Location: Trost District - The Dungeon
Eren Jaeger woke up to the smell of damp stone and rust. His head pounded. He tried to move his hands, but cold iron shackles bound his wrists to the wall.
"You're awake," a calm voice echoed from the darkness.
Eren blinked, his eyes adjusting to the torchlight. He was in a cell. Across from him, in a separate cell, sat Ren.
But Ren wasn't chained.
He was sitting comfortably on the single wooden cot, reading a book he had pulled from his inventory. The heavy iron bars separated them from the hallway, where two Military Police guards stood, trembling, their rifles trained on Ren.
"Ren?" Eren rasped. "Where... where are we? Why aren't you chained?"
Ren closed the book. "I told them chains were a waste of metal. If I want to leave, I leave. They know that."
"Are we prisoners?"
"We're assets, Eren. Currently under 'protective custody' while the Military Police and the Scouts fight over who gets to dissect us and who gets to use us."
Eren pulled at his chains. "This is wrong! We saved the city! We sealed the gate!"
"Fear overrides gratitude," Ren said simply. "But don't worry. The real players are coming."
Footsteps echoed down the stone corridor. Heavy, confident steps.
Two men approached.
One was short, with dark hair and a cravat, looking perpetually bored. Captain Levi. The other was tall, blonde, with bushy eyebrows and an aura of intense intelligence. Commander Erwin Smith.
The guards saluted nervously. "Commander! Be careful, the suspect in Cell 2 is... unstable."
Erwin walked up to the bars. He looked at Eren, who was sweating. Then he looked at Ren, who was leaning back with a smirk.
"I am Commander Erwin Smith of the Survey Corps," he began. "And this is Captain Levi."
"We've met," Ren said, nodding to Levi.
"You have a key to the basement in Shiganshina," Erwin said to Eren. "Your father's basement."
Eren gasped. "How do you..."
"Ren told us," Erwin said, his blue eyes shifting to Cell 2. "He told the Garrison quite a lot while you were unconscious."
Erwin stepped closer to Ren's cell. "You claim to be from outside the Walls. You claim to know the true enemy. And you claim to be a Titan Shifter who is not beholden to the 'enemy'."
"Correct on all counts," Ren said.
"Why should I trust you?" Erwin asked. "For all I know, you are the Colossal Titan in human form."
Ren stood up and walked to the bars. He towered over Erwin.
"Because, Commander, I know your question. The question your father died for."
Erwin's eyes widened imperceptibly. The air in the dungeon grew heavy.
"You want to know if humanity exists outside these walls," Ren whispered. "I'm telling you: It does. And they want you dead. I'm the only weapon you have that can stop them."
Levi scoffed. "Big talk. But can you be controlled? I don't like keeping monsters I can't put down."
Ren looked at Levi. "You can try, Captain. But I'm not Eren. I don't lose control. And I don't submit."
Ren's eyes glowed blue.
"I am an ally, Erwin. Not a soldier. Treat me as an equal, and I give you the world. Treat me as a prisoner, and I break this dungeon and leave you to the Titans."
Erwin stared at Ren for a long moment. He was calculating risk versus reward. The gamble.
"The Military Tribunal is in two hours," Erwin said. "The Military Police want to execute you both. I intend to win custody. Follow my lead."
"I have a condition," Ren interjected.
"Name it."
"My team," Ren said. "The women and the sniper. They remain under my command. No separation. No interrogation. They join the Scouts as my personal squad."
"Done," Erwin agreed instantly. He needed manpower anyway.
The Tribunal
The courtroom was packed. The leaders of the three military branches, the nobles, and the priests of the Wall Cult were all shouting over each other.
Eren was kneeling on a raised platform in the center, handcuffed to a pole.
Ren stood next to him. He refused to kneel. When the MP tried to force him, Ren simply didn't move. It was like trying to push a mountain. Eventually, they let him stand, guarded by four men with muskets.
Darius Zackly, the Premier, adjusted his glasses. "Order! Order in the court!"
The noise died down.
"We are here to decide the fate of Eren Jaeger and the entity known as 'Ren'. Both possess the power of the Titans."
Nile Dok, Commander of the Military Police, stepped forward. "They are dangerous! Their bodies should be dissected immediately to understand the biology. We cannot allow potential threats to live within the walls!"
"Preposterous!" a Priest shouted. "They are abominations! They defile the sacred Walls!"
"Commander Pyxis," Zackly turned. "The Garrison's report states they sealed the gate."
"They did," Pyxis nodded. "Without them, Trost would be lost."
"But can they be controlled?" Zackly asked. He looked at Eren. "Jaeger. Can you control your power?"
"I..." Eren stammered. "I can! I am a human! I want to join the Scouts and kill Titans!"
"He's lying!" a merchant shouted. "He's a wolf in sheep's clothing!"
The room erupted into chaos. One of the MP soldiers raised his gun, aiming at Eren in panic.
"Stop it!" Eren screamed, rattling his chains. "You're all cowards! Just shut up and invest everything in me!"
Silence. Eren had snapped.
Nile Dok signaled his men. "Prepare to fire!"
"Wait," Ren's voice cut through the tension like a blade.
Ren stepped forward. The guards raised their guns at him.
"You're asking the wrong questions," Ren said calmly. "You're asking if we are safe. We aren't."
