Chapter 2: Reunion

The sun feels warm in the pale sky as the three of us ride along the dusty road. It's been two days now since I spoke with my mother and we've nearly reached the Regiment's current head quarters. I've been thinking about what she told me almost constantly and the one thing I know that I need to do now is to find my father. But I haven't got the faintest idea how to do that. He could be anywhere, or he could be nowhere. The change in the Kingdom never happened. Unless of course he was referring to the Fall of Wall Maria. I can't discount the possibility that he may be connected to that in some way, though how I can't fathom.

'One thing's for sure though, he knew about me. How much I don't know but the evidence implies that he knew about my past. Why didn't you ever tell me anything dad?' My thoughts suddenly flash back to when he'd give me advice about things. His favourite piece had been that it wasn't the past that mattered, it was the present that did. 'Could I in some way be connected to something horrible? Is that why he always told me not to worry about the past; he was preparing me for when he felt I was ready to be told about what I'd done? But what could I have done? I was only six years old when they found me.'

Vivid flashes of blood, screaming faces and chases over grassy flatlands after people on horses provide me with a grim reminder. I still don't understand everything, but from those memories I have it seems that for a time at least I was trapped in my titan body outside of the Walls. I can remember numerous encounters with people who can only have been Scouts. It turns my stomach to remember how the titan body had reacted. Regardless of who was inside it, the titan was still a titan and so had only one goal on its mind: to feed.

I'm not really sure if I should feel guilty or not. To be fare that wasn't really me doing those things, it was more that I was forced to watch and experience them. Still though, it feels like it was me and that bites deep at me. I've been remembering more and more things as time passes, but all of them are small details, or just more terrible days as a titan. I can't remember anything of my life before that.

"Can this really be necessary?" says a familiar voice inside my head. Even though I've had my powers for a week now, and I've started to get used to being able to hear Eren's thoughts, the sudden sound makes me jump. It's very strange how I only seem to have the ability to hear the thoughts of over titan shifters, or titans themselves. All other people are perfectly silent for me. I've tried to see if I can turn the ability off, without success. Ever since it started during the Recon Mission it's been going full stop.

"I mean, I know we have to run tests but this seems rather degrading."

I concentrate as hard as I can on Eren's voice and think directly at it. 'Hey Eren, it's Matthias. Can you hear me?'

"Oh crap don't do that! Yes I can hear you. You're getting close to Headquarters then?"

'Suppose so. What exactly are you complaining about?'

"Ugh! Captain Hange wants to run some more tests on my titan form. She's getting me to do all sorts of ridiculous things like walking in a straight line and copying gestures. I suppose it's important to test my coordination and things, but we have done all this before. Several times."

I smile. 'Perhaps I shouldn't disrupt the testing. You know how fussy she gets about that sort of thing.'

"Yeah probably. We're in old quarry at the moment if you're not a hurry."

'I don't think we are. See you in a few minutes.'

I let my concentration slip away and look up. "Hey," I call out to Victor, "Eren's in the old quarry helping Captain Hange out with some tests. Is it all right if we stop by there first?"

"I suppose so," says Victor. "You know you're not supposed to use your abilities unless you're given permission."

"Oh but those are titan powers. This is different."

"I don't make the rules Matthias. If you want to get specific you can always take it up with Commander Erwin."

I pull a face. "I'm not sure this counts as a matter of sufficient importance to bother the Commander with it somehow."

Four minutes later we take a side road out of the woods and begin heading down hill. Following a winding path through a progressively more rocky area, we come to stop overlooking a deep pit in the ground. The pit is about thirty or so metres tall with several narrow tracks winding down towards the ground. It's the main testing ground Captain Hange uses to run tests on our titan forms. I've only gone through a single set of tests with varying levels of success.

My titan form did prove to be capable of speech when it came down to it. I do however appear to be limited to a very small vocabulary, and I can only use it in short sentences. It's like trying to lift a weight that's too heavy for your body to manage. You struggle and splutter and can only achieve limited results. I think the brain the titan body possesses simply isn't up to the task of speaking fluently.

