Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan). I write this for your enjoyment only. After I read chapter 52 of the manga, I have decided that this would be the best time to have Hanji reveal to Eren her ties to his family as well as how much she really knows about his powers. This will be the first fic I write that is manga-based because the second season of the anime has not been released yet; it takes place when Levi and Hanji takes Eren, Krista and the rest of the 104th Squad survivors into hiding and a little bit after Krista reveals her past to everyone. I do not recommend reading this if you have not read the manga up to chapter 52 because it will contain some spoilers. However, for those who have read the manga, I also recommend reading my earlier installments "What He Really Is" and "A Secret History Revealed" in order to better understand this story.

Truth and Revelations

It had been almost half a week since Corporal Rivialle and Professor Hanji as well as the rest of the 104th Squad survivors went into hiding at an abandoned house out in the countryside, mostly to hide Eren and Krista until they can decide on their next move to retake Wall Maria as well as recover from the hectic events of the last few days. As if discovering that their former comrades Ymir, Reiner, and Bertolt were also titan-shifters themselves wasn't shocking enough, the party also discovered that another member of their squad, Krista Lenz, was more then she appeared to be as well; the petite blond girl was actually an illegitimate daughter of the noble Reiss family who Pastor Nick revealed to Hanji, held the secret to the true origins and nature of the titans. After hearing Krista's story, it was unlikely that anyone would be getting much sleep that night but they still had to retire and try to get some rest because they knew they had a long road ahead of them in the days and weeks ahead.

After discovering Eren's ability to manipulate other titans with his mind, Zoe Hanji knew that the time was drawing near when she must reveal to Eren her own history with his family as well as her knowledge of his powers; there was simply no avoiding it. And while she had always intended to tell the boy eventually, the professor wanted to wait until the timing was just right but no matter how she looked at it, no time would ever be convenient as long as she could not provide all the answers to the questions she knew Eren would ask.

Unfortunately, the choice was taken out of her hands and sooner then she expected. That night, Eren volunteered to move Hanji's experimenting equipment as well as personal belongings into what was to be her temporary room while the professor herself helped Levi and the others clean up after dinner. As he was carrying one of her heavy bags into the room, it slipped out of his hands and burst open after landing hard on the floor. Not wanting Hanji to know of his blunder, Eren quickly got onto his knees to retrieve her things and put them back inside the bag when a photograph caught his eye. Curious, the youth picked it up and held it closer to the light so he could get a better look at it. It appeared to be a picture of the professor from her younger days holding a small child, no more than three years old, in her arms. Upon closer inspection, Eren's eyes widened when he saw that the little boy Hanji was holding had dark brown hair and turquoise eyes exactly like his own.

No, it cannot be…

But it was. There was no way Eren could dismiss the child as anyone but himself with the unmistakable faces of his parents in the background. Turning the picture over, Eren looked at the date which was written as April 20th, 838- about thirteen years ago. What was the meaning of this? As Eren pondered the thought, memories from his early childhood that he had subconsciously suppressed started to surface, vague memories of a young girl with auburn hair and honey-colored eyes whom he used to play with long before he met Mikasa, a girl who would be the same age Professor Zoe Hanji was now. Eren always thought it strange how she seemed to know a lot about him as well as his powers while he barely knew anything about her and wondered if this could be the reason. But if so, why did Hanji not see it fit to tell him of her ties with his family as well as why his own parents never told him about her? A thousand other questions raced through the youth's mind but he knew he would have to wait until he could find some time alone with the professor before asking her for the truth.

Later that night after everyone had retired for the evening, Hanji heard a knock at her door. She had just finished putting some of her things into a wooden desk that the previous resident of the house left behind which would definitely be convenient for analyzing the results of the experiments she planned to perform on Eren in the days ahead. Curious as to who would see her at such a late hour since it was almost midnight, the professor called out softly.

"Yes? Who is it?"

In answer, she heard a soft boyish voice call out from the other side of the door. "It's me, Eren. May I come in, professor?"

"Yes, you may."

