A/N Hello! Next chapter is here!
Edit 31/08/2020 - Thank you to the person that pointed out the little hole in my story in regards to the hole in the wall in Shiganshina. I've made a small edit to fix this.
Chapter 8: Aftermath
Confusion marked the faces of those that took shelter down in the basement. The retake had quickly taken an ugly turn and most of their comrades had perished in the battle that had just transpired. The soldiers were scattered around, each carrying different injuries as they awaited Erwin's next command, but he was silent as he kept his eyes on the door, his face showing nothing but indifference.
Suddenly, the door slammed open to reveal the forms of Levi, Mikasa, Armin, and Annie.
"Erwin, Eren is ready," informed Levi, though he did not fully understand what Eren was about to do.
Erwin nodded in response. "You two block the door!" he commanded.
The soldiers in question scrambled to push the closest cabinet to cover the entrance, blocking the door except for the few cracks that existed on the imperfect cabinet. This action caused a spike of panic to rise within Mikasa and Armin.
"What are you doing?! What about Eren?!" shouted Mikasa. Her eyes were frantic as she tried to remove the blockage.
"Mikasa! Stop!" Levi grabbed and held her, but she struggled against his grip.
Armin's own frantic eyes turned to Erwin. "Commander, what's happening? We can't just let Eren…" the rest of his words was caught in his throat as his vision was momentarily blinded by a light that had penetrated the cracks in the blockage.
Everybody held their breath.
Nothing but silence existed in that basement during that very moment.
Then an ear-deafening explosion shook the very ground they stood on as if the world were splitting apart. People scrambled to hold on to anything sturdy, as the rumbling ground threatened to take away their balance.
Eventually, the world around them calmed, but the silence that followed was anything but calming.
Armin was the first to speak. "Commander… that was Eren, wasn't it?" he asked.
The look Erwin gave Armin was all Armin needed.
Armin swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. "Is… is he going to be okay?"
He was met with a moment of silence before Erwin replied, "I don't know, I'm sorry."
Armin stood there; his arms fell limply against his sides as he understood the implications to Erwin's answer.
"Mikasa?!"
He was taken out of his trance by Jean's panicked voice. He turned to see Mikasa gripping her head while she grimaced in pain. Levi, Jean, Sasha, and Connie were by her side, all worried after she unexpectedly collapsed. He hurried to her side and dropped to his knees; his arms wrapped around Mikasa's shoulders as she continued to voice her pain.
"My head… it hurts…" her voice trembled as she spoke.
"What's wrong with her Armin?" Jean voiced everyone's thoughts.
Armin continued to hold her, his hands stroking her shoulders, trying to give her some comfort. "She has always had these headaches ever since I met her. I do not know why, and we never had the time to look, but this… I've never seen her in so much pain."
"Is there anything that we can do?" asked Jean, worry clear in his tone.
Armin shook his head. "There was only one person who could help her. These symptoms always seem to lessen if she was around-"
"Eren," finished Jean.
Armin nodded.
Hange crouched down beside them, her eyebrows slightly scrunched up in curiosity. "Then, let's go to him," she turned to Erwin. "I can take them up and we will scout out the area. I hope you and Levi are okay to search for what we came here for?"
Erwin nodded. "Levi and I will get what we need," he replied.
With Erwin's acceptance, Hange turned to help Mikasa stand, faintly hearing Erwin giving orders to the soldiers that were scattered around the basement.
Jean and Connie pushed the cabinet to one side, the wooden cabinet scraped against the wooden floor: leaving marks and wood dust in its path. Once that was out of the way, Jean breathed in heavily before gently pulling the door open, it creaked and struggled against the friction of the ground but eventually; it revealed the black smoke that floated over the trapdoor and the sound of cackling of fire that awaited them on the surface.
'Mikasa…'
He took huge gulps of air, his lungs burned as his body fought for more oxygen.
'Armin…'
The air felt shallow, as if he were on top of a mountain.
'Jean…'
He tried to move his limbs, but they would not budge. They felt so weak, like they were sinking into the ground.
