It was night-time at Trost the Cadets around Jean were all celebrating over the fact that Trost hadn't fell, that the 'Rogue Titan' had showed up to save the day and put a stop to the Colossal Titan by sealing the breach.
Normally Jean would be as happy as the rest of the graduated soldiers but he couldn't help but feel his whole world view turn on its head.
For these past three years he'd listen to Eren constantly ramble on about 'retaking Wall Maria', 'driving out all the Titans' and 'carrying on the sacrifices of those before us'. At the time he thought it was nonsense but his hometown being attacked made him realise that he can't just hide behind the interior.
If they can just appear out of thin air and Attack Shiganshina who's to say the same won't happen to Trost.
Erens words repeated in his head. Eren was right, as much as he hates to admit it, they can just come and go as they please, for all they know humanity could have been destroyed at any time.
The day humanity gives up is the day I die!
That damn suicidal bastard, how is he meant to just stay behind Sina after everything he's spent three years ranting about is proven to be completely true.
But he joined the Cadets to join the Military Police, it's the whole reason he came to the Military, to live comfortably in the interior without a care.
Without warning a lanky freckled girl crashed down next to him.
"Hey Jean what are you thinking about?" Her words come out carefree as she drinks a mug of alcohol.
He looks around, thinking of how if that Titan hadn't saved the day then his city would be another Shiganshina." Nothing much, I'm just questioning my life choices." He laments wishing a certain green eyed boy didn't make his decision so complicated.
Ymir takes a painfully slow sip before setting her mug down." Is it cos of that buff Titan?"
He snorts a little through his nose at the description and nods his head." Yeah. I always figured it was pointless to fight the Titans, then suddenly one comes along and saves Trost, it just feels so..."
"Weird? Bizarre? Unbelievable?" Ymir raised her eyebrow at the long faced boy as she listed out words to describe the situation.
Jean nodded." Yeah and just the way it looked, or felt I guess, it's almost like it... I dunno. Like it hated the other Titans I guess."
Ymirs mind also wandered to the green eyed young man that she agreed to follow a year ago. He certainly proved that he isn't just talk and he seems to have kept her secret so far, he still hasn't earned her complete trust but she supposes that he can't really do much to earn it now can he?
During the past year her and Historia have grown a lot closer, her blonde friend even confessed her real name to Ymir a few months back, finding out the girl you love is of royal blood certainly is surprising. Hopefully that doesn't stop them from getting married.
That's not to say she completely trusts the boy, he's keeping a lot from her, he always has this knowing gaze whenever she listens to him and he's holding out on her.
What exactly he's keeping she can't be sure of but she genuinely wants to think that it's nothing that she needs to know.
Her mind has been acting weird and she keeps having this same dream of a blonde kid with slick back hair.
Eren did mention something about inheriting memories from her powers last user, maybe that was one of his memories.
Ymir put her thoughts aside and tried to steer Jeans mind away from Erens Titan, not many other people have eyes like that kid, she might have even put the pieces together herself if she didn't know already.
"Well we should thank our asses it showed up, probably would have been dealing with a bunch of those greedy bastards out there if the big guy didn't stop em." She faked her casualness with ease to keep horse faces mind off the Attack Titan.
Jean smiles half heartedly." Yeah guess it did, no point in looking a gifted horse in the mouth."
Without warning Ymir promptly starts laughing, holding her stomach and Jean feels confused at what precisely she's laughing at.
"You- you'd know all about horses wouldn't you Jean!" Jean groaned a little at the horseface joke, his face isn't even that long.
Ymir likes to think that she did a good job at convincing Jean to think of other things but he did bring up a good point about Erens Titan.
She shuddered involuntarily as she remembered how the muscular behemoth seemed to emit a primal anger and hatred that knew no limits, she found herself wondering for a moment if she really wanted to side with a creature like that, if she really had it in her to hate like Eren can.
They've talked before and she can admit that Eren isn't some blind, idiotic kid that does what he does for the sake of petty revenge, he has conviction and great resolve in the actions he takes. When push comes to shove and Ymir has to choose whether to put her and Historias life in the hand of someone she'd pick Eren, no competition.
I'd rather be a suicidal bastard than some fool that lies to himself that everything will be fine if I hide behind these walls
Erens words repeated in her mind as she layed down her mug with a contemplative look on her face. She can't help but wonder if she's also a fool.
