Breach

Eren was pleasantly surprised when Annie joined him, Armin, and Mikasa for breakfast the morning after their graduation ceremony. She came across as being more skittish than after that time they were nearly caught practicing their shifting, which he guessed might have to do with the crowded city of Trost. It was unlikely she spent more than perhaps a few weeks in Trost following the breach, let alone growing up in a crowded wall district like him. She must've grown up in the farmland that had dominated most of Wall Maria's interior, or near one of many forests that made up the wood trade. The training camp had been distant from all settlements and they had a great deal of space around it.

"What's your assignment for today?" he asked as she sat down.

"The eastern wall."

"You don't sound excited."

Annie gave him a long, tired look. "I slept poorly. That's all."

He nodded, accepting her excuse. Annie was remarkably secretive. If she wished to tell him, she would do so.

When it came to assignments, he was grateful he was assigned to a wall cannon crew around the outer gate. While he had zero interest in joining the Garrison, cleaning cannons beat sitting around in a supply room.

He watched on as she violently speared her breakfast. They had been given sausages to go alongside the usual gruel. Eren frowned at how she treated the surprise bit of meat they got.

"I'm going to join the Survey Corps," she suddenly said, staring at her plate. Eren just noticed there were also some roasted potatoes present.

"Really?" asked Eren, grinning. "You're really going to join?"

Annie glowered at him, though the fork in her mouth ruined the effect. She swallowed before saying, "Yes, Eren." She stared at his friends, struggled to give them anything other than her usual apathetic look. "I guess I should get used to calling you two Armin and Mikasa, instead of Arlert and Ackerman."

"I'm surprised," stated Mikasa coldly. "I thought you were too selfish and self-serving to join the Survey Corps."

Annie held Mikasa's stern gaze as she ripped a chunk of sausage off her fork. "Eren is persistent—and convincing."

Armin frowned at her answer, though it appeared to Eren that Mikasa accepted Annie's words as being honest enough to not question. He suspected her answer was mostly true instead of being entirely true, but neither of them could openly speak about their power as Titan Shifters. The idea of humans becoming Titans was rather ludicrous if one had not seen such a power themselves or were not in possession of said power. Eren had gotten used to shifting, though the transition from human to titan wasn't as smooth as he'd like. Outside of cases inspired by rage, he was beginning to keep his head the entire time.

It was only when his temper ran high that Eren required Annie's assistance in withdrawing. Eren wished she would stop cutting off one of his limbs, though. He was certain it was a punitive measure meant to teach him a lesson.

"I thought you were more selfish, Annie," commented Armin. Eren frowned while Annie merely looked on blankly. "You never struck me as the sacrificial type."

"I'm not," she replied. Her blue eyes lazily went to Eren, then back to Armin. "Is the idea Eren convinced me not realistic?"

Armin stared at her before shrugging. "I'm just surprised by your choice."

Annie nodded, though something about the tightness of her expression made Eren wonder what his friend had done to earn her distrust. She had always been wary of Armin, but it seemed like it was getting worse and worse. The best he could tell was that Annie was being overly paranoid. As much as he would like to say she was being excessive, Eren could admit to himself that his friend was probably smarter than half of the military brass.

But then, there were times when he had his own issues with her paranoia and distrust. He wondered often what secrets she was keeping from him. He wasn't dumb enough to think she didn't keep them, though he had yet to ask her about them. At worst, Eren suspected she knew the identities of the Armored and Colossal Titans. He was a touch terrified to ask her about who they were, even as part of him wanted those two Titans to appear, so they could face them and defeat Humanity's greatest enemies.

We'll prove our loyalty thoroughly enough nobody will doubt us.

Annie separated from Eren, Mikasa and Armin shortly after breakfast. She briefly explained where she had to go to meet with the cannon team she was assigned to, atop Wall Rose. It was near the junction where the western quarters of Trost met Wall Rose proper, as it slowly arced outwards towards the westernmost district along the perimeter. The others, like Eren, were on the southern bend near the gate, and planned to watch the Survey Corps depart on their 56th Expedition.

"Wish them luck," she said before heading off. "They'll need it."

Eren frowned at her parting words, even if upon reflection his gut knew there was a hint of truth to them. The Survey Corps possessed the highest mortality rate among the three branches of the military, even if they never released the complete and full numbers. The very nature of their work mandated they would face the most severe losses. That knowledge had never troubled Eren when he had been growing up, and it still didn't. If he had to choose between death and captivity, he knew he would rather die than continue to live like cattle.

