A/N: Whew! This chapter is almost twice as long as my normal chapter! Anyway Trainee Arc is finally done and I haven't burned out yet! Thank you guys so much for all the support and criticism!
Edit A/N: So I edited this chapter as part of de-OPing Alto as well.
850, The final year of training, Fitness assessment
"Keep moving Cadets! Come on! Arlet! Would you prefer I let you drop your gear?! If this was a real mission you'd be Titan feed by now!" Shadis moved up and down the line, critquing and harassing the Cadets.
"Damn!" Armin tried to keep up, but was seriously lagging behind
"Give it here!" Reiner pulled Armins supply pack off his back, "You're going to flunk out at this rate! We're being graded remember?!"
"B-but you'll get points taken off as well if you do that!" Armin panted.
"Not if I don't get caught! Make sure you make the grade before I change my mind!"
Shadis eyed the two, 'Reiner Braun...has the physical constitution of a bull, and just as stalwart in the head, well liked amongst his comrades.'
"No! I refuse to be a burden! No matter what!" Armin grabbed his gear off Reiner's shoulder and pushed ahead,
'Armin Arlelt. Albiet probably the weakest of the 104th his academic prowess more than makes up for it. Kid got grit too.'
Titan Search and Destroy
Annie, Bertoldt and Jean dived down on one of the Titan dummies from above with ODM. Annie spun and slashed a deep gash in the makeshift nape, Bertholdt came from the side and cut through. Jean slashed the nape, and created a smaller gash.
Shadis looked on at the cadets. 'Annie Leonhart, an elite soldier to be sure. But her reclusive tendencies make her a poor fit for group operations. Bertholdt Hoover has unlimited natural potential, but is too mild-mannered for his own good. Jean Kirschtein is undoubtedly the best in the usage of Mobility Gear, but too proud and short-tempered with others.'
"Damn! Still can't cut as good as those two! Guess I'll just have to find the titans first!" Jean said to himself, "MP! Make sure you save a place for Jean!" He zipped through the forest,
'Nice! A Titan!' He prepared to intercept when Connie spun out of nowhere,
"Nice work Jean! You make a great spotter!" Connie latched on to the nape, but right as he slashed, a blur made it before him and cut the nape.
"What?!" He shouted,
"Woohoo!" Sasha flipped on her ODM,
'Sasha Braus. Incredibly good intuition, and seemingly always hungry. Both are problems when it comes to teamwork. Connie Springer, great at manuevering, but a bit dim-witted.'
"Here they come!" Two instructors raised another two Titans as Alto, Mikasa, and Eren made their way toward the targets. Mikasa slashed both with ease, Alto quickly followed up with two consecutive, albiet a few centimeters shallower, cuts. Eren, however, only made a cut about 4 cm deep, compared to Mikasa's 9 or Alto's 7.
'Mikasa Ackerman, every Instructor's wet dream, perfect in every area, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a genius. Christopher Holt, albiet behind in the first year, but he practically skyrocketed his grades in the second and third years. Not to mention the kid is as cold as ice. Eren Jaeger, like Christopher, he was lacking in the first year, but over the course of the past two years he's improved his grades with unparalleled effort, not to mention his sense of purpose is almost scary, I almost feel bad for the Titans when they face off against these three.'
"Damn! Too shallow!" Eren said.
Hand-to-Hand Combat Training
Alto leaned against a fence. He watched as Eren flipped Reiner over. Reiner groaned in pain and Eren helped him up.
"Sorry! I'm not good at holding back!" Eren apologized.
'This is pointless' He kept walking around. 'From a personal standpoint it makes all the difference, but from a general POV Hand-To-Hand doesn't make sense to do.'
He turned, and noticed Reiner pointing at him and whispering to Eren. It wasn't long before Reiner stood in front of him.
"Hey, slacker. I suggest you start thinking about why you're here and start taking these things seriously." Reiner said,
Alto rolled his eyes, "You're in my way." He started to go around when Reiner grabbed his shoulder.
"I wasn't done talking." He said.
