This chapter finishes the Fall of Wall Maria, talks about what happened afterwards as well as shows the beginning of the trio's military training. We also meet new characters, learn the types of most of them and find out what kinds of special arrangements the army has made in order to be able to keep the few Omegas who want to join there.

I have felt helpless, weak and small practically my entire life, but never so much as on the day that Wall Maria fell and we lost our homes in Shiganshina. And never have I been so afraid as when I saw that giant hand cover the top of the Wall. Although I had known that peace was barely a false sense of security for us and that it could not and would not last forever, nothing could've prepared any of us for what had been about to happen. All we could do was watch and see our hometown get destroyed and abandoned as it turned into a living hell. I couldn't stop shaking the entire time.

So fixated was I on what was happening all around us that I had failed to notice Eren had left my side. As I turned to look for him, I saw him heading towards his house, most likely to get his mother. Mikasa rushed after him, staying close to his side in the crucial moments as usual. I tried to call after her, to tell her not to go, that it was too dangerous, but I felt like my body had frozen still. All it could do was tremble. I cursed my own weakness and cowardice, my inability to do anything to help my two friends even though just a few hours earlier they had once again been there to help and save me. But I knew that being the weakling I was, I wouldn't have been much help to them in any case, no matter what the situation at their house might've been. Who was I, a simple tiny Omega boy, to stand against the Titans?

"To stand against the Titans…"? That thought echoed inside my head. I looked around myself, trying to make sense of the chaos around me. Soon enough, my gaze found Mr. Hannes of the Garrison Guard nearby, hurrying and leading people towards the inner gates. The Garrison may not have been the Scouting Legion and were very little else than menders of the Walls, but I knew Mr. Hannes, just like my family, owed a great deal to the Jaeger family from the times of the epidemic a few years back. If nothing else, he might be able to rescue my friends and bring them to safety. My mind made up, I rushed over to him to tell him that Eren and Mikasa had went back to their house to look for their mother and that I was afraid for their safety because they would be going to the direction where the Titans were coming from. Mr. Hannes didn't need any further convincing or explaining. He quickly thanked me before taking off into the air on his 3D Manoeuvre Gear, heading towards the Jaeger house. Feeling unable to do anything more to help my friends, I set off to find my grandfather.

I quickly crossed paths with him as he had been heading for where I had been coming from, trying to find me as I was trying to find him. He expressed his relief on seeing me alive before grabbing my hand. We began to rush over to the inner gates together. All the while we were running, I kept looking behind me, hoping to catch a glimpse of my friends, to get some notion of hope that they had escaped safely. But I never saw anything.

We made it through to the other side of the inner gates where the escape boats, which would take us further into Wall Maria and then, if necessary, into Wall Rose, were located. We were let on the boat rather quickly, seeing as I was only a child and Grandpa was all the family I had left. Still, I could hear some of the people who were waiting for their turn to be let on murmur to themselves, saying things like: "What use is there letting a barren Omega kid and an old man on when they will be of no use to anyone?" and "I know. It would be better if they hadn't escaped Shiganshina at all."

My throat hurt and burned from the tears I held back at their words. A part of me wondered if they were right. What right did I, of all people, have to be allowed on the boat before someone else, when I would only grow up into a useless, meaningless adult? All I would ever be to anyone, be it society or my friends or my grandfather, was a burden. What had even possessed me to leave Shiganshina? It would've been better if I had just followed Eren and Mikasa; maybe I could've at least done one thing to help them before I died…

"Don't listen to them, Armin." My grandfather spoke up suddenly. "They are letting their fear guide their mouths. In a situation like this, everyone will put themselves before anyone else. You are not in the wrong for being here, or for escaping with your life." I didn't know what to answer, as I still wasn't quite convinced. He seemed to notice, and grabbed my still-shaking hand to reassure and comfort me. "You must survive, Armin, if only for my sake. You're all I have left now…"

I bit my lip, still struggling not to cry – this time not only out of fear and sorrow, but also out of compassion and gratitude towards my grandfather. He had first lost his son and daughter-in-law and now the place he had called home all his long life. I was, indeed, all that remained. I latched onto that thought, keeping it pressed tight against my chest, repeating it over and over in my mind. Such a thought made me feel less awful about being alive, being on this boat. As long as Grandpa was alive, I had something of a purpose to live. I kept on quietly repeating that thought to myself even as I stood up and tried to look for my friends in the crowds of people once more. I couldn't feel completely all right with having escaped before I could confirm that the two of them were in safety as well.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the first of the escape boats leave as the soldiers hurried the people to get on board of the one we were on as fast as they could while still keeping chaos to minimum. Everyone was encouraged to leave behind whatever little luggage they might've managed to grab before leaving the town so that more people could be fit on board; going to inner Wall Maria, we would have nothing but the clothes on our backs. It made sense to leave all material things behind, as they couldn't compare to saving a human life, it but also emphasised how much we had lost and how rock bottom we would be even if we managed to escape with our lives intact.

"Armin, sit down." My grandfather spoke to me softly as I kept eyeing the crowd, trying to find my friends amongst the masses of people still waiting to be let on.

"But Eren and Mikasa aren't here yet…" I murmured worriedly. But then, when I turned to look again from having spoken to Grandpa, I finally saw them with Mr. Hannes and some other soldiers, ready to board the escape boat. "There they are!" I sighed in relief. I attempted to wave at them to let them know where I was, but quickly ceased in my movements as I caught a closer look at their faces. Eren looked paler than I'd ever seen him, seemingly staring emptily and purposelessly in front of him, not knowing what to do or say except be led onto the boat by the soldiers. Mikasa's usually very expressionless face was also pale and sombre, looking almost like she was ready to cry but didn't know how to. I didn't see Mrs. Jaeger with them either…

"Leave them be for now." My grandfather said to me as my friends began to slowly climb on board, having also taken a look at them in their seemingly shell-shocked states. "Those poor souls. You can tell what happened by looking at them."

