(Scouts HQ)
The door to Erwin's office swung open, revealing a very annoyed Lucas who had just gotten back from Wall Sina, he had slept in the carriage on the way back so he wasn't exactly in the best mood right now, there was barely any padding on those seats.
"Erwin." He growled out, storming over to his desk. "What the fuck did you just get me into?" He demanded.
"What do you mean?" Erwin raised an eyebrow at him. "I take it the meeting didn't go so well." He assumed.
"Really? How the fuck did you manage to guess that?" He sarcastically spat at him. "The meeting wasn't for him, it was for his fucking kid, thing is, I've already met her before, I just didn't know she was a Reiss."
"What could make that so bad?" Erwin asked, genuinely curious about what happened. "If you know her then surely it couldn't have been that bad."
"She's insane Erwin!" He practically yelled at him. "She started spouting all this bullshit about people within the walls being sinners, but then she decided that I wasn't a sinner. I mean, what the fucks that all about?"
"I see..." Erwin thought for a moment. "And the words she used was, "people within the walls", correct?"
"Erwin, not this again." Lucas pleaded with him, he knew what Erwin thought about the Royal Governments apparently subjective textbooks published by them. "Why the fuck would she know anything about that? I get why you're concerned about the Royal Government, I do, my family was persecuted for generations and they did fuck all about it. But you can't keep bringing that up every time someone phrases a sentence that way."
"I didn't know about the persecution. I'm sorry about that." He apologised to him, but Lucas could tell that it was genuine. "But even then, her family holds a great deal of power in the Royal Government, it wouldn't be far fetched to assume that she or her father knows something that the rest of us don't."
"Can we not talk about this right now." Lucas requested. "My back is fucked right now, I just want to lie down when we're finished here."
"Of course." Erwin agreed. "But you were gone a long time Lucas. You must have gotten up to something while you were away. There must be a reason you seem so tired."
"Tch, get your mind out of the gutter old man." Lucas scoffed. "She wanted me to meet her half sister, illegitimate by the way. It seems that Lord Reiss spends more time fucking the maids rather than being with his own children."
"If that were to get out it could ruin their reputation." Erwin summed up. "You'd be best not to mention that to anyone else, especially if you go back. That is a secret that some would be willing to kill for to keep hidden."
"Tch, like they'd even get close enough to try." He scoffed once again. "Anyone who tries to kill me will have their spine forcibly removed so I can shove it down their throat."
"It wouldn't surprise me if you did that." Erwin commented. "But I'm surprised that you went to see her sister, did she offer anything in return."
"She said that she would keep the Survey Corps funded for the foreseeable future if I went with her." He revealed, Erwin's eyes lighting up at that. "So I went, not because I wanted to, but because you'd probably have my head if I didn't."
"Of course that's the reason." Erwin said to him. "We can't have anyone thinking that the esteemed Corporal Ackerman has grown attached to anyone from the interior, let alone a noble."
"Tch, shut the fuck up eyebrows." Lucas insulted him. "I am not growing attached to that woman." He denied. "She's even more insane than Hange, and that's saying something."
"It's quite a shame you should say that." Erwin said as he produced a letter from the top drawer of his desk. "Because Commander Shadis recieved this letter around an hour before you arrived back." Lucas felt his scowl deepen at that. "It seems that you made quite the impression on Miss Reiss, her father has requested that we turn this one off visit into a more... permanent arrangement."
"No. I am not going back there." He was getting angry now. "Didn't I just tell you that she's insane!" He yelled at him. "She's obsessed with sins and sinners. It's only a matter of time before she becomes obsessed with me instead! I will not be forced into marrying that girl just to satisfy some crazy need she has!"
"No one's going to make you marry her Lucas." Erwin tried to calm him down. "But Shadis and I are in agreement that you should spend more time with her." Lucas scowled at him for that. "At the very least it will create new communication links between the Scouts and the Noble families who oppose the Survey Corps existence. Who knows, maybe something will come out of this arrangement."
"Fuck you Erwin." Lucas spat at him. "I'm not so shallow as to take advantage of some girl that clearly has something wrong with her. It may not seem like it, but I do actually have morals that I believe in."
"I never said that you didn't." Erwin countered. "I'm just saying, you can't predict what will happen in the future. You can't possibly predict what could happen when you continue meeting with her, maybe you will grow attached."
"Tch, look at you, always looking for a way to keep the Scouts in business." Lucas said to him. "I will not be a part of some scheme to marry that girl just so you can fulfill some fantasy about the outside world."
