The Whole Road

by Keirube

The story follows closely to the anime and manga of Attack on Titan. There will be plenty of spoilers throughout, particularly in the later chapters, but it will also have my twist on things. At the very end of the story, I will add in a couple of my own characters.

5. The Disciplined One

The rights of Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan is owned by Hajime Isayama, its creator.

*text* - indicates a flashback and/or dream sequence

… - indicates a change of pace and/or a change of scenery

Chapter 5: The Disciplined One

It's been five days since the assault on Trost and the recovery. In a coordinated attempt, the military and people of Trost continued to rebuild.

From the window of an empty two story complex, Annie watched the effort with mild interest. Across from her, Bertolt was leaning against a wall, deep in thought of their current situation.

"He's late." Annie finally stated, speaking of Reiner.

Bertolt nodded and said, "Yeah, I believe his group was putting finishing touches on clearing out debris near the capitol building. Of course my group will return to work soon as well so we might have to cut this meeting short."

Noticing she went silent afterward, Bertolt took this opportunity to ask her a question.

"Annie I saw you were going to transform back there, when Woerman was threatening to kill us, or more specifically Eren. What was your plan going to be afterward?"

"Does it matter Bertolt?" she offset his question with her own. "Though it's interesting that paranoid captain wasn't too far off with his ramblings."

He chuckled quietly at her humorous comment.

"You know" Bertolt spoke, "I wish we would have known about Eren sooner. We could have spared all the lives that were lost in Trost, and even in the territory of Maria."

Annie glanced his way and then back at the people down below.

"What's done is done." she stated, "Besides, they are still our enemy. However I will say it's my opinion the people here aren't that much different from our own."

As she continued, Bertolt saw a softness in her eyes that was rarely seen. This was the Annie he deeply desired to know.

"We love to think we're better than them, that we left the weaknesses of humanity behind. The truth is after more than a century, we still fall prey to the same emotions as they do. We still fight with one another as they do."

"You're saying this mission is a waste of time?" he asked.

She shook her head and said, "In terms of our survival, not at all. Yet ultimately all we're doing is killing humanity while a huge part of us is still human. It's a bit fraudulent wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, I would agree." Bertolt noted.

Hearing someone knocking at the door, they cut their conversation short. Remaining silent for a moment, they then heard a single knock, as to confirm who it was.

"Come in" Bertolt called.

The door opened and in stepped Reiner, sheepishly rubbing his head. "Sorry I'm late, those titans sure made a lot of work for us to clean up."

"I suppose that is what you get for waiting and not breaking through the inner gate." Annie quipped.

Closing the door behind him, Reiner shot back and smirked, "Well had I not waited, we wouldn't have found out about Eren now would we?"

A sound of annoyance left her lips. Bertolt smiled nervously and said to them, "Come on guys, now is not the time to get into it with one another. We have about 15 minutes before I'm due again to help with the relief effort, so let's discuss what action we should take."

"Right" Reiner stated, "Though I'm still finding it hard to believe that Eren is possibly the Coordinate. I doubted that power was still here but if Eren has it, then it was passed down to him. Annie, I'm surprised you hadn't noticed Eren's titan abilities during training. You spent the most time with him right?"

Annie thought for a moment. Looking back it now made sense how he was always able to come back 100% fine the next day to train with her, in spite of the many days where she worked him into the ground. His bruises would always heal, and his cuts would be gone. Then there was the time she kicked his leg and was positive she broke it. Yet later he was able to walk on it without the slightest limp.

She sighed and said "I guess I didn't give it much thought during those days. At that time I was only focused on the mission and getting stronger. I just assumed he was a glutton for punishment."

Smiling, Reiner said, "There's no doubt about that. Yeager can stubbornly take a beating however still, you are usually attentive to everything. You sure you weren't distracted by something else? You took a special interest in training him. Care to explain why?"

"What are you insinuating?" Annie asked, becoming somewhat agitated by his bothersome questions.

"Oh I don't know. Perhaps during your training, you two could have become particularly close, maybe more than friends?"

Annie became defensive, but coolly stated, "How could I become more than friends when we were never truly friends to begin with? Even though you keep forgetting, we are enemies."

Reiner bought Annie's answer but Bertolt could tell when she was hiding something. In some ways he was more attentive than her.

'Does she really have feelings for Eren?' Bertolt thought. Contrary to their situation and allegiances, he has a deep respect for Eren. Yet, a pang of jealousy now tugs at his mind.

"Wait a minute Annie." Reiner again spoke, "Eren isn't our enemy. We now know he's one of us. Plus if he is the Coordinate, we no longer have to continue the destruction of the walls. We were told if we found the Coordinate, our priority would then be to bring that power back home."

"Hmph" she retorted, "You think he would willingly come with us once he finds out who we are and what we done? We essentially caused his mother's death, along with the deaths of countless others. It's possible his father is the one who descended from the original Coordinate, and we know how that power would have gotten passed down to Eren. There's no doubt in my mind he will want to kill us if we told him."

"I agree with Annie." said Bertolt, "Eren is bent on revenge and won't hesitate to exact it."

Reiner shook his head. "We will have to make him understand. If push comes to shove, we'll force him to come with us."

The thought of forcing Eren against his will bothered Annie greatly. After all they've been through and time they spent together, only to find out the person he's been with was the monster that caused his suffering. She thought 'Can I really face him once he knows?'

Seeing Annie's gaze turned toward the window, Reiner spoke up and said, "So here's the plan. I propose we join the Survey Corps. Once we're outside in titan territory and can get a moment with him alone, we'll tell him who we are. If he becomes enraged and attempts to transform, Bertolt, you and I will tackle him to the ground and tie him up. We will then move out on foot until we get far away from the rest. At that point, Annie, you will transform and carry us back home. You are the fastest among us and have the most endurance."

"That sounds like a plan to me. How do you feel Annie?" Bertolt asked.

Annie turned to Bertolt, then back to Reiner and stated, "I don't think that will work."

"What, why wouldn't it?" Reiner insisted.

Turning back toward the window, she stared at the workers below.

"We saw the fear the military has concerning Eren." she spoke, "Even now we don't know where he is. If they were to let him continue his goal in joining the Survey Corps, chances are they will keep him close and supervise him at all times."

Reiner rubbed his chin saying, "Yeah, I suppose you're right on that."

"There's another thing." Annie continued, "We don't know for sure if Eren is the Coordinate. Do you guys remember the report we were given concerning the first attempt to infiltrate humanity and take back the power of the Coordinate?"

Bertolt nodded and said, "Yeah. At that time we sent someone from the Althaus family. That was what, 16 years ago?"

"That's right." she answered. "We never heard from him again. It was assumed he was either killed by the titans or abandoned the mission. If it's the latter, we can guess he decided to live within the walls among humanity. It's entirely possible that Eren's father is the same person."

"That is entirely possible." Bertolt emphasized. "It would be strange for a descendant of the original Coordinate to be among the common people. From what we know of him, he was someone who desired to control the humans. That's why we originally figured his descendant would most likely be within the interior, if not the king himself."

Tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, Annie nodded and said, "The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Eren told me his father was a doctor and scientist, and that was confirmed by the military. We know those from the Althaus family are known for their penchant for knowledge, being the first ones to break away from humanity."

Reiner sighed from the history lesson. "Ok, what do you think we should do?" he asked her.

Annie looked at him and said, "Eren's titan form resembled that of the Coordinate's form. It's the traditional formula used by the Althaus family and the family of the original Coordinate. So, since we don't know for sure if he has that power within him, I'll join the Military Police to have access to the interior. There I can investigate the royal family and whatever leads that would suggest the Coordinate's descendants are there."

"Right" Reiner added. "In the meantime, Bertolt and I will join the Survey Corps; to keep an eye on Eren should the government allow him to join."

All three nodded and left to continue their duties elsewhere.

…

After a hard morning's work, all the soldiers gathered in the massive lunch hall for a refreshing meal. The veteran soldiers got a chance to meet some of the newer soldiers from the 104th.

Many from the Garrison came up to Mikasa and congratulated her on her efforts during the battle.

"Wow, I heard you took out over a dozen titans single handedly. Good job soldier!" one said to her.

"With skills like that, you'll be leading your own regiment in no time!" said another.

Mikasa put on her best smile and thanked them all saying, "I wouldn't have been able to do anything without the help of my comrades."

In reality, she didn't feel like there was much to celebrate. Yes the city was taken back, but she lost a lot of friends in the struggle. It also has been days since she last saw Eren.

'After all he did for the city' she thought 'They still treat him as some kind of wild animal to be locked away. They better not hurt him.'

Getting up to get some tea to drink, she noticed several of her teammates attempting to console Jean at the end of a table. He told them that he was alright, but she could tell he wasn't his normal self, as they all could tell. Losing Marco really affected him.

She detested Jean for the things he said before and the smugness he always displayed. Yet she then remembered his confession of love to her and looking at him now, all she can feel toward him is sorrow.

Once everyone left Jean to his musings, Mikasa went over and sat next to him.

With his elbow on the table and his head resting in his hand, Jean glanced at her and asked, "You sure you want to sit next to someone like me?"

"I not fully sure yet, but, I am sitting." she answered. "I'm sorry about Marco."

Jean averted his eyes out on the rest of the hall. "We've all lost our friends Mikasa. There's no need to feel sorry for me."

"I understand, but we're all here for each other right? We're a family."

Jean smiled at that. Mikasa took it that she accomplished her goal of making him feel better, but that thought disappeared when she heard him say, "Speaking of family, I was so focused on surviving Trost and getting into the MP, that it wasn't until Marco's death that I thought about the safety of my own mother."

"Did she evacuate with the others?" Mikasa asked with worry in her voice.

"Yeah, she's safe, but you see Mikasa, the thought to look for her afterwards didn't cross my mind until a day later. The woman who raised me after her husband left us, I didn't spare one thought towards her during the whole battle."

Lowering his head, Jean spoke, "It looks like I'm turning out just like my question mark of a father. Not giving a damn about anyone but myself."

Mikasa touched his hand, causing him to look her. Her eyes full of sincerity, causing him forget his surroundings. "Don't say that Jean." she comforted, "We are all human, and sometimes we can be selfish. Yet I know you. You love your mother. Don't let a moment of fear erase that love. I know you wouldn't hesitate to help any of us if we needed it."

"Mi-Mikasa" he stuttered out.

"Remember when Eren was threatened with execution by Woerman?" she continued, "You could have left us and save your own skin, but you stood by us and even called Woerman out on his hypocrisy. You and Eren have had your arguments in the past, but you protected him as a friend would."

Chuckling Jean said, "Perhaps I did it just because I couldn't stand Woerman."

"I disagree" she said softly, "You did it because you have a good heart. I…I think I might be falling for you."

All the blood in Jean's body immediately rushed toward his head. Caught off guard, Jean squeaked out, "Really!"

She smiled and said, "No, not really. Yet just for a moment, I wanted to make you feel good again."

Jean let out all the breath held in his lungs as he came down from his high. After a second, he smiled back and said, "Thanks Mikasa. I needed that. I also want to apologize for the things I've said at our graduation party. I had no right to get into your business like that."

Mikasa shook her head and said, "Don't mention it, I've already forgiven you."

Patting him on the shoulder, she got up to get her drink and then went over to Armin who himself was having a difficult struggle with the lost of Mina.

Near the end of lunch, two court officers walked into the room. Bringing all conversation to a halt, one of them announced "Will the soldiers Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert report to military courtroom."

They both stood up and began toward the direction of the officers. Armin asked her, "You think this has to do with Eren?"

She nodded, "Yes I'm pretty sure it does. Hopefully he's alright. The last time we saw him, he was pretty weak from carrying the boulder."

The officers greeted them and turned to lead them toward the courtroom. In spite of the circumstances, Mikasa and Armin were happy they would get a chance to see Eren again.

Continuing to lead them, they entered the foyer leading toward the courtroom, stopping in front of a large set of double doors.

"Here you are." one officer told them, "Inside they are still preparing for trial."

Bowing, he opened the doors to let them through. Inside, Mikasa and Armin saw officers from all three branches of the military moving and sitting in their determined sections, waiting for the session to begin. Mikasa noticed Rico motioning for them over in the left section. Nodding to Armin, they went and sat next to her.

"Hey you two, how are you holding up?" Rico asked.

