Eren Yeager: The Amazing Spider-Man
Chapter 2: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
It happened to me again. I found myself standing in the same spot in the middle surrounded by hundreds of other civilians who were staring at the top of the front side of the wall. I was looking at the exact same sixty-meter-tall skinless titan that I saw once before. However, there was something much different about this experience than the last one.
As I stood in horror at the sight of the titan standing behind the wall, something far scarier came next. The front gate of the wall got destroyed, like the sixty-meter-tall titan had kicked it open. The debris from the broken wall went flying across the whole town and crashing into several buildings as well as landing on some people. A huge cloud of dust covered the streets and I closed my eyes tightly to protect them.
I slowly opened my eyes back up and I found myself back inside of my bedroom lying in my bed with my sheets covering me up. I could feel sweat all over my neck as I came to realize that it was just another nightmare. I whipped the sweat off my neck with my right hand as I looked over at my bedroom window and noticed that it was dark outside. I then began to remember what happened inside of the laboratory. The memory of Arachne escaping from her cage and biting me on the back of my neck ran through my head nonstop for I don't really know how long.
But that was the moment where a thought had occurred to me. If I was sleeping in my bed and if it was night time, was the whole trip to my father's laboratory nothing more than a dream or did it really happen? I honestly couldn't make up whether or not it was real at this point.
Suddenly, my bedroom door began to open causing me to flinch. I wanted to see who was opening my bedroom door, but it was too dark in the house to see specifically who. Nobody was allowed to have torches inside of their houses because it would run the risk of setting the houses on fire, considering the fact that just about each house was made of wood. We were, however, allowed to have small candles inside of the house. Candles and light from the outside torches were the only sources of light that people could get inside of their houses at the time.
The person that opened my bedroom door stepped inside and closed the door behind them. I watched as the figure slowly approached me and the figure stopped right next to my bedroom window. There was enough light coming from outside for me to finally see who it was that opened my door. It was none other than my own father.
My father was looking down at me with a relieved smile on his face.
"Hey, son," my father said "how are you feeling?"
I looked at my father with confusion. He came into my room and the first thing he asks me is "How are you feeling". I wondered why in the world he would ask me that kind of question, but then I thought back to the moment where my father tried to warn me about Arachne just before she bit me. I also faintly remembered my father holding me in his arms just before I passed out. It then became clear that the accident with Arachne in the laboratory really happened.
"Well," I started, "I'm not feeling anything bad, so…"
I paused. I honestly had no idea whether or not I really was okay. I mean, sure, I wasn't feeling any pain in my body and I felt just as healthy as a horse, but what's to say that there is something going on with me that I'm not even aware of. Moreover, did I later on in life come to find out that my worries were right?
My father placed a hand on my forehead like he was checking my temperature. He then placed his hand on his own forehead to see if there was a difference between our temperatures since this was the only way to do it at the time…or so I thought. My father let out a sigh of relief. He then looked back at me with a bright smile.
"Thank goodness," my father said, "You were running a bit of a fever while you were unconscious, but it's easing up now. I am glad that Arachne's bite didn't infect you too badly."
"…Arachne…" I said "…How did she- "
"Escape?" my father asked, finishing my question for me "Well apparently, someone had accidentally left her cage open. I'm surprised nobody bothered to close it back up."
I began to sit up straight while still looking at my father.
"Is she back in her cage again?" I asked
"She's…" My father paused. He looked rather sad at the question I had just asked. "…She's gone from this world, Eren."
My eyes widened. I heard my father loud and clear at the mention of Arachne's current status the first time, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn't just fearing for the worst.
"She's what?" I asked
"She's dead, son," my father answered once again, "she died shortly after she bit you."
I lowered my head at the realization that my worst thoughts were true. Arachne, the world's first genetically enhanced super spider, a truly incredible and unique creature had died just minutes after biting the back of my neck.
"There's actually some more unpleasant news that you're not going to like." my father continued "Your mother has forbidden me to ever let you back into the laboratory."
