The Empire of Titans

"What is your name, cadet?" Shadis shouted right in front of poor Armin, who seemed to shrink a bit from the loud voice.

Saluting with a shaky hand. "I'm Armin Arlert, from Shinganshina district," he introduced himself with a strong tone, as much as he could muster. His eyes finally met the eyes of his instructor, who didn't look impressed.

"Well, that's a Stupid name, did your idiotic parents give you that name?" He asked, leaning a bit closer; it didn't help that his figure was much taller than Armin, who paled slightly, especially his eyes with dark circles did an excellent job of scaring him.

"N-No, my grandparents did," Armin blurted out somehow, still saluting to the man who took a step backward.

"Why are you here for Cadet?" Shadis asked with an intimate tone, his face leaning closer, his eyes scaring Armin even more.

The blonde felt weak from his gaze, but he remembered all the training he had with Eren and Mikasa.

"To become a soldier and help humanity, Sir," Armin shouted with conviction, his eyes ablaze, looking at the instructor, not allowing himself to be intimidated. Shadis narrowed his eyes, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"That's wonderful, cadet, but I will be the one to decide if you will help the humanity or become Titan Food. Row three turn around," he shouted with authority.

Shadis then turned to the boy behind Armin. "Who are you, you worm?" He shouted again, seeing how he would react.

"Sir, I'm Thomas Wagner, from the district of Trost," he said in such a low tone that some wondered if The Instructor even heard him.

"Speak Louder, Maggot," Keith shouted, his face leaning closer.

"I'm Thomas Wagner-" "Fifty Push Ups, maybe that will teach you to speak Louder," He ordered with a gaze that made the poor blonde shrink in his place; Thomas wasted no time to start doing push-ups a bit further away but not too far since Shadis wanted to see if he could actually do it.

"Who's Next?" Shadis asked, looking at the next person who saluted, long dark hair tied into two ponytails.

"I'm Mina Carolina, from the Trost District, Sir," she said with a tone Armin thought was cute.

"You're wrong," Shadis snapped at her, his eyes making her pale slightly.

"You're pigs; you were born and raised in the pigsty," he shouted at the girl, who closed her eyes, hoping that would help ease her fear of the intimating Instructor.

"Yes, I'm worse than pigs," she shouted, nervousness seeping into her voice.

"Wrong, you're descended of pigs; now Row four, Turn Around," he ordered, his voice alone making many have second thoughts.

The instructor walked around, ignoring some who had the look on their faces, a look he had seen only at people who had seen true horror, the horror that the Titans bring.

His eyes briefly glanced at Clara's son, his eyes full of determination, with hatred and anger buried deep inside, waiting to blow up. Just as I thought, he's here, Shadis thought briefly.

Eren noticed that the instructor skipped him and Mikasa; he made a mental note not to miss any of the people he didn't question. He noticed that he skipped a blonde-haired girl, her eyes stoic, colder than snow during winter.

A well build boy with short blonde hair.

A tall man who looked nothing unusual with short brown hair.

A tall girl with brown hair, her face with freckles.

Eren wondered who they were; he decided to later get somehow start a conversation with them. This is probably nothing, but it doesn't hurt anything to know them; second, we will be together for three years; I will know almost everyone; eventually, he thought seriously. He had planned with Armin how to proceed during the Training Corps.

"Who are you, you idiot?" The booming voice of the instructor made Eren escape his thoughts; briefly glancing, it was a boy with short brown hair.

"My name is Jean Kristein; I'm from the Trost District, sir," he said with a confident smile.

Something the instructor picked up almost immediately, narrowing his eyes, wanting to initiate the boy.

"What are you here for, boy?" Shadis asked, leaning a bit closer, his eyes making Jean a bit nervous.

"To join the military police and live in the inner district," he said confidently, not allowing himself to look weak.

Eren picked on what he said with a frown; Coward, he thought but decided not to make any kind of comment since this wasn't the best place for that.

"Ohh really," Shadis said with a contemplative tone.

