Previously:
"Protecting you is the only thing Ymir works hard at!" Connie said. "I don't know how Ymir's going to find herself killed, but you two need to calm down. It should be obvious that you're both much more likely to die if you stay here! Even an idiot… would be able to figure that much out..." He glanced back over his shoulder at the horde surrounding Reiner. His eyes widened. A titan was flying through the air. "Wha?!" Historia stared at it with him in shock.
"Aaaaghh!" Sasha yelled as it sailed over them. It landed right in front of the head of the formation.
BOOM!
It hit the ground with a thundering impact that sent dust and debris flying everywhere. Jean, Hannes, and Peter did their best to dodge. Others weren't so lucky. Jean glanced back over his shoulder and saw the cause.
"Damn you, Reiner…!" Jean said, gritting his teeth. "He's throwing titan's at us!" As he spoke, Reiner hurled another titan through the air. It landed next to Heidi, Eren, and Mikasa,
"Ahh!" Armin and Peter gasped, glancing back at them. They were alarmed to see that both horses had been knocked over, and all three riders had been thrown.
"Eren! Mikasa! Heidi!" Armin yelled.
"Heidi!" Peter cried. Mikasa gritted her teeth and struggled to push herself up.
"Ugh…!" she groaned. Her injury from being squeezed by that titan made it painful and difficult to move. "Eren… Heidi, take Eren and..." Her request died in her throat when she looked up at them and saw what was happening. Not only was Heidi out cold, but a titan was thudding its way toward them. She and Eren stared at it with wide eyes. It was the same smiling titan that had killed Eren's mother.
Chapter 35: Scream
««« Flashback «««
"Eren! I don't believe this!" his mother said, holding a basket of laundry. "You got yourself in another fight…?!"
"Those dumb jerks started it..." Eren said, covered in injuries. "Lookin' down on me..."
"And? Mikasa had to save you again, right?" his mother said, setting the basket down. Eren furrowed his brow and looked down, avoiding her gaze. "Eren… I don't care how bad they are or how much you hate them, you need to think past just charging into a fight!" She wiped his face with a cloth. "You're a boy. Act like one. Protect Mikasa for a change!"
—∞—
His mother was being crushed in the hand of the smiling titan. Hannes was running, carrying Eren away. But Eren saw it. His mother disappearing into the titan's mouth, so that all that was left of her when it bit down was her legs.
»»» End Flashback »»»
"Eren!!" Mikasa yelled. Eren stared with wide eyes at the smiling titan as it made its way toward them.
"Ah!" he gasped when he realized what was happening. Mikasa had thrown herself on top of him, trying to shield him. "Heidi!! Heidi!" he called desperately, but Heidi couldn't hear him. She hit her head when she fell and was out cold. The smiling titan tried to grab Mikasa, but was blocked by Hannes.
"Mr. Hannes!!" Eren exclaimed. Hannes sliced the titan's hand with his blades. The titan withdrew its hand.
"Hah!! How often do you get a chance like this?! Right, you two?!!" Hannes asked, somewhere between fear and mania. "Just watch! I'll avenge your mother's death!! I'll butcher this thing!" He glared at the titan. "Oh… how I've wanted… to see you again!" He pushed off from the ground with gas and flew up to meet it, dodging its attempt to swipe at him.
"Mr. Hannes!!" Eren yelled.
"Ugh..." Mikasa groaned, gritting her teeth as she forced herself to stand.
"?!" Eren gasped. "Mikasa, no! Not while you're injured like that! Just untie my arms!!"
"Your arms?!!" Mikasa asked.
"Hurry!" Eren said. Mikasa prepared to cut his binding with a sword. "I have to be the one to do this!! I've got to settle this!!" he yelled as Hannes fought the smiling titan.
"Follow after him!!" Jean said, leading Armin and Peter over to them. "?!"
THOOM!
A titan hit the ground in front of them, rolling past them. Armin's horse reared back.
"Huh?!" Jean said.
BOOM!
Another titan came flying to crash in front of them.
"Agh…!!" Armin said, closing his eyes for a moment against the wave of dust. "?!" He opened them again and spared a glance back in Reiner's direction. "What's going on… Reiner?!"
"Outta the way, you bastards!!" Jean yelled at the titans, which were now blocking their path.
"Why?!" Armin asked, still looking at Reiner. "Do you not care anymore of Eren gets eaten?!"