I swallowed forcefully, my throat feeling tight again. Mrs. Jaeger must not have survived. I silently mourned and grieved over the kind woman who had never turned me away from her house or judged me for what I was and what I had become, who had always offered me sweets and buns when I came to visit Eren's house, who had told me to be careful on my way home and to stay for dinner because she thought I needed more meat on my bones…

I also mourned for the sakes of my two dear friends. We now had all lost family, but judging by the looks on their faces and the fact that I knew they had been heading towards their house, I figured it was safe to guess they might've witnessed their mother dying. At least I had never had to deal with having seen my parents go – they had simply disappeared from this world quietly and unnoticed. I couldn't imagine what was going through my friends' minds right now, what they must be feeling. What was I supposed to say to them when I would eventually see them again and be able to talk to them? Should I try and offer words of comfort, or words of relief that at least the two of them had survived? Should I try and act normal, like nothing had happened, or express my deepest sympathies? I didn't know. None of these options seemed right, seemed adequate, seemed enough.

These thoughts, as well as the desperation and stress over the situation and everything I had experienced thus far today caused the tears I had been trying to hold back to finally spill over to my cheeks. As my friends stepped on the boat, I quietly wept for them, our home and my grandfather; everything all of us had lost and the struggles that would continue follow us as we left this place as refugees and residents of the looked-down outer districts.

Not long after my friends had boarded a boat and we were preparing to flee Shiganshina and the areas surrounding it, we all witnessed another Titan smash through the inner gate to Wall Maria. However, although I was there to see what would later be known as the Armoured Titan do this, I couldn't tell you what I felt or saw at that time. I feel like everything happened so fast, as if in a blur, and everything whirling inside me just made me into a mess. I could do nothing but cry hopelessly as the realisation that all of Wall Maria would now have to be abandoned, instead of just our small district of Shiganshina. I didn't know what to expect to happen from then on, with us having to escape all the way to Wall Rose, with thousands of people ending up as refugees instead of hundreds, with humanity having lost a third of its territory overnight. All I knew was that nothing good would happen.

That year of 845, the Central Government decided to reduce the human territory to Wall Rose. However, the Titans had managed to devour 10,000 people before this could be accomplished.

The residents of Shiganshina, including my grandfather and I, with Eren and Mikasa, ended up in one of the outer towns of Wall Rose, and for the first few nights were accommodated on the bare, uncomfortable floors of what used to be a food storage area. We were given rations, but all that could be spared to feed us was a small loaf of bread for a whole day. There had always been a food shortage even without the loss of Wall Maria, after all. The people of Wall Rose murmured amongst themselves, complaining about having to give food to us from the outer Walls whom they had always looked down on anyways. Some couldn't even get any rations at all, but Grandpa was able to get Eren, Mikasa and I some as we were still children.

Still, hearing those whispers made me think about why I had survived at all once more. There was no point on wasting food on someone like me who would never become or amount to anything. Surely they wouldn't have given me anything had they known what they were feeding with the little food they had. Eren even refused food at first, not wanting to take charity from people who didn't give a damn about any of us and talked about how the Titans should've eaten more of us if they were going to invade anyway, even though they had never even seen one up close. Mikasa made him eat, though, telling him she wouldn't let him starve. He was all the family she had left now, after all, and she would make sure he survived. Apparently their mother had told them they needed to live on and survive and that was what she wanted to focus on. She looked at me from the corner of her eye when she said this, and I understood she included me into that equation. That gave me the courage I needed to eat my own share of rations. I remembered Grandpa's words. I still had him to live for, as well as my friends. As long as I had that, I would and could keep on going forward.

A few days later, us refugees were sent to cultivate land to boost food production. Eren, Mikasa and I would spend the next two years at the farmstead the three of us were sent to with my grandfather. The days spent there have blurred together for the most part. Generally I can only remember the constant cold, with nothing but thin cloaks provided for us to shield us from the upcoming winter keeping us warm and the constant hunger from never having enough food. Being refugees, we were considered the lowest of the low in the human race, with even less worth than we had had when we had been known only as the residents of Wall Maria and the outskirts of human territory. Thus, we were given the least food, despite being the ones to mainly produce it, considered to be the ones at fault for the shortage in the first place. In a way, I couldn't blame people for thinking like this, knowing that hunger gnawed at everyone and not just us, but I also thought it was too cruel of them to wish more of us had died. More of us should've lived. This never should've happened in the first place. And kind Mrs. Jaeger would never be seen again…

However, our efforts at the farmstead were not enough to fix the food shortage. That's why, in the following year of 846, the Central Government launched a campaign of retaking Wall Maria by enlisting refugees to fight the Titans.

My grandfather was among them.

He had been old enough not to have to go, just as Eren, Mikasa and I were too young to be enlisted, but he decided to go anyway. He didn't tell me his reasons, but I could guess. He saw what the situation was and knew that the food shortage couldn't be fixed by us cultivating more land alone. There simply wasn't enough land to cultivate in the first place. He was enlisting so that the ones of us who wouldn't leave and the few who might return from this mission would have the chance of leading slightly better lives. That group included me as well. I didn't beg him not to enlist and when he left, I didn't allow myself to cry. We didn't say anything to each other as he departed. There was nothing left to say, no words of comfort or encouragement to offer. We both knew he wouldn't be returning; he was untrained and old, too weary to fight or run like the younger people. But he would be with my parents again, or so I hoped, and I believe we both took comfort in that knowledge.

Before Grandpa left, he pressed his old straw hand on the top of my head, the weight of his familiar, wrinkly hand a small sense of comfort to me. During that brief moment, all my existence seemed to be in that weight on my head. I watched him leave as long as I could, before he disappeared into the crowd of other refugees and soldiers. Only when I could no longer see him did I cry. Silent tears for my last family member, lost to the plans of the Government, just like it was possible my parents had been as well.

