Part 56
Revealed

"What's wrong, Historia?" Asked Rod Reiss, standing tall over his last daughter as she faltered back a few steps, groping her forehead as tears came to her eyes. Eren was before her, chained and gagged as they stood within an underground crystal cave. Though the formation of it was not made from nature and most likely done by Titan's using a unique ability to harden their very skin into crystal matter.

"Why did I forget about that until now?" Historia sobbed, rubbing her eyes as Eren began to rustle his chains, breathing hard from the lack of breaths available for him. "I never was alone… That woman was always there for me when I was a child. She gave me toys. Taught me how to read and write… And was always so very kind to me."

"You met Frieda?" Rod asked in genuine surprise. "If it was a young girl, with black hair, it was most likely Frieda Reiss. She was your half-sister. She must have been worried about you enough to check up on you occasionally. But if she was erasing your memories, it was done to protect you."

"Erasing my memories?" Historia stuttered with widened eyes.

Rod nodded as he gazed down at Eren. "Touching him just now seems to have uncovered those memories again."

"Father… Where is Frieda now?" Historia went on to ask, clasping her hands together in hope. "I'd love to see her! And thank her…"

But Historia was only given a moment of silence in return, until Rod was able to speak. "Frieda is no longer with us in this world…" The Lord then took a deep breath before exhaling through his nostrils. "At one time, I had five children… But my wife, and all of those children, Frieda included, were killed five years ago by his father, Grisha Jaeger. He was an individual with the power of a Titan. I did not know him personally, but his goal was to steal the power the Reiss family possessed. That power he sought for resided within Frieda. Her Titan was superior to all others. You could say it had unsurpassable power. However, she did not have the required experience to wield it. Unable to unleash that potential, she was eaten by Grisha and her powers stolen. But that wasn't all… He then attacked and killed the rest of my family within this very cave. His rampage sought to kill the entire Reiss family. Yet miraculously, I was the only one able to get away."

"Why did he do such a terrible thing?!" Historia then exclaimed, though her gaze was directed at Eren himself.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Came the sarcastic clap of Kenny as he came into view. Flicking his hat up slightly so that his eyes could be met. "What the hell you guys blabbering on about here? Bet you didn't even know a bunch of shit is going on up top, did ya?"

"Kenny?" Rod spoke out to the Ackerman, almost surprised to see his appearance. "What's going on?"

"Damn Scouts began a coup d'état and everyone has moved sides." Kenny responded, still clapping his hands as if he found the situation funny. "Everyone knows your King is a big fake and those Government officials now have cuffs around their wrists. Haha, yeah, it's quite the shit show. But it's only a matter of time before they all end up here to retrieve this boy you have. You oughta hurry your fat ass up."

Rod sighed. "Take your squad and defend the entrance. I believe I already told you that I need you and your crew to leave for the ceremony."

"Hey, now!" Kenny raised his hands. "Did I make ya mad? Heh, sorry about that… Guess I'm just so worried about ya."

"I trust you, Kenny." Rod spoke calmly. "Go."


"This could be bad, Erwin…" Approached Pyxis with his hands behind his back. "Most are now saying the same thing… Just as your father speculated. The Reiss family must be able to alter people's memories as it suits them. But from the sound of it, certain bloodlines, including Bloodborns, are immune to the effects."

Erwin's blue hues shook. "… How is that even possible?"

"If Rod is able to make Eren 'scream', this uprising will amount to nothing. As proof of that, he's spilling all secrets with no shame. Like he's saying we'll get what's coming to us." Pyxis informed.

"I see." Erwin muttered in a moment of thought. "In other words, we may forget even that fact altogether… Pyxis… have you heard any news on Fury? Is she still alive?"

Pyxis sighed, closing his eyes as he walked off to the side. His back now facing Erwin. "Unlike you, I don't like gambling. And also unlike you, I value the number of remaining humans over my own needs."
No words were uttered back to Pyxis by Erwin, as his eyes could only lower. "I have news that she is with Captain Levi and Squad Leader Hange." Pyxis then continued. "However, the reason I backed you was because I believed in the superior choice for humanity. Not because I put my belief into a Titan shifter or a woman I'm infatuated with… Had the Government been the more favourable choice, I was prepared to even fight against Zachary himself."

"Humans will continue to fight each other until the day there's no humans left…" Erwin responded in a rather cynical manner, almost sounding like Fury herself. Though it only gained a chuckle from Pyxis.

"I was hoping for some better reply than that…"


"Don't you understand?" Levi hissed. "You should know better, clearly. If Kenny's there, he'll be our biggest obstacle."
Fury gritted her teeth and darted her eyes away. It was obvious to her that Levi was still stinging from the fact that she kept knowledge of Kenny away from him. But can't he understand why?
"In terms of how much of a threat he is…" Levi then aimed his words to the rest of them. "Equate him to me as an enemy. Shit… no… With those weapons of his, he's even deadlier than me."

"Then, for us, how are we supposed to beat a guy like that?" Conny asked aloud. "Maybe if we could meet up with Commander Erwin and his troops-"

"What if the Captain says is true?" Armin interrupted. "What if this Kenny has no weak points? I'm sure he's trained plenty, but having combat experience is something else…"

"How is it that you both lived with this Kenny?" Hange asked her question at both Levi and Fury, pushing her goggles up. "And yet you both also knew nothing about him?"

"Beats me… I only found out his full name a little while ago from that Interior Officer." Levi muttered, folding his arms as his eyes looked to Fury beside him. But she was also none the wiser about what his true intentions were way back when. "Got something you want to add?" Levi asked her.

She sighed, placing her hands atop her thighs. "He told me nothing, back then, I mean. He mentioned you and that's how I knew of you. But he never once revealed why it was he was down in the Underground. However, Hexis revealed to me that Kenny's intention of being down there was to actually kill my parents. And in turn, to also kill me. He knew who I was, I'm certain of it, so why he spared me leaves me to believe Kenny has his own goals in mind instead of following the orders given to him."

"Kenny Ackerman…" Levi muttered, brushing his fingers through his greasy hair. He was in need of a shower. He then looked over at Mikasa opposite him. "He some relative of yours?"

Mikasa could only shrug her shoulders. "I heard from my parents, when they were alive, that my dad's side, the Ackerman's, were persecuted in the cities. My mom's family was Oriental, so being different meant they didn't fit in anywhere. Both were people chased deep into the mountains near the edge of the walls, so that's how they met and married. But… I never found out why the Ackerman's were persecuted. My dad didn't seem like a different race than my mom was."

"Has there ever been a moment where it's felt like power has suddenly awakened within you?" Levi then asked the reminiscing girl as she looked up at him.

"There has…" She answered, recalling the day she saved Eren and thrusted a knife so deeply into the kidnapper from behind that the blade reached deep enough to puncture his heart.

"Kenny had a moment like that too…" Levi informed. "One time, out of nowhere, he felt an absurd amount of strength surging within him and he knew exactly what he needed to do. I, myself, have felt moments like that too." His stoic gaze moved back to Fury next to him. "Like when we lost Isabel and Farlan…"