Age of Titans Chapter 11 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Age of Titans! Erwin saved and awakened! That might help the Shifters’ chances of gaining the Survey Corps support! They’ll know for sure once Erwin wakes up and gets caught up with everything that happened. He’ll make the ultimate decision about it, but for now, the Shifters have to explain things to Levi and Hange.

If you’d like to become a patron and get access to these chapters earlier, just head on over to Pat re on and add a /Kairomaru after the com.

Make sure to thank the patrons that make these stories possible by checking out the Patron Plaque on my profile!

This story now has a TvTropes Page! Check it out! If you're a Troper feel free to add to it!

Age Of Titans (Fanfic) - TV Tropes

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 11 – Explanations and Counter Actions

Within the Supply Depot’s infirmary several people were having a meeting. Even with Trost secured and all Titans wiped out, the evacuated citizens weren’t being allowed to return to their homes just yet as the soldiers performed a sweep of the district. This wasn’t so much to find any hidden Titans as it was to check on structural damage and the current state of infrastructure, like the roads within the district, that could impede the citizens from getting back to their residences or be a danger in their damaged state. The medical personnel that had run away, however, were now back to their posts, and the unconscious Erwin had been given a full look over. Once the Commander had been cleared as uninjured, the medical personnel had been escorted out of the room and the door closed.

With Commander Erwin still unconscious, Levi and Hange took charge of the meeting, with Levi Squad taking up position around the room, ready to attack at the slightest sign of aggression from the Shifters. For their part, Eren and the other Shifters were sitting on chairs, stools, and whatever else they’d been able to use as seats. Hange had started asking dozens of questions in rapid succession, but Levi had told her to shut up as he locked eyes with Eren.

“Explain who and what you are, first and foremost.” Levi instructed, his years of experience as an officer showing through.

“Eren Yeager, born in Shiganshina to Grisha Yeager and Carla Yeager, I’m eighteen years old and a newly graduated Cadet of the 104th Cadet Unit.” Eren answered truthfully. If they wanted to get the Survey Corps on their side, then being forthcoming would be an absolute necessity to build trust.

“We’ll confirm that later.” Levi saw Petra taking notes as he’d instructed her to. “What about the Titan powers?”

“Titan Shifting is the inborn power of the Eldian People, Captain.” Eren answered simply. “Once awakened, any Eldian can learn to shift and transform into a Titan of one of the Nine Types.”

“Nine Types?!” Hange burst out, leaning forward and getting in Eren’s face. “What are these Types? What’s an Eldian? Can you-” Her questions were cut off as Levi grabbed her arm and nearly dragged her back into her seat.

“Shut up, Hange.” Levi glared at his fellow officer. “Explain Eldian.”

“Eldians are us, our people, everyone that lives within the Walls is an Eldian.” Eren replied, having been made the spokesman for the Shifters by right of being the King.

“And what you did to Erwin, that was the ‘awakening’?” Levi narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, as you saw, Commander Erwin transformed into a Titan after being awakened. If we had left him like that, he would’ve eventually regained his cognitive function and been in full control of his actions.” Eren explained what they’d done to Erwin for the clearly agitated officer.

“And what she did,” Levi motioned towards Annie. “Somehow gave him the Armored Titan?” He didn’t look like he believed it.

“I’d need to explain Titan Types and the distinction between Prime Titans and Lesser Shifters for that to make sense.” Eren admitted to Levi. Hange was nearly vibrating in her seat in excitement as the part that she wanted to know about was coming up.

“Haaaa…” Levi exhaled heavily, knowing that Hange was going to be difficult to deal with now, but they needed this information before the Garrison or the Military Police came looking for the Titans that had secured Trost. There was no way in hell that rumors and reports weren’t already moving up the chain of command. “Proceed.” Hange snatched a clipboard from a nearby desk and had a pen poised to take notes before Eren could even begin speaking.

