Chapter 8: That Day
Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
Previously: Eren thinks he and Erwin are alike. They talk about the various uses of photographs. Eren becomes fond of his aunt. Erwin and Armin brainstorm potential ways to deal with airships.
The sun shone down on a beautiful city with cobblestone streets. Well-dressed civilians walked and talked in the streets as they went about their days. A couple drove on the road in a car.
Historia gaped, eyes wide. "Look at that...that...box thing with wheels!"
"It's like a small metal wagon. But where is the horse?" Petra asked, trying to reconcile the car with the limited technology they had on the island. "How is it moving on its own?"
Doesn't look very safe. Levi thought suspiciously. He was used to traveling via either horse-drawn carriages or the 3D gear. The metal contraption on the TV seemed like such an oddity to him.
"Maybe it's like our 3D gear, powered by the iceburst stone or another similar fuel source," Hange said eagerly, mind whirling from the possibilities. She began sketching a rough design. Who knows, there might be someone in the Walls with the imagination and brilliance to figure out how to make this metal wagon.
"I wonder if they control the direction it's going in with that circle, that wheel-like thing." Armin studied the car with great interest. "If it's not alive, then unlike our horses it doesn't tire out so it can keep going for a very long time."
"Their technology is so far ahead of ours," Sasha said in a mix of envy and nervousness.
Jean sighed, arms crossed. "This is making me anxious about what other stuff they've invented while we haven't made much progress technology-wise in a very long time."
"Our last greatest achievement was the 3D Maneuver Gear," Mikasa said with a nod. "And that was invented over seventy years ago."
"We've really gotta haul ass to play catch-up with the rest of the world." But Eren knew it wouldn't be easy. There were many issues with trying to modernize their group, not the least of which was they had no idea how to duplicate the inventions they saw on the TV even if the Royal Government pulled its head out of its ass and gave them permission to invent away.
Erwin felt his ire with their government rise. They kept us ignorant for far too long. And they stifled anything that could make it easier for us to leave the Walls, thus stagnating our progress and growth as a civilization. From the look of it, Paradis Island seemed to be incredibly far behind the times—at least compared to their most bitter rival, Marley. Erwin wondered what the royal family was thinking, keeping a chokehold on the truth and limiting progress. But he had an idea. They must have wanted to maintain their power at all costs.
Too often the people in charge put their individualistic interests above what was best for the group as a whole. They tended to narrow in on the short-term rather than think of the long run. I might be wrong about Historia but there's no doubt we have to change internally first before we're able to deal with the outside world. Forget the rest of the nations of the world, if the people of the Walls were ignorant and fractured, Paradis Island wouldn't even be able to take on just one enemy nation.
"In the sixty years I've been gone they've created so many amazing things." Ymir held up a finger as she listed them off. "Those metal wagons, airships, photographs, and who knows what else? I'm sure there's a lot more we haven't seen."
"That doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence for our side," Connie said unenthusiastically.
"That naive day of my youth," Grisha narrated. "…when I…"
Holding holds, Grisha and Faye watched the streets outside of the internment zone with stunned looks.
"…had to face the truth of this world."
Faye and Grisha walked quietly on the side of the road as the other people shot them dirty looks.
"Move it, you vermin," a man said, bumping Grisha with his suitcase.
Faye hid behind Grisha, scared.
The excitement some of them still felt at seeing the car leeched from their faces.
Their anticipation at the opportunity to observe a foreign nation dissipated completely, replaced by a heavy wariness at the negativity they were seeing. By Grisha's words, they knew something would go awfully wrong with the two children and waited in dread.
The friend of the man who bumped into Grisha scoffed. "What, more devil-bloods?"
The men started to walk and the first one said, "Damn Eldians crawling around as they please."
Ymir gave the group a sympathetic look. They had no idea what they were witnessing. Everyone in the room had probably been looked down on at some point in their lives. But they're not ready for the vitriol against an entire group and for no true reason, she thought. She had gotten comfortable in the Walls. Seeing the streets of Marley and its people's vicious and uncaring attitude toward Eldians was going to dredge up the horrible feelings from when she'd been dragged through the city in chains, pelted by rotten fruit and suffering the Marleyans' insults and curses.
"Grisha," Faye started nervously.
"It's alright. Aren't you used to it?"
"That's not something anyone should be used to," Levi said, disturbed. "Especially children." Those who hurt kids Levi hated more than anyone else in the world.
Back when her parents had been alive, Mikasa had gone into town once or twice with her mother. It had been uncomfortable, the curious but harmless gazes of the people as they spotted her mother. But for Eren's father and aunt, she thought. It was outright hostility. She and the other refugees had experienced scorn after Wall Maria's fall but at least it was driven because of ignorance and hunger. These kids aren't doing anything to them. Eldians breathing the same air as them, it seemed, was offense enough for the Marleyans.
"Look," Grisha said, looking at the street ahead of them that led to a grassy bank. "It's right over that bank."
The two kids walked up the stairs, admiring the view when they reached the top. Across the river sat the airship they had followed.
"It's so big!" Faye's eyes sparkled in delight.
Grisha smiled fondly at her.
A voice came from the side. "Have you come to see the airship, too?"
Grisha noticed the two men in blue and gray uniforms. They were sitting on the grassy decline, the fatter one smoking. The siblings stepped back, Grisha's arm going up protectively before Faye. "Uh, yes," he answered.
Ymir confirmed their fears. "They ran into the absolute worst people they could have, the Marley Public Security."
Eren began to feel uneasy. This won't end well. Dad implied as much. He began preparing himself for the worst.
"Maybe the two men won't say anything," Petra said half-heartedly. "On the account of them being kids."
"Do you really believe that?" Levi asked skeptically and she remained silent.
"You from the Liberio Internment Zone?" Kruger asked. "Let's see your exit permit."
Connie slapped his forehead. "Aw, shit."
"We knew trouble was coming," Armin said, dreading what might happen.
"What? Um…" Grisha began searching his pockets. "I don't have one," he told the soldiers in fear.
Kruger fixed his cap on his head. "You entered the city without permission? You know what that means, right?" He went up to them.
"Yes," Grisha said softly.
"Labor or beating." Kruger knelt before him. "Which is it?"
"How can he be so casual about it?" Historia asked, shaking her head.
That place is horrible. Connie shuddered to think what would have happened if he were born there instead of in the Walls. I will never complain about not being born in the interior ever again.
Grisha selected his punishment and said, "A beating…"
"Brother!"
"Oh?" Kruger said. "You don't want to trouble your parents?"
"Yes. I forced my sister to come with me!" Grisha spoke quietly, frightened. "Please give her punishment to me, too!"
"Very well," Kruger accepted, Gross standing behind him, smoking as he listened.
"Grisha!" Faye was stricken as Kruger grabbed her brother by the collar and buried his knee in the boy's stomach.
Petra made a face, muttering, "What an asshat."
"Couldn't they just let them go?" Historia winced. "They're just kids."
"It's not like they committed some unforgivable crime," Sasha agreed. "All they did was leave home without permission."
Erwin shrugged. "They were born Subjects of Ymir. That's crime enough to be a sin over there—or everywhere but here, I guess."
Their faces fell at the reminder.
"Here's another!" Kruger said and Faye covered her eyes, crying as the sound of the beating continued.
"Sheesh, go easy on him, Kruger," Gross said. "Come on." He went to the weeping Faye, placing his hand on her shoulder and guiding her away. "Let's get you on your way home."
Grisha's pained gasps were heard, his cap lying in the grass as Gross and Faye left.
"Phew, looks like that guy's not so bad," Connie said, relieved Faye was out of there.
"I don't know about him," Petra said, unsettled for some reason.
At least it's only Dad getting his ass kicked. Eren thought. For a second he'd thought Kruger would ignore his father's choice to take the punishment all on his shoulders and go for his aunt too.
Jean eyed the TV suspiciously. I don't like the chubby one's voice. Something about the man rubbed him the wrong way. He better not do anything to her. Something in his gut told Jean not to be optimistic.
A plume of smoke flew into the air. "It was smart not to take off your armbands," Kruger said, sitting on the bank. Grisha lay curled beside him, shaking slightly.
