Note: Major spoilers ahead for the last arc of the manga/season four of the anime
He'd given her four bullets.
Inga sat in that cage screaming as the fire burned all around her. She yelled even though she knew no one could hear her. Not that bastard. Not that woman, Petra. Inga screamed for Elsa, who didn't move. Sobbing, she picked up the gun and, with shaking hands, loaded the bullets into the chamber. Already the heat was making her eyes water, and she coughed as the smoke began to grow. The fire licked up the walls, obliterated papers on the desktop. At least she got to watch that fucking doctor burn.
Inga sobbed as she finished loading the gun. At least that monster with the beard and glasses had given them some release. Better a quick shot to the head than burning alive or dying of the smoke.
But she didn't want to die. She'd been in a cage her whole life. All she wanted was one free breath.
She sobbed as she aimed the gun through the bars at Elsa and—
Wait.
Her heart hammering, she studied the lock on her cage. She had four bullets. She could use one as an experiment. She could…
It was worth a try.
Inga aimed at the lock. She winced, pulled the trigger…
Nothing. She screamed in horror and frustration until she remembered that the chamber had two empties. The next time she pulled the trigger, there was a deafening blast. The lock shot apart. Inga screamed as the gun recoiled in her hand, but…
The lock was off.
Sobbing, she swung the door open with ease.
She was…out.
She was free.
For the first time in two years, Inga stood up without cage walls around her or shackles on her feet. She sobbed, screamed in joy even as the fire ate the room. Coughing, she remembered Elsa. She aimed well and blasted the lock off the other girl's door. She yanked the door open, eyes watering. Fuck, the fire was getting so bad…she could hardly see for the smoke…
"Elsa," she choked. She coughed. The girl would not move. "Come on! Hurry!"
But Elsa only curled in on herself.
She hadn't always been like this. She'd cried once, begged for her mother. She'd tried to escape, even. Then he'd taken out several of her organs, and she'd stopped trying. She'd started to shrivel away.
Even when he took away Inga's chance to have children, she'd sworn she would not die here. That her life had meaning anyway. That she deserved to live for her own sake at least.
Elsa had given up after the first surgery. Inga would never give up.
"Come on!" she screamed. She grabbed the girl's shirt and dragged her out of the cage, but Elsa would not help and she was so heavy. So heavy…
The smoke filled Inga's lungs. She coughed and choked. It was so hot…
She screamed as the flames licked her body. She smelled her hair as it burned, her shirt as it caught fire. Her face was obliterated with pain when the fire touched her skin, when she smelled it burning, like it was cooking.
She fell away, unable to take the pain. The fire started to eat Elsa.
Sobbing, Inga shot the third bullet. Elsa was beyond pain now.
I'm sorry.
Inga stumbled to the door, scrambled to open it. She did, falling into the hallway. It was astonishingly cool after that fiery room. Inga ran down the hall and out the back door, exploding off the back porch and into the jungle. She ran and ran, the gun still in her hand, the single bullet in its chamber. She ran until a bubble of crystal rose around the house to put out the fire. Titan crystal.
Inga shivered and crept through the dark, trying not to make a sound. If they found her they'd kill her.
No. She had one bullet left. She'd do it herself.
Unfortunately, as the adrenaline wore off the pain of her burns became more pronounced. Pretty soon she had her shirt stuffed into her mouth to stifle her moans. Her eyes watered. It felt like half her face was covered in molten lead.
She found a stream and tried putting water on her face. That was a mistake that almost rendered her unconscious.
Desperate, she scooped up mud from the riverbank and smeared it on the burns. That was still agony, but it helped a little. Just a little.
She tried drinking some of the water. She kept walking, hoping to find someone to help.
Though what they'd do with her…
Maybe the water had been dirty. Maybe her wounds got infected. But by morning, Inga was delirious with a fever. Her throat swelled. Her body became so cold. Her burns at least stopped hurting as she sank deeper into illness.
Eventually, she collapsed onto the jungle floor and lay there.
Okay. It was okay if she died now. She'd had one free breath. She hadn't known love, or kindness. She'd never have a family of her own, or a career of any kind. But she'd gotten to be free for even one night, and not many could say that.
Inga was glad when she became unconscious. Soon she'd be dead, and the pain would end.
She didn't know how long she lay there. She only knew that at some point, she heard voices. She felt hands.
She thrashed, because she knew that they had found her and would send her to Paradise. She tried to scream, but her throat was too swollen to make a sound.
She felt the sting of a needle. Then she was truly gone.
Inga had been shocked when she awoke again. She was lying in a bed, wearing a clean white smock. She was wrapped in bandages. Her skin still burned, but the burn was manageable now. Someone had put balm on it. She swallowed; her throat was better, too. She'd sat up and found herself in…
A doctor's office.
"No!" She'd started screaming, tried to run. She'd only fallen out of bed. That's when he'd come in. The doctor.
"It's all right. Shhh." He was a man with graying hair and black eyes. He didn't smile. He hoisted her up under the arms, but she fought.
"No, no! No! I'm not going back! No!" she screamed.
"Quiet," he hissed. Then the door opened, and a woman in white entered. A nurse. She was holding a needle.
No, no, no. Not again.
"Let me go," Inga sobbed, but her legs failed.
"Doctor?" The nurse approached…
"Leave the needle. Leave us. It's all right," he said. The woman looked uncertain, but left. "Hush. Miss, hush. They don't know."
