"That kid is incredibly stupid." Levi pointed out after Nick left the room to meet with his father.
"He's not a kid Levi. I read his file, he was the oldest in the 104th Cadet Corps." Mike pointed out.
"He's not stupid." Erwin stated. "In fact, I think he understands the importance of Eren Yeager in our plans to take back Wall Maria."
"But he interfered in our plan by forging a letter from the Royal Assembly." Hange pointed out.
"Yes, he did. But he did it to ensure that we gained custody of Eren for the time being." Erwin countered.
"And if Zackly finds out?" Levi asked, skeptical of whether or not the truth will come out.
"I have faith that it won't. We'll just have to trust that Meier is right about his father taking the fall for this." Erwin replied.
"Tch, doubt it. But if you say so." Levi stated.
"Now then Levi, you should get Eren and head out to the old castle, Hange will be along later tonight." Erwin told him.
"Whatever." Levi said as he then left the room to take Eren to the old Survey Corps base.
"Something on your mind Erwin?" Mike asked him.
"Yes. When the new recruits arrive at the castle, Meier will be placed into your squad for the upcoming expedition Hange. If he joins up that is." Erwin told them.
"Why? If I may ask?" She asked him.
"I also read his file, and the reports of the two Battles for Trost." Erwin told them.
"So? What does that have to do with it?" Mike asked.
"Shadis' evaluation said that he was one of the smartest and the most perceptive in his class." Erwin explained to them.
"Yes, I also read that, but he ranked 39th, what makes you think he has the credentials to join Hange on the expedition?" Mike asked, also skeptical of his abilities.
"Because he has the highest confirmed kill count among his classmates. Even Commander Pixis vouched for him when I spoke to him before the trial." Erwin explained to them.
"Are you sure Erwin? How do we know he isn't working with the enemy?" Hange asked.
"Because I met him before the Colossal and Armoured Titans appeared five years ago." Erwin told them. "Make sure you prepare your squad for the new arrival Hange." Erwin said as he left the room, leaving Mike and Hange alone.
"You might have to warn your squad about him joining, especially Nifa." Mike said once Erwin had left.
"What do you mean Mike?" Hange asked him, confused by his suggestion.
"I'm not gay." Mike stated. "But even I have to admit that Meier is some serious eye candy, and he's still a teenager, you know how hormones can be and all." He told her.
"Please. I'm sure Nifa wouldn't do something like that, especially with a rookie." Hange told him. "Besides what about Nanaba and Lynne, both our squads will be working together on the next expedition." She told him.
Mike ignored her comment about the female members of his squad, he trusted them to not fuck a rookie before the expedition.
"I better not be able to smell the scent of sex on him or Nifa then." Mike stated.
"Are you sure he would let you close enough to even sniff him? From what I heard, he's quite formidable at armed and unarmed combat." Hange told him.
"I don't need to be that close to smell sex hormones, I've been past many brothels, and they reek." Mike replied.
"Right then, I'm off to inform Moblit and the rest of my squad before heading to the castle tonight. Maybe Eren will be interested in some of my experiments." Hange wandered out loud.
"Remember, I'll be sniffing around your squad to make sure." Mike reminded.
"Very funny Mike." Hange said as she left the room to inform her squad of their potential new arrival.
"Hmm, I wonder what a noble smells like, I've never sniffed one up close before." Mike mused to himself as he left the room shortly after Hange had.
(Meier Family Estate)
"You asked to see me." Nick stated as he walked into his father's office.
"Where is it?" His father asked, his voice laced with anger. "I know it was you who took it."
Nick then pulled something from his pocket and placed it onto the desk, revealing it to be the Royal Seal used to mark documents from the Royal Government. "Here it is." He said.
"Do you even realise what you just did!?" His father shoued, his voice seething with anger.
"I gave us hope." He simply answered.
"I don't give a shit about that titan boy!" His father declared. "You put me under intense scrutiny from the rest of the Assembly, they were asking questions about what I was thinking after I covered for you in front of them."
"What did they ask?"
"They asked why I wrote that letter you wrote." He said.
"What did you say?" Nick asked.
"They initially thought it was you. But I managed to convince them that I did it so that the public wouldn't seem suspicious of us. I argued that giving the titan boy a chance was the best option to keep public opinion up." His father explained.
"So why did you ask to see me if you dealt with it?" Nick asked him after a few seconds.
