Twisting the Knife Chp 46: Collision

Wall Maria, Survey Corps Supply Station, August 11th, 9:44 PM

Once was enough for even the smallest Titan to leave a deep imprint in the thick metal door.  Under the Beast Titan’s control, thus imbued with its power and intellect, they scrambled to break in and kill all save for Ymir.

“We’re trapped,” Reiner breathed, slowly backing away.  “Unless we can escape through the watchtower,” he added glancing upwards.  No sooner after he spoke, they heard it come crumbling down.

“They’ve got us cornered.”  Kseniya grit her teeth.   Katya.  Was a shifter.  The first.  She uncovered it.  The way to become a shifter.  But how?  What inspired it?  For that thing to know her...she would’ve gone outside the walls...as a Titan...Ponder later Kseniya!  Gotta focus!  “There’s no other exit?”  She turned to Saskia.

Pale to the point of bordering on transparent, the General shook her head.  “I haven’t a clue...but to not build one would be absolutely foolish.  If there were one, it would be somewhere on the lowest level.”  She turned to the stairway.  “Let’s go.”  She waved them forward, not making the descent until they were all ahead of her.

Another Titan slammed a meaty fist against the door, sending it crashing inside.  Arms snaked in and began groping around.

“We’ll need to grab new gear from the armory while we’re down there.”  Annie’s bangs clung to her sweat-drenched forehead.

“How many levels do these things have?” Ymir asked, trying to push out all the guilt that was creeping in.  If she hadn’t been there, would they be in danger?  The Beast Titan could feel her presence and vice versa.  Turning around and acting as a shield crossed her mind.

“Three, sometimes four.  If there is an emergency exit it should lead north, towards headquarters.”  Saskia could feel the stairs quaking behind her as a five-meter began forcing its way inside.  The first level was starting to give way, taking some of the stairs with it.  “Faster!”   I’m sorry Iolana...I’m so sorry…

The first floor caved in.  Had they gone any slower the five-meter would’ve grabbed them before they could pass the second floor.  The fall caused some of the steps to weaken, which served to hasten their pace.  If the stairs collapsed beneath them they would plummet two flights down before hitting solid rock.  With the upper level destroyed larger Titans were able to start piling in, trying to bring the building down to its foundation before they could reach the lowest level.

The following moments became a blur; no one could recall when or how they all acquired new gear so quickly, or how they found a door which blended in all too well with the rest of the stone wall.  Saskia found it disturbingly familiar.

Just like the sub-basement , she thought to herself as they slid it open.  Large chunks began to fall from the ceiling, almost crushing them as they dove in.  The Titans began jumping on what remained of the floors to bring the entire building down.  Again they tried reaching in to grab their victims, and to retrieve their ‘sister’.  Reiner and Kseniya sliced off their fingers, giving them ample time to retreat.

The emergency exit was pitch black but they could feel sconces lining the walls.  It was dusty and reeked of dirty water and calcium buildup.  The wailing and groaning of the Titans echoed throughout the seemingly endless passage.

“Where do you think this will spit us out?” Reiner asked.

“I haven’t a clue.”  Saskia shook her head.  “How in the world were these used in the past?  They need some sort of circulation or one would suffocate…Does anyone feel a draft?  Suppose that’s a silly question to ask, what with the door being left open.”

“You had no idea this was here?” Bertholdt asked incredulously.  He was under the assumption that she knew all of the Survey Corps’ secrets, and then some.

“No.  Truth be told, I rarely ventured far down in a supply station.  I...I only did as I was told.  Kseniya.  You said that Katya was the first shifter?”

“According to the Beast Titan, yeah,” the brunette confirmed.  “It could smell me, and apparently I smell like Katya.  Meaning they met.  What else could it mean by ‘first fraud’ other than a shifter?  If she was that would explain why they wanted, rather needed her work so badly.  I mean, yeah, the way to create shifters clearly hasn’t been lost.  But she was the first to do it.  My guess is the ones who killed her, they were trying to create something similar but she beat them to it.  And in her experimenting she encountered that thing…”

“That might explain why they don’t recognize our Titans as one of them, but rather as a human,” Annie mused.  “The Beast Titan somehow ‘informed’ them of imposters.”

