AUTHOR'S POV:
The inspection of ODM gear was held for the investigation to uncover the killer of the two Titans, Sonny and Bean.
Around the room, 3D gears were placed on the tables with two soldiers standing at attention behind each table.
One MP was inspecting while another one was checking everyone's record.
"When's the last time the shaft was replaced?" The MP soldier asked.
"Six days ago, after the clean-up operation." Sasha answered.
"That matches the records." A female MP soldier said, scribbling on her clipboard.
"Okay, next." The man said. "You are?"
"Christa Lenz of Squad 42." Christa said.
"We'll inspect your gear next."
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"Who'd have thought killing Titans was a punishable offense." One trainee said.
"It does seem ironic, but those two were valuable test subjects." His friend replied.
"Even so, why are they searching for the culprit among us trainees? We just finished cleaning up the battlefield today."
"Yeah, everyone's exhausted from the cleaning."
Nearby, Armin was listening to their conversation.
"The culprit must've really hated the Titans." Connie said, grabbing Armin's attention.
Armin looked at him. "Yeah. But in this case, they ended up helping the Titans instead. They may have fulfilled their personal desire for vengeance, but the net result is a major setback for humanity."
"I think I get why they did it because I can be an idiot myself." Connie said. "Before I'd ever seen a Titan, I was certain I wanted to enlist in the Survey Corps. But now, I never want to see another one. And today, we all have to decide which branch to join too."
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The trainees stood around three circular pyres.
Connie was crying, squatting on the ground, his hands clutching the sides of his face.
Jean was looking at him with sympathy.
Marco, who was standing beside him, crying too.
'Everyone's regretting it.' Jean turned his gaze from Connie to the others. Ymir, Christa, Sasha, Tomas and Mina, all had a despondent expressions on their faces. 'If I'd known it'd be this hellish, I'd have never chosen to become a soldier.'
Reiner, Annie, and Bertolt stood together, blank-faced.
'Now I'm so burned out.' Jean thought, 'I can't think of anything else.' He walked toward the crackling flames and stood before the scattered little pieces of bones. 'I don't know how many soilders are here who died because of my plan...' Jean thought. 'I don't want this now... I just can't...' He closed his eyes. 'If I hadn't become a soldier, I wouldn't have to keep wondering who'll be on that pile next.'
The remaining 104th trainees stared at the flames in silence.
'Will we abandon the progress made through countless sacrifices and let the Titans devour us all?' Eren's speech then came to Jean's mind.
'I get it. I know we have to fight.' Jean thought. 'Still... not everyone can be a reckless idiot like you.'
He slowly opened his eyes and just stared into the flames.
Marco came from behind and put his hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "I know what needs to be done now."
Jean looked at him. "Hmm?"
Marco furrowed his eyebrows. "I can't just live a comfortable and peaceful life when people will die here." He looked at Jean. "Jean. I'll join the Survey Corps."
Jean looked down. "It's the same for me..." He stood up, turned around and walked towards his friends, Marco following behind. "Hey, guys. Have you decided where you're going to enlist?"
Connie looked up at him curiously.
"I'm..." Jean said. "I'm-I'm joining the Survey Corps.
'Damn it.' Connie eyed Jean's shaking fist. He looked at Marco. "Hey, Marco. What about you?"
"I'll join the Survey Corps too." Marco said.
"Really? Even after seeing all of this?" Connie asked.
"Yeah. I can't just live a comfortable life knowing that more Walls could be breached and people will get killed." Marco said. "This is a something you can't do unless you decide for yourself."
"Huh? Jean said that?" Armin said and turned to him.
Connie looked at Annie. "Hey, Annie. What do you think? Even Jean and Marco said they're joining the Survey Corps."
"Nothing really." Annie said, looking at Connie. "You're set on joining the Military Police, right? Maybe I should too, shouldn't I? If someone told you to die, would you do it?"
"What? Of course not." Connie said.
"Then why not make your own decision?" Annie asked.
Connie looked down.
Annie looked at Armin. "Armin, what about you?"
"I think if you know why you have to die, there are times when you must lay down your life. Not that I want to die." Armin said.