Taking a step closer, invading his personal space. "So you want to join the Military Police and live like a king?"

"Yes, sir," Jean answered without hesitation. Many thought he was a bit arrogant for stating loudly and proudly that he wanted to live at Wall Sina.

Suddenly Shadis headbutt him hard, causing Jean to fall on his butt with a groan, holding his head with his hand.

"Who told you, you could sit down?" Shadis shouted, looking down at Jean, making him more intimating.

"If you can't survive this, then forget joining the Military Police. Now Stand Up, you Worm," he shouted.

Eren smirked from where he stood; perhaps that would teach him a lesson.

The instructor turned to a boy with a big stupid smile on his face. "Who are you, you Smiling Maggot?" Shadis shouted.

"I am Marco Bott, from Jinae Village, in the southern wall district. I want to be part of the military police and serve the King with my body and soul,"

"Oh, how noble of you," Shadis said with clear sarcasm before leaning closer, his eyes making Marco take a step back. "Except the king doesn't have any kind of use for you, except as Titan food, or maybe he could use your body in some other way. You understand maggot?" Shadis explained with a low menacing tone; Marco gulped, sweating, before nodding his head.

Shadis turned to look at a bald dwarf. "Who are you, shorty?" He shouted at the small boy, who "saluted" before introducing himself. "My name is Connie Springer from the Ragako Village of the southern Wall Rose district, sir,"

Now his introduction wasn't half bad, but it had one major flaw that would make every captain, commander, or in this case, instructor pissed off.

Shadis suddenly grabbed Connie by his head, lifting him up, ignoring his groans of pain.

"You got it wrong, Cadet Springer; the first lesson you learned was the military salute, which represents your will to give your heart for the good of humanity," he tightened his grip on his head, making Connie groan louder in pain. "Is your stupid heart on your right side?" He shouted; everyone else had fallen silent, except one...

The sound of someone biting something reached the ears of everyone; even Eren turned slightly to look where the sound was coming from...

A girl with brown hair was eating a potato that was still steaming; the instructor looked at her as if not believing what he was seeing, releasing Connie, who fell down on his butt.

"Hey, you wretch, what are you doing?" He asked dangerously, his eyes looking crazier than before; the cadets around the girl paled, except the girl who simply glanced to her right and left, ignoring the instructor before biting the potato. Again??!!

"I'm Talking To You. Just Who The Hell Are You?" He shouted right in front of her face. The girl swallowed what was left in her mouth before saluting, still holding the potato in her hand.

"Sasha Blouse from the town of Dauper, in the southern district of Wall Rose," she introduced herself.

"Sasha Blouse, what are you holding in your hand?" He asked with a dangerously calm tone that made every nearby cadet shift uncomfortably except the girl who he was addressing.

"A boiled potato, I saw in the kitchen, and I grabbed it," she answered honestly.

"You stole it!... but why are you eating it right now?" He asked; many were wondering how he was keeping it together.

"A potato tests better when it is still warm, so I put it in shelter inside my stomach," she answered as if it was the most obvious answer.

That seemed to make Shadis even more confused. "No, I still don't understand; why would you eat that potato?" He asked, somehow confused.

"Are you asking why people eat potatoes, sir! I'm surprised you don't know that, sir," her words were met with widened eyes by almost everyone; even Eren was doubting her sanity, wondering if she had some kind of death wish.

Sasha then proceeded to split a third of the potato; with a conflicting look on her face, she stretched out the arm that held the smaller part.

"Here's half, sir," she said; now, everyone was sure that either the instructor or the girl would die.

"Half! Really?" He asked, grabbing the piece of Tomato in his hand with a puzzled look; the girl smiled, a goofy smile. At that moment, the instructor threw the potato on the ground before smashing it down with his feet.

Sasha gasped in horror as if she had just lost a loved one, but Shadis grabbed her by her collar, lifting her up in the air. "LISTEN HERE, BRAT, NOW YOU WILL START RUNNING UNTIL YOU PASS OUT, AND FROM NOW ON YOU WILL HAVE A MEAL A DAY FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH," he shouted before roughly throwing her down.

