"ALRIGHT YOU LITTLE WASTES OF FILTHS, LISTEN UP! WE NOW BEGIN THE ENLISTMENT CEREMONY FOR THE 104TH TRAINEE CORPS! I AM KEITH SHADIS! AND I HAVE THE ABSOLUTE MISFORTUNE TO BECOME YOUR INSTRUCTOR TO YOU BRATS! I AM NOT HERE TO WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!"
Three years have passed as Eren, Armin, Mikasa and Annie were now standing alongside the many cadets in a military facility. They stood at attention as a military instructor, Shadis, continued to yell at them.
"RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE ALL NOTHING BUT CANNON FODDERS TO BE KILLED BY THOSE METAL TITANS! KNOW THAT YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE AGAINST THE LIKES OF THEM."
Most of the recruits' sweats dropped as they remembered Shiganshina.
"THEY ARE SOMETHING NEW ENTIRELY. TITANS FROM AMONG THE STARS WITH ABILITIES STILL UNKNOWN TO US! IF YOU IDIOTS THINK YOU ARE STILL UP TO THE TASK, THEN YOU ARE EITHER BRAVE OR JUST UTTERLY STUPID! BECAUSE IN THREE YEARS WE WILL START TRAINING YOU WORTHLESS BRATS AND HOPEFULLY GIVE YOU THE MEANS TO FIGHT THOSE METAL MONSTROSITIES! AFTER THREE YEARS, WHEN YOU STAND BEFORE A TITAN, WILL YOU STILL COWER IN FEAR AND RUN?! BECOME A NOBLE PROTECTOR TO THE KING?! OR WILL YOU BECOME THE ULTIMATE AND GLORIOUS PROTECTOR AND SOLDIER THE CITIZENS OF THE WALLS HAVE EVER SEEN?! YOU WILL DECIDE!"
Eren can only look on in pure determination. 'We will take back what's ours…one way or another!'
The military instructor began to walk to one of the recruits. "Hey, you! Mop-top!"
"Sir!" he said as he saluted.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"I'm Armin Arlert, from the Shiganshina District sir!"
"Is it?! What a ridiculous name! Did your parents give it to you?! Why would they curse you with such a name Arlert?!"
"My grandfather named me, sir!"
"Arlert, why are you here?!"
"To help humanity achieve victory to the best of my abilities, sir!"
"That is wonderful, Arlert! You're going to make a great target practice for those metal titans! Row three, about face!"
Shadis then grabbed Armin's head and turned him to the back. He continued to walk to the next victim. "What do they call you?!"
"Sir! Thomas Wagner from the Trost District!"
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
As Shadis continued to yell at the boy, two military officers walked by.
"Look at him go," one of them said. "Shadis is a professional when it comes to new recruits. You went through the same thing too, right?"
"It takes me back."
Shadis was now yelling at a girl. "Is a pathetic worm like you the best Karanes has to offer?!"
"Sir! I'm afraid that's the case, sir!"
"But what's the point of all this intimidation?" one of them asked.
"It's a rite of passage. Through stress and pressure we mold them into the perfect soldiers. He is the first step in this process."
"I see. I still don't know if that's enough to combat those titans from the stars. They've practically taken over the entirety of the outer wall."
"Let's just hope that now, not only do the children pull through, but all of us as well."
As the two officers continued to watch Shadis drill the recruits and talked among themselves, a certain bird-like creature was perched from afar, hidden from view.
"This is what the kids are going through?" Frenzy said as they watched from Laserbeak's eye view through a holographic screen. "Pathetic."
"Nothing compared to what our instructors put the new recruits to," Rumble agreed.
"I miss it actually," one of the ground soldiers commented.
"BETTER START RUNNING RECRUIT! YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO DIE ON YOUR FIRST DAY OF TRAINING NOW WOULD YOU?!" a Decepticon instructor yelled as he started blasting the new recruits with his blaster.
"Get to cover everyone!" one of the recruits said.
"We lost one!"
"Leave him, we can't save him!"
The recruits then found a place to hide as they tried to keep their heads down.
"IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO SURVIVE THEN FORGET ABOUT SERVING OUR GLORIOUS LEADER MEGATRON! THIS IS WHY THE STRONG ALWAYS PULLS THROUGH TO END!"
"Weird of you to say that, coz I won't," a Vehicon soldier answered.
"Hey, look on the bright side, Con. It molded you all to become the unstoppable killing machine that Megatron always wanted," Vortex said.
"Speaking of, where do you think Megatron is going to go before we and Cyclonus start attacking Wall Rose?" Swindle wondered. "I think I heard him going somewhere to deep space after this."
"Not sure," Long Haul replied. "But Megatron told us Constructicons that he left Shockwave in charge of basically everything."
"Wait, really?" Scavenger said. "Isn't Shockwave's job to deal with science and that stuff?"
"He's a military ops commander. And surprisingly a part time assassin," Scrapper explained. "Worked with him a few times when he was in charge of everything. That was when Megatron took some of the Cons with him for a long expedition, remember? He went to assassinate an Autobot council while he's at it. He did them all no problem."
"Along with being a much better commander than Starscream," Ravage snarled. "We're almost scrapped thanks to that flying idiot."
"Blackout, Cyclonus and Scourge almost had to stage a coup against Screamer!" Vortex laughed before sighing in content. "Those were the days."
At that moment, Scrapper looked at his wrist. "Alright Constructicons, break time's over. Let's go."
The Constructicons got up and walked away to continue their project. The remaining Decepticons continued to watch Laserbeak's surveillance.
"Not too bad for our first day right?" Mina said as she started to arrange her bed.
"Hmm," Mikasa replied as she was making her bed.