"Could have been a lot worse," Ymir said. They believed her.
Why not just take off the armband, the thief in Levi wondered. It wasn't like anyone could tell just by looking if you were an Eldian or a Marleyan. Remove the armband once you're out then put it back on before you return to the internment zone.
"Eldians without one are sent to paradise, even if they are kids." Kruger took another drag of his cigarette.
I guess you're in deep shit if you get caught with the armband off, Levi thought. Suddenly, the full extent of Kruger's words hit him. He felt creepy shivers go down his spine. Were the smallest Titans the Corps had encountered over the years children who were turned? Despite the fact they were mindless monsters, it had been hard enough to wrestle with the fact that all Titans were once human beings like him. But children? It made him feel even worse.
Petra went over all the Titans she had killed or assisted in killing. How many were small in stature? She knew she shouldn't and it would only torment her later, but she couldn't help but think about it.
Hange felt the worst between the three of them.
"What's the matter?" Erwin asked her, noticing her paling face.
"Bean was 7 meters tall but maybe he was just a short man," Hange replied, voice trembling slightly. "But Sonny was only 4 meters tall." It made her ill. "Was he a child when he was turned?" She was too apprehensive to verbalize her other thought: Had she been cutting into children?
"I doubt it," Erwin said. "We've encountered a lot of small Titans. Somehow I doubt they were all children. Take Armin, for example. He was fifteen when he was turned but his Pure Titan was as tall as a three-story building. Additionally, you need permission to leave the internment zone so how would most kids even get into the city then get caught and be sent here? Grisha and Faye were a rare occurrence, I'm sure. And I doubt the Marleyan government would care too much if Eldian orphans caused trouble in the internment zone and punished them for it, just as long as it wasn't something big or treasonous like what Ymir's cult tricked our Ymir into doing."
Hange latched onto the explanation. "Right, of course. That sounds perfectly reasonable." For the sake of her sanity, she wouldn't question it.
Grisha sat up weakly. "I'll go…home."
"Wait." Kruger stopped him. "Didn't you come to see the airship? Might as well see it."
Grisha didn't reply, only moving into a cross-legged sitting position.
"How horrible is it that he just beat a kid for something dumb like leaving his home without permission and I'm over here thinking he's kind of okay because he still let Grisha see the airship," Petra remarked, saddened at the logic.
"Really says something about Marley that we're considering him to be a halfway decent guy," Historia put in.
A small hand was shown in the grass. Blood had coagulated around the ripped flesh of the wrist.
"The following day, my sister was found in the river."
They gasped, shock and horror dawning on their faces.
Jean gritted his teeth. I fucking knew it. I knew he was going to do something terrible. Sometimes, he really, really hated being right.
Mikasa noted Eren's clenched fists worriedly. "You're not gonna throw something at the TV, are you?"
"...No." Eren was considering putting his foot through the screen though. A part of him hoped desperately Gross was alive just so he could go kill him with his bare hands. I fucking knew it, he thought pessimistically. Things never worked out well for his family. We're only around to be fate's punching bags and suffer.
Mikasa wished Eren would get angry and throw a fit and scream and rage at the TV. It was better than seeing him get depressed and quiet.
Armin knew what was running through his best friend's head. "You're not cursed, Eren. You've got to stop thinking like that. How did you even get into that mindset?" Armin bit his tongue and mentally slapped himself, flashes of all of Eren's family members they'd been shown suffering in various ways going through his mind. "I mean, look at me and Mikasa. She's totally fine and I even became a Titan-Shifter so I'll be very hard to kill."
"I guess," Eren replied sullenly, still not convinced he was wrong.
Two security officers stood before the small body by the water as a third man knelt, taking notes. Grisha stood in front of his parents, his mother covering her mouth.
"I showed the girl to Liberio's gates and went on my way," Gross informed Mr. and Mrs. Yeager. A lightbulb hung above the table the three sat at. Arms crossed, Kruger stood leaning back against the wall behind the empty chair next to Gross.
Interesting invention. Erwin immediately took note of the lightbulb. Had it been under not so sad circumstances, he knew everyone would have been excited and marveled at it. We possess something similar to that glowing, glass ball of light. But he and the others didn't know what it was yet. They'd only seen the soldiers use it to guide them through the forest at night as they made their way to Shinganshina. Unlike with that earlier metal wagon contraption, this is at least one piece of technology we can replicate or have an equivalent to.
"I'm busy with work, you know. Eldian kids shouldn't be roaming the city without permits in the first place," Gross complained.
Grisha stood near his father's chair.
"It seems that your son doesn't grasp the place of his people. Shouldn't you be teaching him the sins that your ancestors committed?"
"I really badly want to kick him," Petra huffed irritably. "In the face. Over and over again."
"I'd join you," Mikasa said, glaring at the TV. Due to her background, violence against children was sometimes hard for her to bear, stirring her deep-seated trauma that still gave her stress headaches. But it made her angry, too. She felt that violent itch now to put Gross in his place.
"I knew that man from Marley Public Security was lying through his teeth," Grisha narrated as Gross continued to chide Mr. and Mrs. Yeager.
"If that's not enough to make him behave, put a collar on him."
"He had been slacking off and was napping on the bank. He wasn't busy at all. Though my mother grieved, my father…"
Tears ran down Mrs. Yeager's face as she sat there, unable to speak.
"Thank you so much for your guidance," Mr. Yeager said. "I assure you, I'll teach my foolish son to know better."
Eren's nostrils flared in rage. "Thank you?! He really fucking thanked him?!" If he had been there, he would have flipped the table over and screamed profanities. Probably gotten himself hauled off as a result and turned into a Pure Titan but it sure would have felt good.
"You can't be mad at your grandfather, Eren. What else could he do?" Armin asked. Though he was grateful the anger had distracted his best friend and pulled him out of his morose mood he was falling into.
"Oh, gee, I don't know, maybe not thank the fucker that killed his daughter?"
"He might not know it was the chubby bastard who did it," Jean pointed out.
"But still! I know they pound it into your head you're subhuman and it's reinforced by literally the entire fucking world, but you can't be that subservient that your own kid's brutal death doesn't wreck you and piss you off."
Armin opened his mouth. "He's—"
"I know," Eren interrupted. "He's already lost one child and frightened to death his son's next with his recklessness, but it still makes my blood boil."
"See? He gets it," Mikasa said quietly to Armin. "It's the situation he's truly upset with, not his grandfather, though Eren might be frustrated with him too at the moment. And..." She shot Armin a look that conveyed what she didn't say: It's better to let Eren express anger than get depressed.
"He demeaned himself to the men." Grisha's eyes were blank with rage. "I began to hate that man and my father so much that it made me dizzy. But more so, I cursed my own foolishness."
An illustration of a girl appeared, holding out an apple as a horned demon reached for it.
"One thousand, eight hundred and twenty years ago," Mr. Yeager's voice said, "our ancestor Ymir Fritz made a contract with the Devil of All Earth and obtained the Power of the Titans."
Soldiers holding swords and spears confronted a large female Titan with long curly hair and pale lightning surrounding her.
"The Devil of All Earth?" Hange repeated as she took in this new knowledge. Was that a person? A thing? Was it still around?
"D-devil?" Connie squeaked out. "Does that mean ghosts are real too?"
"I wouldn't put too much faith in that story," Erwin cut in before they could get caught up in the bullshit. He wasn't one to take things at face value and he wouldn't allow them to either, especially concerning something like this. "It's not exactly from a reliable source, the teachings of an oppressive group to the oppressed to keep them in line. If this is what Marley allows its citizens to be taught and prints in books as recorded history, it must be censored or completely false. If Marley's anything like our government, they'll probably try to manipulate the history of the world to fit a narrative that works best for them."
"It's totally propaganda," Jean agreed. "People will pull stories out of their asses whenever it's convenient for them. In this case, it's to make the Eldians seem worse by associating them with devils or something."
"Upon her death, Ymir's spirit was split into the Nine Titans who formed the Eldian Empire."
A small group of soldiers was shown fleeing from three giants. One giant had plucked a soldier while it held a hammer in its other hand. Another giant was on all fours. The last one held a massive rock between its hands.