“All Titans can be categorized into nine distinct types; those types are Founding, Beast, Warhammer, Female, Jaw, Attack, Cart, Armor, and Colossal.” Eren started, only to be interrupted.

“THE COLOSSAL?!” Hange exclaimed with her jaw hanging open and her eyes wide. The Levi Squad weren’t much better, all of them clearly shocked that the Colossal Titan wasn’t some one-off, freak mutation of a Titan.

“Yes, the Colossal Type is probably the rarest natural Type to exist.” Eren nodded to the officer.

“Continue.” Levi shot a look at Hange to control her outbursts.

“Among the Titans exists the progenitors of each Type, we call these Prime Titans, and they’re what every other Titan of their Type is based off of.” Eren started with the most basic information. “Prime Titans are stronger than the other Titans, and their powers can be directly passed down from one Shifter to the next. Every time they gain a new holder, they grow stronger and improvements are made to the Titan and its abilities. These improvements will then appear in any new Lesser Shifters of that same Type that’re awakened after the improvement has been made by the Prime Titan.”

“This. Is. AMAZING!!!” Hange was writing furiously on her clipboard, even Petra wasn’t able to keep up as she also took notes.

“What improvements?” Levi knew he had to get every scrap of information he could out of Eren. ‘But I really want some liquor right now.’ He admitted to himself in the privacy of his own mind.

“Annie knows more about the history than I do, if you’ll permit her to speak.” Eren looked at Annie, a small smile making its way onto his face.

“Granted, explain.” Levi turned his sharp gaze on Annie now.

“The Prime Titans throughout history have continued to change bit by bit from one holder to the next. That is how the former Eldian Empire dominated a good portion of the world up until a bit over a century ago.” Annie began, seeing that the mention of the former Empire had gotten their attention as well. “To use the most relevant Type right now,” She looked briefly at the bed where Erwin remained unconscious. “According to the history that my family passed down; when the Nine Prime Titans first came into the world, the Armor Titan was covered in bone-like plates that could stop any arrow or spear without fail. A few generations later, the Prime Armor Titan’s armor changed in its newest holder, becoming a covering of rock-like hardening that was even stronger than the previous bone-like plates. Once another dozen generations, give or take, had passed, the Prime Armor Titan advanced to the metal-like plates that you saw when Shiganshina and Wall Maria were breached. In the future, it will continue to advance like this, developing stronger and stronger armor by making small improvements from one holder to the next.”

“So, Erwin will be slightly better than the previous Armored Titan?” Hange was nearly salivating at this new information.

“Yes, but by how much is unknown.” Annie confirmed with a short nod.

“Explain the Lesser Shifter term you used earlier.” Levi focused in on the next part he wanted answers to. He would have to be the one to keep this questioning on track or Hange would waste all of their time on Titan nonsense.

“Lesser Shifters are Eldians that have been awakened to their power, but do not hold one of the Nine Prime Titans.” Eren answered the Captain promptly. “They instead are one of the Nine Types and can use the abilities of that given Type. Armin, Sasha, and Krista are all Lesser Shifters.” He motioned to each of them in turn.

“Wait…if there are only Nine Prime Titans and they can be directly passed on…did you feed the Armored Titan holder to Erwin?!” Hange had pieced together what had happened from the new information she’d gained. “Is that how the powers are passed on? Through cannibalism?!” All of the soldiers tensed up a bit, narrowing their eyes at the Shifters.

“That is one way, but the most flawed method as well.” Eren spoke in a controlled tone to keep the situation from escalating.

“What does that mean?” Levi demanded, the look in his eyes told Eren that they’d all be cut down if Levi didn’t like what he heard.

What followed was a lengthy discussion regarding the ‘Curse of Ymir’ and how it would kill anyone that stole one of the Nine Prime Titan powers through knowing and willing cannibalism. That had then led to Annie having to explain just who Ymir the Founder was and that the Ymir with them was merely named after the Founder and not the source of the said curse.

