849 [2]

"It may very well kill you."

Six words. Six, simple words that continued to haunt Eren Jaeger. He doubted Annie meant to trouble him so when she spoke them, yet he couldn't clear them from his mind. It was like the image of his mother, being devoured by a Titan: present beneath the surface of his day-to-day reality. He had tried to ask what she meant, unconcerned about whatever threat the truth might provoke.

Annie resisted. She thought otherwise, always changing the topic whenever he sought answers or even clarity about her words. She had increased the brutality of their hand-to-hand training, as if the pain would jostle his mind hard enough he would forget those words.

In the three weeks since, Eren had tried to confront her over the matter almost daily. Several times he tried to ask her while fighting, and several times Annie put him in the dirt, harder than normal. Whatever secret she was keeping from him, he was beginning to suspect the nature of it troubled her severely. For the first time since he met her, she acted distracted. It was bad enough that one night she had been questioned by Krista Lenz, perhaps the only recruit in the 104th South shorter than Annie. He didn't view her as a goddess the way others did, but then Ymir was annoyingly possessive and defensive over the immensely kind girl.

Eren wouldn't admit it, but her behavior reminded him too much of Mikasa for comfort.

He sighed and shook his head. He couldn't allow it to stay so present on his mind, especially with the day's advancement in training. They had finally been issued sharp, razor-styled blades of ultra-hardened steel. Eren grinned despite himself, excited to put his past training to use. He checked the triggers of his 3DM gear and nodded at how swiftly they operated.

"All of you, pay attention now," demanded Major Claude Duvalier, formerly of the Military Police and second to Commander Keith Shadis. His glasses made him appear kindly, despite his past branch affiliation. Everyone present straightened, hands folded behind their backs. "There are ten Titan stand-ins present in the woods behind me. All of you present are tasked with eliminating them."

Eren glanced at the other cadet-recruits with him. Assuming they needed a kill to get positive scores, barely a third would remain on track for the Top Ten. He'd bet even fewer would end up with a kill, likely the prime criteria.

"The napes of these 'Titans' have been made visible, regardless of your speed," the Major continued. "They're made of a unique foam designed to be similar enough to Titan flesh that cutting through it will simulate cutting through their napes. All of you are competent enough to not crash into trees, but know for the purposes of this exercise, should you hit a Titan, you will be counted as Titan-food and told to quit. Other crashes, should they occur, will be judged—if seen—based upon your proximity to the ten Titans set up."

His jaw clenched. He was not going to be Titan-food, especially not today. One day Eren would kill them, and see the ocean with his own eyes. Those monsters had killed his mother, and had locked all of humanity away behind their walls like cattle.

Mindless beasts had humiliated humanity.

"Those of you who successfully cut into a nape to sufficiently kill one will receive top marks for today. The rest…shall be judged accordingly."

Quiet anxiety bubbled among them as they waited for the signal to launch. Eren tensed, entering a weak squat as his thumbs slightly adjusted the grapple points at his waist. He knew precisely where he'd want to go—and he knew every second planning his movements would mean the difference between getting a kill and not.

Especially against some of the others, Eren thought begrudgingly.

It frustrated him to no end that the loud mouth fool Jean Kirschstein displayed a great deal of talent with 3DMG. The Trost native had a sense for aerial movement and maneuvering only shared by Mikasa and maybe Annie. He especially was the most efficient with their limited gas supply, able to remain the longest in the air without refill. Eren thought it was wasteful, that someone with Jean's level of talent and ability could be satisfied with a life as simplistic as being a simple MP in the Interior.

But then, Annie wanted a life like that for herself. He could begrudge her wish, given her martial skill in hand-to-hand combat, yet it still troubled Eren. Why were so many comfortable living as cattle? Where was the anger over their fate? Had they accepted it, or were they so afraid of death they couldn't fight Titans?

Why must humans be pathetic, resigned to pathetic fates?

He swallowed his fury, seeking to channel it into focus. Eren had heard too many times his anger could lead him astray.

I need to control it—or else it'll control me.

Major Duvalier scanned them expectantly, as though he expected a question or protest. He was only met with an anticipatory silence, meeting their gazes one by one.

They had been training and studying for two years, just for this day when they would first get their chance to simulate killing Titans—even if most only developed their skills so they could claim a spot of safety behind the Walls.

The Major nodded. "Begin!"

