Glad to see the positive reception to Sasha's survival, but it'll be a little while longer before we see her again. In the meantime, I decided to change face on Historia's pregnancy, but in keeping with the earlier chapter, Joshua will remain unaware she's pregnant. I don't know how'll that work, but she won't be as far along as she is in the manga. That's the only way I can have her still do what I want her to do later on in the story, since it doesn't clash too much with the manga (as of now, heh).

Enjoy chapter 16, things are heating up again.

Jean picks up Nicolo and slams him against the wall. "What do you mean Zeke's spinal fluid is in the wine?"

"I don't have proof… But… the survey ships have been packed with this wine from the very start. It was more alcohol than any short-term surveying ship would ever need. And...just as I started to settle here as the chef, I was told to serve it to corps members, starting with high-ranking officers."

"Who told you?"

"...Yelena. As far as I know, she was acting alone. I don't know about the other volunteers."

Behind Jean, Hange looks up to Onyankopon. He shakes her head. "I-I've never heard of this before either."

"But it doesn't make sense," Conny exclaims as he helps Hange in trying to save the Marleyan boy. "Eldians freeze up the moment they drink Zeke's spinal fluid, right? That's what happened in Ragako."

"That's just what Zeke said," Hange responds. "It's not like anyone saw it happening. There's no way we can confirm. But… The effect of that believable lie...is immense. If we believe that there's a telltale sign of being dosed with Zeke's spinal fluid… No one would ever think they've been poisoned by it if that sign never comes."

"No...but that's just your theory, right?"

Nicolo nods to Jean's question. "Yes...there's no proof. But...any Marleyan soldier knows how Zeke's spinal fluid has been used until now. About ten years ago, Marley took down an enemy nation's capital in one night. It was possible because hundreds of titans appeared in town that evening. All they had to do was sneak in a few hundred Eldians who had been administered Zeke's spinal fluid. Then, a single scream was all he needed to destroy the place. Even if that wasn't his plan, why else would I need to get higher-ups in the corps to drink that suspicious wine? Nothing else would make sense to me."

"When you took that wine out of our hands earlier… Was that...to protect us?"

"Well, who knows why I did that. The plan was to survey this island of devils...and save the world. If they find out about this, I won't have much longer to live… But… Mister Braus, I'm not capable of being...a man like you yet. Still, if I can atone in some small way with this… What was wrong with me? I nearly killed a child…"

"Nicolo… Hange, what'll become of Ben?"

Hange turns to Mr. Braus. "For now, we'll act assuming Nicolo's right. Everyone, take off your jackets and wash your hands. Under no circumstances should you touch your face or mouth. Onyankopon, tell Joshua and the others the same."

"Understood."

Meanwhile

"...The Armor, from my cousin, Reiner..."

What? Did she...just call her Reiner her cousin? Did she just say that? Am I really sitting across the table from Reiner's little cousin? Did I just defend and protect Reiner's cousin from death a few minutes ago? Clearing my throat, I stand up and walk over to the wine shelf, careful to remember the new information about them.

"Why did you...protect me?"

"No reason in particular," Mikasa answers. I wonder who she's speaking for, herself or the both of us.

"...I almost killed your close friend, I beat a guard unconscious with a rock. But not that boy Falco. I want you to take him prisoner. Killing me should be enough, right?"

"We're not killing you," Armin says, though I bet he slightly directs that to me too.

"You...can't stop yourself from wanting to kill me, right?"

"No, I don't want to. That's all you ever talk about, huh? Kill, kill, kill… You remind me of a certain someone." The door to the room closes, accompanied by footsteps. We face the newcomer, our eyes widening as the fourth child from Shiganshina enters. "Er…"

He holds his hand up, already cut and bleeding.

"Wha… Floch?"

"Commander." Floch storms the room, followed by other armed members of the Jaegerist faction. "You must know where Zeke is. You're going to take us to him."

Hange takes a deep breath. "Listen, we're not trying to oppose you. Didn't you get the proposal from the corps?"

"Yes, and we declined it. We don't negotiate with the corps."

"And why's that?"

"Eren's decision. We're not making a bet like entrusting Commander Pyxis with the fate of this island. He's probably bust now trying to come up with a way to take the Founder from eren as we make our way to Zeke."

"You're being delusional...or is that what your friends in the Garrison told you?"

"Do I look like one of your kind soldiers who's going to answer any question you ask me? Shall I prove that I'm not?" Floch holds his pistol up. "I'd like you to come with us before I have to."

"Wha?" Nicolo suddenly walks upstairs, surprised by the commotion...and the man standing along the rebels. "Grior? Don't tell me you brought them here?"

"Nicolo, you've gotten too close to the Eldians. I knew this day would come. I was right to not tell you how to contact them."

"Did… Yelena put you up to this?"

"Listen to me, Floch," Hange exclaims. "This is no time for us to be fighting one another! Wine contaminated with Zeke's spinal fluid has been served throughout the corps! Zeke has us dancing in the palm of his hand! Grior over there should have an idea of what's going on!"