“Where did you come from to have been given that name?” Levi really wanted a strong drink right now, but he needed to be sober for this conversation.

“I come from Marley, where we Eldians are treated as barely more than animals.” Ymir answered flatly, she didn’t like talking about her past at all.

“What’s Marley?” Hange questioned in confusion. There was no district or town with that name within the Walls to her knowledge.

“The largest military nation on the continent closest to this island.” Ymir responded, knowing that it would get a reaction.

“Island?” Levi actually looked perplexed, which was rare for ‘Humanity’s Strongest Soldier’.

“Yes, this is Paradis Island, one of the largest islands in the world, but still only a fraction of the size of the majority of nations on the continent.” Ymir informed the two officers, and the Levi Squad by virtue of them being in the room.

“How the hell could we not know that we’ve been living on an island all this time?” Levi had to ask. The sheer absurdity of that statement couldn’t go unquestioned.

“Because the former King of the Walls stole the memories of every Eldian within the Walls a century ago, changing them to the ‘history’ that you all know today.” Annie’s cold tone cracked through the tension filled air of the infirmary room. “Your history says that all of Humanity was wiped out a century ago, and that only those within the Walls survived. But that’s not true at all. The world is filled with people, nations, and most of them have a grudge against the Eldians as our wars and claims for territory between the various clans tore their countries apart. Our ancestors exterminated their armies, took some of their people for breeding to replenish lost numbers, and in some cases they treated the conquered region’s people as second or third class citizens at best. The fall of the old Eldian Empire came from within as we tore ourselves apart and then were betrayed by the Tybur Clan.” The bitter tone in Annie’s voice was a clear indication of how she felt about the Tyburs. “Because of them, Eldia lost the Nine Prime Titans, and our people were practically enslaved. Only for Marley to then use them as weapons of war themselves.” Her hands clenched and a she nearly snarled before calming herself down. “They’re as bad, if not worse, than the old Eldian Empire was. The Marleyans don’t care if they genocide another nation, so long as they win their latest war and continue to take more territory.”

“I’d like to hear more about the real history of the world.” Erwin spoke up and every head in the room turned towards the Commander as he sat up and looked at Annie.

“Erwin.” Levi had crossed the distance between his chair and the other man’s bedside faster than most would believe. “You’ve been cleared of injury by the doctors, but a lot of crazy shit has happened while you’ve been unconscious.”

“It would seem so.” Erwin agreed, looking between Levi, then Annie, then Hange, and then the rest of the Shifters. “Get me up to speed as fast as possible, I doubt that we have much time left to prepare.”

“Right.” Levi nodded and the conversation in the infirmary room restarted with Erwin reading over both Hange and Petra’s notes to keep up with the vast amount of new information.

The conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door roughly thirty minutes after Erwin had awoken.

“Enter.” Erwin beckoned the one that knocked to enter the room. He was still sitting up in the bed, not having bothered wasting any time on changing back into his uniform just yet. Every second before this had been dedicated to gaining as much information as possible.

“Commander, Captain Kitz Weilman, glad to see you’re well.” The man that entered stated, giving a salute to Erwin. Behind him his two subordinates saluted Erwin as well. Kitz was a visually tense man, with sunken eyes, and an expression of deep worry on his face. He had a thick brown mustache that covered his upper lip and he kept his brown hair slicked back, framing his face with sideburns and a thick beard.

“At ease.” Erwin nodded and the three newcomers dropped their salutes. “What brings you here, Captain?”

“Sir, we have been ordered to locate and detain Cadets Eren Yeager, Krista Lenz, Ymir, Sasha Blouse, Armin Arlert, and Annie Leonhardt on suspicion of being Titans or in-league with the Titans.” Kitz informed Erwin promptly, his sunken eyes warily looking at the group of Shifters. Everyone could see the fear in the man’s eyes, so it wasn’t hard to know his thoughts on the six were to kill them.

