A Dark Dream
Tonight is a full moon. The wind howled as it blew through the land. A farm stood in the middle with it's windmill creaking wildly as it tried to survive the assault.
A man named Richter slept soundly on a bale of hay with nothing to cover him from the cold except for the wooden walls and roof that made up the barn. However, they didn't serve a good defence against the wind as it weaved its way through the wide cracks of the walls.
Yet that wasn't even the cause of the beginning of his restless stirring. Unknown to him, the walls of the Trost district had fallen and the city was now under siege by the titans.
The growing nightmares in his head mirrored this exact event.
Titans roamed around a thunderous plane where he stood. All around him houses surfaced from the ground only to be destroyed by the monsters and their inhabitants placed between their fangs.
He didn't care about those people. Instead, it was the sudden appearance of a purple eyed individual with grey hair that coaxed a reaction out of him.
A Titan grabbed and moved him to his mouth. Only then did he start running. His cries were drowned out by the increasing noise of thunder. When he was a few feet away from the man the ground around him lit up and static electricity whirred to life before a bolt of lightning slammed onto him.
"URI!" He jolted awake.
Straw stuck out of his hair in random places. His black hair was matted on one side of his head where it had been supporting the weight of his slumbering body. A scraggly beard hung from his face looking dirty and tangled. Sweat caused his shirt to cling onto his skin showing how thin and unutriated he was as his rib cage was distinctly visible through the fabric.
He walked out into the cold night uncontent with the place he woke up in. Shoeless, shivering, and cold, he didn't stop until he was far away from the barn and next to a tree that had a piece of crystal lodged into its side.
Richter winced a bit as he rammed the side of his arm onto the peak of the crystal. Yellow energy zapped around him before a thunderbolt struck his body.
He stood tall with the appearance of a normal Titan. Black markings around his eyes that looked like branched lightning set him apart from them.
His Titan had black hair, the same scraggly beard his human form had, and a bunch of fuzzy body hair on his chest and shoulders.
His lipless sharp zombie-like teeth clacked apart as he let rip a monstrous roar. At the same time the skin on both of his wrists split open as broken shards of his ulna slid out.
The summoning of those bones triggered an emergence of others throughout his body.
Blood dripped from his beard as shards of bone piled onto each other and walked up the sides of his chin. Out of his elbows jutted out several spikes that spread out evenly. The nails on his feet lengthened and sharpened. The only bones that weren't altered were his teeth which stayed small and insignificant compared to the rest of the bones on him.
His break was over and it was time for him to go back to work. Several kilometres away were the walls of the Quinta district. The very last district of Shiganshina and the one which had survived the longest without the rule of the king.
3 months. Richter had laid siege to it for 3 months and not even his fearsome transformation had been able to topple this small treacherous nation.
Saviour
"You're a hideous son of a gun," a blond man wheezed.
He was trapped in the jaws of a titan who was softly gnawing on his torso, not strong enough to kill him or break anything but the feeling was still extremely uncomfortable. He looked around searching for a rescuer.
"I hope you enjoy this morsel because it'll be your last." The man reached past the teeth pinning him in place and grabbed the hilt of his ODM swords. The button on them clicked and hooked the gear onto the cheeks.
A swift motion of the swords slashed at the gums of the titan releasing steam that threatened to cook the man's skin. Another slash on the tongue momentarily dislodged the jaws from his body. However, a moment later the titan crushed the man's spine forcing a choked scream out of him.
The sun gleamed off a distant sword. Through his pained eye sight, the man could've sworn that not even a second had passed between that distant gleam and the instantaneous kill of the titan that was intent on devouring him.
The jaws of the titan relaxed enough to let go of the paralysed body and let him drop heavily onto the ground. Someone landed next to him and took him into their arms delicately propping him up to see Levi triumphantly standing over the steaming corpse.
"Their time will come," he breathed. "Levi will save us all."