"I see." Annie said and sighed. "You've made your choice."
"Yeah. I chose where I'd enlist a long time ago." Armin replied.
"Seriously? Armin, you too?" Connie asked with disbelief.
"You're weak, but you've got guts." Annie told to Armin.
"Thanks I guess..." Armin said.
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Infront of the old Survey Corps headquarters, Eld and Gunthar were sitting on the stairs, waiting for Levi.
"It looks like they couldn't find any soldiers who used their Maneuver Gear without permission." Gunther said, holding a mug. "Then who did it?"
Eld took a sip from his mug. "No idea. Right now, I'm more worried about the upcoming induction ceremony. How many of the new trainees are actually crazy enough to join us?"
Gunther looked at Eren. "Hey, Eren! Are there any people in your class who'd join us?"
Eren was standing by the horses, holding a bucket up to one. "There are some. No, there were some. I don't know about now."
The sound of hooves was heard and Erd and Gunther immediately put their mugs down, with the the Special Ops Squad's second-in-command yelling,
"Attention!" Levi said and stopped before the duo. "Get ready to leave. We're heading out on patrol."
"Yes, sir!" They replied in unison.
Levi turned to Eren. "And Eren. Never stray more than two horse-lengths from me. Don't forget that the only reason you're not locked up is because I'm watching you."
"Yes, sir!" Eren replied, looking at Eren.
"Let's go." Levi said.
The four of them left on their horses soon.
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Reiner, Ymir, Bert, and Christa were waiting together in the courtyard along with the other trainees.
Soon it would be time to pick a division.
"Trainees, line up! Line up in front of the stage!" A higher up shouted.
The trainees began moving, following the man's directions.
"Line up before the stage!"
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It was now night time.
Torches lit up the courtyard as the trainees stood at attention before the stage where Erwin was standing.
"I am Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps." Erwin introduced himself. "Today, you will choose a branch of the military. Putting it bluntly." He peered down at them. "I'm here to persuade you to join the Survey Corps. During their recent attack, you learned how terrifying the Titans can be, as well as how limited your own strength is."
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Some of the trainees, including Armin and Mikasa stood blank-faced while others including Thomas, Mina, Marco, Jean, Sasha and Connie were staring nervously.
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"However, that battle brought humankind closer to victory than ever before." Erwin said. "The key was Eren Yeager. By risking his own life, he's undoubtedly proven himself a great ally to humanity. With his help." He glanced to his right. "Not only did we stop the Titans' advance, but we've also obtained a key to discovering their true nature."
That grabbed the trainees' attention.
All of them had a surprised look on their faces.
"We believe that the basement of his old home in Shiganshina District holds answers about the Titans that even he doesn't know." Erwin said. "If we can reach that basement, we will find clues to ending this century of Titan domination."
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Whispers picked up by his words.
"The basement?" Reiner said with surprise.
Bertolt was surprised too.
"We've already advanced that far?"
"If we learn what they are, we can end this!"
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'No matter how much he needs recruits, I can't believe he's publicizing this information.' Armin thought. 'Or... does he have some hidden motive? What is the commander trying to smoke out?'
Erwin was looking around, observing the trainees' reactions. "We aim to reach the basement in Shiganshina District." He looked where Hange, Petra, and Mike stood with two other Scouts. "However, that requires us to retake Wall Maria. In other words, our objective remains the same. But with the Trost gate sealed for good."
At Erwin's nod, Petra and Mike unfolded the map and held it up for display.
"We'll have to take the long way around from Karanes in the east." Erwin said. "The four years we spent laying a route for a full-scale army have gone to waste. In those four years, more than sixty percent of the Survey Corps lost their lives. Sixty percent in four years. An insane figure."
Petra clutched the folded map in her hands with grim expression.
"Those of you who join us will participate in our excursion beyond the walls next month." Erwin said. "We expect thirty percent won't return. In four years, most will be dead."
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Whispers had picked up once again.
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"But those who make it through will become superior soldiers with a high survival rate." Erwin said.
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No one looked eager to join.
