Chapter 21: Family
Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
Previously: Historia reveals she was faking her betrayal. Kenny kills Rod and lets Eren and Historia go. Levi gets a gift from Kenny and they talk. The Assembly is portrayed as villains and Rod a victim. Eren's friends discuss Titan abilities and tease him about hardening.
Someone was confused about Reiner and Bertolt's reveal. It happened when it did in canon, only Eren wasn't around but they needed to leave. At the top of Ch.13, I've added a scene with R&B about it for further clarification.
Quick Reminder: Eren = Modern Eren & Eren II = Canon Eren
"Petra, you're back!" Eren said excitedly and jumped out of his seat to hug her. He was stopped by Mikasa, who grabbed the back of his jacket to restrain him.
"She's still recovering, remember? Be careful."
"You're right. Whoops."
"You can still hug me," Petra chuckled, opening one arm and he accepted happily.
"Where's Erd? Is he here, too?" Eren swept the mess hall but it was empty save for the three of them.
"I saw him yesterday. He's probably somewhere catching up with old friends."
"How're you feeling?" Eren eyed the crutch she was using to support herself.
"I'm glad to be out of the hospital and on my feet again," she said, carefully taking a seat. "But my back is still giving me some trouble."
"So you aren't back to active duty yet?"
"No, not yet. I'm hoping I'll bounce back in time for the mission to retake Wall Maria. But enough about that, aren't you going to introduce me?" Petra asked him, nodding to Mikasa.
Eren had forgotten Mikasa and Petra didn't really know each other in this world. They had only barely met once when his friends first joined the Corps and Petra had escorted them to Squad Levi's barrack so they could eat with him. "This is Mikasa Ackerman. Mikasa, this is Petra Ral." They shook hands, exchanging pleasantries.
"Did you watch the ceremony yesterday?" Eren asked, referring to Historia officially and ceremoniously being crowned Queen of the Walls the day before.
"I was in the crowd, but I didn't get a good look."
"You should have come found me. I bet the view would have been pretty great from my Titan's shoulder."
Petra laughed. "I bet it would have."
"I can leave if you guys want to catch up," Mikasa offered, about to stand.
"Oh no, please, stay," Petra said, waving her down. "I won't be here long. I have to go find Captain Levi."
Levi ended up joining them a minute later. The three of them fell into a discussion about maneuvers while Eren mostly held back and enjoyed the peace.
Levi helping Mikasa rescue him from the Female Titan in the Forest of Giant Trees, then his efforts in trying to find him when he had been taken to be fed to Rod Reiss had earned him Mikasa's grace. Eren was glad they were on better terms now. He imagined this was what family dinner night would be like back home once he and his Mikasa got together. Although the topic of discussion would probably be basketball or movies instead of government coups and killing techniques.
Eren wondered if there was a way to tell the Levi and Mikasa of this world they were family. DNA testing wasn't a thing here so there wasn't really a good way to prove it. If only they'd shared a distinct physical trait like a birthmark or unique eye color that would assuredly mark them as blood. It would have made it easy then. Maybe he could somehow get them started on the subject of family. The Walls were only so big. Surely it wouldn't be impossible to trace their parents' roots and see if the family tree was the same.
When Petra made an off-hand comment about her father, Eren seized the opportunity. If they got to talking about family, Mikasa and Levi might find a connection. "Speaking of fathers, wasn't your father's family from Sina?" Eren asked Mikasa abruptly, pretending like it just came to him.
"They were."
"Have you ever thought about trying to learn more about them? See if you might have family still out there somewhere?"
Mikasa shot him an odd look, probably wondering where this was coming from. "Not really, no."
Levi spoke up before Eren could. "Why did they leave Sina, do you know? Normally people try to move deeper into the Walls, not the other way around."
"The only thing my father mentioned about his family was that they were persecuted for some reason. It's what he and my mother ended up bonding over. She was also something of an outsider due to her race."