"Who cares why?!" Peter said, gritting his teeth, looking terrified. "We need to get to Heidi and the others!!"
Meanwhile, Ymir was bounding toward Erwin, who was trying to out run a titan on his horse.
'This is your fault!!' Ymir thought, glaring at him. 'My plans are ruined because of you… Commander!!"
"!!" Erwin saw her coming and braced himself for a fight. Ymir roared and thrust her hand through the air, grabbing the titan that was chasing him. "?!" She saved him from the titan, but he was thrown from his horse.
"Ymir!" Historia called, coming up on her left with Connie as she ripped the head off the titan that tried to attack Erwin.
'… Damn it...' Ymir thought, looking at them. 'Now what should I do? If Reiner's not an option… can I get out of this place by cooperating with them? But… what do I do after that?! Even if I make it out of here alive… in no time, the world inside the walls will become a living hell… This is my only chance to get Historia over to the other side…' She gritted her teeth. "But I don't think I can protect her with my strength alone…!' A grappling hook was fired into her temple. '?!'
"Krista?!" Connie said as she maneuvered herself onto Ymir's head.
"No, Connie. My name is Historia," she said. She turned her attention to Ymir. "Ymir…? If what Connie just said was true, then you were lying about doing this in order to save yourself. No… I know it's a lie. Why? Who are you doing this for? … For me? You want to protect me again?"
"..." Ymir didn't answer. "!" she was startled when a titan suddenly ran out in front of them.
"Ymir! It's like you told me… We need to stop living for others," Historia said, "From now on… let's live for ourselves!!" Historia drew her blades and prepared to fight. "I don't know how to explain it… but when I'm with you, I don't feel scared," she said, smiling bravely. "No matter where I am!!" She fired a grappling hook into the titan before them and reeled herself in.
"AAAAAA!" Ymir roared as she charged forward. Connie and Sasha prepared to fight too.
Over by Erwin, another titan fell with its nape carved out.
"Commander!!" a Survey Corps member called, running over to him.
"I am replaceable!" Erwin said, breathing hard. His wounded arm was still bleeding a little and the blood loss was starting to get to him. He squeezed his eyes shut and wheezed a little. "You need to focus… on getting Eren out of here! As fast as you can!" He opened his eyes again to find that the soldier approaching him was being eaten head first by a titan. Erwin stared at the grotesque scene before him.
"Raaaagh!" another Survey Corps member roared behind him as they fought.
"Commander!!" shouted another. "The Armored Titan… The Armored Titan is coming!!" Reiner was steadily dragging himself closer and closer as he continued to toss titans at them.
"Hurry!!" Jean said, still leading Armin and Peter. "Mikasa, Heidi, and Eren are—"
"!" Armin gasped as the shadow of a falling titan fell over him. "Jean!!"
"Look out!!" Peter shouted. Jean's eyes widened as he realized the danger he was in. The titan landed in front of Jean, and he and his horse were knocked back by an explosion of dust and debris. Jean was thrown from his horse, and he hit the ground hard, getting injured as he rolled to a stop. Armin immediately stopped and dismounted to check on him.
"Jean!! Get ahold of yourself!" he said, trying to rouse him.
Mikasa kneeled down and cut Eren's bonds and he ran forward to stand in front of her and face the smiling titan.
"This one's… mine!!" Eren shouted.
"Eren!! Wait! We're trying to get you out of here!" she reminded him. She winced in pain.
"It's time to settle the score!!" Eren said. "Just watch!" He raised his hand and bit it until blood flowed. Nothing happened. His eyes widened. "?!"
"!" Mikasa was surprised too.
"Huh?!!" Eren exclaimed, furrowing his brow. He tried biting his hand again. And again. And again. But nothing happened. "Why?! What's wrong?!" He attacked his hand more viciously.
"Eren…!" Mikasa said, concerned. But Eren continued to tear into his hand with his teeth. He looked up when the smiling titan fell to its knees. Hannes had sliced open one of its heels, so it lost its balance and couldn't walk. Hannes grinned triumphantly, only to be snatched out of the air. The smiling titan trapped him in its hand.
