"Mama, please stop.
PLEASE!
MAMA!"
Eren watched as Marta thrashed wildly and whimpered next to him in the bed before he grabbed her shoulders and tried to gently shake her awake. He knew she had bad nightmares, Mikasa had sometimes mentioned them because it annoyed yet worried the girls in her bunk. He sometimes wondered what happened to Marta in her past life for her to be so shook to the core by her memories at night.
"Was I screaming again?" Marta asked groggily, throat dry from the tears that had escaped her teal eyes as she dreamt.
"It's okay, you're okay," Eren reassured the girl with a hand clasped to her shoulder in comfort, both of them ignoring the slight rattle of chains, or not noticing it at all.
"I'm sorry..." Marta held her head in her hands ashamedly but was interrupted by the sound of a light cough coming from outside the bars. 'Bars, is this a cell?' She thought into herself.
"Any questions?" A man with a deep voice, blue eyes, blonde hair and bushy eyebrows said as he sat, arms folded, in a chair across from the cell which held the two Titan Shifters. Beside him was a considerably short man, who somehow still managed to be taller than Marta, he stood with a scowl on his face as his eyes glanced off to the side, seemingly uninterested in the two before him.
Marta knew who these two were from Eren's ramblings, Commander Erwin, the head of the Scout Regiment's Task Force and Captain Levi of the Special Operations squad. Marta and Eren both thought the same thing at the same time. 'What are they doing here?'
Eren was the first one to speak, as usual. "I, uh... Where... where are we?"
"I think it's obvious. Let's just call it a dungeon." Erwin stated, "you two are currently in custody of the Military Police. We were granted permission to see you only just now."
Marta finally let her head drop in her hands, "we're totally screwed, Eren."
Eren sweatdropped as he realised the same thing, then the Commander held up a key and his eyes lit up in recognition. "Where'd you get that?"
"Off of you. Don't worry, you'll get it back. Let's talk home. Specifically the good doctor's basement back in Shiganshina." Marta was beginning to realise her and Eren had a lot more in common than originally thought, despite the turning into a Titan fiasco, for her father too had been a doctor. Her imagination was beginning to run wild, conspiracies of a league of evil doctor's turning their unsuspecting children into Titans as a science experiment.
But before she could go any further, Erwin spoke again. "Pretty big secret in there, right? About the Titans?"
"Yeah, I think so. That's what dad said, anyway."
"It must suck having your dad and your memory M.I.A at the same time." Levi butted in and Marta was suddenly thinking about how she wished both of those things were missing for her at the same time as her memories plagued her. "Unless, of course, that's just a cover story."
"Enough." Erwin looked back at the short man with a scowl, "we've been over this already. We know he has no reason to lie, both of them don't seem to anyway." He added, looking at Marta for the first time in a while. "And that's all we know. How about you shed a little light on things for me by telling me your intentions?"
Eren looked taken aback, "my what? What do you mean?"
"Here's the lay of the land, my friend. If we want to pay your dad's cellar a visit, we have to venture back into Shiganshina. Sealing the breach there as we did in Trost would be the smart way to go about it, don't you think? Naturally we'll need both of your special powers. Any way you slice it, a Titan's deciding our fate. It's been conjectured that both the Colossal and Armoured Titan are more or less the same as you.
It's why I ask your intentions. They could be the key to turning the tide forever. You could save us."
"I don't know what I am."
"Come on. It's an easy question, both of you, answer it. What they hell is it you want to do?" Levi reiterated.
Eren seemed dead set, "I wanna become a member of the Scouts and slaughter every Titan that crosses my path!" Marta wasn't as excitable as her counterpart, "I'll do what it takes to bring humanity freedom from it's chains."
Both had a dangerous look in their eyes.
"Huh, well played." Levi moved closer to their cell, "alright then. I'll take responsibility for them. Let the higher-ups know what's going on." He placed his hands on the bars and peered in at them. "Not that I implicitly trust them, of course, it's more a matter of me trusting myself to deal with him. I'll kill them if I have to, the bigwigs aren't likely to raise a stink, my record more than speaks for itself."
Eren's eyes widened while Marta's only narrowed.
"Good news, Jaeger, Moller. You're now officially members of the Scouts," Levi finished.
