To them, it's just a picture. But the picture has a meaning to it. On that day, Grisha, a young boy, finds out about the cruelty of the world they live in.
"Mom," Grisha said, "we're leaving now!"
"Wait for me brother!" his little sister said.
"Wait, you two," their mother said, "put these armbands on."
They put on their armbands, opened the door and walked outside. "Don't go past the walls!" their mom said.
"We'll be right back!" Grisha said.
"See you later!" his little sister said.
They waved at their mom. She waved at her kids. Then they walked away. They passed through the people as they walked in the city. They bumped into two strangers.
"Get out of the way, devils," the man said. "crawl back into the hole you both came from."
"Come on, let's go," the second man said. "let's not waste our time with them."
They walked away. "Grisha," Faye said as her body was trembling. "I'm scared."
"Don't worry Faye," he said. "It's okay."
They continued walking and a sound from above got their attention. "Grisha," Faye said, "look!" They looked up to see a blimp in the sky.
"It's flying away," Grisha said. "come on, let's follow it!"
They followed the flying blimp and stopped when it disappeared out of sight. "Watching the flying plane is fun," she said. "I hope I get rich someday and ride an airplane."
"What are you talking about? There's no way we would get rich."
"Yeah," she said, "but...I wish...I wonder what you can see from up there."
He looked at the gate and looked at his sister. "Come on," Grisha said as he grabbed her hand, "let's go Faye!"
They started running to the gate. "But, Mom said not to go past the walls."
"Don't worry," he said, "It'll only be just for a bit."
They ran to the gate. "We'll be back!" Grisha said.
"Hey, get back here!" the guard said.
Before Eren and his friends, Grisha lived in the Internment Zone with his family. He was a young boy, just like Eren was. And on this day, Grisha came to know the cruelty of this world.
Grisha and Faye stopped running and looked at the blimp. "What do you think, Faye?" Grisha asked.
"Wow," she said, "It's so cool!"
Faye smiled. Grisha smiled. "Have you both come to see the airship, too?" the man's voice shocked them.
"Huh? Uh, yes..." Grisha said.
"You both from the Liberio Internment Zone? Let's see your exit permit." he said.
Grisha's eyes widened. "What? Uh..." he reached into his empty pocket.
"I don't have one," he said.
"Well," he said, "you know what that means, right?"
"What?" he asked.
"Labor or a beating? Which one?" he asked.
"A beating," he said.
"Grisha!" Faye said.
"Oh, you don't want to trouble your parents, huh?" he said.
"No," Grisha said, "I forced my sister to come with me! I'll take her punishment!"
"Very well," he said as he grabbed Grisha and used his knee to smash his chest.
"Grisha!" Faye said as she covered her eyes with her hands.
"Here's another one!" he smashed his chest again.
"Calm down, Kruger, go easy on him," the man said. "come on, let's get you back to your parents."
They walked away from them. "It was smart of you to not take off your armbands," he said. "Eldians would've been sent to their Paradise, even if they are kids."
"I'll...go home," he said.
"Wait," he said, "you wanted to see the airship, right? Might as well see it."
Grisha looked at the airship for a while. Later, Faye was found in the river. The man named Gross explained to Grisha and his parents about Faye.
"You see," he said, "I sent Faye to the Liberio gates and went on my way. I was busy with work and it's dangerous for a Eldian child to wander on their own. You should teach your son about the sins of his ancestors."
Tears fell from the mother's eyes. The father accepted his word without question. "Thank you, sir," he said. "I'll be sure to teach my ignorant son about his history."
Grisha hated Gross and his dad so much, he became dizzy with rage. But he cursed his own foolishness. Gross lied to them and Grisha knew it. When they left, his father grabbed a book and began explaining the Eldian history to him.
"One thousand, eight hundred and twenty years ago," his father said, "our ancestor Ymir Friz made a contract with the Devil of All Earth and obtained the powers of the titans. Upon her death, Ymir's spirit was split into the nine titans who formed the Eldian Empire. After defeating the great nation of Marley, they ruled over the continent. Thus began the dark ages...the Subjects of Ymir called other races inferior and began to oppress them. 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. 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. The Eldian King at the time erected three walls on the island of Paradis and fled there with many his people. Our ancestors were abandoned and left behind on the continent, but...the gracious people of Marley let us live and stay on their land."
Grisha's father was very talkative for someone who had just lost their daughter. He obeyed his master's commands and glady shamed his ancestry, much like he was their dog.
