Chapter Two: The 104th Cadet Corps
Two years later. So much had happened. So much had changed.
Following the fall of the Shiganshina District and Wall Maria, Carla had 'adopted' me. Not officially, likely because she knew I had issues with attachment so she held back. But she still doted on me like I was one of her own children much like Mikasa and Armin. So for the most part, I was a part of the Jaeger family, while lacking official documents and the last name.
Speaking of the Jaeger family, after my 'adoption', I had befriended Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. But not by choice. That day changed me more than I was willing to admit to anyone but Carla and them knew. They were often 'careful' around me. I knew they had a discussion about me since my breakdown that day. Ever since that day, I had remained the shy, quiet boy I've always been but lacked the emotions I held as a child. Ever since that day, I've felt... empty. As a result, I had kept my distance from them.
But that was hard to do in a one floor, two bedroom, and one bathroom cabin. Especially, when I shared a room with Eren and Armin.
Eren was no longer the angry or brash boy he would have become, considering I had saved his mother. He had grown up quite a bit with his mother still alive. He was even kinder to Mikasa. I suppose seeing your mother being nearly eaten alive but saved by the very thing humanity was meant to fear and hate would put things into perspective. But it had only made him want to join the Scouts more.
To retake Wall Maria. To reclaim their home. To travel beyond the Walls. To see the ocean. To find the mysterious 'Bone Titan'.
To find answers.
Mikasa had remained much the same. Pretty much protective of Eren, Armin, and... strangely me. During the early days of living here, I hadn't eaten much of anything. One day, they realized I had gone the whole day without eating. Mikasa had grabbed a potato, barged into our room, and stuffed a potato into my mouth to Eren, Armin, and Carla's amusement. My expression remained blank with a raised eyebrow but I allowed the force eating to continue. I could have stopped it if I wanted to. Really.
Although, she had grown suspicious of my 'late night activities'. A few weeks after we first got here, I began training and working out before joining the Military. On my way back one night, I found Mikasa in the kitchen waiting for me. Explaining that I had trouble sleeping had been very difficult. Thankfully, she kept it to herself and gave me one of her rare hugs too. Odd girl.
But Armin had grown on me a lot. In a way, I figured he saw me as an older brother much like Eren and Mikasa when we realized I was likely older than the three of them by a year or two. And after the death of his grandfather from the failed Wall Maria reclamation operation, I had become somewhat... fond and protective of the boy. When he learned of his death, he tried to be strong throughout the day. But in the middle of the night when I woke up to him sobbing quietly, I simply sat on his bed and sat him up beside me. We sat in comfortable silence once he stopped. We didn't even go back to sleep after. When the sun finally came up, Armin asked me why. I simply shrugged and patted his head. And of course, the poor boy had to make it awkward and blush.
As for the bullying, children in our refugee camp zone quickly realized Mikasa wasn't the only one to be feared. After the first incident, no one dared to target Armin, not even the children of Wall Rose. Who knew knocking three boys unconscious would be enough to give you a reputation?
...what can I say? No one ever accused me of being brilliant.
And with my private training and work out sessions in the night, I knew I would be a bit more prepared than the other cadets. It also helped to have my 'secret companion'. I had debated revealing myself as the 'Bone Titan' and Ymir to Carla, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin but decided against it for now. The less people who knew my true nature, the better.
And speaking of Ymir... After my 'breakdown'... Ymir had gone silent. After a few weeks of us settling here, we began to speak. Often, I'd catch her reflection in mirrors. Sometimes, I felt her hand in mine. I was her door to exploring a world she had once been caged in. She was thankful for that... Too thankful. She tried to get me to talk about what happened that day... But I refused. I could tell her worry and concern were genuine but I didn't deserve it.
Stop.
...Although, I had to thank her. With my lack of emotion, it was fun to tease Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and even Carla. Any other time, that would have made me happy, but I remembered what eventually happens and that ends those emotions.
"Elliot? ...are you ready?"
A thought for another time. Slowly, I turn away from the window and see Armin at the door to our bedroom. I could hear the concern and worry in his voice. I gave him a small, sad smile.
"I'm ready."
(AoTSI)
Finally, after two years, we left for the 104th Cadet Corps. It took nearly a year for Eren to convince his mother to let him. Well, it was me really. When Carla asked me to talk some sense into Eren, instead I told her he should join. Not because of what I knew but I told them because I knew Eren would never back down from his decision. If she tried to stop him now, he would only join when he was able to without her permission. Carla, Eren, and Armin had been shocked into silence while Mikasa had expressed her displeasure and suspension with slightly narrowed eyes. That girl was too smart for her own good.
I had also told Carla I would be enlisting as well and would watch Eren, and Mikasa and Armin, if they joined. Finally, Carla relented.
And now here we are.
I glanced and saw the people I would be attempting to save. Daz. Samuel Linke-Jackson. Mina Carolina. Thomas Wagner. Marco Bodt. Ymir the Jaw Titan. Christa Lenz, or secretly Historia Reiss. Conny Springer. Sasha Braus. Jean Kirschtein. Armin Arlelt. Mikasa Ackermann. Eren Jaeger.
