Year 850.
I had been a soldier for 5 years now. Everything went well. I became second in command of the Special Operation Squad, which I was really proud of. I got along with everyone, and I became a true friend to Levi. I had deep feelings for him, but I decided to ignore them as I was pretty sure that it was one-sided.
Greg also accepted that Petra did not share the same feelings. It seemed that she fell for Oluo, which I honestly did not understand as he was annoying, not the hot type and tried to imitate Levi's personality. He was still a close friend of mine, but sometimes I just wanted to punch him in the face.
We were on the 56th expedition. We covered more ground over the years, but it took sweat, tears and a lot of blood to get there. There was still a long way to Shiganshina, but we did our best.
I heard screams of pain and rushed to the sound. I saw Mikael, a member of my squad, trapped between a titan's teeth. I was about to rescue him when Levi beat me to it. The titan fell, my comrade still in its mouth. I quickly ran to Mikael along with Petra. The wounds around his waist were gushing blood. I knew that he would not make it. There was no way we could treat such damage, his vital organs were probably crushed. We still tried. Levi came down a few minutes later.
"Captain! I... I can't stop the bleeding." Petra stuttered.
Levi's face darkened.
"Cap..tain." Mikael whispered.
"I'm here." he answered, kneeling next to the soldier.
"Was I... was I helpful? Did I... help Humanity? Or... was it all for nothing?"
Levi took his hand and shouted.
"We have accomplished a lot today and tomorrow because of you. Your strength won't die with you, the torch will be carried on, by me! This I swear, on my very life, that the titans will be eradicated!"
The silence was heartbreaking. Levi turned his head towards Petra and I.
"Sir..." Petra cried. "I'm sorry but he is...gone."
I let a tear escape before wiping it out quickly.
"Do you think he heard anything I've said?" Levi asked.
"Yes, all of it." I replied. "Look at his face. You can see that he is at peace now."
We all looked at Mikael. His features were relaxed, he almost had a small smile on his lips. He was member of my squad. We weren't too close but he was still a friend. He would be missed.
Commander Erwin arrived.
"Levi, gather your squad, we are returning to the city. This is the end of this operation."
Levi got up, mad.
"What are you saying? We can cover more ground. Did my man had to die for nothing?"
"Something is happening, many titans are heading for Trost." Erwin responded. "I am afraid that the same scenario that happened 5 years ago is repeating. Wall Rose may have fallen."
We all gasped, shocked. We quickly got on our horses and headed as fast as we could towards Trost.
We could see the wall getting closer and closer. There were no titans outside which meant they were already in the city. There was a huge whole where the gate was supposed to be. We left our horses and used our 3DMG to climb on top of the wall.
We saw the chaos, fire and blood that was now Trost. Suddenly, we heard a huge scream followed my a gigantic noise, coming from the gate. A titan just blocked the hole with a huge rock. What was going on?
"You guys go and kill as many titans as possible, save the wounded. I will go check what's happening near the gate." Levi ordered.
"Yes sir!" we all replied before jumping off.
We paired up in teams: Greg and I, Petra and Oluo, Eld and Gunther. Each team headed to different directions: North, East, South and West. We slashed many titans nape. Greg found a cadet whose leg was missing and carried him to safety.
That was when I remembered: cadets were just finishing their training today, this must had been hell for them. I was pretty sure none of them would choose the Survey Corps, as they were surely traumatised by this experience. We scouts killed the remaining titans and were told to retreat, as the city was considered safe.
Three days later, a meeting was planned. Erwin, squad leaders, and the members of the Levi quad were all part of it. Hange could not stop herself from giggling and mumbling inaudible things.
"There is a situation. "Erwin started. "There is this cadet, Eren Jaëger. He has the ability to transform into a titan. He helped close the hole with a big rock."
My mouth dropped. I was confused, like everyone else.
"Why are we here? Why our squad?" Greg asked.