"Because I don't think Rod bought it." He told him. "I think he suspects that it was you that wrote the letter."
"What's he going to do?" Nick asked.
"Nothing right now, I think he's waiting to see if that boy has the Founding Titan." His father explained.
"But who would he give it to, he doesn't have any children after they were all killed, and I doubt he would take it after what happened to Uri and Frieda." Nick told him, avoiding Historia completely.
"That's not true and you know it. He has an illegitimate daughter, and she was in your Cadet class."
"You know about her?" He asked.
"Yes. Five years ago the Assembly agreed that she was a problem since she was born out of wedlock so-" His father started only to be interrupted.
"You were the one that sent Kenny Ackerman after her and her mother." He explained.
"How do you know about that?" His fathers tone changed suddenly, now more concerned.
"She told me two years ago when I figured out her identity. And I will say this." He started. "If Kenny Ackerman or that bitch Traute Carven come after her they'll have to deal with me first."
"That's the problem, you'll get killed if you go up against them!" His father exclaimed.
"No I won't, I'm better than them, they may have the anti-personal manoeuvre gear, but I have the skill required to beat them." Nick told his father.
"You ranked at thirty nine Nick. Thirty nine, they'll kill you without mercy if you oppose them." His father protested, looking worried at his son.
"Rank means nothing when I didn't attempt to get the top ten. I did that so Historia could choose her own path, not be forced to do something she didn't want to do. Again." He told him.
His father massaged his forehead. "If you pull another stunt like this Rod will send them." His father warned.
"Kenny isn't loyal to Rod, he's only after the power the Reiss family inherits." Nick explained. "And Traute and the rest are loyal to Kenny, so they will follow him on his stupid quest for the god like power the Reiss family inherits."
"If you were killed I would never forgive myself." His father told him.
"It wouldn't be your fault." Nick told him. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to see mom and the sister I was never told about." Nick said with an accusing tone is his voice.
"If you must." His father said, indicating for Nick to leave.
As Nick left the room he closed the door behind him and made his way downstairs where his mother was waiting to introduce him to the sister she had while he was in the cadets. Surprisingly he hadn't been about his sibling, despite her being over 1 year old. He initially thought that she was an insurance policy, in case he died during his training, but he was sure that his mother knew better than that, and that she had actually wanted a second child.
"Hello Nick." His mother greeted him very formally.
"Hi mom." He replied.
After a moment of silence he spoke up again. "Are you going to introduce me or not?" He asked.
"Right of course." She said as she picked up the little girl next to her. "This is Rachel, she's your little sister."
"I had gathered that by looking at her. She looks like you." He commented.
"Whoz zat mommy?" Rachel asked, while pointing at Nick.
"That's your big brother sweetie. Remember he's the one I told you about." She told the girl in her arms.
"Can I hold her?" Nick suddenly asked.
"Yeah, sure, you know how to right?" She asked as she handed her over to him. He held her up with his right arm while he offered his left hand for her to play with.
Rachel eagerly took his index finger and started to play with it while he talked to his mother.
"How have you been the past three years?" Nick asked.
"It was... hard at the beginning, letting you go join the military, the Assembly were heavily against it but your father somehow convinced them, saying it would improve relations with the public if a Sina resident was to sign up." She told him. "I was worried about you, a lot, I kept dreaming about you dying in some freak accident or something." She admitted to him. "But your father reminded me of the power in your blood, saying you could handle yourself if the need arose, so that calmed my nerves a bit. But I missed you, a lot, so much that I started to get lonely without you here to keep me company."
"Is that why you had Rachel?" He asked.
"Partly. The other reason was that I wanted you to have another reason to come home to us, I thought that if you had a sibling, that you wouldn't join the Scouts at graduation." She explained to him.
"Mom." He started and then sighed. "I'm not going to die out there. I'll always come back." He proclaimed. "I promise I will."
"Don't make promises like this lightly, you never know what you could encounter outside the walls." She told him.
"I know, but I'll still come home. After seeing her, I couldn't do that to her." He said while looking at his sister, she was biting his finger now.
"Well since you're here, is there anything you would like to tell me about your last three years?" She asked, softly smiling at the interaction between the two newly aquainted siblings.
"Well, where should I start? I assume you heard about the failed training exercise." When he saw his mother nod he continued. "Well I found out that Frieda and Florian had a half sister."