"If anything, Nicolo is the delusional one here. He has no proof."

"You…"

"Finished? We'll be tying your hands. Will we need to fire before you listen?" Floch then points to the Braus family at the other end of the room. "We can't let you go free, either. We'll be restraining you."

As the Scouts and everyone else are tied up, Jean glares at Floch. "Dammit! Floch, there's a serious possibility that this is all our enemies' plan!"

"Even then, that just means those already idiotic MPs will look that much stupider, right?"

Hange gasps. "Wha… We never told you the Military Police drank the wine! Wait… Did you already know about the wine?"

Floch turns around, grins, and shushes the prisoners. "Keep it down, please. This is a restaurant.

"We're leaving." Is that fucking Floch? That means the Jaegerists are here too? Oh...wait, how did they find us? Who snitched? Nicolo couldn't have, we were busy dealing with the kids and the wine. Did another chef make contact?

"Okay." Eren then eyes the four of us, having made us sit quietly at the table and keep our hands there. Ironically, given my current feelings, I sit between him and Gabi. She shakes with fear beside me, rightfully so. This is the Eren Jaeger that is the disruptor of the world's peace, and I'm sure as a warrior candidate she knows a cut like that on his hand can lead to at any moment.

"Was that Floch's voice," Armin asks. "You came here with Floch?"

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to talk to you guys in a quiet settling. We can settle Eldia's problems without any conflict. Hange and the others will be fine. We're just moving them."

"We're the ones who wanted to talk to you. We just wanted to know what you were thinking, Eren. What made you decide on your own to attack Marley… If Zeke and Yelena have really gotten you on their side?"

Eren leans back in the chair, lowering his gaze. "I am free. Whatever I do, whatever I choose, I do it out of my own free will."

"You met with Yelena in secret the night of the rail opening, right? Has this all been your free will since then?"

"That's right."

"No," Mikasa says, "you're being controlled. You're not the kind of person who'd involve innocent civilians and children, even if they live in an enemy state. You're cared for and thought about us more than anyone, haven't you? You saved me from being kidnapped and wrapped this scarf around me out of your kindness, right?"

"I said keep your hands on the table." Hurt by Eren's harsh tone, Mikasa sits back down and places her hands back on the table. Eren continues to speak as if nothing happened. "I hid myself in Liberio and spoke with Zeke. Brother to brother. I learned a lot then. Zeke knows more than Marley does… Armin, you're still going by and seeing Annie, aren't you? Is that your own will? Or is it Bertholdt's?"

"Wh… What do you mean?"

"If memories play a major role in forming who a person is, that means part of you has become Bertholdt. A part of an enemy soldier that feels love for another enemy soldier is influencing a significant part of your judgement. You, an advisor to Eldia, holder of the Nine Titans. You weren't soft like this before. You never backed the enemy. Your judgement was always able to lead us to the answer. But every time you open your mouth now, it's 'let's talk'... You're absolutely useless. Armin, Bertholdt's gotten to your brain. You're the one being controlled by the enemy...but I really dislike how someone is willing to let the enemy live." Eren turns to me, then glances at Gabi. "What was it you swore that day, Joshua?"

"Don't you dare."

"You would kill his entire family and his entire hometown. Everything he has done, you will repay it tenfold. Is that not what you told Reiner when you had him at the end of your blade? You accomplished almost all of it. Didn't you shoot his mother at the festival? You took part in the attack on Liberio, which claimed many lives of people Reiner knew about. Maybe you killed his father, his uncles and aunties, but there his cousin sits, and you're letting her live? She killed Sasha. Shouldn't she know what Reiner did to you? Why you did what you did?"

Before I can say anything back, Mikasa has had enough. "Eren! What are you trying to do?"

"I'm just saying, there's nothing further removed from freedom than ignorance. I learned about the Ackermans there too. The reason you're strong, Mikasa. It turns out the Marleyan scholars still barely know a thing about the Titans. But what came about by accident from the Eldian Empire's fiddling around with the Subjects of Ymir during its long history was the Ackerman clan, who maintain a human form but, in some cases, can manifest the Power of the Titans. Still, the Ackerman clan was designed in order to protect Eldia's king. As a result, the instincts in their blood will still activate once they recognize someone as a host."

"Huh?"

"In other words, you only cling to me...because of your instincts as an Ackerman. You obeyed my order in that moment when you were facing death. 'Fight'. Apparently, when all of those conditions are met, the instincts hidden inside the Ackerman clan's blood will awaken. Not only did this heighten your physical abilities to an extreme, you were even given the experience in battle accumulated by every past Ackerman by way of a path. All because you happened by chance to trick yourself into believing I was the host you had to protect."

Mikasa shakes in her seat, unable to accept Eren's words. "You're wrong."

"Am I? How?"

"It wasn't...by chance. It's because of you… I was able to become strong… Because of you, Eren… It was all because of you."