"We're making it." Armin replied.

Rico smiled and said, "That's good to hear. I've been in the Garrison for a while and never had to deal with the loss of so many friends at one time. I've associated with a few who died while in the Survey Corps, people I've known of from my time in training, but for you guys to have to deal with this straight out of academy…"

Changing the subject, Mikasa asked her, "Today's trial that we're having, is it for Eren?"

"You guessed it." she answered, "I, along with you two, have been called as a witness concerning Eren. Today will determine his fate."

Upon seeing Mikasa's frown, Rico added, "You have nothing to worry about. Head Commander Darius Zackly is a reasonable man. He will come to an honest decision over Eren."

Mikasa nodded and relaxed into her chair. All she could do now was wait for the hearing to begin.

…

Even though it's been a couple of days since Eren known of his current predicament, it felt much longer than that since the last time he had complete freedom of movement. Thankfully they removed enough of his chains so he could sit up on his bed, but they kept his arms tied behind his back. Just as servants finished giving Eren breakfast, Hange stepped into the room with her usual grin, greeting him saying, "Good afternoon Eren!"

"Good afternoon Major." Eren returned.

"Ah, you can call me by name." she said waving her hand, "I'm not one to get hung up on titles."

Behind Hange, another servant came into the room with a set of keys. He walked over to Eren's side and unlocked his chain from the bed post but left the shackles around his wrists on. He then helped Eren on his feet and they walked toward Hange.

She spoke and said, "Today is your hearing. I will be leading you to the court and along the way I will prep you on what to expect."

"Thanks for all your help." said Eren, "I just hope everything turns out the way we want it."

Hange touched his shoulder and said, "Everything should be fine. Just remember if you're asked any questions not to give long answers. You don't want to come across as desperate."

"Yes, most definitely" Eren smiled, though it was kind of hard not to be desperate to get out of those chains.

Hange lead the way as they walked outside and on onward toward the courtroom. On the way, they were met by a scruffy looking veteran soldier. "Eren, this is Mike Zacharius, a squad leader within the Survey Corps." She introduced, "Though I believe he has the fortitude to be a major."

"Nice to meet you Sir" Eren greeted. Instead of returning his greeting, Mike bent down and sniffed the back of his neck, causing Eren to become uneasy by the closeness of presence.

"Oh, that's how he greets everyone." Hange said, "He takes in a person's scent and then smiles."

"Hmmmmm" Mike smiled in response.

'Wow' Eren wondered 'Between Levi's cold personality, Hange's exuberance, and now Mr. Zacharius' socialization skills, I'm starting to wonder if being in the Survey Corps makes a person go insane.'

"Uh, Miss Hange" Eren spoke, seeking to shift his mind back on the positives of the Scouting Legion.

"Yep kiddo?"

"You were with the Survey Corps before we lost the territory behind Maria right? Before that time, missions took place outside the Walls and you guys got a chance to see glimpses of what is out there. I was wondering, have you seen anything interesting in the outside world?"

Hange threw Mike a curious look upon hearing Eren's question. He smiled at her and nodded. Looking back at Eren, she smiled and said, "Wow Eren, it's not often you run into someone who's curious about the world on the outside. You do know there's a stigma about that kind of thinking?"

Eren lowered his head and moaned a "yeah" response.

This caused Hange to laugh. "Of course, there is no such stigma within the Survey Corps. As it is our duty to expand our territory. If you weren't curious about the world, you wouldn't be fit to join us."

She could see Eren's excitement flash across his features. "As for your question" she continued, "Unfortunately we've never been able to travel too far out before having to turn back home due to the titans. However, we were able to see some interesting species of animals not seen within the Walls. One of my favorite is the wolf."

"Wolf?" Eren questioned.

"Yep" Hange answered, "It's similar to the dogs we have here within the walls, so we believe they are related. What I found most interesting about the wolf is the sound of their howl. It is much more defined than a dog's howl, able to communicate with other wolves across vast distances. Perhaps our dogs here descended from these creatures long ago."

"That's amazing." Eren said astonished, wondering what else is out there.

'That's right' she thought to herself looking on Eren's thrilled face. 'His father was a well learned man. It's no wonder he's excited about this stuff.'

Before she knew it, they reached the doors of the courthouse.

"Ah! It looks like I spent all our time talking on other things and not on your prepping." Hange cried out. "Oh well, like I said earlier, you should do just fine."

As the doors were opened, they walked into the foyer and the servant with them motioned for Eren to follow him toward the courtroom. After taking a couple of steps, Eren noticed Hange and Mike walking toward a set of stairs. "You're not coming with me?" he asked them.

"We will be watching you from the upper deck." Hange told him. "Good luck!" With that, they walked up the stairs and entered through a set of doors.

"Come on, they should be ready for you now." the servant called to him, opening up the door leading into the room. Eren followed and walked through. Immediately, all eyes turned toward Eren as he walked into the room.

Eren gulped at the attention as he continued to follow the servant out onto the floor.

"Kneel here and extend your arms out from behind your back."

Eren did as instructed, and knelt in front of a defined notch in the floor. Extending out his hands, he figured they would unlock the shackles around his wrists. Instead, two soldiers placed a long metal beam into the floor, between his outstretched arms. 'Well, this is a very dignified way of having a trial' Eren mused, letting his hands rest against the pole.

Looking to his left, he was able to spot Mikasa and Armin, both with worried expressions on their faces. He gave them a smile as reassurance he was okay.

Up above in the top deck, Hange was seated next to Erwin, taking in how well Eren was handling his situation.

"Did you prepare him well?" Erwin asked her.

"Yep, he should be good to go." Hange responded, giving him a nervous smile. "By the way, where's Levi, I thought he might be interested in would be said in this trial?"

"He's sitting on the lower level." Erwin motioned toward those on the floor. Hange looked to see Levi among the others of the Survey Corps, arms and legs crossed having a bored expression on his face. "If the conversation doesn't go where we want it to go, he will enact Plan B." Inwardly, Hange wondered what her commander had up his sleeve.

After another minute of silence, a door at the back of the room opened, and in walked Darius Zackly, Commander in Chief of the military. All rose to their feet and saluted him as he took his seat.

"You may be seated." He announced, "The hearing for Soldier Eren Yeager is now underway." Everyone took their seat and waited for opening statements to commence.

Adjusting his glasses, Darius took a good look at the young soldier kneeling before him. "As I've come to understand from the Garrison's reports" he spoke, "You, Eren, have a very strange ability, one that was given to you as a result of scientific breakthrough by your father, Grisha Yeager."

Darius looked up toward the Garrison commander, Dot Pixis, and asked, "Is that correct?"

Pixis stood up and answered, "Yes. His ability to transform into a titan was witnessed by Captain Kitts Woerman and those within the southern regiment."

"Hmmmm" Darius nodded, "To tell you the truth I would like to witness this for myself, but of course there's no reason to doubt you. Word of Yeager's transformation will certainly spread among the public, and the king wouldn't want to lose control over his territory. It's important that we be on top of this situation."

Taking up some documents in his hand, Darius declared, "I have two main arguments presented to me by the Survey Corps and Military Police. I will also hear from our public representatives as well. So let's begin with the Survey Corps' case concerning Yeager."

Commander Erwin Smith stood up and acknowledged, "Thank you Sir for hearing our case. As been stated, Eren possesses an ability to transform and control the body of a titan. Naturally the first instinct would be to fear what we do not know and take immediate action to rid ourselves of the risks of that unknown. However, I believe we can learn a great deal from Eren's ability and use it to our advantage. I have personally spoken with him and he has expressed his willingness to join the Survey Corps, to fight against the titans and to further humanity's chances of survival." Once he was finished, he bowed and took his seat.

"Thank you Commander Smith." said Darius, "Now, the Military Police's argument."

Standing up was a man named Nile Dok, Commander of the Military Police Brigade. Clearing his throat he began, "Given the light of extreme circumstances we are in, we believe it's in everyone's best interest to euthanize Soldier Yeager, and study his body. Once we know more about his make up in a controlled setting, we can then use that power more efficiently."

Mikasa wanted to kill the man where he stood. 'There is no way I'm letting you do that!' she thought.

"Thank you Commander Dok." Darius acknowledged as Nile sat down, "At this time I want to open the floor to our public representatives. What concerns do you have over the use of Yeager's abilities?"

Pastor Nick of the Wall Cult immediately stood up and condemned Eren saying, "This person is an abomination before us all. For a hundred years humanity has lived safely behind these walls built by the gods themselves. Yet now we think we don't need their protection anymore. We put cannons atop the Walls, created mobility gear, and now this [thing] kneeling before us. It's no wonder the titans are breaking through the walls. Maria and Rose have removed their protection over the heathens, allowing them to be eaten alive by the monsters of the outside."

Eren gritted his teeth at the nonsense leaving this man's mouth. He started to open his mouth to contest Pastor Nick, but quickly thought against it.

"If you ask me" Nick continued, "This soldier should be offered up in flames as a sweet sacrifice to Sina, before she too becomes enraged against humanity."

"Now let's not be too hasty with that."

Everyone turned toward the one who voiced this opinion. A short, obviously well fed man stood up, a smile across his face.

Mikasa's eyes widened as she realized this was the same man who was blocking the gate with his goods during the evacuation. 'What does he want?' she wondered.

Darius adjusted his glasses to take a look at the man. "Ah, Dimo Reeves. I'm sure you're here on behalf of all the merchants within the Walls. If Pastor Nick is done, you may have the floor."

Pastor Nick sat down, tossing Dimo an irritated look and mumbling something about "heretics" under his breath.

"Thank you for the opportunity to express our feelings Mr. Zackly." Dimo began, "It's understood that this young man used his talent to exterminate many of the titans that invaded Trost and ultimately he played a pivotal role in resealing the gate. Thanks to him, not only was humanity able to hold on to a buzzing city like Trost, but all the cities and territory within Wall Rose. I believe Mr. Yeager is best served right here, protecting Trost from another breach. As for the rest of the cities, we should reinforce the walls surrounding the outer gates."

"That is absurd!" Pastor Nick shouted. "You wish to further degrade the Walls, bringing more anger down on us from the gods?"

Dimo laughed and said, "Spare me your threats of damnation. The only way to have good fortune is to go out and get it yourself."

"How dare you!" Pastor Nick exclaimed.

"Alright that is enough, order." Darius spoke calmly, getting the two to settle down. Within the seats, Mikasa thought to herself that even though this Reeves guy was only interested in his bottom line, at least he was arguing for Eren's safety. To think, she was only seconds away from ending his life back there.

Gathering some more documents, Darius spoke again and said, "Now I will cross examine these arguments concerning Soldier Yeager but before I do that, I want to know your opinion Eren. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Eren met his gaze with a nervous smile and said, "I certainly don't want to be sacrificed to Sina Sir." At this the courtroom erupted in laughter, much to Pastor Nick's frustration.

As order returned to the courtroom, Eren remembered Hange's advice of keeping his answers short.

"I also don't think being dissected will serve any fruitful purpose. I wish to serve humanity and fight against the titans."

Mumblings were heard around the court concerning Eren's answer. Darius held up his hand, bringing the room back to silence. He then nodded at the young man and said, "That is very admirable, but something concerns me. According to the Garrison's report, during the recovery mission, when you transformed you immediately attacked surrounding soldiers."

Eren was caught off guard at this, not sure as to what the Head Commander was speaking of. He thought the mission went off without too much problems other than the loss of the soldiers who cleared the way for him. Did he attack them as well?

Mikasa gave Rico an angered look, to which she whispered, "We're not going to lie on our reports. The Head Commander is just voicing his concerns, to get a better picture of Eren's mindset."

Seeing the confusion in Eren's face, Darius continued, "It seems you don't have full control over your titan form. The report also states you even attacked a fellow member from your trainee squad, Soldier Mikasa Ackerman."

At this, Eren's eyes widened in alarm. Darius turned to look at Mikasa and asked her, "Is that accurate?"

Eren turned toward Mikasa, a look of fear clearly evident on his face. Looking into his eyes, Mikasa hesitated to answer Darius' question. Rico again whispered and said, "Lying won't help him Ackerman. Just be honest, he needs to hear this as well."

