9

Ymir looked at Eren dead in the eye with resolve. "Very well, Eren Yeager. Let's Talk!" The tall woman accepted, her eyes looking warily at Eren, who was unfazed by her attempt to intimate him.

The corners of his lips twitched up before raising his other hand up, his palm suddenly bleeding from his fingernails cutting deeply into his skin; seeing the blood, Ymir felt her blood run cold, but kept her composure, Krista who knew something was happening, gasped when she saw Eren's bloody hand.

"Eren! Are you okay? Does it hurt!?" Krista asked, grabbing his hand to look at his hand from a closer angle.

Eren smiled innocently at her; his friends had already figured out what was happening; Armin used a small piece of sharp metal on his sleeves to pock his finger, enough to draw blood; Mikasa, on the other hand, was ready to protect both Armin and Eren, but not actually turn into a Titan yet.

"Don't worry, Krista, just a shallow cut from the wires," Eren explained with a smile; the beautiful blonde girl seemed to believe him; Yeager turned his attention to Ymir before gesturing for her to follow him into the forest; Ymir didn't resist.

"Krista, stay here with Armin and Mikasa; me and Eren need to confess our love for each other," Ymir joked, making Krista blush and pout at her in annoyance; Mikasa's eyes narrowed when she heard what Ymir said, almost tempting her to follow them if it wasn't for Armin grabbing her elbow.

"Don't worry, Eren has more experience than us, Ymir won't try anything, and if she does, we are right here," Armin whispered to her reassuring her, making sure Krista near them didn't hear them.

Mikasa reluctantly nodded as Eren and Ymir disappeared amongst the trees, her eyes turned to the blonde beauty. She wondered if she could start a conversation with her, but thank the gods Armin was with her.

"We haven't had a chance to talk properly yet; the name's Armin; she's Mikasa," Armin introduced himself to Krista, who nodded, her eyes still glancing every now and then at the direction where Eren and Ymir had gone.

Knowing she had no reason to worry about, Krista decided to talk with her new friends. "My name is Krista; it is good to meet you two," she said with a cute smile, a halo of light suddenly surrounding her with feathers falling around.

She's an angle, both thought simultaneously, mesmerized by her figure.

Meanwhile, Eren and Ymir stopped walking, reaching a clearing in the forest, a fallen tree trunk nearby; looking around, they couldn't hear anyone else besides the insects around them, the light of the moon illuminating the night.

Eren turned fully at Ymir, facing her; his palm was still bleeding; the tension was so thick that one could easily cut it with a knife. Not being able to handle it and wanting to be done with this as soon as possible, the Yeager boy cleared his throat.

"Which one are you?" He asked bluntly; no point in dancing around the bush.

"The Jaw Titan, since I know you're from Shiganshina, I bet you are neither the Colossal nor the Armour Titan," Ymir explained, still wary of Eren.

"How?"

Ymir took a deep breath; a shiver went through her body; she vaguely remembered the days of living as a Pure Titan, trying to forget them. They were horrific memories. Ymir looked at Eren before explaining how she was sent in Paradis, telling him how she, in Titan form, devoured someone outside the walls with Titan Powers. After telling him everything, Eren gave her a sad smile, and she could see almost understanding in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you," Eren said sincerely, much to her surprise.

"Is not your fault," she said quickly, not wanting anyone to feel pity for her. One of the last things she needed was pity.

He wondered whether or not he should reveal which one he had, but he figured it would be a dumb move not to reveal it; since Ymir was trusting him with her Titan, he needed to do the same, and she knew he had one.

"I have the Attack Titan; since you have Jaw, are you from Marley?" Eren questioned her with a sharp look, his voice neutral, void of emotions.

Ymir was quite taken aback to hear Eren say 'Marley'; she figured he knew more than the others but to know the name of the country responsible for enslaving Eldian people for a century was a surprise.

I see; someone in his family must have given him the Attack Titan; I know his mother was eaten by a Titan the day the wall fell, that leaves only his father, Ymir thought, wondering where this conversation would go.

"How do you know about Marley?" Ymir questioned him, folding her arms under her chest. She hated those shits with a passion, she understood that Eldian Empire perhaps wasn't exactly the nicest of people, but she knew enough to realize that Marley was doing exactly what Eldian Empire had done while covering their crimes with pretty lies, acting as if they were heroes punishing the ones who are guilty. By destroying an entire country just to test the power of the Titans, they had acquired a few years after the Eldian Empire had fallen.

That's just ironic; she didn't know what Eren wanted to do, but as long as Krista was safe, she was on board with it, and Marley finally got what was coming to them.