'Anyone… is anyone there?'
All he could see was the darkness, his body felt so light… it felt good just sinking into the abyss, almost like sleeping in a soft bed. That would be nice…
'Sleep does sound really good right now…'
Mikasa's eyes frantically scanned the area as soon as she stepped onto the surface, its ground no longer covered in green grass and mossy cobble. The area was unrecognisable. Most of the buildings that stood only moments ago were nothing but rubble, but this also made it easier to find her target: Eren.
'Why Eren?' Why did he always seem to get further away from her? She had done everything in her power to stay by his side, but he just keeps leaving her behind, slowly fading away in the distance.
A body caught her vision and she inhaled sharply when recognition lit up behind her eyes. 'There!' she instantly broke out in a sprint towards the body that lied unmoving in the middle of an enormous crater.
"Eren…" her words came out as a whisper as she dropped to her knees. "Why?"
The sounds of her surroundings fell away into the distance as her mind muffled everything except the person in front of her. He lied there burnt, barely recognisable, yet there was no doubt this was him. Despite his state, there was hope in the form of steam as his injuries slowly healed and this thought brought a little relief to Mikasa.
Armin came to a stop next to Mikasa. "Eren…" he muttered when he saw Eren's injuries. Like Mikasa, his senses muffled, and he did not resist when Hange lightly pushed him out of the way to check on Eren's injuries.
Hange released a relieved breath. "He will be fine. He is healing but will need a lot of rest. Get him on the wagon."
Mikasa placed a hand on Eren's arm, intent on picking him up. Suddenly, Eren grabbed her arm, making her gasp in surprise. Her own eyes widened when she laid them upon the intensity of Eren's.
"Z-Zeke… Don't let him escape…" his voice was raspy as he spoke. As soon as he uttered out his words, his grip slackened, and his arm flopped to the ground.
Her face scrunched up in confusion. "Zeke?"
"His brother," Annie spoke up. "I'll look for him," she did not wait for a reply as she turned away from the group.
"Brother? When did Eren have a brother?" asked Mikasa, turning towards Armin, hoping that he would have an answer.
Armin shook his head. "Eren never mentioned a brother," he said. "But Eren's father did have a life before Shiganshina, which means this Zeke was in Marley this whole time, which explains why Annie knows. We will just have to ask him."
Mikasa nodded and looked back at Eren's unconscious form before lifting him up.
"Mikasa, he is going to be okay," Armin tried to reassure her.
Mikasa nodded before continuing her walk. She knew he was going to be okay, but that was not the problem. They had gotten closer ever since he had woken up, but there seemed to be so many more secrets between them.
She shook her head free from these thoughts and looked down at her best friend, who lied unconscious in her arms. That did not matter right now. He needed to heal and rest. Everything else can come after.
As she walked, she noticed Hange and members of her own squad capture Reiner, an unknown blonde boy with slicked-back hair, and a younger girl with dark wavy hair that was kept behind her head in a bun.
'More shifters,' she thought absent mindedly. How did everything get so complicated?
When she finally arrived at the wagon, built to hold the injured, she settled down beside Eren after she had carefully laid him down. Taking off her scarf, she carefully folded it before gently placing it behind Eren's head.
She looked up in the smoke covered sky.
'When will this hell end?'
"Annie… you traitor…"
Annie froze as a barely conscious Pieck spoke to her.
"Where is Zeke?" asked Annie.
Pieck coughed a few times before replying, "Gone."
Annie stayed silent as she scouted the area, looking for any sign of Zeke, but it seemed like Pieck had told the truth.
"Your father… your father will die for this," Pieck said as she looked up at Annie.
Those words triggered something inside of Annie and what she did next, she was not in control of. She caught sight of a gun that lied close to her. She bent and picked it up. After making sure it was loaded, she walked close to Pieck in a trancelike state and aimed it at her head.
"No…" her voice was monotone as she spoke. "Because you're not going to tell Marley what I had done."
