Chapter 14: Trigger
Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
Previously: The Survey Corps goes to rescue Ymir. Ymir decides to be with Historia but is forced to save Reiner lest Bertolt transform. Canon Eren uses the Coordinate's power to Mikasa.
Quick Reminder: Eren = Modern Eren & Eren II = Canon Eren
"Calm down, Bertolt."
"She said they have Annie!" Bertolt's voice pitched with panic. "What if they're torturing her right now?!"
"Christa could—"
"Historia," Ymir corrected, lying with arms folded over her stomach as the two boys talked. "Her real name is Historia." It had been tough but they'd managed to make it to Wall Maria in one piece. After catching their breaths, Bertolt had started freaking out about Annie and pacing around. Ymir continued to enjoy the sun on her face, not knowing for how much longer she would have that luxury.
Reiner spared her a glance. "Historia could have been lying. How would they know Annie was the Female Titan? You're obvious in your affections for her. Everyone knows. Historia could have said it just to get to you and happened to be right."
"Then why did she specifically refer to Annie as the Female Titan?" Bertolt demanded. "And why did they have all us rookies gathered in one place? You said yourself it was strange we were in civilian clothes but the veterans were armed. Eren must have defeated Annie with the Scouts' help. He must have needed time to rest up. Why else would he not show up with Hange and her soldiers when they thought the Wall had been breached? He must have been recovering from the fight."
Reiner didn't seem to have an answer to his questions. "Okay, say they do have Annie," he finally said, "what can we do?"
"We go back and rescue her!"
"No. They know our faces and they'll be on high alert for a while. The best thing to do right now is to meet up with Zeke. We'll report everything we know and he'll decide the right course of action. Besides, we're going to need his help if we're going to save Annie. We have no idea where they could be keeping her."
"And what about Eren?"
"Eren..." Reiner grimaced. "Why did it have to be him? Of all people, he is the worst possible person to possesses the Coordinate."
"What exactly was that?" Ymir asked. "How could he control the Titans?"
To her surprise, Reiner actually answered, "Because he possess the Founding Titan."
"Shouldn't one of King Fritz's descendants have it?"
"Somehow someway it's managed to end up in his hands." Then, after a moment of silence, Reiner asked, "Why did you help me?"
Ymir thought of Sasha and Connie. "Because Bertolt looked like he was planning on doing something stupid that would have gotten either himself killed or killed the Scouts. Either option wasn't really something I was okay with."
"Why? And why did you come with us? After you'd killed most of the Titans trying to eat me and weighing me down, you could have tried to fight your way back to the Survey Corps. Maybe you could have made it."
"Oh, well... I guess it's because I'm an idiot." Ymir sat up and looked at them. "Look, you can't just meet up with your comrades empty-handed. If you hadn't come to bust up this Wall, I would've never woken up from that hellish nightmare. You're right. I could have left after saving you, but then I thought I owed your friend enough to ensure you reached your comrades safely. And because I'm probably the only one that understands the situation you're in."
"Thank you, Ymir," Reiner said sincerely. "I'm sorry that..."
You'll end up being eaten so Marley can give the Titan power I stole back to one of their candidates? Ymir filled in her head. "It's fine," she said. "It wasn't so bad. Being a good girl."
As the two made preparations to make camp for the night, Ymir remembered Historia's words. She would live for herself. What she had said to Historia hadn't been a lie. But neither was what she told Reiner. Marcel had, unwillingly, freed her from that desolate existence. And while she still felt a twinge of guilt, as far as she was concerned the debt she owed him was more or less paid when she saved his friends. After agreeing to come with Historia, instead of calling out to Bertolt, she could have easily knocked him out by smashing him into the tree while he was distracted by Reiner and Eren's fight. She could have left Reiner at the mercy of the Pure Titans. Then she would have taken Historia and retreated with the Survey Corps, handing the Colossal Titan-Shifter over to them as a gesture of goodwill, to earn a pardon from the government. But she had chosen to deliver them safe and secure to their comrades.
