Creation began on 11-15-18

Creation ended on 11-18-18

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Hope from the Sky: Jaeger, Yeager

A/N: If the title doesn't make sense, then I've pretty much done what I needed to do there.

Eren Yeager, if he hadn't heard what Vega Howl had told them all about Grausam Zanki's Jaeger Serum, he'd probably consider doing what he had once thought about doing when the opportunity to do so presented itself upon capturing the surviving Marleyans that attacked the island. When the Survey Corps and Garrison had checked and removed any weapons or tools from them before incarcerating them in cells throughout the Trost and Shinganshina Districts, Eren came across a few vials of the Jaeger Serum that enabled the Marleyans to access the power of the Titans temporarily. He wondered if the serum would still work on an Eldian, a person that was a Subject of Ymir by fate, who could harness the power…because now he felt like he was useless, even though he was a member of the Survey Corps, one of the only two factions left on Paradis that were impacting the people's future. With the disbandment of the Military Police and the destruction of the Walls after Kaede Sogen's usurpation of his former Titan powers to stop an ultimatum from being carried out by her boyfriend's father, the Garrison only had one purpose and that was to help protect the people alongside the Survey Corps across the island, who were now the primary organization that some transferred over to or joined up for ever since Shinji arrived and made their way of life better than anything they thought was possible.

"The Jaeger Serum affects people more on the inside than just giving them the power of the Titans," he recalled Vega Howl telling them earlier. "It affects the positive and negative mental qualities of their personalities. It amplifies, augments, or unleashes everything that's already inside them. A good person injected with the serum can become a great person…"

"While a bad person injected with it becomes worse than ever before," he recalled Shinji saying in realization over how the serum worked.

But if Eren took it, and he was a good person, he could become a great person, just like Kaede had when she was injected. It wouldn't have been that hard to sneak one of the vials from wherever they were stored away for safekeeping, but if his personality was negative, it was likely he'd become just like Grausam: Worse than before.

And if the entire Garrison and Survey Corps had access to the power, if we could all become Titans at will, with powers like Reiner's, Bertolt's or Annie's, we'd be more effective against Marley, he thought, looking up at the vat that held Grausam's Akuma Titan. If we had this kind of power years before, we would've been able to take back the land beyond the Walls, live further out near the ocean, go anywhere we want without fear. We'd be all but invincible.

But deep down, he knew that if they all had the power, they'd be a danger to themselves more than they'd be towards their enemies. If they were as any bit as the Titan Shifters made by Grausam and sent to attack people that were originally powerless against them, it'd just be survival of the most desperate…and most ruthless.

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" He heard Mikasa say to him as they stepped outside the base.

"Thinking about what?" He asked her.

"Your time as a Titan Shifter," she clarified, "only using the serum Grausam developed for Marley to use against us."

"If we used it, we'd probably be a lot more powerful than we already are. I mean, just imagine it: More Titans on our side, with intelligence, versatility and raw strength. We wouldn't have to rely so much on Kaede's Dark Titan or Shinji's Evangelion. We'd be able to defend ourselves from anyone."

"But would we truly be in control of ourselves if we did have such power? Would we be able to recognize ourselves if turned ourselves into monsters just to fight back against the people that turned themselves into monsters to harm us because they thought we were monsters?"

Mikasa made a valid point. Still, it was only a possibility, nothing more than an idea. There were times when Eren just wanted to better their odds at ending this war with Marley sooner than later and be able to explore the world without this discrimination over them. But with Grausam, it was also personal; even if there had been no brotherly love between them, Zeke was still dead because of that madman and needed to be punished severely for it and everything else had done.

"Eren, whatever else it is that you're thinking about regarding the use of Grausam's Jaeger Serum, you should let it go," Mikasa expressed.

"Why?" He asked her.