With a defeated expression, Mikasa swallowed and said, "Yes Sir, the report is accurate. After transforming he lost control, and temporarily attacked us. However, another one of his fellow soldiers, Armin Arlert, was able to reach him. He then fulfilled his mission in sealing the wall. Also prior to that he saved many soldiers within the city and helped them in their retreat."

Darius nodded and said, "Certainly. His power was very useful in the battle." Turning to Erwin, he addressed, "Captain Smith, you want to use this power to fight in titan territory. However, if Eren should lose control, it could result in a massive lost of life. Things are already hard enough on our Scouting Regiment. Is this wildcard really worth the risk?"

Erwin stood up and confidently said, "Yes Sir, I believe it is. Since the Survey Corps was created over 80 years ago, we've failed to gain even the slightest bit of land. Back then, the survival rate of a Recon member was nearly zero percent. However as we learned more concerning the titans' weakness, and with the introduction of maneuver gear, more men and women came back home to their loved ones. Eren's ability is the latest in science and technology to ensure not only our survival, but our success as well. All thanks to the genius of his father."

"I see." Darius contemplated. Letting his elbows rest on the arms of his chair, he leaned forward with his hands folded and said, "While I agree this ability will help us against the titans, I'm still hesitant to put him back out there on the battlefield without having full control. For that reason as well, it would be too dangerous to allow Yeager to guard the public against any more invasion attempts. The MP's argument seems to be the safest out of them all, which we are still able to learn more about Grisha's discovery of titan transformation. I'm troubled however that it would come at the cost of his son's life."

Erwin's expression darkened at this. Turning towards Eren, he could see his expression also turned downward. He didn't tell the higher ups about Grisha's research in the basement for this reason, that should they lose Eren to the government, they could still go and recover what was there.

Yet he wasn't giving up on Eren just yet either. Glancing over at Levi, he gave him a single nod. Levi returned it and started to move from his seat, but stopped as he heard someone beginning to protest.

"Commander in Chief, I believe that would be the wrong decision!"

Eren turned and upon seeing the one speaking, he happily expressed, "Armin!"

Armin gazed at Eren with conviction and addressed the court saying, "I've known this soldier for a long time and I can tell you I've never met anyone more passionate about freeing mankind from these walls. Surely his father knew there would be problems in trying to control the titan transformation. Even if we could replicate it by studying Eren's body, the next person will have the same struggles if not more. Grisha knew his son had the will to control it, and that's exactly what happened when he completed the mission to seal the outer gate. I believe it would be better to keep Eren alive and let him learn to control it over time."

"I agree with that assessment." Mikasa stood up and echoed, "Eren is the best man to handle this task."

A few moments of silence passed as everyone waited for Zackly's response. Nile Dok decided to take this time to give his take.

"We understand your need to defend your friend." he began, "Nevertheless; it's too risky to leave this task in Yeager's hands. In spite of what you two have said, he is prone to fits of rage even as he is now."

Mikasa angrily stated, "Don't talk like you know him."

"Oh?" Nile insisted, "I know him a little better than you might think. We studied his past and there are documents of both of you killing three human traffickers six years ago."

A gasp went up from the crowd upon hearing this information.

Nile continued, "From what the investigators could tell from the scene, their bodies were horribly defaced indicating he didn't simply kill them to save you, but he reveled in watching them die."

Mikasa's anger steadily increased. 'How dare he talk about that incident in a way to make it seem like Eren was the inhuman one.' she seethed inside.

"We also conduct a study on all those who make it pass the first few months of their training at our academies." he continued, "Eren was among those who willingly stated he wanted to join the Survey Corps, the military branch that has a very high death rate within the first year among soldiers. I think it's safe to assume he has a fascination with death and killing."

"You're wrong!" Mikasa shouted. Eren saw her eyes flashing with fury and her hands shaking. "Eren is one of the few who truly appreciates life and all it has to offer. That's why he fights with passion. To protect people from those who wish to take life away!"

Pastor Nick stood up and accused her saying, "Why should we believe you? Who's to say you yourself are nothing but a titan in human disguise as well? I say both of you need to be put to death!"

On that, Eren reached his breaking point.

"DON'T YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON HER!" he yelled, attempting to move toward Nick but his chain restricted him, violently clanging against the metal pole. "Those of you who live in the interior and never even seen a titan, how dare you even bring your opinions to the table."

By now Eren had the attention of the whole courtroom. He looked up toward Erwin and Hange, wondering if he should tell it like it is. Hange frantically shook her head and waved her hands, hoping he would close his mouth. 'I'm sorry Hange' Eren thought, 'but if I'm going to be put to death anyway, I'm going to make sure they understand how I feel.'

Turning to Nile Dok, Eren began, "You're nothing but cowards pretending like you're making a difference. You're content living in your luxury, while others are suffering all the time."

Eren then whipped Nick's way saying, "…and you, you live off of people's fear. They come to you for comfort, but if you truly gave them what they needed, you would no longer be needed. So you feed their fear in hopes they will continue to lift your organization up."

With eyes of great conviction, Eren growled, "All of you are cowards! If you're going to be a coward, then be one! Yet when someone comes along and wish to change things, don't condemn them for stepping out when you're too weak to do it yourselves. Stay out of my way! Go hide under a bush and leave the burden of humanity's success to me!"

Within seconds of finishing his rant, Eren felt immense pain as a figure kicked his face so hard, that a tooth flew out of his mouth and onto the floor. Blood oozing down his chin, Eren turned to look at the figure and realized who struck him. "Captain Levi?"

Immediately Levi kicked him in the stomach and kneed him in the face as he huddled forward.

Mikasa stared in pure shock at what she was witnessing. After Levi connected with a couple of more blows, rage suddenly began to swell in the pit of her stomach. Immediately she began to move forward, but Armin caught her arm.

"Wait a second Mikasa." Armin persuaded, earning a confused look from the girl. "Levi is a captain of the Survey Corps. I believe what he is doing now is an attempt to sway opinion." Armin pointed toward Erwin, who was looking on the spectacle with a calm expression.

Mikasa looked and eventually relented, but only a little.

Eren doubled over coughing up blood with his face on the floor. Levi placed his foot on his head and said, "How dare a little brat like you address his superiors in such a way? You don't deserve to be treated like a man, but you need to be trained, like a dog."

Nile held up his hand to get Levi's attention and said, "Wait a minute Captain. You might inadvertently trigger his transformation."

Levi turned his way and said, "It doesn't matter, I'm well able to handle him in either form. It may be my personal opinion, but I believe pain is the best form of discipline. Yet I ask you, would you be able to handle him if he transforms, before you euthanize him and all?"

Taking a moment to think on it, Nile really didn't consider that prospect himself.

Suddenly Erwin raised his hand and said, "Commander Zackly, I have a proposal. Allow us to take Eren under our wing and to go with us on our next expedition. I will place him under Levi's care. If things get hairy, he is more than qualified to get a handle on it. At that time, Eren's fate would then be decided based on the results of the expedition."

Darius looked thoughtful. Turning toward Levi he asked, "Do you think you can handle him should he attack your squad Captain Levi?"

Levi lifted Eren's head with his boot, and pinned him against the pole with it. "I can certainly kill him should he get off his leash."

Levi sensed the air becoming heavy and turned to see Mikasa glaring at him in pure hatred.

"Hmmmm" Darius contemplated, "I believe I've made my decision."

Everyone held their breath in expectation when finally he announced, "I will accept Commander Erwin's proposal. Soldier Eren Yeager will be left under Levi's care, to train his ability. The success of the Survey Corps next expedition will determine if Eren is useful or destructive. This court is hereby adjourned until that time."

With the court being dismissed, everyone began filing out into the foyer, but Mikasa and Armin ran over to check on Eren.

"Eren are you alright?" Mikasa worriedly asked him.

A little dazed, Eren managed to chuckle at her and groaned out, "I'm fine, don't worry about me. Remember, I trained with Annie. I'm used to getting kicked."

For a second she smiled seeing he was well enough to make a joke, but she quickly turned towards Levi with fire in her eyes.

"If you ever hurt Eren again, I swear…" she started

"Wow, you guys have a way with challenging authority." Rico interrupted, walking up to join them. "Captain Levi is our best soldier in the military Ackerman. I wouldn't take him so lightly."

"Ackerman?" Levi questioned aloud.

Rico looked at him and answered, "Yep. You know Levi, Mikasa is pretty skilled herself. Perhaps with a little experience, she could be just as good as you, perhaps better."

"Is that so" Levi stated. He and Mikasa shared in an intense stare down of one another, before the silence was interrupted by Hange's gleeful laugh as she, Mike and Erwin walked up to the group.

"Levi what a performance!" she remarked, "I know it was tough to act like you were defending the Military Police's honor. The commander's back up plan worked like a charm."

Levi glanced at her and said, "Actually I never enacted the original plan. I was only to speak my case and refer to my experience in handling titans. Yet with the brat's outburst giving credence to Dok's theory of his instability, I had to improvise. Weren't you supposed to coach him up on this hearing?"

"Oh, yeah" Hange stated beginning to sweat, "Well I guess it all worked out in the end, Eren is still breathing isn't he ha-ha?"

Everyone looked at Eren as she pointed in his direction. He still looked a little dazed, causing everyone to shake their head and sigh.

In that moment, something caught Hange's eyes that she found particularly interesting. "Hey Eren" she said, "If you don't mind can you open your mouth for me?"

Somewhat confused at her intention, Eren nodded and opened up for her to get a look inside his mouth.

As she took a moment to examine, a smile spread across her face. "Well I'll be…" she said, "You seem to have all of your teeth firmly in place."

"Yeah, why wouldn't they be?" Eren asked.

Hange walked over and picked something off the ground. Going over to Eren, she knelt down and showed him what she picked up.

"Is that, a tooth?" he questioned

"That's correct." she told him, "In fact, it's your tooth. Levi kicked you hard enough that it was knocked loose. So if you currently have all of your teeth inside your mouth, it means you have already regenerated the one you lost."

Eren continued to stare at his tooth, and unconsciously attempted to hold it, but then he noticed his hands were still restrained. Seeing his uncomfortable jostling, she smiled and said, "Let me get the keys for those shackles. You've been through enough for one day. You did great kiddo."

Eren watched as she went toward a guard to get the keys for his shackles. Looking up at everyone, he felt like he's been giving a golden opportunity to cause the change he ranted about in the court room.

'Dad, I'll master what you've entrusted me with.'

…

Early the next morning, Captain Levi gathered the best soldiers from his squad and formed a special operations team whose sole duty entailed keeping check over Eren during his days of training. Shortly thereafter they left Trost with Eren in tow, heading further inland within Rose territory. As they traveled along, Eren couldn't help but think on his friends.

'Man, we left so early I didn't get a chance to speak with them to see how everyone was.' he thought to himself. Though he knew due to his current circumstances, he wasn't allowed to go anywhere without permission. Even if he had the time, he didn't have the freedom.

The soldiers of Levi's Squad were a little antsy around him. Their specialty was killing titans, yet here they are, watching over a young man who could turn into what they feared most. Being informed of Eren's strength while in titan form, they weren't willing let their guard down.

However one from the squad, Petra Ral, felt somewhat sorry for Eren and took notice of his sad demeanor.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him.

He looked at her as if he was waking up from a light nap. Shaking his head he said, "Oh it's nothing, just thinking on my friends. We've been through a lot in a short amount of time. I wish we could have talked before I left this morning. I don't know when I'll see them again."

"Don't be surprised if you never see them again." piped soldier Oluo Bozado.

"Oluo!" Petra snapped at him

He shrugged her off and said, "It's a truth among those of the Survey Corps. Its better he learn that now. You never know the next time you set foot beyond these walls, will be your last time."

"Well, well. Look at you trying to sound tough all of a sudden." Petra remarked, "I wish you would stop trying to be like the captain."

Oluo chuckled at that. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh you don't? Look at your haircut, the way you wear your uniform, it definitely seems your copying his style."

"Not so at all. I have you know the captain and I go to the same tailor. In fact we-crunch!-OOOOOOWWW!"

Oluo yelped in pain as he accidently bit his tongue. Petra simply shook her head at her clumsy friend.

Gunther Schultz, another soldier chosen by Levi to serve on this mission, glanced Eren's way. Out of the rest, he trusted Eren the least. However he found it interesting that in spite of knowing one false move could lead to his death, he was more worried about the sake of his friends.

