"Damn, I've seen sacks of potatoes, who fought better than this" Kenny spoke, after he knocked out the last person guarding the underway tunnel.
Right now, they were inside the Reiss chapel. Once a place of cult, nowadays it served a purpose as a high security prison for the most dangerous individuals.
Those, being the Marleyan invaders, of course.
"Apparently, this duty is somewhat penal for the MPs" Levi exclaimed, stacking the unconscious bodies of the guards, at the end of the entrance tunnel.
"Sis… Frieda never told me about this place…" Historia exclaimed in wonder as she looked at the shining crystal halls of the chapel.
It was, indeed, a beautiful place. The various, colourful beams that illuminated across the air were quite otherworldly. The aethereal crystals covering the walls, the perfectly flat floor, and huge columns made of the same shining material that was giving this chapel its unique look, looked rather magnificent.
"Well, she didn't really like it" Kenny explained, walking past the amazed blonde "it was here that her family was murdered."
Then, unexpectedly, the man turned to face Eren.
"Your old man is responsible for that, ya know?"
To say that this information shocked everyone present, was an understatement. In a way, Kenny had that strange ability to uncover the weirdest, most unexpected information in the worst moments possible.
"The hell?" Levi exclaimed with surprise "and you held onto that piece of knowledge, just for the sake of this reveal?"
The old Ackerman looked at him with a wide grin.
"I'm an agent of chaos" he said, before turning back to Eren "nothing personal, kid, but Frieda kidnapped you solely, because your daddy massacred her own family…"
"What are you trying to achieve, by saying all this?" Historia suddenly interjected, with anger in her eyes "you want us to succeed, or not?"
"Just sayin'…" he retorted, before pointing towards her, Ymir and Eren "if the three of you want to cooperate, some things need to be brought to light…"
At that, the blonde fumed in her place. The girl never really cared for her family, aside from Frieda, and now, it was getting even harder, considering the things her sister had done to her beloved. If the man's goal was to sow distrust within the trio, she would have to respond accordingly.
After a few moments, she walked over to the other two. While taking their hands in hers, she looked towards the old Ackerman.
"We're in this together" Historia spoke with conviction "and I swear… Frieda will pay for what she had done to Eren…"
As the boy looked at her with sad eyes, the girl smiled towards him in assurance.
Before anyone could react, Historia lunged forward, pecking him on the lips.
"Woohoo!" Kenny cheered at the scene "that's what I'm talking about!"
"Really, you teenagers are way too hormonal…" Levi sneered, trying to look away.
The silent gaze from Mikasa wasn't really one of disdain. Though uneasy, the oriental female gave her a glad expression.
"What your father did, doesn't really matter to me" Historia spoke softly, looking back at the boy "I love you, Eren…"
"I love you too…"
"Hey, you two!" Ymir happily interjected, barging in between the two "don't forget about me!"
"Sure!"
As that weird love triangle shared a group hug, the Ackerman trio, was simply watching them. It was kind of awkward, to say the least. Especially for Mikasa. The female had confessed to her beloved just a few hours ago, and seeing her long lost brother happily in love, brought back the memories of a certain redhead, who never gave up on her…
"Alright!" Levi finally yelled, his annoyance reaching its peak "shall we move this along?"
After the three teens separated, Kenny finally opened his bag. Out of it, he took two syringes.
"Ymir, please explain them the details" the old Ackerman spoke, as he was starting to fill them, with a strange, clear liquid.
The freckled female nodded, before looking back at her friends.
"Listen carefully" she started "what you're about to do, has dire consequences. Even though you will gain titan powers, your life is going to shorten, to just thirteen years."
Eren and Historia looked at her in shock. In reality, it was a life changing decision. If the only time they would have left was thirteen years, they really had to make them count.
"Eren…" Mikasa suddenly spoke out in worry "don't…"
For the girl who was only just now reunited with her adoptive brother, it was extremely devastating. The thought that he could be gone after a bunch of years, anyway, truly crushed her.
"I'll do it" the boy said, with slight hesitation.
"No…" the oriental female whispered.
Eren looked towards his long-lost friend with a soft smile.
"This is my decision" he expressed, taking the syringe from Kenny's hands "I want our people to achieve freedom… If this is the way to go, I have no regrets…"
"If you do this, I'll do it to!" Historia unexpectedly exclaimed.
"Historia…" Eren said with sadness, turning towards her.
The blonde squinted her eyes.
"I don't want to live in a world without you" Historia confessed, looking to the ground.
"That does it!" Kenny cried out, before handing the second syringe to the blonde girl "cells are that way!"
And then, he pointed towards a very strange-looking wall. Within it, there were several holes, some of which had bars, and small, metal doors. In parallel with the wall, a set of stairs was running.
As the three teens were walking up the stairs, Ymir noticed that each cell was labelled with a name and the type of titan the prisoner possessed.
'Reiner Braun – Armoured' the freckled female read.
"Eren" she spoke, handing him the key she took earlier from one of the guards "this is the armoured titan. You will enter the cell and lock yourself in with him. Then, you will inject yourself with the serum."
The boy nodded, as he stood still in front of the first cell. The two females spared him a glance, before turning to walk further up the stairs.
'Annie Leonhart – Female.'
"Historia, this is…"
"I can read, you know?" The blonde exclaimed nervously, before extending her open palm to her.
As Ymir laid the key into her hand, a weak voice could be heard from within the cell.
"Please… don't kill me…"
The two girls turned in surprise to look at the person inside.
Annie Leonhart looked truly miserable. Without her arms and legs, with her face emaciated, with her skin shrivelled, the supposedly young girl looked like an old lady, on the brink of death.
"You are an ally to the enemy" Historia spoke without any remorse.
"I don't care… about Eldia… about Marley… please… I just want to see my father…"
In a way, Ymir could relate to her. She was just a girl, probably around Historia's age. It was really inhumane how she was treated there. At the same time, she was a member of foreign armed forces, responsible for multiple deaths.
"I'm sorry" the royal blonde responded, cold-heartedly "but I need your power…"
And then, she entered the cell, locking the door after herself.
Ymir knew that it was simply wrong, when a single tear escaped Annie's eye. But they couldn't do anything about it. All this was Marley's fault. They were the ones who employed child soldiers…
'Bertholdt Hoover – Colossal.'
Finally, she walked into the last cell alone. Inside it, a very weak-looking boy was laying chained to the ground. Upon her arrival, he looked up.
"Just be done with it…" he spoke simply, before closing his eyes.
After witnessing the condition Annie was in, Ymir couldn't bring herself to do it.
"Actually" the freckled female exclaimed "we don't have any need for your power…"
Bertholdt opened his eyes, to look at her in shock.
"What…?"
"Consider it your lucky day" Ymir explained "also, I believe I'm indebted to the three of you…"
Silence filled the air as the prisoner was desperately trying to understand what was happening.
Then, he started crying.
"Why…?" He asked with tears in his eyes.
"Marcel" she simply stated, "that was his name, right?"
"It was you…?"
"Yeah…"
Bertholdt suddenly looked down with resignation.
"I'll spend the rest of my days here…" he spoke in sadness "my colleagues are going to die…"
Ymir felt pity for the boy. It probably wasn't his choice to cause all this harm. With all that propaganda about the island devils, he ought to be the victim in this situation.
"I can't promise you anything" the freckled female spoke with pity "but I'll try to make the rest of your days more bearable."
At that, he gave her a glad expression, before bursting into tears once again.
And then, two loud explosions could be heard throughout the chapel, as her two friends injected themselves with the titan serum.