He looked at the nobles.
"I am a walking natural disaster. Eren is a bomb. But here is the reality: The Colossal Titan will come back. The Armored Titan will come back. When they do, who fights them?"
Ren pointed at Nile Dok. "You? With your shiny muskets?"
He pointed at the Priest. "You? With your prayers?"
Ren's Incubus Charisma flared, creating an aura of undeniable authority.
"There is only one force capable of stopping extinction. Me."
Levi stepped forward from the shadows.
"He talks too much," Levi muttered.
Levi moved fast. He kicked Eren in the face. Crack. A tooth flew out.
Eren groaned. Levi kicked him again, brutal and efficient. The court gasped. Levi grabbed Eren by the hair and kneed him in the face.
"This is my philosophy," Levi said to the crowd. "Pain is the best discipline. He's not a monster; he's just a brat who needs a beating."
Levi finished with Eren and turned to Ren.
The room held its breath. Was humanity's strongest soldier going to beat the 'Sovereign'?
Levi walked up to Ren. He raised his foot.
Ren didn't flinch. He caught Levi's foot with one hand.
Thud.
The impact echoed. Ren's arm didn't even shake.
Levi's eyes narrowed. He pushed, but Ren held firm.
"I'm not the boy, Levi," Ren said softly, so only Levi could hear. "You don't need to break me to trust me."
Ren gently pushed Levi's leg back down.
Levi stared at him for a second, then scoffed. "Tch. Not bad."
Levi turned to Zackly. "I can handle the brat. And as for the big guy... he seems to know his place. The Scouts will take them."
Erwin stepped forward. "I propose Eren Jaeger and Ren be admitted into the Survey Corps under Captain Levi's supervision. We will use them to retake Wall Maria."
Zackly looked at Ren, who stood unbowed, and Eren, who was bleeding but resolute.
"Very well," Zackly slammed his gavel. "Custody is granted to the Survey Corps."
The Old Castle HQ
The transfer was immediate. Ren, Eren, and Ren's "Harem Squad" were moved to the old Survey Corps HQ—a repurposed castle in the middle of nowhere.
It was dusty and abandoned.
"This place is a pigsty," Levi complained, wiping dust off a banister. "We start cleaning. Immediately."
"Cleaning?" Saya Takagi asked, looking at her tactical gear. "We're special forces, not maids."
Levi looked at her. His gaze was terrifying.
"Did you say something?"
Saya gulped. "I said... where are the brooms?"
Ren chuckled. "Do as he says. It builds character."
Ren, however, didn't clean. He went to the courtyard with Erwin and Hange Zoe.
Hange was vibrating with excitement. "Ren! Ren! Can I see it? The white armor? Can you generate the Warhammer? Does it hurt? Can you eat regular food?"
"Breathe, Hange," Ren said.
"Commander," Ren turned to Erwin. "We have a problem."
"Go on," Erwin said.
"The 57th Expedition is coming up," Ren said. "You're planning to draw out the spy, aren't you?"
Erwin's expression didn't change, but the air grew colder. "Spy?"
"You suspect someone inside the walls is feeding info to the Titans. You're right."
Ren leaned in.
"The Female Titan."
Erwin stiffened. "You know who it is?"
"I know what she is," Ren corrected. "She's a shifter. Fast. Agile. Can harden her skin like diamond. She's coming for Eren on the next expedition."
"And her identity?" Hange asked, serious now.
Ren paused. He could tell them it was Annie Leonhart right now. But if they arrested Annie in the city, she might transform and kill thousands. Or worse, enclose herself in crystal before they could extract info.
He needed to capture her in the open field, away from civilians.
"I have suspicions," Ren lied. "But I need to flush her out. Let the expedition proceed. But change the formation. Put me in the rear guard. When she attacks, I'll be waiting."
Erwin nodded slowly. "You want to trap her."
"I want to break her," Ren said. "And then, I want her power."
The Night Before the Expedition
That night, Ren gathered his team in the barracks they had claimed.
"Tomorrow we ride," Ren told them.
Maggie, Andrea, Amy, Saeko, Saya, Shizuka, and Hirano. They were all outfitted in Survey Corps cloaks (green capes with the Wings of Freedom) over their modern tactical gear.
"This world uses horses," Ren said. "I hope you practiced."
"I grew up on a farm," Maggie reminded him.
"I took equestrian classes," Saeko noted.
"I... I played a video game with horses once," Hirano muttered.
Ren looked at them.
"The target is the Female Titan," Ren briefed. "She will ignore you. She wants Eren. Do not engage her in melee. Saeko, that includes you. Her skin breaks blades."
"So how do we kill her?" Andrea asked.
"We don't kill her," Ren said. "We capture her. I will engage her in Titan form. While she is distracted, Hirano and Maggie will target her joints with the Anti-Titan Sniper Rifles (Barrett .50 Cals pulled from inventory)."
Ren looked at the moon through the castle window.
"Annie Leonhart," Ren thought. "Tomorrow, you belong to me."
[Quest Generated: The Female Titan Hunt.]
[Objective: Capture the Female Titan.]
[Bonus Objective: Prevent the death of Levi Squad (Petra, Oluo, Eld, Gunther).]
[Reward: Titan Hardening Mastery (Crystal Shell), 5,000 Points.]