“I still don’t get why she was dabbling in that in the first place.”

“Perhaps for the same reasons our former bosses did.”  Bertholdt shrugged.  “We all knew we weren’t the first shifters; someone created and perfect that formula long ago.  Katya, it would seem.  But they never resorted to using shifters until recently.”

“If they never figured out how to make shifters, then that’s probably why,” Ymir replied.  “Eren’s dad knew.  Seems like bits of her research got passed down.  If that’s the case, then there’s something more she learned.  Probably something to do with the Beast Titan.”   I’m a shifter now...but it told them to spare me.  It called me their ‘sister’.  Who am I to that thing?

“Meaning they also knew about it...Which would make sense, seeing as Isamu learned of it from his ancestors.  I bet the ones who started this, a handful were Oriental.”

“What does that have to do with any of this?”  Saskia raised an eyebrow in the direction of Kseniya’s voice.

“The place they came from is very far away.  I think the reason there are so few is because they encountered many Titans on the way here and got eaten, or they were turned.  Isamu has a personal gripe with the Beast Titan and while he never elaborated, he always made it clear that a huge part of why he’s involved in the Living Weapon project is because of his ancestors.  I dunno...I’m sure he’d love to tell you.  Wouldn’t even need to interrogate him.”

“I’m sure,” the General echoed.   If the majority of Titan did in fact come from Orientals, that would explain the one who spoke...The one who said ‘Ymir-sama’.  But she doesn’t know much of her connection to it.  What more of a connection could there be aside from having been turned?  Why did that Titan speak of her using such a respectful honorific?  And of course, her name...

“I also have an idea as to why Titans hunt humans.  They used to be human, right?  And Ymir can attest to how miserable that is and how badly they just want to be human again.  The closest they can get to being human is ‘being one’ with a human.  Consuming it, in other words.  That’s my idea.”

“Kseniya, do you remember where the secret base Hanji and Moblit created is located?  As soon as we return I want you to go there and share all of this with her.”

“What’re you gonna do?”

“Now is the time to discuss that, I suppose.  As I said before, I will not allow any harm to befall you four.  Even if the rest of the Survey Corps takes issue with it, my providing protection places you under Survey Corps protection.  All of you have shared invaluable information with me without needing to be prompted, threatened.  And you have made it very clear that you wish to aid us.”

“Save for one.”  Ymir, who was walking behind Bertholdt, gave him a rough pat on the shoulder.

“Yes, save for one...Bertholdt, I need to know here and now what it is you plan to do.”

Some of Kseniya’s words echoed in the back of his mind.  “I’ll join you.  I’ll do my best to help.”

“Perfect.  That will make for a well-rounded squad.”

“A what?!” Kseniya gasped loudly.  “Is that what you wanted my thoughts on?”

“Sort of.  I more so wanted your thoughts on being my second-in-command.”

“Your WHAT?!”  Her shriek echoed loudly through the dark tunnel.

“And Marco will need protection as well...Considering your history together I think it only makes sense to add him as well.  That, and Levi won’t be overburdened.  His squad is already a handful...Another member could throw off their balance.”

“So he is alive,” Reiner muttered.  “That’s good.”

“Jean must’ve been happy about that.”  They could hear the grin in Ymir’s voice.  “Sure, he fell hard for Mikasa but that was purely infatuation...or a cover.  But him and Marco?  You two shared a dorm with them when we were trainees.  Tell me you saw it too.”

“They could’ve taught you a thing or two about subtly,” Reiner teased, and Ymir stuck out her tongue at him.

“Squad Saskia.  Wow.  Does that mean we get to call you something different, just like Levi’s squad?  Are you ‘Saskia Heichou’ now?”   And I’m second-in-command...Katya would be proud, I guess?

“No.  ‘Heichou’ comes from an Oriental word akin to ‘Lance Corporal’, making it exclusive to Levi.  If memory serves the equivalent of ‘General’ would be…‘Taishou’.”

