A/N: Hello hello hello! As you can tell by the title, this is a rewrite for Of Monsters and Men! Like I wrote before, the point where the old version is at right now is too complicated. I added too many elements to the story that made it too confusing for even me to write, let alone trying to plug all the plot holes in it. Each chapter will be rewritten, some with major changes to plot or some minuscule ones. These changes will be discussed by your's truly at the bottom to explain my thought process (that is if anyone actually cares to read it). But anyways, I will leave the old one up just so you can see how complicated it gets and how badly old me wrote it but yeah. Here is the new version of Prologue. Enjoy.
"Please, please, please," muttered a man as he paced in the living room of his house.
In the next room over was his wife, moaning in pain from going into labour. He picks up the cup of tea on the table besides him and takes a drink, hoping it would settle his nerves. At the sound of urgent knocking from the door, the man sets his cup back onto the table but in his anxiousness, knocks over the cup. For a split moment, he fumbles with the wet table before rushing to open the door to reveal two men and a woman at his door.
"Doctor Yeager, Mrs. Yeager, thank god you're here. My wife, she's in the next room," the man cried.
"Relax Mr. Ackerman. Your wife is in good hands. By the way, this is Mr. Chaplan. He is here to document the birth of your child afterwards," Doctor Yeager smiled warmly. "Carla, come now. We have a baby to help deliver. "
With that, the Yeagers swept into the next room to help conceive Mr. Ackerman's child. Mr. Chaplan sighs and takes at the wet table. "Exciting day isn't it?" the man spoke quietly and slowly. "The welcoming of new life into this beautiful world."
"I suppose one could see it that way," Mr. Ackerman replied as he wiped the table down. "Tea?"
Mr. Chaplan brushed his neck length, light hair away from his gray weary eyes. "I would appreciate as much, if you don't mind."
Taking a clean cup from the cabinet, Mr. Ackerman pours a new cup of tea for the elderly man. Upon taking the cup of steaming tea, Mr. Chaplan frowned as he watched the shaking hands of his host.
"Why so nervous? You should be rejoicing on this day," he asked after taking a sip of tea.
"As far as birth rates have been, I'm still concerned for my wife. I fear she might not survive the ordeal. Her condition has been weak," Mr. Ackerman explained worriedly.
Mr. Chaplan smiled, setting his cup onto the table. "Ah yes, but you need not worry. Doctor Yeager is one of the finest doctors I've seen in years. Him and his wife will certainly be able to ensure your wife's safety. But for now, all we can do is pray."
The hours to come slowly began to tick by, as day fell to night. The agonizing cries of his wife and the encouraging words of the couple in the next room was all that filled the silence. Despite Mr. Chaplan's words, Mr. Ackerman's uneasiness still would not disappear.
After what seemed like an eternity, a fresh, new wailing sounded from the bedroom. At this new sound, Mr. Ackerman leapt from his chair and began banging on the wooden door. "Let me in!" he demanded.
"Just you wait! Then you can see your son!" Ms. Yeager shouted back over the wailing.
"A baby boy! I have a boy," Mr. Ackerman cried out happily before his face paled once again. "My wife!"
"Your wife and child are healthy and fine. She stayed strong the entire time," Doctor Yeager replied from behind the door.
"My wife and my child are safe!" Mr. Ackerman groaned as he sank back into his chair, Mr. Chaplan absolutely beaming at the news.
"Congratulations, my friend! May we give thanks to the goddesses for a new healthy family!" Mr. Chaplan announced.
The door to the bedroom finally opened and Ms. Yeager held out the infant, who was swaddled in cloth, out to his proud father. The baby's bright black eyes were already wandering around the house before finally locking onto his father's face.
"Mr. Ackerman, with your permission, may I?" Mr. Chaplan asked.
"Of course," Mr. Ackerman replied, handing his son over to the old man, careful to support the head.
"What shall you name him?" Mr. Chaplan asked as he stared at the baby.
"A name," Mr. Ackerman repeated, unsure how to answer. "Um, Drayce."
"Drayce, are you sure?" Mr. Chaplan asked as he hands the baby back to Mr. Ackerman in exchange for a clipboard and writing utensil. "In an ancient land called England, it means dragon, a great beast respected for its strength, wisdom, and loyalty."
"Wow, that's truly interesting," Mr. Ackerman mused, trying to imagining such a creature. "Yes, I am certain."
"Very well. Congratulations, Drayce Ackerman. Hmm, what's this?" Mr. Chaplan asked as he inspects the blanket.
The sides of the bundle were stained red, albeit the cause unknown. Mr. Ackerman also frowned and began to unwrap the cloth and the sight that greeted him shocked him to no end. It was impossible but it was looking at him right in the face. His newborn son had claws. The three bone protrusions on each hand appeared to have extended from the area between his knuckles, piercing Drayce's flesh and hence the blood.
"Dr. Yeager, my son," Mr. Ackerman croaked. "What's happening?"
The doctor frowned as he inspected the bone protrusions. "It appears as this isn't just an accident. The muscles contract when I push on them, suggesting that this was supposed to be here," Dr. Yeager analyzed.
"Is there anything we can do about it?" Mr. Ackerman asked, wringing his hands.
