A/N: Lol decided to release this to celebrate the anime coming back. This part features no smut but boy do I hope you like PLOT EXPOSITION DUMP BECAUSE YOU'RE IN FOR PLENTY, AND THERE'S MORE TO COME. Smut should be in the next part though A HEHEHE.
Chapter IX Part 1: Holy Ground
Hopefully we will be able to understand it someday
We are walking to the other side of the horizon
Hopefully we will be able to understand it someday
We are walking firmly
"Why are you sending us out during the day?" Reiner asked Zeke as he geared up with his ODM equipment, "Won't it be safer at night when the Titans are inactive?"
"Trust me, it won't make a difference," Zeke confidently assured his fellow Warrior, "It's all part of my theory that I want to test out, and should trouble arise, your Armor will be enough to take down any threat... but I really don't think you'll find yourself in a combat situation."
"How can you be so sure?" Reiner pressed. He knew in his Titan form he would be fine and that no other Titans would be drawn to him, but he was worried for his lady. He could never live with himself if he couldn't protect her from being devoured by a pure Titan.
"Think about it..." Zeke began, "She wandered outside Wall Rose without a problem. If it was a pure coincidence that no Titans pursued her, it would be an incredible one... Don't you think?"
Just as Zeke finished his brief explanation, Priscilla emerged from her tent fully dressed and ready to go. She ran her slender fingers through her hair to work out any knots that may have formed while she slept and then gave it a final smoothing over from root to tip. Of course it wasn't just her slumber that left her with bedhead, another night of heated passion with Reiner definitely helped mess it up some. The girl approached the other two, but Bertolt as nowhere to be seen. Since he had no part in the day's mission he was still sleeping in his tent for the time being.
Once Priscilla had preened herself enough, she stood beside Reiner and gave him a sweet look, which he returned in his own, more subdued way. Zeke had been paying attention to how they behaved with one another, Reiner had made it clear that she was greatly important to him... but Zeke wasn't blind and could tell that it was more than just an innocent crush – and especially after last night he knew that things were very physical between them. Making any sort of remark about it now was something he deemed to be unwise, however – he didn't need either of them being distracted from their important task.
"Did you get any more rest, Miss Ziegler?" Zeke asked. Reiner looked at him puzzled, "Ah, you must not have noticed. She had trouble sleeping and had woken up earlier, she and I chatted a bit."
"I think I'm rested enough, thank you." She responded, trying to sound as polite as possible despite still being addled by a tiny bit of lingering grogginess. Zeke grabbed a backpack that he had laid at his feet and held it out to Priscilla.
"Perfect... Now, a final quick rundown for you both: find her home and search for anything regarding it's former residents or anything you think could be valuable. I expect you not to return empty handed. And be as swift as possible. Time is of the essence and it's working against us."
"Understood." Reiner said. Priscilla took the bag from Zeke.
"Excellent. Now, get moving."
Without any hesitation, Reiner produced a combat knife. He moved towards the edge of the Wall and fearlessly leaped from it. He didn't fall far before he took the bladed end of the knife into his free hand and sliced deeply, triggering his transformation into the Armored Titan. With a thunderous crash he landed on the ground below in a kneeling position. Priscilla ran over to the edge and looked down, seeing him rise to his feet fully and turn to face her.
"Jump," Zeke spoke, "He'll catch you."
"Right," She responded, then raised her voice to call down to the Titan, "Be gentle with me!"
She didn't even take a moment to prepare before she flung herself from atop the wall. She was used to having the ODM gear to ensure she could fly through the air without fear, but the feeling of free falling was far more exhilarating. As she descended further and further, the Armored Titan reached up and caught her. He was sure to make a firm catch, but not so tight that it would hurt her. All her limbs were totally restricted by his grasp, so she shouted a suggestion up to him.
"Why don't you put me on your head?" She called out, "I can hold onto your hair and pull in the direction to guide you where to go?"
The Titan let out a low but understanding rumble and obliged. He raised her up to the top of his head and carefully released her from his grasp. Priscilla eagerly crawled on and made sure to hold on tightly, putting herself at a good vantage point to direct him.
