose. "You go ahead, I'll join you later." Levi said to his subordinates and walked off.

"Wait, where are you going, sir?"

"None of your business."

Although Levi has a cold outer appearance, he disliked seeing people dying. The Corporal just remembered the child he rescued during the fall of Shiganshina was hospitalized in there. He walked in for the first, and last time.

"Officer, he is in the observation room. The child is still laying in a coma." The nurse said as she guided him down the hall. The hospital was packed with injured survivors from Shiganshina. Mats laid down in the corridor, serving as temporary beds.

"Here we are. Please let the visit remain within 10 minutes." She closed the door, leaving Levi in the room. The man with cold eyes stared down at the young boy's sleeping face, bandages thickly wrapped around the latter's body. People were talking faintly outside the door: "doctor, the boy's taken up the observation room's space for too long. We have so many other injured patients but we have no more beds." Another voice replied: "at this point, we'll see how well this child recovers. If he still can't get out of that coma by next week, we'll have to...I don't even want to say it."

Levi's eyes narrowed, irritated with disgust. "Tch, callous freaks."

The soldier leaned down to the boy's ear, whispering: "hey, brat. You heard them. If you don't wake up, they'll throw you away to clear out a new space. Think back to what the Titans did to your hometown. Think about how your friend almost got eaten back there."

Maximilian's closed eyelids slightly twitched when Levi said the word "Titans". The Corporal raised his eyebrows.

"Are you just going to let those ugly ogres get away with it? Use your common sense a little. Use your feelings to justify humanity. Open those damn eyes of yours."

The sleeping boy's fingers suddenly moved a little.

Levi straightened up his back and sighed, releasing his breath slowly. "That girl, she's your friend isn't she? I'll tell you that she's alive. You just have to wake up and go find her."

The boy's breathing speed became irregular and his head moved slightly. Levi saw what he said has taken effect. "We must fight. Entrench that hatred, so that humanity will eventually triumph over the Titans."

"Cough cough" Maximilian coughed up a small lump of blood. His eyes slowly opened. The dilated pupils immediately shrunk by the blinding light. "Hmmm... Where am I?" He groaned.

"You got some will power in you, kiddo. I'm impressed." Said Levi.

Maximilian softly stared at the Corporal for a good while, not showing any obvious emotions on his face. Levi frowned, "kid, what do you want to do?"

The boy didn't say anything in return. Suddenly, a bit of tears mildly watered his eye sockets. He haven't shed a single tear since a long, long time.

"Oi, get a hold of yourself, you are a man." Levi scornfully commented. He disliked people showing signs of weakness in front of him.

"I remember everything. How Titans devour people." The boy said almost in a whisper. "They tore off their limbs like it's nothing. Some of them even threw up the people they ate. The remains were partially dissolved, faces distorted by the fear they experienced." He clenched his teeth, anger showing in his eyes.

"That's right. Only the weak gets eaten. If you want to survive, fight." Levi said.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Levi, from the Survey Corps. Now, let me ask you again, what do you want to do? Answer me."

Maximilian always wanted to join the Survey Corps to venture out of the walls. But he wasn't sure if this is the right answer now. "What can I do in this condition? I can't even feel my body."

"No, brat. You'll recover. Although it will take a hell lot of time, and will power."

10 minutes passed, the door opened. The nurse noticed the boy had regained consciousness. She widened her eyes in big surprise and called the doctor. Levi hated the commotion. He decided it was time to leave. Straightening his uniform, he turned around and walked to the door. He said his last words: "do what you think is right, kid. Hopefully I can see you again." Levi left the hospital.

Maximilian was soon transferred to a regular patient room. Surely he resented the Titans for what they did to his hometown. Levi's words reminded him again and again that he must fight. The hatred grew day by day. Where was his friend Freya? He wanted to heal faster, and walk on solid ground again. The wish to join the Survey Corps flared up once more, stronger than before. Will power was indeed within him, as he began his recovery activity earlier than doctors had predicted. With a fatal injury like that, a year was what took him to recover. But he was prohibited to engage in any violent activity for many more months. Being stubborn as he was, he did not listen and constantly tried to disobey the doctor's words. He didn't want to sit around and do nothing.

In year 847, he enrolled in the 105th Trainee Squad, a year after Freya's enlistment in the 104th. In contrast, Maximilian knew that she was alive, because the Corporal had told him so. He missed her tremendously, but never knew what happened to her, or where she might have been all this time. How ironic that Freya was only in another isolated trainee squad. Among his fellow classmates, Maximilian was the most talented, the one who can really endure the harrowing training, always the first to master a new subject. Maybe his strong will power had something to do with this, but he was indeed a genius. The two factors combining together had produced a fine soldier. After two years, he was so distinguished that he graduated in advance and immediately joined the Survey Corps in their expeditions. His wish was finally granted. At that time, even Freya haven't graduated from the 104th Trainee Squad, who had an earlier enrollment.

Finally able to avenge humanity, Maximilian took great twisted pleasure in slaying Titans more than anyone else. Cutting through Titan flesh brought him satisfaction; watching them rot gave him a sense of triumph. All because no one could have done the same when Shiganshina was crushed by the Titans.

"Only if the Garrisons had a gut like mine on that day... Those Titans could have paid for their sins right on the spot. And so many lives would be saved." He mournfully thought.