"You need not worry Mr. Ackerman," Mr. Chaplan said. "Kenny!"
The door to the house slams open as another man waltzed in. "Ya called, old man? Oh my lord, what is that? Uri, you've got some explaining to do."
"It's called an infant Kenny. To be precise, and it appears to be one of James Logan's descendants," Mr. Chaplan, now revealed to be Uri, replied.
"W-what's going on here?" Mr. Ackerman yells.
"Now now, don't go on a yellin'. We're in some important business right now," Kenny sneered as he pulled out his gun, pointing it at the two men. "Into the room, now."
As the two shuffled into the bedroom with their hands up, Uri wrapped Drayce back up, careful of his claws.
"Whatcha gonna do with him Uri?" Kenny asks as he adjusts his hat.
"Landon has been looking for mutants and as per our agreement, I hand over any that I find," Uri replied.
"Back up to the bed, all of you," Kenny orders, flicking his gun towards the bed. The doctor, his wife, and Mr. Ackerman all did as they were told.
"Now, I'm awfully sorry for doing this to you all. You won't remember a thing. If you did, we would have to kill you," Uri replied as his eyes began to glow purple. A wave of fuzziness and warmth washed over the the doctor and his wife but Mr. Ackerman remained unfazed. "Kenny, we're done here."
With that, the two men swept out of the house, leaving the bewildered and frightened occupants behind. "Hey Uri, I still don't understand. You know that the memory wipe doesn't affect Ackermans like me or people from the Azumabito clan. Why bother? You shoulda just let me kill them," Kenny remarked as they wandered down the road.
"We do not kill innocents Kenny. The Ackerman and Azumabitos have been prosecuted enough. There is no need for bloodshed anymore," Uri replied calmly as he observed the baby in his arms. "We can only hope that Landon and the rest of the Restorationist can manage to bring down Marley."
"Bringing down a country eh? That man's crazy if he thinks he can do that with several babies," Kenny barked.
"If this child truly is a descendant of James Logan, then his inherited power will grant him the ability to bring down the country," Uri answers.
"Oi oi, you don't mean-"
"No, Kenny. Freida will have the Holy Inheritance. One of the other mutants will gain the Victory Titan, though how Landon intends for this to happen, I do not know. Together, I hope for them to someday set the Eldians free," Uri finishes. "Kenny, drive the carriage if you please. We are off to Mitras."
"Uri should be here by now," grumbled a man as he paces back and forth in his office.
"I'm sure he'll arrive soon. Ah, as expected. The carriage is here. Kenny's driving. I hope you have the whisky that he likes. That man can drink," a young woman remarks.
"It doesn't matter how much that man can drink. He requested a crate, he'll get a damn crate," the man growled. "Cost me a fortune, Thatch's brewery is no joke."
A soft knocking emanates from outside his office door before it was thrust open with great force. "Kenny, that was absolutely unnecessary," Uri chidded.
"Eh. Landon Price ya old dog, how's it going?" Kenny asked as tosses his hat carelessly onto the hat stand near the doors.
"I could do with less of your visits Kenny," Landon grumbled. "You're whisky demands are running quite high."
"It's Thatch's Brewery, what do you expect? Like I would go and get the cheap watered down piss from the so called bar," Kenny laughed as he pulls a bottle from the crate. "Uri has your delivery."
"Is that so? Do we know the mutation Lord Reiss?" Landon muses as he observes the squirming baby in his assistant's arms.
"We do Commander Price. Drayce appears to be a descendant of James Logan himself. If I am not mistaken, then he will be a great asset to the overall team," Uri responded.
"I give you my thanks for this delivery. Kenny, take your damn whisky already," Landon growled. "If you have no further business, then I suggest you take your leave, Lord Reiss."
"Keeping things short as usual, Landon. I'll leave the rest to you," Uri replied. "Come now Kenny. You can put the whiskey in the carriage with me."
The door shuts behind the two men, leaving Landon and his assistant in the office with Drayce. "Amanda, put the baby with the others," Landon orders. "Let them get to know each other. And put them to sleep soon. I don't know how much longer I can work while listening to them cry all the time."
"Right away sir. I'll assign someone for child care duty soon."
With that, Amanda carries Drayce out the room and closes the door with a click. She walks down the hall and makes a right. Pushing open the door, she enters a room with baby cribs. Place Drayce in an empty crib, she sighs with relief.
"Seriously, out of the other two, you've been the most behaved you know," Amanda whispers, careful not to wake the other two sleeping infants, while Drayce gazed at her. "And for all of your sakes, I hope Landon knows what he's doing."
A/N: So some major changes about Drayce. In the old version, I had Landon try to replicate the experiment but since tech hadn't advanced that far, I figured it was safer to make Drayce a descendant of Logan. Another big change is the memory serum I came up with. I also figured they didn't have chemistry advance enough to create something that interfere with the neural networks of the human brain so I conveniently used Uri Reiss's Founding Titan ability to do that for me instead. Although it won't be an extremely prevalent thing in this rewrite, Uri is working with Landon and both of them are aware of Marley and the outside world. Hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter, I will meet back with you all in the next one.