"All set!" She shouted and gave him a firm pat pat.
With that, the Titan turned and began sprinting off. He crossed the ruins of the city and headed for the hole that would lead them beyond the confines of the Walls. Zeke watched them from their camp and murmured "Godspeed" under his breath. Reiner's footfalls grew fainter and fainter at a rapid pace as he ran out into the most uncharted territory of that island, soon to disappear completely.
Riding atop the head of a sprinting Titan was like nothing Priscilla had ever experienced before. Being on horseback or using the ODM gear didn't even come close. She wanted to throw her arms into the air above her head and revel in the freedom of it, but the sheer force of his speed would knock her straight off, so she held tightly and stayed low.
As they traveled Priscilla was able to spot several groups of Titans of varying size wandering around in the distance. They of course wouldn't care about Reiner in his Titan form but they weren't even attracted to her, which she reasoned away by the two of them being too far from any of the pure Titans on the prowl. She couldn't spend too much time pondering that subject, she needed to focus on where they were going.
"...LEEEEEEEFT!" She shouted and gave Reiner several firm smacks on his head after yanking his blonde hair a bit, "HANG LEEEEEEFT!"
Priscilla couldn't be sure exactly how she knew where to go, something in her brain just popped up and guided her. Once Reiner shifted his course a large, dense forest with incredibly tall trees could be seen in the distance.
"There! That's gotta be it!" She exclaimed.
They had already been traveling for a while and Priscilla could tell the stamina of her Titan companion was wearing thin from the constant running. With her declaring that their destination was within sight, Reiner's resolve was renewed. He forced himself forward as fast as he could, keeping his eyes on the thick forest that they were rapidly approaching. Priscilla held on tight as Reiner pushed onward with what remained of his strength.
Once they reached the line of huge trees, Reiner came to a sudden stop. The fatigued Titan fell forward clumsily in his exhaustion, sending Priscilla tumbling off his head and across the ground. It reminded her of when he first revealed himself as being the Armored Titan. The girl groaned and rubbed her head as Reiner emerged from his Titan body. He less than gracefully stumbled and fell to the ground, letting out a groan of his own. Priscilla crawled over to him and once she was next to Reiner she sat up and pulled him close so that his upper body rested against her.
"Think you overdid it a bit?" She asked.
"It's not like we could have taken a break..." He responded in a low voice, "It's too dangerous out here."
"Yeah..." Priscilla agreed, then looked back towards the thick woods, "We have to be close now, can you stand?"
"I could use some help to get started." He admitted.
Priscilla rose to her feet and then knelt down to pull Reiner's arm over her shoulders so she could help him until his strength returned. The pair then made their way slowly towards the trees, unsure of what awaited them. Once they crossed into the woods, it seemed like there wasn't much there to be seen... just a thick sea of trees. Priscilla was certain they were in the right place though, she could feel it in her heart that she was close to home somehow, like something was guiding her to where she needed to be. After a few minutes of traveling Reiner had regained his strength and was able to walk on his own. Being the chivalrous gentleman that he was, he grabbed his lady by the hand and took the lead in a protective manner.
"You sure we're in the right place?" He asked as they ventured deeper and deeper.
"I'm certain." Priscilla responded.
She gave his hand a tight squeeze – honestly she was feeling pretty nervous. Priscilla wanted to believe that maybe they'd find some people still there and that Zeke was wrong about everyone dying, but if some still remained, why did nobody ever come for her? The thought that there were still people in her hometown but never cared to return to her was a feeling just as bad as them all being dead, if not worse.
The pair finally emerged into an open area and were stunned by what they saw. To call the place a town wouldn't quite do it justice, from what they could see it would be more accurate to call it a large sized city. Priscilla's heart sank though as it was immediately evident that this place was long abandoned. Vines and foliage had overgrown and covered the structures that made up this mysterious place. The buildings were in disrepair but even in their now dilapidated state one could tell that at one point they were very well constructed and lavish.
