The Empire Returns Chapter 21

"Pick up the pace Braun! Don't you wanna become become a Warrior for your motherland?! If you do then go faster you Eldian swine!" Theo Magath yelled down at the small boy with anger and disgust as a torrent of rain fell down from the clouds above and soaked everyone in the area; including the children who were running like their lives depended on it.

One boy in particular was shown with a desperate expression on his face as he tried in vain to overtake his other much fitter competitors. His caloric muscles burned with protest and ushered him to stop overworking them, yet still he chose to simply place one leg in front of the other in some vain attempt to gain the upper hand on the children around him. 

This was Reiner Braun, he was one of the many Eldian children that were competing in Warrior training in order to try their hand at earning one of Marley's six Titans. Their parents had placed each of them into this program for the sake of one singular goal: to become honorary Marleyan.

In Marley Eldians are treated as sub-human, they're forced to live in the slums known as internment zones around the country, and are legally required by the law to wear armbands that would mark them as Eldian. Eldians will regularly face extreme prejudice from the Marleyans who interact with them, they are taught to be ashamed of their lineage and to hate themselves for the crimes that their ancestors committed. 

Eldians weren't always treated like this though, if it were a century ago then having Ymir's blood flowing through you would actually be a sign of status, a sign of superiority, but now? All it brings those who bear it is shame.

However, there is a silver lining to being an Eldian, they can be promoted to honorary Marleyans if they inherit one of Marley's Titans, it shows their devotion to their motherland, their families will also be granted this right, honorary Marleyans will be granted certain privileges that regular Eldians will not be able to enjoy. Be it better food, access to medicine, or a higher standard of living, being an honorary Marleyan is the only way for a Subject of Ymir to improve their quality of life.

Reiner Braun is participating in Warrior training in the hopes that he and his mother will be able to become Marleyans so that they could live together as a real family. So that he could purge himself of the sin that being an Eldian brought by destroying the island devils.

Reiner pushed himself forward through pure willpower as his vision grew hazy and clouded with dots, however his foot was caught under a loose stone and he tripped whilst he was running. His face contorted in panic as he fell face first into a puddle of mud that stained both his uniform and his face. He didn't want to stop though, he had to keep going if he wanted to inherit a Titan and become a Marleyan with his mother. he had to get up.

"What the hell are you doing Braun?! Quit playing in the mud and get going!"

He looked up with dread as many of his piers passed him by and left him in the dust. He gritted his teeth at this as he picked up the gun he was carrying and forced himself onto his feet to continue on his way to Inheriting one of Marley's greatest weapons.

He couldn't be left behind. He couldn't stop trying.

He would become a Warrior. Just like he promised his mother.

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As time went on however, Reiner grew both restless and anxious at the strength of his piers compared to him. No matter how hard he tried they always seemed to be a lap ahead of him and whenever he finally found the energy to catch up to them they gained another two laps whilst he slugged behind. And he hated that.

He wanted to be a Warrior more than anyone there. Everybody around him could see that. The only problem was that he possessed none of the traditional skills or talent that would make him accel as a Warrior candidate. He wasn't strong like Marcel, a good fighter like Annie, or a sharpshot like Bertolt. His only notable feature was really the loyalty he'd shown to Marley, as much as it infuriated him to admit that Porco was right.

Still though he refused to give up, if he really did throw in the towel then he'd be stuck as nothing but a piece of Eldian scum for the rest of his life, his mother as well, he couldn't allow himself to be remembered as nothing but some nobody Eldian that decayed away in the winds of time. He also refused to simply be another piece of fodder for Marley to throw at whatever nation they wanted to conquer next. 

What he really wanted was to be a hero for the world.