"Tell us Eren" Gunther spoke, "How much do you care for your friends?"

Eren blinked at the question. "Very much Sir." he answered, "They are like family to me."

Gunther nodded and said, "That's to be expected I suppose, but I'm curious as to how well they took your transformation. Did they fear you?"

Eren thought back to the first time he was accused of being a monster by Captain Woerman. How they stood by him and were ready to risk their lives for his sake.

"No Sir." Eren replied, looking up toward the sky with a smile glinting across his face. "In fact after I realized what I could do, I wanted them to abandon me. The Garrison was ready to execute me at the time and I didn't want them to die in the crossfire. Yet they stood by me."

This caught the group's attention. The second in command, Eld Jinn, and even Levi turned to look at Eren smiling toward the heavens.

'Hmmmm' Gunther thought 'Perhaps the military's suspicions are wrong concerning this kid. He seems trustworthy.'

After another hour of traveling, they reached their destination, an abandoned mansion that was originally used as the old headquarters for the Survey Corps. It provided plenty of open land for Eren to learn to control his titan form, and was far away from the public.

With the place being dirty and full of dust from years of non-use, Levi's first order to his squad was to clean it from top to bottom.

Now Eren was used to having cleaning chores from the academy, but Levi took cleaning to new heights. If you couldn't eat off the decades' worn floors once you were done wiping them down, he would make you start completely over. In spite of his regenerative talent, Eren could have sworn he felt calluses starting to form on his feet from running around all day.

Petra laughed and said to him, "Bet you didn't know a tough guy like Levi had such infinity for cleaning!"

Eren breathing heavily responded, "No kidding."

…

During dinner, Hange stopped by to check up on Eren. She has been placed with the duty of recording Eren's behavior while in titan form, and to study how his ability works.

"I'm so excited to work with you Eren!" she squeaked. The others left her and Eren at the table, not wanting to be bored by her talk of titan research. "You know, you're the first quote unquote titan I've had the means to effectively communicate with."

Eren sighed and said, "Yeah, if only titans could speak. We could at least ask them why their killing us."

"Actually" Hange chimed rubbing her chin, "We have reason to believe some titans can talk."

"What, really?" Eren asked astonished.

"That's right." she continued, "During an expedition I came across a diary of a fallen soldier. Her name was Ilse Langnar. She recorded her last moments with a titan that actually spoke to her."

"Wow, that's hard to believe. What did it say?" he asked

"According to the diary it said to her: Ymir's people, Miss Ymir. It also bowed to her, showing her respect."

"Ymir's people, Miss Ymir?"

Suddenly a picture popped into his head of many titans kneeling before Ymir, and her having a smug expression on her face. Eren started to chuckle at the thought, knowing somehow it seemed fitting.

Hange took a notice of interest and asked, "What's funny about that?"

Eren shook his head and addressed, "One of my fellow cadets from training is named Ymir. I think she would be pleased if a titan bowed before her."

Hange smiled and said, "What a coincidence eh?"

"Yeah. Still, a titan being able to talk at all is quite mind-boggling. Not only that, but you said it bowed as well and showed the soldier Ilse respect?"

"Yes, even after the titan killed her, it placed her body inside of a tree as a memorial of sorts. These are very strange actions for a supposedly mindless creature."

Eren clenched his fists and said, "I guess in the end it doesn't matter right? They still hunt us down and kill us. No matter how strange their actions, they're still nothing but monsters."

Hange looked at him for a minute before happily expressing, "You know, I used to think just like you and everyone else for that matter. Yet one day out of rage, I kicked the head of a severed titan. I knew my foot would hurt like hell afterwards for kicking something so heavy, but at the time I didn't care. Yet that's when I noticed something."

Hange paused; taking note of Eren's interested expression.

"What was it?" Eren asked after a couple of more seconds passed.

"Its head" she said with a wide grin, "It weighed next to nothing. It was as light as the air it disintegrated into. Logically speaking, even the heads of the smallest of titans should weigh a lot, yet this one didn't. It made me wonder what it was we were fighting. So since that time I decided to fight the titans from a different perspective. To learn all I can about them."

Eren took a few seconds to chew on everything that was said. 'I guess on the outside she may seem crazy to a lot of people.' he thought. 'Yet in reality, she's just the person to finally make sense of what the titans are and how to defeat them.'

"Oh well" spoke Hange, "I better head back to Trost before it gets too dark out there. I've successfully kept the two titans we captured alive thus far, so you can tell I don't want to be away from them too long. So get some sleep Eren. I will return early tomorrow to work on your progress."

Getting up and walking toward the door, she stopped when she heard Eren call to her.

"Hange"

"Yeah kiddo?"

"Once we reach Shiganshina and the ruins of my home, I entrust all of my father's research into your hands."

Hange's eyes widened, not exactly sure if she heard correctly. "Really Eren?"

He nodded and said, "Most definitely! I don't know where my father is, but I'm sure he would want someone like you to continue what he started. Of course being the head scientist over the study of titans for the Survey Corps, you would have been put in charge over the research anyway, but I wanted to give you my blessing."

Without warning, Hange ran over toward Eren and scooped him up into a bear hug.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Eren!" Hange squealed, spinning around on her right forefoot.

"Y-you're wel-come." Eren managed to say, becoming a little nauseous from her vice-like grip and being spun around.

"Oh, sorry" she giggled. After putting him down, she rubbed his head and stated, "I accept the responsibility you've given me, but I want you to do something for me as well."

"What's that?" he asked.

"I want you to assist me with your father's research." she answered, "I can tell you have a lot of interest with not only the titans, but the world in general. I'll teach you everything I know and one day, you will be as great a scientist as your father. At that time, I'll hand his research back to you, to continue his legacy."

This time it was Eren's eyes that widened with excitement. He remembered the last time he spoke with his father that he would let him assist with the research if he was good for his mother. Now five years later, he will finally get a chance to assist in the research.

Eren nodded in agreement and with that, Hange departed for the night.

Early the next morning she returned to help Eren with his first day of training. Levi discussed a plan with his squad that should Eren lose control of his titan form, they could cut his body out of the nape instead of killing him. With that in mind, Hange suggested they could place Eren down into a dry well nearby. That way they would be in better position to cut him out.

After lowering him into the well, the group stepped back and Levi fired a flare into the air signaling for Eren to bite his hand and trigger the transformation.

A few moments passed by, and the group realized nothing was happening.

Hange looked at Levi and asked, "What is he waiting for? Do you think he saw the flare?"

"I don't think that is the problem." he replied. Walking toward the well, they both peered down to see Eren biting away at his hands in apparent frustration.

"Come on, change! Why is it not working?" they heard him yell to himself.

Levi shook his head and stated to Hange, "It seems him losing control over his form is only one problem we have to deal with." Hange sighed and nodded.

After another try, they noticed Eren's wounds to his hands weren't healing. So Hange decided to call the training off for the time being until it kicked back in gear.

Sitting down for lunch with the rest of Levi's squad, Eren was extremely discouraged that he failed to transform. Eld looked over Eren's bandaged hands, seeing the dried blood stains. He pondered at how gruesome the process was just to transform, yet still Eren couldn't do it after dealing such harm to himself.

Levi walked over and addressed Eren, "I've told Hange if your hands don't heal soon, that she should head back to Trost and continue her experiments on the captive titans. If we don't get a handle on your abilities, we may have to scrap the mission for Shiganshina for the time being."

Eren looked up from his meal in surprise. "Captain, we can't do that." he expressed.

"We're not going to risk lives to retake Wall Maria should we find you not being able to transform. Not to mention the question of your lack of control while transformed." Levi responded.

Eren looked down at his hands, feeling like a failure for already having let everyone down.

Sensing his anguish, Levi spoke and said, "Listen I'm not giving up on you just yet. We'll try it again perhaps tomorrow. Maybe you need more than simple pain to trigger the change. Maybe, you also need a sense of danger. This I can provide with ease."

All of a sudden Eren felt the hair rise on the back of his neck, causing the others at the table to laugh at his uncomfortable expression. "Thanks for the inspiration Sir." Eren nervously spoke.

As Levi walked away to fix his own meal, Eren picked up his spoon to eat his. However a twinge of pain shot through his hand, causing him to drop the spoon to the ground. Petra offered to go get him another one, but he stated he was fine.

"I can wipe the spoon off, it's no problem." he told her.

Reaching down to pick the spoon up, another ache of pain shot through his hand and suddenly a light explosion knocked the squad away from the table. Eren looked down in shock as he noticed he was attached to a partially transformed, right upper torso and arm of his titan form.

Eren asked himself what just happened. Why did he transform all of a sudden, and only partially? He heard Levi's voice call over the silence, saying in a firm manner, "Now calm down."

Eren instantly began to say he was fine, but then he noticed the fierce expressions on his squad mates' faces, all looking with contempt toward him. All of them had their blades drawn and Eren knew if it weren't for Levi stopping them, he would already be dead.

"Everyone detach your blades." Levi spoke, "This was an inadvertent transformation." In fact, for this reason Levi had Eren sleep in the dungeon the night before. Just in case he shifted forms in his sleep.

The squad didn't obey Levi's order right away. Instead they kept their guard up, thinking Eren purposely attacked them.

"Eren, what is the meaning of this!" Petra yelled at him, "Were you trying to kill us just now?"

"What?" Eren choked out. "No, I would never-"

"Then why did you transform in our midst!" Oluo shouted.

"I-I…" Eren stuttered. 'What's happening?' he asked himself 'Why did I suddenly change like I did?'

Gunther inched closer and said, "Answer Eren. Are you our friend or our enemy?"

At this point, Eren became unable to speak. He could handle being threatened with his life, he's already experienced that a couple of times already. Yet looking in their faces, he knew he betrayed their trust. The very thought tormented his soul.

"Everyone stand down." Levi ordered, more sternly this time, "It's clear he didn't mean for this to happen."

"Captain, I believe he knows his act is up and is cornered. That is why he's gone silent." Eld stated. "Just as the MP suggested, he's too much of a threat. We should eliminate him now."

Before Levi could respond, a loud shout ranged out from the distance.

"EREEEEEEEEEEENNN!"

Everyone turned to see Hange running from the direction of the mansion, two of her assistants scampering behind her.

"Hey, you transformed without me!" she yelled in excitement, causing Eren to forget his current predicament.

As she reached the scene, Eld tried to stop Hange from approaching Eren saying, "Major, you shouldn't get too close."

She ignored him and made her way to Eren's partially transformed arm.

"Oh what do we have here? It's not a complete change, but we're making improvement! Can I touch the arm Eren, can I?" Hange pleaded.

Not sure what to say, Eren nervously nodded his head. The moment Hange placed her hands on the arm, she immediately screamed out.

"Waaaaaaaaahooooooooo! Son of a bitch that's hot!" she cried in joy.

Patting her hands on her clothes, she turned back to Eren and asked him how his own arm stays connected with his titan's. At this, Eren noticed he could wriggle his arm within the muscle. After some doing, he managed to break free. No longer being attached to the source, the upper right torso began to disintegrate.

"Oh no, you disconnected too soon Eren. I wanted to do some more examination." Hange whined.

Levi let out a sigh and walked over toward Eren. "I think there has been enough excitement for today." he said, "Go rest up, we'll handle your part in chores."

Eren nodded and began walking toward the mansion. He took a glance back at the others, and he could still see the anger in their eyes.

Once he left ear shot, Eld addressed Levi.

"Captain, I think it's a huge mistake to keep him around any longer. Who knows when he will strike, and he's much more powerful than an average titan."

Levi waved him off. "I won't hear any more about this. Today's transformation was an accident, probably due to trying to force it earlier." Turning to face the rest of his squad, Levi said, "We still have work to do before the day is out. So get to it."

As they started to leave, Hange looked back on the fading titan arm. She noticed what appeared to be a spoon clenched in its hand. She pondered 'an accident eh?'

At dinner, Levi thought it was best for Eren to eat without the presence of the others for the moment. So he himself guarded Eren as he ate his meal alone, until Hange came in with her custom smile painted on her face.

"Hey Eren, how are you holding up?" she asked

"I'm holding." he meagerly replied.

"Ah don't worry about those guys. They will come around eventually." she comforted. "Anyway there is something I'd like to ask you."

"Yeah sure, what is it?"