Mr. Yeager sat at the table, holding a book open, teaching his son. Mrs. Yeager stood with her back to them. "After defeating the great nation of Marley," Mr. Yeager continued, "they ruled over the continent. Thus began the Dark Ages… The Subjects of Ymir called other races inferior and began to oppress them."
A Titan crouched before a burning building, dangling a person by the arm. A group of soldiers was carrying crates out of the building. Another soldier forced some of the scared people to follow one of his comrades.
"They stole lands and fortunes, and forced other races to bear their children to increase their numbers. Their ethnic cleansing continued for some 1,700 more years."
"That couldn't be true, right?" Sasha asked, shaken at the thought of being forced off her land and made to have some stranger's kids.
Eren rolled his eyes. "They've already associated our origins to some devil. Of course they want to turn us into rampant rapists, too. Anything to make us look scummier."
"Think about the might of the Titans even now. Imagine what it would have been like without any means to fight them back centuries ago," Armin pointed out. "But just because they had the power to do it, doesn't mean they did everything the book is claiming. Like Commander Erwin said, we're not sure how reliable the information is. It's coming from a biased source."
"I'm calling bullshit on the eugenics thing," Jean pitched in. "I've no doubt they went around taking over other civilizations and increasing their numbers and it wasn't pretty. But I doubt they had some organized plan to wipe out other races through rape and forceful breeding."
"Knowing how humans can get," Hange said, "they probably did think they were superior to other races. But if they really wanted to erase all other ethnicities, after nearly two thousand years of domination I'm sure they would have made more headway. As Armin said, the Power of the Titans is only just now being pushed back. How could anyone have resisted the Eldians back then?"
"Being a Subject of Ymir doesn't work like race does," Ymir said. "Where you can be X percent this and Y percent that. Take Mikasa, for example. If she has a kid with a Marleyan, it will only be a quarter Eldian but that doesn't matter. You either are a Subject of Ymir, or you are not. You have this...thing inside you or you don't. It's 100% or nothing. So if your parent was a Subject of Ymir, it doesn't matter who you or your descendants marry, all the kids will always come out as Subjects of Ymir. So I'm sincerely doubting any claims of serious and systematic ethnic cleaning. Maybe on a small scale, yes. But it couldn't be as widespread as Marley is saying. Otherwise, after eighteen hundred years without being met with a non-Eldian formidable foe, Subjects of Ymir should make up for almost all of the world's population. But that's just my theory. Obviously I don't know anything for sure. I'm not a scientist. It's just speculation so don't take what I say for a verified fact."
"It makes sense, though," Historia said, shrugging. "It's not an absolute truth by any means, only a theory to keep in mind. But it seems logical and responsible enough to me."
Mr. Yeager continued, "But the once-great nation of Marley plotted to subvert Eldia and its arrogance from within. They brought seven of the Nine Titans under their control and were victorious in the Great Titan War 80 years ago," he said passionately, clenching his hand into a fist.
How did Marley bring together seven of the Nine Titans? Erwin nitpicked at the sentence. Aren't Eldians the only ones who can inherit Titan powers? Did that mean some Marleyans threatened Eldians to fight for them or did some Eldians side with them willingly? The latter seemed more plausible. Ymir had told them what little she knew about the Tybur family, a group of Eldians who sympathized with Marley and helped them overthrow the Eldian Empire. All seven inheritors must have been from that family, he decided.
Perhaps the Tyburs didn't have enough time to procreate after the fighting, and the Curse of Ymir was almost upon them, so the Titans had to be passed down to Eldians outside their family. Or maybe the Tybur Shifters died in battle and it was out of Marley's control and they located the Shifter babies. They must have opted to pass down all but one of the seven Titans to brainwashed Eldians so the Tybur family wasn't annihilated due to the Curse of Ymir.
The TV showed a map of a small island beside a large continent.
Erwin paused so Hange could copy it down.
"It's massive!" Historia said, struggling to wrap her head around the size of it all. Trying to multiply what she'd seen of the outside of Wall Maria from the No Regrets episodes to get an idea of how large the island was, then multiplying it even further to get a grasp on the size of the continent was extraordinarily difficult.
"Based on landmass alone, the number of soldiers they have has got to be several times higher than us," Petra said, not particularly thrilled about it. "And we're also behind them in technological development."
"It won't matter much against an army of Colossal-type Titans," Eren said. He hoped the TV gave him firm answers about commanding his Founding Titan's full power. Currently they only had theories and guesses, nothing solid.
"The Eldian King at the time erected three Walls on the island of Paradis," Mr. Yeager said, pointing to the island on the map, "and fled there with many of his people." The shot expanded and his finger moved to the continent. "Our ancestors were abandoned and left behind on this continent, but…"
Grisha listened without a word, his face blank and his eyes dazed.
"The gracious people of Marley let us live and stay on their land…" Mr. Yeager's voice faded, replaced by Grisha's.
The words "gracious people of Marley" put a sour taste in their mouths.
"My father was talkative for someone who had just lost his daughter. He obeyed his master's command and gladly shamed his own ancestry, much like he was their dog."
"That man was telling lies," Grisha said at last.
Mr. Yeager startled and his wife, still crying and holding a handkerchief, turned to look at their son.
"The truth wasn't good for him, so he lied."
"Quiet," Mr. Yeager hissed at him. "The walls here are thin."
"Can you imagine being unable to speak your mind in your own damn home?" Jean felt suffocated at the thought of it.
"How do they live like that?" Historia asked, unable to imagine it. She may have been confined to the farm but she was allowed to think and speak freely, then even leave to go join the Training Corps.
"Like we learned to live inside the Walls," Armin responded. "It's the environment they were born and raised in. It's the only way of life they know."
"I bet he's the one who took Faye and—"
"Silence!" Mr. Yeager yelled at his son, standing and hitting his hands on the table. Silence fell. "I told you…" Sweat covering his face, he sat back down and returned to the lesson.
"I can't imagine having kids in such an oppressive place," Mikasa said, creeped out.
"It's as Armin said," Jean began, "it's the only way of life they know. We might find the idea of having kids in a place like that too horrible to even consider, but it's just the norm to them."
"I'm sure cheap labor and having someplace to look down on probably has something to do with it," Levi said. The Underground wouldn't exist, and below the rich and luxurious Wall Sina at that, if there weren't financial and egotistical motivations at play. He had seen the breathtaking and elegant buildings in Mitras, had seen the obvious wealth of its citizens. The Royal Government was fully capable of rehoming the people of the subterranean city despite all their nose-turning at dump before their feet but they refused to lift a finger to help. After all, they had their own use for the poor city. Levi doubted Marleyans were any different. No, they're worse. In spite of their claims of hating Eldians, they wanted them to keep procreating to some extent.
Mr. Yeager picked up the lecture where he left off, ignoring his son's accusation. "Our ancestors did terrible things. They believed in eugenics and tried to cleanse—"
"Faye and I did nothing like that!" Grisha screamed and hit his fists on the table, almost crying. "We were just walking around!"
"What is wrong with you?" Mr. Yeager asked. "Are you that eager for all of us to get shipped off to paradise?"
Surprised, Grisha looked from his father to his mother.
"Listen, Grisha…" Mr. Yeager appeared tired and beaten down. "It doesn't matter that we're not directly responsible for the sins. But what we are able to do is live humble lives within this internment zone. I'm begging you. Please don't lead us all to the same fate as Faye."
"I wonder who was truly in the wrong. Was it me or this world?"
"Okay," Grisha said. "I understand."
"Perhaps it was both."
Or perhaps it's just the world, Eren thought stubbornly. His father was absolutely right to be furious with a world that punished people for crimes committed by their ancestors, for being devastated and outraged by his innocent young sister's senseless murder. If they want to play by those rules then the entire world should pay and humans should all die. He doubted there was a single person who didn't have someone in their family line who hadn't committed an atrocity.
A shovel dug into bricks and a teenage Grisha straightened up.
"I was ignorant and foolish."
Grisha and another Eldian flinched, bracing themselves as a Marleyan threw a bottle at them from the other side of the hole in the street the boys were fixing. There was a crowd around the man, some of them holding bottles of their own. They cheered or made angry faces at the two Eldians.