That's what he said: they don't know. That made Inga stop fighting.
"Wh-what?"
"They don't know about you." He whispered that in her ear. "I changed the blood test we did when you arrived. They think you're an ordinary Marleyan."
This…this couldn't be what she thought. He was lying.
"I-I'm…"
"They think you're some girl we found. The victim of some kidnapping attempt. Black market people who take women's organs. It's happened before. The story was convincing." He hissed. "They don't know you're Eldian. Stop fighting."
She didn't know what to do, so she did nothing. He put her back to bed.
"Now. Stay here. You're in a hospital about three miles outside Saluzzo. If anyone asks…?"
"I…" She swallowed. "I was kidnapped."
"You got away."
"Yes."
"Good. We'll talk later."
And he left her there, sitting in bed and praying this wasn't the last, cruelest joke of her life.
But the nurses were polite to her. So sweet. They even stroked her hair and gave her extra oranges. They checked her bandages with care.
They're so nice. Marleyans had never been nice to Inga before. But she had to remember that if they knew what she was, the niceness would go away.
Why couldn't everyone just be nice like this all the time?
She rested. She waited. As the sun went down, the doctor came back. He spoke pleasantly.
"Well. Looks like you've got some healing ahead of you, but we can expect a full recovery."
He gave her a few sheets of paper. Words were written on them. Don't talk. Just read.
"Yes, thank you," Inga said. She read as the doctor 'took her temperature' and other silent activities. It gave her time to read. No talk, in case someone was listening.
Inga learned that his name was Alberto Canuto. He was a doctor. A Marleyan doctor. A Marleyan doctor who hated what was done to people of her race.
He was a man who had falsified many Eldian blood tests in his life. He had helped them to hide in plain sight. To live semi-normal lives, though of course he recommended they never marry outside of their community, or have close Marleyan friends. Still. Better than the camps. Better than the world's hatred.
She'd made it five miles through the jungle, to the outskirts of his small town. Hunters had found her and brought her to him. Inga was lucky for the first time in her life: any other doctor would have condemned her. But he was going to help her.
While he chatted about the weather and how long she'd been asleep, he gave her a pencil and had her write out her brief story on the back of the paper. She told him where she'd come from. What had been done to her. How she escaped.
Alberto read it. She watched his face darken. She saw his jaw tighten with anger. Then, when he was done, he told her she'd be just fine. He tore the paper into fine bits, then said he was going outside. To smoke.
When he got back from burning the evidence, he told her that he was going to help her fill out forms. Get a permanent ID again. He'd introduce her to a community of her own that could help her.
He did all of that. He healed Inga, then he saved her.
It was the first time in her life she ever fell in love with anyone, though of course she never told him. She was too ashamed, too certain she was unlovable. And it wouldn't have been wise, anyway. She'd have put him in danger.
Even now, she had idle dreams of going back one day and making him love her in return. But that would never happen.
Because later on, while living in Valle, she saw titans fall from the sky. She saw the face of the man who had burned her as he sat in a café, relaxing with his other Warrior friends. She had learned his name: Zeke Jaeger.
Because almost two years after that night in Fischer's office, she'd found Zeke Jaeger.
She'd shot him.
And now she was going to die surrounded by titans.
Inga screamed as the men around her…transformed. Bursts of lightning flashed all around, and then there were titans. Inga had seen the titan shifters when they fought in Valle, but she had never seen titans like these. Pure, mindless titans.
She screamed as one that stood almost two stories tall leaned down and reached for her. It wore an idiot grin, and it grabbed her around the middle. It lifted her off the ground, and she was headed for its mouth.
She'd known people like her could become monsters like this. But she hadn't seen…
Maybe I ought to just die.
As she was lifted toward the creature's mouth, she felt that at least her misery would soon be over. That was something.
She cried and—
The titan bellowed. Someone or something spun by, and then she was falling. Inga collapsed back to the ground, screaming as she twisted her ankle. She looked up in horror as a man…
He didn't seem like a man, though. He moved with almost superhuman speed. He'd been wearing some strange kind of contraption, she'd noticed it when he knocked her to the ground. Now she saw: it whirred, and hooks sprang out of it. The man hurtled through the air, landing upon the titan's back and slicing its neck. The creature collapsed almost on top of Inga. She wriggled out of the hand: that's what the man who'd saved her had cut off, the hand.
Inga screamed again as she saw a titan grab one of the soldiers and bite him in half. She watched the flying man kill that titan as well, but too late. She heard the man give a furious roar.
Inga saw the tall blond man—the king. He wasn't wearing the gear that the other man was. He cursed as a titan loomed overhead. Inga had heard that the king was a shifter himself. Why not use the power?
Unless using it would be too destructive?
"Erwin!"
The flying man bellowed as he spun down and sliced up the titan's reaching arm. He landed on the back, took out the nape. The monster fell to earth, crashing into a car and turning it upside down like a toy.
Inga gasped and cried as she looked around. In a single minute, she'd been surrounded by titans, almost eaten. And now…
They were all dead. The corpses began to disintegrate as the small man returned to earth. He turned around and around, eyes flashing fire.
"Six…seven…damn it!" he roared.
A titan was missing. And so was Zeke Jaeger.
"Levi!" the king said when the short man turned to go. "They'll be outside the city limits now. You need a horse or a car."
