Eren was horrified. It was all going so smooth. And when the moment of truth came, he was dangling upside down.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YEAGER?!" Yelled the instructor Shadis "RIGHT YOURSELF!"
'I don't believe this' Eren thought to himself. It wasn't supposed to be like this. The vertical maneuvering balance test was the first important step on his way to becoming a soldier and he failed even that.
He looked to the side. Dina was barely holding up. After a moment she noticed him and looked at him with sad eyes.
After he was lowered down, he stayed behind for practice.
"You should be able to do it if you stick to the basics" said Mikasa "don't try to get fancy."
It was easy to say for her. Mikasa's performance was flawless.
"You can do it if you just relax" added Armin "even I managed it, and I have no coordination at all."
Eren looked to the side at Dina. She gave him an encouraging smile and took hold of the handle. He nodded at her, and she started lifting him up.
Eren took a deep breath, prepared himself and…
…fell to the ground again.
When they finally sat down in the canteen Eren was on the verge of breaking down.
While he was trying to eat, he heard many people talk about him.
"Hey… last night, didn't that guy say he was gonna wipe out the titans?"
"And he's already almost killed himself on step one."
"How the hell does he plan on slaughtering the titans anyway?"
"Eren" Dina said placing her hand on his shoulder "don't let them get to you."
"That's right Eren" said Mikasa "You'll make it along with us."
"If I can't do it tomorrow, what should I do?"
"There's no sense in getting worked up over it now." Armin said.
Eren looked towards Dina. She was the one who always supported him the most and he usually found her advice useful.
"Maybe try asking some other people who did better" Dina said, "I barely held up, but I saw many guys who seemed more than capable."
That was a great idea! Why shouldn't he try asking others first? With newfound resolve he quickly stood up and grabbed Armin.
"That's the idea! Come on Armin, we have to ask them!" He said pulling the boy along.
"Hey… Maybe let me finish first…" Eren heard Armin say, but there was no time.
In the quarters things weren't looking so good.
"A trick to it? Sorry buddy but I'm just a natural" said Connie with a mockery in his voice.
"Hey, why don't you tell me the secret to keeping your sanity after disgracing yourself in public like that!" Snorted Jean.
"Guys… I'm seriously asking for your help here…" Pleaded Eren.
"Forget Connie and Jean" said Marco thinking "there are more people who got high marks."
Eren was flustered.
"Oh, I know!" Marco suddenly said "there was this guy who had the highest mark! I think his name is Marcel."
Marcel Galliard was a serious looking boy with light eyes and brown hair.
"Hmm, the trick to posture control?" Marcel said thoughtfully. "Sorry, but I don't think you need a trick to just dangle there."
Eren looked towards Marcel's companions. One was a tall silent boy with dark hair. The other guy was light haired and brash looking.
"Oh, these two goons right here are Bertholdt and Reiner." Said Marcel with a smile.
"Please guys, I heard you were great at it" said Eren with a small hope.
"Sorry, but I don't think I have the words of wisdom you're looking for" replied Reiner.
"I see…" said Eren feeling defeated.
"You'll just have to bet on it tomorrow." Said Armin.
Bertholdt seemed to be deep in thought.
"You two are from Shiganshina aren't you?" he asked after some consideration.
"Yeah, that's right."
"Then you probably know how scary the titans are" said Bertholdt "so I don't get why you wanna be soldiers."
Armin thought for a bit.
"It's not that I experienced the titan menace directly" he started "but whenever I think about that suicidal wall recapture operation, I can't sit still."
"I have no confidence in my physical strength and skill, but I just can't keep quiet and watch…"
Bertholdt seemed to consider it for a moment.
"Can I ask where you guys are from?" Armin asked the trio.
Marcel looked down.
"We are from a village deep in the mountains southeast of wall Maria."
"What? That's…"
"Yeah" said Marcel "unlike the thriving towns along the river, we didn't get word right away that the wall was broken."
"It was dawn… The livestock were making a huge racket. I'd never heard the ground rumble like that before, and it kept getting louder… Realizing it was footsteps, I hurried to the window and opened it…"
"I don't really remember what happened next" continued Marcel "but my point was, you guys are different from them."
"Them?" Eren said wanting to know what he meant.
Marcel stood up and said "come."
Five boys exited the living quarters. They were walking through the woods, headed towards some unknown direction.
"By 'them' I meant the ones who don't know the terror of the titans" explained Marcel.
"The majority of them are here because it's the thing to do. Twelve-years-olds who work in factories are considered cowards. That's why they go to the military."
"And what do you guys think?" Eren asked them.
"I'm just as cowardly as they are" replied Bertholdt "I'm athletic, so I chose to become a soldier, thinking I'd use my skill to become an elite MP. If that doesn't work out, I might just chuck it all…"
"I've got no will of my own."
"There's nothing wrong with valuing your life," said Armin.
"I have to go back home, even though there's nothing left to go home to" said Reiner "I will go back… No matter what."
"And you Eren?" asked Marcel "why did you want to join?"
Eren thought about this question for a while. He suddenly remembered the book Armin showed him, the face of his mother when she told him to run, Dina saying to go and fulfil his dreams.
"Ever since I remember, I wanted to escape these walls" he started "people just thought I had a screw loose… But I always wanted to join the survey corps, even before the fall of wall Maria."
"I'll kill every last one of them."
Marcel looked at Eren astonished.
"I see…" he said, "so even after encountering the titans you didn't change your mind?"
"Well… Right now, I don't know if I can actually become a soldier" Eren said.
They stepped into a beautiful view. The moon was illuminating a lake in the distance, and the clouds were lingering on the mountains.
"Try readjusting the belts and do your best tomorrow" Marcel said as he turned towards Eren "I believe in you."
"And what is your goal?" Eren asked Marcel.
The latter seemed to ponder for a while.
"I want to help save humanity" Marcel said, "and those who are closest to me."
The next day everyone gathered round the field to watch Eren.
"EREN YEAGER!" yelled Shadis "ARE YOU READY?"
"YES SIR!" exclaimed the boy in question.
'I can do this' thought Eren 'I may not be a natural, but no one beats me when it comes to willpower!'
"Begin" said the instructor.
'It has nothing to do with logic and I can't back it up' thought Eren as he was being lifted from the ground 'but that's all I have!'
Seconds passed as Eren was struggling to stay up in the air. People looked in awe as he was doing his best to pass this test.
'I did it!' Eren thought to himself.
The next moment his head hit the ground.
The old instructor looked down at him.
"Bring him down, now" said Shadis.
"No!" Eren cried out "Not yet! I can…"
Eren was broken. He just couldn't believe it. This couldn't be the end.
The old instructor was deep in thought.
"Wagner!" he said to the boy operating the crane "Trade belts with Yeager."
"Yes Sir!"
When Eren was lifted again everything was so smooth. He could dangle upright with no effort.
"The metal fitting in the belt you were using was broken" Shadis said flipping Eren's belt and showing the broken part "normally you're suspended from the waist, so even if you flip over, you shouldn't be able to hit your head on the ground."
"I've never heard of one of these breaking before, but you'll need to have a little maintenance done on your equipment."
Eren couldn't believe it.
"Th-Then… My aptitude score…" Eren said with a weak voice.
"No problem" replied the instructor "keep practicing."
"I DID IT!" yelled Eren with joy.
He looked towards the people and noticed that many of them had their mouths wide open. In the crowd he could see Dina looking at him proudly.
'I'm on my way' he thought as he was lowered down.