"Lucas." Erwin said sternly. "I will not force you into marrying her. But I will order you to continue to meet with her, think of it as doing your part for humanity, but instead of killing Titan's, you're just talking with someone. Talking can be just as important for our survival as destroying our enemy."
"Even if you're right about a Government conspiracy to cover up the existence of humanity outside the walls." Lucas began. "Who is really our greatest enemy?"
"That is something I cannot answer Lucas." Erwin solemnly responded. "All we can hope for is the best outcome in the end."
Lucas sighed to himself. "How often will I have to meet her? Please tell me it's only once a month." He pleaded with Erwin.
"The request was a few times a month, three at the minimum, but me and Shadis made time for four visits a month, once a week it will be." He told him, earning a sigh in frustration from the Corporal in front of him.
"I need a fucking drink." Lucas said, massaging his forehead. "Hopefully I'll forget all this happened and I can live the rest of this week in peace until reality comes crashing down onto me."
"I still don't quite see the problem with meeting Miss Reiss once a week." Erwin commented. "Many men your age would kill for the opportunity to even get the attention of someone like her. But you don't seem to pleased about it."
"Something's off about her Erwin." He revealed. "Every time she was set off, her eyes had these purple streaks in them, she acted like she was possessed. Then she would get really depressed about it afterwards." He explained. "And I threw her out of the carriage."
"You assaulted a noble?" Erwin asked, shocked at his behaviour.
"It wasn't assault." He denied. "She said I was "cute" when I threatened to throw her out of the carriage, so I made good on the threat."
"If she reported you for that assault there will be nothing that we can do for you." Erwin sternly reminded him. "The best we could hope for would be a court martial, at least then we could plead your case to someone like Premier Zackly."
"Tch, she won't report it." He retorted. "She was too busy worrying about her filthy hair to mind that I assaulted her." He waved off Erwin's concern for him. "It was abhorrent, I could have fried a fish with all the grease I could see from where I was standing."
"What am I going to do with you Lucas?" Erwin asked him. "You may leave now, I have to sort out transportation for your weekly visits to Sina."
"You could promote me to Captain." Lucas suggested. "I could always use the pay rise." He said as he opened the door.
"If you need a pay rise you could always join the Military Police." Erwin joked. "I'm sure Nile would love to have someone of your calibre joining them."
"Don't tempt me." Lucas scowled, slamming the door shut as he left.
(845, 3 days before the next expedition)
For the best part of a year, Lucas had been making weekly trips to the interior much to his annoyance, he could deal with going once or twice a month, but once a week was killing him. Overall they had gotten to know each other quite well given that she seemed insane to him and he was usually rude to everyone he met. Rod quite clearly didn't like him, that much was obvious, but he couldn't do anything because he seemed to shit himself every time Frieda got angry with him.
A few weeks ago his mother went into labour, she had given the responsibility of naming the child to him, he was convinced that it would be a girl, so he chose the name Hinami. Unfortunately after a few hours of labour, Hinami was stillborn. His mother had been in tears for hours after that, he had left his pride outside as he held her for hours after that, with Mikasa joining in after she had found out what happened from Doctor Yeager who had been helping with the birthing process.
But now a few days before their next expedition, Grisha had requested Lucas come by his home in Shiganshina, saying that his project was nearly finished and that he would explain it to him.
Once he had arrived and knocked on the door, still wearing his Scout uniform since he didn't really have any other clothes to wear, plus he had to go back to the HQ later that day, so it was easier that way. Carla wasn't too thrilled since she thought he would fill Eren's head with ideas of what's outside the wall, but Lucas had agreed not to talk about the outside world to Eren, respecting her wishes since she had been so hospitable with Mikasa and his mother.
"Good. You're here." Grisha said as he waa the one that opened the door to let him in. "Have a seat at the table, I'll only be a moment." He gestured to the table in the middle of the room that his mother and Eren sat while Mikasa was helping Carla with the dishes.
"Lucas!" Carla exclaimed as she was the first to notice him. "It's good to see you again, but what brings you here?"
"I asked him to come dear." Grisha replied to her. "I'm going to show Lucas what I've been working on in the basement."
"What?!" Eren yelled. "Why would you show him but not me?" He questioned.
"Because Eren, Lucas here understands what is most important in this world." Grisha replied. "Once you understand that, I'll show you what I've been working on."
"So unfair." Eren claimed. "I don't even understand what that means."
