Sign of the Times

How everything started

...

This wasn't supposed to happen, but they couldn't do anything. The damage was done.

She? She was witnessing her lover transform into something that they always feared.

He? He was watching his lover fight his so-called "best friend".

Everything that happened was their fault...

"Is this what you wanted Eren!?" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "Weren't you the one that wanted your friends to have long lives? Why are you doing this!?"

"Hey..." her cousin tried to calm her, but the situation was too much.

"I know we were the ones who started this chaos but it went too far!" She closed her eyes, trying to wake up from that nightmare. "We didn't have any choice! But please... Please Eren..."

"You have to stop this."

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Year 847 – 2 years since the fall of Wall Maria.

The sun was shining bright upon the new cadets, all of them in the same place for a reason. Some of them wanted to join the Military Police to get away from the titans and live comfy in the inner walls, others wanted to join the Survey Corps, and decided to take back their hometown from those giants.

And some of them had other intentions.

It was a wave of white pants and brown jackets with the emblem of two swords intertwined on their backs, cadets with ages between 12-14 were reunited in the open field to decide their destiny, to fight for their lives or live like caged birds, like some certain eye-greened boy would say.

"Listen here bastards, I, Keith Shadis, have the unfortunate to be your instructor for the following years. My duty is to transform you all from cowards, to something that would help humanity with this endless war." Some cadets flinched at the instructor's strong voice, already imagining what they were going to deal with the next three years, but others just looked at him with bored or dull eyes.

"YOU!"

"Sir!"

"What's your name, maggot!?" Shadis started yelling at the blonde guy.

"Armin Arlert, from Shiganshina District, sir!" Armin saluted him, his right hand over his heart, small beads of sweat running though his face. The guy was short, with blonde hair and big blue eyes.

"What a shitty name, your parents give you that?" The instructor shouted.

"It was my grandfather!"

"Arlert, what are you doing here!?" Shadis brought his face closer to Armin's.

"I'm here to aid humanity's victory!" He screamed, trying to hide his nervousness.

"That's wonderful, you'll be the appetiser for the titans!" The old man examined the other cadets, approaching one with dirty blonde hair.

"And who are you!?"

"Viktor Zhukov, from a village near Shiganshina, sir!" The boy saluted, face serious and calm. He stood tall, maybe 5 feet 11 inches or so, way taller than Armin, body slim but well-built and hair short and curly.

"And what are you doing here, pretty face!?" A girl one row behind laughed quietly at the nickname her cousin received, earning a look from the boy beside her, but she stopped before the instructor looked at her.