Chapter 10

Eren stood in the forest, surrounded by trees. The sun had fallen a while ago, and all the cadets were asleep. Eren looked at the base of a certain tree. Near the roots was a stone, words of an unknown langue carved on the surface.

Unknown to this world's inhabitants, besides him.

Ihr Jahrestag.

It was vague, in the case that there was someone who could decipher the meaning, it would go over their heads.

However, it meant little to Eren. He would have preferred to have their names on it but deemed this world undeserving of having their names marked in it.

He took the shot glass filled with alcohol, raising it up he said a farewell and happy anniversary to his beloved sister and her husband.

He downed the glass.

Staring at the small cup, he wondered what could have been. The alcohol helped in this situation. Although barely anything, it still gave a buzz to the head, allowing him a brief respite to dwell on past memories without to much disdain.

"It's not nice to stare at people." Eren said as he looked over in a certain direction. He was not pleased by being watched, and much had changed since the day he found out of his power.

It had been almost a year since the training exercise that allowed him to find out about his power. In fact, the mandatory week break was slowly approaching. However, regarding the changes, it was the fact that word spread of what he did during the exercise that caused people to be more distant to him. It seemed killing four men had them almost afraid of Eren.

Simply put, they thought of him as unstable.

It was only a rumor, most didn't believe he had killed, and those who were present didn't speak of it. Whether in consideration to him or fear, Eren didn't know. But coupled with the thought that Eren was dead set on the Scouts, many didn't seem it was worth it to befriend him, seeing as he may as well be dead when he enters the Scouts.

The only ones who spoke with him were Armin, Mikasa, Marco, Reiner, Berthold, and Jean. Through them, he often made contact with the other cadets. After the exercise, he and Jean had a chat.

Eren came to the table wanting to salvage some type of friendship from the talk. He decided it wasn't worth all the effort to argue with Jean, no matter how much he got under his skin.

They came to a… mutual agreement. Their ideologies just clashed too much, but they came to terms that they wouldn't butt heads as often as they did.

"I don't think sneaking out after lights out is much better." The person Eren called to earlier spoke. Coming behind a tree, the person revealed herself to be Annie.

Eren had taken an interest in her ever since she displayed such moves during their little spar. And it appeared Annie had taken an interest in him. She had accepted his request of her teaching him some of the moves she performed.

Eren had a basic concept of her fighting style, but if he had such a power to shift into a Titan, then so can others. It would be best not only to learn potential shifters fighting style but also to learn more moves to add to his arsenal.

Eren didn't know if Annie was a shifter or just an extremely suspicious person, but it mattered little. In the end, it didn't hurt him to observe and learn from her.

"And yet you snuck out as well." Eren said, securing the fact that they both broke the rules. "So I don't see much of why you should complain."

Annie gave him a deadpan look. It wasn't her usual glare, but even her straight face seemed to have an edge to it.

"Regardless, what were you doing this late at night?"

"I don't see how that concerns you." Eren said. He found it strange how she went straight to the questions of why he was out here. "In fact, I could ask the same to you."

"I was on a walk. I do it every so often, it clears up my mind?"

"Clears it up?" Eren rose an eyebrow. "Does something weigh heavily on you?"

She didn't answer. It was all the indication that Eren needed to know he was right.

"Well, I guess I'll humor you." Eren said after a long pause of silence. "I was mourning someone dear to me, as well as an old friend."

"... I'm sorry." Annie seemed apologetic.

"It was in the past."

"Did… They die during the Titan invasion?"

"If I said yes, what would you do? Would you say sorry again?"

Annie seemed to struggle to say something. Opening her mouth and closing it a few times. She finally settled on saying nothing.

"Heh," Eren gave out a brief chuckle. "You don't need to say sorry. After all, it wasn't your fault the Titans broke through wall Maria."

Eren started to walk up to Annie as he talked, watching for any change in her demeanor as he talked about the Titan invasion.

She remained stoic.

Eren gave a sigh of breath as he passed her. Hoping for her to reveal some guilt indication she had been apart of it, Eren had tried to get a reaction by saying those certain lines.

"In any case, no, they didn't die in the Titan invasion." Eren said as he walked away from Annie.

"No, in fact, they died long ago." He said shortly after under his breath. "Due to my foolishness…"

It didn't take long for Eren to reach the dorm. A few minutes later had him laying in bed, thinking about past events as well as those to come.