Hange looked at Levi who was sitting next to Eren. "Levi said your transformation today was an accident. I examined your titan arm and came across something interesting."

She reached in her pocket and pulled out a spoon. "Your titan hand was holding this before it dissipated. Care to explain why?"

Eren thought back and said, "I dropped it while eating my lunch. I then remember trying to pick it up before pain shot through my hand. After that, a flash of light appeared and the titan arm appeared."

Levi shared as glance with Hange, knowing that she already placed a connection between the transformation and the spoon.

"I see." Hange proclaimed, "It seems self inflicted pain is not the only trigger for your transformation. You only partially transformed because of need. You desired to pick up this spoon, but your hand was badly wounded. So with the pain, and the purpose of eating your meal, you created an arm and hand to pick the spoon up."

"Hmmmm" Levi uttered.

"So I transformed, just to eat my food?" Eren questioned aloud.

"Yes" Hange affirmed, "That is you specifically transformed to eat your food. The greater your purpose, the stronger your transformation will be, along with the sting of pain of course."

"Well that's interesting Hange." said Levi. "If your conclusion is correct, I suppose you don't have to sleep in the dungeon tonight Eren. There appears to be enough fail safes within the transformation process to where you have to at least be awake to trigger it."

Eren smiled at the thought of sleeping in a room that had a window. Yet it faded as he again thought about letting his teammates down.

"I'll have to apologize to the squad tomorrow and tell them what happened." Eren resolved. "Now that I know how to transform, we can also begin training. Why don't you stay the night Hange? That way we can begin immediately."

Hange shook her head and said, "I would like to, but I can't stay away from Sawney and Bean too long."

"Sawney and Bean?" Eren questioned

"Those are the names she gave to the two titans we captured." Levi quipped. "She treats them as if they were her beloved pets."

Hange laughed, "I resent that Levi they aren't my pets."

She clasped her hands and became starry eyed, continuing to say, "They are my beloved test subjects! Each being living, thinking creatures with their own personality. I hate leaving them alone for too long. I wonder how they feel when I'm gone."

"Yes, well, we wouldn't want to keep you from them any longer." Levi rubbed his head in exasperation, causing Eren to grin.

Hange nodded and waved to them as she left.

The next morning on the training grounds, Eren began to address the group his apologies for the day before, but Petra stopped him. What happened next caught him completely off guard. Eld, Petra, Gunther, and Oluo all put their thumbs into their mouth, and bit down hard enough to draw blood.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Eren asked them.

"Captain Levi explained to us what happened." Petra told him, "This is our way of apologizing to you for our overreaction. I hope you can forgive us."

For a second time, Eren found himself unable to speak in their presence. However, this time he was overwhelmed with a sense of joy. Eld came over and put his arm around him.

"You know Eren" he began, "Even though our job is to monitor your progress, we are also here for your protection as well. We want you to feel that you can trust us."

"Y-yes Sir!" Eren responded with confidence.

As they waited for Hange to show up, Gunther and Oluo decided to teach Eren some basic maneuver techniques of the Survey Corps. Petra and Eld stood with Levi, watching Eren practice.

"He's a bright young soldier who is full of energy." Petra said to them, "I still feel bad for accusing him yesterday."

"Your reaction, as well as the rest was what kept you alive to this point, so don't feel bad." Levi told her. "He doesn't resent you for it."

Petra smiled. "He's a lot like you Captain. He has your dedication to fight the titans. I think it's because of that you knew yesterday was an accident. I thank you for stopping us, stopping me from making a terrible mistake."

She then looked down at her thumb, looking at the puncture mark made by her teeth earlier.

"Having the weight of mankind's success against the titans, is a pretty big burden for someone so young." she stated.

"That's to be sure." Levi agreed, "I'm also sure he hates the fact that he will fight as a titan."

Petra looked at Levi in shock realization. Yes, Eren hated the titans as much as their captain, but the fact that he now must fight as one himself must be difficult for him. She turned back to Eren with a sad look in her eye.

"Don't pity him Petra." Levi advised, sensing her sadness. "He has accepted this fate as his own. If it meant the end of the titans, he's willing to do and go through anything to make it happen."

Eld smiled and nodded. Petra smiled at them in return, acknowledging they were right. She greatly respected Levi, wanting to develop the courage he had, no matter the circumstance. She wanted to earn his respect, ever since she met him. Levi respected very few individuals but she could already tell, he respected Eren very much.

Levi started to make his way over to him, and began showing him an advanced blade maneuver. In that instance, she vowed within herself that she would protect Eren with her life.

A few minutes passed when all of a sudden, the group heard the sound of a horse's hooves coming closer to their location. They looked and saw a courier. As he came closer, he greeted them and addressed Levi.

"Captain Levi, I have an urgent message. Commander Smith requires your presence in Trost."

Levi asked, "Where is Hange? We were expecting her this morning."

The messenger nodded and said, "This involves her. Something happened to her test subjects."

…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! SAWNEY, BEAN, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Hange bawled!

Everyone gathered around, looking at the smoldering remains of the two titans. Eren was truly amazed at the passion Hange had for her work. Apparently she has been crying all morning, and refused to be comforted for the loss.

"It appears a disgruntled soldier took advantage of a security shift change, killing the titans early this morning." said Mike.

Mike, Levi, and Erwin stood off to the side, trying to make sense of why someone would kill the titans.

"It seems so." Erwin admitted, "However, something has been bothering me ever since the battle a few days ago."

This caught Levi's attention. "You think something more is going on here?"

"Perhaps" Erwin answered, "If this truly is a matter of a soldier taking his frustrations out on those two titans, the Military Police's investigation should confirm it rather quickly. However, if no one is found guilty, then it might confirm a theory about the nature of our enemy."

…

At noon, all the soldiers within Trost were gathered together to have their 3DMG examined. It was determined the two titans were killed by direct strikes to their napes. So it is theorized an inspection of the logs within the gear and blade count should yield the culprit.

"Bah, I don't see what all the fuss is about." Connie shrugged off, waiting to have his gear examined. "It was just two worthless titans."

Standing next to him was Armin. He smiled at his friend's carefree nature.

"Say Armin?" Connie called his attention.

"Yeah"

"As you know it's been announced that we will finally have our chance to choose which section of the military we'll join tomorrow. I've considered going into the Survey Corps with Eren, but I guess after what happened here, my doubts started to rise again. Do you think it's a smart move to pass up a job with the MP for the Survey Corps?"

Armin thought for a moment and said, "I don't think smarts have anything to do with it, whichever way you choose. At the end of the day you should be satisfied with the choice you make, and have no regrets."

"I see." Connie sighed. He hoped Armin would choose one over the other, to make it easier on him. He then caught a glimpse of Annie standing next to Armin with her usual blank expression. 'That is right' he thought 'Annie always give straight to the point answers.'

"What about you Annie? In training you seemed to care only about the exercises that were graded. I assume you're choosing the MP route. Should I join to?"

"You have to make your own decision." she said to him, "No one is going to hold your hand. Would you jump off a bridge if I thought you should?"

"No, I guess not." Connie nervously replied. 'Yep, always to the point'

Annie took a glance at Armin and said, "I'm curious Armin, are you still joining the Survey Corps? I remember you and Eren talking about it all the time during our training." Connie looked at Armin with anticipation for his answer.

Armin answered, "Yes, I'm still joining the Survey Corps."

"What, really?" Connie stated in surprise.

"Yeah" Armin assured, "What, you don't think I'm fit?"

Connie struggled to find the right words, not wanting to hurt his feelings. Yet Annie spoke and said, "Are you joining them simply because of Eren? What if they gave you an order that you knew would result in your death? Could you do it?"

Armin mulled it over before saying, "I suppose the right answer should be yes, as a good soldier follows every order. The truth is if I didn't see it beneficial, I wouldn't obey it. In any case, I belong with the Scout Regiment, and no I'm not doing this for Eren. I want freedom just as much as he does, and besides, I have a grudge against the titans. They took away people I care about. No matter how physically weak I am, I can't stay within these walls as a Garrison soldier."

Annie looked at his pain filled eyes, knowing those who he was referring to. She didn't go to the funeral pyre herself. She wouldn't have dared gone, knowing her hand in all this. However, she heard how deeply Armin mourned the lost of his friends and Mina as he stood before the flames. 'Mina' she thought.

*"I'm surprised you and Eren aren't paired today. You two always pair up for hand-to-hand drills" said Mina.

Annie shrugged and said, "He's come a long way in a short time practicing my fighting style, and wanted to test them out with Mikasa. I don't mind."

Mina gripped the wooden dagger in her hands and readied herself to attack. This particular drill has been done by the trainees more times then they cared to remember, however, today was the first time Mina paired with Annie.

"You sure?" Mina laughed.

Annie prepared to fend off Mina's attack. Studying her face, she asked, "Oh what's going on in that head of yours Mina?"

She shook her head and playfully said, "Nothing, nothing. Just thinking that you have feelings for Eren and aren't willing to admit it, thought you will have to fight Mikasa for him. I believe both of you are attracted to him."

Annie scoffed and said, "Come now, what makes you think something like that?"

"Well for one, you rarely give anyone else the time of day besides Ruth and me, and we have to drag conversation out of you."

Mina rushed Annie for a strike. Annie avoided her swing, and dodged a second attempt with calculating precision.

"HAAAYAAAAAH!"

Mina brought down the dagger, aiming at Annie's shoulder. Annie turned her body to the side and caught her wrists. Mina smiled at her friends' firm grip.

"I respect him, just like everyone else. That's all." Annie spoke.

She stared at Annie's face from the close proximity and could see her expression was as cool as ever. "Perhaps you adore him." she suggested.

It was slight, but Mina got the reaction she was looking for. Annie's eyes rose a bit, as if a thought she hadn't considered before crossed her mind.

Taking advantage, Mina threw her body weight into Annie, causing her to lose balance and fall to the ground. Mina moved as quickly as she could and straddled over Annie to pin her.

"This is my victory!" she shouted. As Mina brought the dagger toward Annie's neck, Mina noticed that she was watching her the whole time. Stopping a couple of inches, Mina asked, "Aren't you going to dodge?"

"I'm bored of winning." Annie responded. "I'll let you take this round."

"Gee, thanks." Mina giggled.

She moved off and stood up, also helping Annie back onto her feet. As Annie dusted herself off, Mina looked over toward the other cadets and caught a glimpse of Eren holding his own against Mikasa.

"You know, you two would look good together. I think he likes you." Mina stated.

"What?" Annie looked at her in surprise.

Mina pointed her attention toward him, causing her to become aggravated at the trivial heat that rushed to her head.

"Come on stop with this Mina. We're simply comrades; we aren't like you and Armin. In any case, I'm not the type of person he would love anyway. In fact if he, or you for that matter, knew the real person that I am, both of you would hate me."

Mina turned to her stunned, "Why would you say something like that?"

Annie turned toward her, seeing the hurt in her eyes. Annie hated herself for getting too close to these people.

"I'm sorry." Annie spoke, "I shouldn't have said it. Guess I have a low opinion about myself. Perhaps the truth is, I'm just not a good person."

Mina shook her head. "I don't believe that for one second!"

"Mina-"

"No listen to me Annie. It's not a bad thing that you hide your emotions and feelings. A lot of us wear them on our sleeves, and it tends to get us into trouble almost as many times as it brings us joy. Yet for you, you choose to save them for those who will only bring you joy. That's the quality I like about you the most."

Mina grabbed her hands and squeezed them.

"You're a great person." she continued, "…and I believe Eren sees those qualities in you. He can't stop talking about your training with him at our meal table, so I know. If only he was intelligent like Armin, he would tell you how much he cares for you himself."

At this, Annie couldn't help the flushed feeling from appearing on her face.

"That blush looks weird on you Annie." Mina joked. "Just give him time will ya? Eventually he will come around."

Annie snatched her hands away in annoyance and said, "I don't know what you're going on about Mina."

Beginning to walk away, Annie said, "I'm done sparring for today. I'm going to hide around the trees from Shadis and wait for this idiotic drill to be over."

"Do you mind if I hide with you?" Mina grinned.

Again annoyed, Annie said, "Only if you can hide in silence."

Laughing as they walked, Mina said, "Now when have I ever been able to accomplish such a feat?"…*

Annie tore away from Armin's eyes. If she looked any longer, her psyche might break altogether.