"!!" Eren and Mikasa gasped, staring with wide eyes. Eren quickly tried to bite his hand again. Nothing. The smiling titan brought Hannes up to its mouth and started eating him feet first, biting him in half at the waist. Mikasa and Eren stared, horrified. Eren fell to his knees. "Hahaha!! Hahahaha!! Hahahahahaha!!" Eren laughed uncontrollably, frustrated by his own incompetence. "Not one thing has changed!!" he said with tears in his eyes. "Look at me!! I'm… completely useless!! Mom… I'm still just… a boy who can't do anything!! AAAAAAGH!!" He beat the ground with his bloody hand. Mikasa stared down at him with tears in her eyes. She looked behind them. Her eyes widened again. She turned away from the terrible scene.
"Eren," she said gently." Eren stopped crying and sat up and looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"Hn?!" he said.
"That's not true," she told him with a kind smile. Eren stared at her then slowly moved his eyes to look at the violent chaos behind them. Soldiers were dying. Armin and Peter were trying to fend off a titan while protecting Jean.
"Heidi!!" Peter yelled. He had reason to be concerned. The big titan crawling towards Eren, Mikasa, and Heidi had its eyes on Heidi. Armin's teary eyes met Eren's.
"Listen to me, Eren," Mikasa said, drawing his attention back to her. "There's something I want to say." The smiling titan finished eating Hannes. "Thank you… for being with me," she said with a smile and tears in her eyes. "Thank you… for teaching me… how to live." Erwin was with another soldier, surrounded by titans on all sides. Connie, Sasha, Historia, and Ymir were fighting together. "… Thank you…" she touched the red scarf around her neck. "… For wrapping this scarf… around me..." She moved her face closer to Eren's. He clenched his fist and stood up. Mikasa looked up at him.
"I'll… wrap you up in it again," he promised her. "… Again and again. Forever." The smiling titan reached for them. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" Eren roared as he threw a punch at it with everything he had, hoping against hope that he would find some kind of insane strength like Heidi had to completely destroy the enemy before him. His fist hit the titan's open hand with a smacking sound. In that instant, something flashed like lightning through Bertolt, Reiner, and Ymir. Eren gritted his teeth and pulled his fist back to strike again. "AAAAA!!" he screamed, wanting to destroy the smiling titan with every fiber of his being, as a titan came running up at them from behind. He took another swing and was shocked when the titan that was barreling towards them from the back jumped over them and tackled the smiling titan. All of a sudden, every titan stopped what it was doing and ran towards the smiling titan, ignoring all the humans in their path.
"What?!!" Armin exclaimed. Everyone stared in shock. Peter snapped out of it and ran towards Heidi.
"Heidi!!" he shouted, grabbing her and pulling her onto his back to carry her away from the titans, who were really tearing into the smiling one. He was so scared that he was shaking, but he kept a firm grip on her. Eren did the same with Mikasa.
"Why… are they… eating that thing?" Mikasa asked.
"Who cares?! Let's get out of here!" Peter yelled.
"I don't know what's going on, but… this is it!" Connie said, getting back on his horse. "Run for it!" Sasha quickly followed suit.
"Let's hurry and run!" Sasha said.
"All right!" Historia said.
'So that's how it is… no wonder Reiner and Bertolt were so desperate to get Eren…' Ymir thought. She looked at Historia. 'In that case, the walls still have… a future.' Reiner bounded towards Eren, Mikasa, Peter, and Heidi.
"!!" Eren and Peter gasped in alarm. They ran as fast as they could with the girls on their backs.
'This can't get worse,' Reiner thought. 'Of all people… he's the worst person to possess the coordinate. We have to get it back…! There's no doubt left. The last person in this world who should have that… is you, Eren.'
"Stay back!!" Eren yelled. "You hear me, you bastards?! I'll kill all of you!!" Another lightning flash hit Bertolt and Reiner.
"?!!" Reiner and Bertolt gasped when the titans eating the smiling titan suddenly froze and turned their heads to look at them.
'Oh no...' Reiner thought as they began running toward him. 'This is bad… I can't keep… Bertolt safe!!'
"Hng…!!" Bertolt exclaimed in alarm.
"Eren!" Armin called and came over on his horse with an unconscious Jean, leading two horses.
"Armin!" Eren said.
"Hurry!" Armin said. Peter pulled Heidi up onto his horse with him, and Eren quickly helped Mikasa up and mounted his.
"Don't waste this chance!!" Erwin ordered, already back on his own horse. "Retreat!!" Everyone immediately followed these orders and they left Reiner and Bertolt in a thundering herd.
"AAAGH!" Bertolt screamed.
"!!" Ymir stopped and looked in his direction.
