I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.
Truth
Adam watched as Eren moved to unlock the door, only to stop.
"What's wrong?" Mikasa asked.
"Open the door Eren," Hange said.
"This...isn't the key to this door," Eren said.
"Move," Levi said. "I'll open it."
And with that, he kicked the door inward, shattering the wood as he did.
"Hey!" Hange said. "Calm down!"
Levi ignored her, walking into the basement, the others following. Levi and Hange began to search the bottles lying around the room and the books on the shelves respectively while Adam searched the desk.
"These bottles...according to the label they're just widely available medications," Levi said.
"And these are just basic medical books," Hange said.
"I don't see any hidden compartments or trick drawers," Adam said, pulling on the last drawer only for it to refuse to open. He stopped, leaning down to look and spotting a keyhole. "Eren. There's a keyhole here."
Eren walked over, pushing the key in and twisting, unlocking the drawer and pulling it out, but it was empty.
"Empty?" Eren blinked. "But..."
"Hold on," Adam said. "It's a false bottom. The drawer should be almost double that depth."
He reached in, pressing on the back right corner, the opposite one popping up, Levi lifting it out. Below the panel were three books.
"This smells like peppermint oil and charcoal," Levi said.
"They've been treated to keep moisture and bugs away," Hange said. "Three books."
"This must be what we're looking for," Levi said.
"What could my father have wanted to show me?" Eren asked, setting one of the books on the desk, Mikasa reaching out and resting her hand on it.
Together, they opened the book. On the inside of the cover was a picture of a man, woman, and child, except, it wasn't drawn. It was too perfect for that. And the surface was waxy and a little stiff.
"Is this a portrait?" Eren asked.
"No," Levi said. "It's too perfect for a human to have drawn it."
"It's covered by some kind of film too," Adam said, feeling the picture for a moment.
Eren turned it over and stared at the message on the back.
"This is not an illustration," the message read. "It is an imprint of reflected light left on a special kind of paper. It is called a photograph. I came from beyond the walls where humanity enjoys a refined existence. Humanity has not gone extinct."
Adam stared at it. They already knew that. The part about reflected light was confusing and new information, but they knew humanity still existed. Eren put the picture back in its holder and turned the page, beginning to read. It was written, apparently, by Grisha Jaeger, Eren's father. It was a retelling of his life. As a child, he and his sister left an internment camp for Eldians, a race of humans who had the ability to turn into titans when injected with titan spinal fluid, then also the ability to possess the powers of the nine intelligent titans, in order to see a "blimp," a balloon that flew using giant fans and a type of gas that allowed it to float. Grisha was then punished and sent home, but his sister was fed to dogs by the Marleyan Public Security Authorities, Marley's military. Grisha was then told by his father that Eldians were heinous criminals by blood because their ancestor, Ymir Fritz, had made a deal with the devil and gained the power of titans, namely, the Founding Titan. Then, she had died and nine new titans were born, these nine being used by Eldia, the Eldian nation, had used the power of the nine titans to conquer and oppress the country of Marley. Then, they spent over a thousand years pillaging, slaughtering, and forcing Marleyan females to have their children.
After being told this, Grisha spent the next decade living a quiet life as a doctor, eventually taking over his father's clinic. When he did, however, he was approached by a group called the Eldia Restorationists. They recruited him and he soon became one of the leaders of the group. The group had a spy, the owl, within the Marleyan government, and he gave them classified information, such as Ymir Fritz doing a long list of great things using the power of the Founding Titan, all of it bringing wealth and joy to everyone. Eventually, a woman, Dina Fritz, direct descendent of Ymir Fritz, joined, explaining that Marley had caused a civil war within Eldia, and that the one hundred forty fifth Fritz King had refused to fight, and left to Paradis Island, the island where Adam and the others lived. When he left, he took the Founding Titan with him, and only Dina's branch family remained. The rest of the nation soon fell to Marley, as they had two of the titans serving them.
Grisha later had a child with Dina, and as they raised him, Marley began to make advances with their military, including machines that could fly, called planes, and armored boats that ran on something called Fossil Fuels, like coal and oil. As a result, Marley decided to retrieve the Founding Titan from Paradis Island, around the same time as the Eldia Restorationists decided to retrieve and use the Founding Titan to overthrow Marley. The problem was that King Fritz had left a warning that if Marley attacked them, the tens of millions of Colossal Titans making up the walls Adam and the others lived in would destroy the Earth. SO, Marley came up with a plan. Train warriors from the remaining, oppressed, Eldian population of Marley, known as the Subjects of Ymir, and grant them the seven Intelligent Titan powers that Marley possessed.