"Yes, sir," she responded with tears in her eyes before standing up and running away; everyone else thought she was lucky that she wasn't outright killed.

Later

"Damn, I thought he would kill the Potato girl," Connie commented, seeing Sasha still running; from where they stood, with him was Marco, Eren, and a bunch of other cadets who were able to pass the first day, which probably was the most challenging day.

"Yes, she's still running despite being five hours," Marco commented, impressed; he knew if he were in her shoes, he would have already passed out. The others didn't have much of a reaction; Eren soon noticed that many people were going away but figured they must be the ones who couldn't pass the first day.

Eren decided to eat with his friends and perhaps somehow start a conversation with the people that weren't questioned by Shadis.

Reaching the place where everyone else was, he soon found Armin and Mikasa sitting at a table, an empty chair near them with a plate filled with stew; he smiled as he scooted out the chair.

"Hard day?" Armin asked, seeing Eren sitting down with them, his muscles were still aching from all the running around, but he tried not to show it, but he figured this was nothing compared to how he would feel if he hadn't trained with Eren and Mikasa for over a year.

"It wasn't easy, but this is how we will keep going, getting stronger, and one day-" "Ojjj, I heard you were from Shiganshina, correct?" The one Eren knew as Connie asked, near him was Mina, who was glancing at Armin repeatedly.

"Yes, me and my friends are from Shiganshina," Eren answered with a sour taste in his mouth; it was never easy to talk about that day, despite that it had been two years now.

He still dreamed of that day; sometimes, it was just him running towards his home, his mother's cries, pleading for help that never came. Sometimes he dreamed of The Armor Titan and The Colossal Titan, but in human forms, he could never see their faces, but they would always laugh at him while pointing at the people getting devoured, every time someone was killed, they would laugh before shouting. "You're ALL Devils; you Deserve This."

Eren escaped his dark thoughts when he felt someone nudging his shoulder, looking to his left to see Mikasa with a concerned look on her face.

"You alright?"

Eren simply nodded his head without saying anything before his attention returned back to Connie, who looked curious.

"Can you tell us more about the Colossal Titan?" He asked, leaning a bit forward.

Dang it, Eren thought before deciding to answer.

After a few questions, Eren was at the end of his wits. "Yes, I told you we saw him, his head just peeking over the Wall," Eren said, getting bored of this, especially with the amount of attention around him; Mikasa had already moved to a different table. Lucky you, he thought.

"Really, I heard he completely stepped over the Wall!"

"Yes, that's what I heard as well,"

"No, he wasn't that tall. I doubt we will see a Titan of that size," Eren said, for a brief moment wondering if the Founding Titan was of that size since his father always said that the Founding Titan was the Strongest of the Nine.

"What about the Armor Titan? Did you see him?" Mina asked; her eyes briefly glanced at Armin, something Eren noticed, mentally smirking, thinking of ways to tease him later.

"I didn't get a good look at him, but he looked similar to a normal Titan except covered in metal-like armor around his body," Eren explained, not giving many details since he had seen Armin's titan form numerous times by now.

Connie was about to ask another question, but it seemed one of them, with more common sense, noticed that Eren was uncomfortable. "Hey, maybe we shouldn't ask such personal questions," Marco said to the others, who looked guilty after hearing that knowing they asked questions that could easily bring up bad memories.

"I'm sorry, we didn't-" "Don't worry about it," Eren waved a hand dismissively before looking at the people gathered with a new look of determination on his face.

"I think if everyone worked together, the Titans would fall. Alone we will never defeat them, but together we could accomplish everything," Eren said passionately, taking by surprise almost everyone; some looked at Eren with a hint of acknowledgment, some with mockery.

Eren heard a snort from a table nearby; people cleared out the way to reveal who he remembered was Jean, his head resting on his palm, looking at Eren as if he was crazy.

"You must be out of your mind; from your words, I guess you will join the Survey Corps," Jean spoke with a hint of mockery in his tone.