Before Eren could prod further, Petra started asking Mikasa about her mother and he lost his chance. But he noticed Levi seemed to be lost in his thoughts. Had Mikasa's words sparked something? She said the Ackerman family used to be persecuted. That definitely didn't sound like common occurrence to him. Was Levi thinking about his own family history and wondering about the chances of them being related?
Come to think of it, Eren realized, he's only ever referred to as Levi. Did the man even have a family name? Even he wasn't rude enough to ask point-blank. Plenty of orphans out there didn't have family names. Maybe he'd ask Hange.
"How is she?" Queen Historia inquired, dressed in formal military attire, hair up in a bun. To her right sat Erwin, Hange, and Levi, with Pixis and Nile across from them. As commander-in-chief of the military, Zackly sat at the other end of the table from the queen.
"Still unconscious," Nile reported, holding a piece of paper. "Leonhart's vitals are steady. She hasn't even twitched so much as a muscle the entire time. But we're still taking every precaution to ensure she stays unconscious. We'll be switching between different sedatives every week to ensure she won't develop resistance. And she's also restrained to the bed by leather straps."
"What methods have we used to try and wake her?" Hange asked him. "When she's not being sedated, that is."
Levi had told them Kenny Ackerman mentioned she had moved her consciousness to her spine. Erwin was curious if it meant decapitation or crushing their napes wouldn't kill them.
"None," Historia answered Hange's question in Nile's place. "I've forbidden any sort of experimentation to be done on Annie."
"But Your Highness, she's a treasure trove of information," Erwin said, wondering why Historia would give such an order. "While the Yeager family basement might reveal some interesting truths, I doubt it will give us updated intel on our enemies. Such as their numbers, intentions, their advancements in technology, allies, enemies, and all of that."
"I don't want to risk losing her." Historia shook her head. "I want to make a trade. Annie for Ymir. And that won't be possible if Annie dies in some foolhardy attempt to wake her up and extract information from her."
"But she's—" Hange began and was quickly overruled.
"From what I've heard, even those possessing Titan powers can be somewhat easily killed." She looked pointedly at Levi, making him freeze.
Pixis and Nile appeared puzzled by her words. Zackly must have told her. Erwin thought, noting the chief's lack of surprise at the young queen's knowledge about what had transpired in the courtroom. Zackly, it seemed, hadn't wasted any time trying to get close to the queen. Only her authority was above his. Naturally he'd want her to see him as an ally.
"Which is why I will not risk losing such an important bargaining chip," Historia continued. "I see no reason in gambling with Annie's life and maybe getting something useful out of her when a simple trade will get us someone willing to fight for us. Based on the reports, there are three enemies on this island with Titan powers, possibly more. We're badly outnumbered so it's vital we get another person like Eren on our side. And Ymir will answer any questions you'll have."
"It won't be the most updated intel," Pixis said logically. "Wasn't Ymir turned sixty years ago? That was a long time ago. And she probably wasn't a part of their military."
"True, but at least we won't have to pry anything out of her. We can trust Ymir but we can't know for certain if whatever Annie may tell us is true," the queen replied reasonably. "She could easily feed us false intel and we'd have no way of verifying it. Maybe her mind will get scrambled from the torture and she'll unintentionally mix up facts. Or she might just say anything to get the pain to stop. I've seen from personal experience that torture doesn't guarantee answers." She was, of course, referring to Sannes and Ralph. "So I see no point in risking Annie's life just to interrogate her and it doesn't even work out in the end. The trade is the safest and best option."
She does make valid points. Erwin agreed with what she was saying on some things.
"But as you said, Your Highness, we're outnumbered when it comes to Titan powers," Levi said. "While the trade gets us an ally, we also set an enemy free to become a thorn in our side later."
"What if we send in a fake?" Nile suggested to them. "A body-double." He looked at Erwin. Obviously Nile hadn't forgotten the trick they'd play on the Military Police, passing Jean off as Eren.
Pixis shook his head. "They'll be expecting that. They'll want proof we're not trying to pull a fast one."