"What?!" I cried out in disbelief
My father placed an index finger in front of his lips and gave me the "Shh" sound. It didn't take me long to figure out that he was trying to keep me at a lower volume because my mother and Mikasa were probably already asleep at this point. I nodded my head in response to my father's warning.
"How come mom doesn't want me to go back?" I asked not wanting to believe what my father had just told me
"Your mother was very upset with me when I brought you home unconscious and running a fever. I explained to her what happened in the laboratory and she was unhappy with the fact that I couldn't keep my promise to make sure that nothing would happen to you. You have to understand, son, that your mother is only concerned for your safety and she thinks that maybe it would be safer for you to not go back into the laboratory, and the more I think about it, I think she's probably right." my father explained
"But it was just an accident." I argued
"And look at where that accident got you," my father countered sternly, "you got sick because of Arachne's bite. Arachne wasn't the only dangerous experiment down there in that laboratory, there were so many other projects and experiments that could have gotten you hurt…or maybe even killed. We have to respect your mother's wishes, no excuses."
I lowered my head in defeat. I placed both of my hands over my face and let out a really big sigh.
"As if having the same nightmare over and over again wasn't bad enough." I said while keeping my hands over my face.
"The same kind of nightmare?" my father asked, "What kind of nightmare are you having?"
I began to think about the sixty-meter-tall titan looking down on me and everyone else and the titan kicking a giant hole into the wall, sending debris flying everywhere and giant dust clouds covering the place. I moved my hands away from my face while still looking away from my father.
"I…I don't feel comfortable talking about it." I said
My father sighed at my response.
"Eren, if this nightmare is really bugging you this much and you're having it more than once, it's all the more reason to talk to someone about it." my father said with a concerned tone as he then placed a hand onto my left shoulder, "Come on, son, tell me."
I continued to look away from my father, not uttering a single word. I wondered to myself if he would really be okay with what I would have to tell him or he would be just as horrified as I was in each of my nightmares. However, I did know that I had to get the pain of having the same nightmare over and over again off of my back somehow. I gulped, clenched my fists tightly, and looked towards my father.
"It's so strange." I started, "For the past three weeks, I've been having these nightmares where me and the rest of the citizens in Shiganshina are all standing in the middle of the streets, looking up at the top of wall Maria. The first thing I could see is a giant, skinless hand gripping onto and crushing the top of the wall from behind. However, that's not all. Something else came up from behind the wall…"
"What was it, Eren?" my father asked
I looked away again. The image of that giant head with barely any skin was already making me shiver, clench my fists even tighter, and grit my teeth. I then took a deep breath and collected my thoughts.
"…Behind the wall was a sixty-meter-tall titan that barely had any skin on it's face." I admitted, "It was looking down on all of us like we were a bunch of ants. The next thing I know, the sixty-meter-tall titan kicked a hole in the wall, sending a lot of rocks flying everywhere and making huge dust clouds cover up the area. And that's usually where the nightmare ends."
I looked back at my father, and just as I feared, he looked utterly horrified. I can't put into details just how horrified he was because those details are for later on in the story. Once I get to a very important part of the story, you'll be able to piece together just how horrified my father was. Anyway, my father shook his head fiercely with his eyes closed tightly. He then tried to give me a confident, reassuring smile.
"Well I…" my father started in a nervous tone, "…I'm sure it's just nothing more than a nightmare, son. I'm sure that now you've spoken to me about it, you won't be getting same nightmare anymore."
In my personal opinion, it doesn't really take a genius to know when something is bothering someone. The fact that my father was forcing a smile onto his face and was speaking to me nervously was a dead giveaway that he was really being bothered with the details of my nightmare. Nonetheless, I didn't want to argue with my father over the fact that he was bothered with my nightmare. I wanted to trust that he would be alright after a while as well as what he told me about no longer having the same nightmare over and over again.
"I hope you're right." I admitted
"Just go ahead and go back to sleep." my father said "Hopefully, your fever will be gone by morning."
