Chapter Text
There was a flock of birds flying over the training area today.
This was nothing new. Birds flew anywhere and everywhere all the time, but today you noticed them. You heard their loud calls and couldn’t look away, watching as they flew beyond the wall surrounding Liberio and to the city beyond. You envied the birds, wishing you could fly yourself and view the world far below, free to go wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted.
One day you could have something like that. Not quite the same, but similar. The yellow band you wore around your left arm showed everyone around you how dedicated you were to the nation. One day, like those you were training with, you would prove yourself and inherit a titan, and for the following thirteen years you would continue to prove that you were worthy. That they had chosen correctly.
But for now, you were waiting.
The dirt you were laying on was warm and dusty, but the view of the sky above was too beautiful to turn away from. No more birds flew overhead, as much as you wished they would, and instead an airship passed by. You hummed at the sight, wondering who was on board and where it would land, hoping that it would be one of your friends who have been gone for over six years. You knew the mission was important, but you wanted them to finish already and come back home.
You hummed in frustration at your own thoughts, telling yourself not to rush them. Just after you did so, you heard voices calling your name and lifted your head, watching young children rush towards you. They each had yellow armbands, like yours, and seemed just as chipper as always. You felt the rest of your frustration rush away and sat up as they approached.
“What’re you doing in the dirt?” Gabi Braun asked. She and the boy next to her, Falco Grice, stopped just a few steps away from you. You hated choosing favorites, but out of all the warrior candidates these two definitely were. Gabi was tough and passionate, going whatever lengths it took to prove herself, and while Falco was more soft spoken than her he was no less dedicated.
“Relaxing,” you admitted to her. You got to your feet and whipped off the pants of your uniform, now dirty. You’d clean them later. “As important as it is to push yourself, you need to know when it’s time to rest.”
“Heh,” Gabi laughed, pointing a mocking finger your way. “With that attitude, you’ll never inherit a Titan.”
You almost agreed with her. You hadn’t been chosen six years ago, and you were worried you wouldn’t be chosen in the future, either. But you pushed those insecurities to the side for now, instead offering the girl a shrug. “And you need to learn when to follow orders,” you told her.
Gabi didn’t seem affected. You’ve always wondered whether or not her hot-headed attitude would one day calm as she matured, but for now it didn’t seem that way. Somehow, she was both similar and so different from her cousin. Sometimes you wondered how her friends could tolerate that attitude, but you figured it was the same way you dealt with it. Letting her get it out of her system.
“What’re you two doing?” you asked.
They glanced at each other, then leaned in close, clearly to tell some kind of secret. “I heard Reiner’s back,” Gabi whispered to you.
You felt shocked, but in a good way. It had been so long since you’d last seen your friend, and you wanted nothing more than to find out where he was and see how he was doing. You’d almost feared that he and the others wouldn’t survive. “Where?” you asked.
“Don’t know,” Gabi admitted, shrugging nonchalantly. “But I saw Pieck, and I heard her mention him.”
You nodded. “Okay.” Find Pieck. That’s all you had to do, wasn’t it?
“ (y/n) ,” Falco finally spoke up, looking nervous. You wanted to run off immediately, but held back to listen to what the boy wanted to say. “That mission they went on. How bad was it?”
Truthfully, you didn’t know. There was a lot you didn’t know about because you weren’t selected for it. You just knew they had gone to attack Paradis Island, and to find something called the ‘coordinate’, nothing more. “I don’t know,” you explained, “but dangerous. Somewhere in enemy territory. Why?”
“Pieck mentioned injuries,” Falco mumbled, looking down.
Oh. You nodded and rushed away, into the building to look for the woman.
When you were younger, barely ten years old, you had received word that soon an attack on Paradis Island would be underway. However, since there were only six titans to inherit and eight of you, that meant two in the group wouldn’t be selected. Back then you had been worried, wanting to prove yourself and yet unsure if you were worthy. At one point, you had confessed your insecurities to Reiner Braun, one of your fellow Warriors and one of your friends.
“Two of us won’t get picked,” you had said quietly to him one day, sitting in the very same courtyard you had talked to Gabi and Falco in earlier. “What if I’m not chosen?”
“Then prove yourself,” Reiner had encouraged you.
You had almost hated yourself for thinking it, but you were glad that of all the candidates he seemed the least likely at the time to also inherit a titan. There was one comfort in the back of your mind that said, At least if we get left behind, we’ll get left behind together. You never voiced your thoughts, and were shocked when Reiner seemed to prove himself, pushing his limits to inherit the Armored Titan.
So, you were left behind with Porco, feeling ashamed of yourself and yet proud of your friends.
And now you could see Reiner again. You hoped the others as well, but there was no way of knowing.
You wandered the halls until you found Pieck, who was out of uniform and appeared to be tired or injured herself. You rushed towards her, calling her name to get her attention, almost close to tears at the sight of her. “You’re back!” you gasped out.