It didn't take long for him to recall a certain event that happened during an exercise in the middle of a blizzard.

"So Daz, Ymir, and Christa haven't returned yet?"

"With the blizzard going, do you think they will make it?"

"In this weather? You can't even see five feet in front of you…"

People spoke in hushed murmurs as they sat in the mess hall, eating warm soup after their latest exercise.

It was simple, similar to the one they performed before. They moved in groups on the mountain, having to scale it and retrieve the planted item there. They would then return.

They did it in groups, but it seemed that as the weather got worse, some people were mistakenly left behind.

Cut off due to bad visibility, it was understandable that some wouldn't come back together. However, for those three to take so long. Even if the storm was so bad, they should have come by now.

Eren sat there with Mikasa and Armin as he drank his hot beverage. It really didn't take any brain cells to figure out the reason they hadn't come back was that someone had gotten hurt. Whether they passed out or were unable to move, it would take some time for them to come back to camp, assuming they were going to help the person injured.

Eren grit his teeth as he sneered in dismay. Hiding it behind his cup so no one could see, he thought of what had likely happened.

Daz must have become unconscious, reasoning that the man was weak to start with. Christa, following through with her fake mask, was obviously attempting to help Daz, even if it killed her.

Killed her…

Eren thought about it but wondered if it could be true. The way she acted, the way she behaved.

No, it couldn't be.

As for Ymir. Well, Eren didn't know too much about her. She seemed, in all cases, a wild card. He couldn't tell what she wanted, only that she was a survivor. So why did she remain with Christa? He knew that she was becoming close to the blond girl, but for what reason?

Well, it didn't matter.

It appeared that the blizzard was letting up.

They returned to their dorms. Eren was greeted with the sight of some of the cadets getting dressed up in their winter gear.

"What's going on?" Although Eren suspected, he still asked.

"They're still missing." Reiner spoke up. "We were going to go out and look for them, you game?"

Eren thought about it for a moment. He made the decision to also begin to put on his gear.

However, as soon as they walked through the door, they saw a figure pulling a sleigh behind them.

It turned out to be Ymir and in the sleigh Daz himself.

The medical staff was alerted and Daz was soon in a bed being administrated treatment.

Ymir, Eren noticed, stayed outside. Despite the chill, she stayed near the stone fence near the iced-over lake.

A curious site, one that Eren realized that Ymir was waiting for Christa.

Eren palmed his face as he thought of a course of action. He thought over it, convince himself that Christa wasn't trying to do what she did.

However, during the training exercise that resulted in her kidnap, he remembered one thing, one key detail. When they talked about Eren's mother there was a look in her eyes…

Eren couldn't describe it, but he's seen the look before. After all, when he was in the deepest despair of his past life, he saw it whenever he looked in the mirror.

However, hers was more… tame, in a sense.

It seemed she was hesitant on the fact she wanted to die.

She didn't want to commit suicide, that was for sure. However, she seemed like she didn't want to live either. That is if the look in her eye said anything.

She covers it well, so well that even Eren didn't notice it until they spoke near that riverbed on that fateful day.

However, if she did want to die, then it was most likely a case of wanting to be a martyr.

It was a common case, one that Eren had seen many times in his past life. People jumping headfirst into battle, trying to play the role of hero, but secretly deep down wishing to be seen as a figure who died and left their mark in this world.

The question was, is Christa trying to imitate that by staying behind helping Daz.

Eren scrunched his eyebrows as a sudden realization came upon him. If Daz was the one slowing them down, then how did Ymir arrive way before Christa?

It was obvious she was still out there if Ymir waiting for her was any indication.

It couldn't be… was Ymir a shifter?

It was a sudden thought that came to Eren as he looked out the window towards her.

However, it seemed like that line of thought would have to wait. Another figured could be seen walking back towards the training ground. It had to be Christa. With a sigh, he grabbed two mugs of a warm beverage and walked outdoors into the cold temperatures.

He neared the two girls, hearing a part of their conversation.

"Hey," He butted in. "I couldn't help but overhear. You two were together, but how did Ymir and Daz get here so fast?"

They seemed shocked that Eren came towards them. He handed them both the drinks as he awaited their response.

"She… jumped from that cliff…" Christa said, not really believing it herself.

Eren couldn't help but want to palm his face, however, he withstood the urge to do something so rude. Rather, he tried to convince Christa that such a thing could have been possible.

