A/N: Holy shit, I am so sorry. I lost track of uploading days and now I'm late. Great. Now I'll just drop this chapter here to stop you guys from killing me, although school's already doing a pretty good job with that. Happy reading! :) (Minor edits in the re upload.)

The crickets chirped as Farlan and Isabel walked across the grass of Palkin Yard. The lamplights flickered eerily as they made their way to the lone bench.

"I sometimes don't understand him, really," Isabel complains.

"Are you that slow? You must at least have heard of the stories from being here so long," Furlan says, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Uh, still don't understand," Isabel quipped before sitting down on the bench.

"You're impossible," Furlan grumbles. "Hey, who's that?"

The two peer into the dark streets. Sure enough, someone else was walking towards them. It was a boy, no older than fifteen it seemed. His face was dotted with freckles, his eyes looking around nervously.

"Oi, who are you?" Isabel asks, shouting out and waving her hands in the air.

"You might want to be quiet. There are other souls trying to sleep," Furlan muttered.

"I was told to come here by a friend of mine. Oh, I'm Marco, Marco Bott. Nice to meet you," Marco says, shaking Furlan's hand.

"Say Marco, who is this friend of yours?" Furlan asked.

"Oh, you probably don't know him. His name is Drayce," Marco replies, taking a seat next to them. "What brings you out here?"

"That's funny. Drayce came by and told us to wait for him here too," Isabel said. "He should be here soon."

Marco nods in acknowledgement before he started to fiddle with the hem of his shirt. A sudden flash of white startles the trio as Drayce materializes in front of them.

"Good, you guys came! I see you already introduced yourselves to each other," Drayce said brightly.

"So what's the deal little fella?" Furlan asked. "I suppose you didn't tell us to meet you here so we can have a tea party."

"No, we can do that later. But on a more serious note, do you know what the Guild is?" Drayce asks.

"Isn't it like the army of Valkern or something?" Marco asks.

"Close. It's actually the defenders of both Valkern and Paradis, the island below us," Furlan corrected.

"Yeah, we're that. The Guild essentially protects both realms from any wide scale attack, more specifically, supernatural ones. Take the Earth Devil for example," Drayce says, pacing back and forth. "The Guild currently only consists of six members. It's incomplete and just as there are the nine titans, there must be nine commanders. I'm offering you three a place in the Guild."

Drayce stops pacing and turns to his friends, letting the words sink in.

"You want us to join the Guild?" Furlan asks.

"I wouldn't choose anyone else," Drayce replies. "We'll all get a second chance at life in exchange for our services. So, are you in or out?"

"I'm in," Isabel says, stepping forward.

"So am I," Marco said deftly.

"Me too," Furlan said.

A smile formed at Drayce's lips. Taking out three white pendants, he put one in each of their hands. The three immediately threw them on, returning the smile.

"Meet me at the from gates of the main tower. We'll start your trial after you get there," Drayce says quickly before disappearing.


"EREN," Hange screamed as his titan form hit the ground in a heap of flesh and smoke.

Moblit and Levi looked on at the cliff, staring at Eren's half complete titan form. His body was hanging out of the nape uselessly.

"Eren! If you can hear us, give us a signal," Hange shouted. "If not, we're getting you out of there!"

"Hey Hange. I can't tell if it's because you're blind but do you notice something different about him this time. He's missing some flesh and not even 10 meters tall this time. Also, his butt's hanging out," Levi snapped.

"I know that! He's not moving. We're done for today," Hange shouts, swinging down the cliff towards Eren's titan.

Hange ran around the motionless titan and began to make her way to Eren.

"Oh my god. You are incredibly hot right now," Hange yelped as she scalded her hand trying to pull Eren out.

"Hange! Stop it already, he's bleeding! Let me do it," Mikasa exclaimed.

"Holy! His face is so messed up right now! It's like him and his titan are fusing! Moblit, get a sketch of this to compare to his old face," Hange exclaimed.

"Squad Leader! You're too getting carried away," Moblit exclaimed panicked.

"Get him out of there now," Annie shouts, swing down her swords, severing the connection between Eren and his titan. "I warned you about this and you didn't listen."

"Uhh, oops. I messed up again," Hange muttered. "Testing complete! All troops withdraw from the premises immediately!"

"Come on, we need to get him inside the carriage," Rachel said, floating Eren's body towards the cart. "Levi said Historia will be with us as well."

"Oh look, she's here," Armin said.

"Sorry, I'm late," Historia said. "Captain Levi told me to let you guys know that we need to leave here soon. The premises have already been searched for any witnesses."

"Great! Thanks Historia. Let's head back," Hange said brightly.

Historia, Armin, and Mikasa clambered into the cart, sitting next to Hange. Peeking her head out, she began to look around the surrounding forest.