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"Now you know the discouraging facts. Any of you still willing to risk your lives, remain here." Erwin said.
Mikasa stared ahead, expressionless, while Armin looked determined.
Sasha and Connie didn't look too terribly thrilled.
Annie was stoic as usual.
Jean and Marco were sweating.
Mina and Thomas had uncertainty on their faces.
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"Ask yourselves: Are you willing to offer your beating hearts for humanity?" Erwin asked.
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The trainees were mostly intimidated.
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"That is all. Anyone who wishes to join another branch is dismissed." Erwin said.
"Commander," One of the scouts said. "Don't you think that was too much? You might have scared them all off."
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Many trainees, including Annie, Thomas and Mina began to leave.
Bertolt watched them nervously.
'I have to get away now, or else...' Sasha thought, scared.
'I left the village to join the Military Police.' Connie gritted his teeth. 'My Mom would be so happy. If I join the Military Police, the whole village would think better of me.'
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A lot of trainees continued to leave.
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Sasha and Connie were distressed.
Then they squeezed her eyes shut.
'How the Titans... eat humans!' Sasha thought.
But then, Eren and Marco's words echoed in their mind.
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'Will we abandon the progress made through countless sacrifices and let the Titans devour us all?'
'This is a something you can't do unless you decide for yourself.'
Then they opened their eyes.
They looked determined this time.
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"Could you... die if you're ordered to?" Erwin asked.
"We don't want to die!" Someone yelled.
"I see." Erwin said and smiled. "I like the looks on your faces." Then his voice became louder and stronger. "Now then, I welcome all of you to the Survey Corps! This is a true salute! Offer up your hearts!" He saluted.
"Yes, sir!" The newest members of the Survey Corps saluted.
Reiner was standing with a normal expression and Bertolt was sweating bullets.
Armin Mikasa still had the blank expression on their faces.
"If you're gonna cry about it, you should've left." Ymir told to Christa, who appeared frightened.
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"You've done well to endure your fear." Erwin said. "You are brave soldiers. You have my deepest respect."
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The new members of the survey corps were standing infront of a stable.
"Salute!" Ness ordered.
Mikasa, Armin and the others saluted.
"I'm Squad Leader Ness." Ness said. "And this is Charlotte, my horse. She loves to chew on people's hair, so be careful or you'll wind up prematurely bald. Nice to meet you all!" Then, his horse grabbed his hair. "H-hey! S-Stop it, Charlotte! Someone grab her!"
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Ness was now lecturing at the head of the class, the formation displayed on a long sheet behind them.
He was using a long stick to tap spots on the map. "The training that began the next day, instead of practical training, was mostly memorizing the long-range scouting formation Commander Erwin had devised..You new recruits will be here, in between the recon support team and the supply wagon escort team. Your jobs will be to ride alongside the spare horses and relay messages."
Armin was taking notes.
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Levi was petting his horse while most of his team was gathered around the small map.
All of them were crouched to the ground while Petra was looking over their shoulders.
"We of the Special Operations Squad will be here." Gunther said, ponting to a particular spot of the map. "Standing by in the center of the last ranks."
"We're pretty far back." Eren said.
"It's the safest place in the formation. We're even more heavily guarded than the supply wagons. We don't have a real objective this time." Gunther replied and turned to him. "This expedition is so brief because it's a practice run for your journey to Shiganshina."
I still don't know what this power should be used for." Eren said.
"Did you understand what the commander's question?" Gunthar asked.
"No..." Eren replied.
"I think it's possible this mission has another goal." Gunther said, rolling up the paper. "But the commander has decided it'd be best not to reveal that objective. So we should just focus on getting there and back. Trust in the commander."
"Right." Eren said.
"That's all the training for today. Prepare to return to base." Levi said, coming towards them.
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The sun was setting when the squad returned to the castle.
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Eren came outside after finishing mucking the stables.
Oluo was leaning against the wall, drinking from his mug.
Eren then noticed his friends. 'Guys...'
"Oluo, I am just going to talk with my friends." Eren informed and walked towards his friends. "Hey, Mikasa! Armin!"