I laid my body back down onto my bed as I watched my father walk over to the door, open it, and walk out of the room while closing the door behind him. I looked up and stared at the ceiling while the disappointment of not being allowed to go back into my father's laboratory was returning to me. Everything I've seen in there, all of those machines, the lights, Arachne, I would most likely never get to see them again. The laboratory was all I could think about before I drifted off into slumber.
The next day, I found myself doing my usual routine of waking up, changing my clothes, and heading into the living/dining room to meet up with my family. My parents were both sitting at the table and my father had a piece of parchment and an ink bottle in front of him along with a quill in his hand. He also had his medical bag sitting on the floor right next to him, which was a clear sign that he would be leaving home again to visit another patient.
My mother looked over at me and once again gave me that same motherly smile that she always does.
"Good morning, sweetie." my mother said sweetly
That was something my mother used to always say the first time she saw me in the day when I was young. It didn't really matter to her whether it was morning, afternoon, or evening. Just then, my father gave my mother the kind of look that says "Really?"
"Carla, it's past noon." my father corrected
"Oh don't be such a killjoy, Grisha." my mother pouted
My father looked over at me with a loving smile of his own. He then signaled me to come over to him with his hand. I walked over to the table, pulled up the chair that sat right next to my father, and sat down. My father then placed his free hand onto my forehead for good couple of seconds before placing his hand onto his own. He looked towards my mother with a reassuring smile.
"His fever is gone." my father said
"Oh thank goodness." my mother exhaled
It was then when I noticed the piece of parchment in front of my father. For some strange reason, I was actually feeling curious about what my father was writing. Never in my life have I ever been curious about something as customary as someone writing something down.
"What are you writing, dad?" I asked
"A letter…to a very close friend of mine." he replied
"Is it to Bob?"
"No…" my father paused for a few seconds "…It's to a man named Murakumo. He lives in the Trost district of Wall Rose."
"It has been a long time since you last talked to him." my mother replied
"Indeed, it has. I'd give anything to be given the chance to see him again."
I watched as my father wrote down the last few sentences on the piece of parchment. He placed the quill down and then put the bottle cap back onto the ink bottle.
Back then, we had to let our letters sit out for a few minutes to let the ink dry before rolling it up and tying a piece of string around it, or folding it up, and placing a beeswax seal onto the letter. If you were living in a third-class district like Shiganshina, you would have to use the piece of string because "you were not sophisticated enough to use a beeswax seal."
I looked around the living/dining room and noticed that something was off. I noticed that Mikasa wasn't there. Once again, curiosity filled up my head as I looked at my father.
"Dad, where's Mikasa?" I asked
"She is out gathering up some firewood." my father answered as he then stared at me with a prompting look, "You should go and help her, now that your fever is gone."
I stared at my father in disbelief. Out of all the things I could have been doing after having a fever pass on, doing boring chores was the last thing I ever wanted to do.
"Dad, do I really have to?" I asked, hoping I could persuade my father into letting me skip out on chores for the day
"You do if I say you have to." my father replied sternly as he leaned down to his right side, picked up his medical bag, and placed it in his lap. "And I will be expecting to hear that you actually helped Mikasa instead of dilly dallying when I return later tonight."
"You're leaving for only a day?" I asked feeling a bit surprised
"Indeed, I am." my father answered, "I have a patient to see right here in the city."
"Well, at least you don't have to leave for a long time again."
I then began to think about all the times dad has left home to go visit a sick patient or had to go down into the laboratory. He had spent more time away from home than with his family, which was something that had actually been bothering me the more I thought about it.
"Dad," I began, "Why did you choose to be both a doctor and a scientist? Why didn't you choose to just be one of the other and have more free time to spend with your family?"
The stern look on my father's face was immediately replaced with a look of huge regret. He then took a deep breath and hesitated for a while before speaking again.
"…Well…" my father started, "…When I was very young, I did something that I had no idea would hurt the many people around me. My actions back then ended up making the lives of so many people miserable when I thought that I was going to be making their lives better. I've been haunted by the memories of my horrible mistake for so long that I sometimes wish that I would either just die at the hands of the law or never exist to begin with."