Sirens were already approaching. Three automobiles pulled up. The dark man, Levi, snarled some ugly curse word and then ran over to one of the cars. The soldier driving saluted him, then jumped back inside. Levi got into the passenger seat, and the car tore off at top speed.
Inga trembled on the ground. She looked at the gun beside her.
She'd started off with four bullets. Now she had none.
Her eyes filled with tears. And she hadn't even killed him, had she? The bastard.
Then hands grabbed her and yanked her to her feet. Inga wailed in pain.
"Let me go! Stop!"
"Be gentler," the king said. He approached Inga. In the presence of such a commanding person, such a handsome man, she felt her own smallness and nothingness. King Erwin frowned. "Why did you shoot him?"
It wasn't an angry question.
"H-He tried to kill me. Back in Marley."
Erwin nodded, then signaled to the men.
"Take her into the Tower. I want to question her. In the meantime, send more cars and officers after Captain Levi. The orders are that Zeke Jaeger is to be taken alive if at all possible. But if there is no other choice, kill him."
Son of a bitch.
She shot him. Zeke hacked and coughed as he massaged his throat. The wound was healing already. The titan carried him obediently through the dark, out of Mitras and onto a highway. Traveling by titan was pleasant, but conspicuous.
"Stop that car up ahead," he ordered the titan. "Don't damage it."
His titan was obedient. It went faster and swooped out of the dark, grabbing the car by its roof. Zeke could hear screaming within. He winced when the titan squeezed, damaging the sides a little bit. Ah well. If it was functional, it'd do.
"Shake them out," he said. The titan did. A man and woman fell to the earth, screaming. Zeke had the titan put the car down. Before he got into the driver's seat, he said, "Eat them, if you must."
The man and woman didn't scream for long as Zeke rushed down the highway. Soon, he'd blend in with other cars once he found a crowded area. Levi and the others would be chasing the titan for a little while, giving Zeke ample opportunity to stay well ahead of them. Besides, they didn't know where he was going.
Trost.
Over the course of several months, Yelena had been the go between, sneaking messages from brother to brother. Synchronizing their movements. Whenever Zeke found his way to Paradis, they both knew Eren and he would be separated. When Eren escaped, Zeke would know it was time. That would be the signal. When he could, he must go to Petra Ackerman in Trost.
Eren would be waiting.
Soon, Eren. An hour. Just an hour.
"Where do we begin?" Eren mused. Petra felt dead inside at this point. She was out of tears. She would accept anything.
"Let's start simple." Reality falling apart could wait. She wasn't ready for that shit just yet. "What do you mean I should have died four years ago?"
"There's nothing simple about that." Eren sighed. He leaned his elbows on his knees, lost in thought. "To understand this, you have to understand the titan powers I possess: the Founding Titan, and the Attack Titan. The Founding Titan is our past: every single Eldian who's ever lived is stored there, in the PATHs with our founder, Ymir."
Petra was going to go insane. What was he talking about?
"That's how I could bring them all back, you understand. With the Founder under my total control, I could have Ymir rebuild every last one of them. It's how she rebuilds shifters' arms when they're lost, or their eyes. She makes our bodies. She designs every bit of us. Do you understand?"
"Maybe. I…yes."
"We Eldians, we Subjects of Ymir, are all descended from the Founder herself. We're all hers to play with. The Founding Titan can rebuild bodies. It can restore your sister's womb. It can fix the problem her body has, the reason conceiving is difficult for her. The Founder controls all Subjects of Ymir." He held up one finger. "With one big exception. The Ackermans." His gaze darkened. "We'll come back to that. It'll be important."
He's out of his mind. He's crazy.
But was he?
"The Attack Titan, meanwhile, can see the future. Rather, the future memories of other Attack Titan shifters. It can also see past memories as well. You understand, Petra?" He leaned nearer to her, a fanatic light building in his eyes. "I can see my dead father's memories."
"Okay. All right." She took a deep breath. "Let me guess. You saw something bad in the future. You have to stop it with the Founder."
Eren rubbed his legs. "I'm going to try to explain what I meant about your death." He took a deep breath, shut his eyes. Focused. "This whole world we're living in now: it wasn't supposed to happen. It all happened because of Captain Levi."
"What do you mean?"
"In the right timeline—the correct one—Levi let Erwin die on that rooftop in Shiganshina. He chose to let Erwin rest. This world—the hyperfusion bomb, the Triple Alliance—was never supposed to happen."
"What do you mean 'supposed to'? It did happen."
"Let me finish." He looked agitated, like he himself could barely understand what he was saying. "There's choice, but there's also such a thing as destiny. We were all destined to go down a specific path. On that path, Erwin died in Shiganshina. Paradis fell into disarray. Marley loomed over us, more dangerous than ever. On that path, I grew frustrated. I believed there was only one thing to do to save my people." He looked at her. "The Rumbling. In that other timeline, I touched Zeke and started the Rumbling."
Petra was really losing it now.
"Wait. So…you want to meet Zeke because you need to start the Rumbling?" She stood up, alarmed.
"No." He was dead serious. "Ironically, seeing this alternate timeline—seeing how it doesn't match up with what was supposed to happen—changed my mind completely." Eren shook his head. He even laughed a little. "I see now that it's possible to make choices. Things don't have to go exactly as planned. I could never start the Rumbling now." He bit his lip. He looked so unsure in that moment; the boy he'd once been.