I kept their secret and saved their lives at the risk of my own. That's enough, she told herself. If she was to be sent back to Marley to be devoured, she would make peace with it. Although she made a mental note to write a letter for Historia if it came to that.
However, if they did decide to make a trade to get Annie back and if she saw a chance, she would fight for the Survey Corps and help them defeat the Marleyans. With Eren possessing the Founding Titan, there was a future for Paradis Island. There was a future for her and Historia.
When Eren stepped into the room, Mikasa, Levi, Hange, Jean, Connie, Sasha, and Historia were already present. "Sorry, I slept in," he said, taking a seat to Mikasa's right. Armin, who had come to fetch him, took a seat on her other side.
"It's fine. You were probably tired from yesterday," Hange said, sitting at one end of the table. Eren's mind had buzzed until early morning, wondering how different the outcome would have been if they'd done this instead of that. As a result, he'd slept in late.
Sasha raised her hand. When Hange nodded, she asked, "How's Commander Erwin? I heard he was injured."
"He had a nasty fall during an encounter with a Titan and hasn't woken yet."
"He's in a coma?" Armin asked, and Hange nodded in reply.
Sitting at the other head of the table, Levi turned to Historia. "Tell us everything."
"I'll have to start from the very beginning." Historia then recounted the circumstances surrounding her birth and her early childhood. How she was the product of an affair between her nobleman father and her mother.
Eren frowned, and so did several others, when she told them about her neglecting mother.
Historia finished with her mother's murder and her father offering to spare her if she decided to live a quiet life under an assumed name, Christa Lenz. "I would say that's everything, but something strange happened yesterday. Up until that moment, I had completely forgotten about one person. Freida. She came to visit me often on the farm and spent time with me. She taught me many things, like how to read and be polite and respectful, and she loved me." Historia smiled fondly.
"You have no recollection of her whatsoever until you touched Eren the other day?" Jean asked.
"Yes. I don't know how it's possible. I wonder if it has to do with my family. Ymir mentioned I was valuable to the Church of the Wall and that's why the Warriors wanted me."
"Church of the Walls, huh?" Hange tapped her pen thoughtfully. "What's their connection to Rod Reiss? And the Warriors? Perhaps I should meet one of those Wall priests. Anyway, please continue."
"What happened yesterday," Historia began and Hange started taking notes. "Ymir kidnapped me and brought me to Bertolt. He was hiding near the edge of the forest. She told me she had stolen the power of the Titans from one of their friends and she owed them a debt."
"How did she steal the power?" Hange asked, greatly interested.
"She didn't specify. From her tone and her demeanor, she seemed to feel guilty about it. But I convinced her to join us. She agreed."
"Then why did she save Reiner and go with them?" Mikasa spoke up.
"She had no choice. She said if Bertolt transformed to save Reiner the resulting explosion would have killed us all. She did it to protect us and saved our lives. I didn't want her to leave so she ruined my 3D gear."
"That's when you shot the purple flare and a Scout found you," Connie said, arms folded.
"Yes. But before they went to save Reiner, I told them we had Annie in captivity."
"What?" Jean frowned. "Why?"
"Because I didn't want them to kill Ymir for stealing one of their Titan powers," Historia replied. "And who cares about Annie? What good is she to our cause anyway? Ymir will fight for us. We should offer a trade, Annie for Ymir." She stared at Hange expectantly.
"There's no guarantee they won't kill Ymir. Or risk losing her to get Annie back."
"You weren't there. You didn't see the look on Bertolt's face. He would go for it in a heartbeat."
"It was an open secret among the 104th class that Bertolt loved Annie," Armin chimed in. "I also believe he would go for it."
"Reiner may have betrayed us," Jean said, "but we were his enemies. Annie's his comrade. I don't think he'll leave her behind so easily."