Eren sprung forward, firing his right tether up into the lower canopy. He shot off with a hiss of gas, rising quickly with every second. The sound vaguely reminded him of the incident with Annie, when she had spoken those worrying words, but he set that thought aside. He didn't have the time or luxury for distractions.

The tether released as he reached a thick branch. He pushed off hard, driving himself forward with a quick, powerful burst of gas. Eren waited until he began to fall to fire off the left tether, and he was drawn forward once it could safely retract. His plan was simple: head in deep and work his way back. Mikasa would follow him if she had been assigned to the same training group, but nobody else would bother to tail him. She was annoyingly protective, more so after every spar he had with Annie that ended with an infirmary trip.

He made his way deep into the wood for several minutes, listening for the telltale noise of hissing gas and retracting tethers. Beyond his own, Eren heard none. He was alone. There were no trailing cadets to worry about, those following him in hope of poaching his kills. Whether it meant his plan would succeed or he'd have nothing to show for once the golden end flare went up, he wasn't sure.

His right tether stuck deep into a trunk several feet before him, off to the side. Mixing gas and his own balance, he swung around the thick tree and launched off perpendicular to his previous vector. Green eyes scanned the forest before him, seeking out the large, humanoid shape of a Titan. Between the size of the trees and the newness of the exercise, he honestly expected all ten targets to be either a Sevens—those Titans who were oddly uniform at seven meters tall—or the smaller Threes—their shorter three-meter tall brethren.

But if there's a Fifteen, he thought viciously, remembering the crooked grin of the Titan that ate his mother, I won't hold back!

Eren peered through lush foliage, relying upon developing instincts to avoid braining himself against a tree. His leg skimmed one, though not bad enough to tear either the leather straps or the thick linen pants he wore. The burn upon his skin underneath would itch something fierce, though.

Before his mind could reach the point where he'd be ready to start heading back towards where he had started in search of targets, the precise shape he had been seeking appeared in his left periphery. Eren changed course with a quick swing along one of his tethers, and used the sudden shift in inertia to spring himself up high. Having reached a height that gave him better leverage over the mock target, he moved towards the fake Titan. The shape before him was closer to six meters than seven, yet it matched the humanoid shape all Titans possessed.

He accelerated towards the air behind his target, treating the moment as though there was a real Titan before him, capable of noticing and tracking his flight. Thick, plush foam they had been informed of was distinct, right where the nape would be. An obvious target was an obvious target, yet it brought a smile to his face. Once far enough past the front of the cutout, he drew two blades, clicking into place, and launched into his attack vector.

One meter long, ten centimeters deep, Eren mentally chanted. He eyed the first ridge of his blades and swung so they would meet the edge of the false nape.

They sliced through the foam like butter, and Eren roared at his victorious kill. He glanced back and grinned at the sight of an almost perfectly carved chunk taken out of the false nape. It might not be real, but he possessed the skill and power to kill a Titan. His ambition wasn't the foolish suicide the others liked to call it.

We can do it! We can be fre—

A red flare shot up with a loud bang, billowing colored smoke marking his successful kill. Eren yelped at the sudden burst, sending himself off course as he reacted. An instinctive pulse of fear and panic filled his entire body as he tumbled in midair, momentarily losing all sense of up and down. His mind caught up, clamping down on the destructive emotions as he fired off a tether, which latched into a nearby tree. He drew himself to it, straightening out, before stumbling onto a branch thick enough to place his full weight onto.

The moment Eren placed weight onto his left leg, he nearly screamed at the blistering spike of pain. He looked down and had to immediately swallow bile and terror. In his brief confusion, tumbling in the air, he had sliced his left thigh open. Blood gushed forth, staining his pants in vibrant colors as thick fluid trickled into his boot. For a moment, he swore he glimpsed the white bone within pink flesh.

This can't be happening, Eren thought, approaching the verge of hyperventilating. He closed his eyes, suppressing the burning hot tears that threatened to streak down his face. I never got the chance to join the Survey Corps, to go beyond the Walls and kill Titans.

Before he could slip further into despair, a familiar sound caught his ear. He had heard it before, three weeks ago before Annie had spoken six words that continued to haunt him. Six words that shook him to his core, and returned now when all seemed lost.

"It may very well kill you."

Not if I kill myself first, Eren thought bitterly, looking down at his leg. He blinked, and then frowned as he stared at his leg. It hissed, releasing a puff of steam, rising from his wound. His gaze was transfixed upon his injury as it healed close, muscle and skin reconnecting right before his very eyes, stringing together like threads in a weave.