"So. Wait." Petra sat, trying to wrap her head around this. "What you're saying is that Levi changed history? He was supposed to pick Armin, but chose Erwin." She frowned. "But our world is so much better with Erwin. He freed Eldians. He brought peace and prosperity to the island." The mention of Erwin still made her wince, but she could put her feelings aside and acknowledge him as a great leader. "You want to put us back on the original path? Where Armin survives?" Did he want to see his childhood friend again that badly?
"For that to happen…" Eren looked at her. Really looked. "Let's go back to the Ackermans." Oh for fuck sake. But he continued. "Mikasa and Levi aren't bound to the same rules as all other Eldians. Ackermans have their own PATHs. The Founder can't alter their memories, or manipulate their bodies. It can't control them in any way. Do you understand? Levi is one of the only truly free people in this world." He sounded bitter there. "He made a choice."
"Yes. He chose to save Erwin instead of Armin."
"Why, though? Why did he make that choice?"
"Because…"
Because of their baby. She stopped. Eren nodded.
"In the proper timeline, you were still on Levi's squad during the Female Titan mission. You died with the others in that forest."
"Because Levi and I never fell in love?" She felt hollow at the thought.
"You wanted each other. You even had each other, back at the castle. When I joined you for a month." He looked almost sympathetic. "But you never fell deeply in love. There wasn't enough time. But Levi broke that timeline when he started a relationship with you after the midwinter ball. Because he made a choice. Because of your relationship, you left his squad. Because you left his squad, you didn't die in the forest. Because you didn't die in the forest, you got pregnant. And because you got pregnant—"
"Levi saved Erwin." She was dizzy now. She felt sick to her stomach. "I don't believe this. This is crazy."
"You understand, don't you? If we wanted to set the timeline back—if we even could—Levi would have to let Erwin rest. And for him to do that—"
"I'd have to die. And Kuchel would never be born." She touched her stomach. The baby already growing inside you.
"I don't want to do that, Petra. I want to see if I can preserve this current timeline. But it depends on meeting Zeke. More importantly, activating the Founding Titan."
"You said that reality would fall apart." She was shaking now. "What did you mean?"
This was crazy this was crazy this was crazy this was crazy…
"Remember what I said about my father's memories?" Eren counted the steps on his fingers. "My father, Grisha, killed Rod Reiss's family and stole the Founding Titan the night Wall Maria fell. Soon after, he passed both on to me. Because he did, everything that's happened in these past four years…happened. Right now, I'm sitting before you. I have the Founder and the Attack Titan. Right?"
"Right," she said faintly.
"But here's the thing." He winced as he spoke. "Grisha didn't want to kill the children. He hesitated in the Reiss cavern. In the correct timeline, I touched Zeke in Shiganshina. He allowed me to go to the PATHs dimension. And he allowed me to fully participate in my father's memories."
"Wait." Petra was starting to understand.
"Yes." Eren nodded. "I was the one who urged my father to do it. I was the one who stood beside him and made him kill the Reiss children and devour the Founding Titan. If I hadn't gone into the PATHs dimension—if I hadn't touched Zeke—I would never have convinced Grisha to do it. I wouldn't have the power of the titans. And all of this?" He waved a hand at the living room. "It would be like a house with no floor. No foundation."
"It'd come crashing down." Her temples throbbed. "But…it happened. It happened because we're here talking about it. What the fuck is going on?"
"Listen." He knelt by her feet and grasped her hand. His eyes were furious. No; frightened. "In order for the past to happen, I need to access the PATHs. If I don't touch Zeke, or a titan of royal blood, I can't access the Founder. If I can't, I can't go into my father's memories and manipulate him. And if I can't manipulate him—"
"Then reality falls apart. Because you can't have a future without a past."
She wanted to fall asleep. First Brigitta, now this? Her nerves were shot. Petra swallowed.
"I'm going to run through this one more time," she said. "You're saying that Levi fell in love with me when he shouldn't have. Because he did, he saved Erwin instead of Armin. Because of that, the future changed. Because of that, you might not get to touch Zeke. And because of that, the entire world could end."
"Not the world. Reality itself."
Like I didn't hate myself enough already. Now I'm responsible for the end of everything.
"Petra." He spoke softly now. Kindly. "This can still be all right. Zeke's on his way here now. Once he gets here, it'll take only a second. We touch, and in one second the world is right again."
"That's all you want?" She sniffed. The tears were back. "You just want to get your father to kill the Reiss children so the future doesn't fall apart."
"Yes. That's the main reason."
Petra frowned. The main reason?
"So there're other reasons?"
"Only one other. But I think it's something you can get behind." He stood up, towered over her. "I'm also going to kill Erwin Smith."
Erwin felt for the girl. The brief summary he got of her life would have softened the hardest heart. Nothing but bad luck and cruelty. That this Inga had managed to come so far on spirit alone said a great deal about her.
Unfortunately, time was of the essence. He sat opposite her, hands folded on the table. Inga had been given a blanket and hot tea; he'd insisted. She should not be treated as a criminal. She was a victim more than anything else.
Zeke had been planning to use those 'surprise' titans. She'd only triggered it early. She might have saved them some lives, since Levi had had ample buildings to swing around on in order to slice titans' napes.
Those titans had been Paradisian soldiers. Gone forever.
