The time had finally come where the Survey Corps would make another attempt to reclaim Wall Maria. They had every belief that this expedition was going to be the one that will make or break the future of their society. Keith hoped for the best alongside so many others as they watched the final soldier descend to the other side. With everything that had been going on around him, he had wanted something to go right for once. He wanted to know just like so many others, as to why things were the way they were. He wanted to believe that there was some reasoning as to why things had ended up in this way. The Survey Corps were set out to find that answer.
Keith had made arrangements for their return to ensure that they were going to be treated with the outmost care. He knew that the journey was going to be a rough one and expected the worst. He set out for those within the medical division of the Military Police Brigade, as there were no Survey Corps medical team to oversee the injuries upon their return. Due to the low numbers, all soldiers within their faction were required to go forth with the expedition with no exceptions.
As the medical team was arranged, Keith was thankful that Isaac and Anna were more than welcomed to participate. Because the two of them had experience with titans, he thought that it was best for them to handle Lana and Eren in the case that they were injured.
The stress was getting to Keith harder than he had anticipated. He sat within the small house that Isaac and Anna resided in for the time being. Robin had taken Sebastian and started to make the return home to Wall Sina. There was nothing more they could do but wait. As Keith sat in the chair that evening, he sat staring at the brewed coffee that was prepared for him. He didn't say a word and hardly blinked.
"Well, there is no use sitting there the entire time my boy," came Isaac's warm voice.
The older man caught his attention, causing Keith to look up at him from his cup.
"Sorry, there is just so much at stake right now. They are walking right into a trap and even they know it. They believe that they will meet the Colossal Titan and Armored Titan either on the way or at Shiganshina."
"Worrying won't do them any good, neither will it do any good to you. You need to get some rest."
"I can't, I need to be awake if they come back."
"Well then, if you're going to be like that then at least help me with my research."
"Research?" Keith questioned.
Isaac informed Keith of the latest research he had been looking into. He was reminded of the spinal fluid research that Isaac was conducting. Keith subjected to himself a few times before during his examinations, but all samples were faulty. At this point, Isaac fully believed that he was capable of extracting spinal fluid without any problems and without losing the sample in the end.
In order to get his mind of the expedition, Keith agreed to once more undergo the procedure. It was painful for Keith but the pain was worth it. He was able to be pulled away from the worry. In the end, Isaac was finally able to extract a pure sample of Keith's spinal fluid. The medical breakthrough was incredible and would be useful in the future. For now the sample would be tucked aside and examined for Keith's pure blooded titan properties.
After the procedure, Keith decided to head to the barracks and speak with the soldiers that were present. The stress was still getting at him hard. He couldn't fully understand why it was bothering him so much. At first, he felt that it was the risk that his friends were putting themselves through, but that wasn't it. He then began to think on a much larger scale and felt that there was much at stake with this expedition. Eren Yeager was holding the literal key to the answers that many within the walls were searching for. However, that wasn't the reason that he was stressed out. He began to think in a different perspective. With his time within the walls he had forgotten what life was like outside of them. The people he would see out on the streets, the technologic advances, the normal things that he had been so used to that were no longer around him. It was ten years since he had lived that type of life and he missed it. He wanted to have it again and he began to believe that the Survey Corps were the ticket to get that life back. He didn't want to be in the circus nor did he want to live with the Crovus Clan. He just wanted to be with his family, but he wanted to show them what he called home. If this expedition was successful, Keith was sure that this was the first step to travelling to Rhea once more and to be able to show them the world that was beyond them.
The soldiers within the barracks helped ease his mind a little. However, he remained awake and alert throughout the entire night and well into the next day. There was no sign, which to him was a good thing. It meant that they had at least reached their destination. Otherwise they would have retreated by now and returned.
Night had started to fall again as the uneasiness in Keith's stomach began to grow. There were no signs of their return. It had been a full day and there was nothing. Just as the candles were being lit, a Garrison soldier came to find Keith.
He saluted and spoke, "SIR! The Survey Corps have returned!"
Keith was quick on his feet. As he ran out of the room, he shouted for the soldier to fetch the medical staff that was put aside.