"Ymir?" Historia said, also stopping.
"Hey, ugly!! What are you doing?" Connie asked "We need to hurry back!" Ymir stared at Historia. Historia stared back. Ymir reached out and petted Historia's head gently with her finger.
"Soh...rry..." Ymir said. Historia stared up at her in confusion.
"What?" she asked. Ymir let go of her and turned and ran back in Reiner and Bertolt's direction.
"Ymir! Where are you going?!" Historia asked, moving to follow her.
"Leave her!" Connie said, grabbing her reins.
"But Ymir is—"
Reiner was fighting off the horde as best as he could, but both he and Bertolt were in danger of being eaten alive.
"Waagh!" Bertolt cried as a titan tried to eat him. But before it could sink its teeth into him, a large hand grabbed its head and pushed it away.
"GYAAAAGH!" Ymir roared, perched on Reiner's shoulder.
At that time… no one knew what Ymir's actions meant. But after that, the armored titan stopped chasing after them.
—∞—
In Wall Maria, Shiganshina district, Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir lay on top of the wall.
"Damn it..." Ymir cursed, breathing heavy, trying to catch her breath after all the fighting and running they did. "Why'd I..." There were tears in her eyes. Reiner and Bertolt were trying to catch their breath too, but there was something Reiner needed to ask her.
"Ymir… Why'd you come to our side?"
"Well… must be because I'm an idiot," she said. "I'm here so you'll have something to hand over. You guys can't go home empty-handed, right?" Sweat dripped down Reiner's face.
"Do you understand that there's no hope of you being rescued if we go home from here…?" Reiner asked her. "If you're going to run… now's the time."
"What're you talking about? Dumbass. I'm tired out," Ymir said. "I've just had enough. … I'm done."
"Ymir… Why… did you rescue me?" Bertolt asked. She looked at him. He stared at her.
"Maybe because I heard your voice…" Ymir said. "If you hadn't come to destroy this wall, I would've been stuck in an endless nightmare. All I did was… repay a debt. I'm the only one who knows about your situation, too… I'm the same way… I was hopeless on my own."
"… Thank you, Ymir…" Bertolt said, covering his mouth. "… I'm sorry."
"It's fine..." she said, reaching her hand up into the night sky. "Being a goddess doesn't feel so bad, either."
—∞—
Connie landed on top of Wall Rose.
"Hurry! Help the injured first!!" a soldier said as two rushed past him.
"Is this really everyone…?!" another asked.
"Where did the Military Police Brigade go?!"
"Did we really lose half of them?"
Connie slumped to his knees and Historia fell into Rico.
"Whoa! This girl's in bad shape, too!" Rico said, catching her with the hand that wasn't holding a torch. She set the torch down and grabbed a waterskin. "Drink," she told Historia. "You're okay. The titans are gone now."
"Unh… Agh…. Waagh…" Connie began to cry.
"The 104th has got the devil's luck," Jean said, mopping up his bleeding nose. "I can't believe we got out of that alive. Not sure about the titans we were up against, but..." Armin left them to join Eren, who was helping another Survey Corps member in goggles set Mikasa down gently on the wall.
"Now put her down slowly," the soldiers in goggles told Eren. Once Mikasa was settled, the soldier started digging through his bag for supplies. "You said she got shaken around on a horse for a while even after her ribs were broken? We need to get her to a doctor fast."
"What about Heidi?!" Peter asked. "You'll get her to a doctor, too, right?" Heidi had been brought up right before Mikasa, and Peter and Sasha had been watching her like hawks for any sign that she might be regaining consciousness.
"Of course," the solider said. "She has a concussion, so they'll probably want to keep a close eye on her." Eren looked at the two girls, feeling responsible for their injuries.
"Eren," Mikasa said, holding up a hand. "It's okay."
"I'm sorry," Eren apologized. Armin placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Commander?!" someone shouted, getting their attention. Armin and Eren looked over and saw that Erwin was kneeling and another Survey Corps member was holding him up. "Can you hear me, Commander?! He's about to pass out!!" Erwin went completely limp. "Pick him up, now!!"
"Commander!!" Eren exclaimed, shooting to his feet. But there was nothing he could do. Others were already rushing over to take care of him.
They started loading the injured into carts to transport them along the top of the wall. Mikasa and Heidi were loaded into the same cart. Armin held a torch while he, Eren, Sasha, and Peter watched. Now that he was no longer preoccupied with protecting Heidi, Peter looked like he was in danger of breaking down like Connie.