Zeke was going to pay for all of this. Inga included.
"Let me understand this. The night I was at the Tybur household, the night before the choosing ceremony, you escaped Fischer's lab after Zeke nearly killed you when he set fire to the place. You said Zeke was chatty. Did he say anything to you?" Erwin asked. "The smallest detail could help us determine where he's gone."
Why the hell had Zeke even done it? Why kill Fischer and burn the place down? Zeke was an odd man, but he was rational. It made little sense.
Asking Inga about that encounter was likely a dead end, but Erwin knew the value of combing over the smallest details. Inga drank her tea.
"No. I mean, I don't know."
"So you have no idea why he went there? Was it specifically to kill Fischer?"
"Oh, no. Sorry, I went too fast." She sniffed. "Zeke didn't kill Fischer. He just burned the place down and tried to kill me."
What the…
"If he didn't, who did?"
"The woman. She killed the doctor. The whole thing started because of this woman. Earlier that afternoon, Fischer showed her me and…Elsa. She was shocked and came back that night to free us. She said she was from Paradis. She was with you."
It was a bomb going off in his mind. But…how? She'd been inside the Tybur house the entire time that the fire had started and burned. Levi would have noticed if she was gone. Erwin winced. But of course it had been her. Of fucking course. Petra had been so heartbroken that afternoon when she described the girls in their cages. She hadn't obeyed his command to turn a blind eye. She would never let an innocent suffer, not even to save her people.
"Petra?" he asked hoarsely.
"Yes. That was her name. She was kind." Inga's chin quivered. "I don't like how Zeke 'freed' me, but if she hadn't tried getting us out Fischer would still be alive and I'd still be in a cage or worse."
"Did…did Zeke talk to her at all?" His head was pounding.
"It was a long time ago now, but I remember. He said that he'd get rid of the evidence if she did him a favor."
"Tell me." But Erwin already knew. He was already rising to his feet.
"He said one day he'd come to this island and he wanted to meet his brother. He—"
"Thank you, Inga." Erwin walked out, followed by his chief aide. "I need to make a call. To Trost."
Petra. Don't tell me…
"You…you want to do what?" she whispered. Her head was spinning now. Petra was going to throw up.
"I have to do two things: close the loop so the past can become the future, and kill Erwin Smith. Even if I managed to close the loop, if he stays alive we won't have a future. At least in the original timeline, the Rumbling would have left Paradis and our people alive. If Erwin lives, the world itself will end."
"I thought the world would end if you didn't close the loop." She was shaking now. When Eren tried to touch her, she pulled away. "You're asking me to take a lot on faith here."
"Like I said. I thought you'd be relieved if he died." Eren's eyes grew flat. "You're embarrassed that you slept with him, after all. No. Ashamed."
Petra stopped shaking. She stopped feeling.
"You knew?" She barely mouthed the words.
"I saw it. I've spent hours with Historia, touching her to access a certain amount of the Founder. I've been over your path again and again, Petra. I've seen all of this. You almost cut your wrist with the razor, and went to Erwin instead."
She slapped his face. Twice. Eren pulled away, rubbing his cheek. She wanted to punch him, but what good would that do?
"You knew I'd do it. You knew I'd regret it. You knew it would wreck my marriage." There was fire in her soul now. She stood. "You knew Levi was alive, and you didn't tell anyone?"
"Certain events needed to play out. It was the only way to get us both here, in this moment. Waiting for Zeke. I let it happen because I had no other choice."
Petra screamed. She didn't attack him. It wasn't a scream so much as a bellow of rage. She sank back into her seat, pulling at her hair. No. She couldn't take much more. Not after Brigitta, and Levi…
"If you're so desperate to save the world," she croaked, "why not make it easy? Why not turn Historia into a titan shifter, and—"
"No." For the first time that night, he sounded coldly furious. Eren's face twisted in rage. "There are certain things I won't do. Not while I have any other options left. I will not sacrifice Historia."
"So. You're in love with her?" Petra felt hollow.
"It isn't like that. She spared my life once. We understand each other." He looked distant in that moment. Pained. "Armin and Mikasa were both too good. They couldn't understand me like she does. She put me on this path when she rejected her father and set me free. I won't repay her by shortening her life."
"If you don't touch a royal titan, she won't have a life! None of us will! Isn't that what you just said? Why play with all of our lives just for her sake?"
He looked coolly at her. "Would you do it to Levi? Would you do it if there could be any other choice? Any other way?"
She had nothing to say to that.
"Just sit here and wait, Petra. Just let this happen."
"Let you kill the king?"
"Let me kill the man who is going to become a monster."
"How?"
He scowled. "I can't tell you about the future. That could alter it, make it even worse."
"Oh fuck you." She got up and stalked into the kitchen. He was hot on her heels. She poured herself a glass of water. Petra was usually a good host, but she offered him nothing. "I'm ashamed of what I did with Erwin. It's the big regret of my life. But that doesn't mean I want him dead. We need him."
"Petra. You don't know what's going to happen if he lives."
"Yes, because you won't tell me."
"I already told you, if I tell about the future—"
"I don't think I believe anything you've said. I think you're bullshitting me so I'll stand by and let you and Zeke start the Rumbling together." She glowered at him. "Erwin took advantage of the situation that night. We both know he did. He's not the perfect man he presents to the public. But he's not evil. He cares about this island. He and Levi saved our people. They kept humanity from plunging into chaos. He may be a bit of a snake, but he's not a monster. Not even close."