"You might not be physically strong Armin" she said, "…but you're very smart and brave. Very few choose to go down a hard path. I respect that very much."

Armin glanced at her and smiled. "Thank you Annie."

Before anything more could be said between the three, the MP examiners began their inspection of Annie's maneuver gear.

They opened each of the blade compartments and studied the log count. Something caught Armin's eye as he looked on the examination before him. He noticed in Annie's gear, there were four notches along the slots used to attach the blade to the detached handles. This made it more efficient for the blade to come through, and eliminated the possibility of jams.

One of the first things a trainee does once they pass the balancing test, is to begin working on their personal maneuver gear. They follow certain standards to make sure they are par for use, but leeway is also allowed to make the owner as comfortable with their gear as possible.

As the examiner finished looking over Annie's gear and clearing her, she remarked, "I must say, the construction of your maneuver gear is quite exceptional. You must be quite the engineer!"

"Thank you." said Annie, receiving the compliment.

Moving on, the examiner began with Armin's gear. Yet Armin's eyes were fixed on Annie's. Annie noticed his gaze and asked, "Is something wrong Armin?"

Not realizing he was still staring, he gave Annie a smile and said, "No, I'm fine. I agree with the inspection officer, your gear is very creative."

Annie nodded and took it up. After being cleared, she was free to go. Watching her leave, Armin thought to himself 'Annie, what are doing with Marco's gear. Those four notches, I remember him showing it to me when we assembled our gear. Annie, did you kill the titans?'

Later that day after the inspection of all soldiers' gear, the results were given to the head officials. With the results in his hands, Commander Smith called for a private meeting with his leading soldiers and captains.

"Commander who was it that killed my precious titans!" Hange begged Erwin.

"Calm down Hange." he insisted, "I'll be addressing that in a moment."

Once everyone settled around the table, Erwin addressed them saying, "As you all know, we are preparing for our next expedition into titan territory next month. The objective will be to use Eren's titan ability to fight and take back Wall Maria."

Turning to Levi he asked, "How are things coming along with his training?"

Levi spoke, "Thanks to Hange we've discovered the process of his transformation. We're yet to work with him on his control. A month's time should be enough for him to learn basic control over his form."

Erwin nodded and stated "Excellent to hear Captain. Major Zoe, I want you to travel with Levi's group and stay with Eren for the time being. With the two titans no longer available for research, I want you to help Eren gain control over his ability."

"Yes Sir." Hange answered.

Erwin took a moment and examined the room around him. He studied the faces of his top officers in Levi, Hange, and Mike. He also looked in the faces of squad members that have been with the Survey Corps as long as he has in Nanaba and Lynne.

To all of them he addressed, "There's a strong possibility we have spies within the ranks of the military that intend to destroy humanity. With them on the loose, they will most likely try to sabotage this upcoming expedition."

Immediately everyone began looking at each other in shock. Erwin chuckled within himself, knowing each person were questioning if he might be referring to some of them within the room.

"No one here is a traitor." he said, calming their thoughts, "However I believe individuals who have joined the military within the last five years are guilty of my said accusation."

"Within the last five years?" Levi questioned, "Do you think this has something to do with the attack on Shiganshina?"

"I do." Erwin answered.

Hange spoke and said, "If that's the case, these intruders may be from the titan worshipping cult. They could have joined the military after the attack. They have gone silent for many years. I imagine that event would have given them new life."

"Yes, that could be a possibility; in fact I would prefer that scenario. Yet it's not likely them. You see I believe these intruders are responsible for the killing of your titans. If they were from the Titan Cult, they would have instead freed them to wreak havoc on the city."

"You're right about that." Hange agreed. "Did the inspection earlier today show the culprit who slain them?"

"No" he answered, "In fact everyone was cleared."

"What!" Hange expressed in shock. "The offender had to have used their maneuver gear to kill them. The material within the blades was designed just for that purpose. Unless…"

"…unless they presented someone else's gear as their own." Levi finished her thought.

Erwin nodded and said, "That's right. The perpetrator could have taken the mobility gear of a fallen soldier either during the battle or during the clean up of the city."

After another pause, Erwin asked the group, "Have you ever thought it strange how the Colossal and Armored Titans appeared five years ago, but disappeared just as quickly once Wall Maria was broken through?"

Soldier Lynne raised her hand and asked, "Sir, what does that have to do with the spies within our ranks? You've already ruled out the possibility of that titan cult being involved."

"Indeed" Erwin acknowledged, "Yet we know the titans only care about one thing, and that is to slay humans. They are relentless in this endeavor, yet the Colossal and Armored Titans aren't driven solely by that instinct at all. If they were like the others, given their strength and ability, we would have been wiped out by now. On the contrary, they disappeared for five years, only to reemerge once more here in Trost and disappear again."

Mike stated, "Except this time when the Colossal breached the outer gate, the Armored Titan was nowhere to be found."

"Yes, for some reason the Armored Titan didn't show up to break through the inner gate of Wall Rose."

Levi looked at the commander and declared, "You're referring to Eren's transformation."

Erwin smiled at Levi for catching on to his thoughts. "That's right Levi. I believe Eren's transformation affected the Armored Titan's decision to break through the inner gate. With that in mind, now that we know Eren can transform into a titan, perhaps the Colossal and Armored Titans are shifters as well."

Hange began shaking her head in disbelief and uttered, "Forgive me Sir, but even though this theory fits certain aspects, at the same time it seems implausible with others. For one, it's assumed only Eren's father knows how to give someone the ability to change into a titan, assumed to be received by some liquid formula or pill."

"You assume too much Hange." Levi contradicted, "You know what that would make us."

Some of the members chuckled at Hange's expression at Levi's words. Erwin spoke and said, "No, you're both right. It could be the Colossal and Armored Titans are simply a special category of titan altogether, just like the abnormal. Nonetheless, it is almost certain there are spies within our ranks, and we can't rule out the slim possibility they are shifters."

Erwin motioned for one of his assistants to bring him a map detailing the walls and the territory behind them. As he laid it in front of the group, he began to speak saying, "We will continue the expedition as planned to retake Wall Maria. However should an intelligent titan show up, whether it is the Armored or Colossal, our objective will then become to trap it."

He continued to explain the intricate details on how this would be accomplished.

…

The next day, Armin stood in formation with the rest of his class. This would be the last time they would be together as a unit, as today they will choose their branch within the military. He glanced over at Annie, still having a hard time believing the possibility of her slaying the two titans.

'Even so' he determined within himself 'I can certainly understand why she did it. They killed our loves ones and quite frankly I might have done the same thing if given the opportunity.'

In that moment, a military official stood before the group and greeted them.

"Good morning soldiers of the 104th. Today you will become apart of one of the three divisions: The Survey Corps, Garrison, and only the top ten will have the option to choose the Military Police. Now then, a member from each division will present their case for you to join their branch. At the end of their presentation, those who choose to join be sure to raise your hand and step forward in the open. Without further delay, the first presentation will be of the Survey Corps."

Stepping aside, all of sudden Commander Smith himself stood before the group. This surprised Armin, though he reasoned he shouldn't be too shocked the commander would make the case to join the Scouts himself. After all they went through this past week it may take him to beg on his knees for anyone to join.

"Good morning 104th regiment. My name is Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps. Today I ask humbly for you consideration to join us. As you know, of the three branches, this is the most difficult one to take part in. Statistics state for those who join the Scouting Legion, over 60% die within their first year. All of you have witness the horror of the titans first hand."

Some of the soldiers began shaking, thinking about their experiences in fighting the titans that invaded Trost. Just about all of them never saw a titan before that time, and afterwards, many still have trouble sleeping at night for fear their dreams will show all the bodies that were left in the titans' wake.

"Look around" Erwin continued, "I imagine some of your classmates you graduated with are no longer with us. This is what it's like to be a member within the Corps. However, I'm here to tell you for the first time in humanity's history, we have an edge in this war. Your classmate, Soldier Eren Yeager, was instrumental in gaining mankind's very first victory against the titans. I'm told he has been very inspirational to all of you throughout the years."

Out among the 104th, Jean listened to the commander's words. For the longest he ridiculed Eren for his beliefs and couldn't wait to join the Military Police. Yet Marco's death opened his eyes to how selfish he's been. He looked over toward Mikasa standing a few rows over to his left, and made his own promise that he would protect his friends no matter what.

"This brings us to the present. Eren will play a vital role in regaining Wall Maria, similar to how he helped us seal off Rose. Our next expedition will take place in a month, and that will be our objective. Unlike the vast lands beyond the walls, we will have a much better chance in battling the titans within our own backyard of Maria territory. Once we've accomplished that task, we will recover research within the basement of Eren's home. That is where his father has studied the titans' physiology and gave Eren his abilities. With that information, we will have the upper hand over the titans and finally begin down the road of ridding them forever."

Finished speaking, Erwin stepped back and the official once again took the floor and announced, "All those who will join the Survey Corps, make your presence known and step forward."

For a moment, everyone seemed hesitant to be the first to raise their hand. Armin considered in himself why the commander would announce information concerning Eren's basement to them, though again he considered he shouldn't be too surprised.

Mikasa confidently raised her hand and stepped out in front of the group. Hushed gasps rose as most of them realized the number one student of their class chose to join the Scouts. Armin smiled. Raising his hand, he joined her side.

Slowly but surely, a few more began to join them. Among those were Sasha, Connie, Krista, Ymir, Reiner, and Bertolt. As if Armin wasn't shocked enough this morning, to his true surprise, he witness Jean stepping forward and joining at their side.

"Jean?" Armin questioned.

Jean looked at him and gave him a nod of assurance.

After a few more minutes passed by and hands stop going up, the official turned toward Erwin and nodded. Erwin returned his appreciation and stood before his new soldiers. In all, 21 soldiers chose to join the Survey Corps.

"All of you have my sincerest gratitude for choosing the Survey Corps. If you will follow me, I will lead you to your new stations."

With that, Erwin began to lead them away. The newest scouts took one last look at their friends as the military official introduced the representative from the Garrison Unit. As he passed by, Armin suddenly thought of something.

He looked upon the 20 members not including himself, and realized everyone within the top ten besides Annie had join the Survey Corps. With Marco dying, it meant Annie would be the only member of their class to enter the Military Police. Looking back, Armin felt bad for her. Before Eren got to know her and introduced them to her, she was always seen alone. Now once again, she was alone.

Later on, the Military Police representative got his chance to present his case, even though he felt it was pointless to begin with. To his astonishment, once he stood in front, all he saw was one individual.

He asked the official, "Where are the other nine soldiers?"

"They all joined the Survey Corps to my recollection." he answered, "This class' number one student was actually the very first soldier to choose the Scouts out of them all."

"What?" stated the bewildered MP Representative. He thought to himself 'This must be one crazy bunch of soldiers.'

He turned to look at the one before him, Annie, whose eyes unblinkingly stared him down, waiting for him to address her.

"Haha, so, you're the only one to join the MP?" he stated, finding himself somewhat intimidated by the young woman. Her eyes shifted to the side, acknowledging she indeed is the only one.

"Well" he continued, "If you have no questions, we'll be leaving for Mithras. There you will begin your service to King Fritz. Congratulations on your admittance to the Military Police Brigade."

"Thank you Sir." Annie answered, and followed him toward the direction of the inner gate.

…

Over the next few weeks, Eren trained hard to control his urges within titan form. After transforming a few times within the dry well using the pain of his losses as motivation, he learned to recognize those around him.

He allowed Levi's squad to cut off the fingers of his form, to test how quickly they regenerated. Fortunately for Eren, he felt no pain in the process, and his fingers grew back within seconds each time. Hange then instructed the group to cut through Eren's arm, and noticed it took a little longer for his arm to regenerate. Even though his healing ability was quicker than normal titans, it still followed some of the restraints in the time it took to heal bigger injuries.

Moving on, Levi and the rest tested his transformation above ground. With Eren still able to recognize his comrades, they began asking him to perform certain tasks, to see if he understood complex commands.

At first he had difficulty moving his body. Eren noticed without the struggle of carrying a giant boulder above his head or being trapped in the well, moving the body required more effort than he realized.

Watching him move slowly, Hange remarked to Levi, "It seems everything about this form deals with his will. The shifter must have a strong will to assume complete control."