And Annie Leonhart, Bertholdt Hoover, and Reiner Braun.
The Female Titan, the Colossal Titan, and the Armored Titan.
I knew they were still somewhere out there but even with Ymir Fritz's insight, I had no answers as to why they weren't there that day. There had been rumors that bombs had been set at Wall Maria and that it had not been titans that destroyed the wall. But I never found anything more or found them. Until now.
Still, Marcel Galliard wasn't here so that meant Ymir had eaten him and became the Jaw Titan. So something had remained the same.
Truthfully, I wanted to hate them but I understood them. Children brainwashed into believing what was wrong was right. Doing what they were told for pride and the belief that the people here were 'evil'. But most of all, to protect the people they care about, they had to kill. Except, they hadn't killed anyone here. Something had changed.
Regardless, I knew I needed their help. Between Zeke and Eren's future plans and the death of a number of characters... no, people... I knew I had to change things. I didn't believe the people of Marly were evil but it didn't help that they had camps filled with people brainwashed into believing all the bad things in the world were their fault.
And if they really had nothing to do with the fall of Wall Maria, I needed answers.
While Keith Sadies tore into Sasha over the 'potato peace offering', I kept my face blank. But I noticed Annie staring at me. I met her eyes and stared. Finally, I broke contact when Sadies appeared before me with a look that would scare anyone else. But not me.
"And you?! Who are you?!"
"Elliot of Shiganshina District!"
I knew that he knew who I was. He had visited Carla after what happened to check on her, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. And strangely, me. It was during the time I had started eating less. But I noticed the curiosity he had then and now.
"And why did you join the 104th Cadet Corps?!"
Originally, I wanted to say something cool or witty. But that would have been the old me. I never took anything serious... So I spoke in my usual monotone voice with my deadpanned expression and without raising my voice.
"To protect humanity from titans even if it means my death. To reclaim Wall Maria, to leave Wall Maria, and to see the ocean."
Under his intense stare, I noticed a look of shock from Eren, Mikasa, and Armin and curiosity from others. Especially Annie. Even though the Jaegers had all but adopted me and I befriended Eren and Armin, I had barely ever engaged in conversation with them about leaving the Wall but I had listened to them both regardless. Much like Mikasa. Perhaps they didn't believe that I cared. But now they knew they had been wrong. My dream was the same as theirs. And when I saw the small smile from Armin, I stopped myself from returning it. Finally, Sadies walked away but I saw his eyes stay on me longer than Eren.
While Annies' never left.
(AoTSI)
Later, Eren, Armin, Marco, Conny, Mina, and I sat on some cabin steps and watched Sasha run as punishment for her 'potato peace offering'. I almost walked away, knowing Christa would step in and help the poor girl. But I didn't.
I found myself leaving the group to head to the mess hall. Eren and Armin noticed and I caught Mina whispering a question about me to them but I ignored it.
Inside the empty mess hall, I found what I was looking for and returned to where Sasha would pass by. I knew others were watching me but I cared little. When she returned and noticed the bread in my hand, she slowed and collapsed. I knelt down and held my hand with the bread out above her mouth.
"Eat."
And she did. I could have sworn she blinked away tears as she devoured the bread in my hand. Behind me, I heard soft steps and another set of hard steps. I knew who it was. I hadn't decided how to approach that issue. But slowly, I turned to see the blonde haired Christa with a small smile and the freckled Ymir with slightly narrowed eyes filled with suspicion.
"I believe she was told no food until after her punishment." Ymir said with a smirk.
"Ymir!" Christa said embarrassed.
"I know." I said slowly with my deadpan expression. I walked away. Christa and Ymir remained behind with Sasha but I felt Ymir's eyes follow me back to the mess hall.
(AoTSI)
Later, I found myself sitting in the mess hall for dinner with Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Marco, Conny, Thomas, and Mina.
"That was a nice thing you did for that girl," Mikasa said.
I shrugged which earned me narrowed eyes. I think out of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, she knew me better than Eren and Armin. We shared the same mask. But she had Eren, Armin, and me to focus on. I was the same but I still kept my distance which we both knew Armin disliked. And because he did, Mikasa did too. Which she had no problem holding over me to get me to join them on their daily 'adventures'.
Yeah, he had Eren but he was... dense at times.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a crush on her." Mina teased while Eren, Conny, and Marco snickered. Even Armin did. Traitor.
"Jealous?" I raised an eyebrow. I greatly enjoyed the flush look on Mina's face and the laughter from Eren, Armin, Conny, and Marco. I even noticed a small smile from Mikasa.
"W-what?! N-no!" She stammered.
"Really? Because that sounds like jealousy. Did you want me to feed you instead of her?" I asked with the most deadpanned look. The laughter from the tables around us made it very difficult to be serious.