Slowly, her finger squeezed, but just before she could completely pull the trigger, an arm knocked the gun away and her bullet wheezed past Pieck and hit the ground beside her.
"Annie! What are you doing! We need her alive!" shouted Jean, who had followed her when she turned away from the group earlier. His hand now gripping Annie's arm painfully, not allowing her to make any more drastic movements.
The gun clattered against the ground as Annie looked at Jean in surprise.
"I..." she tried to explain herself, but she could not find the words.
Jean let go of her arm in annoyance. "Tch, save your breath, I heard everything."
He wasted no more time as he knocked Pieck out cold and tied her up. He picked up Pieck and started making his way towards the wagon, Annie walking silently beside him, an awkward silence befalling between the two.
"I still hate you," Jean suddenly said.
Annie did not reply with anything but a nod. She expected nothing else but hatred from Jean.
Jean was not finished as he carried on speaking. "But this is bigger than our personal feelings. Eren saved you for a reason and I trust him, despite our differences. So, I am putting my feelings aside for the good of our people and I expect you to do the same and not repeat what you just did. Is that understood?" his voice was stern and strained as he spoke like every word took a huge effort to release.
Annie looked wide-eyed at Jean as she replied, "I understand..."
"And stop looking at me," growled Jean as he sped up his movements, not wanting to be close to Annie any longer.
Annie could not hold the slight smile that broke out on her face.
Erwin and Levi stepped out of the basement, having found the items they were looking for. Truth tightly gripped in Erwin's hand; the truth of their world, the outside world, and the horrors they will face.
'What will it take for us to break free from these walls?' Erwin looked up at the smoke-covered sky as he pondered the future and what was in store for them. 'This was only the beginning; we have barely scratched the surface, that much is clear.'
Along with Levi, he reunited with his soldiers, who awaited them near the wagons.
"Erwin," greeted Hange. "Did you get what we came here for?"
Erwin nodded, handing over the three books to Hange.
She looked at the cover and muttered their names to herself. 'The Early Life of Grisha Yeager' was the first book, then it was 'The Extent of Our knowledge of Titans and Their History', followed by 'Information About the World Beyond the Walls'.
"All the answers… are in these books," her heart thumped excitedly against her chest at the thought of gaining all this knowledge. "I need to read everything as soon as we get back!"
Erwin chuckled amusedly at the excited nature of one of his most trusted subordinates. "We all will, Hange."
Despite the events that had just transpired and many lives that were lost as a result, Erwin could not help but feel satisfied. Satisfied that his father's theory of the world beyond the walls were proven true, there was proof. This dream he had shared with his father came to fruition, and this made every sacrifice worth it. He never thought this day would come, but now that it had, it was time for a new goal.
No longer was the goal to overcome the Titans. No. For his people to survive, they now must overcome the hatred of the world around them. That was his goal now; to break free from these walls and assert their rightful place among the people of the outside world.
Erwin looked around at the surrounding destruction. Corpses littered the streets; a historic battle had taken place here. His eyes hardened as he looked past the fire, the corpses, the smoke, and through the huge hole in the wall of Shiganshina that reminded them of how this hell had started.
He whipped around, facing his soldiers. "Soldiers! Today, we accomplished what our predecessors had failed! We made sure the deaths of our comrades were not in vain!" his eyes were blazing as he spoke. "But this… this is only the beginning. I do not yet know how or when, but these walls that surround us will come down! That is my promise!"
Once Annie plugged up the hole that started the hell of the last five years, the survivors of the battle began their journey back home. The journey had been silent. The Survey Corps had lost most of its forces, they got what they came for but most of the soldiers only thought of the sacrifices that were made to get there and who can blame them? Many lives were cut short in that battle. Friends. Family. The remaining few now had to live in a reality where the friends they made during training were no longer a part of, no longer breathing, living, creating memories. Only corpses that littered the ground of Shiganshina, slowly being swallowed by nature.
Was it worth it? Was the truth that important? Was freedom worth all this sacrifice? Couldn't they live happily in ignorance of the world around them? These questions ran through the heads of the living few.