"That man was telling lies," Grisha said. "the truth wasn't good for him so he lied."
"Be quiet," his father said. "the walls here are thin."
"I bet he was the one who took Faye and-"
"Silence!" his father said. "Our ancestors did terrible things. They believed in eugenics and tried to cleanse-"
Grisha banged his fists on the table. "Faye and I did nothing like that! We were just walking around!"
"What is wrong with you? Are you trying to get us shipped to Paradis?" His father asked.
Grisha was silent. "Listen, Grisha," His father said, "It doesn't matter that we're not responsible for the sins of our ancestors. What we can do is live humble lives in the Internment Zone. Please, I'm begging you, don't let us suffer the same fate as your sister did."
Grisha sighed. "Okay," he said, "I understand."
Grisha wondered who was in the wrong. Him or this world? Later, a patriot came to Grisha and told him the real truth of what happened to Faye.
"No way! You're kidding me!" Tears fell from his eyes.
Grisha found out that his sister was fed to dogs. He swore in his heart, that he would show Marley who the real devils are and that his ancestors did the right thing. Their informant is called the owl who leads the restorationist without showing himself. Grisha read some books and found out that Ymir awakened the power of the titans, cultivated the wilds, built roads, and helped the people prosper and develop the entire continent.
"Comrades! The owl sent us someone!" The man said.
"Hello, everyone," she said. "my name is Dina Friz. I'm a descendant of the royal family."
She provided info about the titans only the royal family knew. After she told them everything, Grisha came to a conclusion. "I'm sure of it! The King took the Founding Titan into the walls! If we obtain that power, we can control all the titans and destroy Marley!"
"At the time of the Great Titan War," Dina said, "the King abandoned his role of balancing the continent's powers and moved the capital to a remote island. These miserables days of ours began with the King turning away from conflict."
"Let's fight! My comrades, we will overthrow Marley and restore pride to Eldia!" Grisha said.
They cheered. Dina hugged Grisha. The next year, Grisha and Dina married and were blessed with a son. His name is Zeke.
"Someday," Grisha said, "our child will lead us all to victory."
Grisha, Dina and Zeke got their picture taken. As the world around them rapidly advanced, a turning point came for the Restorationist. They found out Marley has the same goal as them and that goal is to infiltrate the walls and take the Founding Titan. Grisha came up with a idea to have his son become a Marleyan warrior.
"You see Zeke? Everything the Marleyans told you is wrong. You have to become a warrior and obey exactly what they say." Grisha said.
"You're the one who will save Eldia from disgrace," Dina said.
"Okay," Zeke said, "I understand."
Grisha said the same words when he was young. Because his father was teaching him the history of the Eldian Empire. Now, Grisha is doing the same thing to Zeke. Unfortunately, their son, turned them in to Marley Public Security.
"We're here," Kruger said as he removed his blindfold.
"This is...Paradise," Grisha said.
"Yes," Kruger said, "and this is where you will serve your life sentence. As a Pure Titan, that is."
Grisha turned around and looked at him. "I remember you," he said. "I took my sister to see the plane and you were there."
"You remember that?" he asked.
"Yeah," he said, "that was a long time ago."
A Marleyan soldier came to the wall with a Eldian. "Please," he said, "just kill me...don't..."
Grisha's eyes widened. "Grice?"
Grice got on his knees and the soldier took off his blindfold. "Grisha," he said, "why did Zeke betrayed us? He's your son!"
Grisha was silent. "Say something!" Grice said.
"I...I don't know," he said.
Tears fell from Grice's eyes. "It's over," he said. "the Restorationist is done. I was a fool to trust you with everything." The Marleyan soldier kicked him off the wall.
"Grice!" Grisha said.
He fell down to the sand. "Hey! If you're lucky you might make it to the wall!"
Grisha's eyes widened when he looked at the man. Gross was the one he met a long time ago. There was no doubt about it.
Gross clapped his hands. "Alright, everyone," he said, "we have a lot of titans to make. Let's get this show on the road."
The soldiers grabbed out the syringes and filled it with Titan spinal liquid. The Eldians screamed in pain as the soldiers injected it into them. The soldiers kicked them off the wall and they turned into Titans.
Grisha's eyes widened. "Guys!"
They started chasing after Grice. "Guys, stop! That's Grice!"