His body steamed as it healed, just like a Titan would.

"It may very well kill you." Annie's words once more echoed in his mind, likely spoken to warn him in case he would go through such a moment of accidental self-discovery. The haunting words took on a new meaning as the wretched realization he had just experienced sunk in.

His green eyes widened as something else clicked in his mind. She had seen him release steam like a Titan. Annie knew what he was and had seen what he had done. She had hidden the truth from him, yet wasn't completely surprised by his newly realized reality.

Does she know something? Am I a Titan? Something else?

Could…could she be like me?

Know others like me?

He blinked repeatedly, in a manner as if the act of blinking was enough to change the direction of his spiraling thoughts. Eren knew he needed to focus on the exercise, regardless of his sudden questions and fears concerning who he actually was. What he actually was.

Eren took in a deep breath before departing upon a course back towards where he had begun. Hopefully, none of the instructors present for the exercise had seen his botched slice job and subsequent healing. If any of them saw what had happened, it was likely MPs would be sniffing around the camp before night. Even a brief thought of anyone else knowing terrified him. It was bad enough that Annie knew, but he had a feeling she could be trusted to keep this secret.

After all, Annie had even kept it from him for three weeks.

Others, however, could not know. Eren didn't even want to entertain what they might think about him, were they to learn of what had happened. Not even Armin and Mikasa could be trusted, regardless of how long he had known them. They wouldn't understand. Not truly, not fully.

"Not all of my enemies are Titans," he whispered to himself. A few seconds later, he realized precisely what he had said and frowned.

Eren was uncertain why those words had suddenly tumbled from his lips. He could only hope that Annie might have an idea.

She was the only person he could trust to be on his side.

Annie Leonhardt felt a sick dread as she stared at Eren's bloody, cut pants following the afternoon aerial combat training exercises. Ever since she learned he was cursed like her with the Power of Ymir, she had been forced to face the conundrum of everything she knew and everything he might represent. As a Marleyan Warrior, especially one entrusted with a Power stolen from Eldia, she should inform her fellow warriors as to what she had learned about Eren.

Perhaps if she had a reason to return to Liberio, Annie would've informed them within hours of learning the truth.

Instead, she hesitated and kept what she knew close to her chest. As Annie stared at him, she began to understand why she did so. Despite her best effort, she was invested in the future of the Paradisian Eldians, especially those she knew. She had grown close to Eren after over a year of consistent close-quarters combat training. His ambitious desire had pressed him into requesting to learn her martial art, and she couldn't deny she treasured their time together.

If she thought about it for longer than a moment, Annie might realize she was assimilating into life as a Paradisian. The way she spoke, compared to some four years ago before the walls were Breached, had been more like Marleyans than the Eldians around her. She wondered if the way she spoke matched the way her ancient Eldian ancestors may have spoken. The weird little inflections on vowels that was apparent in Marleyan Eldis that Reiner and Bertholdt held onto had vanished from her speech, erased by time and a lack of will to hold onto what she once was.

Adapting to the Paradisian way of life hadn't been too difficult. The food was bland, made worse by the loss of a great deal of territory and the overpopulation still within Wall Rose. Their manners were a touch more conservative than what she was used to, though she had grown up in a household more akin to the military than either of her fellow Warriors. It was her and her father, who had been more interested in crafting a weapon than raising a proper daughter.

There was a reason Annie sought not to think about how similar Eldians in either Marley or Paradis were. After all, Reiner, Bertholdt and herself had killed nearly a quarter million of their own people, and if it was for nothing—

Oh, Annie thought after entertaining the very thought she tried her damndest to avoid. I'm guilty for what happened to Shiganshina and within Wall Maria. I didn't destroy either gate, yet all of that blood is on my hands.

Including Carla Jaeger's.

She blinked, watching awkwardly as Mikasa Ackerman, a beast shaped like a woman, fussed over Eren and his terrible wound. She suddenly found herself thinking of one of their earlier—and more memorable—training sessions.

Eren crashed to the ground, flat on his back. Annie rested partially atop him, using both her positioning and weight to pin the stronger boy against baked dirt. He groaned slightly before shifting against her. She forced won her slightly flushed state from how he wriggled beneath her.

"You should be more careful, Jaeger."

"Oh ha ha," he grimaced. "I didn't expect you to tackle me so harshly."

Annie smirked, just beyond the view of his green eyes. "Harshly. That's a big word from you, Eren."

"I'm not an idiot."