For Jean, the answer was difficult. He valued the lives of others and if he were to be put in Erwin's position; he was not sure if he could make the same sacrifices. In the eyes of others, he was self-centred but in reality, he probably valued others more than most, his morals made him hesitant to take human life, whether that was by his own hand or through sacrifice it didn't matter, but he had put all that aside for the sake of his friends. So, was it worth it? No. Was it necessary to survive? Yes.
Escaping the hatred of the world around them, it was idealistic and not at all realistic. Yet, Jean could not help but believe that they could.
Jean scowled as he eyed the unconscious form of Eren from where he sat on the wagon. 'It's all your fault. Rubbing your idealistic shit on me.'
Jean closed his eyes, relaxing his tense shoulders as he rode the soft bumps of the ground.
Before he could fully relax, a cough came from their resident Titan shifter, breaking him out of whatever relaxing place he had imagined himself in.
Scowling, he watched Mikasa move straight to Eren's side. "How is he?" he asked, though he would never admit it to Eren, he was worried.
"He's burning up," Mikasa replied, worry clear in her voice.
Sighing, he moved from his comfortable position and moved to Eren's side, opposite of Mikasa.
"Let's remove his jacket," Jean suggested, already moving to do so.
Mikasa nodded in agreement, moving to help Jean. As they continued to gently shift and move Eren's body, they did not notice the way his eyes shifted left and right frantically.
"I can't do it…" Eren whispered, his eyes staring up at the ceiling, unfeeling and detached from the world. The fire that used to fill them to the brim was nothing but a speck.
Jean sat silently by his bedside, watching his last surviving friend wallowing in self-pity.
"I'm useless."
Jean tensed, his eyes narrowing.
"I'm weak."
His hands now turned into fists, clenching so tight that his nails dug into the skin of his palm, drawing a little blood.
"Mikasa… Armin… are both dead because of me."
Jean snapped.
"You shut your fucking mouth!" shouted Jean, his nose flaring and his breaths were heavy as he shot up from his seat, the sudden movement sent the chair flying backwards.
Jean, not caring that Eren was not exactly in the best condition to get roughed up, grabbed Eren by the collar of his shirt and pulled him forcibly closer.
"Stop wallowing in self-pity Yeager! It is making me sick! What happened to you?" Jean spat out. "What happened to the unbreakable determination? What happened to never giving up?"
Eren looked away from Jean. He was caught by surprise when he felt a fist connect with his face, sending his head snapping backwards before he was once again faced with the anger-filled Jean.
"Freedom… it was always about freedom for you. That was the source of your determination, but now… now you are just fighting for revenge. You run into every fight expecting to die, like a dumb fucking Titan! But guess what?" Jean breathed in deeply, trying to calm his voice. "Dying won't save you from the pain, you'll carry it to your grave. So, forget about revenge and fight for the future… The future that Mikasa, Armin, Sasha, and Connie were all fighting for. They all died fighting for the freedom that you craved for our people. So, do it. Do it for their sake, make their deaths worthwhile… and… I'll be there every step of the way."
Gasping, Eren's eyes shot open, but he remained only semi-conscious. The first face he saw was Jean, who had an expression of surprise, and he was not even aware that he had gripped Jean's arm.
"J-Jean? Why is… Why is your hair so short? W-Why do you look so young…?" Eren's voice was slurred as he spoke.
Jean did not even get a chance to voice his confusion before Eren's grip on him slackened and he returned to his unconscious state. He turned to Mikasa, who looked at him in confusion.
"What was that?" he muttered.
Few more days had passed since the battle. The people of the walls were buzzing upon hearing the news of the Survey Corp's successful mission. This news also brought anticipation. Anticipation for the information that this mission will bring to the public regarding the outside world.
This success also meant towns that were abandoned, when Wall Maria was breached, were ready to be repopulated and rebuilt, this included Shiganshina, which was the hardest hit of the outer wall towns. Once these towns are populated, it would release the chokehold on supplies and housing that all the people of the walls faced because of overpopulation, because of the mass evacuation that took place on that fateful day. Even though many lives were sacrificed by the military to combat this, the overpopulation problem persisted, be it at a smaller scale.