He knew there wasn't enough time for him. He could feel his lungs filling with blood. The same thing was happening with the rest of his body. There weren't any surface injuries on him but the titan had damaged his organs and spine when he bit down on him.
"I will keep fighting for you and all others like you." All he could see of Levi was his shadowy silhouette crowned by the light from the sun. "You will not die a number. I will make sure your name is remembered by all for as long as possible."
Wheezy breaths rattled through the man's body. He died with a peaceful expression that day. He had seen the saviour of humanity. And he was proud to have fought alongside him and to have made a difference.
General Rescue
The Mole Titan burrowed carefully beneath enemy lines making sure not to cause massive movements on the ground above. She wasn't here today to destroy another enemy base, this was a simple extraction mission. To reveal herself and cause strife among the enemy was to give them a chance to perfect their new anti titan artillery.
Commander of the Eldian troops and overseer of the warrior program had been taken hostage by the enemy a few days ago. The only titan capable of fetching him at the moment was the mole titan since the beast and cart titans were being prepped to be sent to the island of Paradis.
It's been years since the warrior unit had been sent to that island. And no one has heard from them since.
The Mole Titan paused and listened. There were people above her speaking. Their voices sent vibrations through the earth which the titan could pick up and decipher. This is how she was navigating the city without help from another titan to link with.
"I have a bad feeling about this," one of them said.
"You worry too much. There's no way those devil worshippers will be able to get through our defences. Not to mention that we can blow the heads of their devils the moment we see them now. They're not the mysterious monsters we once saw them as."
There's no good information to get from these two. The titan continued on with its work.
Along the way it finally found some useful soldiers who revealed the location of where Magath was being kept. He was in a tent near the far north side of the establishment where only 2 guards were looking after him. Most of the defences were focused on the outside thinking that if Marley's Titans were going to be deployed to his rescue it would be the normal ones.
"Are you thirsty?" One of Magath's guards approached him with a waterskin. Magath gratefully nodded.
"Just because we're on opposing sides, it doesn't mean we can't treat each other civilly."
Magath smirked. "You're awfully optimistic to be a soldier, son. How old are you?"
"I'm 17 sir."
"Ah. A fresh recruit. That explains it."
"Sir, I know I haven't witnessed all the horrors war brings about yet, but what's the point in fighting for your beliefs and your survival if you aren't going to put them in practice while you fight for them?"
"Son, this is war. In war, you are forced to become a monster for the salvation of your people. Good people don't survive war, they either die or become perturbed."
The ground began to shake as the Mole Titan found its target.
"But for the record, I share your same sentiment." The Mole Titan burst out of its tunnel snapping its jaws around the Commander and retreating as fast as it could.
The camp entered a frenzy as soldiers armed themselves and organised to go after the titan through the tunnel it created.
"How can this be possible?" One of the soldiers who the mole titan heard talking badly about Eldians and Marley had fallen to his knees in shock at the event that was unfolding. And as platoons of soldiers were sent after the escapees, the tunnel shook with instability before sinking on top of dozens of unlucky souls. The soldier that was on his knees was among the victims as he fell through the rubble to join his comrades.
"I appreciate the rescue," Magath said.
The Mole Titan's body was dissolving, its possessor sat on one of the hands and she was busy untangling her blond hair with her fingers.
"We can't have our top sharp shooter and the man responsible for the warrior unit go out on us now, can we?" She sweetly smiled at him before going back to what she was doing.
"Oh please, I'm not that important of a fish. I could easily be replaced by anyone the council deems fit."
She snorted. "You're starting to sound like them. Do you know how hard it was to convince them not to let you die? They aren't exactly in the position to lose any other titans right now after the years that the warrior unit went MIA."
Magath suppressed a shiver when he saw the dead look in the woman's eyes. He couldn't help but remember how full of life those eyes once possessed. The same held true for the disheveled appearance of the woman and her thin form. This is what the curse of Ymir does to its victims. It sucks all the livelihood these people once had as they close in on the end of their term.