It felt to him like he was worth less than nothing, having been born an Eldian in some slum of Liberio, but who could dare call a hero useless? If he could become a hero for the world by destroying Paradis and those who lived there then he wouldn't be useless anymore, he'd have been the hero who saved the world from the wrath of the island devils. A saviour for humanity. They'd write about him in the history books as Marleys hero, he'd be even greater than Helos himself! If he was though of as humanity's hero for breaking the machine that was the Eldian Empire and bringing over two thirds of their Titans over to Marley's side then he'd be even greater for finishing off and eradicating the last traces of that terrible empire and ridding the world of Eldia's plight on humanity.

He just wants people's respect. If he has that then him only living for thirteen years is fine by him.

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Reiner did his best to try and contain himself in front of the Marleyan officers, lord forbid he didn't want to know what would happen to him if he acted out of turn or offended them in any way, but it was a partly vain attempt since he couldn't stop a few tears of joy from leaking out of his eyes.

He did it, he'd been granted the privilege of becoming the Armoured Titan. He's going to become a Warrior, not just any Warrior though, he'd be the one wielding Marley's shield!

Though he'd have cherished any Titan gifted to him by Marley he can't deny that the Armoured Titan was the one he wanted to receive the most, it was his favourite of all the Titans if he wanted to be childish about it. With the sheer amount of defence the wielder of that Titan holds those puny island devils won't even be able to scratch him.

Nothing could ruin this moment for him, not the mocking laugh of the Marleyans who called him a weakling and pushed him around for crying, not the deranged face his mother pulled when she heard that he was going to inherit a Titan, or even when he heard about how he'd need to eat the former holder to- 

wait what?

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A ten year old Reiner pulled slightly at the collar of his white robes as he stared at the tired and decaying form of the dying holder of the Armoured Titan.

The sight was rather unsettling for Reiner. The sight of what he could look like when his term as a Titan finally came to end that is. Jack Flynn was the current holder of the Armoured Titan and he'd certainly looked like he'd seen far better days. Reiner didn't know the man very well, they'd only talked a few times and it had mostly been professional tips on how to wield the Armoured Titan, so he couldn't say that the thought of him dying would hurt Reiner all that badly but... it was still sad.

Jack was a thirty six year old man, but honestly he looked twice that age right now. His skin was wrinkled to the point where he looked more like a raisin than a human, his eyes were sunken and just looking at them was enough to give Reiner the shivers, his hair was completely grey and thin in comparison to the lush brown he'd adorned years ago when his term was midway through, and finally he looked thin, his cheekbones were hollow and he seemed lo lack energy given how he just hung on the chain which held him in place to be devoured.

If Reiner could describe him in one world it would be that he looked dead. Like eating and killing him was more of a mercy than letting him live in such a pitiful state.

Reiner stared at the Titan Serum in a syringe that he'd need to inject into himself in order to inherit the Armoured Titan. On the outside it look just like an ordinary syringe, the glass and metal was smooth on his fingertips whilst the end he'd need to stab into himself looked very sharp. However, Reiner knew that what he held in his hands was anything but natural. Just one shot of this and he'd turn into a Pure Titan. One of the monsters that Eldia used in the old times to terrorise the rest of the world and bring them to their knees.

He had no idea what a Pure Titan really looked like, he'd never had the displeasure of encountering one, but the thought of actually turning into a Titan was really scary to him.

"Hurry up you Eldian brat!" One of the Marleyan generals yelled from the stands to try and push him along whilst the generals stared at him impatiently, as though they were telling him to stop wasting time and just get on with it.

Reiner snapped out of his daze at their words and his breath hitched when he realised how much of the Marleyans time he'd wasted. He couldn't allow his nerves to get the better of him right now, not in this critical moment, he was so close to becoming an honorary Marleyan, if he quit now then it'd all be for nothing, he wouldn't be able to finally have his complete family with himself, his mother, and his father.

He steeled his nerves and hardened his gaze as he aimed the sharp end of the needle right down on the skin of his right arm. He couldn't just walk away now, there's no going back for him now and quite frankly he has no desire to go back at this point.