Out of the 250 thousand refugees enlisted, numbering almost a fifth of the entire population, only about a hundred came back. My grandfather wasn't among them. The fact that with his and the others' sacrifice the food shortage improved somewhat for those of us still alive offered little comfort to me.

I hadn't cried during the time of my grandfather's absence on the recovery mission, but did again the night the survivors of the retake returned and I couldn't find him. I had known all along he wouldn't be there, but I suppose some part of me had still refused to stop clinging onto some notion of hope that I would be wrong. Eren, Mikasa and I had snuck into the city from the farmstead to see the returning people that day. I was sitting, leaning against a building wall in a back alley we had fled to after seeing the survivors. I had brought Grandpa's hat with me, perhaps having hoped I could return it to him upon seeing him again, but now it only served as the last piece I had left of him. I held it close to me as the tears began to fall, gripping it as tightly as I could without breaking it. Despite being entitled to my sorrow this time around, I cried as silently as I could, not wanting to seem even weaker than I already did in front of my strong friends, and also because I didn't want anyone to find us.

My friends offered no words of comfort, but I was grateful for that. There was nothing to be said, just as there hadn't been when Grandpa had left or their mother had died. What had happened had happened, nothing could change that or make it better. Grandpa and their mother were gone and we were now alone aside from each other. I was a refugee child, an infertile Omega boy. The lowest of the low. What would I do now? What could I do? I had lived by believing it was all right for me to survive because Grandpa had wanted me to survive, but now…was there any reason for me to keep going? I really should've just died, if not from the epidemic, then during the Fall of Wall Maria…

"This is all because of the Titans." Eren suddenly spoke up. I ceased my crying to listen, and my thoughts began to move as well. The Titans were what had trapped us inside these Walls…the Titans were responsible for the deaths of my parents, whether or not they had actually been eaten. It hadn't been safe for my parents to go out there because of the Titans. The Titans had caused us to lose our home. The Titans had killed my grandfather.

"If only we could fight them…we could take back our rightful place in the world." Eren crouched down from where he had been standing against the wall, so that we were almost level to level. "Armin, I'm applying for military training next year." I was hardly surprised to hear him say this. Eren had wanted to join the Scouting Legion since we had been very young, but now he had even more of a reason. He wanted to retake what had been lost, but also gain revenge on the behalf of his mother, my grandfather and everyone else who had lost their lives to the Titans' terrors.

"I swear I will become strong enough to fight them!"

I faced away from Eren and his determined gaze, and as I swallowed down the rest of my tears, I made up my mind. I had been thinking about this for a while as well, so it wasn't a spur of the moment decision by any means. But Eren's words seemed to set my decision to stone. Where Eren went, Mikasa followed, so if I stayed I would be alone. Alone, I really wouldn't be able to be of use to anyone. In the military, if I went down, I could maybe at least go down with having been useful to someone, even if just a little. Besides, knowing what the monarchy had done, as well as what the Titans had done…I felt like I needed to find out more about why all that had happened, and the best place to learn about that would be in the military. I couldn't just keep on sitting still while these things kept happening around me, with me being unable to do anything about them. I didn't know what I would be able to do or if I would be able to do anything, but…

"I'll come with you."

"Armin?!"

"I'll come with you!" I half-yelled, leaving no room for arguments. If anything, at least I could be with my friends for a while longer before I would meet my demise. There was even a chance that I could become stronger so that I wouldn't have to rely on the two of them all the time anymore. If I would be able to do something for them, for humankind, I would be satisfied.

It didn't surprise me when Mikasa stated, quietly and in an even voice: "I'll join as well."

"Mikasa? You don't have to!" Eren exclaimed. "Wasn't it you who always said survival was the most important thing?"

"Yes. That's why I'll join – to ensure your survival." Her tone left no room for arguments either.

Seeming to understand that, Eren stood up again, and looked into the distance with determination and resolve in his eyes. "All right then. We'll all join together."

I looked at my friends. I couldn't be sure what the future had in store for us, but all I could hope for was that for now, we could at least stay together for a while longer.

...

One Year Later

The military carriage picked us up from the city near the farmstead, along with some others close to our age from the nearby cities, towns and villages. The journey to the desolate military training barracks in inner Wall Rose was bumpy and uncomfortable, but thankfully not very long. Some of the kids riding with us made small talk between themselves, but the three of us merely huddled close to each other and said nothing. As we closed up to the training grounds, however, Eren stood up, excitement lighting his eyes as he pointed it out to all of us. I was glad to see some joy on his face once more. Since the death of his mother I had been afraid that side of him had been lost forever, as it seemed like he had hardly smiled at all during the past two years. If being in the military meant he could have hope and joy again, then I was all for it.

As we arrived, some other teenagers were already hanging around the grounds and fields of sand in their bare minimum military uniforms, consisting of the Trainee Corps jacket, a shirt of their own choice, the standard white pants and high boots. The grounds themselves were surrounded by forests and low mountains, and consisted of few simple wooden buildings, likely serving as sleeping houses for boys and girls, food storage, stables and perhaps a dining hall and a infirmary.

An elderly Beta man with a large nose escorted us to one of the houses, which turned out to be the changing rooms and the showers. Girls went to the right with a female instructor, so Eren and I had to separate from Mikasa for a bit.

In the changing rooms there were piles of military clothes waiting for us. "Hurry and choose ones that you feel fit you the best. The further you go from the door, the larger the size." The instructor said to us as we stepped further into the room. "We're starting the welcoming ceremony for you new cadets soon, so do not dawdle. You'll be asked your name, and you must answer with that, your birthplace as well as your birthtype. Offer your trainer instructor a salute while you're stating your information." He demonstrated the standard military salute by holding his right fist tight against the left side of his chest, his other arm held against his lower back. "This salute indicates you're offering your heart and soul for the people and the king. That's all you need to know for now. Come back out to the yard once you've changed. A piece of advice: do your best not to be too intimidated. Good luck to you, new cadets!"