"See?" Levi nodded to the TV. "Like I said, free labor. I doubt they're being paid for that work. Or if they are, it's probably only a fraction of what they'd pay one of their own to do the same amount of work."
"Labor costs must be extremely low if the laborers don't possess basic human rights," Petra snorted. "It works out well for them economically."
"It's not just a psychological mindset," Erwin agreed. "I'm betting their continued oppression of the Eldians is also motivated by financial reasons."
That means changing their minds from an emotional standpoint won't be enough if that's something we might want to try. Hange thought. There were economical ramifications to consider, which meant it would be harder to convince them to see things more peacefully or diplomatically. She might not know a Marleyan but Hange knew human greed well enough to know how that would go.
"The world was irrational and insane."
A room with a bed and a large cabinet near the window appeared. Grisha sat at the table before the cabinet, a patient sitting before him.
"I discovered my own path in life when I was eighteen. It was around the time I was to take over my father's clinic."
"What is that wound of yours?" Grisha asked, holding a pen to a piece of paper.
Grice removed his shirt further to fully reveal the x-shaped scar on his right upper arm. "This is proof I'm a patriot."
"A patriot?"
"Your sister was killed by a man in Marley Public Security." Grice's words made Grisha gasp. "We have an informant inside the Marley government. There are some things you need to hear."
"Interesting," Armin muttered, mind already making several connections. "I wonder if your dad was part of some rebel group and came to this island to steal the Founding Titan, then use it to free the Eldians suffering under Marley."
"That sounds plausible." Jean nodded. "I hope they show us how Eren's father got his Titan."
"It can't be!" Grisha exclaimed, tears falling from his eyes. "You're kidding me!"
Six other men sat around him in the underground room.
"When I learned the truth of my sister's death, I swore in my heart…that I'd show them who the real devil was."
Faye was on the ground, three snarling dogs set on her.
Petra couldn't hold back her groan. "This is not what I meant when I said I wanted to see dogs as a secret reveal or twist."
"Candy has a twisted sense of humor, it seems, and the TV does love fucking with us," Levi told her.
Three boys and Gross watched as the dogs went after the terrified Faye.
"I have never felt the need to eat someone in my Titan body," Eren said furiously. "and resolved myself never to do it if the urge ever hit me. But I'd make an exception for this lowlife fucker."
Jean grunted. "You better not, Eren. Someone that disgusting would probably give you indigestion."
"That my ancestors had done the right thing," Grisha narrated as his eighteen-year-old self cut an x just above his heart, the other men cheering him on. "In order to correct the world again, Eldia would have to be restored." Grisha gritted his teeth, fury clear on his face.
A man in uniform with his back to the screen was shown.
"Our informant in the Marleyan government was called 'the Owl.' He led the Restorationists without ever showing himself."
The group was inspecting rifles and going through books in the underground.
Eren felt something positive for the first time this episode. It doesn't matter how much you oppress someone. There's always going to be at least one person willing to push back and fight for freedom. And that one person would be enough to raise others, building momentum and leading to change.
"Look!" Grisha stood before the table and they gathered around him. "This is the truth!" An old book and a worn scroll were laid out on the table. "Our founder Ymir awakened the Power of the Titans… Cultivated the wilds… Built roads… And bridged the mountains!"
"Seems these items don't speak of any Devil." Not that Armin was surprised. Naturally, histories written in favor of Eldians wouldn't link the race's origin to some evil entity. "It's like we thought. Filling the history books with lies was a great tool to manipulate the population and kept Eldians like Mr. Yeager in check. It really was just propaganda."
"History is written by the victor," Ymir said wisely. "Don't quote me on that. I didn't come up with it. It's a common saying."
The scroll had a drawing of what appeared to be large figures holding up a bridge between a valley as people led a cart across it. Around the two Titans were trees with animal drawings on each side.
"She helped the people prosper and develop this entire continent!" Grisha declared confidently.
"The history we were taught is just a convenient deception for Marley!"
"Impressive, Grisha…" Grice said the others continued to talk.
"That's right!"
"Even if they fool the others, they can't trick us true Eldians!"
"You can read this ancient language." Grice was impressed.
"No…I still haven't deciphered most of it."
Connie wasn't sold on Grisha's declarations about Ymir Fritz's endless goodness. "It sounds way too good to be true, if you ask me."
"He can't read the book," Jean said, "he said so himself. He's just deciphering an ancient language and making assumptions on some drawings."
"Much as I'd like Dr. Yeager to be right, it's not the most reliable way to get confirmation," Mikasa admitted. "It might just be wishful thinking on his part."
"It probably is wishful thinking." Eren shrugged, not nearly as optimistic as his old man. "No one, especially those with too much power compared to everyone else, is that generous. I don't think Ymir Fritz was some demon but she was no angel either."
"Your own bias often gets in the way." Armin nodded. "If you're convinced of something and you go looking for evidence to support it, you're bound to find 'proof' and think you're right. That's what I think is happening here. They don't want their founder to be evil incarnate so they're viewing any historical texts or illustrations they find with a corrupted view."
"And considering how they're raised, it makes sense for them to desperately want to see their progenitor as benevolent and kind," Historia added.
"Marley and this rebel group see history with two opposite but concrete beliefs: the Eldian Empire was the greatest blessing to humanity or the scourge of the human race." But Ymir knew people were more complicated than that. No one was all good or all bad. "In reality, it was probably a scale that went this way and that over the course of two millennia."
Erwin felt so proud at their refusal to accept Grisha's rosy view, even though it would have made them feel better about their ancestors. They're thinking critically and not accepting something as the truth just because they want it to be, he thought, smiling in satisfaction.
"Look at the little baby chicks," Hange cooed. "They're growing! Don't you just feel like a proud mama hen?" She elbowed Erwin.
"Admittedly, I kind of do."
Levi snorted, rolling his eyes, as Hange and Petra laughed.
"Then how did you know the truth?" Grice asked Grisha.
"Isn't it staring us in the face? I know it because I believe in our founder Ymir!"
Some of them sighed, nodding knowingly.
"Like we figured. It's not a fact but wishful thinking."
"He just said he believes it because he wants to."
"They need the boost. Their sense of identity and pride has been battered for generations."
"Yeah, can't really blame them for viewing what they find with rose-colored glasses."
"We're the chosen children of God! The Subjects of Ymir!"
The group thew up their arms and cheered. "Yeah!"
"Now that's a bit excessive."
"Eh, it could be he's only trying to get everyone riled up and motivated. I hope that's the case, anyway."
You can't think of yourself as someone special or chosen by Gods. Erwin had seen how it corrupted one's thinking and made committing crimes against other humans excusable. Marley also did the same. They saw Eldians as devils so their mistreatment was acceptable by society. That kind of thinking also makes people believe they're infallible, leading them to be completely unprepared when life smashes a fist in their nose.
A man opened the door and said loudly, "Comrades! The Owl sent us somebody!"
"Nice to meet you, everyone." A woman stepped through the door and removed her hood. "My name is Dina Fritz," she said. "I'm a descendant of the royal family."
"I allowed fate to steer my life and followed wherever it took me."
The group sat and listened to Dina read from a book, standing before them.
"She was the last descendant of royal blood who remained on the continent. She provided info about the Titans that only the royal family knew. This was the break we needed for victory."
A drawing of a tall woman appeared with two giants bowing on either of her sides and five more below them.
"I'm sure of it!" Grisha slammed his hand on the drawing pinned to the board. Dina stood beside him as the others were gathered around them. "The King took the Founding Titan into the Walls! If we obtain that, we can control all other Titans and completely annihilate Marley!"
The drawing came into focus, with the tall woman holding a horn in one hand and light shining with clothes flying out of the other hand she held above her head.
"I know she's a Titan but damn, she's hot."
"Connie...I'm with you there."
Sasha snorted. "Really, Jean?"
"What, you think Eren's Titan is hot though, don't you?"
"...Okay fine, you have me there."
"I find all of your guys' obsession with my Titan unhealthy and creepy. Weirdoes."