“Who gave that order?” Erwin questioned the Captain as he moved the blanket aside and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

“Sir, Military Police Officer Roeg gave the order.” Kitz replied as Erwin stood up from the bed.

“Officer Roeg?” Erwin took a second to recall the man. “I see. Then I’m ordering you to cease that duty.”

“Sir?” The woman with Kitz spoke up in shock, the breach of protocol saw most of the eyes in the room on her instantly.

“Soldier, what’s your name, division, and rank?” Levi took advantage of the breach to assume some control over the situation.

“Sir!” The woman snapped off a salute to Levi. “Rico Brzenska, Garrison Division, team leader of Rico Squad, sir!” Rico was a rather short woman with a small but strong build. She had cheek length dark blonde hair and brown eyes. She also wore a small framed pair of glasses held on by bands placed around her head, clearly designed to keep them from falling off during combat. Aside from that she wore the standard Garrison uniform.

“You, soldier, same question.” Levi’s sharp eyes zeroed in on the other man with Kitz and Rico.

“Sir!” The man saluted promptly, his body going ramrod straight under Levi’s gaze. “Ian Dietrich, Garrison Division, team leader of the First Trost Squad, sir!” Ian was a taller man, with a fairly muscular build and hazel eyes. He had straight, dark blond hair parted down the middle and tucked behind his ears, reaching the lower back of his neck. Ian also had a notably slim face with defined cheek bones and light skin. He was wearing the Garrison uniform, but given the dirt on it, it was clear he’d been in the thick of the fighting during the breach in Trost.

“Neither of you are to speak out of turn again, am I clear?” Levi ordered and his cold gaze made both of the lower ranked soldier tense up even more.

“Yes, sir!” Rico and Ian acknowledged before going silent.

Normally, as Levi was of a different Division, his authority over Ian and Rico would be more limited. However, protocol in the event of a breach dictated that the chain of command held complete authority and any higher-ranked officer could command soldiers of another division if necessary. So, Levi would use such protocol to the Survey Corps favor until the all-clear was given.

“As I said, Captain Weilman, I have new orders for you.” Erwin spoke up and got all attention back on him. “You are to go to Commander Pixis and tell him that I’m coming to meet him at Wall Rose’s command post. The six of them,” He motioned to the Shifters. “Will be held under my authority as Commander by the Survey Corps until such time that all three Commanders can convene in a meeting with Commander-in-Chief Zackly, am I understood?”

“Yes, sir!” Kitz snapped off a salute in acceptance of his new orders. Erwin far outranked Roeg, so his orders superseded the Military Police Officer’s. The Captain quickly left the room after shooting one more fearful glance at the Shifters, both Rico and Ian followed after him.

“Well, that should buy us a bit more time.” Hange mentioned after the door had been closed again. “How fast can we get to the command post on Wall Rose?”

“We’ll be using wagons, since we’re technically transporting soldiers under suspicion, so it might take a bit of time.” Erwin admitted as he stepped behind a screen to change back into his uniform. A fresh shirt had been left for him to replace the one with the hole in it that had been covered in his blood. “We’ll make use of that time to plan out our defense of the Shifters and our proposal to have them all join the Survey Corps as soldiers. If we can convince Pixis and Zackly, then we shouldn’t have any trouble, even from the Military Police.”

“You heard him,” Levi looked at Eren. “Make yourselves ready for travel.”

“Yes, sir!” All six Shifters stood and saluted.

-Mikasa-

“Eren…” Mikasa whispered to herself as she heard the whispers going around. Titans killing other Titans, suspicious soldiers, it all led to her worrying over her lover and her friends...or girlfriends? Aside from Armin, all of the other Shifters were part of their relationship. She shook her head. “Later.” For now she needed to see how much information she could gain about the situation. But if it was necessary, she’d transform and get them back by force. She wouldn’t hesitate in the slightest, no matter how many tried to get in her way.