Wall Sina, Pine’s Manor, August 12th, 7:29 PM

The tension had mostly died down in the sense that the fighting stopped, but the resentment still lingered.  Levi was coming to his wits end.  Saskia was gone (perhaps for good), Hanji’s whereabouts were unknown, and they had no way of contacting Pixis to receive the aid he promised.  Erwin could have been killed long ago and they would have no way of knowing.

What really began to push him was Eren’s accusation that they had lost focus.  Putting Historia on the throne was essential to securing the chance to make their way to Shiganshina.  But when would that happen?  After storming the capitol and committing the highest act of treason?  Wouldn’t there be a political mess to clean up first?  Since when did the ‘Living Weapon project’ take precedence?

To the man who wanted revenge against the despicable man who raised him and a treacherous former lover, it took precedence.  But to the soldier, to the Lance Corporal, to the Acting Commander of the Survey Corps, he couldn’t become absorbed in these things.  Killing Kenny would be part of securing the throne.  Stopping the Living Weapon project would mean putting all Titan fighting resources in the hands of the Survey Corps.  That had to be his perspective.

“You wanted to see me Heichou?”

“I thought about what you said.  You were right.  I got caught up in things that don’t matter, not to our mission.  We’re heading for the capitol soon.  We’re taking it tomorrow night..  Once we have that, Shiganshina is next.  No distractions, no interruptions.”

“Not even Saskia?” the brunet asked suspiciously.

“ Especially not Saskia.”

They had no way of knowing exactly how much time elapsed but their circadian rhythms told them it had been close to two days.  They had no idea how far underground they were.  They were tired and hungry but had to keep moving.  Conversation became sparse not long after Saskia shared her plan to form a squad, partly out of a collective anxiety revolving around the idea but mostly because of fatigue.  Kseniya however still had one very important question for Saskia.

“I know you don’t wanna talk about Erwin, and that’s fine.  But...what about your father?”  She glanced in what she assumed was Saskia’s direction.

“My father?  That depends on what happens when we find him.  There’s certainly a great deal I wish to ask him.”

“Naturally.  What I mean is-”  She stopped when she heard a thud.  Saskia walked right into what she assumed was a wall.  “Are you alright?”

“Never better.”  The General took a step back, moving her hands along the solid surface she bumped into.  “We literally just reached a door.  Let me see if I can find the handle...Hm...Locked.  I can feel the keyhole...Annie, can I have your hair pins?”

“Sure.”  The blonde pulled them out, her soft hair gracefully rolling down to her shoulders.  “Can you pick that in the dark?”

“If this door leads to where I think it does then yes, I certainly can.”

“Where do you think it goes?” Ymir asked.

“A location known only to a few, and one that is very special to me.”  She got down on her knees and carefully used the pins to pry the lock open.  After a few minutes there was a clicking sound, indicating success.  She stood up, brushed herself off, and opened the door.  There was no light coming in but a small lantern remained lit on a table near the front of the room.  The tiny flame cast large dancing shadows over the rows of bookshelves.  “This is the sub-basement of the Survey Corps’ headquarters.”

“Here’s hoping it isn’t crawling with guards again,” Annie muttered as she attempted to pin her hair back up with the bent bobby pins.

“Saskia, I need a serious answer from you.”  Kseniya stepped in front of her superior.  “I know you never met him and he has done terrible things.  But is the fact that he’s your father gonna stop you from killing him?”

The General furrowed her brow.  “Terrible things…?  What the hell are you talking about?  Why would I kill him?  What has he done?”  Her voice grew louder with each question.

“You...you don’t know?”  Her shoulders dropped.  “I thought for sure Levi would’ve said something…”

“Why would Levi…?  Kseniya, elaborate.  Now.”

“The guy that raised him is best buds with your dad so I figured he’d have told you...He probably overheard things as a kid, ya know?  I mean, Isamu doesn’t really keep it a secret that you’re his pride and joy.”

She blinked, then looked over her shoulder.  “Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, did you know?”

“Of course,” Reiner replied.  “But we all thought you did too…”

“...Isamu Maki...is my father…”   I carry the blood of one the most dangerous men within the walls.  The one behind the project.  And...Levi knew?!  He knew and he said nothing?!   She was quiet for an uncomfortably long period of time.  After a deep inhale she turned back to Kseniya.  “My orders haven’t changed.  Find Hanji and Moblit.”