"Nobody's the least bit upset that you no longer have the two Titans your father gave you back then. If anything, Eren, it's probably better this way that Ms. Sogen has them. It was a risk she was taking to ensure we'd still have the next day to look forward to when we had to deal with Shinji's father, but in the end, it was a risk that paid off because we're able to do more than we thought possible."

"And it keeps me from getting devoured by Titans because I can't lose the power I once had to them."

"Even if you hadn't been devoured at all, what would you have done after your thirteen-fifteen-year period with the power of the Titans had ended? Would you be content with living the rest of your life in a state of severe fatigue, barely able to do anything because you can't do anything?"

"I…I don't know."

"It's better if we don't know what could have been. And…it's better if the very thought of using Grausam's serum is disregarded in its entirety. As helpful as it might be to have such a resource, to know that it affects your personality…and depending upon how one is on the inside than they are on the outside… It's a gambit best left uncommitted because we don't know what could happen to you the second you tried."

Eren sighed as he realized Mikasa was right about all of this. And no matter what he thought about using the serum that gave their former, Eldian enemies the power of the Titans without much risk to those that had of the Nine Titans in their possession, no guarantees could be made that he wouldn't end up any better or worse than either Kaede, who was better, or Grausam, who was the pinnacle of people gone wrong because he was the very person that created the serum just escape the Walls…and he didn't give a damn about any of the people that were trying to escape inside when the Colossal and Armored Titans attacked.

"What do you think are our chances of executing Grausam Zanki for his crimes against humanity?" He asked Mikasa.

"After our recent encounter with him and seeing that he was immune from dying by the means we currently possess, I would say that our chances of properly punishing him are slim. Slim, not nonexistent, meaning that there is a way to be rid of him for good."

"I hope this way is discovered soon. The fact that we have to put up with babysitting him is as annoying as when we had to chase his decoy when we went after the Cart Titan."

"Although, that wasn't a complete waste of our time; acquisition of the Cart Titan was part of our orders when we went to Marley, which reduced them to just the War Hammer Titan. Soon, we'll have that, as well, and then Eldia will have its future returned to it completely."

"Hey, Eren and Mikasa!" They heard Armin yell at them as he ran over to them. "Captain Levi wants us to go inform Historia about the situation regarding Grausam."

As they set off to the orphanage village to inform Historia, Eren still couldn't shake off the small possibility that he could've been more useful if he had the power of the Titans once again, that they'd all be more capable if they were able to fight as the giants they once feared. But it was only because they didn't know what could've happened if their personalities weren't of the reasonable sort that they couldn't go down that route. Even if he himself wanted it for himself this time, he knew he couldn't do it without paying a heavy toll. But could he really do so?

To be continued…

Omake (Bob's Burgers-influenced)

"…Mother, I can't believe you didn't drink your water," Kaede told Christine as she laid in her bed with a case of the flu during the eighth month of her second pregnancy. "You're drinking that water, even if it means I have to shove it down your throat."

"No, I am not, Kaede," her mother responded to her and Sig as they sat beside her bed; she wasn't thirsty and was very moody right now.

"Don't you make me do the full-on daughter hold down," Kaede threatened lightly, only concerned for her mother's health.

Christine's eyes glared at her daughter as she responded, "I don't care if you do have the power of the Titans in your possession, young lady, you wouldn't dare restrain your own mother, Kaede."

Three seconds later…Kaede was holding down her mother while her stepfather tried to put the bottle of water in his wife's mouth.

"How can your mother be in such a delicate state, an ill condition and still be so temperamental?" Sig asked Kaede, unable to put the bottle in Christine's mouth as she kept turning her head away to avoid the bottle.

"I'm no better!" Kaede responded, trying to keep her arms pinned.

Suddenly, daughter and stepfather got a whiff of something foul…and looked down at Christine, who smirked at them.

"Ah, Mom!" Kaede gasped, letting go of her.

"I'm hoping that was just gas, Christine," Sig frowned as he backed away from his wife.

"Oh, it's definitely only a bad case of gas," she assured them.