"Consider me impressed Ymir." He said turning to the freckled girl. "The snow could soften your landing, but that was no guarantee. But why did you go all out anyway?"

Eren thought back on how Ymir arrived before Christa did. Could she really be a shifter? If so, how come Eren hadn't noticed any strange behavior between her and the other three prime suspects.

"Yeah, I'm pretty amazing." She said as she crossed her arms. "I did it because this one would have killed herself over trying to protect Daz. If something didn't happen they both would have died."

"I see." Eren said as he brought his attention to Christa, who was sipping from her mug. "If you would have died, why not leave Daz and save yourself?"

Christa seemed to choke on her drink at the prospect.

"A-Are you serious?!" She sputtered in shock. "I couldn't have left someone to die!"

"So you rather you die with them?" Eren was doing it. He had to push the prospect and see how she would react. Reading people was his strong point, manipulating them to do what he did.

However, he wondered why he was getting involved with this tedious task.

"Well… I had to try…"

"I see." Eren said. It was all he needed. He saw the look in her eye, the hesitancy, and the way she looked anywhere but him.

She was lying.

She didn't want to try, but rather die while people thought she had tried.

She really did want to become a martyr of some sorts.

"Very well then." Eren said as he started to walk up towards Christa. "That self-destructive attitude will not only hurt you, but others around you. Coming from my point of view, you're simply a variable I cannot risk."

He grabbed her by the back of the jacket, pulling her down as he dragged her over the iced-over lake.

Ymir stuttered, coming after him to try and stop him, however, a quick kick to the shin caused her to stop and nurse the mentioned appenage in pain.

Seeing that Ymir would no longer interfere, Eren continued dragging Christa to the center of the lake. The girl was struggling to break free, albeit barely. She kicked and screamed at Eren at why he was doing this and to stop. Eren didn't.

Once he reached the center of the lake, he lifted Christa up like a ragdoll and promptly slammed her into the ice, causing spittle to fly from her mouth. The force of the slam caused the ice to break into spider-like cracks.

"You're a liabilty." Eren spoke in a cold tone. "You believe that you would be better off dead, don't you."

Christa seemed to stop at that. Her cries, her screams, anything vocal was cut off as Eren mentioned the one line.

"I thought it over." Eren stated. "I had thought you wanted to become some type of martyr. To have a meaningful death, for people to remember you. Then, right at this moment, I realized that was far from the truth."

Eren knew what her true emotions were once he looked her in the eyes. He prided himself on reading people, it was how he was able to manipulate people as The Führer so well. The look in her eye was that of a tired soul. Hoping to find some reason to live, but ultimately failing and believing the words that others had told her.

If only you were never born.

"Your actions almost caused Daz to die." Eren continued. "You could have sought help, but in thinking that bearing the burden by yourself could provide more reasonable results, you decided to go at it alone. However, your intentions were to die a hero, wasn't it."

Silence dominated both of them. Only the slight grinding of ice against ice, signaling that it could break further at any time, was the only sound that encompassed them.

Finally, after what felt like minutes, Christa spoke.

"You…" For the first time, she seemed to hold contempt for something. "You know nothing!"

A screech cemented the fact that she had finally broken character. Her mask was lifted, showing the scared but angry girl beneath. She would have continued if it wasn't for Eren.

"How Pathetic!" He yelled back with much more ferocity then her. "You want them to win?!"

Eren didn't know who specifically 'they' were. He only had a general idea.

And he would exploit it to its fullest.

"If you die, then you would prove them right. Those who said the world would be better without you, those who said you shouldn't have been born, those who denied your very existence! You would give that to them?! The satisfaction of knowing they were right?!"

The truth was, Eren knew much of this feeling. Rejected, beaten down. It felt like the world was against you.

The only difference between him and Christa was the sole fact he decided to take his own fate in his own hands. He did just that, and achieved what he desired.

A choked sobbed erupted from Christa, signaling that what Eren had said had broken through to her.

Eren eased up on her, to the point where he was no longer pinning her down. He just stayed crouch there underneath her as tears began to streak down her face. Ymir stood to the sidelines, wishing to go out there, but worried the ice would break if more weight was added to it.

Eren, after giving a glance at Ymir to confirm she wouldn't interfere, looked back at Christa.

"You can do what you want, it's your life." He said with calm composure. "However, if you desire to win, if you desire to live, I can help you. Follow me, and I can guarantee that you will be able to prove those who cursed you wrong. I can prove to you, as well as to everyone, that this world does need you."