There was a brief moment of silence between them. Mikasa was about to talk to Annie but widened her eyes in surprise to see Annie looking…down?
"Are you alright?" Mikasa asked. "Did something happen?"
"I'm…fine…why'd you ask?"
"You look down. Is the first day of training a bit too much for you?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Hey, we get it. Those…Decepticons was it? They're a scary bunch. I don't know what I'll do when I actually meet one," Mina said.
Annie mentally sighed. Sure, those metal titans are a big threat but…it was also something else.
"If you ever feel down and want to talk with someone, we're here for you."
"Mina is right. You don't have to carry your burdens by yourself," Annie said.
She then put her hand on Annie, causing the blonde to look at her. Mina gave her a bright smile while Mikasa gave her an assuring nod.
"…thanks, you two."
Keith Shadis was sitting at his desk sorting out the papers. As he was sorting out the papers he heard a knock at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal a female military instructor. "I got some of the papers you need."
He walked over to Shadis as he reached his hand out to receive the paper.
"Of course, thank you," he said as he got the papers.
"Hey uh…before I go…you have a minute?" she asked.
"Go ahead."
"Are we…sure about sending off the kids to war against the titans? Almost everyone in the military is talking about this," she said as she walked to the window and saw the cadets playing around with each other. "Look at them, they're barely even eighteen."
Shadis can only sigh. "If it were up to me, I would've just turned all the children away. Unfortunately, the government needs more soldiers."
"Of course it's the government. It's always the government."
There was a moment of silence between them as the female instructor sat down on a nearby chair.
"…I have something in mind…if you and some of the others will agree to it," Keith told her.
"What's that?"
The sun was beginning to set as a brunette, with her hair tied behind her back, jogged across the field, tired. Eren, Armin, Mina, Connie and Marco watched her jog.
"Man, I thought Shadis was gonna destroy Potato Girl. Look at her, she's still running," Connie said.
"Yeah, quite the first day. She's been at it for like five straight hours. She's really something else," Eren mused. "Being told to run until she gives out doesn't really bother her as much as being told to skip meals for the next five days."
"I think I heard that she's from Dauper. If I remember, that's a small hunting village up on the mountains."
Eren then noticed something as he looked up. "What's that?"
"They're dropouts. They prefer to work in the fields instead," Mina answered.
"Whoa…but it's only the first day," Armin said.
"That's just how it is. If you can't handle the pressure or make the cut, you gotta leave," Eren said, causing Mina, Marco and Connie to look at him. "I can't believe people would want to go pull plants and rocks than fight."
Marco then turned to Eren. "Come to think of it, I know about some of us, but you never mentioned where you were from Eren."
Eren placed a hand on Armin's shoulder. "Same as Armin, Shiganshina."
Marco sweatdropped. "Oh…that means…"
"You were there that day weren't you. You saw them," Connie said.
"H-hey, quite!" Marco told him.
"Those metal titans from the stars, did you see them? And that big one? The colossal one as well?"
"Y-yeah…I did…" Eren answered in a slight nervous manner.
"Hey, Braun, wake the scrap up!"
Reiner's vision was blurry. What had happened? The last time he remembered was getting electrocuted and beaten up by those insect-like creatures, before getting beat up by the others. They even tore his metal skin while they're at it. And if that wasn't bad enough, he was subjected to experimentation by that…one eyed titan…before becoming unconscious.
Suddenly, he was punched in the face.
"WAKE UP!"
The Armoured Titan immediately did as he looked to his right and left. It was those…Brutes again. No…please no…
"If we tell you to wake up then WAKE UP!"
Reiner then received many punches to his face, abdomen and the back. The two Brutes then dragged him out of his cell and across the floor. He didn't know what was going on, but he was now at the arena…again. The two Brutes then dropped him in the middle of the arena before walking away. Reiner struggled to look up as he saw him…Megatron…and three others. One was the one-eyed titan while the other two he wasn't familiar with.
"Hello my boy," Megatron greeted him with a sadistic smile. "I hope you are being treated well."
The titan shifter growled at him but with a hint of fear.
"I deeply apologize that you are treated this way. Perhaps a few exercises will make you feel better? Get up my boy! It's time to stretch that leg of yours! It will be fun!" Megatron said, in a joyful manner.
"Urgh…ugh…"
"Don't be so down, young Braun. Perhaps this will help motivate you. Shockwave?"
Suddenly he felt himself electrocuted as he yelled in pain. This…collar…was doing this…he tried to pry it off but it was no use. It's…too…strong…!
"This will all stop if you can only get up and fight," he said, his smile and joyful tone already gone. "So get…UP!"
The electrocution stopped as Reiner began to get up slowly.
"THAT'S the spirit Reiner! Now come at me!"
Reiner staggered as he continued walking. He mustered whatever strength he had left and tried punching Megatron, albeit sloppily. Minutes later, the Decepticons passing by began to stop and watch.
"Dear Braun, is that the best Marley has to offer?" Megatron said as he dodged his attacks. Reiner then stopped as he panted for air, exhausted after the many previous beatings. "How your parents must be so proud of you if they can see your sorry state now."
Reiner immediately looked towards Megatron.
"But then again…your own kin doesn't even care about you."
"Not…true…my…mo-"
"YOUR mother? If she cared, she wouldn't have let you join the military to become a so-called Warrior, then use you Warriors to become nothing more than cannon fodders. Your father and mother fell for the pathetic propaganda Marley has created."
Reiner gripped his hands. Stop it…
"And in turn, they've become heartless, neglectful, and cold."