I felt both astounded and shocked by the few details of my father's past as well as the huge amount of emotional pain that he's been carrying on his shoulders for so many years. However, I also felt utterly curious about whatever it was that my father had done to make him feel so much guilt that he would make him wish such things upon himself.
"What did you do?" I asked feeling a bit afraid of what his answer was going to be
My father didn't utter a word, not a single word. Instead, he looked away from me and down at the floor. I watched as his eyes twitched, his lips trembled, and his breathing was shaky. I watched as my father's eyes were becoming shinier than I've ever seen them before; and then, the shine in my father's eyes became small drops of liquid that strolled down his cheeks.
My heart sank at the sight of my own father crying in front of me. That was, truth be told, the only time in my life that I have ever seen my father shed any tears. I then immediately felt regret for asking him that question.
My mother stood up from her chair, walked over to my father, and placed both of her hands onto his shoulders, gently rubbing them. She then looked over at me with a worried look.
"Eren," my mother started, "This isn't something that your father is very comfortable with talking about. I think it's probably best you don't worry about what it is that he has done."
I knew in my heart that she was right. Seeing my father cry in front of me was all too clear that I shouldn't have asked what it was he had done in the first place; and seeing him cry was also making me feel emotional.
"I'm…I'm sorry dad." I said rather weakly
"It's alright, son," my father replied as he wiped the tears from his cheeks with his white handkerchief before tucking it back into the collar of his white shirt, "but do you know keeps me from wishing death upon myself or to exist no more?"
"…No." I admitted
My father looked at me with a genuine smile.
"It's because I have you, your mother, and Mikasa as well." my father answered, "The three of you give me the courage and confidence to keep on living and to keep on convincing myself that I can fix the wrongs that I have committed. That's why I chose to be both a doctor and a scientist, because I owe it to all of those I have harmed. But it's not just to those I've hurt, it's also to those who need my help."
"What do you mean?" I asked feeling slightly confused by the last part
"What I mean is that I owe it to those I've hurt and to those who need my help because I strongly believe that I can do it. It's one thing to think that you can do good things for people, but it's another to truly believe that you can. If you truly have faith in yourself and believe that you can do great things for people, you don't just have the power to do such things, you also have a moral obligation to do them. That's what I believe, to have the power to do something and take action to fulfill that dream. With great power comes great responsibility."
That very last sentence that my father said is something that has stuck with me all my life, and I will always be thankful to my father for saying it. I don't know where I would be today if he hadn't.
My father said as he stood up from his chair, pushed it back under the table, walked over to a hat rack that stood next to the front door, picked up a dark brown fedora, and placed it on top of his head. He then walked over to where my mother was sitting and stood next to her.
"Well, I must be off now." my father said as he looked down at my mother, "Carla, once the ink on my letter dries up, can you please make sure the role it up and give it to a messenger?"
"Of course, Grisha." my mother replied sweetly
My father leaned over to my mother's face and pressed his lips onto hers. I immediately looked away since I was still awfully uncomfortable with see people kissing at the time. Hey, what are you laughing at? it's completely normal for ten-year-old boys to feel uncomfortable at their parents or any other grown-ups acting all lovey-dovey.
"Take care, dear. I love you." my mother said
"I love you too." my father replied
I watched as my father walked over to the door, opened it up, and walked out of the house while closing the door behind him. I then stood up from my own chair and pushed it under the table.
"Where are you going, Eren?" my mother asked
"I'm going to go help Mikasa gather up the firewood…Dad said I have to." I answered disappointedly
I walked over to door, opened it up, and walked out of the house closing the door behind me. As I walked down the road that lead to the back gate of Shiganshina, I thought a lot about what my father said about "With great power comes great responsibility". The fact that my father made the choice to put so much weight onto his shoulders because he believed he actually had the power to do so was just so astonishing to me. Despite the fact that I didn't know what it was that my father had done a long time ago, I did feel a bit rather encouraged by what my father said about believing in doing good things for other people and having the power to do such things. I spent the whole walk thinking about if I could ever someday get the power to do great things for other people, but little did I know that my chance to get to help people had to come at a very horrible price…which was about to occur very soon.