Armin and Mikasa couldn't keep straight faces as Eren told them the identities of the Titan Shifters that infiltrated the Walls.
Reiner, Bertolt and Annie.
Armin wanted to question Eren but when he opened his mouth he instead thought back to many instances where those three seemed out of character.
He'd heard that Reiner and Bertolt were both from South east wall Maria and that they were the sole survivors from their village. That on its own wouldn't be much of a suspicious story, as many refugees have similiar backstories, but Armin realised that them being Marleys Warriors would make sense since all three of them were in the top five of the class and it's likely they'd had training before coming to the Walls, and Armin highly doubts they wouldn't have just come here without prior training. Then there's they're personalities, Bertolt is extremely neurotic and Annie is a loner, making an active effort to make as little contact with people as possible, but then there's Reiner...
If Reiner is a Shifter then he's definitely not in the best state of mind, at least in his opinion, who in the right mind would form such close friendships with... basically every Cadet in the hundred and fourth knowing full well that he could very well kill them later down the line.
Armin closed his mouth and swallowed down his feeling of betrayal at the knowledge that three of the Cadets in his class were the ones who layed waste to his hometown and merely asked." How did you find out?"
"I overheard them and Reiner gave an order to 'break Wall Rose' it wasn't hard to fill in the blanks. Plus... I've suspected them since the start." Erens admits to the blonde boys surprise.
Suddenly Armin feels some confliction at the knowledge of what they need to do to their three comrades in order to hinder Marley.
From a rational point of view this is an incredible development, they know the identities of Marleys Titan holders without them knowing a thing! They could catch them off guard and pass their Titan powers onto their own soldiers without needing to resort to a head on fight!
But from an emotional point of view this is a massive betrayal to Armin, despite knowing that the people of Paradis aren't Devils, despite knowing that at the end of the day the islands people are entirely innocent and ignorant of their ancestors crimes they still made moves to destroy Wall Rose, they still decided to destroy them.
If only they could just talk things out.
"What are we going to do against them?" Mikasas words cut through the tension that seemed to linger over the air as they both waited for Erens answer.
"We're going to need to be smart and patient about capturing them, ideally we'd lure them underground to avoid them transforming and knock them out but actually getting them underground won't be easy."
His green eyes seemed to burn with a dangerous glint." I think we should tell the Scouts about what's really going on and have them help us."
To Armin it made sense, the Survey Corps were the bravest and strongest that the island had to offer, with what they've been fighting for it only makes sense that they'd help capture and strip the Warriors of their power. The chances of them aiding in the trios ambitions was quite high.
However these are also people who have been fighting the Titans outside the Walls for decades, they will definitely, at the very least, distrust Eren because of his ability and could even turn on him. This could be a gamble.
Mikasa immediately defuted the idea though." What if they turn on you for your abilities or try to pass your powers onto one of their soldiers." Her words were laced with worry at the idea of something happening to Eren.
A knowing look seemed to appear in Erens eyes for a split second before he covered it up and shook his head." We won't have to worry about that, Commander Erwin of the Scouts is a smart man, I wouldn't be surprised if he figured out there were people who could turn into Titans at this point, I'm willing to bet money he's looking for the Titan who sealed the gate, if I come to him then I'll gain his trust, at least a little, from then on we will capture one of the Warriors and offer that Titan power to them, this will be a show of trust, to show that we are willing to give up one of the nine to them because we fight the same enemy, the Scouts are our best possible allies but they won't blindly trust us either. This is our best bet."
Mikasa still didn't look convinced, but Armin doubts any plan that could put Eren at risk would be one she liked, however ultimately had to concede that he had a sound plan.
Armin had one problem with the plan though.
"Reiner and the others don't know that you have the Founder, they'll probably join the MP's to try and find it there, since the MP's are the only ones allowed into Sina, it won't be easy to catch them off guard."
Eren doesn't seem worried as he speaks." I doubt all three of them will go to the Military Police, with my Titan appearing and sealing Trost they won't stand idly around and wait for me to act next, one of them will probably try to sneak out of the Walls in the next expedition outside the Walls to try and contact Marley, perhaps get help from their other Shifters."