Keith quickly ran towards the wall as the Survey Corps were lifted over the wall. All of them bore sorrow on their faces as well as various injuries. It hurt Keith to see them like this. As they were being lowered, Keith counted to see how many had made it back. Upon his inspection, he had come to realize that there were no others being lifted up on to the wall. At this point there were only the few that were being lowered. He counted ten survivors. Ten soldiers and nothing more. These were what was left of the Survey Corps. He pulled himself together and held his chin up high. He approached them and saw the familiar faces that he had seen a couple of times before. Among them was Hange Zoe, a soldier that had graduated in the same division as he did. He remembered them as being a very eccentric type of person. Someone who was eager and determined, and yet a little on the crazier side. However, the person before him was not the same person he had once trained with. A bandage covered their eye from a severe wound they had received. Alongside them was Captain Levi and his squad. Lana was being carried by a younger taller boy, she at least was alive and not on the brink of death this time.
Keith saluted as Hange had done the same.
"Keith, it's been a while," Hange stated stepping closer to him.
"It has, Hange. I'm glad to see that you're alright. What do you report?"
"Wall Maria has been reclaimed. Our mission was a success," Hange replied with a sorrowful look on their face.
A piece of Keith was ecstatic to hear the news. This was one step closer to revealing the mystery of the walls and allowing the people inside them to live beyond the structure. However, with the current news, there was also sorrow. The win meant a great loss among the soldiers before him. As he gazed around he realized that there were two notable people who was not among them. Erwin Smith, the Commander of the Survey Corps, was not present. A man who was a symbol of hope. To see him gone was hard. The second person Keith didn't see was Spencer. His long-time friend and fellow graduate was no longer with them.
"Whenever there are wins, there will be loses. It's a shame that you all had to take this much of a loss. Please, let me do what I can to help you. You all deserve it, I want to take care of you. I have doctors on standby to tend to any wounded. I even have a specialist for the titan shifters who will take care of them with the outmost care," he turned to signal for the medical team to approach.
Hange turned back to the others and decided to take up on the offer, "As the new Commander of the Survey Corps, I accept your offer. Thank you, Captain."
"Titan shifters come with me!" Keith shouted raising his hand up. He turned behind him to the small medical team that were awaiting their orders. "I want you four to tend to everyone else. Bring them to the barracks," he informed them.
Keith had brought Eren, Lana, and a newly transformed shifter to Isaac and Anna. Out of the three of them, Lana was the one who was hurt the most. He wasn't surprised due to her recklessness and previous history. She was often known to act before thinking of the consequences. However, this time seemed a little different based on her injuries. It seemed that in this case, her injuries were due to battle just like anyone else's. However, the look on her face was more of exhaustion than in pain.
When they approached the building, Keith had informed his messenger to bring them new uniforms so that they didn't have to change back into their dirty ones. As Lana and Eren were getting looked after, Keith was alone with the young blonde haired boy. He was curious, only believing that the Survey Corps were in possession of two shifters.
"So, you're a shifter as well?" he questioned.
"As of a few hours ago, yes," he replied.
"A few hours ago? How is that even possible?"
"The Survey Corps obtained a serum from Kenny Ackerman after the battle with the titan that the true king had turned into. During this expedition, the decision was given to Captain Levi to use the serum, as long as certain conditions were met."
"Wait, so you're telling me that the Survey Corps had possession of a serum without us knowing?"
The young boy looked away from Keith and replied, "Sorry. We wanted to keep it a secret from the Military Police Brigade. We don't exactly have a good history between the two factions. I'm so stupid for telling you in the first place," he replied placing his head on the table.
"I honestly don't blame you. What's your name?"
"Armin, Armin Arlert," he stated lifting his head back up.
"Well Armin, things are going to be just fine. Whatever happened, happened."