"But if he could wield a power that absolute," someone said, "why did he flee to an island?"
"That is because he refused to fight," Dina answered.
There was a drawing of a large crack in the earth with two groups facing off against each other, both with giants mixed among the soldiers.
"At the time of the Great Titan War," Dina explained, "the King abandoned his role of balancing the continent's powers and moved the capital to a remote island." The giants stood side by side as the Walls were formed around them. "And so," she said sadly, "these wretched days we live all began when the king turned away from conflict."
"But why?" Ymir asked. She couldn't understand why the king would run.
"Because he was obviously a coward," Eren said plainly. "He couldn't fight and ran off to hide and die slowly, condemning all the Eldians on the mainland to a horrible fate just because he couldn't control the others in their warmongering ways."
"But he had the Founding Titan," Petra pointed out. "He should have been unstoppable, or nearly unstoppable."
"Then it probably wasn't about being unable to fight but unwilling to," Levi guessed. "With the most powerful Titan at his disposal, getting everyone to fall in line shouldn't have been too much of a hassle. But he didn't, so I'm guessing he didn't want to. Maybe he didn't have what it took to straighten everyone out."
"Let's fight!" Grisha said strongly and Dina looked at him in surprise. "The true royal family held their ground on this continent for the sake of Eldia!" He gestured his hand toward Dina. "It's time we bring the Founding Titan back to them!"
The others stood up.
"My comrades! We'll overthrow Marley and restore the pride of Eldia!"
"Yeah!" The group roared in unison.
Grisha was surprised when he noticed Dina. She cried and threw her arms around him.
Sasha slouched back against the couch. "I wanna feel excited for them but I don't think things are going to turn out well for them."
"There's barely even a dozen people there." Levi scanned the number of rebels in the underground room. "How exactly do they plan to rebel and seize control with those pathetic numbers?"
"That's what I'm thinking," Historia said. "It'd be a different matter if they had a few Titans powers or people with influence or high intelligence, but..."
"Have they even considered what happens if they do manage to take out Marley?" Erwin asked though he didn't think they did. "Will they annihilate the entire country, squashing it under the feet of the Colossal-type Titans since that's all those things can do? Because if they do, how will they eat and survive? Suppose they have the foresight to leave farmland untouched, will they enslave the Marleyans and make them work the fields? But then they're extremely outnumbered and have to control the Marleyans somehow using a population that's considered itself worthless for decades. It's not just about taking down the enemy but what happens afterward. No point in overthrowing their oppressors if the surrounding nations band together to stick them back in internment zones. Or wipe them all out and get it over with, saving them from a headache in the future. If they win, their rebellion could actually make things even worse than they already are for the Eldians around the world."
"I'd say let's hope they fail but I'm sure they already did," Hange said.
"The next year, the two of us married and were blessed with a son."
Grisha held the small blond child. Dina smiled, sitting in bed behind him.
"His name was Zeke."
"A child with royal blood…" Grisha said eagerly, holding Zeke close to his face. "Someday, this child will lead us all to victory…"
"Uh, no offense, Eren," Ymir started, "but your dad's being really crappy right now."
"Can't say I can disagree with you there."
Jean wrinkled his nose. "The mom's not any better, either. They're both just seeing their kid as a tool, not a person. They have no consideration to what he might want."
Historia scoffed, "No wonder Zeke was babbling about brainwashing and all that."
"He's still a douche, though," Connie growled. The image of his mother as a Titan was seared into his head.
Sasha nodded. "No arguments there."
A photographer stepped out from under the black cloth of the machine and smiled at the family.
"As time goes on, people change…"
The trio straightened up, Zeke sitting in his mother's lap in the green chair with Grisha standing next to it.
"As the world around us rapidly advanced, a turning point came for the Restorationists."
"Listen up, Eldians!" A man in a gray uniform addressed the crowd from the stage. "We will be selecting warriors from various zones around the continent!"
"The Marley government needed Subjects of Ymir to serve as vessels for the Nine Titans and become Marleyan warriors."
"If chosen," the man continued, "their family will be granted the title of Honorary Marleyans and…"
Dina and Grisha looked at each other.
"According to info from the Owl," Grisha read from some pieces of paper in the underground room, surrounded by his fellow patriots, "the reason Marley is making a move is to prepare themselves for a struggle for resources as military technology advances."
"So much for their high and mighty attitude," Ymir said sarcastically. "They told Marcel and the others it was more about saving the world or some shit when in the end it was just a resource-grabbing scheme."
"Not that any of us should be surprised." Levi certainly wasn't. "Eldians or Marleyans," he said, "humans will be humans."
Airplanes flew over a steamboat in the water.
Historia felt her stomach fall. "Look at that, more crazy inventions."
"And Marley's worried about preparing for other nations' advancement in military technology. Meaning they're possibly behind the world, and we're behind even them."
Armin's words made them mutter nervously.
But Eren felt calm and unbothered. "So what if we're behind the world? What else is new? We've always been the underdogs, haven't we? And at least now we know what to prepare for. We're not blind as bats when we go out there."
"Though Marley leads the world using the power of the Seven Titans, the end of their dominance is nigh."
On a map, Paradis Island was shown.
"A massive cache of fossil fuel lies beneath Paradis, and gone are the days they can ignore it. But the King of the Walls left this warning behind eighty years ago…" Grisha said, looking up.
Figures of Colossal-type Titans were shown walking side by side, leaving behind massive footprints.
"'If you ever interfere with us, the millions upon millions of Titans in the Walls will flatten the entire world.'"
The group listened to him, appearing stunned and intimidated.
"Is that how many Colossal-type Titans are in the Walls?" Connie asked, awed and a little afraid. He felt uneasy thinking the only thing keeping the behemoths contained was a couple of layers of bricks. But the Walls' hardness is like Reiner's Titan, he tried to assure himself. They couldn't simply wake up and go for an afternoon stroll.
"I doubt it's millions of Titans," Hange said, flipping through her notebook. "Where is it? Ah! Here it is. I did some calculations and based on the dimensions of the Walls as well as an idea of the size of the Colossal-type Titans, I'm estimating there to be is around half a million max. It might not be the right number but I think it's more accurate than several million. Even if I've downplayed some factors, the math simply does not support that enormous number."
"Millions seems way too excessive," Erwin said. "It's probably an exaggeration. The king was making a threat to keep everyone at bay."
Armin nodded. "Bringing hundreds of thousands of Eldians to the island and turning them into Colossal-type Titans makes more sense than millions upon millions."
"Do you think they volunteered to be turned into mindless monsters and get buried alive or did he forcibly turn them?" Levi asked.
No one spoke but they knew they were all thinking the same answer.
"As long as this threat exists, none dared to confront him. The thing is, the Marley government has the same goal as us. To infiltrate the Walls and recover the Founding Titan," Grisha concluded as the drawing of Ymir Fritz flashed on the screen.
"What do we do?" The man who spoke was bald on top with a thick white beard. "At this rate…"
"…Marley will get it before us," Grice finished.
"Was that SanTan as a human?"
"Petra, how the hell do you still remember that stupid name?"
"How could we forget when it bugs you so much?" Hange teased Levi. "But it supports our guess their rebellion will likely end in disaster."
"If that happens, Eldia won't see the light of day again!"
"No… There's still a way for us. We'll have my son Zeke…"
When the door to his room opened, Zeke looked up from the toy he was playing with.
"…become a Marleyan warrior!"
Eren was suddenly reminded of when Mikasa had blabbed his decision to join the Corps to his parents. His mother had tried to talk him out of it and insisted Grisha do the same. But his father hadn't rejected or accepted his decision. Yet now he's deciding for Zeke what his life will be like. His father had to realize turning his son into a Shifter would mean making him bloody his hands. But he pushed him into that life anyway. Grudgingly, Eren found himself accepting why Zeke was convinced Grisha wasn't a fit parent and had brainwashed his second son too.
"Got it, Zeke?" Grisha instructed the dazed boy who sat between with his father on one side and his mother on the other.
"This is eerily familiar," Historia said. "He's doing the same thing his father did to him. How horribly ironic."
"This is bound to blow up in their faces," Jean said. "Eren's dad grew up and rebelled against what he was taught by his father. I have a feeling Zeke will too and that's how they get caught."
