After getting yelled at by a stranger after having a horrifying nightmare, I did not have much of a want to go back to sleep. I laid on my back, looking up at the ceiling in the dark. What could I do to keep myself from screaming in the middle of the night? I wiped my forehead. It was still soaked with sweat.

Irritated, I flipped onto my stomach and adjusted the large pillow at my head. I could not help but notice how large the pillow was. I paused. What if I put it beside me to make up for sleeping alone? If it worked, then it could help me get over having nightmares altogether.

So, I took the pillow and put it beside me. I put my back to it and got myself close enough to it to where it felt like I was sleeping beside someone. It would eventually warm up with my own body heat, but it was surprisingly comforting. I quickly fell asleep again (without nightmares).

Training soon fell into a routine of getting up early each morning and going for a run before breakfast. While all hot and sweaty, we would chow down on a skimpy meal then go back outside for more training. We would finally get a break at around noon for lunch. Then back to work at around 1:30 until dinner at 7. Everything was routine. Nothing was behind schedule. Which was nice in a way, but it got old fast.

I finally figured out what the contraptions were called: 3D Maneuver Gear. I did not get the balance thing right away, but after a try or two, I finally was able to steady myself between the two metal ropes. My favorite thing to do was go out through the trees and soar through the air. It was the best feeling in the world. It felt like freedom.

I also learned how to use the blades they kept within the holders. Since I already knew the book knowledge of Titan anatomy that Espyon gave me, I was pretty much allowed to skip that portion of the training. However, applying the knowledge of killing a Titan was much different. It was far more difficult to pull the blades out and then attack the base of the target's neck and get it deep enough to where it would count as a kill.

The woman who yelled at me that night was consistently paired up with me during the sparring. She was never reluctant like Espyon was and on several occasions really did hurt me. After about the third or fourth day, I finally learned her name and her age: Mary Kat, 28 years old. Even though Mary Kat was nearly a foot shorter than me, she usually beat the crap out of me. You could say I really disliked her.

"You wanna be in the Survey Corps right?" Mary Kat taunted as I landed on my butt again. "Learn to toughen up!" Unfairly, she kicked me in the stomach. I doubled over in pain.

"Hey! What the heck is your problem?!" Joseph came to my aid, which did not do much. He pulled me to my feet. "She was down!"

"So what?" she retorted. "She wants to die anyway by joining the Survey Corps right? This is just the beginning."

"I never said I wanted to die," I said defensively, my gut still hurt. I wondered if she had bruised a rib or two.

"You don't have to," Mary Kat replied. She got into the starting position. Seeing she was going to begin fighting again, Joseph moved out of the way so he would not get hit. "Come on, beat me now or I'll never have respect for you."

I was fed up with Mary Kat. I hardly even knew this woman and she was acting like an annoying teenager. What the heck did she want from me? "Why?" I asked. "Why do I need prove myself to you?"

"Only the strong survive in the Survey Corps. Show me you're strong." She did not put down her fists.

I rolled my eyes. "This is ridiculous," I muttered and put my own fists up.

I would be lying if I said I did not want to win. This woman pissed me off. She had no reason to bully me in this way. It irked me and I welcomed the challenge with a newfound energy. It took several intensely long minutes until she managed to get a hit on me. I was always better at deflecting and dodging than I was attacking. Because she was not able to hit me as much as she wanted, she became livid, but it did not help her in her attacks. A crowd of people had formed a large ring around us, cheering the both of us on. I hate crowds.

Somehow, I managed to get a good hit on the side of her head, knocking her sideways. Only, I did not stop hitting her, even after she was down. I straddled her waist and continued to pound my fists into her face and her body. I do not even know why I did not stop. Blood spilled out of her nose and mouth and onto the ground and myself. I was angry. I was angry at Mary Kat for egging me on. Angry at the Military Police for putting me through torture. Angry at myself for being so helpless. Angry that I could not stop hitting her.

"SLOAN! SLOAN, GET OFF OF HER!" Joseph was yelling in my ear and dragging me away from the crowd and Mary Kat. I kicked and screamed, trying to get away from him. When I finally wrenched myself free, all I could see were a bunch of people in white lab coats surrounding me. I fell to the ground and made myself as small as possible, trying to keep them from hurting me anymore.

The only sounds I could hear was my own whimpers and whispers all around me.

"She beats the hell out of somebody and she's the one crying?"

"She just wouldn't stop… Why wouldn't she stop?"

"The military is too much for her. She should go home."

"What'll happen if she has to deal with a Titan?"

"Maybe that'll benefit us if she goes on a rampage to kill a Titan."

I hate crowds.

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Alright, alright," a voice said all nasally. "You win." I looked up to see Mary Kat staring down at me, holding her bloody nose shut. Her eye and cheek were swollen. A dark bruise was already forming on her forehead. "I respect you now." Blood dripped down her mouth as she talked. She patted my shoulder (I flinched) and then walked away towards the medical cabin.

"What the hell was that?" Joseph asked me as the crowd dispersed. I was surprised to find that none of the superiors had stopped our fighting. Maybe they thought it was a good exercise or something.

Shaking, I stood and began to walk. "I-I don't know," I replied, even though I did know (to an extent). I pretty much kept to myself for the rest of training. Mary Kat stopped yelling at me so much and true to her word, she respected me. Somehow I managed to make it all the way through the 2 month training course without having much more difficulty with anyone (myself included).

Finally, we graduated from the training. We were all gathered into an empty open area with a stage at the front of it. We already knew who was the top ten of our graduating class whom were allowed to join the military police and be in the interior. (Mary Kat happened to be one of them). We stood in a mock formation while we listened to the commanders of each military branches give us a spiel on why we should join them instead of the others.