He stood up as he finished, walking away he threw one last thing to her.

"However, if you see fit to deem they were right, then I can kill you myself."

Thinking back on it, was it naive to believe that those words itself would allow her to change herself? Regardless, his offer was out there. What mattered most was that he had some influence in her life. He wasn't a complete stranger in the event something happened that would change the lives of everyone present within this camp.

Which, if everything went to plan, would happen.

Eren thought towards the future, and how the plans were progressing as per his orders.

Hugo was an eccentric man. He knew this, as he was aware of all his faults. It was these faults that made him excel in what he did. He was a scientist, researcher, and engineer.

He had a creative mind ever since he was young.

He had such outlandish ideas, that the Military Police caught wind of it. So his career was short-lived, as he was force to abandon civilization lest he wanted death. He had heard of the rumors, of how a branch in the Military Police took laws within their own hands. No, they were above the petty laws set by the king.

They enacted the will of what they thought was best for the walls. Killing people who desired change was one such act.

And Hugo very much wanted change. Long he had dreamed that humanity could travel the lands without Titans, and so much more.

It didn't take long for the MPs to find him.

It took even less time for The Führer to find him. He had saved him, and in return, Hugo swore his loyalty on the one condition that he could pursue his creative ambitions.

It turned out that The Führer was looking for him for precisely that reason. He had somehow stumbled across his notes and desired the mind behind them.

And so, Hugo got to work.

His first invention was a gun powered by the same element that was used in the vertical maneuvering gear. A gas frozen into a solid state, allowing one to capture it and harvest it. He intergraded this concept within a gun, allowing the gas to propel the bullet rather than the small explosion that the gun powered designed guns had used.

That was his first, and certainly not last. Over the course of the few years he has been employed at the Rommel facilities, he has helped and created a plethora of items. What they were to be used for was obvious. While some were designed for commercial use, it was blatant that Rommel's Industry was manufacturing weapons.

While under the guise of 'Titan killing machines', it was clear to Hugo that the weapons they made could also be used on Humans as well. Hugo knew this, and knew that they would be used as well.

For he had confronted The Führer, telling him straight up what he believed he was going to do.

He was one of the few who had the luxury of knowing just who The Führer was, being the head of the R&D department allowing him such status.

Hugo reflected on what The Führer exactly told him. He would admit that what the young boy came up was practical, but what made it truly terrifying was the age of the boy himself. If Hugo didn't know any better, he'd say there was a demon within such a child. Perhaps there is some truth to that. Despite that, he followed such a boy, so what did that say of him?

It mattered not. The only thing he cared for was expressing his freedom to use his mind in any way he desired. So what if his weapons would be used to kill other humans within the law? He knew that those who would fall to the new ideals were those who kept the old. If one wanted change, they would have to enforce it. Such a thing would never happen if you kept retreating.

Hugo knew this, Rommel knew this, and The Führer especially knew this.

So, he invented weapons more for the use of killing humans then he did Titans. He had the stomach and foresight to know actually what the consequences of his actions were well in advance.

Hugo stopped in his pondering as he stared at the massive structure right in front of him. He was currently touring all the facilities within wall Rose that held much of their secretive equipment. Including the one he was currently at, he had three more to tour, making sure everything was progressing as per the time schedule.

The last destination was the Headquarters of Rommel's secret project, Utgard Castle. It use to house bandits, but Rommel made quick work of them and is now using it has the main base of operation in regards to The Führer's plans.

Although Utgard held the tanks—which he would have to innovate now that they had a better engine—he doubted that any facility had such a magnificent structure such as this. It took up one of the three warehouses that were located near the river just outside one of the walled districts.

Although it was just an exoskeleton of its true self, it was still a sight to behold for one such as him. The massive, outer structure of the flying machine they first envisioned. They planned to drop bombs and shoot cannons at the Titans from such a behemoth itself. It would allow no casualties when dealing with the menace that lurked outside the walls.

The Zeppelin.

Hugo recalled The Führer mentioning a name for such a beast, and Hugo agreed. It was amazing in his eyes. Yet, so massive, it required time and resources. If it was well known they were making such a thing, then they could do it out in the open. But since it was so massive, it required the parts to be made separately and then brought here to be assembled into one whole structure.