Right now, the Berserker Titan is attempting to balance a rock on his head. It looks rather comical to watch this fearsome killing machine performing silly little feats like this. Still as Captain Hange is so fond of saying: "It's all in the name of science!" I dismount and lead Edward over to a nearby tree. Looping the reins around it several times, I tie him off. I give his head a good rub and he flicks his ears slightly. "Not much longer now boy, and you'll be back in the nice comfortable stables of the Scout Regiment," I tell him before hurrying off towards the path down.

I stop on a wide ledge about twenty metres up from the bottom. Armin, Mikasa and several of Hange's assistants are standing around watching as the Captain waves frantically at the Berserker Titan to get him try balancing on one foot. Armin turns around as I come down. "Oh hi Matthias," he says in surprise. "We weren't expecting you to come here."

"I asked if it was all right if we took a quick detour before heading back to HQ," I explain. "I picked up Eren's grumbling several minutes ago and we had a brief conversation."

"Ah, so that's what that was. The Captain was getting cross because he didn't seem to be paying attention to her."

"Oh, best not to tell her then."

"So how'd it go?"

I let out a long breath. "It could have been better. Mom doesn't really know much I didn't already remember. The implication is that my dad knew a lot more, but we've no idea where he is. What's happened here while I was away?"

Armin shrugs, "not all that much. Eren's been through a few more tests. He still can't speak but he seems to have proper control over himself. If he transforms to many times in short intervals he gets very tired though, and his control seems to become less secure."

"Armin's been prompted," interrupts Mikasa from behind him.

"Mikasa!" Armin exclaims, his ears turning bright red in embarrassment.

"Really?" I ask, astounded. "That's great news! Promoted to what?"

"Corporal of the 4th squad. It's not really that much to talk about really."

"Armin, that is false modesty. You haven't even been in the Scouts for two months and you're already in charge of a squad. I'd say that was rather outstanding."

"Well, I guess so," admits Armin, staring at the ground uncomfortably.

"I suppose that means I should call you sir now."

"Oh please don't!"

I laugh. Before I can say anything else I'm distracted by a thunderous crash from down in the quarry. The Berserker Titan has dropped the rock he was carrying a few moments before.

"Geshetar!" Eren roars inside my head. In the real world he throws back his head and lets out a massive roar of rage before sprinting towards the southern side of the quarry and leaping up at the cliffs. "Geshetar! Geshetar!" he continues to howl, his entire being overcome by a sense of unparalleled anger.

I feel a sharp pain stab into my head and I fall to my knees, clutching at my forehead. "Geshetar!" I hear myself screaming at the top my lungs. "Geshetar!" Everyone begins scrambling to get a safe distance away from me and Berserker Titan.

"We need containment procedures!" calls out the Captain. "Mikasa get Eren out of there!"

Just as suddenly as it came the intense pain subsides and I find myself gasping for breath.

"What, what the hell?"

"Wait, hold on!" I call out, holding up a hand. "We're okay. It was, it was, I don't know what it was."

An hour later and the five of us-Hange, Eren, Mikasa, Armin and myself-are all sitting in the map room with Commander Erwin and Captain Levi. "Can you describe to us exactly what this sensation was like?" asks the Major-General.

"It's difficult to put into words," says Eren.

"Yes, it was an almost primal urge of sorts," I agree. "A bit like when the Female Titan sent out the call to the wild titans in the giant forest."

"Eren, can you remember why you were trying to get out of the pit?" asks the Commander.

"Nothing clear I'm afraid sir," he replies. "I wanted desperately to go somewhere. No, that's not right; I wanted to go after someone. It made me so angry I can't describe it properly. It was like the greatest sense of wrong I've ever felt."

The Commander looks thoughtfully at a spread out map of the three Walls. "We haven't as yet been able to locate any untoward events within the Walls that could have produced any kind of reaction in the two of you. However, it is only a short time since the episode, so we can't assume that nothing has happened that could be related."

"Commander if I may," interjects Hange. "It seems to me that there must be some significance in the word that Matthias kept shouting. For the brief time in which the two of them were under the influence of whatever this was, they both uttered it over and over again. The only difference is that Eren being in titan form was unable to do so successfully."

"What word was that?" asks the Commander.