"No! Y-you-"
"Oh." I clicked my tongue against the top of my mouth in an annoying manner and tilted my head slightly left. "Did you want to feed me instead?"
The full flush on her face and the surrounding laughter that followed made helping Sasha well worth it. I even noticed Christa giggling while Thomas, Ymir, Bert, and Reiner openly laughing. Even Annie was attempting to stop herself from smiling if the twitch of her lips were anything to go on. Meanwhile, Mina gave up and sulked, planting her head on the table.
Afterwards, Thomas asked the dreaded question. But to me, not Eren.
"Elliot? You're from Wall Maria, right? Shiganshina District? Did you see it? The 'Bone Titan'? Thomas asked.
Silence now from those who wanted to know and those pretending not to listen. But what caught my attention was not only Bert, Reiner, and Annie watching me from the side but Ymir too. Fuck.
"I did. But Eren, Mikasa, and Armin did too. They could tell you more than I can."
"Yeah... The titan who spoke and saved my mother... But you were in the middle of it, right?" Eren asked.
Dammit Eren. The attention returned back to me. I had to think. I needed this conversation to end now.
"I was stuck in a destroyed house beside the 'Bone Titan'. I was more concerned about not being crushed or worse, buried alive."
Silence. Shit. That might have been too much. It's hard to forget they're all still children. I caught a look of worry from Armin.
"Guys, let's stop with the questions. I'm sure he'd prefer to forget some things." Marco said.
"Sorry for asking." Thomas began.
"Don't be. If it still bothered me, I wouldn't be here or joining the Scout Regiment." I noticed many stiffened and looked shocked at my declaration.
Oh yeah... I'm really terrible at this.
"Hey, are you nuts? Did you just say you want to join the Scouts?" Jean asked. I had noticed the glare he had been sending my way from the attention but I knew the man he would eventually become so I didn't hold his childish behavior against him.
That didn't mean I couldn't be an ass.
"Unless you're hard of hearing, yeah, I did. Let me guess, from your reaction, you want to join the Military Police Regiment? To take it easy, right?" I asked.
"Yup! I'll stay behind the walls while you-" Jean began.
"I'm surprised such a useless branch of our military exists with how much corruption and suffering exist within these walls. But I guess somebody has to do the hard jobs of doing nothing while titans and walls control every aspect of our lives with fear. Did you know how the MPs reacted to us having to relocate after we lost our home? They treated us like trash." I deadpanned. Beside me, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin stiffened from my bluntness. They had learned very early on that I lacked a filter. But my comment caused many to be shocked but I did catch quite a few telling reactions. From Ymir, Bert, Reiner, Annie, and surprisingly... Christa? And now, I had everyone's attention.
And my comment seemed to strike a nerve if Jean's flush face had anything to say about it.
"At least I'm a straight talker, unlike someone who pretends to have balls of steel, even when he's about to piss himself."
Of course, I had to click my tongue against the top of my mouth again in the most annoying manner possible and tilt my head slightly left.
"But I used the bathroom an hour ago." I deadpanned. That seemed to anger him more but the laughter around us seemed to ease the tension at least.
"That's-?! What?! You're messing with me, aren't you?!"
"I'm glad your observation skills aren't lacking. But that might make things more difficult if you're joining the MPs." I enjoyed the look of annoyance on his face and the laughter from my bait.
"You're such a dick..." Jean sighed.
"I know. I'm going to bed. Night Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Marco, Conny, and everyone else. And Mina? Don't worry, you can feed me in the morning." That caused another round of laughter and as I stood and walked away, I heard the sound of someone planting their head into the table again followed by more laughter.
I didn't fail to notice Annie watching me.
Or that this time Ymir, Bert, and Reiner were too.
(AoTSI)
Later, we had finally settled in our cabin. Eren and Armin shared a bunk bed while I took one for myself. I changed into white pajamas and laid in bed.
But once again, I couldn't sleep. I decided to go for a walk. Quietly, I stepped out of my bed. I checked to make sure Eren and Armin were sleeping okay before I left. Not that I cared or anything.
After walking for a few minutes outside, I found myself lying against a tree and looking up at the night sky filled with stars. But the sound of several footsteps caught me off guard. Quickly, I stood and entered a fighting stance... My mouth opened in shock.
And what I saw stopped my heart.
Bert, Reiner, and Annie in pajamas... with Ymir...
And two very young looking people I've definitely seen before.
Pieck Finger. The Cart Titan.
And Zeke Jaeger. The Beast Titan.
Fuck.
A/N: I decided to finish up chapter two. After this, I'll likely post chapter three later this week while making sure I have a clear idea of the ending to this. Mini spoiler warning, this story will likely not end the same way as the Anime or Manga. Originally, I had the reveal to many answers in this chapter but that ended up being just as long as the chapter itself and I had a few fun ideas with it. Anywho, the next chapter will reveal why neither Reiner or Bert were there as titans when Wall Maria fell, why a younger Pieck and Zeke are present on Paradis years early, and the truth will fracture the relationship between Elliot and Ymir Fritz...