"C'mon, Connie," Jean said, trying to get him to stand. "You're almost there."
"Unnh..." Connie cried.
"Stand up," Jean said.
"I can't believe it..." Connie said as Jean helped him up. "I'm… alive…?" Eren looked from Connie to Historia. She was sitting on the ground with Rico, severely dehydrated. Eren looked to another cart of wounded soldiers. Sweat dripped down his face.
"I got taken again..." Eren said grimly. "How many people died because of me this time…?" Armin, Connie, and Peter looked at him.
"When we left here, I think there were one hundred of us, including the military police," Jean said. "Well… it was probably too much for all those inexperienced MPs. I'm sorry… but most of them got eaten on the way. I don't remember the details after that… but I only saw forty or so on the wall. Of them, only about half… are up and walking. The Survey Corps lost most of its seasoned soldiers… I wonder what's going to happen from here out..." Eren looked down and gritted his teeth, angry at himself.
"We didn't take any losses on the way back, though," Armin said. "The titans ignored us and kept heading for Reiner." Eren looked at him. "The Female Titan had the ability to get the titans to attack her by screaming. But this time… something made them all go after the armored titan and the titan that ate Hannes. You did that, right, Eren?"
"..." Eren's eyes were wide. "I… I… Everything went crazy when that happened… I don't have any idea what..."
"… Are you saying Eren manipulated those titans?!" Jean asked.
"Well… I don't..." Eren said.
"Listen, Eren…" Jean said. "If you can really do that..."
"Is it true, Eren…?" Connie asked. Eren and Armin looked at him. "So that's why those titans changed direction… If we'd had to fight those titans then… we'd all be dead."
"That's right..." Sasha said. "We never would have made it out if they hadn't..."
"..." Eren looked at the hand that had punched the smiling titan.
"I know it's a tough spot to be in, Eren, but… in order to get you back… one of the commander's arms was eaten… Mikasa's ribs got smashed… Heidi got a concussion… and 60% of our soldiers died, including your friend Hannes," Jean said. "Whether you're really worth paying that kind of price… is something I still don't know. As to whether the people who were killed to get you back died for nothing… That depends on you now, doesn't it?" Eren stared at him for a moment then sighed.
"You sure got preachy after you joined the Survey Corps, didn't you?" Eren said.
"Huh?!" Jean said. "Oh yeah? What about you? You've just turned into an indecisive whiner!"
"No, Jean, he's right," Connie said. "It really is creepy how serious and responsible you got all of a sudden."
"You can say that again," Peter agreed.
"You still look like a bad guy, though..." Armin said.
"Hey, you guys!" Jean said indignantly. "Don't forget I'm the one who swooped in and saved your precious Mikasa!"
"Thanks, Jean," Eren said, moving his hand.
"… Huh?!" Jean said, startled, flinching a little.
"Thanks to you..." Eren said, making a fist. "I don't have to hesitate anymore. You're absolutely right. I just have to do this. I'll control the titans. And I'll seal the hole in Wall Maria." Historia began to open her eyes again. "I'm going to catch Reiner and Bertolt and make them pay. I'll make sure the deaths of Hannes and everyone else really do help humanity keep surviving. That's how I should repay them."
"Hm?!" Rico said when Historia staggered to her feet. "… Wait!" But she didn't wait. She couldn't. Historia dragged herself over to Eren and the others.
"Krista?!" Armin said. "… It's—"
"No," Historia said, swaying on her feet. "My name is Historia. Eren. Let's hurry… to the other side of the wall."
"… You shouldn't stand up yet—" he started to say when she grabbed his shoulder.
"Don't worry about me!!" she said desperately. "We have to get Ymir back…!! If we don't soon, she's going to go far away!! You're strong, aren't you, Eren?!"
"H-Hey..." Rico said.
"W-Wait—" Eren said.
"Use your titan powers to do something!!" Historia yelled. Suddenly, whatever strength she had left abandoned her and she fell to the ground. "Huh…?!"
"Calm down, recruit," Rico said. "You're completely exhausted."
"… Even after we were taken by Reiner and Bertolt… Ymir was worried about you," Eren told Historia. "It seemed like all she could think about was you and how you'd survive this… But, there's one thing I don't get… In the end… she went with them of her own free will, right?"