“And tell her about Katya?”

“That will have to wait, unfortunately.  We’re going to Sina.  See if they have had any contact with Pixis.  He promised to lend aid to us, that the Garrison would be our ally.”

“How will you get into Sina?  We don’t know what time it is so there’s no guarantee that you’ll have cover from nighttime.  When we left it was just us two, later three, and I knew the patrols really well.  But a larger group…”

“Considering this your first assignment as a part of Squad Saskia.”

Wall Rose, Trost District, Secret Survey Corps Headquarters, August 13th, 10:21 AM

“We still haven’t seen any of your soldiers in Sina, sadly.  But after how long it’s been they’re no doubt gearing up for the next phase of the coup.”

Hanji laced her fingers and dropped her chin atop then, an elbow on each leg.  “I still can’t believe Saskia would go in there and free Annie.  What she did...could very well tear the Survey Corps apart.”

Once Nile shared his findings with Zackley and later Kenny, the former sent word to the Garrison to inform them that Saskia was in league with -and as dangerous as- the ones who destroyed Wall Maria.  After their talk in which Nile expressed his doubts to Pixis, he knew the MP Commander would eventually act on his own.  And while his findings were shocking, the reaction of the Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the CMP was even more so.  Already knowing the CMP Commander to be a man of questionable character, he had begun to question that of Darius Zackley as well.

“It could.  She wouldn’t act without reason though.  Whatever that reason was, we’ll never know until she comes back.  If she does.  The MP is growing pretty restless around here.  I think the CMP gave the order to find you.  They either have reason to suspect or know for certain that you aren’t with Levi.”

They heard the front door open downstairs.  Heavy footsteps came up the stairs.  Hanji reached for her shotgun.  Pixis pulled a pistol from his jacket.

Still standing out in the hallway, Kseniya pushed the door open slowly.  She didn’t want to risk getting shot at again.

“It’s only me!” she called.   I...have no way of knowing if Hanji is in there.  Damn it!  Had to ditch my gear so I’m completely unarmed.  “Saskia and I came back.  With...company.”  She heard Pixis sigh in relief and Hanji gasp, though she wasn’t sure if it was because of her news or because she wasn’t a Military Police soldier.  “And, uh, she was wondering...if the Garrison was still willing to lend aid to the Survey Corps...in the form of sneaking her, me, you and Moblit, Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Ymir into to Sina to reconvene with the others and figure out what the next part of the plan is for taking down the asshole keeping Historia’s seat warm.”

“Aid from the Garrison, eh?” Pixis asked with a grin.  “Hanji, who is that young lady out in the hallway?”

“Kseniya Volkova.  Come on in.  Saskia owes us an explanation, and she sent you on her behalf?”

She spun on her heel and slowly stepped in.  “She wants to keep an eye on the other for, make sure they stay safe and out of the public eye.”

“She’s protecting them.  She didn’t feel ‘confident enough’ in the ‘risk’ she took to be able to talk to me face-to-face?”  Hanji almost sounded offended.

“That’s also for her to explain.  I know I’m not being helpful right now.  I did agree with her that it’d be best if I came though.  Should any MP or, God forbid CMP , jerks come along they would either tear us all apart or drag us back to the capitol.  But Saskia, the CMP can’t touch her.  This was her way of protecting me too.  You have less incentive to kill me after all.  I think.  I hope...”

“And how does she plan on protecting the shifters?”

“By assembling an all shifter squad.”   Even though heat makes her sick...Bad idea, Saskia.

Hanji raised an eyebrow.  “With whose authority?  It took a lot of negotiations to allow us to revive the Special Operations Squad, you know.  She can’t simply declare herself a ‘squad leader’, especially since she’s already General.  Do we have a second Special Ops Squad now?”

“Not a terrible idea she’s got, but she will need to get permission from Darius Zackley first,” Pixis added.

Kseniya’s eyes widened in irritated surprise.  “You don’t know about Zackley?  Good God...He’s one of them!  He used to work for me!”  She pressed a pointer finger to her chest.  “He’s a ‘bad guy’.  She doesn’t need a damn thing from him.  None of you do!”