“ (y/n) ,” Pieck mused, looking at you with tired eyes. After a moment, some life returned to them - or she at least attempted to make it seem so. “Hello.”
“How was the mission?” you asked. “Where’s Zeke? What about Reiner, and Bertholdt? And Annie?”
Pieck’s expression didn’t change. Slowly, she raised one hand and pointed down the hallway she was walking down. “Reiner’s in medical,” she explained. “Zeke is recovering. You’ll be briefed later.”
You nodded in thanks, then ran towards medical to see your friend. Reiner was the only one in the long room, laying on a bed covered by white sheets with bandages around his head. You cautiously approached, wincing at the damage you saw. He must have used up all his healing power and needed to recover before he’d be completely whole again.
“Reiner?” you hesitantly asked, trying to keep quiet. There was a chair next to the bed, so you sat in it and watched him stirr, letting out a groan and squeezing his eyes shut more. “Reiner, it’s me,” you said, resting your elbows on your knees so that you could lean forward.
Very slowly, Reiner’s eyes opened. He squinted and slowly moved his head on the pillow he was resting on to face you. “Back?” he managed to rasp.
You nodded. “Do you need some water?”
“Yes…”
You got to your feet and quickly found him a glass, helping him angle his head so that he could sip it slowly. Though clearly in pain, Reiner didn’t voice any complaints, letting you move him once he’d finished the glass. “I think you just got back,” you said, though you were unsure if that was true or not. “I just heard, anyway.”
“Bertholdt?”
“I don’t know. Pieck didn’t mention him.”
Reiner’s lips pressed firmly together. “We were fighting…”
“Don’t push yourself,” you told him, crossing your legs on the chair you were sitting in. “I’m sure I’ll hear about it later.”
He didn’t seem happy about it, but Reiner listened to you. He sighed and seemed to relax on the mattress, probably eager to drift off to sleep so he wouldn’t have to deal with any pain or mental trauma he no doubt endured. But you were curious about what had happened, because there had been complete radio silence from the four that had left on the mission for five years until Zeke and Pieck had been sent to the island. You wanted nothing more than to go with, but you were a warrior candidate, so you weren’t allowed.
“Can I ask you about the island?” you asked cautiously, looking at Reiner’s healing face. “How did the mission go?”
For a moment, Reiner was silent. “I don’t know,” he ended up replying.
“What do you mean?”
“It was ruined,” Reiner replied. You saw some tears forming in his eyes, eventually falling down his face to the pillow. “We lost Marcel. We fought the devils. For years, we had to work with them, pretending to be one of them, just to find the damn coordinate.”
You felt sympathy for him. He clearly sounded distressed over it, so something must have happened while he was over there. You knew if he was going to tell anyone it would’ve been Bertholdt, but for now he only had you. “Did you find it?”
“Yeah,” Reiner whispered. “We tried to bring him back. But the mission…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but you knew what he was going to say. They had failed to recover the coordinate. “You did your best,” you tried to reassure.
“That didn’t do anything!” Reiner shouted. “All it did was get Annie captured and Bertholdt - “ Reiner stopped talking when he moved, crying out in pain and settling back on the mattress. You would’ve reached out to help him, but he was too distressed, so you instead just watched him calm down again.
“Let’s just wait to hear from the commander,” you decided.
“We didn’t do anything,” he cried.
“Reiner, calm down.”
Slowly, he seemed to. “I’m sorry,” he said, tears starting to fall again. “I’m…”
“You’ve gone through something horrible,” you answered for him, feeling nothing but sympathy for your friend. “You don’t have to think about it anymore. Everything will be fine.”
Though he clearly didn’t believe you, Reiner nodded. “Is my mom…?”
“She’s not here,” you said, glancing around the empty medical ward. “But you just got back. I could see if I could get her in here.” Ever since the others left on the mission, leaving you and Porco behind, you found yourself suddenly welcome at the Braun household. Ms. Braun was a kindhearted woman, offering you a place to stay that wasn’t surrounded by military personnel. Somewhere that you wouldn’t have to be alone.
“I don’t want to worry her,” Reiner mumbled.
“She’ll be worried either way,” you pointed out. “She’s proud of you. And she’ll be so happy that you’re home alive. But if you think she didn’t worry about you in those six years you were gone, you are very wrong, Reiner Braun.”
He averted his gaze. “Is she okay?”
“In perfect health,” you reported.
“What about you?”
“Me?” you asked, surprised. “Oh, I’m fine. I’ve been working, helping the other candidates.”
Reiner nodded. “It’s…”
His time was drawing to a close. By now, he’d have little over another six years before he’d have to pass on the Armored Titan. You felt bad, but at the same time, this was something you had always prepared for. You considered it an honor to inherit a titan, no matter how few of years you would receive. It was an honor to serve Marley.
“Reiner,” you began, averting your eyes from his. “You said you met the people there. What were they like?”