"Hey mom." Lucas said as he sat down next to her at the table. "I know I keep asking, but are you okay? And I don't mean that you tell me you are when you aren't."
"I'm fine Lucas." She replied to him.
"Mom." Lucas said, gently grabbing onto her hand. "I know it must be hard for you after what happened, but as much as I hate to say this, you can't let it keep you down forever. Eventually you have to accept what happened and keep living your life. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for me, if not for me do if for Mikasa. I've never seen you this sad in your life, and to be honest, it's getting annoying now." He told her, getting a gasp from Carla who was listening intently to him.
"Lucas..." His mom tried to protest but he cut her off.
"The first time I saw someone get eaten out there I was horrified at how she had died. I blamed myself at first, but it only took Erwin three minutes to tell me to get over it, that it would dull my decisions in the future if I began to regret it." He said, earning a gasp from everyone apart from Grisha who had went down to the basement to prepare for him. "I know that dad's death took a huge toll on you, and with what happened four weeks ago must have made it worse, but you can't keep living lke you having nothing left to live for. You still have me and Mikasa here, I may not admit it, but when I see you happy, it makes me happy and when I see you depressed like this, it pisses me off because there's fuck all that I tried to do about it."
"Lucas." She whispered once again, tears forming in her eyes.
"Mom. I can't possibly imagine the emotional pain that you're going through right now. But what I can do is be there to support you, I know Mikasa will be as well. So please, will you try to be happy again, because we won't leave you. I promise you that." He strongly declared to her.
"Oh Lucas." She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding herself against him as tight as she could. "What would I do without you?" She whispered to him.
"You could include your other child in the hug." He said, gesturing to Mikasa who was now standing next to them as she was then swiftly wrenched into the hug by her mother.
"I'm so sorry you two." She apologised. "I... wasn't thinking clearly. But now I promise I will try to be happier for you two from now on." She promised them as she held them both close to her.
"Lucas." Carla spoke up after they had broken the hug. "While as a mother I do not particularly approve of your career choice. I must say, you do have a way with words when you let your heart do the talking instead of your head."
"I'm not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment." He grumbled. "However, you have a food stain in your hair, I suggest that you clean it before I finish talking with your husband or I will have to clean it myself."
"Of course Lucas." Carla laughed. "I shall deal with that when I finish the dishes."
Lucas then walked to the door that lead to the basement when he stopped at the door and turned to Mikasa. "Oh and Mikasa, don't think I can't tell what that filthy scarf is doing to your hair, either you wash the scarf soon, or I'll have it thrown over the wall to stop it from getting your hair any filthier." He finished as he continued walking down the stairs and into the basement.
When he walked in he saw that Grisha was sat at the desk with his hands under his chin, clearly contemplating something while he had a small piece of paper in his hand. On the desk there were three books layed out infront of him, they looked like notebooks to Lucas.
"Why don't you take a seat Lucas." Grisha suggested. "This might be a lot to take in, but I implore you to wait until the end of my story before you say anything."
"You're not going to tell me that ghosts are real are you?" Lucas tried to joke as he sat down. "Because I could think of crazier things off the top of my head."
"When you look at this." He handed him the piece of paper in his hands. "What do you see?"
He looked at the paper, only to see that it was a picture, only the detail was incredible, whoever drew this must have been a genius. The picture contained a younger looking Grisha with a woman and a child, except it wasn't Carla and Eren. The woman had blonde hair and if he was being honest, looked a little like Frieda, the child also had blonde hair and looked like Grisha, while Eren mostly resembled Carla.
"This is you." Lucas stated. "But this isn't Carla and Eren." He observed. "Was this drawn before you met her."
"Lucas, that portrait wasn't drawn by anybody." Grisha took a deep breath, prepared to tell him the truth. "This is an imprint of a subjects' reflected light onto a special kind of paper. It is known as a photograph." Grisha told him before continuing as Lucas looked confused now. "I came from beyond the walls, where humanity enjoys a refined existence."
Lucas just stared at him after that, eyes wide and his mouth hung open in shock.
"Humanity has not perished Lucas."
"... You're fucking with me, right?" Lucas asked him. "There's no way you could have come from beyond the walls, you would have been eaten. Even I couldn't cross that much Titan territory, let alone without ODM gear."
"I'm not lying Lucas." Grisha assured him. "That photo is of me and my first wife Dina, with our son Zeke. Dina was a member of the Royal Family that stayed behind on the mainland when the first King of the walls moved his people here."