Armin led the way as they departed Southern Command. Even before the breach, the entirety of military forces in the southern regions of all three walls had reported to the fortress implanted within Trost's northern quarter. It was there, Eren suspected, that the grim duty of planning and launching the gross failure that was the Maria Reclamations had occurred.

"What is your relationship with Annie?" asked Mikasa, finally confronting Eren, as he had long been expecting to occur.

"Why do you care?" he asked, frustrated. Eren doubted he could put into words what it was between him and Annie without potentially giving away their secret.

"I don't like her, and you have been lying to us. She's involved."

Eren huffed, ignoring the coil in his gut at the accurate accusation of lying. "Any other complaints about her?"

Mikasa looked away momentarily, playing with the scarf he had given her. "You can't trust her, Eren—especially if you've been lying to us on her part."

That's about the right of it, he thought, hating how guilty he felt. Eren suppressed the feeling even if it made him a little sick. He had made his decision to keep his shifting ability a secret from them. Unless necessary, it would be a long time before either would learn of his secret power.

Other than Commander Erwin and perhaps Captain Levi, I'll need to keep it secret after joining the Survey Corps. Annie and I don't know when it will be safe enough to inform others about our abilities. They might want to imprison us—or worse.

Despite his excitement over finally having his chance to join the Survey Crops, Eren had adopted a touch of Annie's paranoia concerning their abilities. He still planned to use them in service to humanity, to retake Wall Maria and to establish safe lands beyond the wall of his childhood, but he had shed some of his wide-eyed naïve views on how he could use his shifting powers to do so. If he possessed Annie's hardening skill, he may have already tried to find a way to seal the breaches, stemming the tide of Titans entering the lands between Maria and Rose.

He glanced at Armin and Mikasa as they stepped out of the fortress's shadow. Their hips were bare, for gear was stationed at key points along the wall. Eren wished they could equip them now, but they were still cadets, and thus barred from being armed outside of wartime scenarios.

"The worst-case scenario," one of their instructors had said, weeks before graduation, "is if Trost suffers the same breaches that brought down Wall Maria via the Shiganshina District."

Eren shuddered, remembering that particular lesson. He was momentarily worried he might have jinxed this day, but thought better of it. Nobody had seen hide or hair of those two Titans. For now, they were in a position to try and counterattack the devastating blow the Fall of Wall Maria had dealt humanity.

They made their way across Trost, meandering through narrow alleys and the twisting districts within the southernmost city of humanity. Most people they met either gave them approving looks or cleared out of their way with shifty glances. The latter occurrences soured Eren's mood, though listening to Armin theorize over their past experiences with the military was interesting enough to keep him from complaining about the treatment.

Thankfully they hadn't been cursed at, spat on, or had something thrown at them.

"That last one though," whispered Armin as they finally returned to the main road to the southern gate. "They were definitely refugees from Shiganshina. They must have recognized us, though I'm surprised they didn't enlist as well."

"Maybe they washed out," Mikasa suggested politely.

"Or they are cowards," Eren added. "Content to live like cattle." He ignored their outraged looks as he spotted a large group on horseback coming down the road. He grinned at the green cloaks they wore, already knowing who they were.

For the past week, much of the talk around Trost concerning the military was caught up in the Survey Corps' upcoming Fifty-sixth Expedition Beyond the Wall, the continuation of five years of work to craft a route and supply chain to Shiganshina. Nobody was certain when they would finally be prepared to make the full attempt, to launch a retaking of Wall Maria, but Eren was certain with him and Annie, it would come to pass sooner rather than later.

They would argue over how much to use their Titan forms when the time came, but it would come. He hoped Annie wouldn't drag her feet concerning when they would openly use their abilities. Eren wanted it to be as soon as possible.

Though perhaps his mind was too caught up in the future he desired and not one that was likely.

"Eren! Mikasa! Armin!" called out a familiar voice. They turned to find two of their fellow cadets, Franz and Hannah, approaching, beaming smiles upon their faces and their hands clasped tightly. Eren grimaced at the obvious sight. Both of them had tried repeatedly to give him unwarranted relationship advice concerning Annie, and it had gotten overbearing quickly. They took the fact they had found love in the military as proof others could do so as well. Otherwise, they were friendly enough. "Here to see the Survey Corps off?"

"Of course!" Eren stated, forcing a grin. He turned as the first of the mounted soldiers passed, splendid in their green cloaks. "Soon enough, I'll be with them, ready to fight the Titans beyond the walls, so that we can retake our freedom."

"Is that so," murmured Hannah with that hint of doubt that frustrated Eren.