Eren shut his eyes. "I…I wish I could tell you how he's going to change. Why he'll change."
"You can. You just won't. Because you don't actually know the future. You used the Founder to spy on us; I believe that. But you gathered information to manipulate me. You want to do something awful and you need me to—"
"Touching Zeke tonight is the only way I'll be able to save Kuchel," he said.
Petra stopped. She stopped breathing.
"Wh-what?" She bared her teeth then. She grabbed a kitchen knife on animal instinct and brandished it, getting into fighting stance. She could do nothing against this obscenely powerful creature, but if he threatened her child… "Tell me what that means."
"If I can't touch Zeke, you'll find out."
"I don't believe you." Fuck, she got her heart back under control. "You sick bastard. You're manipulating me with my daughter?"
"If I can't touch Zeke tonight, Kuchel will suffer. And if she somehow manages to escape, Petra, you'll suffer the worst of all."
"Stop. Lying." So much cryptic bullshit, so much horror, so much… She swung the knife at him. He stepped away.
"I'll give you this one for free," he whispered. "You're pregnant with a boy. Right now. Levi will name him Armin."
"I told him we'd name a boy Oruo. He agreed!"
"Oruo will be born. But not before Armin."
"Enough. Enough, enough, fucking enough!" She threw the knife. Her days in the military were still fresh in her muscle memory. The knife lodged directly in his chest. Had he been normal, it would have killed him. Eren pulled the blade out slowly and set it on the kitchen counter.
"When Armin is born, you'll believe me. And if you make the wrong choice tonight, you'll know then that it's too late." He frowned. "Petra. I'm trying to save your family."
"By killing the king? He's the only chance any of us have." She took a deep breath. Of course. "You said you could see the future. But only Attack shifters' futures. All this future crap, do any of my kids inherit the Attack titan?"
"No." Great, finally a simple answer.
"Then this is all lies. You're trying to twist my head around. It won't work. Erwin has to live. He's got to finish what he started." And Levi. Even if Levi hated Erwin now, even if he always hated him, he would miss the man. She couldn't take that from her husband.
Eren sighed. He stepped out of the doorway and into the hall. Petra followed. She knew if she tried to run now, he'd grab her. He wouldn't kill her, she believed that. But he wouldn't let her out. She stood next to the telephone and almost flopped into the hall chair.
Then the phone rang.
She picked it up instantly, shielded the phone with her body as Eren came over. If it was her mother with news of Brigitta…
"Hello?" she croaked.
"Petra." Fuck. Erwin. "Petra, just tell me if he's with you. Is Eren there?"
How did he know? But of course he'd found out. Only one man in this world could move so fast.
Petra realized then that she had approximately two seconds to make a decision.
Eren was coming for her. He would end the call, however he had to do it.
She could say 'no.'
If she said no, maybe Erwin would believe her. Maybe he'd look elsewhere for Zeke. It would give the Jaeger brothers time to enact their plan.
Time to kill Erwin Smith, along with whatever other things they wanted to do.
If she said 'yes', she would call the authorities down upon her house. The brothers' plan would be in jeopardy.
If she said 'no', she chose to believe what Eren had told her tonight. All of it. She chose to believe he could see the future; that reality itself could fall apart if he didn't meet with Zeke; that Erwin needed to die before he became a monster.
She chose to believe that Paradis and Eldians and the Triple Alliance could continue without Erwin. Even though the Hybernians had attacked. Even though Erwin had launched a massive assault, drawing angry attention to Paradis.
If she said 'no', she chose to believe they could all survive without Erwin Smith.
If she said 'yes', she chose to believe this was all manipulation. That Eren had gathered intelligence on her to use in his plan. That he was obliquely threatening her daughter—and her—in order to make her do what he wanted. That his plans were more sinister than he was letting on.
If she said 'yes', she chose to believe that Erwin could still save them all.
He could become a monster.
Kuchel could be in danger.
The whole nation's in danger.
Erwin's the only one who can save us now.
Erwin might become a monster.
Reality could fall apart.
The Rumbling could start.
I don't trust Zeke Jaeger.
I trusted Eren.
He knew Levi was alive.
He knew and didn't tell anyone.
He knew I'd sleep with Erwin.
He knew all this and let me almost kill myself with the grief.
He let me make the biggest mistake of my life.
He let me break Levi's heart.
It's all part of his plan.
But only if he could really see the future.
Do I believe he would've let Levi die on that island?
He's manipulating me.
He's trying to save me.
Eren.
Erwin.
Reality could fall apart.
He's trying to save us all…
Petra took a breath.
"Yes," she said.
Eren ripped the phone out of the wall a second later, but the message had gotten through.
They were coming.
"Fuck me," Levi growled. They'd pulled over so the officers could make a call. They'd pursued the titan, zig zagging across fields until they'd finally caught up and Levi had been able to slice its nape. He felt like shit as he killed the poor guy whose only crime had been to trust Zeke in some small way.
When Levi landed, he swore in fury. Zeke wasn't there.
"He could have taken a car. The titan came across the highway before heading into the fields." The officer who'd driven him looked ill. "He could be anywhere by now."
"We need to call Erwin. He needs to put lockdowns on all gates in and out of cities. That fucking monkey can't hide forever."