"I agree with Pixis," Zackly put in. "It'll be too easy to expose a body-double. If I were them, I'd demand proof first before doing the exchange. A simple cut would reveal it's a normal woman. They'll realize she's a fake and won't do the exchange."
"It has to be Annie, then," Historia declared, satisfied.
"And what about this?" Levi asked, pushing the metal box forward.
Erwin felt his heart jump in thrill at the sight of it. They'd been shocked and beyond excited when Levi showed them what his former mentor had given him. Erwin knew exactly what he wanted to do with Kenny's present.
Zackly turned to Hange. "Has there been any progress in discovering how to create more Titan serum? I know it's only been a day or two."
"Unfortunately, sir, the answer's no. I tried to study it but much like Titan blood, the serum also dissipates immediately when it comes into contact with air. So I'm afraid Rod Reiss took the secrets of the Titan serum to the grave."
"At least you were able to verify Kenny Ackerman wasn't trying to trick us," Nile said, shrugging. "The serum is the real deal."
"On a more positive note," Hange said, brightening up, "I have an idea on how we can eradicate a high number of Titans without any casualties."
"Is that so?" Pixis said, interested to hear more.
Hange launched into details about a design she was coming up with for a weapon to kill Titans. It would require Eren to consume the "armored" serum so he could get the necessary abilities. The request was passed without issue and they decided to give the serum to Eren within the week.
"If I may," Erwin began, bringing their attention to him, "I have a rough plan for the upcoming expedition I'd like to discuss."
The Rogue Titan grinned confidentially, running around smashing trees with his hardened knuckles. It was still so much fun using his new ability.
Over a month had passed since her crowning and Historia's reign went on unchallenged. The people welcomed her rule warmly and she was working hard, with a lot of help from her advisors that had been handpicked by Erwin and Pixis, to improve the lives of her subjects.
"You're like a kid playing with a new toy," Armin said, chuckling as he landed on the Titan's shoulder. "I think it's enough for today. The demonstration will be starting soon."
They were making preparations for the upcoming expedition to retake Wall Maria. Now that Historia was nice and settled and the Titan Guillotine—designed by Hange and built using his hardening ability—was up and running, thinning out Titans without any casualties, it was time to turn their attention to regaining their lost territory. Today they were getting a first look at a new toy that was designed to take down the Armored Titan.
After giving them an explanation inside the HQ about the Corps of Engineer's latest invention, Hange led the group outside and had them gather near some trees for a live demo. They gaped in awe at the weapon's destructive power.
Eren gasped and said, "Thunder Spear! Let's call it a Thunder Spear!"
Hange smiled in amusement. "I was thinking the exact same thing, actually. It's in the shape of a spear and makes a thunderous sound when it goes off," she explained, tapping the weapon with the empty handle of her sword.
"That's what I thought, too," Eren lied. He had only been thinking about his favorite basketball team, the Thunder Spears. Eren chuckled quietly to himself as it came to him. Thunder Spears would be used to kill Titans in this world. He'd once told his twin that back home, Thunder Spears were the rivals of another basketball team called the Titans.
"Wanna share what's funny?" Jean asked, arms crossed over his chest.
"Nothing. You wouldn't get it."
"Probably not. You seem to have developed a strange sense of humor."
The next day, Eren was knocked into the grass. This is becoming a bad habit, he thought.
"You're getting better," Mikasa praised, offering him a hand.
"You're just saying that," he grumbled, accepting her hand, holding it half a second longer than he should have.
"It's true," she insisted. "You lasted ten whole seconds longer than last time."
"I suppose considering who I'm fighting, that's a compliment." It still stung, though. Hand-to-hand combat is not my forte. Now if they were talking Street Fighter, that was more in his wheelhouse.
"It's strange but you're able to recall skills in the middle of battle. You were able to beat the Armored Titan yet during a spar—"
"Hey!" Eren said loudly and suddenly as the perfect distraction came to join them. "Petra, what're you doing here?" He took in her loose navy workout capris and a black sports bra. If she was back at the Squad Levi barrack and dressed like that, it could only mean one thing. "Are you back on active duty?" Over eight weeks had passed since the 57th Expedition. She's healed well, he thought happily. Age, good health, and being in great shape had helped her bounce back.