He left us to pick out our new clothes. I immediately went for the smaller ones, having not grown very big quite yet. I knew I might still gain some height in the upcoming years, but it was also not improbable I would remain short and small all my life. Despite my infertility, I was still an Omega and we were generally smaller than the other types, as we were meant to be the nurturers and the caregivers, rather than protectors. Our small sizes also gave us a better chance of being able to carry a child into full term, not needing as much nourishment as a bigger body would.

"Why do we need to state our type too? Isn't that just asking for trouble?" Eren wondered out loud as we began to change (his clothes size was a few ones bigger than mine, him being an Alpha and all).

"Perhaps so, but I can also understand why they want to know right away." I replied as I stepped out of my own pants and hung them up. "Whether we like it or not, most of us are at least to a certain degree driven by our primal instincts our types cause us to have. Certain kinds of conflicts are most likely to rise between certain types, certain strengths or weaknesses might rise in one type more than another. I think the instructors want to know to look for these kinds of things that might rise based on our type, to know what strengths to look out for and nurture, what weaknesses to be wary of and try to improve."

"I guess that makes sense, but…" He looked around himself to see if we were being listened to. The other few in the room with us seemed focused on their own dressing and talking amongst themselves. Seeing the coast was clear, he whispered to me: "Will you be okay? I think at this point no one will bat an eye at you having a mild scent since we haven't fully matured yet, but later, you know…"

I sighed. Dr. Jaeger had told me that because of my infertility it was doubtful my scent would spike as it did with other Omegas and Alphas to attract possible mates through the stronger pheromones. As a result I would probably smell more like a Beta than an Omega for the rest of my life, very much retaining my current childhood smell. As we would grow, everyone would learn my secret and I would be subjected to judgement again, but…

"It cannot be helped." I said sadly to my oldest friend. "At least I'm making myself useful. Most Omegas don't enter the military, so I suppose if everyone must know my reason for being here, I won't mind too badly. At least I won't have to turn anyone's offers down." I tried to joke, laughing weakly. However, seeing that Eren's worried expression didn't change, I put a hand on his arm, trying to reassure him. "Eren, it's all right. If I can't get married or have children, at least here I may be of some use to someone. If that means they must know about my situation, then I'll be fine with that and accept that. You don't have to worry."

He still looked a bit worried, but didn't say anything more as we finished changing (my boots were a bit too big on me and the jacket was a bit loose at the shoulders, but Eren looked like he had been born to wear the uniform) and left to go back outside. We met up with Mikasa, who looked regal and ready in her own uniform, even while retaining her usual signature red scarf, and headed to the yard together.

Outside, the other young teenagers were being arranged into neat lines, although there didn't seem to be any logic as to where you were placed in the line. Boys and girls were mixed up and they certainly weren't arranged by height either. One of the instructors arranging our future classmates spotted us and waved at us to come closer. Before we noticed it, we had been put into the lines as well. I was placed at the end of the third row from the buildings we were facing, next to a tall and slender girl with shoulder-length dark hair, freckles and sharp, small eyes. An Alpha girl, I could smell – she was no doubt a bit older than I was, having already developed a more potent scent. She smelled salty to me, not particularly attractive but not unattractive either. Eren and Mikasa were somewhere behind me, but I didn't dare to move my head to look for them, afraid I might get reprimanded. There was no talking in the rows aside from the instructors telling this and this person to move there or there. The rigidity and apprehension of what was about to happen was thick in the air and I found myself unable to relax, my stomach turning slightly from nervousness. I could smell the tension of the others around me, some more potent than others, their scents mixing together with the dust in the air like a pot you had put everything you had in your cupboards in.

Finally, the instructors who had been arranging us walked to the front to face us directly, and from the side walked a tall, older Alpha man. He was completely bald, but had a brown beard hanging from his chin. He had many wrinkles, looking as if he had lived a very stress-filled life so far, somewhat sunken light brown eyes and a proud posture, as if nothing could intimidate or shock him anymore. He walked to the middle of the other instructors lined up at the front, the tails of his faded green long coat flowing behind him, before facing us head-on (I had to suppress a shudder at his intense gaze, reminding myself to try and not look too intimidated) and opened his mouth.

"We shall now begin the enlistment ceremony for the 104th Trainee Corps!" He bellowed out, his powerful voice carrying over the entire yard. "Unfortunately for you, I, Keith Shadis have been assigned as your instructor! I'm not here to give you a warm welcome. Right now you're all merely cattle who exist to fatten up the Titans. Nothing more than that! For the next three years, I will train you useless shits and possibly help make something more out of you! You will be taught how to fight against the Titans! Therefore you must now ask yourself: 'In three years, upon facing a Titan, will I still be mere food? Or will I be an honourable wall that protects its king? Or perhaps a glorious champion of mankind that will exterminate the Titans?'! The decision lies in your hands!"

I gulped as I watched and listened to Instructor Shadis go around my new classmates, asking all of them who they were and what they were here for in perhaps the most insulting and horrifying ways possible and then rubbing more salt to the wound afterwards by mocking either their name, their birthplace, or the person themselves. I was only glad I had not been the first one, for at least now I could be prepared for what was to come. Would he question why an Omega boy like me was in the military? Would that be what he'd jab me with? Would I have to answer? Would everyone learn my secret already on our first day here?

As Instructor Shadis made it to the end of the first two rows, he ordered them to turn around, making them face the humiliation of the ones behind them. Most of these new trainees were Betas by default, but there were a few Alphas here and there as well. No other Omegas so far though…

He had almost made his way through the third row and was now coming down towards me. Although it had taken him some time to go over all us in the row, he was still on me far quicker than I would've liked and I tried my best not to panic and to keep a straight face as he turned his eyes towards me. I vaguely realised he hadn't said anything to the Alpha girl on my left, but I had no time to ponder why that was before he spoke to me.

"Hey, you there!" He said to me, still keeping his voice up and I briefly wondered how his voice wasn't cracking yet from so much yelling.