They watched as the Survey Corps departed Trost. An odd pair had stood out to Eren, looking away when he caught their eyes. One was short with dark hair trimmed close to the sides of his head yet long on top. He'd bet that man was Levi, Humanity's Strongest, but he couldn't say for certain. Besides him had been a woman with wild brown hair and goggles strapped over her eyes.

Who was that? He wondered, searching through what he remembered of the Survey Corps' leadership. The best possible choices would be Nanaba of the Second Squad, Petra Ral of the Special Operations Squad, and Hange Zöe of the Third Squad and their resear—

"Annie won't like that one," Eren mumbled to himself, thinking of the Survey Corps' allegedly mad researcher. Her secretive nature would be in full opposition to someone curious about the nature of Titans and inquisitive enough to put herself in danger in the process.

He shuddered at the thought of the two meeting. It was inevitable, and part of him wondered if he should've considered it in the past when pressing Annie to join the Survey Corps. Once they were both inducted into the Corps, they would have to come face to face with Hange at least once, if not more often.

They were bound to get along poorly.

That was all assuming the woman Eren noticed was Hange Zoë and not someone else. He was guessing solely based on the few descriptions he had heard of Captain Levi and his alleged confidants. Eren only knew what Commander Erwin Smith looked like, having met the gaze of that man on that fateful day back in Shiganshina. The despair the man had felt, the dismay of failure, had been imprinted his young mind in the wake of the attack on Shiganshina.

No more, Eren decided, watching the Survey Corps' rearguard pass. No more mass casualties. Not with Annie and I fighting for humanity. Not with our power available to drive back the Titan horde.

"Is that really you three? Those brats I knew five years ago grown up?" asked another familiar voice. This one was odd, like a dream from childhood. Eren, along with Mikasa and Armin, turned and were surprised as a familiar blond man approached with a grin, aged less than he would've thought since they last saw him.

"Is that you, Hannes?" asked Eren, surprised. He still remembered the drunkard soldier that rescued them from Shiganshina, the day it fell. "You look…respectable."

Hannes chuckled, flushing faintly. "I had to get myself together after what happened that day, but I'm a commander of several cannons now. It's quite the responsibility."

"Not bad, for a drunk."

Hannes laughed, to Eren's chagrin. "I gave up booze years ago. They've been tight on supply, as well." He sighed, looking away with an odd, bashful expression. "You were right, Eren. About needing to be prepared. We weren't, and things went poorly."

"Is Trost prepared for a similar attack?"

"Armin!" Eren hissed, stricken by the thought of once more witnessing the horror of the Fall of Shiganshina. He was ready to fight Titans, but he didn't want to do so behind any of Wall Rose's ramparts. If he could, he would give everything to protect Trost from the tragedy that destroyed his hometown. Better they fought Titans beyond Wall Rose, and then Wall Maria.

Hannes looked away, scratching the back of his neck. "There's a boulder in the southeastern district that would be perfect for plugging a breach." His voice lowered as he confessed, "We just don't have a way to move it at present. If there was a sloped road, then we could just roll it down."

Eren glanced at Armin, who was looking around them as if he would be able to spot a hint of rock over the rooftops.

We should go find it once we have some free time. If a breach does occur, Annie or I could carry it to the outer gate and plug it with the boulder. Should it happen quickly enough, we could save the city from a Titan invasion.

"We should go," Mikasa reminded them. "None of us should be late to our first assignment."

Eren nodded and they said their farewells to Hannes. He was understandable that they had to go, saying he had his own cannon team to attend to. They followed in the wake of the Survey Corps, who were already departing through the outer gate of Wall Rose and said their farewells to the southernmost section of Trost.

There was a faint breeze atop Wall Rose, carrying a smell sweet enough to spike Eren's anger. Some two hundred kilometers due south, beyond what he could see, was Wall Maria and the breaches exposing the Shiganshina district to the world long since lost to humanity. Eren had paused to stare out, imagining how it would feel to ride out on a mission to reclaim the fallen lands before him. The Corps had long since disappeared over the horizon when he finally reached his post, though the dust left behind in their wake had been there, if faint.

He turned away from the Titan infested lands, the very ones the Survey Corps had hazarded out into hours prior. Several of his fellow cadets were nearby, all assigned like him to the 34th Cannon Division.

As the highest ranked cadet assigned to this particular post, Eren was given nominal command. Unfortunately, he knew little of cannon duty due to his personal interests, and decided to have the others, knowing more about this duty, act appropriately. One had taken command, as if he were an executive officer given free rein by his commander.

Unless there's an attack, we'll be fine.