"Is this some kind of sick joke that Erwin put you up to because I threatened to shave his eyebrows off?" Lucas angrily asked. "Because if it is, I will burn every root of hair from his eyebrows leaving him looking like a freak!"
"Lucas!" Grisha demanded his attention now. "I plead you to not interupt again, I'm going to tell you the story of how I came to be here, and what I need your help with. I trust you with this information because you realise the most important thing is that humanity continues to survive, no matter the amount of lives lost in the process! So will you please hear me out?"
"Fine. I'm listening." Lucas growled out as he crossed his arms across his chest.
(Liberio, 817)
"Hurry Faye!" Grisha urged his younger sister, he was eager to see the Zeppelins today and didn't want to waste any time.
"Hey, wait." His mother said to the two, they didn't have their armbands on, that was a one way trip to Utopia, even if they were just kids.
"We won't be able to see it if we don't hurry." Grisha urged his sister once more.
"Wait you two." His mother said once again, carrying their armbands in her hands. "Didn't I tell you to always have your armbands on when you go outside?" She reminded Grisha, putting his armband on, the nine pointed star of Eldia, it represented the nine Titan powers that only Eldians could inherit. "Grisha." His mother started. "You must absolutely not go past the walls. Okay?"
"When I thought of where I should begin, that day first came to my mind." Grisha told Lucas who was listening intently. "The day in my youth that I was forced to face the truth of this world."
The Zeppelin then passed over the district of Liberio, so Grisha and Faye went to follow it.
"Be careful Grisha!" A middle aged Eldian scolded him. "Watch where you're going."
"Sorry." Grisha apologised.
"Wow..." His sister gaped at the Zeppelin overhead. "How do those things fly?" She asked.
"It's full of hydrogen. That's how it floats." Grisha explained to his sister who just seemed confused. "I heard that batteries are used to power the propeller."
"Who's inside it?" Faye asked.
"Someone rich, of course." Grisha responded.
"Heey!" She tried to wave at the blimp overhead as it went over the wall.
"Oh, there it goes." Grisha stated.
"It's so nice." Faye said. "I wonder if I'll be able to ride a blimp if I become rich some day."
"What're you talking about? There's no way any of us could ever become rich." Grisha told her.
"Yeah." She sighed. "But... it seems nice. I wonder what you can see from up there?" She watched it disappear over the wall. "And now it's gone."
"Lets go Faye." Grisha said as he grabbed her hand. "My teacher says that blimps take off and land in a place close to here." He explained to her. "Let's go see it!"
"But mom said we couldn't go past the walls!" Faye tried to protest.
"It's fine." He assured her as they moved towards the gate. "It'll just be for a minute."
"Hey! Wait you two!" The guard at the gate yelled as the ran past him.
"We'll be right back!" Grisha yelled back at him as they continued to run.
While Grisha and Faye were outside the internment zone they were getting a lot of disgusted stares from other people around them.
"Move you vermin!" A man yelled as they accidentally bumped into him.
"Oh, a couple of filthy blooded children?" One man spoke up to another.
"What are they doing crawling around here?" The other asked, seemingly disgusted at their presence.
"Grisha." His sister spoke up, sweating a lot because she was so nervous.
"It's okay... you're used to it by now. Aren't you?" He asked her. "Look!" He said as they came upon a set of stairs. "It's right there! Just on the other side of the embankment."
They both climbed the stairs just in time to see the blimp being wheeled into a hangar on the airfield.
"It's so big!" Faye gaped at it.
"Came to see the blimp too?" A soldier asked, lying down on the hill a few feet away from him, with another one next to him.
"Y... Yes." Grisha nervously responded as Faye hid behind him.
"You're from the Liberio internment zone. Aren't you?" He asked, noticing their armbands. "Show me your exit permit." He ordered them.
"Uh... Er..." Grisha pretended to fumble with his pockets as the soldier put his cap back on and stood up. "I don't have one." He told them.
"So you entered the city without authorisation?" The soldier asked him.
"...Yes." Grisha responded.
"You know what that means for you right?" The soldier asked him.
"...Yes." He replied again.
"Which'll it be?" He asked. "Labour, or punishment?"
"Punishement!" Faye squeaked out. "Grisha?!" She was panicking now.
"Hmm... don't want to cause trouble for your parents, huh?" The soldier asked as he was now crouched down to Grisha's height.