'The smoke that goes up when Eren transforms is still too obvious. We can't do this under the radar. We need to assume they're watching us from someplace,' Hange thinks cautiously as the cart rumbles off.


"Wait, seriously! I slept for the entire day?" Eren asked shocked. "I can't believe it."

"Well, at least you're back to normal. Do you remember anything about the experiments we ran?" Hange asked.

"No, not at all. My memories really fuzzy. How did it go?" Eren asked.

"Well, we didn't see anything like Annie's ability happen while we ran the tests. We even checked the carcass after you ejected yourself and found nothing," Hange said.

"Really? Not a single thing!" Eren said, slightly upset.

"I mean, I did tell you. Only a few have the power to harden," Annie says.

"Anyways, this was how the experiments went. The first time you transformed, you were a full 15 meter class. You were to harden your body to block of a cave entrance as a stand in for Wall Maria but seeing that nothing happened, we moved on to other tests," Hange begins.

"I remember the plans but not the results," Eren said.

"Well, you seemed to be able to perform as you were ordered fairly well. You could perform the tasks given to you, such as waving your arms while hopping. We tried to have you talk but the way your mouth and tongue are makes it likely that it wasn't built for speech. You managed a few sounds that Your motor skills weren't that bad either. You managed to construct a house out of logs quickly which we could probably have you do as emergency shelter," Hange said brightly.

"Good job, you figured out we can go camping," Levi drawls.

"After a while, you started to write on the ground as a means of communication. You wrote that you couldn't harden yourself and appeared to go crazy. After an hour or so, you began to writhe like you were in pain. The all of a sudden you wrote 'What my father did to me.' Do you have any idea what you could've meant?" Hange asked.

"No, I don't. I know my dad gave me my powers but not anything else," Eren confessed.

"Well, after that, you exited your titan, presumably upon your own choice. You rested for about thirty minutes and tried again. This time, you appeared as an 13 meter class and a hungry one at that because you ate the house you built earlier. None of us could get you to understand us and after that you exited your titan once more," Hange said. "Then you rested for another half hour before trying a third time but this time, you were less than 10 meters tall. Your titan was so incomplete, you weren't able to stand or move at all. We had to retrieve you and we brought you here."

"So in other words, it was a complete failure," Eren mumbled, his mood plummeting.

"Exactly. It was an utter disappointment to us. Everyone here is moping around because of that. Time is running out. For all we know, titan could sprout out the ground like weeds tomorrow so more or less, we're in a sticky situation," Levi began.

"Hold on, Eren tried his best-" Mikasa began before getting cut off by Levi.

"We know that. But is it important to know he tried his best? The only thing that does matter is the fact that he can't seal Wall Maria's hole. We only have her for the next 6 years," Levi said, jerking a thumb towards Annie. "Then what? They could breach the walls again and humanity can't do anything about because you can't harden your body."

"But just blaming Eren for his failures-" Mikasa started, but once again interrupted by Levi.

"Hold on a minute. I'm not blaming him here. Smell the air right now. It stinks to high heaven and I've been breathing this filthy air ever since I was born. Until a few years ago, the air outside the walls I breathed was fresher. Although it's hell beyond the gates, that's freedom," Levi finished.

"In other words, Levi was trying to say that we found out you can't harden your titan and that was a success. We found out the limitations to your titan and its abilities. The smoke it gives off will eventually come back and bite us but we got information we could work with," Hange said positively.

Eren looks down, a grimace on his face. He clenched his hands into fists before slowly relaxing them.

'Why was I given this role? The one to save humanity, repaying the debts I owe isn't possible. But learning these facts gives me an edge at something new. For now, I'm powerless. For now. But why did I think about dad during the tests? Would I been to control my titan longer if I hadn't? Dad, what did you do?' Eren thinks, pictures of his father flashing before his eyes.

Suddenly, a girl appeared. Eren's eyes widened. She looked like Historia but her hair was jet black. A comb was in her hand as she untangled the knots in her hair.

'Is this a memory?! When was this?! Who's is it?! Argh,' Eren thinks, his hand raising to his temples.

"You're still weak right now. Don't push it to hard," Mikasa said, steadying Eren.

"As for what we should do next is pretty clear. Annie and Moblit need to work on deciphering that book. We'll go after the wallists because they are hiding information about the titans in the wall. We also received word that Erwin has arrived in the royal capital. He should know something about the Reiss family and the royal bloodline," Hange says. "Until we get more information, we're staying put."


Erwin looked out the carriage window, watching as a group of five children rob a man of his bag. He turned back to Nile before speaking.

"There are child gangs now? I didn't know it was that bad in the capital," Erwin simply said.

"It is that bad. The prisons are already overflowing. We don't have any space to throw them into so they're just left alone," Nile replied. "Why'd you call me anyways? Can't handle a royal trial by yourself? I'm not in the mood to talk about our training days."

"Cut me some slack Nile," Erwin replied with a small grin.