"I'm not so sure about this," Levi said skeptically. "What about that Beast Titan? Not only do we not know if he'll want to go through with this exchange, but if he does, we don't know just how powerful that hairy fucker really is. Imagine they kill Ymir or steal her power back or whatever. Then, when we go to seal the hole in Wall Maria and they attack us and manage to win, we could lose a valuable prisoner and one of our greatest advantages in one fell swoop if we have both Shifters in one place. They know our goal is to retake Wall Maria so I'm sure they'll be lying in wait to ambush us."
Historia looked ready to fight but Hange quickly said, "We'll consider all the possibilities. Hopefully Erwin will wake up soon. And Annie may fall under our jurisdiction, but we'll still have to get Chief Zackly's permission to take her out of prison. He'll have to sign off on the exchange. Considering what Levi said, I don't think anyone but Erwin can talk Chief Zackly into agreeing."
"Fine," Historia accepted, albeit reluctantly.
"Eren, touching Historia caused you to remember your father's memories, yes?" Hange asked him.
All eyes turned to him. "Yeah," Eren said, nodding. "I'm sure of it."
"It's an easy theory to test," Jean said. "Just make contact again."
Eren stood and met Historia. He couldn't help but feel nervous for some reason. It's not like she's going to static shock you. He held up his hand.
Historia slipped her hand into his and...
...
...
...nothing happened.
"Anything?" Hange said eagerly.
"No."
"Do you feel okay?"
"I'm fine, Mikasa."
"Maybe it was just a coincidence." Sasha shrugged. "You just happened to remember when she grabbed your hands yesterday."
"That doesn't explain how Historia remembered Frieda at the same time," Armin pointed out.
"Double coincidence?" Connie offered.
Jean snorted. "Do you realize how stupid that sounds?"
"I'm with Jean. There chances are far too unlikely for." Hange folded her arms and rubbed her chin. "Maybe there are other factors we're not aware of. Other conditions that must be met. Like adrenaline or fear. That's not impossible to replicate."
"Why don't you just hold hands the entire day?" Sasha suggested, a teasing smile on her face.
"Sasha, don't be ridiculous," Mikasa said, glaring at the girl.
Eren couldn't help but take delight in her jealousy, lips twitching. "How about we give it some time first? Maybe the contact does trigger it but it takes a different amount of time each time. And yesterday it just happened right at that moment for us. It was a quick flash, too. Who knows? Maybe longer memories will take more time. It's not like we're going anywhere."
"Very well," Hange said. "We'll try again in a few days. In the meantime, avoid making contact so we can test how long it takes after each touch. Now, on to the other matter." She stared at Eren. "Do you remember how you were able to direct all those Titans?"
"No," Eren said truthfully. "I have no idea how that happened. Or what exactly happened, to be honest. There was only anger at that smiling Titan and the Armored Titan."
"If you can learn how to control that ability..." Jean trailed off.
"We'll be able to retake Wall Maria in a breeze," Historia finished.
"It's something we'll keep an eye out for." Hange stood, notebook in hand. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be heading to Ragako village tomorrow morning so I need to make preparations."
"If it's okay," Connie spoke up, "I'd like to come with you."
"I would like you to. I think it would be helpful to have you there with me."
Hange left. Eren and the others started to stand when Levi interrupted. "Wait," he said, holding up a hand. "Don't go anywhere yet. I have news I need to share. Since my entire squad, except one, is out of commission and you need to be placed on teams, you're all going to be the new members of Squad Levi from now on."
"What about Erd and Petra?" Eren questioned. "Won't the squad get too big?"
"There's plenty of squads with ten or so soldiers. The elite ones are much smaller, of course. But Erd, and definitely Petra, won't be returning for at least a month yet. Taking into account all the casualties of our disastrous chase the other day as well as all the ones that are likely to occur during our retaking of Wall Maria, if they survive, they might be getting promoted. That is, if the mission is a success and we manage to get more recruits."
