Yeah I definitely ripped that scene from the Bible, what are ya gonna do? Ban me? Gehehehe, jokes aside here we go again I guess. This Chapter is rather short for my tastes but meh, who cares.
Reiner watched as Annie and Eren fought in hand-to-hand combat once more.
It was a spectacle he had grown accustomed to here recently, with Eren and Annie going at each other in the hand-to-hand drills, a common sight here recently.
Annie had started a somewhat rivalry with the devil, one that included some rather brutal fighting. Being the daughter of a martial artist had a few upsides, and if you ignore their titan abilities she would be the most powerful of their group.
That in of itself isn't strange, what is strange is that Eren, that bastard devil seems to be using the same fighting style as her. Oh it was certainly bastardized, with the stance being a little different, but it was most certainly the same style. Perhaps the devils have similar styles to them here?
As he looked on at Eren as he took a boot to the face he let out a chuckle, or at least he did until Eren grabbed Annie's leg and slung her over his shoulder, she landed on the ground with a thump and a wooden knife to her throat.
"I win once more. Now, are we done here?" Eren said somewhat aggressively, reaching to grab her hand and pull her up. Annie glared up at him, taking his hand before tripping him to the ground. Reiner laughed, these devils are certainly foolish!
He, Marcel, Annie and Bertholdt had chosen the furthest table in the room to eat their chow. They had chosen this table so that nobody could hear them, as everyone else had already sat down by now, with most being on the other end of the room. Those devils didn't know that they were Titan Shifters, the one's who would bring peace to the world and end their tyranny once and for all.
They ate in silence, that is until Annie broke through the stillness among them.
"When?" she asked blankly, poking at the mushy soup they had for chow.
"Whenever we finish our training, we break down a Wall as soon as possible. Perhaps Trost? Nay, they would expect that, it would be smarter to attack Utopia first, they would expect the attack on Trost, so they would fortify it." Marcel said taking a bite out of his stale bread.
"If we're to find the Coordinate we must join the MP. For that I and Annie shall do so, as it will need a quick escape once we do incapacitate them. Bertholdt, you will join the Garrison so that when the time comes you will break the final wall, while Reiner will be in the Survey corps, you will wipe them out so they cannot attempt to retake the King." Marcel said, causing Reiner to sigh. He would take out the devils if he must.
"But where would he be hiding? We already know that the King of Paradis is a fake puppet, so who else could it be?" Reiner asked, giving Bertholdt his potato soup.
"It's obvious, the King of this land must be one of the landed nobility. If we can see who sends the most correspondence to the King, then we may be able to find out who it is and end this farce once and for all." Marcel said, as Bertholdt looked up.
"Hey… is Eren… looking at us, do you think he heard what we said?" Sure enough Eren was staring at them, almost glaring a hole through their head. Being caught looking their way, Eren got up and walked towards them, the patters of his boots on the floor being almost the only thing he could hear.
"Hey… I feel I haven't introduced myself, I am Eren Yeager, I heard that you all had come from Maria, I… wanted to know how you guys escaped the Fall." Eren said, and Reiner let out an internal sigh. It seems Bertholdt's fears were unfounded.
"Well, we all came from one village north of Shiganshina…" Marcel began.
After almost being noticed by the Warriors and learning their plans, Eren let out a sigh. He had thrown some of their suspicions away with pretending to be a survivor wanting to know how others escaped that tragedy, but they would be suspicious for a while longer, so he would have to be on eggshells around them, as if he wasn't already.
Things had changed in this timeline. Obviously there were parallels between the first timeline and second timeline, such as reiner having blonde hair in the second timeline unlike his black hair, or Eren having green eyes instead of grey. That seems to be the same, though the changes are more vast in the third timeline.
Eren's hair was now a pure black instead of the dark brown it was, and his eyes were now a crystal blue instead of grey or green. His memories were also different. His mother hadn't been devoured by Dina, instead they were able to free her from the wreckage, and fled to Trost alongside her, but she died in the Expedition sent by the Government. Hell, there were people that he had ensured died yet they live in this timeline.
Things were different, that's for certain, though he cannot be sure if it is because of changes he would bring about through the Founder, or if it is the flow of this timeline. Namely because he was uncertain on whether he even should pursue the Founders abilities, at least not as gungho as he did initially.
He has a full seven years instead of a mere four, and he won't need to wait to see if the memories even are real because he already does, seeing as it took him a year to even begin acting upon his future memories, as slow as it was.
Eren was certain that there was more, but that was something that he needed to wait and see. Flying wildly right this moment would be folly, that is for sure.
"Ah, Eren!" he heard from behind him, as he turned to see his friends, Armin and Mikasa.
This was back then, when Armin had that long and (in his opinion) childlike hair and Mikasa herself wore her hair long and shaggy. Honestly, Eren can't remember the last time he had seen her with long hair, at least not since he had suggested to her that she cut it so that she didn't get caught in the hands of a titan.
"You've been avoiding us, what's going on with you? We're your friends, we can help you! Armin said, as Mikasa nodded.
"You've been quite… distant here lately, we're worried for you." Mikasa had always been one to worry over him, perhaps it was that childhood crush she had developed for him, or perhaps it was the very true love she held for him.
"I've merely been meeting the people we're going to spend the next three years of our lives with. Im sorry if it felt I was ignoring you two." Eren rubbed his head sheepishly. He had been ignoring them, if only to stop the pain in his heart. He knew that they would try to stop the Rumbling, but he hadn't the thought they would have no qualms killing him to prevent its completion. He himself had tried to pull them away from the battle, being momentarily successful with Armin, but he couldn't had expected that he would turn the tables on him from the Paths.
Armin Sighed "Eren, its not just that you've been avoiding us, you've… changed. Somethings bothering you and you aren't acting yourself!" Armin said, his voice cracking towards the end.
"Armin it's nothing you need to worry about, Im just… worrying myself over what ifs. It's really nothing you need to worry about." Eren said, trying to put his friends at ease. It seemed to have worked on Mikasa, but Armin still looked as if he wanted to protest, but stopped himself and nodded.
"Eren… you know that if you ever need it, we're there for you." Mikasa said, smiling. Eren nodded, before turning.
"If you need anything else, you know where to find me. I've got one last person I need to introduce myself to, we'll talk, later." Eren said, walking away from them.
Keith Shadis was a man who lives a spartan lifestyle. He hadn't always been this way, in his youth he had been a self-righteous prick who thought himself the hero of a story. The knight in shining armor who would save the day and marry a beautiful lass. What a fool he had been.
He had gotten his men killed time and time again, and when his final failure came in an expedition that lost over ninety percent of the Survey Corps he just could not take it anymore. He had to retire, his command of the Survey Corps had been at the detriment of the good men and women within, and they had paid the price he so desperately deserved.
So here he was, living life as an old man, while all those brave men and women perished, eaten alive by monsters that no man could face, no, no man should face. Why was the world so cruel to allow men such as he to grow old and wrinkled while good men and women die for fools such as he?
He sighed, hanging his jacket on a coat hanger and sitting on his bed, before he noticed something… his window was opened.
He hadn't been in his room since this morning, and he knew he hadn't opened it himself. Someone had broken into his room. Someone was still in his room. "Show yourself, I know you're there." he said, standing up.
A chuckle emanated from his closet, as a familiar face stepped out.
Eren Yeager smiled at him, before looking him dead in the eyes with all seriousness. "Commandant Shadis, I do think it is time we had a long talk."