I gave him the firmest salute I could muster. "Yessir!"

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Armin Arlert, an Omega from the Shiganshina District, sir!" I said as firmly as I could even as I felt cold sweat drip down my neck, bracing myself for him to say something about my type.

"That so?" He queried. But what he said next completely shook me off a loop. "What a ridiculous name!" I had been so sure he was going to question an Omega being in the military that at first I barely felt the insult. I felt merely relief. I was sure many of my fellow cadets were wondering what I was doing here, but the fact that the instructor hadn't brought it up right on our first day in front of everyone made me incredibly grateful. I was still tense and nervous, but I now felt more like I could respond to him properly and keep a straight back and face.

"Did your parents name you that?" Instructor Shadis asked me next.

"My grandfather did, sir!" I answered him, keeping my voice as loud as I could, even as the memory of my grandfather caused me pain. It also now started to hurt he'd insulted the gift he had given me as my name, but then again I couldn't expect anything more. I had to remember this was the military and I couldn't expect special treatment. If he wasn't going to insult my type, he was going to insult something else about me, just as he did for everyone else. There was no helping it and I had to take what I was given.

Shadis leaned down so that his face was right next to mine. "Arlert, what the hell did you come here for?!" His spit hit my face as he yelled this and I tried not to show how that disgusted me.

"To make myself useful in the struggle for humanity's victory, sir!" I yelled from the bottom of my lungs. Nothing else mattered. All I wanted to do was to be of use in the fight against the Titans, no matter if I ended up alive or dead as the result. That was what I was here for. If I could contribute even just a little, I would be happy to die anytime. And if I couldn't be useful, at least I would cease to be a burden on anyone if I died in a Titan's mouth.

"Well, that's mighty admirable!" Shadis said, as he grasped down on my head. At first glance it might've seemed like he wanted to ruffle my hair, but in truth he was holding my head in a very tight, hurtful grip. I only hoped he couldn't feel me shaking. "You will make an excellent bait for the Titans!" He now began to twist my head backwards and, in order to not have my neck broken, I turned the rest of my body with it as he ordered the rest of the third row to face backwards as well. We all did, relieved that, for us, the yelling was over and done with. I could now also see Eren in the fifth row and Mikasa in the seventh.

The next person he went over to introduced himself as Thomas Wagner, a blond-haired Beta with fuzzy sideburns from Trost and then Mina Carolina, also a Beta from Trost, but with dark hair in twin pigtails. Some, like the two of them, were not asked their reason for being here. Few were those who had stated their reason for being here to be in order to fight the Titans; most said they were in it to join the Garrison Guard and therefore have a stable source of income. Not many dared to outwardly state they were here for the Military Police Brigade, perchance as in order to join that part of the military, you had to be in the top ten of the graduating cadets and they didn't want to seem arrogant.

Maybe it was for this reason that another boy from Trost, a tall one with somewhat messy, light brown, two-toned hair with an undercut caught my attention.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Jean Kirstein, a Beta from Trost, sir!" The boy answered, his sharp and small amber eyes focused straight at Shadis.

"What the hell did you come here for?!"

The Beta boy, Jean, hesitated a moment before replying, in a quieter tone: "To enter the Military Police so that I'll be able to live in the interior, sir." I could tell Jean was either a very honest person or very sure of himself, or both, daring to state that even as a Beta he hoped to be placed in the top ten. He also dared to state his honest reason for this – the security a job in the Military Police would offer – rather than lie and say he wanted to serve the King and the country. He was doubtless also one of those Betas that tended to clash with Alphas due to their conflicting ideals and goals. Betas generally were the conformers who went with the flow as long as they could ensure a decent life for themselves and the people closest to them, after all, whereas Alphas tended to extend their thoughts towards improvements in society and their arms to everyone who needed help. I could predict Jean might clash with Eren especially, Jean clearly being something of a realist where Eren was an idealist. I would have to keep an eye out for that.

"I see. So you want to live in the interior, huh?" Shadis queried, his tone also quieter now, but somehow that made me even more nervous than when he'd been yelling.

"Yessir." Jean replied, but the words had barely made it out of his mouth before Instructor Shadis head-butted him on the forehead. Either Shadis had a very hard head or had butted Jean very hard, but Jean fell down on his knees in pain, holding his forehead. I winced in sympathy for him despite myself.

"Who gave you the permission to sit down?!" Shadis yelled at full volume down at Jean. "If you can't handle even that, you'll never make it into the Military Police Brigade!" Again, I was pleasantly surprised by Instructor Shadis not remarking on what type Jean was or stating he was not capable of making it to the top ten just because of his type. Someone else might've said that, while competing with Alphas, a Beta would never be able to make it. If we wouldn't be judged by our type but rather by our actual capabilities, I might actually be able to like the military a little, even with all the yelling and insults. In our previous lives, I hadn't been allowed to dream about anything else but a husband and children just because I was an Omega, and then when it turned out I wouldn't be able to have children, I wasn't allowed to dream about anything at all. As an Alpha, Eren was expected to be the strongest and the brightest, but to be honest he was neither, even in our small group of friends. But as if to make up for all that, he had a lot of heart to spare, and was loyal and determined. And then, of course, there was Mikasa. She was a Beta, but she was incredibly strong; had been as long as I had known her. She always seemed to know just what to do, how to act, how to fight. Her type by no means held her down and if allowed to bloom in an environment like this, who knew what she could become if nurtured right.

Instructor Shadis now approached another fairly tall youth, taller even than Jean, if slightly skinnier. He had short black hair, friendly-looking brown eyes, strong jaw and freckles on his cheeks. I couldn't smell him from this far away and in the melting pot of this many scents, but I guessed at first glance him to be either a Beta or an undeveloped Alpha.

"Who the hell are you? What the hell did you come here for?!"