A knock came from the door breaking the conversation. Keith responded to the visitor and found Hange and Levi waiting on the other side. Hange had some information that involved Eren. During the battle as Levi was deciding on who to give the serum to, he was caught deciding between Armin and Erwin. At first Levi was going to inject Erwin with the serum, however this sparked an issue between Mikasa Ackerman and Eren. The two of them attempted to harm Levi for choosing Erwin over their childhood friend. This action is deemed unlawful under military law. Even though they pulled back, discipline was necessary. Keith thought that they were being ridiculous, but he understood. After the examinations, Keith would arrest Eren and place him within the Disciplinary Hall.
As the two of them had left, Isaac had returned from Lana's room.
"Good news, she will be fine. All she needs is a little rest and she should be as good as new. It doesn't surprise me, that girl has been through much worse," Isaac stated handing the paperwork over the Keith.
"Thanks Doc, I really appreciate everything that you've done."
"Don't thank me, it's what I love to do," he proclaimed patting Keith on the back.
Keith calmly placed the papers down and was eager to see Lana. He opened the door to her room without even thinking.
As the door was already opened he called out, "Knock knock!"
He saw her buttoning her shirt. It was nothing he didn't see before and he didn't think much of it. He walked into the room as she quickly covered herself up.
"Don't you ever knock?" she shouted at him with irritation in her voice.
"I did…verbally. Besides since when did you care?" he questioned remembering the few times he had to help re-bandage her wounds, and the countless of times he had walked in on her changing while sharing a tent.
She only responded with a face of annoyance and he closed the door behind him.
"So how are things?" he asked her hoping that she would be upfront and honest with him.
He knew that losing that many of her comrades had to have been hard on her. He felt the minor sting himself after realizing that Spencer had not returned with them. He was good friends with Spencer, and he hoped that he at least went down fighting.
"Fine," she replied as she continued to button up the shirt.
Every part of Keith was yelling at him because he very well knew that things were not fine.
He lowered his tone of voice as his smile was gone from his face, "How are things?" he asked again.
"We did it, we reclaimed Wall Maria and yet…why does it hurt so much," she replied as tears began to swell in her eyes.
Keith very well knew that she was hurting badly inside. He knew that even though they had won with their mission being a huge success and stepping stone, they still felt defeated inside. There was nothing more that he could do at that point but hold onto her. He only held onto her for a minute or two before letting her continue getting dressed into her uniform.
As he left the room, Eren had met with Armin. The two of them were silent as they reflected on the events that had taken place. As he watched them, Keith was reminded of what he was like at that age. He was reminded of the blood he had shed doing the jobs for the circus. When Lana was finished putting her uniform on she quickly left the room and pushed right passed Keith. He was alarmed by her sudden change in behaviour. Something didn't feel right with him as to why she was acting in this way. She quickly went up to Eren and Armin and urged them to get going with her. Anna urged them to stay a little longer to rest before heading out. However, Lana was sharp to turn behind them. Keith became extremely worried. The intensity in her bright green eyes sent a shiver up his spine. He could feel the fire that was burning within her.
"We have work that we need to do," she said quickly.
Keith regretted what he was about to do, but he knew that there was no way around it. He had to arrest Eren and make matters worse than they already were.
"Not so fast," he called out to them. The three of them turned back to face him. "Eren Yeager, you're under arrest for disobeying your superior officers."
"You can't be serious!" Eren cried out.
Keith informed them of the report that Hange had distributed to him during their examinations. Eren did nothing as the others left to return to the Survey Corps. Keith calmly restrained Eren and apologized. He believed that Eren didn't deserve what he was going to be put under. He even went as far as to tell him that he would've done the same if he were in the same position. In fact, Keith even went on to tell him that he had succeeded taking revenge on someone who had hurt a member of his family before.
A report was turned into Nile in regards to the mission. Keith reviewed the report after Nile. The Survey Corps had conducted several tests. One of the series of the test was the usage of Eren's hardening powers that he had gained within the Reiss chapel. This power was obtained after he had injected himself with a serum labeled "Armored". With this power, it was believed that he could block the holes that had been created within both walls of Shiganshina. The second series of tests were for a device called the Thunder Spear. This device was created to conduct a large amount of energy in the form of an electrical shock. The device was in the shape of a spear hence the name that was given to it. It was created with the help of Spencer after he had visited the Military Police Brigade facility. With these two abilities, the Survey Corps were prepared. Over time at night, several soldiers had gone out and reconstructed the path to allow the entire brigade a safe passage. With titans inactive at night, they were able to work under the light that was emitted from the crystals extracted from the underground room of the Reiss chapel.