Eren gave her a quick recap of how his father had been with the Eldian Restoration group, how he had been caught, not mentioning Zeke to her, and how his father had been saved before he turned into a Pure Titan, sneaking inside the walls and eventually having a family, Eren didn't say anything about him having the Founding Titan, he still didn't fully trust Ymir, she could easily still betray him, he knew he needed to know where her loyalty resides.

Ymir nodded; she had a feeling that Eren wasn't telling her everything, but she couldn't blame him.

"Now, What?" Ymir asked, unfolding her arms, her hand on her hips.

"My father entrusted me with the future of Eldians; we both know it is only a matter of time before we are all killed; my mission is to secure a safe place for my people; I won't tell anyone about your Jaw Titan, as long as you don't for mine, but since you're not one of those that attacked the Wall, we can become friends, and ensure our homeland will be free," Eren spoke, his voice full of determination, his eyes ablaze.

Ymir had to give it to him; he knew how to make inspirational speeches, but knowing about Marley didn't change much; it didn't change the fact that sooner or later, they would attack, and when that day came, she would want to be with Krista. Should I just get along with it and see if following him is a good idea? He might be brash sometimes, but he's not stupid; I know he hadn't shown all his cards. Can he somehow protect Paradis from Marley and the rest of the world, but the only thing capable of doing that is The Founding Titan, she thought, unsure what to do. Sure she could play "ally," but she didn't want to be responsible for killing so many innocent people; at the same time, she knew Krista would never forgive her if she sided with the ones responsible for destroying Wall Maria and causing so much death and suffering.

Eren watched as Ymir was looking at the side as if thinking about something; he knew he still hadn't told her about the Founding Titan, The Blessed Eldians, and the most important thing, the ability of The Attack Titan to make Semi-Titan Shifters if he had what he needed he could have easily created an army of Semi-Titan Shifters to protect Paradis.

He knew he couldn't reveal it yet about the Founding Titan and the Semi Titan Shifters, but he could tell her about the Blessed Eldians.

"Ymir, before you decide, have you noticed anything strange about your Jaw Titan?" Eren asked carefully; Ymir gave him a confused look.

"Strange! Like what?" She asked, her curiosity peaked.

"Have you ever heard of the Blessed Eldians?" Eren asked bluntly, looking at her straight in the eyes; she narrowed her eyes at the unknown term.

"No, who are they?" She asked, intrigued, wondering what they had to do anything with their current discussion.

Eren took a deep breath before telling her everything about the Blessed Titans, how they were more powerful in every way compared to the normal ones; this actually caught Ymir completely by surprise; she had never heard of this term before, hell, even the people that took her to worship her sixty years ago, mentioned nothing of Blessed Titans. Hearing that a Blessed Eldian was much stronger in Titan form, Ymir couldn't help but ask...

"How can I know if I'm a Blessed Eldian?" She asked if she was one; her chances of survival were suddenly much higher.

"According to my father, a Blessed Titan is almost twice taller, faster, and stronger than the normal one; in your case, I guess you must be taller, and your jaw is probably crystallized from the beginning. My father's Titan form was only fifteen meters tall, but my titan form is almost thirty meters tall," Eren explained, gaining another surprised look from Ymir; now she knew Eren was almost half the size of The Colossal Titan, which quickly made him more desirable as an ally rather than an enemy.

He's a Blessed Eldian; I wonder how much more powerful that makes him, how long can he sustain his Titan Form, she thought with wariness.

"My father said that a Blessed Titan's defying ability should be the one that gets stronger over everything else; in your case, The Jaw Titan's ability must have something to do with your teeth; I bet your jaw ability is much stronger if you're a Blessed Eldian," Eren added.

He said my jaw should be crystalized, she thought deeply, she had turned only twice so far, once inside the forest and once when she entered the wall, back then she hadn't paid it attention, but now she remembered that her claws were crystalized, making it very easy to climb the wall.

If what he says is true, I might be a Blessed Eldia as well, she thought with a ghost of a smile on her face; she remembered her Titan was quite tall, not the tallest, but bigger than any house around her, while some Pure Titans were taller than her, their numbers were low.

"You want to help the people inside the wall; I want the same, especially for Krista; if you truly want a better future for our people, then it would be better for us to be allies rather than enemies. I know you might not trust me, but I would never do anything to support Marley or any Eldian who worships them as if they were gods," Ymir spoke truthfully, looking directly at Eren's green eyes, his eyes filled with undying resolve, fearless and passionate.

