AN: Before we begin, I feel the need to clear something up. Intimacy does not automatically mean sex. Yes, it can mean that, but it also meant closeness. That's what I was going for. I apologize for not being clear enough in the previous chapter.
Chapter 47: The Last Confession
The next day arrived far slower than the previous ones. Given the atrocity that was witnessed last time, it wasn't a surprise that they all had a harder time sleeping. No point in delaying the inevitable though. While one truth was revealed, there was still more to uncover regarding Annie's loyalties. For all Levi and Hanji knew, Annie just used her tragic past to lower their guards. No way they would let their sympathies cloud their judgment on the matter.
With that in mind, Levi passed the time by drumming his fingers on the table.
"You anxious?" Hanji wondered after a few minutes of listening to his percussion performance.
Instantly, the captain stopped. "What makes you say that?"
"You're not the type to be this antsy," she explained.
"And you're not the type to sound so lackluster."
Hanji attempted to crack a smile, but it was terribly forced, even for her. "Well, what can I say? It's been an interesting three days."
"Hmm." Idle conversation was far from Levi's specialty. For him, words needed to have a reason outside of making the time speed up.
The Section Commander let out a sigh as she stared at the door. "Couldn't sleep a wink last night."
This time, there was no response from him. Just silent musings.
Hanji decided to leave it at that. It was unlike her, but she felt so drained today. Part of her hoped something in Annie's memories would put spark her up, or something like that. Then again, considering the girl in question, it was probably going to be as depressing as she was.
After ten minutes, Annie finally entered the room while keeping Dillon steady. The Psion seemed to be limping a little less, though he still wasn't even halfway there with being healed.
"What the hell took you two so long?" Levi demanded.
"I had to use the bathroom," Dillon answered as he was sat in his chair.
"There was one question that I failed to ask yesterday," Hanji pointed out. "What exactly is the fluid used to turn people into Titans."
The final nail in the coffin. Once they had it, they could replace her with someone more loyal. Hell, Hanji, Petra, and Sasha would be good candidates for that. There was no way out this time, so Annie spoke the truth. "Spinal fluid from Titan Shifters. Hurts like hell, but it works. The injection goes in your arm. Any other ways would make the transformation malformed."
"I'll keep that in mind." Hanji jotted it down in her notes immediately.
Levi snorted as he stared at the girl. "We're finishing this today. I don't care if your memories contain more cannibalism or a Titan orgy. After this, we're going to make our decision about you."
"Fine by me." Annie glanced at her boyfriend. "You ready?"
"Not even close," he said, though with a flash of his eyes, they were back in the crystal palace. "Where to now?"
Without saying a word, she gestured to the only mirror in the entire building. Like before, instead of showing their own reflections, the images revealed were several memories without any context. Some places, Dillon recognized such as Trost, their time in Training, and Stohess, but many others were foreign to him. However, when Annie stepped in front of the mirror, the images faded away and in their place, the Female Titan was staring back, though she was human-sized. Annie raised her hand with the Titan mirroring her actions. They placed their hands on the same spot of glass, looking at each other with a mixture of disgust and contentment. Annie pushed the mirror open and stepped inside with the others following closely behind.
The world changed as sounds of cannonfire filled their hearing. When their vision cleared, they were Annie once more, though she was in her Titan form. Unlike the last time she was a Titan, there was this tremendous power coursing through her entire being. It made her feel stronger than ever before. So many things she could do with this, and right now, decimating her enemies was at the top of her list. A round hit her shoulder as she ran towards the assailants, but that didn't slow her down in the slightest. The injuries were completely inconsequential.
The second Annie was on top of them, she slammed her foot right on top of the cannons. Pieces of metal scattered like rats while the humans thought firing rifles at her was a good idea. She didn't even need her hardening to deal with that. A grin stretched across her face as she scooped up a foolish pair that was too close, lifting them to her face. She could see how terrified they were to be in the hands of a Titan. The smile never left her face as she squeezed, their heads and legs popping off. She let the gore rain down from her hand and kicked the last rifleman, sending him crashing into a building.
Suddenly, the memory started to flicker, almost as if it was going to shatter.
Knowing exactly what was going on, Present-Day Annie grabbed Dillon's hand. "Dillon, you need to calm down."
The Psion didn't reply, though the memory started to stabilize slightly.
Then, Levi added his own comments. "Get it together, Amsdale. If you want to break, wait until it's over."
Taking a deep breath, Dillon concentrated with every fiber of his being to shove the past in the back of his mind. There was no way around it. He needed to be here until the end.
"Leonhart!"
Past-Day Annie looked down at one of the strangest contraptions the onlookers had ever seen. It was some sort of carriage without horses, but it was on four, bulky wheels the likes of which had never been seen before. Several soldiers were sitting in an open cargo area, armed to the teeth. In front, there was a driver of some sort gripping onto a metallic wheel with a high-ranking soldier sitting next to him.
"Wait! Hold everything!" The memory came to a screeching halt as the overexcited scientist returned with a vengeance. "What. Is. That!?"
"It's a jeep," Annie answered in her typical, deadpan tone. "It's faster than any carriage I've seen."
