Creation began on 07-01-21

Creation ended on 08-10-21

Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan: Days of Recovery

At first, the government wanted to disband the Survey Corps after their latest return from Wall Maria, but upon seeing that the entire group had returned, without any casualties, even if they wanted to right now, they couldn't do so after the news they brought back from their expedition. The discovery that the outer breach in Shiganshina had been sealed off and the Titans that came through over the past five years had been killed, mostly by a fifteen-meter rogue Titan, this made the people believe that they could return to Wall Maria and reclaim their settlements, rebuild and move on.

"If the Titans were killed because of a rogue Titan," said a male civilian in Trost, "then that means the only Titan left is the one that killed them…and it's still out there."

This left people wondering when, if at all, this Titan would reappear and make itself known. But the truth was nobody was certain of when or if it would reappear again after such a long time spent attacking other Titans and ignoring humans.

"Eren," went Mikasa to her foster brother as she and Armin met up in the district after they returned from their expedition. "You won't believe what we found in Shiganshina."

"It was empty when you got there?" He guessed.

"Among other things," Armin stated. "We think the Titan that showed up in Trost sealed the breach in Shiganshina after clearing out the other Titans."

"What? Why would it do that?"

"Probably to keep lesser Titans out, but if the Colossal and Armored Titans return, we're back to where we started with them."

"Pray that they don't come back."

But as much as they wanted to hope that, Mikasa and Armin couldn't help but believe that they hadn't seen the last of the two Titans that caused the people so much pain and misery five years ago. If they returned, they would need a strategy of some sort to deal with them. A Titan as tall as the Walls and one covered, from head-to-toe, in hardened plates like a suit of armor were virtual unknowns in the Titan threat, as the regular ones were completely random and made the fight against them hard as is.

-x-

News of the recovery spread to the inner parts of Wall Sina as Krista and Ymir walked down the streets of one of the districts they were assigned to when they showed up. It was fairly different from what they were used to; the people were less interested in the conflict with the Titans, they occupied their time with their wealth and interests that were still present and could make them forget that there was something wrong beyond the confines of the Walls.

"It's hard to believe that they reclaimed Wall Maria so quickly," Krista stated to Ymir as they walked along the edge of the ferry way.

"Yeah," Ymir responded. "Maybe we should've joined the Garrison division instead to go to Wall Maria and watch over one of the districts."

"Maybe. But then we'd be in danger if the Colossal and Armored Titans returned."

-x-

Thud! A small Titan, four meters in height, with an ugly head structure and even-uglier body structure, like it had been made to support things like a workhorse or something, was slammed against a tree by a fifteen-meter Titan with an irregular jawline.

The man within the Titan, now accessing the memories of Zeke Yeager, recognized this Titan as the Cart Titan owned by a fellow soldier by the name of Pieck Finger, with an unusual power among the Nine Titans. Those with the Cart Titan could operate within their Titan bodies for longer time periods due to a longer endurance the other Titans didn't possess.

More time as a Titan equals more time to obtain freedom, he thought, deciding that this Pieck Finger person needed to be dealt with; while the Cart Titan had greater endurance, it didn't possess the greater prowess possessed by the other Titans, such as regeneration, making it a target to any that could attack and defeat it…like himself. More freedom, less enemies.

He reached down and grabbed the Cart Titan by its head, lifting it up from the ground and holding it in its arms over his Titan's mouth.

"Grraurgh!" The Cart Titan growled, trying to escape. "No! Stop!"

It might've been capable of speech, but the man within the other Titan wasn't interested in talking to anyone if he didn't want to.

CRUNCH! The Titan bit hard into the nape of the Cart Titan, making sure to bite directly into the person inside.

FLASH! Before his eyes, he could see what this Pieck had done over the course of their life after gaining possession of the Cart Titan…and it was a wretched life of war as a workhorse of sorts, wearing different sets of weapons occupied by soldiers using them as they did nothing but move around the danger zone.

What a dull life, he thought as he tossed aside what remained of the previous Cart Titan as it began to evaporate. She fought for Marley…but not for herself. Not for freedom.

Escaping the confines of his own Titan, he sat against a small rock and caught his breath. He had to tear his way through at least ten other Titans before killing the Cart Titan, but they were all mediocre, barely able to move let alone fight. And now, he possessed three Titan powers at his disposal, which left six other powers remaining for him to take.

"Marley," he sighed as he drifted off to sleep as the sun began to set; he would be safe for the time being, as there were now very few Titans and they didn't move around at night. "No matter how many enemies there exist in front of me, I will crush them all."

-x-

The rebuilding operation in Shiganshina District was progressing smoothly as more people returned to repopulate the abandoned areas of Wall Maria. Homes that were destroyed being rebuilt, overgrown weeds being pulled away from structures, debris being cleared away and what have you. Life was returning to the town that had been forced out five years ago, and everyone was doing their part to help.

"…I don't like this," went Reiner to Bertolt as they were atop the wall overlooking the land outside Shiganshina. "That Titan has made things difficult for us."

"It had to be the Attack Titan," Bertolt replied. "All Marley ever understood about it was that it was a rogue, never listening to the Founder… It's been doubtful that it would ever obey Marley if caught."

"The only way we'll know for sure is if we draw it out."

"But…they're rebuilding now. They have no time to defend themselves against an attack by Titans. Plus, we don't have Annie with us to help out."

What was more, they were with others on the wall and they were looking out at the scenery. If they were to suddenly cause an attack to happen, they would cause people to become curious as to how the Titans could appear if they weren't around. Still, Reiner wanted to complete the mission they had begin long ago in order to resolve the matter that was the people here and the rest of the world. If they could do this, they would be able to return home.

