Chapter 1- Unwelcome Visitors
Red. There was only red. Everywhere Eren looked he saw nothing but red. The red of blood, the red of fire, the red of the dying sun and bleeding sky. His mind was clouded with the red of hate and outright fury. Today was a dark day for humanity. Today was the day Wall Maria fell and the titan's invaded what little peace the humans had built over a hundred years inside the walls. Today was a day of death and red.
Eren stood at the side of the overcrowded boat. Bloody fingers covered in splinters clinging like claws to the wooden edge and hypnotic eyes blazing with unbridled outrage. It felt like fire was boiling under his skin and it only helped to fuel his determination. He was going to do it. He was going to kill every last titan in this god forsaken world, even if it eventually killed him. He would do it. He would do it…
Three years later
Ocean eyes stared down at the pitiful excuse for dinner. A loaf of hard bread, a steamed potato, and gruel-like soup were the only rations the military had to offer to the young cadets in training. While it was no feast, it was probably better than what most kids their age would be eating and filled them up enough to get them through the ungodly training regimen.
On either side of Eren sat his sister and best friend, making pleasant conversation with the other cadets at the table. They had only been there a year but everyone laughed and joked like they were all old friends. All except Eren who was having a strange kind of staring contest with his half-eaten food. A glower that could melt steel set on his young face.
"Eren, why aren't you eating? Is there something wrong with your food?" Mikasa asked, being the overprotective sister that she always was. Eren could get a paper cut and Mikasa would fret over him as if he were dying. While he was grateful that she cared, he did not appreciate being coddled like a child.
"If you don't want it, Eren, I'll take it!" Sasha offered, hand outstretched for his bread.
Mikasa smacked her hand away and turned back to Eren, ready to go full mother mode.
"Eren, what's wrong?"
Eren sighed and shook his head, not really wanting to get into it with her at the moment. Truth be told, there wasn't anything wrong with him physically, besides the usual soreness and exhaustion from training. His day hadn't been all bad either. He'd happily beat Jean in hand to hand and had managed to keep up well with Mikasa in the obstacle course, but he didn't know if that was from his skill or Mikasa taking pity on him. He hoped for the former. All in all, it would be considered a good day for him, but when dinnertime hit there came a heavy, nauseating feeling deep in his stomach. He didn't feel particularly sick, like throwing up or passing out, it was just an awful feeling. The kind a person gets right before they know something terrible is going to happen. The only problem was Eren had no idea why he was getting this sense of foreboding when the only thing he was anticipating was flopping into bed for the night.
"Are you feeling ill?" Armin asked in concern.
"No, I just have this really bad feeling in my stomach…hm, maybe I am getting sick," Eren pondered, resting his head in his hands and staring miserably at his food. Sighing in defeat, he shoved his tray in Sasha direction before standing up. "I'm heading back to the barracks. Maybe I just need some sleep."
"But you need to eat—," Mikasa started before getting cut off by Armin.
"He can eat breakfast in the morning, Mikasa, just let him take care of himself," the blond scolded, already anticipating an argument between his two friends. "If he isn't feeling well, I think some rest would be the best option."
"Thanks, Armin," Eren sighed gratefully. He really was in no mood to fight with Mikasa.
"Fine, but I'm making sure you're eating tomorrow, even if I have to shove it down your throat," Mikasa grumbled, returning to her own meal.
Eren shuddered, knowing full well she would follow through on that promise, she'd done it before after all. He left the mess hall with calls of 'goodnight' and 'hope you feel better' and one muffled thanks from Sasha who had stuffed the last of his food in her mouth. As the cadet walked back to the boys dorm he kept his eyes focused on the ground, eyebrows furrowed in frustrated confusion, when the sudden slamming of a door to his right caught him off guard.
Two people stormed angrily from the Instructors office. Well, the woman stormed away while the man hurriedly tried to keep up with her quick strides. Instructor Shadis opened his office door and watched them leave, his sunken eyes glaring after them, ensuring that they were in fact leaving. Lucky for Eren, he had walked far enough away not to be noticed by the strange people and his instructor, but was still close enough to hear what they said to each other. Or rather what Shadis shouted after the two retreating figures, who were rushing back to the carriage they assumedly came in.
"I don't want to see you or any one of your henchmen back in my training camp again without paperwork, understand?! If you go anywhere near him, I'll have your heads!" Shadis thundered, sufficiently scaring several cadets who were coming out of the mess hall. As if they didn't get enough his tyrannical voice during drills.
Eren watched the two invaders leave in their carriage. He couldn't quite make out their faces in the dark but he saw enough of the woman to feel like he knew her from somewhere, and wherever that place had been it didn't leave pleasant memories. He was about to turn and starting walking to his dorm again when a very familiar and equally unpleasant voice rang out into the night.
"Jaeger! My office! NOW!"
Eren winced and sadly turned away from the comfort of his bed towards his instructor, shoulders slumped and head beginning to pound. This night was seriously not ending like Eren had hoped.
As he approached Shadis he heard snickering and whispers coming from a group of cadets, one of whom was Eren's rival, Jean. In fact, he was the one instigating the rest into poking as much fun as they could into the situation. The brunette sent every ounce of loathing he had in his tired body towards the horse-faced asshole, before stepping inside the office and having the door slam shut behind him.
All his fear crashed back down on him as he stood by the door, fidgeting on the spot. It was only his third time in the office (the first two times both involving Jean and hastily bandaged wounds) but unlike those times, he didn't have a clue as to why Shadis wanted to speak with him. He'd only been walking back to his barrack after dinner, nothing too suspicious, especially for him. It certainly hadn't been anything to warrant a trip to the instructor's office and yet here he was.