That explains why he was so dismissive to Nile, and told him to meet with the CMP instead.  “Is he now?  If that’s the case I think we can work something out.  The Garrison will take you into Sina and keep an eye on the walls to make sure Nile’s ignorant soldiers don’t interfere.  But I’ll need proof first.  We can’t simply waltz into his office and throw such an accusation at him.  Do you have any proof you can present here and now?”

“...Annie Leonhardt’s testimony?  That’s something the Survey Corps wanted.”

“The Survey Corps is compromised.  And the Survey Corps isn’t the one asking,” Pixis replied sharply.

“Then no, I don’t.”   They’re counting on me.  I can’t let them down.  Especially with this being my first damn assignment!  Think, think, think...Does the Garrison really owe the Survey Corps anything?  Is there some kind of leverage I can use?  “The Garrison played a big part in the clean up of Stohess, right?”

“Yes, we did.  The Military Police tended to the civilians while we worked on the walls.  Including keeping the Titans within the walls a secret.”

“Did you have access to the list of civilians that the MP compiled?”

“I did.”

Luzia would be on there.  But...why did they suddenly kill her?  “A woman named ‘Luzia Messmann’ should be on there.  If not it’s because the CMP went above and beyond the keep her very existence a secret.  She’s Saskia’s biological mother.  I don’t know why but some reason they decided it was time to kill her.  See, Saskia was supposed to be raised by Kenny Ackermann.  Yeah, that Kenny Ackermann.  He’s actually Kenny the Ripper.  Fun fact.  Anyway, when Luzia found out she took her baby as far away as she possibly could, thinking that she’d be safe in the military.  She used her Oriental blood to convince Shardis to take her in and raise her to be a soldier.”

“That makes far more sense than keeping her out of respect for deceased parents.  Go on.”

“Turns out Shardis was one of them.  Luzia didn’t know.  This whole thing we’re fighting goes back hundreds of years, starting with my ancestor Katya Volkova…3rd Commander of the Survey Corps.  I would love to get into all the details, really, I would, but we don’t have time.  Back to Zackley though.  Luzia was kept alive, never seen as a threat to their ultimate goal.  And yet for some reason they decided to kill her in Stohess.  That was the entire reason Annie and Eren fought there.  Saskia found her mutilated body, and is now in possession of a family heirloom as well as a photograph of the woman they all but erased.  They had a reason.  What that is, I don’t know.  I defected the very day that skirmish went down.  It was all a cover.  Same as Trost was a cover to kill off another shifter they had under their command, one who survived and is allied with the Survey Corps right now helping the Lance Corporal of the Survey Corps.  I’ll sum it up with this- for some reason Saskia’s mom was suddenly a threat to this very well informed and funded organization going back to the early 700s.  One woman who, for twenty-eight years, they kept under their thumb, under their watch, and had nothing to fear from her.  Out of nowhere they stage a massive battle, trying to kill Annie in the process because they didn’t need her anymore, because she was suddenly a threat.  One woman with no resources, no allies, nothing.  Very few knew she even existed!  So...if you can somehow interrogate him and trick him into revealing that he knows about Luzia, that’s proof alone right there.  Even if he doesn’t know why they killed her, only a select few could even know about her.”

Pixis took a moment to digest her claims before turning to Hanji.  “Can you verify any of this?”

“Some, yes.  Luzia Messmann was a real person and they did try to keep her identity a secret.  Kseniya here was actually acting as a public servant for the census bureau when Levi had reason to believe the story Shardis told her about her ‘parents’ was a lie.  He suspected she was half-Oriental, which we now know to be true.  I can also confirm the role Keith Shardis played in this.”

“And this ultimate goal of theirs...Is Zackley well informed on it?”

“He’s the reason that Eren was given to the Survey Corps,” Kseniya swiftly replied.  “The CMP has eyes and ears everywhere.  And the MP would’ve killed him.  Had the CMP told them not to...It would’ve raised some eyebrows.  He was ordered to do it.”