When the Survey Corps arrived at Shiganshina, they knew that they were walking into a trap. They discovered a campsite where the traitors resided. Reiner Braun was discovered within the wall and the brigade proceeded to attack. They used the spears to take him down however, he was able to transfer himself into his titan. During this time, Bertolt Hoover had been thrown into the scene. He didn't not transform at first, and only set out to rescue his friend. During this time, a new titan had approached the wall and began to attack. This titan was referred to as the Beast Titan, the very same titan that had been encountered before a while back. Lana had gone after the Beast Titan leaving the Colossal and Armored Titans to Eren after he had successfully plugged the outermost hole.
They all fought bravely to the bitter end. In the end, they were able to capture the Colossal Titan. Captain Levi had used the serum that he had and used it on Armin Arlert. The newly formed Armin consumed Bertolt and obtained his power making him the new Colossal Titan. Reiner Braun escaped along with the Beast Titan, Zeke Yeager.
The Survey Corps was able to reach the basement and discovered contents of a previous life that Eren's father had once had. The contents of their findings were to be discussed with an audience along with the official report. Keith was instructed to arrange for an audience with the Queen and the other Military officials. The meeting was to take place as soon as possible as a plan of action was required.
A couple of days went by until the meeting occurred. Before the meeting, Keith wanted to speak with the Queen in regards to the serum. He spoke with her in private and informed her of everything he knew in regards to the serum, including the information he had learned long ago from Caroline. She was taken back by the information and wondered if there were still serums present within the grounds. She remembered seeing the briefcase that her father carried into the chapel during the uprising ordeal. Her father had wanted her to inject herself with one of the serums he had picked and eat Eren to obtain his power. The two of them had located a few more viles of the titan serum and decided that it was best for everyone to place them under security. They were locked up and concealed until further notice.
During the meeting, Keith promptly stood in a corner with a rifle in his hand. He was instructed not to speak or cause any interaction at all during the meeting. His job was to stand there and guard, nothing more. During the meeting however, Keith was able to learn more about what the Survey Corps underwent. The contents that were discovered in the basement described a type of lifestyle outside of the walls. They spoke of a place called Marley, a place that Keith recognized but had forgotten about. Keith remembered Neal travelling to Marley every now and again for business. However, what Keith learned was that Grisha Yeager, Eren's father, was an Eldian. To their dismay, everyone within the walls are Eldians. It was indicated in the papers that Eldians are the only people who are able to inherit the powers of the titan through the serum and by their heritage. In that instance, Keith remembered reading the journal from Prince Weismann. He wondered if the only reason why Eldians were able to turn into titans was because of the blood that runs through them. The DNA of Prince Weismann himself that their ancestors consumed.
The meeting was long, but it was enlightening. After hearing about the attempt of a rebellion from Grisha and the other Eldians within an internment camp in Marley and about several children being selected as warriors, he wondered if what he was going to have to prepare for. The kingdom of Rhea had fallen once before and the Eldian Empire had fallen to Marley. He began to believe that Marley was going to follow the same path of superiority belief of needing more power. What he was feeling was the need to prepare for a war.
During the meeting, Queen Historia made it very clear that the information that was discussed would be released to the public. At first it was believed that chaos would start among the people. However, it was decided that no more secrets were to be kept from anyone within the walls. That included any information that the outsiders would have. This meant that Keith, Lucas, and Lana would undergo an investigation and inform their superiors of any information that they may have.
After the meeting, Keith wanted to get his mind away from the dark and confront Lana. He wanted to be able to speak with her face to face in regards to everything. It was a way to pick her brain and be able to straighten things out for himself. When he approached her however, it was not a welcoming sign.
"Lana, I was hoping to at least say hi to you before you all took off," he approached her with a smile.
