Two years after joining the cadets.
"WOOOOO!" Leo shrieked as he rocketed through the air. His wires shot out and connected to the tree. Gas shot out from behind him, propelling him forward through the air. The wind blasted against his face and through his curly hair.
He turned his attention from the adrenaline rush to the ground and quietly scolded himself for getting distracted from the task at hand. He had to cut up as many fake titans as possible. Commander had called this a "simulation mission". The people with ODM gear were supposed to cut down any titans they came across and protect the squad travelling on foot.
As soon as Leo's eyes settled on one of the fake titans, Annie Leonheart and Bertolt came speeding out of the expanse of trees. In two quick slices from their blades, two deep nicks appeared in the rubbery "nape" on the titan. Jean followed close behind, but his cut came too shallow.
Dang it, Leo thought. How'd they get there first?
"VALDEZ!" The commander barked. "STOP LOLLYGAGGING AND DO YOUR JOB!"
Leo nodded and shot forward, bulleting through the air. Jean had taken off to the right (Secretly pursued by Connie), Annie and Bertolt kept forward, so Leo aimed his blades towards the left and fired his wires.
He rocketed forward, shifting his weight to dodge the trees. Tree, tree, tree, titan shaped tree with flesh colored rubber on it's neck, tree-
Leo whipped around and shot his wires across the small clearing and turned his gas on. He seemed to approach the fake titan in slow motion, until he was there.
Let's do this.
Leo spun his blades around and felt them sink into the rubber and tear a deep slice with satisfaction. The tension he felt in the blades suddenly vanished, and he realized he had done it. He glanced behind him to see a deep nick in the flesh colored rubber. And behind that, a very frustrated looking Nico di Angelo.
"Sorry, was that one yours?" Leo laughed cockily.
"As a matter of fact," Nico suddenly shot forward, promptly passing Leo. "It was."
Nico had spotted a titan Leo was still oblivious to, and was rapidly approaching it. The son of Hades drew his sword and made two lightning speed slashes in the "nape", removing a large chunk of rubber.
"But I hope that one wasn't yours!" Nico cried, and with that, shot into the trees once more.
Leo frowned and bulleted forward. He saw another titan in a clearing, but Mikasa and Eren had already sliced it up. There was another one in that area that the two had missed though, and as soon as Leo aimed his blades to it, Jason came rocketing out of the trees. No wires. No gas. Just him. He sliced with his sword and removed a large piece of rubber from the nape, then he flew away.
Come on Jason, Leo thought sourly. At least pretend to use the gear.
"VALDEZ! GRACE! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, RETURN TO BASE!" Annabeth yelled.
"Says who?" Leo turned to face her.
"Says the commander. Come on!" She replied. She shot back towards the ground and began running with the rest of the squad.
Leo groaned and aimed his blade towards the base of a tree, and fired the cords to pull him down. Jason just dropped from the sky.
"Jason, I know you don't need it, but at least pretend to use the gear!" Leo hissed.
"Alright alright. I was just caught up slicing all those titans, that's all." Jason whispered back.
"How many did you get anyway?" Leo's voice returned to normal volume.
"Ten out of thirty." He replied. "How about you?"
"Two."
~:~
Jason charge forward, wooden knife pointed towards Percy. "Look out Jackson, here I come!"
Percy dodged the stab from the knife and punched Jason's gut. The blonde son of Jupiter staggered, giving Percy an opening. He grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground, and cockily rested a foot on his stomach.
"How was that Grace?" He grinned.
"Acceptable." Jason grunted. "Now come on. It's your turn to charge me."
Percy rolled his eyes and helped him to his feet. Jason handed the son of Poseidon the knife and stood aside, tense and ready to defend himself.
Percy glanced at Annabeth, who was facing off with Piper. She had managed to win as the rogue, since she was so skilled with a knife. She had jumped in and away, dodging Piper everytime, developing a pattern, until she slid in and pressed the point against Piper's stomach.
Percy charged.
Jason held a fist at the ready, and just as Percy was about to stop, the wind forced him into Jason's fist.
"Cheater." Percy grunted. He glanced at the nearby lake.
"Are you blaming me for the air?" Jason asked innocently.
"Yes."
"Come on Jackson, I'll play fair this time." Jason pulled Percy to his feet. "Woah, Reiner's facing Annie."
Percy turned to see the large man step in front of the smaller girl. Annie had been wandering the area since they'd started, not bothering to participate in any fights.