"Yeah… I couldn't believe she'd run off to save those two..." Connie said.
"She was a mystery to us until the very end..." Jean said.
"I can't stand it…" Historia said, distressed. "Why…? She… chose them over me…" Tears formed in her eyes. Her face was twisted with anguish. "S-She said we'd live for our own sake… together… but now she's left me behind… Traitor… I'll never forgive her..." The boys were surprised.
"Krista? What's wrong?" Jean asked. "This isn't like you."
"Hahaha…! Krista?!" she laughed. "I'm done being Krista. She's gone now. She was a role they gave me in order to keep me alive… Yeah… a girl from a book I read as a child—I… think?" A hint of doubt crept into her voice at the end.
—∞—
The inhabitants of Wall Rose did as they were taught in drills preparing them for a second wall breach. They evacuated to the old underground city inside Wall Sheena. As was predicted, the food supplies that were meant to feed those still remaining, over half of humanity… wouldn't last more than a week. In other words, if Wall Rose was actually breached, humanity would enjoy only one more week of peace. If they were forced past that, people would have to choose. Starve and die… or steal and live. Surrender everything… or throw it all away. Confirmation that wall Rose was still intact… came one week after the crisis began.
—∞—
"… Or it'd be more accurate to say that we had no choice but to insist that Wall Rose was safe… after that week," Pixis said, talking to Erwin in his room. Levi was there as well, seated in a chair by the window. "The evacuees are now returning to their homes. Thankfully, that was the only case where we had to use military force during this chaotic situation. When we evicted the squatters who had been living in the old underground city… some of them clashed with the Military Police. There were no deaths, but it left a big impression on the people living inside all of the walls… for a moment, they saw what would happen if the pot boiled over. Everyone got a firsthand reminder. If Wall Rose really falls, they'll have one week of respite before men begin killing each other again."
"I'm sorry, Erwin. I know you've only just recovered enough to talk to us… but I understand if you'd rather go back to sleep than hear what we have to say," Levi said.
"No, I'm tired of sleeping," Erwin said. He had been so idle that his facial hair had grown out a little bit. "Please, continue."
"… It's too bad about your right arm," Levi said.
"..." Erwin looked at the stub where a healthy arm used to be. "How many hundreds of men do you think I've sent out to be eaten by titans? One arm isn't nearly enough to make up for that. I hope I'll be able to pay the rest back when I end up in hell..."
"Sounds good..." Pixis said. "Mind if I come visit when we both make it down there?"
"What's wrong, old man?" Levi asked. "Giving up? Maybe you need another drink."
"Aye, it's the perfect time for a drink. Sadly, this one's taken it all away from me," Pixis said, meaning Anka, who was standing up against a wall, waiting for him. "O'course, she says she won't change my diapers like a good mother should."
"Haha… I see you have an excellent aide by your side," Erwin said.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
"It's Hange," Levi said. "Come in."
"Good to see you awake, sir," Hange told Erwin as the squad leader, Connie, and Heidi entered the room. They saluted their superior officers. "So you were here all along, Commander Pixis. Perfect timing. I'm here to report on the recent incident. This is—"
"Connie! Connie Springer, of the 104th Survey Corps, sir!" Connie said, introducing himself.
"Heidi Trumbauer, also of the 104th Survey Corps, sir!" Heidi said, introducing herself too.
"He's from the village I mentioned, Ragako," Hange said. "Since these two were there to witness the incident, I had them accompany my squad."
"Connie. Good work..." Levi said. That must have been hard. Connie looked a little surprised.
"… Thank you, sir..." he said.
"You, too, Heidi..." Levi added. For being one of the first to suspect it. That girl was something else.
"Thank you, sir…" Heidi said. Erwin and Pixis watched the three people before them, waiting for further explanation.
"Allow me to explain," Hange said. "The town was full of evidence that supports the theory we have… about where the titans came from this time… The buildings in the village all appeared to have been blown apart from the inside. Yet despite all of this destruction.. we couldn't find a single bloodstain. Most importantly, we have yet to locate a single resident from Ragako. And..." Hange glanced sideways at Connie. "The total number of titans discovered and defeated… was the same as the number of individuals who lived there." Heidi felt a little sick thinking about how many of them she'd had to kill.
"We believe it is highly likely… that the titans that appeared inside the wall were really the residents of Ragako village."