I could not help but notice that my heart jumped when I saw Commander Erwin walk across the stage and stop in the middle of it. His blue eyes scanned the formations, seeming to dare someone to look him straight on. His stare caused several uncomfortable shifts.

After several moments of silence, Erwin began to speak. "I'm going to be completely honest with you all. The Survey Corps need people. After the most recent expedition outside of the walls, we lost a good number of our people. If you are brave enough to conquer your fear and go outside the walls and come face to face with a Titan, then the Survey Corps would gladly welcome you." He spotted me in the crowd, but quickly look away. "I can not guarantee you your life, but you will be among humanity's strongest. If you wish to join, stay here. If not, leave now." He nodded his head as most of the crowd left.

I stood my ground as people quickly flooded past me. I had made it this far, but I was trembling. I had doubts. Did I want to have a better chance at living and join the Garrison like Joseph? I was not part of the top ten so I had only two options. I looked back up at Erwin. My heart ached. I wanted to be near and with him, but I also wanted to live. I thought I knew the consequences, but now I had a choice of whether I wanted to accept them or not. In the end, I stayed.

I was one of maybe twelve people. A larger number than I had expected. I looked towards the front where Mary Kat had been standing. I was surprised to find she stayed.

Erwin looked us over again. "Very well then. You all have accepted. I welcome you to the Survey Corps! RAISE A SALUTE FOR A STEP FORWARD FOR HUMANITY!" Simultaneously, we all saluted, putting our right fist to our hearts and our left behind our back. I could see out of the corner of my eye, a man beside me was shaking violently. The woman in front of me was crying. Eventually, we were all dismissed and told to go to our respective cabins to gather our things before heading to our new military branches.

Mary Kat caught up with me. "Well, you have your wish. The Survey Corps."

"Yeah," I replied. "Why didn't you join the Military Police? You were one of the top ten." Personally, I was glad she did not join them, but I did not tell her this.

"Well," she said shrugging. "I figured if you're tough enough to beat me, then I'm tough enough to join the Survey Corps if you are."

I laughed. "Is that it?"

"Sure, would I have any other reason?" she asked.

"Well, Commander Erwin is a looker, ain't he?" I teased.

Mary Kat waved her hand. "Yeah, yeah whatever. So what if he is?"

I laughed again. "Come on, they probably won't wait on us." I said good bye to Joseph and told him I would meet up with him again some time. He was crying and ended up hugging me so hard my back cracked. After getting him unglued from me, Mary Kat and I went towards the small Survey Corps caravan.

It was early morning when we arrived back at the Survey Corps headquarters. I had slept most of the way there since we had left the night before. I do not really remember arriving, I just remember walking back through the familiar corridors towards my bedroom when I was once again unexpectedly hugged tightly.

"Espyon!" I cried out.

"Ariadne, I missed you!" Espyon said, squeezing me a little tighter.

"Hey, I can't breathe!" I managed to say.

"Sorry!" My best friend apologized, quickly letting me go. I had never seen her so energized. "I missed you!" she said again.

"I can tell," I replied with a chuckle.

She looked me over. "You look good," she complimented. "Jacket looks befitting on you too." She flipped my hair. "Hair's down past your chin now too."

"I can just barely get it into a pony tail," I described. We chatted some more "girl-talk" as we entered my room. I fell backwards onto my bed, my arms sprawled out beside me. "It's so good to be back here," I announced.

"Well, how was it?" Espyon asked, sitting beside me. "The whole experience."

"Exhausting. Didn't take as long as I thought it would though. I figured it would be much longer than a few months." I kicked my boots off and watched them fly across the room.

"They usually do that with the older group because they learn much quicker than teenagers," Espyon explained.

"I see," I said. I turned to look at her. "How old were you when you entered?" I asked.

Espyon crossed her legs and thought for a bit. "I wanna say I was 13, but I think I was a bit older than that. I'm 23 now, so I've survived for quite a while here."

"Good to notice," I pointed out. "Speaking of which, how was it without me?"

"Quiet," she said quickly. "Commander Erwin has been pretty restless."

That peaked my interest. "Oh? How do you figure?" I wondered if she knew we had continued sleeping with each other after she walked in on us that one morning. (Probably, but she did not say anything about it.)

She shrugged. "Just, restless. Wanders around a bunch at night. More than normal."

"Hmm." I sat up and smoothed down my hair. She looked at me as if expecting me to say something about Erwin wandering around at night. "Well, what should we do now?" I asked, changing the subject.

She shrugged again. "I dunno, but I have some things I need to take care of. Otherwise Corporal Levi is going to breathe down my neck for the rest of the day." She stood. "Oh, wait, before I go. I have something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Now that you're a soldier, you won't be getting the same treatment you did before. You will be treated as a soldier and will be expected to act like one." She straightened herself and went to the door. "Be ready. Commander Erwin hasn't officially announced it yet, but we will be launching a secret mission within the walls."

Oh, Espyon, how we love you and your ways of being secretive. Sorry folks, gotta cut this one here!

This one was sorta a filler I feel like, but next chapter will be interesting because I'll be bringing in Hanji again (and we all love her) :)

Also Ariadne has a form of PTSD if you haven't picked up on that. What did you think of Mary Kat? I like both Ariadne and Mary Kat, but Ariadne has a much more likeable personality.

I didn't get Joseph in this chapter as much as I would have liked. :/ Oh well, we'll see him again eventually.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading and please feel free to write a review!