"Listen to him, Kruger," Gross said. "he's hilarious. Let's turn him into a Titan so he can join his friends.
"I still want to interrogate him a bit," he said.
A Marleyan soldier came to the wall with a Eldian. "Oh? You're a woman? Too bad you're a devil." Gross said.
Grisha's eyes widened. "W-What?"
The woman got on her knees and the soldier took off her blindfold. "Dina," Grisha said.
"Grisha," she said.
"No! She's a girl with royal-"
"Silence!" Kruger covered Grisha's mouth.
"Grisha," she said as a soldier injected the syringe into her, "no matter what form I take, I promise I will find you."
"That's nice," Gross said. "the both of you will make a great Titan couple." he kicked her off the wall.
"Dina!" Grisha said.
She fell down to the sand and became the smiling Titan. Eren's eyes widened. He screamed and that woke up Historia and Mikasa.
"Who...am I?" he asked.
"What are you talking about? You're Eren." Historia said.
"Were you having a nightmare, Eren?" Mikasa asked.
"Yeah...I was," he said as he lie down on the bed. "I feel like...I was having the longest dream ever."
Mikasa and Historia lie down next to him. "Memories," he said. "I was connected to my father's memories. That Titan was her...Dina."
"Dina," Grisha said.
Gross laughed like he heard the funniest joke in the world. "Look at her! She forgot all about you and is chasing after Grice! I guess she likes him more than you!"
"Shut up!" Grisha said.
"Huh? What did you say?" Gross asked.
"It was you," Grisha said. "the man from fifteen years ago who fed my sister to the dogs, was you!"
Gross was silent. "Tsk."
A Marleyan soldier came to the wall with a Eldian. "Let me have him," Gross said. "you and the others can head back to the ship."
"Yes sir," the soldier said. "what's up with him?"
"He just likes to have fun, rookie," the soldier said. "It's best to leave it at that."
Gross lit himself a cigarette. "Kruger," he said, "are you done interrogating him? Let's have him dance for us."
"Dance?" Grisha said.
"I remember you, now," Gross said. "I'm not gonna make you a titan. I'll turn your friend into a 3 to 4 meter titan and you both can fight."
"Why would you do this? Do you get pleasure out of people getting eaten by Titans?" Grisha asked.
"Why? Because it's interesting. Do you think that's a little crazy? But you know, people actually want to see cruelty. Peace can be a wonderful thing, but something about it is lacking. We should live our days like its our last. That's the proper state of mind for living things. I'm ready for when that day comes to me. Because I've faced this cruel world head on and deepened my understanding of it. Yeah, it was educational to have my son's dogs eat your sister." He injected the syringe into the man as he screamed in pain and kicked him off the wall.
"Do you feel no remorse?" Grisha asked.
"I get what you're saying," Gross said. "If what happened to your sister happened to my sons, my heart would be crushed." The man turned into a Titan.
"Poor things," Gross said. "If only you weren't Eldians."
Grisha was silent.
"Look," Gross pointed at the Titan. "that's your people's true form. All you need is Titan spinal fluid and you turn into gigantic monsters. The world would be a better place if you Eldians didn't existed at all! That's the wish for humanity everywhere!"
"What did you...?" Grisha said.
"Of course I don't feel remorse," Gross threw his cigarette away. "you Eldians are the real murderers here. What were you Restorationists going to do to Marley? Do you feel any remorse?"
"It's all a lie," Grisha said. "I know the truth, our founder Ymir helped people prosper on the continent-"
"Yeah, whatever," Gross grabbed Grisha. "Since your history is so grand, how about you share it with your friend?"
"No! Stop it!" Grisha said.
"You hear that? Your sister is calling for you." Gross said.
"Darn it!" Grisha said.
Kruger pushed Gross off of the wall. He fell to the sand and got up to see the man who turned into a Titan glaring at him. The Titan picked him up and began eating him.
"Well? Is it really that interesting?" Kruger asked.
"What? Who are you?" Grisha asked.
Kruger threw his hat away. "I'm the owl," he said. "listen to me, Grisha, this is how a Eldian uses the power of the Titans."
Kruger cut his hand with a knife and lightning came from the sky. The wind blew the soldiers away. Grisha's eyes widened as Kruger grabbed a boat and crushed it. He was a Titan all this time and the Marleyans never knew about it.
Kruger tells Grisha everything. Eren gains memories he never knew about. Kruger gains memories but doesn't know where they come from.
To be continued...