"Tomorrow, there will be a trial. It will determine if the kid ends up either in our custody or the Military Police's. We have to get him, he is our only chance to seal Wall Maria. You guys are here because, if we obtain Eren, you will be the ones watching him and eventually killing him if necessary." the commander answered.
I locked eyes with Levi. I could see that he already knew all that. He slightly nodded and turned to Hange to ask her to shut up.
Once the meeting was done, we exited the room. I was heading to our dorms when Hange almost tackled me.
"Y/N!" she screamed, almost in tears. "This is INSANE! This is the biggest titan mystery we have ever encountered! I have to experiment on that kid!"
"Let go Hange!" I exclaimed, as she was clinging harder onto my arm.
"Hange! Enough already!"
Moblit, Hange's second in command came to the rescue and took her away while she was still crying over this. I sighed, relieved. I loved Hange and her energy, but sometimes she was just too much.
"Y/N?"
I turned to see Levi facing me.
"Yes?" I answered.
"You are my second in command, I trust your professionalism. If we get the brat, you and I are the ones who must supervise him. Of course, the other squad members must surveil him too, but we have more responsibilities. Do you understand the mission?"
I scanned his face. He looked exhausted, the bags under his eyes were deeper and darker than usual.
"Yes, I understand."
The day of the trial was a rest day. I was pacing in circle in my room. We were in Mitras, the capital of the walls. The trial was ongoing, but only squad leaders and the commander could attend. I was getting impatient so I decided to go in front of the court building and to wait for my comrades there. I was seated on a bench, taping nervously my foot on the ground.
"Oi pretty lady, what are you stressed about?" a man giggled, with a hint of amusement in his voice.
I looked up and saw a Military Police soldier smiling at me, like a creep.
"You're nervous about being a scout and going out there? You should have picked the Garrison. A nice body like yours should not end up in a titan's mouth."
As much as I wanted to beat the life out of him, I stayed still and kept my mouth shut. There was no need to cause a scene.
"Oi answer me!"
He sat next to me.
"Leave me alone before you regret it." I warned him, cold as ice.
"Nah don't be like that." he laughed. "You need to relax. I can help you relax."
He tried to put his hand on my thigh. I hit his hand before he could touch me and got up, hushing my urges to kill the man.
"You bitch, get back here!" he shouted, grabbing my arm.
"Hey let go of me asshole!" I shouted in return.
I was about make him regret his actions when a hand strongly grabbed the soldier's arm and removed it from me.
"Do not fucking touch her!" someone said.
I lifted my gaze and saw Levi, furious. The pervert recognised him, stuttered a lame apology and ran away like a coward. I was angry, but Levi was angrier.
"This bastard is lucky we are in Mitras. I would have broken his bones if we were somewhere else." he raged, before continuing. "Are you okay, did he hurt you? Touched you?"
Why was he that upset?
"I'm fine, really. I am grateful for you help. I would have killed the guy if you hadn't intervened."
He nodded.
"Don't hesitate to do so if it happens again. Those bastards really believe they are allowed to do anything they want. Tch!"
He took two deep breaths and calmed himself down. He then rose an eyebrow, obviously intrigued.
"Why are you out here anyway?" he questioned. "You could have gone anywhere in the city."
He was right. I could have wandered in the city. But I felt awkward in the capital. It was the place where authorities and extremely wealthy men lived. I despised them, as I knew they could not care less about humans living in the Underground City. They thought they could step on people like me because we did not have noble blood.
"Well, to be fair, I just want to leave this place as soon as possible. I wanted to check how far the trial was in." I admitted.
"I understand, I feel the same as you do, Y/N."
Of course he did. Over the years, we shared bits of our oddly similar pasts. I knew he hated politicians and the king as much as I did. The resemblance of our childhoods was truly disturbing. This definitely brought us closer and made us become friends. Although we never really got into details, we sometimes told one another our unpleasant memories.
"Well, I have great news." he continued. "We won the trial. Eren Jaëger is a member of the Survey Corps. Our new mission starts now."