The record of Maximilian's kills augmented each time in his expeditions. His senior squad mates sometimes looked up to him in awe. Deep inside, Levi recognized the boy as a fine warrior, a great asset among the scouts. However, his prowess wasn't his only specialty. The boy was attractive, but disregarded all his female admirers. Even though Maximilian's affiliation with the Survey Corps was short, his effort in battles gained him his peers' trust. Becoming an insider, he soon realized everyone was longing for rebel against the Government. Remembering that the Military Police were safely residing in the inner wall while his parents and neighbors were being devoured by the Titans, Maximilian resented the rotten system even more. He was well brainwashed by reality.

However, a twist of fate made him leave the Survey Corps. The Government summoned for new specific Military Police members among the Garrison and Survey Corps soldiers as an unprecedented, special exception. A new security system was developed and put into practice inside Wall Sina, and they were a bit short in military personnel. There was still a relatively long gap of time before the next trainee squad would graduate, so the authorities had taken early action. A few elite garrisons were transferred to the inner wall. As for the Survey Corps, only Maximilian was summoned, because the Government never fully trusted soldiers from this affiliation. Him being the number one early graduate was another factor. By selecting the newest member, they assumed that the boy was still naïve and possessed a purer mindset than his fellow squad mates. But they were wrong on a whole other level. They stepped on a landmine.

Irwin's facial muscles turned rigid as he read the summon warrant from the Central Government. He put down the letter, loosening his tight collar with two fingers. He shut down his vision for a while, releasing a long, heavy sigh. Briskly, the Commander's eyes opened to a knock on his office door.

"Enter."

The door handle twisted from the other side, Mike Zacharius walked in. Before saluting his superior, the tall man sniffed, wrinkling his nose repeatedly. His unique quirk.

"The air smells depressing in here." Mike commented.

Irwin leaned his elbows on the desk, crossing his fingers. "Maximilian was called by the Central Government for their new project. By removing the boy from the Survey Corps, it will be a detrimental blow to humanity. He's one of our top assets."

Mike, usually being a nonchalant individual, slightly tensed up. "Is he obligated to go?"

"No, he can decline the offer if he wishes."

"Then we can all relax on this." Mike's expression soothed. "Knowing how Maximilian enjoys killing Titans, almost like a sadist."

"Not quiet. I have an idea to discuss with the Corporal."

Later that day

Irwin rode on his fast horse to the Survey Corps headquarter. Several soldiers on duty patrol simultaneously halted on the spot and saluted at the sight of the Commander. The blond man gave them a nod. He tied the horse in the stable and went inside the headquarter.

"So, what brings you here?" Levi dispassionately asked, hanging an arm behind the chair. A soldier came in and served two cups of coffee to their large wooden table.

Irwin nodded to the soldier as a gesture of appreciation and said: "thank you. Now may I ask you to leave us, as we have an important matter to discuss?"

"Yes sir." The soldier left, leaving the room empty for two.

Irwin turned back to face Levi. "Maximilian from our faction has been summoned by the Central Government. If he accepts the transfer, he will begin working as a full-fledged Military Police member inside the walls to tighten their security."

Levi's facial expression slightly changed. "What do you have to suggest?"

"Hmph." Irwin smirked with an assuring look. "You know me too well. He has the very rights to refuse the transfer, but I'm planning to send him over. Deliberately."

Levi frowned. "What for? This way, you are declining our military force."

"I know what you are thinking. Allow me to explain." Said the Commander. "As you already know, one reason why we lose such high number of soldiers in each expedition is because the plan cannot be always fully confided to each of them. From time to time, we may have other secret missions hidden within an expedition. Except for a few veterans, most of the soldiers will only heed the procedures instructed by Ness. When a specific new order is issued during the middle of a quest, those who were uninformed in advance sometimes become less composed and the survival rate drops down."

"That's because there could be dogs working for the Government among the scouts, leaking confidential details to the higher-ups." Levi hatefully commented. "Tch, they are hard to detect."

"Exactly." Irwin replied. "An eye for an eye. There's no doubt that Maximilian would decline the offer due to his resentment for the Military Police. But considering the fact that he will be watching over the movement of the MP from the inside might make him go more willingly."

"I get it. I will call him here this instant." Levi rose from his chair, leaving the room.

A few minutes later, he returned with the boy of discussion, who had absolutely no idea why he was summoned. He saluted immediately when he saw Irwin, the Commander. After a long talk, Maximilian finally agreed to go inside the walls.

"Once in a while I will find opportunities to go outside Wall Sina and relay to you what I know." The boy said.

"Before you do so, make sure you are not being followed. This is an extremely delicate mission." Warned Irwin. "No one but the Corporal and myself know about the real reason why you choose to become a Military Police. It's very unfortunate, but this will ensure the maximum secrecy of our plan, as there are traitors in the Survey Corps who can reveal your nature to the Government. By obeying my order, your will practically lose everything. You have to sacrifice your dignity and the trust you earned from your peers."

The more Maximilian listened, the more depressed and bitter turned his facial expression. Levi looked just as malcontent, but said nothing. Maximilian swallowed hard, trying to suppress the pain he will soon face. Not even his friends will understand why he "chose" to do this, when the Government allows the summoned soldier to decline the deed. If one day he comes across his long lost friend Freya, he must present himself as a Military Police too. The shameful, coward system that he openly resented since childhood. This mission is really the end of everything for him. But it's an order from the Commander, and a perfect opportunity to get an insight of the secret plans of the Government. A noble sacrifice for the sake of humanity.

Our original story wil resume in the next chapter :)