She snorted. "Did your mother ever teach you how to talk to girls?"

The moment after the words were spoken aloud, she felt a tingle of regret. Annie had witnessed several learn the hard way that Eren didn't take references to his mother lightly. He tensed, still beneath her. He then began to buck and flail like an injured animal using the last of its strength to force off a predator.

From what Annie had witnessed during the first night as a trainee, Eren Jaeger had the misfortune of witnessing his mother's death, devoured by a Titan during the fall of Shiganshina. Bertholdt had struggled to meet the boy's gaze for a week, despite Reiner bullying him into trekking out to the lake on their second night.

"Annie!" hissed Eren, elbowing her in the side. She grimaced, yet held tight. "Get off!"

Instead of doing as he demanded, Annie dug her right shoulder into the soft flesh between his collarbone and his chin, nearly upon his throat. She felt him growl like a feral animal, intensifying his efforts to shake her off.

"Calm down," Annie whispered into his ear. He shivered from the sensation of her breath. "Brute strength won't get you out of this. Breathe and think, Eren."

It took several seconds, but Eren eventually forced down his enraged emotions, though he was nowhere close to channeling the calm state of mind she possessed. She was impressed by how quickly he was able to control his emotions, though the strangely warm and hard—

Annie blinked, a sudden burst of mortification spiking through her. The memory vanished back into her mind, where she hoped it would remain until she died, or perhaps she would get lucky and it would vanish along with the great host of childhood memories she no longer possessed.

Eren started in her direction, his green eyes burning with secret knowledge. Mikasa and Armin hovered around him, following in his wake. She glanced at the bloody stains surrounding the cut on his thigh and wondered what foolish mistake he had made to reveal his power. Scanning the blade boxes dangling from the supports at his hips, she noticed that one was missing a blade.

If it were anywhere other than lodged into the canopy of a tree or scuttled under a bush, she'd be disappointed. Allowing anyone to discover the presence of Titan Shifters would create unnecessary trouble for more people than Annie and Eren.

"Hey Annie," he greeted, his mood subdued by the knowledge she had hoped he wouldn't learn of so suddenly. Mikasa glowered at her while Armin was merely pensive, glancing between her and his friend. The intelligent blond unsettled her, mentally capable in a manner that had her overthinking her words whenever in his presence. She knew nothing important could be said until they were alone and away from his friends.

"Eren," Annie said. She then glanced at his friends. "Ackerman, Arlert." She pointedly looked at his leg, at the cut and the bloodstains, before back to his gaze.

He flushed and looked away.

"It's only a flesh wound, like I told Mikasa and Armin. You don't need to worry about me."

While to most Eren sounded defensive, embarrassed, and thus was trying to act strong, Annie picked up on his confusion. She had to assume whatever ridiculous and nearly suicidal maneuver responsible for his wound had awoken him to the fact he was a Titan Shifter. That he hadn't triggered his transformation was a miraculous turn of events. She half expected him to learn by accidentally shifting, injured to the point his sole hope of survival was to wrap his mangled, bloody form in the body of a Titan.

Though his self-control has improved since Induction, Annie reflected. He definitely took my warning three weeks ago serious.

Problem now is that he's going to have questions.

"If that's true, then you would be willing to train with me tonight," Annie stated, masking her demand in the words of a question. Eren blinked like a moron, then a light of realization flashed in his green eyes. He looked away, chagrined by his idiocy. "The moon will be bright enough that you will be able to see what you're trying to hit.

"Hitting it, naturally, is another question."

He flushed, looking away pointedly. Arlert glanced between Eren and Annie, his mind taking his observations from the brief conversation and working them into whatever understanding he had of their relationship. It was entirely professional, as far as Annie was concerned.

She definitely didn't look forward to their spars, above everything else.

Now Annie had to deal with the fact that Eren was aware of his nature as a Titan Shifter. There had been no thunder or lightning that afternoon. No telltale sign, the flash turning the day sky green. She knew he had yet to shift.

Regardless, Annie was faced with a choice. A choice she suddenly realized could shape the future of the world, let alone the fates of Paradis and Marley. It would be easy to speak with Reiner and Bertholdt and inform them there was a lead to the Coordinate, or merely another shifter, with them in the 104th South. They might doubt her suspicion that Jaeger somehow bore the power for which they were sent to the isle of devils in the first place. The course there would be to kidnap him, regardless of the threat posed by Mikasa Ackerman.