"Eren, Mikasa, hi," she greeted them, smiling. "Yes, I'm back on active duty, finally."
"When did you get in?" Mikasa asked.
"About fifteen minutes ago."
"And you're already jumping into working out, huh," Eren said, nodding to her clothes.
"I need to get back into the swing of things. I've got about three weeks to fully get into fighting shape for the expedition."
"Eren's told me a lot about your skills. It'll be good to have another elite soldier back in fighting condition."
"Thank you, Mikasa. Actually, I'm quite interested in seeing you fight as well. Eren talked about you constantly during the month he spent with us," Petra told her.
"He did?" Mikasa seemed both embarrassed and pleased.
"In fact, he—"
"Are you growing out your hair?" Eren cut in, hoping to distract her, afraid she might say something embarrassing.
Petra touched her short ponytail. "Thought I'd try something new. I saw you two were sparring and came over. Mind if I join you? Come to think of it, Eren," she said suddenly, "we never really sparred together."
During his time living with their squad, Eren had done his best to avoid hand-to-hand combat with his team. Levi, unfortunately, was big on it. Luckily, though, Levi had not been very strict with him at the time. There was also the fear he might accidentally transform. Later, after discovering how Titan transformation worked, Eren had been lucky enough to get Eren II to come around a few times, fooling them into thinking he could fight. Sometimes if he needed to he'd bumble his chores and ensure he was stuck finishing that while his squad trained.
"It's important to be well-versed in hand-to-hand combat," Petra went on. "Especially for types like your Titan and the Female Titan. We should do a lot of CQC training together instead of 3D maneuver training like we used to."
But I suck at close-quarters combat, he groaned internally. Before Eren could think of an excuse to weasel out so she didn't find out he was hopeless, Mikasa saved him.
"Do you mind if we spar instead?" Mikasa pulled Petra's attention away from him. "I'm tired of beating up Eren. He's not much of a challenge."
"Hey now," Eren protested weakly.
"Of course! But take it easy on me," Petra laughed. "I'm still not at a hundred percent."
Eren quickly moved away to give them room. He watched admiringly as they traded punches and kicks. It was one of the pros of Eren II's life. He was surrounded by soldiers. Eren was a sucker for women with abs.
He watched them trade jabs in awe. I wish I could fight like that. But he had been too lazy to put the controller down and get off his butt to take classes. Eren vowed to change that once he returned home. I'm going to do it! Probably.
Mikasa executed a particularly lethal-looking kick, which Petra barely dodged.
Eren was torn. Who was he supposed to cheer for? Mikasa was his number one girl. But he adored Petra, too. I'll cheer for Petra. He did love underdogs and she was trying to get back into fighting shape and he wanted to cheer her for that. "Go, Petra! Knock her down!"
A second later, he regretted opening his mouth.
"Mikasa, what the hell?!" Eren hurried over to Petra, coming up behind her. When she pulled her hand away, he was startled to see the red covering her fingers. She hastily pressed down on the wound.
"I'm sorry!" Mikasa's eyes widened in panic, joining them. "I didn't mean to!"
"Are you okay?" Eren asked in concern. "I can carry you to the infirmary!"
"It's nothing to worry about," Petra said, smiling easily. She kept her hand on the cut and stood. "It doesn't seem too bad."
"But you're bleeding!" He noticed the small sharp rock that had cut her and threw it as far as he could. "You should have been more careful, Mikasa," he scolded her.
"I know. But it's your fault, too!"
"W-What?" Eren squawked. "How's it my fault?!"
"If you hadn't distracted me I could have safely avoided that punch instead of reacting at the very last moment and using too much power!" Mikasa turned to fret over the redhead. "Are you sure you're really okay? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—"
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Petra chuckled, waving off her concern as Mikasa hovered over her. "Anyway, if only a single move like that put me down then clearly I wouldn't be ready for active duty."