The conversation between Erwin, Levi and the two Titan Shifters now seemed like weeks ago. Now, it was an afternoon – not that the two of them could specify the time of day – and Eren was pleading with the Military Police guards situated at the cell door, "excuse me... I gotta pee!"
"No, you just went." The MP answered quickly and curtly. Marta watched the exchange with half open eyes before closing them again, she had spent the past few days sleeping because when she was around a bed that was what her body just naturally done. Plus, after this trial and whatever comes of it, she might not be getting much rest anymore.
"Then can I have some water!?" Her stomach growled on instinct at Eren's words having not eaten for a while, when they had brought her food the only thing she could think was 'God knows what those bastards have put in there.'
"Hey!" The guard to the right of them now spoke, "you're not getting a thing, damn monster."
Marta resisted the urge to flinch at those words and Eren tried to do the same, even though their reasons were very different. 'Little monster' was what Elsa Moller would call her daughter and not jokingly, either. Instead, it was in a venomous tone that made her skin crawl and the MP's turn of phrase only reminded her of her childhood. Little did she know those reminders would become all too real later.
Before the two of them could spiral any deeper into existentialism, a woman, or was it a man? with brown hair in a ponytail and glasses shot their face between the bars and gazed at the two with a curious and almost obsessive look. It quickly turned into a friendly smile, "so then, you're Marta and Eren, huh? Are you two well? How are things? I'm really sorry you've been waiting so long but here's your chance to finally get out!"
'Yes. No. Terrible.' Eren seemed to let out a breath he wasn't holding in a sigh of relief.
"Except..."
'Can't I just have one nice thing?'Marta pleaded in silent prayer.
"You'll have to put these on," the person held out 2 pairs of handcuffs and a blonde man joined them at their side.
"I'm Hange Zoe, a Section Commander of the Scout Regiment. This is a fellow Commander, Mike Zacharius." The man looked normal enough but then again he was sniffing Eren, Hange seemed to notice his discomfort quickly, "oh,don't mind him, he makes a habit of giving new people a further sniff. Tends to laugh through the nose quite a bit," Mike did this as if on cue, "but I don't think he intends it to be derisive." The man gave himself a little smirk.
Next he moved onto Marta.
"Quirks aside, he is a skilled Section Commander." Marta and Eren walked in sync down the hall, both slightly made nervous by these 2 eccentric figures before them but trying to shake it off.
"Oops! Sorry! I've just been prattling on with the small talk and now we're here... well I'm sure it's fine! Probably better if I don't explain!" Hange reassured the two before turning more serious when the two were grabbed by the MPs. "It might seem callous, but remember, we've all put our faith in you, Eren. Best of luck."
Hange shut the mahogany doors of the courtroom.
"Wait!" Eren and Marta pleaded, seemingly in time, but the doors were already shut with a bang echoing off the walls.
A picture of a bloody battle scene adorned the ceiling and Marta couldn't help but wonder if her fate would be similar to the dead man in the painting who had been stabbed in the side. There were at least 6 dozen people in the courtroom, but none of them phased her except one.
Her mother.
There she was, obviously on the same side as the Military Police, with a violent smirk on her primped and powdered face, Marta felt herself involuntarily struggle but still she was pushed forward, a gun to her back and with Eren in tow until they were bent down on their knees before the tribunal, a pole shoved between the handcuffs to stop them from moving.
She could only imagine how disgusted her mother would be looking at her now, her long ginger hair tangled and flowing down past her waist and her body stick thin from the malnourishment of not touching the bread and ale served to her and Eren by the Military Police.
Marta refused to meet her mother's instead lingering on the faces of Armin and Mikasa. She couldn't help but wonder how the Devil, her mother, and an Angel, Armin, were in the same room at the same time. She smiled weakly at him and he only gazed worryingly at her.
"All right, shall we begin?" Darius Zackly stared down at the two on trial, "your names are Eren Jaeger and Marta Moller and as soldiers you have sworn to give up your lives when called to for the good of the people, is that correct?"
"Yes, sir." The two answered.
"As enlisted soldiers during a time of war, your tribunal will be a Court Marshall, as Commander of our Armed Forces, this matter is left to my discretion, thus I will decide whether you two live or die. Any objections?"
"No, sir."