««« Flashback «««
"Here it is..." Connie said, retrieving the item he sought from the rubble of his house. He walked back over to Hange and Heidi. Heidi had only just been released, but Hange insisted since she and Connie were the only ones left from the original team that first inspected the village, and Heidi was among the first to come up with theory they were working on. "This is a portrait of my parents."
"… I see. So this is your mother?" Hange said, looking at the picture with Heidi. "Come on," Hange told Heidi, walking over to look at the face of the titan in Connie's house. Hange turned the portrait upside down and held so they could compare his mother's face with the titans. It was a match.Heidi covered her mouth with her hand as her suspicions were confirmed. She had been hoping she was wrong. "… Incredible..."
"This titan… It spoke to me," Connie said, pointing at it. "It said 'welcome home'."
"What…?" Hange said.
"When I told everyone what I'd heard… Reiner desperately tried to convince me that I was crazy. Actually, Ymir did, too..." Connie said. "So that's what it was… both of them knew… They knew what had happened… and they tricked everyone so we wouldn't figure it out…" His expression darkened. "I had found a clue, so those two… Damn it..." Heidi placed a hand on his shoulder. "You were the only one who wasn't fooled… Why didn't you say anything?" he asked her.
"I was hoping I was wrong…" Heidi answered. "I didn't want to hurt you unless I absolutely had to..." Connie gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, but he didn't pull away from her.
"..." Hange stared at Connie. Hange turned to the squad members who had been applying stakes to the titan's limbs to make sure it couldn't move. "Remove all the stakes you put into its body."
"All right..." one of them said.
"Isn't it best to be sure?" said the other.
"… It's fine," Hange said. "All you need… is to tie it down with rope." Hange looked at Connie again. "… Connie. Thanks. You can have this back." Hange returned the portrait to him.
"… Thank you," Connie said. "So… all I have left is this picture… and my mom." He stared at his titan mother, then gritted his teeth and glared. "Who did this…?" Tears formed in his eyes. "If I find out… who did this to us… I won't… let them get away with it." Heidi bowed her head thinking of all the titans she had killed at Utgard Castle. They were Connie's neighbors, maybe even his family. Hange looked from Connie to his mother and then down as Hange remembered all the times Hange had tortured titans for experiments. How aware where they? What had Hange done?
"… This is just… incredible," Hange said.
»»» End Flashback »»»
"So you're saying that the titans… are actually humans?" Erwin asked. Pixis's eyes widened slightly, and Anka stared at them in shock.
"We don't have any solid proof that all titans are this way… But… if they are, I have a hunch about what's really inside the titan's weak spots," Hange said. "Even if two titans vary widely in size, the weak spot is always the same. 'One meter long, ten centimeters wide.' If you matched those proportions up to a typical human body… you'd get the spinal column, leading out of the brain. A titan can't regenerate and ceases to function if you cut this area… probably because these organs are independent from the rest of the titan's body."
"You always slice open the necks of all the titans you capture alive…" Levi said. "But you've never seen anything like that, have you?"
"True… I've never seen anything that looks particularly human," Hange said. "Their napes close up immediately if you do something like cut through them with a single blade, so I can't imagine that a human brain could stay intact in there. Yet there has to be something in there the size of a brain and spinal column. Perhaps it's synthesized into the titan body and hard to make out, but…"
"I don't understand what you're getting at, four-eyes..." Levi said.
"Er, sorry..." Hange apologized. Levi stared at Hange, then looked down.
"So… What? The flesh I've devoted my life to slicing out is actually part of a human being?" Levi asked. He furrowed his brow. "I've been flying around killing humans this whole time? … Is that what you're saying?" He looked sad and conflicted to Heidi. She thought she had an idea of what he must be feeling. She was feeling it herself.
"… I told you there's no solid proof," Hange said.
"But if it is true… I wonder. Could the difference between regular titans and titans like Eren… be that their bodies aren't completely absorbed…?" Pixis said, holding his chin.
"Hey… Erwin," Levi said. He turned his head to look at him. "… Erwi—" He froze when he saw the look on Erwin's face, shocked. Heidi was shocked too. Erwin was smiling. "… The hell are you smiling about?"
"..." Erwin looked at Levi. He noticed the captain seemed angry. "Oh… It's nothing."
"You're gonna make me sick," Levi told him.
"I've been told that since I was a child," Erwin said.
"Is that the real reason you're in the Survey Corps?" Levi asked.