"That's amazing!" Hanji squealed. "How does it work? How can it be used without any horses to drive it? How do we build one? Please, you must tell me!"
"I don't know how it works," she shot back with annoyance. "You think I was wasting my time wondering how a car worked?"
"A car? I thought you said it was a jeep." Hanji snapped her fingers. "Of course. Multiple names. Which one is the species? Car or jeep?"
Annie groaned. "For crying out loud..."
"Four-Eyes, keep it in your pants and shut up," Levi ordered crassly. "Grill her about it later."
No one had to see Hanji to know she was pouting. "Fine."
The memory continued onward as the commanding officer gave his orders. "Join the Jaw Titan in taking out the cannons."
The Female Titan nodded as she dashed into the city. Nearby, the Armored Titan crashed into and through a large building containing many soldiers that were acting as snipers for the foot soldiers that joined the Titans in battle. Even back then, he was truly a weapon of great destruction. Annie ignored him and focused on her comrade, the five-meter Jaw Titan, who was crushing an entire cannon in his mouth. Unlike Ymir's Titan, he had a bit more meat on his bones, and he didn't look like a soul-sucking demon. Instead, his face actually resembled who he really was. That being said, he was missing an eye thanks to a lucky shot and the soldiers were targeting his nape. She allowed herself another smirk as she swept her foot, sending the assailants flying into the air.
Instead of being thankful, Marcel glared up at her. "Seriously? I had it under control."
Annie rolled her eyes and gave him a pointed look.
"It was a lucky shot," he growled as his eye regenerated. "Besides, it was a good challenge. These morons needed one advantage."
"I get the feeling Marcel and I would have gotten along if he was still alive," Dillon mused.
"Who knows?" Present-Day Annie muttered, finding no reason to travel down the what-if road.
Nearby, there were rhythmic crashes, prompting both Shifters to look at the source. Busting out of a three-story building was a different Titan. It was a quadruped, which was uncommon in it of itself, but the fact that this particular monster had a metallic face mask covering its elongated face caused many eyebrows to raise. Given two buildings that crumbled into pieces thanks to the loss of their foundations, it was easy to assume the mask helped in that endeavor.
"Nice job, you two," it complemented. "We're almost done here."
"Oh, God, is that Pieck?" Dillon asked with a grimace.
"You have Horse Face, we have this mule," Annie replied.
Talking ceased the second there was a massive explosion in the distance. Screams filled the air as hundreds of soldiers were eliminated by the blast. Within the newly-created ruins stood the Colossal Titan as it slowly trudged onto the remains of the civilization. There was no escape for any of their enemies. To combat the screams, the Marleyan soldiers whooped and hollered at their victory, taking in the smell as if it was a great meal.
Annie's expressionless face masked the sneer she wanted to give them. The tiny humans did little to earn this victory. Still, there was nothing to be done about it. For once, she was able to cut loose and be free, and it felt so good. This is how she wanted to feel, even if she didn't deserve it.
Something patted her on the leg, prompting her to look down.
"You were a fierce fighter out there, Annie," Pieck said, taking off her mask. "We're lucky to have you."
"She changed her tune pretty quick," Levi noted.
"Back then, I was just a candidate with rebellion issues," Present-Day Annie explained. "Now that I was a Titan, I was deemed one of them and could be trusted."
"Why did you attack them?" Dillon asked. He always was the one to want the why.
The Shifter sighed. "A testing ground that happened to be one of Marley's enemies. They wanted to get a scale of our powers and abilities, to see how well we could work together as a team. A precise, coordinated attack destroyed this country in a single day."
The images began to change as she continued talking. "Once our training was complete, the mission began. We were to remove the Founding Titan from the Walls by any means necessary, and return it back to the homeland. After that, we would truly have a place among the Marleyans, not that I gave a damn about that."
When the memory stopped distorting itself, they were inside a quaint home, sunlight shining through the windows. Annie slipped on her white hoodie, one of the few things she had left of her mother. She did a final check of her supplies to make sure she had everything. Non-perishable food, a few knives, and her ring. She gazed at it, flicking out the small blade. Her father had given it to her the day after she killed her mother. A constant reminder of who Annie was. She slipped it on her finger and put on her pack. Taking in the interior of her home one last time, she stepped outside.
"Annie?"
The girl froze in her steps, turning back around. She didn't see him when she came out since he was up against the house wall. With ingrained obedience, she approached her father, expecting one final piece of advice for her mission. What she didn't expect was that the man was visibly trembling. He didn't have his cane on him. Annie went to go get it, but he lunged at her, grabbing her by shoulders. She recoiled from the sudden movement, watching as he sunk to his knees. The noises coming out of him were unnatural, though she heard them before from other people. He was sobbing.
"Annie, I'm so sorry," he wept, his fingers clenching her hoodie. "I should never—we shouldn't have… it's too late. We did this to you. It's too late."
Annie was at a complete loss for words, eyes wide with shock. Her intense training from her father to the point of breaking, pushing her to be the best of the best. Unapologetic and ruthless, yet here he was, begging for her forgiveness. There was nothing she could say to that.