"H-hey Reiner. No need to be so rude..." Eren tried breaking them up, 'You don't want to end up like those bandits...' Eren wanted to add,
"Alright Eren go!" Reiner pushed him toward Alto.
"Wait what?" Eren was surprised, but quickly regained his composure. "Alright Alto here I come!" He rushed Alto with the knife, the first thrust he easily sidestepped before dropping an axe kick on Erens back.
"Guah!" Eren coughed and fell. 'He kicked my back?!' Eren nursed his sore back
"Can I go?" Alto asked
"Course not! Drills not done until you take the knife." Reiner said, Alto sighed.
"Christopher wait-" Eren tried to stop him, only to get flipped over. Alto picked up the knife which had fallen some inches away.
"Alright, so. Your turn." Alto tossed Reiner the knife,
"U-uh. Annie!" He pushed Annie toward Alto, "How about you fight Alto. You aren't doing much anyway." He gave Annie the knife the then cleared the area by several meters.
Alto sighed, and turned to face Annie. "How many years has it been since we first fought? Three I think right?" Alto said. He placed his fists up, Annie struck at him first, aiming a side kick for his ankle. Alto stepped back out of range of the kick and axe kicked her, however, Annie grabbed his leg and flipped him over. Alto quickly recovered still gripping the knife, and dove at her feet, slashing at them and throwing her off balance before sweep kicking her legs causing her to fall. However, Annie used this and body slammed Alto. And soon, it turned into a struggle of pure strength as Alto tried to force the knife up at Annie.
Once again, they garnered a crowd of people. "Holy shit! It's been 3 years!" "Who do you think will win this time?" "I bet on Annie still." "Nah, after what happened with the bandits I'll place my bets on Christopher any day."
Alto yanked the knife out of Annie's grasp and rolled out from under her, Axe kicking her legs, he saddled her and raised the knife.
Only for Annie to punch him in the balls.
Alto groaned with pain, but staggered up. "Son of a bitch!" He charged Annie but when she moved to grab him, he lept to the side and grabbed her by the collar, pulling her to the ground with his knife nearly at her throat. Just then Annie elbowed him in the head, flipping him over. Alto made use of a small opening to strike the knife through to her throat. Annie caught the knife barely a centimeter from her face. Forcing it downward he made him let go, before diving for it, but Alto quickly kicked it beyond her grasp and rolled over her and grabbed it again. Annie rushed him, aiming a side kick for his face however Alto rolled back, then tried to bring his knife to her throat. What he didn't realize is that he was vulnerable to a simple attack that, in hindsight, he should've seen coming, Annie kicked his shin and then forced him to the ground.
"Aw shit. Annie won again?" "Nothing's changed huh?" "I guess not." The crowd dispersed. Annie got off Alto, and Alto then turned to Reiner
Alto turned to Reiner, "Alright chickenshit. Your turn." He tossed the knife to Reiner,
"Wait no-" Reiner began to argue, but Eren glared at him
"Hey. You said he needed to be taught a lesson right?" Eren said, "Then do it." Reiner turned and faced Alto
"Alright. Here I com-" Reiner was flipped over and landed on the ground with a loud, "OOF!"
"Don't start fights you can't finish." Alto said to him.
"Hey you two. That was some good fighting. Who taught you?"
Alto sighed, "My family." he said
Annie replied, "My father. Anyway what does it matter, not like this counts for anything. Most people brush it off. Because only the Top 10 are allowed to serve in the Interior. The only one's who take it seriously are naïve idiots like you, or plain idiots." Suddenly, Annie rushed Eren, Eren barely caught both her hands and shoved her off him.
"How'd you think this entire thing came about?" Annie asked him. "Maybe it's human nature." She turned, "Anyway, I refuse to be dumb enough to play this stupid game of 'Soldier'." She said.
Alto watched her, and looked at Eren, both of them realized the same thing. 'It was so obvious this entire time...most of us aren't honing our skills to fight. We're honing our skill to run.'