The two only stared for a moment before Reiner pulled Priscilla along gently again. As they traveled along they encountered a wide open square, where in the center was an enormous statue depicting a woman laying on her side and resting peacefully on a giant stone slab. The statue was made of some white material even though it had been dirtied up over the years, but it wasn't entirely white – the figure's eyes were slightly open and within the sockets were green gems to represent the eyes. They approached it, and as they got closer Reiner noticed something carved into the huge stone base.
"The hell... It's a bunch of weird runes..." He muttered, giving the engraving closer examination. Priscilla moved beside him and took a look for herself.
"'May our beloved Moon Goddess Priska ever smile upon her divine children in Hyperia.'" She read out loud. Reiner looked over at her with a puzzled expression.
"You can read that?" He asked.
"Yeah I can..." She confirmed, sounding a bit amazed with herself, "I think... I can speak whatever language this is too."
"You never told me you spoke any other language." An amused Reiner responded.
"I must have forgotten..." She murmured, and reached out to run her hands over the strange but familiar runes, "The last time I was here I was only six years old. It's no wonder I forgot."
"Yet it came back to you right away just now."
"Yeah..." She replied, still in a very quiet voice, "Must be like riding a bike."
"...Did you ever learn to ride a bike?"
"Well no but... You know what I mean, Reiner!" She huffed, and then added through gritted teeth as her face flushed red, "It's an expression."
Reiner snickered, he loved to get her all flustered like that, and a little levity in a tense situation never hurt either.
"So, it's safe to say that this place is called Hyperia," Reiner began, getting them back on task, "And given that there's a huge statue of this Goddess we can assume she was worshiped here."
"And her name..." Priscilla shakily breathed. Reiner was on the same page.
"Yeah. Similar but not quite the same," He said what they were both thinking, "Similar enough to be weird, but it could just be a coincidence. Plenty of cultures name people after the Gods or other figures of significant power that they worship."
"I guess you're right..."
Reiner could tell that Priscilla was growing uneasy the more they thought about this Priska, the cold and distant look in her eyes was more than enough to signal that worry was bubbling within her.
"Let's keep looking around." Reiner suggested.
"Maybe we can find something in my old house?" Priscilla threw her own suggestion out there.
"Good idea," Reiner said, then gave her a clap on the shoulder, "Lead the way."
"I'll uh, I'll try." She responded with a slight air of uncertainty.
"Pft, you were able to find this place so I'm sure you can locate your old home no problem." He added, hoping to instill some confidence in her. Priscilla nodded and surveyed the immediate area to try and jog her memory, or whatever it was that had spurred her in the right direction so far.
"That way." She spoke, pointing to the right, "There's a residential area a little ways in that direction."
Now it was her turn to take him by the hand and guide them along through the abandoned city. They walked along for a little while, crossing a short bridge that was built over a crystal clear river, before arriving in a neighborhood that would have looked very nice back before the place fell to ruin. She didn't have any other residential areas to compare it to from memory but it seemed like it'd be considered more on the upscale side. It would make sense for the upper class to be closest to the city center, as opposed to whatever the lower class areas were like – those would be on the outskirts of the city. Priscilla didn't even take a moment to pause and went straight for what she knew was her house. It was a two story residence that, back when it was clean, would have been white, but now it was stained with age and overgrown foliage just like the rest of Hyperia.
The two of them stood in front of the house for a few moments. Priscilla stomach had been churning since they arrived in Hyperia but now her nerves were reaching their peak as she stared down her old home. Her mind was so morbidly curious as to what they might find in there, she wanted desperately to know but it also made her anxious to face what it could be. Zeke's words from earlier rang through her.
I expect you not to come back empty handed.
What if they found nothing of value in her home? Would the fact that the Hyperians worshiped a moon goddess and knowing her name even be relevant to Zeke? Or did he want some hard physical evidence of something? If nothing was in her house, would they have to scour the rest of the city to find something? All these things just built upon Priscilla's woes further. While she was getting lost in her anxiety she didn't even realize she was holding her breath, which resulted in a sudden sharp exhale through her nose before she proceeded.