"Commander's not beaten you down enough?" Percy could practically smell the arrogance in Reiner's voice. "Keep it and you'll be as flat as the dirt you're walking on. I suggest you think back to why you enlisted in the first place."
Eren approached the two. Oh yeah, he's Reiner's partner. Percy thought. How's this going to end up?
"Uh, what are you doing?" Eren asked.
Annie's face showed rage beyond anything Percy had seen before. Eren could see it to, and the hesitance was visible on his face. Reiner stepped behind the brown haired boy, and grabbed his shoulders.
"Okay, now go get her!" Reiner shoved Eren towards the girl. Now that Percy looked at her, she seemed a lot like Annabeth. Same fierce gray eyes and blonde hair, though Annabeth's nose didn't stick out as much.
"Huh? What the heck? Wait!" Eren protested.
Annie scowled and got into a flawless fighting stance, her fists in front of her fist and her body tensed.
"Woah." Jason breathed. "That's one of the best fighting stances I've seen. She's reminding me of Reyna."
"Right. Eren sighed. "Well I hope you don't expect me to hold back." And with that, he charged. "HEADS UP!" He cried.
Annie hit the sensitive end of Eren's foot hard enough to send the power through his boot, upsetting Eren's balance and sending him to the ground.
"She reminds me of Annabeth." Percy said.
"Son of a…" Eren grunted. "That was a dirty move…" He tried to stand, but promptly cried out and returned to his knees.
"Are we done here?" Annie asked, looking to Reiner.
"Not just yet." Reiner said hurriedly. "You know the drill, take up the dagger."
Annie sighed and returned her piercing gaze to Eren.
"NO! Wait! This isn't how-" Eren began to protest, but Annie was suddenly on him. She flipped him, drop kicked him, grabbed the knife, all in a split second, and walked away, leaving Eren in a very awkward position. His legs were slung over his head and chest, making a circular shape with his body.
"Hey Eren, you okay?" Jason called.
Eren grunted panifully in response.
Annie tossed the knife to Reiner. "There." She pushed her hair out of her face. "So you ready to take me on yourself yet or what?"
Reiner was clearly shocked. "Uh, not exactly."
"Don't you dare." Eren hissed, still curved like a donut.. "She's got a lesson coming, right? You go get her."
Percy snickered. "I may go for her after this."
"Dude, if Annabeth could judo flip you, Annie would beat you into a pulp." Jason remarked.
"Yeah." Reiner said. "A soldier can't really afford to back down either."
Annie didn't even get into position.
Reiner glared. "Get ready, here I com-"
Flip. Kick. Punch. Kick. Reiner donut.
Eren stared at him, now properly sitting down. Annie stalked away.
"That's some technique you've got." Eren said. "Who taught you how to fight like that?"
"My father did." Annie replied icily.
"Did he like, pioneer it or-"
"Does it really matter?" The blonde cut Eren off. "It's pointless, just like all this."
"Wait, you mean the training in general?" Eren asked.
Annie surveyed the area. "Hand to hand combat doesn't really count against our final grade. The smart ones blow it off. It's crap anyway. Only the top ten cadets get to serve in the interior. The rest of us, forget it. Point is, only the idiots like you take this part of boot camp seriously. Idiots, and whatever they are." Annie's gaze settled on Sasha and Connie, who were doing strange "martial arts" maneuvers. The commander noticed this and walked up.
"Oh, hello sir!" Connie said.
Once again, the commander grabbed Connie by his head and held him thrashing above the ground.
Annie suddenly slammed the tip of the knife against Eren's sternum.
"First rule of this life kid, the better you are at dropping the bad guys the more distance is put between you. That's what this whole stupid farce is about."
"Sure." Eren grunted. He moved to grab Annie's wrist, but she abruptly grabbed his and judo flipped him while he shouted "Whatever you say!"
Annie dropped onto him, knife pointed at his neck. Eren grabbed her hands and struggled to keep the wood off him.
"Face it." Annie said lowly. "You don't fight the nature of things and win."
Eren was clearly shocked. Annie sighed and stood, knife still in her hand. "Look around you Eren. All these people expect us to do is play the game. Don't be a pawn." She walked away, leaving a confounded Eren on the ground. He shakily got to his feet and watched Annie walk away.
"Yeah, well I still stand by what I said earlier." Reiner said, watching her go.
"Oi! Reiner!" Annabeth exclaimed. Percy turned his attention to his girlfriend. "How about you and me?"