As soon as she gave her permission to enter, Hanji saw the door to her room open slowly and Eren walking in quietly to avoid disturbing the others who may already be asleep. As soon as she saw the boy close the door behind him, the professor smiled and greeted him.

"Yes, Eren? What can I do for you?"

In answer, the youth approached her desk before reaching into the front pocket of his shirt, pulled out a photograph, and handed it to her.

"Professor…Zoe… can you please explain this to me?" he asked quietly.

Upon taking the picture from Eren and looking at it, Hanji sighed. She knew the time had finally come and that there was no putting it off any longer. Taking a seat behind her desk, she made a gesture for Eren to take a chair and do the same.

"Please have a seat, Eren. This could take a while."

"I've got time" the youth replied as he took a chair and sat on the opposite side of the desk.

After both Hanji and Eren were seated, the professor took another look at the boy in the photograph before looking at the handsome young man before her and smiled sadly. "I haven't seen this picture in a long time even though I've kept it near me all these years…"

"It fell out of one of your bags when I accidentally dropped it on the floor. I didn't mean to pry or go through your things but couldn't ignore this photograph, especially if I'm the one in it. At first, I thought the child you were holding was someone else until I saw my parents in the background."

"You are correct, Eren. That was you in my arms when you were only three years old. It was taken by a photographer who just happened to be in the crowd the day I said my good-byes to you and your parents before leaving on my first expedition beyond the walls. I was nineteen years old at the time."

"You knew me even then?"

Hanji let out a soft laugh. "Know you, Eren? I named you!"

Upon hearing that, Eren stared at the professor in shock. "What do you mean? Are you saying that you knew my parents before I was born? What was your relationship to them? And why did you not ever tell me?"

The professor took a deep breath and pushed her glasses further up her nose. It looked like she had a lot of explaining to do so she felt it might be best to start from the beginning. "Eren, I've always intended to tell you but I wanted to wait until the timing was just right. Like you, it was also a childhood dream of mine to join the Survey Corps but when I was your age, they were much more picky about who they chose to be soldiers, especially those of the science department which I wanted to join. I had to go to a military academy if I wanted to become a science officer but my family could not afford it. Money was such a problem that I almost gave up until I looked at the papers one day and saw an ad that your father, Dr. Jaeger, put up stating that he was looking for an assistant to help him with his work and studies. I thought it would be a good opportunity to earn the money I needed for school so I answered his ad right away."

Eren leaned a little closer as he folded his arms on the desk, his interest piqued. "Go on."

"When I arrived at your house with the ad in my hand, your father answered the door and was surprised to see that of all the people in Shiganshina, I was the only one who was interested in his job offer since he had been trying for months without success to find an assistant, at least one who could meet his expectations. He hesitated to hire me at first because I was so young, only fifteen, but I told him that I really needed the job and that he could trust me to be a hard worker so he gave in. At first, he only had me assist him in his work but after realizing how much potential I had, made me his student as well which thrilled me because I learned far more from your father then I ever would have at the academy. I know because I beat all other candidates for the position of the Survey Corps' chief science officer when I was only twenty-one years old; that was how well your father taught me."

Eren held his breath in awe. "My father must have been an amazing teacher if you were able to do that."

Hanji smiled. "He was more to me than just a teacher, Eren. He was also a very dear friend as was your mother. I became closer to your parents than I ever was to my own blood relatives. Your father trusted me so much that he asked me to assist him in your birth a year after I became his student. It was one of the most exciting as well as frightening experiences of my life. For your mother, labor was long and difficult and we feared that we might lose both her and you but luck was on our side that night and you were born healthy and kicking. I've never seen your mother happier then she was the night you were born."

Eren frowned at the mention of his late mother whom he still missed terribly even after nearly six years since her tragic death. He knew he would always regret that their last moments together was spent arguing over her objection to him joining the Survey Corps which he was now ironically stuck with permanently whether he wanted it or not.

Sensing his sadness, Hanji gently took Eren's hand in her own and upon closer observation of the professor's skin, the boy noticed a few crescent-shaped scars which he knew to be caused by his mother while she was trying to give birth to him.

"I'm sorry…" he apologized quietly. "I've been so much trouble for everyone since the day I was born."