Everything about her behaviour was unsettling. She stared down at him with a straight face. No smile. The fire was lit within her eyes as he locked onto them. He was taken back by her and was not sure if there was something he did that would have upset her.
"Keith, it's good to see you," she replied darting her eyes all over.
He was unsure as to what she was looking for. It was almost nerve racking to him. He tried to lighten up the mood a little.
"Some meeting huh, I'm just glad to get out of there. Hey listen, I'm about to be off duty in the next couple of minutes here. Would you want to swing by my place for dinner if you can?"
She didn't respond to him at all. It was almost as if she didn't even acknowledge his question. Those behind her were on alert as well. They watched their every move.
"Is something wrong?" Keith asked wanting to know what was going on.
"Keith, do you remember a long time ago we made a promise to each other. That as partners we wouldn't keep secrets hidden from each other, no matter how big or small?" she asked.
"Yeah, that was over fifteen years ago now, but I still remember that."
"How truthful were you then?" she questioned him calmly reaching up her sleeve to adjust a glove.
"As truthful as I am today, why?" he asked taking a slight step back. He knew that if he knew her as well as he thought he did, then Lana had a trick up her sleeve. He remembered teaching her tricks long ago that benefitted him and some the jobs he had to go through. These were the very same tricks that he still followed himself. If he was correct, Lana was reaching for some sort of small concealed weapon.
"I have reasons to believe that you're hiding something from me," she stated, her brow furrowing in slight anger.
It was at this time that Keith was readying himself. He didn't want to hurt her but he knew that the situation was not getting any better.
"Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I can assure you that I have nothing to hide," Keith stated holding his hands up in front of him in defence.
"Careful with what you say Keith. If you have something to share, now would be the time to do it. I'm not the same naïve person I was all those years ago. I can handle things."
Keith was starting to get angry with her. He was trying his best to not make her any angrier than she already was.
"Lana, can you even hear yourself talking right now?" he snapped at her.
It was at that instant that he regretted saying those words to her. Without hesitation she swung a blade at him. Keith stepped back, just barely getting hit by it. He could feel the tip of the cold steel on his neck. He stared down at Lana who was furious with him. He refused to move after realizing that she had grabbed a hold on his gun to prevent him from striking back. Everyone else in the hall had begun to raise their rifles and were prepared to fire. Keith observed the others behind her. It was clear to him by the expression of Hange and Levi, that what she was doing was at her own will.
"Lana, what are you doing?" Keith asked trying to keep himself as calm as he possibly could.
"LANA!" came the stern voice of Levi trying to coax her away from Keith.
"Talk," she sternly said.
"Lana I'm warning you, please just back away. I don't know what you want from me, but this isn't the way to get it," Keith stated trying to calm himself.
"I told you to talk," she shouted.
"Please, as your friend, your brother even."
Lana pressed the blade slightly closer to Keith causing him to be more on edge. He stretched his neck to try and ease himself away from it. He calmly closed his eyes and knew that there was no way around this. He had to pull the superior card on her knowing that this was going to be the last resort before he retaliated in defence. If she didn't respond, he would have to prepare himself to attack her and place her under arrest. He took in a deep breath and focused on being the soldier that he was.
He lowered his voice and glared down at her fixating hard on her, ""STAND DOWN SOLDIER, THAT'S AN ORDER!"
The tension in the room was high after the resonance in his voice shook everyone. They were not expecting him to come at her with such force. The only person who did not waiver at the sound was Lana. She began to snarl a little in anger and responded. She quickly pulled her blade away from Keith, nicking him in the process. He could feel the sting as a small amount of blood come from the wound. Before anyone could see it, he was sure to cover it and allow it to heal.
Lana had turned back to the others as they began to continue down the hall. Keith let go of his neck and proceeded to turn in the opposite direction. He was trying to figure out what was going on in her mind. Never before had she acted like this towards him. He tried to trace his steps and figure out if he had said or done anything that may have upset her. He decided that maybe his best option was to leave her alone for now and speak with Lucas on the matter. However, Keith had only taken a few steps before he could hear the shrill of Lana's voice from behind him.