-Hannah and Franz-

“Did I …really turn into the Colossal Titan?” Franz questioned Hannah in a hushed whisper. The infirmary ward was filled with injured soldiers, and the noise that came with it, so the whispering might not have been needed, but neither of them was taking a chance.

“Yes, but I don’t care.” Hannah confirmed as she hugged him tightly. “You nearly died…I was doing everything I could, but you were slipping away.” She buried her face into his chest. “Then Eren came…and he did something…and…and…” Hannah squeezed him tighter in relief, tears falling from her eyes onto his white hospital gown.

“Cadet Franz Kafka?” A tall and well-built man with blond hair parted down the middle and a dark mustache and beard questioned as he and three other soldiers stopped at the end of Franz’s bed. All four men wore the standard Survey Corps uniform, complete with the ‘Wings of Freedom’ patch on their shoulders.

“Y-Yes, sir?” Franz nodded to the man. Hannah looked warily at the four Survey Corps soldiers, not knowing what they were here for.

“I’m Squad Leader, Mike Zacharias of the Survey Corps.” Mike introduced himself to the two cadets. “Under Commander Erwin Smith’s orders, you two are to be given a private recovery room to deal with your severe combat shock.”

“Combat…shock?” Franz blinked at the officer. He didn’t have combat shock…he’d seen traces of it since waking up, from soldiers that had seen their fellow squad mates die by Titans during the incursion, but his memory was hazy of most of the events of the day, so he didn’t have such trauma.

“If anyone asks, you both have it and need to be isolated, understood?” Mike gave Hannah and Franz a look that told them to ‘go with it’ and Franz had the strangest feeling that it would actually be in his best interest to agree.

“Yes, sir.” Franz nodded to Mike.

“Yes, sir.” Hannah quickly agreed after Franz had done so.

“Don’t bother changing, this move is for medical reasons after all.” Mike instructed as Franz got up from the bed and Hannah stood at his side. They were escorted out of the main infirmary and to a private room down the hall and around the corner. “Settle in, we’re not sure how long we’ll have to keep you here, but you’ll have my squad watching over you until we get our next orders from Commander Erwin.”

“Yes, sir, thank you, sir.” Franz and Hannah both saluted before the door was closed and they were left to look at each other questioningly about this sudden turn of events.

-Wall Rose ~ Command Post-

Erwin, Hange, Squad Levi and the six Shifters walked towards the command post atop Wall Rose. Eren, Annie, Ymir, and Armin looked straight ahead, while Sasha and Krista both looked out over the wall and into the Trost District. With their intervention, the damage wasn’t too bad. The citizens of Trost might even be able to return to their homes before sunset.

“Commander Pixis.” Erwin greeted as soon as the group entered the command post. Levi, Hange, and the rest of the soldiers saluted the Garrison Commander promptly as he turned to face them.

Dot Pixis was a bald man with a structured build. He had a distinguished mustache, with light skin and notable wrinkles under his eyes. Pixis wore a bolo tie, and as the highest ranking Garrison officer, he was wearing his Garrison uniform paired with a white button-up shirt and a red sash with gold trim. Despite his ‘put together’ look, the older man smiled at Erwin while pulling out a small flask form his jacket. Without a single iota of hesitation, Pixis removed the cap of the flask and took a swig of the liquor inside. The cap was screwed back on and the flask stashed away again even under the incredulous looks from most of the Shifters who had never seen the Garrison Commander before.

“Commander Erwin, I’m glad to see you up and about.” Pixis greeted Erwin with a pleased nod. “I’d heard that your injury was rather severe, but you seem fine now.”

“Thank you, Pixis.” Erwin gave the other Commander a nod of appreciation for his concern. “But I didn’t recover on my own.”

“Hmm?” Pixis cocked an eyebrow at Erwin’s words.