"Your astuteness is appreciated. Let us proceed. As expected, covering up your existence has proven quite fruitless and unless we publicly disclose your existence, one way or another, we risk the outbreak of widespread civil unrest. A choice must be made, and the regiment that takes custody of you will determine your fate.
"The Military Police...
"Or the Scout Regiment.
"To begin, the Military Police will now present their case."
"Thankyou. My name is Nile Dawk, I am Commander of the Military Police. Our recommendation, following a thorough examination of both Eren and Marta's body, the subjects should be disposed of immediately." Marta looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with the source of all her pain in life, while Eren looked on at the MP in fear of their suggestion. "We acknowledge that they played a part in holding off the latest Titan incursion. However, it has been stated their mere existence have been causing a swell of rebellious sentiment.
"For the greater good, as soon as we have gathered all the information we can from them, we would see them made fallen warriors of humanity."
Marta clucked her tongue in distaste and disbelief at the idea but someone had beaten her to the punch of speaking out against it. "Unacceptable!" It was a wall worshipper. "This vile, venomous fiend has defiled the mighty wall..." Marta tuned him out as she cringed at his words.
"And now I'd like to hear the Scout Regiment's proposed plan." Zackly interrupted.
"Yes, sir." Erwin began, "as the Commander of the Survey Corps, I, Erwin Smith, propose the following. Let Marta and Eren join our ranks, reinstate their as a full member of the Scouts and we will utilise their Titan ability to retake Wall Maria. That is all." He kept it abrupt and smart, as a true soldier would, while the Military Police and their side began to make a mess of things, fighting amongst themselves.
Zackly quickly put a stop to their ridiculousness, pounding his palm on the table like a gavel. "Order! I ask that you save your personal sentiments for another venue. Now then, Mr Jaeger, I have a question for you.
"As a soldier, you have made a solemn promise to answer humanity's call, can you still serve, controlling your ability?"
"Yes, sir! I can!"
"Oh, is that so?" Zackly's tone remained bland and uninterested. "It says here in this report about the Battle of Trost that just after transforming, it seems you made an attempt to crush Mikasa Ackerman. It also says that after when Marta tried to stop you, you made an attempt to crush her as well and knocked her out, prohibiting your mission from moving forward."
Eren's head snapped to Mikasa and then Marta, "this can be true?" She looked down regretfully in response.
"And who is this Mikasa Ackerman?"
"Me, that would be me, sir." She replied.
"Alright then, is it true that Eren Jaeger assaulted you while he was in Titan form?"
Mikasa grunted, trying to formulate a response, "yes, all of that's true."
Whispers spread like wildfire throughout the courtroom and Marta could only feel sympathy towards the boy beside her, this would make this all harder than it already was.
"However... he also saved my life on two previous occasions while in Titan form. The first, shortly after Trost fell, I was nearly killed by a Titan but then Eren came. He stepped in and protected me. The second time, he transformed to shield Armin, Marta and I from cannon fire. I implore you to take these facts into consideration."
"Objection!" Nile Dawk's voice chimed. "I have reason to believe that personal feelings play a large part in her testimony, let the records show that Mikasa Ackerman was orphaned at a young age and was subsequently taken in by the Jaeger family. What's more, our own investigation into this matter led to a most shocking discovery.
"Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman, at the tender age of nine, dealt with three adult kidnappers by stabbing all of them to death." The courtroom was again aghast. "Granted, this was done in self-defence. But, one cannot help but question the violent nature of the act. Knowing all of this, should we really invest in him money, man power, perhaps the very fate of us all?
"As for Marta Moller, we have been reliably informed by her mother, Elsa Moller, who is at this very trial today of Marta's extreme rebelliousness which even resulted in her running away at the age of nine. One can only imagine how she survived this long on the streets before joining the military, probably stealing like a street rat." Nile's voice hissed the last 2 words of his ploy.
"Is this true, Marta?" Zackly inquired.
"No, with the help of 2 close friends I made at the time, Jean Kirschtein and Marco Bodt, I was able to survive without having to steal or cheat anyone."
"I see, and what of the running away?"
"Sir, I have reason to believe I have a valid excuse of leaving home, my mother had abused me after my father left her because it was my fault." Gasps came from the crowd at how a mother could do such a thing, the trial was turning into more of a therapy session for a girl than a death sentence.