Reiner was clearly shocked. Percy was too. Annabeth was an excellent fighter, but could she take down this bulk of a man?
"Alright," Reiner said slowly. "Bring it Blondie."
Annabeth twirled her knife and charge forward. Reiner punched, but she dropped down at the last second and planted her foot in Reiner's stomach. The man staggered back, and Annabeth took his uneasiness to her advantage. She slammed a fist into his side, sending him tumbling down. She pressed the knife against his neck.
"Maybe you shouldn't talk about the responsibilities of a soldier until you can actually perform your duties as one." Annabeth hissed. She got off Reiner and returned to her fight with Piper.
"Annabeth!" Percy laughed. "She's awesome."
"Why don't you battle Eren?" Jason asked. Eren tilted his head to their conversation.
"No way. In a sword battle, sure, but I've never been that good at hand to hand combat. He'd whip my butt." Percy replied.
"You'll never know until you try." Jason prompted.
"...Fine. But only if he's okay with it." Percy sighed.
"I am!" Eren called.
"Eavesdropper!" Percy replied. He took the knife from Jason and approached the dark haired boy.
"You ready?" Eren asked.
"As I'll ever be." Percy grinned. "You?"
"Whenever you want to charge, go for it."
"Thanks, how polite." Percy grinned. He shot forward.
Eren dodged his first stab fairly easily, but Percy sidestepped to avoid his kick. Eren swung a fist towards Percy's head, but he ducked and aimed a blow at Eren's stomach. Eren was expecting this and grabbed Percy in a headlock. He kicked Percy's chest, sending him backwards. Percy regained his footing quickly and charged back in. He tried to sweep Eren's feet out from under him, but the move was too predictable. Eren slammed his fist into Percy's face and quickly jumped back.
Percy staggered, rubbing his jaw. His moves were all expectable. He needed to fake Eren out if he wanted to win this.
"You okay?" Eren asked.
"Never been better." Percy replied, and he charged. He pretend to aim for Eren's face, and at the last millisecond he grabbed Eren's shoulder and shoved him to the ground.
Eren rolled for a second, before he stumbled back to his feet.
"You fight dirty." Eren remarked.
"Then stop fighting clean." Percy replied.
Eren grinned. "Gladly." He sped at Percy, his eyes locked on his wrist.
He's going to fake me out. Percy thought. He's making it to obvious he wants to grab my wrist. I have to defend my stomach and legs.
Percy raised his leg and lowered his arm in front of his stomach. Eren suddenly grabbed his wrist, and Percy found himself being judo flipped.
Tricky little devil. Percy thought. His back collided with the ground, and Eren's weight was on him. The knife was yanked from Percy's hand and pointed at his neck.
"Not bad Jaeger." Percy grunted. "I expected no less of you."
"You weren't so terrible yourself Jackson." Eren grinned. He got off Percy and helped the older boy to his feet.
"Thanks." Percy chuckled. "I try."
~:~
"...that's how you conserve fuel, just let your momentum do the work for you." Jean finished.
"Still, that's pretty advanced."
"Duh. It's called having a sixth sense for the finer points of your gear." Jean turned his gaze to Mikasa, who clearly couldn't care less.
"He's not wrong." Leo muttered. "Using your momentum does save fuel."
"Ha." Jason said. "Listen to him. On and on about the interior and getting all starry eyed over Mikasa."
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be safe." Hazel said. "And Mikasa's a lovely girl."
"Scary as Hades," Percy smirked. "But lovely."
"Did you guys see Percy's showdown with Jaeger? It was intense." Jason asked.
"I did. I watched him complete a judo flip worthy of my praise." Annabeth said haughtily.
"Oh stop it." Percy rolled his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. Eren's an incredible fighter."
"Speaking of which," Nico growled. "Looks like he's about to get in a skirmish with Jean."
Percy looked at Eren. His green eyes were locked on Jean, blazing with frustration.
"Listen to you guys." Eren said. "Interior. Five years ago this was part of it."
"Oh no." Jason groaned.
" Here we go again." Leo sighed.
"You gotta point to make friend? I'm right here." Jean growled.
Eren set his cup down. "Poor Jean, so misguided, and besides, I don't think your head would fit in the interior anyway."
Jean's eye twitched, and there were snickers around the room.
"Eren…" Jason said lowly. "Back off."
"Very funny." Jean snapped.
"Seems a little backwards to me." Eren continued shamelessly. "Fine tuning your titan killing skills so the brass will station you somewhere you'll never see one."
