Chapter 8

Life went back to normal when the slayers and I returned home. We all went about our daily routines except this time, the elites had a little happier attitude. Although hesitant at first, the Survey Corps welcomed us among them. We eventually learned to trust each other and some of the slayers became good friends with them. I hoped that the scientists would let us join them again. However there was still work to be done.

Today was training day for the non-elite slayers, also known as junior slayers. Ace, Slane, and I were their teachers. Ace taught them how to use their strength to kill a titan. Slane helped them learn to communicate and learn the patterns of the Alphas. Meanwhile I tried to make them control their shifting. Dealing with slayers with unstable shifting abilities often proved to be a huge challenge at times. A few of them don't even know how to communicate with me using their slayer eye which makes it even harder.

"Alright are you ready Juju?" I asked the young robin breed slayer.

"I've been ready!" he exclaimed proudly.

"Then let's start," I answered, "Begin to shift."

He nodded his head determinedly and took in a deep breath.

Juju was a master at communication and strength, however he had no control over his shifting. Juju could only shift eighty percent of the way in his slayer form. It was often random which part of his body shifted; it obviously never turned out nice regardless. However, despite his failures to master his shifting, Juju never gave up. Whenever he met an obstacle too big, he smiled and laughed at it, saying that one day he'd be big enough to get past it.

"Here I go!" he stated confidently.

He let out a pained yelp as his body began to twitch and throb. His arms began to pull themselves into his body and come out as wings. He came close to shifting entirely until his body gave out and wouldn't shift anymore. His arms shifted to wings and his back arched like a bird, however, he looked more like a human trying to escape from a birds stomach more than… an actual bird. His voice was extremely discordant and raspy.

"Well Alpha! How did I do?!" he asked excitedly.

"We… still have some work to do," I replied with a smile, "However, you're really getting close! You're almost there Juju!"

Con and Mira were watching us from afar. Juju looked back at them and waved.

"Heyurg brew, siz," his voice was so distorted, his words came out monstrous.

Mira smiled at her brother and tried to hide her disturbance of his appearance from him. Con chuckled a little and gave him a thumbs up. I stared around me and saw Slane checking up on his weapon, however there was something different about him. The fact that he was doing it with a smile on his face stuck out to me. I walked over to him.

"Hey Slane," I greeted.

"Good morning June," Slane greeted happily.

I sat down next to him, "You're in a surprisingly good mood. Did something happen?"

Slane let out a happy sigh, "June, I never realised how amazing some humans could be."

"Does this have something to do with… what's her name… Petra?" I asked.

"Oh Petra," he let out another happy sigh, "I've never heard a name as sweet as that."

I perked my eyes in interest, "Sounds to like someone has a crush."

"She's so amazing. She's one of the few people who talk to me and not annoy me constantly!" he commented. He noticed me glaring at him and fixed his statement, "Except you of course."

"Good," I replied.

He smiled as he threw his head back, "Honestly though, I can't wait to see her again."

I giggled causing him to look at me.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing," I answered, "Just, I've never seen you so excited before. You always never seem to care about the things happening around you unless they really interest you."

"Really? Huh," I never realized that about myself," Slane commented.

"It's cute though. Seeing you act like this is different, a good different," I replied with a smile, "You should smile more. It makes you friendlier."

"Thanks June, I will," he replied with a grin on his face.

Alph rounded the corner and saw me.

"Hey June, they're here to see you," he said with a bitter tone.

Slane's mood dropped tremendously at the mention of them. I cleared my throat and put a serious expression on my face.

"Thank you Alph," I replied.

I strided over to where the scientists would be waiting. I prepared a scenario in my head of them deciding not to let us join the Survey Corps on their missions anymore. I'd have to come up with a convincing argument that wouldn't get them upset with me or any of the other slayers. I heard a muffled conversation in the room. I knocked on the door, silencing the talking.

"-that should be her. Come in!" Rent called from inside.

I opened the door and was surprised to see Commander Erwin sitting on one of the chairs in front of the desk Rent was sitting at.

"Commander Erwin? What are you doing here?" I asked surprised.

"Alpha June, it's nice to see you again," he greeted.

Rent cleared his throat, "Number One, please take a seat."

Don't call me by that damn number! I thought to myself.

"Yes sir," I replied calmly and sat down on the other chair.

"Now then, Number One, I'm sure that you'd be happy to know that with the slayer's positive results and the persuasion of the Survey Corps commander, I have granted permission to the Survey Corps to take the Elite Slayers on any missions they see fit," Donald Rent explained.

"That's wonderful news," I tried not to make my voice sound too excited.

"That's not the only thing however," Rent added in, "The members of the Survey Corps also reported on how the slayers social level is equivalent to that of an average human-"

What did you expect it to be? That of a beast's? We still have human attributes, idiot!

"so the king, the one who came up with the idea of the project, granted the slayers permission to converse and socialize with the humans outside of the HQ."

"That's amazing news sir," I smiled a little bit, but quickly removed it.

"Well, unless one of you has something else to say, I shall be on my way, I have important duties to take care of," Rent said while putting on his coat and hat."

Yes, cause I'm sure being an ass-kisser for the king is such an important duty.

Before he left, he discreetly slipped something in my pocket and began to whisper in my ear.

"Number One, you and the slayers must follow these rules, or else there will be consequences," he whispered with a threatening tone of voice.

I nodded my head and he walked out.

"I really don't like that guy," I commented.

"I can tell," Erwin replied while standing up from his chair.

"Erwin, thank you for doing this for the slayers. They really enjoy being with the SUrvey Corps," I said with sincere gratitude.

"I had my own reasons for doing this; on the last mission our death count decreased dramatically," he replied, "I want the Elites to join us on our next expedition."

"We definitely will, Commander," I responded.

Later on in the evening, I sat alone in my office with the paper Donald Rent gave me. I laid the envelope it was in in front of me, still sealed. There were always catches to the good news Rent brought me; he gave me an envelope full of them this time. I listened to the clock tick on the wall as I just stared at the envelope, not wanting to shatter the good news with worse ones. I nibbled on my top lip and picked up the envelope, removing the shiny seal and opening it. Pulling out the paper, my body tensed up a bit. I opened the paper, recognizing that all too familiar handwriting from the scientist.

These rules must be followed by the slayers with no exceptions or excuses. Failing to abide by these rules will deem a slayer unstable and will be removed from the slayer project.

Rule #1: Slayers cannot threaten or engage in fights with humans no matter what the situation.

Rule #2: Slayers cannot shift without the supervision of an alpha.

Rule #3: Humans cannot harm slayers to the point that they can't regenerate. However, if a slayer is not accountable for at the Slayer HQ by 7:00 pm, protection laws are removed from the slayer until 8am the next morning.

I locked my jaw together in frustration and threw the paper away from me. The laws basically told the slayers that humans can hurt them just fine however we cannot fight back. It almost seemed better to stay at HQ then go out in the city, but of course the slayers wouldn't have that.