"Geshetar."

I instinctively tighten my hand into a fist at the word, and Eren tenses up noticeably as well. "We're fine," I say as everyone looks at us. "That word, it just feels like something, something wrong. I'm sorry but it feels like it shouldn't be said."

Eren nods. "It's like how parents won't allow their children to use foul language. It upsets me to hear it coming from anyone."

"In that case why were you two saying it?" asks Levi. "Is it supposed to be the Titan equivalent of a swear word?"

"Maybe," I reply. "I don't have any real idea I'm afraid. When the experience happened, I couldn't seem to help myself. It hurt, both physically and personally. Like watching someone you care about die."

"And having to feel the pain of their death yourself," adds Eren. I nod grimly.

"Whatever the cause of this attack, it means that we have to be more careful in future when either of you is in titan form," says Erwin. "If you can have control snatched away from you by whatever this was, it could pose a real danger to those around you."

The idea of losing control and becoming a wild titan again makes me shiver. Even though Eren as far as we can tell never spent any time in that kind of state, he knows enough about losing control to give me a sympathetic look. When he lost control it was in the thick of combat with the Female Titan. He let his anger take over from him, and that gave the titan the reigns. Thankfully the titan was totally focused on the task of defeating the Female Titan, so didn't go on a rampage against any humans.

"On a side note," says the Commander, "has any new information been retrieved from the Wall Cult pastor we interrogated?"

"Not a word," says Levi bitterly. "He won't talk for anything. We offered him money, pain, Hange even threatened to throw him off the Wall initially. He isn't giving us anything. Says that the information is not his to divulge and that he couldn't tell us anything even he was willing."

"That implies some kind of hold over him," ponders Erwin. "Does the man have any family that could be being held hostage?"

Hange shakes her head. "He's a widower with no children. The thing that worries me is that old Nick doesn't seem to be that bad a guy. He's actually kind of virtuous in some respects. And not that kind of annoying virtuousness some religious people have," she adds. "He genuinely seems to think that giving us any information would be a bad thing. Which begs the question..."

"...what sort of information could possibly be so dangerous?" finishes the Commander. "Do you have any theories regarding why there was a Colossal type titan inside of Wall Sina Hange?"

"Several. None of them make all that much sense though. Is it meant to protect the people from the titan, or the titan from the people?"

"Um, if I may," pipes up Armin, "I actually have an idea about that." Everyone looks at him expectantly. When Armin feels willing to submit a theory it's usually right. "Well," he begins nervously, his voice becoming more confident as he continues, "supposing the titan is not so much inside of the Walls, but a part of them? A mystery that's always surrounded the Walls is their origin. When the Titans appeared Mankind was pushed to the brink of extinction almost overnight, so how did we find time to construct fifty metre tall walls? On top of that, how is it possible that no technology from the time of their construction still survives?

"I'm proposing that the Walls may be made up of a substance similar to that covering the Armoured Titan. We saw that the Female Titan could harden select portions of her body when she needed to, it may be possible for a titan as large as that one to exude this 'titan stone' outside of its body. If that's the case then the Walls could actually have been constructed by titans."

Everyone by this time is staring at Armin in amazement. The explanation makes sense in some many ways, and yet it never occurred to anyone up until that point. "That," begins Hange slowly, "that may be one of the best ideas I've ever heard! You mister Arlert are a genius!" Armin turns slightly red at her praise.

"It's just a theory," he says, "but my gut tells me it's the right one to go with. Until we learn any more at least."

"That 'titan stone' theory might explain how," says Levi, "but it doesn't explain why. Why would the Titans want to provide us with such an ideal form of protection from them?"

Armin opens his mouth to reply, but before he can say anything the door bursts open and a young man from the Garrison Regiment rushes in, panting hard. "Major-General Erwin," he gasps, "I've been sent by General Pixis to tell you that we have a level Alpha situation on our hands!" Everyone sits bolt upright at that, even Captain Levi. Level Alpha is reserved exclusively for Titan attacks. "The Titans have appeared to the South, between Trost and Karanese. No breaches have been reported at any of the gates. The Titans have breached Wall Rose itself!"