"What's going on here?"
Eren saw Levi's eyes lock in on the blood on Petra's forehead at once. "They were sparring and Mikasa didn't hold back," he said.
"Here, use this and press it against the wound," Levi said, giving Petra a handkerchief. "Ackerman, let's go."
Mikasa followed him without a word.
"W-Wait a minute!" Eren's eyes went wide. "It's really my fault too—"
"Eren, wait." Petra stopped him. "Let them go." She tugged him in another direction. "Come with me."
"I didn't mean to get her in trouble." Eren watched the two leave, feeling guilty.
"You really think this is the first time an accident has happened during a spar? Injuries aren't uncommon during training," she said with a shrug. "We're used to them. That's not why Captain—I mean, Levi wanted to talk to her."
"Did you just call him Levi?"
"I was going to tell you." Petra sighed heavily. "Because we've lost a third of the soldiers in the Corps many of the squads were rearranged and some veteran soldiers were promoted."
"Captain Levi mentioned that was probably going to happen. Does that mean you're the same rank as him now?"
"Not right now. Commander Erwin promoted Erd, and I'm going to be his second-in-command but only for this mission. Guess whose squad is going to escort the Female Titan?"
"Yours. Makes sense." Eren felt bad for them. Ironically, they now had to protect the monster that had killed their friends and fellow soldiers, and safely deliver her to her allies. The thought of it made him sick. He couldn't imagine how horrible she had to be feeling.
"After this expedition, the commander said we're likely to lose more soldiers so it'll probably be my turn at a promotion next time—if I survive."
"Of course you will," he said at once. Eren didn't like to think about it, but there was no doubt that many fine men and women were going to lose their lives in the mission to retake Wall Maria. Even with his Titan now being able to harden and the Thunder Spears, there was sure to be much death and destruction waiting for them in Shinganshina.
"We got off topic. Here's what Levi wanted to talk to Mikasa about..."
Levi waited patiently for the girl to absorb what he had told her. Two steaming cups of tea sat between them on the table.
"Let me get this straight," Mikasa started slowly. "We're part of a clan of people who can...where at least some of us can awaken something that makes us almost superhuman fighters. And you were told this by your uncle, who said a branch of the Ackerman family had moved to Shinganshina."
"I'm guessing it was your father's family he was referring to. Kenny said the Ackermans had a falling out with the royal family, which led to their persecution. Apparently, we're immune to the Founding Titan's mind wipe. That combined with this awakening power of our bloodline made us too dangerous to be allowed to live. It's why my mother fled to the Underground City and your father's family went to the edge of the Walls. Two places where the government's influence was the weakest. The witch hunt was called off when Kenny joined Rod's predecessor, Historia's uncle Uri, and became his righthand man."
Mikasa fell quiet again.
"Look," Levi finally said when the silence stretched on for too long. "I'm not saying we should suddenly become close and I'm going to stick my nose into your business and smack Eren upside the head when he starts waxing poetic about you again—"
"Again?"
Levi rolled his eyes at her blush. "I just thought you should know. That you're not alone. Maybe it doesn't mean shit to you but I figured I should tell you still." With bated breath, he waited for her reaction. It shouldn't matter. They were not very close even now. But something about the idea of someone sharing his blood tugged at him. Blood was thicker than water, it was said. It was bullshit as far as he was concerned. Farlan and Isabel had been just as much his family as his mother and Kenny. But he couldn't deny there was an instinctive pull at the knowledge Mikasa was his family. It made him view and want to treat the girl differently.
"Thank you. It is nice to know. I guess you're not the worst person to have as family," she admitted a tiny bit grudgingly.
"I've been meaning to tell you for a while now but had a lot of other shit on my plate to deal with first." It had been since the start of Historia's reign he'd had his suspicions and only now he'd gotten around to telling her.
"It's fine. You have many responsibilities, I know," Mikasa said and shrugged. "Are you going to use the Ackerman name now?"