Eren nodded in understanding. "Hey, wait!" He grinned mischievously. "Since I'm the most senior member after you, does that mean I get to be your second-in-command?" He was already making up Squad Levi initiations he could force them to do.
"Not a chance," Levi shot him down. "I'm sure we won't be heading out on an expedition for at least a month. Erd and Petra might be back by then. And if they aren't and I do feel the need to have second-in-command, it'll either be Jean or Armin. You're one of the last people I'd put in charge."
"What, you think I'd abuse my authority?"
"Eren would never—" Mikasa started to defend him.
"Because of course I would!"
I wonder why it didn't work. Maybe there was some time delay or something. Or was it because it had been him in his twin's body and not the body's actual owner? Could that be the cause? Eren had to consider it. Whatever the rules or inner working of this making-contact-with-Historia-causing-hidden-memories-to-reveal-themselves thing was, could it be that his presence was throwing a wrench in things? Is my being here fucking up the mechanics of...whatever it is?
Eren also needed to inform Levi and the rest about the island memory. He had remembered that too late but Hange would be back tomorrow and he could do it then. Lost in his thoughts, Eren wandered out the HQ until he reached the stables. I should see how The Batmobile is doing. She had managed to make it back, much to his relief and joy. Two familiar voices halted him in his tracks when he reached the doorway. Armin was half standing in a stall. Greetings died in Eren's mouth when he heard what they were talking about.
"Does Eren seem different to you?" Mikasa's voice drifted from inside the stall.
"What do you mean?" Despite his question, it was clear from the sound of his voice Armin knew exactly what she was talking about.
The horses, used to his presence, didn't make any more noise than they already were. Quiet as a mouse and exercising great caution, he entered the stall with Levi's horse. His captain liked taking care of his horse himself and allowed only a few—Eren not included in that list—to handle her. He knew they wouldn't enter the stall. There was a stall between Levi's horse and the one where Mikasa and Armin were, causing him to strain his ears.
"He's just been... He doesn't lose his temper as much."
"I guess he's finally growing up."
"It's not just that. There are other things. His jokes, the way he speaks, the things he says, they're different. He carries himself differently, too."
Of course. Of course she noticed. How could I be dumb enough to think she wouldn't? Mikasa had known Eren II since they were nine. Gone through a horribly traumatic thing together. What if she thinks I'm some sort of imposter? He shook his head. That was an utterly ludicrous notion. If one of his friends back home suddenly had a change of personality, he would never imagine—maybe in jest, he might—that someone had taken over his body.
Armin seemed to be weighing her words. Finally, he said, "I didn't tell you this before because Eren didn't want me to, but, after he was eaten, he lost a lot of his memories."
"What?" Mikasa said sharply.
I should have let her in on it now that Other Me and I can communicate. Eren made up his mind to talk to her about it, soon.
"He told me in confidence before the operation to seal the hole in Trost. He was worried they might imprison him. He had this terrible power that scared almost everyone and he had lost his memories. What if they questioned his loyalty and decided he was too dangerous to be allowed to roam free?"
"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't he trust me?" Mikasa sounded upset and hurt. Eren felt bad she felt excluded and not trusted.
"He made me promise. He was just worried about you."
"Eren should have told me by now." Mikasa was quiet for a bit before she said, "That explains why he's been acting so strange. He doesn't remember a lot of what makes him...him, I guess. Exactly how much has he forgotten?"
"He's started remembering more things over the past month. I know he forgot about his mother's death until I reminded him so he would get the motivation to pick up the rock and get it to Trost's gate."
"Really?" Mikasa said, sounding surprised.
"He remembered who he was, who his parents and his friends were. And general stuff about the world. But he said there was a lot missing."
"And for some reason, Historia is the trigger that can help him recall things." There was a tightness to Mikasa's voice.
Eren relaxed as they turned to the topic on why that was the case. He didn't get a chance to talk to Mikasa the rest of the day. With so many Scouts dead, the number of chores per person increased drastically and kept them apart. He was mostly glad about it. It gave him plenty of time to prepare for their eventual talk.