"Yes..." Grisha responded before trying to protect his sister. "I forced my sister to come out here with me." He told the soldier. "Please, punish me in her place too!" He pleaded.
"All right." The soldier calmly responded before sending his knee into Grisha's gut, sending spit flying out his mouth as his sister cried out for him. "One more." He said while his partner began to escort the crying Faye away from them.
"I can't believe it... you're merciless Kruger." His partner told him, but then turned his attention to Faye. "C'mon little girl... let's get you home first." He said as he lead her off into the distance.
"It was smart if you to keep your armbands on." Kruger commented as he sat down to have a smoke while Grisha was in pain. "Any Eldian who takes theirs off gets sent straight to Utopia, even kids like you."
"I'm... going back." Grisha managed to get out to Kruger.
"Wait." Kruger stopped him from leaving. "You came to see the blimp, didn't you?" He asked. "You're already here, might as well see it first."
"When I got home, my little sister wasn't around." Grisha told Lucas, trying to hold back tears at the story. "She was found in the river the next day." He revealed.
"As I explained time and time again, I took her to the border of Liberio. No farther." The soldier who was with Kruger yesterday explained. "I was busy with work to do. And it was her fault to begin with, an Eldian child shouldn't be wandering around town without permission." He explained to Grisha's parents.
"It seems that your son doesn't fully understand your tribes position." He observed. "You've been teaching him about the ills committed by your ancestors, havent you? If that's not enough, then throw a collar on him." He suggested.
"I knew that this man from the Marley Public Security Authorities was lying. He was skipping out on his job and sleeping by the riverside." Grisha explained. "He could not have been busy." Grisha growled out. "My mother was overwhelmed by sorrow... while my father... demeaned himself in front of these men."
"Thank you very much for your guidance." Mr Yeager thanked the soldier. "Be assured, I will teach my foolish son those lessons once again."
"When I saw my father, and this man... I began to have so much hate for them that I began to feel dizzy." Grisha told him. "But even more than that... I cursed my own foolishness."
1820 years ago, our ancestor Ymir Fritz... made a contract with the devil of all earth to gain a power. The power of the Titans." Mr Yeager told Grisha. "After her death, Ymir's soul was split into the nine Titans, who built the empire of Eldia. Eldia was a great nation that destroyed Marley and came to rule our continent." He explained.
"That is when the dark ages began. The subjects of Ymir, who had gained the power to turn into Titans, designated all other races and peoples as inferior and began to oppress them." His father explained. "They stole away their land and possessions, wiping out main lands entirely. Eldians forced other peoples to have their children, so that there would be more subjects of Ymir. This ethnic cleansing lasted for around 1700 years."
"Eldia's arrogance grew to no limits, but the people of the once great nation of Marley began to plot against them from within. They were able to incite a civil war, weakening Eldia. Not only that, but they were able to put seven of the nine Titans under their control, and were victorious in the great Titan was eighty years ago."
"King Fritz was left only with the island of Paradis." He said, pointing to an island to the north east of Marley. "And there he built three layers of walls before escaping with his people. But not all of them, we non-Marleyan Eldians that remained... were abandoned by them and left behind on this continent."
"Normally... it wouldn't have been surprising if Marley decided to eradicate us all given our position. But the very fact we think that must be because we're descendants of devils. The tolerant people of Marley did not kill us, they gave us land we could live on."
"My father was talkative for someone who had just lost his daughter." Grisha recalled his memories of that moment. "When I saw him there, defending his master's orders as he belittled his ancestors with joy... he looked just like a dog."
"It sounds like he was just trying to keep you safe Grisha." Lucas commented on that.
"Yes. I realise that now, but back then... I was way in over my head." He admitted. "But I discovered my own path when I was eighteen. Just as I was planning to take over running my father's clinic indifferent to it all."
"The man I was treating said he was part of the Eldia Restorationists and that their informant inside the Marley Government said that an officer had killed Faye. I worked in the field of medicine. And I had a strong hatred of the Marley Government." He explained.
"The underground Anti-Establishment group called the Eldia Restorationists took note of these two points and came to recruit me." He revealed to Lucas, who still had his neutral expression on his face. "When I learned the truth about my little sister. I made a vow to myself. I'd teach them who the true devils were. What our ancestors had done was right."
"If we wanted to set the world right once more... we had to bring Eldia back to power."
"You sound like a fanatic." Lucas pointed out, which Grisha ignored.