The boy's face and posture were slightly tense as he opened his mouth, but the voice that rang out was clear and the tone unshaken: "Marco Bodt, an Omega from Jinae Town in Wall Rose's southern district! I've come to enlist in the Military Police Brigade and to devote myself to serving the King, sir!"

I couldn't hold back the small gasp that escaped my lips. Another Omega boy, here?! And he was aiming for the top ten too? So far the military seemed like a more liberal environment when it came to birthtypes, despite us being required to state them right from the beginning, but could an Omega really expect to reach a place in the Military Police? But…this Marco didn't look like the typical Omega. He was tall whereas most of us were on the smaller side,and he kept his hair short whereas most of us were either expected to or liked to keep ours long (for me it was a force of habit more than anything – my parents had wanted me to keep it at least somewhat long, so I had, and kept doing so out of both habit and respect for their memory). In a way, we were both different from what Omegas were supposed to be, although his differences were already visible in plain sight and mine would hopefully stay hidden for a few more years at least, but still…the thought of someone like me being here made me feel better, and the tension in my shoulders eased just a little.

Shadis was quiet after Marco's response, and I prayed he wouldn't crush the boy's dreams that seemed so genuine. "I see." Shadis finally said. "That's a fine goal to have. Although…" He leaned down to talk to Marco as he had done for me and I wondered if he just did to all Omega cadets he got here. He didn't yell at Marco though, but still spoke loud enough for us all to hear: "I'm fairly positive the King's got no interest in your scrawny body."

I wasn't sure what to think about the obvious sexual implications of his words. I was disturbed and somewhat disappointed that, in a way, his type had come up, but on the other hand could guess why the instructor had said those words. Things might be done one way here in the Trainee Corps, but later on, who knew what kinds of people we would all meet in the military ranks? There were surely going to be people who would think us Omegas shouldn't be here, who would think themselves entitled to our presence or question our capabilities or successes. There might even be harassment. If Marco was serious about the Military Police, whom I had only seen brief glimpses of during my days at the farmstead but could still tell they in general weren't exactly the best people around, he would have to be prepared for all that as an Omega. It was unfair, but it was true.

The next one Shadis talked to was a short boy shaven almost completely bald aside from the very slight fuzz of hair on the top of his head, with big amber eyes and looking as nervous as the rest of us felt. "Connie Springer, a Beta from Ragako Village in Wall Rose's southern district!" He introduced himself with a salute…but the salute was wrong. He was doing it with his left hand instead of his right, and therefore covering the right side of his chest rather than the correct left. I had barely time to notice this before Instructor Shadis did as well.

If he had gripped my head tight when he'd forcefully turned me around, he was now completely squeezing and crushing Connie's head between his hands, lifting him up to the air by his head.

"You have it backwards, Connie Springer!" He yelled at the short boy, who was quietly moaning in pain between Shadis' hands. "I know this was taught to you before…that salute symbolises your will to offer your heart and soul to your cause! Is your heart on your right side, shithead?!" Just as I was starting to get worried about Connie suffering brain damage at the hands of the instructor, the sound of someone biting on something caught seemingly everyone's attention, including Shadis'. We all turned to look at a girl a few rows down from Connie, one with dark auburn hair pulled in a high ponytail and lighter brown eyes, who was not following the "welcoming ceremony" diligently like everyone else, but instead holding what looked like a potato in her hand and eating it.

There were a few still moments of silence as we all could do nothing but stare in awe and horror. Who in the world was daring enough to bring a potato to an event like this and then start eating it in the middle of the ceremony?! While the instructor was yelling at all the other cadets?! I began to tremble again, fearing what Instructor Shadis might be about to do to that poor girl, as he dropped Connie down and approached her instead. "Hey, you. What the hell are you doing?"

The girl looked at her right, as if she wasn't sure who was being addressed. Not seeing anything out of place to her right, she simply took another bite out of her potato. She didn't seem to understand she herself was what was out of place here.

In the meantime, Shadis had come all the way over to her, being very up close to her face much in the same way as he had been to Marco and I earlier. "You! I'm talking to you, you scum! Who the hell are you?!"

The girl began to furiously and hurriedly chew the bite she had taken and managed to swallow. I had to give her some credit for that, for I was certain that had I been eating or drinking anything with Shadis so close to me and yelling, I would've choked. She saluted lightly, with the potato still held tightly in her right hand. "Sasha Braus, a Beta from Dauper Village in Wall Rose's southern district, sir!"

Instructor Shadis stared down at her head on. "Sasha Braus…" He mumbled. "What is that you hold in your right hand?"

"It is a steamed potato, sir!" The girl called Sasha replied, not flinching a bit. "I happened to see it in the kitchen and couldn't help myself, sir!"

"In other words, you stole it?" Shadis mumbled, and he really was more frightening when he was calm than when he was yelling and I felt myself shiver again. "But why…why did you take it out and begin eating it now?"

Sasha seemed to hesitate, to consider her answer for a few seconds. "Potatoes are the best when eaten hot, so I thought eating it right now would be the best course of action, sir."

"…No, I still don't understand. Why are you eating a potato?"

She frowned in confusion, clearly lost and not knowing what to answer or do. To be honest, I didn't know what kind of an answer the instructor was waiting for either, or if he was waiting for one in the first place. It could be that he was just trying to break Sasha, whom so far had barely batted an eyelid at him, as he'd broken the rest of us. "…Are you asking me why people eat potatoes in general, sir?"

I shivered again. Whatever answer Shadis had been expecting, I was certain it hadn't been that. Time seemed to stand still, no one dared to move a muscle as we all watched what was unfolding as subtly as we could, waiting to see what Shadis would do next, what he would say to the girl.

However, when someone finally moved, it wasn't Shadis, who merely kept staring at Sasha. Instead, it was her who moved, ceasing to salute in order to hold onto her potato with both hands. She pulled at the opposite ends, splitting it into two pieces. She held one up for the instructor, even if she looked incredibly reluctant to do so. "You can have half of it, sir."

