Usual Disclaimer: I only own my own OC, Anya Helenium. Vanith Jericho is owned by my friend.

Chapter 3: A Sweet Deal

Eren sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow. Glancing down from his position, he surveyed all of his fellow workers carrying on.

Well, the wall wasn't going to build itself.

Dubbed "Wall Maria" by the project designers, it had been slowly overcoming the favor of the Jaeger program for the past several years. From what Eren knew, the program was pretty much dead. Everyone thought that this project- this Wall Maria- would solve all of their Kaiju problems.

He could only hope so, but he had to admit he had his own doubts.

It had been five years…and yet…

He shut his eyes tight, trying to put down the pain. Images of his best friend flashed before his eyes.

"Fuck." He murmured, opening them again to continue drilling.

"Hey Jaeger, you've got a visitor. Take ten." The supervisor shouted, pointing the disheveled worker towards a less crowded area. With a raised eyebrow, Eren followed the direction that his supervisor had pointed, only to realize who was waiting for him.

"Marshal, sir."

Marshal Erwin smiled politely, his hands clasped behind his back, "Mr. Jaeger."

Eren stopped a few feet from the Marshal and his men, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth, "Looking sharp Marshal." He smirked, taking in Erwin's pristine navy long coat and clean-cut appearance.

Erwin smile turned into a smirk, "It's been a long time. Might I have a word?"

Eren shrugged, "Be my guest."

"It took us a while to find you." Erwin continued, surveying Eren's less than neat appearance, "You seem to be travelling more these days."

"I chase shifts to make a living, sir." Eren replied bitterly, "You know, every since my old man decided to spend all his hard-earned money and leave us all in the dirt when the Jaeger program went down."

"Well that's just the thing, Eren." Erwin replied, looking around the area, "It's not down quite yet."

Eren raised a brow in question, "Pardon, sir?"

Erwin sighed, pulling at his sleeves. "I've spent the last few months setting up a crew, and getting my hands on anything I could."

Eren remained silent, but his turquoise eyes burned.

Erwin smiled halfheartedly, "There's an old Jaeger you may know of that just might like to be piloted by you again. You are my first choice after all."

"Oh, am I?" Eren asked sarcastically, glaring.

"Yes. You're the only one still alive."

Eren scoffed, before looking down at his hands. He saw the dirt, the cuts and the bruises from working on Wall Maria. Then he thought of Mikasa.

"I can't," he murmured, clenching his fists.

Erwin looked at him questioningly.

"I can't have anyone else in my head again, Marshal." Eren replied loud enough for him to hear, "I was still connected to Mikasa when she died." His breathing was shaky as he remembered, "I can't go through that. Not again."

There was a pause. Then Erwin sighed.

"Then I guess you'll never get to avenge her, seeing as the world is coming to an end."

Eren blinked, before his eyes widened, "What?"

"Hmmm? Oh," Erwin replied, raising his brows, "I thought you would like to know. But anyway, it comes down to this."

Erwin's disinterested look was replaced by a fierce expression, "Where would you rather die, Eren Jaeger? Here, in this shithole?" His voice rang out, temporarily over the volume of the small television broadcasting nearby.

Eren stood still from shock.

"Or in a Jaeger, with honor, like Mikasa?" Erwin finished, his blue eyes piercing into Eren's turquoise.

Their conversation was interrupted when a frantic reporter appeared on screen, "It appears that a Kaiju broke through Australia's Wall Rose in under an hour!" The reporter stated.

Eren turned to look at the screen. Pictured was a massive Kaiju breaking through the ocean wall of Rose, nearly decimating Darling Harbor.

"It was the recently decommissioned Jaeger Striker Eureka, piloted by Jean Kirstein and Marco Bott, that finally took the beast down." The reporter added.

Erwin hummed in approval.

The screen zoomed in on the famous Striker Eureka giving the finishing blow to a nasty looking Kaiju, before zipping back to an interview with the two pilots. Eren and the Marshal watched the two figures silently.

The second one, Marco, seemed okay, but there was something about Jean that Eren just didn't like.

"Look, they decommissioned the Jaeger program because of mediocre pilots. It's that simple."

Oh yeah. That's why.

The Marshal glanced sideways at Eren, taking in the furious crease of his brows.

"Well, Jaeger? Are you sure of your decision?"

Eren turned abruptly to the Marshal, the light in his eyes burning bright with determination.

"I've changed my mind, Marshal. Sign me up. I'll kill them all. All the Kaijus!"

"Viiinnnnyyyyyyy. Hey Vinnnnyyyyyy. Oi, Vinny, up and at 'em." A voice rang out.

"Huh?" Vanith murmured from under his pillow, just as someone began poking him in the shoulder.

"Rise and shine, Vinny. The earth says hello!"

Vanith sighed, pulling the pillow off of his head and running his hand through his small afro, "What time is it, Anya?"

The perky girl standing next to his bunk bed smiled, "5:30. I thought I'd get you up early, since we're expecting fresh meat today."

Vanith groaned, but got up nonetheless. Rubbing the back of his neck, he took in his co-pilot drowsily. "Wait…" his eyes widened, before he pointed a finger accusingly at the brunette, "How the hell did you even get in here?! I locked the door!"

Anya grinned, before shaking her head. Her long hair swayed from side to side, "Nope, sorry, war secret, can't tell. But seriously, you need a better lock."

Vanith groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "I guess I can't say anything else."

"Oh, but I can!" Anya replied, walking towards the door, "Guess who made waffles?!"

"You did?" Vanith asked questioningly.

"Nope! Cafeteria did, so get ready before they're all gone!" Anya replied, before turning and closing the door with a small slam, "I'll be waiting out here for ya!"

Vanith waved her off, "Yeah, yeah."

With Vanith Jericho at his full height of 6'1, Anya seemed like a midget at 5'2. Both walked down the hall together towards the main entrance, Vanith with his hands in his suit pockets.

"Huh, seems like another rainy day." Vanith stated, watching from inside as people ran back and forth in the shower.

Anya hummed in agreement, looking out for anyone she knew.

"Looking for the 'fresh meat'?" Vanith asked amusedly, raising an eyebrow.

Anya nodded, a small grin coming to her face, "Erwin said it was a doozy."

"No he did not!" Vanith replied, teasing.

Anya grinned back, "Well, not in those exact words."

They were interrupted by the hum of an approaching chopper.

"That's it!" Vanith exclaimed, a grin appearing on his face.

Anya smiled in anticipation, before ushering both of them out into the rain with an umbrella, "Let's go great this mysterious Mr. Jaeger!"