Once he had good control in his movements, they took him within the forest to practice his combat skills. Rarely was Levi impressed with anything, but after watching Eren kick and punch through a couple of trees, he could see why he was able to bring down so many titans in Trost.

"Well I'll be damned." Gunther commented. "This plan to retake Wall Maria may actually work. The power Eren possesses is beyond words."

Eld agreed saying, "His father must have been an absolute genius to have found a way to harness the power of the titans."

Listening to their conversation, Petra looked on as Eren continued to clear the forest at will. Remembering what Levi said about Eren's will to fight as a human, she mused 'Hopefully you won't have to transform often.'

Levi motioned to Hange, letting her know to instruct Eren to remain still so they can cut him from the nape. After freeing him and bringing him to the ground, Hange said, "You did great Eren. You've learned to maintain good control over your form and I think you're ready to put your work to real use."

Eren gave her a weak smile, being exhausted from his workout.

"Get your rest Eren." Levi spoke. "In another couple of days, we will leave for Karanese District. There we will meet up with the commander and prepare for our attempt to restore Wall Maria."

…

Deep within Mithras, Annie finished her duties for the day and headed toward her room to change in more casual clothing. She often heard Jean going on and on about the luxury experienced within the MP, and after staying inside Mithras for some weeks, he was certainly justified in what he said. There was enough space in her room alone to comfortably fit 20 horses and wagons inside of it.

The entire MP complex was a thing of wonder, but she had no time to wonder. The only thing she cared about was completing her mission, and returning home. For the past two weeks, she did some private research surrounding the king's background and family. Not totally to her surprise, there wasn't much of anything recorded. Over her past five years of living inside these walls, she's come to know talking about the past is considered to be a crime, especially talking on the creation of the walls and life before that time.

Taking off her uniform jacket and shirt, she put on her casual sweatshirt. Leaving her room, she ran into a MP soldier staying in the room across from her.

"Well well, if it isn't the hardest working soldier in the MP finally looking to take a break from her duties." she stated with a sly grin.

Hitch Dreyse was someone Annie had come to tolerate these past weeks. As usual she wore an expensive dress, ready to go out for another night on the town. Ignoring her comment, Annie began to walk past her and toward the courtyard.

"Hey" Hitch called, "Why don't we hang out tonight? Who knows, perhaps we can meet some guys and have a good time before our unit leaves for Stohess in a few days."

"I can't." Annie responded, "I have other plans."

Hitch lit up at this and said, "Really, like what? Maybe I will tag along if it sounds interesting."

Stopping, Annie sighed and blankly stated, "I'm going to the cathedral."

"Wow, that's definitely not interesting." she remarked with disappointment. "You know, I never figured you to be a wall worshiper. It must be tough being here in the midst of us heathens."

Annie nodded and said, "Yes, I must go be among my people."

Laughing again, Hitch said, "Have fun!" and turned to leave for the night life. Watching her go, Annie had to remind herself to never become close with anyone living in these walls again. Turning around, she left the barracks and headed toward her destination.

Putting two and two together, the only organization that even refers to the past in any way was the Wall Cult. They also seem to have a relationship with the royal family, as all of their leadership was of nobility. After walking a few blocks in the city, she came upon the most extravagant place of worship for Mithras' Wall Cultists.

Upon opening the door, she was greeted by ushers.

"Good evening young one!" one said, "Will you be joining us for tonight's prayer service?"

Instead of answering his question, Annie asked, "May I speak with your head pastor?"

They exchanged curious looks with one another before another inquired, "To what do you wish to speak with him about? If it concerns our ministry, we can answer your question for you."

"I have a question concerning the creation of the Walls?" she stated.

"Ah, you're interested in the glory of Sina, Maria, and Rose!" an usher lit up. "Allow me to tell you. A long time ago the gods looked on mankind and-"

"As it relates to the royal family" Annie interrupted. "I have knowledge the true savior of mankind was an ancestor."

In that moment, the ushers' eyes grew wide and their mouths were silenced. Annie didn't know for sure if the original holder of the Coordinate was related to the royal family, but their silence confirmed it for her. It also confirmed the Wall Cult have secret knowledge concerning the history of the royal family.

"Y-yes, we'll direct you to his office." one, who Annie assumed must be the lead usher, finally managed to say. "Right this way."

She was lead up a set of stairs to a large set of double doors. Knocking on it twice, the doors open and was answered by a servant.

The usher stated, "There is someone here to see Pastor Frederick. She personally knows secrets concerning the Walls."

Annie noticed a similar reaction on the servant's face as the ushers before. Without delay, the servant went inside and Annie could hear frantic mumblings. After a few minutes, the servant came back to them and motioned for her to come in.

Once inside, Annie got a view of a relatively younger man than she expected, early 30s perhaps even late 20s, sitting behind a desk fit for a king.

Once his servant left and closed the door, he spoke and said, "I'm Pastor Frederick. I'm told you wished to speak with me?"

Annie nodded and said, "Yes, I have a few questions concerning the royal family."

"Indeed, but before that, would you care to tell me your name?"

Annie paused, thinking it might be better to give him a fake name, but before she could speak, a voice from the corner of the room answered for her.

"Her name is Annie Leonhart, a freshly recruited soldier of the Military Police."

Briefly shocked, her eyes narrowed as a figure stepped into the light. It was a man wearing a black suit and black pants. The bowler hat he wore cast a faint shadow over his eyes.

Sensing the question in her mind, he answered, "I'm also of the Military Police, but operate within a different division. We know about all those who join the MP Brigade, for our own purposes."

"I see." Annie responded. Something told her this guy was here to eliminate her if she knew too much about the history of mankind. She would have to play her cards right to avoid conflict.

Frederick cleared his throat and said, "Now then, Annie, tell us what you know concerning the royal family and the creation of the Walls. Also tell us how you came by this information."

"I'll tell you what I know." she answered, "However, how I came by this knowledge isn't important. I assure you, no one within the Walls told me, and I don't intend to tell anyone outside of here what I know. I share your desire to keep secrets."

The pastor shared a look with the man in the suit, before he nodded, signaling for her to continue.

"To my knowledge" she began, "Walls Sina, Rose, and Maria were created by a person of immense power, the power to control the titans. He used it to control a special set of titans, and had them create the walls while at the same time entrapping themselves inside."

Frederick appeared stunned at how much she knew, even about the presence of the titans inside the Walls.

"What I wanted to ask you" Annie moved on, "Is whether or not this person who used his power to create the walls, was related to the royal family in any way, if not the patriarch himself?"

Folding his hands on his desk and leaning forward, Frederick spoke and said, "You certainly know a lot about the Walls. It makes me even more curious as to who told you. Yet as you said, you have a propensity in keeping secrets, something we share as an organization."

Getting up from his chair, he walked over and looked her in the eyes.

"I'll tell you the information you desire, but in exchange you must join the First Interior Squad."

Annie blinked. "The First Interior Squad?"

She glanced back over to the man in the black suit. Pastor Frederick followed her gaze and said, "Yes, the same division the he works under. They are involved in working closely with the king and ensuring the people within our territory are kept under control. So then, what do you say? Will you join?"

'A division dealing with controlling the people' Annie thought. 'Why am I not surprised of its existence?'

Thinking refusing to join would bring about confrontation, Annie nodded her head. In the end it didn't make any difference to her once she finds what she's after.

"Perfect." Frederick announced, "For now you will continue to serve as a regular MP soldier until our king officially promotes you. Now to your question, yes, the creator of these walls is the patriarch of the royal family. It was he who also created this religious establishment. It is truly him and his family that we worship."

As she took in the information, Frederick walked over to the window to look out on the magnificent view of the city.

"I'm curious." she started to ask, "This power the patriarch possessed, has it been passed on to his children?"

Frederick turned around to meet her gaze. The First Interior squad member also raised his eyebrows to her question.

"Yes" he finally answered, "In fact it's been passed down to every generation since."

Annie lowered her gaze in thought. 'So you're not the Coordinate, are you Eren?'

"Yet five years ago, something happened. It was stolen." Frederick pointed out.

"Stolen?"

Now her interests were roused. If the Coordinate was no longer with the royal family, chances are Eren's dad was the one who stole it. Which meant Eren was indeed the new Coordinate.

"Five years ago" Frederick recalled, "A man burst into the royal chapel, stealing the sacred power and disappeared into the night. No one knows where he went after that. Since that time we have sent out teams to search for him, but he is yet to be found."

"Interesting" said Annie, "Do you happen to know who the man is by chance?"

"Yes, we do." Frederick answered, eyes beginning to narrow. "His name is Grisha Yeager."

Annie fought hard not to let on to her feeling of confirmation. Seeing her clamor up, he continued to say, "Grisha to was a man who held many secrets. As you yourself know he is now famous for turning his son into a titan, of course it wasn't until recently we knew he even had a son. For some reason Grisha also knew about the secrets of the royal family. Perhaps he found out about it the same way you did."

Annie nodded, trying not to come across as too suspicious. "Perhaps. Do you think his son might know where he took the power?"

"It's more than likely he does." Frederick confirmed. "Now then, Miss Leonhart, you've been privileged with information that very few of our own members know of. I trust you will keep what you've learned to yourself. We expect many great things from you once you become a full fledged member of the First Interior Squad."

Annie bowed and said, "Thank you for answering my questions."

Nodding, Frederick snapped his fingers, and a servant opened the doors. Taking one last bow, Annie followed the servant out and left the premises. Pastor Frederick watched from his window as she headed out.

"You don't think you've told her too much?" asked the Interior squad member.

"No, I trust her to keep it to herself." Frederick answered. "I believe she will be very valuable to us in finding out how Grisha was able to know about the hidden power of the royal family. There's a lot that is unknown concerning our full history. Only the possessor of this power knows everything."

…

Seven days from the launch of the 57th expedition, the Survey Corps arrived in Karanese for preparation.

Having some free time from his work, Armin decided to make a visit to a family he needed to meet.

"Thanks for coming with me Mikasa, I appreciate your support." he told her.

"Anytime Armin." she said, "I also want to meet her family, and let them know how much she meant to us."

Based on the directions they were given, they came upon a house that to Mikasa looked remarkably similar to Eren's old house.

Taking a deep breath, Armin walked up to the door and knocked. It opened after a few moments and they were greeted by a tall man with dark hair.

"Good afternoon Sir. My name is Armin Arlert. Here with me is Mikasa Ackerman and we've come from the Survey Corps to offer our condolences on the loss of your daughter Mina."

Looking at him, Armin continued, "In fact, it was because of me that she died."

"Armin" Mikasa called.

"No Mikasa, let me say this." he pleaded. Turning back to the man, Armin explained all that happened the day Trost was attacked, how he led the group his daughter fought with, and how he stood by paralyzed at the sight of her in the clutches of a titan.

"So you see Sir, if only I was brave at the time, she might still be alive today. I'm so sorry." Armin finished.

The man looked on him for a moment before putting a hand on his shoulder, causing Armin to meet his gaze.

"You said your name is Armin Arlert?" He asked

"Yes Sir." Armin answered.

He turned toward Mikasa and said, "…and your Mikasa Ackerman." She nodded in response.

Smiling, he spoke to them and said, "Yes, we received many letters from Mina speaking of both of you and those she met in training over the years. I'm so happy both of you are safe."

A look of surprise crossed Armin's face, thinking Mina's father would hate him for not protecting her. Suddenly he called into the house, "Lora dear, come meet the friends of Mina."

"Mr. Carolina, forgive for asking but, I don't understand." Armin uttered, "Why aren't you mad with me? I let Mina die and didn't do anything to stop it. I deserve to be hated by you right?"

Mina's father shook his head and said, "You did what you could. There's no one to blame for my daughter's death except the titans."

"But-but Sir…"

"You know she told us how much she cared for you. Often times she wrote how much she missed us, but that you made her time at the academy wonderful. I thank you Armin, for being with her in her last moments."

Mina's father then brought him in for a strong embrace. Armin couldn't help but let tears flow freely. "Thank you Sir! I promise my friends and I will carry her memory with us forever."

Just as they let go, a woman with dark hair and blue eyes appeared at the door along with a small boy in her arms.