"They're right though, Erna. I doubt I'll ever serve an important role in anyone's life. The most I do with you warriors is make sure you stay in line and useful to our Nation."
"Oh no, sir. You do a lot more than that. It doesn't matter how hard we work, the world still sees as devils. Even though we become honorary Marleyans, we still have to live in the interment zone, we still can't marry who we love. We aren't the Tyburs. We remain devils. The only difference is that we're given a better cage to live in.
"But you change that sir. You actually think and treat us like we matter. You won't abandon us on the field and you take our opinions into consideration. You make sure we're aware as children what we're getting ourselves into and through you, our voices are heard by those who govern us. If you're gone, there's no guarantee that the one to replace you will be as good a man as you are. So don't you dare say that you will never be important to anyone."
Erna's eyes fluttered closed suddenly and she collapsed into Magath's arms.
"Sorry," she uttered weakly.
"You're getting close to the end of your term," Magath stated.
Erna nodded. She picked herself up and shakily stood on her own. There were Marleyan convoys nearing them. It was time for them to go home which meant that their interactions would soon be restricted.
"I will never abandon you, Theo," Erna caressed the man's cheek. "No matter what happens, I'll always be there to rescue you. Just like in the old days."
For the first time, Magath's haunted expression had morphed into something more depressing at the thought of Erna's enclosing doom. A doom that the woman had already come to terms with and would meet with a smile.
Erna Kaiser
An Eldian orphan.
During a time when Marley was having difficulty conscripting Eldians into the warrior program, she and the previous wielder of the jaw titan were picked from orphans to become titan candidates.
Erna is the oldest warrior to inherit a titan to date inheriting the Mole Titan at 17 years of age.
Information available to the general public.
Tenure of the Mole Titan
"Sir, it's a pleasure to see you returning home safe and sound," Porco Galliard firmly shook the Warrior Commander's hand when he stepped into the Warrior headquarters.
Following behind him was the Mole Titan, Erna who was looking solemn as always and running her fingers through the ever tangled mess of her hair.
"Porco," Magath nodded in acknowledgment.
A few young kids ran in to celebrate Magath's return as well. Among them were 10 year old Gabi and Falco.
Porco shrank a bit as he felt diminished once more for still being a candidate and sharing the spot with a group of little kids. His eyes rested on the Mole Titan as she and the Commander left to join the other warriors, perhaps to brief them on their mission. The Warrior Commander would have no breaks even after his kidnapping and subsequent rescue. The world wouldn't stop turning for anyone.
The Mole Titan was Porco's ticket to the action though. Erna was at the end of her term which meant that Porco had a chance to claim his rightful place on the warrior unit. A position that the bastard Reiner had stolen from him.
"Porco!" Gabi called excitedly. "Are you going to try and get the Mole Titan?" A firey passion burned in her eyes. She shared the same goal as Porco wanting to inherit Marley's Armour and viewed him as an older brother as a result.
Porco smirked, "You know it. And by the time you inherit your own titan I'll be halfway out of my own term."
Porco noticed Falco looking at Gabby a little queasy. That kid has no stomach, he better fix that up or he'll end up useless like Reiner. Tch, it would be more believable if he was the one related to Reiner.
"You can catch up with me later. I'm going to try something stupid," Porco ruffled the girl's hair.
The kids all gathered and watched as Porco left upstairs chasing after the Commander and Erna. For a moment it appeared like they would follow after him to watch what he was trying to do but decided against it and left to have their own fun.
Despite not being a titan holder, Porco was old enough and well familiarised with the current titan holders to join their meetings. So when he entered the room where the Warrior briefing is held, no one batted an eye as Porco settled down next to Erna. Save for Magath who raised a knowing eyebrow.
"I want to be the next Mole Titan." Porco blurted.
Erna frowned and whispered back, "You're not subtle or tactful are you."