Levi hadn't really thought about it. He had been just Levi since he was born. Mostly he had been preoccupied with how to break the news to Mikasa along finding the time to do it. He hadn't even considered the implication regarding the family name.
"You should. You've got Ackerman blood. You've just as much a right to claim the name as me. It's your legacy, too."
"Legacy, huh?"
"Levi Ackerman. Sounds nice, wouldn't you agree?"
He grunted, repeating the name in his head. It did have a nice ring to it. "Maybe I will."
"...pretty crazy when you think about it," Petra finished, placing a small bandaid above her right eyebrow.
"They're both so strong. Must run in the family," Eren commented, standing behind her.
"Let's go. I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to," she said, leading him out of the infirmary. "I've spent enough time stuck in a hospital bed, thank you very much."
"Have you checked out the Thunder Spears yet?"
"I'm bummed out I missed the demonstration. But I'm hopeful I'll get to practice using it at least once before we leave."
Due to the time it took to produce them, they wouldn't have much time to train with their explosive new weapon. Based on Hange's planning, they could make up for their lack of practice by first making the target blind, breaking the armor, then delivering the killing blow. Eren couldn't wait to get his hands on this new toy and test it out.
"I worry for all of our safety when you do," Eren II said in exaggerated concern.
Eren snorted, "Oh, shut up."
Petra glanced at him, confused. "Excuse me?"
"Sorry. I was just thinking out loud to myself. Anyway, I'll see you later, okay? I'm gonna see if I can find Armin," he said and departed, walking in the opposite direction.
"It would have been nice if we had access to the weapons and technology that your people have," Eren II said wistfully.
"I think you're at least a hundred years too early and an industrial revolution or two short to get there. But I swear, your guns should not be so ancient. Seriously. I'm no genius but I think you should at least have weapons that can fire more than one time before needing to be reloaded."
"From these movies that you watch, it looks like we should be able to make guns like that. They don't look that advanced, not like, well, basically everything else in your world. Also, stop talking out loud. You do it constantly and people are going to start thinking I'm insane."
"True." Eren clamped his mouth shut. "Whoops, that slipped out."
"Be careful. I don't want to be locked up with the mission to retake Wall Maria coming up."
"I guess I can be pretty careless," Eren admitted. "I'll keep my mouth shut. Don't wanna end up like Hannibal Lector with the straight jacket and mouth guard." If he tried to defend himself, the truth would only make him look batshit crazy. An Eren from a different world? With highly advanced technology? No way of proving that. Any knowledge not found in the Walls would be written off as memories he gained from previous holders of his two Titans. It was a hell of a lot more believable—and provable and true—than multiple worlds and parallel universes and such. Expectedly and unfortunately, the topic had him thinking about his parents.
"Don't go there," Eren II warned, realizing where his thoughts were headed. "You're only going to upset yourself."
"Too late." Eren was already moping.
"If it's any comfort, they're doing well and they haven't lost hope for your recovery. There's a machine that reads my brain, or your body's brain, and it tells them sometimes I'm listening. Their words cause a reaction and I guess it picks it up or something." It was always nice to hear them say they loved him and missed him when they realized he could hear them. Even if he wasn't their Eren, it still felt good to hear. "So they know their son's still in there and they're optimistic."
"I'm glad to hear that. But I wonder when I'll get to go home," Eren said, feeling antsy. "I miss them." He usually tried not to dwell on it too much. His only comfort was that with Eren II keeping his brain active, at least he would still be able to go back to a weak but alive body with a hopefully normally functioning brain. "I wonder how I can go back."
Eren II had no answer for that. Nothing he could say would make the other boy feel better. And he wasn't one to offer false platitudes. "Your brother came to visit a couple of times. Armin stopped by, too. Mentioned about some new video game you two were excited about."
"The Resi 3 remake!" Eren could not stop from groaning out loud. "I completely forgot about that. Dammit! I wanna go home and play it."