"You…know…nothing…"
"Do I Braun?" Megatron laughed. "Do I? I've seen people like them before. Too many times. They would immediately give up their loved ones just so they can gain a higher position of power and be recognized by their peers. Might I add another word to my list to describe such an attitude? Cowards. Your parents are nothing more…but SPINELESS cowards."
He flinched. Shut…up…
"Almost everyone frowns upon cowards, especially me. And cowards like your parents, deserve to die in the most painful way possible."
Shut…UP!
"And no one will remember cowards like them except…you."
Reiner immediately stood up and roared loudly as he charged at Megatron. He then punched Megatron, hard, causing a small shockwave to occur. But in turn it destroyed Reiner's arm, completely. The Warrior yelled in pain with tears already trickling down his face. He looked back at the metal titan, who still stood there, with not a dent or injury to his face.
Megatron looked amused. "Interesting…MY TURN!"
The Decepticons cheered as Megatron laid a hand on Reiner's side of the head. He slapped him on the head, causing Reiner to be sent back more than ten feet away from before skidding on the ground. His face was destroyed, saved for his back of the neck. Megatron pumped his fist to the air as he yelled in victory. The Decepticons all cheered once again.
The Emperor of Destruction turned Shockwave, Soundwave and Cyclonus. "Now that I am entertained…"
Minutes later, everyone then dispersed as Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave and Cyclonus walked to a platform.
"Remember Shockwave, when you are in charge, make sure that any forms of treachery you find from our ranks must be eliminated immediately," Megatron told him. "And I have made this clear before."
"Indeed Lord Megatron."
"We are making excellent progress in taking over this world. But if any treachery occurs, infighting will occur. And from infighting, discord will be sown within our ranks. And from discord, we will be giving the humans a chance to exploit our weakness and win. Even if said chance is the smallest."
"And defeat will be inevitable. Everything we have built will amount to nothing," Cyclonus then answered.
"Precisely. I urge you all to not let ANY chances be open for the humans to exploit."
You need not worry my liege, everything will remain the same when you return."
"As it must. Any of you wish to ask before I leave?"
"Should we wait before attacking Wall Sina?" Cyclonus asked.
"There's no need to wait. We have everything we need."
"Understood master."
Minutes later, they all arrived at a platform. It was in the most upper levels of the fortress. There, floating in the air was a giant round shaped machine.
"Soundwave, open the space bridge portal."
Soundwave nodded. He typed on his arm, and out came the portal in the machine. It was green with a round shape and had green energies surrounding the portal.
"Safe travels Lord Megatron," Shockwave said.
And with that, the Lord of the Decepticons transformed to his jet mode and took off to the portal. The moment he went into the portal, he disappeared in a matter of seconds.
"Yes, I saw it. I saw the big guy," Eren said.
There was a small crowd around him as they gasped at what he said.
"Seriously?" Thomas questioned.
"Okay, exactly how big is the thing?" Samuel asked.
"He's actually taller than the wall to the point you can see his upper body."
"Wait what? No way…so the rumours were true! From what I heard he stepped over the walls!" Gaz said.
"So did I!" Hana added.
"That was the rumor in my village too."
Eren took a sip from his soup. "Yeah, he was THAT big. After that he destroyed the walls just by walking and demolishing through it."
Everyone gasped again.
"So what did it look like?" Mina asked.
"It looked like it was made of metal. Had these weird parts and things on him. I…don't know what they are. He has a black, green and purple colors. There was also something red covering its eyes. And he's intelligent. Like he can speak our language like it's at the back of his head…"
"And that metal titan? The one that used that… that uh…Armoured Titan? To smash the gates of Wall Maria," someone said.
"I think he's Meg…something?" another wondered.
"Megatron," Eren answered. "Apparently he's the leader of the titan faction, the Decepticons. You guys heard him talk right?"
"Yeah, he was a hollow-like head in the sky! Very hard to miss that," Connie said. "How'd he do that?"
"And they're all from the stars even!" Hana said.
"I still can't believe there's life outside of the walls!" another said.
"Well you better believe it," Franz told the cadet.
"How powerful are these guys anyway?" Samuel wondered.
"Can we actually defeat them?" Tom also wondered.
"And they've already captured the Survey Corps…" Gaz said, shivering in fear.
"All we can hope for now? Is that our training can see us through," Marco said.
"Those titans aren't that big of a deal," Eren spoke up, causing everyone to look at him as he took a bite of his bread. "Once we've focused on mastering the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, they'll be nothing to us. We'll make them pay for all the destruction they caused. I, and many of you guys, are finally able to be trained as soldiers. I'm going to join the Survey Corps, rescue Commander Erwin, Captain Levi Ackerman and everyone else from those…Decepticons. I'm gonna butcher them all…I'm gonna slaughter them all!"
"Hey, are you crazy or something?" a voice said as everyone turned to see who was talking. It was Jean. "I know it's not my business but did you just say you were gonna to join the Survey Corps? Joining them is like a death sentence at this point. I mean, we've all seen how those titans from the stars literally captured Erwin Smith's team right?"
"I guess we'll see. Or at least I certainly will," Eren replied. "Aren't you the one who wants to join the Military Police and live an easy-going life? Hiding in the interiors while you're at it."
"Look, I'm just being honest here. I think it's better being than let's say…a loud mouthed loser who's actually piss-scared like the rest of us here."
"Are you talking about me?" Eren questioned as he got up and glared at him. "You trying to pick a fight?"
"S-stop it you guys," Marco tried to calm them.
Jean smiled as he stood up, accepting Eren's challenge. "Alright, sure. Makes no difference to me anyways."
Eren and Jean walked to the center of the cafeteria, now face to face with one another. Before anything could happen, the bell rang. The two looked at each other awkwardly.