He will become the Armoured Titan, he will save both the Eldians and Marleyans of his motherland, and he will slaughter all the devils of Paradis no matter what.

He gritted his teeth and his hand shook violently as he plunged the steel needle into his arm before pushing down on the metal rod that would unload the contents of the serum into his-

A sharp feeling of momentary pain zapped his body, it felt like he'd been hit by lightning, every cell in his body lit up and he suddenly exploded with energy, the boy blew up where he stood in a blast of light that caused both wind and steam to fly around wildly in all directions.

The spectacle was enough to cause the Marleyan viewers to cover their eyes with their hands as they instinctively leaned away, they did this because they knew what was coming.

The steam cleared and revealed a monster.

It was ten meters tall in height with short blonde hair and hazel eyes that leered hungrily at it's surroundings. The sight of a Titan would be enough to make most men cower in fear, this was for a multitude of reasons: their height, their dead and glossy eyes which were void of intelligence, but more than anything it's the malicious and grotesque grins which seem to be present on most Titans faces. 

This one was no different. It's face seemed to lack lips since all that was visible was flesh around it's mouth, this coupled with the smirk which seemed to curve unnaturally into it's cheeks made for a truly chilling sight to behold.

The Marleyans felt their stomachs drop and their bladders loosen when it locked eyes with them. The world seemed to shut out around them when they were faced with the terrifying presence that a Titan brings. 

Luckily for them though the Titan soon shifted it's gaze from them to the human which was closest to it, it peered down a Jack with morbid glee as the man-eating monster grabbed him with enough force to break the chains which bound him as it brought him up to it's mouth and bit down.

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"Braun, your job is to draw enemy fire and disable their guns in the south and east, Leonhart your job is to flank them and take out the guns in the north, as for the west you won't need to worry about that one, Galliard will handle them. Once that's finished you'll withdraw and let Yeager finish the job. Understood!"

They all agreed wholeheartedly with the Marleyan general that was giving them orders. Reiner glanced nervously at the others to gauge their reactions to their first mission as Warriors. Marcel looked ready to follow orders, Bertolt looked resigned, and Annie looked... well like Annie.

Their job was to kill the military of a neighbouring country that Marley is seeking to conquer. As the Armoured Titan, the Warrior with the highest defence, he will be the one drawing the most enemy fire out of all the Titan Shifters and the thought of being on the receiving end of so many guns was a little jarring, still though, his armour will protect him.

This is the price that a Marleyan Warrior must pay if they want to enjoy the benefits which come with being an honorary Marleyan, they have to endure being used as living weapons and slaughter countless soldiers of enemy nations, they might not hold the devils blood like them but they still chose to stand against the great Marley, as a result they have to die, it's regrettable nut also out of his hands.

He just needs to focus on his mission.

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Reiner held his armoured arms in front of his face as he took the entire onslaught of machine guns on his hardened skin on behalf of the small army of Eldian soldiers which walked behind him. Truth be told this wasn't a difficult task, those bullets which would have torn through a normal persons skin like wet paper hardly did anything against his Titan's skin. They were more akin to pea-shooters and spit wads than actual steel bullets. The hard part came next, well it wasn't hard as in a difficult task but he still found it difficult nonetheless.

The bullets from the guns finally ceased Reiner dropped his hands and prepared himself for what he's about to do with a touch of mental reassurance.

"Do it Braun! Take them down!" One of the many Eldian soldiers from behind him yelled out with encouragement. Soon several of the soldiers who's lives he'd saved were screaming at him to murder every single soldier that go in their way.

And Reiner delivered.

Reiner ignored what his moral compass was telling him to do as he roared at the top of his lungs. Whenever he turned into a Titan he had the strangest urge to roar before he dealt an attack, it was almost instinctual or primal and in the heat of the moment he almost did it subconsciously.