"Jaeger, stop looking like you're about to wet yourself and sit down," Shadis ordered, pointing to the uncomfortable chair in front of his desk. His voice no longer held his fury from earlier, but instead it was soft and tired-sounding. He sounded just as Eren felt, exhausted and done with the day.
Eren quickly sat without a word, his back straight and his shoulders stiff. He sat on the very edge of the chair and tried to seem relaxed, but it was obvious he wasn't pulling it off. Shadis chose to ignore it, having grown used to his effect on his subordinates.
"I'm sure you saw what just happened. No point in hiding it now, I suppose," he sighed, leaning back in his own chair.
"Erm, sir? Who were those people? Why were they here?" Eren asked timidly, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.
"Bad news is what they are. I managed to scare them off, but I don't doubt they'll be back soon. Disgusting vultures," Shadis growled. "I called you in here because I want you watch your back for the next few weeks or at least be on guard. Those people, especially that woman, are ruthless when they want something."
"And they want…me? B-but why? What did I do?!""
"Calm the fuck down, Jaeger, you haven't done anything. Honestly, even I don't know what the hell they want with you, but I know it can't be anything good. Just watch out for yourself and if you see or hear anything, and I mean anything you come straight to me, got it?"
"Er, well—,"
"Got it, Jaeger!?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" Eren yelled, jumping to his feet and saluting.
Shadis nodded and started flipping through the papers on his desk. "You're dismissed, Jaeger."
Eren practically tripped over himself in his effort to escape the very cramped office. The grounds were completely empty with everyone having already gone to bed. The cadet quickly walked back to his barrack; changed into his sleeping clothes, and climbed into the cot he shared with three other cadets, trying hard not to wake any of them. All his care didn't seem to work because just as Eren pulled his blanket up, Armin stirred and rolled over to stare sleepily at his friend.
"Where did you go? I thought you weren't feeling well?" he asked, keeping his soft blue eyes trained on his friend.
"I wasn't, still not to be honest, but I got called into Shadis's office when I was walking back," he explained in a low whisper. Remembering his strange encounter and even stranger conversation, Eren frowned in the dark. "Actually, before he called me in, I saw him screaming at these two people while they were leaving his office. He told them not to come back without the right papers or something like that. They looked terrified."
"Knowing Shadis, I'm not surprised they ran with their tails between their legs," Armin commented.
"Yeah, but that's not the weird part. That came later when Shadis and I were in his office. He said those people were after…someone here." Eren purposefully left out that person had been him, no need to worry Armin more than necessary. "And that I should keep an eye out for them."
"But why just tell you? Why not make an announcement saying if anyone sees anything suspicious they should report it. Seems like these people would be caught faster if the whole base were on guard," Armin whispered, thinking logically as usual.
Eren shrugged. "Maybe he'll make an announcement tomorrow; it was pretty late when it happened. I don't think Shadis wanted to deal with dragging everyone out of bed to tell them. He probably only told me tonight because I saw the whole thing already and doesn't want me spreading around rumors or something."
"But, Eren, isn't that what you're doing now?" Armin said, snickering quietly under his breath.
"No, I'm only relaying what Shadis told me, not spreading around something I made up. It's different," Eren huffed defensively. Honestly, he had no idea whether he was supposed to keep this to himself or not. "Armin, can you, um, not tell anyone about this? I don't know if Shadis wanted to keep this a secret or not."
"I can't see why he would, but I won't tell a soul. You know I'm not one for gossiping anyway," the blonde assured, rolling back over. "We should get to sleep, drills are going to be brutal tomorrow. Goodnight, Eren."
"Yeah, night," Eren mumbled. He tried to get comfortable but he doubted he'd be able to sleep with the events of that night swirling in his head.
Eren wasn't an important person. Sure, his father had been a popular doctor, but besides that he and his family had very little prestige. He was no different from the hundreds of others who lost their homes and loved ones when the wall fell. Nor was he any different from any other cadet in this base. Yes, his extreme nature and over-zealous views forced him to stand out among the other sheep, but that hardly count towards anything other than fighting. He was a good fighter, not the best but definitely above average. He certainly wasn't the smartest; he'd gladly give that title to Armin. The point was he really wasn't anything special, he wasn't too proud to admit that or let it keep him from pursing his goals either. So then why, all of a sudden, were people willing to go through someone as intimidating as Instructor Shadis to get to him?
Eren's head throbbed as he thought back to the two people. He was sure he'd seen that woman somewhere before, the familiarity was almost chilling, but any other details eluded him. The man he was sure he'd never met, but from the way he hovered around the woman, he was probably only her bodyguard. It was definitely the woman he should be focusing on. Not knowing where he's seen that woman before was so frustrating and was only make his head ache more.
Along with his head, there was still that awful churning in his stomach. His instincts were still trying to yell at him. Warning him of coming danger he couldn't see or hear. Before it had simply been a small pit in his stomach, nudging him to be careful, now it was like sirens were going off in his head. The feeling was like an infection, a disease, slowly rotting his insides and forcing anxiety to creep into his veins. His body was too jittery for sleep and throughout the night he restlessly rolled on his side of the cot, trying to catch some ounce of sleep before morning. It was futile, because by the time he could calm himself down, gray light began to filter through the windows and around him his fellow cadets began to stir. The night was over and Eren had stayed awake through it all. That day was going to be brutal.