Jean sighed. "Hey, sorry about what I just said. I don't mean to dismiss your ideas and choice of career." He lifted his arm up to extend for a handshake. "Put 'er there. What ya say, friend?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry as well," Eren answered as he slapped Jean's hand before walking out of the cafeteria.
Jean smiled smugly at him. At that moment, someone passed him. It was a girl. She had light colored lipstick and long black hair. Jean widened his eyes in shock, mesmerized by her beauty.
"Uhm…excuse me!" Jean called out to the girl, causing her to turn around to look at him. "Uhm…uh…I uh…I mean…I've just never…seen anyone like you before…" Jean stammered as he blushed. "I mean uh…I'm sorry. You have really beautiful black hair…"
"Thank you," the girl answered before turning to leave the cabin cafeteria.
Jean then got over his mesmerization and ran outside to see where the girl was going. As he ran out from the cafeteria, he saw the girl, walking alongside Eren.
"It's no big deal Mikasa, I'm fine," Eren told her, a bit irritated.
"It's just you get excited and get worked up easily and not think twice," she said to him.
"Come on, that again? Well…" Eren trailed before smiling mischievously. "I mean, it's because you're always by my side."
Mikasa blushed. "Eren…well…what are families for?"
"And even if you're not there, I can still take care of myself. So don't worry about me too much. Also, I hate to say this but don't you think your hair is too long?" Eren said as he brushed his hand against her. "I like it, don't get me wrong but your long hair might get in your way when we're training with the ODM gear. I don't want any accidents happening to you."
"Okay, fine. I'll cut it," she said as she touched her hair.
"Now I'm the one who's worrying."
"Guess it's my turn to say to stop worrying about me," she lightly teased.
Eren laughed. "Hmm…I am gonna miss your long hair though," Eren said as he traced his hand over her hair. "It does look good on you."
Mikasa blushed again. "Thanks…but if cutting my hair would make me become more efficient on the gear, then I'll have to cut it."
Eren smiled at her. "Come on, let's go meet up with Armin and Annie.."
"Sure. How short do you think I should go?"
"Well, depending on your preference," he said as their voices gradually disappeared.
Jean could only stare. It's as if every single life and energy from his body was sucked out.
"Well, that's probably the last of these crates," Armin said as he laid a crate down near the backdoor kitchen as he wiped his forehead and sighed in content. "Thanks for helping me with the extra load Annie."
"Sure, no problem. You had difficulty carrying them so I thought why not?"
"Well, it's just that…I'm not used to physical work like this. My body isn't like Eren or Mikasa."
"It's fine. Our bodies are just built differently."
"Yeah. Still, the crates smell kinda nice. I wonder what they'll cook for us tomorrow."
"Who knows? What do you think?"
"Well, I might sound a bit self-indulgent, but I'm hoping it's beef stew. Grandpa always cooked them for me."
"I see."
"I…missed it all already…"
Annie noticed Armin's sad smile.
"If you ever feel down and want to talk with someone, we're here for you."
"Mina is right. You don't have to carry your burdens by yourself."
Maybe…she can help too…? Well, she'll give it a try then…
"It's…gonna be okay Armin," she assured him, causing Armin to look at her. Annie slowly walked towards him. "I'm…really not good at giving pep talks like this but you'll pull through. You've survived this long, even when you're young…you…know what I mean? So, don't give up now."
Armin gave a small chuckle and smiled. "Thank you Annie. That's really nice of you."
"It's nothing…like I said, I'm not good at giving pep talks."
"But it's still very nice of you Annie, really. You made an effort to try and make me feel better."
"...yeah…"
"Hello you two," a familiar voice said.
The two widened their eyes in surprise. It can't be. They looked up behind them to see a familiar woman waving at them, smiling.
"Mrs. Jaeger?!" Armin exclaimed.
"What're you doing here?" Annie asked.
"Working. Why'd you ask?" she innocently asked.
"…you're keeping an eye out on Eren are you?" Annie said.
"Oh no, I've been caught!" Carla said dramatically. "How ever do you know?"
Armin gave a deadpan expression. "Because it's obvious?"
"Alright, alright. But there's also other reasons. First, I don't want to be alone. Second, I don't even have enough money to buy myself a home.
"That…that actually makes sense."
"Yeah, I heard some landlords in Wall Rose refuse refugees from Wall Maria to have a home to stay. Even in apartments," Annie recalled.
"Yup. I mean, sure not ALL the landlords are bad, but why bother. So? The much more productive way for me to spend my time is to become a cook here," Carla said.
"I see. Well, we're glad to see you again Mrs. Jaeger," Armin said as he smiled at her while Annie just nodded.
Carla smiled back. "Same goes for me. I just hope Eren can take it well…no use for me hiding from him. Sooner or later Eren and Mikasa are gonna find out. Speaking of, you guys want to check out what we're gonna cook for tomorrow's breakfast?"
Eren and Mikasa were talking with one another when they noticed Armin and Annie going up the stairs that lead to the kitchen cabin with someone…someone that looked familiar…
"Armin! Annie!" Eren called out. They all turned to look at him. Eren and Mikasa widened their eyes in surprise when they saw who was with Armin and Annie. "Mom?!"
Carla waved at him happily. "Hi sweeties!"
"What are you doing here?!"
Carla explained everything to the two of them on why she signed up to be a cook while Armin helped explain to try and calm Eren down.
"What? You're afraid I'm gonna embarrass you or something?" Carla asked with a smile.
"That's…well…part of it."
"Don't worry. I won't get in the way too much if that's what you mean. How about this, let's act like we don't know each other when you're in front of your friends."