He ran forward with his arm upraised and he brought it down on one of the towers which the enemy was manning. Whilst his Titan excelled at defence that wasn't the only thing which he was good at doing in his Titan form, his armour and bulky build was perfect for dealing powerful blows and tearing through concrete like it was nothing. As a result he wasn't the least bit surprised when the screams of the enemy were drowned out as the tower fell apart.

The enemy tried in vain to deter him with their guns but it was once again pointless. No mere gun was enough to stop the rampage of the Armoured Titan.

He stomped on the rubble of the towers and went berserk on enemy lines with his fellow comrades moving over the remains left behind of the enemy and shooting down any survivors who may have somehow avoided his assault.

Reiner was a living weapon, there's no other way to describe him. He lives for Marley's sake and will die for Marley's sake, he will do everything that they need him to if it means that he can atone for the sins of his ancestors.

He will do everything that they need him to do if it means that his family will be complete again. That's all he needs.

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Reiner shared a long and sad look with his mother as she cried and sobbed at the reality that he was leaving home. He probably wouldn't be back for years, apparently this mission was meant to take up to three years with just him, Annie, Bertolt, and Marcel going to that island of devils alone to retrieve the Founder. He was sad that he would be leaving his family but he wasn't too worried, he was a Warrior entrusted with the Armoured Titan. What could a few devils do to him?

His mother tried to wipe away her tears as she sent her son a shaky smile." You'll be just fine Reiner, I know that much. But it's hard for me, a mother is allowed to worry about their son, right?"

Reiner was also sad but he wasn't about to cry in front of his mother. Someone needed to be strong between the two of them, if he had to fulfil that role for her then he'd do it. He nodded and smiled back sadly." It's alright mum, I'll be back before you know it, just try and keep Gabi and the others safe for me in the meantime."

Ah yes, his little cousin. She was only three years old yet he was already so close to her, she looked up to him so much at such a young age, she already says that she wants to be a Warrior like him when she grows up. It's sweet of her but she's already an honorary Marleyan, she doesn't need to accept the Power of The Titans like he did.

He is going to come back and see them all again.

His mother saw this and nodded at him resolutely." I will Reiner, we're all praying for your success, your father as well, so promise me that you'll come back alive alright?"

Reiner heard this and responded with a determined nod that he hoped reassured his mother." Of course I will mum, I'll destroy all those island devils and come home to you and dad, we won't need to live in fear anymore. How can I do all of that if I just die?"

Those words seemed to make Karina grin with glee as she embraced her son, tears were streaming down her face as she spoke." I know you will my big strong boy."

If only he really knew what Paradis was really like. He never would have become a Warrior in the first place. 

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Reiner walked through the streets with an almost robotic animosity at this point. His eye travelled from person to person as he did his duty as a soldier, or at least that's what it looked like he was doing, in reality he was just waiting for tonight.

They were going to get out of Stohess to go and try to get Eren, it's true that they don't really know his location but they should reunite with their real comrades if they want to complete the mission as soon as possible and go home. That's all Reiner really wants to do at this point.

He's sick and tired of this place, of these backwards people that aren't really the devils he was raised to think of them as, and of pretending to just be another ignorant idiot that can sit with his friends and enjoy a drink without a care in the world. he wants Marley again, he wants to hug his mother, and he wants to see what Gabi looks like now, will she even recognise him after all this time? Will he be like a stranger to her? He honestly has no idea.

He's been at this place far too long. The mission was meant to take three years max and they've been in these damn walls for five. He needs some damn breathing room outside of this cramped little space these ignorant fools call a home.

He also just wants to get it all over with, to just put an end to this place and forget it exists at all. to finally go home like he promised his mother he would. He's coming, he just needs to hold on-

"Reiner." 

The bulky blonde stopped in his tracks at the sound of his name being called on a familiar pair of lips. He turned to the side and felt his heart stop when he encountered the hooded faces of three people he would call his comrades.

Armin Arlert.

Mikasa Ackerman.

And Eren Yeager.