The system was flawed and prone to failures. A measurement would be recorded wrong and the part made to fit such measurements wouldn't fit, thus require a new part to be made. This all could be avoided if they didn't need to keep such an item secret.

Regardless, it was progressing just fine. In fact, it was suggestive that it would be done within a year or two. Not a definite answer, but something to look forward to.

Hugo turned to the zeppelin one last time. He gazed at the front of it, almost complete surround with plates to hold in the gas that would lift it up, and he gazed at the back, a stark contrast to the front where it was nothing but beams and bolts, still requiring the dark gray plates to be attached.

Yes, it would definitely be beautiful in its finished from. Hugo turned away from the Zepplin before him, focusing his mind on the next installment that Rommel needed him to oversee.

Oh, what fun it was to have a creative mind unhindered.

A sort of short chapter, as things are starting to get busy for me during this time of year.

I don't know if people remember (or were here for that fact), but I stated in the old story that I had about over 50k words already written down for this rewrite. Of course, as I posted I also wrote more, but those 50k words were written in a time when I wasn't busy. And, as mentioned above, I am now getting quite busy.

So from here on out, the chapters may not be 6k or 7k words( a goal I try to reach which, admittedly, I haven't kept with all chapters.) Regardless, I will try to keep up with my self-appointed upload schedule of a chapter every two weeks.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you in the reviews, as it does motivate me when I read them.

Also, this.

Besondere #1

Titan experiment

Eren was beginning to wonder if it was a really good idea to reveal his power to those high up in the Rommel industry.

He knew, logically, if he were to use this power then it would be best have those he's been using so far to know. Not only would it give them a reason to trust him, but it would allow him to operate more freely, not having to hide his power and all.

He could test out his abilities with an audience, in other words.

"Speak! I know you have those jagged teeth and all, but you have to try harder! Believe!"

Hugo wasn't usually a fanatic about Titans. No, his field was more in the invention and innovation field. He had practically divulged himself in the airplane when Eren had first received it.

However, the prospect of a human turning into a Titan must have reignited something within him.

Eren realized that perhaps Hugo had wanted, maybe a few times, to experiment on Titans. As a scientist, knowing what was unknown was a very exciting prospect. And it appeared Hugo was indulging himself in knowing just how the Titans function.

For example, if they could speak.

But it appeared that Eren's Titan form had no such luxury. No, if anything, his form was purely meant to kill.

It was Scott, oddly enough, who made this observation.

Hugo followed it up with scientific facts.

Eren's maw, being lipless allowed for him to bite more easily, the flaps known near the cheeks not getting into the way.

Hugo observed that Eren had a second eyelid, known to be found in predators of the reptilian type. It was used during fights to clear debris such as dust and allow better eyesight.

"I think that's enough for today." Rommel, who was observing from the sideline, spoke up much to Eren's relief.

He had been going through these experiments non-stop. He desired a break, but the research they were making was groundbreaking.

The nape of Eren's fifteen meter Titan began to burst up in steam as he tried to get out. It was difficult to learn how to exit the Titan at first. In the beginning, he had to rip himself out of his own nape.

"Hmm, I suppose so." Hugo said in a more calm manner. "Although I would like him to talk. Perhaps if a Titan were to approach another Titan, then they could communicate?"

"What's the point in that?" Scott asked. He was never really the same ever since the aviation operation, but he did well to hide his emotions, not letting them get the better of him. "Titans still eat humans."

"Yes, but if we could find out why couldn't we offer perhaps a better solution? Something that would benefit us more? Like perhaps instead of them eating people at random, we could offer the old who are already on death's door."

Scott and Rommel gave wary looks to Hugo and the proposition. Eren, however, ignored it. He already knew that speaking with the Titans would be useless. They possessed no intelligence. They could not be reasoned with. End of story.

"We should begin thinking of plans to reclaim wall Maria." Rommel spoke up. "Everything for overthrowing the fake king is almost in motion. We have many common folk who are on our side. However, it's up to you, Eren, to find a replacement."

Eren had already made it known what position he would take. He would form a new branch in the military, becoming their leader. Most would have assumed that he would have taken the role of king, however, with new developments, he revised his plan.

"I already have things in motion on that side as well. Right now, we just need to focus on bolstering our defenses as well as offenses capabilities. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Eren gave a sigh once he left. It wasn't much, but he really hoped that what he would plan would align with the enemies agenda. Otherwise, somethings may not go as smoothly.