Eren narrowed his eyes, trying to find any sign of her lying to him; he found none and decided for now to trust her. Extending his hand for her to shake, to seal their alliance.

"I accept your alliance, Eren Yeager," she said smiling, shaking his hand.

Eren narrowed his eyes dangerously at her, sending a shiver in her body, making her gulp, before he smiled, shaking her hand, but then he leaned close to her.

"But you should know, if you betray me, I won't hesitate to kill you. My parents are dead, my mother was eaten, and my father forced me to become a Pure Titan; I'm responsible for the lives of those inside the walls; I want that day two years ago never to be repeated," He said with a low dangerous tone that almost made her flinch.

Taking back her composure, she tightened the grip on his hand; Eren didn't react; instead, he listened closely. "Same goes for you; Marley made me a monster, dooming me to be tortured to live as one of them for sixty years. I'm tired of being betrayed, so from now on, we are allies Eren Yeager," Ymir said to him, pulling away; Eren gave her a smile with a nod, his eyes still focused on her making her smirk.

"Are you waiting for a kiss to truly seal our alliance, it is true that I like Krista, but I like both ways," she teased, succeeding in making Eren blush before turning around, avoiding her much to her amusement.

Eren turned to walk away, soon followed by Ymir, walking towards the others; no doubt Mikasa and Krista were worried.

"By the way, how do you know I'm not one of them?" Ymir asked curiously, briefly glancing at Eren.

"I have noticed how you care for Krista; second is your name. I highly doubt any Eldian in Marley would be allowed to have the same name as Ymir The Founder third, whenever Marley was mentioned, I could see the hatred in your eyes; I know how it looks like; I have seen enough hatred to know it, I doubt an Eldian of Marley would hate them," Eren explained with a casual tone, no longer tense around her, something Ymir appreciated.

"Good point," Ymir commented; just as they walked out of the forest, their friends were waiting for them at the same place; the moment they saw them coming out of the forest, they were quick to run towards them.

"Ymir, what happened? You were gone for quite a while?" Krista asked, concerned towards the tall lady who grew an evil smirk on her face, her arm going over Eren's shoulder, bringing him closer to her, much to his embarrassment, who tried to free himself only to fail.

"Nothing, me and Eren just confessed our undying love for each other, isn't that right, Eren?" She asked, looking down at his blushed face before he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, sure, you're right, Ymir," Eren said jokingly, wanting the tension to go away; his words caused Krista to pout in annoyance, which made Ymir turn towards her, using her other arm to bring her close much to her embarrassment.

"Don't be jealous, Krista; you still have a place in our hearts. We have a place for anyone who wants to join our romance group," Ymir said with a smirk when she saw both Eren and Krista blushing and Mikasa giving her a look as if considering her words.

It seems she sees Eren as more than just an adopted brother, she thought with an evil smirk across her face that really made Krista worried who noticed it.

Tomorrow

The following day, every cadet had gathered to see whether or not Eren would be able to keep balance or fall upside down and go to the fields.

Usually, Jean would joke about it with Marco, but he wasn't that heartless to joke about it now; he knew how much Eren wanted to join the Survey Corps while he still thought he was suicidal for wanting that, and he could a bit respect his idiotic desire to become Titan Food.

Eren felt his heart beating in his throat; it was his time to step forward when he felt a nudge on his shoulder; he didn't need to turn around to know who had called him.

"Good Luck, Eren," Mikasa whispered, hoping her words would encourage him; Eren showed his appreciation with a smile before stepping forward, not noticing the curious look from a blonde girl with ice eyes, standing a bit further away from everyone else.

"Lift him up," Shadis ordered, the engine started lifting Eren, who felt his gear twitching again, wanting him to fall upside down yet again, but he would rather die than allow himself to fail.

No, Never, he thought, keeping his balance as best as he could, using his legs and arms to balance himself; many cadets were confused, still not understanding why Eren's gear was moving so much.

It went on for several seconds; not once did Eren turn upside down. Keith narrowed his eyes, checking the watch on his wrist; after one minute of being able to keep his balance, Keith ordered his men to lower him.

"Sir?" Eren questioned, confused, seeing the instructor walked up to him before looking at his gear; it took only a few seconds before he spoke again with a much higher tone than usual.

"It seemed your gear was damaged," he spoke, holding Eren's belt in his hand, his hands tightening around the strap, causing it to creak. Everyone was quite impressed to know that Eren was able to balance himself even with a broken gear; Mikasa, Armin, Ymir, and Krista smiled happily to see Eren wouldn't be going anywhere.

"So the suicidal bastard didn't fail," Jean commented, slightly impressed, but he would never admit it even if it were a life or death situation.

