Grausam Zanki, Condemned to be Redeemed

by Traitor of All Traitors

Suppose that someone that was deemed irredeemable was given a chance to redeem themselves by doing things they wouldn't consider doing for people that they felt weren't worth doing anything for? Suppose that a man that had been defeated and locked away for eternity was given a reprieve that would decide the aftermath of his fate later on? From the creator of Hope from the Sky.

2. The Jaeger Titan Corps

Creation began on 11-02-23

Creation ended on 11-23-23

Attack on Titan

Grausam Zanki, Condemned to be Redeemed: The Jaeger Titan Corps

It took him two days, making use of the limited resources Hange Zoe was able to gather up for him, but since he had his blood to use as a base for his serum, Grausam was able to recreate it for the Survey Corps. Well, as best as he could recreate it; there were five syringes full of the average dosage…but nobody had taken them just yet. If they were going to be able to handle the Titans with new motivation, the Survey Corps needed people that were willing to take the risk of becoming Titan Shifters, people endowed with the power to face the Titans on their own turf.

"We have three volunteers," Erwin informed Grausam, a day later when the corps members were informed that there were five injections available to be used. "Are you confident that there are no side-effects we should know about?"

"The only side-effects I know of are based on the person injected with the serum," Grausam responds. "The serum is flawless because it's been refined over time. The flaw is the person being injected. In addition to the power of the Titans, the serum magnifies the most prominent traits within the individual, bringing them all up to the forefront, which determines the power of their Titan form. A good person will become great. A bad person becomes worse than they were before being injected. My step-granddaughter was the former. I was the latter. I will always be the latter."

"Good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. How does one tell the difference between good and bad when someone is injected?"

"I guess an example of such is the way they perceive power and everything that comes with it. Someone, good or bad, even a strongman that has known power for as long as they have, or even desired it for the sake of desiring it…may begin to lose respect for it and its purpose to why you had it to begin with. But someone weak, someone that has never wanted it to begin with, only to find themselves blessed and cursed with it, will over time come to realize its true value and purpose…because they likely have morals or a code of ethics and behavior that limits their exploitation of such a power…as well as knowing compassion."

"And she was the former in everything she was capable of?"

"Everything and more. She didn't want the power. She didn't want to kill people. She didn't like bullies, people that deliberately bother other people, and didn't care who they were or where they were from. In the end, she only did what she did to protect others and her home from being laid waste to by those that wanted to harm them, whether they were from outside the Walls or within them. She never let things like greed and domination rule her way of thinking. In the end, she stayed true to herself and didn't become a monster."

Erwin could only hope that the volunteers that received the injections would retain their humanity and understand what they were doing this all for. And if need be, he would also volunteer for one of the injections; a leader had to set an example for the rest of the organization, and he was the leader. If his more prominent traits included even a little of the morality that Kaede Sogen had exhibited that gave her the power of the Titans and the designation of Queen of the Titans before he was defeated for the last time, then maybe he could become one of the great ones and free the people from life behind the Walls…and the reign of the person with the Founding Titan.

-x-

Three years to prepare the Survey Corps for the arrival of the Warriors from Marley, which were nothing more than a bunch of kids being manipulated by the military powers that be into destroying the current lifestyle behind the Walls in an attempt to get the Founder to do something about the devastation being caused to their people's lives…and there was only less than that before anything could be accomplished if there was still the fear of failure and defeat at the hands of an enemy they knew nothing of beyond what Grausam had informed them, based off of his own memories and the limited information he was afforded by the man that condemned him to this path of redemption for his soul. Still, what Erwin, Levi and Hange had been informed of by Grausam was still detailed enough to convince the three that Marley, despite being the country closest to Paradis with the most known disdain towards the Eldians for simply existing, was among the countries at the bottom of the world when it came to technological advancement and socialist revolutions; because of their dependence on the power of the Titans and their drive to remain in power, the people of Marley had become no different from the people of the past that had ruined their lives in exchange of wealth and power…and such history was a condemnation for being repeated to the younger generations, spreading hatred that was one-sided. If there was going to be change, there had to be those willing to take a stand and sit down with the so-called enemy…and talk.

"Hange?" Levi went, finding Hange outside Wall Maria with a handful of corps members, facing the vast terrain in front of them. "I have a question to ask you."

"What about?" Hange responds, not looking at him.

"When Erwin and Zanki went to check on the supplies we had for the Jaeger Titan Serum, they noticed that one of the five injections was missing. Would you happen to know anything about a missing syringe?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," she answers him, raising her left hand up, revealing a syringe that had been used."

"What did you do?"