"You know, I thought you'd be more excited about living my life. Which is, you know, a real 'adventure' and challenge compared to a video game."
"Yeah, but if I die here it could be permeant. More importantly, you don't have sexy and badass Jill Valentine," Eren said, grinning widely.
"Of course," his twin said, rolling his eyes.
"...forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty." Ymir finished the last jumping jack and dropped to the ground. After completing a set of fifty pushups followed by fifty sit-ups, she went to lie on her cot. The exercise wasn't much but it gave her something to do.
At least this prison cell was larger than her room aboard the ship. She wasn't sure how long it would take before Zeke had everything set up and they could return to Paradis. A part of her still expected someone to walk down into the basement and tell her the Marleyan government had decided they would feed her to one of their Warrior candidates after all and take back the Jaw Titan's power. If that ended up happening she would be utterly crushed, having already imagined a future on Paradis with Historia and the rest of their friends.
They won't risk it, she told herself. The Corps would kill Annie unless the Warriors handed Ymir over to them. And if Historia had been bluffing, hopefully they could beat the Warriors and save her.
Ymir's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Last few times she had received a visitor it was the same person: Porco Galliard. The brother of the Warrior whose life and power she had stolen. Guilt still niggled at her despite her resolve to return to Historia and live a life with her according to her own terms. The guilty feeling wasn't so easy to shake, though, even if she considered her debt to Marcel repaid.
Perhaps he came to rail at her again. Porco was understandably angry at her. He had blatantly stated he was trying to convince his superiors to let him inherit the Jaw Titan now. So far, from his furious expression and hateful words, it wasn't going his way.
This time there were two pairs of footsteps, not one.
When Ymir sat up, she saw a dark-haired little girl with Porco.
Ymir said nothing. Initially, she had tried to reason with him. To make him listen and understand that the Eldians on the island were just like them. They bled the same and felt happiness and anger and hate and sadness, just like the Eldians here. It went nowhere, of course. After the first couple of attempts, Ymir had stopped trying to reach out and explain the so-called Devils were regular people with families who just wanted to be left alone in peace. All it did was make him angrier.
"Do you know Reiner Braun?"
Ymir hadn't expected that. "Why do you ask?"
"He's my cousin," the girl replied.
"Yeah, I know Reiner. He was safe the last time I saw him." Physically, anyway. His mental state was another matter.
"Be careful, Gabi," Porco said in warning. "She'll try to trick you and convince you the Devils aren't bad and make it sound like we're the evil ones and they're just innocent victims."
"I'm not stupid! I wouldn't fall for her lies. We're good Eldians," Gabi said to Ymir. "We're not like you and the Paradis Devils. So don't think you can try and trick me!"
You poor, brainwashed child. Ymir thought in pity. It was extraordinarily difficult to break out of beliefs that had been drilled into one's head as a child. Lies that were compounded by society and everyone you met. It took a lot to rebel against that kind of thinking and brainwashing. "Why are you here?" She directed these questions at Porco. "Come to threaten me again?"
He scowled, crossing his arms. "Gabi wanted to know about Reiner. Hear that he was okay from someone who saw him."
The way he spat out Reiner's name, Ymir had a feeling he also held Reiner responsible for his brother's death.
"And to tell you that the higher-ups agreed to War Chief Zeke's proposal," he informed her. "He'll be taking you back with a company of Eldians to retrieve the Coordinate. But make no mistake, they may hand you over at the beginning to get Annie but they will crush your friends in battle, and bring you and the Coordinate back. Once they return, I'll take the Jaw Titan. It's been decided," he said with some satisfaction.
"Porco, Gabi, what're you doing down here?" Zeke's voice came before he walked up to them.
"I wanted to know about Reiner."
"I see. Reiner is safe, don't you worry. He'll be home before you know it." Zeke patted her head and she beamed. "How is your training going?"
"I'm at the top of the program," Gabi said proudly. "I'm sure I'll be able to inherit the Armored Titan after my cousin."