"When you got back, I was sure you were going to die an early death. You're arm is waiting for you on the other side. Do you still believe in those foolish delusions you spouted as a kid?" Nile asked.

"Those delusions are turning into a reality Nile. Look around you," Erwin said.

"Well whoop de doo," Nile replied sarcastically.

"On a more serious note Nile, are you aware that Minister Nick was killed by the First Interior Squad?" Erwin asked.

"No actually. We have no control of them and they have no superiors so they basically do whatever they want," Nile said shocked. "Even we don't know what they are up to."

"We know they want Eren. It appears that they haven't found out about Annie Leonhart yet. What cause is great enough for you to kill to get him?" Erwin asked.

"We simply follow our orders from above. We are the face of the Military Brigade but the Interior Squad is on the other side. They're communication is a completely different chain than ours so we have no way of contacting them. They also don't have an official higherup to answer to so they basically have a free pass to do anything they wish to do," Nile replied. "But still why have me tell you something you already know?"

"What do you think Nile. Will handing Eren over truly end the crisis inside the walls?" Erwin asked seriously.

"It isn't my place to answer that. All I do is execute the orders that are given to me," Nile answered, an uneasy feeling growing inside him.

"By the way, how's Marie doing. I heard a third is on the way now," Erwin asked, changing the topic.

"Erwin, learn to stay on topic," Nile said, glancing over to the Survey Corps commander.

"If memory serves, you wanted to join the Survey Corps with me. But you fell for a girl at our favorite bar and chose to protect her instead," Erwin said, mildly amused.

"Yeah, that's right. But still, I don't regret betraying you all and shamelessly staying alive. I'm proud to have a family," Nile said, a ghost of a smile forming.

"We respected you. You were able to live a life we couldn't but just because you're protecting your position and following orders doesn't necessarily mean you're protecting your family, Nile," Erwin said. "Our tiny world is changing. Hope or despair? Who makes that choice, who will choose, and who will you trust?"

"Erwin, what are you up to?" Nile asked.

"You know me. Another gamble, the one thing I'm good at. I simply wanted to give you a warning. I'll leave you here," Erwin replied, opening the carriage door as it slowed to a stop. "Oh and one last thing, I was quite taken by Marie as well."

"Hah!" Nile laughed. "You think I didn't know that? You chose titans over Marie! There's got to be something wrong with you Erwin!"

He looked back and gave a grin before Nile closed the door. He watched as the carriage roll off into the distance.


"Megan should be back soon. For now, try these on," Ymir said, handing Furlan, Isabel, and Marco each a cloak.

"So soon? They haven't even started the trial," Drayce says, watching from the sidelines.

"If you chose them, they're good enough," Ymir replied.

A flash of white appeared just outside the doorway of the office. Taking her helmet off, Megan walked in.

"I heard it all. Erwin gave us enough information. My prediction is that the MP Interior Squad should be moving in on them tonight," Megan reported.

"Thanks Megan. They'll be ready soon. I'll send them over to Drop 7 once we're done here," Drayce said.

Megan nodded before walking out the room. Drayce stood up, his armor clinking as he walked to the trio.

"So your trial! The Interior MP Squad is moving in on the Survey Corps tonight. Your task is to help escort Levi and Hange as well as the rest of them to safety," Drayce said. "We don't want any unnecessary casualties."

"It's time. We need to let them know about us. Send them a message while you're at it," Ymir said, handing a crystal tube to Drayce. "Write a message to them."

Daryce takes the tube and stows it away for later. He turns and exits the room.

"Now it is important that we keep our identities a secret. Do not tell them no matter what," Ymir said. "You have the next few hours to yourselves. I suggest bringing some living necessities from your old houses."

"Why? Isn't this like our application or something?" Isabel asks confused.

"Oh no, I've made up my mind. It's your first mission now," Ymir said before exiting the room as well, leaving the trio to their thoughts.

Three hours later, Furlan, Isabel and Marco report back to the main tower. Daryce is already waiting for them.

"Ready?" he asks them with a smile.

"I guess so. I mean it's the first time in a while since we've been there," Furlan says.

"Take this. Give it to Annie when you finish the mission," Drayce said, giving the crystal tube to Marco. "Anyways our drop docks are in the back. Let's go!"

The four of them jog down the hall to the last hangar door. Drayce forces it open revealing two rows of blue pads. Each of the pads are labeled with a number.

"Number 7 takes you to the forest at the outskirts of the building. Alright, good luck!" Drayce says before waving his hand.

The blue pad disappeared and in its place, a hole appeared. Looking down, Furlan could see the clouds below them. Tiny trees dotted the mountain sides.

"Go, go, go!" Isabel yells, pushing Furlan into the hole before jumping in herself.

Marco simply shrugged before pencil dropping down. Drayce leans forward, watching as their tiny figures accelerate downwards until they completely vanish from sight.