Priscilla pushed open the front door and lead Reiner across the threshold. The inside was dreary and there was dust everywhere, but besides that everything was still in it's place as far as she could tell. Clearly the inhabitants of this abode left peacefully, if there was any sort of panic or danger that drove them to depart suddenly then surely things would be in disarray. The area they immediately found themselves in was a large living room, furnished with two couches adjacent to one another, shelves with all sorts of books and trinkets, some standing lamps as well as a basic chandelier for light, end tables beside each couch, a large coffee table in front of them and a fireplace; paintings adorned the walls as well. Many casual social gatherings were sure to have taken place here, Priscilla could almost hear echoes of laughter from days long gone by.
"Through the door to the right is the kitchen and dining room," Priscilla began, "The other door on that side leads to a bathroom... to the left is father's study... then on the second floor are the bedrooms, a spare room and another bathroom."
"I think we should go through your father's study first," Said Reiner, "I have a feeling that's where anything important would be kept."
Priscilla nodded and the two of them strode over to the ornate wooden door. A figure of a woman was carved into it, likely another rendering of Priska. Priscilla reached for the doorknob and gave it a twist, but it didn't budge.
"Nhhgh..." She grunted, grabbing at it with both hands, "It's locked..."
"Stand back." Reiner instructed, moving Priscilla aside.
The pale woman raised an eyebrow and let out a barely audible "huh?" But Reiner didn't hesitate in making clear what he was doing. Leading with his shoulder, he charged forward and broken open the door as if it were nothing. Within the study were a couple more bookcases, a desk with a lamp on it and of course a chair too. Reiner entered first with Priscilla on his heels. A detail that both of them noticed when they first entered was a small family portrait sitting in a frame on the desk – even when enveloped in his work, Priscilla's father kept his family nearby.
Priscilla stared at it from afar curiously. She'd never seen a picture like that before, it was if it were perfectly captured from real life, it wasn't a drawn or painted portrait like the framed images on the walls of the living room.
"It's a photograph..." Reiner observed as he picked it up, "But Paradis doesn't have this kind of technology."
"The hell is a photograph?" A puzzled Priscilla asked.
"Err it's hard to explain, but there's something a bit more important about this right now," He began and gestured for her to come to him. Priscilla approached and looked closer at the image, "Who's this?" He added.
Priscilla leaned in to get a better look. In the picture there was of course her mother and father, but there was also a long haired boy some years older than her present as well. She furrowed her brow.
"I uh... I don't know," She admitted.
"Maybe a brother you've forgotten about? Why else would he be pictured with you and your parents?"
"How could I possibly forget that I had a brother?" She asked, eyes still fixed on the boy.
"You forgot that you knew a whole 'nother language so it's not that weird, is it?"
"But it came back to me once I saw it again, looking at this picture... I've got nothing. He's a stranger to me as far as I know."
"Huh..." He said, then put the small framed portrait back down on the desk, "No time to waste on that, we have to look around to find out more about this place and..."
"And me." Priscilla finished.
"Yeah..."
Reiner wasn't entirely comfortable with Zeke looking at his woman as a mysterious experiment and he was well aware that it bothered Priscilla too, but the man was at a loss for words that could comfort her. So he did what he thought was best and proceeded with their mission. Reiner immediately started rummaging through the drawers and cabinets of the desk, finding tons of documents and notebooks. Priscilla turned to one of the bookcases and started reading over the spines of the books for anything that stood out. Reiner of course couldn't recognize any of the text in the documents he was pulling out, so translating all this would fall on Priscilla's shoulders.
Priscilla had a much easier time deciphering what could be helpful given she could understand the symbols that adorned the spines of the many books. The first shelf she perused was devoted to academia like math and science – she noticed a great deal of the scientific texts were focused on anatomy, specifically reproductive biology. She wasn't sure exactly if any of the information within would be of use, but she pulled a few of the science books off the shelf anyway. On the next shelf was a thick book with a very eye catching, but simple and straightforward title.