Hanji shook her head as she released the boy's hand. "That's not true, Eren" she said gently "You've brought us nothing but joy since you came into this world. I don't know if you remember, but before I enlisted, I used to come over and help your mother care for you as well as assisting your father in his experiments and other work. I always thought of you as my little brother since I never had any siblings of my own. Before leaving for my first expedition, I promised you that I would be back to see you and your parents but regret that I was not able to keep that promise because my duties have kept me so busy over the years. When Wall Maria fell and your mother perished, I thought you did as well until I heard about a young soldier in the 104th Squad fitting your description that could shape-shift into a titan. I also realized that it could only be the work of your father since he was the only person I knew of who could give you such a power."

"I see… I never told anyone but shortly after my very first transformation, I started to have vague memories and dreams about my father performing experiments on me more frequently. I've had them before but they were usually few and far in between and whenever I brought it up to my parents, my father always insisted that they were only bad dreams and nothing more."

"Of course he had to say that because he didn't want your mother to know since she would have never allowed it if she did. He also didn't want to frighten you because you were too young to understand what he was trying to do then but now that you're old enough, I will tell you the truth: your father has groomed you to be humanity's greatest weapon in the war against the titans-from the moment of your birth."

"But why me? Surely there must have been others much more suited for this power. Did he do it because he had no other volunteers or because he thought I would simply go along with it because I was his son?"

"I really wish I could answer that, Eren. But I'm afraid the only person who can is your father himself and he has not been seen since Wall Maria fell. I have read and checked the casualty reports many times over the years but was never able to find anything that could tell me what became of him. Many believed he perished in the attack when the wall was breached but no one actually saw him killed and his body was never found so his death remains unconfirmed and he could only be reported as missing. And unfortunately, I could not find even one person who had seen him last."

Eren rested his chin in his hand in silent thought as he contemplated this. "Now that you mentioned it, I can't even remember when I saw my father last" he admitted.

"Yes, well that doesn't surprise me. I came to the conclusion that your father's experiments have likely damaged and distorted your memories which also explains why you didn't know about your titan-shifting powers until you were nearly killed at the Battle of Trost."

"I see. Yes, that would explain a lot but there's still so much more I want to know but will probably never be able to now that my father is gone."

Hanji shook her head. "I believe your father is alive, Eren."

"And what makes you think that, Zoe?"

"Like I said, there has been no proof of his death. If your father is alive, not only can he answer your questions, he may also be able to tell us how to defeat the titans for good."

"Will you help me find him if he is?"

"Of course I will; I have many questions for him as well. But we can't find him if we don't even know where to start looking; I believe the answer lies within the basement of your old house and before we can get there, we must first take back Wall Maria which is why I need to experiment with your powers a bit more so I can find a sure way of making that possible. Do you understand, Eren?"

"Yes, I do. Does anyone else know of your ties with my family?"

"Only Mikasa whom I told while you were still recovering from your battle with Annie. But please don't be upset with her because I made her promise not to tell you since I felt it would be better for you to hear it from me."

"I see… but one other thing I don't understand is why my own parents never told me about you?"

"Well, from what I remembered, you look quite sad when I left you all those years ago since you became quite attached to me as a child. Your parents knew this as well and since they had no way of knowing if I would ever return alive, they probably felt it best if you simply forgot about me."

"I understand and thank you for telling me the truth. I apologize for coming to you at such a late hour and am sure you must be tired so I'll be going now. Have a good night, Zoe."

"You need not apologize; you do have the right to know. I'm only sorry I couldn't bring myself to tell you sooner. Don't worry, I may not be as good as your father but I will keep doing my best to help you control your powers. Good night, Eren; I hope to find you in better spirits tomorrow."

"Thank you, Zoe, I appreciate it. Good night."

A/N: Ok, so now Hanji finally reveals the truth. I think that this would be the best time for her to tell Eren since he has matured a lot and would likely not get upset at her for keeping the truth from him as he might have if she had told him sooner. And since Hanji seems so reluctant to tell Eren, I felt she needed a push by having Eren accidentally discover the photo of them and question her about it. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this installment and please review!