"Ah let me introduce you two to my wife." Mr. Carolina smiled. "This is Lora and the little one is Mina's brother, Barret. My name is Edward." He then turned to his wife and said, "Honey, these are Mina's friends from the academy, Armin and Mikasa."

"Nice to finally meet the both of you." said Lora. Barret shyly sucked his thumb and said, "Nice to meet you."

Mikasa smiled at the youngling and said, "It's nice to meet you as well."

Everyone laughed as Barret became even shyer and tried to hide his face in his mother's shoulder.

"Ah don't mind him. He tends to be somewhat hesitant in meeting others compared to his sister at this age" Lora told Mikasa. "He was born a year before she left for the academy. Mina loved him so much."

Edward comforted his wife as she began to tear up. Turning toward Mikasa and Armin he said, "Come in, we were just about to have lunch. We have plenty of meal for the both of you."

They spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying each other's company and recalling memories they've shared with Mina. Lora commented that she saw why Mina fell in love with Armin, while Mikasa played with Barret, tossing a ball back and forth with him. She could tell sports and fitness ran in Mina's family.

As the sun finally began to set and the young Barret fell asleep, the two young soldiers bid their farewells as they prepared to head back to base.

"Oh before I go, I wanted give you something." Armin told them. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a bracelet made with pebbles. Handing it to Edward, he said, "Mina originally made that for me, but I want you to have it. She told me she dabbled in the arts and crafts, so I want her parents to have the last thing she made."

Edward held up the bracelet in front of his wife, and instantly their eyes began to water.

"I taught her how to make these when she was little." Lora stated, "The very first one she made by herself, she gave to her father on his birthday."

Wiping away her tears, she looked at Armin and asked, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." he comforted, "She meant the world to me, and I want to do anything I can to console her family."

Lora smiled as her husband handed her the bracelet. She again turned to Armin and told him, "Thank you Armin. You have no idea how much this means to us."

He smiled at them, giving them a nod of assurance. With that, he started to walk away. Mikasa waved to them and began to follow. Edward shared a glance with his wife, and both looked at a wooden box on the top shelf close to the door.

Down the road, Mikasa couldn't help but smile at Armin's compassion.

"I know it wasn't easy to let go of the bracelet she made for you. You're very kind Armin." she said.

He replied, "I promise to protect them Mikasa. That's why we must succeed in winning this battle against the titans."

Before they traveled far away, they turned to the sound of Mina's father calling out to them.

"Hey Armin, Mikasa, we want you to have something to!"

Once he caught up to them, he held out the wooden box. Armin took it and opened it up, revealing handwritten letters inside. Instantly, Armin knew what he was handed.

"No, Mr. Carolina we can't take this. These were written for you." Armin argued.

Edward shook his head and said, "We want you guys to have them. Mina wrote to us about her hopes and dreams. She wrote about you, her friends, and how much she was inspired to join the Survey Corps."

Armin looked hesitantly at the open box in his hands, eyes shaking at the thought of reading her words and feeling the emotion in them. To read them, he knew it would make him feel as though she was still alive.

"I want you to share them with your fellow soldiers of your training squad and the rest of the Survey Corps." said Edward, "Inspire them to not be afraid and to fight for what you hold dear. Can you do that for me Armin?"

Holding back any tears that threatened to fall from his face, Armin looked in his eyes and confirmed, "Yes Sir. I will do it. These letters will be a treasure to us!"

"Thank you again." Edward proudly stated. He embraced both Armin and Mikasa, seeing them as though they were his children. A pang of guilt crept into his heart, feeling sorrow that such young individuals were going to fight against the titans. Yet they were mature enough and went through the training. "I want the both of you to look after each other and survive this war."

"We will." they said in unison. After saying their final goodbyes, they left for the day, promising to return soon.

…

With most of the preparation completed for the expedition, Levi's Special Operation Squad arrived in Karanese three days before the launch. Hange left a little earlier, to give her report on Eren's progress.

Even though he gained more control over his titan abilities, Eren figured they still wanted to keep him somewhat isolated from everyone else. Indeed, he was feeling a little like the monster the MP pegged him to be.

Yet as they dismounted from their horses, by chance Eren caught a glimpse of his friends standing among other soldiers. Mikasa, Armin, Connie, Sasha, and a couple of others from his former trainee squad were all there across the street from where they were.

Eren turned and asked, "Captain Levi is it okay if I go talk with my friends for a moment? They're right over there."

Levi followed his gaze and spotted the same two soldiers he seen that day of Eren's trial hearing. One Rico told him carried the "Ackerman" name, spiking his interest. Figuring it would be alright as they weren't far, he nodded and Eren jogged off to them.

As he got closer, Eren called out saying, "Hey everyone! How are you all doing?"

"Eren, you're alright!" Mikasa answered in surprise to see him.

Standing before them, Eren laughed and said, "Sure I am Mikasa. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Considering how that guy took enjoyment out of kicking you, I was afraid they might have experimented on you. Where is he by the way? If he has done anything to you…"

Mikasa looked around and spotted him across the street looking in their direction. She narrowed her eyes as their gaze met, letting him know she wasn't intimidated by him in the slightest.

"Hey Mikasa don't stare at him." Eren urged, "He's a good guy once you get to know him." The group started to chuckle at this.

Connie approached Eren and said, "Man it's good to see you. With you here it's giving me more confidence about the decision I made to join the Survey Corps."

"Thanks Connie." replied Eren, "Even though it was a tougher road to get here than we all expected. A lot of our friends died in Trost, and I won't let it be for nothing."

Looking around, he noticed many of the top ten of their class have joined the Survey Corps. Mikasa, Reiner, Bertolt, Connie, Sasha, Krista, and himself were all present.

"Wow, it looks like most the top graduates are here. That means Annie, Jean, and Marco joined the Military Police eh?"

Eren smiled to himself and thought of Annie. 'Wait for me Annie. It won't be easy, but with the help of our friends, we'll succeed on the battlefield and eliminate the titans. On that day, I'll return to you.' Finishing his thoughts, he noticed the sad looks on everyone's faces.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. Suddenly, a dark notion entered his mind. 'Did something happen to them? Did something happen to Annie?'

"Marco's dead." a familiar voice from behind answered him.

"What?" Eren spoke softly. Turning around he was shocked to see the person standing behind him was none other than Jean.

"That's right." Jean confirmed, "He died in the retaking of Trost. The sad thing is nobody knew he was gone until a little later. We figure he took on a titan by himself, and was torn in half."

For a moment, Eren stood speechless. Then he finally opened his mouth saying, "I don't understand. He wanted to join the MP. Why didn't he play it safer and scale the rooftops?"

"Are you saying he should have been a coward and run away?" Jean sternly asked him.

"No, I…"

Jean relaxed from Eren, knowing he didn't mean anything bad by his question.

"Listen Eren, Marco told me before he died, he was going to join the Survey Corps."

This caught the whole group by surprise. Armin expressed their sentiments and questioned, "I thought Marco was adamant in being able to serve the king? What changed his mind?"

Jean chuckled at him and motioned his hand toward Eren, "Is it that shocking? He changed his mind after listening to Eren's preaching. It seems he convince a lot of us."

Eren stood there looking at the group before him. He suddenly realized they were all here due to the things he said at the academy, his pride of taking the titans down and his critical view of those who wished to run away from them. "He died because of me." he whispered.

"No Eren, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault." Mikasa told him. She looked at Jean and gave him the 'leave him alone for now' look.

Jean received her look, but went on to say, "Ultimately she's right. The choice Marco made was his alone. Yet Eren, you told us the titans could be defeated and you inspired us to hope. Don't ever go back on those words!"

Eren met his gaze, to which Jean turned and began to walk away.

"Jean!" exclaimed Eren, causing him to stop. "Tell me, why are you here? Didn't you want to be safe within the interior? Why are you choosing to fight the titans?"

It almost came across as if he was pleading for Jean to return to his former choice of being a MP soldier.

Jean looked up toward the sky and said, "Marco believed you were right. I can't say if you are or not, but, I chose to carry on his belief in you. I also know for every titan I can bring down, perhaps I can save another one of my friends."

With that, he walked away, leaving Eren and the rest to mull over what he said. Eventually, Armin went over to Eren and put his arm around him.

"Come on, Jean believes in you, we all do." he said. "We have to continue to move on no matter how hard things get."

"Yeah, you're right Armin." Eren nodded.

"Hey Eren"

Eren turned to see Ymir with a playful look on her face. "Yeah" he answered her.

"I'm curious as to where you've been all this time. I'm dying to know what it feels like for you to be a titan."

"That's right" Reiner chimed in, "We heard the Scouting Legion are planning to use your abilities as a weapon. Can you even control it yet?"

"Well" Eren began, "I can't give specifics as to where I've been, they wanted to keep me pretty isolated from you guys. In fact my time with you is probably running out as we speak and I'll have to rejoin Captain Levi soon. Yet as to my abilities, I've gotten better control over them and may have gotten stronger from a strength standpoint if you can believe that. To answer your question Ymir, a lot of strain is put on my body while I'm attached to my titan, so I can't stayed transformed for longer than a couple of hours before I'm exhausted. However, I should be good enough to seal up Wall Maria."

"Interesting" Ymir nodded.

Connie laughed and said, "It's rare you find anything interesting, huh Ymir?"

"That's not true." she told him, "I find your lack of intelligence pretty fascinating."

"How about you say that to my face?" he barked!

Krista shook her head, "Come on guys. Let's not fight. It's our first time seeing Eren in a while and we should be catching up."

Eren chuckled, "Haha, you guys are still the same."

He then noticed something was off as he looked at Reiner. Usually he would jump in and instigate Connie and Ymir's war of words. However not only did he pass that up, but it appeared he looked a little pale.

"Reiner, are you alright man?" Eren asked. "You're not looking all that great. Are you falling ill?"

Reiner glanced at him and put on a smile. "Yeah I'm fine." he assured, "I guess it's just these damn nerves of mine. I'll be 100% once we're finally out there retaking Maria. It will be great to reclaim my home."

'That's right' Eren thought 'Reiner lost his home in the territory behind Wall Maria. He was one of the few who shared my sentiments concerning the titans from day one.'

Putting a hand on his shoulder, Eren spoke and said, "We will succeed and get our land back!"

Bertolt observed as Reiner nodded and reached out to shake Eren's hand in agreement. Over the past few days, he noticed what Eren was able to catch on to. He knew it wouldn't be long before his friend had a breakdown. They needed to wrap their time in human territory up quickly.

…

After another day of completing her duties, Annie returned to her room to rest. A couple of days ago, her unit arrived in Stohess. Here, the rooms weren't as big and the luxury wasn't as appealing. Not that she cared, but to her dismay, she now had to share a room with her partner Hitch.

Upon opening the door, she realized Hitch wasn't there.

'Out at the clubs again' Annie mused. 'Well, at least I can get some rest.'

Walking over to safely store away her rifle, she noticed the window in their room was wide open. She also caught a glimpse of maneuver gear on the table and the uniform of the Survey Corps next to it.

Sensing a familiar presence, she asked, "What has happened?"

"I know it's sudden, but we can't afford to wait anymore." said a voice from the corner of the room. "Reiner is starting to slip; we must act now and get him home."

Out from the corner, Bertolt stepped into the light coming from the window. He wore a hood and cloak to cover his form.

"You were right about what you said before." he continued, "We got too close and developed a bond with everyone. Now he is struggling within himself to do what needs to be done."

"You two did get too close" Annie agreed, "…but so did I. I can understand how he's feeling."

Bertolt became a little stunned to hear these words from her.

Not wanting to get too far off track, he spoke again and said, "Tomorrow we leave for Wall Maria on a mission to seal it. According to our briefing, Eren's group will be in the right column of our formation. Annie, I hate to lean so much on you. I know you're strong, and that is what I admire about you most. I-"

"You don't have to say any more Bertolt. I will capture Eren and we can leave this place. I've completed my research in the capitol, and I'm certain he has the Coordinate. I can't stand Reiner, that idiot, but we are the same. I'll get us home."

"Annie…I…" Bertolt struggled to say. He wanted to tell her his true feelings, but now wasn't the time. "Thank you Annie."

She glanced back at him, and watched as he disappeared before her eyes in a flash of steam. Turning back to the equipment and uniform he left her on the table, resolve crossed her face.

'I'm coming Eren. Please forgive me for what I will do.'