"I know about that, your father told me, he said you would see the resemblance as soon as you saw her." She stated.
"Yeah, she looks like Frieda, except she's shorter and has blonde hair."
"What else happened?" She asked.
"There is another Ackerman in my class." He told her.
"What!?" His mother asked, in shock that there were more Ackerman's in the walls.
"Thats not all, she's also an oriental."
"Then she would be the only one of her kind." His mother surmised.
"Yeah, she told me her mother was a "pure oriental" and that her parents were murdered when she was nine." He told her.
"That's... awful... does she-" His mother started, only to be cut off by Nick.
"Yes she does, she finished top of the class." He explained to her, noticing that his sister had now fallen asleep in his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder.
"She likes you." His mother stated, seeing her daughter asleep now. "I told her about you, I can tell she adores you already."
"How so?" He asked.
"Your name was her second word, after mom of course, but she always brightens up when I mention you to her." She explained. "I wouldn't know what to tell her if you died."
"I'm not going to die out there." He proclaimed once again.
"Please don't, for her sake if not mine." His mother pleaded. "I'll take her to bed, it's getting late." She offered.
"It's alright mom, I'll take her." He offered, wanting to put her to bed.
"It's the room across from yours." His mother told him, the smile from before still on her face.
Once he had reached her room he opened the door and saw her crib in the far corner of the room, he walked over and gently set his little sister down while putting a small blanket over her body.
"It's okay Rachel." He whispered. "I'll always be here to make sure nothing happens to you, I hope you never awaken your powers, I never want you to go through that process."
He then turned around and closed the door as quietly as possible to avoid waking her.
"You're so cute with her love, you know that right?" Frieda suddenly said to him.
"If you say so." He replied.
"I'm being serious, you would make a great parent one day." She told him.
"You really think so?" He asked.
"Yeah!" She agreed rather excitedly. "You would be that overprotective parent that lets nothing happen to their kid without you knowing about it."
"But who would I have a kid with?" He asked.
"A women obviously." She answered as if it was the easiest question in the world.
"What about you?" He asked her.
"It doesn't matter about me." She responded with.
"Why don't you matter in this?" He asked.
"Because I know that you hate that you can't hold me, or you can't kiss me when you're awake, that you have to keep me a secret from everybody else. Don't get me wrong I do love you, but I want you to be happy Nick." She told him.
"But I am happy with you." He explained to her, hoping she would see that he was.
"You might be, but you need to find a girl that you can hold, that you can kiss when you're awake, that you don't have to keep your relationship a secret. You have to do that eventually Nick."
"But... what about you?" He asked.
"I'll always be here Nick, but whatever way you look at it, I'm dead, and nothing's going to change that. So for your sake can you at least try to care for another girl. Please." She added at the end to emphasise her words.
"Okay, I wont promise that I will find another girl, but I will try, okay?"
"Thank you Nick, now since we're here, you going to show me your room?"
(Two days later)
Earlier that day the two titans that had been captured by the Scouts for Section Commander Hange to experiment on had been killed by an unknown assailant. They had escaped using their gear, so there was an inspection going on today to find out who had killed the two titans.
Nick was at a table next to two cadets he hadn't spoken to before, to his left at the next table was Annie, Armin and Connie, when he glanced over however, he saw what looked to be Armin eyeing the gear that Annie had presented.
"I'll have to ask him about that, he has a keen eye, might have noticed something." He noted to himself.
One of the MP's in charge of the inspection then stepped in front of him before talking to him.
"When was the shaft last replaced?" He asked, quite obviously bored at having to do actual work for once.
"It hasn't been changed since the clean up operation. That was five days ago." Nick replied.
"You're clear." The MP said while noting down something on his clipboard.
Now that he had some time to wait he began thinking about Marco's death, he was certain that he was killed by a titan, but the circumstances didn't add up, so he was now sure that someone had taken his gear and disposed of it. He still hadn't talked to Annie, Reiner or Bertholdt on whether they had seen anything, he still held them as suspects but they didn't fit the profile for it, sure Annie was a bit weird and Mikasa was suspicious of her, but that didn't make her guilty. Reiner was known as the big brother of the group despite being more than a year younger than Nick, he was respected by everyone in their class. Bertholdt was difficult to discern because he could do it all in terms of the physical side of things, but he lacked the mentality to take the initiative, putting him lower on Nick's list of suspicions.
"You know Annie, you're actually nice." Armin stated, gaining Nick's attention.