Mikasa turned around and smiled "Eren!" She rushed towards Eren.
"It feels like it's been forever!" Eren said and smiled.
Once before Eren, Mikasa hugged him tightly.
Eren smiled and hugged her back.
Armin just smiled looking at them.
After a few moments, Mikasa pulled away from the hug but still held his hands. "Eren, did they do anything bad to you? Like expecting every bit of your body. Did they psychologically torture you?"
"No none of it happened." Eren said, smiling. "They just made me clean the headquarter. Nothing much."
"That's good to know." Mikasa said with a smile.
Eren's smile dropped. "I'm sorry for... attacking you, Mikasa."
Mikasa smiled and pinched Eren's cheek. "Don't worry, Eren. You weren't in control back then."
"But-" Eren said.
"Don't worry Eren. You are fine that's matter the most." Mikasa said, assuring him.
Eren just nodded.
Mikasa playfully hit his shoulder. "Now you've become the thing you had shore to destroy." She giggled.
Eren chuckled. "Right. But I still don't understand how I became a titan."
Mikasa blushed and leaned towards his ear. "May be it's the power of my lips."
Eren blushed and looked away. "Mikasa..."
Armin starred at him, confused.
Mikasa giggled and pinched Eren's cheek. "Shy titan boy."
Eren looked at her. "Hey! Don't call me that!"
"Too bad you can't stop me." Mikasa said with a smile.
"Ugh..." Eren said and let out a sigh.
"By the way, you missed Aunt Carla's lunch yesterday." Armin said with a smile.
"Uh... How much I wanted to have some." Eren said and turned to Mikasa. "Talking about Mom, did you tell he about me?"
"Yeah." Mikasa said. "She was, as expected, surprised."
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Levi took his horse and walked away.
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"Yo, Eren!" Connie called out, grabbing their attention, coming towards them. "It's been so long!"
"What? Everyone's here?" Eren said and looked at them. "So, all of you joined the Survey Corps then."
"Yeah." Connie replied with a smile.
"Then the only ones who picked the Military Police were Jean, Annie and Marco?" Eren asked.
Marco came forward. "No." He smiled. "I'm here."
"Hey!" Jean said, coming towards him.
Eren's eyes widened a bit. "You two? Weren't you two adamant in joining the MPs?"
"After everything happened yesterday, we changed our minds." Marco said.
"I see..." Eren said and looked down. "And sorry guys, I lost control and all of you had to suffer."
"It's ok Eren. You closed the gate, that matters the most." Reiner said with a smile.
Eren just nodded.
"Hey, newbies!" Ness called out, grabbing their attention.
The man next to him was holding folded cloaks with the Wings of Freedom insignia.
"Get over here! Your uniforms are here!" Ness said.
Then all of them wore their cloak while Eren just starred at them with a smile.
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Half a month had passed since Eren came out of a titan.
It was currently afternoon time.
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Christa was outside of the Survey Corps premise, just returning from the shop when Hannes stopped before her.
"Hey!" Hannes called out, holding a bag with three tupperwares.
"Yes?" Christa said, unsure, looking at Hannes.
Hannes held out the bag before Christa. "Could you please give this to Eren, Mikasa and Armin? Tell them that Eren's Mom sent this for them."
Christa took the bag from Hannes and smiled. "Ok."
Hannes smiled. "Thank you." He turned around. "I should get going." He left.
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Christa let out a sigh with an saddened expression.
Then she turned around and entered the Survey Corps premise.
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Mikasa and Armin were on their way to the mess hall when Christa rushed towards them.
"Mikasa! Armin!" Christa called out.
Armin and Mikasa looked at her in confusion.
Christa stopped before them, panting heavily.
"Christa?" Armin called out.
"Ah sorry." Christa said and held out the bag. "Here. A Garrison soilder gave me this and told me that Eren's Mom sent it for you."
Armin smiled and took the bag. "Thank you." He took out a Tupperware. "Um... Eren is still not allowed to eat with us."
"Yeah right." Christa said.
Mikasa took the tupperware from Armin and held out before Christa. "So, could you please give this to him, Christa?"