Yet what reason did Annie Leonhardt have to continue with their mission? She had been open to retreating following Marcel's death. It had been Reiner, not her or Bertholdt, who decided to press on. Annie had been content to go back, despite their failure. They had no clue where the Jaws Titan was, for they had fled instead of facing down the new shifter. That made three Titans outside of Marley's grasp. The king, the thief, and whoever might possess the Attack Ti—

Annie blinked. Her blue eyes bore into his green. She ignored how Eren tried to question her, his confusion over her sudden intensity, as she sought to process her sudden realization. It made sense, the Attack Titan being on Paradis Island. Why he didn't interfere at Shiganshina, she wished she knew. It had to be what Eren possessed, though how he had acquired the power was unknown.

Unless…

"What did your father do, Eren? Before the Breach?"

He frowned. It wasn't the confused expression he had been showing her, but something closer to fear. Even so, Eren replied without any sense of guile. "He was a doctor, though he was in the Interior when the Wall fell. Why are you asking?"

She looked down at his leg. Eren appeared to pick up the hint, if his paling color was a signal strong enough for her to read. If what Annie suddenly suspected was true, then Doctor Jaeger had the Attack Titan in his possession when Wall Maria was breached. After what Eren had said, she now suspected that Eren's father had left Shiganshina not because of his work, but to seize the Founding Titan for himself—and to be passed on to Eren. When the Attack Titan passed into the Walls, she didn't know. It would be safe to assume the Walled King had done so, but for his weapon to turn on him…

Annie suppressed a strange, unlikely idea, as she accepted that Doctor Jaeger had hidden the truth of his Titan powers from his family. He had kept it hidden until the time it was right to pass it along to his son and entrust Eren Jaeger with the future.

Eren didn't dare sneak out of Boys' Barrack Three until a touch after midnight, when the darkest hour of night was fresh upon the horizon. Without a lantern or torch, the training facility was suspicious and shadowy. Most of what he could see was barely illuminated by the moon, hidden behind clouds that had rolled in maybe an hour prior. He padded his way around the barracks compound, seven in total but only five occupied, and started for the woods on the far side of camp. Several times he could've sworn that a patrolling instructor or one of the other cadets were about to stumble upon him, yet those fears never came to pass.

He had just stumbled far enough past the tree line to not see camp when a white-sleeved arm grabbed his left shoulder and yanked him around.

"How cruel, making a girl wait so long for you," whispered Annie. There was an odd playfulness to her tone that made him tense, nervous and strangely afraid. His mind was still reeling from discovering he could heal like a Titan to handle her acting any different compared to her usual apathetic self.

As such, Eren found himself falling upon instinct and familiarity.

"Ha ha," Eren replied, hoping he wouldn't sound off to her. While he had little issue with Annie's bizarre mindset during their training sessions, the only thing he wanted out of her this night was honesty. He frankly didn't even want to deal with her apathetic moods, and quickly realized he would need to make it clear to her. "Be serious, Annie, and please be honest with me." He glanced around before lowering his voice. "So, where are we going?"

One of her pale eyebrows rose, but her lips remained firmly sealed. She waited just long enough for him to realize she wasn't going to openly tell him where before turning away and starting up the path he knew led to the nearby lake. Eren still remembered one of the earliest nights of training, when he and Armin, Reiner and Bertholdt, had gone out there while talking about what they had all experienced after the Fall of Shiganshina. It had helped him overcome his first challenge of balancing in the air.

As they crested the hill overlooking the lake, Annie suddenly said, "I only have suspicions about which power you inherited, Eren, but I know what you are." She paused, perhaps waiting for him to speak or only for herself. He remained silent, waiting, and she continued on with a huff. "You're still human, but you're different now, Jaeger.

"You're a Titan Shifter."

"So you mean…" he began, focusing on their descent, "I…I can turn into a Titan?"

She glanced backward, blue eyes sparkling, before she chuckled. "Precisely. That you aren't shouting or panicking right now has impressed me, Jaeger."

"I'm not angry all the time," he grumbled, ignoring the pointed use of his family name.

Annie snorted, as disbelieving as if someone marched into camp, claiming Titans could be tamed like pets. Eren almost expected her to say something else about his admittedly common flashes of rage, which boiled over whenever his ambition to kill every Titan was dismissed. Yet she remained quiet. He doubted the pain of his mother's death would ever fade, but once the Titans beyond the Walls were destroyed, her memory would be avenged and he would have peace.

Humanity would be free.