"Apparently, once an Ackerman awakens, they often find themselves suffering from sudden headaches. They say this happens out of the true self trying to resist being forced to protect its host. Sound familiar?" My only recollection of this is when Mikasa suddenly had a headache back when we took Luise and Floch into prison. Was she...trying to resist protecting Eren back then?"

"...No."

"What I'm saying is that the real Mikasa...disappeared in that mountain hut, at nine years old, leaving only you behind, even faithful to your Ackerman instincts."

"No… I…"

"A clan who lost their true selves, created only to follow orders. In other words...slaves."

I grit my teeth. "Stop it, Eren!"

"Do you know what I hate most in this world? Anyone who isn't free. That, or cattle. Just looking at them made me so angry. Now I finally understand why. I couldn't stand to look at an undoubting slave who only ever followed orders. Ever since I was a kid...Mikasa., I've always hated you."

"Eren! How dare you!" Armin steps up on the table and raises a fist, only to be stopped by Mikasa. The three of us look at the act in surprise while Eren looks so sure of himself.

"See? All you've ever done is live according to what your Ackerman blood has told you to do." Further stunned, Armin is released by Mikasa, allowing the boy to sock his friend in the face.

Hearing the commotion, two Jaegerists enter the room, but I turn my pistol on them as Eren pushes Armin towards the wine shelf. "It's fine," Eren tells them. "So, Armin, we've never fought before, huh?" Angered (and quite the sudden change from the meek boy I know), Armin throws another punch, only for Eren to move faster. "Know why that is? It's because there's no way you could even put up a fight against me." Armin is beaten to a pulp, but even though I want to, I don't intervene. Eren knows I can take him in a fight, I come close to Mikasa and the three warriors we trained with in close quarters combat, but not with those two gunmen right there. So as Armin is dropped to the floor, Mikasa runs up to him, her face soaking with tears.

"Just stop."

"Like I said at the start, if you'll tell me where Zeke is, there's no need for us to fight. So just come with us. Take them away."

"Sir."

Eren turns my way, then looks to the scared Gabi. "The brat who killed Sasha, too."

I stand protectively in front of the girl as I glare at Eren. "What is it that you said...you want freedom? Is that the freedom you wanted? The freedom to hurt Mikasa, to beat the hell out of Armin? Tell me… Who is the real slave to a piece of shit?"

Eren steps up to me, but his shorter stature does nothing to faze me. "Who are you...calling a slave?" Turning away, he gestures to us to follow. "Let's go."

"Where?"

"Where it all started… Shiganshina District…"

Levi

"Zachery was killed?"

"Yes. The Jaegerists effectively control everything inside the walls. We believe all the chaos is being caused by Zeke by way of Eren and Yelena."

"And?"

"The Jaegerists should soon be brought to Zeke, just as they've been demanding."

Levi raises his eyebrows at the two messengers. "Pyxis? He'll just roll over?"

"As you point out, the commander remains steadfast. He;s now at work on a plan to create an opportunity while Eren is being led here."

"Most unfortunately...this is the only way to defend Eldia against rule by the Jaegerists and Zeke."

"To have someone else eat Eren, right?"

"Yes."

Levi drops his head in thought. How many times has he saved Eren...and how many comrades has he lost saving Eren? Why did he do it? Because he believed Eren was the hope for humanity's survival. But now, it feels like a giant, awful joke. "Don't be ridiculous. There's another piece of shit we should be feeding to a Titan. The one right over there."

"What do you mean?"

"We'll transfer Zeke's Beast. Grab one of the Jaegerist or something, turn them into a Titan, and feed Zeke to them. Then, if Historia's prepared like she says she is, we'll feed the Titan to her next once she gives birth in a few months."

"But Eldia is done for if there's an all-out attack on us during those few months!"

"And there's nothing guaranteeing her unborn child's health.

"We can strike at Marley again and delay their attack. I know it's absurd, but this is where it matters. I'm not letting him dictate things any longer." Levi looks off to the side, where Zeke sits out of earshot, reading a book. "I don't know if Eren's really being controlled by Zeke or not. But we just need to end Zeke and they're done for. Tell Pyxis that. Go."

"Really, Lieutenant?"

"I just need to rip his limbs off. The man'll be ready then, right?" Levi turns away, heading over to the reader. As he approaches, Zeke looks up to him. "Enjoying your book?"

"I am. For one I've read seven times."

"It must've been hard to concentrate on it. I'm sure our conversation was on your mind."

"Concentrate on a book I've read seven times? Anyway, is there any wine left?"

"We've been here a month. There's not a drop left."

"Hmph," Zeke sighs. "You come up with the worst tortures."

Levi narrows his eyes as he turns away. "Keep reading." As Levi walks away, he decides, no matter what Pyxis' reply is, he'll turn this blade on Zeke. Even if the man becomes the Beast, he'll have to contend with thirty soldiers in an environment where they have the advantage. Four years it has taken...but this might be the time Levi fulfills his final vow to Commander Erwin Smith. He turns around to look at the prisoner, just to see Zeke take off for the woods.

And then he roars...