But Levi was sweating because Zeke had to know where Eren was. No way he'd have ever been this bold if he weren't damn sure of his destination.
So they'd found a farmhouse half a mile up the road. The officer was using the farmer's phone to get to Erwin. Thank fuck they'd brought telephones and electricity to Paradis. Levi hadn't wanted the phone—thought it made too much damn noise. But it had its uses.
"Majesty?" the officer said. Good. Erwin. Levi yanked the receiver out of the guy's hand.
"Oi. Zeke led us on a fucking idiot's chase. We killed the titan, but he wasn't there. We don't know where he—"
"Levi." Erwin sounded desperate. Levi knew every inflection of the man's voice. He could hear the terror; the specific terror. The personal fear. "Zeke's going to your house in Trost. I just called Petra, she confirmed that Eren's already there. She confirmed it just before the call en—"
Levi dropped the receiver.
He pushed past the farmer and the officers.
He went outside, jumped in the car, and floored it. The automobile roared up the road, bumping along. He went faster. Faster. Now he was fucking glad Petra had badgered him to learn how to drive. He hated to admit it, but a horse couldn't keep up with this speed. It couldn't go a hundred miles without tiring.
He needed to get to Trost fast. There were sirens on top of the car. He set them on. Colored lights flashed in the dark. No traffic would get in his way now.
His ODM was in the back seat. His blades were up front.
His house. His wife. These Jaegers thought they could use both?
Someone would be tasting his steel tonight.
Eren. He clutched at the steering wheel. That sweet-natured kid; that idealistic brat. Levi had loved him like a damn son. Please. What is this?
Don't make me kill you.
"I didn't want to do this," Eren said. He'd put her in a chokehold when the phone clattered out of her reach. She'd passed out while fighting; when she awoke, he'd tied her wrists and ankles. She was lying on the sofa. Petra struggled, but couldn't move. He'd torn up a couple of Levi's shirts to fashion the makeshift bonds. Levi'd kill him for that if nothing else.
"You said you wouldn't hurt me."
"That I wouldn't kill you. And be honest, you're not hurt." He sat back down in the chair.
"How long was I unconscious?" She wiggled on the sofa. No good.
"Just over half an hour. He'll be here soon."
"Eren. Please. Zeke's manipulating you." That had to be the answer. This couldn't all be Eren's idea. His decision.
Eren's eyes became dangerous then. "I'm past being controlled by anyone."
"That time we all spent together in the castle. When you first joined the Survey Corps. Do you remember?" she whispered. "Gunther and Eld taught you that card game. Oruo made you clean the windows twice." She grinned weakly at the memory. Oruo. That big buffoon. "Nifa showed you how to gain altitude on ODM. And I…"
"You said to trust the team. Always." He looked at her. Really looked. "You were tough, too. You almost attacked me when I—"
"I apologized, didn't I?"
"Yes. You were tough but sweet. Strong and kind. It's why Levi loves you." Eren sighed. "It's why I can't hurt you. I never want to hurt you, Petra. As scary as it is right now, doing this tonight spares you pain. I don't know what the future looks like past Erwin Smith, but I know it has to be better than where this one is headed."
"This is revenge for Armin, isn't it?"
He shook his head. "You're smarter than that. Erwin made life here better in the short term. Armin couldn't have done that. Hange would have been an inept strategist, though she'd have been a good leader to her troops. Right now, Erwin seems like the right choice. But believe me, Armin had the vision of a new, exciting future. Even Erwin couldn't see as far or as deep as Armin saw. When I started the Rumbling, Armin…"
Eren grew silent there. Almost despondent.
"He what?"
"It's not important. What matters is that I know Erwin did a lot of good for us these last few years, but he set us up with a world of problems."
"Yes, and the Rumbling would solve those problems."
"Even if I did that now, Hizuru has the hyperfusion bomb. They could wipe Paradis off the world's map. What would be the point then?"
"Eren. Please. I'm asking you again." She blinked away the tears. "Trust us. Trust me, if no one else."
He gave her a sad smile. "Ironically, Petra, I know I can trust you more than anyone else in this world."
Well that seemed kind of hyperbolic. But before she could ask what he meant—
The squeal of tires outside.
No. Eren stood. He looked out the window, and must have liked what he saw.
"Here he comes." He walked past Petra. "This'll be over in a minute. You'll be okay."
In a minute, Erwin would be dead. And whatever she felt for the man, however uneasy and awkward he made her, she had to save his life. He'd saved hers. Levi's. Everyone's.
Petra huffed in relief. All through the conversation with Eren, she'd been making small, small movements. She'd loosened the bonds on her wrists just a bit. With him gone now, she worked faster. In a few seconds, her hands would be free. A few seconds more, her feet.
But would there be time?
Zeke swore as another car nearly sideswiped him. He pulled over to the side of the road and jumped out, letting the car just sit with its ass in the way of traffic. This was no time to parallel park; the fate of the world hung in the balance.
The maniac driver stopped up ahead as Zeke crossed the street. He mounted the stairs to the house. Hmm. Quite a little shack, really. Rich as he now was, Levi would always have pedestrian taste.
He knocked on the door, his heart thunder in his chest. A shadow through the small window. Movement.
The door opened, and Eren stood before him.