Eren wondered, as the path began to level out, how Annie would go about explaining his power, and what else she knew. It was clear even to him that she knew more than she was letting on, and he wanted to know everything that she knew.

She stopped them at the lake's edge. It shimmered slightly, reflecting the half-moon poking through silver clouds above.

"I cannot tell you everything now," Annie began, staring out at the lake. "I will try to answer your questions as fully and honestly as I can, though. And I will say if it's a topic I cannot tell you." She sighed, turning to face him. "Firstly, I suspect your father gave you the Power of Ymir, the ability that makes one a Titan Shifter. There are nine powers, and the one he gave you is most likely the Attack Titan. For a century, nobody has known who possesses the Attack Titan. It was assumed lost, or in the possession of…enemies."

A century? That matches the age of the walls, but everything else? Enemies?

Eren frowned, glancing at the sky. "Where does this power come from?"

It was the most important question he could ask. Eren had never fathomed such an evil power could exist, and for his father to give it to him meant there had to be a story behind it. He wished, though, that Annie would stop saying things that troubled him. He remembered enough of Armin's old book to have his own suspicions, suspicions he wanted desperately to be false. It was terrifying to suspect that the world he knew was wrong, yet that was increasingly how it appeared.

"Nobody really knows," she admitted. "It's said that two thousand years ago, a girl named Ymir became the first Titan Shifter, introducing into the world the power of Titans. From her emerged the Nine Titans, whose powers are now named for her. People paint her however they wish for the sake of politics…and for something to believe in."

"Nine, huh?" Eren remarked. "Then do you…"

Annie gave him a wan smile, tucking some of her hair behind an ear. "I'm a Titan Shifter as well, Eren. It's nice to have an ally."

He frowned, hearing her final word. Ally. Eren doubted Annie would use a word like that carelessly. She could be remarkably precise with her word choice, even when taunting him as she liked to do during the many times she had him pinned on the ground. To use the word 'ally' instead of 'friend' meant something dark and dangerous about the things she couldn't openly tell him.

Something dark and dangerous about the world they both inhabited.

"The Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan. They're shifters as well," Eren said, horrified both by what he said and the pit of certainty sinking in his gut. He waited for the widening of her blue eyes, the color of what he imagined the sea was like. Instead, she continued to stare at him, as though she had expected this realization to pass through his mind and merely waited for him to verbalize it. "Do you…do you know who they are? Anything about their human identities?"

"I do," Annie admitted in a voice as weak as the fragile girl she pretended to be. "But I won't tell you now." Eren's mouth dried, bitter that a clue towards retribution against the Titans was so close at hand. "I was forced to be involved with them, regardless of my feelings or desires. Even when I thought I had my out, they wouldn't allow me. It's too dangerous right now to try and expose them." There was a hint of something odd in her voice. He couldn't help but wonder what she had done while in their company. "I thought I would have to continue being party to their plans, without recourse…"

"But I changed things," Eren finished. It made sense, in a sickly terrible fashion. Against the Armored and Colossal Titans, she would be outnumbered. But with him on her side, she could face them on equal terms. They could defeat them, stop those enemies pretending to be human, and help humanity reclaim their birthright beyond the Walls.

A feral grin corrupted Eren's face, giving him what was likely a mad look. Annie watched him warily, yet expectantly. It was different compared to when he asked her to train him in her martial arts.

"Train me," Eren demanded. "Train me to fight side by side with you against them. You want me to be your ally? Then you need to trust me with the power to stand by your side in combat and to watch your back, should the worst come to pass."

"Me and you against them?" Annie asked. She turned away to stare out over the lake's crystal blue surface. Her eyes blurred with an odd mix of emotions. He briefly considered asking, but she suddenly chuckled and added, "We'll need to be careful, Eren. I doubt the military would take kindly to our presence—or to our existence."

He frowned. "Why not?"

Annie gave him a 'Are you stupid?' look before sighing. "They're as likely to dissect us as to place us where we would be the most useful—"

"The Survey Corps."

She glowered at his interruption, though her expression lacked the kind of intensity that would worry or frighten him. "You and your suicidal ideas."

"Is it, though?" he asked. "Is it suicidal to fight Titans while in possession of a Titan's power and body?"

She scoffed. "Maybe for you, Jaeger."

Eren grinned at her joke. "Then you'll need to train me well, Annie."

Annie sighed, her cheeks flushing pink. "At least I have experience training an idiot like you, Jaeger."