Seemingly at loss at what else to do or say for the moment, so shocked along with the rest of us by Sasha's actions, Instructor Shadis took the piece offered for him. "…Half…?" He murmured, looking at the potato piece, halfway frozen. Sasha only smiled sheepishly at him.

Shadis hesitated a moment longer, simply looking at the potato piece he was holding. Then his face began to darken into a frown and I sent a prayer for that poor girl's soul. "You!" He yelled at Sasha, probably soaking her face in his spit. "Go run laps! Run around this yard until you no longer can't!"

"Wha…?" Sasha mumbled out, looking only slightly shocked.

"And you'll get no dinner tonight!"

"Whaaa?!" She screamed out at that, in a way that seemed to shake the entire yard. "N-no, sir, why would you…?!"

"No buts! Go run!" Sasha still hesitated a moment, as if to confirm if he was serious. "What the hell are you waiting for?! Go!" Finally, she rushed to the edge of the yard and began to run. However, I saw her gulp down the rest of the potato she still had left before she did.

Afterwards, Instructor Shadis went on with the welcoming ceremony, going through the rest of my new classmates, excluding a few. Into these few belonged Eren and Mikasa, a short girl with her light blond hair pulled into a bun and two older-looking, very tall boys; one blond, one dark-haired. I wasn't sure why Shadis had skipped these particular individuals as well as the dark-haired Alpha girl next to me, but I wasn't really able to think about it deeper with Shadis yelling. There were a few more Omegas amongst the rest of the young teenagers, but I was too nervous to count the exact number. All I knew that our numbers were extremely small, getting quickly lost in the masses of Betas and Alphas.

Finally, all of the introductions were done. Sasha was still running and Shadis told us to go join her until he would tell us to stop. I gulped in anxiety. I had never been very athletic and I wasn't sure how long I would be able to run. What if I was sent away already on my first day here because they didn't see me being fit enough to be a soldier?

However, just as the crowd began to grow thinner, one of the instructors who had stayed in the sidelines, an older Beta man with slicked-back grey hair and round glasses, called over the crowd: "All the Omegas here, come with me!"

Now the anxiety I had been experiencing turned into a near panic. What could he possibly have to say to us? Would he question our reasons for being here? Tell us we should just leave and focus on finding good mates? Maybe even make us leave? Would I even be allowed to say goodbye to Eren and Mikasa…?

Eren came up to me, Mikasa following quickly behind. They both looked worried and I could see the obvious "You don't have to go." on their faces, but I simply shook my head. Whatever it was, I would have to face it if I wanted to stay here. I wouldn't allow them to make me leave without even trying to stay. Perhaps they just wanted to see if we were actually as serious about being here as the other types were?

"Go ahead. I'll join you later." I told them. Eren opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

He seemed to hesitate, but Mikasa seemed to become reassured by my words and grabbed his arm to begin dragging him away to run with her. I saw my chance and I began walking in the opposite direction, looking around for the other Omegas about to join me. I naturally saw Marco, who caught my eye and gave me a small smile. I tried to nervously smile back, but probably came closer to a grimace. The grey-haired instructor was waiting for us on the front porch of the biggest building around the area. As we reached him, he led us inside, revealing a mess hall with multiple tables and seats around them lined up for us to sit and eat at. Now that we were all gathered, I could actually see how many Omegas there were. The number was extremely small; there were only five of us altogether and Marco and I were the only boys.

"Welcome to the military, new cadets." The instructor said to us with a soft smile, and I relaxed at the realisation that he was going to be less likely to shout at us than Shadis had. He actually seemed like a fair, good man. "I would like to start what I am about to tell you by asking you all something: Is there anyone here who has already experienced their first heat? Or perhaps even more than one?"

We all looked at each other, before Marco slowly raised his hand.

The instructor nodded kindly at him. "How many heats have you had so far?"

"Only one, sir."

"And how long ago was this?"

"…About six months ago or so, sir." I was slightly surprised by this, as heats generally came every four months. Still, Marco didn't smell like he was about to go into heat anytime soon. Now that there weren't so many people around, I could actually focus my sense of smell more clearly. To me, he smelt of cherry juice. A rather pleasant smell, but not attractive or desirable, as we were the same type and therefore wouldn't be compatible as mates.

The instructor smiled down at Marco. "Do not worry. It is quite normal while you're still young that the times between the heats might be longer and inconsistent at first. For some, it can take a year after the first heat before the second one takes place."

Then, he looked over at all of us gathered in front of him. "The reason I called all of you here was to talk to you about the special arrangements we have made here in the military for you Omegas, so you can expect to lead lives as equal as possible to the others here. This also means you must not expect any special treatment from the instructors. You will be expected to be able to do everything that everyone else here is capable of as well. All boys will sleep together in the same lodgings, as will all the girls; you will not be separated from Alphas and Betas in any way.

"However, us here in the military realise that this could be very dangerous for your kind, both here and in your later service, if you suddenly went into heat and the Alphas around you wouldn't be able to control themselves. That's why we have come up with this." He took something from out of his pocket. It appeared to be a small, orange pill. "This is called a Heat Suppressant Pill. It was developed specifically so that Omegas could serve in the military alongside Alphas and Betas without any unpleasant incidents. Once you start taking the Pill, it will make your scent and pheromones milder, as well as prevent you from going into heat so long as you're taking it. You will be taken off the Pill for about a week during the darkest times of winter, when it'll be harder for you to train in any case; during this time you will go into heat for a week instead of the normal three to four days. However, I must warn you that because this heat will have to make up for all the ones you were supposed to experience during the rest of the year, once the heat will finally be allowed to come, it will be more intense."

I could hardly believe my ears. A medication which would suppress not only our heats but our scents? Just so that us Omegas could stay in the military if we so wished? Not only did it feel wonderful to be accepted into military with such open arms even being the weakest type, but it also gave me newfound hope. If every Omega here was going to be having a very mild smell, I might not stand out after all. Everyone who didn't know better would simply assume that my scent was so mild because I was taking the Heat Suppressant. If everything worked out for the best, I might never have to tell my secret to anyone I didn't want knowing…!