That night Eren lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, contemplating the conversation he needed to have with Mikasa. Snores came from around the room as Armin, Jean, and Connie slept peacefully. He yawned, feeling sleepy. It was then he sensed his twin's return. He told Eren II about everything that happened during the day since he didn't know how much of it the other boy was aware of. "Do you think we should prepare a reason just in case their suspicions start to grow? Like how the previous holders of your Titan's power, their personalities are trickling through or something." That sounded plausible, didn't it?
"It would make sense. Just don't start overthinking it. If they ever become nervous about it, which I don't think they will, it'll be cause you turned it into a bigger deal than it was. Worrying they'll think you're an imposter or something."
"True," Eren admitted. "It'll be kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy in a way. And we have a good excuse in Historia on how I reached that conclusion about the previous holders of this power."
"Yeah. And by the way, you aren't that different from me. It's just you say weird things and you're more even-tempered than me. Having seen a lot of your memories, I know we're more alike than we are different."
"Still, you should tell me more about your childhood."
"That's probably a good idea," Eren II agreed.
"And speaking of Historia, do you think there were no new memories cause it was me in control and not you? Or cause you were totally absent?"
"I don't know. It's possible. Our situation is pretty tricky. We can't ask for help. You'd come off as a raving lunatic and might get locked up. I'm stuck in your comatose body so I can't investigate. Would have been nice to use the Internet." Eren II sighed disappointedly. "Maybe I could have found something. If there ever was a documented case—or even wild theories—about something like our situation, I'm sure it would be there instead of my world."
Thinking about the Internet made Eren think about his world. Inevitably it brought him to a topic he'd been avoiding thinking about. "How're my parents?" Eren asked quietly.
"They're holding on, trying to stay strong. It's nice hearing their voices again."
"I hope I can go home soon." Eren felt a deep ache in his chest. Idiot, don't cry! He quickly wiped his eyes, suddenly yearning for home. It was why he only allowed himself to think about the positives of this new world, having an adventure, cool abilities, helping people and being a hero, getting to flirt with the girl he liked. Thinking about what he had left behind made him miserable. But he was too late to ignore that now and the flood gates opened.
A wave of homesickness washed over him. He missed his world and felt lonely and out of place sometimes. Over a month had passed since he last saw his family, his friends, his home. He missed his Mikasa, too.
Sensing his sadness, Eren II decided to let him stew in his misery before he changed the subject. It would be good for Eren express his unhappiness just by letting himself feel it and share it through their bond with the one person he could be completely honest with.
False assurances about how Eren would be home soon would not help so Eren II didn't say anything. At least I can pop in now and then and see Mikasa and Armin and the others. He could interact with them and help them. The rest of the time he spent in a dreamy haze, barely feeing time pass as he explored the world through his twin's memories and got to feel his parents' love again. Eren didn't have those luxuries.
After giving him a minute to collect himself, Eren II asked. "You wanna tell me about this 'basketball' and the Thunder Spears? Your brother brought me up to date on their games."
Eren perked up. "Did they make it to the finals?"
"They did. The most hated rival of your favorite team is a team called Titans," Eren II snorted. "Our worlds mirror each other in strange ways."
Eren bit back his laughter, trying not to wake the other boys. "I never thought about that! Thunder Spears and Titans have a famous rivalry!"
"We share some strange similarities, but there are differences, too. I don't have a brother or a stepmother."
"That's too bad. Zeke's really cool. He taught me how to play baseball and would take me to comic stores all the time as a kid." Eren smiled, remembering the good times. "And Dina would always make my favorites when I was over."
Eren II sighed enviously. "And you have grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and nieces and nephews, too. Wish I had a big family. And Halloween."
"Yeah, it's pretty great," Eren agreed happily. "Hey, since you know so much about me, tell me more about yourself. I've gotten more of your memories but I still feel like I barely know you."
"Alright. Let me tell you how I first met Armin..."