"…?" Hange said. "Huh?"
"Ease off, Levi," Erwin said. "My arm was eaten. I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. Don't you have some pity for me?"
"Well..." Levi said. "You are pitiful."
"By the way… where are Eren and Historia Reiss right now?" Erwin asked.
"Ah… We've made progress there, too," Hange said. "For now, the two are being hidden in a safe location. We're keeping it quiet until things settle down."
"We can't be rash," Pixis said. "It's like a stirred-up nest of hornets out there. Now isn't the time to spread around the theory we just heard about the titans either."
"Yes… We can't afford to make any mistakes," Erwin agreed. "If we look into Krista, we should be able to get on the trail of an organization that knows even more about the titans than we do. Meanwhile, if we can deploy Eren's powers, we can take back the walls. Those two are our most valuable assets right now. Where are they?"
"Your arm was eaten and you're physically and emotionally exhausted. I felt bad for you, so I went ahead and made some decisions," Levi said. "That includes the new members of my squad. What Eren needs… is to be pushed into total desperation."
—∞—
Jean brought the cart that Sasha and Armin were riding in, along with the supplies they had been sent for, to a stop in front of a charming house that had a small stable.
"… We finally made it. I don't care why. We're too far from civilization!" Jean said. "Here, Sasha. This one's for you!" He handed her a small crate.
"What's this? Unh! It's heavy!" she complained.
"It's full of potatoes," Jean said. "They're your buddies, right?"
"What… could you be talking about?" Sasha asked. "I've forgotten all about it."
"Don't worry, I'm sure anyone else in the 104th could remind you," Jean said, grabbing a sack of flour and a bag of bread.
"Still, everything has become so expensive," Armin said, carrying a milk pail. "If we lose these food supplies, we're going to starve to death."
"That's right, Sasha. Just try to sneak some food out," Jean said. "Captain Levi will slice you into nice, bite-sized pieces."
"Ulp… I wouldn't," Sasha said, a bead of sweat sliding down her face. "Probably."
"Huh…? Did I just hear you say something else?" Jean asked as they entered the building.
"We don't need to depend on all these groceries. We can just hunt in these mountains!" Sasha said.
"We can't, Sasha. Even this far out, hunting's prohibited," Armin reminded her as they set their goods down on the table and counter. "If people find us and start talking, What's the point of hiding out here in the first place?"
"O-Okay, I understand… I won't…" Sasha said. "Probably."
"I heard that, Potato, girl!" Jean snapped.
"Guys…" Eren said, approaching them with a broom in his hand. He was dressed for cleaning. "Did you brush off all the dirt and dust on you before coming in here?"
"… What?" Jean said. "Of course we didn't. Just look at all the stuff we're carrying. It's pretty obvious we couldn't."
"… Do you still not get it? Do you think Captain Levi will be satisfied with soldiers who act like that?" Eren asked gravely. "This morning, too! If I hadn't made your bed, then—"
"Shut up!!" Jean snapped. "Are you my mom or something?!"
"We're back," Mikasa announced, entering with Historia. They were both loaded up with firewood. Mikasa rested the axe on her shoulder.
"Wha?! You were cutting wood?!" Armin asked, alarmed.
"I don't want to go soft," Mikasa said.
"You're not a wild animal!" Armin said. "You shouldn't be moving yet!"
"I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen," Eren said. "She says she's already healed. In fact, she was doing sit-ups."
"You were peeping on her?!" Jean demanded incredulously.
"Wha?!" Eren said, taken aback. How did that constitute peeping?
"… You know..." Sasha said. "It kind of feels like we're recruits again." She was drooling a little bit.
"Yeah, but… protecting Eren is a major assignment," Armin said. "I know we lost a lot of seasoned soldiers… but there have to be units more experienced and talented than us available… Why were we chosen for Squad Levi…?"
"Because we really are that great," Sasha said, quickly stuffing something in her bag.
"Hm? Sasha, what did you just put in your bag?" Armin asked her.
"Definitely not a piece pf bread," Sasha said.
"We've got to finish cleaning before the captain, Heidi, and Connie come back," Eren said, turning away to sweep more as the others confronted Sasha about the bread. He remembered cleaning up the old castle with the captain, Heidi, Petra, Erd, Gunther, and Oruo. It was a scene with a mood similar to the one happening behind him at that moment. It filled Eren with dread. Would his friends end up like the others? He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't.