The instructor continued: "We are not allowed to give you these until you're nearing your first heat or have had one, as that might lead to complications in your development and fertility. Therefore I encourage you all to ask someone to keep an eye on your scent for when it starts to spike, as well as keep tabs on all the typical symptoms that may indicate you're nearing your first heat, such as increase in appetite and tiredness, and crankiness. When you feel like you might be about to get your first heat, come and find me and I will give you the Pill. Take the Pill every day with breakfast, and you will be able to pass for Betas. Any questions?"

One of the girls in our group raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Umm…are we still allowed to, to…mate while we're here?"

The instructor's expression darkened. "I am afraid that is forbidden so long as you're all trainees. During your time here, us instructors are the ones responsible for you, your safety and well-being, and we will have no way of making sure if a cadet's family would approve of the one they've chosen to mate with. It would also be difficult to figure out how consensual it all was, especially if the mating happened during an Omega cadet's heat. We also cannot risk a trainee ending up carrying a child in the middle of training; the harshness of it all could make you lose the child. So no, so long as you're cadets, you will not be allowed to mate. Once you graduate, however, you will be considered to be full-grown adults, so then you'll be allowed to mate if you so wish. The military also allows you to retire from service if you so wish once you find a mate and perhaps have your first child."

Well, that type of information wasn't much use to me, seeing as I probably would never have someone to mate or have children with. Even with a mild scent, if someone tricked themselves into believing they had feelings for me and came to me with offers of marriage, I would be forced to tell them the truth about my condition. I wasn't so desperate for a mate as to trick someone into marrying me. And after finding out about my secret, who in their right mind would still continue to want to have me as a mate when there were other, fertile Omegas to mate with instead?

There were no further questions, not even from me for once. Technically all of this didn't even really have much to do with me, it was just a way for me to keep a certain type of mask on. But I still couldn't help the intense relief that I felt; it was as if I could breathe properly for the first time in years. If only I could stay here in the military, no one would have to know my secret. I might finally be able to live a normal life without expectations, disappointments and the contempt that followed those.

Seeing as everything seemed to be clear to us, the instructor dismissed us. Marco stayed behind for a bit to get his prescription of the Heat Suppressants and to consume his first one, having already been through heat once. I took my time getting back outside, hoping to not have to run as much if I did so. After a while, Marco caught up to me.

"Hey. Your name is Armin, right?" He said to me, giving me a friendly smile. He had a nice, straight row of white teeth.

"Yes. And you're Marco, right?" I smiled back at him, this time much more genuinely than before, still feeling like the world had been lifted off my shoulders.

"That's right." He smiled a bit wider. "You know, I'm really glad I'm not the only male Omega here. So I'd really like it if we could be friends. You know I've already had my first heat, but if you like, I could keep an eye on when yours might be coming up, so you'll know to be prepared."

The nervousness seemed to return, though not with the same intensity it had had before. If Marco was going to be watching out for my never upcoming heat, would he eventually find out I was infertile? Or would I be able to lie and tell him that I had caught the symptoms early enough for him not to smell them? But as he said, we were the only two boy Omegas here, and in fact he was the only other Omega boy I had ever met, so I already felt a strange connection to him. Plus he seemed so nice…

In the end, I decided I would worry about him finding out when the time was closer. For now, I just wanted to have someone whom I could talk to about certain things I couldn't speak to even Eren about because of our types. "I would really like to be friends too, Marco."

"Great!" He gave me another smile and then rushed to catch up to the others who were running. A few had already removed their jackets in the dry summer heat. I spotted Eren and Mikasa running side by side in the crowd and caught up to them, beginning to run as well as I could next to them.

"What did that guy want?" Eren asked me right after he had spotted me, the protective, angry edge in his voice telling me he was ready to get in trouble for roughing up an instructor if they had done or said something that had made me uncomfortable or upset in any way.

I smiled at him, both to reassure him and because I still could barely contain my joy and relief over what we had been informed. I told him about the Heat Suppressant and what it could mean to me and my kind here. How here, we would be judged just like everyone else and how nothing else would matter than our capabilities. How here, we could be just like everyone else. How here, our type would not matter if we didn't let it.

Eren's eyes sparkled more and more the further I talked, and the relief and happiness I was experiencing inside seemed to overtake his face. He was clearly overjoyed for me and the knowledge of that made me incredibly warm inside. Mikasa's reaction was subtler, but she was giving me a small smile as well.

"This will be good for you then. No judgements. You'll be able to use all of your capacities without any contempt. This is the place to do it." She said to me. I smiled at her, though a little hesitantly this time around. I still wasn't sure what I would be able to do here, or if I would be able to do anything at all…but at least, it felt good to know that if I was made to leave the military, it wouldn't be based on my type, which I couldn't help or do anything about, but rather my own capabilities, which I could at least somewhat influence by working hard. All I could do for now was my best and hope that everything would turn out all right, with both my old friends and possible new ones by my side.

There we have it. Most of the main characters' types have now been introduced. Some you may have seen coming from a mile away, some may have come as a surprise. For instance, I know most of you may have expected both Mikasa and Jean to be Alphas, but as I said, I wanted to play with conventions a little. In this Omegaverse, if I had to summarise the three main types with one word, Omegas would be the nurturers, Betas the conformers and Alphas the protectors. For this reason, I felt like Mikasa and Jean fit as Betas, caring first and foremost about themselves and the few people closest to them, rather than being concerned with the ways of the world. For Mikasa, my decision also had to do with how she fits into the Shiganshina trio group; I felt like it was appropriate to have one of each type in the trio.

If you feel like saying something to be about this story to me, questioning my choices or simply hitting up a conversation, I'm nihonlove on tumblr and I tag this as 'fic: the world was made for us'.