Armin thinks on it for a moment and he had to admit it made a bit of sense, though the Warriors could do something completely unexpected and throw them off, but regardless they are all planning to join the Survey Corps anyway. Worst case scenario they'll just have to improvise.
Armin couldn't help but lament what Reiner and Bertolt really are. All those moments where Reiner went off about being a soldier, all Bertolts shy kindness... was it all just fake?
Unaware of Armins inner thoughts Eren continues to talk." It's getting late, we should all get some sleep. If we fail then the Warriors will kill us all."
Armin tries to picture it for a moment. Bertolt, strong, not at all assertive, shy, meek... piloting the monster that destroyed his hometown. That picture was just so... off.
Then there's Reiner, the one who tore down the inner gate and let the Titans into Wall Maria, even after seeing that they're not Devils, even after spending so many nights under the same roof, he still ploted to let them all die.
Armin can only feel betrayed and sadness for them, he's cut in the middle for feeling pity that they don't have any real options that don't involve killing everyone inside the Walls but betrayal that they're willing to let so many innocent people die.
Will he have to kill them in the future? Will he have to listen as they're both fed to Titans like so many of their victims? Will his friends decide that it's best to kill so many innocent people?
In the end they're all victims of this cruel world and the Warriors are no exception, they were brainwashed from a young age to believe that the islanders were all Devils, that the world would be better off if they all died, how are they meant to fight a century worth of propaganda?
Why can't the world just put a peaceful end to this conflict?
Mikasa walked besides Eren as they both headed back to the barracks for the night.
She gazes at Eren and has to ponder over how much he has change in just five years. He used to be this reckless, hotblooded kid that would change head first into danger without a second thought but now he's more careful, smarter about picking his fights and considers those around him.
She... isn't sure what to feel about that. She's glad that Eren isn't recklessly charging into battle without a second thought but what is she l for if Eren doesn't need a protector?
Ever since they met she's been by his side, they've done everything together and their future will undoubtedly be full of fighting but she's fine with going through that if it means helping Eren.
She walks by his side and links their arms to which he noticed and smiled back at her.
For nearly a year now they've been a couple and she can't help but sometimes wonder if she did the right thing that day. How is she meant to choose between being his lover and his protector? Will she regret choosing his and her happiness over Erens safety?
As cold as she tries to appear on the exterior she can't seem to maintain her composure when Eren is near her like this, it's like he knows exactly what to do to make her flushed or overwhelm her with emotions.
Armin left the two alone a while ago and allowed the Asian girl and the green eyed boy to walk alone with each other in the serene darkness that night brought. They were practically hugging to keep warm because the cold of night wouldn't leave them alone and Mikasa will admit that she may have leaned onto him for more than to simply stay warm, he's gotten a lot more receptive to physical contact over these five years as well.
She leaned too much unknowingly at one point and Eren fell backfirst onto the concrete floor, dragging the raven haired girl with him.
She internally cringes at her action of knocking Eren over but that all disappeared when she came to the realisation of their current positions.
Her arms were perched over his shoulders against the cobblestone road and she was practically straddling him with her legs spread in a way that caused their hips to rub against his in a way that made her head go blank for a second.
She was going to apologise for knocking him down but the words couldn't leave her mouth as she realised how close they were. Their chests touching, her legs spread on his lap, their face inches apart. It all felt so... intimate
She felt her face grow flushed and hot at how she must look, how this situation must look from an outside perspective and immediately feels shame flood her mind at her own thoughts.
She moved to get up." I'm sorry Er- aahh!" She yelped in surprise as he pulled her back down and made their lips touch as he let the sensual feeling of their tongues dancing take over both of their minds and override all common sense.
Just their lips brushing is enough to make Mikasa lose all the thoughts in her head for an instant and whatever Eren does to her always feels so overwhelming that she just doesn't know how to react, most of the time he takes the lead and she is left following and helpless to whatever he had planned for her, only she felt tonight would be far more eventful than normal.
His tongue roamed inside her mouth and she felt powerless to resist as he pulled out before assaulting her neck with just enough bite force to make her whine lightly at the affected skin.
He whispered in her earn using a tone that made her spine tingle and her tows feel the urge to curl." Why don't we find somewhere better to continue this."
His words snapped her out of her lucid state as she remembered that they're in the middle of a cobblestone street during the dead of night, they would need somewhere a bit more... private to continue.
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