Eren wanted to continue arguing but stopped himself. He sighed before looking away. "Yeah…fine…"
Carla then hugged Eren. "I'm so happy to see you again, son. How far you've grown."
"Yeah, yeah…"
Carla then let go of him before looking at Mikasa, Armin and Annie. "So good to see you guys again too." She then hugged the three of them before letting them go. "You all look like young…adults now. "
Eren sighed irritatingly while Mikasa and Armin smiled at the woman as Carla began to ramble about how they remembered them when they were little kids. As Carla rambled, Annie, without realizing it, gave a small smile as she watched the woman chatter away.
Next Day
"IT'S TIME TO TEST AND DETERMINE YOUR APTITUDE. IF YOU CANNOT DO THIS THEN YOU'RE NOT FIT TO BECOME TARGET PRACTICE. YOU'RE NOT EVEN FIT TO BE HERE AT ALL. FAIL, AND YOU'LL BE SHIPPED AND SENT OFF TO THE FIELDS OR TO THE CUSTODIAL DEPARTMENT!" Shadis yelled as all of the recruits got on the vertical maneuvering equipment. It had three metal poles sticking on the ground with a large mechanical contraption made out of metal on top. The large mechanical metal on top had two ropes sticking out with a belt in between said two ropes.
"We're just drilling the bare fundamentals here. Even so, you can still determine a cadet and know which of them have a knack for omni-mobility just by watching them," an instructor said before noticing one of the cadets. "Like her, observe. She's more or less steady. But she at least knows exactly what to do and how to make it happen. That's what aptitude is all about."
Mikasa was on the training apparatus, balancing on the mid-air between the ropes, but was barely struggling. Suddenly, she started to sway. She did her best to not fall but failed to do so as she fell over and was turned upside down.
"What the?"
"…maybe I spoke too soon…" the instructors said.
"It's not only that girl sir, look."
One by one, everyone fell over like Mikasa.
"What the hell? Where did I go wrong?" Connie exclaimed.
"You mean where did WE go wrong!" Sasha said.
"I don't get it…I was doing so well…" Jean muttered to himself.
The instructor sighed. "Well…this is disappointing."
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU BRATS?!" Shadis demanded. "WHAT ARE ALL YOUR MALFUNCTIONS?! STRAIGHTEN YOURSELVES UP!"
'Why…why am I…? How? How do we all work this thing?!' Eren thought as he was already dangling upside down. 'This can't be for real…this…this can't be happening!'
In the afternoon, Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Annie were back in the training course where the training apparatus were with Eren already on the belt.
"If we remember and follow the basics we should be fine," Mikasa said.
"And if we stay calm and loosen our stance a little bit, we'll be able to do it. I just know we can!" Armin encouraged.
"So in other words, be loose and tight at the same time," Annie concluded.
Armin turned to Annie and nodded. "Exactly!"
"Right…I feel like I can do it this time…" Eren said, albeit nervously. "Let's give it a shot. Lift me up."
Armin nodded to Eren. He began spinning the handle as Eren was being lifted up slowly. While Eren was being lifted up, he felt himself losing his balance. Before he knew it, Eren fell forward and slammed his head down to the ground, hard.
Night time
"Hey Daz," a trainee began. "Isn't he the one who was talking big about slaughtering all the metal titans yesterday but got real quiet after the ODM training?"
"I guess it's off to the fields for him tomorrow," Daz agreed. "We can't afford to keep wasting on the useless."
Eren was sitting there, his head was bandaged as he was staring off in space.
"Nothing we can do about it."
Suddenly, the two heard footsteps coming towards them. They looked and flinched in fear as they saw Annie glaring down at them.
"Looked at yourselves in the mirror lately? From what I remember, the two of you haven't even done any ODM training yet, is that right?"
"Ah…well…we…"
"That's what I thought," she said before walking away, leaving them speechless.
"The ODM training must be that hard if even most of them failed," a trainee girl remarked.
"Now I'm worried about getting on the thing," another trainee girl said. "I mean, what if the same thing happened to us too?"
"Eren!" Mikasa called out, as she put a hand on his shoulder getting his attention. This caused him to yelp in surprise and pain.
"There's no point worrying about it. It won't solve a thing," Armin assured him. "You can just learn to do it tomorrow. There's still time to get some practice in when morning comes."
"Hey," Annie greeted the three as Armin scooted to the right for her to sit down beside him.
"I'm pathetic…how am I supposed to kill those Decepticons if I can't even stand up straight?" Eren wondered.
"It might be time to let that dream die. Just forget about it," Mikasa said.
Eren and Armin looked at her in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Eren asked her.
"I think you should give up trying to be a soldier. There's a lot more to fighting than just throwing your life away in vain."
"M-Mikasa, what're you saying? After everything we saw on that day, you think I'm just going to walk away just like that and convince me to quit? You're crazy!"
"I get it. But still, it doesn't matter how determined you are."
"Why not?! What do you mean?"
"Because you don't get to decide on whether or not you're fit to be a soldier." This caused Eren to be taken aback. At that moment, the bell rang as everyone started to get up and leave the cafeteria. "You misunderstand, I'm not saying you should return to the fields by yourself."
"Let's go, Armin," Eren said as Mikasa continued to talk.
"Oh, yeah."
"Hey," Annie then spoke up, causing the three to look at her. "Sit down, Mikasa's not finished."
"But-"
"Sit. Down."
Eren and Armin looked at each other but did as they were told. Annie looked back at Mikasa and nodded.
"Like I said…it's just that…I'm not saying you should return to the fields by yourself. I wouldn't dream of it. Whether or not I succeed in the ODM training, it doesn't matter. Because wherever you go Eren, I'm gonna go with you."
That left Eren speechless.