"Eh?" Annie replied, prompting Armin to continue.
"You actively encourage us to not join the Scouts, because you know what could happen to is out there." Armin explained.
"It took you three years to realise that she actually cares Armin?" Nick asked, it was a sarcastic question, but his tone didn't show it.
"I only care about myself, thats why I'm joining the MP." Annie stated.
"Yeah right." Nick thought.
After the rest of the cadets had been cleared, Nick walked up to Armin to find out why he had been eyeing up the gear Annie had presented.
"Hey Armin." He called out.
"Oh hey Nick, what is it?" Said blonde replied as he turned around.
"You want to tell me why you were inspecting Annie's gear during the inspection?" He asked.
"Uh, I wasn't, what are you talking about?" Armin nervously replied.
"Armin I saw you staring at her gear while it was on the table." Nick told him, his emotionless voice making Armin more nervous.
"Well it's just that... it wasn't her gear she presented." Armin admitted. "I think it was Marco's."
"What makes you think that?" Nick asked after regaining his composure at this revelation which had now put Annie to the top of his suspect list for Marco's death.
"Me and Marco used to fix our gear together, so I recognised all the dents and scratches on it." Armin explained to Nick.
"So... you think she killed the two captured titans." It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact.
"I... don't want to believe it was her, because I don't know why she would do this." Armin explained, the panic in his voice was evident.
"Armin, if you accuse her of this without being 100% sure, you could ruin her career as a soldier." Nick told him.
"I know that, but what other explanation is there?" Armin asked him.
"There's no evidence to back your claim up Armin." Nick argued back with him, despite believing his claims.
"But-" Armin started only to be cut off.
"We only have your word that the gear she presented is Marco's, and even then your word won't go far against a skilled soldier like her." Nick said.
"What should we do then?" Armin asked, more to himself than to Nick.
"For now... nothing. Not until we get some real evidence, not just some scrapes on the ODM gear." Nick told him.
"Okay then, I trust you Nick."
"Yeah, just don't tell anyone about this, if Jean hears about this it could set him off."
"Okay then. By the way what regiment are you going to join?" Armin asked.
"Scouts." He replied.
"That's stupid." A voice said before Armin could reply, he turned to see Annie walking towards them, he was panicking that Annie had heard them conversing about the gear she presented.
Nick however, talked to her like he hadn't been discussing her potentially killing the two captured titans a few moments ago. "Why is it stupid? Because I want to fight titans? Or is it something else?" He asked her.
"It's stupid because you think that you can beat them just because you have spirit." She explained. "There are plenty of others who thought the same as you, who thought they could change things like you do... but most of them are dead or going to die."
"Optimistic much?" Nick replied.
"Realistic." She countered with.
"And what about Eren? His power gives us a way to seal the breach in Wall Maria." Nick told her.
"You do realise that you will be expected to die for him if you join the Scouts, right?"
"Yes. I understand the risks of what I'm doing, but it's something I want to do." He told her.
"You want to throw your life away?" Annie surmised.
"It's only throwing your life away if you don't achieve anything." Nick countered her statement with.
"The way this world works, you'll never achieve anything like this." Annie said.
"You can drop the act Annie." Nick said.
"What act?" She asked him.
"You don't have to hide the fact that you care, that you try and discourage us from joining the Scouts because you don't want us to die. I saw through it the first day we met." He told her.
"I don't care. I just-" She started only to be cut off by Armin.
"We won't tell anyone that you care about us Annie." Armin tells her.
"Whatever." Annie stated, her usual mood coming back as she left the two to their own devices.
"That was close." Armin exclaimed. "I thought she heard us."
"Maybe she did, but didn't want us to know that she did." Nick guessed. "But it doesn't matter now, come on, the ceremony is in an hour, we need to get ready."
"Right." Armin said, following Nick as he left the area of the inspection building.
(Recruitment Ceremony)
Erwin Smith had just stepped onto the stage in front of where all the cadets who had survived the Battle of Trost in one piece had been gathered.
"Good evening." He politely greeted. "I am Erwin Smith, 13th Commander of the Survey Corps, also known as the Scouting Regiment." He told them, in case they didn't know who he was. "Today is the day you will choose your regiments. He explained.