They had not met in the flesh since that day in Shiganshina. The sight of the boy—the young man—took Zeke's breath away. Eren had shot up almost half a foot. His frame was no longer lanky, but powerful. The outright beauty he must have inherited from his mother was evident in the shape of his face, and especially the extraordinary eyes. There was also a look of such determination in those eyes. Eren as a boy had been frightened and wild.
Eren as a man was already a master of himself.
"Eren." Zeke almost cried. His last real family in this world. Eren did not smile, but his expression cleared a bit.
"Zeke."
They reached out to touch. To shake hands.
To save the world.
And just as they were about to touch, Eren screamed and crumpled to the ground. Zeke stared in horror at Petra, who had come from behind like the bitch that she was and sliced the tendon just above Eren's heel. Steam issued from the wound already, he would recover quickly, but…
Zeke kicked at the little cunt, narrowly missing her face. She rolled away, and Zeke started to crouch, to grab his brother.
"Zeke."
His blood froze. His heart might have stopped at the sound of that voice. No. No…
ODM cables whirred through the night. Zeke looked up in horror as Levi Ackerman somehow came down upon him with the rage of a god in his eyes.
How? How had he known? How had he known?
Zeke cried out and tried to fling himself forward for Eren, ready for this to be his last act on earth. But Levi got between the brothers and kicked Zeke square in his chest.
"Zeke!" Eren screamed. His voice was shrill and broken as Zeke fell down the steps, crying out in pain. He landed at the bottom, gazing up into the night sky. You couldn't see the stars from here, in the city.
Zeke thought of the day his parents were taken. He thought of Mr. Xavier crying, hugging him. You are a good child, Zeke.
All those games of catch. Wanna be a baseball player when you grow up?
No. No, Mr. Xavier. I have a mission.
Their dream. A dream of peace. A dream so radical, so total in its compassion, that simple creatures like Levi Ackerman would never be able to understand it.
Zeke had given his life to this cause. He had become a martyr.
And that was the last thought he ever had as Levi Ackerman came down through the night and cut off his head.
Unbelievable. The bitch. The absolute bitch.
Levi had just managed to make it in time. He'd driven like hell. He might have killed someone on the road, he didn't know. He hoped not. But he'd driven like a madman in order to be here in time.
He had made it. Just.
Fuck, I killed him. It had to be done, no way around it, but there went Erwin's royal titan. Levi almost wanted to kick Zeke's head down the damn street like a ball. Fuck. Fuck, he'd fulfilled the vow he made that day.
The vow he'd made to Erwin, back when he was still the best man in the world. That was something, at least.
Behind Levi, Eren was screaming.
"Levi!" Petra cried. He whirled around. Yes, she was there and unharmed. Oh, thank fuck. Thank everything good in this world.
He hadn't known true fear until he'd imagined these two men killing or harming her in some way.
"Petra…"
"Zeke!" Eren crawled past Levi, even though the wound on his heel—good job, Petra—had almost gotten better. Levi frowned in disgust as Eren grabbed his brother's head. In a gesture that would've been funny if it weren't so sick, Eren pressed his forehead to Zeke's. Eren made little choking noises as he knew the truth: his brother was dead.
Levi had killed him. Blood steamed on the blade.
"Eren," he whispered. "Get up. Come quietly. Don't make this harder than it has to be."
Eren looked up at him. In the streetlight, Lev saw tears running down the boy's face.
"You. Idiot!" He stood, and he pointed back at Petra. "You've done this to her! I can't save Kuchel now, you fucking bitch! You—"
Levi roared and kicked Eren hard in the face. Eren screamed. Levi screamed louder.
"You ever talk to her like that again—"
Oh, shit. Apparently Eren wasn't so injured that he couldn't transform. Lightning crackled all around them, and Levi only just managed to get clear before the titan transformation roasted him alive.
"Levi!" His wife screamed his name. Eren's titan rose up above them, and it roared so loud that the ground trembled and the windows shivered. Horns honked in the street. People on doorsteps screamed at the sight. A titan in Trost.
Not again.
Fucking brat. Levi readied himself to deploy his hooks, to cut Eren out of there…or to kill him if need be.
And Eren had prepared. Instantly, he picked up a car—Zeke's car—and…
No.
The world would have thanked him for taking out Eren Jaeger, but Levi could not survive what would happen if Eren threw that car into Petra.
Petra, who was standing on the step and couldn't move fast enough.
Eren began to throw the car.
"Petra!"
Levi shot his hooks. He snatched his wife around the waist and hurled them both inside the house, just far enough down the hall so that when the car crashed through the front door and took out most of the front wall, the Ackermans weren't hit.
Petra cried out in pain as they landed a bit rough on the floor. Levi held her close against him, felt her heart beating so fast. Oh, thank god. He smelled the fresh lilac of her hair, he felt the softness of her in his arms. She was alive. So long as nothing hurt her, he'd survive anything.
Though even now, holding her was a deep, physical pain. It was the knowledge that she had been held in other arms. That she'd known someone else inside of her.
He let her go. He had to. He couldn't stand it. At least she was alive. At least he'd held her again, if only for a few seconds.
"Shit," he groaned as he stood. The front part of the house was obliterated. Glass and debris littered the floor. The car's tires spun and slowed until they finally stopped.
He helped Petra to her feet. They negotiated her way around the car and out safely onto the sidewalk. Then, only then, did he ready himself to go after Eren.
But they found the titan half a mile up the road, already disintegrating.
Eren had gotten out.
He was gone.