Camp Cafeteria
Alto looked around. Armin was explaining something about ODM gear and it's history, Jean was giving 'tips' on how to use Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, which was really just him bragging about his expertise. Marco was being starry-eyed about the MPs, in short, it was a normal dinner.
That is, until Eren finally opened his mouth.
"It's comfy in the interior?" He asked, taking another sip out of his cup. "Until 5 years ago this used to be the Interior too."
'Oh god. Here we go again.' Alto took a sip, and prepared to watch the fire works.
"Jean, you don't need to go to the interior. Your head is so big it is the interior." Eren took another sip. Reiner and Connie snickered at the joke. Alto let out a small chuckle.
"You little..." Jean started
"Honing your Titan-killing skills to get away from the Titans doesn't that sound like a weird system to you?"
"Pft! You're just realizing that? I want that system to stay in place, for my sake."
Eren got up, "You piece of scum!"
"Wake up Eren! This is reality!" Soon they were in each other's faces.
"Stop." Mikasa forced the two apart, her hand lingering on Eren's.
Out of no where Jean grabbed Eren's collar and yelled, "Screw you!"
"Let go horseface you'll rip it!"
"Like I care!"
Time seemed to slow, as Eren slowly came to a realization, 'I get it now... he's taking out his feelings on the people around him..like I did..' He gritted his teeth, 'Well I'm not that snotty little brat anymore!' He forcibly ripped Jeans hand from his collar before grabbing him and kicking him in the shin and then pushing him, causing him to fall flat on his back
"A little trick I picked up earlier this afternoon." He brushed off his shoulders
'That's the move Annie tried on me!' Alto realized.
"Is a carefree, capricious life your idea of the real world? And you call yourself a soldier?"
Before Jean could respond, the door creaked open, partially revealing a murderous Shadis, ready to dropkick every person in the room. "Anyone want to explain the ruckus I heard just now?" He asked coldly.
No one spoke, Jean and Eren quietly returned to their seats.
"You have ten seconds before Shadis lynches the entire room." William said, "You better say something or everyone is dead as hell."
Alto realized his brother was indeed right, so he said the first logical excuse that came to mind.
"Herr Kommandant! Sasha ripped a fart!" Alto said, Sasha gasped in shock
"When I said 'say something or everyone is dead' I didn't mean throw some poor cadet under the wagon!" Alto could feel him shaking his head
"It's the first thing that came to mind!" Alto sniggered. Reiner and Connie could barely contain their laughter.
"Again Braus? I should have you court-martialed." Sasha gasped again,
Mina could barely hold in her laughter as Shadis said "Honestly have some decency." Shadis left the room shortly after that.
"Christopher why?!" Sasha shook him,
"It was you or the rest of us. One person for the good of the whole Corp." Alto giggled, "H-here, take this bread as compensation for your sacrifice." He handed her his bread, his words coming out in breathless gasps as he tried not to laugh lest Shadis still be outside. Eren and Jean continued to glare at each other.
Publicly Available Information (PAI)
That year, 218 out of 500 Cadets graduated from the Trainee Corp. Despite it being less than half of the original number, it was still the largest class in over five years. Out of the 218, the following were the Top Cadets and allowed to enter the Military Police if they so chose:
1. Mikasa Ackerman
2. Reiner Braun
3. Bertholdt Hoover
4. Annie Leonhart, Christopher Holt
5. Eren Jaeger
6. Jean Kirstein
7. Marco Bodt
8. Conny Springer
9. Sasha Braus
10. Krista Lenz, Mina Carolina
Unlike previous years, four cadets tied for the 4th and 10th places. The Trainee Corps, unable to determine which should be ranked below which, decided to tie them for the spots, and offered 12 instead of 10 spots in the MPs.
The Evening After the Ceremony
"Alright! Now I can be in the MPs!" Connie said,
"No more worrying about food!" Sasha cheered.
"How'd I get ranked under Eren... Damn!" Jean grumbled.
"Are you nuts?!" Thomas asked, "You're really not gonna join the Military Police Regiment?! I mean- you're one of the Top 10!"