"Yeah. Even if we all fail, let's still stick with each other like we used to back in the days, right Eren?" Armin said.
"Guess we're with you till the end," Annie answered, nonchalantly.
"Guys…" Eren trailed off. "Thanks. I appreciate it guys. But I'm not going to give up. We've all come this far and I don't want to stop now. One way or another, I…no…WE will be soldiers."
All three of them looked at Eren. Annie was quite impressed while Armin and Mikasa looked at him with a serious expression.
There was a brief moment of silence between them.
"What're you doing here?" Annie suddenly asked.
Eren, Armin and Mikasa looked to see Annie looking at someone close to Mikasa. They all turned to see Sasha sitting at a table near her.
"Uhm…can I…have that…?" she asked, pointing at Mikasa's bread.
"What're you doing sir?" Caven asked.
"Anywhere but here. This island and the people are screwed. Same goes for Rod and his many years of planning. So I'm gonna get the hell outta here while I still can. You and everyone else are free to join Rod or me. Either way, I don't care."
"You know I'll join you. There's nothing for the squad here either. So, why bother?"
Kenny chuckled. "Then let's get out of here quick then, before the titans from the stars barred every single exit on this island."
"Where do you think we're gonna go sir?" Duran then asked.
"It's not like we know anywhere," another said.
Kenny looked at his squad. "We're going to the mainland."
"What am I gonna do Connie?" Jean questioned as he was pacing back and forth in his room.
"Man, I don't know," Connie replied. "If we really can't pass the ODM training, maybe we're really not cut out to fight those titans. I mean heck, those titans are powerful enough to take over Wall Maria no problem. Maybe we really should just tend to the fields."
"You idiot! Didn't you listen to anything I said?! I don't care about fighting them. I care about getting into the interior! I don't want to waste my time toiling in the fields. And if they did invade Wall Sina, we'd rather just surrender and go on with our merry lives! Like damn we can fight them!"
Meanwhile
Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Annie, Mina, Marco and a few other cadets were all discussing with one another outside of their cabin dorm rooms.
"Right, so we loosen your stance, no need to try any fancy maneuvers and try and to try and relax," Eren listed. "And…"
"That's about it really," Marco said.
"You know, I've never seen anyone more determined than you," Mina commented.
Armin smiled. "That's Eren for you. But still…were our techniques wrong? We tried everything Eren listed."
"Yeah. You think something may be wrong with the equipment?" Marco asked.
"Huh, could be. I'll have to look into it."
"We'll have to wait and see how things will go tomorrow."
This caused Eren to begin pondering. Mikasa looked at Eren, concerned.
Bertholdt slowly opened his eyes. How…how long has he been…unconscious? He looked to his right and left. Where was he now? He slowly looked around. He was in a…cell. A cramped cell most likely. He took a deep sigh of relief. Guess his experimentation on him was finished…for now. Bertholdt then looked at his hands. He was still in his titan form. How long had he been in his titan form? It all went so wrong…how did it go so wrong? WHY did it go so wrong?
How long were they here? How long were they going to torture them like this? How long can he and Reiner hold out? And Reiner…oh poor Reiner…he was getting tortured, experimented on and beaten for entertainment day by day. Same goes for him as well. Why? Why do they deserve this? Was this…punishment? Punishment for the atrocious things they were about to do in the name of their empire Marley? If he knew it will end up like this, he wouldn't have signed himself up to be a warrior. He want this all to stop. He wants to go home. He wants to see his friends and family again.
That's right. How were they all doing? How were their parents doing? How were their friends even doing? Gabi, Pieck, Colt, Udo, Zofia, Porco, Falco...they're probably grown up already. He missed those days when he, Reiner and Annie could hang out with them again after their training session finished. He remember Gabi would always get in trouble while Falco would always be the one to get her out of said trouble. Bertholdt smiled fondly at the memories.
Suddenly, he heard knocking outside of his cell. The doors to his cell began to open. He looked to see the cyclops scientist, Shockwave, standing there, with four identical looking titans standing beside him. They looked to be taller and bulkier than Shockwave and had identical appearances from one another. They have purple color plating and a mask covering their mouth.
"Hello Bertholdt Hoover. It is time for physical experimentation."
The Colossal Titan shook his head. "…please…"
"Hmm, that is a terrible shame then. Perhaps we will choose Reiner Braun instead."
At that instant, Bertholdt started moving his body. "No…"
"That's better. Now come, little one."
The titans that stood beside Shockwave then walked over to him. They forcefully grabbed and dragged him out.
"Don't try anything funny, human," one of them said, with a deep voice.
"Yeah, you're with the real titans now. They don't call us the Decepticon Titans for nothing," another said.
As Bertholdt was being dragged, he saw more of these Decepticons, varying in shapes and sizes, looking at him.
"Do all humans look like that?" he heard one said.
"I heard he's one of the strongest."
"Really? Doesn't look strong to me now."
"Looking strong you colossal dolt!"
"I thought your stupid human empire was supposed to be number one!"
"They're an empire of delusions."
"More like a circus empire!"
The Decepticons began to laugh out loud. Bertholdt could only grimace.
Minutes later, they arrived at the arena. The large titans then dropped Bertholdt before leaving. The titan shifter looked up. There were…five of them.
"Look what we have were Combaticons," one of them said.
"Finally! Some fun!"
"Eren failed the gear training?" Carla asked. She was making some food for tomorrow while chatting with Armin and Annie.
Armin nodded. "In fact, all of us failed."
"That's crazy."
"We're going to try again tomorrow to see if we can pass. If we can't. We're either going to be janitors or farmers," Annie explained.