Eren nodded. "It would explain how my dad got sent to Paradis and Zeke became loyal to Marley."
Grisha was pointing to the book open in front of Zeke, his hand on the boy's head. "Everything the Marleyans are telling you is wrong. But more so than anyone else, you have to obey exactly what they say."
"You're the one who will save Eldia from disgrace," Dina said, her hand on her son's shoulder.
"Okay… I understand…" Zeke replied with a trance-like look on his face.
Petra made a pitying sound. "He's got the same look in his eyes that Eren's father used to have."
"I guess Dad learned from his mistakes because he didn't repeat them with me. He was very encouraging of free thinking and making my own choices."
"But if anyone, I should have known…"
Zeke was replaced by Grisha when he was young, having lessons drilled into him by Mr. Yeager.
"Wow, they're practically identical," Sasha said. "Just the hair color is different. I guess they are father and son."
"How terrible the sin to besmirch one's beliefs on your children… Not as a child of royal blood… Not as the hope of restoring Eldia… But as my son Zeke, had I ever thought of him that way?"
A young Zeke stood, eyes wide and glassy. He pointed straight ahead.
"In any case, Zeke chose to protect himself and his grandparents…"
Mr. Yeager and Mrs. Yeager stood behind their grandson. A man in glasses, Tom, knelt by the boy, hands on his shoulders.
Surrounded by Marleyan soldiers with their guns aimed, Dina and Grisha stood in complete shock.
"…in exchange for turning in his foolish parents to Marley Public Security."
Armin sighed. "Well, we already called it from the start their ill-planned rebellion was going to end in failure."
"Gotta give them props for trying, though," Petra said, trying to be more considerate of their circumstances. "Seeing a little of the environment they were born and raised in, the fact they thought of and tried to rebel in the first place is worthy of praise."
"The irony really doesn't let up," Ymir said. "Grisha tried to brainwash his son the same way his father did and rather than do what he was taught, Zeke went the opposite route and ended any chances of Eldians improving their lives."
"We're here."
The blindfold was removed to reveal a sandy landscape with small rocky hills in the short distance.
This must be where I woke, Ymir thought. Or somewhere near there but further inland since I was surrounded completely by sand. She couldn't remember there being a wall or rocky formations in sight, though.
"That looks like some of the pictures from my grandfather's book," Armin said in awe.
"Look at that dirt!" Hange gushed. "It looks like waves in a river!"
"Sand," Ymir corrected her. "It's called sand, not dirt. It's very loose and shifty."
"It looks so pretty," Historia cooed.
Levi was not that impressed. "I bet it gets in everything and is impossible to get out."
Grisha opened his eyes slowly. "This is…paradise…"
Rocky formations surrounded the small wall with a smattering of humans atop it. Eight flights of stairs led down to four wharves, against one of which a ship was docked.
Hange started doodling it.
"This reminds me," Jean said, "we're gonna need ships."
"We're surrounded completely by water, we'll need a navy." Ymir shrugged when they all looked at her. "Don't look at me. I don't know how to build battleships, and definitely not ones capable of going across oceans."
"We still have to retake Wall Maria first," Hange thought out loud. "Even if we manage to figure out how to build those ships we won't have the necessary supplies for a navy. In fact, we'll probably need access to the entire island's resources for something like that."
"That's right," Kruger said, hands in his pockets, standing behind Grisha. "The penal colony of Eldian traitors: Paradis Island. This is where you'll serve your life sentence…"
Grisha turned his head back to look at him. His hands were tied behind him, the bandages wrapped around them bloody.
"As a Pure Titan, that is."
Historia frowned in confusion. "That can't be right. Shouldn't he get one of the nine Titans first?"
"Maybe he already did and we just haven't been shown it yet," Mikasa proposed.
"Guys," Sasha said with a gasp, "I have a crazy idea! Maybe Zeke turning them all in was part of the plan and he's secretly working against Marley! He turned his parents in so his dad could get to Paradis Island and take the Founding Titan. Getting sent here as punishment is the only way to get here, right?" She turned to Ymir, who nodded.
"But why would he also get his mother into trouble?" Jean asked. "She's of royal blood and it would be dumb to get her arrested, giving them access to royal blood. Or what if Marley found out about her by accident once they had her even if he didn't reveal that secret? They could force her to have children for them and weaponize them."
"Not to mention," Levi added, "why wouldn't Grisha mention it in his journals to Eren? So he'd know he had a brother, an ally, out there."
"Oh, yeah, when you put it that way," Sasha laughed sheepishly. "It doesn't make any sense."
Grisha screamed in pain, naked and restrained to a wooden chair with leather straps. Two men stood on either side of the chair.
Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were particularly disturbed by the scene, having known Eren's father personally.
I hope they end this quickly. Petra thought. It could not be easy to see one's father being tortured. She would certainly feel sick if she were in Eren's place, unable to bear the horrible sight of her father being tortured.
"Answer me," demanded a man with round glasses. "Who is the Owl?!"
"Please! No more!" Grisha begged, crying. Behind the interrogator with glasses, Kruger was seen with his arms crossed, leaning by the wall. "I told you everything! It's true!"
"That's unfortunate. Let's do another."
Kruger didn't react, listening to them continue to torture Grisha.
Erwin eyed Kruger with suspicion. Could he be...? It would certainly explain a lot. How the Owl was able to send them supplies and information. And Grisha had been screaming about telling his torturers everything. Does that include the identity of Dina Fritz as a royal? If Kruger was the Owl and the one whom Grisha had told Dina's secret to under pain, Kruger could bury it, pretend he never heard it. He could direct his fellow interrogators to keep putting pressure on Grisha about the Owl instead, sending them in the wrong direction knowing Grisha had no idea who it was.
Recognition flashed on Grisha's face, remembering seeing Kruger in his home with Gross. Grisha faced the desert before him. "I've met you before… When I was little…"
"You remember that?" Kruger asked.
"As if I could ever forget what happened that day!"
A black cloth tied around his eyes and hands restrained behind his back, Grice was escorted past Grisha. "Please, just kill me…" His voice shook as he spoke weakly. "Don't…"
"Keep walking!" The Marleyan soldier forced him to keep moving.
"Please not a Titan…"
Ymir felt cold chills go down her spine, recalling her own experience as a Pure Titan. She could understand too well the fear Grice had to be feeling. By pure dumb luck, she may have eaten a Shifter and regained her human form but if she had been given a choice that day on the wall, she would have chosen to die than become a Titan, cursed to wander in endless misery.
"Grice?"
"Grisha?! What the hell?!" Grice turned his head right, where Grisha's voice came from. "Why in the world did Zeke betray us?! He's your son!" His blindfold was removed. "I was an idiot to entrust everything to you! The Restorationists," he screamed in frustration. "Dina, too! Say something!"
Grisha's eyes widened in sorrow. "I'm sorry…"
"Why did we let…a guy like you…?" Grice wept, head bowed. "Eldia is finished…"
Erwin wondered if Kruger knew what Grisha had been up to. If he really is the Owl, that is. Did he, perhaps, have any plans as to what to do after crushing Marley if they'd managed to get the Founding Titan? He had to be fairly intelligent if he was able to elude capture for so long and run things from the shadows.
Gross walked up to Grice. "We've got a lively one here. You're free to go." He kicked Grice off the wall.
"Grice!"
Grice went rolling down on the ground.
"Hey, Grice!"
"Run straight north!" Gross yelled, cupping his mouth with one hand. Grisha looked at him in surprise. "If you're lucky, you might make it to the Wall!"
They narrowed their eyes suspiciously, not believing for a second he was being kind and giving helpful advice.
Hands still tied behind him, Grice struggled to his knees.
"Sergeant Major Gross?" The Marleyan soldier said in confusion.
"Hmm? This your first time here?" Gross asked, arms crossed. Ten Marleyans stood behind a prisoner each on the wall. "If we let him run off," Gross said as Grice ran, "the Titans we're about to make will chase him down and leave the area. It won't be long till he's eaten. Isn't that right, Kruger?"
"Yeah."