Christa took the tupperware. "Ok but where is he?"
"He is probably at the stables right now." Armin said.
"Ok." Christa said, turned around and ran towards the stables.
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Mikasa kept looking at her. 'If they come in contact, Eren might see some of his Dad's memories. Let's see what happens.'
"Mikasa, we should go now." Armin said.
"Hm..." Mikasa said and walked towards the mess hall with Armin.
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Eren was currently feeding his horse while Levi and Petra were feeding theirs.
After a moment, Christa rushed towards him. "Eren!"
Eren turned around and looked at Christa. "Christa?" He walked half way through.
Christa stopped before him, panting heavily.
"What is it, Christa?" Eren asked, looking down at her.
"Oh. Here." Christa said and held out the tupperware. "A Garrison soilder gave me this and told me that your Mom sent it for you."
Eren smiled. "Oh thank you, Christa." He reached out to take the tupperware.
Accidentally, their hands touched and blue electricity crackled around their hands.
Both of them gasped and their eyes widened as memories came rushing in.
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Eren in a vision saw that the Smiling titan reached down, moved the rubble aside with ease and picked Carla up.
"Stop!" Eren yelled in distress.
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Blue electricity crackled in a dark place.
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Eren saw in the vision that Mikasa was sitting on her knees with a confused expression, looking up at him.
"I'll wrap that around you... as many times as you want." Eren said. Then he looked ahead at the smiling Titan who was reaching out. "Now and forever... As much as you want!"
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Blue electricity crackled in a dark place.
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Eren saw in the vision that he was on his knees before a burnt out Armin, one hand holding a person. "I always knew." He said in a shaky voice. "You were more of a hero out of any of us."
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Blue electricity crackled in a dark place.
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Eren saw in the vision that he was pointing his finger at the horizon, standing in the sea. "Hey, if we kill all our enemies... over at there... will we finally be free...?"
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Blue electricity crackled in a dark place.
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Eren saw in a vision that he was standing before an 18 years old Mikasa who was blushing.
"What am I to you?" Eren asked.
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Blue electricity crackled in a dark place.
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Eren saw in a vision that 19 years old Mikasa, Armin and a 12 years old girl was still at a table.
Mikasa was looking down with a distressed expression while Armin had furrowed his eyebrows.
"Ever since we were little, Mikasa I've always hated you." Eren said.
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Blue electricity crackled in a dark place.
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Eren saw in a vision that he was hugging Mikasa.
"...and forget about me... and be free..." Eren said. "Please Mikasa... forget about me..."
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Blue electricity crackled in a dark place.
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Eren saw in a vision that the Reiss was family standing in the catacombs.
"I'm an Eldian who came from outside the walls! I'm a subject of Ymir just like all of you!" Grisha said with dispair.
The Reiss family kept staring at him.
"King of the walls! Please, you have to kill the Titans attacking the walls!" Grisha said.
Frieda closed her eyes at that.
"Before my wife... and children...! Before the people of the walls are eaten!" Grisha said.
Frida opened her eyes and it was purple now.
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Blue electricity crackled in a dark place.
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Eren in a vision saw Grisha's distressed face.
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Eren kept starring at Christa with wide eyes and gritted teeth, not moving a muscle while Christa had tears in her eyes.
Levi approached them. "Hey Yeager." He looked at Eren's face and his eyes widened a bit. "Hey!" He took the tupperware from Chrisha's hand.
Petra approached Eren and put her hand on his shoulder. "Eren?" She looked at Christa. "What happened?" He looked at Eren's face and her eyes widened. "Hey!"
"Yeager!" Levi called out, a bit loudly.
Eren and Christa flinched and came back to their senses.
Suddenly, Eren held his head and fell on his knees as tears started to roll down his face.
Petra kneeled before Eren. "Eren! What happened! Are you ok?"
Levi stood there in confusion. Then he glanced at Chrisha to see her crying. 'What the hell just happened?'
"Eren?!" Petra called out.
Eren remained silent while tears kept rolling down his face.
'That was what... needed to be done...'
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