"The scouts have always been my goal. I didn't train to live in the interior. I did it to fight Titans." Eren said
"We can't beat them!" Thomas shouted, everyone turned his way, "I mean, how many thousands of people have they eaten so far?! We lost 20% of our population for god's sake! Humanity can't beat the Titans!"
Everyone fell silent, no one spoke for a whole minute.
"So?" Erens voice pierced the silence. "You're gonna give up because you think we can't win!? Yes maybe, Humanity has lost so far. That's only because we were clueless about the Titans! Material warfare is useless against them! But maybe, just maybe, the information we have now can guide us to victory! Are we just going to throw away all the advances in ODM and fighting techniques because we're scared?! Let all the death and destruction be meaningless! Roll out the red carpet and say 'Here we are! Eat us please!' Hell no! I'll drive out every last Titan with my barehands need be! That is my dream! Humanity hasn't been beaten yet, in fact, We're just getting started!" Eren scoffed, and left. Followed by Mikasa and Armin
'Wanna go outside the walls and get slaughtered? Be my guest! I'll root for you from Wall Sina!' Jean thought.
"Hey Christopher!" Mina came up to him, "We never got to know what Regiment you wanted to join!" She asked,
"Me? I'm going to the MPs." Alto said simply
"Least you're not like suicidal maniac." Jean said
The Next Day, Trost District, Top of Wall Rose
"What?!" Eren exclaimed "You're joining the Scouts Connie?! The Military Police was, like, your whole thing!"
"A guy can change his mind alright!?" Connie said abashedly
"Your speech yesterday must've won him over!" Mina came up to Eren. "For the record. I'm going into the Scouts as well." Mina said.
"That makes three of us." Thomas said.
"Thomas?! Yesterday you were going on about how we can't win against them!"
"I..uh?" Thomas stammered.
"Hey guys. I got a confession!" Sasha came up to them, practically drooling, "I just swiped some meat from the Officer's stores!" She unveiled her jacket, revealing a packet of meat.
Everyone began to panic. "Holy shit Sasha! You could get arrested for that!" Alto yelped.
"Not just arrested, but thrown in solitary confinement on top of that?! Are you nuts?!" Eren asked.
"That thing is a death warrant!" Connie backed up from her, as if being near it was dangerous
"We can all share later." She began to drool. "All sliced up...between some bread..." The descriptions were getting dangerously vivid.
"Put it back!" Thomas told her
"Relax, look at it this way, when we retake Wall Maria, we'll have all the land we need for meat." Sasha said. Alto was going to say no again but whole slew of memories about food popped into Alto's head. All of them had meat.
"You're welcome." Kyren said smugly
"I hate you. If we get caught, I'm blaming you." Alto sighed, "I'll take some." He sighed.
"I'll have some too!" "Save some for me!" "I'll take some too of course!"
"Hey Eren don't just stand there! The officers are gonna kill us if they find out we are all in on this!"
Alto looked out over the city of Trost. 'It's been nearly 5 years since that day... my comeback, and humanities as whole, has just begun!'
BOOM!
Alto turned around at the sound of a large explosion, and stared directly into the face of the Colossal Titan. Everyone froze, not even it moved.
Eren gasped, then a blast of steam knocked everyone over. A part of a cannon hit Mina in the abdomen causing her ODM to fall off with the impact.
"Mina!" Alto yelled, grappling along the wall he barely caught Mina by the hand. "Are you alright?!" Alto said
"It hurts... but I'm fine!" She said, and quickly looked down 'Don't blush!' She prayed.
"What the?!" Eren shot out his grappling hooks, sliding along and then anchoring to the wall.
"Samuel!" Connie shouted, and Sasha lept into action, anchoring Samuel's leg to her ODM.
"Try not to move!" She yelled, but the cadet was already unconscious.
"That was too close!" Eren said, but then Connie looked down, and Alto followed his gaze to the massive hole in the wall, one thought looped through his mind
'Oh fuck.'