"Our informant inside the Marley Government was known as "The Owl", they guided the Restorationists without ever showing themselves to us. They supplied us with weapons, and funds, and gave us historical documents that Eldian's in those days no longer knew about."
"I decided to devote myself... to wherever fate took me."
"You should have created your own fate, maybe then you wouldn't be stuck here." Lucas snorted.
"There was a branch of the Royal Family that refused to flee to the island at the end of the Great Titan War and stayed on the continent. She was the only descendant of that group."
"Dina?" Lucas guessed.
"Yes." Grisha confirmed for him. "Her family waited for the day that Eldia rose again... and lived in hiding inside the internment zone, together with the knowledge of the Titans held by the Royal Family. The information she brought the Revivalists was nothing short of a path to victory."
"I'm sure of it!" Grisha exclaimed as he was on the stage alongside Dina. "It's certain when you compare it to the Marley Government information The Owl provided us!"
"The Founding Titan that King Fritz took with him to inside the walls!" He yelled. "That is the key to Eldia's restoration! The Founding Titan has the ability to rule and control other Titans!" He explained to the crowd of restorationists. "If only we can get our hands on it, we will be able to destroy Marley once more!"
"But... if King Fritz has that kind of absolute power... Why did he retreat to the Island?" A Restorationist asked.
"Because..." Dina started. "He refused to fight." She revealed to them. "The Great Titan War began in the first place when the 145th King inherited the Founding Titan. Until then, the houses that split the eight Titan's had been locked in constant conflict for generations. Yet balance was kept in Eldia through the Royal Family's presenting of the Founding Titan. But the 145th King abandoned those duties and moved the capital to a remote island. Our family could not agree with that, causing us to part ways."
"These pitiful days... we've been made to suffer... all started when the King turned away from conflict." Dina explained to them all.
"Let's fight." Grisha proclaimed. "It's clear what we have to do. We'll take back the Founding Titan from the King who abandoned us and fled to inside those walls." Grisha told told them all. "And then we will offer it to the true Royal Family!" He yelled. "The line that stayed behind on this continent for our sake, the Eldian people!"
"My fellow brothers!" Grisha tried to pump up the crowd. "Let us overthrow Marley! Let us right this false history! And let us regain our pride as Eldians!"
"My fellow brothers!" He raised his arm into the air. "WE FIGHT UNTIL THE DAY THAT ELDIA RETURNS!" Grisha then looked over towards Dina, who had tears in her eyes. She then latched onto a stunned Grisha as she cried onto his shirt.
"We were married the next year." He told Lucas. "And we were blessed with a baby boy. His name was Zeke. Then one age turned into another... and people changed. Just as the world was growing rapidly. A turning point came for the Eldia Restorationists."
"They Marley Government decided that they needed the natural resources stored on Paradis Island so they could keep pace with the growing technology of the other nations. So they decided to train children from age five to seven and turn them into Titan Shifters that would fight for them. After meeting with the other Restorationists I decided that I would send my son Zeke there to be our spy."
"You sent a five year old kid, to be your spy?" Lucas asked him.
"Yes. That was how I came to entrust my son with the pride of Eldia... while also sending him to be a warrior of Marley who pledged his alliegence to an enemy state. But sure enough... I was no different from the foolish child I was all those years earlier."
"Around the time my son turned seven, he betrayed both me and my wife to the Marley Government. The Eldia revivalists were all sent to Utopia. Doomed to become man eating Titan's that wandered the Island of Paradis for eternity, the beginning of the unthinkable tragedy, where Eldian's eat their own kind."
Lucas felt his throat go dry at that, it had been inferred earlier, but he didn't want to believe he had spent the last three years running around killing humans.
"What happened after you were arrested?" Lucas asked. "I don't give a shit about what your son did to you. I want to know how you got here."
"Very well." Grisha conceded. "I was tortured for information by the Marleyans. They beat me, starved me, tore my nails out, even cut my fingers off. I told them everything, but it wasn't enough for them, because they still decided to take me to Paradis Island to turn me into a mindless Titan."
(832, Paradis Island Southern Port)
"We're here." A soldier announced, taking the blindfold off Grisha's face.
"This is..." Grisha trailed off after looking into the distance, he knew exactly where he was.
"That's right." The soldier replied. "Paradis, the penal colony for the Eldian traitors, the borderline to Utopia." He explained. "You're going to be serving a life sentence here for the crime of treason, and you'll be serving it as a mindless Titan. You'll sense humans, chase humans and eat humans, that's all you'll be doing until the day you die. But... the problem is that there's almost no way to die."