"Let's not beat around the bush, the Scouts need you, all the warm bodies we can get. After the recent Titan attack, you now know firsthand the horror of which they are capable…as well as the limits of your own skill. However, this battle's aftermath gave humanity a big chance for victory. I refer to Eren Yeager. After selflessly risking life and limb, he has proven beyond a doubt his unwavering loyalty to our cause. Hope live in him. Eren didn't just help deter the Titan invasion; he's offered us a means to discern the truth of their origin."
"What!?" Nick thought.
"It must be something from his father, he said he wasn't from the walls." Frieda explained.
Erwins statement of learning the truth of the titans caused a large amount of whispers to go on, learnig the truth about the titans could lead to their destruction was what some of the cadets were thinking.
"Not when the monarchy is in place." Nick thought.
"Intel suggests that that the cellar of Eren Yeager's home in Shiganshina holds a vital secret regarding our enemy. We will form an expedition to find this secret. We find it, and use it to break free of the Titans' tyrannical hundred-year reign once and for all."
"But why are we departing from Karanes? Shouldn't we just hoist the horses over the wall at Trost and make a straight shot at Shiganshina through the night when the titans are least active. What's he playing at?" Nick thought.
"Before we can reach the aforementioned cellar in Shiganshina," he continued, "Another problem must be dealt with. We must retake Wall Maria. Of course, this is much easier said than done"
Erwin then made a signal and then Mike and another Scout came out holding a rather large map for all the cadets to see.
"Now that the gate in Trost has been rendered inaccessible, we'll be forced to stage future operations from the Karanes District further east. Thus, the battalion route we've been establishing is now completely useless to us." Erwin explained to the confused cadets.
"Why is he telling us this, shouldn't he be explaining this once we... Oh, he's figured it out." Nick realised.
"Figured what out love?" Frieda asked.
"He's figured out that the traitors are within the soldiers standing here, right now." Nick explained to her.
"But who could they be?" Frieda asked once again.
"That, I don't know, Annie could potentially be one, but she didn't really talk with much people apart from Mina, Eren and me. Mina is dead, so it's not her, and it's definitely not me or Eren, so we'll have to see."
"Over the course of those four years, we've incurred losses in an excessive sixty percent. Sixty percent in four years! That's a horrifying figure. A month from now, we will conduct a recon mission outside the Walls. Recruits among your ranks will be expected to take part. I estimate a third of them will die. After four years, most will be dead." Erwin continued on with.
After those words the cadets went from being hopeful about the future to just plain terrified after being given a dose of the reality of being a Scout.
"But those who endure will amongst the most capable soldiers alive," Erwin assured. "Now having heard this dismal state of affairs, whoever still wishes to put their life on the line and join us…remain here. But first, ask yourself: can you give your heart? Can you give everything for humanity!?"
"Wow, he's certainly not holding back, it's like he's trying to scare them off, or he only wants those totally dedicated to the cause. Well played Erwin." Nick thought.
"That is all." Erwin finished. "Those who want to join other regiments are dismissed."
And just like that, most of the two hundred plus cadets started to file out, only leaving a select few. Annie was among the first to leave, passing by Nick as she left, he saw her eyes glance over to him for a second before going back to her usual expression.
After the rest had left the ones Nick recognised that stayed were Armin, Mikasa, Reiner, Bertholdt, Ymir, Krista, Sasha, Connie and surprisingly Jean. Nick didn't know that he had changed his mind about the MP's.
"I ask you," Erwin said. "If you were ordered to die, could you do it?"
"We don't want to die, Sir!" Jean shouted back at the Commander.
A small smile appeared on the Commander's face. "Of course. Let us hope that you don't, then. You who stayed? You are now one of us! Allow me to welcome you to the Scout Regiment! This is a genuine salute, soldiers!" He then firmly saluted towards them. "Together, we give our hearts!"
All of the 18 cadets left behind all saluted back at him. Showing him their respect towards him as Commander.
"Joining the Scouts." Jean muttered. "This is so stupid."
"Oh man, what the hell?" Connie asked to himself.
"I just want to go home." Sasha cried out, tears in the corner of her eyes.
Krista was crying softly to herself beside Ymir who decided to offer her some helpful advice. "If you're gonna keep crying, then just leave."
"Those of you standing here have worked through your fear," Erwin stated to them all. "You have proven yourselves courageous. Each one of you has my respect."
"Now that I'm a Scout, I can finally fight for freedom from these walls, and nothing will stop me from fighting until we take back this Island from the Titans grasp."