Annie at the side raised an eyebrow, impressed with his talent. It seems his speeches are not just for show, she thought with a calculating look.

"I will need to visit the Supply Depot and crack a few eggs for this," Shadis spoke with a dark tone that made many cadets send a silent prayer for the unfortunate people who would receive Shadis's wrath; he was quite scary when he was in his everyday mood, they didn't want to see him when he was angry.

"Congratulations, Yeager, but don't think for a minute that you're out of the ropes yet," Shadis shouted at Eren, who kept a neutral look on his face; he had faced Mikasa's titan, yet, somehow, Shadis was more menacing than Mikasa going berserk.

"Yes, sir," Eren said before walking back to his friends, not noticing the slight smile on Shadis's face.

Carla, it seems your son will become a soldier, Grisha. I'm sure your son in no time will achieve great things just like you did, he thought before ordering everyone to start doing push-ups.

"Who told the rest of you To Lazy Around? You Think This is HOLIDAY," he shouted at the top of his lungs, making everyone scramble up.

Soon everyone was doing push-ups until they passed out, including Eren, who was near Ymir and Mikasa.

"Congratulations, Eren; I'm impressed to know you're not all talk," Ymir complimented with a genuine tone.

"Thank you, Ymir, But it is all thanks to you," Eren said with a smile; the tall woman looked away, not wanting her blush to be noticed by anyone; unfortunately, Krista was close, hearing the blonde girl giggle, Ymir's eyes found Krista.

"I'm happy for you, Ymir," Krista said, smiling, making her look like an angel to Ymir's eyes.

Survey Corps H.Q - One Week Later

"Here's the report, sir," Shadis informed him, handing a report to Erwin Smith; the instructor saluted in front of the commander with respect; he had been delighted to read that the number of losses amongst the scouts had lowered since Erwin took command, that reinforced his belief that people like Erwin would be able to do what he wasn't able to do.

His mind briefly went to Grisha's son; the boy was quite fierce; that's something he knew right away, but something new he had seen, something he hadn't expected to see, was his resolve and speeches; it was inspirational in a way, he just hoped that he was doing the right thing with him, he didn't want to hear that Carla's son lost his life in the battlefield.

But this is what the life of Survey Corps was like; every time you went out there, no one knew if that would be the last time they saw their loved ones, their families, and friends, it was part of life as Survey Corps, something everyone who decided to join them needed to accept.

Surprisingly, Shadis noticed that Captain Levi and Hange were also in the office; looking at the commander, he could see the way he was looking at the report as if he was searching for something he couldn't find.

After a minute of total silence, Erwin put down the report before his calculating blue eyes went to Shadis's brown ones.

"Tell me, have you noticed anyone asking too many questions, I mean informal questions?" Erwin questioned him.

Shadis wondered what he was looking for; thinking about his question, he briefly thought of every cadet, and no one was suspicious, at least on the surface. None of the cadets asked big questions, not that he knew of.

"No, sir, nothing unusual has happened so far," Shadis responded respectfully to the commander.

Erwin nodded before pointing the finger at a specific page of his report. "I read that Eren Yeager was able to keep the balance even with broken gear?" He asked but more like stating a fact.

Keith was quick to nod with a feeling of pride on his chest. "Yes, Commander, the boy was able to keep his balance with the broken gear for a whole minute," he replied quickly to them.

Levi's only visible reaction was a raised eyebrow, which was twitching. "Broken Gear! I don't remember something like that happening before," he said, baffled, and Hange and Erwin noticed a hint of anger in his tone.

"I know; I already talked with Supply Depot, cracked a few heads for good luck," he replied with a neutral tone. Levi gave him a nod of appreciation. Something like that was unforgivable; what if anyone died just because their gear was malfunctioning.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but have you noticed any unusual thunder?" Hange asked, looking at Shadis but slightly avoiding his eyes, much to everyone else's confusion.

Thinking about it, yellow Lightning, he repeated her words in his head before remembering something; the only thing he could think of was the night Grisha Yeager was killed; he had noticed a bright yellow light at the place; it was quite bright now that he thought about it.

"Yellow Lightning!? Well, not really like that, but I saw something similar two years ago," he responded, drawing the attention of three of them.

His hands folded together, his elbows on the table, his chin resting on his hands, Erwin leaned a bit closer. "Where did you see it?" He asked quietly and seriously; Shadis hadn't been a commander for years for nothing; he knew right away the importance of this information.

"Two years ago, right after the fall of Shiganshina, Grisha Yeager took his son into the forest...