“I see.  All we need is a confession to the existence of this ‘Luzia Messmann’?  You, young lady, are a stranger, but I have no reason to doubt Hanji’s word.  I will have my best soldiers escort you, all of you, to Sina and keep an eye out for the Military Police while you...do whatever it is that needs to be done.  I’ll go pay the Commander-in-Chief a visit and have a nice long chat with him about how he’s an asshole.  I’m sure Kitz, Rico, Anka, and Gustav will be thrilled with this mission.”  Pixis took a long overdue swig from his flask.  “But orders are orders, as you’re now coming to learn...What was your name again?”

“Kay is fine.”   Unless you can pronounce ‘Ksyushen’ka’.

“Only Rico, Anka, and Gustav know that I have been meeting with Hanji and Moblit.  However Kitz is of a higher rank them those three.  Paranoid as he may be, Rico will be able to keep his ass in line.”  Pixis rose from his chair.  “Let’s get to it then.”

Wall Sina, Mitras District, August 13th, 2:58 PM

As Marco had postulated, the ‘civilians’ populating the royal capitol were in fact Central Military Police in disguise.  The entire city became a battleground when the Survey Corps, with Marco in tow, broke in and began an indiscriminate slaughter on the vile, heartless soldiers.  Their gear was all but useless as it helped them move about to avoid being shot, but a handful were armed with the same gear Kenny and his soldiers used during his previous confrontation with Levi.

Splitting up didn’t work to their advantage, but staying together put them at a great disadvantage; divide and conquer, while hardly strategic, was the closest thing to strategy they had.  Levi had equipped all of them two flares- black to declare an enemy area had been completely cleared and red to indicate mortal injury.  Unbeknownst to the rest he gave Armin a green flare.  When asked what it was for, all he was told was ‘You’ll know when you see it’.

Well over half of the sparsely populated city had been decimated within an hour or so.  Levi anticipated Kenny, or whoever happened to be in that castle, to make a grand entrance as soon as they finished.  What he didn’t anticipate were lifts operating from the other side of the district’s wall, and cannons being fired at large masses of CMP soldiers.

Through the smoke and debris Levi found Armin and pulled him aside.  “Go up there,” he ordered, coughing from the now polluted air.  “If you see it, fire.”

“Heichou, what am I looking for?!”

“I already told you, you’ll know!  Now go!”

“Yes sir!”  Armin hurried to the wall, deftly using his gear to maneuver his way up without getting in the way of the cannons.  He recognized Kitz and Rico from the Battle for Trost, and saw the soldiers accompanying them wearing Garrison uniforms.

The Garrison is here to help?  But who told them?  Hanji and Moblit perhaps?  It was then that Armin noticed the lift come up once more.  Eight soldiers, all wearing Survey Corps uniforms, mounted the platform of the wall.

“Annie…?” he barely managed, knowing she couldn’t hear him.  But she saw him, and she looked as relieved as one possibly could in their circumstances.  Then he turned to face Saskia, her fierce eyes locking with his own.

Armin fired the green round.

Wall Sina, Royal Palace, Dungeons, 2:37 PM

Though many floors deep into the Earth, Erwin could sense the shift in atmosphere.  The entire castle was tense.  Something was amiss.  What exactly that thing was, he hadn’t an inkling.  For the most part he couldn’t bring himself to care.  He spent much of his time meditating on Kenny’s odd question to distract himself from his concerns for his sister’s safety.

Reason to suspect Colleen?  She exposed Saskia to a world beyond her sheltered upbringing, she helped her break her emotional shackles.  Colleen’s way of raising and guiding her was the antithesis to everything Saskia was ‘meant to be’.  It couldn’t have been deliberate.  She couldn’t possibly know.  That information was far too sensitive...Only the Jaeger and Volkova families would know.  Unless the Berliner family had some tie?  Perhaps someone from one of the two families married into the Berliner family?  The only other explanation I can think of...is Gloria marrying into the Jaeger family...while keeping her birth family informed…  He sighed heavily.