History of Hyperia
Priscilla removed the backpack that Zeke had given her and sat it on the ground to stuff the science books in there to look through later, the history book seemed more pressing. She cracked it open and looked over the table of contents.
I. Goddess Priska of the Moon
II. Priska's Grand Betrayal
II. The Exile and Curse
III. Born of the Body
IV. Early Hyperian Society
V. The Righteous Task of The Hyperians
VI. Death and Rebirth
Priscilla flipped through the book quickly, noting that there were illustrations on many of the pages along with lots of text to accompany them. The images were very beautiful and intricately drawn with great attention to detail, some pages in full color. The pictures of Priska gave a more accurate look at her, although it wasn't much different than what the statue portrayed... her body and hair were both perfectly white and her eyes were a gorgeous shade of green.
"Find something?" Reiner asked, approaching from behind and looking over her shoulder.
"Yeah, I only took a glance but this book seems like it could give us the insight we need... Or that Zeke needs," Priscilla responded, "Guess we ought to get into them."
"Maybe we should search the rest of the house first," Reiner suggested, "We haven't even gone upstairs yet."
"Right..." Priscilla murmured.
She felt a knot in her stomach forming again – upstairs is where all the bedrooms were... where her bedroom was. With the history book still in hand, Priscilla picked up the book bag and put it in there as well. Reiner reached over and placed the documents he'd picked up inside it as well. The pair left the study and went straight for the staircase. The once shiny polished wood creaked beneath their steps as they made their ascent. Once they reached the second floor they paused, Reiner waited for Priscilla to tell him where to go.
"The door to our left is the bathroom... first on our right is mom and dad's room, the spare is next to it... and the door straight ahead leads to my room."
"Where to first?" He asked after he got the run down, and then added lightheartedly, "I think we can rule out the bathroom at least."
Priscilla let out a soft hum of acknowledgment while her gaze shifted between the remaining three doors. Before speaking she started to march forward towards her old bedroom. She grabbed the handle, twisted it and pushed the door open with ease. She was instantly hit with a wave of shock, letting out a tiny gasp.
"Two..." She whispered as she stared wide eyed into her old room.
"Two?" Reiner echoed, "Two what?"
"Beds." She clarified as she turned to look back at him, "I shared my room with someone... That boy in the picture?"
Reiner could see Priscilla was growing more distressed over this boy that she had once shared her home with, a boy that could be her brother or maybe a close cousin that lived with her family, but a sibling seemed more likely. She dropped her bag and frantically ran over to his bed, above the headboard was a quaint sign with the word "Anteros" carved into it, perhaps it was the boy's name. Priscilla then darted to her old bed, and similarly there was a sign above hers as well. But the word engraved in her sign wasn't "Priscilla" – it said "Adrestia." Her eyes then fell to the bed itself. Of course there were pillows and blankets, but resting on top was a stuffed animal. The pale girl's face contorted as a stressful mixture of emotions surged through her body.
The plush toy was a lavender unicorn who's mane and tail were white. The fabric that covered it's horn was glittery. As if something within her soul compelled her to do so, she suddenly grabbed it and clutched it tightly to her chest and let out a shuddering breath. The soft and fuzzy horned horse brought her a brief moment of relief for some reason – was it nostalgia? – but everything being thrown at her was overwhelming to the point that a little toy from her youth could only do so much to soothe her.
"Let's look in my parent's room and then the spare..." She said quietly, moving towards where she'd dropped her books. While still holding onto the unicorn, she picked up the texts she had carelessly tossed aside.
The two left her old room and shut the door behind them, quickly making for Priscilla's parent's room. Upon opening the door they saw what was easily the largest bedroom, it was no surprise that the adults had the master. The bed was huge and very comfy looking with a canopy. More photographs were placed around the room – many of Priscilla and the mystery boy, presumably "Anteros," together. There were plenty of just her mom and dad, but their children and whole family photos were the main focus. There was a vanity where old cosmetics and perfumes still sat and a few dressers as well as a closet. There were no books to be found, even upon looking through the dressers and closet.