"According to Grausam, only Subjects of Ymir, a faction of Eldians born with the ability to turn or be turned into Titans can make use of the power of the Titans, but the minor exception to this rule is that Eldians born into this Ackerman family, like yourself, who can't be turned into Titans no matter what happens to them…but are said to demonstrate a small fraction of their power. You're an Ackerman, so until Grausam can find a solution to remedy that limitation like he did before with his blood, and until we can vet each soldier's comprehension and motivation, who else is better to test out the boon we've been given?"

"Hange…you don't know what it will do to you."

"I must possess some worthy traits to become one of the great ones. I'm a soldier, willing to dedicate my heart to the cause, and I've been studying Titans for a long time. I have always found them to be fascinating. You should take a step back now."

Levi could sense the impending moment that Hange was waiting for and backed away.

Hange could feel an intense heat brewing inside her, like her muscles and nerves were lit ablaze.

BOOM! An explosion of light and heat came seconds afterward, sending Levi flying at least one meter into the air before he hit the ground.

"Oompf!" He grunted as he got back up. "Dammit, Hange…"

In the several feet away from him and the other corps members, a Titan stood, and was a well-endowed one, too. It stood fifteen meters, slender-yet-muscular, and had a head and facial structure that resembled the woman it was modeled after, excluding the goggles and dark skin coloration that Grausam claimed was said to be a condition of the Jaeger Titans; every Titan he created had the same dark complexion that set them apart from other Titans. This was the Jaeger Titan modeled after Hange Zoe, a Titan that was said to be capable of intelligence and wasn't just a mindless monster. As Levi brandished his blades, just in case this Titan was anything but intelligent, he saw it raise its right arm to its mouth and perform a gesture meant to be a joke.

"Rrraah!" Hange's Titan went as it mocked a kiss being blown at Levi; the woman clearly possessed her intelligence and hadn't been dumbed down by becoming a Titan Shifter.

Levi sighs as he replaces his blades; since Hange was in control of herself, there wasn't really a threat from her. Now, they could begin some trial and error with her Titan's effectiveness.

-x-

Four remaining doses of the Jaeger Titan Serum…and one Jaeger Titan for the Survey Corps. While a surprise for most of them, it was a success for Grausam; Hange's injection of the new serum proved that it worked for them, and her Titan's form was an indication that her prominent traits were positive over negative, making her one of the "good becomes great" Jaeger Titan Shifters. The benefits included increased strength and speed, durability, endurance, regeneration, in and outside the Titan body, and retention of memories, knowledge and cognitive abilities that separated a Jaeger Titan from a regular Titan. In addition, now that Hange was a Jaeger Titan, the power was hers until the day she died, whether it was from natural causes like old age…or unnatural causes like being devoured by a regular Titan that managed to bite into her Titan's spinal cord at the nape where her human body resided.

Until the Survey Corps could acquire more of the resources necessary for Grausam to produce more of his serum, the Jaeger Titan Corps would only consist of five members. Despite his usefulness, Grausam's reliability as a Jaeger Titan was significantly less than what the other members could be due to his advance age and decrease in his abilities, leaving his only other resource being his knowledge of producing the serum to create more Jaeger Titans to aid in protecting the island once the Titan infestation was dealt with.

"Are you ready?" Grausam asks one of the three volunteers that was prepared to be injected with the Jaeger Titan Serum.

"Yes, sir," he answers him, raising his left arm up. "Let's get it over with."

Grausam wiped the arm with a damp cloth that was soaked in alcohol to sterilize the skin before raising the syringe needle to the limb.

"So, there are Titans capable of hardening their skin?" The soldier asks him.

"Depending on the Titan and how augmented it is," Grausam responds, injecting the serum into him. "The Jaw Titan possesses hardened jaws and claws. The Armored Titan is covered in hardened skin plates from top to bottom. The War Hammer Titan is specialized with manipulating its hardening to create weapons or tools, such as its signature war hammer or a whip with nine ends. Other Titans can be augmented with specialized serums to enable hardening, but if it's one of the Nine Titans and they're passed on to a new holder, the Titan that doesn't have natural hardening will have to be augmented a second time."

"So, not all Titans are equal."

"If that were the case, then all the Titans would be capable of the same feats instead of having unique abilities that vary from one Titan to the next. Why do you ask?"

"Will we be able to harden? Even just in cases of defense?"

"I can't say for sure. If it's not innate with any of you, the next time I create more of the serum, I'll have to make sure that it comes with the ability to harden."

"Can I ask a personal question?"

"I have no more secrets."

"When you became a Titan Shifter, when you possessed that power to become a Titan at will, to no longer be bound by some of the laws that we abide by…how did it feel?"