Grisha and Dina decided to have their son, Zeke, do it, but Zeke turned them and the rest of the Restorationists in. All of them were brought to the edge of Paradis and everyone but Grisha was turned into a titan, including Dina Fritz, who turned out to be the Smiling Titan that had killed Eren's mother, ironically. Before Grisha was turned, however, one of the Marleyan Public Security Authority officers, Eren Krueger, revealed himself as the Owl, and the wielder of the power of the Attack Titan. He used it to save Grisha, only to then tell him that Grisha would inherit the Attack Titan, enter the walls, and reclaim the Founding Titan. He then also told Grisha of the "Curse of Ymir," a shortened lifespan for anyone who obtained the power of a titan. They would live thirteen years after obtaining it, no exceptions. And if the power wasn't obtained before they died, an infant born of the Subject of Ymir, regardless of distance or blood relations, would inherit the powers automatically.
Once he had finished explaining everything and convincing Grisha to continue fighting, he transformed Grisha into a titan, then sacrificed himself to pass on the Attack Titan. And from there, they already knew the rest. Before going to Shiganshina, they had gone to see the former Commander of the Scout Regiment from before Erwin, now the head commander of the Training Division, Shadis. That had been a shock, but Shadis had been equally shocked when Levi himself had said Adam was one of the most skilled of the class. Shadis had known Grisha, and had told them about meeting Grisha outside the wall, teaching him about life inside, believing he had amnesia, and then about Grisha being a doctor, stealing the love of Shadis's life, having Eren, and then turning Eren into the Attack Titan.
"What about the other two?" Levi asked.
"We'll read them when we get back," Hange said. "It should be getting late and we still need to rest before we head back."
Levi nodded and they all left the basement, meeting the others on the wall and all beginning to rest. Then, at sunset, they set off for home with what few horses remained.
Adam sat silently as Zachary spoke.
"The individuals in this room are the only people who know of the existence of these three books," Zachary said. "'The Early Life of Grisha Jaeger,' 'The Extent of Our Knowledge About Titans and Their History,' and 'Information About the World Beyond the Walls.' We owe their retrieval to the thirty five soldiers who are here today, and to the one hundred seventy four who are not. Their heroics deserve to be praised for millennia to come. A place to do just that, as well as to bury the fallen will be set aside at a later date. But today, I would like to share information here in the presence of the Queen, and develop a joint strategy for the future. Scout Regiment Commander Hange Zoe, what do you make of the situation?"
Hange stood. "In exchange for the loss of many heroes, including Erwin Smith, we of the Scout Regiment were able to successfully seal Wall Maria, defeat the Colossal Titan, and take its power. However, we humans inside the walls continue to be in an extremely dangerous situation. We would count ourselves lucky if the titans were our only enemies. Sadly, the true enemy we have been fighting all along, is humanity. Civilization. Or rather, the world. According to these notes, we are the Subjects of Ymir, a special race from the kingdom of Eldia with the power to become titans. These Subjects of Ymir once ruled the world, and could possibly rule it again. That is why the world attempts to eradicate us, the Subjects of Ymir. If the Founding Titan falls into Marley's hands, they will no longer have any use for the Eldians in the Internment Zones, spelling the end for all Eldians, whether on the island or on the continent. Grisha Jaeger, Eren Jaeger's father, was given the mission of retrieving the Founding Titan in order to keep Marley from possessing it by Eren Krueger, the wielder of Eren's Titan Power two incarnations ago. Mr. Jaeger infiltrated our walls , then accomplished that mission. But, Mr. Krueger didn't know what the vow renouncing war meant. We now know what it is. The true power of the Founding Titan can only be used if it resides within someone of the royal bloodline. However, if that power does reside within anyone of the royal bloodline, they will be consumed by the will of the one hundred forty fifth king, leaving them with no choice but to take their lives. I dare say this is what the vow renouncing war does."
"I would say that the only way to resist such a powerful enemy would be to use the true power of the Founding Titan to activate the Wall Titans," Zachary said, Adam tensing momentarily as he thought of exactly how many that was. "However, you're saying this is impossible so long as we have this vow renouncing war?"
"No," Hange said, glancing at Eren.
"In the past, Eren has controlled pure titans in order to escape from perilous situations," Hange said. "We still don't know why he was able to use that power. But there is a possibility that even Eren, who is not from the royal bloodline, is able to use the founding titan."
"Could it be!?" Eren suddenly shouted, jumping up before falling silent.
You startled me," Hange said. "What's the matter all of a sudden?"
"Uh...um...I just..." Eren blinked, trying to figure out a lie.
"Speak freely, our titan," Zachary said.
"It's...nothing," Eren finally said, sitting down. "Sorry for causing a disturbance."
"What?" Levi asked.
"I apologize for interrupting the meeting," Eren said.
"Oh," Hange said, not believing a word out of his mouth. "Alright. I see. It seems that he is going through a phase. One where he strikes a specific pose or mouths off for no reason."
"Ah, I see," Zachary said. "That's unfortunate to hear. He's getting to be that age."
Adam leaned back in his seat, remaining silent and beginning to only half listen to the conversation. He knew they were arguing about whether or not to tell the rest of the people in the walls the truth. Eventually, Historia ordered the truth be revealed to the people. And just like that, the meeting was over. Adam was the first out the door, and was out of the building before anyone felt the need to chase after him.
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