"I'd hide behind one of the sand hills," Connie said, thinking fast.
"Sand dunes." Ymir sighed happily. "You have no idea how good it feels to correct you all."
"Yes, we've noticed," Armin said in amusement.
"I used to have to bite my tongue around everyone so I wouldn't accidentally tip you off to the fact I was from outside the Walls. It feels good to talk freely—in secret and with only you guys around, I mean, but still."
"If the sand's loose like you said," Petra said, "I'd just go over a small hill and burrow myself in, out of their view."
"That's actually not too bad a plan." Jean rubbed his chin. "Better than running around in the middle of the day when Titans will be active for hours and hours at end."
Historia nodded, saying, "And it's not like the Marleyans can chase after you."
"But how would you keep the sand out of your nose?" Mikasa asked. "You'll need to hold your breath for a while until the Titans are gone."
"And it'll be difficult to tell if they're gone cause the sand will probably muffle their footsteps," Hange said.
"Maybe you can mostly hide yourself under the sand but leave your nose sticking out for air," Eren suggested. "Like you can do underwater."
Connie waved a hand. "Nah, if a Titan saw that it might get curious and dig you out. Then you've got nowhere to run. I'd say you should run sideways cause Titans are dumb as rocks and will probably move straight ahead."
"That's enough, everyone." Erwin stopped them before their tangent became uncontrollable. "I think you're thinking too deeply about this."
"He's right, brats. Save it for later," Levi said, "when you've got time to waste."
It's him… Without a doubt… Grisha thought, staring at Gross. He's the one who killed my sister!
Gross clapped his hands. "Alright! We've got a bunch to do this time!" At his words, the soldiers began getting the injections ready. "Let's get a move on!"
"Guys…" Grisha said, stricken.
The men screamed when they were injected.
"Don't do it!"
They were kicked off the wall and went crashing into the sandy ground. An orange glow covered a whimpering Grisha as he watched them transform.
"Guys!"
The Titans noticed the man running in the distance.
"Should've run sideways," Connie said quietly, shaking his head.
"He was probably too scared and panicked to think straight," Historia said with pity in her voice.
"Stop it! Guys, stop it! It's Grice! Can't you see?!"
"Kruger! He's so annoying," Gross complained. "I can't stand it."
"I still want to interrogate him a bit," Kruger told Gross. "Continue without me."
"Oh? A woman this time?" Gross said when a soldier brought Dina over. "What a waste… If only you weren't a devil!"
"Looks like they don't know she's a royal," Armin observed. "No way they would have brought her there otherwise." He recalled Grisha's words and started having a sneaky suspicion.
"We knew beforehand she was going to be a Titan, remember?" Mikasa reminded them. "In the last season when Eren had her killed we figured out who she was."
"I'll admit, I completely forgot about that," Sasha confessed. "Feels like a lifetime ago."
Eren half wished the Marleyans had known about Dina so his mother could have been spared. Then a horrible thought came to him: But her death sent you down this path. His father became desperate after the death of his wife and went after the royal family and stole the Founding Titan. Then he passed on the two Titans to me when I was at the refugee camp. If his mother hadn't died, then the rest might not have happened. In a disturbing way, his mother's death had sent his father down a certain path, which led Eren to where he was today. No, it's just speculation, he thought dismissively. And the past was already gone. Eren was going to keep his eyes focused on the future and continue moving forward.
Distraught, Grisha looked to see Dina on her knees to his left. "Dina…"
"Darling…" Dina whispered after her blindfold was removed.
"Why are you here? I…I told them everything there is to know! She's a royal—"
"Silence!" Kruger growled, slapping his hand over Grisha's mouth and twisting Grisha's arm behind his back.
Could it be… Grisha thought, struggling to speak. …he's trying to cover it up?!
By now most of them had figured out the Owl's identity. But they waited anxiously, not wanting to say it out loud and jinx it.
"Sheesh," Gross said. "Make him a Titan and shut him up already."
"Grisha, I…" Dina spoke with a sad smile as she was injected. "No matter what form I take, I promise I'll come and find you."
Petra winced. It might have been sweet if it wasn't so damn tragic and senseless.
"What are the chances?" Ymir muttered. Somehow, someway something had pulled the Titanized woman to her husband's house, ending with her attacking Grisha's second family.
"That's lovely." Gross laughed and came up behind Dina, kicking her off. "You'll make a great Titan couple."
"Dina!" Grisha cried out as his wife transformed.
The Titan appeared with a disturbingly wide mouth and an eerie smile.
I used to hate that face so much. Eren thought. He still loathed the Titan, but he mostly felt pity for the woman.
Poor Grisha. Hange thought fate seemed to have it out for him. His sister got mauled by dogs and killed violently. His oldest son betrayed him. His first wife was turned into a Titan and ate his second wife in front of his younger son. He has to then reduce his younger son's lifespan down to thirteen years. And eventually Eren goes on to have his mother's killer, his stepmother, ripped apart and killed brutally. Now Grisha's two sons were pitted against each other. It was just one thing after another. Perhaps Eren wasn't off with the whole Yeager Family Curse thing.
Eren woke, screaming at the top of his lungs, crying.
It startled Armin, who slept outside the cells with a white blanket around him. Mikasa sat up in her bed at once in the adjacent cell.
Eren was stunned at first before looking around. "Where is this? Who…am I?"
"Eren, relax!" Armin stood before Eren's cell. "You're in the stockades," he said as Eren approached the bars. "You and Mikasa are serving time for insubordination."
"Were you having a nightmare, Eren?" Mikasa asked, worried, her hair sticking out in every direction.
The sight sent the group into laughter.
Hange grinned at the shock of black hair pointing in all directions. "That is a most glorious bedhead, Mikasa."
"Really impressive how it defies gravity," Eren teased, trying not to laugh. "It's been like that since we were kids."
"Really?" Sasha asked and Armin confirmed, making them laugh again.
Mikasa touched her head in embarrassment.
"No need to be shy." Petra giggled. "I only wish I looked half as good wearing my bedhead."
"Yeah…" Eren replied. "I was…"
"You just said… 'Who am I?'" Armin told him.
"What?"
"You did," Mikasa confirmed. "Are you crying, Eren?"
"I feel like…I just woke up from the longest dream ever."
The line reminded Eren of what he'd said in the first episode. I practically saw the future and the past, but back then I wasn't a Shifter yet so it couldn't be some Titan power thing. How had he seen those images? It was a mystery that continued to confound him.
Eren moved to the side of his cell and sat against the wall, touching his forehead. "No… Not a dream… Memories… Just now, I was connected to my dad's memories."
Mikasa listened silently.
"That Titan…" Eren's tears fell on the ground. "It was you…"
"Dina…" Grisha said softly, watching the Smiling Titan leave.
Their good mood brought on by Mikasa's bedhead evaporated as they were sucked back into grim reality.
Gross laughed, pointing at the Titan. "Look! She's running after Grice and forgot all about you! I guess she fancies that guy more than you!"
"Shut up!" Grisha snapped, forehead touching the ground, eyes squeezed shut.
"Did you say something?"
"It's you!" Grisha lifted his head, growling at Gross. "Fifteen years ago, the one who fed my eight-year-old sister to the dogs was you!"
"Tsk. Let me get him off your hands." Gross stopped the soldier escorting one of the prisoners. "You can head back to the ship."
"Um, yes, sir," the soldier said and left. "What was that all about?"
"The Sergeant Major wants some time to have fun, rookie," the other soldier said as they left. "It's best to leave it at that."
"And he has the nerve to call Eldians devils!" Historia sneered in disbelief and disgust. "Why don't they take a good look inward?"
"You overestimate human rationale," Jean said to her. "And everyone likes to have someone to look down on. It makes them feel good about themselves."
Gross lit his cigarette. "Kruger, are you done interrogating? Let's have that lad dance for us."
"Dance?" Grisha echoed, not following.
"I remember you now, son," Gross said, the prisoner on his knees before him shaking and crying. "Let's not make you a Titan. I'll have this one turn into a 3-to 4-meter Titan so you can fight him."
"So you can control the size. As I figured," Erwin concluded, "their size has nothing to do with their age."