There was a wistfulness in her voice. Ymir had a feeling the girl wanted to get Reiner's Titan especially. So in a way, the cousin she looked up to and admired so much would always be with her. Ymir was curious as to what Reiner's reaction would be to that. From one of Marcel's memories that she had seen the previous day, he'd purposefully sabotaged his brother to ensure Porco's lifespan wouldn't be shortened by inheriting a Titan power. She'd yet to have a chance to mention it to Porco.
Considering how Reiner's mind had fractured from his time on Paradis, living among her inhabitants, Ymir could see him pulling the same big brother stunt with Gabi. Must be nice having a protective and caring older sibling. Wonder what that's like. The concept of family was foreign to her.
"You've been given a brief reprieve." Zeke's words broke her out of her thoughts. Porco and Gabi had left already. "But the Jaw Titan will be given to Porco once we return with Eren. Though I'm sure he's gloated about it to you already."
Ymir wanted to ask: And what about Annie? Clearly, it wasn't his main concern, Eren was. And they were arrogantly confident about their assured victory. "I gotta ask you something."
"Hmm?"
"What do you want with Historia?"
"Her royal blood."
Ymir felt her jaw unhinge. She hadn't expected him to answer, much less the answer he gave her. That explains a lot. I always knew she was special. But she was special to Ymir for who she was, instead of the blood in her veins. "What will you do if you get her?"
"I expect she'll be turned into a breeding factory."
If there had been something nearby for her to throw, Ymir would have nailed the bastard in the face.
"Sure it would be nice to get Eren out of Paradis's hands but the Founding Titan won't do as much good without royal blood."
"Wait a minute," Ymir said, momentarily forgetting about his comment about Historia. She'd get him back for it later. "He's not a royal brat, but he used the Founding Titan's power. And speaking of Eren, I've heard it mentioned a few times now that your family name is also 'Yeager.' Any relation?"
"Not every person who shares a last name is related."
Ymir didn't miss how he didn't answer her question. Maybe she was overthinking it. He wasn't wrong. And Yeager wasn't exactly an unusual name. Perhaps some Yeagers a hundred years ago had fled with the first King of the Walls while Zeke's ancestors elected to stay behind or were left behind. "How exactly was Eren able to use the Founding Titan's power despite his heritage?"
"It was just a fluke." Zeke shrugged. "More importantly, we will be returning to Paradis in a week. We'll have some ships and a company of Eldians ready then. Based on what I've been told about the time between expeditions and the extra time the soldiers will no doubt take to prepare to reclaim Wall Maria, we have a window of time we're expecting them to show up. We'll get there before then to ensure we don't miss the party."
A week, huh? She could manage it.
"I understand you didn't know Eren very well but you were the one closest to Historia. Perhaps if you shared any invaluable information about her, I could do something about your meals and living arrangement."
"Nah, it'd be a shame to leave this lovely cell so soon." Ymir lay back on her cot. "I think I'll stay."
"I figured. Suit yourself." He left after that.
Ymir stared at the dark ceiling above her. Something about her interaction with Zeke tugged at her brain but she couldn't quite figure out what. There was something about their conversations that held her attention. When it continued to elude her, she dismissed it and started thinking instead about Historia, Sasha, and Connie.
After learning about the Curse of Ymir—that had gotten an ironic snort out of her when she found out—she was more motivated than ever to want to see her friends. I have eight years left, she thought grimly. It seemed so long but not long enough at the same time. She wanted Eren to know about it, too. So they could both make the most out of the limited time they had left. It would crush their friends but they also had to know. They needed to spend the remaining time wisely, appreciate it as much as they could. Because then when she and Eren died, their friends wouldn't feel regret over things that were not said or done.
Ymir wanted them to have that gift. If she were in their shoes, that would have been her wish. Eight years, she thought again. After she and Eren passed, the others would have those precious times and memories to hold on to and cherish. She just wanted them to be able to have regret-free and happy lives after she was gone. So she had to ensure they were able to live their lives together to the fullest now when they had the chance.
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