"Annie, I don't care if you succeed or fail your mission," he proclaimed. "It doesn't matter anymore. Even if the whole world decides to be your enemy, I will always be on your side. You can hate me for everything I've put you through, but please..." He looked at her with his blue eyes streaming with tears. "Please come back, Annie! Come back home."
A trickle of wetness slid down Annie's face. She wanted to defy her father, tell him to go straight to hell and burn, but she couldn't. He was all she had left of her family. Without him, what did she have to live for? So, she wrapped her arms around him tightly and whispered, "I promise, Daddy. I promise."
"Everything I've ever done against you all was so I could go back home to him," Present-Day Annie said softly, showing them images of all the horrible actions she committed whether as the Female Titan or herself, including Marco's death. "You all wanted to know why. There's your answer."
Dillon was speechless. True, Annie had told him why she committed horrible atrocities, but to be in her position, to have all the context, and even witness it for himself…
As the images went on, they heard the voice of Past-Annie ranting and raving in a way that was foreign to all but the Psion. However, with nearly every word, there was sound of blows being struck and blood splattering. '"Honorary Marleyan?' 'Chosen Warrior?' Who gives a damn!? Marley, Eldia, they can all go to hell! They're all liars, every one of them! They only ever think about themselves, and I'm the same! I'm going home alive, you hear me!?"
"What's happening here?" Hanji asked, confused that they weren't seeing the actual memory.
"I was brutalizing Reiner when he pushed me too far," Present-Day Annie answered. "Hearing it should be enough." In reality, she didn't want her boyfriend to bear witness to it. He already did more than enough getting this far.
Dillon braced himself for Levi to make Annie show them the actual memory.
Instead, the captain asked, "Are you still loyal to your father?"
"The punishment for failure was that our families would turn into Titans. By now, my father is wandering on the island somewhere look for humans to eat." There was a hint of sadness in her tone, but the acceptance of that fact confirmed that she already mourned his loss. Either that, or she was putting on a brave face. Knowing what was coming next, she showed the fight between her and the Beast Titan. "This will take awhile."
For ten minutes, the onlookers watched in full detail this confrontation. Hanji and Levi were on the lookout for hidden messages, but they were finding none. However, the verbal reaction went to Dillon himself.
"He knows what I am?" he demanded fearfully. "How!? How could he know?"
"I don't know," Annie admitted. "It caught me off-guard, too. I never told him."
Levi was deep in thought as this new information came about. If the Beast Titan managed to get wind of Psions, chances were that Marley knew as well, meaning they had more time to prepare. "And you didn't let this slip to your former companions?"
"You think that if they knew, Dillon would still be alive?" she shot back. "I took one hell of a risk not killing him when he told me."
"I appreciate you letting me live," the Psion deadpanned.
"You got sloppy," Levi summed up. "You let yourself get too close and you blew it." No one could see him shake his head. "Kids."
Once the memory finished, Annie asked, "Are we done?"
Dillon froze, eyes widening. That question sounded a bit too rushed, almost as if she wanted to get out now. In fact, when he really thought about it, the memories themselves were being rushed and not drawn out, as if details were missing.
Unfortunately, Hanji came to the same conclusion. "You're still holding out on us, Annie." Her seriousness made it clear she was not to be trifled with. "There's something you haven't told us."
"I gave you everything you wanted," Annie growled, her anger coming out in full force as the area darkened to blackness. "I let you force your way through my memories as if was your personal playground. I told you exactly how to create a Titan Shifter in case you wanted to fucking feed me and save yourself the trouble? What more do you assholes want!?"
"To tell us exactly what you're hiding," Levi answered in a deadly tone. "And if you bullshit us, I will make sure you are conscious when we throw you to the Titans. Is that clear?"
It was here Dillon remembered what she was hiding: his lie to the Scouts. He said he'd kill Annie if she betrayed them when he was talking out of his ass to get what he wanted. The minute Hanji and Levi discovered this, his life would be forfeit. And then Annie would… he had no idea. His feelings of self-preservation begged him to tell her not to spill the beans, but there was no way out for either of them. It was over. He took a silent breath and waited for the hammer to drop.
"...I'm dying."
Two simple words shattered all preconceptions and bashed Dillon's skull in. "What?" He didn't know if he was heard. He didn't even know if he vocalized it.
"When humans become Titan Shifters, they only have thirteen years to live," Annie explained.
There was no emotion. Why wasn't she sad? Didn't she realize what this meant for both of them. He couldn't see her. He needed to see her. He needed to believe this was all a farce.
"I don't know how long Eren has, but I only have six years left. I'll be lucky if I reach my 23rd birthday.
Stop. No more! Dillon lost the will to speak, his mind clouding with this new, horrible revelation. It affected him so much so that everyone was flung back into the physical world. He felt all eyes on him, but he didn't pay attention. His hands were clenched, his fingernails leaving marks. It was one thing after another. One thing after another. One thing after another. One thing after another.
He didn't register Levi ordering Hanji to return him to the infirmary. He didn't get a grip of his surroundings as he nearly stumbled to the ground. He barely heard the quiet, "I'm sorry, Dillon," in his mind. He just wanted to be alone.
AN: To be continued...