All that remained was the guest room. The two brought all they'd found so far and entered it, but there wasn't much to see. There was a simple but still comfortable looking bed, bigger than Priscilla's but smaller than her parent's bed. A small table was next to it with a lamp, it was very bare bones. Reiner sighed.
"Nothing here either." He said.
"Yeah. Maybe we should take a look at what we have." She suggested.
Reiner nodded. Priscilla wandered over to the bed and plopped onto it, setting her bag of books down next to her with the unicorn plush too. Reiner followed and sat on her other side. All the literature they found was of course written in the Hyperian language, so Reiner would have to rely on Priscilla translating it to him. The thought crossed his mind that if she came across something especially... interesting, she might choose not to tell him, but Reiner immediately knocked that idea out of his head. He was confident she wouldn't lie to him... Zeke and Bertolt though? That could be a different story.
Which roused another worrisome thought in Reiner. What if Priscilla asked him not to tell the other two some piece of info for some reason? He would die before he betrayed his love, but at the same time he had a duty. He had specific commands... Anything valuable had to be reported. Reiner felt a great deal of shame over the fact that he had to question himself on this – as a Warrior of Marley he needed to follow his Warchief and not his heart.
But he wasn't sure if he could bear to do that.
While Reiner was getting lost in thought, Priscilla had picked up the book on anatomy and physiology and cracked it open. There was a brief foreword before anything educational was presented.
"It's just a rundown of what's in the book, author's name... stuff like that," Priscilla informed the silently curious Reiner, "I don't think that's very relevant."
"Me neither."
Turning the page lead them to detailed diagrams. There largely didn't seem to be any difference between the Hyperian body and any other human in the world.
"Huh look at this..." Priscilla said, pointing at a picture of a male and female side by side with a blurb of text between them, so she read it aloud for Reiner, "'All members of our race bear similar physical traits. While things like height, weight, fat distribution, bone structure etc etc etc have variety, each Hyperian has the exact same skin, eye and hair color. These similarities are indicative of the purity of our people. There are no normal humans in the world who resemble the Hyperians in that way."
"Normal humans?" Reiner echoed. Priscilla shrugged and then went on to thumb through the next pages.
"Pretty basic stuff... Like anything you'd see in any anatomy textbook..." She murmured. Priscilla started to skip pages assuming there was nothing of interest to be found. But once she reached the portion on the reproductive system, she slowed back down because she saw the word 'Eldian' appear. She cleared her throat before beginning to orate the passage.
"'Structurally the Hyperian reproductive system is the same as normal humans, as is the method of conception. Following sexual intercourse where the male ejaculates inside of his female partner, the sperm found in the male's semen will fertilize the female's egg. The fertilized egg will then travel to the uterus and implant itself in the lining. By now the egg can be called an embryo, which will eventually develop into a fetus. The difference lies in who Hyperians can breed with.
Due to Priska's Curse, Hyperians cannot procreate with Eldians – and while it is possible for them to reproduce with other races, it is strictly forbidden and undesirable. The Hyperians must maintain their racial purity at all costs. Since keeping the Hyperian bloodline intact and undiluted, inbreeding is common and even encouraged. Brothers and sisters would frequently marry and procreate, as well as blood related cousins. It is believed but not yet proven that the closer the parents are genetically, the stronger their offspring will be, which is the exact opposite of normal human biology. It has been confirmed that no genetic abnormalities arise due to the inbreeding. However, non-blood relations were not uncommon. Parent and child relationships, however, were forbidden.'"
Priscilla paused and stared wide eyed down at the words she just read. The basics of course weren't anything new, but the absurdity of the acceptance of incest as a common practice was making her feel sick. There was also the fact that the nebulous term "Priska's Curse" was mentioned so briefly and not expanded upon – it clearly played a major part in the Hyperian biology and Priscilla needed to know more... Her father's personal journal was calling to her as well though. When weighing the options the daunting text about the Hyperian history and the journal, the written works of her father seemed more easy to digest. The girl put the first book aside and took the journal in her hands...