"I... I've met you before." Grisha spoke up. "When I was a child."
"... So you remember." The soldier stated.
"How could I ever forget... that day?" Grisha replied, looking down the wall he was kneeling upon.
"Please... kill me." Another one of the prisoners begged the soldier who was walking him down the wall. "No... No, not a Titan." He begged.
"Keep walking." The soldier ordered him.
"Grice..." Grisha spoke up, recognising the voice.
"Hm? Is that you Grisha?!" He asked. "Hey! What's going on?! Why would Zeke inform on us?!" He asked. "Hey..." He said as Grisha said nothing. "C'mon, say something!" He pleaded. "He's your son isn't he?! How the hell do you raise a kid who'd sell out his own parents?! Maybe you're the person we should be blaming here!"
"You know what?! You were all talk! You never did a thing for us!" Grice yelled at him. "It was a mistake to entrust you with everything! The Restorationists! Dina too! Say something!" He demanded.
"I'm sorry." Grisha apologised.
"Why did I ever let you... Eldia... is finished." He said, giving up hope for himself.
"Seems we have a live one." One of the officers stated. "You're free to go." He said, kicking him off the edge of the wall.
"GRICE!" Grisha yelled down to his friend who had managed to survive the fall.
"Those are sand dunes down there. We want to make sure it's hard to die from a fall, even a thirty plus metre one." The soldier behind Grisha told him.
"Hey Grice?!" Grisha called down to him.
"Run straight north!" The soldier who kicked him off the wall yelled down to him. "You'll make it to the wall if you're lucky!" He yelled, while Grice had started to run.
"Sergeant Major Gross?" One of the others asked, confused at his actions.
"Hm? This your first time here?" Gross asked. "The Titans don't come close to the ocean. But by doing this, he'll attract the Titans that are about to be created and get them away from here. It makes our job easier." He explained. "Eh, he'll be eaten in no time anyway. Isn't that right Kruger?"
"Eh." Kruger said, seemingly not paying attention.
"We've got a bunch of them today!" Gross announced to the other soldiers. "Let's get this going!" He ordered.
"Ah. Everyone..." Grisha trailed off, seeing all the others being injected with a serum and then kicked off the wall, turning into mindless Titans after they hit the ground.
"Stop it all of you!" Grisha yelled as they began to chase after Grice. "Don't you understand?! That's Grice!"
"Hey Kruger. Hurry up and turn him into a Titan. I can't stand all that noise." Gross complained.
"No... I still want to interrogate him." Kruger replied. "You go ahead."
"Yeah, okay. Don't work yourself to hard, all right?" Gross told him. ""Oh, a woman next? What a waste, if only she didn't have devils blood in her." He commented.
"Dina..." Grisha whispered.
"Grisha..." Dina whispered back.
"Why... is she here? Did you not get the message?" He asked. "I... I told you all about her!" He yelled. "She ought to be valuable to you Marleyans! There's Royal blood inside of her-"
"Shut up." Kruger stated as he slammed Grisha's head onto the stone wall.
"What's the matter?" Gross asked.
"I couldn't stand hearing his nonsense." Kruger replied. "Continue your work."
"Honestly... just turn him into a Titan and shut him up already." Gross suggested to him.
"Grisha... I... No matter what I become... Don't worry. I'll find you." Dina told him as she was injected with the serum, giving him a smile.
"Heh, sounds good." Gross said as he kicked her off the edge. "You two have a nice life together as Titans."
"DINAAA!" Grisha yelled as she transformed into a fourteen metre Titan with blonde hair and a horrible smile.
"Look!" Gross yelled out while laughing as Dina's Titan form went after Grice. "She won't even look at you. She's going right after little Grice! Guess she was really interested in him after all." He laughed.
"Shut up." Grisha demanded.
"Did you just say something?" Gross replied.
"It was you." Grisha stated. "Fifteen years ago... you fed my sister to dogs... You fed my eight year old little sister to dogs!" He yelled at him. "It was you, wasn't it?!"
"Is he the last one?" Gross asked as the brought up another Eldian, receiving conformation he continued. "Okay, let me handle him. Start heading back to the ship, all of you." He ordered.
"You're done with your interrogation, aren't you Kruger." Gross asked once the others had went back down the stairs. "We're going to be making him dance today."
"Dance?!" Grisha asked, confused at what Gross meant.