"There's no point. We all know you're as good as dead within the next year. And the MPs are trying to find a replacement for you. I have some competition who have the favor of other personnel so it would be better if you could take me on as a successor directly," Porco explained himself.
The two grew quiet for a moment when Zeke stood up to challenge Magath on something and once the atmosphere settled again they resumed their conversation.
"You're right. You would definitely have your claws on a titan if you got an inheritor to favour you. Just like Zeke here. Ksaver took him on, taught him, trained him. Despite being at the bottom of the barrel among his list of recruits, he was selected to inherit the Beast just because Ksaver liked him. That's the simple explanation at least," Erna said, ignoring a lot of what happened with Zeke.
"So, will you do it?"
"Why do you want to be a titan so much? You do realise that it means you won't live long once you inherit a titan, right?"
"Because of power. With that power I can crush all of our enemies." Porco drew a fist. Reiner didn't deserve the power he was given. Weak people don't deserve any power, only those strong like him can handle it.
"You really need to work on your tact. It's seriously lacking, Porco," Erna sighed. "I guess I will take you on. You're the next candidate for the armour after all. And you're just determined to shorten your life no matter what."
"Thank you, Erna. You won't regret it." Porco bowed.
"I don't think I could even if I wanted to, considering that in order to inherit my titan you have to kill me."
Magath and Erna's gazes met. By next year, Erna would no longer exist. Not even a corpse would remain to indicate that she used to be a real person.
Two Men
"Willy!" Young women fawned over the man as he walked down the streets.
Willy waved at every excited girl that cheered for him. His face always wore a soft charming smile that made them melt even more.
He was headed to a very important meeting with the Titan research society. This project they were working on would be groundbreaking if executed correctly, on par with the experiments performed by the early Eldian founders.
The experiments were about tapping into the powers of the founding titan in order to create a backdoor into the coordinate that would allow anyone to use its god-like powers.
These experiments had been taking place even before the Warriors left on their Paradis Infiltration Mission. It had been established by a titan shifter named Ksaver who had been performing rigorous experiments on himself regarding the subject.
But when Elizabeth left on her mission, it left Willy and their Nan trying to figure out ways to prevent Elizabeth's prophetic death. It was what caused Willy to take over the research and make it a top priority to pour resources in. If not for that, the project might've died without ever seeing the light of day since none of the MPs thought it would ever bear fruit.
Yet, here we are, 5 years later and there's a new titan serum to manufacture an entirely new titan wholly separate from the titans that originated from the original Titan. The research society was ready to go on to human trials, specifically Eldians.
"Welcome, Willy. You're just in time. We just about finished setting up for our very first trial." A woman held up a vial of fluid labelled CHARGING along with a syringe.
Willy gingerly plucked the vial from her grasp and examined it. No longer would the power of god rest on the shoulders of a singular person.
"Very well. Let us proceed," He handed the vial back.
"Uh, before we do. War chief Zeke is here." The woman pointed at the blond man with glasses.
Zeke was looking at the cell beyond the plastic divider. Inside was a scrawny man sulking in his chair waiting for whatever it was the researchers would force upon him.
Willy approached him. It wasn't the first time Zeke came to the research quarters. He had actually taken an active role in deciphering all of Ksaver's notes. However, Zeke and Willy rarely ever interacted.
The two stood silently as the trial commenced and the poor soul was injected with the experimental serum.
"You must be proud of how far we've taken Ksaver's work, Zeke." Zeke let out a disappointed growl that went unnoticed as Willy stood looking at the titan energy crackle about. His thoughts were focused on how with this research he could save his younger sister from her doomed future.
Zeke felt a pit in his stomach as he watched his adoptive father's legacy become twisted and torture the very people he swore to protect. This torture isn't even the tip of the iceberg on the list of atrocities that Eldians have been put through. One day, Zeke would be able to save his people. All he had to do was lie and wait until the day the serum is perfected so that he could enter the coordinate without being tainted by the vow to renounce war.