Erwin and Hange have spent all this time reading and reviewing the books Grisha Yeager had left for Eren to find. It was extraordinary to learn of their people's history and the world that exists outside these walls. Despite this knowledge, Erwin noticed one repeating theme: Hate.
Grisha Yeager's journey started because of the hate he had felt after the death of his younger sister, Faye Yeager. The world around them hated them, the people of Paradis. It was shocking to read that Marley was one of the more lenient countries in terms of the treatment of Eldians.
The future will be a very bumpy road. Everything that Eren had told him was true but there were two pieces of information that Eren had kept from him; the owner of the Founding Titan and the Curse of Ymir.
That was how Erwin found himself by Eren's bedside. They were alone, having sent Mikasa and Armin out, amid the subtle protest of Mikasa.
"How is your recovery going?" asked Erwin.
Eren grimaced, the explosion had affected him more than he had expected. "I'm feeling better but still too weak to be doing any training."
Erwin nodded, glad to hear he was at least recovering.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here today," Erwin started saying. "There was something I wanted to confirm after I read the books your father had left behind."
Eren looked at Erwin, his face displaying no emotion, but he gave a hesitant nod of understanding, urging Erwin to continue.
"Were you aware your father was the previous holder of the Founding Titan?" asked Erwin.
Eren tensed but nodded.
"So, you know that you are the Founding Titan?"
"Yes," replied Eren.
Erwin leaned back in his chair. "Why did you not tell me?"
"If you have read my father's books, then you know that a person with no royal blood cannot use the Founding Titan's full abilities, but a holder with royal blood is held back by the King's will. But what my father did not know was that the full abilities of the Founding Titan can be unlocked if I had direct contact with a Titan or Titan shifter of royal blood, solving the issue of the King's will," explained Eren.
Erwin listened attentively, this was an opportunity, it meant that its abilities could be utilized.
"There is only one person alive with that blood behind these walls; Historia," revealed Eren. "I hid this information because I wanted to protect Historia. You and I both know that the higher-ups will not hesitate to sacrifice Historia to unlock this power. Whether inside or outside these walls, humanity is the same."
Erwin suddenly remembered something Grisha Yeager had written. "That was why you were so desperate to capture the Beast Titan… because the shifter is Zeke Yeager, your half-brother, who has royal blood and is also a shifter, ticking every requirement needed for you to fully use the Founding Titan."
"Yes, that was why we needed him."
Erwin frowned; this was a problem.
"Commander… I request that this information is kept between us," said Eren.
"I have no intention of sacrificing Historia," Erwin replied in a resolute tone.
Eren sighed in relief, smiling softly. "Thank you, Commander."
Erwin stood up, preparing to leave, but before he did, he wanted to know one more thing. "How many years left?" his voice was quiet, but Eren heard it.
Eren looked down. He had buried the curse so deep in his mind that he has not thought about it in months, but he knew eventually he would have to face reality. "Eight."
Erwin nodded and looked at Eren apologetically. No one should carry that burden. He turned to leave but was surprised to find the door ajar, the pale faces of Armin and Mikasa staring past him.
"W-What do you mean you have eight years left?" Armin asked shakily.
Eren froze, he had wanted to save them from the pain. "Armin… Mikasa… I…" he hesitated, unsure of what to say.
"Eren… please tell me we heard wrong… please…" pain filled Armin's usually bright eyes.
When Eren stayed silent, tears fell from Armin's eyes. His best friend was going to die in eight years. What kind of future was that?
A whimper echoed in the silent room. "No…" Mikasa swayed on her feet. "No… it can't be true… my head, it hurts…" her voice drifted off like the wind as she collapsed.
"Mikasa!" Eren shouted, instantly jumping out of his bed despite the deep ache that racked his entire body.
A/N – Shorter chapter than normal. Next chapter, I plan to address Mikasa's headaches.