"Maybe it's for the best," Carla said as she stirred a stew. "I mean, you kids are still young. You're supposed to be at school or hanging out with your friends, or even working. Why go to war?"
Annie looked at her with a serious expression.
"I know. But we have to try and fight back at least. Seeing Eren's resolve just inspired me to want to do it as well," Armin explained.
"Even if it costs your life?"
Armin sighed. "If it does. I'm…scared. I really am. But if I can at least help humanity overcome the Decepticons, even if just a little, I'll take it."
Carla stared worriedly at Armin while Annie could only stare at him.
"Why do you kids have to be so rebellious?"
"Guess that's how we are."
"Even rebellious kids know when to quit. Come here you two." Armin and Annie walked and stood in front of her. They stayed like that for a brief moment before Carla wrapped her arms around them, pulling the two into a hug, surprising them. "You all deserve better than this."
Armin returned the hug. "Thank you Mrs. Jaeger."
Annie could only continue to look surprised. But eventually, she began to slowly wrap her arms around Carla. They're...really not so bad…
That night, Eren couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow. Millions of thoughts are running through his head. He has already reviewed EVERY single stance and method in his mind and wonders if they'll even work. He sighed, he needs to get some fresh air. Eren then got up from his bed and out of the dorm room as he walked outside. Eren felt the cold air hit him. He closed his eyes and kept walking.
He knew he was probably going to get in trouble doing this, but he needed to think properly. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. He immediately looked up to see Mikasa walking towards him.
Eren breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey."
"Hey."
"What're you doing up this late? Trouble sleeping?"
"Worried for you."
"Of course."
"Mind if I stay with you like this?"
Eren turned to her. "What? No lecture from you?"
"I know what you're going through. So, it's useless for me to go through it. And you're probably not in a mood for one."
There was a brief silence between them.
"Mikasa…if you don't mind…can I…maybe…scooch over to you?" Mikasa looked at him in slight surprise. "I just…really need this Mikasa."
Mikasa nodded, allowing Eren to scooch over to her as their bodies touched each other. Mikasa felt her heart skip a beat as he laid his head on her shoulder. They stayed like that for a while as silence enveloped them again. At that moment, Mikasa suddenly felt Eren's arm wrapped around her. Before she knew it, she was pulled into a hug.
"I feel like a baby," Eren spoke up.
Mikasa said nothing as she, with slight reluctance, wrapped her arms around Eren. "It's…ok…to feel and act vulnerable. I don't mind you being like this in front of me. It's gonna be ok, Eren."
"I…just really want to pass the test. I want to be a soldier."
"I know you do. Like I said, even if you don't pass, you won't be alone. Because I'll be there for you, always."
"Mikasa…"
The two stayed like that for a while, hugging each other. Hugging felt so warm. Everytime they hugged each other, it just felt so good, so warm. They felt their hearts skip a beat, even if it was small when they were kids…why was that? They didn't realize they were blushing.
"…we should head back," Mikasa said.
"Can't we stay just a bit longer?"
"I'd love to, Eren," she replied as she gripped her hand tighter on Eren's shoulder. "But the last thing I want is Shadis breathing down our neck."
Eren sighed. "Right…"
The two got up and began walking back.
"Good luck Eren."
"Thanks."
Mikasa smiled at him. "Of course."
Eren then gave her one last hug again. Mikasa returned the hug as she smiled.
Bertholdt fell back to the ground and roared in pain. One of them had just punched him straight in the face, causing it to explode. But his neck was still intact. This was mostly to prolong his torture. These Decepticons, the Combaticons…they're very good. They're even better than Marley's military combined! They sliced both his kneecaps and arms off, leaving him incapacitated, this then left one of them to punch him in the face and struck him down. All the while their leader was commanding in the back. This would've been easier if he could use his smoke. But he can't do it at the moment. Everytime he uses his smoke, he gets electrocuted.
Before he could think any further, one of them jumped to the air and landed a punch on his chest, leaving a large gash. Bertholdt screamed in pain. He has to take down the Combaticons' leader. He remembered during training, take out the enemy leader, and the forces will be in disarray. Bertholdt struggled to get up while the Combaticons regrouped.
"He's not so tough," Blast Off remarked as they watched the Colossal Titan slowly getting up.
"Hmm, guess size doesn't matter after all," Brawl commented.
"Of course it doesn't. I mean, Prime literally took out both Bruticus and Devastator that one time. By himself," Swindle explained.
"I thought we agreed not to talk about it," Vortex said.
"Switch off Combaticons!" Onslaught ordered. "Hoover's about to get up." Bertholdt stood up fully as he looked down at the Combaticons. He then began to reach his hand out to one of them. "Evasive maneuvers!"
The Combaticons did so as they evaded Bertholdt's incoming hand while Vortex and Blast Off transformed to their alt modes and flew to the air.
"What's this?" Swindle wondered as he noticed Bertholdt focusing his chase on his leader. "Hey Onslaught, he's chasing after you."
"I can see that!" he replied as he transformed to his alt mode.
"Got a plan Onslaught?" Vortex asked.
"Blast Off, distract Hoover. Vortex, take his eyes out. Brawl, once I give the signal, punch one of his kneecaps, and I want you to punch it clean off. Swindle, you're with me."
As Bertholdt continued to reach his hand out to grab Onslaught, he stopped as Blast Off flew around his face.
"Come and get me, kid!" Blast Off shouted.
The Colossal Titan gritted his teeth as he tried swatting and grabbing him. But he was too fast.
"Hey, Hoover!" he heard one of them call out. He looked to see the other one, Vortex, coming at his face. "Surprise!"
Vortex then pulled both his swords and sliced both Bertholdt's eyes, causing him to scream in pain.