Levi, Petra, and Hange felt rather grateful and relieved at that bit of knowledge.
"Why would you…do something like this?" Grisha asked slowly. "Do you get enjoyment out of people getting eaten by Titans?"
Gross took a drag of his cigarette and blew out smoke. "Why, you ask? Because it's interesting," he said plainly, making Grisha stare at him in shock. "Do you think that's a little crazy?"
"No, I think it's very crazy," Sasha replied.
"But you know, people actually want to see cruelty." Gross readied an injection. "Peace can be such a wonderful thing, but something about it is lacking. Losing touch with life and death, perhaps? We should live thinking this might be the last day we've got. That's the only proper state of mind for living things. I'm ready to accept it when that day comes for me. That's because I've faced this cruel world head-on and deepened my understanding of it." Gross injected the prisoner without breaking eye-contact with Grisha. The man whimpered in pain. "Yeah… It was educational having my sons' dogs eat your sister."
Jean growled in anger. "He's just spewing whatever nonsense that comes to him. I can't stand pseudo-intellectual bullshit like this."
"This guy is just a sick fuck," Levi said. "People like him make all kinds of excuses and always rationalize their poor actions with 'logic.' But he can make all the excuses he wants because at the end of the day, it all comes down to one thing: he's a scum-sucking bastard."
The prisoner was sent off and screamed as he went down.
"Do you not feel any remorse?" Grisha moved his eyes from the prisoner to Gross.
"Well, I get what you're saying. If something like that happened to one of my sons, it would crush my heart."
The prisoner transformed in a bright light and explosion.
"You poor things," Gross remarked, bringing the cigarette to his lips. "If only you weren't Eldians."
Grisha gaped at him.
"Look. That's your people's true form."
The steam cleared to reveal the Peering Titan.
Sasha gasped. She'd recognize that Titan anywhere. It's the one I apologized to in Trost and Mikasa had to kill it! She'd felt so ashamed and disgusted with herself then. It made her feel less crappy now, knowing it was just some poor bastard punished for trying to overthrow an oppressive regime.
"All it takes is some Titan spinal fluid and you turn into gigantic monsters."
"So your theory was right." Petra glanced at Hange. "It is Titan spinal fluid."
"I don't know," Hange said slowly and skeptically. "I've been thinking, if it was only Titan spinal fluid then wouldn't Marley's enemies capture one Titan alive so they can use their own Eldians as weapons? They could drain it consistently then send off their Subjects of Ymir to other nations and tell them to turn into Titans and wrack havoc there, else their families back home will suffer."
"It could be the main ingredient, and maybe it gets combined with one or two other components," Erwin speculated.
"Best thing to do is get a live subject for Four-Eyes to cut open and study."
Levi's words made Hange's heart jump both in excitement at the prospect of a new experiment and in dread about dissecting a Titan, knowing it was person once.
"The world needs to wipe out every last one of you Eldians." Gross glared, holding up a fist. "That's the wish of humanity everywhere."
"I miss the days when we thought we were all that was left of humanity," Jean said longingly. "I know I say it all the time, but."
Eren had to agree. "I feel the same. I kind of miss when it was just humans vs. Titans and the world was pure and uncorrupt, free for us to explore after we defeated the monsters that caged us."
"What did you…?" Grisha trailed off.
"Of course I don't feel remorse." Gross tossed his cigarette away. "You're the murderers here." He stepped closer to Grisha. "What were you Restorationists planning to do to Marley?" He bent down slightly. "Don't you feel any remorse?"
"It's a lie!" Grisha refused steadfastly. "I know the truth! Our founder Ymir helped people prosper on the continent—"
"Yeah, whatever," Gross said in boredom, scratching his head. "Since your history is so grand, go and share it with your friend down below!" He grabbed Grisha, forcing him closer to the edge of the wall.
Despite knowing Grisha would somehow make it to the Walls, they tensed reflexively.
"Stop it! Don't!"
"Hear that?" Gross asked the struggling Grisha gleefully. "Your sister is calling for you!"
"This man has to be one of the most unpleasant fuckers I've seen in my entire life. And I grew up in the Underground."
"Someone, please, strangle him."
"I'd settle for watching him get slapped. With a hammer. Repeatedly."
"Dammit!" Grisha screamed, his voice echoing.
Suddenly, Kruger was between them, shoving Gross with one hand while his other held Grisha back safely.
"I knew it!" Jean said triumphantly. "I knew he was the Owl!"
"Are you—of course!" Historia gasped in delight. "He's the only who sent them insider info! And that's why he stopped Grisha from talking about Dina earlier!"
Connie stared at the TV, slack-jawed. "He was really a double agent the entire time? No way!"
Gross stared at the stoic Kruger in shock as he fell off the wall. He hit the ground and rolled to a stop, his hat falling off. Grunting in pain, he finally noticed the Peering Titan glaring at him. Gross stared at it, mouth open.
"Eat him!" Petra said without any remorse.
"I can't believe we're cheering a Titan on to eat a person." Sasha threw up her arms. "And I'm all for it!"
"He fucking deserves it," Eren hissed, hopping for a violent and bloody end for his aunt's murderer. "I hope it takes its time and eats him slowly."
Kruger sighed, taking off his cap while Gross's screams were heard.
Music to my ears, Eren thought happily.
Grisha watched as the Peering Titan brought the screaming and struggling man closer to its mouth.
"How fitting that he gets eaten alive." Mikasa was satisfied by the karmic justice.
Connie grinned widely and mischievously. "Even if Titans didn't throw up the people they ate, this Titan would have puked out that guy out cause he's Gross."
Ymir let out a groan along with some others. "Connie, that was lame even by your standards."
"Well? Is it really that interesting?" Kruger asked.
"He's so cool," Connie said giddily.
"You're…"
Kruger tossed away his cap. "I'm the Owl. Remember this, Grisha." He held a knife to his palm and sliced the skin. "A Titan uses their power like this."
The teens yelled out in excitement and shouted in surprise. No one had seen that coming.
"Ahh, that was so awesome!" Sasha squealed. "Did you see how cool he was?!"
"Those few lines alone made him so badass," Eren said admiringly. The fact Kruger threw Gross to a Titan to be eaten alive made the man a hero and worthy of praise and worship in Eren's eyes.
"Of course!" Armin slapped his forehead. "He would have the Titan to pass on to Eren's dad!"
Connie pouted. "I am kinda bummed out because it means he'll die."
Lightning struck down and the soldiers at the wharves cried out in surprise, covering their eyes. Some of the soldiers and crates were flung off by the force of the transformation.
Grisha struggled to his feet and stared at the scene before him.
The Attack Titan gripped the ship tight and broke it in half over his shoulders.
"He looks so much like Eren's Titan!"
"I take back all the horrible things I said about you in my head!"
"He just broke a fucking ship over his shoulders! Fuck me, if that's not one of the coolest things I've ever seen!"
"Whoa, looks like Kruger will finally give Captain Levi competition for who's the coolest in Connie's eyes."
"To think he infiltrated the Marleyan government and has been orchestrating things from the shadows without anyone being the wiser!"
"Must have been so hard, though. Knowingly torturing some of his own comrades for the sake of the keeping Restorationist group alive."
"I wonder how he managed to stay sane all that time undercover. I wouldn't be able to handle it."
"I can't decide who's hotter," Hange said in agony. "Kruger's Titan or Eren's!"
Petra had to laugh. "You've got your priorities straight, Hange." She paused. "I'll have to go with Eren."
"Oh hell no." Levi stood and made Petra retake her spot by the arm of the couch. "I don't need another maniac Titan lover, especially not on my own team." His truer reason was something else entirely. She'll want to reach over and comfort Eren. If his guess was right then in the next episode...
"One thing is almost for certain now," Erwin spoke quietly to Hange. "If Kruger is going to pass down his Titan to Grisha, he'll have to tell him about the Curse of Ymir. Not that I don't believe Ymir, but this way we can make sure it's real and that it's not a misconception or anything."
The amusement drained from her face. Hange sent the younger Scouts a pitying look. "It's going to break their hearts when they find out."
Hoo boy, this was a doozy and now the new longest chapter I've ever written.
Please Review~