“I believe that we should sit down, Pixis.” Erwin gestured to the table and chairs in the room. “There is much to discuss and we’ll need to quickly set up a formal meeting with Commander Dok and Commander-in-Chief Zackly as well.”

“This incursion would warrant such a meeting anyway, what has you so hurried?” Pixis questioned as everyone sat down at the table. The sharp mind behind Pixis’s normally calm gaze was already putting clues together.

“It has to do with these six and the truth, Pixis.” Erwin’s face was serious, as if the weight of the world was behind his coming words.

“The truth, you say?” Pixis was no fool. He’d known of many hidden secrets within the Walls for years now. Corruption was rampant in several parts of the military, people went missing without a sound never to be seen again, money and supplies sometimes never made it to their intended locations. All of this was only scratching the surface in the system. But Pixis knew that the only reason humanity was still alive was because of the Walls. If the system within failed, then mankind would perish. So, even though he didn’t like it, he turned a blind eye to certain things, cozied up to certain nobles in order to procure food and other necessities for those that were the hardest hit by the status quo. If there was another way, a better way, then he’d support it wholeheartedly…but alas, no such way was available.

“Pixis,” Erwin began. “Humanity exists beyond the Walls.”

“What?” The sheer looks of confusion and disbelief on Pixis’s face was understandable to all of the soldiers that had only found this out today.

A little over an hour later, Pixis having told his subordinates that he was in a meeting with Commander Erwin and not to be disturbed early on, and the Commander of the Garrison slumped back in his chair as his mind continued to process everything he’d learned.

To many, it would seem insane, a fanciful tale at best, but he knew it wasn’t. The way that Annie spoke of the history outside of the Walls, the information on nations and peoples that no one in the Walls had ever heard of, the strange things he’d noticed over his many years regarding the history they were taught. When he put it all together in his mind, it formed into a coherent picture that left the older man nearly dumbfounded.

But the one thing that made him believe it all more than anything, was the demonstration that the six cadets, and even Erwin himself, had shown him. Each of them had slashed one of their wrists with a knife that Levi had provided. Not a mere cut either, they’d cut themselves down to the bone with barely a flinch. The severity of such an injury could easily be fatal, and yet before his very eyes the wounds had healed up as wisps of steam rose from the grievous injuries.

“So…the Titan-killing Titans in Trost; they were you six, correct?” Pixis looked at the cadets.

“Yes, sir.” All six answered back.

“Then I have much to thank you for.” Pixis surprised everyone when he stood from his chair and saluted them. “Thanks to you, we suffered few casualties and many of my soldiers are still alive today. In my eyes, you’ve already proven our worth to humanity, and especially to those of us within the Walls.”

“Do we have your support, Pixis?” Erwin wanted to confirm with his fellow Commander.

“Yes, I’ll assist you in setting up the meeting with Commander Dok and Commander-in-Chief Zackly.” Pixis gave his support to Erwin and then looked at Eren. “I’ve known Erwin for many years…I trust his judgment; however, I can only give support for you to become the next King if you prove to me that you’re better than the system we have now.” The older Commander laid out his requirements to back Eren’s coup d'état on the current regime ruling the Walls.

“I will be better.” Eren promised Pixis on the spot, his face one of utter surety and determination to do what needed to be done. “I will take back not only Wall Maria, but the entire island of Paradis. We will not hide behind these walls in terror waiting for the day they’re broken and all of us are slaughtered like sheep. Eldia will rise as a new kingdom, a better kingdom, I swear it.” Everyone in the room would swear that they felt a weight in the very air at Eren’s declaration.

“Very well, I hope you’ll keep that promise.” Pixis gave Eren a small smile. The unspoken words, a promise to fight against Eren should he turn out worse than the current rulers, was visible in Pixis’s eyes as the two men stared at each other.