"Just bring the essentials. We're not going on vacation," Levi said, taking a sip of his tea.
"Haven't been to the mountains since that extra credit survival training we did last year," Sasha recalled, shivering.
"It's about time we start experimenting with my Shifter powers." Eren was beyond thrilled to explore what other abilities his Titan had. He wanted to be able to crystalize his skin like Annie's Titan did. Imagining sinking a hardened fist into the Armored Titan's face and wrecking it was very satisfying.
"When are we leaving, sir?" Jean asked.
"Later this evening, once Hange and Connie are back from Ragako."
The mood became solemn. The two had left early that morning to figure out what had happened to the boy's village.
Eren was almost certain Titans were humans. Maybe it was from watching too much TV and movies, but it seemed obvious to him. It was a theory he hadn't even shared with his other self in fear of his reaction. Not like I have proof or anything. He could very well be wrong. But if it turned out to be right, he had to react accordingly. Maybe he should tell Eren II and see how he reacted, in case Eren II wasn't around when they found out to give a genuine reaction himself. Eren was going to need to know the level of denial or devastation he needed to portray.
"Is there news on Commander Erwin's condition, sir?" Historia asked.
"No changes yet," Levi replied. "But Erwin's a tough bastard. He'll pull through."
"We'll need him to," Armin said.
Eren nodded, bringing up his spoon. There was a lot of shit coming their way, he just knew it. They were going to need Erwin if they wanted to make it.
"Um," Armin said hesitantly, "I was also wondering about Ann—"
Suddenly, a memory flashed in Eren's head and the spoon slipped from his lax fingers, dropping in the bowl of soup. He clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from cursing in surprise and alerting the other Scouts dining around him.
"Are you choking?" Mikasa leaned in, placing a hand on his back.
"I just... Come with me." Eren stood and left quickly, not waiting for their response. It wasn't something he could tell them in the mess hall. They caught up with him in the hallway.
"Slow the fuck down," Levi grumbled, trying to keep up, his healing ankle slowing him.
"Sorry." Eren slowed his pace.
"What's going on? Did you remember something?" Jean asked him.
"I'll tell you once we're somewhere private."
Once they filed into Levi's office, Levi shut the door. "Speak," he said.
"You might wanna brace yourselves for this," Eren warned as they stared at him curiously. "The Walls...they're made up of Colossal-type Titans."
Their reaction was about what he expected: mouths falling open in shock and denial.
"No, that's... It can't be," Sasha said incredulously.
"Are you sure, Eren? Maybe you're mistaken," Jean said, eyes wide.
"I'm sure. In the memory flash I had, my dad was staring at Wall Maria imagining countless, enormous Titans standing side-by-side. Somehow he knew that's what they were made of, I could feel it."
"But how can that be possible?" Mikasa said, looking like she was having a hard time understanding. Eren felt the same.
"It makes sense," Armin said slowly, gaining everyone's attention. "I noticed it when we were supposed to do maintenance work on the Wall after graduation, before the Colossal showed up."
"Noticed what?" Sasha asked.
"Isn't it odd that despite being over a hundred years old, there isn't a single sign of wear and tear to be found?"
"But the Colossal and Armored Titans broke through the Walls," Historia said. "How could they do that if it was made of hardened Titans?"
Armin shook his head. "No, they destroyed the gate."
Silence fell in the room as the truth sank in.
"I've gotta tell Four-Eyes," Levi said. "She can have her squad test Wall Rose. In the meantime, keep this to yourselves. Hange was thinking about meeting one of those Wall Priests within the coming days. His reaction to this should be revealing." Levi frowned. "Shit, if you're right, Eren, it would explain why those religious nuts didn't want the Walls to be altered. They were afraid of the truth coming out."
Jean's eyes narrowed. "That would imply they knew the Titans were in there all along."
If he wasn't so stunned by his discovery Eren would have been thrilled about stumbling upon a conspiracy.
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