"Her father, Miss Moller, is this true?"
"Her father left shortly after he turned her into the monster she is now, he abandoned his little science experiment." Marta cringed at Elsa's news.
"Who is her father, Miss Moller?" Zackly pressured the woman who gulped nervously, knowing the backlash that she would be given for it.
"His name is Grisha Jaeger, I have reason to believe that he died in the Fall of Shiganshina."
It took Marta a minute to gather the information that had just been instilled, but when she finally put the pieces together, it struck her like lightning.
Eren was Marta's brother.
The courtroom was all shocked by the news as well, jumping to the farthest of conclusions, mainly drawn to Mikasa, who because of her adoption by the doctor, was now being offered up by some of the people in the courthouse to be dissected as well as the two.
Eren was far from happy about this.
"STOP IT!" He pulled against his chains angrily, "you're all wrong about it all. But you're so intent on pushing selfish agendas, you're blind to what's in front of you."
Nile seemed confused by the obvious news "what? What do you mean?"
"What does it even matter?" Eren continued, "none of you have even seen a Titan, so why are you so afraid, huh?" Marta watched on in shock as her newly found brother shouted at the crowd with fever, "there's no sense of having power if you're not going to use it to fight! If you're too scared to fight with your lives, fine. Then let me do it. You... you're all cowards! Just shut up, and put all your faith in me!"
Silence.
"Take aim, damnit!" The Commander of the MP certainly did seem cowardly more so now than he did before.
That was the moment when Captain Levi jumped onto the scene and began pummelling Eren with kicks and punches as Marta could only cower away and hope she wasn't next. The scene reminded her of her home life before she joined the Cadet Corps. She was fine fighting in training, when both parties had an almost equal chance of winning, but here, chained up in front of the short but scary man, she couldn't fight back.
It scared her.
The Captain went to walk over to her next but saw the look on her downturned face and stopped in his tracks. He couldn't do this to the girl, especially after watching her thrash about in bed next to Eren the day the two had met. So instead, he turned back to Eren, making a show of slamming his face into the concrete floor.
"Personally, I think nothing instils discipline like pain. You don't need a good talking to, what you're in need of is to be taught a lesson." Levi sounded threatening but in his grey eyes you could tell he was bored out of his mind. "You happen to be in perfect kicking position."
The show continued until before Erwin laid his cards on the table, let Levi take care of the two Titan Shifters. Marta kept her eyes down until the trial was over, even when the pole and handcuffs were removed from her she remained crouched.
"Look, Marta, I know you're shaken up about things, but just be grateful we're still alive." Eren tried to comfort the girl, sticking out of one his big hands for her to entrap in her smaller one. She gave him a weak smile.
Marta helped Hange clean up the mess that was Eren's bruised face as Mike and Levi stood at opposite sides of the room, minding their own business. In Levi's head, though, he was only thinking of how this seemingly broken girl he had seen in the courtroom turned into a 15m monster.
"I'm sorry about that," Erwin strode into the room, "but the theatrics did get you placed in our custody."
"No, I understand." Eren replied softly.
"I can assure you, the pain was worth it. It allowed us to play our trump card when it would be most effective." The Commander squatted to Eren's level and reached out his hand, the boy looked starry eyed and Marta let out the first laugh she had in a long time. "You have my utmost respect. Eren, Marta, I'm glad both of you are on our team." Erwin smiled up at Marta as he said this.
She nodded at him, her reaction far less enthusiastic as she sat beside Eren, who replied with a "me too, Sir!" The excitement turned into fear when Levi sat beside the two.
"So Eren," he began.
"Sir?"
"You don't hate me now, do you?"
"N-no. I can see that what you do was necessary, sir."
"And you, Marta? You don't resent me for injuring your brother do you." Levi's steely eyes met Marta's teal ones.
"I suppose I have to trust your judgement now, sir. After all, you are my Captain." She replied nonchalantly, knowing she had no choice in the matter but not being able to disconnect her eyes from her new Captains.
Erwin's face held a smirk, it seemed that both of the Titan Shifter siblings had a fighting spirit. He hoped that that fighting spirit would answer humanity's prayers and bring back the hope almost lost.