You didn’t know why you felt the need to ask. You’d been taught all your life about the devils on Paradis island, how all Eldians were a cursed race but how you could use that curse to help Marley. Deep down, you had always wished you hadn’t been born an Eldian to unnamed parents, who you had once heard had been sent to their paradise long ago. But some part of you wanted to know what it was like there, and you trusted Reiner to tell you the truth. Out of everyone, Pieck had the best judgment skills, but he was your friend. He wouldn’t lie to you.
“Just as we were taught,” he said softly. You could see it in his eyes that he was remembering the no doubt horrible experiences he went through. The torture he’d had to endure to finally make it back home. “They’re devils.”
You nodded, glancing up and smiling at the sight of steam in the light streaming into the window his bed was placed under. “You’re healing,” you told him, standing up. “I’ll at least tell your mother that you’re back, okay?”
“Tell her I’ll be home soon.”
You nodded, reaching out to grab one of Reiner’s hands and squeeze it once. “I’m glad you’re home,” you said, then turned to leave medical.
You didn’t run into anyone until you reached the front doors of the building, where you saw Pieck and Zeke standing next to Porco and Commander Magath. You quickly saluted and stood at attention next to Porco.
“None of the other candidates are ready,” Magath was musing, barely acknowledging your presence. “But the Jaw Titan’s power must be reclaimed.”
You wanted to ask what he meant, but you knew you couldn’t. You stayed silent and stared ahead just like Porco was, concluding that he must be trying to figure out who would be the next one to inherit the Jaw Titan’s power. Admittedly, you felt quite nervous, because between Porco and yourself he was clearly superior in skills. But at the same time, you wanted to prove yourself. You didn’t want to be cast aside time after time.
“The two candidates ready for the responsibility are Porco and (y/n) ,” Zeke replied to the commander, offering you a rare smile. “I believe either one would be able to shoulder the responsibility.”
Magath nodded, glancing at you and Porco, then finally looking at Pieck. “And you?”
She glanced at the two of you. You didn’t look back, not daring to waver your gaze in front of the commander. “I believe Porco to be the right choice,” she said easily. “His skills in battle will be perfect to handle the Jaw Titan’s agility.”
You felt a pang in your chest when you heard her talk, but at the same time you felt relieved. It was strange, because as much as you wanted to prove yourself, you were terrified of finally inheriting a titan’s power. Because once you did, you only had thirteen years to prove yourself, and there was nobody you were doing this for other than yourself. You had no family that would benefit from becoming an honorary Marleyan. The only person that benefited was you.
“However,” Pieck continued, “I believe (y/n) should be considered to one day inherit the Cart Titan.”
You nearly gasped when she said that. She still had a few years left, and yet she was already offering you up for the job?
“The Cart Titan isn’t a concern,” Magath replied, turning towards the doors. “The Jaw Titan is. We must retrieve it from the island devil that stole it - immediately. Galliard will inherit it tonight.”
The four of you saluted one last time as the man left. Now alone, you turned to Porco to offer up congratulations, only to falter at the look on his face. He seemed upset, but it couldn’t be at the idea of inheriting the titan. It had to be because his brother had once had that power, and it was now clear he was gone.
“Would you look at that,” Zeke mused, shrugging once. “You’ll get your brother’s memories after all.”
Porco nodded. “Yeah…”
“Sorry, (y/n) ,” Pieck spoke up, smiling at you. “I think Porco is the right choice. And I also think it’s his right to inherit his brother’s memories.”
You agreed with her judgment, as usual. “But Pieck, why would you offer up the Cart Titan?”
“I had to let the commander know you’re more than ready for the job,” she said. “I don’t think you’re unworthy of inheriting the Jaw Titan. But I think you’ll be better suited for the Cart Titan one day. I’ve seen how hard you’ve worked.”
“Thank you,” you replied, smiling to yourself. You’d been afraid that your hard work would go unnoticed, but apparently Pieck had been watching you.
“Well, let’s get ready,” Zeke said, putting a hand on Porco’s shoulder.
You watched them go, wanting to wish Porco luck but unable to get the words out. You finally glanced back at Pieck, who was still standing next to you. “How was the mission?” you decided to ask.
“We’ve lost much,” she said, “but we can’t focus on that for long. Other nations will no doubt hear that we’ve lost the Colossal and Female Titans after long. I think there’s going to be another war.”
Of course. With Marley, the wars never seemed to end. “I suppose we should prepare, huh?”
She nodded. “Yes. Where are you staying tonight?”
“Home,” you mused, thinking about your empty apartment. “But I’m seeing Ms. Braun beforehand to let her know that Reiner’s back.”
“That’s kind of you.” Pieck began to walk the way Zeke and Porco had gone, waving over one shoulder as she went. “I’ll see you later, (y/n) .”
You waved to her back, then turned to leave. The whole day had been a rollercoaster of emotions for everyone, and you were no exception. Pieck was right: the future was going to be full of war and fighting. You’d best be ready for it.