"YOU TRAITOR!" she shouted.
He turned around to see Lana running after him in full force. Keith froze for a moment and was unsure of how to respond. Lana was in the midst of shifting as she had reached him. She firmly grabbed a hold of his jacket and swung him towards the window beside him. The glass shattered as pieces of it began to surround him. He looked up at her as he could feel the pressure of her growing hand on his chest. He knew that if he didn't do something, then he was going to be done for. Everything was happening quickly, almost too quickly. At this point he was only acting though his instincts.
Vast amounts of steam and glass surrounded the two as they made their descent to the courtyard below. The others that were present in the hall stared out of the broken window waiting to see what scene would take place before them. However, what was down below was not what they had anticipated. Through Keith's instincts he couldn't help but to shift himself. He knew that he was going to be crushed otherwise under Lana's massive titan body. When he reached the ground he quickly raised his hands and waited to defend himself for a strike.
"Lana, please don't hit me," he low loud voice cried out to her as the steam had cleared.
Lana's eyes widened at the sight that was before her. Keith's biggest secret was finally revealed to not only Lana, but to everyone around him.
"Wh…what…"she stammered on her words as she lowered her fist. The skin began to reform around her massive muscles.
With a great moment of relief Keith closed his eyes and spread his arms out to his sides. He was thankful that she wasn't going to try and punch him. However, it didn't take him very long to realize the trouble that he was about to get into. He looked around and saw his fellow soldiers aiming their guns at the ready.
"Ah, shit," He whispered. "Don't think I can talk myself out of this one," he continued trying to find the bit of humor in the situation.
He looked up at Lana who had tears streaming down her face.
"Keith…" she whispered.
Lana got off of Keith and helped him up in the process. Normally, Keith is only four inches taller than Lana. In Lana's natural pure titan form she would be classified as a fifteen meter class titan. However, in Keith's natural titan state, he towered over her standing at twenty meters. The two began to revert back to their normal selves with a cloud of steam.
"Looks like you and I do need to have a talk, don't we," Keith stated with sorrow.
"This whole time. You knew what was going on, and this whole time," she replied with a bit of spite in her tone.
"I'm sorry that I had to keep this from you. But I had my reasons. Please just understand that…" he cut himself off as he fell to his knees.
It had been over twenty years since the last time Keith had ever done a transformation like that. He was light headed and felt completely drained of all of his energy. He was rusty, nothing more. On top of that, during the transformation, he had lost his glasses causing him to not be able to see very well.
As he was falling, Lana was quick to grab him before he reached the ground.
"Keith, are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah I'm fine," he replied as she helped him up, "It has been over twenty years since I've done that. I'm sorry. I'm so, sorry. I wanted to tell you sooner." Keith proclaimed overwhelmed with the amount of guilt that was inside him.
"I will never forgive you for keeping this from me. But I know you all too well. You must have had your reasons."
"Aberdeen!" came the voice of Nile.
Keith had failed to notice the Survey Corps within the courtyard and his fellow comrades surrounding them. He knew that at this point he was going to be detained and questioned. This was the last thing that he wanted, but he knew that this was what he had to follow in order to get any sort of freedom.
"And I'll explain those reasons to you," Keith replied to Lana. He turned to face the soldiers, still using Lana as a support, "Just not right now." He stood straight up and smiled, "Commander! Any chance that you'll let me off with a warning?" he asked pulling himself away from Lana.
"Not a chance," Nile responded with a stern tone.
"I figured as much. Well Lana, the best you can do for now is to go and find Robin. She can tell you just about everything. It's time that I will come clean, about everything. No more secrets, right partner?"
"No more secrets, partner," Lana replied.
One of his own squad members had pulled his arms around his back and placed his hands in cuffs. He turned back to see Lana still in a state of shock at the news. Keith wanted to tell her one day, he just didn't want her to find out like this. Keith was defeated at this point, he knew that the new future he dreamed of was out of the question at this point. He didn't even know what was going to be in store for him. But he did feel a little bit of a relief knowing that he didn't have to keep being a pure blooded titan a secret anymore.