That was a question Grausam didn't expect to be asked by anyone. How did it feel for him to have such power in the beginning? What does it feel like for anyone to possess such power if it came at a price?

"When I injected myself and escaped from my past," he states, "my primary concerns were regaining my lost leg…and finding a life beyond the Walls. When I obtained the power that enabled me to achieve these feats… I was elated. It felt good. It felt as though I had grasped something beyond my wildest expectations and exceeded them. In my initial Titan body, I felt on top of everyone. Nobody could tell me what to do. That was how I felt."

"And now?"

"And now… I'm just a man whose soul is condemned to a dark fate that I wish to escape from."

"Good luck with that."

"Thank you."

Removing the syringe, the injection was completed, and a new Jaeger Titan was created for the Survey Corps' Jaeger Titan Corps.

"How long until it takes effect on me?" The soldier asks him.

"When injected with the serum, you should be feeling a change almost instantly," he answers him. "How do you feel right now?"

"Honestly, like I just ran a marathon."

Grausam then took out a small blade and asked the soldier to hold up his right arm.

"Don't think about anything," he instructed him. "This is to see if you have instantaneous regeneration. If steam starts to emit from an open wound, that means the serum's working."

As he made a small incision in the skin, Grausam saw the beginnings of steam coming from the minor wound.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he utters, "we have a regenerating injury. You're officially a Jaeger Titan, soldier."

"Ever since I joined the Survey Corps, I only ever killed three Titans on my own. Never really expected it to be difficult."

"If it's any consolation to what I do know about the Survey Corps, my step-granddaughter was never a member of the military, but when they found out about what she was capable of, how powerful she could become because of my twisted intentions, she became an ally for them to do more than they thought they could do on their own or with her boyfriend at the time."

"And she was the only Titan Shifter that could do what she was capable of doing?"

"As far as I know, she was the second most powerful Titan Shifter after Ymir Fritz, the original Titan Shifter. Second most powerful…but probably the most powerful due to her morality and capacity to see the potential good in whatever situation she and others are in. She was no killer, disgusted with the act of shedding blood, even to save herself or others, but only did so when she had no other choice…and she refused to accept that she had no other options. If someone told her she had no other option, then she would make another option that was hers to choose."

"She sounds like someone you admire a little, despite hating her."

Grausam thought about it and nodded in agreement.

"I admired her potential to do what others could only imagine themselves doing," he states. "Any that believed in genocide, she would believe in coexistence. Any that chose the path of war, she would choose the path of peace. Any that believed that fighting for freedom was a requirement to live, she would question whether or not those that fought were even happy."

"Since when is freedom the same as happiness?"

"They are not the same. Freedom is not even the same as peace. Those that believe they are have no right to a happy life if they try to project their beliefs onto others that may believe differently. And those that believe that both have to be obtained through power moves or political influence will find themselves walking a razor-edged line between being a person that wants the world to be a better place…and a monster that is a person without a soul. Eventually, we're torn between what is the right thing to do…and what is the easy way to do something."

"What is right? What is easy?"

That was something that Grausam couldn't answer. As a Jaeger Titan of the bad-to-worst kind, every choice he made related to one or two drives: Power or vengeance. If it was power, made strives to obtain as much of it as he could. If it was vengeance, he directed his attention toward whoever he wanted to take out of his life for good. But here he was, trying to use his skills to redeem his soul.

"Protect your home," he tells the soldier. "Protect what is most important to you. Friends. Family. A love interest. Those are what you should use your bestowed power to keep safe. That is the right thing to use your power for."

-x-

It was one thing to create the small unit of five Jaeger Titans for the Survey Corps, but the unit needed to be field tested to show that they were capable of facing regular Titans in unclaimed territory. Of course, this was also where Grausam had to make his request for something the unit would be capable of aiding in. While it was true that the majority of the Titans were just Subjects of Ymir transformed into behemoths with no control or awareness of any of their actions, acting only on the insignificant drive to consume until they come across a Subject of Ymir with the power of the Titans, or rather, someone with one of the Nine Titans created after Ymir Fritz's passing, it was unlikely that they could be saved without the power of the Founding Titan that still existed under the hold of the royal family, Grausam, simply because he was told by the man responsible for him being here in this lifetime, wanted at least two of the Titans taken in alive for research purposes.

Two specific Titans: A five-meter Titan and a fifteen-meter Titan with unique features; the five-meter Titan would be skinny, severely emaciated, with dark hair and eyes, and the fifteen-meter Titan would possess a rictus grin or a severely frightening smile. These Titans were the ones the Survey Corps and the Jaeger Titan Corps would have to be on the alert for; all other Titans were fair game, but these two had to be taken in with their napes undamaged.