"You know, Eren," began Thomas Wagner, drawing the cadet in question away from his thoughts and to the soldiers he was supposed to be commanding. "I've been thinking about what you said last night. I…I'm going to join the Survey Corps!"

"Same with me!" shouted Mina Caroline, Annie's bunkmate. "And I know you also convinced Annie to join. If she's joining, then we'll all be safer."

"Wait, really?" asked Connie, glancing between Mina, Thomas, and Eren. "Man, and here I thought I was alone in changing my mind. I had thought the rumors about Leonhardt deciding to enter the Corps were just, well, rumors." He glanced up and sighed, almost regretfully. "Maybe we won't become Titan-bait, joining the Survey Corps."

"Seriously?" asked Eren, feeling a touch bad about his expressed doubt. "All three of you will join?"

"Me as well," chipped in Samuel, while a grinning Milieus nodded.

"It's something of a division legend that you had apparently convinced Annie Leonhardt of all people to join the Corps," stated Connie with a shrug. "If she's willing to hear you out and be convinced, then I don't see why you'd be surprised by others. She always came across as a shoe-in for the MPs. Almost as much as Jean and Marco, who openly talked about what their lives will be like."

Eren had to bite his tongue. Were it not for their shared nature as Titan Shifters, he knew that Annie would've blown off or ignored his usual arguments. The others wouldn't understand, especially since he couldn't tell them the truth. It hurt, having to keep secrets from everyone, but that was a cruel truth of the world they lived in. For now, he'd have to go along with what they thought the world was like and act accordingly.

"Hey guys, hey guys!" cried out a familiar voice. Everyone turned towards the voice to find a flushed, drooling Sasha Braus approaching. One of her hands was tucked into her jacket, though the drips coming down betrayed what she possessed. "Look at what I snatched from the officer's pantry."

From within her jacket emerged a cut of meat as long as Eren's forearm and thicker than his calves. It glistened in the sun, cooked just enough for a quality luncheon.

"Sasha," he said disapprovingly. "You shouldn't steal, even if it's from the officers."

"But it's meat!" Sasha protested, pouting. Something clicked in her food-mad mind, for she added, "We can have it once we finish!"

Eren sighed and stared up into the clear blue sky. The almanac Armin swore by predicted clouds and rain during the afternoon, which would then clear out by suppertime and give way to a brilliant orange sunset that evening. He listened as the others backed Sasha, despite their own fears of punishment or outrage over her decision. They were all tempted by the cut of meat their fellow cadet, ranked eighth among them, had stolen.

"If we get caught," Eren began, silencing the others, "You'll be the only one to get flogged. Alright, Sasha?"

Before Sasha could respond to Eren's ultimatum, the sky flashed green as lightning struck beyond the Wall. It was bare feet away, unnatural and of singular purpose. He knew immediately it was a shifter, yet Eren Jaeger wasn't prepared to turn and find himself face-to-face with the Colossal Titan.

He swallowed thickly, trying to remember what Annie had said in passing about the shifter before him. It came to him in a flash.

"The Colossal Titan is capable of producing and expelling excessive amounts of steam. It is scotching hot and can even—"

"Off the wall!" Eren screamed, already moving towards the Trost edge of the wall. "Everyone, off the wall! Now! Before it attacks!"

Most of them were clearing the surface when a deliberating wave of steam blew the rest away. Eren fired his tethers almost immediately, and ended up hanging some sixty meters above the streets of Trost. Others fell further, stopping their falls in the range of twenty to forty meters.

Except for Samuel, whose eyes did not appear to be open. Eren could only stare as his fellow fell, seemingly to a quick yet violent death. He watched, horrified, as their first casualty occurred.

Or so it would have been, were it not for Sasha, eternally a woman driven by instinct and impulse. The huntress moved without hesitation, running downwards along Wall Rose before firing her tethers. One pinned into the wall while the other continued downward. The metal hook at the end cut into Samuel's leg, right above the ankle. The hook and line had to be caught between the two bones of his lower leg, suspending him several meters above the ground.

The very same ground, Eren realized, that was now exposed to the lands between Rose and Maria.

Lands infested by Titans.

His head swiveled back up towards the sky. Before Eren could think any further, he was in motion. Gas hissed. Tethers shot out and retracted. He bellowed a command to the others, but the blood pumping in his ears blocked his words. In a spiraling whirl, he reached the top and spun down, back onto the wall.

Beady eyes a meter wide stared at him, astonished by his tenacity, and unsurprised he was first to dare and fight.

"It's been five years," growled Eren Jaeger. "Our counter attack begins today, you bastard!"