"I remember you now son. I'm not going to make you a Titan." He told Grisha. "I decided he's going to be eating you." He gestured to the Eldian that was still blindfolded. "I'll be sure to make him a three or four metre Titan. So you fight him. And I'd appreciate it if you could hold out for as long as you can."
"You... why... are you doing this?" Grisha asked him.
"Why?" Gross repeated. "You want to know... why? Because it's fun... why else?" Gross stated. "It's fun to watch humans get eaten by monsters. Sure some people might not want to see that. But people want to see brutality. It's been peaceful for dozens of years since we were freed from Eldian rule, right? That's great and all, but it must make it feel like something is lacking. Maybe what you'd call the feeling of being alive? You barely get it any more these days."
"I don't know how many people out there feel that every day could be their last, but that's supposed to be the normal state of mind for any creature." Gross said while preparing the injection. "You're seen as strange if you think that way when you live in a society that takes peace for granted. Not me." He said as he injected the man.
"We all die, but I'm prepared to accept that reality when my day comes. And that's because I face the truth of this cruel world and seek to better understand it. Of course, it's important to have fun while you learn." He commented. "And you know, it was education when I fed your little sister to my sons' dogs. They grew up to be fine young men thanks to that." He said, kicking the Eldian off the edge.
"Your heart... does it not hurt?" Grisha asked him.
"Eh. I understand what you want to say." Gross told him. "My chest tightens at the thought of any of my sons meeting the same fate. It's not as if they did anything wrong, after all."
"Yes... my sister only wanted to see the blimp." Grisha replied. "She wanted to dream of riding it to somewhere far away."
"Poor thing." Gross commented. ""If only she wasn't an Eldian." He said, confusing Grisha. "Get a good look at that." Gross pointed to the Titan below. "That's who you people really are." He reminded him. "All it takes is for your bodies to absorb some Titan spinal fluid and you turn into giant monsters. And you think you can call yourselves just as human as us?"
"You "subjects of Ymir" from the Eldian empire are the only creatures in the world like that. It's nothing short of a nightmare that these beasts in human skin were allowed to multiply in large numbers." Gross said to Grisha. "It may be peaceful now, but even though we finally freed ourselves fron their control, rats like you pop up every once in a while. Understand?" He asked. "All of humanity wishes for the same thing. For every last Eldian to be eliminated from this world."
"What did you say?" Grisha asked him.
"Don't do anything about rats that take up living in your home and it can lead to an epidemic. So of course you need to eliminate them." Gross explained his point of view to Grisha. "Does my heart not hurt? How could it? Don't make it sound like I'm killing humans." He leaned down to Grisha's level. "You're the killer here. What were you Restorationists trying to do to Marley? You were trying to go down the same path as the Eldian Empire, weren't you? Did your heart not hurt?" He asked him, his voice laced with sarcasm.
"It's a lie. Your history is all a lie." Grisha told him. "I know the truth. Our ancestor Ymir... used the power of the Titans to cultivate the wastelands, build the roads, and construct bridges between the mountains. She brought wealth to the people of the continent. Marley is distorting history." Grisha claimed.
"Yeah I get it. You have a grand history right?" Gross asked him. "Why don't you talk to your friend down there about it."
"Stop it!" Grisha yelled out as Gross tried to push him over the edge.
"Don't be ridiculous! I want to see you get eaten by a Titan!" Gross yelled at him. "Just promise me you wont die some hackneyed old death, okay?! Show me some new way I've never seen before!" He requested.
"You think this is funny, you bastard?!" Grisha yelled back at him.
"Don't get so upset. I already explained to you that we need this kind of entertainment in our lives, didn't I? Be more positive about it! Hear that?! Your sister's calling you!" He mocked.
"Damn you!" Grisha yelled, only to be pulled back as Kruger shoved Gross off the ledge instead.
"Phew." Kruger stated as the Titan began to eat Gross' face. "What do you think? Are you finding this fun?" He asked as he examined his hat.
"Who... who are you?" Grisha asked him.
"I'm the Owl." Kruger stated, throwing his hat off the wall. "Watch and learn, Grisha." Kruger said as he produced a knife and sliced his palm open. "This is how you use the power of the Titans."
A/N- Sorry for cutting it off there but I didn't want to write a 10k plus word chapter and bore you guys to death. But Grisha has decided to entrust his greatest secret to Lucas, I wonder what he'll do about it. The next chapter will probably include the Fall of Shiganshina in some sort if capacity after Grisha finishes and he decides what he should do. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!