"Why these two Titans?" Erwin had asked Grausam upon hearing the request.

"The Titan with the bad smile is an Eldian with royal blood," Grausam revealed; he was under no obligation to hide the truth from them, "and the small Titan is a person of interest to a young lady that has yet to meet her. But when I say research purposes, what I mean is trying to return them to human form without the need for the power of the Titans or the Founding Titan's power over all other Titans. The Jaeger Titans are a separate faction of Titans the Founder has no influence over. So even if the royal family did try something to make you forget about what you discovered, it's doubtful that you would if you were a Jaeger Titan."

"Are you confident that you can turn regular Titans into Jaeger Titans?"

"I have never done so before…but it hasn't stopped me from attempting so."

And if he could, it was within the realm of possibility that his research could return other Titans back to human form. With that in mind, the five Jaeger Titans the Survey Corps possessed, led by Hange Zoe, would aid in finding and apprehending the two Titans they were ordered to acquire at all costs for Grausam Zanki's research.

"Are you confident that he can be trusted now?" Levi asks Erwin as they were out in the forest to train with the other four Jaeger Titans, each one fifteen meters, dark skin, muscular, lean and with complete control and aware of what was going on around them.

"He doesn't seem to be hiding anything further," he explains his own suspicions on Grausam. "And if he wanted to kill us, all he needed to do is cut himself and change into his Titan form. Except that he hasn't made any attempt to do so. He says he's looking to atone for his misdeeds by helping us take back the island and seek peace with the world, to save his soul from what awaits him at the end of his road. Does a man seeking redemption truly do wrong when he says he's out to atone?"

"For some, right and wrong can be blurred, confusing or even manipulated."

"And if he wanted to poison us when he gave us the power he possessed, why make it so that those with this power would be spared the harsh reality of dying in thirteen years like the people that possess the Nine Titans? He's been a Jaeger Titan for a long time and has yet to die. He's not hiding anything he knows he shouldn't. For now, I believe we can trust him."

Slice! One of the Survey Corps soldiers lopped off an arm belonging to the Titan of Hange, and then watched as the severed limb regenerated in under a minute, looking good as new.

"Rrrraugh!" Hange's Titan roared; unfortunately, the power of speech was a power not common with the majority of Titans, and even among the minority was speech rare.

One of the other four Jaeger Titans had managed to tear down one of the large trees, sending it to the ground. It had been over fifty meters, and all it took was a heavy-handed ramming assault to the base of the tree to send it tumbling down.

"Timber!" Another soldier announced from the side of another tree.

The Jaeger Titan that had taken down the tree was different from the rest due to its dark skin looking more like armored plates and scales covering its body from top to bottom, a sign that the Jaeger Titan possessed automatic hardening of its flesh, similar to the Armored Titan they had heard about, unlike the other four, which lacked hardening abilities for now. Only for now, because Grausam would find a way to make it so that they could possess hardening capabilities and whatever else they could do with their Titans when he developed the next batch of Jaeger Titan Serum in the future. Until then and until he could produce more of the serum, the Jaeger Titan Corps would consist of these five members: Hange Zoe, Petra Ral, Oluo Bozado, Gunther Schultz…and this young woman named Kara; apparently, she was some sort of apprentice to Levi. Each one a dedicated member to the cause of protecting the people and reclaiming the land beyond the Walls. Whether or not Grausam felt even a semblance of pride in his work being put to use for a different cause, that was unknown, only that he was impressed by these five Titans that retained their intelligence and were capable of feats regular Titans couldn't achieve.

All that was needed to prove that the Jaeger Titan Corps was a capable unit of Titan allies was to field test their abilities now. A trial and baptism by fire. And they would be tested on the next expedition outside the Walls, and Grausam would be going to assist; he needed to help them make sure the two Titans they would have to capture were the ones they were after; a Titan with a smile would be easy to identify, but a five-meter one was another story, and they needed to be accurate and careful.

-x-

"Are you ready, Dr. Zanki?" Levi's protégée, Kara, asked Grausam, as he turned to face her, holding his knapsack of rations.

"I am ready, and it's just Grausam Zanki," he responds. "I am not a doctor, just an old man with a mind that discovered the means to grasp freedom and exploited it for my own purposes once upon a time."

"Right. Come with me, please."

He followed her.

To be continued…

A/N: Thanks to Todorokisgirl251 for letting me borrow his Kara character from Save me from my Demons to fill the fifth slot for the Jaeger Titan Corps. Not sure when the next chapter will be posted, but I want it to include the apprehension of the two Titans desired. What do you expect to see in the story later on? Happy Thanksgiving!