I suppose, by this point, it truly doesn’t matter.  He leaned his back and stared up at the grimy stone ceiling.   I’ll see her again soon.  Erwin suppressed a bitter laugh.   Who am I kidding?  There is no place in Heaven for someone like me.  All I have, all I will ever have, are the memories.  I shouldn’t even be allowed to have that.  No wonder she was torn to pieces before my eyes.  I...could never be worthy of someone like her.  He glanced down at his bruised, bloody, shaking palm.   Not with all the innocent lives I’ve taken.  Everywhere I go, I leave a trail of blood of the innocent.  If only I had the strength to rip out my eyes...I don’t want to see the look on Saskia’s face when I tell her everything...especially about Isabel.  He closed his eyes.

The Scholarly Journal of Katya Volkova, 7XX

My hypotheses for why the transformation is triggered by self-harm are as follows- 1.) Titans are drawn to the scent of human blood because they consume humans or 2.) the harm triggers the flight-or-fight response, causing ‘flight’ in the human and ‘fight’ in the Titan (a form of self-defense by hiding one and fighting back with the other).  There exists the possibility that both are connected.

-

After the second trial of injection I have come the conclusion that self-harm causes transformation is due to my second hypothesis.  If human blood were a draw to bring out this ‘Titan within’, I would have attacked Gloria after she injured herself to draw blood.  There was no desire to consume her or engage in any other Titan behavior.

Gloria refers to the process as ‘shifting’ but I feel this to be too simplistic, and that it inaccurately implies a mere switch from one form to another.  A more appropriate term would be ‘atavistic transcendence’ which I define as follow- a regression in form to a primal ancestral being but maintaining the rationality and consciousness of a more evolved species; having the superior physical abilities of their ancestors but the superior mind/mental and cognitive processes and faculties of a modern human lifeform; going both backwards and above.  Gloria remains unconvinced that humans and Titans share a biological connection.

-

Tonight we had a most disturbing encounter.  After practicing using my Titan ability more, a being claiming to be of a world predating that of the Titan appeared.  I fear that my ability may have summoned it.  It demanded that I identify myself; sharing nothing more than my surname it then addressed me as ‘the wolf’.  This beast is familiar with the language of my ancestors.  It demanded that I cease my fraudulent behavior or there would be severe consequences for all of humanity.  As the Reconnaissance Corps’ Commander I cannot show fear, especially not to a self-proclaimed progenitor of the Titans we face, an ‘Old-World Titan’, and refused to do so.  It said that, should we meet again, my arrogance will be the undoing of humanity.

Newly Established Trainee Corps Central Base, 7XX

A redheaded adolescent with sharp brown eyes dropped a small satchel on the bottom of a rickety bunk bed.  Despite its questionable structural security it was surprisingly well furnished, with soft sheets and fluffy pillows; these little luxuries were no doubt incentive to make everyone train hard so they would compete to join the Military Police.  But the brown-eyed female had no desire to become part of such an inherently corrupt institution.  She was far more concerned with the academic aspects of military life.  She was, in her mind, born to join the Scouting Legion; by the time she graduated it would have been renamed the Reconnaissance Corps, or Recon Corps for short.

She sat down on the bed and bounced lightly to test how comfortable it was and found the pillows and bedding to be quite deceiving when a spring came out and poked her in the thigh.  She hissed in pain and annoyance.

“You prefer the bottom bunk?” a soft voice from behind asked.  The redhead looked over her shoulder and saw a somewhat familiar brunette with deep aquamarine eyes.  She rose and approached her fellow trainee.

“I take it you’re my bunk mate.”

“That would be me!” she smiled.  “I honestly have no preference as far as beds go-”

“I would prefer another bed.”  The rehedad pointed at the exposed spring.

“This isn’t the interior.  What were you expecting?”

“Not an infection caused by rusty old metal penetrating my skin,” she half joked.

“If it’s that much an annoyance I’ll take it.  Really, I don’t mind.  Anyway, if we’re going to be bunkmates I think proper introductions are in order.  I saw you outside during the induction but didn’t quite catch your name.”

“It is an uncommon one.  My name Ekaterina Volkova, but my nickname is Katya.  It’s much easier to pronounce if you aren’t familiar with my ancestral language.”

“No kidding.  It’s nice to meet you Katya.  My name is Gloria.”  The brunette extended her hand.  “Gloria Berliner.”