Eren smirked; he remembered him, saying in front of everyone that he would keep himself safe behind Wall Sina.

"I will; that's the only way humanity will ever be able to take back Wall Maria and escape these Walls and truly be free after one hundred years of imprisonment. From your words, you will join the Military Police?" It was more of a statement than a question, looking at Jean, who didn't look affected by his tone.

"Yes, so what? I'm not stupid enough to think that we can ever defeat the Titans; why go out there to die when I can live a comfortable life inside the walls," Jean said, spreading his arms at the end.

"What makes you think the Colossal Titan won't attack again? What will you do then? Will you hide in a corner somewhere and hope for the best. There's only one way we can defeat the Titans, and that is to stand up to them together. If we keep hiding behind the walls is only a matter of time before we all perish," Eren said with conviction; his words were heard by many people around him, including a certain blonde girl.

Jean knew Eren was making a good point, but his pride didn't allow him just to stand down standing up. "Big talk coming from someone who would piss themselves when they are actually in front of a Titan," he said, pointing the finger at Eren, who simply smirked.

"You seemed to have mistaken me for someone else. I saw with my own eyes my mother getting eaten by a Titan. I know how terrifying they can be," Eren spoke with a neutral tone, not wanting to show the pain he felt in front of everyone.

His words caused many to gasp; even Jean's eyes widened before looking down almost in shame. What he said caused a blonde girl to look at Eren with guilt and a hint of interest.

Mikasa and Armin were surprised by his words; despite Eren maturing over the last two years, talking about what happened in Shiganshina was still a sour subject to bring up.

"If Wall Rose falls, then the people left will kill each other for food; that moment will reveal that the biggest devils in the world are devils who wear human faces. You should be careful what you say if you don't know someone," Eren added, walking away and avoiding the looks people were giving him.

Mikasa was quick to follow him but not before getting a compliment from Jean about her long dark hair; the Ackerman girl simply glanced at him uninterested. "Thanks," she said flatly before walking outside; Eren was sitting cross-legged in the grass, looking up at the starry night.

"Hey, you alright?" Mikasa asked, concerned; sitting close to him; Eren smiled before nodding his head.

Armin from the porch noticed how Jean was looking at them; the color on his face disappeared, and the blonde boy was trying very hard not to burst out laughing.

That was until Connie walked by; Jean stretched out his hand and whipped his hand across Connie's shirt.

The bald boy turned around, trying to see what he had whipped on him. "Oj, what are you doing?! What did you whip on me?" He asked, still trying to see behind before Jean looked him dead in the eye.

"My faith in humanity,"

Armin burst out laughing before running over to Eren and Mikasa; his friend seemed to be playing with a few loose strands of Mikasa's hair; the Ackerman girl was quite enjoying it, the blush on her cheeks proving it.

Sitting close, he looked up at the sky. "I have a feeling everything will go alright," Armin said smiling, enjoying the comfortable silence around them, a gust of wind making Mikasa's long hair dance like fire.

"Indeed, I have that feeling as well. Did you guys notice anything strange about the people Shadis didn't interrogate?" Eren asked with a low tone, almost a whisper but serious.

Both of his friends knew Eren had said that perhaps they should keep an eye on the four individuals Shadis had skipped.

"Nothing yet, but we still have time," Armin said, knowing they had three years in front of them.

One week later

"This will be the most important test; if you can't use ODM gear, then you have no business being here," Shadis shouted at the group of cadets in front of him. This test was more to send whoever couldn't become a soldier as soon as possible to save food and resources; he noticed Carla's son standing in the front of his row with a determined look on his face.

Let's see if you're a Bystander like me or Special like your father, he thought before ordering everyone who was in the front of their perspective row to try.

Mikasa had no problem whatsoever balancing herself; she looked more bored than anything, and so did Annie, who actually thought that the ODM would have been more challenging.

Everyone's attention suddenly turned to Eren, who was hanging upside down; his face widened, not understanding why this was happening.