"Brawl! Do it!" Onslaught ordered.
"Here comes pain!" he yelled happily as he jumped and punched Bertholdt's kneecaps, causing it to explode into red mists.
"Swindle, now!" Onslaught told him as he transformed to his robot mode. The two jumped and gave one mighty punch in his abdomen, leaving a massive gash.
And with that, the Colossal Titan fell yet again.
"Yeah, that's how you do it!" Brawl cheered.
Onslaught then looked back at Shockwave who was observing them at the command room. The one-eyed scientist nodded at him.
Bertholdt groaned as he was trying his best to endure the pain and get up. Suddenly, he felt something on top of his face. It was one of the Combaticons. He was cracking his hands while chuckling.
"Lights out kid."
Next morning
Everyone had gathered in the training grounds where the training harnesses were at. Eren could only look on in nervousness yet also readiness at the same time. He can feel his sweat trickling down his face.
"Eren Jaeger, are you ready?" Keith questioned.
"Yes, sir!" Eren replied. 'I'm going to do it. I just have to! Even if the others fail, I'll succeed! Because nobody, NOBODY, has more guts than I do! They're all I got. They're my weapon!'
"Begin!"
Thomas then started turning the handle as Eren was slowly lifted up. Unbeknownst to them, Carla was watching him from afar.
'To hell with logic! This is the moment of truth! To hell with working the damn fields! I'm not giving up! Not without a fight!'
Eren then balanced his hands, hips and legs. Everyone cheered as he was successfully balancing on the training apparatus.
'I did it? I did it! I'm doing it!' Eren thought. Suddenly, he felt wobbly as he fell upside down again.
Mikasa, Armin, Annie and the others looked in surprise while Shadis narrowed his eyes. Eren was on the ground but used his arm and hand to slow the fall.
"N-no! Not yet! Once more, I can still do it!" Eren begged Shadis.
"Lower him," Keith ordered.
Eren was then lowered to the ground and on his knees.
"I'm…I'm finished?" was all Eren could say. He thought he was going to cry…
"I'm so sorry Eren…" Carla said. "But this is the best for you."
"Excuse me, sir!" Armin spoke up.
"What is it Arlert?" Shadis asked.
"If I may, I believe the equipment is defective."
Everyone looked at him in surprise. Defective? How?
"How so?"
"I can prove it sir."
There was a tense silence between them.
"And what if you're wrong, cadet?" Shadis questioned.
"…then I'll accept punishment."
Another tense silence befalls them all again as Shadis stares at him, as if glaring at him. Armin could only stand his ground while a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek.
"Alright then, Arlert. Prove it."
Armin walked towards the contraption that was still holding Eren. "Eren, may I?
Eren said nothing as he took off the belt. Armin then began to take apart the belt and started to take a good look.
"H-how do you know the ins and outs of the belt?" Eren asked.
"It was after our discussion with everyone else last night that I went to the library to do some research on the ODM gears," Armin explained. "And I think I've found the problem. The clasp, it's broken."
That caused mutters among the cadets as Armin showed it to Shadis. The drill instructor was silent for a moment before looking at another instructor.
"Alfons, get me a new one."
"Right."
The cadets continued to look on in bewilderment and anticipation.
Minutes later, Eren got on the training apparatus again. But this time, balancing on the air. Easily. Eren can only look in absolute shock.
"It seems Cadet Arlert was right. Your equipment was defective," Shadis said. "If you were given a piece of functional gear you might not be useless after all Jaeger. Quartermaster didn't notice this broken clasp. I've never heard of this part breaking before. I guess we'll have to add it to the maintenance checklist. I might even have to take a visit to the supply depot myself and tear some new ones while I'm at it."
"Then…he…he still did it. Even with busted equipment," Samuel said.
"Whoa…amazing," Franz breathed.
"So you mean…I didn't wash out? I'm fit to be a soldier?" Eren asked.
"You made the cut, now keep training hard, cadet," Shadis answered.
Eren then gave a cheer as he pumped both his fists up. 'I did it! I did it! I really did it! Check it out Mikasa! What do you think?! I'm doing it! I can fight the Decepticons! You don't have to worry about me! Not anymore! Mikasa, let's fight alongside each other from now on! And with us together, no one can stop us!'
Marco smiled. "It seems like things worked out for him."
"I'm glad," Mina added while Annie nodded.
"Look, his eyes are saying "check me out! What do you think of that?!""
"No, they're not," Mikasa said, causing them to look at her. "His eyes are saying that he doesn't have to leave me, not ever."
'Grisha, Today should bring you pride. Today, your son has become a soldier. And Carla, I'm sorry I couldn't prevent Eren from becoming a soldier. But…if this is what he wants…then I shouldn't stop him. I just hope he and everyone else will be able to survive the coming battle against the Decepticons,' Shadis said in his thoughts before looking back. "It's your turn now cadets! Get on the training apparatus!"
Carla could only give a sad sigh as she continued to watch Eren balancing on the training apparatus.
'Eren…please…please…be safe.'
AN: And that's a wrap guys. Originally I was going to make this longer, but then I was like, you know what? Imma make this a two parter instead coz why not? Sorry if this ain't much action and destruction from the Cons but I thought I want to develop the characters before going to write the absolute mayhem the Decepticons are gonna bring. I felt it's not bad to give the AOT characters the spotlight. I also want to warn you guys, the next chapter also doesn't have much action as well, maybe a few like this chapter? But the sixth chapter do though. So keep a lookout on that one yeah? :).
I'm thinking of releasing the two parter chapters at the same time but I'm afraid it might take too long and I don't want you guys waiting for the next chapter.
Please leave feedback and tell me what I need to improve with my story!