"You'd rather I was good at getting killed?" Jean growled. "Thank you but I'll pass. Better to play the system than get gnawed on."
Eren's face contorted in rage.
"Eren!" Piper snapped. "Calm. Down."
He ignored her completely. "You son of a witch!" He barked, standing up.
"Bring it on you little idiot!" Jean exited his chair too, approaching Eren hostiley.
"Eren please stop it!" Armin cried as Eren seized the front of Jean's shirt.
"Gentlemen please." Mikasa said, pushing the two apart and taking Eren's hand. Eren stared at her for a second, and she returned the gaze.
Eren relaxed, and suddenly Jean grabbed Eren's shirt and yelled "YOU THINK YOU CAN JUDGE ME!?"
Eren let out a startled cry, his eyes wide.
"HEY!" Hazel exclaimed. "STOP IT!"
"YOU RIP MY SHIRT YOU'RE DEAD!" Eren exclaimed.
"I DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT YOUR SHIRT YOU TICK ME OFF!" Jean yelled back.
"WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?" Eren replied.
Almost all the eyes in the Mess Hall shifted towards the fight. Jean looked desperate, and Eren looked murderous.
Suddenly, Eren grabbed Jean's wrist and shoved his sternum roughly while kicking his feet out from under him.
That's Annie's move. Jason realized.
Jean hit the floor loudly, and Eren turned to face him. There were gasps around the room, and Jean sat up, rubbing his head.
"Dang it." He grunted. "What the heck was that move?"
"A little something I picked up this afternoon while you were busy goofing off." Eren hissed. "You honestly believe the Military Police are your ticket to the good life? You're not a soldier. You're a joke."
Hazel was about to get to her feet and personally stab both boys with crystals when the door creaked open, revealing half of the commander's face.
"Would anyone care to explain the little ruckus I heard just now?" He growled. "I do hope everything is alright."
Jean and Eren hurriedly took a seat. The commander stepped into the room, his icy gaze sweeping the sea of desperate faces.
Mikasa raised her hand. "Sasha passed some gas sir."
Sasha gasped in horror at Mikasa, and people around the room snickered and chuckled into their hands.
"Why am I not surprised." The commander put a hand over his mouth.
Sasha trembled in terror, her eyes wide in fear.
"For the love of God, learn some self control." He left the Mess Hall, and Percy burst out laughing, unable to contain himself for any longer.
Sasha tugged on Mikasa's wrist. "Why? Why me?" She whined.
Mikasa shoved a loaf of bread in her mouth, which seemed to satisfy the red haired girl.
Jean and Eren glared daggers at each other, and Hazel stood up.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Frank asked.
"I'm going to teach those two a lesson." She growled, prowling over to their table. Frank got up to stop her, but Nico grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back down.
"When she's like this, no one's going to calm her down until she's satisfied." Nico said. "If you value your life, you'll stay seated."
Frank sat back down, his eyes glued on Hazel as she slammed her palm against the boy's table, making both of them jump.
"What the heck?" She hissed, her golden eyes glowing furiously. "Forget Sasha, you two need some self-control, otherwise you'll drag the rest of us down with you. So stop acting like spoiled children and come to terms with reality. Your fights are pointless, so stop it, before someone gets caught up in them. Because if you drag me or anyone else into your squabbles, I'll drag you down to the very pits of Hades. Got it?"
Eren, Jean, and Armin stared at her, wide eyed and clearly startled.
She slammed her fist on the table again. "I said, got it?"
The boys hurriedly nodded. "Yes mam." Armin said.
"Good. Glad we understand each other." Hazel hissed. She returned back to her table, leaving the boys struggling to comprehend what just happened.
"Nice job sis." Nico bumped Hazel's shoulder with his fist.
"I try." Hazel grinned.
"Looks like those two are going to leave quite an imprint on this place." Percy said, glancing at Eren and Jean.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Piper said. "We graduate in a week, right?"
"Yeah. It's supposed to be a bunch of intense tests, than they announce the top ten and explain the regiment options." Annabeth said.
"And we're all for Scout, right?" Leo asked.
"Yep. Scout Regiment." Jason raised his cup in a fake cheer. To his surprise, seven other cups dinged his.
"The Scout Regiment." The demigods said, and they took a swig of water. Percy caught Eren looking at them with a happy, kind of wistful expression. Jean looked like he might rip someone's head off.
"The Scout Regiment." Percy whispered.