-Office of Commander Nile Dok-

“What the hell is this?” Nile looked at the report on his desk that was marked as ‘urgent’. He’d just now finally had time to get back to his office after running around since the Titan incursion on Trost. If he was lucky, he might make it home tonight after going through the various reports. “Are they drunk out there?”

His disbelief was warranted, given what was in this report. Humans suspected of collaborating with Titans, or even being Titans themselves? Titans killing Titans, Titans using weapons, it all sounded like the ravings of a lunatic!

Nile Dok was a lean man with well-defined cheek and jaw bones. He had thin black hair that was cut shorter on the sides but was relatively shaggy elsewhere. Nile’s eyes were notably narrow and dark, with mild bags beneath them. He also sported a very light mustache and goatee. He was always seen wearing the standard military uniform bearing the Military Police emblem, paired with a bolo tie. He’d risen through the ranks somewhat quickly, much like his compatriot Erwin Smith. He was a no nonsense man and seeing a report like this nearly made him issue a disciplinary hearing for whoever had written it out of sheer disbelief that ANYONE would dare turn such a thing in as a legitimate report.

“Speak of the devil…” Nile looked at the next item in his pile and saw Erwin’s signature on it. He picked up the paper and noticed quickly that it was a formal request for a meeting between the three Commanders and Commander-in-Chief Zackly. “I didn’t expect Erwin to beat me and Pixis to the punch on scheduling a meeting.” Erwin had been out with the Survey Corps at the time of the incursion, but had turned back when he’d noticed the unusual behavior of the Titans. That had undoubtedly saved many lives and Nile was thankful for it. To see Erwin being the one to ask for the meeting that this incursion would’ve necessitated anyway was a bit odd though. “Hmm?” He read the last sentence again, this time aloud. “New information on the incursion and potentially vital information for humanity going forward? What does he mean by that?”

-Darius Zackly’s Office-

“Hmm…unusual to see Erwin as the one to schedule the meeting…but this incursion has been greatly concerning.” Darius Zackly mumbled, having read over the paper twice now.

Zackly’s eyes were sunken and tired-looking, he wore glasses, and he had noticeable wrinkles on his face, while his hair was receded and gray. He also had a gray scruffy looking full beard and mustache. All in all, he looked very much like a worn out old man that had seen far too much in his life. He tapped his index finger on the last sentence that Erwin had written on the paper.

“Is he talking about the report of Titans killing Titans, and Titans using weapons?” Zackly wondered as he pondered on what Erwin could mean about ‘Information vital to humanity going forward’ after this incursion. ‘Surely there can’t be any truth to the suspicion of humans working with Titans, or being Titans…right?’ Zackly liked to think of himself as a rational man, but something was nagging at the back of his mind as he mentally went over everything that he’d read today. “I suppose I’ll find out soon enough.” He quickly signed the paper and stamped it with the Seal of is office to make the meeting time and place official.

Unbeknownst to Zackly, Erwin, Pixis, or Nile…another group had also gotten their hands on the information in the various reports from the Trost incursion. Quietly, secretly, the information was taken to the ones that really ruled the Walls. Things would go as the true rulers wished, just as they had for the last century. That was the only point and purpose of this shadowy groups existence.

Who made the first move would determine what became of the Walls and the future of Eldia.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Telling Levi and Hange the truth about the world and about the Titans. Then filling Erwin in on everything. Things are already starting to roll downhill like a snowball! The Shifters and their slowly growing allies are in for a rough ride!

Erwin has put his backing behind Eren, for now. He wants to know the truth of the world! Not to mention that he’s already directly benefited from the Shifters. So, he has even more reason to believe them!

Pixis wants what’s best for humanity…or the people in the Walls at least, now that he knows humanity still exists in vast numbers outside of the Walls. He’ll support Eren’s ascension only if Eren proves himself better than the current regime.

The Shifters’ coup is starting to take shape…but will they be fast enough to avoid being silenced by the ones that pull the strings from the shadows?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!