What is going on? Why am I upside down? He asked himself; anxiety filled his body, turning his body around, trying to find a way to rebalance himself, but if almost the wires supporting him had a mind of their own, not allowing him to keep balance.

Keith walked over to him, "What Are You Doing, Yeager?" He shouted right in front of Eren, who clenched his teeth in anger, desperately trying to get himself to stand up.

Later

"Why is this happening?" Eren asked, trying to keep balance; it made no sense; he was trying everything Mikasa and Armin told him, but all was for naught; he had asked advice from many cadets, and a few cadets were looking at him, confused more than anything.

"This is the boy who thought that he could defeat the Titans," Jean made a nasty comment that made Eren send him an intense glare, but the brown-haired boy simply walked away, not paying him attention.

Everyone eventually walked away except a few cadets who felt pity for him, one of them being a tall brown-haired girl with freckles. "You're forcing yourself; when you're in the position, use the weight of your legs to keep balance. If your body weight is telling you to go this way, use your legs to go a different way," the girl spoke with a neutral tone catching the trio's attention; near her was a blonde-haired girl.

Eren pondered on what she said before nodding his head. Mikasa looked at the girl, she knew her name was Ymir, but that's all she knew.

"Let's try it, Armin, do it," Eren said with a new resolve in his eyes; Armin nodded before lifting him up; Eren felt his body wanting to go forward and turn upside again, he moved his leg forward, keeping his balance, and the other leg, a bit behind, that seemed to work as he was keeping his balance, despite his ODM keep twitching and moving around, not maintaining balance no matter how hard he tried.

After a minute of his body keeping balance but still twitching, Eren's face brightened like a fire.

"I Did It," he shouted with a smile; Armin sighed in relief before pulling him down; Mikasa smiled at him; thankfully, he was able to get the hang of it. The blonde girl applauded cutely for Eren with a bright smile on her face. Eren walked over to the tall girl; he recognized her as one of the people that Shadis hadn't asked.

"Thank you for your help; the name's Eren Yeager," he introduced himself, extending his hand to the girl with a blank look on her face, her eyes cold like ice, something that caught Eren's interest.

The shorter blonde girl near her nudged her shoulder before saying. "Introduce yourself,"

The stoic girl glanced briefly at the hand before looking at Eren with a hint of curiosity; there was something he said that caught her attention.

"Ymir," she said before clasping his hand, making electricity flow through them that only they noticed.

Eren gasped loudly; the woman was about to move away her hand when he used his hand to lean closer to her. "Who are you? I'm not going to harm you; you are neither the Colossal Titan nor the Armour Titan. I only want to talk," Eren spoke calmly close to her face, despite his heart beating on his chest like a hammer.

The other three immediately noticed the strange way Eren was acting; Armin and Mikasa's eyes widened, knowing the possible reason for that.

Eren still remembered the faces of the Colossal and Armoured Titan, and he knew they resembled the face of the holder, like with him to a certain degree, Armin a lot, and Mikasa but with pale skin and much longer hair.

He could tell from her face with freckles that she wasn't either of them, but the question was, which one was she?

Ymir felt her heart beating in her throat; she quickly noticed the way Mikasa and the blonde-haired boy were looking at her with narrowed eyes; she knew if she tried to simply walk away or act as if she didn't know what she was talking about, they wouldn't allow her.

"Ymir, is everything alright?" Krista asked near her.

Eren, in front of her, must have a Titan for that electricity to happen, she knew if she ran away, Krista would be left alone, and she couldn't allow that to happen.

"We can talk in the forest; if you are on Humanity's side, then there's nothing for you to worry about," Eren suggested, but it was clear he wasn't going to allow her to simply walk away from this.

Ymir thought about her option; on one side, she could turn into a Titan but never see Krista again; on one side, if she talked this through with Eren, perhaps she could come out of this with allies, worst case scenario, she was killed and would never see Krista again, best case scenario, she had new friends, and one of them was a Titan Shifter.

Ymir looked at Eren dead in the eye with resolve. "Very well, Eren Yeager. Let's Talk!"