Meanwhile, across the wall on the opposite end, Eren sighed as he had thought about returning to where he used to live in the district. The wreckage had been cleared and the basement access was intact, but he wasn't sure what doing so would do. Sure, he still had the key his father gave him, but what was down for him to rediscover? What was there for him to find to give him a sense of closure to what happened in his past? Especially when he could understand a little better than he used to after he took the time to process what was in and on his mind.

He only did what he forced him to do based on limited details, he thought as he sat on one of the parapets, looking down at the town he grew up in, the same town he, once upon a time, wanted to leave for as long as he could and venture off somewhere, now wanted to protect against further incursion from the Titans. The Titan that saved Trost was not a hero. Not in the most rudimentary sense, at least. He is just the opposite side of myself, a young man full of nothing but hatred and a desire for freedom from all things binding. We're both the same person, but our personas are completely different from one another. I don't want the world to be forced to change based on the desires of a man that has no compassion or remorse for the people he harms…but I don't want to keep the people here locked up forever against their will. He is the Attack Titan, always moving forward, never stopping, never letting anyone stop him…but he can't or won't demonstrate empathy or concern for the people he wants to free from whatever he feels they need to be free from. He cares nothing about the emotional issues he helps to create. And I… I am the Founding Titan. I could change everything…but it would require sacrificing someone with royal blood…and I won't put her life or anyone else's in jeopardy just to change the viewpoint of a world that was bathed in hatred and bloodshed against all things Eldian for over a century. There must be a different solution, one that can work for everyone.

In his mind, he saw a tree of light, reaching out with its vast branches into the sky, and standing in front of the tree was a little girl in rags. He was in front of her, but he was wearing these strange bindings on his wrists made of sand, holding him where he stood. If this were a painting or a sculpture, it would've been said that these two represented prisoners in their own rights; one was physically bound and the other emotionally bound, neither capable of some measure of movement to indicate free will. But Eren wasn't completely bound; he was just bound in the sense that what the Founding Titan was capable of was power beyond his exploitation due to lacking royal blood, making the other Titan powers, the standard powers of strength, speed, regeneration and durability the only powers he had access to. Without royal blood from a member of the royal family, he was no better than a regular Titan.

Ymir Fritz, he thought as he tugged against the chains on his wrists. You've been here ever since the beginning, haven't you? You've been waiting for someone to come this far, to set you free, haven't you? I want to set you free…but I can't. Not yet…but I promise you, I will set you free.

The girl in front him, Ymir Fritz, approached him soon after. Whatever she could do to him was of her own choosing, devoid of whatever it was that drove her to do as instructed by someone else from the royal family. She could probably snap his head in two and he'd have no way to protect himself from her, or tear his heart out, spill out his intestines, reduce his head to pulp or some other form of brutality. Instead, she stopped less than three steps in front of him…and raised her head up to look him in the eyes.

FLASH! An explosion occurred between them…and Eren saw the Colossal Titan appear for the third time, and it had a different head structure from what he was familiar with.

The right side of it looked a little like the one he had seen twice before in the past, but its eye had a different emotion to it. One of agony…and despair. The left side of it resembled a skull, stripped down to the bone itself, leaving nothing behind.

FLASH! A second explosion occurred and Eren could see the head of the Armored Titan, similar to the Colossal Titan, a skull on the left side…and an incomplete Titan face on the right.

"…Set them free," a voice uttered. "Set them free."

-x-

"…Set them free," Reiner thought he heard a voice just now, before he and Bertolt could cut themselves on their hands.

"What?" He reacted. "Bertolt, did you just hear someone?"

"Someone saying something about setting someone else free?" Bertolt questioned. "Maybe we shouldn't be doing this right now, Reiner."

"Damn it."

The original plan was to attack the wall again and kill everyone within Shiganshina District, but now they were put off by a voice they heard in their heads. Whatever caused the verbal phenomena in their heads was enough to hinder them for the time being. Personally, Bertolt was relieved to not be doing this right now; it seemed like the wrong time to attack with just two Titans instead of a horde of them. But Reiner wanted to attack them again, just to see what would happen to either make the Attack Titan appear or force the royal family to act this time.

-x-

It was beautiful, the ocean in front of him. It was everything Armin had once told him about it. The vastness of it, the grand fact that it was full of salt and animals that no one could ever gather up. And it didn't really belong to anyone. It was free from control, just as the sky and the sun and moon.

"Magnificent," the unkempt man uttered, looking at the water around his feet. "You can see forever. You can't see the enemy across from yourself. And the sunlight…it makes everything beautiful."

He ran into the water as a wave struck his body, and he went under. When he came up, he was totally soaked, but his hair and face stripped of the dirt and grime that he had on him. Wiping his hair away from his face, he looked like a soaked, young man with a goatee and uneven mustache that needed a trim or removal. If anyone had looked at him, they could've mistaken him for a filthier, untidy and almost-angrier version of Eren Yeager, with a darkness in his eyes that you couldn't really notice unless you were facing him directly.

"The day can't come any sooner," he expressed, knowing that he needed to return to that pitiful confined community in due time to show those people the path to freedom, to a life beyond the Walls…if they have the will to take it for themselves. "Those structures are just shackles that need to come off before they end up as nothing but a forgotten memory."

-x-

"…Just shackles that need to come off before they end up as nothing but a forgotten memory," Eren heard someone like himself say as he gazed out at the land outside Wall Maria.

Come back if you dare, he thought. I won't let you cause the deaths of the people that live here.

To be continued…

A/N: And now we have the positive and negatives halves of Eren Yeager being slightly aware of each other, and seeing each other as either an obstacle or threat. There's bound to be a surprise or two in the future, but I'll probably post a list of suggestions for you to choose. Wait patiently for the next chapter, and you will receive.